Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 538: Vs Norman - 1

The next day, after Ash went home to a very excited Molly and got a good night’s sleep with his mom’s cooking, he teleported back after picking up Brock.

Although one thing stood out, he didn’t see Green or Gary, or even Professor Oak in town. Green was probably in the Sevii Islands, but she said she was going to come to Hoenn as soon as she finished the stuff she was doing.

And Gary said he’s still stuck in Sinnoh, doing stuff to become a professor he couldn’t leave behind to come to Hoenn anytime soon.

But as for Oak, he had no idea. He wasn’t in the lab, and his mom didn’t really know anything, so Ash just assumed he was probably working on some new project. Well, whatever, it’s still Oak. He does his own thing.

Anyway, back to the present. When they got back to Petalburg, it almost seemed like they were waiting for him. He practically got dragged in to join them for lunch.

So after a nice little lunch, that’s where we get to the position we are in now, Ash and Norman were in the Gym, standing across from each other for Ash’s Gym battle.

Meanwhile, over by the bench, May, Max, Brock, and Caroline were sitting to watch the battle, and Caroline took the liberty of picking up Vee and Pikachu, putting them on her lap, while May was cradling her new Eevee.

Ash sighed and stretched his arm in circles, clutching a Poké Ball, "I guess we’re doing this right now."

"I’ve been meaning to have a battle with you to really test your limits, Ash," Norman smiled as he held out his Poké Ball.

For this one, Norman would use five Pokémon. Ash was somewhat confident he could win, but just in case he had one last secret weapon. After all, Slakoth wasn’t the only Pokémon he trained in the great Petalburg mass-I mean, grinding. He ONLY used the entire town as an EXP farm. Don’t look at him like that.

The referee raised a flag, "This will be a five-on-five Pokémon battle between Challenger Ash and Gym Leader Norman. Only the challenger may switch out his Pokémon. If both trainers are ready,"

The referee’s flag dropped, "Begin!"

Norman didn’t hesitate for even a second, "This is it!" he called, tossing his Poké Ball forward, "Linoone!"

A flash of light burst open, and a Linoone hit the battlefield, and you should never underestimate a Linoone.

At the same time, Ash flicked his wrist, "Go, Lairon."

His Poké Ball opened, and Lairon landed with a heavy THUD, metal body gleaming. The faint sheen of an Eviolite hung around its neck.

The two Pokémon stared each other down.

Then Norman pointed forward instantly, "Linoone, [Belly Drum]"

Linoone didn’t hesitate. It slammed its own stomach hard, hurting itself badly and dropping to 50%, but it immediately went to +6 Attack. However, that’s when it ate its Figy Berry. Thanks to Gluttony, it didn’t wait until later, it activated right away at 50%, so it was back to full health and sitting at +6 Attack.

Ash just stared at it with a blank look and sighed, "...Yeah, that tracks," he muttered. To be honest, Ash wanted to train a little more before facing Norman. Now that he thought about it, what is it with Normal-type Gym Leaders being absolute monsters?

Norman crossed his arms, calm and confident, "I will do everything in my power as a Trainer to win. You’d better give it your best shot, too!"

Ash shook the thought out of his head and put his smirk back on his face, "Wouldn’t have it any other way." He may not be as prepared as he would like, but he had a contingency plan just in case.

Norman pointed forward sharply, "Linoone! [Extreme Speed]!"

Linoone vanished into a blur. Then it reappeared at the side before Lairon could even move its head, slamming straight into Lairon’s side.

Lairon skidded back, metal screeching against the ground, but he stayed up. Lairon could strongly resist Normal-type moves, and he had high defenses along with the Eviolite. But even with all that, Linoone was still at +6, so it still hurt.

"Now," Ash snapped, pointing forward, "Lairon, [Iron Defense]!"

Lairon roared as its body tightened, the iron on his body shining brighter.

Norman didn’t let up, "Again! [Extreme Speed]!"

Linoone blurred again and hit Lairon hard once more. This time the hit was even stronger, Lairon sliding back harder, cracks forming slightly in the arena floor beneath it, but he was still standing.

Ash quickly called out, "Now, [Stealth Rock]!"

Lairon stomped the ground, and jagged stones erupted into the air around Norman’s side of the field, hovering ominously.

Norman’s eyes narrowed slightly, "...I see, not a bad plan, but let’s see if you’ll even get the chance to use it."

Norman pointed up, "Linoone, now [Stomping Tantrum]!"

Linoone shot forward again and stomped on the ground over and over, pulling up a shockwave that erupted under Lairon, creating a giant explosion of smoke around him as everyone could hear the Steel-type grunt in pain.

That one was x4 this time, so it hurt a lot, even with boosted defenses. But still, Ash didn’t look worried. Instead, he had a glint in his eye like that’s exactly what he wanted.

Ash snapped his fingers, "Lairon, [Metal Burst]."

From the smoke, Lairon pushed himself out and rushed at Linoone, slamming into its body hard and sending the Normal-type flying and rolling across the ground.

Good thing Linoone ate that berry, or it would already be knocked out, because that hit did a lot.

Linoone skidded to a stop, claws digging into the ground as it steadied itself, breathing hard.

Across from it, Lairon lowered its head slightly, steam rising faintly from its body after taking that brutal hit earlier.

"Not bad. Most trainers would have already lost by now," Norman nodded, looking at Ash. So far, he was not disappointed. Then his arm snapped forward again, "But a battle is a battle. Linoone, [Stomping Tantrum]!"

Linoone shot forward again, claws digging into the ground as it slammed both paws down. The battlefield cracked

BOOM

The shockwave erupted directly under Lairon, sending it upward slightly before the explosion swallowed it whole.

The explosion launched it backward, skidding hard across the battlefield before crashing to a stop.

Then Lairon tried to push itself up, struggling, but its legs shook, and he fell with spirals in his eyes. He was knocked out.

Ash calmly returned Lairon to his Poké Ball. He expected this result as much. With Linoone going +6, there was not a lot that could tank a hit, but he did what he needed to do, he weakened Linoone.

A +6 Linoone with [Extreme Speed] could take out most teams by itself, having priority with a move that hits like a truck. Ash used Lairon since he could resist it, and in that, he managed to put Linoone on basically a sliver of HP, and he set up the spikes. That in itself was a great success.

But enough of that for now. He flipped another Poké Ball into the air, "Alright, let’s pick up the pace."

He threw the ball out, and from it came Kingdra, holding a Life Orb.

"Linoone! [Extreme Speed]!" Norman immediately called out.

Linoone vanished and appeared behind Kingdra, ready to finish this off in one shot, but this time Ash was ready.

"Kingdra, [Protect]."

A shimmering barrier snapped into place just as Linoone slammed into it. The impact bounced Linoone backward into the air.

You see, the reason the order went like this is due to how priority moves work. [Extreme Speed] has a priority speed of +2, which usually will let it outspeed any Pokémon no matter the Speed unless it also uses a +2 priority move, in which case it will matter who has more Speed.

But of course, that’s not the end of it. The other way to outspeed a priority move is to just use a move with higher priority, and wouldn’t you know it, Protect has a priority of +4, meaning no matter how fast Linoone is, Protect will always go off first.

Then Ash snapped his fingers, "[Dragon Energy]," he said calmly.

Kingdra raised its mouth, and Linoone and Norman couldn’t do anything since Linoone was falling toward the ground, so it couldn’t dodge. Kingdra shot out a large blast of purple draconic energy directly at Linoone.

Dragon Energy’s power is based off HP. Since Kingdra was at max HP, it would do max damage, and with Dragon’s Maw that was another boost, plus the Life Orb. So the bright purple blast engulfed the helpless Linoone.

Thankfully, thanks to the beating Lairon gave earlier and this hit from Kingdra, it was enough, and Linoone got sent flying back and fell at Norman’s feet with spirals in its eyes.

"Hmm." Norman recalled Linoone, closing his eyes briefly, "You did well."

And just like that, Ash got the advantage again. Now they were effectively even, other than the fact that Ash set up the Stealth Rock earlier, so Ash was at a net positive. Of course, this wasn’t the end, though, it can never be that easy.

Norman pulled out his next Poké Ball and threw it out, letting out his next Pokémon, his Exploud, who also had a pair of Choice Specs.

"Alright then, [Rain Dance]," Ash called out immediately after Exploud hit the field.

Kingdra raised his head, and dark clouds started forming around the arena.

But before rain started falling, Norman pointed forward instantly, "Exploud! [Boomburst]!"

Exploud’s mouth opened, and it shot out a massive shockwave of sound, blasting Kingdra, and the force of the sound blasted the clouds away.

Of course, everyone had to cover their ears from the loud sound that shook the stadium.

Except Caroline, who was ready since she was used to Norman’s battles and had earmuffs. And when the sound stopped, she looked over to May and Max, who looked at her with a betrayed look.

She covered her mouth slightly, "Oops, I forgot to give you these."

Caroline knocked on her head and held up two more earmuffs that, again, she forgot to hand out.

"Gee...thanks, Mom," May said slowly as she took one just in case while she tried to get the ringing sound out of her ears.

Ash, meanwhile, scratched his ear with his finger, "Gee, warn someone next time," he said sarcastically. Then he pointed forward again, "[Hydro Pump]."

Kingdra quickly rolled, getting back on his back, and jumped up, shooting a blast of water directly into Exploud’s mouth. Exploud tried swallowing the water, but it went down the wrong pipe, and it started coughing.

Then, while Exploud was coughing out water, Ash snapped his finger again, "And [Surf]."

Kingdra raised his head and let out a short cry, and water started building up. From nowhere, a wave of water began rising up, and Kingdra jumped into it as it headed toward Exploud, and Exploud couldn’t counter.

So the wave hit and slammed into Exploud. The entire field flooded for a moment, sending Exploud skidding backward, almost falling out of bounds.

"Exploud, hold your ground!" Norman called, crossing his arms.

Exploud dug its feet against the ground as it pushed through the water, right before it fell out of the designated field, shaking its head violently to clear the lingering water from its throat.

Ash didn’t give it a second, he shot his hand out again, "Don’t let it recover, Kingdra, [Draco Meteor]."

Kingdra rose slightly above the water, eyes glowing, and from above, multiple meteors of draconic energy tore through the air and came crashing down toward Exploud.

Norman’s eyes sharpened instantly, "Exploud, [Boomburst]."

Exploud roared. A massive shockwave of sound erupted upward, colliding with the falling meteors midair, causing the meteors in the air to explode and scatter across the battlefield like broken stars.

But not all of them, some slipped through, and one struck Exploud’s shoulder, forcing it down to one knee. Another clipped its side, sending it skidding back.

Exploud roared, digging its feet in, but the damage was done. Its breathing had gotten heavier now.

Across the field, Kingdra lowered slightly, steam rising from its body, and its Special Attack dropped from the recoil of [Draco Meteor].

Ash clicked his tongue lightly. If that hit had landed cleanly, Exploud would have been knocked out, but he managed to stop most of them.

Norman didn’t waste the opening, "Exploud!" he pointed forward sharply, "[Boomburst]."

Exploud inhaled and shot out another blast of sound through the field. Though this time everyone else had earmuffs, except for Ash. Thank goodness he had Aura, or he might actually suffer some ear damage.

The shockwave tore straight across the field and slammed into Kingdra.

Kingdra was blasted backward across the water, skidding hard before crashing near Ash’s side.

"Kingdra, get ready!" Ash called.

Kingdra twisted, barely catching itself before hitting the wall, breathing heavier now. He was at the equivalent of a sliver of HP at this point, one good hit and he’d be down, while Exploud was more in the low yellow.

Norman nodded once, "You’ve trained it well. But a battle is a battle. We don’t hold back."

"Yeah, figured you’d say that," Ash smirked, "But you don’t think that it would be that easy, would you?"

"Kingdra," he snapped his fingers, "[Flip Turn]."

Kingdra shot forward instantly, gliding across the water like a torpedo.

Norman’s eyes narrowed, "Exploud, [Boomburst]!"

Exploud roared again, but this time Kingdra was already there.

It twisted at the last second, slamming into Exploud’s side and using the momentum to bounce back to Ash’s side, back into his Poké Ball, all right before the [Boomburst] got fired off.

Of course, Exploud still shot out the [Boomburst], and Ash was about the only one not protected, but Ash just plugged his ears with his fingers.

"Wow, you sure are spamming that. Sure you’re not trying to make me deaf?" Ash asked sarcastically, looking at Norman as he pulled his fingers out of his ears.

Norman shrugged, "Usually I tend to hold back, but you can handle this much, can’t you?"

"Man, and I thought you liked me," Ash said, grabbing his third Poké Ball.

"Who said I don’t?" Norman said with a smile, "It’s been a while since I’ve been able to go all out."

Meanwhile, over in the benches, May leaned close to her mom, "Are...are they getting along?"

"Of course they are, dear. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I saw your father have this much fun in a battle," Caroline giggled into her hand.

"Well, I think this is awesome!" Max said, punching his hands into the air. He, the self-proclaimed #1 Ash fanboy, was getting to watch a battle between the two people he admired the most in the world.

Anyway, back to the battle, Ash tossed his next ball out. This time, from it came Ash’s Milotic, as she coiled around herself, looking at Norman’s Exploud.

Norman raised an eyebrow, looking at the Milotic, "Huh, don’t really see one of those battling every day. To be honest, I would have thought May would have gotten one."

"I tried, but nooo, someone had to gatekeep," May shouted from the stands.

"First, I never gatekept, you just never asked me to help you get one," Ash said, shaking a finger, not even looking at them, "Second, please, no interference from the crowd. It’s rude."

"Wha-you," May grumbled as she crossed her arms and sat down, making Caroline laugh, and Norman let out a snort.

Ash rolled his shoulder once, "Milotic, [Scald]."

Milotic’s eyes glowed softly as she opened her mouth, firing a stream of boiling water straight toward Exploud.

Norman quickly composed himself and cleared his throat, "Exploud! [Boomburst]!"

Exploud roared. The soundwave and the Scald collided mid-field, causing the water to explode into steam around the arena.

Of course, that really only helped Milotic, and Ash would take full advantage, "[Surf] now!"

"Exploud!" Norman called out, but it was useless.

Milotic rose with the water, summoning another wave that surged forward, and through the hot steam Exploud couldn’t find an opening to dodge or fire back, so it got hit directly.

Exploud was pushed back, feet dragging hard across the soaked battlefield, struggling to keep its balance.

But Ash didn’t give him a second to breathe, "Now, [Dragon Pulse]."

Milotic’s eyes glowed softly, then she opened her mouth and shot out purple fire down toward Exploud.

Exploud tried to brace itself, but it was too tired. It couldn’t keep going, and it was engulfed in the purple fire, causing an explosion.

When the dust fell, Exploud was there in the center, before it finally fell over with spirals in its eyes.

Norman recalled Exploud to its Poké Ball, "You did well," he said quietly, then looked back at Ash.

"Hm." There was a faint smile on his face now, "You’re a wonderful Trainer."

He now knew 100% that it was the right move to entrust Ash with his children, especially with all the BS going on, but that didn’t mean he was going to give up.

"But I’ve got plenty more left to give," Norman said, grabbing his next ball and throwing it out. Once it landed on the field, from it came out his next Pokémon, a Kangaskhan with a Silk Scarf, with the baby eating a snack it probably forgot it had. The mom gently used her finger and pushed the baby down into her pouch for safety.

Ash smiled, "Then let’s keep going, Milotic, use-" But Ash got cut off.

"[Fake Out]," Norman called quickly.

Kangaskhan dashed in and clapped her hands right in front of Milotic’s face, making the Water-type immediately flinch.

"Now, Kangaskhan," he pointed forward sharply, "[Double-Edge]!"

Kangaskhan surged forward, her whole body glowing faintly as she slammed straight into Milotic’s side.

Milotic was sent skidding hard across the wet battlefield, her body dragging through the shallow water before she managed to coil and stop herself.

"Milotic!" Ash called. Then he looked back over at Norman, "[Recover], quick!"

A soft glow surrounded her body as her injuries visibly began to mend, scales shining as her HP climbed back up.

Norman nodded once, then his arm snapped forward again, "Kangaskhan, [Earthquake]!"

Kangaskhan slammed her foot down. The entire battlefield shook violently, cracks tearing through the ground as shockwaves rippled outward.

Milotic was hit head-on, the ground rupturing beneath her and launching her upward slightly before slamming her back down.

"Alright then, wanna play like that," Ash muttered. He snapped, "Milotic, [Aqua Ring]."

Milotic lifted her head as a ring of water formed around her body, slowly circling, restoring her over time.

"Now, [Hydro Pump]," Ash called immediately after.

Milotic puffed up her chest and shot out a large blast of water directly toward Kangaskhan, but Norman just watched with his arms crossed.

"[Protect]," he called out calmly.

Kangaskhan crossed her arms, and a transparent barrier appeared, and the water hit against it uselessly.

Norman didn’t waste even a fraction of a second, "Kangaskhan," his arm snapped forward, voice steady, "give it everything you’ve got, [Return]!"

Kangaskhan raised her fist, and it glowed as she ran up to Milotic and punched her across the face.

Milotic cried out as she was launched backward, skidding across the soaked battlefield before crashing into the far edge of the arena wall.

Across the field, Milotic struggled, her body trembling as she tried to lift her head. The Aqua Ring healed her a little bit, but it wasn’t much compared to how much she had just taken from a max-power [Return].

Ash narrowed his eyes slightly, and when he was about to call out another move, Norman took the chance again, "Kangaskhan, press the advantage, [Earthquake]!"

Kangaskhan roared and slammed her foot into the ground.

CRACK

The battlefield split open as violent tremors rippled outward. Water splashed and the floor fractured, shockwaves racing straight toward Milotic.

"Milotic, up!" Ash called instantly, "[Coil]!"

Milotic twisted her body upward at the last second, getting into a defensive position to try and tank the damage. The Earthquake still struck her from below, launching her slightly into the air, but the extra defenses at least let her survive the hit.

She landed hard, breathing heavily now, and Ash took that opportunity, "Milotic, [Scald]!"

Milotic’s eyes flashed. She opened her mouth and fired a high-pressure stream of boiling water straight toward Kangaskhan.

Norman didn’t even blink, "Kangaskhan, [Drain Punch]!"

Kangaskhan stepped into the attack instead of dodging. Her fist glowed with red energy as she drove it straight through the incoming Scald. The boiling water splashed across her body, scorching her slightly, but her glowing fist continued forward without stopping.

Then the punch slammed directly into Milotic’s chest.

Green energy surged from Milotic into Kangaskhan as the blow connected, healing Kangaskhan a little, and Milotic was knocked backward again, crashing onto the ground with a thud.

For a moment, everything went still. Then Milotic tried to push herself up. Her body trembled. But finally she collapsed, spirals in her eyes. The Aqua Ring faded.

Kangaskhan was about to cry out in victory when suddenly she had to stop and hold her arm in pain, looking at it. The effect of the Scald had activated, she was burned, so Milotic’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain.

Ash returned Milotic to her ball and smiled as he grabbed his fourth Poké Ball, "What’s that you said, ’I’ve got plenty more left to give’?"

--

So, i have to say something, i’m sorry guys but, i am going to be MIA for a few days, i’m going camping for a project i need to do and i don’t think i will have Wifi out there, and i will be gone for 3-4 days, i’ll be back Monday but there probably won’t be a Chapter on Friday