Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 539: Vs Norman - 2

Ash threw out the Poké Ball, and once it hit the field, out came none other than a shiny Gardevoir, and she had a Life Orb.

Yeah, remember yesterday, Slakoth wasn't the only Pokémon he trained by battling everyone. The second that Slakoth got enough to evolve all the way to Slaking, Ash put him back into his Poké Ball so that he wouldn't waste any more of the stockpiled energy.

So his next best choice for training was Kirlia, obviously, and she evolved into Gardevoir. But unfortunately, the trainers were just too weak, so Ash couldn't take advantage and try to evolve some of his other Pokémon with the free EXP training dummies.

But that's neither here nor there, what's important right now was this battle.

Across from her, Kangaskhan flexed her burned arm, wincing slightly as the pain pulsed through it. The baby in her pouch peeked out, eyes wide, before quickly ducking back down again.

Norman studied the new arrival carefully, eyes narrowing just a bit, "A Gardevoir, huh…"

Ash rolled his shoulder once and smiled, "What's wrong? Don't tell me you're worried now~"

"Hardly," Norman huffed and swiped his arm, "[Return]"

Kangaskhan raised her fist and charged it with white energy, then ran toward Gardevoir.

Ash didn't look worried. He snapped his fingers, "Gardevoir, [Protect]."

Gardevoir clapped her hands together, and a translucent barrier snapped into place just as Kangaskhan punched down.

Kangaskhan's fist bounced harmlessly off the shield, the impact echoing across the arena. Kangaskhan recoiled slightly, momentarily thrown off balance.

Ash's eyes flashed, "Now [Calm Mind]."

Gardevoir closed her eyes and slowly started to meditate, growing stronger.

Norman narrowed his eyes as he pointed forward again without hesitation, "No you won't, Kangaskhan, [Crunch]!"

Kangaskhan lunged again, jaws opening wide as dark energy coated her teeth. She surged forward, aiming to bite down on Gardevoir.

Ash snapped his fingers, "[Teleport]"

Gardevoir teleported just as Kangaskhan's jaws snapped down where she was. She reappeared behind her and spun like a ballerina, swiping her arm and firing off a [Dazzling Gleam] that struck Kangaskhan's back. Combined with the burn, it was starting to wear her down.

Norman's expression hardened, "Kangaskhan, steady yourself," he said firmly. Then his arm snapped forward again, "[Earthquake]!"

Kangaskhan roared and slammed her foot into the ground. The arena shook violently, cracks racing outward through the battlefield as the tremor surged toward Gardevoir.

Ash's eyes sharpened instantly, "Gardevoir, up, [Teleport]!"

In a flash of pink light, Gardevoir vanished just as the ground split beneath her feet. The shockwave tore through empty space.

She reappeared floating in the air, falling slowly, and Ash called out to her again, "Another [Calm Mind]."

Gardevoir closed her eyes again, hands gently folded in front of her chest as a soft blue aura surrounded her.

Norman wouldn't let that happen, "Kangaskhan, end this with [Double-Edge]!"

Kangaskhan let out a fierce cry and surged forward, her entire body glowing as she charged across the battlefield like a freight train.

Ash snapped his fingers again, "[Protect] again."

Gardevoir opened her eyes and held out her hands, creating a shield that Kangaskhan crashed against, pushing her back. It stopped the damage, but Kangaskhan didn't stop pushing, she forced Gardevoir onto her back, dragging the small Pokémon across the field before throwing her

Gardevoir may have avoided most of that damage from the attack, but getting dragged across the field still hurt. Even so, Gardevoir forced herself up and wiped her little cheek.

"You good to keep going?" Ash asked, not moving his eyes away from Norman or Kangaskhan. Kangaskhan herself wasn't looking too good, all the damage was building up, and again, the burn damage was still chipping away.

Gardevoir nodded and stood up, facing Kangaskhan head-on, refusing to go down just yet.

"Still standing," he murmured, "Good. That's how it should be."

Ash smirked slightly, rolling his wrist once, "Wouldn't be much of a battle if it ended that easy."

Then Norman moved first, "Kangaskhan, one more time, [Drain Punch]!"

Kangaskhan roared and charged forward again, her fist glowing with that familiar red energy. Even burned and battered, she still moved with frightening power, feet pounding against the ground as she closed the distance.

"No you won't," Ash said as he snapped his fingers, and Gardevoir didn't even need the command anymore.

She teleported away just as Kangaskhan swung where she was, missing. Then Gardevoir reappeared, holding out her arm with a pink glow, at point-blank range.

Ash smiled and pointed forward, "[Moonblast]"

Gardevoir fired the blast directly into Kangaskhan's face at point-blank range, forcing the big Pokémon to take a step back in pain and clutch her face. She took one step back, then another, before finally tripping and falling onto her back.

As Kangaskhan hit the ground, her hands fell to her sides and spirals appeared in her eyes. The baby even poked its little head out and scurried up, nudging its mama's face, trying to wake her up.

Norman quickly returned them to their Poké Ball, while Gardevoir, on Ash's side, was breathing heavily. She wasn't close to going down, it was more the pressure of dealing with Kangaskhan, and the worst was yet to come.

Norman looked at Kangaskhan's ball and smiled, "Well, this is really getting fun. You're giving it your all, so…" He reached down to one of his two remaining Poké Balls and grabbed one, "I'll start giving it my all as well. Be prepared."

He threw out the Poké Ball, and once it hit the field, out stomped Norman's first Slaking. Yes, the first one. He had two on this team he prepared for Ash.

Also, about now is a good time to mention that in Hoenn specifically, Double Battles were considered a gimmick that could count for the challenge. Thank Arceus Ash doesn't want to do that.

Because if you think Slaking is bad, just wait for when Norman does a Double Battle with his Slaking on one side and a Spinda on the other that does one thing and one thing only, use Skill Swap on Slaking. Now imagine a Slaking with Contrary using [Hammer Arm] over and over again.

So yeah, Norman was scary. I mean, look at the situation Ash is in right now, Ash has three Pokémon technically, but Kingdra is barely standing, so he won't be of much use, and Gardevoir is already hurt.

But still, Ash wasn't giving up. In fact, this battle had gone more or less exactly to his expectations. From the moment they started, he saw this outcome. Ash could cheat, but where's the fun in that? Besides, Ash wasn't worried, even if everyone else over in the stands thought he was.

Instead, Ash pointed his hand out, "Gardevoir, [Focus Blast]!"

Gardevoir raised her hands together and fired a bright red ball directly at Slaking. Slaking didn't move, it just sat there to tank it, and the blast hit it directly, but Slaking was still sitting there chewing on something.

Then, when it finished chewing, it spat out what it had in its mouth, a stem, specifically from the Chople Berry it just ate. Of course Norman would prepare for Fighting-types; he'd be an idiot not to. So he gave Slaking a Chople Berry to gain resistance to Fighting-type moves, making them neutral.

Ash clicked his tongue once, then pointed his hand out, "Gardevoir, [Psychic]."

Gardevoir lifted her hand, eyes glowing bright blue as an invisible force wrapped around Slaking's massive body. The ground beneath it cracked slightly as the pressure increased, trying to lift the giant Pokémon off its feet.

For a brief moment, Slaking actually rose an inch off the ground, but this was mostly just Slaking getting up from its nap.

Once he was awake, he broke the telekinetic grip through pure strength. The shockwave rippled outward, scattering dust across the battlefield.

Norman's voice came immediately after, "Slaking, [Body Slam]."

Despite its usual lazy demeanor, Slaking suddenly exploded forward with terrifying speed, covering the distance in a single bound. Its enormous body came crashing down toward Gardevoir like a falling boulder.

Ash's eyes flashed, "[Teleport]."

Just as Gardevoir charged her Teleportation, Norman furrowed his brows, crossed his arms, and spoke, "Behind you."

Gardevoir teleported, making Slaking's first attack miss, but it spun its body 180 degrees and caught Gardevoir just as she reappeared behind it. Then it used its weight to slam Gardevoir into the ground hard.

Gardevoir coughed as her back hit the ground, and the only thing that saved her right now was that Slaking stopped and yawned, because Truant activated.

Gardevoir quickly teleported out of Slaking's grasp, getting away to safety as she breathed hard, and Ash frowned too. It seemed like with just a few teleports, Norman could predict where Gardevoir would teleport to, well, not surprising, since Norman is a Champion-ranked trainer. He may be using weaker Pokémon, but he's still got way more battle experience than Ash.

Also, before anyone even thinks of saying a good way to win this would be to burn or poison Slaking, the answer was no. Slaking had Facade, so doing that would just make Slaking more dangerous.

Norman watched, wondering what Ash would do now, as Ash started to tap his foot on the ground in a certain tempo. May actually recognized that tempo, since she remembered that's the one Ash used to teach her about how Pokémon battles work, it's all about tempo, and this tempo specifically meant one thing.

Norman watched Ash and furrowed his brow, "Slaking," he commanded, arm snapping forward, "end this with [Night Slash]."

The shift was sudden. Slaking's lazy posture vanished in a blink as it ran toward Gardevoir with explosive speed, its hands glowing purple.

Ash tapped his foot one final time and smiled, "[Teleport]"

Gardevoir immediately teleported just as Slaking's fists reached her, but Norman, seeing the direction of Ash's eyes, could tell, and he called out, "Above you."

Slaking shifted its body and looked up, winding a fist ready to hit Gardevoir, and just like Norman predicted, Gardevoir appeared above it.

But that's not why Ash did it. After all, if he knew Norman could tell where Gardevoir would go, teleporting then attacking would be stupid, but that's not what he was doing.

Ash snapped his fingers and smiled, "[Counter Shield]"

Gardevoir spun in the air, letting her dress flare out, and she used [Moonblast], making the beam spin around her like a gyrating pink orb that clashed against Slaking's glowing fist.

Now remember, Fairy beats Dark, so Gardevoir had the advantage, and she slammed down against Slaking, breaking its attack and pushing Slaking back.

Slaking would have tried to counterattack, but it got tired and decided now was a good time to sit down and pick its nose real quick.

And Ash took that opportunity, "[Aura Sphere]"

Gardevoir landed on the ground gracefully and charged an orb between her hands. When it was done charging, she threw it directly at Slaking, exploding on his face with black smoke.

For a moment, no one could see what happened to Norman's Slaking, and Gardevoir was breathing heavily, having reached her limit, but she at least hoped that she could take the big monkey down.

But reality is often disappointing, as the only reason Slaking didn't step out of the smoke was because it was too busy picking its nose. Now that it got it out, it stepped forward and quickly closed the distance between itself and Gardevoir.

Slaking reached out and grabbed Gardevoir, then slammed her to the ground with a [Return] for revenge, and that was enough to finally knock Gardevoir out.

Ash pulled Gardevoir back to her Poké Ball and held it, "You did more than enough, I'll take it from here."

Like he said, he didn't expect Gardevoir to do as much as she did, but it's a pleasant surprise, he'll praise her after.

As for Slaking, it was extremely hurt. It's just that Slaking was too lazy to do any of the normal things you would do when you're hurt, it preferred to sit on the ground and wonder what it was going to have for dinner later.

But now, Ash was down to his last Pokémon, and Norman had two. But this one was the secret weapon Ash talked about earlier, so without milking the moment more than it already was, Ash threw it out.

As the ball hit the field, it opened in a flash of light, and immediately a large foot slammed onto the ground, as Ash's shiny Slaking stood across from Norman's.

Norman blinked for a moment, "Huh, this is your last Pokémon…" he said, rubbing his chin.

"Well, I learned from the best," Ash said as his smirk grew into an almost evil smile, "Now it's my turn to have some fun."

Norman frowned, but he pointed his arm out anyway, "Let's end this quickly, [Hammer Arm]."

Norman's Slaking moved quickly, appearing in front of Ash's Slaking, raising its fist and bringing it down. But Ash's didn't move, he just stayed laying there, leaning his head on his arm.

But as Norman-Slaking's fist came down, Ash's raised his arm and caught it with one hand. The impact caused the air to push back, but Ash-Slaking simply looked up at Norman's.

Before Norman could react to the situation, Ash called out, "My turn, [Dynamic Punch]."

Ash-Slaking's eyes shined as he still held Norman-Slaking's hand, and it tried to pull free, but it was no use. So Ash's raised his fist, then swung it, slamming it into Norman-Slaking's face, sending the first monkey flying back and crashing into the ground with a loud thud.

Norman looked down at his Slaking that was knocked out cold, then returned it to its ball and looked at Ash and his Slaking, smiling, "You surprised me, I admit. I didn't expect this," he said as he grabbed his last ball.

"Well, as an idiot says, believe it," Ash said with a thumbs up.

Norman snorted, "Fine, you did well against the first Slaking, but what will you do about the second?" Norman said as he threw out his last Poké Ball, letting out the second Slaking.

Norman's second Poké Ball burst open in a flash of light, and another massive Slaking stomped onto the battlefield.

Across from it, Ash's shiny Slaking rolled his shoulders slowly, letting out a deep yawn as if he had all the time in the world.

Then they both locked eyes with each other.

Both Ash and Norman raised their arms at the same time.

"Slaking!"

"Slaking!"

The two massive Pokémon shifted their stances simultaneously, feet digging into the fractured arena floor. Then, almost comically, they both lowered their centers of gravity, getting into a sumo pose.

Norman's eyes sharpened, "Go!"

Ash's grin widened, "Now!"

Both Slaking exploded forward at the exact same moment.

The ground shattered beneath their feet as the two giants charged straight at each other like runaway trains.

BOOM.

Their shoulders collided in the center of the arena. A shockwave blasted outward, sending dust in every direction and rattling the stadium walls.

At first, they grabbed each other and struggled, trying to push the other, seemingly evenly matched, but then Norman's Slaking began to push forward.

Muscles bulged as it drove Ash's Slaking backward inch by inch, heels carving trenches into the ground, and Ash's Slaking grunted, sliding back, struggling to hold the line.

Ash whistled, seeing this, "Man, even after all our training, I guess yours really is stronger," he said, shaking his head, almost too calmly.

Norman's brow furrowed slightly. That wasn't the reaction he expected.

Then Ash's smirk returned, "Too bad, if this was a fair fight, you definitely would have won," he said as he snapped his fingers.

About now, Norman's Slaking thought it was a good time to pick its itchy nose because of Truant, and usually both Slaking would activate Truant and take a quick break. Too bad Ash's Slaking wasn't normal.

So as Norman's Slaking let its guard down, Ash's finally stopped pretending. His muscles bulged as he grabbed Norman-Slaking, pushing him back, and quickly swept the legs with a [Low Kick], sending the big monkey to the ground, and that hurt, since Slaking are heavy.

As Norman was taking a moment to realize what happened, Ash called out, "[Earthquake]!"

Ash's Slaking didn't slow down or slack off as he jumped up into the air and aimed his feet toward Norman's Slaking's body to stomp on it.

Norman quickly reacted, "Slaking, quick, dodge!"

Slaking opened its eyes just in time and rolled out of the way, avoiding the direct hit, but the shockwave still struck the large monkey.

Norman, at that moment, was waiting for Ash's Slaking to stop for a Truant turn. I mean, it's impossible for a Slaking to just not have Truant, even his main Slaking. He trained his Truant turn to be as short as a fraction of a second.

But Ash didn't slow down, "[Dynamic Punch]."

Ash's Slaking was on the move again, running toward Norman's, raising his fist, and swinging, sending a punch directly across its jaw.

Norman finally snapped out of it, deciding to just roll with it for now, "Slaking, [Counter]!"

Norman's Slaking, after taking the punch from Ash's, opened its eyes, glared, and delivered a punch directly back at Ash's shiny Slaking, hitting the monkey hard.

After that, Ash's fell to his knees in pain, and Norman's fell over, dizzy from the punch. Neither of them was doing too well, but they both still slowly stood up, faced each other, and got back into a sumo stance.

It looked like the next hit would settle it, so both Ash and Norman leaned forward and commanded at the same time again.

"Now!"

"Now!"

Both Slaking ran at each other and crashed as they slammed into one another, both trying to push the other. But this time they were evenly matched, neither side willing to move.

Ash's Slaking gritted his teeth, struggling, but then a smirk grew on his face, and he let himself get pulled.

He used Norman's Slaking's strength against him, letting himself get pulled up and using that momentum to perform a suplex, following it up with a [Brick Break] to the knee instead, as it connected directly to Norman's Slaking's head, slamming the big monkey onto the ground so hard the floor cracked.

Finally, the battlefield was silent, and everyone leaned in, wondering if it was over.

The ref took a breath, since he had to check. He ran up to Norman's Slaking and examined it, and after a quick check, he cleared his throat.

"Slaking is unable to battle. Therefore, Ash and Slaking are the winners!" he announced.

Ash raised his fist, and Slaking looked at him and copied quickly. Then finally, May, Max, Brock, and Caroline started clapping.

As it happened, Ash walked up to Slaking and gave him a fist bump, "Good work. Now, go in the ball and sleep, please," Ash said helplessly. Every second that Slaking stayed outside doing anything other than eating was a second that was wasted.

So Slaking went into his Poké Ball and happily went to sleep. Meanwhile, Norman walked up to his own Slaking and rubbed its head.

"You did good. Thank you," he muttered and put him back in the ball. Then he stood up and turned to Ash.

"Well fought," he said, "That was one of the finest battles I've had in years."

"Wow, back to the formal tone, and here I thought you liked me," Ash said with a smile, crossing his arms.

Norman couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, "Well, whether I like you or not, you more than showed you earned this," he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the Balance Badge.

Norman was planning on giving Ash the badge win or lose, since, you know, he did help take care of May and Max, and this also served to test Ash's strength. He knew he was strong, but all of this exceeded his expectations.

As Ash took the badge, he and Norman turned to see everyone walking up to them.

"Congratulations, Ash!" May called out happily. She would have clapped, but she had a baby Eevee in her arms that was demanding more attention.

Max, meanwhile, was more than happy to make up for May's lack of applause, "That was super duper cool!" He had at least three cameras recording this battle.

As for Max, he wasn't upset at all. For one, he knew his dad didn't use his full strength or real team, but even still, that battle was everything he's ever dreamed of as an Ash fanboy. Besides, he wasn't going to compromise his position by getting upset, not while the 'plan' still needed to be completed.

Caroline also clapped and walked up to Ash and Norman, returning Pikachu and Vee to Ash as she smiled at the two, "You were both wonderful, though I wonder…" she said, her voice drifting off as she looked at the destroyed field, "Is this fine?"

Norman didn't look too concerned, "It's fine. Besides, it's a Gym battle, I have insurance. Let the Association deal with it," he said with a smile on his face. After all, he wouldn't admit it, but to spite the Pokémon Association, he would gladly destroy his Gym himself because they would have to fix it, and the thought of them having to deal with paperwork truly put a smile on his face.

Caroline just shook her head helplessly. Well, not like this was the first time, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Then she looked over at Ash, and her mood shifted.

"Well, after a battle like that, I'm sure you must be hungry. How about you all stay for dinner!" Caroline said with a smile that totally had nothing to do with the fact that Ash and Brock chose to leave yesterday to be polite, even if she would have gladly been happy if they stayed.

Behind them, Max's eyes lit up instantly, "YES—!" he whispered, immediately covering his mouth like he hadn't just yelled that out loud.

May sighed, but she was smiling, "Mom…"

Norman crossed his arms, glancing at Ash with an amused look, "Careful. That wasn't a suggestion."

"Yeah, it's really kind of you to offer," Brock added, since he got dragged into this too.

Ash scratched the back of his head, shifting his weight slightly, "We wouldn't want to impose or anything—"

"You wouldn't," Caroline cut in smoothly.

"…Right," Ash said as he scratched his cheek.

"Well, at least let us help out in the kitchen," Brock offered.

"Nope~" Caroline wagged her finger, "You're both guests, so not this time."

May leaned in close to Ash and Brock's ears to whisper, "I think it might be a lost cause, they're not taking no for an answer."

Ash shook his head helplessly and gave a small smile, "Well, if you insist, it would be rude to refuse, so thank you, Ms. Maple," Ash said politely.

And you know, sometimes Ash doesn't realize the effect he has on others. The way he spoke and smiled was something he considered normal, since, you know, he only had his mom, so he was polite all the time and well-behaved for her. And he lived all of this new life of his thinking that was normal.

But if you know anything about adults, and especially parents, a actually well-behaved, polite child. Well Norman and Caroline certainly didn't see it that way. When Ash said adults liked him, he wasn't exaggerating, over in Pallet, not a single adult disliked his personality.

Heck, when Ash first met Green's parents when they were kids, they wanted him to stop hanging out with Green, not for what you might think, but for the opposite reason. They were worried their daughter would corrupt HIM. Needless to say, that didn't happen, but Green still sometimes uses it to tease Ash.

Ash was one wrong step away from accidentally getting adopted by someone in Pallet, and now that same energy had spread over here with Norman and Caroline.

"You're still so polite, please, just call me Caroline," Caroline smiled, resisting the urge to pat Ash's head, since they remembered he was still only 12, and younger than May...by a few months, but still.

"Come on, let's go inside. We can talk more about your adventures," Norman said, putting an arm around Ash and guiding both him and Brock.

Behind them, May watched the scene with her mouth open, wondering if Ash had just charmed her parents even more. Meanwhile, Max rubbed his hands together, thinking he might be able to get allies in his mission.

Brock nudged Ash gently on the shoulder and gave him that look that said, 'you did it again', and Ash just shrugged, since it wasn't on purpose.

Pikachu and Vee just gave him a blank look, Pikachu especially, since if he didn't know that was true, he would've shocked him right now.

But Pikachu did know, and he put a hand on Vee's shoulder, stopping him from slapping Ash with his tail, quickly explaining that he wasn't putting on an act, he actually thought that was normal, earning a raised eyebrow from Vee.

But that's neither here nor there, Ash won, and now they were going to have a victory dinner. Surely this couldn't possibly have any connotations for the future...right?