43 Ace vs Brock

"You are the only person I will never forgive!"

As Brock's voice echoed throughout the Gym I cocked my head in confusion, trying to wrack my brain over why he had a grudge against me.

I didn't even need to bother though, as Brock immediately continued with teary eyes,

"No matter how much I try, I can never get a girlfriend! And yet, in ALL of your videos on Pokevision, you ALWAYS have a woman hanging all over you! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

My brow twitched at learning WHY Brock had a grudge against me, and the sheer stupidity of it. But his frustration was understandable. I wouldn't be surprised if he was considered to be the world's first true simp.

But then I had another question. I knew there were videos of my battles in Viridian put on Pokevision, but just how many had made it on there that Brock could not only recognize me, but the numerous women I'd been seducing over the years?

But apparently that wasn't all Brock was torn up over, as he continued tearfully,

"And as if that wasn't bad enough! My little siblings are also big fans of yours, and when I asked who they thought was cooler, they told me without any hesitation that they thought you were cooler!"

"..."

I was at a complete loss of words at Brock's rant, and apparently so was everyone else as we all gaped at him.

"Well I'll show them how cool their big brother is!" Brock declared, flashing the six Pokeballs he had on his belt before grabbing one, ignoring the tray full of them as he threw it out,

"Go, Golem!"

"Gooooooooooo!" The large spherical Boulder cried out as it flexed its arms, and stomped its feet with enough force that the entire Gym began to shake.

"So that's how you want to play this?" I asked him slowly, before a large smirk formed on my face. "Very well then! That's exactly what I wanted! Go, Squirtle!"

Throwing a Pokeball as I cried out, it opened to release the first Pokemon I had ever captured, a little blue turtle.

"Squirtle squirt!" Squirtle cried out readily, despite the massive Golem standing before it.

"Uh..... Battlers ready?" The referee called out resignedly. "Fight!"

Rain Dance.

Though no words left my lips, Squirtle knew exactly what I wanted as I channeled my aura, and he began to do his usual Bully McGuire dance. Instantly, numerous clouds formed above us that began to drop big fat blots of water.

"Golem, Rock Throw!" Brock ordered as the rain began to fall, to which his Pokemon answered by grabbing one of the massive rocks nearby and throwing it at Squirtle.

Protect.

"Squirtle!"

Squirtle immediately answered my silent command as a shimmering wall of energy appeared before him, which completely blocked the massive Boulder Golem threw at him.

In the game Protect was a move that automatically blocked almost any move used in that same round, but there was a high chance of it failing when used repeatedly. In reality, the move would drain the Pokemon in question of the amount of energy needed to block whatever attack was being defended against.

In cases like a weak little Tackle or Scratch, it wouldn't use too much energy. But with the powerful Boulder thrown by Golem's Rock Throw, Squirtle's reserves took a massive hit.

Water Pulse!

I quickly gave the order for retaliation.

"Squirt!" Squirtle cried as he opened his mouth in an O shape, and created a pulse of water type energy that impacted Golem through the rain.

"Yes!" I exclaimed as Golem's eyes started to spin, showing it had become confused by the attack.

"Golem!" Brock cried out.

"Quickly Squirtle!" I exclaimed, while silently communicating my intention to use Aqua Jet against the confused Golem.

"..." Squirtle was silent as he shot forward, the rain empowering his attack as his entire body was coated in water, and he impacted Golem. Heavily.

Again!

"..."

Again!

"..."

Again!

"..."

Over and over again Squirtle used Aqua Jet and hit Golem, dealing what I hoped was quite a bit damage against the rock/ground type, before I gave him the order to finish the combo.

Now, Ice Punch!

"Squirtle!"

Exclaiming out loud for the first time since the aquatic barrage began, Squirtle's right hand was coated in a thick ice type energy, before he planted it directly into Golem's head.

"Gol!" Golem cried out as it took a heavy amount of damage from the ice type attack.

On top of that, the ice type energy began to freeze all of the water that had built up on Golem's body, both from the rain and the repeated Aqua Jets.

Soon the living boulder's entire body was coated in ice, freezing it similarly to what May's Spheal had done to Onix earlier. And as it froze we all watched it cautiously, before the referee cried out,

"Golem-"

*CRASH!*

My expression was incredulous as Golem's entire body smashed apart the ice encasing it, allowing the living Boulder to continue the match as it stepped forward.

"Good job buddy!" Brock exclaimed happily.

"Golllllllll." Golem replied to its trainer.

"You got to be kidding me..." I uttered in disbelief as Golem stared down Squirtle, seemingly ready for round two.

I wasn't the only one having a hard time believing Golem was still in it, as Squirtle was already exhausted after the rapid series of Aqua Jets, and using Protect against the earlier attack. Squirtle's ability Rain Dish had helped to negate some of the drain, but the effect itself was very slight.

"Heavy Slam!" Brock cried out to his Golem, which readily followed his order as steel type energy coated its body.

I paled at hearing the attack that Golem was going to use next, as, even with Squirtle's resistance against steel type attacks, the move itself was dependent on the weight difference between the Pokemon involved. And Golem easily had nearly a thousand pounds on Squirtle.

"Protect!" I order Squirtle desperately, which he readily tried to use.

But it was futile, as the moment Golem's body impacted the wall of light it shattered, leaving Squirtle open to the devastating attack.

*BOOOOOOOOOM!*

"Squirtle is unable to battle!" The referee announced as my Pokemon fell to the ground, and didn't move. "Golem wins!"

With a bitter taste in my mouth, I returned Squirtle to his Pokeball and said to it quietly, "take a nice long rest Squirtle. We'll take it from here."

Though I tried to reassure Squirtle, my expression turned serious as I returned him to belt and grabbed my next Pokeball.

Unlike his previous matches against Dawn, May and Misty, Brock's Golem was still out and ready to go as I tossed out my next Pokemon.

"GO, Exeggutor!"

"Tooooooooor!" The three faces of Exeggutor all cried out as he appeared, towering over the opposing Golem by over a foot.

Brock's brows raised in what seemed like surprise of the Pokemon I sent out, but he didn't say anything as we awaited the round to start.

"Battlers ready? Begin!" The referee cried out.

Sunny Day.

I ordered Exeggutor immediately, similar to how I'd started the last match with Rain Dance.

Immediately the clouds were dispersed as the pattering of rain died down, and was instead replaced by blazing sunlight that made the Gym hot and muggy after all the heavy rainfall in it today.

But as the sunlight shined down on him, Exeggutor was powered up as his ability Chlorophyll activated. Not only did the sunlight naturally strengthen grass type moves, but his ability also made it so that his speed was drastically increased by it.

He wasn't the only one though.

"Golem, use Rock Polish!" Brock ordered as Golem shed numerous chunks of stone and mud from its outer shell, increasing its own speed significantly.

"Rollout!" Brock then commanded, as Golem tucked its arms and legs and charged in a dangerous roll towards Exeggutor.

"..."

Neither he nor I even flinched or reacted to the attack.

Instead, Exeggutor opened the middle of his mouths to reveal a powerful mass of grass type energy.

Solar Beam.

Before Golem could reach Exeggutor, the mass of grass type energy exploded into a powerful beam that impacted Golem before it could hit him.

"Golem!" Brock cried out worriedly as his Pokemon was enveloped by the beam, before it faded to reveal a fainted Golem.

"Golem is unable to battle! Exeggutor wins!" The referee declared when it was apparent Golem wasn't getting up, so Brock returned it to its Pokeball.

"Good job buddy." I heard Brock whisper to it, before he reached for his next Pokeball.

"You good Exeggutor?" I asked my current battler.

"Tor!" Exeggutor replied, stating his intention to stay in.

I nodded In affirmation as Brock threw out his next Pokemon.

"Go, Omastar!"

"Star!!!"

Omastar and Exeggutor stared at one another for a moment as they awaited the start of the battle.

"Begin!"

"Wrap!"

Pollen Bomb!

Immediately Brock and I both gave our orders.

Omastar shot out numerous tentacles that were supposed to wrap around Exeggutor, who didn't even try to dodge them. Exeggutor weren't very agile, so there was no point in him even trying to avoid the attack.

Instead, Exeggutor fired numerous coconut sized seeds into the air, which then rained down upon Omastar and exploded with grass type energy. And as they exploded, shimmering clouds of purple, yellow and green shrouded Omastar, hiding it from view.

Pollen Bomb was an original move I created with Exeggutor, combining the move Seed Bomb with the moves Stun Spore, Poison Powder, and Sleep Powder. The actual damage from the bombs were significantly lessened, but they spread all three of the pollen type attacks around the target.

Another difference from the game was that it was possible for Pokemon to be afflicted with numerous status conditions at once. So now Omastar was poisoned, paralyzed, and fighting off sleep all at once as it was engulfed in the cloud of spores.

Magical Leaf.

Exeggutor immediately spread out numerous leaves controlled by a mysterious energy, that not only cut into the tentacles wrapped around him, but also assaulted Omastar's body as they all honed in on it within the cloud.

"Omastar!" Brock exclaimed as his Pokemon was subjected to the brutal assault, and I could feel his anxiety rising from being unable to see Omastar within the lingering cloud of spores.

But a moment later the pollen began to settle, and it revealed a battered and bruised Omastar. Paralyzed and poisoned with leaves sticking out all over its body and shell, Omastar was still very much awake as it struggled to continue fighting.

"Ice Beam!"

Wood Hammer.

Brock and I ordered at the same time, urging our Pokemon into action as Exeggutor charged forward, and Omastar began to amass ice type energy.

Exeggutor may not be agile, but the sight of one charging directly at you must of been terrifying as he got up to his sunlight enhanced speed. However Omastar stood its ground, firing the Ice Beam at Exeggutor right as he was about to reach it.

"Exeggutor!" I shouted as my Pokemon was completely encased in ice, being frozen into a solid slab that continued with his momentum, but slid to a stop right before Omastar.

The moment it was apparent that Exeggutor was down, Omastar appeared to stop fighting the lingering effects of the spores as it fell asleep, and toppled over.

"Both Exeggutor and Omastar are unable to battle!" The referee called out, ruling the match as over. Brock swiftly returned Omastar to its Pokeball as he began selecting his next one, while I ran out onto the battlefield alongside Riolu as we both moved the giant chunk of ice Exeggutor was encased in.

Getting him back to our side of the arena, I looked around only to see the girls were still gone, along with Combusken.

"Where are they?" I uttered questioningly.

"Vulpix and I will help Exeggutor, Ace!" Daisy declared as he little fox readied to start using its fire type moves, while Joy also pulled out a bag to find something to thaw Exeggutor out.

"Thank you." I said to her seriously, before turning back towards the battle.

There, I could see Brock was already ready with his next Pokemon, a Kabutops. Seeing what we were up against next, I already knew which Pokemon I wanted to use as I grabbed his Pokeball, and threw it out.

"Go, Treecko!"

"K-KOOOOOOOO!"

Treecko cried out as he appeared, ready to do battle as he eyed his opponent up and down.

"Begin!" The referee called out once it was apparent we were ready.

"Harden!"

Double Team.

Immediately following Brock's order, Kabutops shimmered as its entire body solidified, increasing its physical defense. Meanwhile Treecko's body began to flicker as he moved at high speeds, before numerous copies of him appeared around Kabutops like after images.

Bullet Storm!

"Kooo!" The numerous Treecko exclaimed as a hailstorm of small seeds rained down upon Kabutops from all sides.

"..."

Kabutops didn't even try to fight back or defend itself, taking every single hit head on despite the devastating amount of damage a rock/water type from grass type moves.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at the scene, as neither Brock nor Kabutops seemed to mind tanking the attack, even to the point where numerous cracks began to spread across its carapace.

"Aerial Ace!"

Brock's command rang out throughout the Gym, and before I knew it Kabutops disappeared from sight.

"Ka!"

"Ko!"

Both Pokemon cried out as the former delivered an unavoidable attack on the latter, instantly picking out which was the real Treecko amongst the numerous illusionary clones.

"Ko!"

"Ko!"

"Ko!"

Treecko continued crying out as Kabutops repeatedly delivered devastating Aerial Ace attacks onto him, moving faster than my little wannabe ninja could.

"Koooooooooooooooo!"

With one final cry Treecko fell to the ground, covered in wounds and possibly down for the count.

"Treecko get up!" I cried out desperately, as he only had seconds to get up before it was decided to be his loss.

"..."

"Is this how you want to end it?"

"..."

"Do you want ANOTHER loss?"

"!!!"

Suddenly, Treecko's entire body began to glow, his figure changing and growing larger before the light began to die down.

"Grovyle!"

My concern slowly transitioned to elation as a large smile formed on my face, and as my newly evolved Grovyle slowly pushed himself to his feet.

"Grovvvvvvvv..." Grovyle growled as he directed a glare to Kabutops, standing and clenching his leafy fists with determination.

I could feel his determination through our connection. Grovyle would not go down without at least taking Kabutops down with him.

"That's my boy." I whispered in a voice just loud enough that he could hear me.

"YAY!"

"LUP!"

"GO GROVYLE!"

"Uh.... Get em...?"

"Psy?"

I turned at the new voices as they too cried out, only to see Dawn, May, and Misty all standing there with Piplup and Psyduck, all dressed in matching red and orange colored cheerleading outfits complete with Pom-Poms. Combusken was also dressed up, but it was busy helping Daisy, Vulpix and Joy thaw out Exeggutor.

Dawn, May and Piplup all looked excited to be dressed up and cheering for us; while Misty, ever the tomboy, appeared uncertain at being dressed up. Psyduck meanwhile was completely confused at what was going on around it.

While a large part of me wanted to admire the girls in their cheer outfits, it was smothered by my attention to the battle as Grovyle prepared for round two, driven by the encouragement he was receiving.

"Damn it! I'm so jealous!" Brock wailed as tears of blood streamed down his face, though I just ignored him as I commanded Grovyle, sensing that several new moves had been added to his arsenal upon evolving,

Leaf Blade.

The leaves now growing out from Grovyle's wrists began to glow as he activated the new move, moving at a far faster speed than before as he caught up with the speedy Kabutops.

"Vyle!" Grovyle cried out as he put all of his power and energy into this one attack, without regard for the dangerous sickles that also attacked him.

The exchange was too fast for any of us, myself included, to keep up with. And when it was over with Grovyle and Kabutops were standing on opposite ends of the arena with their backs to one another.

For a moment no one even breathed as we waited for the outcome, before Kabutops collapsed and fainted, while Grovyle simply fell to his knee.

"Kabutops is unable to battle! Grovyle wins!"

Brock and I both returned our Pokemon upon hearing the referee's decision, though I knew that Grovyle wouldn't be doing any more battling for the day after the beating he had taken.

"Take a good long rest. You've earned it." I whispered to him quietly, before returning his ball to my belt.

I then went for my next Pokemon, throwing the ball out while crying out, "go, Sharpedo!"

"Go, Aerodactyl!" Brock also cried out, before a large flying Pokemon with rough grey skin appeared.

The entire arena was buffeted by the powerful gusts of wind produced by its massive wings, as Aerodactyl leered down at Sharpedo contemptuously.

"Begin!" The referee announced once we were ready.

"Dragon Dance!" Brock ordered immediately.

Screech.

Following my command, Sharpedo opened her mouth and let out a terrible ear splitting Screech that made everyone cover their ears, while Aerodactyl shook its head irritably.

It then began to quickly dance in a strange way that emanated draconic energy from its body, which forcibly increased both it strength and speed.

Agility.

At my command Sharpedo loosened the muscles in her body, sharply raising her own speed beyond what she was normally capable of.

"Thunder Fang!"

Ice Fang.

"Arrrrr!"

"Shar!"

The two rapidly shot at each other with their fangs bared, Aerodactyl's sparking with lightning, and Sharpedo's coated in frost.

*CRASH!*

The collision between them shook the entire arena as the temperature dropped and electrify arced, both Pokemon having the other locked in their razor sharp jaws.

Aerodactyl however had the advantage with its neck, jerking at Sharpedo until she was forced to let go. She was then thrown across the arena, hitting one of the rock pillars and shattering as they fell around her.

"SHARRRRRRRRR!" Sharpedo roared as she blasted her way out of the rocky rubble.

Aqua Drill.

Sharpedo growled as she followed my command, launching herself as fast as possible at Aerodactyl as water coated her body.

And then, just as she was speeding up, Sharpedo began to spin her body rapidly until she became a giant watery drill.

"Hyper Beam!" Brock hurriedly ordered, as Aerodactyl opened its large maw and fired off a powerful beam of condensed energy at Sharpedo.

"Freeze yourself!" I quickly yelled, as Sharpedo fired an Ice Beam to freeze the water coating her body in ice while still spinning.

The ice managed to reflect some of the powerful Hyper Beam, sending streaks of it flying around the arena.

"""Kyaaaaa!"""

The girls cried out as one of the stray beams came right towards us, before I created a wall of aura that shielded us and the other side of spectators. An action that drained me considering how powerful a Hyper Beam attack was, despite only having to guard against a fraction of it.

Sharpedo meanwhile took the majority of the attack head on. The ice covering her body reflected and blunted some of it, but the damage she had taken from the rest of it was severe.

Sharpedo however continued her attack through sheer will, drilling into Aerodactyl with her ice and water covered body, and dealing significant damage with the ice and water type energies against its flying and rock.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Aerodactyl screamed from the effectiveness of Sharpedo's attack, which did significantly more damage from the rapid spinning she did to make herself like a giant deadly drill.

Unfortunately, the drawback of this attack was that all the spinning would put Sharpedo in a confused state. But that wasn't the case this time as she instead passed out from the damage she had accumulated from the Thunder Fang and Hyper Beam.

But as she did so, Sharpedo had a savage smile from giving as good as she got.

"Sharpedo is unable to battle! Aerodactyl wins!" The referee announced, but despite its win, Brock returned Aerodactyl as it struggled to remain in the air.

"Two left now." Brock stated excitedly as he palmed his next Pokeball, but he paused as I didn't do the same.

"What's wrong?" Brock asked worriedly.

"Nothing. Just waiting for him to get here." I answered nonchalantly.

Everyone spectating the battle on the other side appeared confused at that, before the large doors at the side were blasted open to admit something large.

"GEOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Every eye was on Pidgeot as he blasted into the arena, his wings spread wide as he landed on my side of the arena.

"Like I said, a glorified peacock." I told him dryly as Pidgeot flashed his feathers and pranced around.

He may still hate humans, but that didn't mean he wouldn't strut his stuff and show off if he got the chance.

"How beautiful....." Brock uttered as he stared at Pidgeot.

"Your next Pokemon Gym Leader?" The referee asked, reminding Brock we were in the middle of a battle.

"Right! Go Rhyperior!"

*BOOM!*

"RHYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"

The entire arena shook as Brock sent out his Rhyperior, the final stage of Rhyhorn line. It was basically a giant rhino standing on two legs with red rocky plates covering its body.

"Remember, you have the complete disadvantage in this fight." I told Pidgeot cautiously.

"Pi!"

"Yeah yeah..." I said to his snide remark.

"Ready? Begin!"

"Sandstorm!"

Agility!

Brock and I both relayed our orders to our Pokemon the second battle started, as Pidgeot began to move at high speeds, and Rhyperior whipped up a powerful sandstorm that hid the arena from view and created a loud howling.

Though I frowned at the situation I wasn't worried, as Pidgeot had the Keen Eye ability that made it nearly impossible for him to lose sight of his prey. But it still gave Rhyperior the complete terrain advantage over him.

Hurricane!

"GEO!"

At my command, Pidgeot summoned a powerful whirlwind around Rhyperior that transformed into a full on hurricane, pitting wind and sand against one another as the two fought for dominance.

"Rock Barrage!" Brock ordered, though I could just barely hear him over the roar of the two storms.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

Placing small condensed rocks into the holes in its palms, Rhyperior shot them out like deadly cannon balls at Pidgeot, who had to quickly evade while also keeping the Hurricane going.

I looked for an opening in Rhyperior's storm of rocks, but there wasn't any as the multitude of rocks and boulders around the arena provided it with plenty of ammo to continue firing until it got its mark.

Agility!

Pidgeot used Agility a second time to boost his speed further, and then a third time to go further, trying desperately to be able to move fast enough to counter attack.

"..."

I saw Brock's mouth move from where I stood across from him, but was unable to hear him through the two storms. I projected feelings of wariness to Pidgeot in preparation for whatever Brock was planning, but I hadn't expected what happened next.

Rhyperior continued firing the barrage of rocks at Pidgeot, but when it paused for a split second I jumped on the chance.

Steel Wing!

"Pi!"

Pidgeot moved so fast he was a blur as his wings shimmered metallically, aiming right at Rhyperior with the attack, when its horn began to crackle.

"Pidgeot! Endure!" I screamed with realization, right as the Thunder was released and the wicked bolt of thunder shot right at Pidgeot, drawn by his metallic wings.

"GEOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Pidgeot cried out with pain at the powerful electric attack, before he was knocked to the ground by it.

"..."

Pidgeot struggled to remain on his feet, his wings splayed out on either side as his chest heaved.

The only reason he hadn't been completely taken out was because he used the move Endure like I ordered, which just barely kept him from fainting after taking that powerful attack.

"Rock Barrage!" Brock ordered as Rhyperior raised its arms once more, no longer encumbered by the Hurricane Pidgeot had been keeping going until now.

"Protect and Roost!" I ordered desperately, which Pidgeot hurriedly followed as a wall of light appeared between it and Rhyperior right as it fired its first shot.

*crack!*

The first rock cracked the protect as it impacted it.

*crack!*

More cracks formed as the second shot hit it, as Pidgeot tried to restore his energy.

*shatter!*

The Protect failed on the third shot, leaving Pidgeot open on the ground as Rhyperior continued to reload and shoot rocks at it mercilessly.

...

"Pidgeot is unable to battle! Rhyperior wins!"

The announcement surprised no one, especially with Pidgeot laying in a heap in the same spot where he had been forced to land.

The girls were silent behind me as I held his head in my arms, silently cursing him for being too stubborn to give up when I told him to. Even Brock had a sour look on his face from the state Pidgeot was in.

Thankfully none of his injuries were truly serious, or life threatening, but it still hurt to see one of my Pokemon beaten down so badly. Even Squirtle hadn't looked this bad after being slammed by Golem.

"Ri?"

"Yeah. It's your turn partner." I told Riolu silently as we got Pidgeot off of the arena, and Joy began tending to his wounds.

Dressed in a new red gi with an R on it to match my Ranger jacket, Riolu stepped out onto the arena with determination in his eyes, and a fire in his heart.

If one compared him to Pidgeot just by appearances, then Brock had this battle in the bag. Especially since he still had another Pokemon after Rhyperior.

But appearances didn't matter here.

"Battlers ready?" The referee asked, to which both Brock and I nodded, while I never felt Riolu's eyes leave Rhyperior.

"Then begin!"

"Rhyperior-"

*WHOOSH!*

*BOOM!*

*CRASH!*

Whatever Brock was about to say was caught in his throat, as silence descended over the arena.

I watched unmovingly as Brock slowly turned his head to look behind him, where Rhyperior was now embedded into the wall. Out of bounds.

"R-Rhyperior had been knocked out of bounds. Riolu wins...?" The ref said uncertainly, before every eye moved from Rhyperior to Riolu, who was now standing where Rhyperior had been seconds before.

(A.N. I've been busy at work with the holiday last week, and wasn't able to start working on this chapter until a few days ago.)