Going for Glory ;; An Amourshipping Fanfiction

Chapter 22 - Round Three! Dead-End

Ash continued to run down the path, the mountain still visible beyond the horizon, covered in a blanket of fog. 

"My perceptiveness tells me we still have a long road ahead of us" Clemont pushed his glasses up as they looked on at the mountain, their goal.

"Anyone can see that, you idiot" Misty sighed, jogging past the two.

"Does an idiot use big words like that" Ash retorted, pushing himself forward challengingly. Misty took his challenge and they started rushing in front of each other, back and forth.

"Those two sure act like kids sometimes" Iris was steadily jogging, Axew resting in her hair. 

"Well, they are trying to win the race, it looks like most of the other trainers are falling behind. All we have to do is catch up to those damned Shadow punks" Gary sneered, Umbreon rapidly bounding down the path beside him. 

"Is this pace ok for your, Pansage?" Cilan looked down at his friend, who was keeping up steadily with Cilan. 

"Pan!" Pansage nodded, not even breaking a sweat.

"You look after Pansage well" Brock examined Cilan and his Pokemon closely, jogging up to them. 

"Well, it is part of the bond we share with Pokemon. Pokemon is not our playthings or pets, they are friends. I like to make sure I am treating them well" Cilan explained, focusing on the path ahead. The mountain was still quite far away, but it edged closer into view with each step.

Meanwhile, Ash had broken off from Misty and sprinted ahead, Pikachu jumping on his shoulder to keep up. He was focusing on catching up to Team Shadow, who had all taken the lead, besides Jeremy. 

Out of nowhere, a giant rock came tumbling down from the sky, in front of Pikachu and Ash. 

"Pikachu, iron tail!" Ash reacted quickly, but Pikachu was just as fast. His tail became coated in an iron plate as he swung around in a spinning motion, smashing his tail into the rock and cutting straight through it.

"Pika?" Pikachu landed safely and turned to face Ash, who was covering his face from the showering debris of rock. 

"They must have seen us, but what kind of Pokemon done this?" Ash wondered, looking around carefully. He shrugged and started jogging again, lifting Pikachu up onto his shoulder. "Guess we will find out soon"

They continued down the path, with no one else in sight. Ash felt slightly uneasy, he continued to look left and right as the wind rushed in, breaking the silence. The wind whistled through the trees and then settled unexpectedly. 

"I thought we would find you here" Parker came walking out, Tristan, Jake, and Elizabeth standing behind him with their Pokemon. "So it seems you have caught up"

Ash stood silently as the four stood around him in a circle, surrounding Pikachu and his trainer.

"Did you like our present?" Parker continued, petting his Umbreon on the head lightly. "Sableye's rock tomb and Scrafty's powerful hi-jump kick are certainly something, I must say"

"So that's how you did it" Ash scratched the back of his head and laughed. "To be honest, I never expected that"

"You find it funny?" Elizabeth scowled. "Let me wipe that grin off of his face!"

"Greninja" Greninja stood just behind Elizabeth, waiting for any orders.

"Now, let's all calm down" Parker ushered in silence. "I will tell you how this is going to go down, ok Ash?"

Ash didn't say anything, Parker's sudden seriousness made him feel uneasy again.

"We are going to destroy you here and now and then be on our way" Parker spoke once more. 

"Sableye, rock tomb!"

"Greninja, water pulse!" 

"Hi-jump kick Scrafty lets go!" 

"Umbreon, shadow ball"

The four moves started simultaneously, but then there were a quick blur and several explosions. A solar beam rushed through the forest and smashed into Scrafty. Then, another shadow ball hit Umbreon's shadow ball, causing a quick explosion. Greninja's water pulse was met with a water gun. Sableye's rock tomb continued to fall into Ash and Pikachu.  Then, Croagunk appeared and smashed the rock with his fist, breaking it into pieces. The rocks fell around the area and left Pikachu and Ash unscathed. 

"I don't think ganging up on people is very nice" Misty, Brock, Gary, and Cilan came walking up, their Pokemon backing up and standing by their sides.

Parker sneered and then broke off into a sprint. His plan had failed, so he implemented his backup plan which was to run while everyone was still distracted. The other members followed Parker, sprinting down the path. 

Ash didn't even give his friends a chance to speak, or say thanks. He sprinted after the four members of Team Shadow. He didn't want them to get away. 

"Ok, Pikachu, use quick attack to catch up. Once you have, use the iron tail combo we practiced on the ground"

"Pika!" A white aura surrounded Pikachu as he dashed forward in a zig zag, disappearing down the path. Ash saw a flash of iron as a large impact was heard not too far away. 

"Pikachu?" Ash shouted, rushing down the path. As Ash caught up, he saw everyone on the floor, with Pikachu in the middle. Pikachu's iron tail combo had caused a mini earthquake, making the ground shake and everyone trip over. "Let's go!"

"What just happened?!" Parker quickly jumped up and looked ahead. Ash was sprinting just out of view and towards the mountain. Strangely, a few trainers also passed by and then all of Ash's friends. Parker realized they were slowly falling into the bottom half and helped his friends up.

"That damn Pikachu and his trainer" Tristan snarled like a wild animal. "He will pay for this"

"I didn't want to have to use Umbreon so much, but I guess I have no choice" Parker stepped forward and then turned to face Elizabeth. "I want you to have Greninja use all of his strength and use surf. It can carry me and Umbreon forwards and take out any stragglers" 

"Your wish is my command" Elizabeth threw one open hand forward. "Greninja, surf if you will" 

Greninja focused hard and conjured up a large amount of water. The body of water rushed over Umbreon and Parker, the incredibly strong current and waves produced keeping them locked in the water as it flowed down the path. 

"Umbreon, use hypnosis at will, I want every Pokemon in sight sleeping" Parker said harshly, just as the water dissipated. 

Umbreon eyes continuously flashed purple as he used hypnosis on every Pokemon in sight. Umbreon's high speed was unmatched by every trainer who hadn't expected this and their Pokemon fell asleep, one by one. Parker calmly walked through, watching his Umbreon at work with a slight grin. 

"It is time to finally win this race. Ash Ketchum and his wretched friends will be shown the true strength of Team Shadow!" 

Just then, Ash and his friends had started jogging. They were right next to the mountain now and looked up at the tall peak. 

"Now, we climb" Ash turned his hat around and looked at the mountain with confidence. His body was oozing with determination as he took the first step.

"Wait, what's that?" Cilan turned around, looking down the path they had come from. Parker's Umbreon was dashing left and right, still sending different Pokemon to sleep. 

"We need to move!" Ash exclaimed, knowing full well what was going on. "It's Team Shadow!"

His friends started rushing up the mountain as Parker's Umbreon pawed the side of the mountain. Parker came walking behind Umbreon, a big smirk on his face. 

"Send them all to sleep. Show no mercy, Umbreon" he ordered Umbreon, who hopped up onto a higher section with ease, making it seem like it was nothing.

"Umbreon..." Umbreon whispered, like some sort of deadly assassin.