Pokemon: I Fall Apart

Ch 6 The Hardship

Hearing his trainer's command, Snorlax was quick to summon his green barrier in response. Unfortunately, of all the possible timings, Snorlax's shield fizzled out immediately.

Ash then gritted his teeth as he saw Protect finally reached its limits and failed. Having no choice, the raven haired trainer fell to his back-up plan. "Tsk, no time to dodge...Snorlax, use Defense curl!"

The attack connected and a massive explosion then took place and rocked the entire stadium.

To everyone's shock, Snorlax stumbled out of the smoke badly singed before finally fainting. Ash then gritted his teeth as he recalled the bear-like Pokemon. "Snorlax return!"

The raven haired trainer then clenched his one fist as he whispered his apologies. "I'm sorry buddy, I let my guard down...I swear I'll make it up to you." Ash then plucked another Pokeball as he glared back at the legendary phoenix. "Let's do this Charizard!"

As soon as the flame Pokemon emerged from Ash's Pokeball, Charizard wasted no time in letting loose a mighty roar that shook the entire stadium to its core.

A lot of spectators and other veteran trainers watching, felt a shiver travel through their spines at the battle-hardened look in Charizard's eyes. Even in the presence of a legendary fire type, it wasn't enough to deter the orange dragon.

The referee then gulped a bit as the atmosphere itself grew hotter. The tension was even higher since it became a battle between fire types. Pokemon of these types were known for their competitive nature.

"Moltres versus Charizard! On my mark! Let the battle...begin!"

And then they were off into the skies as both fire types clashed according to their trainer's orders.

The audience felt their jaws drop at the amazing speeds both Pokemon travelled as they witness the breath-taking aerial maneuvers. It almost seemed choreographed as Charizard's Slash and Moltres' Wing attack always resulted in a stalemate before both Pokemon resumed their duel.

Moltres was the first to break off and launched a powerful Flamethrower according to its master's orders. Not backing down, Ash was quick to retaliate. "Use your Flamethrower too Charizard! Let em have it full power!"

With a loud cry, Charizard was more than glad to fight fire-with-fire. Tobias then gritted his teeth in frustration as he saw both attacks drew in mid-air. "Moltres, shift that flamethrower into a Fire blast!"

Moltres' flames then grew in intensity and was slowly pushing back the opposition much to the Sinnoh trainer's delight. Unfortunately for Tobias, Ash and Charizard were just that stubborn to not give up without a fight. "Then it's time we bust out the big guns! Charizard counter with Overheat!"

If Moltres' fire blast was huge then Charizard's overheat was twice the size as the orange dragon's attack easily engulfed the phoenix's flames.

Moltres then let out a pained cry at the sheer power of the flames as Charizard's attack landed right on the mark.

Tobias and the rest of stadium gawked at the absolute fire power that the orange dragon possessed.

"I-Incredible! Ash Ketchum's Charizard was able to harm Tobias' Moltres! A legendary fire type! It's unbelievable! One thing is for sure folks, that Charizard isn't your run of the mill fire type!"

Gritting his teeth, Tobias then recalled the legendary Phoenix back into its Pokeball. The Sinnoh trainer had no time for another battle of attrition. "Moltres, that's enough for now! Zapdos, you're up!"

Ash then bit his lip in worry as he gazed at another Kanto legendary. While the raven haired youth had full confidence in Charizard, he knew he can't afford to tire out his ace Pokemon too much. "Charizard return!"

The Pallet town trainer then gritted his teeth as he considered his remaining options. 'It's a HUGE risk...but maybe, just maybe it could actually work...' Ash then shifted his gaze towards Tobias and narrowed his eyes slightly. 'He might also underestimate my next choice so that gives me another advantage to work with...'

"Swellow, I choose you!"

Everybody watching then choked on their spit as soon as Ash's Swellow made his debut.

Even Ash's friends in the stands had a hard time processing the raven haired youth's choice.

After everyone got their bearings back, the ref was quick to resume the match. With a wave of his hand, Ash was the first one to make his move. "Swellow, close the gap with agility!"

Tobias could only smirk at what he assumed an easy opponent. "Don't give them that chance Zapdos! Use thunderbolt!"

After letting out a large screech into the air, Zapdos then flapped its impressive wing span and fired a huge lightning bolt at its speedy target.

Ash was more than ready as he prepared his plan for action. "Don't worry Swellow, use Double team!"

Not losing his momentum, the swallow Pokemon amped his speed up even further and created what looks like to be actual clones.

Zapdos then narrowed its eyes and began spamming more thunderbolts according to its master's orders. It was only a matter of time before all of the clones were destroyed but to everyone's shock, the real Swellow wasn't among them.

"Now Swellow, use Aerial ace!"

A streak of blue and white then rammed itself to an unsuspecting Zapdos before quickly disappearing.

Tobias didn't even have the time to react before the mysterious blur appeared once more and attacked his legendary again.

The speed of the blur was unreal as it repeated the process again and again, leaving no room for a proper counter attack. With a jolt, Tobias then realized that the blue streak was none other than Ash's Swellow.

Tobias scowled but nonetheless managed to form a plan in his head. "Blow him away with Whirlwind Zapdos!"

With a flap of its wings, the electric legendary unleashed an incredible gust of wind that managed to put some distance between the two flying types.

It was more than enough for Tobias to quickly make his next move. "Now use Rain dance and follow it up with Charge!"

Zapdos then hurled a blue ball of psychic energy towards the sky and it wasn't long before it actually started to rain. The thunder Pokemon then went into a trance as multiple sparks danced all over its body and before anyone could expect what happens next, the legendary Pokemon was engulfed in a yellow aura.

Tobias grinned in excitement at what he assumes checkmate for his opponents. "Now let's see if you can dodge this! Give it everything you've got Zapdos! Use Thunder, full power!"

A huge column of electricity then emerged from the dark sky and engulfed the entire battlefield. Everybody watching, let out a frightful scream at the legendary Pokemon's sheer power.

The ref was about to make the call since no normal flying type could possibly still be standing after an attack of that magnitude when a sharp cry managed to pierce the nail biting tension that blanketed the entire stadium.

From out of the smoke, Ash's Swellow emerged and was covered in a magnificent golden aura.