//------------------------------// // Ash vs Leon // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Previously, the group had arrived at Galar to see the strongest trainer emerge in the Pokemon World Coronation Series. The crowned Monarch was Leon, who proved himself to be the strongest and undefeated trainer of all time after his fierce battle with Lance. Once that was said and done, Team Rocket had stirred up trouble by angering a Drednaw which Giganatamaxed. The huge Pokemon was now a problem for the citizens of Galar as its head was inside the stadium. "What's up with that Pokemon?! And it's Gigantamaxed!" Goh yelled. "Aww, it's kinda cute. It looks like a snapping turtle." Fluttershy said. "Now is not the best time to be admiring it!" Rainbow bellowed. "Hey! Mind calming down?!" Ash said to the Gigantified Pokemon. "You'll destroy the entire stadium!" Twilight said. Drednaw wouldn't listen. It immediately attacked them by extending its head to try and bite them. They all moved out of the way, avoiding the huge bite. "Fluttershy! Can you try and talk to it!" Rainbow suggested. "I'll try." Fluttershy flew out the huge Bite Pokemon as it looked at her. "Um excuse me bu-" Drednaw didn't let her finish as he roared, blowing her back to the ground. Rarity had caught her from hitting the ground. "How rude!" Rarity said. "Looks like it won't listen. Then we'll draw its attention with a battle!" Ash exclaimed. "Right here?! Right now?!" Twilight shouted. "Of course!" "But how are you gonna fight a Pokemon of THAT size Ash?!" "I dunno." "I dunno?!" They all said in unison. "All the more reason to try it!" "Why are you so reckless, Ash?" Twilight facehoofed. "Then if you're gonna battle, then I want in too!" Rainbow Dash had sent out Rufflet. "Let's do this! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" "Pika-Chuu!" A bolt of thunder was sent towards the giant Drednaw. It made a direct hit but it barely phased Drednaw. "Rufflet! Wing Attack!" Rufflet flew up to Drednaw, slashing its wings at it. But that did nothing as well. "No good!" Drednaw then prepared to extend its neck once more. "Here it comes! Pikachu! Electroweb!" Pikachu sent a web of electricity at Drednaw who's neck had extended. It broke through the web like it was nothing as the Mane 6 and the others ran away to avoid the incoming neck. Drednaw's neck had stopped as it could only go so far. The group had stopped as they laid on the ground. And then... Pikachu could feel something. He was standing on a sort of cracked ground with red and purple energy rising up from it. "Pikachu. What's wrong?" "Pika.." Pikachu could feel his electricity rise as he suddenly started to grow in size. Purple lights grew out of his back as he kept growing. "Sweet Celestia!" Pinkie yelled. Pikachu kept growing and growing with his appearance becoming much more built. Pikachu was now a Gigantamaxed Pokemon. "Pi...Pi..ka!" Pikachu found it hard to stand in this new super-sized body. "Pikachu Gigantamaxed?!" Goh said. Pikachu took one step as he made the group all jump and fall to the ground. "Look at how pudgy he is!" Pinkie pointed out. "We can use this! Pikachu! Use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded his new giant Pikachu as a white aura surrounded his body as Quick Attack would normally do. Though this wasn't Quick Attack. Pikachu began walking over to Drednaw was standing up. He was moving so slow since he was so huge. Pikachu is normally used to being small and fast, but this was different. Sacrificing speed for strength was not his style. Drednaw stomped on the ground as water rose up, hitting Pikachu. The giant Electric Mouse Pokemon tumbled a bit, hitting the stadium. "He looks like he's having so much trouble!" Fluttershy was getting worried. "Pikachu's gotten so used to his speedy little self. This huge form isn't one he's accustomed to. Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu grabbed a hold of his huge tail, walking towards Drednaw. He held it tightly as his tail began to glow like Iron Tail normally would. "Pi..kaaa!" He was building up power as the ground shake. He then swung his iron tail like a whip, down on the ground steel spikes rose up from beneath, heading towards Drednaw. A direct hit. Leon was watching this go down from the front of the stadium. He noticed that Ash was battling without the Dynamax Band. "Nice job Pikachu!" Drednaw retaliated by stepping on the ground, sending out a huge wall of rocks. "That's the Rock-Type Dynamax move!" Goh exclaimed. "Tell him to use G-MAX-Volt Crash!" Leon called from the stadium. "Leon?!" "Your Pikachu should be able to use G-MAX Volt Crash!!" "Right! I'll give it a try!" "PIKA!" Pikachu stared down Drednaw, who had extended its neck to hit the rock wall. It began to fall down, ready to hit Pikachu. "Pikachu! Max Lightning!" Pikachu jumped up as he would normally do when ready to fire a thunderbolt. But because he was so huge, he only got up a few feet. He fell down, bouncing on the ground as he then let out a burst of lightning from his body. The lightning shot up as it came back down, striking Drednaw as it also destroyed the large wall of rock. With one hit, Drednaw was down and back to normal. "You did it!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "PIKA!" Pikachu let out a battle cry as he was returning back to normal. "That was amazing Pikachu!" Ash ran to his little buddy. Pikachu was still a bit shaken up from that. Team Rocket popped out of the bushes after avoiding the Drednaw they angered. "All of you! Are you alright?" Leon ran to them. "Yeah. Thanks for the help, Leon." Ash said. "Oh, so this is Leon. He's much taller up close." Applejack said. "Hey, Leon. I wanna ask you something." "What is it, Ash?" "Please battle me!" "Pikachu!" "Ash! Are you crazy! He's undefeated!" Twilight shook Ash. "Didn't you hear from earlier?! 100 challengers and he beat them all! You'll get floored!" "Sure." "What?!" Twilight responded. "We'll battle tomorrow in the morning. I'll be waiting for you at the stadium." "Awesome! Thanks, Leon!" "Oh, Ash..." The next day, the group were all sitting near a Pokemon Daycare. They had sat down to eat some the Galar Region's delicious scones. "Mmm! These scones are pretty good! Nothing I've ever tasted before!" Pinkie said chomping on them. Everyone was enjoying their meal, but Ash looked out of it. So much so that he wouldn't even eat. "Ash, darling. Are you okay?" Rarity put her hoof on his shoulders. "Huh?" Ash turned to Rarity, almost unresponsive. A Skwovet had come along, eating Ash's food while he wasn't looking. "Oh sweet! A Pokemon I've never seen before!" Goh stood up as he got out his Rotomphone. "Skwovet. The Cheek Stuffing Pokemon. It eats berries non-stop. When its cheeks are full it tends to stash more in the flaps in its tail." "Pokeball go!" Goh tossed the Pokeball, gaining a guaranteed capture. But Ash wasn't really paying attention, he was still dazed. "Ash, darling if something is troubling you, you should tell us." "Yeah! Come on, what is it?" Pinkie asked. "Oh. I was just remembering Leon's battle yesterday." "I see. You think about battling Pokemon 24/7, don't you? That's why you're like that." Twilight said. "No. I totally space out if I don't get ten hours of sleep." Ash explained the real reason why he was like that. "So that's 24 hours minus 10 which is..." "Nevermind the math. The point is, you wanna battle Leon right?" Goh said. "Yeah. That's right." "I see. But that will be tough." "Huh?" "If you want to participate in the Pokemon World Championship, you'll have to sign up online and then win your way through the ranks." "Ranks?" "Your position, based on your record and performance. The top 8 in the rankings are called the Master Class. At the end of the season, those eight fight in a tournament, where the winner becomes the Champion or Monarch." Goh explained. "Sounds like a pretty big deal." Pinkie said eating more scones. "It is a big deal Pinkie! Tournaments are some of the most prestigious events ever. Only the highest skilled can make it to the top. This is the same case for our world too." Twilight replied. "So, I can battle Leon if I enter that?!" "Think it'll be that easy?" Goh retorted. "Why?" "Trainers who enter get divided into four classes based off their win/lose ratio and the contents of their battles. All trainers entering for the first time go into the Normal Class. Then the trainers in that rank battle it out between each other, and the ones ranked 999 to 100 enter the Super Class. Above that, 99 to 9 make up the Hyper Class. And Leon is in the highest class. Master Class of course. And he's ranked number one, at that." "Pretty awesome stuff. I wonder if its the same for the league back in Equestria." Rainbow said. "Our league is more limited to Equestria only. I mean this World Coronation Series is a much bigger deal." Twilight replied. "Yeah, it is. Plus you get sponsorships with this stuff." Twilight, Applejack and Rarity stood up when they heard that. "Did you say sponsorships?" They said. "Yeah. Didn't you see Leon's cape? It had all kinds of brands and companies on it." "You know... this Championship business doesn't sound too farfetched for me." Applejack was considering joining. "Yes. I'm not too unladylike to join." Rarity as well. "Hold on. Don't tell me you're all..." Rainbow Dash knew what they were thinking. "Right you are. We're joining this Pokemon World Championship! I can get enough support to help the farm!" Applejack said. "Well if you're all joining, then so am I!" "But Rainbow. Don't you already have the league back at our world to deal with it." Rarity said. "I know. That's why I'll win that and win the Coronation series as well. Won't hurt to join two of them." "Yeah right! I'm the one winning the series!" Ash exclaimed. "Oh yeah?!" Ash and Rainbow Dash butted heads. "You two will have to compete to one-up each other." Leon had shown up. "Leon?!" They all said. "Ash. You wanted to battle me right?" "Yeah!" "As the World Champion, I can't turn down a young man's dream. I should at least grant it." "Awesome! I can't wait!" At Wyndon Stadium. Ash and Leon were ready. Twilight and the others were sitting on the seats to watch this battle go down. "Is Ash really up for this? I mean, that Leon guy is a force to be reckoned with." Spike said. "You got this Ash!" Pinkie Pie had a flag that had Ash's face on it as well as Ash apparel. "Pinkie. This is just a small exhibition match." Goh said. "Still. Doesn't hurt to be super-supportive." "This is a bad idea. Ash doesn't stand a chance." Twilight wasn't sure about this. "Ash. Have this." Leon had tossed Ash the Dynamax Band. "It's a Dynamax Band. You battled without one yesterday, but normally we use it to control Dynamax. And when your Pokemon goes Dynamax, their moves name change as well." "Oh, so that explains the name changes like Max Lightning." "Correct. Steel moves become Max Steelspike. Normal moves become Max Strike." "Oooh." "But for your Pikachu is a Gigantamax. For that, his electric moves become G-Max Volt Crash." "G-Max Volt Crash... the move from yesterday right?!" "In order to Gigantamax him, you'll need to return him to his Pokeball, and then fill the ball with the power emerging from the band before throwing it." Leon explained. Though there was one problem. "Well, Pikachu doesn't go inside his Pokeball... But we'll manage!" "PikaPika!" Ash placed the Dynamax band on his right hand. "Oh, so cool!" "Now both sides! Send forth your Pokemon!" The referee said. "Pikachu! I choose you!" "Charizard! You're the one I choose!" Pikachu jumped off his shoulder as Leon threw out Charizard. "Alright! Pikachu and I both wanted to battle Charizard!" "Pika-Pika!" "It seems that you understand your Pokemon's feelings very well. I'm glad." "Heh. Me and Pikachu understand each other perfectly, ya know." "Come on Ash! Show him what for!" Rarity yelled. "That won't be easy. Me and Charizard will never lose any battle!" "CHARIZARD! "Fine by me!" "Pikachu!" "Battle Start!" "Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Pikachu moved at lightning speeds, heading towards Charizard. "Charizard! Counter with Thunder Punch!" Charizard readied his electrified hands as Pikachu was heading towards him. They clashed with Pikachu's head meeting with Charizard's fist. Charizard had managed to knock Pikachu up into the air. "Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu landed down safely as his tail became as hard as iron. He jumped up ready to swing it. "Another Thunder Punch!" Charizard did it again. His Thunder Punch met with Pikachu's Iron Tail caused another clash. Once again, Pikachu was sent flying. Charizard was overwhelming him. "Not even a minute and Pikachu's already struggling." Rainbow said. "Keep going!" Charizard kept using Thunder Punch as he closed in on Pikachu. "Electroweb!" Pikachu sent the web to try and stop him. "Don't mind it! Keep going!" Charizard punched right through the web, obliterating it. "Air Slash!" Charizard then sent fast-paced slashes of air that hit Pikachu before he even realised it. "Oh my. That Charizard is something else. I can't watch." Applejack put her hat over her face. But Pikachu was fine as he landed back down still ready to go. "But Pikachu's awesome too ain't he?" Spike said as they were all impressed on how this little mouse can keep going against that giant dragon-like Pokemon. "Alright! Thunderbolt!" "Flamethrower!" Both attacks clashed. But Flamethrower had easily overpowered Thunderbolt as it was pushing him back. But Pikachu wouldn't let up as he kept his thunderbolt strong whilst the Flamethrower pressed onto it. "Don't give up!" "Pi...ka...CHUU!" Pikachu's lightning began growing in power as the Dynamax energy was flowing through him. He started to grow into size once more and his thunderbolt was pushing back the Flamethrower. He had once again Gigantamaxed! His powered up thunderbolt had broken through the Flamethrower, hitting Charizard. "Oh, Charizard!" Charizard had fallen down but he wasn't out yet. "Awesome! The Gigantamax was a success!" "PI-KAAA-CHUU!!" Pikachu let out a mighty cry as he stomped his feet. "Interesting. This was worth it. Return Charizard." Charizard returned to his ball. It was his turn to grow. Leon's Pokeball started to increase in size as the Dynamax energy flowed through the band and the ball. "Let me show you a true Champion Time!" "Here it comes..." Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow Dash as the Mane 6 were bracing themselves for the titan that was G-Max Charizard. "GIGANTAMAX!" Throwing the Pokeball made Charizard grow to Pikachu's size, but bigger. "Let's do this, Pikachu! Max Strike!" Pikachu jumped up as landed on the ground, sending a burst of energy that went towards Charizard. Charizard flew back, avoiding the pillar of energy. "Max Airstream!" Charizard had retaliated by sending a whirlwind of air at Pikachu. It made contact as Pikachu was struggling to hold still. He used every ounce of his strength to try and push through it. It had started to push him back though. "Hang in there, Pikachu!" Pikachu wouldn't let up. He dug deeper as he was doing his very best, but the attack was too strong as it made him fall on his back. "Pikachu! Max Steelspike!" Pikachu got up from the ground, ready to go on. "Charizard! Max Lightning!" Charizard had charged up a ton of energy as Pikachu held its tail, ready to hit Charizard. The lightning had struck down on the Electric Mouse Pokemon, but it didn't stop him. But it did prevent him from using the steel move. "In that case, use G-MAX VOLT CRASH!" Pikachu used every ounce of his energy to shoot lightning up. "Now! Enjoy the climax! G-MAX Wildfire!" Charizard had used his signature G-Max move as well. Sending out that same flame that flew like a bird and looked like one too. Both attacks had hit their target. The fire hit Pikachu, engulfing him, whilst the lightning struck Charizard. "These Dynamax battles are so intense! It's like watching two titans go at it." Twilight said as they were all perplexed by this. Even seeing a 3rd time was just so insane. "It's not over yet!" Leon said. The fire kept burning Pikachu as the lightning had eventually fizzled out. The wildfire kept hitting Pikachu, flying about as he couldn't take anymore. "Pikachu!" Pikachu began returning back to his normal size as he had fainted. Ending the battle. "Pikachu is unable to battle! And such the winner is contestant Leon!" Ash ran over to his buddy to pick him up. "I can't believe we saw Ash lose." Applejack said. "I knew this would happen. Going up against someone who was undefeated." Twilight shook her head. "Looks like it's over. What a shame, huh Charizard?" Leon returned Charizard back to his ball. "Pikachu. You gave it your all." "Pika..." "Ash. Give Pikachu this." Leon gave Ash an Oran Berry as it had healed his buddy. "Thanks. Leon. I'm glad I got to have a serious battle with you." "Battles are no fun if they're not serious. That's all there is to it." Leon replied. "Ah, here have this back." Ash held out the band. "No, Ash. You keep it." "Huh?" "I like young unrefined trainers like you. But if you want to satisfy me, you'll have to pop more." "Pop?" "Put on more of a show!" Pinkie Pie explained. "Later then." Leon bid them farewell as he walked off. "Leon! Please battle with me again someday!" "Our next one will be an official one with a crowd!" "Yeah!" "Pikachu!" "Oh Ash, darling. So sorry for your loss." "No need to worry, Rarity. I can use this to grow." "Really? You're not bothered? Or mad? Or sad?" Twilight said. "Nope! I've lost my fair share of battles in the past. But that's how I learn. And that's how I grow stronger, and how me and Pikachu have continued to win so many battles over time. I'll enter the tournament and take on Leon! And that'll bring me one step closer to becoming a Pokemon Master!" "That's the spirit Ash!" Pinkie hopped on Ash's back, loving his optimism. "Pikachu. Let's get stronger together!" "Pika-Pika!" "Oh, Ash. You are a strange one." Twilight said. Ash's new goal has been set. The road to a Pokemon Master is long and hard, but the journey that comes with it is incredible. With the tournament on his mind, his dreams have expanded even more. As the journey continues. Chapter 44 End!