( ~ Knock ~ )

( ~ Knock ~ )

Pikachu and Austin woke up to the sound of knocking .

Walking up to the door in a half sleepy state with pikachu slumped over his shoulder . Austin opened the door .

Still half asleep , Austin was surprised to hear a loud eep sound.

Rubbing his eyes , Austin saw an out of breath Brock and a crimson red yellow who had covered her eyes with her hand but Austin could still see that she was peeking through her hands.

" Ash , What are you doing ? Your next match is in five minutes ."

Brock's words woke Austin right up as he immediately closed his door and began changing.

Brock meanwhile looked at the crimson yellow who had steam coming out of her ears and he couldn't help but sigh.

' Why can't nurse joy or officer Jenny look at me like that ? '

.....

Somehow managing to change into his shirt and trousers, and pulling his pokémon belt over, Austin and the others rushed off all the way to the deck, panting all the way, only to hear the referee stating, in his usual monotone.

"And the match will be held between…" The man gave a stern glare at Austin for being late, who was currently, staring in surprise at the person he was supposed to battle for the Top-8 position.

"—Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City."

The fuck?

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Austin couldn't help but keep staring, completely befuddled by the turn of events. Standing opposite him, staring back in kind, was Misty .

"Misty?"

" Surprise ! "

"Ahem!" The referee made his point.

"Sorry!" Both the opponents flushed in embarrassment.

The man scowled before taking a step back, as the battle ground began to alter once again, this time replaced by a body of water, just as large as the platform. 'The battleground will be water for this match. This will be a three-on-three battle, rotations allowed." He lifted up the blue flag, "Blue Trainer, release your pokémon."

Misty, who happened to be the Blue Trainer for the match, took out a single pokeball and threw it into the water. "Misty calls, Golduck!"

" Go , Misty ! "

Austin looked to the side as Rudy cheered on Misty .

" Looks like your boyfriend is more excited for this match than you ."

" He is not my boyfriend ! " A red faced misty exclaimed with a glare towards Austin who just chuckled in response .

" Trainers, if you would please go ahead with the battle?" The referee asked, irritation surging out of him in waves.

" Eh, right!" Austin looked embarrassed. "Alright, Clefairy. I leave it up to you."

Misty narrowed her eyes, but focussed on the battle knowing fully well that her friend wasn't someone she shouldn't take lightly in a battle even with higher level pokemon from the cerulean gym.

" Golduck, use water gun."

" Gravity "

The entire jet of incoming water literally froze in front of Clefairy , as it went on accumulating, though instead of a sphere, this time it became a wall of unmoving water, a testament to the level to which Austin had trained Clefairy in the move " Gravity " using sand. The training of moving sand and giving it shape through pure gravity had really helped Clefairy who had reached an unbelievable level with gravitational manipulation. All of that training had resulted in Clefairy's current mastery over the move " Gravity ".

Misty gaped at the sheer power and beauty of the move, before ordered another attack. "Use water pulse. Destroy that barrier."

The water pulse splashed against the barrier, but just like before, it settled on the surface, adding to the thickness of the water barrier levitating in front of Clefairy.

"Ice beam, golduck!"

The audience watched, enraptured as the entire wall of stationary water got hit by the powerful Ice-beam, transforming into a thick layer of ice instead.

"No way." Misty breathed.

" Disarming Voice "

The fairy type move quickly moved through the ice slab, shattering it into pieces, creating dozens of ice-meteors, all of them falling down to the platform, propelled by Clefairy's gravity.

"Golduck, jump into the water, now." Misty replied, knowing that the ice, because of its density, would float on the surface, creating a wall in front of Clefairy , should it try any other attacks. Just as expected, the ice-meteors slammed down onto the water body, splashing water all around, completely drenching both trainers in the process.

"Ash Ketchum!" Misty snarled.

" Sorry!" Austin squeaked, before returning to the match. "Clefairy, use bolt on the water."

"No, Golduck get out of the water now!"

It was easier said than done. While the ice layer would in fact, be a protection against gravity attacks, the large chunks of ice also hindered Golduck's movement inside the water. Thus, when the thunderbolt came slamming down into the water body, the sheer amount of electricity literally encompassed the entire platform, almost electrocuting Golduck who lay in the middle of it.

"Golduck, NO!" Misty screamed, before quickly pulling her pokeball and returning her pokémon. Once safely returned, she released him back on the ground, only to find him unconscious.

"Golduck is unable to battle. Clefairy is the winner." The referee declared.

Returning Golduck back, Misty glared at Austin. "That, was a dirty move, you know."

Austin shrugged. "It worked. We are in a water-platform, and you are the wannabe water-master. Surely I deserve to take any advantage I can get against such overwhelming odds?"

"That's manipulative and underhanded, Ash Ketchum." Misty yelled.

"Your compliment is well-accepted." Austin mock-bowed.

Misty gritted her teeth. "You were much better before .Battling has made you cocky."

Austin looked down on the floor as he thought about his previous actions.

Was the mask of arrogance he was wearing to fool his opponents really becoming a part of him ?

"It's your funeral," Misty muttered darkly, as she choose her next pokémon. "Misty calls, Gyarados!"

And all hell went lose.

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Austin's eyes widened into large, gaping saucers as he took in the sheer size of the colossal behemoth in front of him. To his knowledge, Gyarados usually were in the range of fifteen to twenty-three feet, and had aquiline body color all over, except the underbelly which were usually pale-yellowish in color. This behemoth on the other hand, easily topped thirty-five feet by the minimum, and instead of the aquiline shade, its scales were crimson red. Bloody hell, the colossal thing was bigger than the platform all together.

An honest-to-god shiny Gyarados.

Austin gulped. "Umm… Misty, you do know right that I can always offer to purchase you a new dress for the one I just drenched?"

" Gyarados is one of my oldest pokémon." Misty cooed- yes, she cooed—at the infernal creature, who bent lower, much lower, so that it could reach Misty's hands, as she caressed her jaw, "—and she's downright protective of me."

Gyarados let out an infernal roar.

Meanwhile Austin's mind was racing as he thought ,' Didn't misty have some kind of fear of Gyarados that they would get the better of her ....oh wait ! that was for the gyarados she caught during the series.'

It must be noted, that at this moment, more than two-thirds of the audience had vanished from their seats, and the remaining ones had pokémon out, ready to shield them from the monstrous creature that looked way past heavier than the entire ship altogether.

" Uh… Miss Waterflower?" The referee asked politely- unbelievable, yes—but politely indeed, "are you absolutely sure that you are going to battle with that- Gyarados on this ship?"

Misty looked slightly puzzled. "Yes, why?"

Austin just raised both of his hands, pointing out everywhere, at the nearly empty spectator-stands.

"Oh." Misty realized. "Why don't we have a match in the sea then?"

Austin looked at her like she had gone completely past crazy. "Misty… a battle with a Gyarados in the sea? Especially with a large ship at such proximity?"

"Right." Misty replied sheepishly. She turned towards the referee. "Will be able to choose another pokémon in substitute for Gyarados, considering your hesitation in allowing her to fight here?"

"Normally no, but these are special circumstances, so considering the safety of the crowd, I will allow that just this once. Please keep the conditions of the battle in mind."

"Right." Misty replied, the sheepish expression still on her face. "Return, Gyarados." She stared at Austin, who hadn't issued a single order to Clefairy during the battle. Either Clefairy was simply that good, or Ash must have his own ways to-

So that's it. A thin smirk appeared on her lips, as she took out another pokeball and threw it into the water. "Misty calls, Sharpedo."