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Feedback: Always appreciated
AN: I took a few more liberties with this battle scene, but at least one bit of dialogue during the Tauros-VS-Venusaur battle didn't make sense in the original episode, so I felt it would be simpler to make a few extra changes
The Guardian and the Gate
"The smoke still hasn't cleared from those two tremendous attacks," the announcer said, the stadium still filled with smoke from that prior attack, "but in a moment, we'll see who the winner is."
"Is this normal?" Teal'c looked curiously at Melody.
"It… well, attacks colliding like that can happen, but the odds against it…" Melody shrugged helplessly as a response, before the smoke finally cleared, revealing that Lapras and Gengar were both lying on the ground, Lapras having been apparently blown out of the pool by the force of the latest blast.
"They both got knocked out from that?" Jack looked at the field in surprise as the referee declared a draw. "Wasn't expecting that."
"It's not common, but it happens," Melody noted, as Ash and Drake recalled their Pokemon.
"Well, Ash may not have won that round, but this is the first time a challenger has knocked out three of the champion's Pokemon in a row," the announcer said, as Ash moved away from the field to do some stretches alongside Misty and Tracey. "In the Winner's Trophy competition, whenever three of either trainer's Pokemon are defeated the field is changed. Now both these trainers will have to adapt to come up with brand new strategies."
"A sandy field?" Sam looked at Melody in surprise as the rock and water field lowered away to reveal a sand-covered field. "Would that be a problem? I mean, assuming it's not quicksand, it doesn't seem like much of a challenging battlefield…"
"Give it time," Melody smiled, as Ash and Drake moved back into position while the announcer described the field, followed by Drake throwing another ball to reveal a large blue dinosaur-like creature with a large blooming flower on its back.
"Drake's picked Venusaur, who's won many a battle here in the past," the announcer said.
"Venusaur?" Jack glanced at Melody. "Any relation to Bulbasaur?"
"Its final evolved form," Melody confirmed, as Ash sent out Tauros once again, the bull looking rested and clear-headed as it paced its hooves against the ground.
"Tauros again leads off with a frightening Fissure attack," the announcer said, as Tauros stirred up a massive sand cloud when its feet struck, only for the cloud to fade to reveal the bull's front legs were now stuck in the ground. "But this time the Fissure fizzled out! The sandy surface sucked up the shock and Ketchum's got himself one stuck steed!"
For a moment, the bull simply struggled against its new 'captivity' while Venusaur watched, but then Drake issued a command and a series of vines emerged from the plant to strike Tauros. Jack was about to yell in protest when a couple of vines dislodged Tauros from the sand, prompting Ash to issue a new order.
"It looks like that Vine Whip attack actually got Tauros unstuck from the sand, and now the whole stadium's shaking as Tauros stampedes straight for Venusaur!" the announcer yelled, Tauros charging towards its opponent as the plant on Venusaur's back began to glow.
"That's… not good, right?" Jack glanced at Daniel and Melody.
"If I remember the Pokedex's information correctly, it suggests that Venusaur's about to use Solar Beam, which is the most powerful Grass-type move there is, so yeah, not good," Daniel confirmed, as Tauros and Venusaur met literally head-on.
For a moment the confrontation went nowhere, as Tauros's hooves failed to find purchase on the sand beneath it, but the stalemate ended as Tauros flipped Venusaur into the air. As SG-1 watched in awe, Venusaur turned around mid-air to fire the Solar Beam at Tauros, but after the dust faded, Tauros swiftly got back to its feet and charged towards Venusaur again. Vine Whips flew towards Tauros as it charged, the bull evading some vines and powering through those that managed to hit home, finally making contact with its opponent.
"Tauros tears right through Venusaur's Vine Whip!" the announcer affirmed. "The Take Down attack hits home and Venusaur goes flying!"
As Venusaur hit the ground, it wasn't hard to see that the attack had taken the large blue plant-thing out of the fight, even ebfore the referee waved a flag to confirm that Venusaur was out of the picture.
"You heard it, fans!" the announcer said, as Drake recalled Venusaur. "The challenger has now defeated four of the champion's six Pokemon!"
With that statement, Drake sent out his fifth choice, this Pokemon putting SG-1 in mind of a yellow ogre with lightning-like stripes.
"The atmosphere here is charged, as Electabuzz, Drake's fifth Pokemon, prepares to take on Tauros! The question is, will Ash stick with the beefy battler or is Tauros too tuckered to unplug Electabuzz?"
That question was swiftly answered as Ash recalled Tauros and sent out the more familiar small form of Bulbasaur, the sight providing a sharp contrast between the previously-battling Venusaur and its earlier form.
"And that becomes the big guy?" Jack looked at Melody in surprise.
"Bulbasaur has to evolve into Ivysaur before it can become Venusaur, but you're basically right, yeah," Melody confirmed.
"Incredible," Sam said, looking thoughtfully at the two fighters as Bulbasaur shook off a Thundershock attack and countered by sending out a mass of razor-sharp leaves. "The energy needed for Bulbasaur to grow that large…"
Her moment of thought was interrupted when Electabuzz's counter-attack of a Thunderbolt cut Bulbasaur's attack off, followed by delivering a powerful electrically-charged punch that knocked the Grass Pokemon to the ground.
"Electabuzz short-circuits the bulb!" the announcer said, as Ash recalled his second fallen Pokemon. "This high-level electric type's defeat of a grass type has the crowd buzzing; now the heat is on for challenger Ash Ketchum!"
As though the comment about heat had been a cue, Ash tossed out his next Pokemon, revealing the imposing form of a familiar large orange dragon. For a moment, Jack hoped that this would be a positive turn of events, but the first stage of attack appeared to be ineffective as Electabuzz dodged Charizard's Flamethrower to deliver a Thunderpunch.
"Electabuzz connects first with a devastating Thunderpunch!" the announcer said, followed by Electabuzz delivering a powerful Thunder attack. "Charizard is cooling off quick as the champion grabs the early advantage! Ketchum better come up with something fast or I hope he likes his Charizard extra crispy!"
"OK, could this guy stop sounding that biased and try and be a bit more neutral?" Jack asked. "I mean, I get that Drake's the favourite, but we're talking about living beings getting hit with a mass of electricity…"
"Sir, keep in mind that everything we've found suggests that Pokemon can take far more punishment than we would normally expect from living creatures," Sam pointed out, as Charizard generated a fiery tornado that swirled around the two fighters.
"A scorching response from Charizard, who grounds Electabuzz with a searing counter-attack!" the announcer said, followed by Charizard grabbing Electabuzz and taking it up into the sky just as Drake issued an order. "Charizard stops the Thunderbolt attack before it gets started! Now Charizard has got Electabuzz in a clincher, winding up for a super Seismic Toss!"
"Impressive," Teal'c said, watching the sky as Charizard spun in the air before hurtling towards the stadium, releasing Electabuzz to hit the ground with a powerful collision. As Charizard landed above its opponent, it launched a powerful flamethrower into the air as though signifying its victory, leaving Drake to recall his fifth fallen Pokemon.
"Now challenger Ash Ketchum is only one victory away from that Winner's Trophy!" the announcer said, as Drake reached up to enlarge a Poke Ball hanging around his neck. "But as we've seen him do before, Drake has saved the best for last!"
With those words, Drake tossed the ball from his neck into the field, revealing another large orange dragon-like creature. It was a lighter shade of orange than Charizard, with smaller wings and a smoother snout as well as being noticeably bulkier, but somehow it gave a clear impression of power despite those differences.
"Drake's last Pokemon, the legendary Dragonite!" the announcer said. "If Dragonite goes down, this battle is over!"
"Well, I suppose that's more balanced…" Jack said, as Charizard and Dragonite fired fire and water at each other respectively.
"Dragonite not only dowses Charizard's attack, but it may be dampening Ketchum's hopes for the Winner's Trophy!" the announcer said, quashing Jack's hopes that he'd be a balanced judge as Charizard flew up to evade a beam of white energy from Dragonite. "Charizard dodges Dragonite's Ice Beam with an impressive show of air force!"
Jack wanted to give the man some kind of credit for acknowledging Charizard's skill in that area, but when Dragonite flew up, it was hard to care about that kind of issue when witnessing something that bulky fly with the kind of speed he was used to seeing demonstrated by a machine rather than a living being. For a moment, the two exchanged attacks, Charizard shooting fiery blasts while Dragonite countered with a white beam of energy that resembled Lapras's earlier attacks, but both dragons evaded the other's attacks. For a moment, Charizard got in close to attack its opponent, but Dragonite slipped around and grabbed Charizard by the throat, throwing Ash's dragon to the ground.
"Damn," Jack said, looking at Charizard's battered and bruised shape as it got back to its feet, the announcer complimenting its fighting spirit as Dragonite landed opposite it. "That is one tough dragon…"
"Indeed," Teal'c nodded, glancing over at Dragonite. "It is unfortunate for Ash Ketchum that he faces an equally powerful adversary at this time."
"Mmm?" Daniel looked at Teal'c in surprise.
"I have faith in Ash Ketchum's personal strength of will, and the power of his Pokemon warriors, but I question whether that will be enough against such a formidable foe as Drake when Ash Ketchum is so young," Teal'c explained, as Charizard and Dragonite launched simultaneous fireballs at each other, causing a massive fireball that sent both Pokemon flying.
"Both Dragon Rage attacks hit home, and both Pokemon appear to be shaken!" the announcer said, as the dust faded to reveal the two dragons panting as they stared at each other. "This match could be over at any moment!"
The announcer's statement was proven correct when Charizard fell backwards, leaving Dragonite breathing heavily even as it remained on its feet on the other side of the field.
"Charizard is down and out!" the announcer affirmed as Ash recalled the dragon. "That Dragon Rage drained both Pokemon but Dragonite manages to hold on!"
"Damn…" Jack winced as he watched SG-1's young friend recall the large orange dragon. "That's gonna hurt his chances…"
"Do not underestimate Ash Ketchum, O'Neill," Teal'c noted as Ash sent out Squirtle. "We have already witnessed that he is stronger than his age would suggest, and it is not unreasonable to assume that the same applies to his Pokemon."
"Still not keen on the odds here," Jack pointed out, as Squirtle's attempt to apparently launch another 'Water Wheel' (or whatever that attack was) were interrupted as Dragonite hit the centre of its shell with a quick blast of water. "He's got three Pokemon that already took a beating up against the dragon that made this guy's reputation, and he's already lost his biggest powerhouse; there's no way this is going to be easy…"
Watching as Squirtle took a powerful electric attack fired from Dragonite's horn/antenna things, Jack winced as the announcer continued to praise Dragonite's assault on Ash's team, even as Squirtle emerged from its shell after the attack, shaky but still standing. Dragonite flew up and began to charge down towards Squirtle, belly-first as though using its entire body as a weapon, but the small blue turtle counter-attacked with a rapid series of large bubbles that struck Dragonite in the chest. The dragon clearly noticed the attack, turning its head and wincing at the impact, but it clearly didn't do much damage, Dragonite just adjusting its descent to land on its feet and spin around to strike Squirtle with its tail.
"Once again, Dragonite proves what a brawny battler it is!" the announcer confirmed, as Squirtle hit the ground, now clearly unconscious, leaving Ash to recall his fourth fallen Pokemon in this battle. "Despite Squirtle's Bubblebeam attack it digs in and strikes back! Now the challenger has just two Pokemon remaining, and this should be- hey, wait! What's that up there?"
Looking up, Jack was as surprised as the announcer to see a large hot air balloon in a form that reminded him of that talking cat-thing he'd witnessed with 'Jessie and James' during the initial confrontation on Hestia's ship, hovering above the stadium and dropping a net down to cover Dragonite.
"Is that not the two we encountered on Hestia's ship?" Teal'c asked, looking at the new arrival with the raised eyebrows that were as close as he'd ever come to expressing surprise.
"Yeah," Melody nodded. "I asked about them after you'd left; they're members of Team Rocket."
"Oh, so that's what the 'R' stood for," Daniel said, watching the battlefield uncertainly as the two in the balloon seemed to be saying something he couldn't make out. "What does that team do?"
"Mostly they try to steal Pokemon from other trainers, but according to Ash those two have made a point of focusing on trying to steal his Pikachu," Melody said. "Apparently they consider it a rare example of its breed or something like that; they only helped him during your last visit because they'd all lose out if the world was destroyed."
"Huh," Jack said, thinking on it for a moment before he shrugged. "Puts them slightly above the Goa'uld for sanity, anyway."
"When they let themselves get into situations like that?" Daniel asked, indicating the battlefield as Dragonite broke the net around it just by opening its wings. Even as SG-1 watched, the dragon flew upwards once again, flying straight through the balloon and sending it flying upwards into the air, the trio in the basket screaming as they vanished into the distance.
"Sorry about that interruption, folks," the announcer said, surprisingly nonchalant despite the strange events that had just taken place. "Now let's get back to the battle!"
Clearly putting the issue of the recent attack aside, Ash chose Tauros once again, the bull charging towards Dragonite as the dragon flew upwards before diving back down on its opponent. For a moment, SG-1 could only stare in shock as dust and sand erupted around the two as Dragonite hit Tauros, but the sand soon faded to reveal that Dragonite was now on its back with Tauros's horns up against it.
"It took a hit like that?" Jack looked at the battlefield in surprise.
"The sand could have cushioned the worst of the impact, sir," Sam pointed out. "Assuming Tauros is strong enough and Dragonite was worn out enough from its fight with Charizard, it's not impossible…"
As though realising how Tauros had escaped that last attack, Drake's next command prompted Dragonite to launch a new electrical blast against Tauros. The physical attack might have been of limited effect, but this particular attack was clearly too much for the battered bull to take, as it collapsed to the ground and was declared unable to battle.
"Tauros was primed for victory, but even its stubborn brand of battling wasn't good enough to make the grade," the announcer reported, as Ash recalled his fallen Tauros. "Dragonite's taken out three of Ketchum's Pokemon in a row and now both trainers are down to their last Pokemon."
"A mouse versus a dragon," Jack said, as Pikachu ran past Ash back onto the field. "This is gonna suck…"
"I would not be so hasty to assume the worst, O'Neill," Teal'c noted, as Pikachu started off by rapidly running around the field, only for a flick of Dragonite's tail to send the mouse Pokemon flying backwards once more. "Of course, this is still a dangerous situation."
"Drake calls for Dragonite's most powerful attack!" the announcer proclaimed, Pikachu looking dazed on the ground while golden energy gathered in Dragonite's mouth. "Does Pikachu have the energy to escape Hyper Beam?"
"Hyper Beam?" Jack glanced over at Daniel and Melody.
"Apparently one of the most powerful attacks any Pokemon can learn," Daniel said, his voice low as the Hyper Beam launched from Dragonite's mouth to strike the ground around Pikachu, stirring up another massive cloud of dust.
"Oh no…" Sam said, wincing at the image of that Hyper Beam striking Pikachu, only for her eyes to widen in surprise as a distinctive yellow figure leapt up from out of the cloud.
"Unbelievable!" the announcer said as Pikachu 'flew' through the air while Dragonite panted in fatigue. "Pikachu used its tail as a springboard to escape the Hyper Beam! Pikachu bounces back, but Dragonite doesn't look very bouncy!"
"Yes," Jack grinned, clenching his fist in pride as Pikachu landed on Dragonite's head, clutching onto the dragon's antenna-like things as the dragon tried to shake it off, the mouse hanging on as the tired dragon tried to rub its head against the ground. Finally, Ash yelled a command to Pikachu, and Pikachu launched an electrical attack that seemed to fill the entire stadium with energy.
"Pikachu lights into Dragonite with a tremendous Thunder attack!" the announcer proclaimed, the lightning-burst fading as Dragonite finally shook Pikachu off. As the mouse got back onto its feet, Pikachu and Dragonite stared at each other for a few moments, each Pokemon visibly panting from exhaustion, until Dragonite collapsed to the ground, prompting the referee to raise one flag to declare the battle over.
"The challenger wins the match!" the announcer said, as the display screen shifted from showing Ash and Drake's Pokemon to just displaying Ash's face with his six Pokemon underneath him. "The challenger wins the match! The challenger wins the match!"
"Yes!" Jack grinned, turning to exchange high-fives with the rest of SG-1 as Ash ran down to the battlefield to pick up the now-exhausted Pikachu while Drake recalled Dragonite. "He won!"
"That was… wow," Sam said, her usually scientific mind lost for a better response after witnessing such an unexpected victory.
"Is there any way for us to get down to talk to Ash Ketchum after his victory?" Teal'c looked over at Melody.
"Well, there might be a couple of places we can get down to the battlefield to talk to him directly…" Melody said, quickly looking around the stadium before she led the way down a nearby flight of stairs. A few moments later, they reached the bottom floor of the stadium, Melody leading them through a few corridors before they reached a room where Ash was handing his five Poke Balls and Pikachu over a counter to a young red-haired woman wearing a nurse's uniform.
"I'm sorry-" a man in a suit began as he turned to address the new arrivals.
"It's OK; we're friends of the new champ," Jack said, just as Ash turned around to look at the new arrivals.
"Melody?" he began, just pleasantly surprised before he took in her company and his eyes widened incredulously. "Jack, Sam, Daniel, Teal'c? What are you all doing here?"
"We were informed of your challenge and decided that we wished to witness you battle in a purely competitive environment, Ash Ketchum," Teal'c nodded at the young man. "I must confirm that we were all most impressed with your efforts."
"Uh… thanks," Ash nodded, clearly lost for how to react to this news. "I mean, you came all this way for me?"
"Like Teal'c said, we wanted to see how things go here when you're not in the middle of a fight for the fate of the planet," Jack smiled, just as the door opened and Misty and Tracey entered.
"Sorry we- Melody? Colonel O'Neill?" Misty began, looking between Melody and SG-1 in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard about Ash's upcoming battle against Drake and sent a message through the… Stargate… in case they wanted to see it," Melody explained.
"And we're very glad we did," Daniel nodded. "It's one thing to see what happens when you're dealing with a threat like Hestia, but it's good to see how you cope when dealing with a more conventional situation."
"As 'conventional' as defeating the undefeated Orange League champion can be," Tracey smiled in approval at Ash before he looked over at SG-1. "As long as you're here, would you care to join us as Ash receives the trophy?"
"Why not?" Jack smiled. "Not every day you're friends with a big-league celebrity."
There was no way to know if SG-1 themselves would come back to this planet any time soon, with the threat posed by Anubis growing ever more potent and the upcoming election guaranteeing a new administration, but now that they were here, there was nothing wrong with enjoying the experience of being friends with a local celebrity.
AN 2: No specific plans to take this series further, as the location of the Stargate limits the possibilities for SG-1 to be invited to any of Ash's future championship matches and SG-1's plans to keep this planet's existence secret would limit the likelihood of the SGC using Pokemon against the Ori or the Wraith, but never rule out the possibility of another storyline if I'm given the right inspiration.
In any case, hope you've enjoyed this particular storyline.