Battle 141: Misty versus Ash, A Brilliant Clash

"Go ahead, Oshawott."
Ash's second Pokémon choice was Oshawott, and the battle resumed.
"Oshawott, use Hydro Pump!"
"Goomy, use Muddy Water!"
The two streams of water collided in mid-air, evenly matched.
"Oshawott, use Aqua Jet!"
Oshawott surged forward, shrouded in a jet of water, charging directly at Goomy.
"Goomy, use Body Slam!"
Goomy leaped into the air and slammed down squarely onto Oshawott.
"Oshawott, use Razor Shell!"
Oshawott struck Goomy with its scalchop, sending the dragon Pokémon flying.
"Oshawott, use Tackle!"
"Goomy, use Dragon Breath!"
Oshawott charged right into the incoming Dragon Breath and collapsed.
"Oshawott is unable to battle. The winner is Goomy!"
"Return, Oshawott."
By this point, Goomy was also nearly out of energy, and Muzi recalled it to its Poké Ball.
"Well now, Ash, which Pokémon will you send out next?"
"It's your turn, go, Pignite!"
Ash sent out his Pignite.
"Pignite, eh? In that case, I choose you, Altaria!"
Muzi directly deployed her second ace, Altaria.
"Pignite, use Flamethrower!"
Pignite unleashed a powerful torrent of flame.
"Altaria, dodge it!"
"Altaria, use Haze!"
Altaria evaded the attack and then released a thick cloud of Haze, completely concealing itself within the white mist.
"Pignite, use Fire Pledge!"
Suddenly, towering pillars of fire erupted from the ground, entirely engulfing the area covered by the Haze.
"Altaria, use Cotton Guard!"
Altaria enveloped its body in fluffy cotton-like down, successfully absorbing the brunt of the attack. Even so, Altaria sustained some damage.
"Altaria, use Dragon Pulse!"
The Dragon Pulse struck Pignite dead-on.
"Pignite, use Flame Charge!"
Pignite cloaked itself in flames and charged swiftly toward Altaria.
Altaria soared high into the sky, and the Flame Charge missed completely.
"Use Aerial Ace!"
Altaria swooped down and landed a direct hit on Pignite.
"Use Fury Swipes!"
Following up immediately, Altaria unleashed Fury Swipes, landing blow after blow on Pignite until it collapsed onto the ground.
"Pignite is unable to battle. The winner is Altaria!"
"Return, Altaria. Next up is your turn, go, Pikachu!"
Ash sent out his ultimate ace, Pikachu.
"Pikachu, huh? Then I'll have to get serious."
"Altaria, use Dragon Dance!"
Altaria performed a Dragon Dance, boosting its power and speed.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika... chu!"
"Altaria, use Protect!"
Altaria raised a barrier of Protect, blocking the Thunderbolt entirely.
"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"
"Altaria, use Cotton Guard!"
"Pika, pika-pika-pika-pika, pika!"
Surging with intense electricity, Pikachu bolted toward Altaria, slamming straight into its Cotton Guard.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
Pikachu followed up with Iron Tail, striking Altaria squarely and bringing the dragon Pokémon down to the ground.
"Altaria is unable to battle, so the winner is Pikachu. Contestant Muzi, please send out your next Pokémon."
"As expected, Pikachu truly is strong. In that case, I will now send out my strongest Pokémon. Go, Dragonite!"
Cheng Cheng had not expected Muzi to deploy Dragonite so soon. Dragonite was her absolute strongest Pokémon; Cheng Cheng had assumed she would save it for the very end. But it made sense—facing Pikachu meant pulling out all the stops and fighting at full power.
"Pikachu, I'm counting on you for the next round!"
"Pika!"
"Dragonite, use Dragon Claw!"
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
Dragonite's Dragon Claw clashed directly with Pikachu's Iron Tail. However, Dragonite's sheer physical strength prevailed, sending Pikachu flying backward.
"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!"
"Pika-pika-pika-pika, chu!"
Pikachu hurled a crackling orb of electricity toward Dragonite.
"Dragonite, use Dragon Claw!"
Dragonite used Dragon Claw once more, shattering the incoming Electro Ball.
"Dragonite, use Dragon Rage!"
"Pikachu, dodge it!"
Pikachu darted agilely, narrowly avoiding the blast of Dragon Rage.
"Dragon Rush!"
Dragonite unleashed its ultimate move, charging at Pikachu with an overwhelming, dragon-shaped aura.
"Pikachu, dodge!"
Pikachu tried to evade, but the shockwave clipped it, sending it crashing to the ground.
"Pikachu, hang in there!"
Encouraged by Ash's voice, Pikachu struggled back to its feet. Truly, it was a remarkably resilient mouse.
"Dragonite, use Thunder Punch!"
"Pikachu, dodge!"
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu leaped into the air and unleashed a Thunderbolt that struck Dragonite directly.
"Dragonite, use Dragon Tail!"
Dragonite swept its tail, landing a heavy blow that knocked Pikachu across the battlefield.
"Pikachu is unable to battle. The winner is Dragonite!"
"Pikachu, are you alright?"
Ash ran forward and scooped Pikachu up into his arms.
"Pikachu, thank you for your hard work. Leave the rest to me."
Looking up at Muzi, Ash declared, "You're exceptionally strong, but I want to battle alongside Cheng Cheng in the end, so I'm going to defeat you this time!"
"Let's see you try then! I won't hold back, because I've also made a promise to Cheng Cheng that we would meet in the finals."
"Then let's find out who takes the victory!"
"I'm counting on you, Unfezant!"
Ash sent out his fifth Pokémon, Unfezant.
"Unfezant, trying to win with speed? But Dragonite's speed shouldn't be underestimated either."
"Dragonite, use Thunder Punch!"
Dragonite lunged forward, aiming a Thunder Punch at Unfezant, but Unfezant gracefully sidestepped and evaded it.
"Unfezant, use Aerial Ace!"
Unfezant utilized Aerial Ace, landing a clean hit on Dragonite.
"My, my, this is a rather unfavorable matchup."
Although Dragonite was fast, its massive bulk put it at a distinct disadvantage against an agile flyer like Unfezant.
"Unfezant, use Air Cutter!"
Vast currents of wind whipped together into a razor-sharp blade of air.
"Since it's come to this, use Dragon Rush directly!"
Dragonite plunged straight through the incoming Air Cutter without slowing down, hurtling toward Unfezant. However, Unfezant managed to slip out of the way at the last fraction of a second.
"Unfezant, use Air Slash!"
The Air Slash slammed into Dragonite's body.
"Good grief. Return, Dragonite."
Muzi recalled Dragonite to its ball.
"I choose you, Vibrava!"
Cheng Cheng was surprised that Muzi had chosen Vibrava. In terms of sheer speed, Vibrava should be at a slight disadvantage against Unfezant.
"Unfezant, use Air Slash!"
"Vibrava, dodge it!"
Vibrava banked sharply, evading the attack.
"Vibrava, use Sonic Boom!"
The shockwave of the Sonic Boom rippled outward, striking Unfezant squarely.
"Unfezant, use Aerial Ace!"
Unfezant retaliated with another blistering Aerial Ace, closing the distance so fast that Vibrava had no time to dodge.
"Vibrava, use Mud-Slap!"
Vibrava suddenly kicked up a spray of thick mud right into Unfezant's eyes. Though blinded, Unfezant's momentum carried it forward to clip Vibrava.
"Vibrava, finish this with Dragon Breath!"
The Dragon Breath washed over the visually impaired Unfezant, bringing it down.
"Unfezant is unable to battle. The winner is Vibrava!"
"Return, Vibrava."
Ash was now down to his very last Pokémon.
"I'm leaving it all to you, Snivy!"
Ash produced his final Pokémon, Snivy.
"Return, Vibrava."
Muzi recalled Vibrava as well.
"Time for your debut. Go, Cubchoo!"
Muzi sent out Cubchoo. Cheng Cheng hadn't anticipated Cubchoo's appearance either, though in terms of type advantage, Cubchoo certainly held the upper hand. Even so, Ash was never an easy opponent.
"Snivy, use Vine Whip!"
"Cubchoo, use Fury Swipes!"
Snivy lashed out with its vines, but Cubchoo countered with a rapid flurry of Fury Swipes, batting the vines away.
Cheng Cheng hadn't imagined that Fury Swipes could be used defensively like that. It was clear Muzi had thoroughly studied every single one of her Pokémon's moves.
"Cubchoo, use Icy Wind!"
Cubchoo exhaled a freezing gust of wind. The Icy Wind swept across the field, dealing significant damage to Snivy.
"Snivy, use Leaf Storm!"
A massive tempest of sharp leaves surged forward, intertwining with the lingering Icy Wind to transform the attack into a freezing Leaf Storm. Ash was indeed formidable, turning the opponent's Icy Wind into part of his own devastating Leaf Storm as it swept toward Cubchoo.
"Cubchoo, use Endure!"
Cubchoo braced itself, riding out the ferocious onslaught.
"Go on, use Fury Swipes!"
"Snivy, evade!"
Cubchoo darted forward with Fury Swipes, but Snivy nimbly leapt out of the way.
"Use Leaf Blade!"
Snivy struck Cubchoo with a glowing blade of foliage, sending the little bear skidding backward.
"Use Vine Whip again!"
A barrage of whip strikes landed on Cubchoo, leaving it heavily battered.
Suddenly, Cubchoo began to glow with the bright light of evolution. Its body stretched and grew larger right before their eyes, successfully evolving into Beartic!
Cheng Cheng hadn't expected Cubchoo to evolve into Beartic at this exact juncture; it looked like victory was slipping away from Ash.
"Beartic, use Slash!"
"Snivy, dodge!"
Snivy leaped into the air, narrowly dodging the sweeping Slash.
"Use Brine!"
A jet of salty water blasted forward, hitting Snivy dead-on.
"Use Icy Wind!"
Another biting wave of Icy Wind dealt critical damage to Snivy, causing the grass Pokémon to faint.
"Snivy is unable to battle! The winner is Muzi!"
Muzi successfully advanced to the next round of the tournament.
"Muzi, congratulations!"
"You were fantastic too, Ash. If your Cubchoo—ah, if your Snivy hadn't had to deal with Beartic's evolution right at the end, you might have won."
"But you still had other Pokémon left, didn't you?"
And just like that, Muzi secured her place in the top four.