@Scytherwolf;

Episode 16: Blazes of Glory

[Good to see you again, Ash...] Blaze smiled as he landed by Ash's side. [Who's our opponent here?]

"This is Taka, Falkner's Pidgeot." Ash gestured to the majestic brown bird Pokemon with an ornate, red, orange, and yellow crest facing him and Blaze. "Tintri's on the ropes, so I need you to finish the job!"

[You got it!] With that, Blaze took off and stopped over the arena's dividing line.

"Taka, take flight!" Falkner commanded.

[Yee-ha!] Taka cried as he soared skyward, eager to engage the Charizard hovering over the middle of the arena. But Blaze blew out a wave of fire in Taka's direction, only to balk as Taka effortlessly wove through the flames.

[What do we do now? The Pidgeot avoided my Flamethrower...] Blaze looked to Ash for advice.

"Keep trying!" Ash called from the ground. "Use Flamethrower in as many directions as you can! One of them should hit Taka eventually."

A toothy grin formed on Blaze's face. [Your strategies may be strange, but I know they will work.] he smiled before scanning the airspace above the arena for any sign of Taka.

He saw a brown blur out of the corner of his eye and blew a Flamethrower in the blur's path. When the blur veered out of the way of the stream of fire, Blaze would heave another fiery blast, only for the blur to dodge that Flamethrower as well.

On the ground, Misty watched Blaze's futile attempts to hit Taka. "It looks like a game of Whack-a-Diglett up there..."

"That's because Taka is using Agility to dodge Blaze's attacks no matter where he aims." Brock explained. "I think Falkner's trying to wear Blaze down before counterattacking."

In the arena, Ash was growing frustrated at Blaze's constant near misses. "Come on, I know you can hit him!"

[I'm trying, but he's moving too fast for me!] Blaze called back, before heaving another Flamethrower in the Pidgeot's direction.

He heard a rush of wind headed in his direction, but before he could fly out of the way, the small tornado sent him tumbling to the arena floor. [WAUUUUGH!!!]

[Not so high and mighty on the ground, are you, you overgrown lizard?] Taka taunted as his right wing started to glow bright white. [Feel the power of the wind!]

[AUGGGHHH!!!] Blaze yelped in pain as he was pummeled by the force of two Wing Attacks that pinned him to the floor. As he helplessly tried to get up, Taka slammed into him with a Quick Attack, leaving the majestic Charizard writhing on the floor in pain.

Ash, meanwhile, winced as his faithful Charizard was pummeled by the Pidgeot's merciless attack. What do I do now? At the rate Taka is pummeling Blaze, Blaze is a sitting Psyduck!

Falkner's voice snapped him back to reality. "Do you see just how powerful the wind can be? If I were you, I would just cut my losses and go train a bit more."

"No..." Ash growled. "I didn't come all this way to suffer humiliation and defeat...I came so I could prove my skills in a new region, and win their badges alongside the badges I earned in my home region--so I'm not giving up!"

Blaze weakly stood up. [You're right...I can't just lie here like a frightened Meowth and get pecked to death!]

He flexed his wings a little bit. [I still have enough oomph in me to take flight again--so let's do this!]

Ash cheered as Blaze took flight again. Maybe I have a chance to win after all! he thought as he watched Taka attempt to Quick Attack where Blaze had been lying moments earlier.

[What the...] Taka started, but gasped when he saw Blaze airborne again. [I thought I had you down for the count!]

[When you have a master that loves you and believes in you, you just can't keep a good mon down!] Blaze smirked.

He watched Taka power past him with Agility, but veered out of the way as Taka attempted Quick Attack again. When Taka tried again from another angle, Blaze just flew out of the way again.

On the ground, Brock realized what Blaze was doing. "Blaze is turning Falkner's own evasive strategy against him!"

"Let's see how good Falkner is at Whack-a-Diglett." Misty grinned as Blaze flew behind Taka, in hopes of catching the Pidgeot off guard.

Just as Taka was about to fly in for another Quick Attack attempt, Blaze turned around and surrounded Taka in the flaming circle of Fire Spin. [I gotcha now!] Blaze smirked. [I understand the power of the wind, for the wind fans the flames!]

With that, he grabbed Taka in his claws, flew to the top of the arena, gracefully performed a few spins to appeal to the audience down below, then zoomed back down, tossing Taka into the ground for more damage.

The referee's whistle pierced the air. "Taka is unable to battle--this match's winner is Silver!" she announced, gesturing to Falkner's swirly eyed Pidgeot.

"YES!!!" Misty cheered.

"Way to go, Ash!" Brock agreed.

A smile formed on Falkner's face. "I must commend you for your never say die attitude--that will allow you to soar on your Pokemon League quest." he told Ash as Ash ran to hug Blaze.

He offered Ash a silver badge that resembled a pair of wings. "In honor of your heroic effort here today, I give you this official Pokémon League Badge."

[We did it...] Tintri smiled as he hopped aboard Ash's shoulder and admired the tiny badge in his master's hands.

"You've just won your first Johto Badge...what are you gonna do next?" Brock grinned.

"Before we go to Worlds of Wonder? Shout what we did from the rooftops!" Ash replied before dashing out to the arena's observation deck with Blaze and Tintri.

After taking a moment to savor the view of Violet City at sunset, he held his new badge high and proclaimed "I got a Zephyr Badge!!!!", over Tintri's joyous squeak and Blaze's triumphant roar.

To Be Continued...