The Wraith of Blaze #4: Ash VS Cinder 

  Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@IEATSPAMhotmail.com) 
  http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/pokemon/index.html 
  Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo. Proper licenses 
belong to respective properties and characters. 
  This file may be freely distributed so long as it appears 
in its complete form and proper credit is given. No part may 
be reproduced in part or whole for monetary/personal gain 
without permission from the author. 
  Fair question: who is Cinder? 

  Fanart can be found at: 
     http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/fanart/index.html 

------------------------------------------------

Pokemon League Final Tournament, Day 5 

  Gary exited the stadium, proud of his work on the 
fifth elimination round. 
  For a moment, he missed the attention he got from his 
'fan club,' a group of six girls that constantly cheered 
Gary on no matter what kind of battle he was facing. 
But, somewhere along the line he realized such cheer 
was fleeting, and it was when Gary suffered defeat at 
the Viridian Gym that it became hollow. 
  A whole year since that battle, Gary was a different 
person. 
  In order to catch up with Ash, his longtime rival 
who traveled to compete in the Orange League in the 
Southern Islands, Gary reworked his training strategy 
into something more cohesive, and at the same time 
being particularly careful not to succumb to Ash's own 
training tactics. Careful raising of each of his 
myriad Pokemon was what would prove to Ash that a 
small handful of Pokemon was not good enough when 
the final cut came. 
  In fact, Ash had indeed lost the previous day to a 
Gym Leader, when it was expected that Ash would turn 
out to be the champion of the tournament. Losing early 
made Gary upset a bit, because he wanted to test his 
newfound techniques against his rival. However, due to 
a dubious investigation, Ash has been reinstated back 
into the tournament, and Gary knew he may get his 
chance yet. 
  Ever since arriving for the final tournament six days 
ago Gary noticed strange events going on, from the 
apparent tampering with the tournament schedule lineup 
to outright sabotage of trainers. While the entire point 
of the Gym Leaders being involved was to weed out the 
weak links, losing over half of them within the first 
three days was ridiculous, and more than one person 
suspected tampering. 
  It was for that reason an investigation was launched 
the previous day, and they quickly turned up interesting 
results. Among other trainers, two of eight suspected 
trainers were Gym Leaders, both of whom were still in the 
running, and were now eliminated due to the investigation. 
Gary and a few others suspected this also was the work 
of the saboteur, but there was no proof, and no 
saboteur to find, for that matter. 
  Without surprise Gary was stopped by Surge, the Gym 
Leader of Vermilion City, one of those eliminated in 
the first round. He held a Pokeball in his hand, and wore 
a big smile on his face, despite his elimination. 
  "Good job there, soldier!" Surge congratulated. 
  "Thanks," Gary replied. "But I'm guessing this isn't a 
social call." Which would be typical of the former 
soldier, he added silently. 
  "Apparently, the police has caught someone," the Gym 
Leader explained. "I think you ought to be there and 
help determine if this is the real guy." 
  "Is it the Rocket?" the younger trainer asked 
hopefully, remembering what he and Surge found the night 
before. 
  Surge nodded. "Seems he's the boss, or so the guys 
who turned him in say. Funny thing is, he got turned in 
by his own men." 

  Erika paced about in front of Ash, Brock, and Misty, 
seated on the couch in her VIP room, Pikachu and Togepi 
sitting on the floor. 
  "So you see," Brock explained, "we need to find Sabrina 
and Cinder, and we think you know where Cinder is. If we 
find him, we find Sabrina, too." 
  The Gym Leader paused to consider this. "I can't tell 
you." 
  "Why not?!" demanded Ash. 
  "Don't get me wrong, Ash," Erika said, "it's not 
because of what happened yesterday, but... I can't 
tell you." 
  "Why are you hiding such a bad person?" Misty asked. 
  "If Sabrina gets hurt over this it'll be on your 
head!" Brock pointed out. 
  "That's not true, because I really can't tell you," 
insisted the Gym Leader. 
  "But you've got to know at least SOMETHING!" Ash 
pleaded. 
  "Even if it was for his own good, I wouldn't turn 
Cinder in," Erika stated, staring off into the air. 
"You just don't understand him." 
  "Well, we certainly won't if the only impression he's 
going to give is kidnapping people," Brock said. 
  "A couple years back Cinder was mortally wounded in 
a Pokemon battle," Erika explained. "He was found by 
scientists and taken to their lab, where they saved 
his life by turning him into a living weapon. When one 
of the experiments got loose Cinder got away, and 
became a trainer himself after rescuing a lab Pokemon 
from the destruction." 
  She turned to face the trio. "Cinder thinks trainers 
are to blame for Pokemons' lot in life, and is seeking 
to 'liberate' them from 'slavery,' probably because he's 
never met a decent trainer before. So he decided in 
order to force trainers to change their ways he would 
enter the Pokemon League tournament and make his case 
heard." 
  "Sounds rather ambitious," Misty said in awe. 
  "And kidnapping the Gym Leaders was probably one of 
the ways he thought he would get the League's attention," 
Brock deduced. 
  Erika nodded. "But I persuaded him that it wouldn't 
work, and that's when he stopped. The police don't 
know that the kidnapper is really Cinder because none 
of us told them." 
  "Why not?" asked Ash. 
  "After a lot of talk we decided to give him a chance," 
the Gym Leader answered. "Of course, not all of us were 
happy with that decision, particularly Sabrina, who 
took it rather personally. So she became his biggest 
enemy, and that's probably why they fought each other 
last night." 
  "So what's he going to do with her now?" asked Misty. 
  Erika shook her head. "I can't say. I've never known 
him to have gone that far before." 
  "And that's why we've got to find him and Sabrina," 
Ash said. "She's the last Gym Leader left in the 
tournament, too." 
  "Pika-pi," Pikachu warned, tugging at Ash's leg. 
  "No, that's all right," Erika assured the electric 
Pokemon. "I never thought through the consequences of 
borrowing Cinder's Pokemon for the tournament." 
  "I'd say it's only wrong if you paid him," Brock 
said. 
  "He lent them to me out of his own will," the she 
replied. "Cinder was getting suspicious about the 
tournament, so he thought he could help me out a bit. 
And now, everybody thinks I'm a rich, spoiled brat 
simply because I have money and got those Pokemon." 
  "It'll pass," Brock assured her. "When the truth 
is sorted out, you'll come out fine." 
  "So I guess you won't help us turn in your friend, 
then," Ash concluded, standing to his feet. "I guess 
I wouldn't turn in Brock if he were in trouble, 
either." 
  "Maybe," Erika said, as Brock and Misty got up in 
turn. 
  "We'll just show ourselves out," Brock said, as he 
headed for the door. 
  "Wait." 
  "Huh?" 
  "Cinder likes hot places." 
  "Hot places?" Ash repeated. 
  "I don't know if he's there for sure," Erika warned, 
"but it's likely he's hiding in the caves under the 
Victory Road. It's nice and warm down there, from what 
I hear... probably even magma, too." 
  "Thanks, Erika," Ash said. 

  "You're just in time," Officer Jenny told Surge and 
Gary, just as they walked into her office. "We were 
just about ready to question them." 
  "Question who?" asked the Gym Leader. 
  "Team Rocket, of course," Jenny answered. Waving 
the two toward her, she said, "This way." 
  The chief among the myriad Jennies lead Surge and 
Gary through the office, through several doors and 
around several cubicle desks, and finally to a sound- 
proof room. The three took standing positions behind 
a glass window, which Gary suspected was really a 
one-way mirror. 
  At the moment there were only two Jennies in the 
room, pacing around a rectangular, wooden table, all 
four members of Team Rocket sitting on the side 
opposite the door. Three of them Gary recognized as 
being the ones who were at the Viridian City gym that 
day long ago, while the fourth, a man dressed in the 
traditional black Team Rocket uniform, sat arms-folded 
with his hat tipped low. 
  "Just like I thought," he couldn't resist saying. 
  "Shhh! Be quiet," Jenny warned. 
  "So what's their story?" asked Surge. 
  "Apparently, these three," she explained, pointing to 
Jessie, James, and Meowth, "are turning in their REAL 
boss, him," pointing to the black-suited Rocket. "Even 
when Blackie denies it, those three keep insisting on 
it, so we retained them as well." 
  "You think it's a trick?" asked Gary. 
  "We'll find out soon," answered Jenny. "If they can 
prove that Giovanni is not the boss of Team Rocket, 
then I think it's a good start." 

  Obsidian shattered under the metallic heel of Cinder 
as the cloaked wraith made his way closer to the 
flowing, hot magma. He did not mind the heat; it was 
a perfectly normal temperature for a resident of 
Cinnabar Island, and he hardly shielded his eyes from 
the intense glow as the fires beckoned him. 
  Cinder crushed more of the cooled magma as he dug 
his metallic toes into the ground, looking for a 
sensation that was no longer there. He sighed. 
  He produced the Trainerball that held Sabrina captive, 
and studied over its yellow and black coloration. The 
weapon designed to work on humans worked quite well, 
and the Silph engineers were to be congratulated for 
that. Of course, such weapons were illegal, but that 
was beside the point. 
  Popping open the Trainerball, Sabrina materialized 
before Cinder, bruised in some places, but still 
conscious. The sudden burst of heat from the sudden 
change in environment was not lost upon the psychic 
Gym Leader, and she found herself shivering despite 
herself. 
  "W...where am I?" Sabrina asked. 
  "Under the stadium, of course," answered Cinder. 
"A wonderful hot zone where the legendary Moltres was 
rumored to reside. The great bird is no longer here, 
but it certainly left a comfortable home behind." 
  Moltres' lair, Sabrina repeated in her mind. 
  "If I had the inclination to remain here I would 
choose this as my lair," continued the wraith. 
"But, that is for later. What am I going to do with 
a rival such as yourself?" 
  "You bastard," Sabrina spat. "Not until one of us 
doesn't leave alive will I quit!" 
  "Oh, but don't get ahead of yourself," warned the 
wraith, picking up Sabrina by the collar. With 
crushing steps punctuating his words, Cinder added, 
"You see, if I dispose of you here there will be no 
body, either. Not one anyone could possibly identify, 
of course, since you're going to join Mother Earth." 
  The psychic Gym Leader felt the heat of the magma 
grow behind her. Risking a glance back, she realized 
that Cinder was carrying her over a cliff, overlooking 
a large stream of magma flowing in the cavern. Her 
mind raced for a solution.... 
  "And so we prove which of us is the better." 
  Sabrina started laughing. "Fool. Did you really 
think it'd end like this?" 
  "I was disappointed about it, but you leave me no 
choice." 
  "Look...." She pointed a finger behind the robed man. 
  "Cinder!" 
  Cinder glanced over his shoulder, where three kids 
stood defiantly in the midst of obsidian. His 
mechanical eye focused on the boy in the center. 
"Ash." 
  "Let Sabrina go!" the boy demanded. 
  "I have no time for this!" the wraith cried, tossing 
Sabrina away from the cliff. Her beaten body collapsed 
easily, crushing obsidian as she landed. 
  "Now what?" Brock asked Ash. 
  Cinder threw all of his Pokeballs out before him. 
"My followers will deal with you fools!" 
  One after another, six Pokemon formed in a line in 
front of the wraith: Scyther, Kingler, Aerodactyl, the 
horse-sized electrical spider creature Spidera, the 
giant scorpion Scorpin, whose pincers were replaced by 
metal shears and head protected by a reptilian skull, 
and Omastar, the prehistoric Pokemon. 
  "Pokemon battle, eh?!" Ash cried, throwing Pokeballs 
of his own. "Squirtle! Charizard! Bulbasaur! Snorlax!" 
  Misty three Pokeballs of her own. "Go, Staryu! 
Dewgong! Starmie!" 
  In turn Brock shouted, "Geodude! Onix! Vulpix! 
Rhyhorn!" 
  One after another, the trio's Pokemon materialized, 
spread in their own line opposite that of Cinder. 
Pikachu also stepped forward into the line with his 
fellows. 
  But Cinder took a step back in terrified shock. "N... 
no! Stay back!" 
  "Eh?!" the three said, confused. 
  "GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!!!" screamed Cinder. 
  It was then Brock noticed that Rhyhorn was getting 
ready to charge the cloaked man. "Rhyhorn, what are you 
doing?!" 
  But, paying no heed to its master's commands, or lack 
thereof, Rhyhorn charged. Cinder's Pokemon moved to 
intercept, but each and every one of them were knocked 
aside from Rhyhorn's bulk and momentum. 
  In absolute terror Cinder threw flames at Rhyhorn, to 
no effect. 
  "GET AWAY!!!" 
  "Rhyhorn, no!" Brock yelled. 
  The great Rhyhorn charged into Cinder and kept on 
going. 
  That is, until there was no more ground left. Both 
the terrified Cinder and Rhyhorn plummeted to their 
fiery demise as the magma seemed to open up to 
caress them. 
  "Cinder!" Ash and Misty yelled, rushing to the 
edge of the cliff, despite the intense heat. 
  Both stared down at the magma, but had to shield their 
eyes and fall back due to the intense light and heat. 
All six of Cinder's Pokemon watched them, not stopping 
Ash and Misty. 
  "I don't believe it," Ash said, feeling numb. 
  Brock lifted Sabrina up, throwing her arm over his 
shoulder. "There's no way anybody could survive that. 
Except for Rhyhorn, that is." 
  "Rhyhorn?" echoed Misty. 
  "Didn't you know?" the Pokemon breeder said. "Rhyhorn 
and Rhydon's armor plating is so thick they can survive 
intense heat, such as magma. It's just that I'm not sure 
if it's going to come back." 
  "Mmmm... no..." Sabrina moaned. 
  "Sabrina!" Ash exclaimed. "You're going to be fine!" 
  That's not it, he heard her say in his mind. 
  "Yeaaaahhh!!" 
  "What is it, Ash?" asked Misty. 
  "I'm hearing Sabrina in my head!" 
  Cinder lives.... 
  "That's impossible!" 
  "Hey, I can hear it, too," Brock noted. 
  "Same here," Misty said. "But how could Cinder 
survive that magma?" 
  You don't know Cinder... not as much as I. He is far 
craftier than that... because he's psychic. 
  "Cinder's psychic, too?" Ash said in amazement. 
  But, that's not all.... 
  Rumbling underfoot forcefully caused Sabrina to 
break her mental contact. The obsidian chunks the 
humans and Pokemon stood upon shook and shattered 
under them as a minor earthquake passed through. 
  "W...what's that?!" Ash cried. 
  A column of liquid fire burst from the magma stream 
below them, and the attentions of both human and 
Pokemon alike was to that flame. Each one of them 
shielded their eyes from the intense light and heat, 
but the Pokemon ran for cover as a heavy shape came 
flying at them. 
  Tumbling through the obsidian Rhyhorn rolled 
past the humans, coming to a stop several meters 
away from the cliff edge. 
  "Rhyhorn?!" Brock yelled. "What the...?!" 
  In a bright flash of light, Rhyhorn evolved into 
Rhydon. 
  "Rhyhorn evolved!" the breeder finished. 
  The evolved Pokemon's eyes narrowed, staring 
past his trainer back to the column of fire. All 
eyes in turn faced the magma pillar, as a dark 
shape could be made out within. 
  The creature of my nightmares.... they all heard 
in their heads, is no more! 
  In an instant the magma pillar dissolved into 
nothingness, falling down to the stream below, 
revealing a glowing flaming form. Where hands and 
feet should have been were steel claws, the fingers 
made up of nail-like talons that looked as if they 
could crush reinforced steel easily. Durable hoses 
ran from each arm to the creature's back. Its tail 
ended with four razor-sharp nails, engulfed in an 
eternal flame. The lower jaw of the monster was 
gone, replaced by a steel jaw, and the left eye 
replaced by a large, red mechanical eye. Two ceaseless 
flames danced over the creature's eyes in a manner 
similar to its tail. Pieces and patches of metallic 
armor decorated the creature's body. 
  Floating in the air, covered in even the flames 
born from within, Ash whispered, "Cinder?!" 
  In his disturbingly metallic tone, the revealed 
wraith simply said, "Maaaaggggmaaarrr...." 

  Having removed Billy from the room, one Jenny 
approached the remaining members of Team Rocket with 
a set of forms in her hand. Placing them in front 
of Jessie, she said, "You're willing to tell a court 
that Billy is indeed the leader of Team Rocket?" 
  Jessie nodded. "As far as I'm concerned he is." 
  "Of course, not for long," added James. 
  "But he's still not cracking," Jenny said. "So it's 
just your word against his, and that gets us nowhere. 
We can't really charge him with anything without some 
sort of proof." 
  "The only way to get it out of him for sure is to 
trick him," Surge said as he entered the room. Gary 
and the chief followed close behind. 
  "You're the Gym Leader," Jessie said in recognition. 
  "You got that right," he replied. "I've worked quite 
a few jobs during the war, and one of the main things 
that worked was psychological warfare." 
  "That's brilliant!" James exclaimed. 
  "But what's that got to do with us?" Meowth asked. 
  "We can cut a deal," the chief Jenny answered. "If 
you three can help us out, then we'll drop all charges 
against you and everybody else falsely-accused." 
  "Sounds like a plan to me," Jessie said. 

  "Cinder is a Pokemon?!" Misty gasped in surprise. 
  The rebuilt Magmar, cloaked in flames, levitated in 
place, arms folded. "Is it any wonder that the master 
of the Pokemon Legion is a Pokemon himself? Did you 
truly believe you could DESTROY me, in the earth that 
gave BIRTH to me?!" 
  "Until I came to the tournament, I believed that no 
trainer existed that could possibly not treat his 
Pokemon as slaves," the wraith continued. "But I saw 
differently... no, such trainers are more the rule 
and not the exception. But, in place of that, there 
are those trainers that shun others... the different 
is feared, and must be eliminated! THAT is why the 
trainer is human, and not the monster." 
  "That's not true!" Ash shouted, but Cinder hardly 
listened. 
  Cinder pointed a talon at Ash. "Go, my Legion! 
Wipe them out... all of them!" 
  Scyther, Aerodactyl, Kingler, Scorpin, Spidera, and 
Omastar roared as one, and charged into battle. 
  In turn, the humans' Pokemon charged as well, the 
numerical odds in their favor. 
  But where the Legion's numbers were sorely lacking 
they made up that shortcoming with skill and power. 
  Omastar gushed out Hydro Pump at the evolved 
Rhydon, Onix, and Geodude, taking on all three at 
once with great skill and precision. 
  Spidera shot sticky strands of webbing at Staryu 
and Dewgong, sending electric pulses through the 
webbing for a shocking surprise. 
  Kingler sparred with Ash's Bulbasaur, neither 
gaining a significant advantage over the other. 
  Scyther played a deadly dance against the gigantic 
Snorlax, one-on-one, with Snorlax failing to score 
hits against the ninja-like Pokemon. 
  Aerodactyl battled against Squirtle, Vulpix, and 
Starmie, all three trying to shoot down the 
prehistoric monster. 
  Scorpin raised its tail and smashed Charizard with 
metal claws, favoring jabs rather than cuts. But 
Charizard was hardly standing still and landed a few 
blows of its own. 
  Surging with flaming energy, Cinder rocketed over the 
battling Pokemon, straight for Ash. 
  "Ash!!" Brock and Misty yelled in warning. 
  Flaming a steel fist, the wraith screamed, "DIIEE!!!" 
  But he stopped in his tracks in mid-air, just in time 
to avoid flying into a curtain of lightning. Seething in 
anger, he stared down at Pikachu, putting out millions 
of volts of electrical power, and giving time for Ash 
to bolt for safety. 
  "YOU LITTLE RUNT!" Cinder yelled, directing his anger 
at Pikachu instead of the human. Pointing both arms 
palms downward, he fired dual jets of flame at the 
electrical mouse. 
  Pikachu darted, releasing the lightning curtain just 
in time to avoid the double Flamethrower attack. He 
turned and fired a Thunderbolt at Cinder, but the 
intense heat field surrounding the wraith proved too 
much for the electrical attack. In retaliation Cinder 
launched a Fire Blast, throwing Pikachu back with 
great force. 
  "Pikachu!" Ash cried. 
  But from behind Charizard knocked Cinder out of the 
air with a mighty lash from its tail. Behind Ash's Fire 
Pokemon the Legion Pokemon dealt with a switch-off in 
mid battle to compensate for Charizard's confrontation 
of the metal Magmar. 
  Rolling away from Charizard, Cinder recovered from the 
surprise blow, crushing more obsidian as he stood up. 
"I see. A true warrior among children!" 
  Charizard roared in delight, beckoning Cinder forward 
with one claw. 
  With too many Pokemon to direct in the battle, the 
three trainers carried Sabrina to a safe distance, 
watching the battle from afar. 
  "You can do it!" Ash shouted. 
  Cinder and Charizard circled each other, gauging each 
other's strengths as the other Pokemon battled around 
them. Charizard opened its mouth and initiated a 
Flamethrower attack, while Cinder raised both his arms 
and fired two Flamethrowers of his own. 
  The flames of both attacks met at the midpoint, but 
it was clear that Cinder's Flamethrowers would prevail. 
Dodging to the side, Charizard abandoned the attack, 
and rushed forward with claws ready to Slash. 
  The wraith dodged the Slash attack, then launched 
a Fire Punch into the great lizard's midsection. In 
anger Charizard Skull Bashed Cinder over the head, 
sending him reeling long enough to throw yet another 
Flamethrower. 
  Cupping his metal claws together, Cinder threw a 
Fire Blast. This time Charizard had no time to escape 
the attack, and caught the blast in full. 
  "My flame is much more powerful than yours, foolish 
lizard!" taunted the wraith. "If you can't play with 
fire, you'd better quit now!" 
  Charizard snarled in response as it got up to its 
feet. Spreading wings, the Fire Pokemon catapulted 
itself into a low-level dive attack, smashing into 
Cinder with its head, and taking off. 
  The wraith grabbed hold of one of Charizard's horns 
with one claw and banged on its head with the other, 
successfully forcing Charizard to crash into the 
obsidian floor. The crash threw Cinder away from the 
fallen Charizard, giving it enough time to recover. 
  Cinder Slashed with his metal claws as Charizard 
did the same; both Fire Pokemon took turns blocking 
and attacking, neither gaining an advantage from all 
appearances. 
  But a tail strike from over Cinder's shoulder 
more than evened the odds in the wraith's favor, a 
virtual third arm to Slash with. In an attempt to 
compensate Charizard attempted to Bite the tail, but 
the tail was far more flexible and dexterous than 
Charizard's long neck. 
  Instead, Charizard fired a Flamethrower into Cinder's 
face, momentarily forcing the attack to cease. It was 
that moment the great lizard needed to turn the battle 
in its favor as Charizard grabbed the metal Magmar's 
tail, and threw him. 
  Cinder slid through obsidian face-first, but the 
metal jaw served to his advantage now, as he got back 
up to his feet virtually unhurt. 
  He brushed off the obsidian stuck in his chest. "I 
admire your strength, creature, but if strength were 
the only deciding factor...." Cinder's single organic 
eye closed, and the mechanical eye rotated in place. 
  Blue energies surrounded Charizard, who roared in 
surprise as it was lifted into the air by psychic 
power. 
  "No way!" Ash cried in disbelief. "I know for a fact 
that Magmar isn't a Psychic-type!" 
  "They're not," Brock said. "But I think I know what 
it is, from my studies." 
  "Huh?" 
  "Apparently Magmar's mind works in a fashion that it 
can be trained to use Psychic attacks, given the proper 
equipment," explained the Pokemon Breeder. 
  "And Erika said Cinder was created to be a living 
weapon," added Misty. 
  "So that must mean they also trained him mentally as 
well as physically!" concluded Brock. 
  "Oh no!" Ash moaned. 
  "T...there's a way," Sabrina whispered, struggling to 
speak. 
  "Sabrina?" 
  "I brought... a Master Ball...." 
  Producing the Master Ball, Ash looked at it. "Yeah, I 
found it out in the stadium. What's in it?" 
  "Don't be stupid!" Sabrina hissed. "That's meant... for 
Cinder!" 
  "Cinder?" repeated Misty. 
  "Then why didn't YOU use it?" wondered Brock. 
  "Stupid pride," answered the Gym Leader. She grabbed 
Ash's arm. "Finish it!!" 
  "Okay," Ash replied, "but I'm not sure if it's going 
to work on something that's only half-Pokemon...." 
  He glanced back to where Cinder was throwing Charizard 
with his mind, and saw that the metal Magmar was unleashing 
a Psywave. 
  Winding up his arm, Ash shouted, "Here goes nothing!" He 
threw the Master Ball at Cinder. 
  Realizing the new danger too late, Cinder ceased in his 
psionic assault. "GAAAAAHHH!!!" 
  He raised his arms up and fired. 

  As soon as Billy was certain he wasn't being followed, 
he slipped off into the woods. 
  He cursed the two white-suited Rockets and their 
Meowth. If he didn't know any better he'd have sworn that 
those three were so devoted to Giovanni that they were 
blind and stupid. 
  Billy found the hidden camp he made in the woods, which 
was located far from the camp he ordered the three 
Rocket flunkies to make. Throwing a green tarp off from 
over the hidden communications equipment, Billy took a 
seat at the radio transmitter, and flipped it on. 
  Taking care to scramble the frequencies first, Billy 
said into the microphone, "It's Billy." 
  "Report," the voice from the other end of the 
transmission ordered. "You're later than usual." 
  Billy winced at the sound of the scrambled voice. "I 
had a little problem. The three flunkies tried to turn 
me in, but without any evidence the cops had to let me 
go. They kept the three for filing purposes, but I'm glad 
to be rid of them. They can't prove I sabotaged the 
tournament, and if anything it'll point to those three 
because I used THEIR Pokemon to do the jobs." 
  "And Giovanni?" 
  "He hasn't been located since he disappeared yesterday, 
after I planted that evidence in his room. The moment he 
turns up, however...." 
  "Excellent. Then our deal may go as planned, without 
Giovanni's interference." 
  "Oh, of course," Billy agreed. "As soon as Team Rocket 
crumbles after Giovanni's capture, all you have to do is 
walk in without anyone to interfere with operations." 
  "Yes." 
  "So, when are you going to extract me? I'm getting 
tired of being a Rocket." 
  "Very soon. The helicopter that's your ride should be 
at your location shortly." 
  As if on cue, Billy heard the sound of the spinning 
blades of the helicopter, high above the trees. The black 
Rocket turned on a signal beam, and watched and waited 
as a rope ladder was thrown down to him. 
  "We'll be seeing you shortly," the scrambled voice said. 
"Take off in the 'copter, and we'll take care of the rest." 
  "Thank you, sir," Billy said, turning off the radio. 
  After a few moments the rope ladder was within reach, 
and so the traitorous Rocket climbed up as the luxury 
helicopter ascended. Thoughts of money filled his mind and 
soon Billy was in the 'copter. 
  He shut the door behind him, and fastened his seatbelt, 
but shutting the door only served to kill all lights in 
the 'copter. 
  "What's going on?!" he yelled. 
  "Oh, nothing, really," a familiar voice answered. "Just 
that you're going for a long detour." 
  As soon as the lights flickered on in the 'copter's 
cabinet, Billy yelped in surprise as he saw Giovanni 
sitting in the seat across from him, holding a gun leveled 
at his face. Persian sat next to the boss of Team Rocket, 
only scorn showing on its face, as usual. 
  With his free hand Giovanni picked up a microphone. 
His voice, transmitted through the speakers next to him, 
was scrambled. "Did you like our little deception?" 
  Billy's eyes opened wider in shock. "Y...you set me 
up!" 
  "Actually, I think it was the other way around," the 
Gym Leader said, shutting off the voice scrambler. "You 
set ME up." 
  "So what're you going to do, shoot me? You'll only be 
worse off when the police catch you!" 
  "Oh no, never something as crude as that," assured 
Giovanni. "You see, the reason I 'fled' was simply because 
I was working WITH the police from the start, ever since 
you began your little campaign of terror. I had already 
proved my innocence, after all, but allowed the officers 
to keep quiet about it in order to pull off this 
deception. You're the big fish, after all." 
  "We got it all on tape," Jenny said, entering the 
passenger cabin. Following behind her were Jessie, James, 
Meowth, Gary, and Surge. 
  "Y...you all tricked me!" Billy yelled angrily. 
  "Your trick was hardly tasteful," Giovanni pointed out. 
  The black Rocket looked at the other three Rockets in 
shocked surprise. "How long did YOU know?!" 
  "They just told us," Meowth answered. "All we had to do 
to get all our charges dropped was get you to confess!" 
  "With my assistance, of course," added Giovanni. 
  "Not to mention we figured out your plans," Surge said. 
"You really can't hide equipment like yours from my 
Pokemon and my army training. Gary and I found them last 
night." 
  "So after we found out the whole story we easily set 
this up," finished Giovanni. 
  Jenny put handcuffs on Billy. "Looks like after getting 
you we ran across something bigger. Too bad we can't get 
your friends on this, too, but at least we know to look 
for them." 
  The arrested Rocket snarled toward the Viridian City 
Gym Leader. "You can't get away with this!" 
  "Oh, but I already have," he assured Billy. "That's why 
you NEVER bet against Giovanni." 

  Ash, Brock, and Misty applauded as they watched Sabrina 
defeat her fifth opponent on the television set at the 
Pokemon Center. All of the trio's Pokemon needed time to 
recover from the great fight with Cinder's Pokemon 
Legion, and they barely got back to the stadium in time 
for Sabrina's match to start. 
  Even when she stepped into the stadium, she assured 
them she was okay, using psychic healing techniques on 
herself, and her Pokemon did the same. Apparently, even 
when injured her Pokemon were still extremely skilled 
and powerful. 
  When Ash captured Cinder in the Master Ball, the six 
monsters that made up the Legion scattered rather than 
be captured or surrender. He had no idea where any of 
the Legion disappeared to, or where they were going, but 
Ash was disappointed he couldn't catch any of them, 
particularly the foreign Spidera and Scorpin. 
  For a moment, he regretted that Cinder would no longer 
participate in the tournament, but fighting him in a 
real life-or-death battle was enough. 

  After the tournaments were concluded that day another 
special news report was held in the conference hall. 
Just as the day before, the room was crowded with 
reporters and other attendees, while it was reaching the 
rest of the attendees through the League's localized 
cable feed. 
  Lance stood behind the podium, just as the day before, 
this time in apparently brighter spirits. 
  "For five days," he began, "I'm sure many of you have 
heard about the alleged sabotaging of the tournament. 
Well, I am happy to announce that it's over." 
  He allowed a wave of murmurs to pass through the 
gathered crowd. "We now have the perpetrator in police 
custody, and the tournament can proceed as normal. 
However, I would like to personally apologize to any 
and all trainers affected by this and were eliminated 
for it; we are sorry to say that you cannot participate 
further in the tournament." 
  Even more words passed in the audience, some people 
even calling out names to the Dragon trainer. 
  "The tournament will continue with any and all 
remaining contestants," Lance said. However, it is to 
the League's decision that Gym deeds will NOT be 
recirculated this year." 
  This time members of the crowd cheered, while some 
still made angry calls. 
  "At this time we are reevaluating the Gym system, 
and until further notice all existing Gyms will retain 
their status." 

  Erika smiled to herself as she heard those words 
leave Lance's lips on the television screen. Nearly 
a week full of frustration was about to end. 
  She wiped a tear from her eye, remembering that Cinder 
had forfeited his match that afternoon, which meant 
that Ash and his friends managed to defeat him to the 
point where he could not recover in time... if at all. 
  If there was anything in the world that Cinder and 
Erika shared was a mutual fear of a certain Pokemon; 
while Erika feared Grimer since she was a little girl, 
Cinder feared Rhyhorn since one tried to Stomp him to 
death. And, strangely enough, the event for both of 
them ended with meeting lifelong friends and partners; 
for Erika, it was Gloom, and for Cinder, Omastar. 
  The Gym Leader wished she knew what happened to 
Cinder. For a moment, she wondered if Ash ever got to 
see his true face. 


Pokemon League Final Tournament, Day 7 

  In traditional League tournament rules the elimination 
rounds took place over the course of a week, with the 
seventh and eight matches taking place on the same 
day, since there were only four matches left by the 
time the seventh round came about, and only two people 
left to compete in the eighth and final round. 
  Sabrina had lost her match earlier in the day, during 
the seventh round elimination. The seventh round was 
long since over, and it left but three hours for the 
two lucky trainers to duke it out in the final match. 
  It was to no surprise to Ash when he stood ready for 
combat in the final elimination round that his opponent 
would be Gary. Pikachu stood at Ash's side, determination 
in his little black eyes. 
  "Saved the best for last," Gary said. "Finally, I can 
show you who's the number one!" 
  "I'm surprised you held out so long," Ash taunted, 
"with your training techniques and all. I've proved many 
times over that my training techniques are better!" 
  "We'll see about that, Ash!" the other boy shouted 
back. "You see, while you were playing parades in the 
Orange League, I've been doing some training of my 
own. Not only have I refined my technique, but it's 
better than yours!" 
  It was to the option of the parties involved in the 
final round how many Pokemon would be used in the 
battle, the default being three, and the maximum being 
six. Both Ash and Gary agreed to a six-on-six battle, 
which would prove to be a long and interesting match. 
  Points were awarded on nothing short than a complete 
knockout of the opposing Pokemon. While victory was 
only possible when one person scored six points, under 
certain circumstances the trainer with the highest score 
by the end of the battle would be declared the winner. 
  There was nothing more to be said between the two 
rivals from Pallet Town; it would be decided in one 
grand battle. 
  Turning his hat backward, Ash threw his first Pokeball 
into the battle arena. "Snorlax, I choose you!" 
  Gary threw in his Pokeball in turn, "Go, Sandslash!" 
  Dwarfed by the hulking Snorlax, Sandslash looked no 
less menacing, brandishing its sharp claws. The 
larger Pokemon looked down at the rodent, and looked 
about ready to Stomp on it. 
  "Now, Ash, we'll see which of us has the advantage!" 
Gary shouted. "Sandslash, burrow underground!" 
  Shoveling the ground of the arena with surprising 
speed, Sandslash dug a hole large enough for it to 
sink into. 
  "Snorlax, Stomp the ground!" Ash commanded. "That 
ought to get Sandslash to come out!" 
  The large Pokemon complied, lifting its heavy foot 
and crashing it to the arena grounds, sending vibrations 
throughout the stadium. 
  Gary folded his arms. "Is that all? Sandslash, 
Fissure attack!" 
  The rumbling became even greater, and Ash yelped in 
shock as he realized that Snorlax wasn't the one that 
was making it. The earth crackled in a perfect 
circle around Snorlax, and eventually caved-in, 
sending all the hundreds of pounds of Snorlax 
tumbling into the newly-created fissure in the earth. 
  Sandslash jumped out of the hole just as Snorlax 
disappeared. 
  "Sandslash is the winner!" announced the judge. 
  Ash stared into the hole in shock, but the hole 
began to collapse on itself, closing the fissure. 
Holding out an empty Pokeball, he recalled Snorlax. 
"Snorlax, return!" 
  "Ha-ha!" laughed Gary. "That was TOO easy!" 
  "Well, I've got a Pokemon that could take on that 
sneaky Sandslash any day!" Ash shouted back, tossing 
his second Pokeball. "Squirtle, go!" 
  "Squirtle!" the Water Pokemon cried as it materialized 
from its Pokeball. 
  "Use your Water Gun!" 
  Squirtle sucked in air, then spat a stream of highly- 
pressured water at Sandslash. The Ground Pokemon 
recoiled from the attack, trying to shield itself with 
its large claws. 
  "You're so naive, Ash!" Gary taunted, raising a 
Pokeball. "Sandslash, return!" 
  A tight beam jumped from the Pokeball, enveloping 
Sandslash, and dematerializing it in a flash. 
  In turn he threw another Pokeball. "Magneton! Get'm!" 
  The three linked Magnemites materialized in the air, 
hovering low over the ground, electrical energy 
crackling between its polarized magnets. Three large 
eyes stared down Squirtle menacingly. 
  "Now, Magneton," Gary ordered, "give that Squirtle 
the shock of its life! Thunder attack!" 
  Forming a triangle of electrical power, Magneton 
launched a violent Thunder attack against Squirtle, 
catching the Water Pokemon in a curtain of lightning. 
Squirtle was knocked-out before the attack completed 
its course. 
  "Magneton is the winner!" the judge announced. 
  Ash balled his free fist as he recalled Squirtle into 
its Pokeball. "At this rate Gary's going to beat me!" 
  Throwing a third Pokeball into the arena, he cried, 
"Go, Muk!" 
  The sludge Pokemon materialized, gaping its mouth wide 
open, arms raised. 
  "Sludge attack!" Ash ordered. 
  "Magneton, Thunderbolt!" Gary commanded Magneton. 
  Heavy Sludge flew in a large arc over toward Magneton, 
who fired another electrical attack. However, the 
slimy nature of Muk resisted the electrical attack, 
and the Sludge attack slammed into Magneton full-on, 
forcing it from the air. 
  "Muk is the winner!" 
  Ash leaped with joy. "Yes!" 
  "That's just ONE point!" Gary pointed out, recalling 
Magneton. He threw another Pokeball into the arena. 
"Now, Exeggutor, show that brash kid who's the real 
master!" 
  The three-headed, palm-tree-like Pokemon materialized 
before Gary, stomping in place eagerly. 
  "Big mistake!" Ash cried. "I thought you knew Poison 
Pokemon had an advantage over Grass Pokemon!" To Muk, 
he ordered, "Sludge attack!" 
  Heaving another glob of itself, Muk threw Sludge at 
Exeggutor. However, the Grass Pokemon hardly stood 
still, and in a blink of an eye Exeggutor vanished into 
thin air. 
  "Ah?!" Ash yelped. 
  At the same moment Exeggutor teleported behind Muk. 
  "Good job!" Gary encouraged his Pokemon. "Use Sleep 
Powder!" 
  Shaking its head, the Grass Pokemon shook its Sleep 
Powder from its leaves, spreading it over Muk, and 
forcing the Poison Pokemon into a slumber. 
  "No way!" Ash cried, holding out a Pokeball. "Muk, 
return!" 
  Gary laughed. "I see you finally had the gall to 
recall your Pokemon, Ash! But I'm still ahead of you by 
a mile!" 
  "Then I'll play Grass with Grass! Bulbasaur, I choose 
you!" 
  "Bulbasaur!" the Grass Pokemon cried as it materialized 
from its Pokeball. 
  "That Bulbasaur's weak!" Gary turned to Exeggutor. "Use 
your Psychic attack!" 
  Butting its three heads together, Gary's Pokemon bathed 
Bulbasaur with blue psychic energies, lifting it off the 
ground. 
  "Don't let Exeggutor finish!" Ash shouted. "Vine Whip!" 
  Unleashing two vines, Bulbasaur slapped two of 
Exeggutor's faces, breaking their train of thought. At 
the same time Ash's Pokemon gathered sunlight as it fell 
to the ground. 
  "Solar Beam!" Ash ordered. 
  "Stomp Bulbasaur!" Gary shouted in desperation. 
  But it was too late, as Bulbasaur completed its attack 
cycle, emitting a beam of pure sun and pushing Exeggutor 
back, and out of the arena. 
  Although Exeggutor was still ready and active, it was 
also standing out of bounds. The judge announced, "The 
winner is Bulbasaur by default!" 
  Gary clenched his fists in anger. "Technicalities, 
Ash! Exeggutor, return!" 
  "Arcanine, finish that Bulbasaur!" he shouted, tossing 
in another Pokeball. 
  The flaming dog Pokemon roared in anticipation. 
  "Fire Blast!" 
  Ash jumped in surprise as Bulbasaur got fried from the 
intense fire attack made by Arcanine. 
  "Arcanine is the winner!" the judge announced. "Current 
totals: Gary leads with three, Ash behind with two." 
  "And that's the way it's going to stay!" Gary taunted. 
"Always one step behind me!" 
  "Not for long!" assured Ash, recalling Bulbasaur. "Now, 
Charizard! Show Gary what a Fire Pokemon can really do!" 
  Ash's Pokemon roared as it materialized in the arena. 
  "Flamethrower!" both trainers shouted to their monsters. 
  Charizard and Arcanine fired at once, belching flames 
of such intensity that it forced both trainers, and the 
audience in the stadium, to shield their eyes. A large 
explosion erupted between the two Fire Pokemon, but when 
the dust settled neither Pokemon held the advantage. 
  "That Charizard of yours is very impressive!" noted 
Gary, holding out a Pokeball. "You never got that little 
Charmander back at Grandpa's did you?" 
  "I got Charizard myself!" Ash proclaimed proudly. "I 
didn't need it handed to me!" 
  "That's strange," Gary said, "I've always thought the 
longer you had a Pokemon, the stronger the bond! So... 
Arcanine, return!" 
  Arcanine let out a low roar of disappointment as it 
dematerialized back into the Pokeball in Gary's hand. 
  "And so, Ash," he said, "this is where we finish it 
for real!" Gary threw a fresh Pokeball into the arena. 
"Blastoise! Show him how long and hard you've trained!" 
  The great turtle Pokemon emerged, leveling its two 
shoulder cannons at Charizard, a smirk forming across 
its beak. 
  "Hydro Pump!" Gary shouted. 
  Jetting out high-pressure water from its shoulder 
cannons, Blastoise attacked. Charizard reacted by using 
another Flamethrower attack, and when it seemed as if 
Charizard would lose the Flamethrower heated the water 
attack fast enough that all that attacked it was very 
hot steam. 
  "I learned," Ash said, "that even when using Pokemon 
with advantages over each other, it's nothing if the 
disadvantaged Pokemon is too strong! Charizard, Fire 
Spin!" 
  But Gary was smiling. "You're so gullible, Ash! Even 
if your Charizard IS stronger.... Blastoise! Blizzard 
attack!" 
  As Charizard spun in place in preparation for its Fire 
Spin, Blastoise leveled its cannons at the Fire Pokemon 
once more, this time unleashing shards of ice. The 
Blizzard attack, which normally would have melted before 
ever reaching Charizard, flew through the Fire Spin 
unaffected! 
  "Ah?!" Ash cried. 
  "Looks like MY Ice attack was too much for your Fire 
Pokemon!" Gary taunted, as Charizard was being frozen 
solid by the Blizzard attack. 
  Ash wanted Charizard to melt the ice building around 
it, but from his standing position he knew that the 
freezing was far more intense than usual. 
  "Blastoise is the winner!" cried the judge. 
  Looking down at Pikachu, Ash said, "It's all up to you 
now!" 
  "Pika!" 
  "That Pikachu!" Gary cried, laughing. "What're you 
going to do, shock Blastoise?!" 
  "Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash. 
  "Pi...ka...chu!!" A mighty bolt of electricity fired 
past the frozen Charizard, and directly at Blastoise. 
  But, to the surprise of everyone except Gary and his 
Pokemon, the electrical attack had no effect! 
  "No way!" Ash cried in disbelief. "Water-types are 
WEAK to electricity!" 
  "Show him your secret, Blastoise!" the other trainer 
ordered. 
  Blastoise turned in a quarter circle, revealing a 
spike attached to its tail that was planted in the 
ground. 
  "He artificially-grounded his Blastoise?!" Ash 
realized. "No way!" 
  "I learned this trick from Surge!" Gary said proudly. 
"Raichu can't use its own electrical attacks without 
grounding itself with its tail to prevent shocking 
itself, so why not with my Blastoise?" 
  "That's a dirty trick!" 
  "But it IS legal in the League!" 
  Turning to Pikachu, Ash said, "You're going to have 
to use non-electric attacks for this one!" 
  Pikachu nodded, dashing ahead for a Quick Attack. 
  "Finish it off, Blastoise!" Gary ordered. "Skull 
Bash!" 
  Rearing its head into its shell, Blastoise waited 
until Pikachu was close enough to hit. 

  Despite not being present at the stadium, Erika 
nevertheless applauded Gary's victory over Ash, 
sitting in her couch in front of the television set. 
  "I never thought he'd be the one to do it," she 
admitted aloud. "It seems both of them... rivals, have 
come quite a long way." 
  "Indeed they have," a cold, metallic voice replied. 
  She faced the metal Magmar curiously. "So now that 
it's all over, what're you going to do now?" 
  Cinder scratched his metallic chin for a moment. 
After narrowly-escaping the Master Ball with a last- 
minute Teleport, the wraith hid himself from Ash and 
everyone else but Erika, not wishing to have news of 
his true nature spread while without a replacement 
disguise. After persuading from the Gym Leader Cinder 
agreed to allow the Pokemon League tournament to 
finish before deciding on what to do. 
  Either way, Ash probably still thought he was locked 
away in the Master Ball. That is, of course, until he 
got around to looking in it. 
  "I think I'll travel a bit more," the wraith 
decided. "Other than the monsters that have joined me 
there must be others.... And when I've trained them 
and myself enough, I'll hunt down Ash and challenge 
him again. Our battle ended prematurely due to his 
treachery, but I swear I will finish it, and emerge 
victorious." 




------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes 

  The truth of Cinder's identity revealed at last! If 
it was a surprise you probably weren't paying attention 
to the minor detail hints given away in Erika VS 
Cinder, for if you put the pieces together you should 
have known this for a while. 
  The Pokemon League tournament may be over, but the 
quest to become a Pokemon Master goes on... in more 
ways than one. Whether Cinder and his Pokemon Legion 
will return remains to be seen, and when that time 
comes all bets are off. 


---------POKEMON ROSTER----------

Name: Ash Ketchum (Orange League Champion) 
Pokemon: Pikachu, Charizard, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Snorlax 
Stored: Kingler, Muk, etc. 

Name: Gary Oak (Professor Oak's grandson) 
Pokemon: Blastoise, Magneton, Arcanine, Sandslash, 
          Exeggutor, Alakazam 
Stored: Kingler, Fearow, Rhydon, Jolteon, Pidgeot, 
          Gyarados, Cloyster, Nidoking, Ninetails, etc. 

Name: Cinder (The Wraith of Blaze) 
Pokemon: Scyther, Kingler, Omastar, Aerodactyl, Scorpin 
          (new; see below), Spidera (new; see below) 
Stored: Venomoth, Tentacruel, Beedrill, Parasect, Pinsir, 
          Electabuzz, Magmar, Cloyster, Kabutops, etc. 

Name: Brock (Rock Gym) 
Pokemon: Graveler, Geodude, Onix, Vulpix, Zubat, Rhyhorn 

Name: Misty (Water Gym) 
Pokemon: Staryu, Starmie, Togepi, Psyduck, Goldeen, Dewgong 

Name: Erika (Grass Gym) 
Pokemon: Gloom, Victreebel, Tangela, Ivysaur, Exeggcute 
Stored: Vileplume, Clefairy, Wigglytuff, Dratini 

Name: Sabrina (Psychic Gym) 
Pokemon: Alakazam, Mr. Mime, Kadabra, Porygon, Jynx, Hypno 
Stored: Exeggcutor, Slowbro, Abra 

Name: Giovanni (Ground Gym; Team Rocket) 
Pokemon: Gyarados, Nidoking, Cloyster, Electabuzz, Rhydon 
Stored: Persian, Kingler, Machamp, Nidoqueen, Dugtrio, etc. 

Name: Jessie (Team Rocket) 
Pokemon: Arbok, Lickitung, Tauros, Meowth 

Name: James (Team Rocket) 
Pokemon: Weezing, Victreebel, Raticate, Farfetch'd 


---------POKEDEX ENTRY----------- 
Basic Pokemon 

Spidera 
Spider Pokemon 
Bug/Electric 
No. 690, Level 6; Evolves at Level 23 (Spidek) 
Length: ???',???", Weight: ??? lbs. 

Skill			Level 
-----			----- 
Tackle 		- 
String Shot 	- 
Thundershock 	9 
Thunder Wave 	13 
* Absorb 		20 
* Thunderbolt 	24 
* Agility 		32 
* Thunder 		45 

Spins sticky webs in order to catch prey. Usually 
sends electric shocks through its webbing. 
--------------------------------- 

---------POKEDEX ENTRY----------- 
Basic Pokemon 

Scorpin 
Scorpion Pokemon 
Bug/Ground 
No. 693, Level 7; Evolves at Level 25 (Skullpin) 
Length: ???',???", Weight: ??? lbs. 

Skill			Level 
-----			----- 
Scratch		- 
Sand Attack 	- 
Poison Stinger 	8 
* Swords Dance	15 
Twineedle		21 
* Slash 		28 
* Earthquake 	36 
* Guillotine 	48 

It's stinger and pincers are made of stainless steel. 
Wears a strange reptilian helmet of unknown origin. 
--------------------------------- 

Razorclaw X
http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/pokemon/index.html

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