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"Krokorok! Are you ok?" Ash cried out in worry, the Dragon Rush having clearly done severe damage even though it was the only attack Dragonite had actually managed to truly hit. Krokorok grumbled, trying to assure his trainer even though he wasn't sure he would be able to stand up himself.
"O- Ok. Thank God. Good work Dragonite, let's finish this!" Iris called awkwardly to the disobedient pseudo-legendary, who just grunted irritably about how he had done all the job by himself between pants of exhaustion.
The match had been humiliating for her, in more ways than one. Especially because of the fact that Dragonite started out actually listening to her commands. It was like something out of a dream.
If only that had been enough to stop Ash.
He knew very well that Dragonite's obedience was fragile at best and fake at worse- one glance at Cynthia while Iris was celebrating Dragonite actually listening to her in the beginning of the fight confirmed that it was the latter- and he knew that the second he started to struggle, he would lose his patience and lash out. He probably just didn't think he would struggle in the first place.
Too bad he had never faced Ash before.
It had been amazing, how Ash and Krokorok easily predicted all the moves Iris was gonna call out- her and Dragonite just weren't in sinc, despite not looking like it from an outside view- and used Krokorok's superior technique and agility to their advantage, landing several hits that even though didn't do a lot of damage, managed to slowly chip away at the dragon's health while also staying mostly safe, the only damage Krokorok sustained being a graze from a Flamethrower, which obviously didn't do much.
Then Dragonite finally lost his patience and disobeyed Iris, much to her shock and horror as Dragonite didn't fly up when Krokorok used Dig to dodge an Ice Beam that she hadn't called, stubbornly staying on the ground and trying to hear Krokorok's movements, which would've worked if it wasn't against Ash of all people, who had trained Krokorok to move as silently as possible while underground.
Iris knew that Ash was a much better trainer than her, even if he constantly told her she was great and would become just as strong as him in time. But their skill gap was never as obviously huge as in this battle, with Dragonite turning around to blast an Ice Beam behind him, only to realize it had been a feint, with Krokorok appearing behind him a second later and before either of them could react, Ash yelled Stone Edge! and Iris thought that was it.
But never underestimate the wrath of a Dragon.
Dragonite seemingly forced himself to endure the super effective hit, and even though he looked five seconds away from passing out, he refused to let this fucking weakling make a fool of him, immediately going for a Dragon Rush that got both Krokorok and Ash off guard.
Dragonite was stronger than Krokorok, no doubt about that, and the hit was almost enough to take him down, but he refused to let his trainer down. He wasn't going to fall after just one hit.
Cynthia winced, unable to hide her worried frown as Krokorok struggled to his feet, Dragonite barely managing to stand but still defiantly doing so. The match had been his, but damnit even she wasn't expecting Dragonite to resist that point blank Stone Edge. He was stronger than she gave him credit for, that was for sure.
She had shook her head solemnly at Ash when he had subtly glanced her way at the beginning of the match, when Dragonite had apparently obeyed Iris's orders. Cynthia immediately knew that it wasn't the case, and Ash only needed a confirmation to be sure.
It might not look like it, but to a Champion like her and to a trainer as experienced and skilled as Ash, noticing that they weren't in sinc was easy. And sure, Dragonite was stronger and maybe even more experienced in battle than Krokorok, but in a trainer battle, where you weren't fighting just a Pokémon, but their trainer as well, that experience and power could only do so much.
Of course, Iris wasn't a bad trainer herself by any means, and even with the lack of a true bond, her and Dragonite were more than enough to win their matches. Dragonite's raw power and experience was even enough to beat Dawn, and that was no easy feat.
But against Ash... amazing, caring, empathetic and always connected to his Pokémon Ash... yeah, it was to be expected that it wouldn't be enough. And she couldn't help the insane amount of pride she felt for her friend, seeing him guide a weaker and less experienced Pokémon to near victory using nothing but his skills and his confidence and his bond with Krokorok, and even knowing this was definitely not the first time he did it, managing to do that against a Pokémon as powerful and experienced as Dragonite was still extremely impressive.
Suffice to say that if he had used Pikachu, Dragonite would probably not have lasted long enough for this to even be called a match.
Ok, maybe she was a bit biased, but Ash was amazing, and even though she liked Iris- annoying little kid quirks aside- she wasn't even going to pretend that she wasn't cheering for Ash.
So with all that in mind, she whispered to herself. "What now Ash?" And hoped that he would find a way to turn the tables like he always did.
After all, the harder the challenge, the crazier he got with the solutions.
Cynthia was a very mature woman, but she wasn't going to pretend that she wasn't extremely excited to see how Ash would react to this situation.
And he didn't disappoint.
"Krokorok, can you continue?" The raven haired trainer asked worriedly as his friend- family- pushed himself up, not knowing if he should continue this but refusing to make a decision for Krokorok.
The Crocodile Pokémon shook his head, getting his bearings back. He knew Dragonite was strong, but this was ridiculous. He shouldn't be so hurt after just one hit, he shouldn't be so close to losing after just one goddamn hit. He couldn't disappoint Ash like this, he couldn't disappoint Pikachu like this, he-
He needed to be stronger.
Turning around to look at Ash while Iris argued with Dragonite on the background, his eyes glowed red. Ash gasped, feeling a familiar sensation, knowing exactly what was about to happen. He knew what Krokorok was thinking, he knew that he probably thought that he was disappointing him in some way, and even though Ash wanted to immediately reassure his friend, he also knew this wasn't the time.
He knew what was about to happen. He just needed to execute it right.
Time to get crazy.
Nodding, Ash focused back on Iris and Dragonite, who had finally stopped arguing and were ready to try and finish the fight, only to be met with Krokorok standing again, eyes glowing red behind his glasses and Ash's determined steel hard glare, that was incredibly intimidating no matter how much they cared about each other.
"Alright Iris, let's wrap this up!" He yelled, serious and excited at the same time, Pikachu cheering him on from the sidelines like crazy, clearly noticing something that she didn't. A glance to Cilan and Dawn showed her that they were equally confused, even though Dawn didn't look worried.
Not good.
Straightening up, Iris knew she had to finish this as fast as she could right now. "Took the words right out of my mouth!" She said with a determined grin, because no matter who won this, Ash and her would be better friends after this fight, that was clear.
"Get in position." Ash said loudly enough for Krokorok to hear, the Crocodile Pokémon complying immediately, hunching on his legs and raising a hand, flashing his claws, a movement that confused everyone who knew the Pokémon well.
"What's he doing?" Cilan muttered confusingly, knowing Krokorok didn't have a move that relied on his claws besides Dig. "Not sure... but no need to worry! I'm sure Ash's got a plan." Dawn said, as supportive and cheerful as ever, but Cilan knew that she wasn't just being optimistic here.
Ash was about to do something crazy.
Leaning forward, Cynthia focused on nothing but Ash and Krokorok, noticing how they were clearly aware of what they were doing, and how Krokorok was seemingly focusing on something. The commentator spoke some nonsense, Alder adding some commentary here and there, but one glance at him showed that he was just as focused on Ash and Krokorok as she was.
Something amazing was about to happen.
"Dragonite, Ice Beam!" Dragonite surprisingly complied, clearly noticing something was up too. Gathering the last of his strength, he fired a beam of freezing cold energy at the Crocodile Pokémon, who still hadn't moved, until...
"Now!" Was all Ash yelled, but it was more than enough to put Krokorok on the move, and somehow, he dodged all the beams coming at his direction, rolling and jumping and dodging and getting closer.
Getting desperate, Iris switched tactics. "Flamethrower! Spread it out! Don't give him room to dodge!" Dragonite complied again, switching from freezing cold energy to blistering hot flames in a second, and Ash still couldn't help but marvel at Dragonite's ability. To have such mastery over an element that wasn't yours and being able to use it in such a short span... that was no easy feat.
But it wasn't going to be enough.
"Jump!" A simple, straightforward command to anyone else, but Krokorok immediately understood what his trainer meant, this technique having been honed in training sessions several times now, as one that pretty much all of Ash's Pokémon with tails knew. Using the momentum of his last dodge, Krokorok slammed his tail on the ground with extreme force, using the momentum to propel himself high up in the air, completely dodging the flames.
Everyone gasped and looked up, immediately having to cover their eyes from the light of the stadium, and then Ash's strategy became clear.
"And Ash uses Krokorok's tail to escape from a certain finisher! And now the lights of the stadium are blinding Dragonite, making it almost impossible to react!" The commentator yelled at the microphone, clearly as excited as them about the battle, and Alder hummed as Krokorok started to fall, Dragonite and Iris desperately trying to find him.
"A genius move from Ashton's part. Now the deciding factor is how Iris and Dragonite are going to react." Alder said, as serious as he's capable of being, and Cynthia banged her head against the railings, not caring in the slightest if anyone noticed.
"Fucking hell Alder..." Was all the blond could say.
Back in the battlefield, Iris knew she had to react and fast, or this would be it. But she didn't know how! She couldn't see Krokorok, and neither could Dragonite, and it was very unlikely that they would land a hit like this, but damnit, she had to do something!
"Dragonite, just try your best to see where Krokorok is and use Flamethrower!" She called out desperately as Krokorok got closer and closer, Dragonite fuming that he still hadn't finished the fight, but threw caution to the wind and pretended to listen to her since that was what he was planning to do anyway. Doing his best to find that stupid croc, Dragonite managed to focus enough to have an idea of where he was.
All he needed.
Flames building in his mouth, Dragonite didn't hesitate to launch a stream of fire at the approaching Pokémon, and somehow, somehow, managing to hit perfectly, Krokorok vanishing in the flames.
"Oh boy!" Dawn exclaimed, truly worried that her friend's plan had fallen apart, while Axew cheered beside her, Pikachu screaming worriedly to Krokorok. "I guess Ash is going to have a bad taste of defeat." Cilan said to himself, not even knowing who to root for anymore.
Cynthia's eyes narrowed. No. This couldn't be it. Ash wouldn't have let himself open like that without a backup plan. Ignoring the commentator yelling about how this was over, she focused on Ash, and saw exactly what she expected.
He was completely confident, tense in the way you always were in a battle, but definitely not worried.
But what-
The answer came a few seconds later.
"Yes! You did it Dragonite! Sorry Ash, but the victory is ours!" She bragged to her friend, who was only watching the stream of flames that still hadn't subsided.
But wait, why hadn't it subsided ye-
Oh.
Oh no.
Much to her horror and to everyone's surprise, Ash just smirked.
"I don't think so." Was all he said before something emerged from the flames, right at Dragonite's shocked and strained face, and that something wasn't Krokorok.
Smirking like his trainer, Krookodile's sunglasses gleamed in the flames, the same claws that he had held up before glowing green with draconic energy, the fire around him not affecting the evolved Pokémon in the slightest.
And just before it finished, everyone's jaw on the floor and Pikachu's cheering loud and clear, all Cynthia could say was:
"Holy-"
"-Shit." Alder coincidentally commented at the same time, and it was impressive how the commentator didn't even think about reprimanding his language.
"EXCLAMATION MARK!"
"Krookodile, DRAGON CLAW!" Ash's yell almost beat the roar of the flames. Krookodile listened loud and clear, bringing his draconic claws down right at Dragonite's face, the flames immediately disappearing as the dragon was sent flying past his trainer before she could even react, slamming in the wall behind her with enough force to shatter it. Dragonite just lay there amongst the debris, completely passed out.
Ash winced. Yikes. Perhaps that was a bit too much.
"D- Dragonite is unable to battle! Krookodile and Ash Ketchum are the winners!" The judge said after taking a moment to compose himself, in just as much shock about what he had witnessed.
The stadium erupted into cheers.
"AMAZING! After an insanely unpredictable and back and forth battle, Ash masterfully takes the win by using his Pokemon's evolution as a weapon! The fact that they planned this all out is amazing folks! Just who is Ash?!" The commentator ranted, the crowd's cheering only getting louder as some of them realized that Ash had actually planned this whole thing out.
Cynthia grinned, hiding an amazed laugh behind a hand, not knowing why she was even surprised at this point. But this- this was something else. He actually knew Krookodile was about to evolve and capitalized on that to make Iris and Dragonite lower their guard to land the final blow, knowing exactly what that final blow was going to be and knowing exactly when to land it.
Using Buizel's floatation boat to escape Drapion's grasp, using Gliscor's flight abilities to escape safely even after using Giga Impact, using Starraptor's Close Combat to escape Gastrodon's insanely heavy body, using a fricking underground Flare Blitz. And all of those only scratched the surface of the insanity that was Ash's battling strategy.
"You really need to patent these strategies of yours Ash." She said, amazed smile still in place as Ash ran to the battlefield to hug Krookodile, before immediately going to help Iris return Dragonite.
Cilan and Dawn were in a state of pure shock, even when Pikachu went to hug Krookodile along with Ash, while Axew frantically went to his trainer, who was kneeling over Dragonite's unconscious body.
"I- I don't even know what to say except that was fucking awesome." Cilan blurted out, startling Dawn, who had been pretty sure Cilan would rather die than actually curse, but-
Yeah, he was right, that was fucking awesome.
Giggling, Dawn just smiled as Ash, Pikachu and Krookodile immediately went to help Iris, not even taking their time to really appreciate their incredible victory as much as they should.
"That's Ash for ya."