Generation Z - Hoenn Alone

Chapter 23: Flying High

Author's Note:

Greetings, my wonderful Poliwags! I apologize for the lateness...I had a variety of technical difficulties to deal with. Anyway, I finally have the next chapter of Bonnie's journey here for you, and it's a big one! Bonnie vs Brawly! So...we might as well get to it. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 23: Flying High

"Wingull, use Air Cutter!"

Bonnie clenched her fists as she watched the Seagull Pokemon soar high in the air, taking advantage of the breeze from the ocean to pick up some additional speed. He locked his eyes on his target as he positioned himself between Roxanne's Onix and the bright sun. Then, he unleashed a barrage of powerful blades of glowing white air.

"OAAAWWW!" Onix roared in response, his rock typing already protecting him from too much damage as he took the early part of the blow. However, he made it tougher on Wingull, slamming his tail into the ground beneath him and keeping his balance even better. He didn't budge an inch.

"WiiinnnGULL!" Wingull cried out loudly, flapping his wings even harder, before finally giving in and tiredly descending to the ground. He looked just as disappointed as Bonnie felt. He landed sadly on the ground in front of her.

"Wow, that Air Cutter was looking really strong," Roxanne said, stepping forward from her place behind Onix as the Rock Snake Pokemon lowered his head to acknowledge her praise as she patted him lightly on the side. "That could certainly do a lot of damage on a fighting type."

Bonnie frowned, staring glumly towards Granite Cave up the path to their left. They'd found a sturdy training ground just outside the cave, where Bonnie was trying to practise putting her opponents off balance with flying type moves. She knew Brawly excelled with keeping his Pokemon steady in battle from what she'd heard so far, and from the little she'd seen in what Shauna had learned from him. His surfing strategy would be tough to handle, even with her supposedly effective attacks.

"You don't think Brawly's Pokemon will be as sturdy as an Onix, do you?" Clyde asked, stepping forward to give Wingull an Oran berry to replenish his energy a bit. "You should give yourselves some credit, Bonnie. That really did look like a strong Air Cutter. Wingull's doing great!" Treecko and Clyde's new Aron nodded in agreement, the latter looking nervously at Onix a moment later, as though thinking it might be angry at the compliment going Wingull's way. It was taking a bit of time for him to get used to Onix not being somewhat of a scary menace.

"We can't rely on a type advantage to win," Bonnie said stubbornly, sitting down on the rocky ground as she considered the problem. Dedenne scurried over to sit next to her. "Onix might be sturdier, even with the training Brawly's Pokemon do, but his Pokemon are also a smaller target. Look at Shauna's Meditite! It can shift away from an Air Cutter like that easily."

Roxanne actually smiled at that, nodding approvingly. "That's a good observation, Bonnie. You're learning to analyze these things quite well."

"Zzt! Updating data! Bonnie is learning!" Rotom cried out, floating away from Bonnie as she reached out to swat at him.

"I'm glad I can analyze it," Bonnie muttered, "but I still need to do something about it." She picked up a stone, rolling it around in her hand absentmindedly. "Beautifly's Gust is better at hitting a wider area, but Air Cutter can do more damage when it lands. How am I supposed to throw them off balance if I-"

"Bonnie, maybe you're just too focused on what Brawly's strategy will be," Roxanne interrupted, kneeling in front of her. "Remember, his job is to test you. If you worry too much about what he's going to do, you forget about what works best for you."