Adventure's Past

Chapter 13 - Devastation

Neither of the battlers had noticed Ash walk in, so he made his way over to a spectator stand and sat down, rubbing his hands together. He looked across the field and saw an older man, seemingly a few years older than him, watching the battle intently, having paid no attention to Ash walking in as well.

"Come on, Bonnie! You can do it!" The older man exclaimed. Bonnie? Ash thought to himself, instantly recognizing the name. He looked down at the young girl challenging Wulfric and made a shocking connection. That girl down there is Bonnie! He told himself in surprise. Looking at the other person sitting in the stands, he made another connection and was convinced that the guy watching the battle was Clemont, her older brother.

What are the odds? Ash asked himself, feeling as though it was absurd that he would run into these two. It dawned on him that the odds were pretty normal, as the only reason he was here was because of Espie. But why these two? Ash pondered. Why did Espie want me to find these two?

His initial reaction was to scream out their names, but he quickly stopped himself to mull over his options. I could make my presence known, but... He looked over at Wulfric, the person responsible for why he came here and took a deep breath. I'll wait until Bonnie's battle is over, then talk to all of them, he decided.

While all of this was happening, Wulfric and Bonnie's battle ensued. "Pyroar, try to get as close as you can!" Bonnie kept exclaiming, wanting desperately for Pyroar to land a single Fire Fang to close out the battle. That's not gonna work, Bonnie, Ash wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut to see what Wulfric would do next.

"Avalugg, take the attack!" Wulfric exclaimed as Avalugg continue healing from the Hail. Pyroar dove close with its fiery jaw and latched onto Avalugg's head. "Great job!" Bonnie exclaimed happily, sensing that her battle was close to finishing. "Now! Use Avalanche and toss Pyroar into it!" Wulfric commanded passionately.

"Shake Pyroar?" Bonnie asked in confusion. While Pyroar had landed the powerful Fire Fang, Avalugg had healed up enough to withstand it and use its next move, Avalanche. As icy rocks began falling down from above, Avalugg shook its head violently and sent Pyroar flying into the air, causing him to get pummeled by the move and sent straight into the ground.

"Pyroar! Oh no!" Bonnie screamed worriedly. You let Avalugg have an opening, Ash narrated to himself. You can't ever give your opponent an opening. Clemont gasped from across the field and watched anxiously as Pyroar was buried under the ice rubble, unmoving. "Come on Pyroar! Get up!" Bonnie yelled, trying to motivate Pyroar to fight just a little longer.

The rubble began trembling and Pyroar jumped out ferociously, looking determined to continue battling. "Way to go, Pyroar!" Bonnie exclaimed joyfully as Pyroar stood weakly on the field. Ash frowned and watched as Pyroar began wobbling, something that Bonnie failed to see. Looking over at Wulfric, he realized that the gym leader saw the same thing Ash saw.

Pyroar winced in pain suddenly, much to Bonnie's dismay, and fell over, creating a loud crash as he hit the icy floor. "Pyroar is unable to battle, which means that the winner is Wulfric of the Snowbelle City Gym!" The referee declared, signaling the match over. No one in the stadium moved for a moment until Wulfric recalled Avalugg and began walking over to Bonnie.

Ash couldn't hear Wulfric as he spoke to Bonnie, but he assumed it was similar to what Wulfric had told him after his loss, essentially letting challengers know that they simply weren't ready for the battle and should return later. Ash was surprised, however, when he saw Bonnie turn away and began sprinting towards the entrance, completely ignoring Wulfric.

"Bonnie, wait!" Clemont exclaimed, jolting out of his seat and grabbing his bag. "I'm sorry, Wulfric! I'll go talk to her!" He added as he quickly followed behind Bonnie in pursuit of her. Wulfric had stood in the middle of the field, unmoving as the siblings left. Ash awkwardly sat there as he witnessed the whole fiasco.