Sceptile appeared from the Pokeball, landing on the ground and getting in a battle-ready position. "Scept!" Brock looked over and slightly nodded. "I remember Sceptile, that's for sure," he remarked, placing his hands on his hips. "Sudowoodo, be sure to keep your head in the game for this one," he advised, turning towards his Pokemon.
"Sudo!" Sudowoodo exclaimed, readying its arms. "Looks like Ash went with Sceptile for his next Pokemon," Bonnie noted, staring down at the large reptile Pokemon. "I wonder how strong it is." Serena smiled and looked down. "If how it was acting is any indication, then I think this is about to be quite the battle," she remarked.
"Sceptile!" Ash exclaimed, gaining Sceptile's attention. "I want you to be quick on your feet. Sudowoodo is a lot faster than it looks." Nodding, Sceptile turned back to his opponent, arms in front of him. "Ash! Before we keep on going, I want to ask you something!" Brock shouted from across the field.
Raising an eyebrow, Ash slowly nodded. "Go ahead, what is it?" Brock smirked and stared him down. "Am I putting up a good enough fight for the savior of the world?" He asked with open arms, a grin of pure enjoyment on his face. Ash took a step forward and pumped his fist. "Of course!" He replied, reflecting a similar facial expression as his opponent. "You've always been able to keep me on my toes, and now is no exception!"
Brock curtly nodded and placed his hands on his hips. "Good! I want to make sure you give it your all in this battle! I always want both of us to get better, no matter how busy we are!" Ash adjusted his jacket confidently. "Same here! Now let's continue!" He remarked, anxious to see how well Sceptile could do.
"If you're that ready, then Sudowood, go ahead and use Hammer Arm!" Sudowoodo's fake leaves glowed white as it began speedily using the walls of the rocks to increase its momentum. "Told you it's fast! Sceptile, use Quick Attack!" Ash suddenly exclaimed, causing Sceptile to take off towards Sudowoodo, who jumped into the air in anticipation of Sceptile's presence.
"Now, use Quick Attack to get behind it!" Ash yelled as Sudowood began its descent towards where Sceptile would be. Brock clenched his fists and stomped one foot. "Forget about the Hammer Arm! Look out for Sceptile!" Sudowood reacted by canceling its move and turned onto its side, where it was able to project off the surface of a rock.
Ash gritted his teeth as he watched this happen. Sceptile had managed to get behind his target, but a quick maneuver from Brock ensured that Sceptile was in front of Sudowood at all times. "Try to get behind Sceptile once more!" He yelled, swiping his hand to the right. Sceptile quickly began running, making his way over to Sudowood, who stood in anticipation.
"Use Feint Attack as Sceptile gets closer!" Brock yelled, crossing his arms. Sudowood suddenly stood extremely still, leading both Serena and Bonnie to believe that it had somehow actually become frozen. "Once you get behind Sudowoodo, use Leaf Blade on its back!" Ash shouted to Sceptile, who dashed behind his target.
"Now!" Brock yelled, enabling Sudowoodo to use his Feint Attack. Only slow-motion video could truly capture the extremely fast actions that both sides performed, as they both attempted to strike against each other. Sceptile drew a large green blade in his hands and slashed forward at Sudowoodo, who was prepared for the speedy attack.
As the green blade merely grazed Sudowoodo's brown back, the fake leaves managed to find their way onto Sceptile's chest since Sudowood was able to spin around and dodge the oncoming attack while ensuring its attack landed. After this impossibly quick exchange, Sceptile was knocked back onto the ground while Sudowoodo stood, planting its feet into the ground.
"What?" Ash questioned as Sceptile struggled to get up. "How did Sudowoodo know where to strike?" From the seats, Bonnie was shaking her head. "You'd think he knows how moves work," she muttered, earning a slight glance from Serena. "Feint Attack makes sure that Sudowoodo is ready for any attack coming its way," Brock explained as Sceptile got up and shook his head.
Gritting his teeth, Ash looked around at the battlefield, his mind racing with possibilities. There wasn't much that could be done, but he knew he needed to think of something. As Brock's words repeated in his head, a realization came upon him. "Coming his way..." he whispered to himself, blankly staring off into the distance.
Suddenly, it clicked. "Sceptile, use Quick Attack straight at Sudowoodo again!" He yelled, earning a look of confusion from Brock. "Doing the same thing won't get you different results, Ash. Sudowoodo, use Feint Attack again!" As he commanded this, Sudowoodo once again became completely still, watching as Sceptile sprinted towards it.
"What is Ash doing?" Serena asked herself quietly. Bonnie had the same question at the forefront of her mind as Sceptile got so close that he was nearly breathing on Sudowoodo. "Use Feint Attack!" Brock yelled, expecting the same outcome. "Yes! Use Quick Attack again and get behind Sudowoodo again." As Sudowoodo reached out and struck where Sceptile was, he dodged and appeared behind the target.
Brock grunted and yelled, "Use Low Kick behind you!" Sudowoodo dropped onto the ground and violently threw its legs behind where Sceptile was; Ash was ready and quickly knew what to do. "Jump over the legs and hit 'em with a Leaf Blade!" As Sudowoodo spun its legs around, attempting to knock over its target, Sceptile hopped and procured the green blade, quickly slashing Sudowoodo in the back, sending him flying and making contact with the metal wall behind Ash.
"Oh no!" Brock exclaimed, looking in horror as Sudowoodo fell over onto the ground, unmoving. The Rotom Drone hovered over and observed Sudowoodo momentarily, eventually reaching a consensus. "Sudowoodo is unable to battle-bzzt! Please send out your next Pokemon-bzzt!" It announced as Brock reached for his Pokeball.
Returning Sudowoodo, he took a deep breath. "You did great Sudowoodo, but now it's time for someone else to finish this up." He reached for a different Pokeball, and Ash immediately noticed that something about the Pokemon that resided within the device told him that whoever was in there wanted so badly to battle, as the Pokeball was nearly bursting open with excitement.
"Alright, now it's time for my beautiful shining star!" Brock yelled dramatically as he planted his feet on the ground. "Go! My rocky powerhouse! Steelix!" He took a step back and launched the Pokeball onto the battlefield, nearly falling in the process. From the Pokeball appeared a large being, taking up almost half of the battlefield as it landed, crushing a few rocks while it did so.
"It's humongous!" Bonnie exclaimed, standing up in her seat as she admired the behemoth before her. Serena stared in awe before turning to Ash, who surprisingly had a grin on his face. "So, you're gonna use Steelix, huh?" He asked Brock while rubbing his nose. Nodding, Brock reached for a thin string that was hanging off of his neck.
"Yep, and if you remember from when you were visiting from Alola, you probably know what comes next," he replied, pulling out the string and revealing the Mega Stone on the end of it, glowing brightly as Steelix settled into the dirt. "Alright Sceptile, let's give it our all for this big guy!" Ash exclaimed, pumping his fist.
"We're gonna use our raw strength first before relying on the power of Mega Evolution! Steelix, let's do it by using Bind and trapping Sceptile!" Brock exclaimed, his fist clenched in excitement. Ash could tell that he was enjoying the battle, especially since it was against him of all people. "Sceptile, use Bullet Seed as it comes towards you!"
Steelix began snaking its way towards Sceptile, who charged up a multitude of seeds in his mouth and began firing rapidly upon his target's long body. The seeds did virtually nothing as they made contact, with Steelix absorbing them easily as it began circling Sceptile. Realizing he had made a mistake, Ash quickly made a decisive order.
"Quick, try to get out of Steelix's circle!" Sceptile began looking around, unable to find an opening. He couldn't jump over Steelix; it was simply too tall for him to do so without making himself vulnerable, so attempting to avoid the move was out of the question. "Alright, Sceptile, go ahead and use Leaf Storm within that circle to get Steelix away!"
Sceptile's tail quickly began glowing green before whipping his tail toward Steelix, sending a storm of leaves toward the ever-approaching body trying to squeeze Sceptile. The leaves pierced into Steelix's body, lodging themselves into its rough, metallic skin. Surprisingly, there was little to no reaction from the metal beast, so it swiftly pursued Sceptile and wrapped its whole body around him, strangling him mercilessly.
"Oh no! Leaf Storm didn't do a thing!" Serena exclaimed, her eyes growing wide. Looking over at Brock, she saw him grin satisfactorily, yet there seemed to be a hint of hopefulness in his eyes. It's almost like he actually wants Ash to be able to get out of this situation, she thought, finding it incredibly odd.
Ash watched as Steelix squeezed hard, giving Sceptile nearly no room to breathe. He gritted his teeth and began worrying momentarily, but took a deep breath in an attempt to reassess the situation. How can I even make this happen? He asked himself, looking at Steelix's massive body in hopes of finding some form of opening to relieve himself of its grasp on Sceptile.
Suddenly, it hit Ash. The Bullet Seed hadn't done anything to Steelix itself, but Ash quickly realized that their spherical shapes could work as a way to get out of Steelix's Bind. He adjusted his hat and put his arms to his side. "Sceptile! I need you to listen closely!" He shouted, gaining Sceptile's attention while it attempted to breathe.
Here we go, Brock told himself, a slight smirk growing on his face. While he still wanted to win against Ash, he wasn't going to take an easy win by just using one move; he wanted the fight to be suspenseful. His gym battles were fun, yes, but the thrill of staying on his toes in anticipation of his opponent's next move hadn't surfaced until this very moment, when he had no idea what Ash was planning.
"I want you to use as many Bullet Seeds as possible on the ground around you. Make sure you get as many as possible!" He commanded, cupping his hands around his mouth. Sceptile was slightly confused but trusted in his trainer, so once his mouth filled up with seeds, he began firing them all into the sandy ground, sitting dormant once they had impacted promptly.
"What is he doing now?" Serena muttered to himself. Her awareness of Ash's creative battling was more than understood, but even she failed to see the goal of using such an odd tactic. She realized Brock must've felt the same way, as the assured look of being contested was now replaced by a wary look of caution.
"Don't let up the seeds!" Ash yelled, prompting the struggling Sceptile to continue firing directly into the ground. By this point, Steelix had loosened its grip, looking around in confusion as the ground became littered with tiny, circular seeds. "Keep on squeezing Sceptile!" Brock roared, noticing Steelix's momentary confusion.
"Steel!" Steelix replied, curling its body even tighter around Sceptile, who suddenly stopped firing the seeds as its freedom to move was limited further. Ash, who was worried about the lack of outgoing seeds, watched with hope as Steelix continued squeezing. "Wriggle as much as you can! Try your hardest to get out!"
Sceptile heard Ash's desires and pushed against Steelix's grip, moving sporadically and fighting back against the incredible force. In response, Steelix tried its hardest to gain control of Sceptile's movements, mirroring the direction of every move its opponent did in an attempt to make the resistance easier to deal with.
Perfect, Ash thought to himself, watching as Steelix began moving in the dirt wildly. "Almost there!" He yelled to Sceptile, who put in all of its efforts to get out. As Steelix wriggled, it made its way over a large group of the seeds, finding it hard to keep its balance upon the usually flat ground. Its sleek, metal body was too slippery against the seeds as they rolled against its skin, causing it to roll over and fall onto its back, releasing Sceptile from its Bind.
"What?!" Was the reaction Brock and the two spectators had; seeing the large beast topple over from such small objects was surprising, but it was the fact that Ash had managed to envision it happening that shocked them more. "Great Sceptile! Now, use Leaf Blade!" Sceptile brought out the large green blade and dashed over to Steelix swiftly.
"Quick, use Dig and get underground away from Sceptile!" Brock exclaimed, his heart pounding. Steelix, already on the ground from the slip, quickly submerged itself into the dirt, hiding away from Sceptile's attack. "Keep a lookout for where Steelix where emerge!" Ash advised Sceptile, who nodded in agreement.
"There won't be a Steelix to look for!" Brock responded, his excitement growing by the second. "What does he mean by that?" Bonnie asked Serena, who shook her head in confusion. "I don't know..." she whispered, looking at Ash to see that he had realized something. "Now!" Brock then roared, tearing his shirt off in the process and revealing the Mega Stone. "Mega Evolve!"