After a short break in between the rounds of battling, the stage was set yet again for a battle. Rumour had been spreading through the crowd that this was the fated match of the new gym leader vs Roxanne, the Rustboro Gym Leader. Regardless of if the rumours were true, it certainly got the crowd more excited for the eventual battle.
Meanwhile, Lucas and Ellie sat together while Harry and Seijo were out getting some snacks that they had neglected to bring initially. They both watched as the machinations of the battlefield loosened, and the battlefield dropped below. Then, one free from battle scars rose up again.
"A new battlefield.", Ellie noted with a grin, "That must mean that the battle will be starting soon!"
"Alright!", Lucas exclaimed at the top of his lungs, as his eyes darted to the sides of the battlefield, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone peaking their head out. Nothing was on the left side, but as he glanced to the right side, he saw a girl pop her head just around the corner. He stared at her, but couldn't get a very good look at her as she turned her head around to face the other side of the crowd, then disappeared *-behind the wall. Lucas tapped on Ellie's arm and pointed to the entrance on the right,
"I just saw someone pop their head around that corner!"
"Wait, really? What did they look like?"
"Well, I didn't get a great look. But...", Lucas thought for a second while playing the memory over in his mind, and finding a few similarities between whoever they were and, "she looked like that Ace Trainer that was helping in the VIP seats!"
Ellie looked at Lucas curiously, as if to be confused by his statement.
"Are you sure that wasn't just them checking the numbers in the crowd?"
"It could be. But, hey, its still fun to think about, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I suppose.", Ellie said with a slight chuckle in her voice. Lucas smiled and looked behind to check if Seijo and Harry were back with anything. But, he didn't spot them yet from a simple glance behind him.
"They're still not back yet?", Lucas asked, causing Ellie to take a look around as well. She shrugged and replied,
"The queue must be long. I just hope they don't miss the match."
Then, interrupting their small conversation, a voice suddenly played over the speakers.
"Alright, we appreciate that was a long wait!", Wally shouted at the microphone, his voice booming throughout the stadium, "But, now, who's ready for the grand reveal of your new Mauville Gym Leader?"
The crowd erupted into cheers, and Ellie even got swept up in the crowd. She stood up, grabbing Lucas' hand and pulling him up. She whistled and cheered, as did Lucas. Then, he found that Harry and Seijo had finally arrived with their snacks. Harry threw some popcorn into Lucas' hands as he rushed past, visibly out of breath, while Seijo walked more leisurely,
"So, we've got popcorn for Lucas and Harry, and a curry for Ellie.", Seijo said as he handed her a Sweet Mushroom Curry. Lucas immediately dove into his popcorn, glazed with Sinnoh Honey, as his eyes looked to the battlefield. Then, the two sides of the battlefield erupted with cheers, as they got their first glimpse at the gym leader. And, just as Lucas said, it was an Ace Trainer walking onto the battlefield. Or, at least, what looked like an Ace Trainer.
"Huh, I guess you were right.", Ellie commented as the Mauville Gym Leader walked out onto the battlefield, waving and smiling at the crowd. The crowd's energy was rambunctious, to say the least. Lucas and Harry were caught up in the storm, but both Ellie and Seijo were more concerned with how they would battle against Roxanne, who was also walking out from the other end of the battlefield. They both stepped up to the battlefield, where the new rocky surface lay.
"Alright, the reveal of the new Mauville Gym Leader!", Wally's voice blasted over the mic, "Please welcome Bolt, the daughter of Watson and your new Mauville Gym Leader!"
The crowd once again cheered and Bolt found herself overcome with the sheer reaction from the crowd.
"I'd expected excitement...but this is something else.", she thought as she looked around the stadium at everyone cheering her name or just for the battle to start. Roxanne, on the other hand, looked quite bored with the cheers and cries and looked to the referee. The referee coughed and yelled out,
"This match will be three on three. Substitutions are allowed and whoever's Pokemon is last standing will win! Now, choose your first Pokemon!"
"Golem, I choose you!", Roxanne shouted as she threw out an Ultra Ball.
"Magnezone, its our time to shine!", Bolt shouted as she spun and tossed out a standard Pokeball onto the battlefield. Both Pokemon popped out of their respective Pokeballs, Golem landing with a thud that shook the battlefield while Magnezone floated above the rocky terrain. The referee looked to both sides and then declared,
"Battle begin!"
"Magnezone, strike first with Flash Cannon!", Bolt yelled out, and Magnezone instantly obeyed, creating a bright beam of light that aimed to strike Golem when vulnerable. Roxanne yelled out,
"Dodge it with Rollout!"
Golem used its round shape to turn into a ball and roll away from the attack, using the rocky surfaces as boosts as it went up and down them as it sped across the battlefield. It attacked Magnezone quickly with a blow that knocked Magnezone back but didn't hurt it much. Magnezone just shrugged the hit off, and Bolt yelled out,
"Reflect, now!"
Magnezone's magnets turned as a thin layer of glass appeared in front of it, before dispersing out into the air. Then, a blue aura wrapped around Magnezone. Roxanne yelled out,
"Magnitude, now!"
Golem rolled back from Magnezone, standing still then jumping high into the air and landing on the ground beneath. The rocky battlefield shook under the weight of Golem's fall, as it started to crack and shards of rock flew out at random directions. But, with the Reflect that was activated, only half of the brunt of the Magnitude 8 attack was felt by Magnezone. Bolt saw that Golem was vulnerable after the attack, taking a second to pick itself back up. So, Bolt quickly yelled,
"Flash Cannon, while its recovering!"
Magnezone shot a bright beam of light at Golem, striking it with intense power and sending it rolling further back. It took a second to get back up, but when it did, it got back up with determination, as Roxanne commanded,
"Alright, Rock Slide!"
Golem suddenly gathered a bunch of rocks from all around the arena, particularly in the cracks in the Earth which it had created from its previous magnitude. These then started to rain in on Magnezone, which zipped around the arena attempting to avoid the attacks. But, wherever it went, the rocks followed and kept on denting its metal surface. Then, Roxanne commanded,
"Rollout, and use the cracks in the battlefield as well!"
Golem once again spun into a ball, but this time took refuge in the cracks in the Earth. Magnezone could see where Golem had entered, but when it floated over the crack in the Earth. It found that it had completely disappeared. It was now on alert for any sign of movement throughout the battlefield. Its eyes constantly scanned the environment like a computer, analysing its surroundings and looking for anything. It could hear the rumbling of the Rollout, only adding to Magnezone's frustration.
Then, it suddenly popped out from the crust of the Earth, just to the left of where Magnezone sat on the battlefield. Then, it plummeted through the air and struck Magnezone when it was vulnerable, knocking it back. Then, it continued its assault, rolling again towards Magnezone.
"Flash Cannon!", Bolt commanded as Magnezone gathered power from its magnets for another Flash Cannon, even more powerful than last time. Golem attempted to rush through it but found itself overwhelmed, and it was pushed into a nearby destroyed rock. Scratches and marks of stone adorned its surface, but it got up despite it, with the crowd roaring in applause as it did. Roxanne smiled, but then lost her smile soon after. She knew that Magnezone would be able to strike again if she used Magnitude, but she needed some way to get through and deal some damage. She had no other option. She yelled,
"Rollout again! Get closer to Magnezone!"
Roxanne clearly had something up her sleeve that she was planning, and Bolt wanted nothing to do with it. She quickly commanded,
"Keep Golem away with Flash Cannon!"
Magnezone sprayed the battlefield with the bright laser of light, but Golem expertly manoeuvred around the attack until it eventually popped high into the air. It already knew what it was about to do, but Roxanne's shout just made it more clear.
"Explosion, now!"
Golem's body shone a bright red as it shone in intervals, like a countdown ticking down. But, there was no way that Magnezone would escape the radius of the explosion in time. So, Bolt just told it,
"Brace for impact, Magnezone!"
Lucas watched with part horror and amazement as a giant explosion erupted over the battlefield, engulfing almost the entire battlefield and scorching its surface of it. Then, the explosion subsided, with Golem dropping to the ground and Magnezone stuttering as it fell to the ground, and swirls replaced its eyes.
"That Golem must have so much loyalty to do that for the sake of the battle.", Lucas commented as the referee looked over both of the Pokemon and declared them both fainted. Ellie answered with her own question,
"And, why did she really need to do that? She could've found another way."
"Well, gym leaders have a lot of intuition, especially considering she's been battling for way longer than me.", Seijo answered, "So, she must've known that exploding on Magnezone was the best solution, as it makes it an even match for both sides."
"Still, she should've tried to make it work.", Lucas added, and Seijo looked at him for a second, then smiled as he looked onto the battlefield,
"She had to make a tough call. She clearly didn't want to do it, but it was the best solution. Perhaps, in the future, you'll have to make a tough call like that, in battle or elsewhere."
Lucas couldn't really argue against that, as much as he wanted to for what he saw as wrong. But, he couldn't do anything about it. Instead, he just looked to the battlefield, for the next round of fighting.
"Cradily, come on out!"
"Raichu, lets show them what we can do!"