Chapter 124 - Unexpected.
This is the second and final part of Ash's battle against Bonnie. It has a few twists and turns here and there and I hope it was worth the wait. I also made it a bit longer as usual in a way to try and compensate for it. Let me know of I achieved that. For now, I hope you enjoy the chapter and feel free to comment wherever you want. If you like it aswell, make sure to give it a vote. And if you want to be regularly updated by my posts or anything, make sure to drop a follow.
Important info: The commentator will be written in Italics.
League scoreboard:
Bold: Trainer/Pokemon name
Italics: Fainted Pokemon
Underline: Resting Pokemon
(Pokeball): Unrevealed Pokemon
For example - Trainer A: Poke1, Poke2, Poke3, Poke4, Poke5 (Pokeball), Poke6 (active one)
Wordcount: 7206
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Narrator: Last time, Bonnie and Max realised their feelings for one another. Right after, Bonnie started her battle against none other than Ash, who used smart tactics to attack Bonnie with a completely different strategy than she had accounted for. We join them now as the smoke surrounds Dedenne after a devastating Hyper Beam from Donphan.
The crowd cheered as Bonnie was worried for Dedenne. The smoke still hadn't settled, not allowing her to find out of her pokemon is okay or not.
Clemont and Max both were worried for Max. Max didn't show it as much though as he still needed to see how things worked out between him and Bonnie. He didn't have the slightest idea of how a relationship worked. Therefore, he wanted to take things slow so that he could learn and adapt, along with Bonnie.
The smoke finally started to disappear. Much to everyone's surprise, Dedenne was still standing. Ash was very surprised by the little rodent. It had shown some incredible endurance, taking on a Hyper Beam and numerous attacks before that.
Bonnie however cheered and praised Dedenne for hanging in there. She was extremely proud of him, however she quickly realised that it the right time for that now. She had to find a way to defeat Donphan.
She gritted her teeth, seeing that her options with Dedenne were very limited. "Dedenne, come back!" Bonnie shouted. The little pokemon turned around to look at his trainer and nodded before leaving the field.
"Bonnie has decided to return Dedenne. Now, what will be her next pokemon?"
Ash smiled at her. He gave her a small approving nod as he agreed with her that she made the right call.
Bonnie took out another pokeball and smirked as she pulled her hand backwards. "Let's see how you deal with this!" She shouted as she threw it up high.
Out came a bipedal, dinosaur like pokemon that resembled a large theropod. It is predominantly brownish red with scaly patterns on its skin and scattered orange highlights on some scales and ridges. The pokemon's head is proportionately large with a blunt, ridged snout and powerful jaws. It has black around its eyes and a light gray lower jaw covered by a beard of white, primitive feathers. Several sharp teeth are visible in the lower jaw, while the upper jaw is lined with orange-tipped, tooth-like projections. Over its eyes is a row of five spikes resembling a crown. Around it's neck is a feathery white ruff that extends over its shoulders similar to a cape. Its underbelly is gray with white borders and there are two orange spikes near the tip of its long tail. Its small forelimbs have only two black-clawed digits each, but it has powerful hind legs with three black claws each. Plated, armor-like ridges cover its knees, back, and the top of its tail.
"Tyrraaaaaahhh!!" It screeched as it landed with a thud on the ground, making it shake briefly from the impact.
"And Bonnie's second pokemon is Tyrantrum! That's surely an interesting pokemon!"
The scoreboard updated, turning the once coloured picture of Dedenne to grey and changing the second one which was a pokeball to a picture of Tyrantrum's head and it now looked like this.
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Ash: Melmetal, Donphan, (Pokeball), (Pokeball)
Bonnie: Dedenne, Tyrantrum, (Pokeball), (Pokeball)
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Over in the VIP area, Professor Sycamore sat there. He watched the battle and was subconsciously smiling.
Ever since the first day they set foot in his lab, he knew that, not only Ash and Bonnie, but also Clemont and Serena had more to them than they showed then that specific day.
He remembered Serena as a nervous girl who set out on her journey to find Ash. She didn't have a dream or goal to go for and now, after years, she had become so mature and she could handle responsibilities with ease.
As for Clemont and Bonnie. Both of them got kicked out of their gym by Clembot which ultimately led them to become friends with Ash and brought them on a journey together. Ever since his return and the Team Flare incident, Lumiose City flourished with the inventions and ideas he brought to the table.
Bonnie had now a month or 9 of journeying through Kalos on her own under her belt. To make it this far in the tournament already was a great achievement. Something she really should be proud of.
And finally Ash. It was actually funny that he hadn't changed so much over the years. He was still the same, energetic boy who loved everything that had to do with pokemon. The things he had changed in was that he had also become a bit more responsible and mature. Believe it or not, he even learned about his feelings and about love which was for a battle addicted guy like him a remarkable achievement.
Marvelous. He thought.
In the stands, Clemont was smiling proudly as Tyrantrum and Donphan clashed again. He was proud to see where Bonnie had come from and how far she had come.
She had become really strong and thanks to that monster infront of her, she was able to obtain his badge, something he hadn't expected that quickly. He had been surpassed by his own little sister in battling. Maybe she could one day take over his role as gym leader so that he could focus more on inventing and in that way, maybe he'd be able to help humans and pokemon alike, all around Kalos or maybe even the world.
Donphan and Tyrantrum clashed again, using Double-Edge while the latter used Head Smash. It didn't take any recoil damage, thanks to its ability Rock Head.
"Donphan, Rollout!"
"Use Dragon Tail!"
Tyrantrum's tail started glowing a scaly blue while Donphan curled up and started rolling at incredible speed towards Tyrantrum.
Tyrantrum slammed its tail with full force against Donphan who didn't give in and fought back against the power.
This battle had become a power play now between two pokemon that weren't giving less than their all. Tyrantrum had the size while Donphan had the power advantage, making it even and thus ending up in another stalemate.
"Use Earthquake!" Ash shouted with a force of sheer confidence while pointing straight ahead.
Donphan jumped with its front legs, standing on his hind before slamming them back down against the earth. The ground shook heavily and made the large dinosaur struggle. It was suffering and Bonnie knew it. Tyrantrum was weak against Ground type moves.
Bonnie was thinking of a way to counter it as she saw the large pokemon having a lot of pain. And right at that moment, it clicked in her head. "That's it!" She shouted before calling out a move. "Tyrantrum, use Dragon Tail on the ground!" She shouted.
"Tyrrrrraa!" Tyrantrum roared before slamming its tail against the ground, cancelling out the powerful Earthquake.
"Amazing! What a creative way from Bonnie to use Dragon Tail to counter Earthquake!"
Bonnie smirked. "How do you like that one Ash? I learned that one from you and Pikachu!" She shouted across the field.
"Ash gave her a smirk of pride back. "Looks good Bonnie!" He said before he continued as he put up a serious face. "But how will you deal with this?" He said as he pointed to the sky and gave Donphan his command. "Donphan, Hyper Beam!"
"Donphaaaaan!" Donphan exclaimed as he fired the large orange beam from its mouth.
"Like this!" Bonnie shouted with confidence before making a wide stand and placing her left hand on the ground while looking forward. "Use Stone Edge!"
"Tyrrraaahhh!!!" Tyrantrum roared before it stomped its feet on the ground. Blue glowing pillars shot up from the ground, right in Donphan's direction.
The Hyper Beam crashed right into the rocky pillars, destroying them one by one, pulverising them to dust as it went straight for Tyrantrum.
Donphan's power was incredible and surely a thing to be hold. However, Bonnie had something else up on her sleeve. "Ice Fang!"
Tyrantrum screeched as it lowered its large jaw, opening its mouth and revealing its frozen teeth. White Misty came from it, indicating how cold it was.
The Hyper Beam came straight for Tyrantrum but the pokemon wasn't worried. On the contrary, it surprised Ash and everyone else who witnessed the battle, other than Bonnie and Max. Tyrantrum bit down on the Hyper Beam, destroying it in one go before making a proud and powerful stance.
"It ate the Hyper Beam!?"
The commentator was left speechless after that. Over in the VIP area, Aria, Diantha and Professor Sycamore were flabbergasted. "How is that possible?" Was the only thing Aria managed to croak out. "MARVELOUS!!" Professor Sycamore squealed in surprise while Diantha smiled at Bonnie, noticing the potential the young girl had.
"Nice move Bonnie!" Ash commented. "I didn't expect that!" He added with a smirk. He understood now that he could be in a much more interesting battle than he first thought. Not that he underestimated or disrespected Bonnie in any way but with the difference in experience the two had, he should be winning this fairly quick.
However, Bonnie proved to not being beaten easily as she knew almost every trick in his book. She surely has done her research. Ash thought to himself. He looked at Donphan, considering his options.
Ash took a quick glance at Tyrantrum who was now breathing slightly. The large dinosaur pokemon wasn't fairing any better than Donphan who started running out of steam aswell.
Dragon Tail, Head Smash, Stone Edge and Ice Fang. That's a very well rounded moveset. Especially with stone Edge being able to hit from range. Ash thought to himself.
He looked back at Tyrantrum and then at Donphan. Tyrantrum seemed to be a tireless force that was currently unstoppable. After the many clashes it and Donphan had undergone now, he'd be sure that it was feeling it now.
As for Donphan, it was breathing slightly harder. As for a pokemon with great defensive power and endurance, Donphan battled greatly. However, Tyrantrum seemed to be in better shape somehow. So he had to come up with a way to defeat it.
He looked at the battlefield, trying to come up with any way it could help. The dirt, the rocky pillars, the trees... his mind was racing with ways to overcome this obstacle.
He looked at the rocks which were slightly rounded as they went up. Looking back at the dirt field, he noticed that it was very dry. He smirked as this could work to his advantage. But then he noticed something else and something clicked inside of his head, giving him an idea to possibly take down Tyrantrum.
Pointing his finger straight ahead, Ash shouted; "Donphan, use Rollout and circle around Tyrantrum!"
Having used Rollout now already a few times, the speed and power of the move had increased which benefitted perfectly to Ash's plan. Donphan let out a powerful cry as it curled up into a ball and started spinning at a fast rate.
Donphan started circling around Tyrantrum who looked confused around. "Focus Tyrantrum!" Bonnie shouted, gritting her teeth. What is Ash up to this time? She thought to herself.
"Faster!" Ash shouted to Donphan who increased its speed. Some loose dirt started to whip up, creating a small dirt tornado. But what also happened, caused by the swirling dirt, Donphan was digging a trench around Tyrantrum due to the dirt that was being whipped up in the sky.
"Oh my! What is Ash up to? A tornado of loose dirt is swirling around Tyrantrum. I've never seen this before!"
Bonnie grew frustrated. She didn't know what to do. She just couldn't stand by and watch. However, if she made a move, it could cost her as Ash may have planned that. So basically, Ash had her trapped in a situation where she didn't know how to get out of it.
But now, as Ash thought it was good enough, Ash pumped his fists to the sky and shouted; "Now, hit it!"
Donphan stopped rolling in a circle and went straight for one of the slightly rounded rocks. It used it as a ramp in order to charge more speed while not having to change direction.
The rock acted as a ramp, causing Donphan to fly up in the air, going straight for Tyrantrum's head who was still busy watching the dirt tornado with confusion.
*BAM*
Donphan slammed right into Tyrantrum's head who stumbled backwards from the powerful impact. But as it did, it placed one of its feet into the trench, causing it to lose balance, making it fall flat on its back.
"Yes!" Ash shouted.
"Tyrantrum!" Bonnie shouted in worry.
"Genius! What an incredible idea! Donphan created a trench using Rollout and uses the speed of the same move to hit Tyrantrum and making it fall backwards. This surely will have caused some big damage!"
"Now Donphan, finish it! Use Earthquake!" Ash shouted on top of his lungs.
"Quick use Stone Edge!" Bonnie shouted.
Donphan, who was still airborne, used the force to slam onto the ground with massive power, using its momentum to its advantage. The ground shook heavily as result.
As Tyrantrum was on its back but managed to use its tail and slammed it against the ground. Blue glowing stone pillars shot out from the ground, going straight into Donphan's direction. Donphan's eyes widened as the pillars came its way. It was nailed to the ground as Earthquake was in full effect.
*BOOM* *BOOM*
On both sides of the battlefield occurred explosions, covering both pokemon in smoke.
The crowd grew silent as the commentator spoke with excitement over the clash between the two.
Both Clemont and Serena were nervous as they looked on, waiting for the smoke. Serena was nervous for Ash while Clemont was nervous for Bonnie. Max however was even more worried. Tyrantrum is one of Bonnie's strongest pokemon and it would be a real big let down if it's out now.
A small gust of wind whipped up through the stadium, causing the smoke to dissapear and thus revealing what had happened with both pokemon. The crowd gasped with surprise as they saw what happened next.
"Both Tyrantrum and Donphan are unable to battle. This battle is a draw!" The referee declared. The pictures of the two pokemon darkened as the referee gave the call.
"Would you look at that! Both pokemon have taken each other out!"
Ash let out a content sigh as he took out Donphan's pokeball and enlarged it before aiming it at Donphan. "Donphan, return!" He exclaimed and right after, a red light absorbed the tiny elephant pokemon. He smiled down at the pokeball as he spoke. "Thanks Donphan. You were amazing and did just what I needed you to do."
Ash put the pokeball away and saw Bonnie doing the same at the other side. He looked at her and the two's eyes met. They smiled as Ash spoke to her. "I gotta hand it to you Bonnie! You're pretty amazing!"
Bonnie smiled at the compliment and felt slightly flustered by it. "T-thanks Ash. But I couldn't do it without my amazing group of pokemon!" She said with a large, wide smile while stretching her arms wide.
Ash looked down, adjusted his had and chuckled a little to himself. "Why don't we get the real show on the road?" He suggested with a smirk.
"Thought you'd never ask!" Bonnie smirked back.
Ash took out his next pokeball, enlarged it and threw it in the air. "Melmetal, come on out!"
"Me-METAL!" Melmetal screeched as it landed with a thud back onto the battlefield. As it did, electric crackles went up its legs, indicating that it still was paralyzed.
"Melmetal huh?" Bonnie said in a low voice, pulling her arm back before lunging it forward. "Then I choose Delphox!" She shouted. The pokeball opened and a white flash appeared, materializing into Delphox. "Del!" Delphox exclaimed coming out of her pokemon and standing gracefully on her feet.
"Ash has chosen to go with Melmetal again while Bonnie brings out her Delphox. A smart move from our young trainer. Now let's see if that can lead to anything!"
"Good move Bonnie! Fire types always have the advantage over Steel types!" Max shouted. His emotions took over his excitement as he now wanted Bonnie to win. Clemont nodded proudly to Max's words. He couldn't do anything but agree.
"I wouldn't be that sure..." Gary suddenly spoke up. Everyone turned their heads to look at him with expectation as he continued. He stared down at Ash who was wearing his well known smirk on his face. "Look at Ash." He said as the side of his face came into view.
"He's fully aware about what he's doing." He said as he continued. "I know Ash for the longest time now and I think Serena can confirm in what I'm about to say next..." He looked at Serena as he went on. "...Ash is always reckless in whatever he does but when it comes to battling, he uses his head. And now... now he's just a few steps ahead of Bonnie." Gary ended.
Immediately, two faces changed into looks of concern and worry, filled with anxiety and sadness. It were Max and Clemont as they looked down at a confident smiling Bonnie who wasn't aware of her situation herself.
"My best guess about what Ash is planning is that he's probably trying to get Bonnie to reveal her team. And when she has done that, he'll beat her exacly like he's planning to." Gary said while looking at Ash.
That's when May chimed in. "He's right." She noted, agreeing with Gary and earning a few looks from her friends. "It's a very difficult and dangerous strategy. I've only see a few people pull that off. Steven, Cynthia and Paul when he battled Ash during the Sinnoh League."
She earned a few gasps from hearing the last person. "I've watched the Sinnoh League together with Max in order to support him. "May continued. "Paul did the same and knew Ash's whole team already after losing two of his own pokemon."
"Delphox use Flamethrower!" Bonnie shouted.
"Stop it with Flash Cannon!" Ash countered quickly. Both pokemon prepared their moves and fired it at the same time. It resulted in an explosion in the middle of the battlefield.
"Quick, Double Iron Bash!" Ash shouted as smoke gave him the cover he needed to pull off his next move.
Bonnie kept her eyes on the smoke. She was contemplating whether she should make a move or not. At the same time, she tried to figure out what Ash was doing.
Then suddenly, the smoke swirled around in a tornado before dissapearing into thin air as a spinning Melmetal came into sight.
Bonnie gasped as Melmetal lunged at Delphox. "Dodge, quick!" She shouted in panic. As she did, Delphox stepped backwards, barely escaping the large, big arms of the steel type.
And right there, that's when her eyes widened as she had a light bulb moment. She had seen this situation before and immediately knew a way to counter it. "Delphox use Flamethrower and spin around!" She shouted.
Delphox was a bit confused at first but trusted her trainer so she put her wand on fire and started spinning around. A tornado of fire surrounded the fire witch in result which caught everyone, including Ash off guard.
Melmetal lunched for a second time but this time, when it's arm made contact with the swirling fire tornado, it suddenly bounced back. Melmetal groaned in pain as it's arm was completely burned as result.
"Glad I did that performance training. Seems something good can come out of anything!" Bonnie said with a confident smirk.
"What a creative way from Bonniento bounce back! Melmetal is surely feeling this one!"
"Now finish it! Use Fire Blast!" Bonnie shouted with passion, raising her hands up high before thrusting them forward.
Ash's pupils dilated for a moment as he saw Delphox aim her branch right towards Melmetal, firing a five pointes cross that stood for the Japanese sign of fire (大) towards Melmetal. "Quick! Thunderbolt!" He shouted in despair.
Melmetal screeched as it's head started spinning rapidly, creating electricity. Just before Delphox's Fire Blast managed to hit, Melmetal sent a crackling and zigzagging beam of electricity towards the Kalos fire type starter.
*BOOM* *BOOM*
Fire Blast struck Melmetal hard and the steel type was set ablaze before the explosion occurred.
On the other side of the field, the lightning hit the branch that Delphox was holding and thus shocking the Kalos fire type started who cried out in pain.
On both sides, an explosion happened. However, it didn't take long for it to reveal the outcome of the battle. Delphox was still on her feet, breathing heavily while Melmetal was out cold.
"Melmetal is unable to battle, Delphox wins!" The referee declared, much to everyone's surprise.
"Can you believe that! Bonnie and her Delphox has taken out this unknown pokemon from the Alola region! Being now 2 to 1 down, how will Ash recover? Let's find out after the field change!"
Ash let out a deep breath as he put down a bottle of water. He sat in the dugout that was near the entrance into the arena, on his side.
Both he and Bonnie had a short break as the field changed. He bend over slightly, resting his elbows on his knees, thinking about his strategy. She used Dedenne, Delphox and Tyrantrum so far. That leaves one pokemon I haven't seen yet. He thought to himself.
Both Dedenne and Delphox have taken considerable damage already which leaves one fresh pokemon. I know that Tyrantrum and Delphox are her best so with that in mind, I can go to the second part of my plan. Hopefully the guys can pull trough and get us the win. Ash thought with a small smirk.
A few moments later, a new custom field raised up and slotted into place. The field mainly consisted out of dirt with a few water creeks here and there. However, on the sides of the battlefield were large mountains, making it a mountain pass kind of battlefield.
"Look at that! This custom designed field is surely an interesting one for our competitors! How will they compete with a difficult field as this one?"
Ash stood up and looked at the field. "Awesome!" He shouted with excitement and loads of energy. Stars appeared in his eyes as he pumped his fists.
Pikachu mimicked his trainers actions as Lucario grinned himself. Truth was, both pokemon were as excited as their trainer and wanted to battle badly but only he has the say if they could come on or not. For now, they had to wait.
"Trainers! Choose your pokemon!" The referee shouted, raising his flags up high.
Bonnie was first as she felt confident, being in the lead. She grabbed a pokeball and tossed it forward. "Let's start off where we left! Go Wigglytuff!"
Out of the pokeball came a balloon-like Pokémon with leporine features, a bean-shaped body and stubby arms and legs. There is a fluffy, curled tuft of fur on its head. It has long, rabbit-like ears with black insides and slightly lighter color at the tips. Its large, blue eyes are covered in a layer of tears that quickly washes away any debris. It is covered in pink fur with a white belly.
"Wiggly!" Wigglytuff exclaimed as it gracefully landed on the ground. It made its cutest face and sound, earning a lot of cheers from the crowd.
"Quilava, I choose you!" Ash shouted, tossing the pokeball forward. The pokeball opened and the white flash materialized into Quilava. Quilava is a quadrupedal mustelid Pokémon with a long, slender body. The top half of its body is a dark blue-green, while its underside is cream-colored. It has triangular ears with dark red interiors, a rounded snout, and triangular red eyes. Each of its paws has three toes. It has five red spots on its body that can project flames: two arranged vertically on its forehead and three lined up horizontally on its rear. "Quil---LAVA!" It exclaimed loudly, igniting it's fire spots as it readied a battle stance.
"Bonnie goes with Wigglytuff and hereby reveals her final pokemon! Ash on the other hand goes with the fire type Quilava. Let's see what kind of battle these two can offer us!"
"Battle begin!" The referee shouted, swinging down his flags and starting off the battle.
"Quick Attack!"
"Use Rollout!"
Dust shot up as Quilava sped off towards Wigglytuff, followed by a trail of white streaks. Wigglytuff however curled up in a ball and started spinning at a fast rate.
Both pokemon soon were on a fast pace as they approached each other. With much force, they pushed, trying to gain dominance over the other.
No winner could be made out as they both jumped back infront of their trainers. Wigglytuff gave Quilava a wicked and angry glare as it was smirking, ready for more.
Quilava let out a low growl as it was eager to battle more. It was completely fired up and it was willing to do anything to take down Wigglytuff.
"Use Flamethrower!" Ash shouted, making a horse stance as he did. Quilava pulled its head back before bellowing and releasing a large stream of flames to the Normal type pokemon.
"Quick, Psyshock!" Bonnie countered immediately. Wigglytuff put its hands together and formed a small, rainbow coloured orb in between. When it was big enough, it fired a crackling beam of rainbow coloured energy towards the incoming Flamethrower.
*BOOM*
The two moves collided and resulted into an explosion. The mountain pass like battlefield was filled with smoke in seconds. But Ash wasn't gonna sit down and wait for it to clear.
Right at the moment where Bonnie didn't expect it, Quilava jumped through the smoke. It was completely surrounded by fire. Both Bonnie and Wigglytuff gasped as Quilava crashed into the fairy type.
"Great! Now, use Flamethrower again!" Ash commanded as he wasn't ready to stop the assault yet.
"Quil---LAVA!" Quilava exclaimed as it released another streak of flames at Wigglytuff who was barely able to recover from the surprising Flame Wheel.
*BOOM*
The Flamethrower hit Wigglytuff, burning it to a crisp.
"Look at this! We're seeing a completely different side of Ash's battling! What will Bonnie do to recover from this? Can she recover?"
Bonnie looked really worried by now. So far, in the second half of the battle, she hadn't had a chance to put anything in. She was now battling Quilava's speed which was completely overwhelming her as she two slower pokemon before.
Max and Clemont started to feel uneasy as nervousness took them over. May saw her little brother and snickered a bit. She didn't know what had happened between the two and she couldn't resist teasing him about her.
Gary was smirking to himself. He saw that his theory about Ash's strategy for today was right and that he knew all Bonnie's pokemon, he would start working his way through them.
Serena was subconsciously smiling. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Bonnie but she couldn't help herself being happy for Ash. He was working hard for the two of them and she couldn't be happier. Subconsciously, she placed her hands on her heart, one hand placed on top of the others wrist with the blue ribbon tied on it.
"Let's pick up the speed even more!" Ash said with a confident smile on his face as he adjusted his hat. "Quilava use Quick Attack once more!"
"Quilava!" Quilava exclaimed as it started running at incredible speed again, followed by trail of white streaks.
Snap out of it Bonnie! She internally shouted to herself, slapping her cheeks. She shook her head aggressively before looking up at Wigglytuff and a fast approaching Quilava. "Quick, Thunderpunch!"
Wigglytuff stood up back on its feet, gaining some new found energy as it prepared its paw that crackled with electricity. Wigglytuff pulled back and waited for the precise moment Quilava would clash into it.
Ash smirked as the excitement in him started building even more. "Do it!!!" He shouted out loud.
Quilava ran even faster as it heard the encouraging words from its trainer. Wigglytuff thrusted its arm forward, timing it perfectly with the incoming Fire type.
Or so it thought... Time slowed down as it gasped with widened eyes. It saw Quilava making a step to the left at the last second and thus dodging the Thunderpunch.
"Finish it!" Ash shouted with all his might. "Eruption!"
Quilava skidded across the field in order to come to a stop. Once it came to a halt, Quilava straightened itself and then it ignited the flames on its head and tail, making them even larger. Finally, it fired a geyser of red-orange fire from the flame on its head at Wigglytuff.
*BOOM*
"WIGGLYTUFF!" Bonnie cried out in worry while smoke covered the Kantonian pokemon.
"Devastating! That Eruption packs a serious punch!"
The smoke finally faded, revealing an unconscious Wigglytuff. This leas the referee to take action. "Wigglytuff is unable to battle, Quilava wins!"
"Wigglytuff is out! That leaves both trainers with two pokemon left!"
Bonnie returned Wigglytuff and gave it a saddened smile as she thanked it for the hard work it put in. The truth was that Ash had completely taken her by surprise in use of his tactics. She didn't know how to respond to that yet but if she wanted to go through, she needed to do that fast.
She looked up at Ash and said; "Don't think you've won this Ash! We're not out yet!"
Ash smiled at her. "That's what I expect from you Bonnie!" He said as he looked down for a moment before looking her straight in the eyes. "Now, show me everything you've got!"
"Right!" Bonnie said before she pointed her indexfinger to the battlefield. "Go Dedenne!"
As Bonnie gave the signal, Dedenne looked up at its trainer, nodded and jumped onto the battlefield with determination. During Wigglytuff, Tyrantrum and Delphox's battles, it had a good amount of time to recharge its batteries again and now it had enough energy to give a good battle, possibly even win.
The scoreboard updated again as it darkened Dedenne's picture and now it looked like this:
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Scoreboard updated:
Ash: Melmetal, Donphan, Quilava, (Pokeball)
Bonnie: Dedenne, Tyrantrum, Delphox, Wigglytuff
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Ash felt confident. Even though the odds were against him, he felt never in danger. He was also happy that he was able to battle Bonnie. Both of them had looked forward to this battle and so far, it was a pretty good one. Both had only two pokemon left so it could still go anywhere. Although, he knew that he was now the clear favorite. He still had a completely fresh pokemon while all of Bonnie's had battled already. Adding to that was that Quilava hadn't taken any damage so far.
"Let's go Dedenne!" Bonnie shouted. Dedenne immediately started running towards Quilava with great speed.
"You too Quilava! Quick Attack!" Ash shouted. Quilava followed the order and ran towards Dedenne with much more speed than the electric rodent. White streaks appeared as it ran.
The two pokemon approached each other with great speed. And right at the last second, Bonnie gave her command. "Nuzzle!"
"Dodge it!" Ash gasped. But it was already too late as Dedenne filled its cheeks with electricity. Quilava tried to jump out of the way but Dedenne hit its left hind leg. Quilava groaned in pain as it got shocked.
"Quilava!" Ash shouted in worry. Quilava game to a halt and gritted his teeth in pain as some electricity crackled around its leg. Paralyzed! Ash thought as he now gritted his teeth aswell.
"Look at that! After Melmetal, Dedenne as identified its next victim and paralyzes Quilava!"
Ash considered his options. Normally he acted like he didn't care about status conditions but this time, there was a lot more on the line than just a league loss. But switching Quilava put for his final pokemon... no, it was too soon.
If speed is gonna work against us now, we have to beat Dedenne on power! Ash thought to himself. He straightened his hand and pointed directly at Dedenne. "Use Eruption!"
Bonnie gasped as Quilava bend it head towards Dedenne and shot a geyser of flames from the fire spot on top of its head towards the electric type.
"Quick, Thunder!" Bonnie commanded. Dedenne filled its cheeks and engulfed itself with electricity as it shot a beam directly towards the incoming flames. It was a hard move to control as Dedenne was very small and didn't have much stability. It took a lot of energy from the rodent to perform the move.
However, Dedenne was able to fire it and much to its own surprise, it collided right with the Eruption, resulting into an explosion of fire and electricity. A shockwave blasted over the battlefield, buffeting everyone with a powerful blast of wind.
Serena had to hold on to her grey coloured hat as the collision of the two attacks stored some serious power.
"Look at that! A collision between Thunder and Eruption, two of the most powerful attacks of their own categories!"
"Quilava!"
"Dedenne!"
Both trainers cried out to their pokemon in despair.
The smoke faded and both pokemon became visible. Both Ash and Bonnie saw them struggling hard as they faced off against each other. Bonnie and Dedenne had given Ash and Quilava a good battle, much more than either of them had expected on beforehand.
Time slowed down as their breathing could be heard. Both of them were completely scratched up and struggling to stand on their feet. But then...
Dedenne's legs gave in as the small electric type fell forward, hitting the dirt face first. Swirls appeared in its eyes, revealing it was unconscious.
Quilava felt another crackle of electricity go through its body from the earlier paralyzes but it somehow managed to hang on as it did. It let out a relieved breath as it saw its opponent down and out.
"Dedenne is unable to continue, that means the winner of this battle is Quilava!" The referee declared. The scoreboard updated and darkened Dedenne's picture.
"And Dedenne is out! This leaves Bonnie with only her Delphox while Ash still has his Quilava and an unrevealed pokemon!"
Bonnie had picked up Dedenne. She praised it for its efforts as she put it down beside her. Throughout the stadium were a lot of looks of sympathy for the young girl.
Ash took his pokeball and returned Quilava. He thanked it for its efforts before putting it away. Then, he looked at Bonnie. "This battle has been awesome so far!" He said with a smile.
Bonnie looked up at Ash with a smile of her own. "You've got that right!" She said. "But it's not over yet! I still have one pokemon left."
"That's right!" Ash said before he smirked. "But so do I!" He then took out his last pokeball and enlarged it. "Feraligatr, I choose you!" He shouted as he threw the pokeball.
It opened and from it appeared the large, final evolved Jotho started. The blue dinosaur with pointy red spines on its head, back and tail landed with a thud on the ground. "Feraligator---!" It roared before it started hopping from one leg on another, showcasing a form of a dance.
"Ash has chosen a Feraligatr for his final pokemon!"
"It's so... CUTEEEE!" Bonnie squealed in excitement as she hugged her chest, wiggling around aggressively.
Serena, Clemont and Max sweatdropped at this. It was something typical for Bonnie to say.
Regaining her focus, Bonnie threw her pokeball, releasing her final pokemon again. Delphox was ready to battle and it needed to be if Bonnie wanted to have any chances to advance.
"As Ash chosen for his Feraligatr, Bonnie sent out her Delphox again. Battling against Feraligatr is a massive type disadvantage for Bonnie to overcome."
"This isn't looking good for Bonnie..." Max commented, not feelingtoo sure about the situation.
"I agree. Battling against a final evolved water type is a disadvantage itself but battling a fresh pokemon while having battled yourself already might be too big to overcome..." Clemont agreed with a sigh. He was proud of her though. Top sixteen in her first ever attempt was no small feat and if she were to lose, he'd tell her that and that she had done extremely well.
The pokemon had exchanged already a few moves and Serena felt more confident and happier by the second. As expected by her friends, Feraligatr seemed to hold its own pretty well while Delphox grew more tired each move it used. She didn't want Bonnie to lose but she was forced to choose Ash's side for obvious reasons.
"Hydro Pump!" Ash commanded with adrenaline rushing through his body. The battle against Bonnie was now already going on for a while and even though things seemed to be at his side, he still felt the excitement and anxiety going through his body. But that's what made the battling that much better. The harder the battle, the harder he and his pokemon had to try.
"Gatorrrr---!" Feraligatr exclaimed before opening its mouth and firing off a huge blast of water towards Delphox.
"Quick! Counter it with Fire Blast!" Bonnie shouted.
Sweat had already formed on Delphox's head and numerous scratches were over her body. However, it didn't want to give up as she fired off another 大 shaped blast of fire towards the incoming Hydro Pump.
Both attacks collided in the center of the battlefield and pushed one another. Both moves were one of the strongest in their element and therefore it was a power play between the two pokemon.
But Feraligatr had the edge as Delphox was breathing heavily and extremely tired. Then suddenly, right through the middle of the Fire Blast, the Hydro Pump came through.
Delphox cried out in pain as the water clashed into her, pushing her into the rocky wall that was on both sides of the battlefield. Delphox was pushed in with so much force that it left a big dent in the rocky wall in a form of the Kalos starter.
Bonnie cried out desperately to her pokemon as she fell to the ground. Her eyes were swirled as she already passed out before even hitting the ground.
"Delphox is unable to battle, Feraligatr wins! Therefore the winner of this battle and who's advancing to the next round is Ash Ketchum from Vaniville Town!" The referee called out as he raised his flag to Ash's side.
The scoreboard updated and now showed Ash's picture in large with "WINNER" underneath it.
Bonnie quickly jumped onto the battlefield and went on her knees as she sat down on them next to Delphox. She thanked it for the amazing work it had put in and that she was extremely proud.
Ash also walked up onto the battlefield with Pikachu and Lucario behind him. As he reached Feraligatr, the large beast turned around and started to dance in happiness. Ash laughed at the sight of it as he realised that things would never change. He gave Feraligatr a high five and praised it for the hard work it put in.
Over in the stands, the emotions were mixed. Serena wanted to jump up and cheer but her selfless and shy personality didn't allow her that. She didn't want to be rude infront of Clemont as she could see that he was quite sad by the result. She then noticed Max was sad aswell and having quite a good amount of knowledge when it comes to love, she could add two and two together.
At this point, Ash and Bonnie had met each other at the middle of the battlefield. Bonnie went in for a handshake but Ash surprised her as he pulled her in for a hug. "You were great Bonnie!" He grinned widely.
Bonnie was thankful for the hug as it helped her a bit better to keep her emotions in check and accepted it. She then took a step back and looked at Ash. "Thanks Ash... I wanted to battle you for a long time now and I'm glad we could do it on such a big stage." She said truthfully.
"Me too!" Ash said with a large smile.
Bonnie was now smiling aswell but then looked back to the ground with an unsure look in her eyes. "Hey Ash... can I ask you for something...?" She asked.
"Huh?" Ash mumbled to no one in particular. "Sure, what is it?"
"Can I..." She started before looking up at Ash. "Hug Feraligatr! It's so cute!" She blurted out.
Ash sweatdropped and so did Pikachu and Lucario. Hearing this, Feraligatr started dancing again. "Sure!" Ash replied with a laugh.
Serena, Clemont and Max sweatdropped as they saw Bonnie hug Feraligatr. " I think Bonnie has taken her loss pretty well..." Serena said.
"You think so...?" Both Max and Clemont replied in unison which caused laughs and giggles across the group of friends.
"Folks! Before you leave the stadium, there is some important news! Now that the battles of the top sixteen are finished, it's time to announce the quarter finals!"
Ash's face immediately lit up as he heard that. Serena stopped laughing and, just like Ash, she turned to the large screen. She felt nervous as this could be a very dangerous draw.
The cards shuffled around and then ultimately stopped before turning around.
"And the match ups for the quarter finals are..."
"Jason versus the mysterious trainer R!"
"Jake versus Jeremy!"
Ash versus Sawyer!"
Ash's eyes widened at hearing his opponent and smiled instantly. Sawyer, who sat in the crowd grinned aswell. Finally he had another shot at beating Ash.
And finally... Alain versus Paul!"
Narrator: Ash now faces Sawyer after beating his friend Bonnie. But more surprisingly, Paul and Alain face each other for a place in the semi finals! Who will win? Find out as the journey continues...
"Thanks for saving my butt there Author..." Bonnie sighed in relief.