Capítulo 119: One-For-One
We're now a few minutes away from 9 pm and the usual tournament presenter was heating the stadium with his inspiring speech. In a hallway leading outside, Max was near the entrance with his entire team out, except for Sally, who Julia agreed to take care of in the meantime so she was not alone.
"Okay, girls. This is it. The moment of truth."
{It's in the bag already, master.} Scarlet affirmed.
{She's right.} Aurora confirmed, next to him while fist-bumping his sides.
"Hehe. I know. However, before we get there, there is a little something I want to tell you." Max said, stepping out from the circle to face all of them at once.
He then took a few seconds to admire his team, which he couldn't be prouder of at the moment.
"As you may know, this is the last match. It basically means there is nothing afterward besides the winning prize, so girls…" He said before a smug smile appeared on his. "No more holding back. It's time to show everyone what you all are really made of and unleash everything you have!"
{Ah, finally! The words I've been waiting for!} Bonny exclaimed with a mischievous grin, punching one palm with the other paw.
{Winning at all costs, huh?} May said.
{Yep.} Aurora confirmed.
{Don't worry, master. We will win that ticket, even if it kills me.} Scarlet expressed, determined.
"I'd prefer that you don't go there," Max replied, grabbing his pokeball. "So girls, it's showtime." He added before recalling everyone except for Luna.
Both then looked at each other.
"Are you ready?"
{*Inhale* *exhale* Yeah. I don't know how it will go, but I won't let you down.}
With a nod and a grateful smile, Max recalled her as well. Taking a deep breath himself, Max faced the exit, nervousness beginning to take over. Scarlet grabbed one of his hands and smiled at him, immediately soothing him.
"...And now, the moment you all have been waiting for! The first contestant for this epic final match, I present to you, MAX!" The presenter announced in fury.
{You got it, Love. Show them who we really are.} The gardevoir said, slapping Max's ass as he was walking forward. {I'll wait with Julia and Sally until you need me.} She added before teleporting away.
Through the thunderous cheers and claps of the crowd, Max appeared on the battlefield, increasing the spectators' enthusiasm. Fireworks and light pyrotechnics burst everywhere around and above the stadium, mostly red.
(Damn! I feel like a well-known rocker.) Max thought as he was saluting the crowd.
"And to oppose him…" The presenter continued as Max was near his battling spot. "Another participant who destroyed the competition, I present to you, BILLY!"
From another entrance, Billy stepped outside, receiving the same welcome as with fireworks, but mostly blue this time. But unlike Max, Billy was short and was walking towards his own spot with an unsure pace, not liking the attention much. After a few small hand waves, Billy was now facing Max, each in their square.
"I was looking forward to this match." Max engaged. "I haven't seen a lot of competent trainers since I started my journey."
"Y-Yeah. S-Same." He stuttered a little.
"This is it, ladies and gentlemen! This is the moment! The grand final of the tournament of MallowVille. Referee, do your thing."
The referee, who was in the middle and outside the dome, took a few steps forward.
"Alright, here are the rules…" The referee started as the crowd was calming down. "Both of you are allowed to use your six pokémon in battle. However, you're not allowed to switch pokémon at any time."
"Oh shit! Really?" Max replied, a bit surprised.
"There is no time limit and it ends when a trainer has no more pokémon that can fight. Any questions?" The referee asked, with both shaking their heads. "Great. Trainers! Ready? Fight!" He announced before backing up.
Immediately, the crowd started to cheer once again.
"Alright. Let's demonstrate our power right off the bat." Max said before releasing Bonny.
Immediately, the lopunny got into a fierce fighting position, looking more pumped than ever. To face her, Billy called out a scizor.
[Okay, Bonny! The first one to strike wins! Start with a High Jump Kick!] Max rapidly commanded while touching his keystone.
Instantly, Bonny lifted off the ground and aimed her attack at the scizor while mega-evolving. Her speed and brightness of her transformation were enough to land a critical hit on the scizor. The impact was so loud and powerful that it created a small crater on the ground, with debris, and dust flying everywhere. Jumping out of the dust cloud, mega Bonny waited to have a clear view.
"O-Oh!" Billy expressed, a bit astonished by the scene.
Quickly, the dust fell down, revealing the scizor that had one knee on the ground and shaking his head, a bit dizzy.
[Finish him off with Return.]
"Reddie! Go around-"
With Billy unable to finish his sentence, Bonny was already on his pokémon, tackling the steel/bug pokémon with Return, propelling him against the dome so fast that he almost appeared to teleport. To the spectators' astonishment, the scizor was already done for, completely knocked out.
"Holy moly! What a display of strength we just witnessed!" The commentator exclaimed. "It's like Max has an entirely new pokémon! Was it really that strong from the outset!?"
[Yep. That's my lopunny. Not only does she have a cute butt, but she knows how to use it.] Max said proudly.
[Let's try to not make me lose my focus, shall we?] Bonny almost scolded.
[Alright, alright. I just couldn't help it.]
In the meantime, Billy had recalled his pokémon.
"I did as you asked, Reddie. Since you lack experience, you wanted to go first so you could tire the opponent as much as you can. It was very noble of you, but I can't help but feel bad about it." He whispered to his pokeball.
Sighing slightly, he grabbed another pokeball. He then looked at Max before looking at Bonny.
"That lopunny is way stronger than average, so let's fight strength with strength."
Opening his pokeball, Billy released a golurk in a dormant state. However, even without its legs, both Max and Bonny took notice of its massive size.
"Wait! Don't tell me…"
Then, as if it was activating, lights began to glow on the pokémon. Emitting weird noises, the golurk exited his resting state and pulled his legs out, slowly standing up. While doing so, both Max and Bonny progressively raised their heads, with Bonny backing up from one step so as not to fall on her back. Then, when he was done ascending towards the sky, he stopped moving with purplish steam escaping from a few of its joints.
"Holy shit! What the fuck is that thing?!" Max exclaimed.
None believed it. That golurk was gigantic. The biggest pokémon Max had ever seen. In terms of brute height, it was taller than the steelix that pursued him and May in that cave a year ago. From feet to head, Max guessed that it was standing at roughly twenty-five feet, maybe even taller. He even wondered if it wasn't exceptionally legendary.
"How are we gonna beat that thing?"
[By punching and kicking it, of course.] Bonny told him, having quickly regained her composure.
"Umm… Yeah, yeah. Indeed." Max replied after briefly shaking his head. "Sorry. That monster surprised me a little."
[Size doesn't matter. The bigger they are…]
[The harder you have to hit them.]
[Exactly.] Bonny confirmed, making Max laugh lightly.
[Alright. But unfortunately, a golurk is also a ghost-type, so it will restrain our possibilities.]
[Goddamnit! What's up with all these ghost-types around here today?]
[Really, aren't there? Watch out! He's about to move!] Max warned.
On Billy's side, the golurk was already on the move and initiated a Mega Punch toward Bonny. Despite its surprising speed, Bonny dodged it easily. However, her surprise didn't end there as the force of the hit destroyed a portion of the ground.
[Holy shit! We can't afford for you to take many hits from that thing.] Max mentioned.
[Tell me about it.]
In a rather slow motion, the golurk straightened itself up and ominously turned to face Bonny.
[You're gonna exhaust yourself up way before it if you keep it up that way. Attack with Blaze Kick.]
With one leg exploding into flames, Bonny jumped and aimed at the head of the golurk with her attack. Strangely, the golurk seems to be fast only when absolutely necessary and blocked Bonny with one hand. However, Bonny's strength was such that the golurk's hand got pushed backward, with the colossal pokémon being slightly pulled by the force. But unfortunately, its strength matched Bonny's and managed to stop her in her momentum, trapping her in its hand. Its hands were so huge that it was almost hiding Bonny entirely between its fingers.
[Get out of there!] Max exclaimed.
Not even having the time to struggle, Bonny got tossed at a tremendous speed at the ground, creating a small crater upon impact. Despite the damage, Bonny quickly got up, but to her astonishment, she was met with the golurk, in the air and falling towards her, going for Body Slam.
*Vlang*
The impact noise was as loud as you could expect from an overweight titan falling on the ground. However, to Max's worries, he didn't see Bonny dodging in any direction, meaning that she probably didn't have the time to escape.
[Oh no! Bonny?!]
Waiting for an answer, Max was starting to fear the worst when he saw the golurk slightly shaking. Now intrigued, Max narrowed his eyes and tried to anticipate what was going on. Then, slowly but surely, the golurk began to move upward on its own.
"...B-Bonny?"
From under that colossal pokémon, Bonny had her arms above her head and was slowly lifting the golurk.
"Oh my god! Does everyone see what I'm seeing?! Is this lopunny really lifting that gargantuan golurk just by her sheer strength?! It's official everyone, now I've seen everything!"
Continuing to lift, Bonny was slowly straightening her arms and legs, still elevating her opponent higher and higher. Obviously, the golurk weighed a couple of tons as Bonny was grimacing and her heavily contracted muscles were shaking a bit. For a moment, Max got lost in the scene. The sight of his dirty and fit lopunny showing off her well-defined muscles and strength triggered a little something in him.
(The fuck! Now is not the time, man!) Max thought, scolding himself while shaking his head.
{Ghnn… Nnha!}
A few seconds later, Bonny's arms and legs were all straight, now practically holding a mountain over her head with a proud smirk.
[Bonny, you… Alright. Do what you do best.]
With a wider smirk, Bonny then threw the golurk away. It didn't go very high, but high enough for Bonny to have time to jump and meet it midair to make it fall faster with a well-placed Blaze Kick. The fall accumulated with the attack did quite the damage to the golurk, who was on its back on the ground. Practically being a machine, the golurk didn't look fazed in the slightest as it was standing up.
[Damnit! It's far from enough. Use Dig.]
Obeying, Bonny dove underground. Then, not even looking, the golurk raised one foot in the air.
"...FUCK!" Max exclaimed.
Dropping its foot and using Earthquake, the golurk made the entirety of the ground fissure and parts of the ground shattered. From one fissure, Bonny got expelled from the ground.
[Blaze Kick!]
Then, as soon as Bonny landed back on the ground, she instantly got hit by Focus Punch and got propelled into the dome wall at lightning speed.
{Gghhhhaa!} She growled in pain.
Quickly, the lopunny fell down and landed on her knees.
{Shit! I felt that one.} She mumbled, shaking her head.
[Come on, Bonny, don't stay put. Move and assault it with Blaze Kick.]
Now back to her senses, Bonny rushed at the giant pokémon and got around. As the golurk was trying to keep track of her, Bonny went for a blind spot and unleashed a couple of Blaze Kicks. The golurk was pushed toward the direction of the hits due to the force but managed to keep its balance.
[We only have Blaze Kick, so go for that again.]
Jumping, Bonny used Blaze Kick again. Then, in a swift motion, the golurk raised its hands and attacked Bonny with Psychic. The move stopped her clean and crushed her entire body without any physical injuries. Slowly standing after falling down, Bonny barely had the time to raise her eyes when she took a Focus Blast in the face, disappearing into an energy explosion that destroyed more of the ground. When she was visible again, Max saw her trying her best to stand up. She almost made it, but her body stopped responding and fell back. Instantly, the crowd got wild.
[I'm… sorry, master.] Bonny apologized, half-conscious.
[Don't worry about it. We have one down and I know the one that will best that thing.] Max reassured her before calling her back into her pokeball. [Next time I call you out, I'll have the ticket in hand.] He added before choosing another pokeball.
Grabbing the red and black one, Max released Luna for the very first time into a battlefield. Naturally, no situation would prevent her from having a slightly sassy attitude with her serious look and a paw on her hips.
[Can you hear me?]
[Yes. I allowed Scarlet to make us able to communicate.]
[Great. Thanks a lot.]
[No problem, little poochie.]
[How are you feeling?]
[A bit stressed, but I'll manage.]
[Everything will be fine. Just do what you do best. And remember; This is no fight for survival. You can go all out without any kind of consequences.]
[*sigh* Something I'll have to get used to, eventually.]
As they were speaking mentally, the golurk initiated a Mega Punch, which Luna dodged effortlessly, not even changing stance.
[So, how do you want it to go? Do you want to fight more on your own, or…]
[For my first time, I'll be fighting on my own. Not that I don't trust you of course, but I want to get accustomed to all of that at my own pace.]
[I understand. Alright, you sexy beast. Get over there and make us win.]
[*Hmpf* Inspiring words. Just the way I like them.] Luna said before getting into a beastly stance.
Right after, the golurk launched a Focus Blast at Luna, which the zoroark easily dodged. Seeing her coming in its direction, the golurk increased its tempo, launching Focus Blasts one after another, literally making Luna run around, dodging laser beams like in movies. Eventually, the golurk couldn't keep up and Luna was now at close range and attacked its chest with Night Slash, making the ghost-ground pokémon flinch.
Then, before Luna could chain into anything, the golurk used Phantom Force and simply vanished in its own shadow.
{Tsk.}
With the crowd cheering lightly, Luna tried her best to focus and went for Detect, making the opponent's next move predictable. Oddly, the move seems to malfunction as her anticipation was very foggy as if she was predicting the golurk's move even less. Then, out of nowhere, a shadowy arm struck Luna from below and sent her flying a few meters in the air.
"Shit!" Max cursed.
Fortunately, she retaliated pretty fast and landed on her feet. At the place where she was a few seconds ago, the shadowy arm grew bigger until the golurk had fully emerged. Smirking, Luna surprisingly did the exact same thing as the golurk and vanished into the darkness.
"Huh? Luna knows Phantom Force as well?" Max wondered out loud.
[No, she doesn't. However, she knows Copycat, which copies a move of her choice during a battle.]
[Oh, right. I forgot about that move.]
[It's not without its cons, though. She must be hit by the move before she can use it.]
[I see. Kinda risky if you need something specific.]
A short moment later, a shadowy paw emerged from behind the golurk and struck it. And just like the golurk earlier, the shadowy paw slowly changed into Luna before her real color appeared. Immediately after, Luna initiated Agility and raised her speed, running around the golurk. Quickly having enough, Luna's adversary raised one leg and, stomped it down to use Earthquake. Unfortunately for the golurk, it missed as Luna jumped high in the air. While doing so, she assaulted the golem pokémon with Flamethrower. While taking damage, the golurk didn't even try to shield his face with his arms and just stood there.
Back on the ground, Luna used Agility again before striking the golurk with Night Slash. Now on its back, she used it again while jumping. Propelling herself off the dome wall, she used it once again. Going faster and faster, Luna kept assaulting the golurk with thousands of Night Slash in every direction until only black flashes were visible. For the final hit, Luna gathered everything she had and inflicted the fatal blow with one last powerful Night Slash, creating a brief flash of dark energy light all across the stadium. When done, Luna jumped backward towards Max, where he could see her panting a little. For a moment, the golurk remained immobile until he finally moved. However, it wasn't for attacking, but to fall on the ground, defeated.
"Golurk is unable to continue the battle. Max wins this round." The referee announced.
"Magnificent! I've never seen a zoroark move that fast! It's simply incredible!"
Not saying a word, Billy recalled his pokémon.
"Don't feel bad. You did amazing." The trainer encouraged his pokémon before putting the pokeball away.
"...Let's try this counter-pick."
Next, Billy released his galvantula.
[Careful, Luna... If I remember correctly, this pokémon is hella fast.]
[I stacked up a few Agility, so I should be able to keep up.] Luna assured him.
"Ready? Fight!" The referee called out.
Instantly, the galvantula disappeared.
"The fuck!?" Max said, looking all over the dome, as well as Luna. "There! Above you!"
Raising her eyes, Luna saw the galvantula, all the way up to the ceiling of the dome, chilling there.
[Go roast her.] Max commanded.
Jumping, Luna got as close as she could with a single jump and used Flamethrower. However, she missed as the galvantula was too fast and dodged in a swift movement. Now descending, Luna used it again but missed one more time before landing back on the ground.
[She's too high. I can't reach her.] Luna mentioned.
[Bug-types can be so annoying sometimes.]
Then, the galvantula decided to finally attack and used Electroweb. Being far away and fast herself, Luna dodged the hit very easily, almost relaxed. The galvantula spat another Electroweb, with Luna dodging it as easily as the last one. Interestingly enough, she kept using that move over and over again from the safety of her spot. Avoiding everything, Luna was wondering why her opponent kept using the same avoidable move repeatedly. After dodging one last time, the attack stopped. Looking up, Luna saw the galvantula jumping down, facing the zoroark.
{Have you decided you would like to fight?} Luna said before getting into a fighting stance.
Barely moving its legs, the galvantula plunged at Luna with Bug Bite. Despite her opponent's incredible speed, Luna anticipated the move and tried to dodge, but strangely, it was like she lost all of her accumulated speed and got hit, damaging her quite a lot due to the type weakness. The galvantula went for another Bug Bite, which Luna also couldn't dodge, and fell on one knee.
{What is happening?}
As she had one paw on the ground, she noticed something on her claws. After raising her paw, she saw a sticky strand glued to one claw.
{...Damnit!} Luna cursed upon realization. {Now I understand why she kept using that move. She set up her own playground.} She mumbled before standing up to stare at the galvantula. {However…}
Smirking again, Luna then went for Flamethrower all around her, setting the field ablaze, burning the sticky webs.
{So? What-}
Luna looked back at the galvantula when she was done, but didn't see her.
"Watch out!" Max called out.
Barely able to turn, the galvantula jumped on Luna, hooked herself onto the zoroark, and used Leech Life.
{Ghnn! Get off… me…}
Despite Luna's strength, the galvantula was firmly attached to Luna's arms, slowly absorbing her life force. Before being out of energy, Luna used Beast Shadow, materialized two shadowy apparitions, and made them attack the galvantula. After just one hit, the electric/bug pokémon unhooked herself from the zoroark and jumped away. Luna then created two more apparitions and directed them at the galvantula, which retaliated with more Electroweb. Despite the fact that Luna could indirectly command the apparitions, they didn't have her speed and every single one of them got hit and disintegrated by the galvantula's attacks. Taking her chance, Luna dashed at her opponent in a flash and went for Shadow Claw.
*Screeeektch*
As soon as Luna was near her, the galvantula used Bug Buzz, strongly damaging the zoroark while deafening her. Even worse, it lowered her special defense. Then, with flashing eyes, the galvantula hit Luna at point blank with Signal Beam, making the zoroark fall on her back.
"Oh no! It doesn't look good for her." Max commented.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the galvantula in the air, going for Lunge. Using her remaining strength, Luna rolled away and quickly got back on her feet. Then, Luna barely had the time to move her arms in a defensive position when she got hit with X-Scissor, making her fall again, rolling on the ground a few times before stopping on her belly. She tried to get up, but the galvantula landed on her back and immediately attacked with Life Leech. Luna tried to get up but didn't have enough strength left.
[I'm… sorry… little...] She managed to say before passing out, with what the galvantula jumped away from her.
"Tsk. It's okay, pretty girl. You did your best, and it was a great first match." Max replied before calling her back.
(Damn! He really is on another level. He's like no one we faced so far in this competition.)
In terms of speed, Max barely had anyone else as fast as Luna, but he thought of one who could maybe do something about it. After choosing Aurora's pokeball, he released her.
[Okay, Aurora. Your adversary is very fast, so start with Double Team and attack while she's focusing on your after-image.]
[Roger.]
Executing herself, Aurora rushed at the galvantula while using Double Team, creating clones of herself. Instantly, the galvantula counter-attacked with Bug Bite. However, Max didn't anticipate that she would get rid of Aurora's move at lightning speed, reducing the amount of Auroras to one just in a few seconds. As soon as it was the case, the galvantula lunged at Aurora and went for Leech Life.
*Clong*
Before the electric/bug-type pokémon could make contact, Aurora enveloped herself in a light suit of armor made with Bone Rush, protecting every vital part.
"Whoa! What is this?! I've never seen a pokémon use Bone Rush in that way! I must be dreaming!" The commentator exclaimed in astonishment.
{If you focused mostly on speed, it must mean that your attack must be lacking, and I was right.} Aurora shared.
[Wow! Nice thinking, Aurora!] Max said in amazement. [Now go get that spider with Bone Rush.]
Using Force Palm with her paws to gain speed, Aurora moved towards the galvantula. Before the lucario could reach her, the galvantula shot a few Electroweb. Materializing a bone, Aurora smashed the webs away with it and tried to swing it at the bug pokémon, but the latter dodged it. She immediately replied with X-Scissor, but Aurora blocked her with her bone. Both exchanged attacks for a short moment until the galvantula suddenly jumped away while using String Shot. Aurora got enveloped in a first layer of sticky strings and was about to break free before she got enveloped into a second layer. Then a third, then a fourth. At this point, Aurora was still up as her legs were half spared, but couldn't break free on her own with strength alone. Now that Aurora was more or less immobilized, the galvantula turned to her and began to charge a lot of electricity. Shortly, the bug pokémon was surrounded by a sphere of electrical energy. The sphere grew bigger for a moment when the galvantula went for it and used Wild Charge. The impact was such that it burnt the strings and broke Aurora's armor, propelling her a few meters away while rolling. As soon as she was on her feet, Aurora got struck by Thunderbolt. It hurt her quite a bit as she dropped one knee on the ground, a few sparks running across her body for a short duration.
[Shit. That galvantula is still fast. You still can't touch her a lot.]
[In my current state... maybe not.]
[...Mega evolution?]
[No, it's still early for that, as my mega form still drains too much energy from you. I was talking more about my ability.]
[Ability? Oh, Aura Lock?]
[Precisely. If I unlock one or two locks, my speed should start matching hers.]
[Isn't it dangerous?]
[Not with just the first ones. It will exhaust me, however, so I mustn't make the battle last for very long.]
[...Alright.]
With a nod, Aurora closed her eyes. Intrigued and confused, both the galvantula and Billy looked at her. After a deep breath, Aurora's aura multiplied. Her aura energy had materialized in a blueish fire all around her and the power that she was exhaling could be lightly felt from Max's location. Instantly, Billy sensed the menace and ordered his pokémon to attack with Electro Ball. Aurora easily dodged the projectiles and dashed at the galvantula.
[Go with Bone Rush again.]
Creating an energy bone once more, Aurora tried to swipe the bug pokémon but dodged it. Immediately, Aurora attacked in a fraction of a second later, but the galvantula managed to dodge once again. For almost half a minute, both were running around at lightning speed, with Aurora trying to get a hit.
[You're still not fast enough!]
Then, after creating a large club with Bone Rush, Aurora swung at her opponent vertically, creating a tiny shockwave after the bug pokémon avoided it. Quickly, Aurora focused again and unlocked a second lock, unleashing a stronger and more pressured aura energy, with grass dancing around her.
[Meteor Mash.]
Almost teleporting, Aurora was on the galvantula and managed to finally land a hit, sending the yellow pokémon flying all across the battlefield.
[Time for your specialty!]
Quickly getting near the galvantula, Aurora used Sky Uppercut as hard as she could, sending the galvantula flying in the air. Immediately, Aurora jumped with the help of Force Palm and chained with Close Combat, striking the galvantula with many fiery paw hits. Before Aurora's opponent could start descending, Aurora initiated a Seismic Toss, quickly bringing both towards the ground, where she landed hard on the galvantula, who landed even harder on the ground. Now done, Aurora jumped away. Everyone noticed that the galvantula wasn't moving anymore, which meant her defeat.
"Billy's galvantula is no longer able to fight. Max takes the round."
"Yes!" Max exclaimed loudly.
Now near Max, Aurora's locks went back to normal. Instantly, extreme tiredness overtook Aurora, making her fall to one knee again while panting.
[I'm guessing it's the withdrawal of your ability.]
[Yes, and I doubt I'll have enough time to recover before the next round.]
After recalling his pokémon, Billy chose his next pokémon and released a female pyroar on the battlefield.
"Tsk. Looks like this fight is gonna be about an exchange of type disadvantage." Max mumbled.
"Ready? Fight!"
Immediately after the referee gave the signal, the pyroar growled for a short duration, being Work Up that boosted her attack and special attack.
[Bulk Up, Aurora.]
Tensing her muscles, Aurora transformed her energy into pure power within her body, boosting her attack and defense. Then, Aurora had to dodge an incoming Fire Blast, which vanished against the wall behind.
[It seems that they want to end the battle quickly.] Aurora commented.
[...We'll do the same.]
Max knew that maybe it wasn't wise to go all out at the very beginning, but seeing Aurora's state, it was probably their best bet to get further than this. Plus, he wanted to go along with Aurora's personality, as a response to the pyroar provocation.
[Double Team and Aura Sphere.]
After doubling herself, Aurora launched an Aura Sphere in every direction, but only one was real. Unfortunately, the pyroar dodged most of them, with one being the real one. Facing Aurora, the pyroar got into a pouncing position. Aurora got ready to defend herself, but when she saw the pyroar illuminating in fire energy, she had a bad feeling.
{...Fuck!}
Turning around, Aurora tried to create distance as much as possible. However, as soon as she turned her heels, the pyroar energy exploded into the move Overheat. Being a large and virtually inevitable area of effect, Aurora got caught in the move, heavily damaging her. Falling on her stomach, Aurora tried her best to get up but got hit in the sides by Fire Fang, making Aurora faint.
"Lucario can't fight anymore. The round goes to Billy."
"Damn. Good job, Aurora." Max said, calling her back. "It's now down to three-on-three."
Max then considered who he should choose next. May would have been a good choice since she's very powerful in her mega form, but her steel-type wouldn't do well against a fire-type, especially since May's special defense was a bit behind her defense. The only safe choice was her.
Grabbing his next pokeball, Max released Dusk on the battlefield.
[Okay, Dusk. If you want to keep fighting as much as possible, we'll have to focus mainly on defense.]
[Understood.]
"Ready? Fight!"
Instantly, Dusk went for Magical Coat, boosting her special defense. While doing so, she got hit by Flamethrower from the pyroar. However, Dusk kept focusing despite the light damage and increased her special defense after a short moment. Next, the pyroar attacked with Crunch, a super effective move against Dusk.
[Protect.] Max suggested.
Using her move, Dusk negated all incoming damage.
[Push her away and boost your defense again.]
Using Telekinesis, Dusk lifted the pyroar and tossed her across the battlefield before immediately going for another Magic Coat.
[That pyroar is resistant to fire, so might as well go mainly with psychic-type moves. Psyshock.]
Before the pyroar could recompose herself fully, Dusk used Psyshock and materialized weird rock-shaped balls of psychic energy and aimed at her adversary. With a decent speed, the pyroar managed to avoid most of the projectiles but got hit a few times by the last ones. The pyroar countered with Noble Roar. The sound had the strange effect of slightly lowering Dusk's combative spirit, decreasing her attack and special attack.
[Let's use Psychic before she weakens you too much.]
Raising her stick, Dusk locked her eyes on the pyroar and went for the move, but as if it knew what Dusk was about to do, the pyroar began to run around, making Dusk unable to get a good visual.
[She's moving too quickly.] Dusk informed Max.
When close to Dusk, the fire lion went for Crunch again, but the Delphox used her psychic ability to quickly dodge backward.
[Alright, Dusk, enough playing around.]
[Huh? What do you mean?]
[You're a psychic-type. What are you doing on the ground?]
[I… Oh, right.]
Using her psychic power again, Dusk lifted herself from the ground and levitated high in the air.
[Can't catch you now.]
Below Dusk, the pyroar was obviously stuck on the ground, unable to do anything besides shooting projectiles or things like Flamethrower, which Dusk easily dodged.
[Okay, Dusk. I have a special request.]
[What is it?]
[Use Fire Rend, but we'll try what Mad-Ji taught us.]
[Mad-Ji?]
[Yes. Like putting a type of energy in one move. With Fire Rend, for example, try to put psychic-type energy on it as much as possible. That way, it will damage the pyroar a bit as you will convert a portion of the fire damage to psychic.]
[I've… never done it yet, but I can try.]
Closing her eyes, Dusk focused as much as possible before using Fire Rend. Unfortunately, the homing projectiles remained mostly the same. They still did their job and tried to get the pyroar, even after she dodged, a few managed to hit her.
[Again.] Max commanded.
Focusing again, Dusk used the move once more. This time, the will-o-wisp-like projectiles took a slight purple coloration but still weren't very flagrant. Again, they went for Dusk's opponent. More prepared, the pyroar dodged all of them this time.
[Good job, Dusk.] Max praised, satisfied with the present results.
[No… I… can do better. I… think I got it.]
She then focused once more, but this time, she focused for longer, allowing the pyroar to attack from below. Too busy focusing, Dusk got hit by a Flamethrower from below.
[Dusk! Don't stay there.]
[I can take those, master. I just need… more time.]
Under her, the pyroar attacked again, but this time, with Fire Blast. Being a way more powerful move, Dusk flinched a little but kept her composure and focus.
[Dusk!]
[...There it is, master. I hope you will be proud of me.]
Opening her eyes, Dusk then materialized at least a thousand Fire Rend projectiles, all floating around and above Dusk with a more purplish coloration than before.
"Holy…" Max mumbled, seeing that.
Dropping her stick, the projectiles then all began to follow the pyroar. Despite her speed and anticipation, the amount was too much to bear and got hit by multiple ones. After most landed on the pyroar, the rest all went towards her and made contact at the same time, creating a small fiery explosion. Now on her side after being propelled away, the pyroar was getting up with difficulty. Nearing her but still floating above, Dusk now had all the time in the world to use Psychic, which she did and made her adversary faint.
"It's a knockout for the pyroar. Max takes the round."
"Awesome job, Dusk. You almost made me fall on my ass."
{Hehe.} Dusk laughed in embarrassment while floating near Max. {I was looking forward to showing you how much progress I made with Scarlet.}
"I'm sure she's proud of you."
{I hope so. Also, I'm sorry for not thinking of flying earlier. I'm so used to always walking that it's still not instinctive.}
"Come on, Dusk. That's one of the most trivial things that ever bothered you. Don't mind that."
{Hehe. Alright.} Dusk replied with a smile.
On the other side of the battlefield, Billy had recalled his pokémon and now another one in one hand. However, he stared at it for a short moment, as if he was starting to lose confidence. Then, he shook his head and released another pokémon, a drifblim.
"The fuck with those counter-picks?" Max said, now mostly amused. "What were the odds that he had exactly the right pokémon to counter me?" [Anyway, what about you, Dusk? Feeling okay?]
[Surprisingly, yes. I don't feel like I'm losing control yet.] Dusk reassured him.
[Great. Now it's gonna be rougher. It's yet another freaking ghost-type, and it flies.]
[Don't worry, master. I don't plan on losing.]
[That's the spirit. Now go show them.]
"Ready? Fight!"
The drifblim's first move was to launch a few Air Cutters at Dusk, who avoided them by flying around. The delphox then countered with Flamethrower, which the drifblim also dodged. Then, both attacked with Psybeam, with the move colliding and canceling each other, being roughly the same strength. After that, Dusk and the drifblim just stared at each other in midair.
[That's gonna be a tricky fight…] Max commented. [Try Fire Rend.]
Doing as told, Dusk went for the requested move. Next, the multiple projectiles created by Dusk homed at the drifblim. Despite the number, the ghost/flying-type pokémon avoided them and even attacked with more Shadow Balls.
[Reflect.]
Rising a shield, Dusk reflected the Shadow Balls at her adversary. Surprisingly, the drifblim did the same and reflected the Shadow Balls back at Dusk.
[Again.]
For a time, both reflected the projectiles back at each other in a tennis exchange, with the Shadow Balls picking up speed every time. After a couple of exchanges, Dusk dodged the attack in extremis and instantly countered with Flamethrower, which did a bullseye.
[Nice.] Max praised.
Then, in a swift movement, the drifblim backed up, stored up a bit of air energy, and charged at Dusk with Fly. Using Protect, Dusk blocked all damage, but she felt the power of the move and it was enough to push Dusk away a bit.
[Time to end this. Go for Overheat, and if one isn't enough, go for more. Tell me how you feel after.]
Dropping her shield, Dusk quickly accumulated fire energy and released it in one shot, Dusk hit the drifblim at point blank, heavily damaging it. However, it didn't seem to take it down just yet, so Dusk did the move again, but in a weakened state. Despite that, it hurt her opponent enough, but still not enough to beat it. With an even weaker Overheat, Dusk touched the ghost/flying-type pokémon for the third time. With the delphox panting, the drifblim had trouble floating, as if it was about to crash land at any time.
[Time to finish it off.]
For the fatal blow, Dusk used Flamethrower and finally beat the drifblim, with the pokémon slowly falling to the ground.
"Drifblim is unable to keep fighting. Max wins the round!"
[Nice job, Dusk! You rock so hard!]
[...Thanks…] Dusk replied, heavily panting and her knees on the ground.
[You're getting quite exhausted.]
[A bit… but… I can keep up. I just need… a moment.]
[Are you sure?]
[Yes. Don't worry. I would tell you… otherwise.]
[...Alright.]
Further, Billy recalled his pokémon. Even from a distance, Max could see that he was getting quite nervous.
[He's down to one pokémon and I still have three. It's almost in the bag already.]
[Careful, master.] Scarlet warned. [It's a very common strategy to keep the very best to last. He might be up to something.]
Almost getting cocky, Max recomposed himself, thanks to Scarlet. In front of him, Billy chose his last pokémon.
"It's all up to you, now," Billy mumbled to his pokeball. "I believe in you."
After his pokeball opened, a cute audino materialized on the battlefield.
"Aww. She's so cute." Max commented.
"Ready? Fight!"
As soon as Dusk was back on her feet, she was hit by a powerful Hyper Voice, making her fall to her knees again while holding her ears. The painful sound barely stopped when she got struck by Mega Punch from the audino, propelling her against the dome wall.
"Holy shit! That cute face packs more of a punch than I imagined." Max commented. "Quick, Dusk! Get up and used Flamethrower!"
Standing up as fast as she could, the delphox used Flamethrower, but due to the previous Overheat attacks, the power of the move was reduced by a lot. Not even dodging, the audino took it but didn't even flinch. When Dusk was done, Max wondered if it even tickled her. The audino then used another Mega Punch, which Dusk dodged by tossing herself to the side. There, she used Mystical Fire as fast as she could and as powerfully as she could. Unfortunately, the audino dodged the attack. Quickly, Dusk got on her knees, but immediately after, she felt a headache.
[Oh no! I'm… feeling it… coming…] Dusk exclaimed while holding her head.
[Alright. That's enough. Good fight, Dusk.] Max said before rapidly calling her back.
Instantly, the crowd had a mixed reaction, with many booing him.
"What's the meaning of this?" The referee asked Max.
"She couldn't keep fighting. I don't mind if she's disqualified."
"Normally, you would be disqualified for infringing the rules."
"What? Come on, now. I just recalled my pokémon. Just consider her fainted."
For a moment, the referee considered what he should do. A moment later, Billy reached them.
"What's happening?" He asked.
"Switching a pokémon isn't allowed and it's worth a disqualification." The referee explained.
"I already told you. I'm not switching. I disqualified my pokémon on my own because she couldn't continue the battle."
"For which reason? She seemed fine."
"She couldn't for… medical reasons. And I'll be the one to know if my pokémon can continue or not."
"What're the medical reasons?"
"H-How is it relevant?" Billy shyly intervened.
"Well-"
"I-I don't mind letting it slide and continuing the battle."
For a moment, the referee got thinking.
"The crowd is getting impatient," Max mentioned, making the referee look at the agitated crowd.
"...Alright. I'll let it pass, but just this once."
"Great. Thanks." Max said to Billy, who shyly nodded before walking back to his spot, as well as the referee.
Sighing, Max grabbed May's pokeball and released her.
[Okay, May. That audino is a lot stronger than she looks, so I'll make you mega evolve right off the bat.]
[Alright. I'm ready.] May acknowledged.
"Ready? Fight!"
Immediately, Max made May mega evolve.
[Iron Defense.]
Barely raising her hands, May got attacked by Mega Punch from the audino. Despite knowing she could take it as she was a steel-type, May decided to dodge, as no damage is better than the smallest amount. However, she had to cancel her move and was unable to raise her defense.
[Try again.]
Doing as told, May tried to focus on Iron Defense, but the audino wasn't leaving the mawile any space to breathe and attacked again. This time, the audino didn't stop and tried to get May with multiple Mega Punches.
[I'm sorry, master, but… she won't let me.]
[Tsk. Forget the defense, then. Go offensive and use Brick Break.]
After one last dodge, May used an opening and initiated the requested move. Unfortunately, the audino's speed was at its peak and dodged, making May crash her attack on the ground, slightly bursting dirt and dust around upon impact. Instantly, the audino countered with Zen Headbutt, tossing May on her back a couple of inches away.
[Quick! Fake Tears!]
Not questioning him, May sat up and faked crying, sending light guilt feeling inside the heart of the audino, decreasing her special defense.
[Fairy Wind.]
Quickly turning, May opened her two giant maws and exhaled strong fairy-type powder at the audino, who took it fully from not expecting. Despite decent damage, it didn't affect the normal-type pokémon much as they had a lot of energy. After both May and the audino stared at each other for a short duration, the audino touched one of her ears, an ear ornament more specifically, and mega evolved as well.
[Ah. They finally decided to take us seriously. Go with Steel Fang.]
Opening her maws, May clenched them on the audino when on her. Instead of dodging, the audino blocked it. Retreating, May and Max were a bit surprised to see that, despite May's power, the audino didn't flinch much.
"Damn. She's a monster." Max mumbled.
The audino then countered with Drain Punch, landing a clean hit on May, restoring a portion of her energy. Quickly retaliating, May attacked with Steel Fang but feigned the move before actually going for Brick Break, who landed on the sides of the audino. Feeling it, the normal-type pokémon backed away. Not losing a second, the audino went for Drain Punch again, but as soon as May dodged, she used another move instead, which was Stomping Tantrum. Not expecting it, the mawile got hit by the super-effective move, pushing May a few meters away from the blow. Now getting lower on energy, May was starting to have trouble standing up.
"Damn. She's really strong for putting my toughest pokémon in that state already." Max mumbled.
When May was back on her feet, she saw the audino having her fingers crossed and closed eyes.
[Huh? What is she… n-nevermind. She isn't doing anything. Use that moment to use Iron Defense.]
Quickly, May began to focus and tried to use the move as fast as she could. This time, she managed to moderately raise her defense. As soon as she was done, the audino opened her eyes, with nothing happening. This time, Max wanted May to strike first, so he told her to go with Crunch and Fairy Wind if she misses. Just like Max anticipated, May used Crunch, but the audino dodged. Following her, May chained with Fairy Wind. Being too close and the move too sudden, the audino got hit, damaging her a little. Blinded by the powder, she didn't see May coming and took a Steel Fang before being lobbed away by Brick Break. This time, it was the audino's turn to have a hard time getting up and even fall back on one knee.
[Time to finish her up. Use your strongest Brick Break.]
Dashing at her opponent before she could get up, one of May's hands began to glow brightly in power and aimed for the head.
*Paf*
With a smirk, the audino was faking being in trouble and used an opening in May's attack to hit her under the chin with Mega Kick, sending the mawile flying a couple of meters in the air. She hadn't touched the ground yet the audino was charging powerful energy between her small hands. After May landed on the ground, the mawile was trying to get up when the audino pushed her arms forwards, sending a large and powerful Hyper Beam, illuminating a part of the stadium with its bright light. When the beam dissipated, May could be seen near the wall, lying on her side.
[May?! Are you still with us?]
Opening her eyes, May looked at the audino walking slowly towards her, probably due to the tiring move she just used and sat up. The audino then stopped and extended her arms sideways before a thin and weak light hit her from the sky. Even after the brief apparition of the light, the audino suddenly seemed to look better. At this moment, Max understood that the 'prayer' she did earlier was Healing Wish, a move that heals you after a delay. After standing with difficulty, May saw her adversary almost in arms reach. When near enough, the audino used Drain Punch. May tried to dodge, but the energy difference was so great that May couldn't avoid it. However, it was still not enough to bring her down. The audino then chained Drain Punch after Drain Punch, literally using May as a punching bag. But despite the mawile unable to dodge or counterattack due to an almost nonexistent energy pool, she endured. Despite now being practically back to full health, the audino kept hitting May until she had to stop to catch her breath. Before her, May had shaky legs and was even wobbling a little, but was still in a fighting position, not done yet.
[May…] Max said, horrified and proud at the same time.
Seeing the audino's break as an opportunity, May put everything into her next move and tried to hit her adversary with Brick Break. Unfortunately, the move was way too slow and the audino easily dodged before using Mega Punch on the back of May's head, which knocked her out. Falling on her stomach, the mawile reverted into her normal form and wasn't moving anymore.
"Max's mawile can't fight anymore. The round goes to Billy." The referee announced before a thunder of cheers resonated all across the stadium.
"Damn, girl…" Max said before recalling his pokémon. "You really impressed me. I couldn't be prouder." He added before putting her pokeball away.
Max then put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath while closing his eyes.
"...I guess this is it." He said to Scarlet, which he knew was beside him now. "Feeling ready?" He asked, opening his eyes to look at her.
{Bitch, please. I was born for moments like this. Let me show you what a real female can do.} The gardevoir claimed before walking inside the battlefield while cracking her knuckles.
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