A/N: Just made it. :D For the Indigo League Challenge, Pewter Gym – Gym Leader (write a fic over 1000 words) - Word count: 1269. This is also FourthWheelShipping – Max/Bonnie, because it suddenly occurred to me that they'd be very cute together. But XY only goes up to episode 6 now, so I mightn't have gotten Bonnie's character exactly.
Little Things
They met near Saffron in Kanto, he leaving the Hoenn region and she leaving the Kalos. He on his fourth Gym badge for his third league, and she on her second for the both of them. On the grass outside Saffron, where he was looking for a Growlithe and she a Vulpix. He had his Corphish prepared for a battle – until it accidentally stumbled into her Dedenne and got shocked.
He yelled at her and ran to the Pokemon centre; she cried apologies and followed him. He shook her off; she clung to him. And Corphish, once he had recovered, was determined to recover his pride.
And so they battled for the first time.
.
Corphish was determined to win; Dedenne had a clear type advantage, and Bonnie was reluctant to use her in a one-on-one battle.
Max fixed his glasses. 'Corphish won't accept that,' he said flatly. 'It might have been an accident, but for Corphish it's a matter of pride. And Dedenne doesn't have the static ability either, he thought to himself.
Bonnie bit her lip, before brightening. 'I know!' she said. 'Let's have a three on three battle then; I need to do some trainer for the Saffron Gym anyway!'
Max winced a little at how loud she was, but agreed, and Corphish sent out first to battle her Swablu. It wasn't as easy a battle has he had expected, despite neither side having the type advantage. But Corphish proved too restless to succumb too long to Sing, and it was Lilligant with a quick Cut who took care of him.
Max sent out Sceptile, who danced a little with the elegant flower before Bonnie called it back. For the two grass Pokemon were dancing a useless dance; Sceptile, more experienced and faster than her Lilligant, would eventually win. And so she sent out Dedenne instead, Dedenne who with a combination of Play Rough and Thunder was able, after a struggle, to defeat his starter Pokemon, and it was with some surprise that Max sent out Gallade to finish up the battle.
It had been a while since he had gotten a challenge, and he had been in need of one. And Bonnie's eyes were sparkling too as she shouted out command after command, and when Dedenne fell she sent out Lilligant again.
Leaf Blade matched Leaf Blade. Night Slash matched Cut. The little differences in power accumulated each time, and eventually Lilligant fell as well.
Bonnie struck a pout, then thanked him, congratulated him, and ran off.
.
Max faced Sabrina and lost. He wasn't quite sure how that had happened, with Night Slash in his arsenal. But his travels with Ash had proven that Pokemon types were not all to a battle, and Sabrina was light years ahead of him in experience.
Except he witnessed Bonnie's battle thereafter, and saw her Carbink defeat her Venomoth where his both Zweilous and Gallade had fallen. And he challenged her again, for "training purposes" he said: her and her Carbink who had managed to defeat Sabrina.
He almost sent out Zweilous, but Carbink was a half-fairy and immune to dragon types. He sent out Gallade instead, and his Close Combat struggled to land a clean hit against the nimble opponent. Bonnie cheered her Pokemon on from the sidelines, cheered as Gallade groaned under a barrage of rocks and a Moonbeam. But Gallade won out in the end, falling to her Altaria – evolved from the Swablu he had battled before – who in turn fell to Zweilous. But then Dedenne – that tiny little Dedenne – defeated both the exhausted Zweilous and the fresh Baynette.
He moped a few days thereafter, until Baynette – realeased from the Pokemon centre – chased after an apologetic Dedenne. Max found them playing happily together on Route 8 like a pair of old friends.
.
Bonnie stayed in Saffron a few more days. "To catch a Vulpix," she said to Max, although the other suspected it had more to do with his upcoming rematch. Their Pokemon continued to train – really train this time, instead of full blown battling. And while they trained, their trainers talked.
Max learnt that Bonnie had had Dedenne since she was six – a full year before he had met the Ralts that became his trusted Gallade. She had also travelled with Ash at the same age, and then further with a friend they shared. And she had taken that Dedenne – whom her brother had caught for her – with her on those journeys, until the day she turned ten and could obtain her license.
She also had a brother, a brother who ran the Gym at Luminose City in the Kalos region. And he told her about his own dream to run his father's Gym in Petalburg city, and she promised to introduce her brother. He also told her about his sister and her Contest battles – and she grew starry eyed at the thought.
He learnt that she loved cute Pokemon that day, when she bounced – quite literally – up and down and wished there was a contest soon and nearby.
It turned out there was one, in Lavender Town. Max had called her sister to check.
.
They went to the contest together, even though Bonnie claimed she knew the way. Maybe she did, or maybe she was counting on Altaria's birds eye view to get her out of any potential jams, but Max's excuse was that he was watching his sister's promotional performance.
Bonnie met May at the sign-up booth, and that had only gotten her more excited. Max was almost glad she was participating when the appeals started: at least, that way, he only had to watch one insane girl.
Except May had a knowing glint in her eyes – particularly when he shouted his voice hoarse cheering for Bonnie in the finals.
She won, and May gave her a ribbon case as a reword.
.
They headed back to Saffron after bidding goodbye to May, and Max finally had his battle. He might've waited a little too long as well, as his Zweilous alone defeated both Alakazam and Venomoth. But Bonnie was there cheering him on, and Sabrina bid him farewell with the same knowing glint that May had worn.
He managed to catch his Growlithe that day as well; Bonnie had caught her Vulpix earlier, when all their training had scared one out of the thicket. And so their time in Saffron came to an end, and they stood on the crossroads together, putting off their farewell.
'Where are you going?' Max didn't quite look at her, but Bonnie's voice was clear and carried well, so he didn't have to.
'Celadon or Cerulean.' Bonnie nuzzled Dedenne. 'I need to get by third Gym badge…but I think I'd like to enter more Contests too.'
'Let's go to Cerulean together then,' Max suggested. 'My sister knows when all the contests will be on, and there's one near there very soon.' He didn't say he'd already passed the Celadon Gym; he needed to go to Fuchsia, but he knew Bonnie already had the Soul Badge.
She agreed and they travelled together. There were plenty of other Gyms after all, and neither of them doubled back.
They made it to the Kanto League together, to the finals together. Max won in the end, but he thought, along the way, Bonnie might have gotten more interested in Contests than Gym Battles.
He made sure to cheer for her extra loud at her first Grand Festival, and many years later her Ribbon Cup sat next to his Trophy in a quaint little home they had built together.