Hey, what's up, guys?!
Hope you all are having a wonderful week and that everyone is staying safe from the pandemic!
The next two chapters are a two-part arc in Dewford town where Ash and Dawn take on Brawly, I wrote both of the chapters together so expect another chapter right after this one.
As always, have a good day and catch you on the other side! Please R&R!
I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!
Chapter 16: Dewford gym! Ash vs Brawly.
Ash and Dawn are finally on their way to challenge the Dewford gym. After meeting up with Trip, Tyson, and an old friend in Gary, the duo must cross this hurdle to get closer to their dreams. How will their challenges go? What will they learn from this battle? Will they be able to overcome Brawly and take the next step towards their respective goals?
Let the chapter begin…
Last time:
"We're gonna be late! This sucks you know!" Dawn yelled as she ran as fast as she could, followed by Ash and the rest of the group.
"I tried to get you two up but you guys just won't wake up." Tyson sweat-dropped.
"I told you guys to sleep quickly to get rest but you won't listen." Trip added.
Behind them, Gary was sweat-dropping. I feel like I've seen this cliche in some anime series before…
Following the events of the last chapter:
"Wow, we managed…to arrive…on time." Gary panted in between breaths.
"Yeah… but just… barely…" Ash commented.
"Who's fault… do you think… that is?" Tyson panted as the others looked at Ash and Dawn with judgmental looks, Ash and Dawn gave them a nervous laugh as they scratched the back of their heads.
"Either way… we're at Dewford gym now… let's just go inside." Trip gasped for breath, taking some time to breathe.
The group took a few more moments to collect themselves as they walked into Dewford gym. This is where Ash and Dawn will take their next step in the gym challenge, winning the battle against Brawly will reward them with the Knuckle Badge, making that 2 out of 8 Hoenn badges. Behind the duo are Tyson, Trip, and Gary, all there to spectate their battle while they are with them on the island.
The inside of the gym was filled with clusters of people, many among these people were loosely dressed. Most guys are wearing tank tops and shorts while the girl wore bikinis or swimsuits respectively. They carried surfboards with them, and much to our hero's amusement, the surfboards sported many designs and were therefore very unique to the different preferences of the individuals.
"Look who finally arrived." The trainers were greeted with a cheerful elderly sailor, who was no stranger to Ash and Dawn.
"Briney!" Dawn exclaimed as she walked towards the sailor, she took out her Pokeball and called out Whismur, who looked around and cheered as she jumped to embrace Briney.
"Hello there little one!" Briney caught the young pokemon as she smiled happily in his arms.
"So you guys ready for your gym battle?" Briney asked.
"Yes, though we are a bit late!" Ash sweat-dropped.
"I can tell, you guys are later than the spectators." Briney said as he shook his head.
"Well isn't that embarrassing," Brawly greeted the gang of 5 as they approached the center of the gym. Brawly was also holding his own surfboard, a slender board with well-designed patterns, "Greetings you lot, welcome to the Dewford gym."
"There are so many people here." Ash started, "are they here as an audience or for another reason?"
"Many people here are surfers, just like myself. After getting to know the local people, we decided to use this gym as a place of gathering for surfing breaks," Brawly explained, "however, sometimes I have to stay to fulfill my duty as the gym leader, so most of the surfers stay here and watch my battles, and as time passed it became like a party in here."
"I quite like that idea, it seems like you have a very good community here," Gary exclaimed.
"Well, what can I say?" Brawly smirked, "the people here are all friendly and kind to each other, and we're like one big family."
"It also helps that this is a small island," One of the surfers said as he walked by the group, "it sure makes it easy for us to get to know each other well." he waved at Brawly and proceeded to walk off.
"Well, I guess the friendliness does really makes sense." Trip stated.
"My thoughts exactly. That there is Trevor by the way. He's a great guy and a retired tournament host, I asked him to be my referee and he agreed to do it as long as I get him some benefits for surfing equipment." Brawly laughed, "now how about we leave the catching up and the conversation to after the battles?" he suggested, "I'm sure you two are ready to start your gym challenge."
"That would be very lovely!" Ash agreed.
"Great," Brawly exclaimed, "who would like to go first?"
"Well seeing how I went first in our first gym battle," Dawn started, "would you like to go first Ash?"
"Sure thing!" Ash replied, "I can't wait for this battle."
"Great, then we'll be on the stands, watching with everyone else." Tyson motioned the group as they left Ash and Brawly on the battlefield. Dawn slipped into the dressing room, seemingly prepared with something.
"Alright, ready to get this battle going?" Brawly asked.
"Yep, I can't wait to battle your pokemon." Ash smirked.
"Before we begin though, you need to do something for me." Brawly started.
"Do something for you?" Ash inquired.
"Yep, you see that huge wheel in the sidelines?" Brawly pointed to a large spinning wheel by the referee, the wheel contained a handle to turn and a few tiles, "you have the opportunity to spin the wheel and decide the amount of pokemon that can be used in this battle."
Ash gave him a firm nod as he walked towards the huge wheel, he took a deep breath before taking the handle and gave it a whirl, it spun for a few moments before finally landed on the tile with three pokemon faces on it.
"Looks like this one will be a 3 on 3 battle." Brawly announced.
"Sounds good to me." Ash declared, he took out his two pokeballs and called out his pokemon, Pikachu jumped down and stood next to them, "Alright guys, this will be our second gym battle, let's do our best." Ash declared, holding his fist high, his pokemon joined him in his cheer, they kept this up for a while, eventually placing their focus back on Brawly.
"It is nice to see you that guys have high spirits!" Brawly exclaimed, "care to get this party started?"
"You bet, Brawly, we're ready for you." Ash stated.
Trevor quickly walked by the referee stands and gave Brawly a firm nod.
"I believe a referee is needed for the following gym battle," he announced.
"We owe you, man," Brawly gave Trevor an approving thumbs-up," take us away, Trevor."
Trevor gave another nod as he turned towards Ash, "May I have your battle details please challenger?" he asked Ash.
"Oh of course," Ash answered enthusiastically, "My name is Ash Ketchum and I am from Pallet town of the Kanto region."
Trevor gave Ash a firm nod as he turned towards the crowd and the center of the field, "Alright guys, LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!" Trevor announced with great zeal, earning many cheers and applause from the crowd, "we will now start the gym battle between the Dewford Gym leader Brawly and Ash Ketchum from Pallet town of The Kanto Region!" Trevor continued, "This battle will be 3 vs 3, the challenger may switch out his pokemon at any time, Brawly may not. Once all 3 pokemon of the same party faints, the battle will be concluded."
"Alright, here's to a wonderful battle Ash, let's go Machop." Brawly threw out a Pokeball, revealing a grey, humanoid pokemon with reptilian features.
Ash surveyed his pokemon, catching the glimpse of determination from a certain grass type starter, he turned to Treecko, who motioned Ash to pick him for the battle
You wanna battle Treecko? Ash asked with his aura.
You bet! Treecko replied.
"Alright, I have made my choice! Let's go Treecko!" Ash said as he called out his trusty little gecko pokemon, Treecko jumped towards the battlefield, landing firmly before Brawly and Machop. He stared at the Machop with utter focus, their eyes met with a fiery gaze as they taunted each other to do battle.
Tree Treecko
Machop chop
"Well, they sure are eager to get this battle started." Ash remarked.
"I agree, let's not keep them waiting too much in that case." Brawly agreed.
"Come on, come on Ash Ketchum!" She started cheering, "You're the best and best there is!"
A voice came over the stands as that drew everyone's attention and Ash, along with everyone else turned to its source. It was in fact Dawn, who sported a pink cheerleader outfit with pink pom poms.
"What are you doing Dawn?" Gary eyed her with a curious look.
"I'm cheering for Ash of course." Dawn replied with a smile, "how do I look guys?"
"The best." Trip, Tyson, and Briney gave her a thumbs up, with the people around them nodding in full agreement.
"Thanks!" Dawn said as she gave Trip and Tyson a light smile as she placed her focus back on the battlefield, getting ready to watch and cheer for Ash's gym battle.
"Let the battle commence!" Trevor announced.
"Thanks for the cheers, Dawn! Treecko let's start this off with a swift Quick Attack!" Ash commanded.
"Machop retaliate with Karate Chop." Brawly hollered.
Treecko and Machop's moved forward with blinding speed as their respective attacks struck with great power, they impacted each other, and in a standoff, retreated to their corners.
"Focus Blast!"
"Energy Ball!"
Once again, the two spheres impacted each other and resulted in a loud explosion that pushed the pokemon back towards their respective corners, they got up from where they fell, eyes gleaming with determination.
"Well, what do you know? They seem pretty evenly matched." Ash remarked.
"Yeah, this is a great display of power and aggression." Brawly added.
"This battle has got me fired up. Treecko, use Quick Attack." Alex ordered.
"Can't argue with that, Machop, retaliate with Dual Chop." Brawly responded.
The two pokemon charged forward in unwavering pride and prowess, they clashed and bashed into each other with their attacks, each not backing down from the other.
"This style of recklessly bashing each other is really something else isn't it?" Trip pondered.
"Maybe it's the hot-headed nature of Ash and the battling style of a Fighting-type trainer being applied in the simplest and most aggressive form." Gary suggested.
"Going all out against each other without holding back? Sounds like a lot of fun to me." Tyson added.
"Yeah look at their faces, they have nothing but smiles and smirks on." Dawn pointed out.
Briney meanwhile, looked down at Whismur, who looked at the battle with the utmost concentration. He smiled as he enjoyed the battle in silence.
The two pokemon retreat again from a lengthy clash, their eyes gleaming with determination. Ash and Brawly took a good look at their pokemon and their confident stances respectively before looking up at each other.
"Well that was a fun warm-up session if I've had any, but we should get to the proper battling." Brawly beamed.
"I thought you'd never mention it." Ash responded, "Treecko, use Energy Ball."
"Blast it away with Dual Chop." Brawly responded.
Treecko formed a large sphere in its hands and sent the attack flying towards Machop. Machop responded quickly by blasting it away, the Energy ball exploded as Machop defended the attack successfully. Ash eyed the result and gave a sly smirk.
Now's our chance "Treecko, use Leech seed quickly while they are blind." Ash exclaimed.
Treecko threw out a few smalls seed into the smoke, with one of them finding Machop, attaching to it. The attack resulted in numerous vines starting to grow out of the seed, engulfing Machop and rendering the pokemon unable to move. It then glowed a dark red color as energy from Machop was drained and flew towards Treecko. Machop fell to one knee, clearly affected by the loss of energy.
"Treecko, let's give them no room to breathe, use Pound." Ash ordered.
Treecko dashed towards Machop, bashing it hard with its fists, sending Machop flying back. What surprised Ash was that Machop actually stood up from the attack, though he was visibly damaged.
"Treecko, use Quick Attack." Ash hollered
"Let's show them our power, dodge, and use Ice Punch!" Brawly ordered.
Treecko ran at Machop with blinding speed, however, Machop barely dodged the attack, driving an ice-cold fist into Treecko, damaging him severely.
"Don't let up, use Pound!" Ash ordered.
Treecko recovered quickly from the attack, and due to its close distance to Machop, slammed his tail firmly into Machop, pushing him back.
"Treecko let's finish it off with an Energy Ball!" Ash ordered.
"Machop, intercept that with Focus Blast!" Brawly hollered.
Machop produced a blue sphere and sent it towards Treecko while Treecko hurled a large green sphere towards Machop. The attacks came into contact with each other and the impact sent Machop and Treecko flying, they both crashed into the ground, resulting in a dust cloud which created a mini-explosion, when the dust settled, Treecko stood up, but Machop has been knocked out.
"Machop is unable to battle, the winner of this round is Treecko!" Trevor announced.
"That was impressive Ash," Brawly complimented, recalling Machop, "I have to say I am pleasantly surprised, you managed to catch me off guard with your aggressive battle strategies."
"Thanks, Brawly, my pokemon and I trained pretty hard for this gym battle, we wanted to show you a good performance." Ash stated.
"I have to say I'm pretty flattered, but let's see how you make of this pokemon," Brawly said, taking out a Pokeball, "Let's go Hawlucha!"
A ray of red light materialized into a hawk-like pokemon, it stood tall on two hind legs, with wings that are connected to its arms. It stood in front of Ash with pride, crying out loudly and striking a few poses.
Ash took out his Pokedex and scanned this peculiar pokemon.
Hawlucha, the Wrestling Pokémon. Possessing an artistic way of executing its moves, Hawlucha takes great pride in its elegance. Hawlucha is a Flying and Fighting-type pokemon.
"Wow, given the information from the Pokedex, I'm impressed its spot on," Ash remarked, "this one really knows how to get an entrance done."
"He does like to show off his stuff." Brawly chuckled, "so who will you be using?"
"Hmm..." Ash pondered, taking out Treecko's Pokeball, "return Treecko."
"Making a swap I see?" Brawly inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, gotta give this guy a rest, he deserves it." Ash responded as he surveyed his pokemon, and he knew the perfect choice to go up against Hawlucha.
"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash yelled. Pikachu jumped onto the field in response to Ash, his cheeks sparkling with yellow electricity.
"Looks like Ash is off to a great start." Tyson exclaimed.
"Yeah, hope he keeps the momentum going." Trip added.
"He's got some great insight on how to navigate through the phases of a battle, like when to be aggressive and when to be defensive." Gary commented.
"He might win handily if he keeps it up." Briney chuckled as Whismur and Dawn continued to cheer Ash on.
The group nodded in unison as they shifted their focus back to the battlefield, where Ash and Pikachu are showing the utmost confidence.
"Pikachu, use your Thundershock attack!" Ash ordered.
"Hawlucha, counter it with Swift!" Brawly hollered.
Pikachu and Hawlucha unleashed their long-range attacks at each other. Their respective attacks slid past each other and crashed into the opponent, dealing moderate amounts of damage. They both got pushed back after the clash, but both shook off the damage and stood firm, awaiting further orders.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack." Ash cried out.
"Hawlucha, dodge it." Brawly called.
Pikachu moved at blinding speed straight at Hawlucha. But Hawlucha jumped up into the air and barely dodged the attack.
"Don't let it get away, follow Hawlucha." Ash called out.
Pikachu took a drastic turn, and charged up towards Hawlucha, crashing into him, pushing him back. Hawlucha landed on the ground, unfazed by the attack, however, it was eyeing Pikachu curiously.
"Pikachu let's use Iron Tail again." Ash hollered.
"Hawlucha counter using Swift." Brawly ordered.
Pikachu's tail turned a bright white color he ran towards Hawlucha, Hawlucha jumped backward, dodging the attack, and then sent out an array of colorful stars straight at Pikachu.
"Pikachu deflect those stars away." Ash followed up.
Pikachu also reacted quickly, deflecting the stars and creating a mini-explosion. The explosion clouded his own vision, leaving him exposed.
"Hawlucha use Poison Jab now." Brawly started.
Hawlucha ran swiftly and in no time advanced onto Pikachu, landing a jab of poisonous energy. Pikachu felt a lot of pain in its abdomen as the attack sent him back flying into the wall, crashing as the impact damaged him severely.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out worriedly, clenching his fist as the swift attack from Hawlucha took him by surprise.
"Wow, that was some combination attack." Trip commented, leaning forward as the battle slowly got more and more intense.
"Yeah, that Poison Jab attack was really effective and also very powerful." Gary frowned.
"It's not just that, Brawly used Ash's strategy against him." Trip added, his gaze glued to the battlefield.
"Of course, you're right!" Tyson acknowledged, "Ash used combination moves earlier with Treecko where he exposed Machop out in the open."
"So essentially Ash got a taste of his own medicine." Dawn stated, sitting down as she too began to understand the trouble that Ash is in.
"If that's the case then Ash better find a way to get through that, or he's done for." Gary said, folding his arms.
"Ash will find a way, he always does." Dawn said with a slight bit of optimism.
"Pikachu are you doing okay?" Ash asked with concern as Pikachu jumped back on the field, though he was notably injured as he has rough spots on his body and a purple hue under his eyes.
That color! Pikachu is poisoned, that is really not good. Ash thought to himself, gritting his teeth.
"Let's give them no time to breathe, use Flying Press." Brawly ordered.
"Pikachu, counter that attack with Iron Tail." Ash responded.
Pikachu ran at Hawlucha, though it is apparent that he is slower from the previous attack. His tail glowed a bright white as he tried to hit Hawlucha, but Hawlucha quickly jumped up and dodged the attack, it's body getting outlined in white as it crashed down on Pikachu. A crater was created with the impact as Pikachu was seen struggling to get up, he was seen covered in bruises and marks as he was heavily damaged by the attack.
"Now use U-turn." Brawly ordered, not giving Ash and Pikachu time to make a counter move.
Hawlucha jumped up again into a short dive as he crashed into Pikachu sending him flying, he then landed back on his side of the field, turning into crimson red energy, traveling back into its Pokeball.
In its stead came out a large dinosaur-like pokemon with a green mushroom on its head, a lone spore decorated the mushroom. Breloom stood tall, it's fists crackled with frightening power as it stomped its feet in an attempt to display power.
"Pikachu, please get up and use Electro Ball." Ash called out in an almost pleadingly way.
"Breloom, use Mach Punch!" Brawly ordered, to which Breloom responded by charging towards Pikachu, who was still on the ground. Pikachu barely stood up before Breloom's fists connected with its body, sending it flying for one more occasion. Pikachu flew into the wall, unable to get up this time around.
"Pikachu is unable to battle, the winner of this round is Breloom!" Trevor announced.
Ash gasped with surprise as this pokemon stood before him, he sighed as he went to pick up Pikachu and laid him by his side.
"You've done well Pikachu, take a good long rest!" Ash thanked Pikachu, as he produced another Pokeball and tossed it into the air, "Monferno, let's get this going!" Ash said as he called out his own fighting type pokemon.
"That was a valiant effort by you and Pikachu, I commend that." Brawly stated.
"Thanks, though it wasn't enough, Pikachu tried his best. Monferno, use Flamethrower." Ash ordered.
"Breloom, use Rock Slide to defend yourself." Brawly hollered out an attack in response.
Monferno unleashed a torrent of flames at Breloom, the flames barely reached Breloom before they were blocked by huge chunks of rocks that stood strong in front of Breloom, shielding it from any damage.
Hmm, that Rock Slide might be a bit of a problem, we're going to have to go through that. Ash thought.
"If you're not calling out an attack, then I will. Use Mach Punch Breloom!"Brawly ordered.
Breloom ran at Monferno with great speed, his fist glowed a bright white as he crashed his attack into Monferno.
"Let's put our training to the test, Monferno," Ash called out, "block the attack!"
Monferno nodded as he stood his ground and held his hand out in front of him, he crossed them in anticipation, preparing to receive the attack from Breloom. Breloom crashed into him with immense power, but Monferno caught the attack firmly with his arms as he held onto the attack. He held on for a while before finally being pushed back by Breloom's attack, he jumped back, landing onto the ground, but stood up immediately, turning to Ash and giving him a nod of confidence.
"Wow, that was some impressive defense," Brawly remarked, "few trainers have successfully taken Breloom's attacks head-on for so long and come out barely unscathed."
"I figured you would have powerful pokemon that packed a punch as a fighting type gym leader," Ash said, "so we decided to take some time to train in blocking and redirecting those attacks so we can make head-on fights a bit easier for ourselves."
"Well, that is certainly some innovative countermeasures if I know any." Brawly complimented.
"Thanks, but this battle is far from over, Monferno, let's continue this with Dig." Ash called out.
Monferno quickly dug a hole into the ground, rendering himself immune to any attack from Breloom.
"You should know that I would not be tricked by that sort of attack, you can do better than that Ash. Breloom, you know what to do." Brawly said calmly as Breloom jumped up towards the ceiling. It got a good foothold on one of the pillars before launching itself towards the hole.
"Mach Punch, go!" Brawly ordered.
Ash looked in horror as Breloom came flying down towards the field, it's fist turned a bright white color as it came into contact with the ground. The impact sent shock waves pulsing through the ground that tore through the battlefield, sending chunks of rocks flying up. Monferno was also sent flying up as it got battered by the multitude of flying rocks.
"Monferno, send the rocks flying towards Breloom with Mach Punch." Ash ordered.
Monferno quickly recovered in the air and use its lightning-fast speed to hurl some rocks towards Breloom, a lot of the rocks battering Breloom, pushing it back as a result.
"Wow, some quick thinking. Impressive." Brawly said.
"Thanks. Monferno use Flame wheel." Ash responded.
Monferno quickly surrounded itself in coats of flame as he slammed into Breloom, sending Breloom flying back and crashing into the ground.
Monferno jumped back and gave a confident cry as Ash smirked. I found one opening at the very least.
"Wow, Ash is getting a lot of pressure." Dawn commented in a concerned manner, her hands balled into a fist after that series of events.
"Yeah, Brawly is really no pushover." Tyson added.
"I'm sure Ash is going to be fine." Gary said, leaning back.
"Yeah he found an opening, hopefully, he'll be able to convert this into some momentum." Trip agreed.
"I have to say that was a really good save." Brawly complimented.
"Yeah, all thanks to Monferno and his quick reflexes." Ash added.
Mon Monferno
"Let's get the ball rolling," Ash started, "use Mach Punch."
"Breloom, use Mach Punch too." Brawly ordered.
The two pokemon ran at each other with lightning speed and white fists, bashing each other ferociously, they both kept at it for a while before they jumped back, their bodies aching with pain.
"Breloom, use Seed Bomb quickly." Brawly hollered.
"Monferno counter it with Flamethrower." Ash responded.
Breloom and Monferno fired off their respective attacks and the power of Flamethrower overpowered the Seed Bomb attack, the flames traveling quickly towards Breloom.
"Rock Slide." Brawly ordered.
"Oh no you don't, Monferno use Dig now." Ash hollered.
Monferno quickly dug underground while Breloom summoned a lot of rocks to defend itself. The rock shield was successful as it defended Breloom against the flames.
"Monferno now hit em' with everything you got!" Ash said.
Breloom felt the ground shaking beneath it as Monferno resurfaced and struck Breloom, it got catapulted into the air and crashed into the ground, sustaining visible damage.
"Use Mach Punch Monferno!" Ash ordered.
"Breloom, you use Mach Punch too!" Brawly responded.
The two pokemon darted towards each other, their attacks impacted the other. The immediate result of the attack was a stalemate, as neither could overpower the other.
"Come on Monferno, you got this!" Ash encouraged, with that Monferno took what energy he had and pushed a bit more, quickly overpowering the Breloom, knocking it back.
"Let's finish this now, use Flame Wheel." Ash ordered.
Monferno quickly surrounded itself with flames and darted quickly towards Breloom, he crashed into Breloom with a powerful attack, sending it flying into the ground, the impact created a mini dust cloud. When the smoke dissipated, Breloom was seen to be knocked out.
"Breloom is unable to battle, the winner of this round is Monferno!" Trevor announced.
"Well, Ash managed to get his lead back." Tyson sighed a breath of relief.
"Yeah but Brawly definitely isn't holding back on Ash, he didn't even use Breloom in the battle against either of us." Trip added, his hands relaxing from the tight grip that he held.
"Well, Ash did sweep Roxanne in our first gym battle. So she might have told Brawly about Ash's battling capabilities." Dawn commented.
"So he's taking Ash seriously, I see, that's some recognition of Ash I haven't seen in a long time." Gary said.
"What do you mean by that Gary?" The trio turned towards him.
"I'll tell you guys after the gym battle." Gary said, turning his focus back onto the gym battle.
"This battle is interesting, ain't it?" Briney asked Whismur, who looked with great interest, "someday you'll be able to battle like this too."
"That was impressive Ash, your creativity and wit on the battlefield are quite unexpected." Brawly smiled, recalling his Breloom.
"Thank you Brawly, but it's all because of my pokemon." Ash thanked.
"Your humility is very encouraging." Brawly said as he retrieved another Pokeball, "looks like I'm down to this guy now, come on out, Hawlucha!"
Hawlucha once again materialized onto the battlefield, he eyed Ash and the flaming monkey before him, signaling a fight.
Ash, however, took out Monferno's Pokeball and once again recalled his pokemon, he produced Treecko's Pokeball and tossed it into the air, calling out his wood gecko pokemon.
"Treecko, ready to give this another spin?" Ash asked.
Tree Treecko
"Alright, then, let's start this off with Energy Ball." Ash called out.
"Use Poison Jab and break through it." Brawly responded.
Hawlucha's hand glowed purple as he jabbed it into the Energy Ball, detonating it, he quickly dashed towards Treecko, aiming to land a clean hit.
"Treecko, let's get a new move going, use Double Team!" Ash called out.
Treecko phased quickly into many different copies, dodging each Poison Jab attack, the numerous copies of Treecko eyed the Hawlucha, taunting it to use its next move.
"Use Swift to break through those copies Hawlucha." Brawly ordered.
Hawlucha unleashed a barrage of stars that burnt through the copies of Treecko, it destroyed each one of them, but when they vanished, so did the real Treecko. Brawly was wondering where the wood gecko pokemon was hidden, he looked up and could not find Treecko, it was then he realized Treecko was not in the air.
"Treecko, now use Leech Seed." Ash ordered.
"He's underground, dodge it quickly!" Brawly ordered.
Treecko jumped out of the holes that Monferno had dug earlier and chucked a seed at Hawlucha, who tried to dodge it, however, the seed landed on it and proceeded to bind him, it didn't go on for too long as Hawlucha got control of himself again.
"Alright, Treecko let's finish this, use Quick Attack!" Ash hollered.
"Retaliate with Flying Press!" Brawly cried out.
Treecko launched himself at Hawlucha, who, with great difficulty, tried to carry out the attack. It was a bit slow and was struck by Treecko's attack, it held onto the attack but felt a lot of pain in its abdominal area, as the pain made it very hard for Hawlucha to repel and push Treecko back.
"Let's finish this with Pound!" Ash ordered.
"Let's use their close distance to our advantage!" Brawly called out, "use Poison Jab!"
Treecko drew his fist back and battered Hawlucha with great power, it didn't do enough as Hawlucha recovered quickly from the attack and hit Treecko with a poisonous jab attack, landing the super-effective attack. It slammed Treecko back towards Ash, knocking it out immediately.
"Treecko is unable to battle, the winner of this round is Hawlucha!" Trevor announced.
"Wow, I honestly thought that Ash had that one after the Leech Seed landed on Hawlucha." Dawn sighed.
"Yeah, that Hawlucha really is something else." Trip commented.
"I think Ash still got this, it has taken a lot of punishment, so it's probably exhausted now." Tyson added.
"Well they're both down to one, this next battle will be crucial." Gary stated.
"I have to say, Ash, I am really surprised that you took on my pokemon with such composure, that's not something I see in many challengers." Brawly applauded, "so I guess it's just Monferno left huh."
"Yep, and we're gonna win that badge from you." Ash said with utmost confidence, "Let's go Monferno."
Monferno leaped out as it materialized out of the Pokeball, it stood across Brawly and Hawlucha matching its trainer in confidence.
"I look forward to this final battle." Brawly commended.
"likewise, Monferno, use Mach Punch." Ash ordered.
"Dodge it and use Poison Jab." Brawly responded calmly.
Monferno powered up a Mach Punch and ran towards Hawlucha with great speed, Hawlucha, who had a minute to rest, was able to barely dodge the attack. It lured Monferno close and tried to hit him with a Poison Jab, and it was successful, striking Monferno with enough power to push him back. Monferno shook off the attack with ease, though surprise took hold of him as he marveled at the power of Hawlucha
Hawlucha must be really strong to withstand so much damage and still dodge Monferno's attack. Ash thought to himself.
"Monferno, use Flamethrower." Ash hollered.
"Dodge the attack." Brawly hollered.
Hawlucha once again dodged the attack, this time by jumping upwards to evade the incoming flames.
"Now, use Flame Wheel while it's airborne." Ash took this opportunity to call out another attack.
Monferno engulfed itself in flames and charged at Hawlucha, who while still in the air, is left little options to move or counter. Monferno's attack came swiftly as Hawlucha felt excruciating pain on its wings, as Monferno forced it towards the ground.
Hawlucha struggled to stand up to Monferno, who was still in great shape. Hawlucha took a while to stood up, only for the Leech Seed earlier to coil around it again, engulfing it in red light and draining it of energy. The red energy hovered towards Monferno before merging with him, restoring him with more energy. Hawlucha dropped to one knee, forcing every fiber of its being not to collapse.
"Monferno, let's end Hawlucha's suffering with a final Flamethrower attack." Ash called out one final attack.
Monferno unleashed one last torrent of fire that washed through Hawlucha, along with the toll from the Leech Seed attack, it rendered the wrestling pokemon unconscious.
"Hawlucha is unable to battle, the winner is Monferno, this concludes the gym battle and Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has won!" Trevor announced.
"Wow, Ash actually did it, that was incredible." Gary exclaimed.
"Yeah it was, I was actually so nervous for him, that was a very close battle." Trip added.
"I don't know about you guys but I had absolutely no doubt!" Dawn cheered.
"Of course you didn't," Tyson laughed, "I'm glad he managed to pull it off."
"What a marvelous battle indeed." Briney laughed with Whismur.
The 4 trainers and Briney stood up and proceeded to walk down as they headed towards Ash.
Ash looked at Monferno with excitement as he ran over to him and pulled him into an embrace.
"We did it, Monferno!" Ash cried out in happiness, "we did it! We won our second gym badge!"
Brawly on the other hand, recalled his Hawlucha and looked to Ash, who was still cheering with Pikachu and Monferno, Ash called out Treecko to congratulate him on the victory.
"You guys are awesome, I couldn't have done it without your help!" Ash complimented the trio.
"That was some good battling." Brawly approached the trainer and his pokemon, "you have earned yourself the Knuckle badge." He said as Trevor walked towards them, in his hand he held a tray. Brawly picked up the small token in the tray and presented it to Ash.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner!" Brawly said, directing the crowd's attention to Ash, many cheers and applause followed his words as they cheered on Ash and his pokemon for a wonderful battle.
"Thanks, Brawly, I really appreciate it!" Ash thanked the gym leader and collected his badge from Brawly, he held it in his palm for a bit then showed it to his pokemon, who all cried out in joy.
"Alright, I earned the Knuckle badge!" Ash hollered out loud, earning the cheers of his pokemon and the crowd.
And, that's it! Ash has earned his second badge of the Hoenn region, although it seemed to be more difficult than his battle vs Roxanne, Ash still pulled it through. It is now Dawn's chance to battle Brawly, how will her battle go? Will she triumph or will she fail?
AzAlexZ out!
To be continued…
Next Chapter: Chapter 17: Dewford gym! Dawn vs Brawly.
Ash:
Pikachu (Male): Thundershock, Quick Attack, Electro Ball, Iron Tail.
Treecko (Male): Leech Seed, Quick Attack, Energy Ball, Pound.
Monferno (Male): Flamethrower, Mach Punch, Flame Wheel, Dig.
Dawn:
Mudkip (Female): Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Mud-Slap, Double Team.
Ralts (Female): Magical Leaf, Psybeam, Disarming Voice, Calm Mind.
Riolu (Male): Bone Rush, Vacuum Wave, Power-Up Punch, Quick Attack.
Whismur (Female): Uproar, Hidden Power, Headbutt, Growl.