Chapter 82: UB Files 09: Blade
"It's coming down to the wire, folks! Neither side is conceding an inch!"
The crowd cheered as Bisharp and Lucario clashed in the middle, each one struggling for dominance. It was the finals of the Alolan Fencing Championship, where Steel and/or fighting types competed to determine who was the best in the region. The trainers, Wild Eyes and Savage Fang, had fought hard to reach this point, and neither one was willing to back down.
"Bisharp, keep it up!"
"Knock him out of the ring, Lucario!"
Bisharp went in for an uppercut, but Lucario blocked just in time before countering with a hard punch right to his opponent's jaw, making the crowd go wild. And sitting in the best seats of the house were Ash, Max, and Illima, cheering just as wildly as the rest.
"It was nice of Anabel to give us these tickets!"
"Hey, after all those Ultra Beast sightings we've had, we deserve it! Besides, we haven't seen any attacks in weeks."
"You got that right! Nothing can ruin this!"
Of course, the universe had to prove Max wrong, as an all too familiar rift appeared over the outdoor arena. From it appeared an Ultra Beast that seemed to be made out of various blades. Freaked out, the spectators made a run out for it, except for our three heroes. Ash glared at Max.
"You just had to say it, didn't you?"
Max chuckled nervously as the three ran for the stage. To their surprise, they found Savage Fang and Wild Eyes trying to fend it off, their Pokemon leaping up and taking jabs at it before being thrown off.
"What are you guys doing here? The crowd's left."
"If there's one thing Savage Fang hates more than Wild Eyes, its some kind of freak trying to barge in on my win!"
"Fat chance, buddy! As soon as this thing's taken care of, you're going down!"
Ash sighed in annoyance. These two weren't going to make this easy.
"Alright, but be careful. Trumbeak, let's go!"
"Go, Komala!"
"Mightyena, I Choose You!"
The five Pokemon stood united, aside from Lucario and Bisharp shooting glares at each other before returning their attention to the problem at hand.
"Peck, Trumbeak!"
"Komala, use Wood Hammer!"
"Shadow Ball, Mightyena!"
"Aura Sphere, Lucario!"
"Bisharp, use Metal Claw!"
With a mighty leap, each of the combatants stormed the Ultra Beast, combining their attacks to hit it head on. But the Ultra Beast remained unfazed, retreating inward to shield itself before lashing out, slashing the five away with its multiple blades. Wild Eyes and Savage Fang glared at each other.
"Stay out of my way! I almost had it before your Bisharp butted in."
"Me? I had a clear shot, but Lucario just had to-"
"Lucario, use Force Palm on Bisharp!"
"What?!"
Before anyone could respond, Lucario ran right up to Bisharp and rammed his open palm right into it, sending it flying into the bleachers with a THUD. This made Savage Fang angry.
"Oh yeah? Bisharp, use Metal-"
"Wait!"
Bisharp stopped right before connecting with Lucario's face. Everyone turned to Max expectedly.
"Don't you see if we fight like this, we'll never stop that thing? If we want to beat it, we have to work together."
Realizing Max had a point, The two begrudgingly backed away from each other. Some sort of peace restored, Max studied their opponent for a minute, whom seemed to be waiting in anticipation for a minute.
"Now, let's see. There has to be some kind of weak spot we can hit...Aha! Look!"
Looking at where Max was pointing, everyone could see a small but noticeable crack running down the top of his shell.
"That crack is right where our attacks hit last time. Maybe if we focus our attacks on it, we can weaken it enough to catch it."
"Not a bad idea, but its on guard now that we hit it the last time. How can we get in close enough?"
"Maybe if someone acts as a distraction, the rest of us can get in there and finish it off! But who will?"
Savage Fang stepped forward.
"Leave it to me. Bisharp and I will hold him off."
"Lucario and I will cover you."
Savage Fang nodded before he, Wild Eyes, and their Pokemon made their way forward to get their enemy's attention.
"Hey, ugly! Over here!"
The Ultra Beast turned, making a sound that almost sounded like a scoff before lumbering its way towards them.
"Alright guys, showtime! Bisharp, use Night Slash!"
"Lucario, use Force Palm, and keep it up!"
Nodding, the two began striking at the beasts's legs, not letting up even as the monster tried to throw them off. This was the chance they were waiting for.
"Trumbeak, use Pluck!"
"Mightyena, use Bite!"
"Rapid Spin, Komala!"
The Beast was so distracted trying to throw off Lucario and Bisharp that it didn't even see the other three leap up from behind for their attacks. Trumbeak dove in close and pecked away at the crack, causing the beast to howl in pain. By the time it had managed to shake the bird off, Mightyena was upon it, biting down hard. Before it could retaliate, Mightyena jumped off, allowing Komala to spin down hard on it, finally knocking it out and allowing Illima to catch it.
'Woo! We did it!"
"Way to go, Mightyena!"
While Ash and his friends celebrated, Wild Eyes walked over to Savage Fang.
"Hey, uh, sorry about that doublecross there. Guess I got a little carried away."
"Ah, don't worry about it. I probably would've done the same thing."
"You know, you're not such a bad guy, Savage Fang. I'd be honored to finish this battle another day."
Savage Fang smirked, shaking his opponent's outstretched hand.
"Same here. Of course, you're going down!"
"Oh yeah? Bring it on, tough guy!"
Their three comrades laughed as they chased each other around the area, trying to outdo the other.
"All's well that ends well, I guess."