Chapter 85: Max's Time to Shine

"Come on, where are the other trainers?"

Max squinted as he traveled deeper into the jungle, searching for competition.

"Man, this sucks. I wish I could find a competitor..."

"Wish granted, buddy! Look behind you!"

Max turned around to see a kid about his age with fiery red hair in the style of dreadlocks.

"Names Manny Drake, and you're my first opponent. Get ready to throw down!"

Max smiled confidently. Finally, some action.

"You're on, Manny. Gardevoir, I choose you!"

"Go, Drampa!"

Max smiled cockily. This was going to be easy.

"Gardevoir, set up Misty Terrain!"

Gardevoir closed her eyes, gathering energy in her body before releasing it, creating a pink mist that covered the field, making it difficult to see.

"Don't let them fool you, Drampa! Use Flamethrower!"

Enraged, Drampa let loose a torrent of flames, temporarily parting the mist before it came back in.

"Did we hit it?"

"Moonblast, Gardevoir!"

Drampa looked up to see Gardevoir over head, only to be hit by a ball of psychic energy.

"Now use Disarming Voice!"

Drampa picked himself up, only to keel over in pain as Gardevoir's amplified singing wrecked havoc on his ear drums. Manny began to lose patience.

"That's it! Drampa, time to hit him with our Z Move, Devastating Drake!"

Drampa nodded, gathering up energy before releasing it in one big wave headed straight towards Gardevoir. But Max stood absolutely still, not issuing a single command.

"What's with you, kid? Your Gardevoir's gonna-huh?"

To Manny's surprise, Gardevoir didn't even flinch as the attack hit, remaining completely unfazed. Before Manny could come up with a new attack, Max decided to end it.

"Now let's show him our Z Move, Gardevoir! Twinkle Tackle!"

Gardevoir gracefully floated down, as if carried by an unseen wind. Manny thought it was so ridiculous he almost laughed, but stopped when Gardevoir slammed her foot down, knocking his Drampa out.

"Wh-Bu-How di-WHAT?! That attack should've knocked your Pokémon out!"

"It might've, if Gardevoir wasn't part fairy type. And as a Fairy Type, she's completely immune to Dragon type moves. Sorry, them's the breaks."

Manny remained slack jawed for a second before composing himself, handing over his petal.

"Well, a deal's a deal. But I gotta say, you sure are in tune with your Gardevoir."

"I should hope so. I've known her for years."

And so the two got to talking, and soon became fast friends.

"Woah, you traveled the Hoenn region before you were 10?"

"Sure did, and that's where I met Gardevoir. She was a Ralts when we first met, and I helped her get better when she was sick. I wasn't old enough to have a Pokémon yet, but I promised to come back when I was. Clearly, I kept my promise."

"Wow, that's amazing! You're so lucky to have a dad as a gym leader. I bet you want to follow in his footsteps."

Max looked up into the sky thoughtfully.

"Well, maybe. See, I wanted to at first, but right now I want to explore the world and not be tied down to one place. Mom and dad understand, but one day I will, and I'll be the best Gym Leader there is!"

Seeing how late it was getting, Manny picked himself up.

"I'd best be going. Good luck Max, I hope you win. You better if you're good enough to beat me!"

"Thanks Manny, you too. I'll give you a rematch any time!"

After a firm handshake goodbye, the two went their separate ways. Manny back to the stadium to watch the rest of the league, while Max headed deeper into the jungle to find his next opponent.