Chapter 84: Spark of Competition

Max sat on a rock, admiring his almost completed petal ring.

"Just two more, and we'll be ready for the finals! Ready, Gardevoir?"

"Voir."

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous too. But won't Ash be surprised by how far I've come?"

"Only if you get that far, and you won't!"

Max looked up to see a snobby rich person coming towards him, sneering as he looked Max up and down.

"And who might you be?"

"My name is Horacio, the only one fit to win this tournament. I too only need two more to compete, so put your Pokeball where your mouth is!"

Max sighed, realizing Horacio wouldn't back down. Gardevoir stepped forward, but Max shook his head.

"Don't worry, I've got this."

Gardevoir nodded and stepped back, allowing Max to turn his attention back to his opponent.

"Alright Horacio, you're on! Gp, Camerupt!"

"Vikavolt, I choose you!"

Max smirked. The electric bolts jumping off Vikavolt's body made it obvious that it was an Electric type. With his Camerupt being a Ground type, he had this in the bag.

"Camerupt, use Earth Power!"

Horacio watched in anticipation, confusing Max as his Camerupt charged up power. To Max's horror, the shot of magma didn't even reach Vikavolt, dissipating harmlessly as it fluttered just out of reach.

"What? But how-"

"Did you really think it would be that easy? Vikavolt may be part electric type, but his levitate ability makes all of your ground type attacks useless!"

Max facepalmed, realizing how stupid the move was. However, he knew that he could still win. Even if he couldn't hit him with ground type attacks, maybe it had another weakness...

"Hit him with an X-Scissor, Vikavolt!"

The electric type buzzed excitedly, flying down and biting hard with its mandibles. Camerupt shook it off with little effort, much to Horacio's surprise.

"What? But it's a ground type, that should've been super effective!"

Max smirked. Now it was his turn to pull a fast one.

"If he was only a ground type, you'd be right. But he's also part fire, so it evens out."

Horacio stroked his chin, somewhat intrigued.

"I see. This battle just got a bit more interesting. Signal Beam, Vikavolt!"

"Hit him with a Flame Burst!"

The two attacks passed each other mid air before striking their targets, but while Camerupt shook it off with some difficulty, Vikavolt spun out of control, hitting the ground hard before weakly pushing itself back to its feet.

"Come on Vikavolt, you can do it! Use Guillotine!"

Max waited patiently as the electric bug flew right towards him and Camerupt, waiting for it to get close enough. Once it did...

"Incinerate, Camerupt!"

"No!"

The whole time Vikavolt had been charging up its attack, Camerupt had been storing up body heat. As soon as Max gave the word, it let loose all of its energy, releasing heat waves that smacked the bug right into a tree, knocking it out.

"Oh yeah, good job Camerupt!"

"Rupt!"

"Alright buddy, fair's fair, so pay up!"

But Horacio snarled angrily.

"Fat chance, bozo! There's no way someone like you could beat me with my talent. You must have cheated!"

"Cheated! Boy, you have some nerve! I beat you fair and square!"

Just then, a loud whistle was heard, breaking up their argument. Hapu strode over with her Mudsdale, looking very cross.

"You have some nerve calling foul play! Max beat you in a fair fight, now pay up!"

"Ha! And what are you gonna do about it, shorty?"

Hapu narrowed her eyes, then nodded to her Mudsdale. Horacio watched worriedly as Mudsdale lowered his head and patted the ground, ready to charge.

"What did you just say?"

"I mean...of course he won! Here Max, here's the promised petals. Bye!"

Max watched the rich snob hurry off, shaking his head. He then turned to Hapu.

"Thanks for the save, there. Sorry for his comment there."

"Ah, it was nothing! I know his type: Smug and confident, but he's all talk. Its a good thing I got here when I did. If that fight had gone any farther, I'd have to disqualify you for fighting with your fists and not your Pokemon!"

Max nodded in understanding, placing the last two petals into their place.

"Hey, you collected all of your pieces! Guess you're on your way to the finals."

"Sure am! And I plan on winning it all!"

"Well, I don't know about that. The other 15 are bound to be serious competition, but best of luck to ya!"

Max waved goodbye as Hapu rode off to keep an eye on the rest of the tournament. Once she was gone, Max turned towards the direction of the stadium.

"Watch out Ash, I'm coming for ya!"