Musharna was knocked out on impact.
She flew across the battlefield, landing hard.
I returned her, grimacing.
Drilbur burrowed underground. Bob smirked at me. Bouffalant stomped its foot, looking at Tranquil. Pignite trotted across the battlefield, getting between them.
"The tide of the battle had completely flipped," Alder said. "Bouffalant seems to be ready to make up for all that time it spent napping."
"Tranquil! Can you fly?" I called out. Tranquil could barely stand, much less fly. As things stood, Tranquil was a sitting duck. Drilbur could attack at any moment. Pignite gave me a desperate look. I tried to calm myself. Think.
"Bouffalant!" Bouffalant charged.
"Pignite, get out of the way!" I ordered. If Pignite goes down, we lose. It was that simple.
But Pignite was too stubborn. The ground split under Pignite; Drilbur slammed into Pignite, throwing it backward. Pignite retaliated, firing embers at Drilbur.
Drilbur avoided the flames, disappearing underground. Bouffalant turned, mid-charge. It was rushing at Pignite now.
"Move!" I yelled. This time Pignite rolled out of the way, keeping itself between Bouffalant and Tranquil.
Tranquil was on its feet, flapping its wings desperately. Drilbur popped up again, slashing Pignite. Pignite managed to pummel it in response but only got a few hits in before Drilbur vanished.
Bouffalant charged again. Tranquil seemed to understand the situation. As long as Tranquil was in danger, Pignite would continue putting itself in danger to protect it. It occurred to me then.
Could Bob have realized that? Neither Bouffalant nor Drilbur seemed to actually be targeting Tranquil.
"Pignite is in danger now," Alder said. "It seems to be two on one now." Tranquil chirped weakly. Pignite jumped out of Bouffalant's path. At the same time, Drilbur appeared under it, slashing.
Pignite tumbled. Bouffalant paused as Pignite struggled to get up. It looked at Tranquil.
"Tranquil," I thought out loud. Pignite and Bouffalant stared each other down. Bouffalant grunted.
"One more time should do it," Bob said. He put his hands in his pockets. "Bouffalant!" I had to take action.
"Pignite! Protect Tranquil!" Bouffalant charged at Pignite. Pignite broke into a run. It ran towards Tranquil.
Bouffalant caught up quickly. Head charge did damage to Bouffalant as well. There had to be some limit on how many it could pull off before it went down. Pignite scooped up Tranquil and hurled it straight up.
Bouffalant slammed into Pignite. Pignite took the entire brunt of the attack, falling backward. Bob looked around, confused. It took him a moment to look up.
"Is Pignite down?" Alder asked. "Is the match over?"
"Yeah, right," I scoffed. Pignite could definitely take one of those. The problem was what came next. Bob spotted Tranquil, high in the air. But Tranquil wasn't flying; it was falling. Tranquil's body glowed as it descended, accelerating.
"Bouffalant! Use megahorn!" Tranquil hit Bouffalant with steel wing. The impact knocked Bouffalant over. Pignite lunged forward, hitting Bouffalant with arm thrust. Bouffalant was knocked out.
Tranquil collapsed. It struggled to get back up.
"Tranquil has knocked out Bouffalant," Alder said. I wondered how much attention he was paying.
Pignite carefully picked up Tranquil. It crossed the battlefield, setting Tranquil down a few feet in front of me. Bob watched, silent.
"Only Drilbur remains for Bob."
"You good?" I asked. Pignite nodded. I looked down at Tranquil.
"You did great Tranquil." Tranquil chirped happily. I met Bob's gaze. For the first time, the confidence had drained from his face. "Well?"
It felt like I'd stolen all of his confidence for myself. I felt like puffing out my chest and grinning like an idiot. I restrained myself. The cheering audience fueled my confidence further.
Pignite reacted to the attack before I did. Drilbur burst from the ground, claws swinging. Pignite spun, erupting into flames.
Pignite crashed into Drilbur, pressing it against the ground. Pignite grabbed Drilbur and started pummeling it. It was moments before Drilbur was knocked out. Heat crash was a move Pignite had only recently learned.
"The match is over, Andrew has won." The crowd roared somehow even louder. I took a deep breath. Pignite stood proudly. Bob returned all of his pokemon and left the battlefield without a word. I returned Tranquil and walked over to Pignite.
That was intense.
Pignite's voice didn't startle me. I simply nodded.
"Come on." When we walked off of the battlefield, I was led to a small room where my pokemon were healed.
I returned to the waiting room. Kenya shouted a war cry when I opened the door.
I noticed Clay and Skyla watching me. They were sitting next to each other. Elesa was on Clay's other side, playing some handheld game.
Burgh was next to Skyla. He was staring elsewhere. Grumbles spread across the room. I couldn't help but smile.
The next match was getting started as I headed to my seat. Nathan and Crew. Nathan passed me on his way out. He patted me on the back. I found my seat. Bianca and Cheren complimented me.
"You and your pokemon were in sync out there," Cheren said. I just nodded.
"Yeah, that was crazy!" Cerea chimed in. Kenya grabbed me and shook me.
"Dude! Pignite is so strong!"
"Yeah," I said. "Even surprised me a bit."
"I thought you were gonna lose when Bouffalant hit Pignite," Bianca said bluntly. "But Pignite toughed it out!" Cheren nodded.
Nathan's match was starting. Cerea laughed, saying something about Pignite being strong.
"I guess all of that training paid off," Kenya said. Her tone was serious now. "I hope I get a chance to show off too."
Nathan's match with Crew didn't last very long. He returned, confident as ever. He winked at me as he found his seat.
Cerea was talking about a woman she met in Castelia when the next match was called. Kenya and Clay. Kenya nearly jumped out of her seat.
Cheren snapped to attention. Clay rose slowly, eyeing Kenya. I wondered if he remembered her. Elesa and Burgh gave him quiet encouragement. Kenya was grinning.
She slipped out of the aisle and headed to the door without a word. Clay matched her swift pace.
"Kenya!" I called out without thinking. She paused and turned around. I felt everyone staring at me. "Don't you dare lose." Her grin widened.
"As if I would."