Ash grinned excitedly. He was having a lot of fun with their battle. "Alright Sceptile. Lets get this started with leaf storm!" he cried out. Corsola is a rock type as well as a water type. It'll be right at home under the waves. The good thing is that any attacks it may fire off will be weakened by the pull of the waves. Sceptile planted it's feet, swinging it's tail around and firing off a barrage of leafs that fluttered about as if in a cyclone. The cyclone of foliage spun towards the water, building up momentum, only to break upon the waves. Across the way, Misty smiled. Perfect. Sorry, Ash, but once I've won this battle, you and me'll be going on a date, just the two of us. No pokemon, no Brock, and nothing to interrupt. Her smile growing into a full faced grin, Misty shouted loudly, "Corsola, try earth power!" After a second's delay, the ground around Sceptile began to erupt, mud and steam flying about in all directions. Sceptile cried out, loosing it's footing and falling to one knee. "Now, ice beam" Misty said, pumping a fist in the air. A beam of ice shot out of the water, but Sceptile leaped backwards just in time, his opponent's move missing by a hair's width. Ash frowned. We need to find it before it manages to score a hit. "Sceptile, use energy ball in succession. Find it!" Sceptile nodded at his trainer, turning and firing off bolts of green energy into the water. Everywhere they landed, water was just barely pushed back, exposing the sandy seafloor for a mere moment. On the fourth shot, Ash spotted something pink just before the nearby water rushed in, hiding it from his sight once more. "There, Sceptile! Use mega drain!"

Just above the water's surface appeared a bunch of floating, green specks of light. These specks began streaming towards Sceptile, who stood with his arms open as if to receive them. Misty called out, concerned "Corsola! Can you move?" but there was no answer. A minute later the light show abruptly shut off, and Sceptile gazed down at the surf, aggravation written upon it's face. "Sceptile, it's time to use what Kagetomo taught us! Use dig." Ash instructed. Sceptile burrowed into the sand, vanishing instantly. Seconds later, the water rushed in, covering the hole that had been dug. When the waves receded, the hole was mostly gone. Misty paused, uncertain how to respond. What is Ash doing? Even if Sceptile finds Corsola, it's unlikely that it could swim well enough to get in a good hit. She pondered aimlessly. Minutes ticked by on and on, and even Ash found himself wondering if Sceptile had been on the same page as he had. Just as the two trainers came to the conclusion that something was up, Corsola reappeared, poking out the waves. It clambered onto the beach, looking at Misty expectantly. Before the gym leader could even open her mouth, Sceptile burst from the sand directly behind the water type, grabbing it in it's clawed hands. Corsola shrieked, struggling mightily to free itself from it's enemy's grasp.

"Now Sceptile! Solar beam!" Ash yelled. Sceptile closed it's eyes, raising it's tail straight in the air. Misty panicked. "Stop it with power gem!" she shouted frantically. Corsola stopped struggling, firing a beam of crystal- like projections. The beam arked over Corsola, striking Sceptile in the face, but the grass type didn't even budge. Undeterred, Sceptile held it's pose for a few seconds more, until a beam of green light fired into the night sky from the tip of it's tail. The beam rose skyward, and a twin beam fell from the clouds above, hiding Sceptile and Corsola within it's light. Misty, Ash, and Brock all turned away, covering their eyes with their arms. It took forever for the light to die down, and once it did, the three trainers turned back to the beach to find a crater in the sand, and in the center of the crater was Sceptile holding the limp form of Corsola.

"Corsola is unable to battle! The winner is Sceptile!" Brock declared, raising his left arm. Misty returned Corsola with a worried frown. She only had one pokemon left aside from Gyarados, and she and her team hadn't knocked out a single one of Ash's pokemon so far. Then she remembered why she had saved this one till second last. Grinning once more, she grabbed another pokeball, tossing it underhand in the air before her. Out came Azumarill, crying out in impatience. Ever since Azurill had first evolved she had been rash, rushing into fights headfirst. Misty sighed, exasperated. Guess I'll have to direct her, otherwise Ash and Sceptile will run circles around us. "Azumarill, use ice beam when the surf comes in!" Azumarill nodded, never taking her eyes off Sceptile. As the waves softly rolled onto the sand, Azumarill let out a beam of ice, coating the ground in a layer of ice inches thick. Sceptile paused, turning to look at Ash questioningly. Ash stroked his chin in thought. Now Sceptile can't use dig, much less use it's superior speed to get in close. But we can still use energy ball. Why would Misty risk a hit from a super effective grass move at long range? Ash's eyebrows rose as he came to a conclusion he hadn't thought about. Of course! She simply doesn't care if Azumarill gets hit, because it won't have any affect! Nodding silently, Ash palmed the luxury ball at his waist. Raising his hand to point the ball at Sceptile, Ash called out. "Sceptile, come back." Sceptile vanished in a red beam, and Ash stared right at Misty, admiration and acknowledgement shining in his eyes. "Let's do this, Naganadel!" he shouted, hurling the Luxury ball high in the air. There was a brief flash, and then the purple ultra beast took form high in the air. Misty took a step back, stunned. Even Brock furrowed his brows in surprise. "Ash, I thought you released Naganadel after the Alola League." Ash smiled, turning to his friend. "I did. It showed up on the island about two years after I made camp there." Ash's gaze drifted, floating to the horizon. "After a brief battle, Naganadel tapped it's beast ball, and stayed with us from then on. Now-" He turned, his gaze once more settling on Misty.

"Let's do this, Naganadel!" The purple, alien like pokemon cried out joyously, spinning and making figure eights in the air. After a moment it settled down, pointing it's stinger at it's opponent. Misty and Azumarill simultaneously shuddered. He completely eliminated the advantage we had with the ice field! She scowled, racking her brain in an effort to remember what Naganadel's typing was. Eventually, she pulled her pokedex out, pointing it at Ash's pokemon. Naganadel, The Poison Pin Pokemon. It stores hundreds of liters of poisonous liquid inside it's body. It is one of the organisms known as an ultra beast. So it's a poison type, then. Returning her gaze to the battlefield, Misty called out to her pokemon. "Azumarill, use aqua ring!" Azumarill tensed, and two intersecting rings of water raced from the surf to encircle the pokemon. Seeing what Misty intended, Ash instructed Naganadel, " Break it up with X scissor!" Naganadel raced forward, spinning it's stinger in a figure eight. The air in front of it glowed a sickly green, and the green energy collided with the water, sending it flying in all directions. "Now, Naganadel! Use toxic!" Rearing it's head back, Naganadel pointed it's stinger directly at it's opponent and a thick, dark colored substance flew forth, striking Azumarill multiple times in quick succession. The water type faltered, falling back. When the air cleared, Azumarill was struggling to stay on it's feet, it's poison type opponent hovering Just above it. "Ice beam, Azumarill!" Misty shouted, trying to turn things around. Azumarill instantly repeated it's earlier move, striking Naganadel square in the chest. The poison type bellowed in it's high voice, reeling backward through the air. It came to a stop before Ash, ice coating the front of it's upper body. "Ignore it and use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded, his gaze hardening. Naganadel arced back, and electricity streamed forth from it's stinger, heading straight for Azumarill. "Counter with mud shot!" Misty called. Mud shot forward, intercepting and absorbing the bright voltage mid air. The mud landed in piles about the battlefield, giving Misty an idea. "Get into the crater and use the mud for cover, Azumarill!" Azumarill leapt forward, skidding on the icy ground until it rested in the crater left by the previous battle. It cried out triumphantly, and Misty grinned. No amount of electricity or poison will reach Azumarill now! Ash smiled. She's grown so much as a fighter since I last saw her. "Level the field, Naganadel! Use draco meteor!" he called out. "What!?" Misty demanded, but it was too late. Draconic comets began raining down on the battlefield. Once of them struck the ground in front of Azumarill, but Azumarill shrugged off the hit. It had nothing to worry about from a dragon type attack, no matter how strong. Misty, on the other hand, immediately understood what Ash had done. As the dust cleared, it revealed that draco meteor had indeed leveled the field, destroying the field of ice and removing much of the mud, eliminating the sparse cover she had been counting on. She gulped as she realized that Naganadel now had a direct line of fire at Azumarill. "Let's finish this, Naganadel! Use sludge bomb.!" Ash called out, and before long shots of toxic sludge were hurling through the air straight towards the fairy type. None of them missed.

So much for that plan. Misty thought wryly as she recalled Azumarill. Then again, that was always how Ahs used to approach battles; head on. She smiled. Sure, they had probably already lost. But she was enjoying the fight far more than she had anticipated. Truth be told, it reminded her of the good old days; of the countless days traveling with Ash and Brock. When it was the three of them and their pokemon against the world, each trying to find their place in the great expanse that it was. Closing her eyes, Misty smiled, feeling the gentle ocean breeze caress her face. Smiling brilliantly and in challenge, she raised her eyes, settling them on Ash's annoyingly dashing, grinning face. "Let's finish this, Gyarados!" she cried, sending out her first and final pokemon. "Wash them all away!"