Chapter 26: Sapphire vs. Ashley
Only an hour had passed by before the next semi-final battle was about to start. In a big important tournament like this, time waited for no contestant. The audience demanded spectacle and action and they were hungry for more after the epic battle Emerald and Paul had had earlier.
In that time, Sapphire and Ashley had gotten changed into their Gym uniforms and had gone through their Pokémon teams to choose the perfect six they would use for their battle against each other. While in the changing rooms, they'd taken a moment to have one last chat together before it was time to go. Ashley could see that Sapphire was nervous about the battle. She was fidgeting with her hair vigorously as if somehow that would ease her nerves. It was clear that after watching Emerald fight a close battle with Paul, she was wondering how she could possibly live up to that. It also didn't help that she was against an actual Champion, which made things even more intense for her. Ashley decided to try and put her fears at ease.
"Come on Sapph, ease up." Ashley said softly, "You'll be great out there, I just know it!"
"Easy for you to say." Sapphire muttered, "You're a reigning Champion! I'm just a newbie who got lucky with the Gym Challenge. I doubt I'll last five minutes against you…"
Ashley wasn't having any of it. She gave Sapphire a firm look that told her she wasn't playing around and wouldn't accept Sapphire putting herself down like that.
"Don't give me that Trubbish, pal." the Unovan girl said sternly, "Just cause I'm a champ, doesn't mean I'll win. Champions ain't invincible. Do you think Ruby had that kind of attitude when she went against Leon?"
Sapphire thought for a moment and shook her head.
"There you go! If Ruby can win against a champ, than so can you!" Ashley said encouragingly, "From what I know, Leon was once considered unbeatable until Ruby took his title. You should just look at me as another trainer, Sapphire. After all, you ain't competing against me fer the title of Champion as we ain't in Unova. As far as you should be concerned, I'm just another challenger standing in yer way of challenging Ruby. OK?"
Sapphire mulled over Ashley's words. Yes, she supposed the brunette girl was right. If she was in Unova fighting her, then this would be a whole different story. It was impossible to view her as just an ordinary trainer, but she didn't have to view this as a battle with a Champion. And if Ruby could win against the unbeatable Leon, who's to say she couldn't beat Ashley? Sapphire reached out and touched Ashley's arm, smiling appreciatively.
"Thank you. I needed that." she said graciously, "You know Ashley? I'm glad you were part of this year's Gym Challenge. You're not only extremely gorgeous, but you've been a very kind, supportive, strong and encouraging trainer who's kept me up when I felt down and has also helped me out in more ways than one. You even saved me when Team Royal tried to kidnap me! I'm so glad we got to meet."
"Likewise." Ashley said brightly, "It's been a pleasure meeting you while I've been here, Sapph. Now let's get out there and give the audience what they want! Let's make it a battle to go down in yer region's history!"
"I'm not sure we'll make it THAT big but we can try!" Sapphire chuckled, "And you better watch out Ashley, cause I'm gonna win this time!" she declared.
"Oh I ain't gonna make it easy for ya." Ashley teased.
The two trainers left the changing rooms and made their way onto the pitch. The battle was due to start soon and they didn't want to be late. Minutes later, the two were making their way onto the pitch with the crowd screaming for them. Like Emerald and Paul, Ashley was the favourite to win and there was a huge fanbase cheering for her while Sapphire also had a large crowd cheering for her as another example of rooting for the underdog. As she was going up against a Champion from another region, there were plenty of reasons to want to see Sapphire win against such impossible odds. Ruby was still in her seat from last time, waving to her sister. Emerald was watching from the TV screen in the stadium's Pokémon centre where she was waiting for her Pokémon to finish recovering from their earlier battle with Paul. Paul himself was in the audience. He was out of the tournament but he at least wanted to see how far Ashley would get and who Emerald's next opponent would be. He had stayed to see how far Ash would go despite losing to him back in Sinnoh, and had been disappointed when he lost to the infamous Tobias. At least with these two, he wouldn't have to watch Emerald lose to some guy with a team of legendries no matter who won. Sapphire and Ashley took their positions as they were introduced to the audience.
"From Postwick Town, Sapphire Silverlock." boomed the electronic announcer's voice over the speaker systems, "From Nuvema Town in the Unova region: Ashley Benson."
Sapphire could hear the cheers from all over the stadium for both her and her opponent. She had to admit that this somehow felt different to being in any of the Gyms despite Wyndon being just another big stadium for Pokémon battling. The stakes felt much bigger in here and there was a lot more people watching. She tried to ignore the sweat trickling down her body and relax. She would win this battle and impress Ashley no matter what! The two trainers awaited the signal to go, scarcely daring to breathe as the anticipation built up between them.
"Three…two…one…BEGIN!" boomed the announcer.
"Galvantula, time to fight!" Ashley cried, throwing her first Pokéball.
Sapphire watched as the electric tarantula materialized onto the battlefield. She knew Ashley had a Galvantula. The Champion had told her when she'd recapped her battle against a rampaging Gyarados back in Hulbury. Sapphire had even been banking on Ashley bringing that Galvantula into battle so she'd selected this particular Pokémon to deal with it.
"Starfire, shining time!" the blue-haired girl yelled.
She threw her Pokéball and out came Starfire the Flareon. The fiery fennec sat up on her hind legs and waved her front paws, beaming with delight and waving to the crowd. She seemed very pleased to have so many people watching.
"It is so nice to see so many wonderful people here today!" Starfire said sweetly, "I hope you enjoy our battle today!"
Ashley giggled, charmed by Starfire's sweet enthusiasm.
"Your Flareon likes a bit of attention, doesn't she?" she chuckled.
"Oh yes. Somehow an audience watching really gets her going." Sapphire said with an adoring smile, "I think it's cute myself so I don't mind. Now Starfire, I need you to focus on this battle, OK? We're against a very skilled opponent this time so I need your full attention."
Starfire nodded and eyed up her opponent. She lowered her head and narrowed her eyes. Ashley was a little unnerved by how quickly Starfire shifted moods, going from preening to the crowd so suddenly looking battle ready in an instant. She could see this Flareon wasn't to be trifled with. She also saw that this Flareon was going to be a force to be reckoned with as Sapphire gave her first command.
"Use Work Up!" she ordered.
Starfire obeyed and tensed herself up. Her body glowed red and a flash of orange swept over her to signify an increase in stats. Of course, Ashley knew what that move did. Work Up boosted an opponent's Attack and Special Attack both at the same time. So Sapphire was going with a boost in strength to make this as quick as possible. Too bad that she had a great counter strategy!
"Use Agility!" Ashley commanded.
Galvantula started scurrying towards Starfire, its long legs moving so fast that they seemed to become a blur on either side of Galvantula's body. Then Galvantula seemed to disappear and reappear several times around the pitch as if performing some bizarre magic trick. Starfire could only stare helplessly and try to keep up with the Electric Bug Pokémon. Agility was a move that boosted a Pokémon's speed and Galvantula were already known for being pretty fast so this Galvantula would be borderline impossible to keep up with now! Sapphire could see what Ashley's strategy was. To compensate for her opponent's boosted Attack and Special Attack, she wanted her Pokémon to be so fast that Starfire wouldn't be able to hit it. She wasn't going to let that stop her from landing a clean hit!
"That Galvantula may be much faster now, but that won't stop us! Starfire, hit it with Fire Blast!" Sapphire commanded.
Starfire took a deep breath and blasted out the enormous fiery attack at Galvantula. A huge fiery five-pointed star came whooshing towards Galvantula, threatening to incinerate it alive. But unfortunately for Starfire, she missed. The electric tarantula was just too fast for her and Fire Blast didn't have great accuracy either so it was doomed to miss from the start. The attack just hit the protective force field that shielded the audience from any stray Pokémon attacks, making the audience gasp at the up close experience. Even with the force field protecting them, it was still scary to be that close to a Pokémon attack and they could still feel the heat from the Fire Blast. Satisfied with that miss, Ashley commanded Galvantula to retaliate by using Rain Dance. Galvantula's body glowed for a moment and then, completely out of nowhere, the skies turned grey and black in a matter of seconds and rain started to pour down from them. It was as if the sky had just randomly decided to turn the shower on at this moment. Sapphire and Ashley were soaked in an instant, their shirts clinging tightly to their bodies as they were drenched. Starfire groaned as she was soaked by the rain too. It was bad enough that she had a natural hatred of water because of her typing but now Rain Dance was in effect; her Fire attacks would be weaker than before. It was a handy way for Galvantula to mitigate its Fire-type weakness. But that wasn't the only reason Ashley had used Rain Dance.
"Now hit that Flareon with Thunder!" the Champion cried.
Sapphire feared that this was going to happen. Thunder had perfect accuracy when it was raining so now Galvantula wouldn't miss with it! The electric tarantula tensed up and fired a sizzling surge of electricity that truly felt to Starfire as if she was being hit by a thunderbolt from Zeus himself. She wailed in pain from the attack. It felt as if every nerve in her body was being fried by the Thunder. After it was done, Starfire shook herself to try and get rid of the pain. She could still feel electricity crackling in her fur. Sapphire took in her situation with grim observation. Ashley had kept true to her word that she wasn't making things easy for her. With Rain Dance weakening Starfire's Fire Blast and Galvantula's increased speed, Starfire really was looking heavily outclassed. But Sapphire started to think. Maybe she could still win this if she fought smart and didn't try to rely on power to take Galvantula down. Then she thought of something.
"Use Dig!" Sapphire cried.
Starfire dug down furiously into the wet dirt and grass, disappearing underground in an instant. Galvantula watched its opponent vanish from view and looked around nervously. Now Starfire was gone, there was no telling where she would be at this point. Ashley frowned. What was Sapphire up to? She tried to keep an eye out for Starfire but she couldn't see any signs of where she was. Then the ground started to tremble under where Galvantula was standing and it looked down…just in time for Starfire to launch up from the underneath it and send it flying. Then at the last minute, Sapphire ordered Starfire to use Fire Blast while Galvantula was still airborne. Ashley shielded her eyes as her Pokémon was hit by a tremendous blazing inferno. While the attack wasn't as powerful thanks to Rain Dance, it still did a lot of damage to Galvantula on top of the damage done by Dig seconds ago. The Electric/Bug type Pokémon lay flat on the grass, grimacing from the damage sustained from Starfire's double attacks while Starfire landed back on her side of the field, flipping her hair aside in triumph. She was very pleased with herself. Galvantula picked itself up, but Sapphire could see that it was struggling to do so. If Starfire could land another attack, the match would be her's! Ashley applauded her opponent.
"Gotta hand it to ya, I wouldn't have anticipated a double onslaught like that!" she complimented, "Yer quite a trainer!"
"I'll admit that this time, I improvised." Sapphire said modestly, "I'm just glad it worked!"
"I'll say! But ya won't do it again my friend…" Ashley taunted, "Use Thunder again!"
Galvantula had enough strength left in it to carry out the order. To Sapphire's dismay, poor Starfire was hit once more by the terrific Thunder attack and this time, it was enough to finish the fight. Starfire couldn't handle it a second time and she collapsed onto the grass, her health completely depleted by the attack. Sapphire gasped, followed up by the audience who also gasped as they'd expected Sapphire to win in the end. Even Ruby had been so sure that Starfire would take this match. If only Rain Dance wasn't active, then Sapphire might've had a chance of avoiding the Thunder!
"Flareon is unable to battle, Galvantula is the winner!" boomed the announcer.
Sapphire returned Starfire to her Pokéball, disappointed at how she'd come so close but not close enough. At least now, she had some idea on Ashley's battle style and could work on countering it. Her next choice would especially help against Galvantula.
"Let's see how confident you feel when you can't use any Electric attacks!" Sapphire crowed, throwing her next Pokéball.
Ashley quickly saw what Sapphire meant by that as Spike the Nidoking materialized onto the field. Galvantula gulped while Spike grinned tauntingly at it. As a Nidoking, he was part Ground type so he had an immunity to Electric attacks. Galvantula could do nothing against him! The fight didn't last long at all for Spike used a single Drill Run attack on Galvantula and that was it. It went down instantly after just the one hit. The damage it had sustained from Starfire had guaranteed that it wouldn't last long against Spike. It lay flat on the grass and didn't get up again. The rain finally stopped as if in response to Galvantula's loss, the clouds disappearing and the sunshine returning to the battlefield.
"Galvantula is unable to battle! Nidoking is the winner!" boomed the announcer.
Ruby smiled happily as Sapphire jumped up and down for joy.
"Good comeback, sis. Let's see if you can keep it up from here." she said to herself.
Ashley returned Galvantula to its Pokéball and exchanged it for another one. She gave a casual shrug as if this loss wasn't much for her.
"I'm honestly regretting giving you that Moon Stone to evolve yer Nidorino back in the mine." she joked, "It's certainly gonna bite me in the ass for this one. But as ya know about me, I don't give in easily!"
She threw her next Pokéball and to Sapphire's surprise, it wasn't a Pokémon that had an immediate type-advantage over Spike. She'd at least expected the Unovan girl to bring out Golurk or possibly a Water-type Pokémon. But instead, Ashley had sent out her Braviary that she'd used in her battle with Paul. Sapphire remembered how fast he had been in battle and how he had pretty much effortlessly taken out Paul's Grapploct with little effort. The blue-haired girl was puzzled at this choice. Why Braviary? What could Braviary actually do against a Nidoking? She had a feeling Ashley had something else in mind with this choice. She'd have to see if she could figure out what.
"Set up a Toxic Spikes trap!" Sapphire called.
Spike tensed up and shot a bunch of poisonous spikes up into the air from his back. The spikes showered down onto Ashley's side of the field, surrounding Braviary. They would do no damage to it for now but whenever Ashley brought in a new Pokémon now, it would get poisoned upon entry. Or at least Sapphire was aiming for that. To her shock, the Champion was smiling tauntingly as if she'd done something stupid.
"I thought you'd do that." she sneered, "Use Defog!" she commanded.
Sapphire's heart turned to ice as Braviary flapped his large wings and created a huge gust of wind that swept over the battlefield. The resulting wind blew away the Toxic Spikes, leaving Ashley's side of the arena completely free of hazards once more. Sapphire couldn't believe her eyes. It was the first time anyone had managed to nullify her Toxic Spikes tactic! She couldn't have guessed that Ashley would pull this off!
"I don't believe it! You taught your Braviary Defog just to deal with my favourite tactic?!" the Galarian girl exclaimed.
"Do you take me for some kind of amateur?" Ashley retorted, "I didn't become Champion without learning to adapt to my opponent's strategies, ya know. While of course, I couldn't bank on you actually bringing Spike ta the battle, I thought having at least one Pokémon that knew Defog on me as a contingency would be a good idea. As ya can see, my foresight really paid off."
"Humph, is there any reason why I've fallen for someone as strong, sexy and smart as you?" Sapphire joked.
"Hitting on me will get ya nowhere, cheeky." Ashley joked back, "Now Braviary, use Zen Headbutt!"
Sapphire cursed herself mentally. How had she forgotten that Ashley's Braviary could do that?! She'd used it twice on Paul's Grapploct in their battle together! Braviary flew up high and then came shooting down towards Spike, his head surrounded by psychic energy. Psychic attacks were super-effective against Poison-types like Spike so Braviary was able to do a lot of damage with that hit. Spike was tough so he was able to withstand the hit for now despite the psychic energy sapping away some of his strength as Braviary collided with him. The eagle Pokémon flew back while Spike shook off the attack. Luckily for Sapphire, Spike didn't flinch from the attack and was able to retaliate. She ordered her poisonous dinosaur creature to fight back with Thunder Punch. Spike jumped up into the air towards Braviary and socked him directly in the face with an electrified punch. The punch to Braviary felt as if he'd been slammed in the face by a rock that also just happened to contain an electric current. Braviary barely managed to keep himself from falling to the ground after that hit while Spike landing, growling confidently and feeling he was in control of this match. Unfortunately for Ashley, Spike just happened to have the Rivalry ability, an ability that powered up his attack when his opponent was the same gender as he was so Braviary had taken more damage than normal from that Thunder Punch. One more would definitely finish it off if she didn't end the fight now.
Determined not to give Ashley the chance to fight back, Sapphire commanded Spike to use another Thunder Punch on Braviary while he was still stunned. Spike drew his arm back and took aim, electricity crackling furiously around his fist as he closed in on Braviary. But just at the last second, the eagle Pokémon recovered and flew out of the way just before Spike could punch him. Spike looked up helplessly as Braviary flew up around him, his sharp eyes fixed on him as he prepared for another attack. Satisfied, Ashley ordered the Flying-type Pokémon to use another Zen Headbutt on Spike. Braviary shot down towards Spike like a flying arrow and slammed head-first into his opponent once again. The psychic energy in the head-butt sapped away the rest of Spike's health and he collapsed onto his back, unable to fight any longer. He'd tried his hardest but it hadn't been enough. Sapphire was still grateful to Spike for the effort he'd put in anyway and wasn't too disappointed with the loss.
"Nidoking is unable to battle! Braviary is the winner!" called the announcer.
That had been a big surprise for the audience. They hadn't expected a turnout like this. Paul wasn't surprised with the win for he knew first hand just how powerful Ashley's Braviary was. He was interested to see how Sapphire would spring back from this setback. He and Ruby both watched as Sapphire returned Spike and brought out her next Pokémon, this one being Hercules the Vikavolt. While it was usually suicidal to bring a Bug-type Pokémon to fight a Flying-type, Hercules was part Electric-type so he lacked the Bug-type weakness to Flying attacks while also gaining a type-advantage over them. So for now, it looked as if things might go more in Sapphire's favour this time round.
"Let's make it quick, Hercules! Use Zap Cannon!" Sapphire cried.
The stag beetle Pokémon took aim with his enormous mandibles and started building up an enormous electrical charge between them. Zap Cannon was one of the strongest Electric-type attacks a Pokémon could learn and it had the added bonus of always paralyzing the target if it hit. Ashley knew that if it hit, Braviary would go down instantly. He didn't have fantastic defences and was already hurt from Spike's earlier Thunder Punch attack. She would have to rely on her Pokémon's speed to stay ahead of the game. She waited until Hercules fired his Zap Cannon before making her move. A huge sphere of electricity launched out from Hercules's jaws towards Braviary like a cannonball, true to the attack being called "Zap Cannon". As the attack was about to hit, Ashley ordered Braviary to dodge at the last minute. Th eagle Pokémon weaved to one side and the Zap Cannon hurled straight past him, disappearing harmlessly into the sky as it carried on shooting past. Sapphire cursed in annoyance. Zap Cannon was sadly an unwieldly move due to its poor accuracy so she often had to rely on luck for a clean hit. Now Braviary had dodged, Ashley retaliated by ordering her Flying Pokémon to use Rock Slide against Hercules.
Braviary conjured up a bunch of white orbs from thin air and the orbs transformed into huge rocks that he then sent flying towards his opponent with a swipe of his wings. He gave out a loud intimidating screech as he sent the rocks hurling through the air. Sapphire ordered Hercules to dodge them, hoping that she could get as lucky as Ashley. Like Zap Cannon, Rock Slide didn't have perfect accuracy either so Hercules had a chance. The electric beetle Pokémon weaved around wildly, avoiding the rocks as they came shooting towards him. He felt as if he was dodging a large missile attack with every rock that shot by and missed. He even performed a barrel roll to dodge one rock that came dangerously close to hitting him. Once Hercules had dodged all the rocks, Sapphire tried again with Zap Cannon. She just had to hope that her Pokémon could actually land the attack this time. Hercules took aim with his jaws and fired the powerful attack once again. Unfortunately, he still couldn't hit Braviary. The eagle Pokémon just dodged it a second time. Sapphire frowned. How could she hit that Pokémon if it was going to keep dodging like so?! Then the answer hit her. She could try distracting Braviary.
"Use Sticky Web!" Sapphire commanded.
Hercules obeyed. He aimed down at the ground on Ashley's side of the field and started spinning a web that spread out in front of her. Ashley was puzzled. What was Sapphire hoping to accomplish with this? Sticky Web wouldn't do anything to Braviary! Then she realized. Sticky Web lowered a Pokémon's speed upon entering battle. While it wouldn't effect Braviary, it would cause trouble for her next Pokémon for the web would slow them down and give Sapphire more chances to land an attack. But Ashley was still confused at Sapphire's plan. Had she forgotten that Braviary could get rid of arena hazards like this? Cautiously, Ashley ordered Braviary to use Defog again to get rid of the Sticky Web…just as Sapphire had planned. While Braviary was busy dealing with the web, he was wide open for attack! Hercules took aim and on Sapphire's orders, fired another Zap Cannon attack. Ashley gasped as her Pokémon was hit full on and brought to the ground by the electrifying attack. Damn, how had she managed to fall for such an obvious trap?! Braviary was down and twitching from the electricity crackling through his body. Just as she'd feared, it was more than enough to take out Braviary. The Flying-type Pokémon couldn't fight on anymore after such a powerful attack.
"Braviary is unable to battle! Vikavolt is the winner!" boomed the announcer.
"Ha, ha! That's my sister, always full of unpredictable strategies!" Ruby cried with a big smile on her face as the audience cheered for such an incredible win on Sapphire's part.
Even Paul was impressed that Sapphire had thought outside the box like this. Using an arena hazard to trick Ashley into getting her Pokémon to remove it, thus leaving them open for an attack wasn't something he would've thought of himself. He would see if he could do something like that if he ever got another chance to challenge Ashley in the future. All eyes were on the Unova Champion as she returned her Pokémon and whipped out her next Pokéball. She smiled with admiration at her opponent.
"Gotta hand it to ya Sapph, I didn't see that coming!" she acknowledged, "I can see easily how you got this far just like Emerald did!"
"Well…th-thank you." Sapphire said, blushing with pleasure.
"I'm kinda curious to see what other strategies you have cooking up in that head of yours." Ashley said excitedly, "Conkeldurr, time to fight!"
She summoned her next Pokémon, the mighty and muscular Conkeldurr. Sapphire wasn't surprised at all to see that Ashley had evolved her Gurdurr. She remembered what a powerhouse it had been back in her double-battle with Ashley and Paul and how it had taken out a few of her's and Emerald's Pokémon single-handedly. She imagined that it was going to be even stronger as a Conkeldurr now. Conkeldurr was a bulky humanoid Pokémon with huge arms and tiny legs. It carried a pair of chunky concrete pillars in each hand and used them to support itself. Sapphire was sure that Hercules might have a chance against Conkeldurr, especially as he knew a Flying attack and they were super-effective against Fighting types. But she wanted to try something else for now and save Hercules for later. She returned the electric beetle to his Pokéball and threw out her next one. To everyone's surprise, she'd summoned forth James Pond the Inteleon. Ashley had expected her to pull out a Ghost-type or even Celestia the Rapidash to handle her Conkeldurr but instead, she was using James Pond. What was Sapphire planning this time? She soon got her answer as Sapphire ordered James to use Reflect. The water-powered chameleon held out his hands and set up a colourful barrier that surrounded him. Then seconds later, Sapphire returned James to his Pokéball and threw out another one.
This time, she'd chosen Phantom the Dusknoir. Ashley recognized him straight away as last she'd seen of Phantom, Sapphire had traded him to her and back so she could evolve him from a Dusclops to a Dusknoir. Dusknoir were bulky looking Ghost Pokémon with a single eye, thick arms with huge hands, a face on their stomachs with an actual opening mouth with jagged teeth and six flat projections around their heads that resembled an upturned collar. They had no legs. Phantom waved his arms menacingly as if he was a magician about to perform some sinister magic trick. Ashley frowned. Sapphire was certainly pulling out a big box of tricks, wasn't she? She'd set up a Reflect to half the damage of any and all physical attacks and now she'd brought out a Ghost-type Pokémon to nullify Conkeldurr's Fighting attacks! This was going to be a tough battle for her.
"It won't do anything but it'll get rid of that Reflect at least…" Ashley muttered, "Use Brick Break!"
Conkeldurr obeyed. It ran up to Phantom and brought one of his huge arms down on top of him in a big, powerful karate chop attack. Of course, it did no damage to Phantom as Ghost types were immune to Fighting attacks, but it did break through the Reflect screen at least. Sapphire was disappointed that Ashley had taken it out so quickly but at least Ashley had been forced to waste a move on her that did nothing to Phantom.
"Use Trick Room!" the Galarian teen yelled.
Phantom held out his hands and conjured up a holographic box that formed around the two trainers and their Pokémon. Conkeldurr looked around in confusion, wondering what was happening. Ashley knew what Sapphire was planning this time. Trick Room was true to its name, a tricky move that twisted the dimensions of the battlefield. Slower Pokémon moved first as long as Trick Room was in play. Dusknoir were very slow Pokémon so Trick Room was often extremely beneficial to their situation. Sapphire smiled happily.
"Now let's show why Trick Room is so tricky!" she declared, "Use Fire Punch!"
Phantom let out a haunting moan as he drew his fist back, which was engulfed with flames, and he launched it directly at Conkeldurr. Without Trick Room, it wouldn't be faster than Conkeldurr right now so already this was benefitting him immensely. He socked the muscular Pokémon in the face, the flames adding more pain to him as the punch landed. Conkeldurr staggered backwards from the punch and it rubbed its cheek with the back of its hand. Then suddenly, Conkeldurr burst into flames. Sapphire punched the air triumphantly. It was just what she'd hoped for. Conkeldurr had been given a burn by the Fire Punch attack so not only would it get damaged more and more over time, the power of its physical moves would be halved so it would do less damage to Phantom if it managed to land a hit! Ashley grunted. Just her luck that Sapphire managed to burn her Conkeldurr like this! But she was determined not to go down so easily.
"Fight back with Payback!" she commanded.
Conkeldurr's eyes glowed with anger and dark energy surrounded its body as it stomped furiously towards its opponent. Sapphire had expected that Ashley would've taught her Conkeldurr a Dark-type attack to give it some way of fighting back against Ghost-types. It had been her plan all along, to inflict a burn on Conkeldurr to stop it from doing as much damage to Phantom as it could. Payback's damage was doubled whenever the opponent moved last, which Sapphire had unwittingly helped with by having Phantom use Trick Room, but it didn't matter because Conkeldurr was suffering from a burn so it couldn't take full advantage of that side-effect. In the end, it just did normal damage to Phantom, which wasn't much because Dusknoir were Pokémon with excellent defences. Phantom recoiled from the hit it had received but otherwise looked unhurt, super-effective damage or not. Satisfied, Sapphire ordered her ghostly Pokémon to attack back with Shadow Punch. She decided to go for same-type attack bonus for extra damage to win this fight. Phantom's fist was surrounded by ectoplasmic energy as he drew his arm back and launched it straight at Conkeldurr. Conkeldurr's head snapped back from the punch and it staggered backwards. Conkeldurr shook itself off and tried to retaliate with another Payback attack but it ultimately didn't matter for it still couldn't do any meaningful damage to Phantom. His defences were too great and the burn was preventing it from doing the damage Ashley wanted. After that hit, Phantom struck back with one last Shadow Punch. Phantom socked Conkeldurr in the face once again and that punch was strong enough to knock it clean off its feet and down onto its back. Conkeldurr lay still, its concrete pillars lying beside it as it passed out. The audience cheered in amazement. It seemed that Sapphire was starting to make a comeback at last despite the odds being stacked against her. The underdog was proving to be no fluke in this battle!
"Conkeldurr is unable to battle! Dusknoir is the winner!" boomed the announcer.
Ashley returned Conkeldurr to its Pokéball and drew out another one. She had three Pokémon down while Sapphire had only lost two. Things were starting to look bad for her but this battle wasn't over yet. She still had half of her team left to turn this match around!
"I told ya Sapph, just cause I'm a Champion, doesn't mean I'm invincible." Ashley commented, "Yer actually winning for the moment! And you worried ya wouldn't last five minutes against me!" she laughed.
"It's what I get for not being confident enough in my skills as a Pokémon trainer." Sapphire said sheepishly, "I'm honestly amazed at how well I'm doing so far!"
"Be proud of yourself! Yer doing great!" Ashley praised, "Let's see if ya can keep it up. Now it's time for us ta fight ghost-to-ghost!"
She threw her next Pokéball and brought out the mighty stone giant that was Golurk. Sapphire grinned with anticipation. She'd been excited over the idea of facing Golurk after seeing it in action against Paul. Now she and Ashley could see who's Ghost Pokémon was stronger. Ashley's Golurk had the Iron Fist ability, which boosted the power of punching moves but Trick Room was still in play so Phantom was still faster than Golurk. He'd hit first. Both opponents ordered their Pokémon to use Shadow Punch on each other. Of course, Phantom moved quicker and was able to land his attack on Golurk first. He punched the stony golem directly in the stomach, making it double over from the blow. Refusing to give in easily, Golurk landed its own Shadow Punch on Phantom. Phantom grunted and spun away as he was hit. Golurk's Shadow Punch hurt him more than his Shadow Punch had hurt Golurk thanks to the boost from its ability and this time, it was suffering from a burn like Conkeldurr had been so Golurk could do the damage Ashley was aiming for. Phantom's bulky defences still held out for now and he didn't look like he was down and out yet. It was lucky that Trick Room was still in play for Sapphire might not have been able to land the next blow fast enough.
She ordered Phantom to use Shadow Punch again on Golurk while Ashley did the same. Like before, Golurk just couldn't get the first hit in thanks to Trick Room slowing it down. Phantom landed the hit and sent Golurk reeling to one side from the power of his punch. Golurk staggered but it regained its senses and struck back with another Shadow Punch. But before it could land a clean hit, Sapphire ordered Phantom to use another Shadow Punch at the same time to block the hit. It was an attack that never missed so it was pointless to try dodging the attack. Instead, trying to counter it was the wisest option. Phantom's shadowy fist slammed into Golurk's. The two powerful punches hit each other and the resulting energy between them exploded and knocked them both back. A gust of wind kicked up, threatening to blow both Sapphire and Ashley off their feet as they shielded their faces from the dust and dirt kicking up from the wind. Phantom floated ominously above the ground in front of Sapphire, looking mostly unhurt while Golurk was down on one knee, showing fatigue from its battle. The girls stared at the stony Pokémon. Could it carry on or was it finished? Sapphire also saw that Trick Room was finally over as the holographic box disappeared from around the arena. Trick Room only last a few turns so that didn't surprise her. Golurk would be faster than Phantom now…if it could continue that is.
Ashley willed for Golurk to carry on fighting. It looked as if it might be able to do so as the ghostly automaton got back to its feet and flexed its arms. Ashley's heart leapt. It seemed Golurk could continue! But then to her dismay…it collapsed onto the ground and lay still. Her face fell with disappointment. She'd hoped so much that it could've carried on fighting!
"Golurk is unable to battle! Dusknoir is the winner!" boomed the announcer.
The audience gave a mixtures of gasps and cheers as they took in what the current score was. Sapphire had knocked out four of Ashley's Pokémon while Ashley had only knocked two of Sapphire's out! Nobody had expected Sapphire to do as well as she was right now. Even Sapphire herself could hardly believe that, against all odds, she was actually winning. How had she gone from the girl who couldn't even beat a Tepig despite having a type-advantage to currently holding the lead on remaining Pokémon out of her and her crush? She really had grown more than she thought on this journey! Ashley returned Golurk and have a small laugh.
"Gotta say, I've forgotten how long it's been since my back's been against the wall like this." the Unovan teen remarked, "After becoming Champion, I just got so used to winning that I've never really been in a situation where I might actually lose. You're the first trainer since my becoming Champion to actually have me down to my last two Pokémon!"
"Oh my, I am?!" Sapphire gasped in astonishment, "I never thought I'd do this good…"
"Pokémon battles are always full of surprises, hon." Ashley remarked, "And I'm sure you'll find that this one is full of surprises too!"
She threw her fifth Pokéball and summoned forth the one Pokémon that Sapphire hadn't seen in action before. It was her Druddigon, the one Pokémon that didn't get a chance to fight any of Paul's Pokémon as he'd forfeited before it could fight. Sapphire was going in blind with this opponent, she had no idea what Druddigon could do. She would play it by ear and see if she could uncover Druddigon's strengths and abilities as the battle waged on.
"Use Trick Room again!" Sapphire ordered.
Phantom obeyed, holding his hands out to create the holographic box that twisted all the dimensions to make slower Pokémon go first again. Ashley wasn't surprised that Sapphire had decided to put Trick Room back up again so she could make sure Phantom got the first hits in again. Unfortunately for her, speed wasn't going to cut it for this match.
"Use Hone Claws!" Ashley called to her Druddigon.
The dragon/gargoyle Pokémon held out its claws, which extended in length, and its body glowed red as it started to slice at the air. Sapphire gulped. Hone Claws was a stat boosting move that increased a Pokémon's attack AND its accuracy. It was the closest thing Druddigon had to Dragon Dance as oddly enough, it couldn't actually learn Dragon Dance despite being a Dragon-type itself. So Ashley was relying on pure strength to win this battle. She HAD to make this quick before Druddigon could take advantage of its newly boosted attack!
"Use Fire Punch!" Sapphire commanded.
Of course it was a bad move to use against a Dragon-type as Fire attacks weren't very effective, but Ashley could see Sapphire wasn't going for damage. She wanted to nullify the boost in Druddigon's attack by hopefully inflicting a burn on it just like with Conkeldurr earlier. Ashley watched as Phantom flew up to Druddigon and socked it in the face with a fiery punch. Unluckily for Sapphire, he didn't burn Druddigon as he punched his opponent. He only did damage and nothing else. That ended up costing Phantom in the end for Druddigon retaliated with a Crunch attack. Sapphire gasped. Trust Ashley to conveniently have a Dark-type attack to deal with Ghost-types! Druddigon ran towards Phantom and chomped down hard on his shoulder. Phantom gave out a mournful wail that sounded as if the dead itself was crying out in pain. Sapphire winced. Her own shoulder flared up as if she could feel Phantom's pain and she had to rub it just to calm it down. The single Crunch had been enough to finish Phantom off. The bulky ghost creature collapsed onto the grass, unable to carry on fighting. The Trick Room disappeared in response. Sapphire couldn't believe it. Sure it had been a super-effective hit and Druddigon had boosted its Attack, but she was sure that Phantom could've held out a little longer than that! Did Hone Claws boost a Pokémon's attack that much? Ashley seemed to be reading her mind for she suddenly spoke:
"Handy isn't it to not only have an Attack-boosting move, but to have a useful ability?" she explained, "I was so lucky to be given a Druddigon that has the Sheer Force ability when it was traded to me."
"Sheer Force…I know that ability!" Sapphire gasped, "Doesn't it increase the power of attacks by removing their additional effects?"
"You got it!" Ashley confirmed, "While additional effects from attacks are handy, I think sacrifices like that are worthwhile if ya can do more damage. My Druddigon's Crunch can't lower defences anymore but as ya saw, he was able to do just the damage I needed to finish the fight."
"And then you boosted it even more with Hone Claws…" Sapphire muttered, returning Phantom to his Pokéball, "I bet you've had that strategy hiding away the whole time, just waiting to bring it out."
"That's me! Always planning ahead!" Ashley said with a sly wink, "I'm sure you also have some other strategy in mind ta work yer way outta this one."
"Heh, it's weird how you seem more confident in me than I am!" Sapphire chuckled.
Despite saying it humorously, she wasn't really joking. Sapphire was starting to wonder if she even stood a chance of winning this battle now. With Druddigon's boosted Attack at the hands of Hone Claws and also having the Sheer Force ability boosting some of its attacks to make them hit even harder, she imagined that Druddigon was probably going to mow down the rest of her team single-handedly. But she still had an ace up her sleeve for this occasion.
"Good thing I had you just in case she had a Dragon-type…" Sapphire murmured, "Celestia, shining time!"
She threw her next Pokéball and out came the beautiful Celestia. The Galarian Rapidash whinnied and flicked her mane aside to add more to her graceful image. The audience was spellbound, unable to keep their eyes off her. She looked simply dazzling to them. Ruby was just glad to see this species being used by a more worthy trainer than someone like Bede. She was sure that Celestia could pull this match around for Sapphire. After all, Galarian Rapidash were half-Fairy types so Druddigon was at a disadvantage, especially as it wouldn't be able to use any Dragon attacks on Celestia and Crunch would be useless against her, even if Sheer Force made it a stronger attack than before. But then Ruby considered. What was Druddigon's fourth attack it knew? She would soon find out as she watched Sapphire give the first command.
"Use Dazzling Gleam!" Sapphire ordered.
Celestia took aim and fired a sparkling beam of fairy energy from her horn and directly at Druddigon. It was no surprise that Celestia moved first as Druddigon were very sluggish Pokémon and Rapidash were very fast so Druddigon were never going to out speed them in a battle like this. Druddigon winced as the Dazzling Gleam hit it, the Fairy energy sapping away some of its health. Sapphire had banked on Celestia taking the Dragon Pokémon down in a single hit but unfortunately, Druddigon had decent defences so while the attack had done a lot of damage, it hadn't been enough. Ashley had also trained this one to be able to take hits and keep on going so it had a lot of endurance. Druddigon roared, spreading its wings and throwing its arms aside to show everyone that no magic pony was going to stop it. Ashley folded her arms and gave a cool smile as she gave her command.
"Use Iron Tail!"
Sapphire's heart leapt up into her throat. Druddigon knew Iron Tail?! She cursed herself for not expecting that. Of course Ashley would've taught that bloody Dragon Pokémon a Steel attack to fend off Fairy Pokémon that would threaten it! Iron Tail was a ridiculously strong Steel attack that could lower Defence when hit but Druddigon's Sheer Force ability would ignore that in favour of making it MORE powerful! Druddigon's tail glowed white and was coated in steel that wrapped itself around the appendage. Druddigon lumbered like some monster out of a child's nightmare towards Celestia. It spun on the balls of its feet and walloped the psychic equine hard with its iron-coated tail. Iron Tail was a move with poor accuracy but Hone Claws had boosted Druddigon's accuracy so now it was likelier to hit its opponent than before. Celestia cried out, the Iron Tail feeling so hard that she thought her skull would break. She was whisked off her hooves effortlessly like a leaf in the breeze by the hit. Sapphire put her hands to her mouth in shock as Celestia sailed helplessly through the air and came crashing down just beside her. The audience grimaced, feeling the pain from the impact. Celestia lay on her side, grunting from the attack. She didn't even try to get up again, knowing it was useless. There was no energy left in her. Sapphire knelt down beside Celestia while Druddigon roared in triumph. Ashley looked concerned.
"Oh my gosh, is she OK?" she asked worriedly, "Druddigon didn't hurt her too badly, did he?"
Sapphire stroked Celestia for comfort as the unicorn-like Pokémon mercifully drifted into unconsciousness. She looked up and gave a smile to reassure her love.
"Don't worry, she's fine." the blue-haired girl insisted, "I have to say, that Sheer Force ability really gives Druddigon quite a boost, doesn't it?"
"No kidding! Iron Tail's already a strong move but with Druddigon's ability boosting his power in exchange for its added effect, it REALLY packs a wallop!" Ashley cried excitedly, "Definitely helps against any Fairy Pokémon that would give him some trouble!"
"As you've shown." Sapphire retorted, returning Celestia to her Pokéball.
The teen trainer was certainly finding herself with her back against the wall. How could she stop that Druddigon when its Attack power was so obscenely high?! The only advantage she had was that Druddigon were slow Pokémon but that didn't mean much if she couldn't finish it off in time before it could retaliate. She only had Hercules and James Pond left and while James knew Ice Beam, she didn't know if it would be enough to finish Druddigon off before it could retaliate and take him out. And then there was Ashley's last Pokémon that hadn't even seen battle yet. It would be Emboar no doubt and if James went down to Druddigon, the battle would be over as Hercules would have no chance against the fiery swine. It was looking hopeless for Sapphire now. What could she do?! Then she remembered something. Yes…maybe Hercules could help out against Druddigon. It was risky, but Sapphire had no other options. She would just have to go for broke and hope for the best.
"OK Hercules, it's time for you to come again!" Sapphire cried as she returned the electric stag beetle to the field.
Hercules buzzed excitedly, glad he was being given the chance to battle again after winning against Braviary. Druddigon snorted, seeing its new opponent as nothing to worry about. Electric-types weren't very effective against Dragons and Vikavolt couldn't learn any attacks that were super-effective against Dragon-types so Hercules wouldn't be much of a problem. Ashley on the other hand could see what Sapphire was planning. This wasn't about type-advantage and she wasn't surprised at all when Sapphire's first action was to command Hercules to use Zap Cannon. Hercules aimed with his giant pincers and fired the electrical cannon ball. Despite Zap Cannon's poor accuracy, Sapphire got lucky and cheered happily as the attack hit Druddigon and paralyzed it instantly. The Dragon Pokémon grimaced as electricity danced around its body. At least now Druddigon was handicapped so James Pond would have a chance to defeat it when he was called to the battlefield next. Ashley refused to let a little paralysis stop Druddigon for the time being and she ordered the dragon/gargoyle creature to use Outrage. It was the one Attack Druddigon knew that didn't get a boost from Sheer Force but it didn't need it as Outrage was strong enough on its own. Druddigon tried to do so but the paralysis stopped it momentarily. It grimaced in pain as the paralysis kicked in and made its muscles lock up for the moment. It couldn't move. Satisfied, Sapphire ordered Hercules to use Air Slash. Dragon types took normal level damage from Flying attacks so Sapphire knew it would be wiser to use Hercules's Air Slash to do more damage to Druddigon. Hercules buzzed furiously towards Druddigon, his wings glowing white with powerful energy. He then sliced at Druddigon with his wings, making it cry out in pain from the cutting attack. It wasn't enough to end the battle but Sapphire knew that now she'd softened it up a little more for James Pond to come in and finish it off.
Sapphire decided to go for one more hit and ordered Hercules to use Bug Buzz. The electric bug Pokémon hovered in place and started making a loud buzzing sound that made the audience wince from the noise. But before the attack could reach Druddigon, Ashley tried again with Outrage. This time, Druddigon was able to move and the draconian Pokémon lunged towards Hercules, its body glowing orange as dragon energy surged through its veins. It effortlessly ploughed through the Bug Buzz and slammed straight into Hercules. With his poor Defences and the Attack boost from Druddigon's Hone Claws move, Hercules couldn't withstand the single blow. That one Outrage had been enough to knock him out instantly. Sapphire gasped as her Pokémon lay unconscious on the grass at her feet. She'd hoped that Hercules could've landed on more attack at least before going down.
"Vikavolt is unable to battle, Druddigon is the winner!" boomed the announcer.
The audience was well impressed with the power of Ashley's Pokémon. Druddigon had just single-handedly mown down half of Sapphire's team, and all it needed was just one use of Hone Claws to boost its attack along with having a useful ability to make its Attacks even stronger! If it was possible for a Pokémon to seem invincible than Druddigon certainly was looking it right now! But Ashley knew that it wouldn't last much longer. It had been weakened by a few Attacks and was still suffering from paralysis at the hands of Hercules's Zap Cannon. She was sure Sapphire would be able to defeat it despite everything. Sapphire returned Hercules and drew out her last Pokéball. She smiled at it softly.
"It's all up to you now. I guess it was inevitable it would end this way…" she murmured, "James Pond, shining time!"
She threw the ball and out came James Pond, this time battling for real and not coming out just to set up a Reflect and return back to his ball. The Secret Agent Pokémon eyed up his opponent and took up a battle ready stance. He wasn't going to take any chances with this Pokémon, especially as it was one belonging to Ashley. Sapphire wasted no time acting and gave the command that spelled the end for Druddigon's winning streak:
"Bring it down once and for all with Ice Beam!"
James took aim with his finger and fired a single beam of ice cold energy at his draconian opponent. The Ice Beam hit Druddigon and just as Sapphire had hoped for, it was enough to end the battle. The earlier damage had softened the Dragon Pokémon up enough for Ice Beam to take it down. Druddigon fell to its knees, shivering from the cold for a moment. And then it finally collapsed onto the grass, unable to fight on any longer. It had been an impressive run but Druddigon's reign of terror as at an end. James blew on his finger as if he'd just fired a gun.
"Talk about a "chilling" defeat…" he purred.
"Druddigon is unable to battle! Inteleon is the winner!" cried the announcer.
"So Sapphire finally beat that Druddigon." Paul murmured, impressed with the whole fight he'd been watching from his seat. "Now we'll see if she can stop Ashley's Emboar. That's got to be her last Pokémon…"
Ashley returned Druddigon to its Pokéball and smiled affectionately at it.
"Yer amazing buddy. Thank you so much for a great performance." she said kindly.
She then took out her last Pokéball.
"Ya know Sapph? I think it was kinda fated that it'd end like this, the way it all started between us." Ashley acknowledged, "Feels like yesterday when we had our first battle with Tepig and Sobble, doesn't it?"
"We've come a long way since then, love." Sapphire declared, "And me and James are gonna win this time!"
"Well, now's the time to prove it." Ashley said challengingly, "Emboar, time to fight!" she yelled, throwing the Pokéball.
It was no surprise to Sapphire, Paul or Ruby that Emboar was Ashley's last Pokémon. What else would it have been? James took in the sight of his opponent as Emboar materialized onto the pitch. He certainly looked much different from when he'd first seen him as a Tepig! Emboar noticed how different James looked too, certainly nothing like the Sobble he'd first battled when his trainer had first met Sapphire. He snorted excitedly, keen to get into battle. James folded his arms and gave a smirk of confidence at his opponent.
"I've been looking forward to re-matching you, mate." he purred, "I remember how crushed I felt when I lost to you. Well that's all changed now. Victory will be mine this time."
Emboar just smirked as if to say "Bring it on!". He even held out a hand and flexed his fingers inwards and outwards, daring him to attack. The crowd felt very excited watching the two. This was it, the final two Pokémon battling together! This was the battle that would decide who would meet Emerald in the second round of the semi-finals! Nobody wanted to miss a second of this final tussle.
Sapphire and Ashley both held out their Pokéballs and returned their Pokémon to them. Of course they both had the same idea for how this was going to end. Their Dynamax bands activated, energy swirling around their wrists as their Pokéballs grew in size. Then they threw the balls and both James and Emboar grew to gigantic sizes as they Dynamaxed. James looked like a giant post with how lanky and lean his body figure was and he was now giant sized from the Dynamaxing. All they needed now was to hang a flag on him and he'd look complete. Emboar was bulky enough already but with his Dynamaxed size, he almost took up the entire side of Ashley's pitch. He would make a very effective barricade to protect something at least. For Ashley, Dynamaxing was something she would never get enough of. Why didn't they have something as awesome as this back in Unova? If Unova had the kind of energy that caused Dynamaxing, she imagined Pokémon battles would be very different there. Both she and Sapphire focused on each other as their colossal Pokémon prepared to fight.
"Let's go James! Use Max Geyser!" Sapphire cried.
James took aim with his finger and blasted Emboar with a giant stream of water that slammed into the blazing pig with the force of a tidal wave slamming into a nearby harbour. Emboar winced and held up his hands to try and block the attack. It pushed him back slightly but he managed to stand his ground. Sapphire had expected this from watching Emboar's battles with Paul's Pokémon. He'd proved to be staggeringly resilient despite his species usually having poor defences so she knew James would have his work cut out for him. Emboar shook off the attack and gave a loud, booming grunt that echoed around the arena.
"Use Max Overgrowth!" Ashley yelled.
Sapphire wasn't surprised that was coming as she knew from experience that Emboar knew Grass Knot so obviously he could use the Grass-type Max Move. Unfortunately for Ashley, she had a counter for that. James Pond knew Reflect and when a Pokémon Dynamaxed, all status moves became the move Max Guard, which was the Dynamax equivalent of Protect. She ordered James to use it now as Emboar fired giant green seeds at him. James held out his hands and created a giant barrier that formed in front of him and blocked the attack. Ashley gasped in amazement as the seeds hit the barrier and harmlessly broke away. Sapphire smiled coolly at her crush.
"Didn't expect that, did you?" she taunted.
"Lucky for you ya have a move that could become Max Guard in James's move set." Ashley remarked, "Guess I'm gonna have to work around that! Use Max Rockfall!"
Emboar held out his hands and conjured up a giant slab of rock that stretched up from the ground and reached up to Emboar's height. Then he punched the rock and sent it falling down towards James. Sapphire responded by ordering James to use Max Guard to block the attack again. But that had been just what Ashley was wanting her to do. As soon as the Max Rockfall broke away against James's barrier, she ordered Emboar to use Max Overgrowth again. This time, James wasn't able to react in time and he winced as the seeds hit him and grew into giant blades of grass and mushrooms that sapped away some of his energy. Sapphire swore. She should've seen THAT coming! But she kept herself calm. The battle wasn't over yet, James could still fight! She ordered James to use another Max Geyser on Emboar. James took aim and fired another jet of water that threatened to wash away his fiery foe. But Ashley was continuing to work around Sapphire's strategies for she ordered Emboar to use another Max Rockfall. The pyro hog did just that, creating another giant slab of rock that formed a protective wall in front of himself. The Max Geyser hit, threatening to knock the rock down on top of him but Emboar held it in place to keep it from falling. Sapphire gasped in astonishment. That was the most creative way of using Max Rockfall she'd ever seen. Fancy using it to block attacks like that! Ashley smiled happily, glad that she'd been able to duplicate what the rampaging Gyarados had done to block her Galvantula's attack back in Hulbury. It just showed inspiration came from anywhere!
Now that was done, Emboar punched at the rock and brought it falling down towards James. Sapphire had no choice but to get him to use Max Guard to block it a second time. Sadly, it left him wide open for another Max Overgrowth but Sapphire had no choice. James blocked the Rockfall a second time, and just like before he was unable to react fast enough to block another Max Overgrowth from Emboar. James grimaced as the giant mushrooms sapped away more of his strength and energy. He swayed on his feet and nearly fell over; looking very weak from the damage he'd received. Another one of these would no doubt finish him off if he didn't do something and fast. Sapphire thought for a moment. What would be the best way to stop Emboar? If she tried to hit him again, he'd just use Max Rockfall to block the Max Geyser again. But maybe she could turn that strategy against Emboar somehow? She decided to give it a try.
"You can do it James! I know you can! Just use one more Max Geyser!" Sapphire cried supportively.
James took aim and fired once again and as Sapphire predicted, Ashley ordered Emboar to use Max Rockfall to block it once more. But as Emboar sent the rock falling towards James again, Sapphire didn't tell James to use Max Guard to block the move. Instead, she ordered James to use Max Geyser on the rock before it could crash down on him. The aqua chameleon shot at the rock, blasting it with a stream of water that was powerful enough to stop the rock from falling towards him and send it careening backwards towards Emboar. Emboar held up his hands to stop the rock but it was useless. It came down too quickly and heavily for him to stop it in time and it crashed down on top of him, breaking to pieces and stunning him long enough for James to use another Max Geyser without any chance of being blocked. The torrent of water came whooshing in and hit Emboar. As James's health was low from the earlier attacks he'd been hit with, his ability, Torrent, had kicked in and now his Max Geyser was stronger than before. When his health was low, Torrent boosted his Water attacks as a way to help out. Emboar wailed as he was drenched by the stream of water. Ashley could only watch as the battle turned on its head and it was all over for her. Emboar hadn't been able to handle the Torrent boosted Max Geyser and as James's attack finished, the Dynamax energy within him dissipated and he returned to his normal size. He lay on his back and didn't get up again. James returned to his normal size too and blew at his finger.
"I'd say that I "washed away" all hopes of you winning this fight…" he purred.
For a moment there was silence as everyone took in what had happened. It was as if nobody could believe that this newbie from Postwick Town had actually just done the impossible and defeated a reigning Champion from another region. Then the cheering began. The audience screamed with joy and exploded with applause at the incredible victory they'd witnessed today. What a turnout this had been! They'd expected something amazing but they hadn't expected anything quite like this!
"Emboar is unable to battle, Inteleon is the winner!" boomed the announcer, seeming to share the audience's enthusiasm. "The winner of the second semi-final eliminator battle is Sapphire Silverlock from Postwick Town and she progresses to the second round!"
Sapphire was in a daze. Had she, some nobody from a quaint little farming town just gone and actually beaten Ashley Benson, the current Unova Champion? Had she actually just achieved the one thing she hadn't a hope in hell of accomplishing?! Even Ashley didn't seem to know how to feel about the whole thing. She was speechless. She stared at her downed Emboar for a moment, unable to move. Then she recovered and shook her head.
"Gosh…I actually lost. It's been so long since I've experienced anything like this…" she murmured, "And yet…I don't feel bad about it at all! I didn't think I'd ever feel mixed emotions like this in my life…"
She returned Emboar to her Pokéball and approached Sapphire. The blue-haired girl still didn't move as the shock of her winning was still paralyzing her.
"Well Sapph, you expected to lose but look at you now! Here ya are, the big winner and movin' on up ta the next round! Congratulations!" Ashley complimented.
Sapphire blinked as if she'd only just realized Ashley was talking to her. The shock had fully settled in and now the emotions came pouring out. Her eyes streamed with tears as joy overwhelmed her.
"Oh my god, I can't believe it! I won! I really won!" she exclaimed, "This the most amazing moment of my life!"
She threw her arms around Ashley and hugged her tightly, making the older girl yelp as she was grabbed in a crushing embrace by her opponent.
"Thank you for an amazing battle Ashley!" Sapphire squealed, "You were amazing out there and I can't believe I actually won!"
"Well ya better believe it, cause ya did!" Ashley croaked, "Just like I believe my ribs won't stand up to your crushing hug if ya don't let me go this instant!" she cried desperately.
Sapphire let go of Ashley and hid behind her hands in embarrassment.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I can't help it when I get excited like that!" she yelped.
"No kidding! I swear you could give Bianca some stiff competition for bone-crushing hugs…" Ashley joked, "Still, congratulations to you and yer amazing Pokémon! You deserve to meet yer sister in the next round."
"Thank you Ashley." Sapphire said appreciatively, "And thank you for believing in me even when I didn't believe in myself."
"No problem!" Ashley said with a wink, "Good luck in the next round."
Sapphire smiled graciously. She was in the second round! It was now going to be a battle between her and Emerald for a chance to face Ruby for the Championship title! She supposed it was only inevitable that it would end this way. Just like it was inevitable that she may have to say goodbye to Ashley. Now she'd lost, she wouldn't have any reason to stay. Sapphire watched as she left the pitch to get changed. All of a sudden, she was now regretting winning the fight. She imagined her crush would go home to Unova and that'd be the end of it. She might never see her again. She didn't want her to go before she had a chance to confess her love for the Unova girl. Sapphire made her way off the pitch, ignoring the sounds of the crowd that were cheering for her.
Ashley had changed out of her Gym uniform and back into her normal clothes. It felt good to be back in them as she hadn't been too fond of the Gym Uniforms. It always felt weird dressing like that as she felt like she should be playing soccer rather than a Pokémon battle. But still, she wanted to take the uniform back with her to Unova. It'd make a nice souvenir of her time here in Galar. Ashley stuffed the uniform into her bag. She just happened to be bending down at the moment so as Sapphire walked into the changing rooms to see her, she suddenly found herself staring at Ashley's backside. The tiny shorts she usually wore really brought out its shape and Sapphire blushed as she stared at it. Ashley straightened up and turned around to see Sapphire standing there looking embarrassed about something. She smiled slyly.
"If ya wanted ta see me getting changed, ya should've got here sooner." she teased.
Sapphire blushed even harder and looked away shyly.
"Aw come on, I was just teasing!" Ashley laughed, "But what are you doing here? Shouldn't yer Pokémon be getting some rest at the Pokémon Centre to heal up for yer next match?"
"Oh I went there first before I came for you." Sapphire explained, "I just wanted to see you before you go."
Ashley looked puzzled.
"Go? Go where? I ain't leaving just yet." the brunette girl insisted, "I'm sticking around ta watch the rest of the tournament. I at least wanna see who's gonna fight Ruby."
"Oh, I see." Sapphire realized, "But once the tournament's over, I guess you'll be going home to Unova. I won and you lost. You have no reason to stay here."
She looked down at her feet sadly.
"You'll be going home to Unova to continue defending your title. You also have friends and family that you won't want to stay away from. I'll...I'll really miss you when you go…" she said, sounding on the verge of tears.
Ashley now understood why Sapphire seemed so sad and wanted to see her so badly. She patted her on the shoulder to try and comfort her.
"Hey, hey, don't worry about that stuff yet." Ashley insisted, "I ain't goin' home just yet as I'm sticking around to see who gets to face Ruby and who will win out of her and her opponent. And who's ta say I won't ever come back? I ain't gonna stay in Unova forever, I've got a whole world ta see! Also I've rather enjoyed it here in Galar so why wouldn't I come back sometime soon?"
"I understand, but…" Sapphire trailed off, still trying to choke back tears. She forced herself to hold them back so she could spit out the three words she'd been dying to say for so long. Breathing in deeply, she spoke them:
"I love you!"
She threw her arms around Ashley and hugged her tightly as if worried she'd never hug her again. She cried into her chest as she hugged her. Ashley hugged her back, not even shocked to hear Sapphire saying those words. The black trainer hadn't exactly been subtle about THAT fact! If anything, she'd been wondering when Sapphire would come out and say it. Ashley let Sapphire cry for a minute so she could let out all her emotions. After she was finished, Sapphire, lifted her head away and wiped her eyes.
"S-sorry about that." she snivelled, "I c-couldn't help it, I…"
"It's OK. You just needed to get that off yer chest." Ashley said warmly, "I'm glad you finally came out and said it. Cause you know what?"
"What?" Sapphire asked curiously.
Ashley just grinned slyly and leaned in closer. To Sapphire's surprise…her lips ended up locking with her own. Sapphire felt a jolt of amazement as somehow, as if it was a dream coming true, she was actually being kissed by her crush! Falling limp, her eyes closed and she returned the kiss. Both girls felt warm inside to be having this tender, loving moment between them. They moaned with pleasure as they embraced deeply and ran their hands up and down each other's backs. Then they separated, both gazing into each other's eyes.
"I love you too." Ashley said with a smile.
"W-wow…I never thought you'd take any notice of me…" Sapphire murmured shyly.
"Why wouldn't I? Yer not only a strong trainer, but you're the first person since my mom, Bianca and Cheren to treat me and want to know me as a person and not a Champion." Ashley noted, "You're pretty cool to be around and you helped me out too when I was webbed up by Team Royal. I'd say with you, I finally found my perfect match."
"Well…I'm glad I could be it." Sapphire said happily, "But things will never work out between us. We live too far apart from one another and you have your title to defend over in Unova. I don't think I could ever leave Galar to come with you. I love it here and I wouldn't want to leave it. We're just fooling ourselves…" she said sadly.
"No we ain't." Ashley insisted, "We can work things out between us and make our relationship stick. I promise ya Sapph, we WILL make this work out. If we love each other as much as we claim, then we'll find a way for our love to hold out. Besides, I won't be a Champion forever. Someone will probably take over from me, especially that Iris gal who's been itching ta take the title from me for years now, and then I won't have a title to keep up anymore. Nothing will stop us from staying together then."
Sapphire was thrilled to hear this. Not only did her crush actually reciprocate her feelings, but she wanted things to work out despite the huge distance between their regions? She never would've expected that Ashley really felt the way she did about her to that extent! And here she'd worried that Ashley would never take any notice of her and would never love her in return! Sapphire hugged her love again, grateful for how much she truly cared about their love for one another.
"You just never stop being so wonderful…" Sapphire whispered, "Thank you so much."
"Anytime, girlfriend." Ashley said kindly, "Anytime."
The two girls kissed again, happy that they'd finally managed to confess their love to each other. But they were soon interrupted as someone else burst into the changing rooms. It was Emerald. She was buzzing with excitement over Sapphire's win and wanted to congratulate her for it.
"YOU WON SAPPH! YOU WON! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, I SAW IT ALL ON THE TV IN THE POKÉMON CENTRE! CONGRATULATIONS TO…"
She stopped as she saw that Sapphire and Ashley were embracing each other and staring at her, both blushing in embarrassment to have been seen making out like this. Emerald quickly put two-and-two together and smiled sheepishly.
"Uh…heh, heh…bad time to come in?" she said queasily.
Against all odds, the newcomer wins over the Champion! Wait, that's how Pokemon games in general work. XD Anyway, Sapphire wins not just the battle, but Ashley's heart too as she turns out to reciprocate her feelings. Ain't that nice? ^^ And now it's all down to two. Who will win the right to challenge Ruby for the title of Champion? Tune in next time for "Emerald vs. Sapphire"...
Trivia: I was going to open the chapter with Sapphire confessing her love to Ashley, but a talk with my friend Reece changed it to being after the battle. It just made sense that they'd talk love and affection for each other afterwards. :)
I also want to thank you readers for being supportive of my first time writing a gay pairing and how you all seem to like Sapphire and Ashley as a couple. It's made me feel good that I could do my first gay pairing justice and write it well. ^^