Plot-Scorbunny 1: Ruby vs. Ash Part 3
The people at Wyndon Stadium knew they were reaching the climax of this titanic brawl between their Champion, Ruby Silverlock, and her challenger, Ash Ketchum the Alolan Champion. Ash had two Pokémon left while Ruby had three but one of Ash's remaining Pokémon was his Dragonite that hadn't seen battle yet so the battle was likely to be a lot closer than expected. Dragonite were infamous for being extremely powerful Pokémon so if any mon could even the odds, it would be Dragonite. Galvatron had already battled plenty of times at this point and had taken out half of Ash's team single-handedly but was no doubt starting to feel fatigued from the constant fighting. Ruby knew that Galvatron likely couldn't win this match but she kept it in anyway. At least Galvatron could wear Dragonite down for Freddy and her last Pokémon to finish her off and leave Ash with his exhausted Pikachu to battle with.
"I don't know about you, mate, but I think we're in for quite a showdown! Two pseudo-legendries battling it out together? That's practically MADE of epic!" Ruby cheered excitedly.
"It's gonna be VERY awesome!" Ash agreed, "Hope you ready because my Dragonite's gonna be tough to beat!"
"I don't doubt that at all Ash." Ruby concurred, "But we're going to try our best anyway! Use Meteor Mash!" she commanded.
Galvatron pointed its front limbs at Dragonite and rocketed towards the orange dragon at a great speed. Dragonite just braced herself for impact, daring Galvatron to do its worst for she could take it. Galvatron slammed into Dragonite and knocked her backwards. Galvatron's body flashed orange once again to signify another attack boost. Ash took this in with growing concern. The powerful Metagross has already gotten one attack boost already from Meteor Mash, now it had another. Dragonite needed to take it down now or else its boosted attacks would cause great damage and hinder her battle prowess later on.
"We'll boost our attack as well!" Ash declared, "Use Dragon Dance!"
Ruby recoiled in shock. Now she was in for it! Dragonite would be stronger and faster because of this! The Dragon/Flying type Pokémon flew into the air and performed a graceful spinning manoeuvre through the air. She looked like a miniature tornado about to blow away the competition as she spun around. Her body flashed to show her attack and speed were increasing. Galvatron factored this into its calculations. Even it was starting to see that Dragonite was likely going to be a problem thanks to Dragon Dance. Its chances of success were quite low indeed.
"Jump after it and use Zen Headbutt!" Ruby commanded.
Galvatron leapt into the air and retracted its limbs. It carried on hovering towards Dragonite like a miniature UFO coming to observe this creature it had spotted. Dragonite finished her dance and blocked the move with Dragon Claw. Her large energy-powered claws and Galvatron's psychic powered head-butt collided together in an explosion of energy that forced the two backwards. They were thrown away but remained airborne. Dragonite sped towards Galvatron in a mad charge. She moved so fast as a result of Dragon Dance that Galvatron didn't have time to react and she clawed the robotic Pokémon across the face with Dragon Claw. Ash ordered her to keep up the assault for extra damage. Dragonite continued to claw at Galvatron, slashing repeatedly and making Galvatron wail with pain. Ruby grimaced as she watched the sparks flying off of Galvatron's body. Dragonite would slice it right open if she kept this up! Then Dragonite clawed at Galvatron one last time and the resulting blow sent her opponent spiralling away. Now it looked like a UFO about to crash land. Galvatron was able to save itself from a crash landing at the last minute and hovered back up towards Dragonite. Ruby ordered it to use Meteor Mash again.
Galvatron aimed its claws and charged towards Dragonite once more. But the dragon Pokémon effortlessly dodged out the way with a quick flap of her wings. Galvatron had become too slow thanks to Hammer Arm earlier and Dragonite's Dragon Dance had made her faster. Dragonite flew around Galvatron and used Dragon Claw again, striking it hard across the back. However, Galvatron wheeled around and socked its opponent in the face with Meteor Mash. Dragonite cried out, more surprised than hurt by the blow. Galvatron punched her a second time with so much force that Dragonite was amazed her head was still attached to her body. Dragonite hurled backwards and nearly crashed into the protective barriers keeping the audience safe from all Pokémon attacks but Dragonite regained her balance before impact and instead used her powerful feet to propel herself away from the barriers and back towards the fight. Galvatron charged in again with Meteor Mash but Dragonite was ready with another attack. Ash instead ordered her to use Hurricane to catch it off-guard. The pseudo-legendary flapped her small wings furiously and Galvatron was caught by surprise as the huge blustering winds swept over it and blew it away.
"Danger! Danger! Hurricane winds are at critical levels! Cannot maintain balance!" it screeched.
Ruby could feel the winds blowing around the arena, her hair dancing around her head wildly as they swept over her. She was worried she and Ash would get blown away too. Galvatron whirled through the air and crashed down onto the ground, stunned by the impact and left reeling from the attack. Hurricane was not only a powerful attack but it could sometimes cause confusion if the opponent was made dizzy enough. Galvatron was most certainly confused now. It couldn't calculate where the sky or the ground were and its eyes blinked as it tried to make sense of its surroundings. It stood up but it swayed on its feet. Ruby could see Galvatron was in a tough spot. Ash seized his moment and ordered Dragonite to finish the battle off with an all-powerful Draco Meteor. Dragonite opened her mouth and fired a powerful sphere of purple energy that shot up into the sky and exploded into a meteor shower of energy orbs that rained down towards Galvatron. Dragonite flew with the Draco Meteor, becoming one with the meteor shower. With a bellow of triumph, she crashed down onto her opponent with the meteors raining down after her. Galvatron was pummelled heavily by the meteor shower and Dragonite crashing down with them. Each blow felt like it was going to crack Galvatron apart like an egg. The audience were left staring in wonder at the incredible sight before them. Neither of them had ever seen a Draco Meteor performed like that before! Ruby could only look away as the whole scene was too intense to watch.
After the onslaught had finally finished, Dragonite flew away and bellowed with excitement. Galvatron lay on the grass…and didn't get back up. The audience was speechless. Galvatron had been looking completely invincible throughout this battle and now it was lying defeated on the ground! Even Ruby was having to tell herself that this was real and this had actually happened. Ash cheered ecstatically over his victory.
"ALRIGHT!" We finally beat that Metagross!" he screeched.
"Unbelievable!" Emerald, Sapphire and Hop all exclaimed in unison.
"Metagross is unable to battle, Dragonite is the winner!" the announcer boomed.
"Amazing!" Misty exclaimed, "Ash finally beat Ruby's Metagross! It gave him such a hard time but now it's down!"
"The odds have been evened once more." Brock observed, "But will Dragonite fare up any better against Ruby's last two Pokémon? That Toxtricity and his Noble Roar will still be a problem for Ash…"
Misty nodded in agreement. That would indeed pose a problem for Dragonite. With any luck, its Dragon Dance would give it enough of a boost for that not to matter in the end. She looked to Ruby as the Champion returned Galvatron to its Pokéball. What would she try next?
"You were truly amazing Galvatron. Thanks to you, we still have a chance of winning this fight." Ruby said softly, "You rest well now."
She put his Pokéball away and looked to Ash.
"You continue to surprise me, Ash!" she called to him, "I've never seen Draco Meteor done like that before!"
"You like it? I came up with it on the fly one day!" Ash called back, "I like to call it my Dragonite-Meteor!"
Ruby snickered.
"That is so corny!" she laughed.
Ash and Pikachu both groaned in response.
"Well as long as I like it, that's enough for me!" Ash retorted indignantly.
"Whatever you say, mate." Ruby chuckled, "After all, what's in a name? But Freddy's going to rock your world again!"
She threw her next Pokéball and brought back to the field her faithful Toxtricity. Freddy bowed as the audience cheered for him and he began playing a tune on his chest organs to get everyone fired up. He didn't sing again as he'd already done so but the music still had the desired effect. Everyone was getting all the more hyped up for the battle about to commence. Ash couldn't resist swaying in time with the music.
"It's so cool when Freddy rocks out like so!" he said gleefully.
"Pika!" Pikachu chirped in agreement, swaying in time with Ash.
"There's never a dull match with Freddy." Ruby said happily, "I'm always eager to bring him to a battle. But playtime's over. Freddy, use Noble Roar!" she commanded.
Ash groaned in annoyance. Of course Ruby was going to order Freddy to do that! And unlike Galvatron's moves, there was no dodging Noble Roar. Freddy let out a thunderous roar that echoed all around the stadium and made everyone in the audience and on the field cover their ears from the intense sound. Dragonite grimaced as the sound cut through her and lowered her Attack and Special Attack stats. Ash refused to let that bother him.
"So what if you have that move? We can boost our attack right back up again!" he declared, "Use Dragon Dance!"
Dragonite spun around in a graceful dance to boost up her attack and speed once more.
"Noble Roar again!" Ruby commanded.
Freddy roared once again and Dragonite's attack went right back down to what it was before. Ash tried another Dragon Dance but the same thing happened again. After she was done, Freddy used Noble Roar to put it back down so her attack didn't get any stronger. It was a fruitless effort for Ash. He'd only be stuck in a vicious cycle where Freddy would just keep lowering his Dragonite's attack stats after he used Dragon Dance. While Dragon Dance boosted Dragonite's Attack, it didn't boost Special Attack as well so as Freddy kept nullifying the stat boost of Dragon Dance, her attack would remain respectable but her Special Attack would just get lower and lower to the point her Hurricane and Draco Meteor attacks would be too weak to do anything. The only plus to this was that Dragonite wasn't losing her Speed boost from Dragon Dance so at least she'd be much faster than Freddy was.
"Dragon Dance isn't gonna cut it! We'll just have to go all in with what we've got!" Ash declared, "Use Dragon Claw!"
Dragonite rushed towards the Poison/Electric Pokémon with her huge energy claws raised for a powerful strike. Thanks to the earlier Dragon Dance boosts, she moved so fast that Freddy barely had time to react before the powerful Dragonite slashed at him with Dragon Claw. He cried out in a mixture of pain and surprise as he was struck and he was knocked down to the ground. Even if Dragonite had no attack boost at this point, her speed was enough to make the blows feel big. Freddy stood back up again only to be knocked down a second time as Dragonite performed a U-turn and struck him again. He landed flat on his face and groaned from the impact. Ruby pursed her lips in worry.
"That Dragonite's way too fast now. I was so focused on keeping its attack down that I overlooked the fact Dragon Dance boosts speed as well." she muttered, "I'll have to make any attack I can land count if we're to win this. And I might have just the solution…"
She had a plan in mind to take down Dragonite, but it was all going to depend on how well she could time the execution. Dragonite could still be too fast for Freddy to try anything. As the Toxtricity was knocked down for the third time, Dragonite circled around and came flying towards him again with another Dragon Claw at the ready. The audience watched excitedly. But as Dragonite began to charge, Ruby ordered Freddy to use Sludge Bomb. Dragonite was coming in way too fast to even attempt a dodge and as a result, she was bombarded by exploding sludge balls that Freddy fired from his mouth at her. Ash winced as his Pokémon was pelted by the sludge bombs head on and was knocked down to the ground after the last one hit her and exploded. Dragonite hit the ground heavily and grunted from the impact. Ruby smiled triumphantly, pleased her plan had worked. While Dragonite was down, she ordered Freddy to use Sludge Bomb again. The stunned Dragonite couldn't react in time and was pelted by more sludge bombs. Each one hit her with the force of a falling coconut. After the last Sludge Bomb hit Dragonite, she was knocked down to the ground for a second time. And then the worst happened. Ash stared in horror as Dragonite suddenly flashed purple and purple bubbles danced around her head. Dragonite had been poisoned! The side-effect of Sludge Bomb had taken effect! Ruby smiled again. In a split-second, she'd gone from looking doomed to lose this fight to now looking poised to win it!
"Just what I was aiming for. Now the poison will whittle Dragonite's health down and give me and Freddy the advantage." she said happily, "Now hit her with Overdrive!" she commanded.
Freddy strummed his chest organs and let loose an electrifying soundwave that blasted into Dragonite and electrocuted her. It felt as if the noise would tear her to pieces as Freddy's attack landed. Ash and Pikachu clutched their ears in agony. Even though they weren't battling Freddy's Overdrive was too much for them to bear. Dragonite staggered backwards, weakened by the attack. Ash could see that his powerhouse Pokémon wouldn't be able to take much more of this. He had to end the battle now or else Freddy would win and he'd be left with just Pikachu to take out both Freddy and Ruby's last remaining Pokémon! He had to maintain the advantage in numbers or else he'd have no chance of winning!
"Hang in there Dragonite! You can still win this!" Ash cheered, "Use another Dragon Claw!"
Dragonite bellowed furiously and conjured up huge energy claws around her hands. Despite the damage from the poison and Freddy's earlier attacks, she was showing no signs of giving up. With furious determination, Dragonite got to her feet and flapped her wings. She rocketed towards Freddy, still moving very fast despite the damage she'd taken. Freddy didn't even have time to react and he grunted as Dragonite began to whale on him furiously with Dragon Claw. Each blow raked across his face, chest and stomach as Dragonite clawed at him furiously. Her arms had become orange blurs in front of the Toxtricity's eyes and he couldn't keep up with them. Freddy couldn't fight back with Sludge Bomb as Dragonite was too close. All he'd do is hurt himself with the bomb's explosions. Instead, all Ruby could do was try to get Freddy to use Overdrive again but even that was impossible as Dragonite wouldn't stop whaling on him. She was leaving no opportunity for Freddy to fight back. But eventually, Freddy was able to find an opening. As soon as Dragonite drew her arms back and prepared to attack one more time, Freddy quickly blasted her with Overdrive. At the close distance he was at, he was hit by the attack as well but Dragonite took the worst of the damage as Electric attacks didn't affect Freddy. Both Pokémon were blown backwards by the power of Overdrive and Dragonite and Freddy were left lying on the ground, battered, beaten and exhausted from their long hard battle. Ash and Ruby watched with baited breath as their Pokémon lay. Could any of them stand back up again? Dragonite and Freddy both strained to try and get up again. But suddenly, Dragonite grimaced as the poison from Sludge Bomb took effect. Freddy collapsed again, too fatigued to fight on from the heavy beating he'd taken from his opponent. Dragonite collapsed as well, the remainder of her health eaten away by the poison. The audience gasped in amazement. Even Ash and Ruby were surprised it had ended this way.
"Both Dragonite and Toxtricity are unable to battle!" boomed the announcer.
"No way! I really thought we had this match won!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika!" Pikachu concurred.
"I'm not that surprised given the beating both sides took." Ruby murmured, "It was lucky for me Freddy was able to poison Dragonite so it could end in a draw. Now it all comes down to this…" she purred.
Ash and Ruby returned their Pokémon. Ruby was right. This was it: the final showdown. Both were down to their last Pokémon. The match would ultimately be decided by the winner of this battle. The audience began to cheer for both sides. They were extremely excited. It was down to their last Pokémon and it was going to be an epic conclusion! Misty and Brock weren't so sure.
"This is gonna be so one-sided." Misty said doubtfully, "Pikachu's still tired from fighting Ruby's Kingambit at the start and he took more damage from her Metagross. Her last Pokémon hasn't even been used yet! There's no way Ash can win."
"Don't underestimate Ash Misty." Brock insisted, "You know as well as I do that he can pull a big surprise out of his hat. Maybe when he Gigantamaxes Pikachu, it might rejuvenate some of his strength."
"I sure hope so." Misty said grimly.
Emerald, Sapphire and Hop were pumped for this final match.
"It all comes down to this now..." Sapphire murmured.
"Ruby's so got this!" Emerald declared, "Her last Pokémon hasn't been used yet so she's got the advantage!"
"And I bet we're all thinking the same thing on who that last Pokémon is..." Hop said with a knowing smile and wink.
Ash looked to his faithful companion. He knew Pikachu would be in a tough spot as he'd already seen battle and had been worn ragged by both Lancelot and Galvatron. Ruby's last Pokémon was coming in fresh. This was NOT going to be easy but he would give it his all regardless!
"OK Pikachu, it's up to you to win this battle!" Ash insisted, "I know you're pretty tired, but we can still give Ruby our all. You with me?"
"Pika-chu!" Pikachu cried as if to say "I'm with ya until the end!"
Despite his fatigue, he looked very much determined to keep on fighting. It was if he didn't care if he was exhausted. He was going out in a blaze of glory no matter what! Pikachu scampered back onto the battlefield and his cheeks crackled with electricity. Ruby drew out her last Pokéball and kissed it affectionately.
"It's all down to you my sweet." she said softly, "I have every faith in you. Bugs, you're up for the big finish!" she exclaimed, throwing the Pokéball.
The ball opened up and out of it emerged Ruby's first Pokémon and closest friend, Bugs the Cinderace. Bugs stretched and flexed his muscles and then whipped out a carrot from nowhere and chewed on it. He smirked at Pikachu.
"N'yah, what's up doc?" he purred.
"So Ruby's last Pokémon is a Cinderace." Ash acknowledged, "I didn't expect that. It's no doubt really strong too…"
Pikachu nodded agreeably.
"Hey Ruby, is that Cinderace your starter?" Ash asked curiously.
"You bet!" Ruby said jovially, "My journey all started with Bugs here when Leon gave me a choice of three starters. I settled on Bugs and raised him up from a Scorbunny to a Cinderace. He's by far my strongest Pokémon I have! Well, strongest non-legendary Pokémon that is. And he's NEVER let me down before!" she declared.
"And dat must be yer famous Pikachu." Bugs acknowledged, sizing up his opponent, "Ruby hoped dat dis match would end with me against him. I warn ya Pikachu, you may be a tough little critter but yer no match fer me!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu growled defiantly, his cheeks crackling furiously.
"You may have worn him down with your Kingambit and Metagross, but my buddy's got all the strength he needs!" Ash declared, "Let's go! Our partners will decide this match then and there!"
"Just the way I wanted it to!" Ruby cried excitedly, "This has been an epic battle, now let's give it an epic conclusion! Bugs, use Pyro Ball!"
Bugs built up his signature move and kicked it directly towards Pikachu. In that moment, he looked like a striker in an ace football team aiming to score a brilliant goal. The Pyro Ball shot towards Pikachu, threatening to incinerate him there on the spot. But Ash had other ideas.
"Charge into it and break through with a spinning Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.
The crowd gasped while Misty and Brock just have a confident smile. They knew better than anyone else that Ash was the kind of trainer who always had an unorthodox way of battling and it somehow ended up working. Pikachu sprinted towards the oncoming Pyro Ball, jumped into the air and then curled up into a ball. He made himself spin around as if he was a football that had been sent flying towards the goal. His iron-coated tail remained extended outwards. It became a silvery white ring circling around Pikachu as he spun through the air. He ploughed straight through the Pyro Ball, almost seeming to cut it in half while he went through it. Bugs recoiled in astonishment. He'd never seen anyone do that before in all the times he'd been in a battle! Pikachu contained hurling towards Bugs but the rabbit Pokémon wasn't going to let him land a hit that easily. Ruby ordered him to counter attack with Iron Head. Bugs's head coated itself in metal and he launched himself towards Pikachu. Both Iron Tail and Iron Head collided together, creating a terrific clanging sound that echoed all around the arena. Sparks leapt as if trying to escape from the combatants and the colliding power of the moves forced the two backwards. Pikachu landed back on all fours and Bugs staggered but remained standing. Ash noticed something had changed about Bugs. His head was glowing silver even though he wasn't using Iron Head anymore.
"Hey Ruby, what's with your Cinderace?" the Kanto trainer asked, "Why is his head glowing like that?"
"Oh that's just his ability, Libero." Ruby explained, "His type changes depending on the attack he's using. As you can imagine, well, he's a Steel-type now."
"Steel type?" Ash echoed, "Great…Pikachu practically exhausted himself just trying to beat the last Steel-type you threw at him! This isn't gonna be easy…"
Pikachu nodded in agreement. It had been hard enough fighting Lancelot and Galvatron, now he had to fight ANOTHER Steel-type?! Where was a Ground or Fighting move when he needed one?! Regardless, he was determined not to give up. The Electric mouse Pokémon leapt into action by using Quick Attack. He wasn't using it to attack Bugs, but instead to get around him and line up for an attack. Pikachu darted around behind Bugs and prepared to use Thunderbolt on him. But Bugs was too fast for him. He turned around and ploughed straight into Pikachu with Iron Head. The resulting move threw Pikachu off his feet and onto his back. It also made him flinch so he couldn't move for the moment. Ruby seized her moment and ordered Bugs to use Pyro Ball on Pikachu. The fire rabbit kicked his powerful fireball at Pikachu and scored a direct hit. Pikachu squealed in pain as he was burnt by the Pyro Ball. The audience winced. They couldn't help but feel sorry for Pikachu at this point. He'd been battling to the point of exhaustion and was now helpless to fight back. Pikachu lay where he was, burnt and struggling to get back up again. Ash felt his palms sweat from his clenched fists. Could Pikachu even carry on fighting anymore? Bugs watched his opponent with anticipation. He was sure the battle was his but he knew better than to underestimate his opponents after three years' worth of defending Ruby's title.
Pikachu seemed to take an age to get up again but in the end, the plucky little rodent was able to stand up and carry on the fight. He gave a daring smile to Bugs as if to say "I'm not down yet! There's plenty more fight left in me!" Bugs just smirked in response, glad to see the fight wasn't over already. Sighing with relief, Ash ordered Pikachu to use Electroweb. He hoped the move would be able to immobilize Bugs for the moment and let Pikachu land some hits on him. The huge electrical net launched towards Bugs, threatening to ensnare him and trap him. Bugs just destroyed it with another Pyro Ball…only to get hit anyway as Pikachu suddenly rocketed straight into him with another Quick Attack. Bugs was slugged in the stomach by the charging Pikachu, the breath quite literally knocked out of him by the blow. Now he was stunned, Pikachu followed up on that move by using Thunderbolt. He scored a direct hit and Bugs cried out as he was electrocuted. He fell to one knee and winced. He'd taken worse hits in his time but that was still a powerful hit. Ash saw an opportunity to try again with Electroweb but as Pikachu launched it, Ruby ordered Bugs to jump out of the way with Acrobatics. Bugs leapt to one side, dodging the Electroweb for a second time and he began to somersault all around Pikachu, performing flips, leaps and spins through the air as Pikachu tried to hit him with Thunderbolt. Bugs was too far for the tired Pikachu to hit with his Acrobatics making him impossible to land a hit on. Then Bugs landed behind Pikachu and drove his knee up into Pikachu's gut with High-Jump Kick. His head glowed red to signify he'd changed into a Fighting type thanks to Libero. Pikachu sailed straight up into the air from the kick and he cried out wildly as he flew upwards. Ruby ordered Bugs to jump up after Pikachu and use High-Jump Kick again. But as Bugs came in close, Pikachu used Iron Tail to try and block the attack. Both attacks landed and Bugs cried out in pain as Pikachu's steel-coated tail hit him directly on the knee. Pikachu was flung aside but he managed to land on his feet while Bugs was disoriented by the blow to his knee and he crashed down onto his side.
Bugs lay on the grass clutching his knee in pain. He now looked like a footballer that had been tackled by the opponent and was screaming for the referee to give them a red card for the attack. Ash was surprised that Pikachu had managed to land such a decisive hit. He didn't think it would hurt him THAT much! But despite the damage, Bugs wasn't down for long. He massaged his knee and was able to stand back up again. He looked pained but not pained enough to be out of action.
"We best not use that leg for the time being." Ruby acknowledged, "I have to admit, even I felt that! An Iron Tail directly to the knee is gonna hurt!" she said with a grimace.
"I'll manage." Bugs insisted, "Dat Pikachu's not taking me down dat easily!"
"Nope. Not when it's time for our little big power up…" Ruby purred.
Ash braced himself. It was finally that time! He looked to his own Dynamax band. It was inevitable that a fight in Galar was going to end this way, with a Dynamax showdown between both opponents. Ash called Pikachu to back to him. His faithful companion scampered over to him and Ash scooped him up.
"It's time we did the same too buddy." he acknowledged, "I was saving this for the big finale anyway."
He watched as Ruby returned Bugs to his Pokéball and activated her Dynamax band. Dynamax energy swirled around her wrist and Bugs's Pokéball grew in size. Ash just launched Pikachu into the air and watched him grow. Misty and Brock watched with awe as Bugs and Pikachu both Gigantamaxed. They'd never seen anything like this in person before as Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing wasn't possible in Kanto so to see it for real was incredible for them to watch. Emerald, Sapphire and Hop cheered, glad they were getting to watch a Dynamax showdown at last. Both combatants grew to gargantuan sizes and changed in appearance too. Pikachu grew much chunkier and his tail grew even longer than usual while also glowing yellow. Bugs's ears extended in length and he now stood atop a huge fireball with a face similar to his. Both Pokémon were edged in a pinkish-red glow and the sky above turned dark with a swirling vortex of energy looming over the stadium. The crowd cheered excitedly for both sides. This was what they'd been waiting for and they were ecstatic to see a clash of the titans here in Wyndon Stadium! Misty felt as if her breath had been taken away.
"So that's Dynamaxing! That's so incredible!" the Cerulean Gym Leader exclaimed.
"No wonder the crowd's so fired up!" Brock agreed, "There's nothing like this anywhere else in the world! Now we'll see if this gives Ash and Pikachu the power they need to win this match…"
"I think Ruby's still got this." Misty said doubtfully, "She has more experience fighting like this than Ash does."
Brock nodded grimly. Experience would give Ruby the edge. But experience didn't guarantee a win no matter what the situation was. Both Gym Leaders watched, keen and anxious at the same time to see what the outcome would be.
"Behold Ash, a true Galarian finisher!" Ruby cried excitedly, "This is what we live for here in Galar! Titanic throw downs against giant Pokémon!"
"It's really awesome and Pikachu looks so cool in his G-max form!" Ash concurred, "We may not be as experienced as this as you are, but we're still gonna give you the match of a life time! Pikachu, use G-Max Volt Crash!" he commanded.
Pikachu let out a booming cry of "PI-KA-CHUUUUUUUUUUU!" as he threw his enlarged body up off the ground and crashed back down while firing off the biggest jolt of electricity he'd ever fired in his life. The audience had to look away or cover their eyes as the massive thunderbolt was too bright to look at. Bugs just stood atop his fireball and watched it come as if daring it to do its worst. Then Ruby countered by ordering Bugs to use Max Steelspike. Bugs jumped up and landed back down on his fireball. It touched the ground and conjured up a line of massive steel spikes that shot up from the ground and headed towards Pikachu, threatening to skewer him. Thanks to Bugs's Libero, he'd changed to a Steel-type again so when Pikachu's G-Max Volt Crash ended up hitting him, it didn't do as much damage as Ash had hoped for. At the same time, the huge metal spikes of Max Steelspike stabbed into Pikachu and made him stagger backwards for a minute. For one horrifying moment, Ash thought Pikachu was about to collapse on top of him. Pikachu fought for balance but in doing so, he wasted several precious seconds that he could've spent on launching another attack, which left Bugs an easy target as he lined up his next move. He used Max Knuckle next. The fire rabbit launched himself towards Pikachu as if he'd been launched out of a cannon. He took aim with one of his elongated ears and drew it back. Then he punched with his ear. He landed a perfect hit in Pikachu's face, hitting him with so much force that he toppled over. Ash dived forwards so as not to get squashed by his partner. Pikachu crashed against the protective force field and the audience clung onto their seats in worry. The stadium seemed to shake all around them from the impact and they had to fight to remain seated. Bugs returned atop his fireball and he glowed red with energy as Max Knuckle's side effect kicked in. His attack had risen as a result of the move, thus his attacks would be even stronger than before.
Pikachu let out a low groan as he picked himself back up again. Despite the huge power of Max Knuckle, he was still not down yet. Ruby was impressed. She'd never known a Pikachu of any kind to be so resilient! She'd battled against Raichus that were easier to take down than this Pikachu! She counted her blessings that she'd planned to exhaust Pikachu with Lancelot at the start otherwise this battle would've gone VERY differently! Now Pikachu was back on his feet, Ash ordered him to use Max Strike next. Pikachu stomped at the ground with his feet and he sent huge white sparks of energy rippling through the ground towards Bugs. The sparks reached him and the ground underneath him exploded with a huge force of energy that threatened to knock him off his fireball. Bugs was shaken by the attack and he landed back on his fireball, feeling slightly dazed from the blow. He shook himself off and readied himself for another attack.
"Let's make this last one count buddy!" Ruby declared, "Use G-Max Fireball!"
"You do the same Pikachu!" Ash cried, "Give it all you got with G-Max Volt Crash!"
Pikachu and Bugs launched their signature moves at each other with a huge ball of fire and a colossal jolt of electricity hurling from either side to one another. The attacks met in the middle and collided together, creating some incredible force of energy that just built up and up as they tried to cancel each other out. Pikachu and Bugs could only watch to see who would come out on top. The audience couldn't watch as the bright lightning and searing flames were too intense to look at. The electric fireball eventually imploded and the force of the explosion punched into both Pokémon. Bugs and Pikachu cried out from the impact and Ruby and Ash looked away, almost swept off their feet by the winds that blew over them. Huge clouds of smoke and dust blanketed the arena and for a moment, nobody could see a thing. Ash and Ruby coughed heavily and tried to see where their Pokémon were. They were as much in the dark as everyone else was. It was impossible to see anything for the moment. The dust cloud seemed to hang over the stadium for ages before finally dissipating. Everyone stared at the field to see what had become of Bugs and Pikachu. Their Dynamax had run out and they were back to their normal sizes. The sky was back to normal. Bugs and Pikachu stood where they were, panting heavily as fatigue came over them. Using those attacks had clearly taken a lot out of them. But it was clear that Bugs was the one that would remain standing. He looked the least exhausted of the two. He eventually caught his breath while Pikachu was still panting tiredly. His legs wobbled. His muscles couldn't keep him standing any longer. His vision became blurry. He was starting to lose consciousness. Bugs stayed respectfully still. He wanted to give Pikachu a chance to either keep on fighting or take the fall. Pikachu gave Bugs one last look of defiance…and then collapsed. In the end, he'd decided to take the fall. Pikachu was down while Bugs remained standing.
"PIKACHU!" Ash cried in desperation.
But it was no use. Pikachu couldn't fight on any longer. It had been a long hard fight, but in the end Ruby was victorious and the title of Galar Champion remained her's.
"Pikachu is unable to battle! Cinderace is the winner!" boomed the announcer, "The winner of the Galar Championship Tournament is Ruby Silverlock and she remains our Champion!"
The noise from the crowd was enough to wake the dead. The tumultuous applause that erupted for Ruby's triumphant win exploded all around the stadium. Ruby even wondered if her family could hear the audience all the way over in Postwick Town right now. She smiled to herself, satisfied with her big win and that she'd had such an amazing battle against an amazing trainer like Ash Ketchum. If this had been the battle to end her tenure as Champion, it would've been a satisfying way to go out. As for Ash, he ran over to Pikachu and picked him up. The Electric Mouse Pokémon looked up at him sadly, sorry he'd lost the fight.
"Pika…" he said solemnly.
"Don't be sad buddy. You did great out there!" Ash complimented, "You gave everyone such an awesome finish and I'm so proud of you. Well done buddy. You've earned yourself a good rest."
Pikachu beamed in thanks and licked Ash on the cheek for the kind words. Ruby walked up to Ash and Pikachu with Bugs by her side. She patted Pikachu on the head tenderly to soothe him and give him something nice for the tough fight.
"You were one awesome Pokémon little guy." she said kindly, "I enjoyed the battles I had with you a lot. Thanks so much for giving me and my Pokémon a good fight, Pikachu."
Pikachu licked Ruby's hand in thanks.
"Aww, dat's so cute." Bugs said brightly.
"It is." Ruby agreed. She looked up to Ash, "And thank YOU for one of the most amazing battles I've had in my life!" she exclaimed, "I think this is the most exhilarating match I've had since becoming Champion! You're every bit as awesome as people say you are and you really made me work for this victory! I just don't know what else to say other than thanks so much for the awesome battle!"
"Ha, ha, ha! Don't sweat it Ruby! I had an awesome time too!" Ash said gleefully, "I enjoyed our battle and I can see why you're the Champion of Galar! You're so strong!"
"As are you!" Ruby complimented, "I'd happily battle you again someday. It'd be exciting to have a rematch with you!"
"You're on!" Ash declared.
The two combatants shook hands with each other.
"So what's next for you after this?" Ruby asked curiously.
"I'll think about it." Ash said thoughtfully, "I've not really thought about it, honestly. I suppose I'll have to defend my title as Alola Champion at some point so I'll go back there some day. I might check out Paldea too. Maybe I can win the league there…"
"You're in for a tough match." Ruby warned, "The Champion over there is quite a tricky combatant. I only beat her by the skin of my teeth!"
Ash just smiled confidently, seeing this as an example of what kind of challenge he was in for.
Misty and Brock climbed down from the audience seats and ran onto the pitch to greet Ash and congratulate him on his battle. Even though Ash had lost, they felt he deserved their praise regardless.
"You really came close!" Misty cried, hugging Ash tightly, "I thought you really had a chance there! No matter the outcome, you're still a winner to me Ash!"
"Heh, heh, thank you Misty." Ash said graciously.
"You've come such a long way since Kanto." Brock acknowledged, "Fighting a Champion down to her last Pokémon is quite a feat! I bet you'll win the next League if you keep it up Ash!"
"You bet I will!" Ash concurred, "And then I'll be even closer than before to becoming a Pokémon Master!"
"Pika!" Pikachu cheered.
Ruby just watched the three friends with a warm smile on her face. Despite his defeat, Ash remained ever confident in his goals and that he'd eventually succeed if he kept at it. That kind of drive was so admirable! She definitely liked Ash and was glad to have gotten the chance to meet him.
You're quite a trainer Ash. I hope we can battle again someday… she thought.
She was taken out of ther thoughts as three people jumped down onto the pitch and threw themselves around her. Emerald, Sapphire and Hop had come down to congratulate their Champion for another title defence well thought.
"Well done Ruby! That was such an epic battle!" Emerald squealed, "I doubt any battle you have can top this one!"
"Ash really made you work for it, but you still came out on top! Congratulations!" Sapphired cried happily.
"Aww thank you girls!" Ruby replied, "I'm still amazed I won in the end! That was such a tough fight!"
"No fight is too tough for my girlfriend!" Hop declared, "I knew you was gonna win no matter what!"
He picked Ruby up and spun her around in a celebratory dance, the two giggling merrily. Ash, Brock and Misty chuckled themselves. It was sweet to see Ruby's sisters and boyfriend looking so happy for their Champion. As soon as Hop put Ruby back down, the Champion ushered the Kanto trio over so she could introduce Emerald, Sapphire and Hop to them. As they all conversed together, Ruby knew that some new friendships were going to be forged and that Emerald, Sapphire and Hop would want a chance to battle Ash one day. It was a bunch of battles she'd be happy to watch should they ever happen...
It was a tough match and Ash came so close, but Ruby remains the Champion. At least Ash can end this with his head up high knowing he gave it his all. And Ruby can be satisfied knowing she got to battle Ash and truly got pushed to her limits here. :) The next Plot-Scorbunny will come whenever I feel like writing any. What will it be about? You'll see...
Trivia: Ash losing was a necessity to maintain continuity with my fanfic universe. You see, in my Valentine's Day special with Ruby and Hop's wedding and my planned series finale Journey Through Kanto, Ruby is STILL the Champion of Galar so Ash had to lose here. Had this battle happened in any other continuity, I would've let Ash win.
Oh and take notes Leon. This is how you have a Cinderace that doesn't suck. XD Yeah unlike the anime where Leon's Cinderace got taken out the first time Ash finally lands a blow on it, Ruby's Cinderace takes multiple hits and keeps going and even wins in the end. Talk about role reversal, am I right? XD
Originally, Dragonite was going to beat Freddy and so Bugs would finish her off and the match would be against him and Pikachu. But when writing the battle with Dragonite and Freddy, the way it played out meant the logical conclusion was for it to end in a tie. Also I didn't want to have Bugs go up against Dragonite in what's essentially just a filler match to pad out the story so getting straight to Pikachu vs. Bugs helped the pacing for me.
Oh and Ruby's comment about battling Geeta is a hint to a future Plot-Scorbunny where I'll be showing just that along with how Ruby evolved Lancelot into Kingambit. Mark my words, Geeta doesn't suck in this universe and has a much stronger team. Trust me. ;)
If you're curious on why, I reuploaded all three parts, I forgot that Emerald, Sapphire and Hop were watching the fight and thus it was super weird and awkward that I kinda acted like they weren't there so I edited all the chapters to give them lines and more of a presence.
