Chapter 47: Gorgeous Gigantamax

At last, the trio had arrived in Hulbury, and were walking through the marketplace. At the moment, Ash was checking his phone to see if there were any World Coronation Series participants nearby to battle.

"Ah, here's one! Nessa, ranked 901."

"Hey, isn't that the gym leader for this city?"

"Yeah, I remember seeing her at the opening ceremonies."

"Great! That must mean she's really strong!"

Goh scoffed, not sharing Ash's optimism.

"Can't be that strong if she's only 901."

"She probably just reached The Great Class. Come one, let's go find her!"

But when they got to the gym, they were surprised to find it closed.

"Sorry," said the attendant. "The Gym Leader is out at the moment, but she should be back soon."

"Ah," Ash moaned. "Oh well, thanks anyway."

As they walked away from the gym, they couldn't help but notice a large group of people gathered by the beach. Curious, the three of them headed over to see what the commotion was about.

There, lying on a beach towel, was Nessa, posing as her picture was taken.

"These pictures are coming out great, Nessa! When people see you in this dress, they'll be begging to get their hands on it!"

Nessa just flipped her hair nonchalantly, not really caring. After a while, the photo shoot ended and the crowd departed. Once the crowd has dispersed, the trio approached the model, who was taking a swig of water.

"Excuse me, Nessa?"

"Sorry, but I don't have time for an autograph. I need to get back to the gym and see if there are any trainers waiting for a battle."

"Actually, I'm here to challenge you to a World Coronation Series battle."

Nessa tensed up for a minute, as if she was worried. But after taking a moment to readjust herself, she accepted.

"Alright, but only if you have it at my gym."

"Deal!"

Of course, once word had gotten out that Nessa had a challenger, the stadium was filled with eager onlookers who wanted to see her in action. Luckily, Goh and Lillie managed to find seats this time.

"Man, this place is packed!"

"You can say that again. They just decided to have a battle not even 10 minutes ago."

"Hey guys, mind if I sit here?"

Making her way towards them was Sonia, much to their surprise.

"Sonia? What're you doing here?"

"Nessa and I go way back! I wanted to come visit her, but I was told she had a challenger. I wouldn't have guessed it would be Ash!"

Just then, Ash and Nessa entered the battlefield, Ness having changed into her uniform, which made all the men in the audience go crazy. Lillie and Sonia just shook their heads.

"Ugh, men."

"This is nothing. You should see Leon's fan girls."

"Woo! Go Nessa!"

Much to Lillie's shock, Goh was now enticed by her. Lillie just sighed, and shook her head.

"I just don't get it."
Luckily for Lillie, Ash wasn't focused on Nessa's looks, a fact the gym leader was quick to take notice of.

"Finally, a challenger who isn't ogling over me."

"All that matters to me is how strong you are, not how good you look. Besides, I have a girlfriend that I have no intention of cheating on."

Nessa smiled.

"How sweet. Too bad I have to beat you."

"We'll see about that!"

A moment later, a Rotomdrone flew in through the open window, buzzing around to take pictures of the crowd before hovering just above the battlefield.

"A World Coronation Series Battle is about to begin! This battle will be between Ash Ketchum rank 790, and the Gym Leader Ness, rank 901. This will be a 2-on-2 battle with no time limit! No substitutions are allowed until a round has been decided. Each of you shall send out your Pokemon at the same time. Are both trainers ready?"

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

"3…2…1…Go!"

"Go, Quagsire!"

"Thwackey, I choose you!"

Nessa mentally cursed her luck. She had expected him to lead with the Pikachu resting on his shoulder, but lady fate had decided to pull a cruel twist on her. But it was too late to change Pokemon now, so she'd just have to try and live with it.

"Quagsire, use Ice Punch!"

"Use Fake Out, Thwackey!"

Just before Quagsire could hit him, Thwackey dealt a swift chop to his forehead, stunning him and ending his attack before it could even begin.

"Quick, use Branch Poke before he can recover!"

While Quagsire tried to snap out of it, Thwackey climbed up his back and onto his head, where he began beating on it with his stick, making Quagsire very agitated.

"Throw him off you with an Ice Punch!"

Finally having gotten his bearings together, Quagsire dealt a swift uppercut to Thwackey, knocking him off with a super effective move.

"Razor Leaf, Thwackey!"

With a single swipe of his stick, Thwackey created a flurry of leaves that hit Quagsire, making him cry out in pain. Nessa was starting to sweat.

"Alright Thwackey, now hit him with Solar Beam!"

Nessa began to sweat as Thwackey began to charge up energy. If he managed to get it off, there was no way Quagsire could take it. She needed to do something quick, but what?

"Quagsire, use Ice Beam!"

The icy beam of energy flew towards Thwackey, Nessa only able to help that it would hit him in time. Closer…closer…closer…until…

Just before the Ice Beam could hit, Thwackey unleashed a full power Solar Beam, destroying the ice and hitting Quagsire so hard it got sent flying into the invisible walls, knocking it out.

"Quagsire is unable to battle! Thwackey wins!"

Alright Thwackey, good job! Return and have a good rest."

Nessa growled in frustration. Now she was down to her last Pokemon, and he still had 2 that could fight. If she was going to win, she'd need to be smart.

"It's all up to you, Drednaw. Let's show him our true power!"

Without hesitation, she made the Pokeball grow to tremendous size before throwing it, unleashing her Gigantamaxed ace. Ash then turned to Pikachu.

"What'd you say, buddy? Are you ready to give it another try?"

Pikachu nodded, but he wasn't too thrilled by the prospect of going inside his Pokeball. Luckily, he wasn't in there for long as Ash tossed the giant Pokeball with ease, unleashing Pikachu bigger and stronger than before.

"Start with a Max Geyser, Drednaw!"

"Block with Max Guard!"

Drednaw let loose a powerful blast of water, but Pikachu managed to shield himself in time, though the force did send him skidding back. That wasn't the only effect, however, as it soon started to rain.

"Max Rockfall!"

"Max Steelspike!"

Drednaw roared, creating a massive slab of rock that he intended to crush Pikachu with, but luckily Pikachu managed to create a row of spikes that rose up and broke it into smaller, but still fairly large chunks. Some hit Pikachu, but the others went astray and headed for the audience. Luckily, the invisible walls that had been set up caught them before they could hit anyone. Unfortunately for Nessa, some of the spikes managed to hit Drednaw, dealing a great amount of damage.

"Max Strike!"

"You too, buddy!"

Drednaw charged, attempting to headbutt Pikachu, only to meet the rodent's tail. Realizing Drednaw couldn't keep this up much longer, Nessa knew she needed to wrap it up quickly.

"G-Max Stonesurge!"

"G-Max Volt Crash!"

Drednaw stomped hard on the ground, creating a lot of large rocks heading towards Pikachu while also launching a massive burst of water. Pikachu, seeing the attack coming but knowing there was no way to avoid it, created a massive storm cloud over the Water/Rock Type and assaulted it with a massive bolt of lightning, the two attacks creating simultaneous clouds of smoke when they connected. Once the dust had settled, Drednaw was on its back unconscious while Pikachu wearily rose to his feet.

"Drednaw is unable to battle, Pikachu wins! Meaning Ash Ketchum is the winner!"

"Alright buddy, we did it!"

"Pika!"

"As a result of today's battle, there has been a change in the World Coronation Series's rankings! Stay tuned for further results."

Nessa was devastated by the loss, not even speaking as she returned Drednaw to her Pokeball. Ash approached, offering his hand for a handshake. Still in a state of shock, she gives him one.

"Good match, Nessa. Your Drednaw's really strong."

Before Nessa could say anything, their phones buzzed, indicating the results were in. When Ash saw how high he had risen, he beamed proudly.

"Alright, I'm ranked 500 now! What about you, Nessa?"

Nessa didn't respond. She just ran out of the stadium before anyone could say any more. Ash just stood there, confused.

"Was it something I said?"

To be continued…