Chapter 98: FIsts and Stones May Break Bones

After the encounter with Team Yell, Ash and Lillie made their way back to their friends.

"Ash, that was incredible!"

"Who'd have thought that Urshifu would do so well in his first official battle?"

"And Lucario! Man, he was awesome!"

Korrina's Lucario stepped forward, and patted his counterpart on the head, making him smile.

"Now come on, I think the next match is about to start!"

Sure enough, the lights dimmed as Bea and Gordie entered the stadium.

"Alright folks, let's get the final Semi-Final Match under way! In the red corner, we have the rock hard Gym Leader of Circhester, Gordie!"

"Woo!"

"We love you Gordie!"

Gordie grinned, and flashed the victory symbols for his adoring fans, making Bea roll her eyes.

"And in the green corner, all the way from Stow-on-Side, the stoic Galar Karate Prodigy, Bea!"

Bea's face remained neutral, but she did wave to her cheering fans. Once she and Gordie had shook hands, Dan began to explain the rules.

"This will be a 3-on-3 battle with no time limit! The battle will be decided when all Pokemon on either side are unable to battle! Each trainer may switch out as often as they like. In addition, each trainer is only allowed a single use of Mega Evolution, A Z-Move, or Dynamax per battle. Are both trainers ready?"

"Ready."

"Ready to win!"

"Then let the battle begin!"

"Go, Stonjourner!"

"Hitmontop, prepare for battle!"

"Triple Kick, Hitmontop!"

"Stonjourner, use Rock Polish!"

Stonjourner crossed his arms, allowing his body to take on a shinier appearance as his defenses rose. Hitmontop spun round like a top before reaching his opponent, hitting him with three spinning kicks as Stonjourner stood his ground.

"Build some distance with Rock Blast!"

Stonjourner uncrossed his arms, shooting out boulders at Hitmontop to throw him off him. The tactic worked, as Hitmontop couldn't keep spinning as he tried to maintain balance.

"Now use Stomping Tantrum!"

Stonjourner slammed his foot into the ground, sending massive shockwaves through the ground, knocking Hitmontop around for a bit.

"Find your footing and use Dig!"

Hitmontop flipped over on his head before spinning around rapidly, digging through the battlefield like a drill, disappearing into its tunnel.

"Don't let him get the jump on you, Stonjourner! Use Earthquake!"

Stonjourner slammed his fist right into the battlefield, making the ground shake violently for a solid minute. Once the shaking had ceded, Stonjourner glanced around the battlefield, looking for where his opponent would surface when…

"Now!"

Suddenly, Hitmontop burst out of the ground and spun right into Stonjourner's chest, throwing it backwards.

"Close Combat!"

"Stone Edge!"

Stonjourner roared, summoning large pillars of rock from the ground to strike Hitmontop, only for Hitmontop to spin around rapidly and easily broke them apart before striking Stonjourner.

"Rock Blast again!"

"Sucker Punch!"

Before Stonjourner could react, Hitmontop punched him hard right in the gut. The golem stumbled back, faltering for a moment before collapsing, unable to continue any further.

"Stonjourner is unable to battle! Hitmontop wins!"

"Excellent job, Hitmontop!"

"Top Hitmontop!"

Chloe whistled, impressed.

"Man, Hitmontop sure is strong."

"I'll say! Stonjourner could barely get any hits in."

"That's Bea Bea for you!" Korrina giggled. "She pushes her team to their limits to make sure they're always in top shape."

Gordie scoffed, recalling Stonjourner with an indignant face.

"Whatever, you just got lucky. Go, Tyranitar!"

The Pseudo-Legendary roared as he landed on the battlefield, glaring his opponent down. The minute he stepped onto the battlefield, his Sandstream ability activated, creating a small sandstorm on the battlefield.

"Rapid Spin, Hitmontop!"

"Repel him with Stone Edge!"

Tyranitar roared, summoning large pillars of rock to block Hitmontop's advance. Hitmontop hit each and every one, but they did nothing to stop him. In fact, if anything they seemed to speed up his momentum.

"Now use Triple Kick!"

"Let him get in close, then use High Horsepower!"

Tyranitar waited until Hitmontop was right on top of him before swinging his tail around, sending Hitmontop flying backwards.

"Stone Edge, once more!"

This time, Tyranitar summoned the rock pillars right in the path of Hitmontop's flight, causing him to bounce off of them as he hit every one before landing on the ground.

"Hitmontop, can you continue?"

Hitmontop tried to push himself to his feet, but in the end exhaustion won out, and he collapsed.

'Hitmontop is unable to battle! Tyranitar wins!"

"Ha! How do you like me now?"

Bea just rolled her eyes at Gordie's overconfidence, and returned Hitmontop to his Pokeball.

"There's no shame in losing to a superior opponent, Hitmontop. Take a well earned rest. Go, Falinks!"

Gordie smirked as the six-in-one fighting type stomped onto the ground.

"Am I supposed to be scared of that? Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam!"

"No Retreat, Falinks!"

The Six creatures fell into formation, creating an energy shield to give them an extra layer of defense against Tyranitar's Hyper Beam.

"Are you stupid? You just made it so your Falinks can't be switched out."

"My Pokemon never run from a fight! Falinks, use Brick Break!"

The six troops charged, pecking at and heabutting Tyranitar's legs. Since the Dark type was still recharging from Hyper Beam, he couldn't do anything to stop them, much to Gordie's frustration.

"Tyranitar, the minute you can, use Stone Edge!"

"Use them to jump, then use Focus Blast!"

At last, Tyranitar was able to move again and summoned more rock pillars to crush the tiny Pokemon. But Falinks was too quick, using the rocks to propel themselves upwards before firing a point blank Focus Blast right into Tyranitar's face, causing the Armor Pokemon to stumble back.

"Now use Superpower!"

While Tyranitat was still dazed, Falinks charged and jabbed its horn right under its foot. Before Gordie could issue another command, Falinks gave a mighty heave, tossing Tyranitar high up into the air.

"Heavy Slam, Tyranitar!"

Tyranitar roared, speeding its descent straight down towards Falinks. The six tried to run, but barely managed to get out of the way before Tyranitar made impact with the ground, sending a massive shockwave through the battlefield. When the dust had settled, Tyranitar sat in the middle of a massive crater, while the Falinks were out cold.

"Falinks is unable to battle! Tyranitar wins!"

Gordie laughed, sneering at Bea as she returned her Pokemon. Bea remained undaunted by his taunting, however.

"You may want to return your Tyranitar. Two prolonged battles with Pokemon who can do quadruple damage to it can't be good for him."

Gordie just scoffed.

"Like I'd take advice from someone who's losing! Mind your own business."

"As you wish. Go, Machamp!"

Bea's ace appeared in a flash, flexing his muscles for his adoring fans. Gordie just rolled his eyes.

"This will be quick. Tyranitar, use Aerial Ace!"

Tyranitar grunted, getting back to his feet and charging towards Bea's Machamp. Bea watched it get closer and closer until…

"Cross Chop."

Just as Tyranitar was close enough, Machamp blocked him with a quick cross of his two bottom arms, stopping his opponent dead in their tracks.

"Now use Focus Blast!"

While his bottom hands held Tyranitar in place, his top fists fired two powerful blasts, sending Tyranitar straight back to Gordie's side of the field unconscious.

"Tyranitar is unable to battle, Machamp wins!"

Gordie's jaw dropped, his glasses nearly falling off his face as Bea smirked.

"You were right, that was quick."

"Grr, you think you're so tough? I'll make you wish you never met me!"

"You think I don't already?"

Gordie snarled, and enlarged his Coalossal's Pokeball.

"Alright, time to finish this! Go, Coalossal!"

Gordie heaved the Pokeball into the air, releasing his Gigantamaxed ace. Bea took out Machamp's Pokeball and looked towards him.

"Ready, partner?"

"Champ Machamp!"

Bea nodded, then recalled Machamp to his Pokeball. He wasn't in there long, however, for she quickly enlarged it before tossing it into the air, unleashing the giant Machamp. The crowd went wild as the two titans prepared to clash.

"Max Flare, Coalossal!"

"Max Guard, Machamp!"

Machamp crossed his arms in front of his chest, creating a shield around him, which blocked the fireball launched at him.

"Now use Max Wyrmwind!"

"Max Flare again!"

Coalossal shot off another fireball, which was quickly consumed by the energy drake Machamp launched from his fist, striking Coalossal dead on.

"Alright, time to finish this! G-Max Chi Strike!"

"G-Max Volcalith!"

Coalossal roared, creating the largest slab of rock Ash and his friends had ever seen to smash down onto Machamp. Machamp roared back, striking at it with glowing fists. The slab broke apart with ease, the pieces barely making him flinch before he struck at Coalossal. The titanic rock Pokemon roared in pain, before the two Pokemon returned to normal size. After a minute, Coalossal stumbled over, defeated.

"Coalossal is unable to battle! Machamp wins, which means the match goes to Bea!"

"And there you have it, folks! Bea will be moving on to the finals to face Ash Ketchum! Let's hear it for our competitors!"

Gordie scoffed, returning Coalossal to his Pokeball before slouching off with his hands in his Pokeball.

"Whatever. This whole thing was stupid, anyway."

Bea rolled her eyes before returning Machamp to his Pokeball.

"Thank you, Machamp. Get some rest."

Afterwards, she looked up into the stands, locking eyes with Ash. The two shared a look before nodding, a silent agreement between them to give it their all.