Chapter 10: Brawling with Brawly

The next morning, May showed Ash around the island. While there weren't many sights to see, being a small village, Ash was always happy to see anything new.

"Hey, this is an island, right? There has to be a beach here?"

"Yes, why?"

"Then let's go swimming in the ocean!"

May stopped, a bright blush on her face. Ash took notice of this, and stopped.

"What's wrong, did you not bring a swimsuit?"

"Um, Ash…I have no idea what that is."

"What do you mean? What do you wear when you go swimming?"

"We…don't."

"Huh? What d-oh. OH."

"Yeah."
Ash blushed, trying desperately to get the mental image out of his head while Pikachu laughed his head off.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. Keep it up and you won't get any ketchup tonight."

This got Pikachu to shut up real quick.

"I mean, we don't have to go to the beach. It was just a suggestion. Sorry."

"Oh, don't be! You didn't know. Besides, there's other things to do here."

"Like?"

"Um…"

But before May could come up with something, someone bumped into Ash, knocking them both to the ground.

"Ooof!"

"Sorry about that, I should really watch where I'm going."

"That's okay, I shouldn't be standing around."

Ash helped the other man to his feet, getting a good look at him. The man was just a few years older than him and May, with wild blue hair. A yellow Pokemon with fists that looked like boxing gloves was plodding along behind him.

"I see the Princess herself is escorting you. My, you must be quite the charmer."

Ash and May blushed, and quickly tried to convince him otherwise.

"Oh no, we're just friends!"

"I could never…"

Their new friend chuckled, amused by their antics.

"Ah, I see how it is. Anyway, sorry again for that. My Makuhita and I were on our daily run around the island. Usually we don't see anyone else out this early."

"Don't worry about it," Ash said. "I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu."

"Pika Pikachu!"

"Nice to meet you! I'm Brawly, the commander of this settlement, and this is my partner Makuhita!"

"Makuhita!"

"You're the leader of this town? That must mean you're really strong, right?"

Brawly chuckled.

"I should hope so! I would hate to think that all of my training has gone to waste."

"Then would you have a Pokemon battle with me?"

"Ash! You can't just ask him that. I'm sure he's really busy."

Brawly chuckled, and waved off May's concerns.

"Not really, we've still got a half hour on our workout. What do you say, Makuhita?"

"Hita!"

"I think that's a yes! Alright Ash, we'll take you on."

"Awesome!"

A few minutes later, Ash, Brawly, and May had made their way to the beach, where there would be ample room for a battle.

"Alright Ash, ready?"

"Yep! Go, Pi-"

Before Ash could send Pikachu out, Ralts let himself out of his Pokeball, a look of determination on his face.

"Ralts!"

"Huh? Do you want to battle, buddy?"

"Ralts!"

Ash turned to Pikachu, a look of concern on his face.

"Do you mind if he battles instead, Pikachu? I know I promised, but…"

Pikachu smiled, and licked Ash's face, letting him know it was alright. Ash smiled, glad he was so understanding.

"Thanks buddy, I promise I'll get you some action soon. Alright Ralts, I choose you!"

"A Ralts, huh? Alright, I choose Makuhita!"

"Hita!"

"Let's start things off with Arm Thrust!"

"Confusion, Ralts!"

Makuhita charged, arms ready to pummel Ralts. Even the small waves of psychic energy his enemy put out didn't deter him, and he started slapping Ralts around. Ralts cringed, but held his ground.

"Disarming Voice, Ralts!"

Ralts opened his mouth and let loose a horrible wail, forcing Makuhita off him as the Fighting type tried to cover his ears.

"Force Palm!"

"Keep it up!"

Although it took some willpower, Makuhita forced his way through, slamming his open palm into Ralts, shutting up his whining.

"Now use Vital Throw!"

While Ralts was trying to recover, Makuhita picked him up, spun him around above his head, and slammed him into the ground.

"Ralts, are you alright?"

Ralts grunted, and picked himself up.

"Can you continue?"

"Ralts!"

"Alright then, use Confusion!"

Ralts shook his head to clear away his dizziness, then unleashed waves of psychic energy at Makuhita, who braced himself for the attack.

"Arm Thrust, Makuhita!"

"Ralts, use Draining Kiss!"

Makuhita charged, slamming his fists into Ralts once more. While Ralts's kiss did mitigate some of the damage, it was clear who was winning.

"Force Palm, once more!"

"Confusion!"

Ralts thrusted his arms out, summoning all of his psychic energy into one attack. Makuhita cringed in pain, but soldiered through to connect his palm with Ralts's head. But the moment he did, Ralts began to glow, shocking everyone.

"Whoa, Ralts is…"

"Evolving!"

When the light faded, Ralts was taller, with his eyes now visible.

"Kirlia!"

"Woah, a Kirlia!"

"Awesome, way to go!"

"Impressive, but we've still got a battle to get through. Makuhita, use Force Palm!"

"Confusion, Kirlia!"

Makuhita was about to slap Kirlia again, only to be repelled by more Psychic energy. But instead of small psychic shockwaves, he was blasted back by a huge wave of Psychic energy, knocking him back to Brawly's side of the field.

"Awesome! You learned Psybeam, Kirlia!"

"Lia!"

One glance down at Makuhita confirmed that he was down for the count. With a chuckle, Brawly looked up at Ash.

"Looks like you win, Ash. You guys were impressive."

Ash smiled, and shook his hand.

"Thanks, but you guys were pretty tough. If Ralts hadn't evolved, I don't know if we could have won."

"Well, Makuhita and I will have to train even harder to make sure you don't next time!"

"I look forward to it!"

Makuhita bowed in respect, before he and Brawly took off to complete their morning run.

"Well, he seems nice."

"And strong, too! If all of the settlement leaders are as strong as he is, I think your kingdom is in good hands."

May couldn't help but agree.