I was originally going to give chapter 54 this name, however I felt that Hubris' Price suited better, so I'm putting it here instead. Please, I'm begging you, do not tell me you don't get the reference I'm making with the chapter title, because that will make me feel old. Anyway, now onto a much better pokémon battle than the one I gave last time. Enjoy.
Chapter 56:
Fairly Odd Pokémon
By the time they get back to Laverre, it's the evening, and Valerie has closed the gym. Much to their annoyance, it means that they'll have to wait until tomorrow for Bonnie to be able to battle her. "The shops are all closed as well," Bonnie gripes. "So I can't even go shopping to pass the time." Though Max does his best to hide it from her, Bonnie can tell he's thoroughly relieved to hear this. So instead, she spends a good chunk of the evening training her Magneton. She spends some time using every single move they have, so Max can form a plan for her. Just to make it easier for him to think of something, she brings out her full team and plays around with them for a bit. Eventually, Max comes up with the perfect plan.
They spend a bit more time practicing this plan until Bonnie is fully certain she knows how to instigate it. Then, the two head back into the hotel for dinner. When they get there, they see Dawn and Paul sitting there, catching up on their lives since last seeing each other 4 years ago. "Where are Zoey and Miette?" Bonnie asks when she and Max walk up to them and sit at their table. "Practicing for their Performances in two days," Dawn replies, before looking her and Max over. "Glad to see you two made up." Max shrugs his shoulders and grins. "It was just a small fight," he comments. "Nothing to worry about. I'm sure you and Ash had plenty worse than that. I know he and May did." Paul smirks at this. "It didn't seem small when Bonnie came down this morning," he comments. "You should've seen her, she was-" "Paul!" Dawn exclaims, interrupting him. "Read the room!" She indicates to Max and Bonnie as she says this. Max looks rather guilty, and Bonnie starts blushing. Paul realises this and stops speaking, shooting an apologetic look at Bonnie as he does. "I didn't know your face muscles even knew how to do that" Dawn jokes, which earns her a scowl, something he's clearly more knowledgeable with.
They spend some time catching up with the two of them, before Zoey and Miette walk by. When Dawn offers Zoey the seat next to her, she replies, "Can't stop, gotta take a shower and change clothes, then I'll be right down!" Dawn nods and sits back down, before accepting a kiss on the cheek from Zoey. Miette tells Paul something similar, before quickly blowing him a kiss and running off. She looks like she did that on impulse, and boy does Max know how that feels. However, he's quickly distracted by this when he sees a very amusing sight. Paul's cheeks have tinged a bit red, and he's putting his hands on them, almost as if he's trying to work out why they suddenly became warm. Dawn spots this and bursts out laughing. "Sweet Dialga, and I thought Ash was bad!" she laughs. Paul glares at her, but it's clear that he's got no idea what she's talking about, which just makes it all the funnier.
When Zoey and Miette return to the table, Bonnie recounts how she and Max made up, and how she's going to be using his plans from now on and not letting her pride get the better of her. When asked what his plan is, Max humbly explains it, as though it isn't much, however even Paul admits that it's a good one. The conversation lulls after that, with Max and Bonnie getting something to eat, and Zoey and Miette feeling rather tired after their hard day of training. When Miette falls asleep on Paul's arm (which almost everyone immediately figures out was on purpose), they decide that it's time they head to bed. But if Miette is expecting Paul to carry her up to bed, she's sorely mistaken, as he merely shakes her awake, much to her dissatisfaction. Before they part ways, the four of them promise that they'll try to make it to Bonnie's battle tomorrow, but no guarantees on Zoey or Miette's parts, since they'll be busy.
As expected, by the time Bonnie's rematch is ready to commence, only Paul and Dawn manage to join Max in the viewing area. The other two can't make it because they need to get their performances just right, but wish Bonnie luck nonetheless. When Valerie arrives at the arena in the same overdramatic style as last time, Bonnie readies herself while Paul can't help but roll his eyes. "Palkia on a bike," he mutters. "Is that kind of dramatic entrance really necessary?" Dawn elbows him for that. "Of course," she says. "Though I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand." Paul rounds on her, about to ask her what that meant, but Max shushes them before he can. "It's about to start," he tells them. "So shut up and pay attention!" Then he refocuses on the battle. Back in the arena, Valerie approaches Bonnie. "So, back again so soon?" she asks. "I would've thought after a crushing defeat like that you would've given up." Bonnie shakes her head. "That's not me!" she says. "I've come to beat you. This time, I have a plan." Valerie smirks at this. "Well then, let's see how this plan works out, shall we?" she replies, before turning away and walking over to her end of the arena.
As usual, the ref explains the rules, then tells both challengers to release their first pokémon. As Max had expected, Valerie goes with Sylveon 1st. "She's clearly trying to catch her opponent by surprise," he'd explained when coming up with his plan. "Use the weaker pokémon with the stronger bond, allowing the opponent to think they have the upper hand, only to have Trick Room completely sweep the floor with them." How that boy can notice details like that, but completely forget where he left the jacket he'd only just taken off 5 seconds prior, Bonnie will never know. Bonnie sends out Magneton, and the battle begins.
Obviously wary of the type advantage, Valerie has Sylveon use Sand Attack 1st, but Magneton is just about able to avoid it. Then, they charge in and use Gyro Ball, which does major damage to Sylveon. Sylveon is knocked backwards, but not out, as it retaliates with Moonblast. It hits Magneton, but doesn't do much damage to them. Sylveon tries to spam Moonblast at them in order to wear them down a little, but Magneton is able to avoid the attacks and hit Sylveon with Flash Cannon, doing a lot more damage to the fairy type. Sylveon is still able to remain standing however, though on shaky legs. It tries to use Fairy Wind as a last desperate attempt, but to no prevail. Magneton takes the hit, which doesn't do much to them, and hits Sylveon with one more Gyro Ball. Sylveon doesn't manage to avoid the attack in time, and is knocked out.
"Sylveon is unable to battle!" says the ref. "Leader Valerie is down to her last pokémon!" Valerie grins as she returns Sylveon. "I'll admit, you've gotten better," she says. "But let's see how you handle this!" Once again, as Max had anticipated, she sends out Spritzee. "Ok, this one will be a bit tricky to work around," she remembers him telling her. "For such a small pokémon, it's speed stat isn't great, which is what makes Trick Room so hard to deal with." She remembers the plan he came up with to counter this however, and swaps Magneton out with Gardevoir. Valerie arcs an eyebrow at this, but says nothing. The battle resumes, and just as Max had planned, Valerie immediately starts with Trick Room.
In response, Bonnie Mega Evolves Gardevoir. Now, whenever she attack, they'll hit harder, but be a lot slower as a result. Just as Max thought, Gardevoir takes a lot longer to move than normal, while Spritzee seems to dart around the room like a flash of light. It hits Gardevoir with Fairy Wind, before seemingly teleporting away, then doing the same again with Moonblast. Gardevoir eventually manages to figure out a way to track it, and manages to strike it with Psychic. Spritzee takes the hit and hits the ground hard, but isn't too badly damaged. It then resumes its barrage of attacks while Gardevoir slowly builds up another Psychic. Eventually, she manages to strike Spritzee again, but by now, she's nearly at one knee from the amount of attacks she's taken. But now, after two strong attacks and falls to the ground, Spritzee is beginning to weaken as well. Still, it charges forward one last time, and Gardevoir charges as well to try to hit it. But Spritzee is faster, and strikes Gardevoir in the chest with Quick Attack, knocking her out.
"Gardevoir is unable to battle!" calls the ref. "Trainer Bonnie is also down to her last pokémon!" Bonnie smirks at this, Max's plan working flawlessly, as usual. She sends Magneton back out, who is ripe and ready for battle. Still, the Trick Room is still up, meaning Spritzee is still faster, but all Bonnie needs to do is get one or two good shots on it, and it's over. So, she orders Magneton to use Flash Cannon. In a desperate attempt to avoid this attack landing, Spritzee resumes its barrage of attacks, but they don't do much against the steel type. Soon enough, Flash Cannon is charged, and Spritzee is hit by it full force. It just about manages to stay in the air, but now moves a lot slower than before. Because of this, Magneton's next move is faster. In the blink of an eye, another Flash Cannon is fired, and Spritzee falls to the ground, knocked out cold.
"Spritzee is unable to battle!" shouts the ref. "Making Challenger Bonnie the winner of this match." Max roars with delight at this and claps loudly, not caring how much of an ass he's making of himself. Valerie returns Spritzee to its ball, then approaches Bonnie. "You did a lot better than yesterday," she comments. "Glad to see you had your head in the game." Bonnie blushes slightly at this. "Thanks," she replies, "but Max over there is the one who came up with those plans." She points Max out, who blushes at the attention. Max can see Paul eyeing him with interest, and Dawn looking at him with an impressed smile. "Well then," Valerie comments. "I suppose you've both earned this, but I'll just give it to you since you're here." Then, she hands Bonnie the badge. Bonnie takes it with gratitude, before heading outside to meet up with her friends. As he walks behind Max, Paul thinks to himself, "I only really came here to see what I'm up against in the League. I thought I should be wary of her, but perhaps it's him I really need to worry about."
I hope that battle was up to snuff, or at least better than Bonnie's first attempt. Much like her, my head wasn't really in it while I wrote that one, but I was definitely in the right headspace for this one! Now, as a warning, the next chapter will have contests, and since I still haven't had anyone take me up on that offer, they're probably going to be shite! But still, I'll see you all on Friday with that.