Chapter 132: Ash VS Raihan Part 1

Ash excitedly ran along the path to the gym, ready for his next battle in the World Coronation Series. Right now, he was in Hammerlocke in the Galar Region, where he was scheduled to face Raihan, the Eighth Gym Leader of the league and ranked just above him in The Masters Eight. Lucario was running right alongside him, just as pumped for the battle as his trainer.

At last, they stopped in front of the massive stadium, gazing up at it in awe.

"Wow."

"Cario."

"Well, what do we have here?"

Raihan came up behind him, wearing his cocky smile.

"Hi, Raihan! I'm really looking forward to our battle today!"

Raihan chuckled, but shook Ash's hand.

"Well, it's good to have spirit, but you'll need more than that to beat me!"

"Trust me, we've got what it takes!"

"Oooh, what time is it?"

Confused, the two of them looked toward the bushes in front of them, from which Leon emerged, yawning as he stretched.

"Man, I must've been out of it. Oh, hey guys!"

"Leon? Why were you sleeping in the bush?"

"So I could be first in line to watch your battle, of course!"

"But you're co-hosting it," Raihan deadpanned. "We can't start without you."

Leon just chuckled.

"Guess I just forgot."

Raihan sighed, and shook his head.

"FIgures."

"Anyway," Leon continued, "Congrats on making it into The Masters Eight, Ash."

"Thanks, Leon! I can't wait to fight you in the tournament."

"Yeah, well just remember who your opponent is today," Raihan said condescendingly.

"Don't worry, I haven't!"

Leon chuckled.

"Well, I look forward to it!"

An hour later, the stadium was packed with people excited to see the battle between two members of the Masters Eight. Lillie had to squeeze into her seat just to sit down.

"Man, this place is packed! I'm glad Goh and Chloe were too busy to come."

"Vul."

Then the lights dimmed, signaling it was time to start the show.

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to another exciting World Coronation Series match! We've got a real treat for you tonight, because it's a match between two members of The Masters Eight!"
The crowd went wild.

"But it's not just me up here today, we also have a very special guest with us here tonight, so please give a warm welcome to the current champion of Galar AND The Monarch of The World Coronation Series, Leon!"

"Happy to be here, Cecil. But tonight's not about me, so let's meet our competitors!"

"Couldn't agree more, Leon! In the red corner, he's the newest member of The Masters Eight, and the champion of Alola, all the way from Pallet Town, ASH KETCHUM!"

Ash waved to his fans as they cheered, striking a victory pose.

"Go Ash!" Lillie cheered as loud as she could.

"Vulpix Vul!"

"And in the red corner, ranked 7th in the world rankings, our very own gym leader, Raihan!"

The crowd cheered even wilder as the gym leader raced out of the tunnel. The referee was about to explain the rules before Raihan held up his hand to stop him.

"Hold on, I have to do something real quick."

Taking out his phone, he pulled Ash in close before taking a selfie with him.

"I do this with all of my challengers. Just a nice thing I can do before I crush you."

"Yeah, well we'll see about that!"

"Can I begin now?"

"Go on ahead."

"Right. This will be a four-on-four Double Battle with no time limit! Each trainer can switch out their Pokemon as often as they want. In addition, each trainer is allowed one Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and or Dynamax! Trainers, are you ready?"

"Ready!"

"Yeah, bring it!"

"Then let the battle begin!"

"Dracovish, Sirfetch'd, I choose you!"

"Gigalith, Flygon, go!"

The minute Raihan's Pokemon hit the field, a huge sandstorm raged across the battlefield, courtesy of Raihan's Gigalith.

"Alright guys, we can do this! Dracovish, Dragon Rush on Flygon! Sirfetch'd, Brick Break on Gigalith!"

"Rock Blast, Gigalith! Flygon, Breaking Swipe!"

Sirfetch'd ran forward, using his sword to break apart the rock bombardment as he charged ahead, slicing the Rock Pokemon with his sword and sending it skidding back. Dracovish, not wanting to be left out, rushed forward with just as much vigor, Flygon clashing with him head on as they battled back and forth.

"Body Press,Gigalith! Flygon, use Thunder Punch!"

"Ice Fang, Dracovish! Sirfetch'd, use Rock Smash!"

Dracovish immediately clamped down on Flygon's head, covering it in ice as Flygon thrashed about.

"Don't let go, Dracovish!"

Flygon tried to free himself by punching Dracovish in the face, but Dracovish just clamped down even harder. Meanwhile, Gigalith tried to squish Sirfetch'd, but the FIghting type just narrowly managed to dodge before slamming his leek sword into the Rock Type, sending it flying.

"Alright, way to go guys! Dracovish, use Brutal Swing!"

Dracovish nodded, swinging Flygon trapped in its mouth around a few times before tossing him into the air, with Flygon hitting the ground hard on impact. Seeing that Flygon was incapacitated, Ash nodded in approval.

"Great job, Dracovish! Now go help Sirfetch'd!"

"Vish!"

At the moment, Sirfetch'd was locked in battle with Gigalith, the Rock Type taking to ramming into him before he could strike with his sword. Sirfetch'd had managed to keep up at first, but the constant barrage was getting to him.

"Water Gun, Dracovish!"

While Gigalith was busy bashing into Sirfetch'd, Dracovish blasted him with Water, causing his focus to wane long enough for Sirfetch'd to counterattack.

"Sirfetch'd, Meteor Assault! Dracovish, Water Gun point blank!"

Sirfetch'd leapt forward, slashing and tearing at Gigalith with his sword so fast the Rock type couldn't dodge all of them. Once Sirfetch'd felt successfully avenged, he fell back, allowing Dracovish to rush in and blast him with Water again, sending him flying into a wall out cold.

"Gigalith is unable to battle!"

"Alright, way to go guys!"

"Vish, Dracoivish!"

"Sirfetch'd!"

But Raihan was less than impressed.

"Lucky shot, kid. But you forgot one thing."

"What's that?"

"Never let your guard down! Flygon, Dragon Claw!"

Flygon raced in, slashing at Dracovish with his claws, making Dracovish cry out in pain.

"Dracovish, Ice Fang! Sirfetch'd, give him some support with Brick Break!"

"Wing Attack, Flygon!"

Sirfetch'd charged forward, trying to help his partner, only to be swatted away by one of Flygon's wings without him looking up. Dracovish managed to clamp down on one of Flygon's claws, freezing it over, only for the other one to smash into the side of his head. For a minute all stood still, but at last Dracovish let go and slumped over defeated.

"Dracovish is unable to battle!"

"Incredible! Two Pokemon down, just like that!"

"Anything can happen in a tag battle," Leon mused. "Personally, I think that's why Raihan loves them so much."

"Return, Gigalith! You did well, get some rest."

"Come on back, Dracovish! We'll take it from here."

"Alright Ash, ready for round 2?"

"Bring it!"

"Go, Sandaconda!"

"Dragonite, I choose you!"

Raihan smirked, impressed.

"A Dragonite, eh? I always wanted one of those, but they're incredibly rare in Galar. Show me what you've got!"

"With pleasure! Dragonite, use Dragon Claw! Sirfetch'd, use Close Combat!"

"Flygon, use Dragon Claw as well! Sandaconda, use Earth Power!"

Sirfetch'd leapt back into action, sword posed ready to strike Sandaconda down, leaping through the plume of lava before slamming his sword stalk into Sandaconda a few times. Meanwhile, Dragonite and Flygon were going at it, clashing their claws against one another in an effort to knock the other out of the sky.

"Dig, Sandaconda!"

Sandaconda slapped Sirfetch'd away with his tail before using it to dig into the ground, disappearing from view completely. Sirfetch'd grunted, keeping his eyes peeled for where he would pop up.

"Now!"

Sirfetch'd, use Brick Break on the ground!"

Sirfetch'd slammed his leek into the ground, catching Sandaconda by surprise and propelling himself into the air. Unfortunately, this was what Raihan wanted.

"Flygon, use Air Cutter!"

Shoving Dragonite aside, Flygon sped towards the falling Sirfetch'd, creating large gusts of wind to buffer him about.

"'Aerial Ace!"

Once Flygon got in close enough, he struck Sirfetch'd hard with his wing, sending Sirfetch'd spiraling into the ground.

"Sirfetch'd!"

Sirfetch'd stumbled to his feet, and for a minute it looked like he might pull through, only for him to collapse not even a second later.

"Sirfech'd is unable to battle!"

Raihan sneered as Ash returned Sirfetch'd.

"You're not bad kid, but it looks like my Pokemon are too tough for ya."

But Ash just smirked.

"Maybe, but you forgot something: never let your guard down!"

"Huh?"

"Dragon Tail, Dragonite!"

Dragonite, enraged by her teammate's defeat, rammed her tail into Flygon while his back was turned, sending him shooting towards the ground.

"Catch him, then use Dragon Rush!"

Dragonite caught up quickly, tightly wrapping her arms around him as the ground rapidly approached before they hit it with a massive boom, kicking up a massive dust cloud. When the dust settled, Flygon was out cold beneath her.

"Flygon is unable to battle, Dragonite wins!"

"Incredible, folks! Another two knockouts within mere seconds of each other! Have you seen anything like it, champ?"
"Can't say I have, Cecil," Leon chuckled. "But anything can happen in a Pokemon battle, that's what makes it so exciting."

"Couldn't have said it better myself!"

Raihan stared in shock for a minute, before smirking.

"Alright, I'll admit that was impressive. But don't think it's over yet!"

"Yeah? Then bring it!"