This Gym is going to be kinda hard to write about, since Ash blazed through it with Pikachu originally. Now, obviously I'm not going to have Bonnie and Dedenne do something like that, because that would be too boring and far too quick. So, I'm going to be bullshitting this chapter quite hard. Let's get on with that, shall we?
Chapter 28:
Shock and Awe
The next morning, Max is up first, and heads down to breakfast quickly, hoping to remove the thoughts that his conversation with Clemont had put into his head. As he finds a table for food, Clemont and Korrina join him. "Where's Bonnie?" Korrina asks as she sits down. "Still sleeping," Max replies. "I thought it best to let her be for a bit. She looked like she needed the extra sleep." At that moment, Bonnie shows up, looking a little sleepy, but determined nonetheless. "Hey Bonnie," Clemont says happily as she sits down. "You ready for your battle today?" Bonnie nods enthusiastically, all semblance of tiredness gone. "I beat you quite handily after all," she points out. "So this guy probably won't be too tricky." Max shoots Bonnie a warning look. "This had better not be another Laverre incident" he warns. Bonnie goes slightly pink. "Will you please stop bringing that up!?" she shoots back. Max makes a face as though he's thinking about it. "Nope," he says finally, "I don't think I will. Gotta make sure you don't repeat that."
Both Clemont and Korrina are confused by this, and look like they want to ask about it. But before thry can, Bonnie shoots up quickly. "Come on Max, let's go and get breakfast for everyone!" Then, she takes Max's hand and hoists him up, before lading him away to get food. Clemont and Korrina watch them go, both of them laughing. "So, how many times are you planning to aks Max to take care of Bonnie?" Korrina asks him. Clemont shrugs. "Only once or twice," he replies. "And then anytime we see them from here on out. Gotta make sure my sister really knows what it feels like to have it done to her." "Hey, as much as I like to see you enjoying yourself with this payback," says Korrina, "remember that it was only thanks to those two that we're together. So, maybe go a bit easy on her." Clemont sighs. "You're right," he says. "But I'm still going to do it." Korrina chuckles. "Of course you are," she says. "I wouldn't expect anything else."
After they'd eaten, the four of them head over to the Gym. As they approach the door, Max gets a look of anticipation on his face, and he keeps glancing back at Bonnie. "What?" she asks. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is something going to happen?" Max can't help but chuckle a bit. "You'll see" is all he says. The group reaches the door to the Gym, which is shut tight. "How do we get in?" Bonnie asks. "Oh, just knock" Max replies. Bonnie does so, and the door fall to the floor. Instantly, she starts to panic, thinking that she accidentally put some Aura into that knock. But when the door hits the floor, falls into some holes that open up. Then, the four of them are picked up by a conveyer belt and moved through the hallway. Bonnie, Clemont and Korrina are taken aback by this, while Max starts laughing at their reactions. Bonnie rounds on him. "Why didn't you tell us about that!?" she demands. "I thought I'd broken the door!" Max laughs harder at that. "Would you have told me?" he asks. Bonnie opens her mouth to protest, then closes it, realising that he's right. So, she settles for punching him other arm.
They reach the end of the conveyer belt and step out onto the main floor of the Gym. As they do, Max seems a bit disappointed. But he cheers up slightly when he hears a voice cry out. "Max! I knew I'd see you in here eventually!" Two men approach them from the other side of the room. One of them is a tall youngish man with brown hair and glaces, and the other is an old man who needs a walking stick to walk. He's the one who called out to Max. Max smiles back at him. "Hi Watson, hi Watt," he replies. "I'm not here to challenge you actually, my friend Bonnie is." Then, he steps aside so the two men can see her. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Bonnie," says Watson. "Amd as a matter of fact, you came at the right time to battle me." "How come?" Bonnie asks. "After today, I'll be retiring as Gym Leader of Mauville, and my assistant Watt here will be taking over." Watt bows at this, and Watson bats him on the back. "So, who better to end my time as Gym Leader than a friend of Max's." It's clear from the way he said that that he was originally going to say, "than Max Maple" but stopped himself. Bonnie doesn't let that bother her though, and she chooses her team. "I'm ready!" she says. Watson beams. "That's what I like to hear!" he says. "Now come on show me a final battle worth remembering!" Then, he steps to one side of the arena. Bonnie steps to the other side while Max, Clemont and Korrina step back to allow the two some space.
Watt steps up in the middle of the two, but off to the side and announces the rules. Once he's finished, he asks if both participants are ready. Once he gets the confirmation that they are, he cries, "Then battle, begin!" Watson sends out Magnemite first, while Bonnie sends out Braixen. She and Max had decided beforehand to save Phanpy until at least the first of Watson's pokémon is down. Magnetite begins with Volt Tackle, which Braixen is able to dodge. Then, she spins around and hits Magnemite with Ember from her staff. The super effective move hits, doing a bit of damage. Magnemite retaliates with Thundershock, striking Braixen dead on. Braixen tries to use Flamethrower, but freezes up. With horror, Bonnie realises that she's been struck with paralysis. Magnemite uses the opportunity to hit her twice more with Thunderbolt and Thundershock, bringing Braixen down to one knee. Bonnie is momentarily worried that she may lose Braixen so soon, but them Braixen is finally able to overcome her paralysis long enough to use Overheat, a devastatingly powerful move that severely weakens Magnemite. With joy, Bonnie orders Braixen to use Flame Charge. Able to overcome the paralysis again, Braixen charges, striking Magnemite in the eye with her attack. Magnemite is sent hurtling backwards, before crashing to the ground unconscious.
"Magnemite is unable to battle!" Watt calls. While Watson chooses his next pokémon, Bonnie takes the time to look at Braixen. She's teetering in place, barely able to stand. She moves to recall her, but Braixen shakes her head giving her a thumbs up to show that she wants to continue. Bonnie nods and puts Braixen's ball back. Watson sends out a Voltorb and the battle continues. Braixen rushes in with Flame Charge, but before she can even get close to it, the Voltorb shoots a Thunderbolt at her, which knocks her out almost immediately. "Braixen is unable to battle!" Watt shouts. Bonnie can't help but wince a bit at that. She'd been hoping to cause Voltorb to use Self Destruct with that. Now however, she's lost her lead. So, instead of using Phanpy, she chooses Nuzleaf. She wants to make sure that Voltorb uses Self Destruct before she sends out her newest team member.
The battle resumes with Nuzleaf using Bullet Seed. Voltorb manages to dodge some of them, but not all of them, and takes a bit of damage. Bonnie hopes it'll use Self Destruct here, but it doesn't, instead going for Thunder Wave. Much to Bonnie's annoyance, Nuzleaf becomes paralysed too. But hemanages to fight through it and hit it with Razor Leaf. He tries to follow up with Vine Whip, but paralysis prevents him from doing so. Voltorb takes advantage of this to use Tackle, followed up by Electroweb. Nuzleaf cries out in pain at this, but shakes it off and charges in with Cut repeatedly. Voltorb tries to dodge these attacks, but Nuzleaf doesn't give it enough room. So, left with little choice, it uses Self Destruct, fainting instantly. Unfortunately for Bonnie, Nuzleaf faints too.
"Both pokémon are unable to battle!" Watt declares. "Meaning both Gym Leader Watson and Challenger Bonnie are down to their last pokémon!" Max and Bonnie share a look at this, then a nod. Then, Bonnie releases Phanpy into battle, just as Watson releases a Magneton. This makes Bonnie grin. She has a Magneton of her own, so she knows all of their weaknesses. Magneton starts the battle off with Thunderwave. Luckily for Bonnie, Phanpy is immune. She quickly retaliates with Mud Shot, a move that majorly hurts Magneton. Magneton tries to use Gyro Ball, but Phanpy dodges and strikes back with Earthquake. It doesn't affect Magneton. It takes Bonnie a few seconds to figure out why. "Shit, it's levitating!" she exclaims. She can hear Max curse behind her. Clearly he'd forgotten it could do that too. Magneton uses Gyro Ball again, and Bonnie quickly thinks up a plan. She orders Phanpy to jump onto it as it spins past. Phanpy tries this, and successfully manages, but not without taking a bit of damage herself. Magneton is slammed into the ground by this, and left dazed for a few seconds, which is enough time for Phanpy to land an Earthquake. Magneton is left very hurt, but still not quite out. It tries one last time to win with Steel Beam, but Phanpy dodges it then uses Headbutt to knock Magneton backwards. It bounces off the ground a few times, then lies still with swirly eyes.
"Magneton is unable to battle!" Watt announces. "Making Challenger Bonnie the winner of this match!" Although Phanpy is tired from the fight, she still runs towards Bonnie and leaps into her outstretched arms. Dedenne pokes his head out of Bonnie's bag to cheer for them as well. Bonnie turns to Max and beckons him over as well, because his strategies helped out. Max is hesitant, but Clemont pushes him over to her. As the two share a victory embrace, Clemont pulls out his phone and snaps a picture. He reckons Meyer would love to see it. Watson interrupts their victory celebration by clearing his throat. The pair realise the position that they're in and leap apart, quite embarrassed. "Well, that was certainly the final battle I was hoping for," says Watson happily. "You've truly earned the Dynamo Badge." He holds the badge out to them, and Bonnie takes it happily. Then, Watson turns to Watt. "And now, it is your turn to take up the mantle of Gym Leader," he says to him, holding out his hand. "Are you ready?" Watt nods. "I am" he says, then shakes Watson's hand. Max, Bonnie, Clemont and Korrina clap for him, then they leave the Gym. As they do, Clemont sends a photo to his father.
As usual, that turned out better than I planned. Now, normally you'd be waiting until Tuesday for the next chapter of this fic. But, since I have a strong enough plan for the next chapter, and I'd like to speed up my uploading a little bit, I'll hopefully be uploading the next chapter on Saturday instead. That of course depends on my schedule, but hopefully I'll be able to do it. See you then!