Chapter 97: Ash vs Marnie

"Crap, Crap, Crap! I'm going to be late!"

"Pika Pika!"

"Hey, I had to make sure Urshifu was ready for his big debut! And my alarm clock broke."

"Pika!"

"Hey, if it weren't for a broken alarm, I wouldn't have met you!"

Ash and Pikachu ran through the streets of Circhester, making a mad dash for the stadium. Ash had overslept, and now he only had 20 minutes to get to the stadium before his match started.

"Alright, 10 more blocks to go! I can make it!"

"Oh no, you won't!"

Just as he turned a corner, two Team Yell grunts blocked his way, preventing him from going any further.

"Out of the way! I've got to get to the stadium!"

"We know, so we won't!"

"Yeah! If you don't make it, Marnie wins by default!"

"Get out of my way!"

"Joe, Rosie, enough!"

Suddenly, a tall, lanky man emerged from behind Ash, the two grunts snapping to attention.

"Marnie told you to cool it with harassing her opponents, so let him through!"

"Aw, come on Piers! We're just doing what you told us to!"

"And you think I wanted her to win without earning it? LEAVE!"

The two ran off, scared out of their wits.

"You alright, kid?"

"Yeah, thanks. You're Piers, right? The gym leader?"

"In the flesh. Sorry about them, they're my gym trainers. I sort of formed Team Yell to support my sister Marnie, but they took it a little too far."

Ash was about to respond when Pikachu tapped his shoulder, holding up his toe. Ash's eyes went wide when he saw the time.

"Gah! I've only got 5 minutes, I'll never get there!"

"Don't worry kid, I'll give you a lift."

"You sure?"

"Of course! It's the least I could do considering…"

"Cool? So, where's your car?"

"Car?"

"I shouldn't have asked…"

Ash sighed, clutching onto the sidecar of Piers's motorcycle, Pikachu clinging to his shoulder for dear life as Piers whipped around corners.

"Oh relax, we're almost there."

True to his word, the stadium soon came within their sights. Piers braked hard, skidding to a stop right in front of the stadium.

"We're here."

After getting their hearts back to a normal rate, Ash and Pikachu leapt from the sidecar and ran up the steps.

"Thanks, Piers!"

Piers waved goodbye, before heading off to find a seat in the stands.

Ash Ketchum, you have one minute to reach the battlefield, or you'll be disqualified.

In the stands, Ash's friends were beginning to worry.

"I knew I should've woke him up," Goh said.

"Oh, give him a break!" Lillie said, trying to mask her own worries. "He was up late practicing with Urshifu."

"I'm here! I'm here!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Ash finally arrived, taking a moment to catch his breath before checking the time.

"And with 30 seconds to spare as well!"

Marnie rolled her eyes.

"Team Yell?"

"Yeah."

"I'm so sorry. They're good kids, but they get overly enthusiastic."

"Ah well, no harm done!"

Once the two had shook hands, the referee began explaining the rules.

"This match will be a 3-on-3 battle with no time limit! Each trainer can switch Pokemon as often as they like, and the battle will conclude when all Pokemon on either side are unable to battle! In addition, each trainer is allowed only one use of Mega Evolution, a Z-Move, or Dynamax once per battle! Trainers, are you ready?"

"Ready."

"Ready!"

"Then let the battle begin!"

"Go, Scrafty!"

"Urshifu, I choose you!"

In the corridors of the stadium, Bea watched the battle intensely. Once Ash had sent out Urshifu, she jumped to attention.

"An Urshifu? Then that means…"

A sly smile crept up on her face.

"So, he took my advice after all. A wise decision, master…"

"Start things off with Brick Break, Scrafty!"

"Dodge, and use Dynamic Punch, Urshifu!"

Scrafty tried to deal a hard karate chop to Urshifu, only for his opponent to weave out of the way and punch him hard in the gut, making him skid backwards.

"High Jump Kick, Scrafty!"

"Jump!"

Urshifu leapt up into the air, allowing Scrafty to go crashing into the side of a wall as he landed safely. Scrafty cringed from the pain, but fought through it.

"Aqua Jet, Urshifu!"

"Focus Punch, Scrafty!"

Urshifu growled, before launching himself at Scrafty. Scrafty, tired but still wanting to keep going, focused all of his strength into his fist. At last, the two connected, the two standing still for a moment as the crowd watched in anticipation. At last, Scrafty collapsed, exhausted.

"Scrafty is unable to battle! Urshifu is the winner!"

"Yes! Way to go, Urshifu!"

"Shifu!"

Marnie returned her Scrafty to its Pokeball with a small smile, before turning to her partner.

"Ready, Morpeko?"

"Peko!"

"Alright, go get them!"

Morpeko leapt from his place on her shoulder, cheeks sparking with electricity as he prepared for battle.

"Alright, go for Rock Smash!"

"Dodge, and use Thunder Shock!"

Urshifu tried to smash his fists into the Electric type, only for Morpeko to leap over it and fire a point blank Thunder Shock. Urshifu grunted, the electric shock slowing him down.

"Now use Bullet Seed!"

"Brace yourself, and use Focus Energy!"

Urshifu crossed his arms in front of him, taking the blunt of the attack as the seeds hit him, pushing him backwards as he gathered energy in his body.

"Surging Strikes, Urshifu!"

"Don't let up on the Bullet Seed!"

Morpeko spat out more seeds as rapidly as possible, peppering Urshifu with super effective attacks. But Urshifu didn't let them deter him, powering through them like a bullet before reaching Morpeko and began punching the rodent over and over. Morpeko tried to avoid as many as possible, but Urshifu was so fast he couldn't keep up.

"Aura Wheel!"

Once he had a reprieve, Morpeko began spinning round wildly before launching itself at Urshifu, sending the Wushu Pokemon skidding back far as the damage coursed through him. However…

"Counter, Urshifu!"

Urshifu grabbed Morpeko before slamming him into the ground hard, knocking Morpeko out.

"Morpeko is unable to battle! Urshifu wins!"

Up in the stands, Ash's friends watched in amazement at Urshifu's winning streak.

"Man, Urshifu sure is strong!"

"I'll say! I thought Morpeko might do it, but he really pulled through."

"Marnie still has one Pokemon left, though. Don't count her out yet."

"Go Marnie! Crush this fraud!"

The quartet sighed, sick and tired of Team Yell's enthusiasm.

In another part of the stands, Bea watched things play out with a smirk.

"Impressive. You'd better win, Ash, because I want to face him head on!"

Marnie pulled out her final Pokeball, staring at it for a moment, then to her Dynamax band.

"I haven't had to do this my entire journey. I promised myself I wouldn't. But some promises have to be broken!"

With that, she dynamaxed the Pokeball before chucking it into the air, revealing her Gigantamaxed Grimmsnarl. Ash whistled, impressed, before taking out Urshifu's Pokeball.

"Alright, let's do this!"

"Shifu!"

Ash paused, realizing Urshifu didn't want to Dynamax, then lowered his Pokeball.

"Alright, fine by me! We'll defeat them without it!"

"Urshifu!"

"Alright, go for Surging Strikes!"

"Max Starfall, Grimmsnarl!"

Grimmsnarl roared, sending massive stars cascading down from the sky towards Urshifu. Urshifu danced around them until he reached his opponent and began punching at his legs.

"Max Strike!"

Grimmsnarl reared his leg back and smacked Urshifu with it, sending his opponent skidding back.

"Now, Max Starfall one last time!"

While Urshifu tried to catch his breath, stars started raining down from the ceiling once more. This time they managed to hit Urshifu, and once the dust had settled, Urshifu was knocked out.

"Urshifu is unable to battle! Grimmsnarl is the winner!"

Grimmsnarl roared in triumph before shrinking back to his normal size.

"Good job, Urshifu! Return!"

Ash then pulled out Lucario's Pokeball.

"Alright buddy, let's do this! Lucario, I choose you!"

Lucario roared proudly as he emerged. But when he saw his opponent, he growled before looking back towards Ash, fire in his eyes.

"Lucario!"

"You sure, bud?"

"Cario!"

Ash nodded in understanding, before raising his Mega Ring.

"Ok then, Mega Evolve!"

Lucario roared as the energy surrounded him, transforming him into his Mega Evolved state, to the shock of the crowd.

"I thought he was going to save Mega Evolution for Bea?" Goh thought out loud.

"I'd bet he wants to avenge Korrina's Lucario," Lillie said.

"It'll be his first match with Mega Evolution," Chloe observed. "I hope all goes well."

"You can do it, Ash and Lucario!" Korrina cheered, her own Lucario coming out to cheer as well.

Meanwhile, Bea's smile widened. She could feel her heart beating faster in excitement.

"Interesting. Let's see if your new trick will work, Lucario trainer."

"Alright Grimmsnarl, use Spirit Break!"

"Aura Sphere, Lucario!"

Grimmsnarl thrust out his hand, launching dark energy right at Lucario. Lucario growled, shooting out several small spheres at Grimmsnarl, breaking up the energy and pushing him backwards.

"Now use Close Combat, Lucario!"

Lucario charged towards Grimmsnarl, fists ready to pummel his opponent when…

"False Surrender, Grimmsnarl!"

Suddenly, Grimmsnarl launched his hair out and wrapped it around Lucario, stopping Lucario in his tracks and lifting him into the air.

"Now use Spirit Break!"

As Lucario struggled to break free, Grimmsnarl once more blasted with the dark energy, making him howl in pain. After that attack was complete, Grimmsnarl slammed him into the ground, leaving Lucario in a crater.

"Lucario!"

With a grunt, Lucario forced himself out of the hole, heavily damaged but still willing to battle.

"Lucario, can you keep going?"

"Cario!"

"Alright, let's keep going! Use Bullet Punch!"

"Dark Pulse!"

Lucario charged once more, powering through the Dark Pulse before pummeling Grimmsnarl with his fists.

"Fire Punch, Grimmsnarl!"

"Keep up with Bullet Punch!"

Grimmsnarl began punching back, fists covered in fire energy as they struck Lucario over and over. Both were taking damage from super effective attacks, but neither one was willing to give up.

"Finish him with Spirit Break, Grimmsnarl!"

"Steel Beam, Lucario!"

The two stopped hitting each other and began focusing energy into their bodies. Finally, they unleashed their pent up energy at each other, sending them flying apart with a huge explosion. When the dust settled, the two Pokemon were still standing, but panting heavily. But before either Marnie or Ash could issue another command, both Pokemon started to fall. But while Lucario caught himself and landed in a kneeling stance, Grimmsnarl hit the ground unconscious.

"Grimmsnarl is unable to battle! Lucario is the winner, which means the battle goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

"Alright, we won! Way to go, Lucario!"

Despite how tired he was, Lucario smiled, and gave Ash a thumbs up. Marnie returned her Grimmsnarl to his Pokeball with a smile.

"You did well, Grimmsnarl. Get some rest."

Afterwards, she walked over to Ash and shook his hand.

"Thanks for the amazing battle, Ash. Your Lucario and Urshifu were amazing!"

"Hey, your Pokemon were pretty awesome too! Your Grimmsnarl rocked!"

Marnie chuckled, then did something Ash didn't expect. She took her fingers and pushed her mouth into a smile.

"See this? I only give people a smile like this when I think they have potential, so you have to go all the way."

"Count on it!"

After the battle, Ash returned to the stands, pumped from his battle.

"Man, these Galar trainers are something else, huh buddy?"

"Pika!"

"Ash!"

Ash turned just in time to catch Lillie in a big hug, the girl giving him a big kiss on the lips to congratulate him.

"You were amazing, Ash!"

"Heh, thanks, but Urshifu and Lucario did all the work."

"Maybe, but you're the one who trained them."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"Hey, you!"

Ash sighed in frustration when he saw the members of Team Yell approaching him.

"We have just one thing to say to you!"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, look, I don't want any…"

"Can we have your autograph?"

"Hey, no fair! I wanted to ask him!"

"Too bad, I said it first!"

"Oh, I am so telling Piers!"

Ash just stood there for a minute, taking in their weird behavior.

"You want my autograph!"

"Yeah! Anyone who can force Marnie to Gigantamax Grimmsnarl must be really strong."

"Plus, she gave you her signature smile! That's like a blessing from a god, man!"

Ash chuckled, and happily signed their autograph books.

"Thanks! But you'd better win!"

"Yeah! No one beats Marnie just to lose their next match!"

"Don't you worry, we plan on it! Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika Pikachu!"

The two Team Yell grunts sauntered off, leaving Ash and Lillie to return to their friends.

"Well, looks like you made some new fans. Mr. Popular, aren't we?"

Ash chuckled, and pulled her into a loving hug.

"Maybe so, but all I need is my number one fan right beside me."

Lillie giggled, and returned it.

"And don't you forget it."

"Never in a million years."