So, I've decided to just go ahead with the Gym Battle here, because I don't know what else I could've done between the previous chapter and this one. This is the result of that decision. I don't know what else to add to these notes, so let's get on with this chapter.
Chapter 36:
Trial By Fire
All things considered, Lavaridge isn't too far away from the volcano. The only reason it takes them as long as it does to reach the city is because of Max's need to document every pokémon he sees, and Bonnie's determination to catch a Water Type or another Ground Type, in order to have a better chance of winning the battle. Unfortunately for her, she's unable to catch one, now that she's run out of pokéballs. So, when they finally arrive, she's in a pretty dour mood. But, when Max asks her if she's alright, she perks up, plasters a fake smile on her face, and insists that she's fine. Max doesn't buy it for a second, but he decides not to push it. Instead, he takes her through the streets of Lavaridge, where they stop off at the City's Pokémart. Once there, Bonnie buys as many pokéballs as she can carry, and Max picks some up for himself as well.
When they're finished there, Max leads her to the Pokémon Centre so the two of them can heal up their teams. They also decide that they'll spend the night here, and move on tomorrow once Bonnie has won the match. "If I win it," Bonnie mutters to herself. "Sorry?" Max asks. "Oh, uh, nothing!" she says quickly. Max eyes her suspiciously, but shrugs and carries on walking. The pair arrive at the gym, and Bonnie can feel her excitement and energy return to her. She is still filled with doubts, but with Max's plans, she feels sure she can pull this off. So, when they enter the building, she makes her way to the reception and informs the person working there that she's here to battle Gym Leader Flannery. Once she's done that, she and Max wait around for less than a minute, before a gym official steps in to lead Bonnie to her battle against Flannery.
When Max sees Flannery, he's amazed by how much she's changed. She seems far more sure of herself than she was when Ash battled her 5 years ago. Much more in control of the Gym than before. When Flannery sees him, she beams. "Well Max, nice to see you again," she calls to him. "I was-" "Wondering when I'd challenge you?" Max finishes. "Yeah, I've heard that before. But, I'm not here to challenge you, my friend Bonnie is." Bonnie and Flannery lock eyes, and Bonnie can't help but feel intimidated by her. She seems so confident in her abilities, and completely self-assured in her victory. And then there was her, who is struggling to even think she can win this one. She pushes those thoughts out of her mind and refocuses on the battle.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Bonnie," Flannery tells her. "I hope you're ready, because I'm no pushover!" "I don't doubt that," Bonnie replies, forcing her voice to sound confident. "But neither am I! And I'm going to win this one!" Bonnie expects Max to make a comment about Laverre in order to keep her head from swelling too much. But when she looks back at him, she sees that he seems to be watching her with a quizzical look on his face. If she didn't know any better, she almost thinks he's concerned for her. But what reason would he have to be concerned. She's fine. She turns her attention away from Max and back to Flannery, before pulling out her first pokémon. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asks. "Let's get this battle started!" Flannery smiles at her. "She's got spirit," she comments. "I like her! Alright, let's get to it!" Then, she pulls out her own pokémon.
As usual, the referee goes through the rules of the battle, then declares that the battle shall commence when both participants claim they're ready. Bonnie starts the battle with Phanpy, hoping to win the battle with just her. But she quickly sees that that might be harder than she thought when Flannery releases her Magcargo, who according to her Pokédex is a Fire and Rock Type. Still, she needs to win this, and Phanpy is her best bet. So, she starts the battle off with Earthquake. Magcargo takes a bit of damage from the hit, but doesn't get taken out. Magcargo retaliates with Incinerate, then goes in with Rock Throw. Phanpy is unable to avoid either of these attacks, and is damaged by them. She's not terribly hurt, but she's surprised by how much damage the combined attack did. She straightens herself, then uses Bulldoze, doing more damage to Magcargo, but not enough. Magcargo uses Smog, then uses the cover of the clouds to sneak around Phanpy. Bonnie tries to order Phanpy to get out of there, but before she can, Magcargo uses Shell Smash, which throws Phanpy across the arena. As she crashes down, Magcargo uses Incinerate again, which knocks Phanpy out.
"Phanpy is unable to battle!" shouts the ref. Bonnie is stunned. Max's plan had failed? But how!? She returns Phanpy to her ball, then begins Max's backup plan. She sends out Braixen, who immediately readies herself for battle. Luckily for the two of them, Magcargo seems very weakened by it's battle with Phanpy, so Bonnie hopes this battle will be a quick one. She orders Braixen to use Psychic and throw Magcargo around, then use Flame Charge to finish it off if it remains standing. Braixen does just that, and as it turns out, she doesn't need to use Flame Charge, as Magcargo goes down from the Psychic alone. But not before it hits Braixen with Rock Throw, weakening her in the process.
"Magcargo is unable to battle!" Declares the ref. Flannery smiles as she recalls Magcargo, then chooses her next pokémon, a Slugma. Bonnie is unsure of how this will go. Two fire types means this should be anyone's battle, but the attack Magcargo sent at Braixen a few seconds ago left her weaker than the completely healthy Slugma. So, the battle could also tip in Flannery's favour once more. To avoid that happening, Bonnie orders Braixen to use Psychic and throw Slugma around. She does this, and Slugma is thrown across the arena. Unfortunately for Bonnie, it survives this attack, then uses reflect, followed by Smog. Now with her visibility limited, Braixen uses a few different fire attacks to try to find Slugma. Eventually, she finds it and charges at it with Flame Charge, only for her to bounce harmlessly off of the Slugma. Slugma hits her with Overheat, then uses Tackle. Braixen is struck in the chest with the attack, then thrown backwards. Before she can get back up, Slugma uses Yawn to put her to sleep. Bonnie panics, and starts shouting at Braixen to wake up, but it's in vain. Slugma continues to nail her with Tackle after Tackle. Bonnie tries to recall her, but it's too late. Slugma nails her with one last Overheat, and Braixen is thrown backwards once more, knocked out.
"Braixen is unable to battle!" the ref calls. "Challenger Bonnie is down to her last pokémon!" Bonnie really starts to panic now. She only has one pokémon left, and he mightn't be enough to win this. But, she has no other choice, lest she forfeit the match. So, she releases Dedenne and Mega Evolves him immediately. Flannery raises an eyebrow at this. "Getting desperate are we?" she asks. "Good, that means this might up the stakes!" Then, she orders Slugma to use Smog again. But before it can, Dedenne charges forward with blinding speed and nuzzles it. Slugma is paralysed by this attack, which allows Dedenne to use Quick Attack, followed by Play Rough. Slugma is left weakened by this, but it still tries one last attack. However, Dedenne is able to dodge the attack and strike Slugma with one last Quick Attack, successfully knocking it out.
"Slugma is unable to battle!" announces the ref. "Gym Leader Flannery is down to her last pokémon!" Flannery smiles at this as she returns Slugma. "I'll admit, you're quite the fun challenge," she says. "But now, I'm afraid I will end it here!" Then, she sends out her final pokémon. Both Max and Bonnie's stomachs drop. It's a Torkoal, a pokémon with incredible defence. In other words, Dedenne is at a severe disadvantage in this fight. But he's mega evolved, and as a result his speed is much higher than Torkoal's. So, she hopes that she may still have a chance of winning. But that chance becomes slimmer when Torkoal uses Iron Defence. Bonnie swears at this, but tries anyway. She orders Dedenne to use Quick Attack, then to follow it up with Play Rough. Dedenne manages to land the first attack, but as he tries to use Play Rough, Torkoal uses Flame Wheel. Dedenne is thrown into the air by the super effective hit. As he tries to land back down, Torkoal uses Rapid Spin, throwing Dedenne away. As he struggles to get to his feet, Torkoal uses Eruption. Dedenne is covered by the attack, then gets knocked out.
"Dedenne is unable to battle!" says the ref. "Making Gym Leader Flannery the winner of this battle!" Bonnie can't believe this. She returns Dedenne to her bag, then meets Flannery in the middle. "Good effort," she tells her. "I'd say if you tweaked your strategy a bit, you'd have had me." Bonnie nods dejectedly. "Well, I'll see you next time you challenge me." Bonnie nods, then turns back to Max, who follows her out of the building. The pair go and get some food in a nearby restaurant. Throughout their meal, Max can see that Bonnie is still dejected by her loss. "Ok, there's something up with you," he says. "I've never seen you this dejected by a loss before!" Bonnie doesn't meet his eyes. "I'm fine," she replies. "Just annoyed." "This is more than annoyance," Max argues. "You've been like this since at least Fallarbor, and I want to know why!" "I'm fine!" she insists again. "There's nothing wrong, I swear!" Max looks at her doubtfully, but doesn't press the matter.
After they finish eating, they head to one of the nearby parks in Lavaridge so that Max can rework his plan for her. He can tell that her heart isn't in it when it comes to the training, but he doesn't ask her about it. They spend much of the day training in that field. By the time they decide to pack it in, the sun is beginning to set, and they've grown tired. So, they pack their stuff and head up to their room and get ready for bed. Max wishes Bonnie a goodnight, and gets a half-hearted response. "That settles it," he thinks to himself. "Tomorrow morning, I'm going to find out what's up with her, and we won't be leaving this room until I do!" With that thought, he falls asleep. When he wakes up the next morning, he turns to Bonnie's bed to tell her to wake up so they can talk. But instead of seeing her sleeping form, all that he spots is an empty bed, and Bonnie's bag is nowhere to be found.