Chapter 78: Ash vs Palmer Part 1

The day of the battle, the Battle Arcade was packed with fans wanting to see the battle. Goh, Chloe, Dawn, and Lillie could barely squeeze their ways through the crowds to their seats. Once more, Lillie held Ash's Kubfu in her arms, while Goh held his own.

"Man, this place sure is packed."

"I'll say. I just hope some of them are here for Ash."

"Excuse me, do you guys mind if I sit here?"

To all but Dawn's surprise, Cynthia made her way over to them.

"Sure thing, Cynthia!"

"Thanks. I wouldn't want to miss this rematch for anything in the world."

"Who do you think will win?"

Cynthia smiled.

"It's a tough call. Palmer's tough, you have to be in order to be a Frontier Brain, let alone the head of the Battle Frontier. But Ash is unpredictable, there's no telling what strategy he'll come up with. It'll be an interesting match, for sure."

At last, the introductions began.

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to another exciting World Coronation Series Battle! Are you ready for some action?"

The crowd cheered wildly.

"That's what I want to hear! As always, I'm your Master of Ceremonies, Cecil Lockjaw, but today I'm joined by two very special guests. To my left, the Arcade Star herself and the mistress of dance, Dahlia!"

"Pleased to be here!"

"And give a big round of applause for the owner of the Battle Frontier franchise, Scott!"

"Thanks for having me!"

"Now, without further ado, let's meet the contestants! He's currently 94th in the world rankings, he's the current champion of Alola, Ash Ketchum!"

The crowd went wild as Ash ran onto the field, waving to them as he took his spot.

"And now his opponent! He's 85th in the world rankings, the Tower Tycoon of the Battle Tower, and the head brain of the Sinnoh Battle Frontier, Heeeeere's Palmer!"

The crowd went even more wild as the Frontier Brain emerged onto the field. After shaking hands, Ash and Palmer retreated to their sides of the battlefield so the referee could go over the rules.

"This will be a 3-on-3 battle with no time limit, or limits on switching out Pokemon. The battle shall continue until I have deemed all Pokemon on either side unfit to continue battling. In addition, you are only allowed a single use of Mega Evolution, A Z-Move, or Dynamax once per battle. Are both trainers ready?"

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

"Then let the battle begin!"

"Go, Rhyperior!"

"Rillaboom, I choose you!"

Goh laughed when he saw the first matchup.

"Talk about bad luck! Ash couldn't have asked for a better first matchup."

But Cynthia smiled knowingly.

"Don't be so sure, Goh. A Frontier Brain always has a trick up their sleeve."

"Rillaboom, start off with High Horsepower!"

"Flamethrower, Rhyperior!"

Just as Rillaboom was about to smash Rhyperior with his drum set, A huge torrent of fire hit him, knocking him back to Ash's side of the field.

"Now hit him with Ice Beam!"

As Rillaboom struggled to his feet, a blast of ice hit him, knocking him back down.
"Rillaboom!"

Rillaboom struggled to his feet, tired but still willing to fight.

"Rillaboom, can you keep fighting?"

"Boom!"

"Not after this attack! Rhyperior, use Rock Wrecker!"

Rhyperior roared, launching a massive boulder at Rillaboom.

"Stand your ground, Rillaboom!"

Rillaboom grunted, catching the boulder with all four feet and bringing it to a stop without dealing too much more damage to himself.

"Get him while he's weak, Rillaboom! Use Drum Beating!"

Recovering quickly, Rillaboom chucked the boulder away before taking out his drum and beating on it, summoning swarms of vines out of the ground to start whipping at Rhyperior, making the Rock Type growl in pain. Despite the super effective attacks, however, Rhyperior stood firm, waiting to be able to attack again.

"Alright, now go in for High Horsepower!"

While Rhyperior was still incapacitated, Rillaboom bounded over and began bashing him over the head with his drum, making Rhyperior howl in pain. Palmer watched patiently, waiting for him to recover before…

"Now use Flamethrower!"

Once Rhyperior could move again, he unleashed a powerful torrent of flames at Rillaboom, knocking the ape clear back to Ash's side of the field.

"Rillaboom!"

Despite the damage he had taken, Rillaboom still managed to make it to his feet, panting heavily. Realizing Rillaboom couldn't take much more of this, Ash recalled him.

"Rillaboom, return! You did good, buddy, get some rest. Go, Dracovish!"

When Ash's choice of Pokemon was revealed, Palmer could only stare in disbelief.

"What…is that?"

In a private room, the other three Frontier Brains watched the battle, just as confused as Palmer by Ash's choice.

"What is that thing?" Thorton asked in disgust.

"I don't know, but it's ugly, whatever it is," Argenta responded, taking a cup of tea from Darach, who was quick to give his own two cents.

"I wouldn't be so quick to write it off. You should never judge a book by its cover, after all."

"I suppose you're right. After all, who would've thought you would be a Frontier Brain?"

"What is that supposed to mean, Argenta?"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know! Back when Caitlin was here, you were like a lovesick puppy, doing everything she said. You were only intended to fill the gap when she got promoted to the Unova Elite Four until Scott could find a replacement. Who knew the posh butler had some battle prowless?"

Darach spluttered furiously.

"How dare you? Thornton, back me up here!"

"Sorry, Darach, but it's true. If it makes you feel any better, you lasted longer than she thought you would. And I managed to make a pretty good sum of money off of it."

"You betted on how long I would last as a Frontier Brain?"

"Hey, don't get mad at me! Argenta thought you wouldn't last a month."

"Argenta!"

"Hey, at least I gave you longer than Dahlia. She bet that you wouldn't last a week."

Darach could only seethe in fury.

"And competitor Ash Ketchum brings out a Pokemon never before seen! Now, we have checked with the Pokemon battle Commission, and Dracovish has been confirmed as a Pokemon from ancient Galar. Scott, Dahlia, any thoughts?"

"I've followed Ash's accomplishments for a long time. Pulling out a wild car like this is just the kind of thing he would do."

"I think he's cute!"

Palmer quickly recovered, turning to his Rhyperior.

"Thunderbolt, Rhyperior!"

"Power through and use Ice Fang!"

Being part Dragon type, the bolt of lightning barely fazed Dracovish, who made their way quickly over to Rhyperior and clamped down hard on the Rock Type's head. Although it didn't do too much damage to them, it did leave Rhyperior in an awkward position.

"Free yourself with Ice Beam!"

"Fishious Rend, Dracovish!"

Rhyperior tried to fire an Ice Beam from his horn, but with Dracovish having a vice-like grip on his head he could barely fire off a weak one. Meanwhile, Dracovish turned their gills upwards and began grinding them along Rhyperior's body, making Rhyperior cry out in pain.

"Now throw him with Brutal Swing!"

With one mighty swing of their head, Dracovish sent Rhyperior flying into the air before he landed hard on the ground, out cold.

"Rhyperior is unable to battle! Dracovish wins!"

"Yes! Way to go, Dracovish!"

"Vish, Dracovish!"

Palmer grinned as he returned Rhyperior to his Pokeball.

"Good work, Rhyperior. Get some rest. Go, Milotic!"

"Milotic vs Dracovish, begin!"

"Dracovish, use Dragon Breath!"

"Block it with Aqua Ring, Milotic!"

Dracovish roared, unleashing a burst of energy headed straight for Milotic. Milotic remained calm, creating a ring of water around her. While the attack still hit, the impact was lessened and the ring helped her recoup some of her health.

"Now use Aqua Tail!"

"Bite, Dracovish!"

Milotic gracefully swam through the air, striking Dracovish with her tail. Dracovish tried to clamp down on her tail, but Milotic was too strong and just swung them around a few times, slamming them into the ground for good measure.

"Now use DIsarming Voice!"

"Don't let go, Dracovish!"

More irritated by the pressure on her tail than anything, Milotic let loose a horrible aria of noise, making Dracovish whimper in pain. They tried to keep their hold on her, but the onslaught of noise proved to be too much and he let go, collapsing to the ground in a heap, but still able to fight.

"Dracovish!"

"Now, use Dragon Pulse!"

Dracovish recovered just in time to see a powerful blast of energy hit him, finally knocking him out for the count.

"Draccovish is unable to battle! Milotic wins!"

Ash sighed, but returned Dracovish to their Pokeball with a smile.

"Good work, buddy. Get some rest."

"You did well, Milotic. Do you wish to continue?"

Milotic nodded affirmatively. Palmer smirked, and turned his attention towards Ash.

"You've done well so far, but there can only be one monarch, and you're looking at him!"

Ash smirked, his blood pumping with excitement.

"Don't count us out just yet!"