So, fun fact, did you know that there was an episode of Pokémon Advanced that was never aired? And I don't mean not aired in the West because 4Kids didn't like the content of the episode. I'm talking about an episode of the anime that was never aired at all, not even in Japan. It was called "Shaking Island Battle! Dojoach (Barboach) VS. Namazun (Whiscash)!" The reason it never aired isn't because it was an offensive episode. Rather, it's an episode revolving around an earthquake. I think you can see where I'm going with this. Around the time it was scheduled to be aired, Japan was hit by a devastating earthquake, so the pokémon company decided it would be best to cancel the episode. This episode was also where Ash first learned that the final gym is in Sootopolis. Why am I telling you all this? Well, since the episode was never aired, it means that I can use the idea myself. And I'm going to, because I'm so fucking stuck it's not even funny. I know I could just do the Brock chapter now and spend more time coming up with an idea for this one, but I'm still working on that one, and since it's an important plot point, I can't really half-ass it. So, I'm uploading this to give myself a bit more time to work on that chapter. Also, on the off chance that someone from the Pokémon Company is reading this, I'm not stealing your idea, since I gave you credit. So, please don't sue me, I'm a broke college student living in one of the most expensive cities in Europe, and I make no money from this fic! Anyway, sorry for the long tangent, here's the chapter.
Chapter 73:
Shaking the Earth
None of them stuck around after the contest. Tierno and Shauna wanted to head off and see more of the Hoenn Region, and Bonnie was starting to get worried that if they didn't get a move on soon, she'd miss the league. And, as she likes to remind Max, "I already missed the Kalos League! There's no way in the Reverse World I'm doing that again with the Hoenn League!" So, the four of them parted ways in Lilycove, and Tierno and Shauna went towards Fortree, while Max and Bonnie headed to Sootopolis. There was a funny moment for them when Max almost led them the wrong way, going towards Mossdeep instead. Luckily, Bonnie noticed in time, and Max corrected himself, laughing while he did.
Now, the pair walk along the water, admiring the different water and flying type pokémon that are around them. Max is happily speaking into his audio logs, describing all of the pokémon that they walk past. While she has all of her team, Bonnie is still looking at some of the pokémon swimming or flying by, and considering adding one of them to her team. Eventually, they stop walking and sit down at the side of the cliff overlooking the water. Bonnie is training her pokémon against some of the water types in the area, while Max is documenting all the pokémon that he can see. In particular, a group of sleeping Whiscash catches his eye. To see them sleeping just below the surface of the water is a big thing, because it's a rare sight indeed.
As he marvels at the sleeping pokémon, he fails to notice the other people coming down the path. That is, until Bonnie spots them and dives onto Max, right as a net was launched at him. It sails over their heads and hits a bush, covering it with a net. Max and Bonnie get up (a little bashfully) and look over to see Sarah and Sam walking over to them, with Sam holding a giant bazooka, and aiming it right at Max. "Don't worry, this doesn't launch explosives," he says. "But, as you've seen, it will launch a net at you and ensnare you, and allow us to take your notebooks away from you." Sarah nods at this. "So, why don't you cut out the middleman and just let us have them." Max makes a show of thinking about it. "How about I give you this instead!" Then, he summons Flygon. Bonnie follows suit with Donphan. So, Sarah and Sam also send out their pokémon, Mr. Mime and Vileplume.
Both immediately go on the offensive, with Vileplume causing massive vines to erupt from the ground, while Mr Mime used reflect to keep both of them safe from attacks. Meanwhile, Flygon used Sandstorm to block Team Terra's line of sight. "Should we run?" he asks Bonnie. She shakes her head. "If we do, they'll just run after us," she replies. "I've got a better idea." Then she turns to Donphan. "Charge at them with Rollout! Then swap to Earthquake!" Donphan nods, then tucks into a ball and charges. Sarah and Sam are very surprised when the massive rock charged at their pokémon. Donphan slams into Mr. Mime's Reflect, completely shattering it. Then, she leaps into the air, untucks herself and slams her 4 feet into the ground, causing it to shake. The shaking is so violent that both Max and bonnie stumble a little bit.
Max looks down at the sleeping Whiscash, and see that they've begun to stir a little bit. "Hey Bonnie," he says. "We may want to stop that. I don't want to know what a Whiscash with a disturbed nap looks like, much less a horde of them." Bonnie nods, and the two of them begin to turn and run. "Where do you think you're going?!" Sam asks, shooting another net from his gun. "Flygon, intercept that!" Max calls. Flygon uses her wings to slice through the net, which causes the weighted part to fall into the water below. "You morons!" Max calls. "There are sleeping pokémon down below! Do you want to find out was an angry group of Whiscash can do!?" "Ooh, a group of Whiscash," Sarah replies. "We're so scared!" Sam laughs and aims his bazooka again. Max has Flygon use Sandstorm again, and manages to get it in Sam's eyes. Suddenly blinded, he staggers around, before misfiring the gun. Everyone watches as the net slams into the side of the cliff, causing all sorts of debris, and the net itself to fall onto the sleeping Whiscash, waking them up.
Max and Bonnie freeze as the Whiscash angrily thrash around in the water, before looking up at the cliff above them. "Please don't notice us," Max silently begged. "Please don't notice us!" They notice them. Or rather, they notice Sarah and Sam first. The two of them barely have time to be shocked, before a bunch of water guns strike them, sending them flying off and causing the cliff they were standing on to break. Seeing this happen, Max and Bonnie return their pokémon and try to subtly sneak away. Unfortunately, the flashing from the pokémon being returned to their balls alert the Whiscash to their presence. The water types turn and glare at them. "Run?" Bonnie asks. "Run," Max replies. They run.
As they do, the ground beneath them begins to shake. Looking down, Max can see that the Whiscash are attacking the cliff itself, trying to knock them off. The cliff path begins to crack a bit, reminding them both of the Tremors that plagued them all those months ago. One or two Water guns shoot up at them from the water, trying to send them flying like Sarah and Sam were. They duck under it, then keep going. Max tries to resummon Flygon to help them fly out of there, but she's immediately struck by Water Gun and weakened, so he returns her and they keep going. The Whiscash only seem to become more angry at this, and begin blasting the path in front of Max and Bonnie, hoping to knock them either away or in the water. The pair dodge and dodge, being careful to avoid the cracks that have appeared in the road.
As they continue running, Max comes up with an idea. "Bonnie!" he calls. "Can you get your Manectric and Dedenne to both shock the water those Whiscash are in at the same time?!" Bonnie stares at him. "Are you out of your mind!?" she asks. "It's a definite possibility!" Max replies. "But if you can shock them that hard, maybe you can paralyse them long enough for us to escape!" Bonnie clearly doesn't like the plan one bit, but the ground breaks beneath her feet, and she would've fell into the water below had Max not caught her and pulled her along. "Alright fine," she says, before releasing Manectric and Dedenne and explaining what she wants them to do. It's clear that they don't like the idea either, but there's nothing else for it. So, they back up a little bit into the foliage behind them, then both Manectric and Dedenne launch their attacks.
The combined Thunderwave rockets towards the Whiscash at blinding speed, striking them all dead on. They all cry out as the paralysis takes hold of them, stopping their attacks from hitting the cliff. Max and Bonnie watch as they try to strike them again with Water Guns and Water Pulses, but they don't come out. "Well, as crazy as it was, it looks like it worked," Bonnie comments. Max smirks at this. "My plans usually do," he replies, which makes her laugh. Then, Bonnie returns Manectric to his ball and Dedenne to his bag, and she and Max set off again. However, it seems that the Whiscash are determined to have the last laugh. One of them manages to fight through the paralysis just enough to send out one last Water Pulse. It explodes against the side of the cliff, sending rocks hurtling towards the pair. Bonnie manages to duck and avoid the rocks, but Max isn't so lucky.
Before he has a chance to duck, a large rock strikes him straight int he face, sending him flying backwards. Bonnie cries out his name as he hits the ground. She runs up to him and sees that he's unconscious, with a big bloody gash on his forehead. She starts to panic at this, calling his name and shaking him, trying to wake him up. She searches through her and Max's bags, trying to find some way to close the wound. Then, she remembers something and slaps herself. Ash showed her how to heal people with Aura! How could she be so stupid as to forget that. "Ok, I can do this," she says to herself. "First thing's first, I need to calm down." She repeats this to herself as she takes a few breaths, then hovers her hand over Max's head. "I can do this," she mutters. "I can do this. I can do this!" As she says this to herself, she allows her Aura to gently flow out of her hand. As it does, Max's wound begins to close.
Bonnie gets so excited by this that she almost lets out a blast right in Max's face. But, she calms herself down again, and continues to heal him. Soon enough, Max's wound is healed, and he opens his eyes. When he does, Bonnie dives onto him, hugging him tight. "Are you alright?" she asks. Max nods, awkwardly returning the hug. "Well, I was hit with a rock, and yet I'm fine," he says. "I'm guessing you managed to heal me?" Bonnie nods, finally letting him go and standing up. "I'm so glad I managed to convince Ash to teach me that," she says. "Otherwise I don't know what I'd be doing right now." "Cursing him most likely," Max replies, which makes Bonnie laugh. "Maybe," she says. "But enough talk. Let's get out of here before those Whiscash try something like that again." Max nods and stands up himself. But before he leaves, he looks down at the Whiscash. "What's wrong?" Bonnie asks. Max thinks about this. "I don't know," he replies. "But I can't shake the feeling that I've dealt with something like that before." "You mean like Deja vu?" Bonnie asks. Max shrugs. "Maybe," he replies. "Oh well. Let's keep going." With that, the pair moved on.
I had to throw in a joke about my lack of creativity with this chapter. It would've been a disservice to my style if I didn't. But anyway, I was looking for a reason for Bonnie try healing for the first time, and this chapter gave me that option. Sorry it was so lacklustre, but the good news is I have some more ideas for the Brock chapter. With any luck, that'll be the next one that comes out. But, we'll see.