As promised, I'm not going to ignore the league again. My ability to write Pokémon battles has improved greatly in my opinion, so I think I should be able to handle these next 3 chapters. Here's hoping anyway.
Chapter 89:
The Hoenn League Begins
Over the next 4 days, some of Max and Bonnie's friends start arriving at Ever Grande to watch the Hoenn League. Not nearly as many as was in Kalos, but still a good amount. First to arrive are May, Drew, Dawn, and Zoey. When they do, Max and Bonnie keep an eye out in case Kenny shows up, but Dawn explains to them that Kenny will no longer be a problem for them, going into detail about why. They also ask if Tierno, Shauna, and Trevor are coming, but they aren't. According to May, they had to return to Kalos, because Tierno's family wanted to congratulate him on getting so far in the Hoenn Contests. Not long after them, a whole horde of people show up to Ever Grande, clearly eager to see who their Top Coordinator will be cheering for, and just what kind of trainer they are. Max and Bonnie place a bet between them as to how many people will claim to be his best friend for media attention.
Next to arrive a day later are Clemont, Korrina, and Meyer. When they show up, Bonnie immediately runs over to them and hugs them tightly. Max stands off to the side while this happens, not wanting to interrupt. But then, Meyer looks up at him and says, "You'd better get in here too! You're basically part of this family as well!" Max and Bonnie protest that they're just friends, but Max acquiesces and joins in on the hug. As they walk towards the hotel, Bonnie catches them all up on their adventures, conveniently forgetting to mention all the run-ins with Team Terra. As she talks, she shoots Clemont a warning glance, silently telling him not to say a word about them. It seems like Clemont gets the hint, because he doesn't bring the group up.
And finally, the last people to arrive for the League are Ash and Serena. Like when they traveled around Kalos, the pair arrive wearing disguises, and Pikachu is hidden in Ash's bag. They arrive in the hotel the day before the League starts. Max wants to run over to them and greet them, and it's obvious that Bonnie wants to as well, but they refrain from doing that in order to keep the couple's privacy. So, they let them sit down with their group, and don't make a big fuss over them. That is, until Max and Bonnie leave to get some last minute training done, and Ash offers to join them and give Bonnie a few pointers. Once they've left the hotel, that's when Bonnie finally hugs Ash and thanks him for coming. "Well, this is your first League," he replies. "After what happened in Kalos, I couldn't not be here to watch you!" Bonnie nods eagerly and thanks him, then finds a secluded spot to train.
She's been spending every chance she had since the end of the Hoenn Grand Festival training up all 10 of her Pokémon up, as she's planning on using all of them at some point during the League, especially since her Kalos team didn't get a chance to show their stuff during that League. In particular, she's training up one Pokémon that she hopes will come in clutch with a new move that she hadn't had the chance to use last time. As she trains, Ash gives a few pointers, while Max writes down new notes on Bonnie's team in both notebooks. Eventually, Serena and Dawn come looking for them, letting them know that everyone is going to get dinner. So, the three of them stop training and join their friends for food.
The next morning, all of Ever Grande Island is buzzing with excitement, as the Hoenn League is starting today. Bonnie is so excited and nervous that she wakes up an hour before her alarm is supposed to go off, and can't get back to sleep. So, she decides to get dressed, grab her team and get some last minute training done. Not long into her training, she hears someone approaching. Assuming that it's Max, she quickly says, "I know it's early and I should get back to sleep, but as can't, so I'm doing some more training." "That's not what I was going to say," says Ash's voice from behind her. "Arceus knows I'd be a hypocrite of the highest order if I told you off for that."
Bonnie wheels around and smiles at Ash. "You here to give me more help?" she asks him. Ash shakes his head. "Serena always gets annoyed with me for sacrificing sleep to train," he says. "So I'd say Max will probably not like you doing that either." Bonnie goes pink at this. "But Max isn't my boyfriend," she argues. "I never said he was," Ash replies, chuckling a little bit. "All I said was that he'd be concerned about you." Bonnie blushes harder at this, but returns her Pokémon. The two of them sit in comfortable silence for a while, before Bonnie asks, "How did you learn to deal with nerves before a battle?" Ash chuckles again. "In truth, I never really did," he admits. "To this day, even though I'm the Monarch, I still get nervous before every battle. I always end up thinking 'what if this is the last time I ever get to battle on this pitch?' Of course, I wouldn't exactly mind that, as I can finally take a break from all the reporters and journalists."
Bonnie laughs at this, then the two of them sit in silence for a while. Eventually, Ash says, "But, something that helped me calm down is thinking about those I love." Bonnie is about to protest that she doesn't love Max like that, but Ash keeps going. "I don't just mean Serena," he explains. "I mean all of you. Everyone that I travelled with on my original journey. And every friend I've ever made. I think about all of you, and the fact that no matter what the outcome of the battle will be, none of you will ever betray me. No matter what happens, everyone I care about will remain by my side. Because of those thoughts, I'm able to keep calm and quell my nerves. Bonnie thinks about Ash's advice. Then, she smiles at him. "Thanks Ash, " she says. "I'll keep that in mind." Ash smiles back at her and ruffles her hair. "Come on, let's go back inside," he says to her. "I don't think Max or Serena will be very pleased if they knew we were out here." Bonnie blushes at this, but follows Ash back inside.
The two of them spend the rest of the morning waiting for everyone else to wake up by going over what her strategy against her first opponent. Not long into their discussion, Serena and Max come down the stairs to find them sitting on a couch. "I thought I'd find you training," Max tells her as he and Serena join them. "So did I," Serena adds, looking at Ash. "So, you two weren't training outside for the last hour?" Both of them deny it, but clearly Serena and Max don't believe them. But, before they can ask further, Meyer comes down and sits next to Bonnie, practically weeping with joy at the notion that she's finally battling in a League. As Meyer is blubbering about how old his little girl has gotten, Clemont and Korrina come down. "Give her some space dad," Clemont says. "You're embarrassing her in front of her boyfriend." As Max and Bonnie protest this, the rest of their little group arrive. Once everyone has eaten breakfast, they head off to the stadium.
The Hoenn League Stadium isn't nearly as grand as the Kalos one, but it is still rather impressive. It's in the middle of a massive lake, with many other buildings along the edge of the lake. Despite growing up next to the Lumiose Stadium, Bonnie is still impressed by the stadium. As she heads over to the entrance to it, she bumps into someone standing at the door. The person turns around, and Bonnie recognises her as Trixie. "Oh, it's you," she sneers. "Here to watch me win? Or did you somehow actually manage to get all 8 badges?" In response, Bonnie simply takes out her case and shows all 8 badges. Trixie glances at then, then turns up her nose. "Well, no matter," she says, walking into the building. "I'm still going to defeat you in this league." Then, she heads inside, leaving Bonnie to glare after her. Max puts a hand on her shoulder. "Ignore her," he says. "You'll beat her." Bonnie smiles at him, then leads the way into the building.
Upon entering the stadium, everyone spots the way to get to the arena itself, and the stands. So, Bonnie hugs each and everyone of her friends and family, who all in turn wish her luck. Then, she take a calming breath and heads into the stadium. While she does that, everyone else goes to purchase tickets. Unlike when they tried to get them in Kalos, there are some left for them. They can't sit in a box seats, since there aren't any, but they still manage to get good seats. As they sit down, Bonnie steps out onto the arena with the other competitors. She spots them and waves up to them happily, to which they all wave back.
Once all the competitors are on the arena, the announcer begins his talk about the battle. As it is similar enough to the one in Kalos, Max finds himself tuning it out. As he does, he finds himself flashing back to the Kalos League, and remembering how the Boss of Team Terra hijacked the monitors to deliver the terrifying message. As he thinks about this, he finds his chest begins to tighten, as guilt begins to creep up on him. That never would've happened had he just left the Jade Orb where it was. And now, he and Bonnie are being hunted down by them. As he thinks about this, his chest tightens even more, and he finds himself struggling to breathe. He gasps for air as he feels his breath shorten, and clutches his chest tightly.
May notices this and immediately begins to start comforting him. She rubs his back and reassures him that everything is ok, Team Terra aren't about to attack them. She's about to carry him out of the stands until he's fully calmed down, but he shakes his head, feeling his breath begin to return to him. "I'm... fine," he insists. "I'm fine." "Are you sure?" May asks. "Because you were having a proper panic attack." "It's over now," he says. "I'm ok. I want to stay and watch Bonnie." May relents and allows him to stay, but keeps a close eye on him just in case.
Back in the arena itself, Bonnie is unaware of what's happening to Max. The announcer has just finished his announcement of the League commencing, then the screen lights up and shows who will be battling who. Much to Bonnie's nerves, she's going first. Luckily, it isn't against Trixie, but some random guy she doesn't know. So, with that, the area is cleared, and the stage is set for the first battle of the Hoenn League. Bonnie selects her 3 best Pokémon, then looks at the screen to see who's going to have to pick first. Luckily for her, it's her opponent, who curses, before sending out a Quagsire. Bonnie smirks, then sends out Shiftry. With that, the first match of the Hoenn League begins.
Quagsire starts off with Mud Shot, but Shiftry dodges it, before retaliating with Vine Whip. Quagsire isn't quick enough to avoid this, and takes the damage. Quagsire uses Slam, which Shiftry isn't able to avoid in time. It doesn't hurt him too badly however. He's able to quickly recover from the attack and use Razor Leaf, scratching Quagsire badly. The water-fish Pokémon doesn't go down just yet, but it's getting weaker. It responds with another Slam, which Shiftry is once again unable to avoid. However, instead of jumping back, Quagsire doesn't move. Shiftry has grabbed onto it. He throws it away, before using Vine Whip to slam it into the ground. Before Quagsire can get up, Shiftry uses Leaf Blade, knocking it out.
Bonnie sees a look of annoyance pass over her opponent's face as he returns his Quagsire. He chooses carefully, before pulling out his next choice. A Noctowl. This makes Bonnie nervous. Although it's a normal-flying, it knows Psychic moves, which could prove to be a problem. So, she resolves to end this as quick as possible, and starts the battle off with Leaf Blade. Unfortunately, Noctowl flies up and manages to avoid it. Then, it swoops back down and uses Extrasensory, which Shiftry is unable to avoid. He takes a lot of damage from the super effective move and is even knocked back a few feet. But, he stays on his feet and goes in with Leaf Blade again. Once again, Noctowl dodges it, but it's unable to avoid the Vine Whip that shoots up after it. It gets ensnared by the vines, and is unable to avoid the Leaf Blade strike this time. However, as Shiftry comes back down, Noctowl manages to strike him in the back with Extrasensory. He's hit in the back by the move, bounces across the floor a few times, then lies still with swirly eyes.
Bonnie returns Shiftry and thanks him, then pulls out her second Pokémon, Manectric. She sees a look of annoyance cross her opponent's face at this, and smirks slightly. Her opponent starts off and tries to use Moonblast on Manectric, but he easily dodges it, then uses Thunder Fang, causing Noctowl to cry out. It manages to land Air Slash on him, then tries to use Hynosis, but Manectric avoids that too. At least, at first. He uses Thunder Fang, biting Noctowl's wing, then uses Spark, almost completely defeating Noctowl. But before he can land the final blow, he suddenly falls asleep, Hypnosis finally taking effect. Bonnie's opponent smirks, then orders Noctowl to use Dream Eater. Manectric is really hurt by this, but not down yet. Noctowl swoops in with Take Down, doing a more damage. It goes to use that move again, but before it can, the recoil takes effect, and Noctowl faints.
Now, her opponent is down to 1 Pokémon. Luckily, Manectric wakes up at this moment. He's hurt badly by the two attacks, but is still standing. Briefly, Bonnie considers Mega Evolving him. But, then she remembers who's her last choice and refrains from doing so. Instead, she waits to see what her opponent's final choice will be. As it turns out, her opponent's final choice is an Absol, which he mega evolves almost immediately. Bonnie starts feeling nervous again, but doesn't let it get to her. She just needs to get Manectric to do as much damage as possible before he faints so that her final choice can successfully finish the job. With that min mind, she orders Manectric to use Spark again. Manectric uses the move and crashes into Absol, doing damage. In response, Absol uses Night Slash, which almost knocks Manectric out. Manectric uses Spark again, doing more damage, but before he can go in for one more attack, Absol uses Slash, knocking Manectric out.
Bonnie returns Manectric and thanks him for his hard work. Then, she sends out her final Pokémon. As she throws it out, everyone hears a mighty screech as a massive fiery bird flies into the air. Talonflame has joined the battle. Bonnie hears excitement from the crowd as a Pokémon from Kalos is in this fight. Then, everyone's shock and awe increases as Bonnie raises her wrist and touches the bracelet on it. Mega energy bursts from the bracelet, covering Talonflame. Her feathers go on fire, completely covering her body in flames. Three long tail feathers grow from her tail, also glowing with flames. Bonnie stares with awe at her, making a mental note to thank Max for the Talonflameite when she's finished here.
She's so distracted that she almost misses when Absol attempts to strike Talonflame with Night Slash. Luckily, she notices in time and has her avoid it. Then, she uses Flame Charge, crashing into Absol. Absol responds with Perish Song, but Talonflame flies into the air, and thus doesn't hear it. Then, she charges back down with Flame Charge, then uses Flamethrower. Thanks to her new mega evolution, she does a lot of damage. Absol uses Night Slash again, striking Talonflame dead on as she was going for another Flame Charge. She tries to get up, but Absol uses Sucker Punch, knocking her down again. Absol goes to use another Slash, but Talonflame uses Brave Bird to swipe Absol off its feet, then swoops in for one last Flame Charge. This one seals the deal and Absol goes down.
With the ref's call of "Absol is unable to battle!" the crowd goes wild. Max is practically jumping in his seat, his panic attack long over. The two opponents shake hands respectfully, then are led off the arena, as it is prepared for the next battle. But Max isn't paying any attention to that. He's already running down to the changing room in order to properly congratulate Bonnie for winning. Meanwhile, Bonnie is getting ready as fast as she can in order to thank Max for the Talonflameite. Thanks to that and her battling skill, she's through to the next round of the Hoenn League.
I was going to include a victory party in this chapter, but I ran out of steam. Fun fact, I based Max's panic attack off one I had recently. This caused me to flashback to that moment, and I accidentally triggered myself lol. Luckily I didn't have a panic attack myself, but I had to take a break from writing for a bit. But, I managed to finish it. Now, see you on Saturday for Bonnie's second round in the league.