Chapter 127: Aim For the Eight

Ash smiled, breathing in the fresh air of Lily of the Valley Island.

"Man, it's been years since we've been here, huh buddy?"

"Pika!"

"It sure does bring back memories. But this time, I'm here to win!"

His companions chuckled at his energy.

"Hey, it's one of the guys competing tomorrow!"

"Uh oh."

Before Ash could run, he was swamped by a horde of crazy fans.

"No way, its the Alola Champion!"

"Did you see his Urshifu?"

"Ash, can I get an autograph?"

"I love you, Ash!"

Lillie scowled when she heard the last one. Luckily, before she could rip them to shreds, an Officer Jenny stepped in, forcing everyone back.

"Alright, that's enough! He's a Very Important Trainer, give him some room!"

His fans grumbled, but let up. With a sigh, Officer Jenny turned to the group.

"Sorry about that, these kinds of matches always draw in the crazies."

"That's alright, I guess I'll have to get used to it."

"Miss Cynthia asked me to come collect you. She figured this might happen."

"That sounds great, thank you!"

That decision soon proved to be unwise, as they were shoved into a police van and sped off towards the stadium, the four of them having to clutch onto anything as the van swerved around corners.

"Can't you slow down?" Goh screamed as he held onto the handrail with one hand and Chloe with the other.

"No can do! I have to get you there before the fans catch up."

As they sped along, Ash couldn't help but notice that Lillie was being quiet.

"Lillie, you ok?"

Lillie sighed.

"Yeah, I just…All of those fangirls of yours…"

"You're jealous?"

Lillie nodded.

"I know it's silly, but seeing how many choices…and some of them are really pretty…"

Ash smiled, and pulled her close.

"Maybe, but none of them are as beautiful as you."

Lillie smiled, and kissed him.

"Sorry. Sometimes…"

"Don't. You're the only one I want to be with."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it."

Their moment was cut short by the van abruptly stopping, throwing them to the floor.

"We're here," Officer Jenny said plainly, helping them to their feet. "Come on, Cynthia wants to see you."

They were led into the stadium, where Cynthia and the Elite Four were waiting for them. Immediately, Cynthia ran over and tackled Ash in a hug.

"Oh, look at you! The Alola Champion, and about to enter the Masters Eight! Oh, it feels like just yesterday you were traveling through Sinnoh with Brock and Dawn."

"Hi…Cynthia…" Ash choked out. "But I…can't breathe…"

"Cynthia, leave the poor boy alone!" A gruff voice responded. "If you're going to host the match tomorrow, you need to remain impartial."

Cynthia huffed, but relented as The Sinnoh Elite Four appeared behind her.

"Well excuse me for wanting to celebrate his accomplishments! He just entered the competition this year, and already he's competing for a spot in the Master's Eight."

Flint scoffed.

"Well, you could at least pretend to not play favorites."

"Sorry, no can do!"

Ash chuckled, and shook Flint's hand.

"It's good to see you, Flint!"

"Same, Ash. How's Infernape doing?"

Ash chuckled, and let out the Fire Type.

"When he heard you were my next opponent, he practically begged me to bring him with us. He just can't wait to show you how much stronger we've gotten."

Flint chuckled, and offered Ash a handshake, to which he accepted.

"I can't wait. Just don't think I'll go easy on you!"

"I wouldn't want it any other way!"

The very next day, Lily of the Valley Island Stadium was crammed full of eager fans, waiting for the battle to start. Chloe, Lillie, and Goh just barely managed to squeeze into their seats.

"Man, can you believe Ash might make it into the Masters Eight?"

"Not might, he will!" Lillie said confidently.

"It won't be easy, though," Goh said. "Flint's a member of the Elite Four, he won't be a pushover!"

"Go Ash!"

At last, Ash and Flint entered the stadium, much to the roar of the crowd.

"Welcome back, folks, to another exciting battle in the World Coronation Series! But it's not just an ordinary battle. This is a special promotion battle to enter The Masters Eight! As always, I'm Cecil Lockjaw, and today I'm joined by a very special guest, so give it up for the champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia!"

Cynthia chuckled, waving to her adoring fans.

"Thanks for co-hosting today, Cynthia."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Cecil! These two are very close friends of mine."

"Well then, let's introduce them! In the green corner, ranked 8th in the World Coronation Series rankings, a high ranking member of The Sinnoh Elite Four, give it up for Flint!"

"As for his opponent, he's the champion of Alola, ranked 9th in the rankings, but hoping to make it into the top eight, all the way from Pallet Town, give it up for Ash Ketchum!"

The crowd went wild as the two reached the stadium, shaking hands before going to their separate sides of the arena.

"This will be a 3-on-3 battle with no time limit! Each trainer can switch their Pokemon out as often as they like. In addition, each trainer will be allowed one use of Mega Evolution, a Z-Move, or Dynamax! Trainers,are you ready?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Bring it!"

"Then let the battle begin!"

"Go, Magmortar!"

"Urshifu, I choose you!"

"Magmortar, Fire Blast!"

"Rain Dance, Urshifu!"

Rain began to cover the battlefield as Magmortar launched a fireball from his arm cannon, pushing Urshifu backwards.

"Now go in for Fire Punch!"

"Surging Strikes!"
The two Pokemon charged forward, punching each other over and over again. Despite being at a disadvantage, Magmortar wasn't giving up.

"Lava Plume!"

While Urshifu was distracted, Magmortar summoned a huge plume of fire from beneath him, sending him flying.

"Aqua Jet, Urshifu!"

"Flamethrower!"

Urshifu quickly picked himself up and launched himself at Magmortar, pushing through the fire attack from Magmortar to punch him right in the gut. After a moment, Magmortar fell over in defeat.

"Magmortar is unable to battle! Urshifu wins!"

"Alright! Way to go, Urshifu!"

Urshifu smiled, and flashed Ash a thumbs up as the rain let up.

"Magmortar, return! Get some rest, you did great."

He then turned to Ash with a confident smile on his face.

"Alright Ash, are you ready for this?"

"Bring it!"

"Go, Lopunny!"

To everyone's surprise, the Pokemon Flint sent out next was not a Fire Type, but the normal type evolution of Bunneary.

"What's this? Unless the types have changed, Lopunny isn't a fire type, are they?"

Cynthia chuckled.

"No, but she can learn Fire Type moves. Back when the Sinnoh League was just starting out, some of the types weren't well represented, so type specialists had to make do with what they could. Guided migration from other regions helped, but Flint always was one to stick by his team."

She smiled fondly.

"I can't wait to see what he does to counter Urshifu."

Flint then parted his hair, revealing a Key Stone embedded in his headband.

"Alright Lopunny, let's do this! Mega Evolve!"

Lopunny growled, allowing the energy to transform her. But Ash wasn't deterred, in fact he was ecstatic.

"Bring it, Flint! Urshifu, use Aqua Jet!"

"Sunny Day, Lopunny!"

Lopunny created a fireball at her feet and kicked it into the air, creating a sunny atmosphere right before Urshifu rammed into her, pushing her back.

"Play Rough, Lopunny!"

"Focus Energy!"

Lopunny pounced on Urshifu, punching and kicking him all over as he blocked with his fists up against his body, taking the brunt of the attack.

"Aerial Ace!"

Urshifu reeled his fist back and smashed it into Lopunny, sending her flying across the battlefield.

"Bounce!"

Lopunny landed on her feet, only to spring back into the sky, falling back on top of Urshifu, kicking him hard in the face and making him stumble back.

"Counter!"

Urshifu grunted, slamming his massive fist into Lopunny, sending her flying again, though she quickly got back to her feet.

"Lopunny, use Thunder Punch with Bounce!"

"Dynamic Punch!"

Foot met fist in a brilliant display of power, creating a big explosion that rocked the stadium, when the dust settled, Lopunny was crouched in a crater, wherein Urshifu lay defeated.

"Urshifu is unable to battle! Lopunny wins!"

"Aw man! Goh moaned. "Urshifu is one of his best fighters!"

"But not his only one," Chloe countered. "The battle isn't over yet."

"Go Ash!" Lillie cheered.

"Vul!"

"Urshifu, return! Great job, get some rest."

"Come on Ash, you'll never make it into the Masters Eight like that!"

"Watch me! Go, Lucario! Mega Evolve!"

Lopunny and Lucario stared each other down, Lopunny hopping from one foot to the other while Lucario pumped his fists in an attempt to intimidate the other.

"Alright Lopunny, use Double Kick!"

"Close Combat, Lucario!"

The two Fighting Types began going at it, exchanging kick for punch as they went back and forth.

"Fire Punch!"

"Aura Sphere!"

Lopunny moved from kicking to punching, her fists covered in flames as she rammed them into his face. Lucario growled, fighting through the pain to blast her with point blank Aura Spheres.

"Keep at it, Lopunny!"

"Use Psychic, Lucario!"

While Lopunny kept up her barrage of Fire attacks, Lucario thrusted waves of Psychic energy into her, forcing her back. At this point, both of them were on the verge of passing out, but neither one was willing to back down.

"Bounce!"

"Aura Sphere, full power!"

Lopunny took to the sky once more, coming down extremely fast as Lucario charged up the biggest Aura Sphere he could until the two collided, the stadium shaking as smoke filled the room. When it cleared, both Pokemon were down for the count.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! This round ends in a draw!"

"Incredible, folks! Both trainers are down to their last Pokemon. Who will come out on top? Cynthia, thoughts?"

Cynthia chuckled.

"I don't know Cecil, but it's going to be an interesting battle either way."

"Lucario, return! You did great, buddy. Get some rest."

"Good job, Lopunny. We'll take it from here."

The two of them then turned to each other, a fire in both their eyes.

"This is it, Ash! No holding back!"

"As if! Infernape, I choose you!"

"Go, Infernape!"

Ash's Infernape pounded his chest, eager to prove how much stronger he'd become.

"Mach Punch!"

"Fire Spin!"

Ash's Infernape pounced, ready to pummel his opponent. Even the circle of flames that surrounded him couldn't keep him down. Flint's Infernape grunted, putting up his fists to defend himself.

"Flame Wheel!"

Quickly, Infernape spun around, flames digging into Infernape's chest as he cried out in pain.

"Counter, Infernape!"

Grunting, Infernape slammed his fist into his opponent, sending the spinning wheel of fire flying back, not stopping until he reached the back wall.

"Infernape!"

Flint's Infernape pushed himself to his feet, panting in exhaustion.

"Can you keep going?"

"Ape!"

"Alright then, Fire Punch!"

"Flamethrower!"

With a roar, Infernape charged forwards, fists glowing bright orange. Ash blasted fire at him, but Flint's just powered through it, reaching his opponent in record time and began pummeling him.

"'You can take it, Infernape! Focus Energy!"

Infernape, trusting Ash knew best, crossed his arms over his chest and began gathering energy, tanking all of the hits until Ash gave the order. Before long, his eyes began to glow red and the flames on his back began to grow, something Flint was quick to notice.

"Uh oh."

"Fire Blast!"

"Infernape, get out of there!"

But it was too late. Ash's Infernape blasted him back with a massive fire strike, sending him flying straight into the back wall. Once the fire had subsided, he slid down unconscious.

"Flint's Infernape is unable to battle! Ash's Infernape is the winner, which means the battle goes to Ash Ketchum!"

The crowd cheered wildly, thrilled from such the epic battle.

"And there you have it, folks! After a long, hard fought battle, Ash comes out on top! Champion Cynthia, thoughts?"

"This battle could've gone either way, but in the end the better trainer won."

"Alright, you did it Infernape! I knew you could do it."

Infernape smiled, and flashed Ash a thumbs up. Flint chuckled, and returned Infernape to his Pokeball with a proud smile.

"You did great, Infernape. Get some rest."

He then walked over to Ash to shake his hand.

"You guys were awesome, Ash. I can't wait to see you in the Masters Eight."

"Thanks, Flint. We'll do you proud!"

"As a result of today's battle, there has been a change in The World Coronation Series rankings! As of now, Ash Ketchum is ranked Number Eight, and is officially in The Masters Eight!"

"Yeah! We did it!"

"Pika!"

"Ash, you won!"

Ash turned around just in time to catch Lillie in a hug as she gave him a big kiss.

"You did it, I knew you would!"

Ash chuckled, and kissed her back.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without my favorite girl cheering for me."

Over in Galar, Leon smirked, and nodded in approval.

"Not bad, rookie."

Raihan, his companion, scoffed.

"Pah. He could never stand up to me."

"I guess we'll see, won't we?"

Raihan rolled his eyes, but secretly he was impressed.

Meanwhile in Sinnoh, a certain purple haired teen watched the end of the match with interest. He couldn't help but smirk when Ash won.

"Not bad, Ash. Not bad at all."