Chapter 146: Strength vs Flash! Steven vs Diantha Part 1

After healing up his team, Ash made his way back to the locker room, where everyone gave him a round of applause, making him blush.

"Way to go, Ash!'' Iris cheered. "I knew you could do it! I just wish I had been the one to battle Lance."

"Not bad, rookie," Leon chuckled.

"Not bad?" Cynthia scoffed. "He did better than you did against him, if you ask me."

"Yeah, well, no one asked you," Leon said grumpily, making everyone chuckle.

"Thanks guys, but don't cut Lance out! He gave me one heck of a battle."

"Speaking of which," Alain cut in. "The next one is about to start."

"Alright folks, it's time for the penultimate match of the day! In the red corner, ranked 3rd in the world rankings, we have the Champion of Hoenn, heir to the Devon Corporation and expert on all things fossil, Steven Stone!"

The crowd cheered as Steven appeared, bowing to them as he made his way to the battlefield.

"And in the green corner, ranked 5th in the World rankings, we have the Champion of Kalos, a world renowned actress and model, give it up for Diantha!"

Diantha waved to her adoring fans as she reached the arena, shaking Steven's hand warmly.

"Good luck, Steven. I look forward to our battle."

"I as well, Diantha."

"This will be a full six-on-six battle, with no limits on time or switching out! In addition, each trainer is allowed one use of Mega Evolution, a Z-Move, or Dynamax per battle! Both trainers shall send out their Pokemon at the same time. Are you ready?"

"Ready!"

"Then let the battle begin!"

"Go, Cradily!"

"Hawlucha, take the stage!"

The two Pokemon emerged onto the scene, staring each other down as they awaited instruction.

"Flying Press, Hawlucha!"

"Cradily, Power Whip!"

Hawlucha took to the skies, ready to kick Cradily into next week, but Cradily was faster, lashing out with his arms to snag Hawlucha's limbs, holding her in place. Hawlucha tried to break free, but Cradily was too strong.

''Giga Drain, Cradily!''

As Hawlucha tried to break free, Cradily began draining her energy, causing her to grunt in pain as she thrashed about.

''Superpower, Hawlucha!''

Gathering her strength, Hawlucha jumped, taking Cradily into the air with her. With one mighty swing, she brought Cradily crashing down to Earth, finally freeing himself from her opponent's grasp. Cradily came back to his senses, shaking himself off and ready for battle again.

"Now use Close Combat!''

"Energy Ball!''

Hawlucha took off once more, expertly dodging all of the Energy Balls thrown her way. Once she reached her opponent, she began kicking and punching at him.

''Power Whip, again!"

Cradily tried to lash out and snare Hawlucha again, but she was ready this time, effortlessly kicking them away. Seeing how his previous strategy would no longer work, Steven decided to change tactics.

"Rock Blast, Cradily!''

During a break between Hawlucha's onslaught, Cradily began picking up boulders and chucking them at his opponent, sending her back to Diantha's side of the field.

''Now use Ingrain!''

Cradily stuck his roots into the Earth, drawing energy from the ground to replenish his own.

"High Jump Kick!''

"Ancient Power!''

Hawlucha jumped into the air again, descending rapidly towards her opponent with her leg outstretched to deal a powerful kick. Cradily launched a flurry of stones at her, but they only served to slow her down before she kicked him, dealing a powerful blow.

"Now use Low Sweep!"

While Cradily was still recovering from the previous attack, Hawlucha swung her foot out low and dealt another one. While Cradily was still recovering energy with Ingrain, it wasn't quite as fast as the damage Hawlucha was dealing.

"Cradily, Sludge Bomb!"

Pushing through the pain, Cradily sent Hawlucha flying back with a quick spit of poison right to the face, giving him enough space. To make matters worse, the attack had left her poisoned.

"Now use Rock Tomb!"

"Dodge it, Hawlucha!"

Hawlucha tried, but the battle was beginning to wear on her, and the rocks began to overwhelm her. Before long, she was completely encased by a stone prison.

"Now, Solar Beam!"

His opponent now trapped, Cradily had the time to charge up sunlight for a powerful attack.

"Don't give up, Hawlucha! Use Brick Break to get free!"

Hawlucha tried, but her exhaustion and status condition left her with little strength, meaning she was still trapped when Cradily fired his Solar Beam. FInally though, she managed to break free…

Only to get blasted back by the beam, knocking her out.

"Hawlucha is unable to battle, Cradily wins!"

"So, first blood goes to Steven, eh?" Leon mused. "Interesting."

"Diantha has her work cut out for her," Lance added, having come back from healing his team. "As long as Cradily is using Ingrain, he'll be healing constantly."

"Don't count Diantha out that easily," Cynthia chuckled. "After all, the battle has just begun."

"Go Steven! Go Diantha!" Ash cheered, making Iris sigh and shake her head.

"Still such a kid."

"Hawlucha, return! You did well, get some rest."

Diantha pulled out her next Pokeball with a smile.

"I trust you to do your best. Go, Gourgeist!"

The Ghost-Grass type emerged, floating mischievously in the air as she awaited orders.

"Shadow Ball, Gourgeist!"

Taking advantage of Cradily being forced to recharge, Gourgeist pelted him with a flurry of Shadow Balls, draining his energy faster than he could recover it.

"Gastro Acid!"

Cradily choked for a minute, before spitting out a massive glob of poison heading straight for Gourgeist…

"Shadow Sneak!"

…Only for her to disappear right before it would hit, confusing her opponent. Then…

"Behind you, Cradily!"

Too late, Cradily turned around, only to get hit by Gourgeist's arms.

"Now use Focus Blast!"

Cradily's pain didn't stop there, being hit right in the face by a Focus Blast, putting him on the brink of falling unconscious.

"Shadow Ball!"

Before Steven could issue another command, Cradily got hit right in the face by a Shadow Ball, finally knocking him out.

''Cradily is unable to battle, Gourgeist wins!''

"Boy, I tell ya, folks, this battle is intense!" Meowth commented.

"You said it, Mason!" James nodded. "But what else should you expect when you're watching a battle between two masters of their art?''

"GO GOURGEIST!'' Jessie shouted. "BEAT THAT NO GOOD HOENN SCHMUCK!"

"Sina, calm down, you're making a scene,'' James said, but Jessie didn't care. Meowth just shook his head.

"It's no good, Dexio. Ever since she found out DIantha had one, she's been a die hard fan."

"YOU CAN DO IT, GOURGEIST!"

"Return, Cradily! Good job, get some rest.''

"Gourgeist, return!''

''WHAT?!''

Diantha ignored the outburst from the stands as she pocketed her Pokeball.

"You did well, now rest up. I'll need your help later."

"Go, Skarmory!"

"Come on out, Aurorus!"

The crowd oohed and awed as the Fossil Pokemon emerged.

"Flash Cannon, Skarmory!"

"Light Screen!"

Skarmory launched a brilliant blast of energy from his mouth headed straight for Aurorus, who quickly threw up a Light Screen to protect himself. Although it didn't protect him fully, it did lessen the impact.

"Now use Aurora Beam!"

Once he had recovered, Aurorus fired back with an Icy Blast, nearly knocking Skarmory right out of the sky, though he quickly recovered.

"Steel Wing, Skarmory!"

"Aurorus, use Ancient Power!"

Skarmory took off, charging through the stones thrown at him before slashing Aurorus with his wing, making the Fossil Pokemon cry out.

"Wing Attack!"

"Aurorus, use Protect!"

Aurorus acted quickly, forming a protective barrier around himself before the attack hit.

"Now, use Hail!"

"Metal Claw!"

Grey clouds formed overhead, sending chunks of ice raining down on the field, pelting Skarmory as he sped towards Aurorus, scraping his claws right across the Rock/Ice Type.

"Aurora Beam!"

While Skarmory was still close enough to him, Aurorus fired off a powerful Ice Beam, blasting Skarmory back. When the dust settled, he was out cold.

"Skarmory is unable to battle, Aurorus wins!"

"Skarmory, return! You did well, take a long earned rest. Go, Aggron!"

Aggron roared in an effort to intimidate his foe, but Aurorus stayed firm.

"Iron Tail, Aggron!"

"Protect!"

Unfortunately, this time Aurorus was too slow to put up her shield, and got slammed by Aggron's tail, nearly sending her flying.

"Flamethrower!"

While Aurorus recoiled, Aggron blasted her with a torrent of flames, nearly putting her on the brink of exhaustion.

"Brick Break!"

"Aurora Beam!"

Despite the pain, Aurorus fired off a powerful Aurora Beam right in his opponent's face, stunning him momentarily. This confusion didn't last long, for Aggron soon pushed his claw through and delivered a powerful chop right to his face, knocking Aurorus out cold.

"Aurorus is unable to battle, Aggron wins!"

"Man, Steven sure is tough," Ash said.

"You don't become ranked 3rd in the world rankings if you aren't," Iris agreed. "Diantha has her work cut out for her."

But Cynthia just smirked knowingly.

"I wouldn't cut Diantha out just yet. Steven may think he has the edge, but she knows how to put on a show."

"Aurorus, return! You did well, take a well earned rest."

She then took out her next Pokeball with a smile.

"Let's see how you handle this! Go, Goodra!"

Diantha's next Pokemon burst out onto the scene, roaring proudly as the audience oohed and awed at her majestic entrance.

"Aggron, use Rock Blast!"

"Rain Dance!"

Goodra pushed through the pain to perform her technique, creating a downpour from out of nowhere. Steven frowned, but retained his composure.

"If you think that will stop us, then think again! Aggron, use Iron Head!"

"Aqua Tail!"

Aggron roared, charging straight towards his opponent ready to strike her hard. Goodra reacted in kind, slapping him away with her tail as the rain continued to pour.

"Don't give up, Aggron! Use Metal Claw!"

"Focus Blast!"

Aggron tried to swipe at her with his claw, but Goodra fired off a quick blast of energy before he could, knocking him off his feet.

"Aggron!"

With a grunt, Aggron pushed himself to his feet, the fire in his eyes still going strong.

"Alright then, use Heavy Slam!"

Aggron jumped into the air, casting a shadow on Goodra as he barreled towards her. Surprisingly, Diantha issued no commands to Goodra, allowing her to take the hit. But just when it looked like Aggron had won…

"Counter!"

Suddenly, a strange glow began to emanate from beneath Aggron, confusing him. His confusion soon turned to horror as he was thrown off Goodra completely, sending him flying into the air before crashing down hard onto the ground. When the dust settled, he was too tired to continue.

"Aggron is unable to battle, Goodra wins!"

Steven was stunned, but his shock turned into an impressed smirk as he recalled his Pokemon.

"Aggron, return! You did well, take a rest."

"I hope you're not throwing in the towel already!" Diantha taunted. "Because my team is just getting warmed up."

Steven chuckled.

"Don't you worry, we're just getting started!"