Ash's Story (Part 5: Modern Sinnoh)

Chapter 91: Shared Victory

The next day, Lily of the Valley Island felt louder than it had during any battle before it.

I stood on one side of the stadium with the morning light shining over the battlefield, and Lillie stood across from me with her hat held close against her chest. For a moment, neither of us reached for a Poké Ball.

The crowd was cheering, but the sound felt far away. I could see Mom, Delia, Adam, Golly, Serena, Dawn, Gladion, Tox, Daniel, Barry, Verity, Emily, Tobias, Cynthia, and everyone else who had followed us this far.

Lillie smiled first, but her eyes were serious.

"I never thought we would be facing each other here," I said carefully.

Lillie lowered her hat and clipped it back into place. "We share our Pokémon, and we train together every day, but standing on opposite sides of this stadium feels different."

"It does," I said, touching Pikachu's head as he stood beside my shoe. "But we made it here together."

Lillie's smile grew a little stronger. "Then we should battle the same way."

The referee raised both flags between us.

"This will be the final battle of the Sinnoh League Conference!" he called. "Ash Ketchum and Lillie Aether will each use six Pokémon. Substitutions are allowed. The battle will continue until all Pokémon on one side are unable to battle."

Pikachu looked up at me, and his tail flicked once.

Pikachu's meaning came quietly. "We do not need to be afraid because it is her."

I nodded without looking away from Lillie.

"No holding back," I said.

"No holding back," Lillie answered.

The referee's flags dropped between us.

"Begin!" the referee called to us.

"Drapion, I choose you!" I called.

Drapion landed hard on my side of the field, claws spread wide and tail raised high.

"Mamoswine, please help me!" Lillie called.

Mamoswine crashed onto the opposite side with a deep cry that made the ground tremble.

The announcer's voice carried over the stadium. "Ash opens with Drapion, while Lillie answers with Mamoswine! This is a heavy first clash between Poison and Ground!"

I remembered Paul's Drapion, the Toxic Spikes, and the way one field condition had forced me to think differently for the rest of the match.

"Drapion, Toxic Spikes!" I called.

Drapion slammed its claws into the ground and scattered purple barbs across Lillie's side of the field. The crowd gasped as the spikes sank into the cracks and waited like hidden thorns.

Barry leaned over the railing. "He is using Paul's strategy now?"

Dawn folded her arms, watching closely. "Not copying. Learning."

Lillie's eyes sharpened. "Mamoswine, Earthquake!"

Mamoswine stomped down with both front legs, and the stadium floor buckled in a rolling wave. The shock buried some of the spikes, threw others aside, and slammed into Drapion's body.

Drapion dug its claws down and held firm.

"Cross Poison!" I shouted across the field.

Drapion lunged through the broken field, its crossed claws glowing as it struck Mamoswine's thick hide. Mamoswine slid back, but it did not fall.