Ash stood on one side of the Gym field, while Wattson was on the other, happily stretching his arms.
Over on the bleachers, the gang was already sitting in one of the front-row seats, ready to watch. Ash had given them Pikachu and Vee again, since once again they were too strong for this.
And although Ash would have liked to use Trapinch for this, the Trapinch he caught was completely untrained, zero training, nada, so he would probably lose even with the type immunity. So that was another one out. Beldum and Bagon were both babies, hatched less than a week ago.
And since they were both pseudo-legendaries, they took even longer to mature, so yeah, they were out.
But he still had plenty of options. Since this was Ash's third Gym battle, it would be a 4-on-4, and since they were doing this in the Gym, there was a permanent Electric Terrain on the battlefield.
But Ash had a plan, or at least the start of a plan, and he would work on it as he went. Anyway, he was snapped out of his thoughts when Wattson's assistant, Watt, ran to the center of the field to act as the ref.
"All right. This match will be 4-on-4, and the first to knock out all four of the other's Pokémon wins. The challenger can substitute, but the Gym Leader can't," Watt said, all of this in a very important voice, almost like he was trying way too hard to copy the announcer from the League tournaments.
"Ready, Ash?" Wattson asked, grabbing a Poké Ball from his belt without even bothering to look at which one it was. He could tell which Pokémon he had just from experience, he wasn't the current oldest Hoenn Gym Leader for nothing.
Ash, meanwhile, grabbed one of the Poké Balls he had prepared and gave Wattson a thumbs-up. Wattson grinned. "Then prepare to be electrified!"
He shouted the last bit in a more amused than threatening way, and with a grin, he tossed his first Poké Ball. It burst open to reveal… at first, what looked like a larger Poké Ball, but when it turned, it showed its large, toothy grin, an Electrode, and it had a magnet attached to it.
"Elec-trode," it screeched robotically, narrowing its eyes.
Ash spun the ball in his hand, then smiled as he threw it out. As the ball hit the field, it opened, and out came Lairon. It stomped on the ground and stretched its limbs before hopping excitedly and looking at Electrode, an Eviolite hanging around its neck like a necklace.
Wattson's eyes lit up. "Hoho! You're using Lairon right out the gate? Bold choice, my boy!"
Ash smirked. "You like bold."
Wattson laughed. "WAHAHAHA! I do indeed! Electrode, let's get things rolling! [Light Screen!]"
Electrode's body flashed, a translucent wall of shimmering energy snapping into place across Wattson's side of the field.
"Lairon, [Rock Polish]!" Ash commanded.
Lairon slammed his feet into the ground as the metal on his body began to shine, becoming smoother and faster.
Wattson's grin widened. "Ha, I see what you're doing, but it's not gonna work! [Reflect]!"
Another barrier flared into existence next to the first one, then both disappeared, becoming invisible.
"Lairon, [Iron Head]!" Ash commanded.
Lairon roared and launched himself forward, his head glowing white as he moved quickly toward Electrode.
But Wattson pointed forward. "Electrode, meet them head-on! [Rollout]!"
Electrode jerked its body forward with surprising agility for a ball-shaped Pokémon. It dashed ahead, and they met in the center, clashing against each other and sending both sliding back, both slightly hurt but mostly fine, now separated by some distance.
Wattson immediately continued, "Now, [Sonic Boom], rapid-fire!"
Electrode steadied itself after taking the hit, then turned toward Lairon and began screeching again and again.
Electrode's screeching intensified, rings of compressed sound blasting across the field in rapid succession. The [Sonic Boom]s slammed into Lairon's armored body, each hit exploding against steel and rock with sharp cracks of force.
Lairon skidded back a few steps, claws digging into the terrain, sparks dancing as the Electric Terrain amplified the air itself.
"Lairon, stay grounded!" Ash called. "Push through with [Head Smash]!"
Lairon growled, planting himself firmly. The last Sonic Boom struck, and he shook it off with a snort of steam before starting to charge.
Wattson chuckled and pointed forward. "Electrode, dodge and [Volt Switch]!"
As Lairon rushed in, Electrode was still faster. It rolled to the side, then coated its body in electricity, looping back around and slamming into Lairon's side with a [Volt Switch] before pulling itself back into Wattson's Poké Ball.
Wattson snapped another Poké Ball forward without missing a beat. "Flaaffy, you're up!"
The ball burst open, and Flaaffy landed lightly on the field, its wool already crackling with stored electricity. "Flaaaffy~!" it bleated cheerfully, a set of Leftovers tucked under its arm.
"Hehe, I hope you didn't think it would be that easy," Wattson laughed as he pointed forward again. "Flaaffy, [Thunder Wave]!"
Flaaffy stomped, releasing a web of electricity that raced across the field.
But Ash was faster. "Lairon, dodge, then [Iron Head]!"
Thanks to the boost in his speed, Lairon leapt into the air just as the paralysis-inducing current raced beneath him. He landed hard, closing the distance as his head began glowing silver again. He charged, this time too fast and too close to dodge.
Lairon collided with Flaaffy, and even though [Reflect] softened the blow slightly, it still sent the sheep Pokémon sliding back into the wall.
Flaaffy managed to pull itself upright and took a bite of its Leftovers, healing a bit as Wattson glanced back to make sure it was still good to go.
Wattson laughed loudly. "Still standing! That's the spirit! Flaaffy, [Cotton Guard]!"
Flaaffy's wool puffed out massively, layers of static-charged fluff wrapping around its body like armor, further reducing the damage as it tried to stall Lairon out.
Ash clicked his tongue, but smiled. "You wanna play that game? Then let's do this. Lairon, [Stealth Rock]!"
Lairon slammed his fists into the ground, jagged stones erupting and hovering along Wattson's side of the field, crackling faintly with electricity as they embedded themselves into the terrain.
Wattson just laughed harder. "WAHAHAHA! Planning ahead, are we? Excellent! Flaaffy, [Discharge]!"
Electricity exploded outward in a wide radius, the Electric Terrain amplifying it into a bigger surge. Lairon braced himself, sparks crawling across his armor as he tanked the hit with a roar.
Ash raised a hand. "Now punch the ground and use [Iron Defense]!"
As the electricity surged into Lairon, he dug his feet into the ground and used [Iron Defense], turning himself into a makeshift lightning rod and sending the electricity into the earth instead of through his body.
"Hey, now that's impressive!" Wattson clapped his hands. "Never seen anyone use strategy like that, but sorry, it's still not enough!"
Wattson snapped his fingers. "Flaaffy, [Fire Punch]!"
Flaaffy's fist ignited with fire as the sheep Pokémon charged forward to strike Lairon, who was already starting to tire from the battle.
Ash swiped his arm. "Lairon, we aren't giving up! [Head Smash] again!"
Lairon's head began glowing as he rushed forward, and when they met in the middle, Lairon drove a headbutt straight into Flaaffy's punch as they clashed. The two Pokémon struggled to overpower one another.
Both slid back from the force. Even though Lairon didn't take recoil from [Head Smash] thanks to his ability, Rock Head, and the Eviolite, and Flaaffy was protected somewhat by [Reflect] and [Cotton Guard], they both still took heavy damage.
Flaaffy panted, then instinctively took another bite of its Leftovers, its wounds knitting just enough to stay in the fight.
Wattson beamed. "That's what I like to see! Flaaffy, don't slow down now! [Fire Punch] again!"
Fire surged around Flaaffy's fist, brighter than before, as the sheep ran in to continue hammering at Lairon until the metal dinosaur went down.
"Lairon," Ash said calmly, "brace, then counter with [Metal Claw]."
Flaaffy's flaming punch slammed into Lairon's chest, embers bursting outward like fireworks. Lairon slid back half a step, then roared and slashed forward as his claws glowed steel-white.
The [Metal Claw] raked straight through Flaaffy's puffed-up wool.
The [Reflect] flared, distorting wildly, and then shattered. Ash had been counting down the seconds for the screens to fall, and now was the moment.
The hit sent Flaaffy tumbling backward, rolling once before slamming into the wall with a dull thud. Flaaffy tried to stand, its legs shook. Then it collapsed.
Flaaffy was knocked out.
Before anyone could celebrate, however, Lairon faltered and nearly fell over. Only now did they notice that the last hit had left Lairon burned.
"Hahaha! Impressive, you got this far. However, I'm afraid that was just the first Pokémon. Let's do it all over again!" Wattson said as he sent Electrode back out, though it did take a bit of chip damage from the stones.
Ash let out a breath. Looking at Lairon's posture, he knew it wouldn't be able to keep standing for long with the burn. And he knew Wattson was no doubt going to use the same strategy again, so he couldn't let Electrode keep being a problem.
Wattson chuckled, already pointing forward. "Same plan as before! Electrode, let's light the place up! [Light Screen] and [Reflect]!"
Electrode's body flashed again, and the familiar translucent barriers snapped into place across Wattson's side of the field.
"Lairon!" Ash called sharply. "Now, [Sandstorm]!"
Lairon slammed his feet into the battlefield with everything he had left. For a split second, nothing happened. Then the air picked up, and the center of the field filled with a small sandstorm.
"Oh, come on, not another one!" May called out from the bleachers.
"Sorry, but I want to win, so… not sorry," Ash said as he recalled Lairon to his Poké Ball. "You did great, bud."
Then he pulled out another Poké Ball, and out came Phanpy. The small elephant stood tall on the field, snorting and stamping one foot against the ground. It was holding a Life Orb, and on top of that, Phanpy's ability, Sand Veil, boosted his evasion, making him harder to see in the sandstorm.
Electrode narrowed its eyes as it suddenly took chip damage from the sandstorm.
Wattson blinked once… then burst out laughing. "WAHAHAHA! Of course! Ground-type! Looks like Volt Switch won't save you this time, my boy!"
Ash tipped his cap. "That's the idea."
Wattson rubbed his beard. "Still, don't think I'm out of tricks! Electrode, [Sonic Boom]!"
Electrode raised its head and began firing bursts of sound into the sandstorm, trying to hit Phanpy, or rather, any of the moving figures in the sand as Phanpy ran around to dodge the attack.
"Phanpy, keep moving!" Ash called. "And [Earthquake]!"
Phanpy slammed both forefeet into the ground, and the battlefield buckled. Cracks raced outward, stone plates jumping as a deep tremor rolled beneath Electrode.
Wattson quickly called out, "Quick, dodge with [Agility]!"
Electrode became an afterimage and bounced into the air, avoiding the worst of it, but the sandstorm masked Phanpy's exact position.
"Now, [Ice Shard]!" Ash called from the other side.
Inside the sand, a shard of ice shot out from seemingly nowhere, slamming into Electrode's side before it could react. The hit sent it spinning, its magnet clanking loudly as it crashed back down. Even with damage reduction, it hurt, Electrode was built like a piece of paper.
"Electrode, are you okay?" Wattson asked. When he heard Electrode cry back, he smiled again. "Don't let up!" Wattson pointed. "Electrode, [Secret Power]!"
Electrode gathered energy around itself, then released a pink wave from its body in all directions, like a pulse. Phanpy couldn't dodge in time and was knocked out of the sandstorm.
"Phanpy!" Ash called.
Phanpy tried to push himself up, legs wobbling. The Life Orb dimmed faintly at his side as he let out a small, stubborn snort.
Phanpy skidded backward, feet scraping against the field as the pink shockwave dispersed the sand around him. He shook his head, eyes narrowing, then stomped once to steady himself.
Ash clenched a fist. "You good, Phanpy?"
"Phaaaan!" Phanpy trumpeted, planting his feet again. The sandstorm quickly swallowed him back up, visibility dropping to almost nothing, though the Life Orb continued to deal chip damage.
Wattson was still smiling. "Hoho! That Secret Power packs a punch in my Gym! Careful now, Electrode, finish it with [Explosion]!"
The bleachers erupted.
"WAIT, WHAT?!" Max shouted.
Ash's eyes widened for half a second, then he shouted, "Phanpy, get underground! [Dig]!"
Electrode's body began to glow blinding white, electricity crackling violently across its surface. The pressure in the air spiked, but Phanpy vanished beneath the ground just as Electrode detonated.
The explosion cleared the field of the sandstorm, but thankfully Phanpy was underground, managing to dodge the blast.
"Ha… that's a shame. I really thought that would work, but at least we went out with a boom! Hahah!" Wattson said as he pulled Electrode back into its Poké Ball. Phanpy, however, was still hiding underground, waiting for the next Pokémon to come out.
"All right, let's keep the fun going! Magneton, your turn!" Wattson called as he threw the next ball. The Magnet Pokémon emerged, holding an Air Balloon, and even though it took damage from the spikes, the balloon didn't pop.
Although Phanpy still wasn't visible, he remained underground, so Magneton and Wattson couldn't see what was coming next, when suddenly, there was a tremor.
Wattson quickly called out, "Quick, [Flash Cannon]! Right there, into the ground!"
Magneton didn't hesitate. It charged a silver beam and fired it straight down, creating an explosion that threw dust into the air. When the dust cleared, there was a crater where the [Flash Cannon] had struck, along with a network of tunnels, but no Phanpy.
Then, from behind Magneton, something shot out. It wasn't blue, so it couldn't be Phanpy, but it was something. As it burst from the ground, Magneton dodged thanks to the Air Balloon, and the figure landed on the other side of the field near Ash, then unfurled.
It wasn't Phanpy anymore. Now it was Donphan, only to be expected Ash did train this thing for longer than Treecko or Torchic so it was only a matter of time
He had evolved underground and burst upward. Ash smiled. "Looks like we've still got a little left to give."
Donphan huffed in agreement, digging a foot into the ground as he stared Magneton down.
Wattson laughed. "Oh, what a good show! I knew this battle would be fun. Come on then, Ash, show me all you've got!"
"You heard him, Donphan. Use [Rollout]," Ash said as he snapped his fingers.