Ash and Winona quickly got onto their platforms across from each other.
Below, Molly had already scrambled into a seat between Brock and the others, practically bouncing with excitement. Pikachu sat in her lap, ears perked, while Vee jumped up onto the railing.
Up above, Winona brushed a strand of hair from her face and took a breath, giving a small prayer to the wind before looking up with a serious expression.
And with that, they both threw out their Poké Balls toward the center.
"Let's go, Marshtomp!"
"Take the field, Skarmory!"
In twin flashes of light, the Pokémon appeared.
Marshtomp landed as he stretched his arms and scratched his belly. He also had an Eviolite necklace.
Across from him, Winona's Skarmory materialized midair with a screech, a Rocky Helmet on its head, and so the battle began.
"Skarmory, [Air Cutter]!" Winona called immediately.
Skarmory snapped its wings forward. Thin blades of compressed air screamed downward in a crisscross pattern.
"Marshtomp, dodge and close the distance!" Ash ordered without hesitation, pointing forward.
Marshtomp let out a breath and lunged forward. The first blade of wind sliced past his shoulder, shaving off a bit of mud. The second clipped the ground behind him, exploding into dust and debris.
Winona's eyebrow raised, but she didn't want Marshtomp to close the distance, "[Steel Wing]!"
Skarmory folded its wings, then shot downward like a missile, one wing glowing bright silver as it aimed straight for Marshtomp.
Ash's grin widened just a little, "Just what I thought, Marshtomp, [Protect]!"
Marshtomp planted his feet and threw his arms forward, and a translucent shield appeared in front of him, blocking Skarmory's hit.
Ash smirked and snapped his finger, "Now, [Rock Smash]!"
Marshtomp quickly dropped the barrier and grabbed Skarmory's foot before it could fly away. Then he spun and slammed the bird on the ground, using it like a hammer.
Skarmory cried out as it was used like a literal ragdoll, and Winona frowned but raised her arm, "Break out with [Drill Peck]!"
Skarmory quickly shook its head and pushed itself up using its beak. It started spinning and jabbed it into Marshtomp's hand, making him let go from the sudden pain.
"Now, [Hurricane]!" Winona quickly followed up, not wanting Marshtomp to get any chance to recover.
The second Skarmory was free, it flapped its wings, getting into the air, and from there sent a blast directly down at Marshtomp, sending the Water-type spiraling back. But he tanked it and landed on his feet, wiping his cheek.
"Oh, I see, you wanna play it like that. Well, don't worry, we know exactly how you play. [Stealth Rock]!"
Winona narrowed her eyes, then called out, "You too, use [Stealth Rock]!"
Both Pokémon immediately slammed their feet on the ground, causing multiple shards of rock to scatter all around the battlefield, then slowly disappear to be hidden.
But Winona wasn't done. Before the first set of rocks disappeared, she called out again, "Use [Spikes] too!"
Skarmory again flapped its metal wings and used the jagged rocks to create more problems all across Ash's side of the field.
But Ash didn't seem worried. He just smiled slightly.
"Not bad, even if it's pretty annoying [Ice Punch]!"
Marshtomp's eyes lit up. He bent his knees, then launched upward, his fist getting covered in ice like a boxing glove.
Winona's eyes widened slightly, but she shook her head, "Intercept it with [Brave Bird]!"
Skarmory let out a cry, then folded its wings and dove straight toward Marshtomp, its body igniting on the way down.
As Skarmory's head came down, Marshtomp wound up and punched it, the two attacks meeting right in the center.
The hit immediately sent out a small shockwave that also shattered the ice on Marshtomp's hand. Skarmory spiraled in the air, and Marshtomp was blasted to the ground.
They both landed and stood up, but Marshtomp shook his hand since it was feeling a little numb thanks to that Rocky Helmet. The damage was starting to stack, but he was still good to go.
Skarmory, meanwhile, shook its feathers, clearly hurt, so Winona raised her voice, "Use [Roost]!"
Skarmory lowered its wings to try and recover, but that was its first mistake, "[Earthquake]!" Ash immediately called.
Marshtomp immediately stopped pretending to be as hurt as he was and ran up, slamming his foot on the ground, sending a shockwave approaching Skarmory.
Skarmory immediately noticed and tried to open its wings to get into the air again, but Marshtomp quickly countered by throwing a [Mud Shot] that hit the bird directly in the eyes, blinding it.
So with it getting slapped with mud, it lost direction and couldn't get into the air in time, and the shockwave exploded under Skarmory, making the metal bird get launched up and slammed down to the ground in pain. But with the extra HP, it was still up.
Up above, Ash didn't give Winona any time to breathe, "Don't let up, close the distance and finish it with one more [Ice Punch]!"
Marshtomp ran forward, coating his fists in ice again as Skarmory was still trying to recover after that last hit.
But Winona simply narrowed her eyes, waiting for a movement. Then, "[Toxic]!"
At the very last second, just as Marshtomp stepped into striking range, Skarmory's head snapped forward, and it spit out a thick purple sludge directly into Marshtomp's face at point-blank range.
Marshtomp whiffed the punch, then clenched his face because the poison got in his eyes and burned, and now he was poisoned, that wasn't good at all.
"Now it's our turn. Get back into the air and use [Air Cutter]!" Winona commanded.
Skarmory beat its wings hard, going airborne again, then launched another barrage of razor-sharp wind blades toward the grounded Marshtomp.
Ash's eyes narrowed, "Marshtomp, [Protect]!"
Marshtomp still couldn't see, but you didn't need to see to use [Protect]. He quickly put the barrier up, blocking the hits, but the poison was already starting to chip away. And since he couldn't see, Skarmory had no intention of going down and even risk getting hit, it was just going to sit there in the air and wait.
But even though Marshtomp couldn't see, Ash didn't seem worried. He whistled.
"Do as I say, [Rock Slide], directly up 80 degrees!"
Marshtomp nodded and slammed his fist into the ground, throwing the rocks into the air as best as he could, following Ash's direction. To the surprise of Skarmory and Winona, it almost hit. It didn't miss because the aim was wrong, more because Skarmory quickly dived to dodge.
Flannery cackled like a gremlin, "Told you he'd surprise you. Better not underestimate him~" she teased over in Winona's direction.
Winona let out a breath but decided to listen, "Don't give him time to adjust," she ordered, "Finish it with [Brave Bird]!"
Skarmory screeched, folding its wings tight against its body as flames of energy ignited around its steel frame. It dove like a meteor, cutting straight down toward the blind Marshtomp.
But Ash just smirked, "Now, Marshtomp, one step to your left!"
Marshtomp took that step and waited, and as Skarmory came down fast, Ash finally snapped his finger, "Jump!"
Marshtomp quickly jumped to the side at the last moment, causing Skarmory to go past his shoulder, barely missing and slamming into the ground beak-first.
Ash's arm snapped forward, "Now finish this with [Ice Punch]!"
Marshtomp spun in the air and reached up, gripping the necklace he had, and to the shock of everyone, including Ash, he tore it off and clenched his hand around the stone.
Then his hand started glowing and got covered in ice, and he wound up toward Skarmory's direction and barely opened his eyes.
He let out a huff and threw his fist forward just as Skarmory pulled its head out of the dirt, and right there in midair Marshtomp began glowing. He grew larger, and his fist also grew, putting more power and weight into the punch. He was evolving.
Then before the evolution ended, his fist connected against Skarmory so hard it shattered the ice in his hand and sent Skarmory falling back, immediately getting covered in ice, getting frozen.
As Skarmory slammed on the ground, through the ice you could see that its eyes had spirals, meaning it was knocked out while still in the block of ice.
Then the light faded, and now Swampert was standing on the field, raising his fist even though he was really hurt. But when he opened his fist, Ash's eye twitched, out came the powdered remains of the Eviolite. It broke in his hand.
"You numnut, those are expensive!" Ash shouted.
Swampert rubbed the back of his head apologetically before he suddenly fell down face-first. Looks like the poison and chip damage finally took him down.
Ash sighed and pulled him back into his Poké Ball. He wasn't all too surprised at the evolution either. Actually, fun fact, his Grovyle and Combusken are also ready to evolve. They just haven't because they know the other will tease them, saying, "Look at you, you need to evolve to beat me."
So yeah, they refuse to be the first one to evolve, at least until they prove that they are better than the other one. So that's something for later, but that later is not now.
As Ash put away his Poké Ball and grabbed a new one, Winona did the same with Skarmory, "I suppose that was my fault, but it won't be as easy now. Pelipper!" she called out, throwing the ball.
Immediately the ball opened, and from it came a Pelipper with a Damp Rock, and thanks to its ability, it immediately started to rain over the battlefield.
Ash gave a sideways smile, "Really? Alright then, don't blame me for taking advantage." Ash spun the ball on his finger, then threw it out, and from it came Crawdaunt with a Life Orb.
Both sides took chip damage from the spikes on the field, Pelipper would have taken more since it was a Flying-type, but they both shrugged it off.
Winona was faster, so she called out, "Pelipper, maintain altitude and use [Hurricane]!"
Pelipper flapped its wings, drawing the falling rain into a spiraling column of wind. The storm condensed into a violent cyclone that twisted downward toward Crawdaunt like a tornado.
Ash didn't even blink,"Counter with [Crabhammer]!"
Crawdaunt stomped forward instead of dodging, raising one massive claw. The claw glowed bright blue, gathering water from the rain, and he punched so hard the tornado split.
Flannery whistled low, "Tanky little lobster, huh?"
Winona didn't stop to acknowledge what Flannery said. Instead, she shot her hand out, "Pelipper, circle and use [Scald]!"
Pelipper cried out and banked to the side. Water gathered in its beak, superheated until steam hissed out from the sides, then it fired the boiling blast downward at Crawdaunt.
"Dodge it and close in!" Ash ordered immediately.
Crawdaunt dashed sideways, the scalding stream slamming into the ground where he had stood a second earlier, then he started running after Pelipper.
Winona continued calmly, "Use [U-turn]!"
Pelipper swooped low, its wing glowing as it dove straight toward Crawdaunt.
Ash's eyes narrowed, but he smirked, "Oh no you don't, [Protect], then grab it!"
Crawdaunt raised his claw as Pelipper came down and crashed against a barrier, and since [U-turn] only switches the Pokémon if it hits, and getting blocked does not count as a hit, it was stuck there.
So then Crawdaunt immediately dropped the shield and clamped a claw on Pelipper's wing, making the bird screech in pain.
Ash snapped his fingers, "Crawdaunt, [Knock Off]!"
With his other claw, he raised it, then slapped the rock off of Pelipper, and thanks to Adaptability and Life Orb, it hurt a lot.
Winona frowned, but she still raised her hand sharply, "Pelipper, break free with [Hurricane] at point-blank range!"
Pelipper's eyes flashed, and it raised its one free wing, flapping it and causing a small cyclone to appear around them, starting to push Crawdaunt back.
Ash's grin widened, he'd been waiting for that reaction, "Let it rip, Crawdaunt, hold on and use [Vice Grip]!"
Crawdaunt's claw tightened like a steel vise as he refused to let go, causing them to both start spinning in the cyclone, then the cyclone detonated.
A violent burst of wind exploded outward, kicking up dust, rain, and debris in every direction. Crawdaunt was blasted backward across the ground, skidding several feet before digging his claw into the dirt to stop himself.
Meanwhile, Pelipper tumbled through the air, feathers ruffled, breathing heavily, but it managed to regain altitude.
Winona clicked her tongue slightly, but she didn't let it show on her face, "Use [Hurricane] again!"
Pelipper cried out, wings beating wide as another spiraling column of wind formed, shooting toward Crawdaunt.
But Ash smiled, wagging his finger, then spinning it to point down, "Now use [Crabhammer] on the ground!"
Crawdaunt spun around happily and made a little hole with his claw. Then he wound up his claw and punched into the ground hard, using the force to send the lobster flying into the air fast and avoiding the incoming cyclone.
Winona's eyes widened for the first time, "Pelipper, move!"
Ash brought his hand down onto his palm like a hammer, "Now bring the hammer down!"
Still spinning through the air, Crawdaunt raised his glowing claw overhead and came crashing down toward Pelipper, slamming the bird right on the head and immediately sending it shooting toward the ground hard.
Pelipper struggled, wings trembling as it pushed itself upright, breathing heavily.
Winona exhaled slowly, "Still standing. Good. Then use [Roost]!"
Pelipper stood and tried to recover quickly as Crawdaunt was falling to the ground and landed face-first.
Ash waved his hand, "Not happening. Crawdaunt, [Crabhammer] again!"
Crawdaunt pulled his head out of the ground and quickly scuttled over to slap Pelipper with another [Crabhammer] to the head.
Pelipper fell onto the ground, finally getting knocked out, and Crawdaunt lowered his own claw, breathing hard. He wasn't doing much better, after all the damage and the Life Orb recoil was finally catching up to him. He had three good hits left in him, and that was if he himself didn't get hit too.
And what's more, the battle between them got delayed so much that the rain was going away, and that meant he lost his boost.
Meanwhile, Winona pulled out the Poké Ball, "Good work. Return," Winona said calmly, recalling Pelipper in a flash of red light.
The moment the Poké Ball snapped shut, she was already reaching for the next one, "But we're not done yet."
She lifted her arm and threw out her next Pokémon, "Swellow!"
From the ball came her Swellow. No, this was not the shiny one, that one is on her main team, but this one did have a Guts set with a Flame Orb that immediately burned the bird.
Ash let out a small breath from his nose, giving a lopsided smile, "Well, that's not all too fun, is it?"
"It's more than that," Winona said as she swiped her arm, "[Facade]!"
Swellow raised its wings and flew down to tackle the hurt lobster and knock it out, and the Guts + Facade boost would hit hard.
Ash snapped his fingers, "[Protect]!"
A translucent barrier flashed into existence just as Swellow slammed into it with explosive force, but before Ash could counter, Winona immediately cut in.
"Don't give him space," she ordered sharply, "[Quick Attack]!"
Swellow blurred again, darting around Crawdaunt and tackling him from behind, causing him to fall to one knee as Swellow blurred again.
Ash followed along with the blurs that were Swellow. He could follow them slightly, but that didn't mean that Crawdaunt could, so he just needed to make an opening.
"Crawdaunt, even the odds, [Aqua Jet]!" Ash snapped.
Crawdaunt covered himself in water and flew into the air in a blur too. Then the two white and blue arcs dashed around the field, clashing against each other again and again.
When they spun into each other, they both got knocked back. Swellow bounced back into the air, wings beating hard to stabilize, while Crawdaunt slid across the wet ground, breathing heavier now.
He tried to stand, but the Life Orb at Crawdaunt's side pulsed again, dealing more chip damage, and after everything, he finally fell over with spirals in his eyes.
Ash recalled the lobster to his ball, "You did great. Leave the rest to us," he said, switching to his next ball and throwing it out.
From it, the sound of metal on metal rang out, and Metang flew up out of his ball with a short cry. Plus, he also had an Eviolite, hope he didn't break this one either.
Thankfully, Swellow wasn't that well off either. Crawdaunt did deal damage; it got hurt by the Stealth Rock, and it was receiving burn damage, so it wasn't in the best shape either.
Winona could also see this, and she frowned, knowing she couldn't prolong this fight.
"Swellow," she called crisply, arm slicing forward, "[Aerial Ace]!"
Swellow shot forward instantly, its body becoming a white streak that curved through the air toward Metang.
Ash jabbed his arm forward too, "[Bullet Punch]!"
Metang's eyes flashed. With a sharp metallic CLANG, its arm snapped forward faster than the eye could follow. Then its steel fist met Swellow's face, hitting the bird directly on the beak and knocking it backward through the air.
Swellow tumbled once, then twice, before catching itself.
Winona narrowed her eyes, "[Facade] again!"
Swellow spun in the air again, darting forward to slam into Metang with a Guts-boosted [Facade].
But Ash's lips curled slightly, "Meet it halfway with [Zen Headbutt]."
Metang's body glowed with a faint blue aura. Instead of chasing, it simply rotated in place, psychic energy locking onto Swellow's movement like a targeting system.
Then Metang surged forward in a straight line, head-first, slamming directly into Swellow mid-dash.
Swellow was sent spinning across the battlefield, feathers scattering, before it managed to recover altitude again, barely. But hey, it did some damage. It wasn't a lot since Metang resisted it, but something was better than nothing, right?
Winona huffed out, but she had to admit this was really taking her mind off her stress. She could already see Flannery's smirking face telling her, "I told you so."
She shook her head, dispersing that thought, and looked forward again, "Swellow, use [Quick Attack], then [Thief]!"
There, before Ash could call a counter, Swellow dashed forward and reappeared behind Metang, and before it could react, Swellow slammed it with the Dark-type move. And what's worse, in its beak was Metang's Eviolite, which it spit out onto the ground.
Ash whistled, "That's annoying. My turn, [Bullet Punch]!"
Metang turned and wound up its fist and punched Swellow over and over, eventually hitting Swellow across the face with one last big punch that sent the big bird spiraling through the air and crashing into the broken field.
Swellow struggled a bit, but eventually, because of the burn, its wings finally gave out and it fell down with spirals in its eyes.
From the stands, Ash could hear Molly jumping excitedly and clapping her hands while she cheered for him.
What a nice cheerleader. He'll have to get her more candy after this.
Up above, Winona closed her eyes briefly, taking one steady breath. Then she opened them.
"Well done," she said quietly, recalling Swellow in a flash of red light, "You fought exactly as trained."
She held the Poké Ball for a moment, then reached to her belt once more. It was time for her last Pokémon, and you already know why only four instead of five.
Winona lifted a different Poké Ball this time, "Then let's take this to the end," she said.
She threw the ball forward, and from it her Altaria burst out. She did take some chip from the rocks, but it didn't seem to bother her.
But Winona wasn't done. She pulled out a necklace from under her shirt, and on it there was the familiar shine of a stone, a Key Stone.
"You wished for this, so I shall deliver. Altaria, show them what we can do," she chanted. Then she pressed on the stone.
"Mega Evolve!"
Altaria burst into light as her cloud-like feathers grew, and she got more of them. She grew bigger, and her tail feathers got longer. And when the light settled, there was Mega Altaria flying on the field.
While everyone else in the stands was in awe of how beautiful it was, Ash's smile just grew. After all, he had his own trump card to play, and he'd be sure to show her how it's really done.