An Alola Surprise!

Ash Vs. Gary: Old Rivals, New Bonds!

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Ash's POV

The sun had fled to a low patch of wispy clouds by the time Ash managed to fell the first of Gary's team. At the tenuous contours vaguely delineating the center of a grassy battlefield, the opposing Tyranitar slumped inertly on the ground, though at a costly expense. A triple of able Pokéballs was hitched closely across Ash's belt before the battle, but now, only one still retained its vigor. 

Ash was hopeful when Rowlet had winged spryly out with distance, whistling through trees and flitting in irregular trajectories with preternatural energy. Bearing both the Grass and Flying-type, Ash knew Rowlet held an inherent advantage over Tyranitar, a Dark and Rock-type goliath that mainly kept to the ground. In the battle's infant minutes, Rowlet and its adversary had appeared almost evenly matched. Speed and aeriality helped the Alolan Pokémon escape an avalanche of beams, stones, and other projectiles launched by its opponent as it mortared Tyranitar with an unflagging battery of supereffective Grass-type moves. 

The plan to bring down the enormous dinosaurian relied on chipping through its spiny hide from above. It wasn't until a craggy ridge of Stone Edges surged in rapid succession past the height of Rowlet's loftiest flown vertex, transfixing the owl, that Ash realized pelting and dodging away wasn't going to be enough.

Electing to counter with a Rock-type of his own, Ash had sent out Lycanroc following Rowlet's defeat. Its anomalous Dusk Form had excited a sparking gaze from Gary. As the beasts engaged, Ash noticed that Tyranitar's movements had slowed considerably since the previous battle. Still, it pressed the attack, slipping past gritty stone projectiles and trading blows whenever Lycanroc savaged in striking distance.

Claws rasped, fangs grinded, and rocks smattered until several shoddy cairns pebbled the battlefield. Then, the pocket of ground about Lycanroc's feet splintered, giving the shredded sediment a buoyant lift. As if manipulated by an Alakazam, the airborne fragments converged on Tyranitar, striking down the beast, but not before it could huff a desperate final Hyper Beam. The horizontal pillar of scalding orange light had struck Lycanroc squarely in the side.

Currently, both Pokémon lay unmovingly on rivaling halves of the battlefield, corkscrewed eyes staring vacantly into space.

"A draw..? Not bad, Ash," Gary grunted. "It takes a lot to bring my Tyranitar down—not that I would expect anything less from you."

Ash's arm shot forward. "Lycanroc, return!"

The burnished underside of the Pokéball warmed as it drew in Lycanroc's immaterial form. Ash murmured consoling words before giving his opponent his eyes. "You've gotten a lot stronger since back then. It makes me want to win even more!"

"Ha! You're the same as ever."

"Hey! I've gotten stronger too you know!"

Gary expelled a thin sigh. "That's not what I meant..."

"Anyway, how'd you like my Z-move?" Ash brandished his wrist, the airy Z-crystal glinting a bolder orange than its natural hue in the retreating daylight. "Lycanium Z unlocks a move exclusive to Lycanroc called Splintered Stormshards."

"So that's what that last move was," Gary muttered to himself. "That's gotta be your best move, and maybe even one of the roughest attacks I've ever seen. Not to mention it had come from that rare Dusk Form Lycanroc. With power like that, it's no wonder you've made it this far."

Ash primed his final Pokéball, depressing its central disk until the sphere enlarged. "You ain't seen nothing yet!"

"Then it's time to show you my best, Ashy-boy. Let's see how you deal with this! Blastoise, come on out for battle!"