Author's Note:

Hello all, long time no see for Bonnie, but she's back and ready to roll in this chapter. This one ended up being much more fun to write than I had initially thought it would be. I think it might be one of the better chapters if I do say so myself. But we'll see what you think. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 24: Release the Drake-n

Bonnie stayed up late into the night after her battle with Brawly at the Dewford Gym. Every time she would roll over to go to sleep, she would get the urge to get back up, pull out her badge case, and stare at the newest badge inside. A few times, she even took out the brand new Knuckle Badge and obsessively polished it, making it shinier than ever each time it went back in the case. When she finally did get to sleep, her dreams were only of the battle she had just fought, and the incredible performances of both Wingull and Beautifly.

While few things could really compare to winning her first badge against Roxanne, there was something about this battle that Bonnie was particularly proud about that even her Rustboro Gym battle couldn't quite match. Bonnie had managed to win against Brawly and Shauna using only the Pokemon she had caught and trained while on her journey in Hoenn. Winning with Dedenne was always special, but by accomplishing this feat, Bonnie felt a new surge of confidence. She was a real trainer now. She could catch and train Pokemon to fight alongside her in a challenging setting such as a gym, and do quite well in the process.

As she dreamed that night, she found herself reliving her battle. She saw Wingull going blow for blow against Shauna's Meditite, followed by Beautifly expertly manoeuvring herself so as to restrict Machop's movement and land the finishing blow. Each attack seemed to stretch her smile wider and wider. Her Pokemon had come so far, and she'd grown quite a bit as well. Even back when she'd watched Clemont, Ash and Serena training and preparing their Pokemon and dreaming of doing it herself, she had never quite grasped how satisfying it would be to achieve these feats after doing so.

Waking up and feeling refreshed, Bonnie glanced around their room in the Pokemon Centre. Her friends seemed to have gone to the lobby already, so she quickly gathered her things and headed out the door, Dedenne scurrying up on her shoulder as she opened and closed the door. As she emerged in the lobby, she saw her friends sitting at a table, having already collected a plate of food for her for breakfast. Rotom was, as usual, darting around and examining the various Pokemon in the lobby.

Once she sat down, she was surprised to see Roxanne looking a little uneasy. As Bonnie took a bite of her toast, Dedenne hopping down to join Treecko for some Pokemon food, the Rustboro Gym Leader gave her an apologetic look. "I've got some bad news."

Bonnie frowned, glancing at Clyde curiously. He didn't seem too disappointed and shrugged, so she turned back to Roxanne. "What is it?"

"I tried to get us some ferry tickets so that we could be off to Slateport City later this morning," Roxanne said, sighing. "They're booked for the next few days. Apparently there's a big contest there soon, so there was a rush to get spots." She looked quite disappointed, and Bonnie felt bad, assuming it was because she had been so set on moving quickly to her next badge.

"It's okay, Roxanne, really," she said, smiling. "I'm fine spending a few more days here. We can spend some more time with Sawyer."

"Sounds good to me," Clyde said, nodding in agreement. "Maybe I can even join in on looking at some of the fossils at the excavation site."

"I suppose we can do that," Roxanne murmured. "I was just really looking forward to seeing Slateport City. Dewford Town is beautiful, but Slateport City is quite remarkable as well."

"Maybe we can see if anyone's changed their plans and some extra spots are available," Bonnie suggested, taking a few more bites of her food. "Might as well try."

That brought a small smile of amusement to Roxanne's face. "I guess we might as well, yeah." She paused, looking out the window briefly. She was just turning away again when her head snapped back quickly, and her eyes widened. She leaned forward, gaping at whatever she was looking at. Bonnie and Clyde followed her gaze.

"No way...is that what I think it is?" Clyde asked, face pressing up against the window as he tried to get a better look.

Bonnie grinned, fists clenched in excitement as she looked out as well. "How many people do you know with a ship like that?!" she asked excitedly. "It's pretty much like a pirate ship!"

Other people in the lobby were now peering through the windows of the Pokemon Centre as well, their eyes drawn to the large ship slowly sailing along the coastline towards the docks of Dewford Town. Bonnie doubted many, if any at all, knew who owned the boat, but it was definitely an intriguing sight nonetheless. Even in Dewford Town, a ship like that probably didn't show up very often.

"What do you think Drake's doing here?" Clyde asked, standing up in his seat a little as the ship started to slide out of view past the palm trees the closer it got to the docks. "Think he heard about what happened in Granite Cave?"

"Might've been hard if he was investigating Island Cave or even just in the middle of the ocean," Roxanne murmured. "Maybe he was aware of Steven being here, though, and wanted to update him on what's been happening."

"There's only one way to find out!" Bonnie said, standing up and stuffing the rest of her food in her mouth and eating it as quickly as she could. "Let's go and see him!"

Roxanne murmured a quick admonishment of Bonnie's manners, but she and Clyde were equally as excited and interested in seeing Drake again, so both of them were up fairly quickly. After collecting Bonnie's Pokemon from Nurse Joy, the three of them set off out of the Pokemon Centre and headed for the path into town. Rotom, after being caught up on what had been outside, was quite excited about the opportunity to see Drake again as well.

"Zzt! I will be able to collect much more data than I did last time!" he said happily. "We only saw his Salamence very briefly in Island Cave."

It was a fairly quick journey down the path into the town, spent mostly discussing where Drake may be off to next. Bonnie was sure that he would continue to look for signs of Team Archaic or Regice, considering that was why he was checking out Island Cave. She wondered if Steven would be giving him somewhere to go, too, and hoped that if they were going to have to be staying in Dewford Town a little longer, she could find out from Sawyer what the plans were.

As they walked into town, there were quite a few people looking over at the docks in interest. Bonnie finally got a good look at the boat as they turned to head down towards it from the beach. It was definitely an attention grabber, with a massive hull and huge masts for the sails which were currently furled. Bonnie doubted anybody had realized that Drake was one of the occupants, because the crowd wasn't nearly as large as she would've expected if he had been spotted or rumoured to be there.

Once they were nearing the dock, however, there was a familiar face nearby, looking as though he was excitedly waiting for a chance to meet the celebrity on board. Despite being an assistant of the Champion, Sawyer was doing quite a poor job of appearing calm and cool. He had his notebook out and his eye were shining as he stared at the boat and the crew on board gathering up supplies that they were presumably picking up.

"Sawyer!" Bonnie called out as they reached him. "You're here to see Dra-"

"Shh!" Sawyer said quickly, noticing Bonnie and the others and quickly coming over. "We don't want to alert the whole town!" he whispered urgently. "It's bad enough already that they just think the boat is strange and it's an unusual visitor."

Roxanne smiled, clearly amused. "Here to pass a message along for Steven?"

Sawyer nodded. "Just an update on what happened in Granite Cave and what we've been doing since. We already know about Island Cave thanks to you guys, but maybe Drake's got a bit more of an update since he stayed behind." He frowned as he looked at Bonnie and the others. "Wait a minute...you guys were supposed to be on a ferry to Slateport this morning, weren't you?"

"Couldn't get tickets," Clyde said. "The upcoming contest is attracting a bunch of visitors."

"Oh right," Sawyer muttered, looking distractedly over towards the boat. Bonnie thought she noticed the familiar jacket that Drake wore for a moment. "Lisia's supposed to be there. I should've warned you to get tickets earlier."

"Lisia?" Bonnie asked. The name sounded vaguely familiar to her.

"She's a famous Top Coordinator," Roxanne explained, looking intrigued upon hearing this news. "That's too bad. It would've been interesting to see her in action."

"Zzt! Lisia was a guest judge at the most recent Grand Festival according to Gym Leader Clemont," Rotom suddenly said. "She gave Performer Serena a perfect score in the Appeals Round."

"Oh yeah!" Bonnie said, now remembering the weeks before her journey had begun when she had been watching Serena compete in the Hoenn Grand Festival. She had seemed to feel right at home on the Coordinating stage, and her performance skills had clearly aided her in the Appeals Round. "Serena was awesome. No wonder she got a perfect score!"

"Well, nonetheless," Sawyer said guiltily, "I should've said something. Sorry if this slows you guys down too much." Bonnie and the others assured him it didn't matter too much, which seemed to relieve him. His eyes widened a moment later, though, and he grinned as he pulled something out of his bag. "Oh, right!" he said, turning to Clyde. "I was going to save this for you, Clyde. I figured I wouldn't be getting it to you till much later, but I guess there's a silver lining to you guys being delayed. Steven said the Pokemon in Granite Cave wanted you to have this as a thank you for getting Aggron to help fight Team Archaic!"

Clyde looked stunned, staring blankly at the object in Sawyer's hand. Bonnie wasn't sure what it was, leaning forward to get a better look as Rotom hovered over her to snap a picture. It seemed like some kind of stone. A moment later, Roxanne, in a surprised voice, explained what it was. "Sawyer...that's a fossil!"

This got Clyde's attention, and his eyes went from the fossil, to Sawyer, to the fossil and back to Sawyer again in rapid succession. "You...Steven...the Pokemon...for me?" He looked like he thought he was dreaming. "A f-fossil?"

Sawyer smiled, gently pushing the fossil into Clyde's hands. "The Pokemon wanted you to have it, so who are we to say no? Besides, you deserved it. And I know you were asking Steven all kinds of questions about his Armaldo and the whole expedition, so I'm sure you know what you're doing and will take care of it."

"Wow..." Clyde's eyes were shining. "This is amazing! Thank you so much!"

"It's from the Pokemon in Granite Cave," Sawyer said sheepishly. "And you earned it!"

"What kind of fossil is it?" Bonnie asked, smirking as she noticed Clyde's giddy expression as he showed the fossil to Treecko.

Sawyer shrugged. "I don't know. It's sometimes tough to tell exactly. I'm sure Steven knows, but I'm guessing he thought Clyde would enjoy the mystery of it."

Roxanne laughed, glancing at the overjoyed Clyde. "I think he was right."

Bonnie watched for a moment, amused as Rotom tried to snap pictures of the fossil, while Clyde was simply trying to examine every inch of it. She barely noticed when Sawyer suddenly jumped up, eyes wide as he looked back towards the boat. She followed his gaze, and smiled, seeing what had gotten his attention.

"Well, if it isn't young Bonnie and her friends!" Drake exclaimed, walking towards their group, looking pleased to see them. "Did you have your gym battle?"

"Yep!" Bonnie said happily, pulling out her badge case. "Beautifly and Wingull got me the win!"

Drake leaned forward, peering at the badge for a moment, before straightening up and smiling. "Excellent! Well done! I'm sure it was a good battle."

"It was," Roxanne said, nodding. "Bonnie's certainly come a long way, even in the short time I've been travelling with her. She identifies her Pokemon's strong points very well."

"It'll be very interesting to see how you do once you've got a full team of Pokemon," Sawyer added, shifting a little uncomfortably as Drake's gaze turned to him.

"Oh yeah," Bonnie said, gesturing to Sawyer. "This is my friend, Sawyer. He's been helping out Steven."

"Ah, yes," Drake said, shaking Sawyer's hand briefly. "Steven did mention an assistant. Well, I assume he realizes I can't stay long. I'm heading east fairly shortly, so I'll only be able to give an update on what's happened in Island Cave."

"He expected you would need to head out quickly," Sawyer said. "We had a bit of an incident here before you arrived that he wanted you informed of."

Drake frowned, his gaze shifting to Bonnie briefly. "Well...it appears we have a bit more to discuss than I thought. Let's hear it then."

Sawyer spoke first, explaining the first part of the story, involving his and Steven's arrival in Dewford and how they planned to draw in Team Archaic, expecting an assault of some kind. Drake didn't seem surprised, clearly expecting some kind of manoeuvre like this from Steven. Once Sawyer had explained the trap that had been set, he let Bonnie and the others explain their part of the story, Clyde finally having stopped examining his fossil in order to join the conversation.

When they reached the confrontation with Zinnia, Drake's eyes widened with surprise and interest. "So she was here as well, eh? I wonder how she moved so fast...probably that Salamence of hers."

"She was in Island Cave?" Bonnie asked.

Drake nodded. "I had a confrontation with her after you left. She's a very strong trainer. I'm not surprised that she managed to hold her own even against Steven. I imagine she's quite high up in their ranks. If we can capture her, perhaps we can find out how to get to their leader."

Clyde swallowed nervously. "You don't...you don't think you'd actually be able to do that do you? She seems pretty strong. And maybe she doesn't know the leader."

"Enough of us against her may be able to restrain her," Drake said dismissively. "And I'm sure she does know the leader. A trainer such as her isn't brought into an organization like Team Archaic without someone powerful at the top being fully aware."

"Well, we'll keep an eye out for her," Sawyer said, sounding a little uneasy himself. "We'll be around here a bit longer and then Steven wants to check out some of the other potential fossil locations that they might head to."

"She'll likely lay low for a bit," Drake murmured, looking out over the ocean for a moment before glancing back at the group. "It seems they likely have Regice. I'm not sure what it would supply for them other than being a particularly powerful Pokemon, but I'll be investigating potential whereabouts of some of the other legendary Pokemon around Hoenn that may be on their radar. I'll be visiting the Sky Pillar first for any sign of Rayquaza, or potentially Latias and Latios."

"Rayquaza? And Latias and Latios?" Bonnie asked, exchanging a glance with Dedenne. "We've seen them!"

"You have?" Drake look shocked. "When?"

"I..." Bonnie felt a little bit weird doing so, but she told the story about Latias being stuck in the Petalburg Woods. She left out the part about her vision and the flute. She trusted Drake and Sawyer, but there were some people around, and she didn't want any word to get out to Team Archaic somehow that she had some kind of connection with Latias. And a way to summon her.

"So they are hunting legendary Pokemon..." Drake paused, looking thoughtfully at his ship. He glanced at Bonnie again, looking as though he knew there was more to the story than she'd told. "Latias...there are many stories about Latias. And Rayquaza. Where was it you saw it?"

"I don't remember seeing Rayquaza," Clyde said. "Why didn't you mention it?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I only saw a glimpse of it. It was the night before we got here when we were on Mr. Briney's boat. I saw it flying into some clouds above us." She looked at Drake. "It was heading east."

Drake smiled, shaking his head as though a funny thought had occurred to him. "Rayquaza could be anywhere. The same with Latias and Latios. The Sky Pillar may hold some answers about them, however." He studied the group a moment, and then nodded to himself. "I take it you three are heading to Slateport City now that Bonnie's gym battle is over?" he asked, gesturing to Bonnie, Clyde and Roxanne. They nodded. "Well then. Why don't we take you there? We can drop you off on our way east. It would be no trouble."

Bonnie's eyes widened, and she looked to her friends as an excited smile came to her face. "Really? We can come with you?"

Drake smirked, evidently amused. "Of course. I'd like to hear more about your battle...and any other stories you have. And it's no trouble." He turned to Sawyer. "That is, if you and Steven have no more need of their aid."

Sawyer grinned. "No, we'd already expected them to be gone, actually. But the ferry was booked up." He glanced at his notebook, and then looked hopefully up at Drake. "There is one more thing, though..."

"Hm?"

"Can you sign this?"

Bonnie couldn't have been more thrilled with being on Drake's ship. It was massive, and as soon as they were off and sailing away from Dewford Town, Sawyer waving to them in the distance, Bonnie and her friends couldn't wait to explore. Drake's first mate, Fitzwilliam, was able to show them around while Drake was organizing the crew.

It all seemed even more surreal than it had back when Bonnie had seen it from Briney's boat. The massive sails rippling in the wind and the huge open area on the deck, which could even hold battles, were stunning to behold. Even the cabins were impressive, and Drake had even been able to free one up for Bonnie and her friends to use while they were on board.

"This is going to be so cool!" Bonnie exclaimed as they finished the tour of the ship and were departing their cabin after dropping off their things. "I'm glad we missed getting those ferry tickets!"

"Me too," Roxanne said, chuckling as she led the way to the side of the boat to look over the railing at the coastline. "We'll be able to learn a great deal from Drake, too, I expect. I wonder if he can tell us more about this journey to the Sky Pillar he's taking."

Bonnie nodded, thinking that would be pretty interesting to learn more about. She glanced back in the direction of Dewford Town, even though it was out of sight by now. She couldn't help but wonder about where that trainer Zinnia could be, and what she was up to with Team Archaic. "Have you ever heard of it?" she asked, wondering if Roxanne or Clyde, being from Hoenn, knew anything about this strange location Drake was seeking.

"Just some vague stories," Roxanne said. "I think it has something to do with dragon type Pokemon, and maybe Rayquaza specifically. It's said only a handful of people can even enter it, though."

"I heard there's some kind of test to gain entry," Clyde murmured. "I don't know why Team Archaic would be interested in it, though. There aren't any fossils there, and I don't think Rayquaza lives there exactly or anything like that."

"What about Latios and Latias?" Bonnie asked. "Drake was talking about them, too."

"I'm not sure if they're connected at all," Roxanne said. "But from what you've said, they haven't been spotted anywhere there recently."

Clyde laughed. "Well with the speed they move at, they could be anywhere."

"You two haven't mentioned much of that meeting you had with them in the Petalburg Woods," Roxanne said slowly, turning to them with interest. "How did you find that Latias, Bonnie?"

"I don't really know," Bonnie admitted. "It was kind of like I was...called to it. Clyde didn't seem to have heard what I heard at first." She glanced nervously around, making sure nobody was listening, before she carefully pulled something out of her pocket, which she had removed from her backpack that she'd left in their cabin. She showed it to Roxanne. "Latias gave this to me."

Roxanne's eyes widened at the sight of the flute. "I've heard something about a flute that can call Latios or Latias. Is that...is that it?"

"I think so," Bonnie whispered, carefully putting it away again. "I haven't tried it, though. But if Drake wants to find them, do you think I should let him use it?"

"I'm sure you can trust Drake," Clyde said. "But Latias probably meant for only you to use that flute."

"Sure you can trust me with what?"

Bonnie and her friends jumped at the voice, turning to see the Elite Four member approaching them. He looked a little surprised himself by their reaction, but he seemed to dismiss it a moment later, gesturing to the rest of the ship with a smile. "So, Fitzwilliam gave you the tour, correct? The cabin to your liking?"

"It's amazing!" Bonnie said, eyes lighting up as she took in the ship once more. "The trip to Slateport is gonna be awesome!"

"Well, hopefully you enjoy it," Drake said with a nod. "Of course, if you're going to be on board with us, we do expect a few chores to be done." He smirked at Clyde's worried look. "Nothing too difficult, don't worry. You three aren't experts at sea, so just some simple deck cleaning or food prep would be helpful."

"We can do that," Bonnie said happily, Roxanne and Clyde nodding in agreement.

"Zzt! I will help too by using Pokemon Trainer Bonnie's PokeNav to keep an eye out for any Pokemon nearby that may be trouble!" Rotom added, puffing out his screen-chest.

"Glad to hear it!" Drake said. "For now, feel free to rest, though. "It should be smooth sailing to start the journey. Not much to do just yet."

Suddenly, Bonnie had an idea as her eyes drifted to the wide open area of the deck. She knew it was a bit of a crazy thought, but how many opportunities was she going to have like this? It wasn't every day that Drake of the Elite Four invited you to stay on board his ship. And after her gym battle victory, she was ready for a new challenge.

"Hey Drake," she said hopefully, "what do you think about having a battle? With me?"

Dedenne's ears perked up at this, and he scurried up to the top of Bonnie's head, looking up hopefully at Drake. "Nene?" he added excitedly.

Drake frowned, looking thoughtfully at Bonnie. As the silence dragged on for a few moments, she was beginning to worry she had been a bit pushy asking for a battle and she shifted nervously. Eventually, though, the Elite Four member smirked, giving a short laugh. "Considering all you've done to help out against Team Archaic, I don't see how I can deny you. Very well. What will it be?"

Bonnie could barely believe her good fortune, but she managed to stop herself from gaping so that she could answer. "Can we have a three on three battle?" she asked excitedly. "Then all of my Pokemon can test themselves against you!"

"Seems reasonable enough," Drake murmured, turning his gaze towards where Fitzwilliam was still standing. "Fitzwilliam!" he called to his first mate, who came over as Drake gestured to him. "Could you get the deck cleared for Bonnie and me? We're going to treat the crew to a little battle."

Fitzwilliam looked surprised, and Bonnie felt a flash of irritation as a doubtful glance was directed at her. He recovered quickly, though, and nodded. "We'll get things set up right away, sir!"

"Thank you," Drake said with a nod, as Fitzwilliam set off, calling orders to a few crew members. He then turned to Bonnie. "I'll leave you for a moment to sort out your strategy."

As Drake headed off to where the crew were readying the deck for the battle, Bonnie glanced at her friends, noticing their wide eyes as they stared at her. "What?" she asked. "I thought it was worth it to ask."

Roxanne laughed. "Bonnie, not many people just straight up ask an Elite Four member to battle! You've got guts!"

"Just when I think I've figured you out, you keep surprising me," Clyde added, chuckling a little uneasily. He eyed Drake as they all turned to watch him talking with a crew member, who like Fitzwilliam, appeared surprised by what was happening. "I hope you've got some kind of plan for this. I've heard Elite Four members can beat even a Gym Leader with just one attack."

Bonnie's heart started beating a little faster at that. She turned to Roxanne with a hopeful look. "Have you ever battled an Elite Four member? Or someone at their level?"

She shook her head, looking somewhat apologetic. "I'm afraid I haven't. But some gyms have trainers who are considered to be very close to the level of Elite Four members when they battle at their very best. I've heard Max's father is supposed to be around that level. He has to be very strict about the rules for his gym to give trainers with less experience a chance to fight on even terms. Many gyms have to do that, but some have to be even more careful."

"Zzt, I estimate Pokemon Trainer Bonnie has a zero point three percent chance of winning," Rotom cried out, looking from Drake to Bonnie and back again. "This accounts for the very slim chance that Drake's Pokemon fall asleep from boredom!"

"NENE!"

"ZZT!"

"Dedenne!" Bonnie scolded, picking up the smoking Rotom from the ground. She had to hide her smirk as she did it, trying to keep the image of Dedenne's Thunder Shock hitting Rotom out of her head. "You shouldn't do that..."

"Nene!" Dedenne muttered angrily from her shoulder, folding his little arms.

"Well, you'd better come up with a plan quickly," Clyde said as Rotom shook himself, recovering fairly quickly. "Looks like everything's ready."

Bonnie nodded. "Let's do this, Dedenne!" she said, leading the way over to the makeshift battlefield, where Drake was taking his position, and the watching crew members were gathering around the sidelines.

As Bonnie took her place, Drake looked across at her. He looked like he meant business, as usual, but he did give her an encouraging smile. "I don't want you underestimating yourself, Bonnie. Give me everything you've got and more. I want to see your very best."

Bonnie stared at him a moment, surprised by how his words seemed to fill her with confidence. She finally smiled, holding up a fist. "You've got it!"

"Very well then," Drake said, looking over to Fitzwilliam, who was acting as referee. "Let's get this started."

Fitzwilliam nodded, looking to each trainer and then clearing his throat and speaking. "This will be a three on three battle between Bonnie and Captain Drake. The winner will be decided when one trainer's Pokemon are all unable to battle. Please select your first Pokemon."

"I'll decide first," Drake said, pulling out a pokeball. "Let's see how you handle this one, Bonnie." He threw the pokeball forward, and as it flashed, he called out, "Bagon, let's go!"

Bonnie eyed the Bagon as it emerged, stamping its feet impatiently, clearly ready to battle immediately. "It looks even stronger than Sadie's Bagon," she mumbled, turning to Rotom, who was snapping a picture. "Think I should use Dedenne?"

"Dedenne doesn't know a fairy type move, so his only advantage is that he'll take no damage from dragon type attacks," Rotom noted. "I think it is safe to assume Drake has taught it moves of other types."

"Then I'll need to fight from the sky," Bonnie decided, pulling out a pokeball. "Wingull, let's rumble!" she shouted, throwing the pokeball forward.

Her pokeball flashed open as it was thrown into the air, and a moment later, the Seagull Pokemon emerged, flipping through the air, before landing carefully in front of Bonnie. "Gull!" he cried out, looking across at his opponent.

Pausing a moment to glance at each Pokemon and their trainers, Fitzwilliam raised an arm. At a nod from each of them, he waved it forward. "Let the battle begin!"

"Wingull, Water Gun!" Bonnie shouted quickly, excited to take the first move, although noticing Drake was watching rather than trying to beat her to it. Wingull took off immediately, soaring into the sky, before unleashing a jet of water down towards his opponent.

"Guuuulll!" he cried out as the water sprayed out.

"Flamethrower," Drake ordered calmly.

"Bagon!" Bagon replied, looking up almost dismissively, before opening his jaws and unleashing a torrent of fire towards the incoming Water Gun.

The crew members of the ship who were watching all called out in surprise as the Water Gun appeared to evaporate. Bonnie was stunned herself. Clearly even knowing Drake, it was a surprise when his Pokemon could demonstrate raw power like that. Fortunately, the Flamethrower didn't quite reach Wingull, although it was certainly close as the Seagull Pokemon flapped his wings desperately to get higher into the air.

"Hm...an impressive Water Gun," Drake said thoughtfully. "A bit of a hasty attack, however. Don't forget your advantages, Bonnie."

"Advantages?" Bonnie frowned, looking to Rotom, who was too busy excitedly displaying a picture of Bagon's Flamethrower to help her. "What could he...wait a minute." She grinned, looking up at Wingull. "Right...Wingull, Rain Dance!"

"Wingull!" The water and flying type drifted a little lower to the ground, but remained cautious of Bagon, before focusing and closing his eyes as a cloud began to form above him. A moment later, a light drizzle of rain began to fall over and around him. Bonnie was pleased to see that it seemed to be a bit larger than his more recent uses of the move.

Drake smiled as he looked up. "Excellent. Now we can see the power you've got. Bagon, use Scary Face!"

"Bagon!" Bagon cried out, his eyes suddenly widening as he glared up at Wingull. Bonnie shivered as she watched it, wondering if she was imagining the red glow around his eyes and the eerily shadowy vapour seeming to drift from him. She glanced up, and saw Wingull looking just an uneasy.

Bonnie knew she needed to attack now before they both lost their nerve and allowed Drake to come up with something else, so she quickly ordered the next attack. "Wingull, one more Water Gun! Let's go!"

"Gull!" he answered, shaking himself and narrowing his eyes. He began to fly lower again, opening his beak.

"Dodge and use Dragon Claw!"

Bonnie's eyes widened, watching as a particularly large blast of water shot down towards Bagon. It looked like one of the strongest attacks Wingull had been able to pull off so far. Unfortunately, it was meaningless. Bagon leaped into the air, right past the water rushing towards him, and he seemed to appear before Wingull in a heartbeat. Bonnie and Wingull could only blink in confusion as Bagon's claw, glowing green, flashed out.

"Gull!"

The whole ship seemed to go silent as Bagon landed gracefully in front of his trainer, while Wingull hit the deck with a thud. Fitzwilliam made the easy call. "Wingull is unable to battle. Bagon is the winner!"

"Zzt! Only one move?!" Rotom cried out, a scared face appearing on his screen. "We should surrender!"

"N-no way," Bonnie said, shaking her head and focusing. "We're gonna keep fighting." She raised Wingull's pokeball and recalled him, trying to take deep,calming breaths. It certainly was a little nerve-wracking to have your Pokemon go down with a single move like that. "Thanks, Wingull," she whispered. "You did great."

"Don't let the result distract you, Bonnie," Drake warned, as he also recalled his Pokemon. "Your Wingull did do very well. That Rain Dance is vastly superior to what it was when I saw it used in Island Cave, and it increased the power of Water Gun very nicely. I was careful to have Bagon use Scary Face in order to give him the speed advantage necessary to avoid it. Don't forget that each move can build off the previous one. It cannot be one and done. Otherwise, you become too predictable and too easy to defend against."

"Right," Bonnie said, trying her best to soak in every word. She felt almost like she was in a trance as she fully realized what was happening. She was actually in a real battle against an Elite Four member. And, he was giving her advice as they went along. What more could she ask for? She grinned as she pulled out her next pokeball. She'd make sure she used that advice and show Drake what she was made of. "Beautifly, let's rumble!"

"Flygon, come on out!"

Bonnie stared in wonder at Drake's next choice, her attention taken away from Beautifly as she emerged in a flash of light. Flygon was incredible! Its green body seemed radiate power, and the red casings over its eyes shone with the reflected light of the sun. The battle-ready stance and the determined gaze it directed towards Beautifly took her breath away. It was one of the most incredible Pokemon she'd seen.

"Flygon is a particularly good friend of mine," Drake said, smiling at Bonnie's look. "I'm interested to see how you fare against him." He narrowed his eyes. "We'll see how Beautifly does in a sky battle."

Bonnie brought her focus back to Drake, before looking to Beautifly. "Let's do this, Beautifly," she said, feeling her heart beating faster. If Flygon was special to Drake, that meant it would be even stronger than Bagon. She had to be ready. At Fitzwilliam's call to resume the battle, she ordered her first attack immediately, thinking of Drake's advice, and immediately moving to her and Beautifly's go to move. "String Shot!"

"Flyyy!" Beautifly cried out, flapping her wings and shooting higher into the air, before aiming the string of web towards the dragon type.

"Laser Focus," Drake ordered calmly, Flygon hovering in the same position and watching as Beautifly's attack came towards him. Bonnie frowned, unsure why he wouldn't dodge, but she did notice his eyes staring intensely at Beautifly. As she moved from side to side, clearly trying to make herself a harder target to hit, he was incredibly focused on her.

"Beautifly, let's take advantage of Flygon losing speed!" Bonnie shouted. "Aerial Ace!"

Drake grunted, appearing somewhat disappointed. "Boomburst."

As Beautifly flapped her wings and charged forward, Bonnie could see immediately that her choice in attacks had been poor. Beautifly appeared to move quickly, but Flygon's gaze didn't shift. He opened his mouth, and even as Beautifly appeared to slip out of sight a moment, before appearing behind him, he managed to turn his head and unleash the blue sound waves in a brutal strike. Beautifly dropped to the ground just as Wingull had, while Flygon released himself from the webs with a shake of his wings.

"Beautifly is unable to battle. Flygon wins!" Fitzwilliam announced, as Bonnie, biting her lip in frustration, recalled her bug type.

"Th-thanks, Beautifly," she said. "I screwed up. You did great, though."

"Zzt! I did not realize just how strong Elite Four member Drake is!" Rotom said quickly as he hovered in front of Bonnie, while Drake recalled his Flygon. "I-"

"Don't tell me I have even worse of a chance!" Bonnie snapped. "I can see how strong he is."

"Zzt! No!" Rotom said, actually sounding somewhat sympathetic. "I have failed you! I should be giving better advice!"

Bonnie couldn't help but smile at that. "You're doing fine, Rotom. I just...well..." She trailed off, looking over to Drake, who was watching her, his expression unreadable. He spoke a moment later, though.

"That was a wise move starting the battle off with String Shot," he acknowledged, nodding thoughtfully. "Beautifly's clearly taken to that move, and is very confident in using it. While that can be predictable for an opponent that knows you, it can certainly come in handy for one that doesn't. You can very quickly gain a speed advantage with a String Shot like that. However..."

His pause seemed to indicate that he was giving Bonnie a chance to figure out where she went wrong. She decided to give it a try. "I moved too quickly. We should've kept our distance at first, and maybe used Gust or Absorb. Especially since Flygon had used that move Laser Focus."

Drake nodded. "With his speed impeded, I knew Flygon would need to be prepared with a longer range attack. Laser Focus allowed him to be able to strike very precisely. By moving in too close, and too quickly, Flygon was able to deal the maximum amount of damage. Remember," he said, pulling out his final pokeball, "a battle is constant flow of decisions and countermoves between you and your opponent. You need to understand the finer details and make them habit." With that, he threw out his final pokeball. "Shelgon, come on out!"

The Pokemon that emerged was somewhat round in shape, with four legs and a face hidden by a bony shell that made up most of its body. Bonnie remembered Sawyer's Salamence battling Ash once when it was a Shelgon. Ash's Hawlucha had beaten it fairly soundly, but from what she remembered, its defensive abilities were quite strong. And she expected Drake's was as strong as it could get.

"Dedenne," she said, looking to her partner Pokemon, "are you ready?"

Dedenne smirked in response, holding up a little fist to show his confidence, before leaping out in front of her. His cheeks sparked in determination as he stared across at his opponent, and Bonnie noticed Drake's eyes flash a little in surprise as he looked to the Antenna Pokemon. He smiled a moment later, though, and looked to Bonnie.

"A fairy type will be protected against my dragon attacks," he said. "We'll see if Dedenne can take advantage."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "He'll be able to."

With that, Fitzwilliam called for the battle to resume, and for the third time, Drake allowed Bonnie to call the first attack. "Dedenne, Thunder Shock!"

"Neneneee!" Dedenne cried out, cheeks sparking a moment, before his body surged with electricity. A moment later, the electricity fired out, striking Shelgon head on.

Bonnie pumped her fist in excitement at the quick attack. "Yes! Great job, Dedenne!" She grinned as she heard her friends cheering for her, and even Rotom added in a cheer next to her. As the attack ended, though, she couldn't help but gape in surprise.

"Shelgon!" the Endurance Pokemon grunted out, shaking itself a moment, before glaring ahead at Dedenne, who stared back in shock.

"I assume you are aware of Shelgon's defensive strength?" Drake asked, raising an eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes as he looked to the two Pokemon. "Double Edge."

Bonnie clenched her fists. She was not going to lose to a single move again. She refused to let that happen. "Dedenne, fight back with Nuzzle!" she shouted, not caring about how strong Drake's Shelgon was. She knew Dedenne could do it.

"Nene!" Dedenne shouted in response, dropping to all fours and taking off towards Shelgon, his cheeks sparking. The crew members watching were all stunned by Bonnie's rash move, and she could hear Roxanne calling a warning. It was too late now, though, and Bonnie watched, tense with anticipation as Dedenne leaped into the air, rubbing his cheeks, as Shelgon reached him.

"Gooon!" the Endurance Pokemon cried out as they made contact, a small spark passing between the two Pokemon, before Dedenne went flying backwards, crashing hard into the deck and sliding so far he passed right by Bonnie.

"Dedenne!" Bonnie cried out, staring in shock at her partner Pokemon.

"A reckless move..." Drake murmured quietly behind her as Bonnie took a step towards Dedenne. Fitzwilliam had taken a few steps as well.

"Dedenne," Bonnie said, fear welling up inside her at how stupid she'd been. "I'm sorry...I..."

Fitzwilliam raised a hand. "Dedenne is unable to-"

"Ne...ne...NE!"

Bonnie's eyes widened, and she heard the crew members and her friends gasp in astonishment. She was even sure Drake let out a noise of surprise. Somehow, against all odds, Dedenne was slowly rising to his feet. He looked pained, but as he staggered forward, his eyes met Bonnie's. He looked more determined than she'd ever seen him.

"Dedenne?" Bonnie was amazed at the ferocity in his eyes. "Are you...are you sure you're okay?"

"Nene!" he said, punching the air confidently, before taking his position in front of her. His eyes went to Drake. "Denene!"

Bonnie looked up in surprise, watching the Elite Four member for his reaction. He stared back at Dedenne, and his expression was doubtful, but Bonnie could also see a hint of what seemed to be admiration in his eyes. He spoke a moment later.

"That is a very fine Pokemon you have there, Bonnie," he said, nodding to Dedenne in respect. "A very fine Pokemon indeed."

"Bonnie! Look!"

Bonnie was so surprised to hear Clyde's shout, she stared at him dumbfounded, before he called her name again, pointing animatedly towards something. She blinked in confusion, but then followed what he was pointing to, and her eyes widened at the sight. He was pointing at Shelgon. And Shelgon was stumbling as sparks passed along his body.

"Zzt! Dedenne hit Shelgon with Nuzzle!" Rotom cried out excitedly. "Shelgon is paralyzed!"

Bonnie was stunned, and she couldn't help but stare at the sight disbelievingly for a moment, before turning back to Drake, seeing him looking surprised as well. She knew one thing, though, as she exchanged a glance with Dedenne, and that was that paralysis didn't always hold a Pokemon back. She needed to act quickly if she was going to take advantage of Shelgon being immobilized.

"Dedenne, use Tackle!"

"NENE!"

And suddenly, Bonnie heard cheers from not only her friends, but Drake's crew as well. The improbability of it all seemed to make them want to see more. Dedenne charged towards Shelgon with everything he had, pushed on by the cheers. Bonnie felt almost as though he was gaining strength as he approached Shelgon, who staggered once again as he caught sight of Dedenne nearing him. Then, Dedenne leaped forward, ready to slam into Shelgon with a Tackle. However, something changed in the last moment.

"NENENE!"

Dedenne's fists were suddenly glowing, just as he was landing his attack. Bonnie could see the bright pink glow emanating from them, and her heart raced as she saw him embrace the newfound power he seemed to feel. Instinctively, he began pummelling Shelgon with his glowing pink fists, striking his side all over with a barrage of little punches. With every hit, there seemed to be a small flash of pink light. Eventually, the glow faded, and Dedenne jumped back, while Shelgon seemed to wince slightly for the first time.

"Excellent work," Drake said, looking pleased despite the successful attack on his Pokemon. "Now, Shelgon. Finish with Fire Fang."

"Shelgon!"

Dedenne, who had just landed, panting from his attack, could only look up in surprise as Shelgon moved to attack him from in close. The paralysis didn't help him this time, and the Endurance Pokemon opened his jaws and unleashed the fiery fangs down upon him. Dedenne cried out, before falling to the ground, his body smoking.

"Dedenne is unable to battle. Shelgon wins!" Fitzwilliam called out. "The battle goes to Captain Drake!"

For a moment, there was silence. Bonnie felt a flash of disappointment. No matter how unlikely it had been, she had hoped to be able to do something more against Drake. She'd been working so hard since setting out on her journey, and her Pokemon had come so far. And Dedenne...the way he had battled back to hit Shelgon with that strange new move. That had been one of the most incredible things she'd seen him do. But as she looked towards her fallen Pokemon, and began to move towards him, Drake's crew began to applaud her.

Bonnie reached Dedenne and picked him up carefully. He stirred tiredly, looking up at her with a small smile. "Ne...ne," he whispered.

"You were awesome, Dedenne," Bonnie told him, smiling back. She looked around, blushing as the applause was finishing. "I guess everyone enjoyed the battle..."

"They admire the spirit both of you displayed." Drake was walking towards them, his Shelgon's paralysis being tended to by Fitzwilliam. "I must admit, Bonnie...you surprised me. You and Dedenne were very impressive. Your other Pokemon as well, but Dedenne certainly demonstrated the kind of trainer you are, and the kind of trainer you can become."

"Really?" Bonnie asked, blushing further at the praise. "I didn't do much, though."

Drake gave a short laugh. "I think you did a great deal. You encouraged your Pokemon. You took in my advice, but you also stuck to who you are deep down. Dedenne could sense that. That's what kept him going so he could land his Nuzzle attack and keep fighting. And then he learned Play Rough to further hammer home the point."

"Play Rough?" Bonnie asked, frowning as she looked at Dedenne, who seemed equally curious about the move he'd used.

"It's a fairy type move," Drake explained. "Quite a powerful one at that. It was exactly the kind of move Dedenne needed against a dragon type such as Shelgon, especially with his high defensive strength."

Bonnie felt her heart beating heavily in her chest. Dedenne had really learned a move like that for her? She couldn't have been more grateful. "Dedenne," she said, looking down at him, "thank you so much. You're the best! We're going to keep working hard together, and we're going to listen to everything Drake was telling us, okay?"

"Hey Captain!" one of the crew members called out, just as Dedenne was murmuring his agreement. "You guys are going to battle again before we reach Slateport City, right?"

Drake smirked in response, looking at Bonnie. "What do you say, Bonnie? Think you're up for taking some lessons from an old sailor like me?"

Bonnie's eyes widened, and she turned as her friends came up behind her, each having apparently heard what Drake had offered. Roxanne looked excited, while Clyde simply gaped at Drake. Rotom was stuck between trying to take a picture and trying to load some kind of data. When Bonnie turned back to Drake, he was waiting patiently. She had her answer ready.

"When's our next lesson?"

Author's Note:

And so, Bonnie has had her first little showdown with an Elite Four member...and she lost each round. But she's just starting out, and you know what...it was a gutsy effort! Especially at the end. I thought long and hard about how to move things along with Dedenne's moveset, and eventually I settled on giving him Play Rough much earlier than originally intended. I know it's a stronger move in the games and learned at a higher level for Dedenne, but I figured he really needed a fairy type move, and learning it against a dragon master like Drake seemed to really fit. Particularly with what this battle was for Bonnie.

Anyway, now Bonnie and company are travelling to Slateport with Drake, and he'll be giving Bonnie a few lessons as they go. This is a huge opportunity for her, so we'll see how much she improves. Hopefully you like where things are going, and found this to be a fun chapter. See you next time!