Journey Towards Greatness

As soon as Hala's Hariyama entered the battlefield, everything changed. The atmosphere became tense while everybody held their breath.

Everyone on Melemele island knows that Hariyama is a very strong pokemon, and many have seen its brute strength on display.

Everyone believed this was going to be a very hard battle for Ash.

Ash, on the other hand, was just excited to battle Hariyama and earn his very first Z-crystal. He hasn't even thought of losing.

Ash "Rowlet, let's do this"

Ash said excitedly and looked at his Rowlet, but was stunned by what he saw. His Rowlet was just standing there on the battlefield, fast asleep.

This took everyone by surprise except Julian, as he already witnessed it fall asleep right as it landed on the ground. The battle it had with Crabrawler must have been taxing for it to fall asleep.

Hala "Hahaha, the little one must be very tired after that battle"

Hala also commented and laughed, seeing Rowlet sleep in the middle of the battlefield without any care.

Ash sighed and sent Rowlet back to its pokemon and asked it to rest for the day. He then looked at his Pikachu.

Ash "Alright buddy, it's up to us now"

Ash said.

Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and rushed onto the battlefield, and took his stance while staring at Hariyama. His cheeks then sparked, showing off his excitement for this battle.

The battle started, and Ash once again went on the attack first.

Ash "Pikachu, use Quick Attack"

Hearing Ash's words, Pikachu dashed towards Hariyama at blitzing speed. This alerted Hala as he has never seen a Pikachu as fast as Ash's.

Pikachu covered the whole battlefield in an instant and crashed against Hariyama's belly. Pikachu was so fast that Hariyama couldn't even react. It all happened in a flash.

But the outcome of this exchange didn't go as Ash planned. As soon as Pikachu head-butted Hariyama with the Quick Attack, he was sent bouncing back into the air.

Pikachu quickly used his tail to correct himself in mid-air and landed on his feet. Ash looked at Hariyama and felt that Pikachu didn't do any damage to it at all.

It was not that the Quick Attack didn't do any damage, Hariyama's health is very high, so it was like Pikachu ripping a small piece of paper from a massive sheet.

Even though Ash didn't see any visible damage to Hariyama, he believes in Pikachu, so he goes for another attack.

Ash "Use Quick Attack again"

Pikachu once again bolts towards Hariyama, but this time Hala and Hariyama are ready and have a counter waiting for Pikachu.

Hala "Use Arm Thrusts"

Hala commands. Hariyama's arms start to glow brightly and as soon as Pikachu is about to hit it, Hariyama thrusts its arm forward and catches Pikachu, but it doesn't end with one.

Hariyama continues to assault Pikachu with multiple Arm Thrusts and sends Pikachu rolling on the ground.

Ash's friends get worried seeing this but their worries fade away as they see Pikachu instantly recover. Arm Thrusts is a good move, but it is not strong enough to take out a pokemon of Pikachu's caliber.

Ash realizes that he won't be able to take Hariyama's head-on, but Pikachu's speed still gives him his edge.

Ash "Use Quick Attack to distract Hariyama and then use Iron Tail"

Ash commands. Pikachu once again uses Quick Attack but this time, he is random with his movements and he is all over the battlefield making Hariyama confused.

Pikachu is very fast and the bright light covering him adds more to Hariyama's confusion. Pikachu quickly closes the distance between him and Hariyama and starts running around him.

Hala "Use Force Palm"

Hala tries to break Pikachu's momentum using Force Palm, but it fails, as Hariyama uses Force Palm and tries to hit the moving Pikachu but misses and hits the ground. Hala didn't expect Hariyama to hit Pikachu, he just wanted to disrupt his movement by this Force Palm and force Pikachu away from Hariyama, but he was surprised to see his plan fail.

Pikachu, being very nimble, easily avoided the cracks on the ground and continued to circle Hariyama before he finally found the right time to attack.

With Hariyama's back facing him, Pikachu used Iron Tail along with Quick Attack and hit Hariyama right behind its knee.

This folded Hariyama's leg, forcing it to go on one knee. As soon as Hariyama went down, Ash saw his chance to attack.

Ash "Use Iron Tail again"

Pikachu arrived in front of Hariyama and jumped up high in the air and did a 360-degree flip while his tail was covered with steel energy.

Hala "Grab its tail"

As Pikachu was about to land the Iron Tail right between Hariyama's eyes, Hariyama clapped its hands together and caught Pikachu by his tail in mid-air.

This took Pikachu by surprise and gave Hala a chance to attack.

Hala "Use Vital Throw"

With Hala's orders Hariyama starts to build up strength, Vital Throw is a very powerful move in which a pokemon just throws its opponent up in the sky and watches it crash into the ground but to do that, it needs to build up energy and it takes time.

Ash was not going to let this happen, so he counter-attacked.

Ash "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt"

Pikachu let out his battle cry and released a powerful Thunderbolt and started shocking Hariyama, but to everyone's surprise, Hariyama kept his hold on Pikachu's tail tight, even though he is getting seriously damaged by the Thunderbolt. It doesn't want to let go.

After a few seconds, Hariyama was done with collecting energy, so it shifts Pikachu's tail to one hand while still being electrocuted and throws Pikachu high up in the air.

Hariyama also falls on its knees as the Thunderbolt did a lot of damage.

Hala "Use Belly Drum"

Before Pikachu could even fall down to the battlefield, Hala prepared himself, knowing that a battle is not over till he sees his opponent's pokemon out cold, so he prepared for his next move.

Pikachu soon starts to fall down from the sky and crashes hard on the battlefield with a big boom.