Ash vs Paul - Lake Acuity Rematch

by Fox McCloude

As he prepares for his most important tournament ever, Ash Ketchum visits Lake Acuity in the Sinnoh region to do some training. Surprisingly, though, it turns out he wasn't the only one to choose that day to visit said place, and a fateful encounter will light the flame and the memories of an old rivalry.

Ash vs Paul – Lake Acuity Rematch

By Fox McCloude.

Disclaimer: Pokémon and all related characters belong to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo and GAMEFREAK. All rights reserved.

---

Sinnoh Region…

At the north extreme of Sinnoh, west of Snowpoint City, Lake Acuity, one of the three grand lakes of the region, is located. It is also the place where the Legendary Pokémon Uxie is rumored to reside. However, for Ash Ketchum, this location meant a lot more than that.

The mobile base belonging to Battle Frontier Brandon, the Battle Pyramid, was hovering over the lake's surroundings, propelled by its turbines. It landed close to it to avoid getting too much attention from curious people. It wouldn't stay too long anyway, since it had only arrived to drop off one of its occupants.

"Oof, now that's the only way to fly," Ash said as he set foot out of it. "Better than any airplane."

"We'll go on to the Snowpoint Ruins," said Brandon, the Pyramid King and leader of the Frontier Brains. "You sure you'll be fine on your own?"

"Don't worry," Ash assured him. "I can manage, and I haven't gone out on open field for a while. I could use some exercise to stretch my legs."

"Alright." Brandon nodded. "We'll be back for you in ten days. Be careful out there until then."

And with those words, Ash stepped away at a safe distance while Brandon returned to the base. A few minutes later, it took off again and flew east towards Snowpoint. Brandon wanted to make his annual visit to the Regigigas Shrine to pay his respects, so he gave Ash the lift so he could have some training, After all they were preparing for the Intercontinental Champions Tournament, and since there was only one open slot for the Kanto Battle Frontier, they would decide who'd take it with an inner tournament between its eight members. Each of them wanted to do their training privately, and in their own way.

After stopping by the Pokémon Center to leave their belongings, Ash and Pikachu walked towards the edge of the lake to get a view of the place. Nostalgia invaded the trainer as he glanced on the water's surface and recalled all the events he lived in that place. For Brock, the most important one was having seen Uxie, but for Ash, the most important event, and the most vivid of his memories, was that fateful full battle he had against one of his biggest rivals as trainer.

That battle was one of his most humiliating and disastrous defeats in his journey through Sinnoh. Not only because he had been defeated in a 6-2, but also because of his opponent. Paul, a trainer who was the full opposite of Ash in personality, and ideas about Pokémon training. For the most part of his journey through Sinnoh, Paul dismissed Ash's ideology about befriending Pokémon and working hard to train with them to bring out their real power as stupid, calling him a weak trainer, and Ash desperately sought to defeat him to prove him wrong. However, two good things did come out of that fight: one, Chimchar, the same Pokémon Paul had discarded for not living up to his expectations, evolved into Monferno. And two, Ash finally realized what he needed to do to surpass Paul. He had been so focused in trying to beat him, he didn't realized that he was doing everything wrong. Paul's training methods would never work with him, because he wasn't Paul. He was Ash, and when he remembered that, he finally understood what he needed. Something he always had in him, and he had lost sight of while trying to be something he wasn't just because he wanted his rival's respect.

"Well, well, just look at who we've found here," a familiar voice said. Ash turned around and saw who it was, finding himself with two familiar faces approaching him.

The brothers from Veilstone, both of them with purple hair, but with completely opposite attitudes, clothes, and professions. The older brother, Reggie, was dressed in his usual breeder attire, complete with the green apron Ash had seen him wear when they first meet. On the other hand, Paul now stood as tall as his older brother, but beyond that he hadn't changed much, except maybe his demeanor being not as hard or scowling as Ash recalled.

"Paul, Reggie, what a surprise to find you guys here." The trainer waved at them.

"Good for you. You're not exactly who I was expecting to find here," said Paul.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"We saw the Battle Pyramid flying close by, and I hoped I could see Brandon to challenge him to a battle," Paul explained.

"Ah, I see," said Ash. "Sorry to disappoint you, they just came to drop me off here, and they moved on to Snowpoint."

"Too bad, little brother," said Reggie. "But it's not that bad, and I think it's appropriate that we find Ash here today of all days."

"Today? Is it a special day or something?" Ash tilted his head in confusion.

"What, don't you know what day is today?" Paul asked with slight irritation.

"Er… Wednesday?"

Paul slapped his forehead, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard, and Ash was left completely dumfounded. Was that an important date? Fortunately, Reggie intervened to solve his doubt.

"I'm surprised you don't remember. Today is the anniversary of that full battle you two had in this place," the elder brother explained.

"Is it, for real?" asked Ash.

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, Paul comes here every year in this same day," said Reggie. "Isn't that right?"

"There was no need to go into that much detail," said Paul. "But really, how could you have forgotten something like that?"

"Hey, in my defense, I tend not to pay much attention to time or dates when I'm far from home," Ash replied. "Although… I won't deny I did come here for a bit of nostalgia. I would never forget that battle."

"Sure, after I crushed you the way I did," Paul reminded him, causing Ash to frown a little at that. "Then again… you weren't at your full back then, at I was prepared for you after all."

"That's in the past, guys," said Reggie, before turning towards Ash. "Anyway, how have you been? We've been hearing many good things about you in the past few years."

"Rumors said the Kanto Battle Frontier has an eight Brain," Paul stated dryly. "That's you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I opened a Battle Coliseum in Pallet Town, which also doubles as an official Kanto League Gym," said Ash. "Would you be interested in challenging it?"

"Maybe," the younger brother admitted. "Though that doesn't explain why you're here, so far from home."

"To be honest, I came here to train for a while," said Ash. "Have you guys heard of the Intercontinental Pokémon Champion Tournament?"

"Is that a joke question? It's the most important Pokémon tournament ever, where only the best of the best trainers in the world take part," said Paul. "Don't tell me you're going to compete in it?"

"It's not official yet," said Ash. "There's only one slot available, so we Brains are going to host an inside tournament to choose which of us will enter."

Paul glanced at Ash, with a look the Pallet trainer knew very well. It was similar, though different, to the ones he would give back when they were rivals, except that less than contempt or indifference, it had more respect. However, the Veilstone trainer's eyes clearly glowed with that clear desire to challenge him. And Reggie quickly took notice of it.

"Well, since we're here, why don't you two have a battle?" the older brother suggested. "It seems appropriate, and if Ash said he came for some training, why not start right now? The Pokémon Center's battlefield is available for you two this time around."

Both trainers glanced at the breeder, and then at each other. Ash had no issue, and his team was rested and ready to battle at a moment's notice. Glancing at Pikachu over his shoulder, the rodent gave him a nod, confirming that he was ready whenever he wanted.

"Do you have your best team with you?" asked Paul.

"Any team is the best for me," Ash replied.

"Well, if you're so sure of yourself."

"We better ask Nurse Joy for permission," said Reggie. "I'll be the referee, if you don't mind."

Both trainers nodded. The flame of rivalry between them had just been lit again. Maybe it wasn't antagonistic anymore, but it definitely was there, and the reunion in this place had just fueled it.

---

A couple hours later, on the battlefield…

Once the arrangements for the battle had been done, both trainers stood in front of each other, each in its assigned place. Reggie stood in the middle of both, holding the referee flags in each hand, ready to direct the match. He was really pumped up to see what kind of battle his brother and Ash would have.

The trainer from Pallet Town smiled in excitement and expectation. He was always glad to meet old rivals again, to find out how strong they had grown. Despite his disagreements with Paul, he respected him as a strong trainer, and in their last meeting they parted ways, if not as friends, with a degree of respect for each other's skills, and leaving clear who was the best trainer back at the Sinnoh League. After so long, Ash was anxious to show Paul what he could do, and how far he had come since their last match.

Meanwhile, Paul's thoughts were different. To him, the priority was proving who was the strongest, and knowing that Ash now occupied a place on equal rank as Brandon, the trainer his brother was never able to beat and the one he had set as the hurdle to surpass, made him determined to win this battle. The last time, he had the advantage of knowing exactly what Ash would do, which Pokémon he would use and how to counter each of them. But that advantage was nonexistent now. He had no way to know how much Ash had improved since their last fight, neither what he would be capable of.

"This is going to be a full battle," Reggie declared. "Each of you two can use six Pokémon, and switch them whenever you want. The battle will be over whenever the six Pokémon of either side are unable to keep fighting. Are you guys ready?"

"Ready," said Paul.

"Let's get started," said Ash, taking his first Pokéball. "Swellow, I choose you!"

"Swellow!" The Hoenn bird appeared in the air and spread his wings to flutter over the field. Paul stared at him for a bit, and after meditating, decided to reply in kind.

"Honchkrow, standby for battle!"

"Krow!" The evolved crow followed suit, staring at his counterpart as he flew before him at the same altitude.

"Start!" Reggie declared.

"Swellow, use Quick Attack!" Ash exclaimed, ready to deliver the first blow.

"Swellow!" The Hoenn bird rushed leaving a white trail behind him, charging at his opponent. Paul only moved slightly the line of his mouth, making it clear he was mildly impressed, perhaps with the speed.

"Honchkrow, dodge and use Night Slash!"

"Honchkrow!"

The crow veered a little to the side, barely avoiding Swellow's strike, and then performed a U-turn to charge with one of his wings coated in a black-purple energy, ready to deliver a good slap on his opponent.

"Double Team, now!" Ash shouted.

Right before Honchkrow's wing struck him, Swellow summoned several afterimages, and as soon as the Night Slash hit its target, it fizzled out: revealing it was just an illusion. The Hoenn bird began multiplying all over the field, spreading his clones at such speed, it was but impossible to tell which of them the real one was.

"Not bad, I admit it," said Paul in a stoic voice. "Honchkrow, Aerial Ace!"

Honchkrow coated himself in Flying-type energy, charging at the real Swellow. No matter how good that Double Team was, Aerial Ace would always find its target no matter where it was. Almost impossible to dodge, as some said.

"Swellow, Aerial Ace too!"

From the same direction Honchkrow was aiming at, the real Swellow abandoned his cover between the clones and went to meet his opponent head on with the same attack. Both birds clashed against each other and were knocked backwards, being evenly matched in their attack power.

"Honchkrow, Dark Pulse!" Paul called. The crow fired from his beak a dark wave beam at his foe.

"Swellow, deflect it with Steel Wing!" Ash shouted.

Both of Swellow's wings took a metallic coat as he flew towards Honchkrow. Rather than rushing to attack, though, Swellow gave a wing slap right when the Dark Pulse beams almost hit him. Much to Paul and Honchkrow's surprise, the beams were reflected as if hitting a mirror, and Honchkrow barely veered to avoid getting hit, but in doing so he gave Swellow the opening to get close and hit him with a metallic wing. The crow barely avoided crashing against the ground just in time, before flying upwards again.

Without sparing a word, Paul raised his Pokéball and returned Honchkrow, surprising both Ash and Reggie. The purple-haired trainer thought for a bit. From his past experiences, he didn't think he could win an aerial battle easily, and that Swellow seemed to edge Honchkrow slightly in speed. He had to try a different approach.

"Ursaring, standby for battle!" he finally declared.

"RRAAAAHHH!" The raging bear roared and pulled out his sharp claws. Reggie on the other hand, glanced at Ash.

'What do you plan to do now, Ash?' he asked inwardly. 'Will you try to defeat Ursaring with your Swellow?'

Much to his surprise, Ash decided to switch Pokémon too. The Pallet trainer glanced at Ursaring himself, and also tried to decide who would be the better opponent to face him. He finally made his choice and threw his next Pokéball.

"Snorlax, I choose you!" he called.

"Snorlax…"

Both Paul and Reggie raised an eyebrow. A strange decision for both of them, but Ash knew what he was doing. He knew very well that Ursaring was mostly a physical combatant capable of inflicting a lot of pain, and that was where Snorlax would be the perfect opponent for him. Not only he could take a lot of punishment, but he also had a few tricks that could surprise Paul, and his strength was nothing to sneeze at either.

"Ursaring, Focus Blast!" Paul called. The bear roared and fired from his paws a large blue energy sphere at his opponent.

"Snorlax, Protect!" Ash shouted.

"Snor…" Snorlax lowered his arms as a green energy dome formed around him. The Focus Blast impacted against the impenetrable barrier, causing no damage.

"Hyper Beam!" Paul called, not letting himself be discouraged. After all, he was only testing his opponent.

The Veilstone trainer felt quite confident. Ursaring was one of his main combatants, and he had been able to beat half of Ash's team during their first battle in Lake Acuity. Besides, Protect would hardly be useful against consecutive attacks, and he couldn't shield behind it all the time. However, nothing could have prepared for the next command his opponent gave.

"Jump and use Body Slam!" Ash called.

Paul's eyes widened slightly for a second after he heard his opponent's call, believing he had misheard it. But no: Snorlax really leapt in the air, not only dodging the Hyper Beam right at the last second, but he went on top of Ursaring with his full body weight, managing to clear a distance that Paul estimated could be at least half the battlefield's length.

Ursaring could barely give one step backwards before the huge weight mass fell on top of him, causing the battlefield to rumble as he fell. The bear was so stunned he forgot for a moment to try and get his opponent off of him, and even though he succeeded, he had it hard. Both Pokémon got back on his feet, staring at each other. Paul, for his part, decided it was time to take another approach.

"Ursaring, use Slash!" je called. The bear roared and extended his claws, making them glow in a white light as he charged at Snorlax.

"Dodge!" said Ash.

Paul once again was surprised as he heard Ash's command. That jump Snorlax gave caught him off guard, nut there was no way he could have dodge a fast attack at point-blank range if he didn't let him jump. He would probably try to endure the attack or so Pau thought. Much to his shock, Snorlax dodged Ursaring's Slash strikes by sidestepping and walking backwards slightly. Some of them did manage to scratch him, but outside small cuts, none of them managed to cause significant damage.

"How can a Snorlax move that fast?" asked Paul.

"Don't underestimate him; Snorlax might be big, but he's always in shape," Ash replied.

It said a lot that a Pokémon like Snorlax, whose favorite habits were eating and sleeping, could be such a powerful and effective combatant. Of course, he'd always empty his wallet when he had to reward him with a good snack per battle, but it was worth every cent.

"Hammer Arm!" Paul called.

Ursaring raised both arms, which began to glow with golden energy, and slammed a hard bow on Snorlax's head. Ash's Pokémon stumbled in a daze, and Paul decided to end the round with a strong attack at point-blank range.

"Hyper Beam!"

"RRAAAAHHH!"

Taking a deep breath, the orange energy began storing up in between Ursaring's jaws, and a second later he fired his attack. Being in a daze, Snorlax couldn't dodge, and fell backwards with a hard thud. Paul smiled in satisfaction, while Reggie approached to see him.

"Snorlax is unable…!" he almost declared, until he saw he was about to get back up, leaning on his hands.

"Snor… lax…" he said as he got back on his feet, and he didn't seem happy.

"Snorlax, use Rest to recover your energies," said Ash.

Snorlax sat on a relaxed position, snoring loudly, while the wounds he had suffered with the last attacks began healing slowly. Paul for his part was stunned. The fact that Snorlax had endured those attacks and gotten back up was a surprise in itself, but that display of speed and agility, it was something completely different.

'I hate to admit it, but he seems to know what he's doing,' Paul thought. 'Should I switch now?'

It was a dilemma. Paul didn't want to reveal his team so fast, not without deciphering Ash's strategy first. But he was starting to doubt whether Ursaring would have a chance to win. He wasn't the only one capable of dealing damage, but he definitely had him as one of his main heavy hitters, and losing him would leave him at a disadvantage.

On the other hand, Snorlax was still asleep. He could still try and deal back some of the recovered damage while he woke up, although using the Hyper Beam had left Ursaring without air for a few moments, so he'd have to start as soon as he had the chance to hit hard, and fast. As soon as Ursaring raised his arms and clenched his fists, Paul made his move.

"Bulk Up, now!" he called.

"RAAAAAHHH!" With that roar, Ursaring flexed his arms and began pumping his muscles, glowing with a red power aura. Snorlax remained asleep, and Paul knew he couldn't lose that chance.

"Hammer Arm, now!"

Ursaring ran at Snorlax, raising his arms high in golden energy, ready to deliver a decisive blow. Before he woke up, he had to make it count, he couldn't miss.

"Sleep Talk!" shouted Ash.

Just when Ursaring was about to hit his head, Snorlax, still sitting, leaned backwards slightly, raising his right fist as if readying a punch. At the distance he was and covered by Ursaring's back, Paul was unable to see the attack proper, but the later effect made it evident. Ursaring stepped back after getting hit on the shoulder, and his arm up until the elbow was frozen, stopping him from delivering the Hammer Arm.

"Ice Punch…" Paul deduced, making an effort to hide his surprise.

"Now, Sleep Talk again!" Ash called.

Said and done, Snorlax moved again while sleeping, grabbing Ursaring by the shoulders and delivering a violent Headbutt, leaving the bear stumbling backwards, his eyes spinning and rubbing his head, groaning at the headache. Paul would have wanted to call it dumb luck, but the fact that Snorlax had such a varied move arsenal, adding to his unusual capacities to inflict and endure damage, but also to move, that was no small thing. If he wanted to win, he had to act fast.

"Use Focus Blast!"

Using his other arm, Ursaring began forming the energy sphere, ready to fire it just when Snorlax began waking up again. The bear launched his attack, but not being able to use both arms, he was unable to properly aim and it overshot to a side, missing its target.

"Snorlax, finish with a Hyper Beam!" Ash commanded.

Snorlax began charging his own attack. At the time, Paul couldn't think of anything else but using an attack of his own and hoping it would be enough, even having his doubts. Regardless of the result, however, he had been able to see that Snorlax's battle style, and he was starting to make plans to bring him down.

"Ursaring, use Hyper Beam too!"

The bear obliged, and began charging energy in his maw as well. Both Hyper Beams were fired at the same time, colliding against one another. However, Snorlax's managed to push back a little more, and even though the resulting explosion got to both of them, the collision point ended up closer to Ursaring, causing him to get the worst part, not to mention that unlike Snorlax, the damage sustained from the previous attacks still remained. Both Pokémon once again made an effort to get back up, Ursaring with a bit more difficulty, but he finally succumbed, and slumped over his back.

"Ursaring is unable to battle, Snorlax is the winner!" Reggie declared.

"Yeah, first victory for us!" Ash celebrated.

"Pi-pikachu!" The electric rodent followed suit with a V-sign himself.

Paul recalled his fallen Pokémon without a single word. Even if he didn't say it out loud, he had to acknowledge that Snorlax was a formidable opponent. Ash didn't send him against Ursaring just because: he had strength, endurance, a varied move arsenal and unusual speed for his species. Meaning that he wasn't the opponent that could only be beaten by sheer power. He had to be smarter, and he knew exactly how to do that.

"Magmortar, standby for battle!" he called as he threw his next Pokéball.

Both Paul and Reggie awaited, and since Ash chose not to switch Snorlax out, the elder Veilstone brother raised his flags and called them to continue their battle. The Rest Snorlax had used would make him a tough nut to crack, adding to the mix his glaring defenses and strength. The key to beat him was causing damage faster than he could recover.

"Magmortar, Fire Spin!" Paul called.

"Magmortar!"

Aiming with his cannon-like arms, Magmortar shot a spiraling fire stream, quickly surrounding Snorlax and trapping him inside a burning column. Paul didn't fail to notice, however, that the attack didn't seem to affect Snorlax as it normally did with Magmortar's opponents, so he quickly deduced he probably had the ability Thick Fat. Great, that would make things even harder. But maybe there was another way.

"Snorlax, use Body Slam!"

"Snor!" Just like with Ursaring, Snorlax jumped up to drop himself upon Magmortar with his full weight. Paul was still surprised that he could jump like that with that size and weight. What did Ash feed to him?

"Dodge and leave Rock Tomb on the terrain!" Paul retorted.

Leaping out of the way of Snorlax's shadow, Magmortar fired a few rock chunks materializing on the place where he was about to fall. Paul's plan was so they could hurt Snorlax a bit, but he was in for a surprise when Snorlax crushed them, reducing them to gravel, as he could see when he got back up.

"Fire a Smog attack, right on the face!" Paul exclaimed.

Magmortar raised both arms and fired a poisonous smoke stream at Snorlax, aiming directly at his face so he would breathe it all. Paul was smart: that attack could be slow and not very accurate, but he had trained Magmortar to fire it with the power and speed of a fire hose, so Snorlax, as unusually fast he was, would have no way to dodge it.

While Snorlax began to cough, Paul could see Ash was starting to get thrown off. One of his weaknesses when they met was that he would have a hard time recovering against an opponent who overpowered him, or simply overwhelmed with their attacks before he could have time to respond. Good to know it hadn't changed, so he kept pressing in the same fashion, using Smog at Snorlax's face until he took a purple tint in his skin, evidencing the poisoning.

"Oh no!" Ash cried out.

"Magmortar, Fire Blast!" Paul called.

"Snorlax, Protect!" Ash finally said.

Magmortar shot a large fire kanji at his opponent, exploding against the protective barrier. Even though he was spared from the attack, the poison continued to do its job, causing Snorlax to feel the effects, and while he still was far from out, it helped Paul make a quick analysis on his opponents. Seven moves in his arsenal: Protect, Hyper Beam, Body Slam, Sleep Talk, Headbutt, Ice Punch and Rest. Four offensive moves, two support moves, and the last one to use his attacks while asleep. The fight with Ursaring made him realize something: it had been a mistake to face him in close-quarters combat, but his weak spot was that, outside the Hyper Beam, he lacked long-ranged attacks. Magmortar, on the other hand, didn't have that issue.

"Use Smog again!"

Once again, a high-pressure poisonous gas stream was fired at Snorlax's face. The attack itself wasn't that strong, but it was useful to keep him in a daze while the poison in his system did its job.

"Rock Tomb!" Paul shouted, and Magmortar fired the rock chunks, this time to make them fall on top of Snorlax.

"Protect!" Ash cried out. That was it, he had forced him to the defensive and now he had to keep the pressure with his attack.

Part of Paul's training included having his Pokémon to not cease an attack unless he told them otherwise, or were interrupted. Thus, Magmortar continued to drop rock chunks on Snorlax, and little by little the protective dome began flickering. Impressive as it was, the Protect would go down sooner or later.

"Just a little more…" Paul muttered.

Five seconds later, the barrier finally broke down, and the rocks rained over Snorlax, who could only crouch down and cover his head with his hands to avoid a possible headache.

"Fire Spin!" Paul called.

Magmortar placed his arm cannons together and fired twin burning spirals. This time, the fiery tornado was a lot more intense than before, so much Ash couldn't see Snorlax through the flames. Magmortar kept the heat for no less than a minute and a half without interruptions, and by the time he ceased, Snorlax was burned up, still feeling the effects of the Smog poisoning.

"Snorlax, use Rest!" Ash called.

"Oh, no you don't," said Paul. "Magmortar, Thunderbolt!"

If Snorlax went to sleep, all the effort would have been for naught. Paul had Magmortar learn Thunderbolt with Electivire's help as a way to counter his primary weakness, but he could also use it to give Snorlax a good shock to keep him awake. Magmortar raised both of his arm cannons, launching a powerful electric discharge out of them. Just like the Fire Spin, he kept it as long as he could, only stopping when 'his batteries ran out', so to speak. But he had achieved his goal.

"Snorlax, no!" Ash shouted

"Let's end this now! Magmortar, Fire Blast at point-blank!"

"Mag!" Magmortar ran and placed his arm cannons on Snorlax's belly. A second later, a large fire kanji exploded out of them, and Snorlax was blown through the air, falling heavily by Ash's feet, shaking the ground.

"Laaax…" was all he managed to say, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Snorlax is unable to battle! Magmortar wins!" declared Reggie.

"Snorlax, return." Ash recalled his big eater friend. "Excellent work, buddy, you've earned a rest and a good feast later."

Ash stared at Paul intently. Using only Ursaring he was able to decipher Snorlax's fighting style and counter it effectively without having Magmortar getting hit even once in the entire round. He didn't expect any less of him, of course. However, at the moment Ash was trying to take a page out of Paul's book and not to show all of his cards so soon. Swellow still had a few tricks he had yet to use, and if Magmortar had an Electric-type attack, there was one he could exploit.

"Swellow, back to action!" Ash called as he threw the Pokéball.

In the brief instant before Reggie gave the cue to resume the battle, Paul glanced at the Hoenn bird. He had used Honchkrow because it was easier to analyze a Pokémon using a similar opponent, but he had the feeling he hadn't been able to see everything Swellow could do. He'd have to keep doing it on the fly with Magmortar. As soon as Reggie raised the flags to continue, Paul gave his command without hesitation.

"Rock Tomb at the air!"

Magmortar aimed his arm cannons and fired white energy spheres above Swellow, making them materialize in large chunks of rock to crush him.

"Dodge and use Tailwind!" Ash called.

Swellow extended his wings and flew forward creating a wind current that sped up his flight, allowing him to dodge the rocks without difficulty. Paul involuntarily clenched a fist: that Swellow was already very fast, and now he'd fly even faster. He had to stop him somehow.

"Use Smog!" Paul called.

Ash immediately countered with an attack of his own. "Counter with Air Slash!"

Magmortar placed his cannons together to fire the toxic smoke at his opponent. Swellow immediately replied by flapping his wings to send out a wind blade that dispersed it, even going all the way to hit Magmortar, though it didn't do much except shaking him for a bit. Paul ordered him to insist again, and Ash and Swellow replied using Double Team, once again spreading clones all over the place.

"Magmortar, keep using Smog all over the field."

Magmortar spun around as he continued dispersing the smoke as he tried to cover as much area as possible. It came to a point all of the Swellow clones were swallowed by the toxic cloud, and Ash couldn't see what was going on. However, the answer came just a few seconds later.

"Fire Spin," said Paul as he snapped his fingers.

As soon as the spark was ignited, the smoke detonated in a fiery explosion that sent Swellow flying through the air. Now he was all set to be attacked in the air, and Paul wouldn't waste his chance.

"Use Thunderbolt!" he called.

Magmortar unleashed the electric discharge against the stunned Swellow. If he had a chance to liquidate this round in a single strike, it was now or never. Swellow was unable to react in time to dodge the attack, and it hit him dead on while still in midair.

"Swellow, hang in there!" Ash shouted.

"Sweeee…" The bird took the full brunt of the attack until Magmortar ceased his fire, but when it finished, he extended his wings and shook off the sparks as if they were nothing. "SWELLOW!"

"How the heck…?" Once again, Paul had to make an effort to contain his surprise. That attack should have finished him off, but he was still fighting.

"My Swellow is used to take Electric-type attacks," Ash declared. "You'll need more than that to take him down."

Paul frowned slightly. His battling style was based in attacking as strong as possible, and defeat the opponent with the least amount of blows as possible. With only one even, if there was that chance. He had never seen a Flying-type Pokémon resisting an Electric-type attack of such magnitude as if it was nothing.

"Even that tolerance must have a limit," said Paul. "Magmortar, use Thunderbolt at full power!"

No matter how resilient he were, a supereffective attack had to be enough to bring him down. Not even Ash would be that stupid to try and take it all head on.

Or so he thought. Ash didn't give any command, neither Swellow did do anything to dodge the attack. Hell, he took it in full, almost as if they were intentionally receiving the attack. That made no sense.

And it made even less sense when, all of a sudden, a golden layer began coating Swellow, starting on his chest, and then spreading to his wings, tail and talons. Magmortar ceased the attack, but in front of them there was a Swellow coated in a golden layer all over the body, as if he were made of solid gold. Both Veilstone brothers were left with their mouths agape.

"SWELLOW!" the bird cried out, blowing sparks around.

"Quick Attack!" Ash called.

Calling it "Quick Attack" was selling it short: in less of the blink of an eye, Swellow shot forward with literal lightning speed, and both Paul and Magmortar didn't realize what had happened until the bird hit the Fire-type in the chest. But that wasn't the most surprising part; instead, it was the fact that Magmortar gave off sparks after getting struck, as if receiving electric damage. As he flew past his opponent, Swellow turned around and prepared for another charge.

"Magmortar, Fire Blast!" Paul shouted. Magmortar fired the burning kanji at his opponent as he came forward again.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered.

"Swellow!"

The bird went through the Fire Blast without troubles, causing it to explode, and landed another hit true in Magmortar's stomach. For a moment he could see the red flash of Magmortar's Flame Body, but as he made contact with Swellow it dissipated without causing effect. Like before, he took electric damage, which along with the impact speed, meant bad news for him and his trainer.

"That Thunderbolt was a mistake," Paul muttered, low enough so Ash couldn't hear it.

'I bet Paul didn't expect that,' Reggie thought. 'Neither did I. Where did Ash get that Swellow?'

Ash, for his part, just smiled as he saw Paul's surprised face even from the distance. Professor Oak had investigated deeper, and they realized there was something else behind Swellow's unusual tolerance to Electric-type attacks, as well as that one time he and Pikachu used that "Thunder Armor". As it turned out, if Swellow was able to take electricity long enough, he could store the energy, and the ability would be triggered, giving him electric power, a boost in strength and speed, the latter still boosted further by the Tailwind.

"I see he didn't send him for no reason," Paul said. He had to hand it to him; Ash was using his head. "Magmortar, trap him with Fire Spin!"

Magmortar launched a double fire spiral to try and trap Swellow, but the bird was just too fast, and landed another Aerial Ace on the back, causing him to fall face first on the ground.

"Fire Blast, full power!" Paul shouted.

"Brave Bird, Swellow!" Ash countered.

"Swellow!"

Swellow took some distance, and shot forward as a blue power aura mixed with electricity formed around him, and at the same time Magmortar aimed with his cannon arms to fire a huge flaming kanji. But just like his previous attempts, the Thunder Armor allowed him to pass through the blast almost cleanly, and he hit Magmortar so hard he dragged him across his entire half of the field, falling at Paul's feet. Once he flew away, in the air he felt the recoil damage due to the attack, but the round was over.

"Magmortar is unable to battle, Swellow is the winner!" Reggie declared.

"Way to go, Swellow!" Ash exclaimed in joy. "Now we're ahead!"

Just like before, Paul returned his fallen Pokémon without sparing a word, and took a moment to deliberate before making his choice. Very few times he'd run into unexpected factors, and this electrified Swellow was one of those rare instances where trying to keep his cold demeanor had been too hard. He still didn't feel like revealing his remaining Pokémon, so for now he'd keep on the defensive. After all, he too had a few aces up his sleeve in wait, and that power was bound to have a limit somewhere.

"Honchkrow, back to battle now!"

"Krow!" The crow appeared again, flapping his wings as he stared down his opponent.

"Let the battle continue!" Reggie declared.

"Swellow, Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

"Honchkrow, hide using Haze," Paul countered.

As Paul could attest, Swellow's attack, while still pretty fast, was notably slower than the previous one, evidencing the Tailwind having already petered out. That was a relief; at least now he could see his foe when he attacked, as Honchkrow could never match such speed.

"Swellow, use Air Slash to clear the Haze!" Ash called.

Swellow began flapping his wings firing wind blades, trying to clear out the black clouds to find Honchkrow, but then he came out and flew above gaining height, taking position at a safe distance for a charge.

"Sky Attack!" Paul ordered. While Honchkrow spread out his wings to charge his attack, Ash and Swellow could only watch from below.

"Brave Bird, Swellow!" the Pallet trainer shouted.

Both birds flew at each other in a diagonal straight course, clashing against one another head on. Honchkrow evidently tried to use gravity to boost his descent speed and match the one given by Swellow's electric power. The collision knocked them both backwards, although Swellow's electric armor glaringly gave Honchkrow the worst part.

"Dark Pulse!" Paul ordered.

Once again, Honchkrow fired a dark wave beam from his beak, this time more focused to cause more damage. Ash and Swellow countered with an Aerial Ace and delivering another true hit, but in that instant, the electricity surrounding him dispelled, thus returning Swellow to his normal state.

"Oh crud," said Ash.

"Just as I suspected," Paul muttered. "Honchkrow, Night Slash!"

"Krow!"

"Swellow, counter with Steel Wing!" Ash replied.

"Swellow!"

Both birds once again clashed in an aerial duel, exchanging wing slaps with metallic and dark energy, causing purple and silver sparks to fly with each strike. They seemed to be evenly matched, but from below Paul could see that, slowly but surely, Honchkrow was gaining the upper hand. That electric armor took him by surprise when Swellow fought Magmortar, but just like he suspected, that power came at a price.

Meanwhile, Ash was having similar thoughts. The Thunder Armor, as they called it, while it gave an edge during battles, was not without handicaps: it lasted relatively short and once it dispelled, the exhaustion would kick in. Swellow was now running on pure willpower, but he was about to hit his limit.

Finally, when Swellow missed a wing slap, Honchkrow landed two, first on the head and then on the back, plummeting him to the ground. The Hoenn struggled to get back up, before Paul could attack again, but surprisingly, the purple-haired trainer didn't press on.

"Honchkrow, use Roost."

"Krow." While Swellow struggled on the ground trying to get back on his feet, Honchkrow landed before him, roosting over his feet and folding his wings as he took a deep breath. Slowly but surely, he regained some of his lost energy.

"Swellow, you can do it, don't give up!" Ash cheered him.

"Swe… swellow!" The Hoenn bird finally got back up and flew again, refusing to go down without a fight.

"Brave Bird, now!" Ash called.

"Sky Attack!" Paul replied.

Swellow flew up as fast as he could, ready for his final strike. Honchkrow finished recovering and flew up as well. Swellow's exhaustion allowed Honchkrow to charge enough power for his own attack. Once again, both birds collided at full speed, but the result was different: Swellow took the brunt of the impact. As soon as he was knocked back, Honchkrow landed to use Roost again, while Swellow slumped over his back, unable to get back up.

"Swellow is unable to battle, Honchkrow wins!" Reggie declared.

"Return, Swellow," said Ash, as he recalled the defeated bird. "Well done, now take a rest."

The trainer from Pallet Town glanced at the crow, and then at his trainer. He had to choose his next Pokémon fast, since Honchkrow had conveniently used Roost to replenish some energy just at the end of the round, and the effect would carry on during the pause. Technically not against the rules, but it still would make things a bit difficult. Fortunately, he had someone in mind to confront him.

"Lycanroc, I choose you!" He threw his next Pokéball.

"Aroooo!" the wolf howled as he appeared on the battlefield.

Just like before, both Reggie and Paul were surprised after they saw Ash's Pokémon. Evidently none of them had seen one of these before, and Paul was even more surprised when he pulled out his Pokédex to scan him, and the image appearing didn't match what the Pallet trainer had just brought out. In fact, there were two, very similar, a quadruped canine, with a calm demeanor, blue eyes and light brown fur, and a bipedal with red eyes and fur, with a more feral expression and a large mane sprouting from behind its head.

"LYCANROC, THE WOLF POKÉMON, ROCK-TYPE NATIVE TO THE ALOLA REGION. THE PRE-EVOLVED FORM OF THIS POKÉMON, ROCKRUFF, ADOPTS A DIFFERENT FORM DEPENDING ON WHETHER IT EVOLVES DURING DAY OR NIGHTTIME, TURNING INTO THE FORMS KNOWN AS MIDDAY LYCANROC AND MIDNIGHT LYCANCROC. HOWEVER, THERE IS ONE UNIQUE DOCUMENTED CASE OF AN EVOLUTION OCCURING AT SUNSET DURING A GREEN FLASH, BRINGING FORTH A SPECIMEN KNOWN AS DUSK LYCANROC."

With the last line of the entry, the form in question appeared on-screen. It combined some traits of the other two: its form was overall almost identical to the Midday Lycanroc by being quadruped, except for the orange fur and green eyes, but it had the same mane sprouting out of the back of its head as the Midnight Lycanroc. However, none of that got Paul's attention.

"Unique documented case… are you telling me this is that unique Lycanroc?" asked Paul.

"Not to brag about it, but yeah. And I was there when it happened," Ash replied with a grin.

Reggie grinned as well. He knew Ash had something special as a trainer, but him possessing the only known specimen of a certain Pokémon variant definitely was something else. And if it wasn't for Honchkrow's flapping and squawking, once he finished his Roost, he would have forgotten for a bit his role as the battle referee.

"Well, if you guys are done talking, let's carry on with the battle. GO!" He raised his flags.

"Honchkrow, Night Slash!" Paul called.

"Lycanroc, Accelerock!" Ash countered.

Honchkrow was barely preparing his attack when Lycanroc shot forward and hit him hard, before landing on the other side. Had he not healed his wounds after battling Swellow, that hit could have taken him out. The other thing, Paul's Pokédex had just said he was a Rock-type, and those were usually strong and resilient, but also heavy and slow. This wolf however, had moved with great speed, very unusual for his type.

"Shadow Ball!" Paul called.

"Krow!" The crow opened his beak to charge a spectral energy sphere, firing it at Lycanroc.

"Counter with Hyper Voice!" Ash replied.

"AROOOOOOO!"

The wolf opened his maw and let out a powerful howl that materialized in a blue sound wave tunnel, which trapped the spectral sphere and pushed it back. The crow had to veer to a side to dodge, although while he avoided the direct impact, the attack's echo still got into his ears. Even Paul had to resist the urge to cover his ears at the drilling sound.

"Now, use Iron Tail!" Ash shouted.

The wolf raised his tail and it became coated in a bright metallic energy. Running forward to build momentum, he jumped at Honchkrow to strike him. Paul knew it was no use to dodge, but at least, now he had a hidden ace to use on his favor.

"Mirror Move!" he called.

Right before receiving the strikes, for a millisecond, Honchkrow's eyes glowed, and then a ghost image of Lycanroc appeared in front of him for an instant. Next, Honchkrow's tail feathers suddenly straightened and became coated in metallic energy, taking the form of a blade, and as soon as he recovered from the attack, he made a U-turn and rushed for a counterattack, delivering a tail strike before flying up again. Lycanroc was knocked backwards, and after skidding a couple times, he landed on his feet, getting a hold with his claws to avoid getting further. Paul smiled in satisfaction; that had been a hard blow.

"Lycanroc, you alright?" asked Ash.

"Grrrr… aroooo!" The wolf stood upright again, as if that strike had been nothing to him.

"Honchkrow, fly up and use Dark Pulse!" Paul called. The crow spread his wings and began firing dark energy streams from his beak, bombarding the wolf from the sky.

"Hyper Voice!" Ash shouted back.

In the middle of the dark energy blitz, Lycanroc had to step back and take his distance to open his maw and howl to launch his attack. Paul however, replied with something that Ash thought sounded like "do the same", and using Mirror Move again, Honchkrow summoned a ghost apparition of Lycanroc, then opening his beak to counter his opponent's sound wave with his own. Upon clashing, both waves neutralized one another until they both ceased to emit them, unable to overpower the other.

"Shadow Ball, over and over!"

Just like with the Dark Pulse, Honchkrow bombarded Lycanroc firing the spectral spheres, forcing him to jump from one side to another to try and dodge, while the crow remained out of his reach, only descending long enough to get in attacking range to fire a shot. Paul was being smart: Lycanroc was a good fighter on the ground, but he seemed to have difficulties with an airborne foe with long ranged attacks, even if he could resist them.

"We need to take Honchkrow down first," Ash told himself. "Lycanroc, Rock Throw!"

The wolf raised his tail, which began glowing, firing small chunks of stone like darts at Honchkrow. The bird veered from side to side to dodge them, but he eventually got too close and one of them hit him on the wing, making him lose balance.

-"Accelerock!" Ash shouted.

"Arooo!"

Lycanroc shot forward to hit Honchkrow before he recovered, trying to bring him down. He almost got him, but the flash on the crow's eyes, and the ghostly appearance once again gave away what the intended. After taking the blow, Honchkrow flew back and doing a 270° loop, flew from above to strike him on the back. Even if the attack wasn't super effective by itself, crashing against the ground helped in compensating for that. Next, the crow flew up again, and following Paul's command, he kept bombarding Lycanroc alternating between Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse, remaining at a safe distance out of most of his attacks' reach, and flying higher than before.

"Drat…" Ash clenched his fist.

How could he get closer to deliver a strike when his opponent managed to stay out of range? Furthermore, the Mirror Move gave him the chance to use his own attacks against him once Honchkrow saw them. Lycanroc could jump high, but not that high, not enough to reach Honchkrow… unless…

"That's it… Lycanroc, use Stone Edge to get to Honchkrow!" Ash ordered.

Stone Edge was an attack that could manifest in two forms: either it created sharp stones orbiting around the user, or summoned large stone pillars from the ground. The latter version wasn't very handy against airborne opponents, but there was another use to it. Specifically, using them to create a stairway to climb up and gain more altitude. Lycanroc climbed on them hopping and just as he reached the highest, he managed to get at Honchkrow's level.

"Dark Pulse!" Paul called. Honchkrow began charging up the attack to fire the dark energy beam at point blank range, but that wouldn't work at all.

"Drill Run!" Ash shouted.

"AROOOOOO!" Just when Honchkrow fired his attack, Lycanroc began spinning on himself like a drill, deflecting the attack to the sides and hitting Honchkrow right on the chest. As he stopped spinning he landed on the other side and capitalizing on having made him lose altitude, Ash knew he had a chance for another strike.

"Accelerock!"

"Mirror Move!"

From what Ash managed to hear, it was more of a last ditch effort to prevent Lycanroc from going out unscathed. Having used that attack previously, and knowing how to do it, he reproduced it before Lycanroc executed his own, and they both clashed against each other. Unfortunately, Lycanroc won out in physical strength and after two seconds he overpowered him completely. As he landed on the ground, he jumped on Honchkrow, pinning him down with his paws.

"AROOOOOOO!" the wolf howled in triumph at his fallen opponent.

"Honchkrow is unable to battle, Lycanroc is the winner!" Reggie declared.

"Way to go, Lycanroc!" Ash celebrated. "You can get off him now, though."

Lycanroc obliged and stepped away from Honchkrow so Paul could return him to his Pokéball. The purple-haired trainer stared at the Rock-type wolf. Seemingly he wasn't special just because he was a unique specimen, but he had his merits in combat too. However, all he had seen so far gave him the idea to get rid of him in a single blow.

"Aggron, standby for battle!" he called, throwing his fourth Pokéball.

"AGGRON!"

The Steel/Rock-type Pokémon appeared on the field, gazing at his smaller opponent. Paul was anticipating that Ash would charge with a direct attack, and he didn't need to tell Aggron what he had to do. For a long time, he had conditioned him to a starting strategy to let the opponent deliver the first strike, and then surprise them with a brutal counterattack. All he was counting on was for Ash to take the bait… and he did, bait, hook, line and sinker.

"Lycanroc, Drill Run!"

The wolf rushed at his opponent, spinning at full speed like a living drill again. An attack like that seemed like the most obvious choice against a Steel/Rock-type, but he had learned to use his opponent's strength on his favor. Thus, after enduring the impact and the pain, Ash and Lycanroc saw in terror how Aggron was glowing with a metallic light, and a large silver sphere of power was materializing in his maw.

"Oh no!" shouted Ash.

"Metal Burst!"

Ash couldn't do anything but watch helplessly how the sphere hit Lycanroc at point-blank range. That single attack sealed the round with a single blow: Drill Run had double effectiveness against Aggron, but after having endured it, he sent a Steel-type counterattack with an additional 50% power boost, from the original damage he had endured. Bottom line, there was no way Lycanroc could have survived that, and he flew until he fell on Ash's side, ending up slumped on the ground.

"Lycanroc is unable to battle!" Reggie declared.

"Return, Lycanroc!" Ash once again recalled his fallen Pokémon. "Well done, you've earned a good rest."

As he put the ball away, Ash weighed his current options. The situation was evenly matched: both had lost three Pokémon, Paul knew one of the remaining three would be Pikachu, and with Aggron now out on the field, Paul only had two unknown ones. Glancing at his two remaining balls, and then Pikachu, who was ruled out after that last attack, he finally decided it was time for Paul to greet an old friend.

"Infernape, I choose you!" Ash shouted.

"Infer!" The fire monkey appeared on the field, ready to fight.

Paul raised an eyebrow upon seeing him, and moved the mouth slightly, trying to hide the small hint of a smile that almost slipped. It seemed appropriate that Ash would have brought him, and he almost had expected it. However, recalling how Aggron was beaten in their previous match in the Sinnoh League, he decided not to take any chances, and choose a better opponent for him. He raised Aggron's ball and returned him, grabbing the next one.

"Torterra, standby for battle!" he shouted, much to the surprise of both Ash and Reggie.

"TERRA!" the large turtle roared as he appeared on the field.

Reggie gave his brother a look as he saw Paul's choice. That was evidence that he wasn't fooling around, since he'd normally keep Torterra for the end, being his strongest Pokémon and all. Calling him out earlier was a sign that things didn't turn out quite as he expected. This would be interesting.

"Infernape, Flamethrower!" Ash called.

"Infernape!" The fire monkey took a deep breath and fired a flame torrent at his foe, who didn't even flinch.

"Hyper Beam!" Paul countered.

Torterra opened his mouth and fired an orange energy beam in the opposite direction. While Infernape's Flamethrower was powerful, the Hyper Beam overpowered it and moved on, hitting the flaming primate hard and sending him flying backwards. Infernape did a backflip to right himself in midair, managing a three point landing to get back up quickly.

"Flame Wheel!" Ash ordered.

Infernape jumped and began rolling over the field, turned into a living fireball at full speed. Using Hyper Beam had its price: Torterra wouldn't be able to move for a while, and if Infernape was fast enough he could land a good hit. Indeed, he succeeded, surprising Paul after he rolled over Torterra and kept going further, but when he turned around and came back for another strike, Torterra regained his movement.

"Iron Tail," said Paul with a dry tone.

"TERRA!" the turtle declared, as his tail adopted a metal coat, turning around just when Infernape came rolling in his direction, leaving the tail in his path.

The result was immediate: Infernape tripped and lost control, ceasing his attack and falling face first on the ground, skidding over his jaw. He didn't fully get back up before Paul gave his next command.

"Earth Power!"

"TERRA!"

Torterra raised his forelegs and slammed them hard on the ground, shaking it and summoning light pillars underneath Infernape, exploding in an eruption that sent the monkey flying through the air. While he still had a chance, Pau knew he had to keep attacking, as he had seen firsthand what Infernape was capable of.

"Stone edge!" he called.

Unlike Lycanroc, Torterra performed Stone Edge firing shards in the air. The pillars caused more damage, but were ineffective against airborne opponents, which Torterra often faced. However, Ash and Infernape were far from being beaten.

"Infernape, Aerial Countershield!"

As he heard his trainer's command, Infernape reacted, firing a Flamethrower as he started rolling in the air. Engulfed in the fireball he started creating several whips with the Flamethrower to deflect the Stone Edge shards, and once he landed back on the ground, he started rolling towards Torterra, while the turtle kept pelting him with sharp stones. He kept going forward though, and struck him hard. As Infernape went on, a fire explosion surrounding Torterra, evidencing that Infernape had just inflicted burn status. Paul involuntarily bit his lip slightly, but he couldn't let himself lose control. All he had to do was taking his chances as soon as they showed. And one came right when Infernape stopped rolling around.

"Mach Punch!" Ash shouted.

"Ape!" Infernape engulfed his fist in white energy and charged to hit Torterra in his face.

"Crunch!" Paul countered.

Torterra opened his mouth and stopped Infernape's punch with a bite. The monkey cried out in pain and tried to pull his arm to break free, but now Paul and Torterra had him right where they wanted.

"Giga Drain!" the Veilstone trainer commanded.

Still not letting go of Infernape, some green energy tendrils came out of Torterra's tree and grabbed Infernape, sucking the energy out of him and healing some of the Grass starter's wounds. Despite the lack of effectiveness, Torterra's raw power was so high, even the damage itself was notable.

Paul however knew this was just a temporary solution. While the Giga Drain could replenish some of his energy, it wouldn't eliminate the burn status issue, and that could be a problem later. He had to hurry if he wanted to beat Infernape.

"Hang on, Infernape, Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

Making an effort to endure the pain in his hand and the energy sucked out of him, Infernape opened his mouth and fired another flame torrent, taking advantage of the closeness to deal good damage. He finally got Torterra to let go of him, keeping the Flamethrower for as long as he could until his breath ran out. But Paul wouldn't let him get away that easily:

"Hyper Beam!" Paul called. Ash immediately became alarmed: if it was devastating at long range, at point-blank it would be fatal.

"Go underground, Infernape, Dig!" he shouted.

Just when Torterra was about to fire the beam, Infernape jumped and dived underground. The Hyper Beam barely grazed over him, and in the time Torterra took to regain his movement, Infernape burst from underground striking with an uppercut that sent him to fall on his back. Paul's eyes widened a bit more than normal.

"Get back up using Earth Power!"

"TERRA!" As he was, Torterra could barely slam the ground with his tail to create the attack, underneath himself as Paul had told him.

It looked insane, but it worked. For Paul, Torterra had always been virtually unmovable; seeing him belly up in such an embarrassing position was simply unacceptable. Thus he developed this countermeasure whenever it happened, and for good measure it also hit Infernape when he was close by.

"Stone Edge again!" Paul called. Torterra got ready to launch the sharp stone shards again before Infernape could recover.

"Make your way through with Close Combat!" Ash shouted back.

The fiery primate pounded on his chest, and when Torterra fired his attack, he ran forward delivering punches to deflect the stones before they got to him, shortening the distance between him and his opponent, no matter if a few managed to graze on him. Finally, when he finally got to him, he unleashed a barrage of punches on Torterra, until the latter got fed up and turned around to deliver a metallic tail slap to get rid of him.

Infernape was sent backwards a good distance from Torterra, but like before he managed to right himself and land on three points. Just then, both Pokémon started to glow with an aura of their respective main color, red for Infernape and green for Torterra. Both caused an energy eruption that blasted stone shards around them. They were on their last legs, and all they had left was to gamble on the last attack they had. With their respective abilities triggered, this last attack would decide the winner of this round.

"Frenzy Plant!"

"Flare Blitz!"

Infernape coated himself in a fire aura, boosted by his Blaze to the point they turned from red to blue. Likewise, Torterra stomped hard shaking the ground, summoning some giant roots, creating a hallway of sorts between him and Infernape. His Overgrowth gave him quite the power boost, allowing him to summon them much larger than normal. Said roots curved inwards in front of Infernape to stop him, but he burst through them in a fire explosion. The next ones did the same, but were unable to even slow him down either, and he went on until he crashed head on with Torterra.

The damage taken with the explosive attack, compounded on the burn he had inflicted before, was Torterra's breaking point. True, he could take and dish a lot of punishment, but he had reached his limit. Meanwhile, Infernape was unable to do anything else: he managed to land the decisive blow, but the roots, coupled with the recoil damage from using his strongest attack was too much for him after all the punishment he had taken before. His only reassurance was that he could see Torterra fall five seconds before he fell himself, right there. He didn't win the fight, but at least he didn't lose either.

"Double KO, both Torterra and Infernape are unable to battle!" Reggie declared raising both flags.

Both trainers returned their Pokémon. Once again the situation was even. Four Pokémon out each, only two left. For Paul, the dilemma was whether he should reveal his last Pokémon, or bring out Aggron again. On the one hand, Ash would have to bring out his Pikachu any time now, and his second ace was the best opponent to face him. On the other hand, Aggron hadn't taken that much damage in his brief bout against Lycanroc, and still had plenty to give. And while he thought, Ash finally made his choice.

"You're up, buddy, are you ready?"

"Pikapika!" The mouse nodded as he pumped his fists and ran towards the arena.

After weighing his options a few more seconds, Paul finally made his choice. Aggron appeared again on the battlefield.

"Go!" Reggie declared.

"Aggron, use Double Edge!" Paul called.

"Aggron!" Aggron glowed with a golden power aura, and then charged at Pikachu to ram him with his horn.

"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Ash called.

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up in the air and doing a somersault over Aggron, he charged his electricity. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Pikachu unleashed his discharge, and Aggron endured it until it finally ceased. Without Paul telling him anything, the armored Pokémon once again glowed with the Metal Burst aura, preparing his counterattack, but Pikachu managed to anticipate and leapt out of the way to avoid the blast. Ash decided it was best to keep the distance for the time being.

"Electro Ball!" he shouted.

"Pikapikapikapika, CHUPI!" Pikachu jumped again has he charged the electric sphere, and spun around to throw it.

"Deflect with Metal Claw!" Paul shouted.

"GRON!"

Aggron extended his large claws, and delivering a double cross slash, deflected the Electro Ball to the air, where it exploded sparking all over the field. The Steel/Rock-type roared in defiance again, trying to provoke Pikachu into coming at him. The electric rodent felt a small vein popping in his temple, but didn't take the bait. He wouldn't fall for it.

"Thunderbolt again!" Ash called.

"Iron Defense!" Paul countered.

Pikachu unleashed the electric attack again, while Aggron stood firm where he was, crouching to take a defensive stance as a metallic sheen coated him. Just like before he endured the attack, this time even easier; the damage taken was greatly reduced. Paul smirked slightly as Ash gritted his teeth. Should he get close to try a direct attack? Long-ranged moves weren't being exactly effective.

"Earth Power!" Paul commanded, interrupting Ash's thoughts.

Aggron raised a foot and stomped hard, sending out the same attack he saw Torterra in the previous bout. As the cracks crept forward across the ground, Ash realized something: while it wasn't as powerful as Torterra's, it went much faster, and Pikachu was unable to dodge; the eruption beneath his feet sent him flying across the air. Encouraged by having the first solid hit, Paul kept the pressure.

"Double Edge!"

"Aggron!" Aggron once again coated himself in a golden aura, charging to ram Pikachu while he was falling.

"Pikachu, charge downwards with Quick Attack and use Iron Tail!"

The electric mouse spun in the air and shot himself at his opponent leaving a white trail behind, while his tail started coating in metal. Slamming his metallic tail right on Aggron's head, he landed on the other side, but aside from stunning him for a bit and dodging the Double Edge, he didn't do much. Aggron quickly recovered and glared at him in defiance, while Pikachu charged again to deliver metallic tail strikes.

"Metal Claw!" Paul called.

Outstretching his claws, Aggron deflected Pikachu's tail strikes one after the other without much difficulty, but the rodent began increasing the pace of his attacks, as he tried to flank him to get on his blind spots before he could turn around. At one point, he managed to deliver a strike to his jaw that sent him tumbling backwards, but when he tried to go for a second, Aggron delivered a backhanded punch that sent him flying. Pikachu landed on his tail, right on time for Paul to give his next command.

"Earth Power!" he shouted.

"Dodge it!" Ash yelled back.

While Aggron stomped again and the ground cracked open, Pikachu spared himself from the underground eruption using his tail as a spring to leap as high as he could. While still in the air, Ash decided to use the gravity boost to deliver his own counterattack.

"Pikachu, use Volt Tail!"

"Pika!"

The yellow mouse coated himself in a Volt Tackle as he descended, and at the same time he powered up his tail with metal. Paul recognized the move as the one that allowed Pikachu to tie against a Latios in the Sinnoh League Conference so many years before. There was some merit in that attack, as using the Volt Tackle's energy to boost the Iron Tail's cutting power was smart. But Paul had ensured that Aggron's defenses were virtually impenetrable. They'd have to do better than that to take him down.

Indeed, when Pikachu landed on top of Aggron to deliver the tail strike, he had already activated Metal Burst to use his own counterattack. Except that this time, having received a physical blow, he concentrated the power in one of his hands to punch the ground. Pikachu was barely able to jump out of the way and sneak between his legs to dodge with a Quick Attack. Good thing he did, because the crater he left after that made it clear he wouldn't have survived a blow like that one.

At this point, Aggron had endured the damage of most of Pikachu's attacks. Inside, Paul was willing to give him credit for putting up such a good fight, but he was about to reach his limits, and Aggron's endurance would ensure this round once Pikachu's stamina ran out.

"We have no choice." Ash grabbed his left glove and rolled it up, revealing a bracelet with a golden crystal. "This is all we've got now, are you ready?"

"PIKA!" The rodent nodded, as he stood upright and imitated his trainer's stance.

Both Veilstone brothers gazed at them, with the same thought in their minds. What was Ash up to, and why he and Pikachu were making those strange poses in unison?

The answer came quickly, as in the middle of all the posing, the crystal on Ash's bracelet began sparkling with electric power, going from Ash to Pikachu. Neither Paul nor Reggie had any idea of what it was, and for the first time in the match, Paul's eyes widened completely, barely stopping his jaw from dropping in shock.

-"The time has come, Pikachu, let's show them our real power!" Ash shouted as he raised his left wrist. "TEN MILLION VOLT THUNDERBOLT, NOW!"

"PIKA-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

If the energy Ash's bracelet sparked didn't distract Paul from the poses they were making in unison, the next thing that happened definitely did. The attack began charging up like a regular Thunderbolt, but Paul and Reggie noticed that, with no apparent explanation, the sky above them began getting cloudy as if there was a storm coming up. The clouds launched over Pikachu a huge lightning bolt charging the mouse with massive power, and the next thing he did was firing seven rainbow-colored bolts that at first went separated, but then came together again into one. Paul and Aggron were so stunned they couldn't react until it was too late.

"AAGGRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNN!"

The shock was devastating. The rainbow lighting, ridiculous as it looked or sounded, hit Aggron with a power beyond anything he had taken before. The ten-million volt wasn't just for show it seemed. A few seconds later, the dust settled, and the storm clouds vanished as fast as they had appeared. Pikachu was there, standing even though he was breathing heavily, while Aggron lied on the ground, sparking around and completely defeated. Both Paul and Reggie were just as completely shocked at the result, to the point the latter forgot for a moment his duty as referee.

"Eh? Ah, that's right," he said as he snapped out of it. "Aggron is unable to battle, Pikachu is the winner!"

"Way to go, Pikachu!" Ash celebrated.

"Return," said Paul, as he recalled his fallen Aggron. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I'm impressed. Where did your Pikachu learn to use that kind of power?"

"In the Alola region," said Ash. "That was a Z-Move, a high-powered attack like no other."

"Well, I have to admit, you've gotten stronger Ash," said Paul. "But this isn't over yet. Electivire, standby for battle!"

Throwing his final Pokéball, Paul summoned his final Pokémon. Ash was almost expecting him: having lost Torterra before, Electivire was his other ace. A Pokémon whose type and ability gave him a complete advantage over Pikachu. While the rodent still had some power in him to keep on fighting, Ash decided it would be pointless to let him get more injured, especially after using all that power for the Z-Move.

"Pikachu, return now," said Ash. The mouse immediately returned to his trainer's side and sat by his feet to take a rest. Seeing Paul arching an eyebrow, he quickly added. "Z-Moves are very powerful, but they can only be used once per battle, and they take a lot of energy. Pikachu isn't up to fight Electivire in those conditions."

Paul gave a half-smirk. He had come a long way if he gave some sound thought rather than taking risks like he did when they first met. Well, all he had left was trying to overpower Ash's sixth Pokémon with Electivire, and then he could finish Pikachu off.

"This is it, Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he threw his last unused Pokéball.

"Sceptile!" the Grass-type declared as he landed on the field, placing some sort of pipe on his mouth, replacing his usual twig.

"Begin!" Reggie raised his flags.

"Sceptile, Bullet Seed!" Ash called.

"Sceptile!" The Grass-type opened his mouth and fired a barrage of green seeds, but Paul and Electivire didn't even flinch.

"Light Screen," the purple-haired trainer replied.

"Vire!" Electivire summoned a transparent yellow energy cube, halving the seeds' impact and they just tickled him as they passed through.

"Leaf Blade!"

Sceptile extended the leaves in his arms, coating them in green energy and turning them into blades, before charging head on against Electivire, but just like with the initial attack, Paul and Electivire remained unfazed when Sceptile came to deliver a double crossed slash.

"Brick Break!" Paul called.

Electivire clenched his fists as they coated in a yellow energy, placing them forward to intercept Sceptile's slashes. Both of them engaged in a close-range combat, exchanging punches and slashes as they tried to parry their opponents' strikes using their own. For a moment they were evenly matched, until Electivire dodged a slash to his head by ducking and countered with an uppercut that sent Sceptile flying backwards.

"Use Thunder!" Paul called.

"VIRE!" While Sceptile was still on the ground, Electivire summoned a powerful lightning bolt above him. The Grass Pokémon screamed in pain after being zapped, but he endured the attack in full and got back up again.

"Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered.

Sceptile turned around and while the seeds on his back began glowing, he aimed his tail towards Electivire. He fired a leaf whirlwind at Electivire, whose Light Screen materialized to mitigate the impact. Even so, having halved the damage, it didn't escape Paul's sight that Electivire had to hold on to the ground with one of his hands to avoid getting dragged by the leaf barrage, and couldn't get back up until the attack fully ceased. Having survived the first one, the worst was over with the power reduction effect.

"Giga Impact!" Paul shouted.

Electivire became coated in orange and purple energy, launching himself like a missile against Sceptile. Freshly out of the Leaf Storm, he managed to see the incoming attack over his shoulder.

"Dodge, use Agility!" Ash warned.

Instantly, before being struck by Electivire's Giga Impact, Sceptile did a flash step and vanished in a blur, reappearing on his left side, then doing the same from behind, and then on the right, stepping away from Electivire and circling around him to get him confused. Paul quickly realized what Ash was up to, and without wasting any time raised a defense.

"Use Thunder all over the area!"

"Electivire!"

Electivire summoned another electric discharge, but rather than firing it, he created an electric cage around himself, forming a protective dome to cover any possible angle where Sceptile could attack. Furthermore, when he tried to get close to a possible opening, Electivire redirected the bolts to close it and keep him at bay. Ash was starting to get impatient, and finding no openings to strike, he finally decided to break through by force.

"Sceptile, break through that with Quick Attack and use Leaf Blade!" Ash shouted.

Sceptile finally stopped at a distance to build momentum, and then charged at Electivire as soon as he saw an opening in the electric dome. Electivire anticipated and redirected electricity to close it, but despite hitting Sceptile, he carried on without stopping, the blades in his arms ready to strike at his opponent. The Electric Pokémon was mildly surprised as he took the blows.

"Grab Sceptile!" Paul called.

Even still in midair, Electivire stretched his electric cords and caught Sceptile by his feet, dragging him along and using the knockback's momentum to slam him face first on the ground. He had barely gotten back up when Paul ordered Electivire to follow with a Thunder before he could recover, taking advantage of the contact to increase the damage even with the type resistance. Sceptile fought it back to endure, and struggled to break free, but all he could do was clenching his fists and staring at his foe defiantly.

"Sceptile, Bullet Seed!" Ash shouted.

"Sceptile!"

Even though the Light Screen was still in effect, Sceptile aimed his attack straight at Electivire's face to make him lose focus, just enough for him to cease the attack and loose the grip with his cords. Once he did, Sceptile could jump away from him and take distance to attack again, but Paul had Electivire meet him head on using Giga Impact, and he shot forward so fast, Sceptile couldn't dodge, taking the full brunt. Sceptile flew through the air and was left stunned all the while Electivire recovered his movement, which Ash noticed was about two seconds less than Torterra.

"Let's end this now," said Paul. "Fire Punch!"

"VIRE!"

Much to Ash's shock, Electivire raised both fists, engulfing them in flames, and when Sceptile landed on the ground, Paul's Pokémon was on him, delivering a barrage of flaming punches. Sceptile on pure instinct tried to use Leaf Blade to protect himself as he could, but Electivire's Fire Punches slowly gained on him. Slowly but surely, Electivire made him step back a little with each strike, forcing him more a more into the defensive, until he delivered a left hook to the liver that left him stunned, followed by a right cross to the face that took him down. It almost knocked his pipe off his mouth, but he clenched his teeth to keep it in place.

After going down, Sceptile took a while to get back up. Paul was surprised he had taken so much punishment; other opponents wouldn't be able to stand, let alone move after facing Electivire in direct combat. Then again, this particular Sceptile had been able to bring down a Darkrai of all things, and if Ash had kept on training him since then, his strength and endurance wouldn't be pure luck.

Meanwhile, Reggie too watched the battle with attention. For now, Electivire had the upper hand and was dominating without much trouble, and despite Sceptile's endurance, he hadn't been able to land many decisive hits. Even if Pikachu rested enough, he'd still be at a disadvantage fighting against Electivire thanks to his Motor Drive ability to counter his electric attacks.

'What will you do now, Ash?' he wondered.

"Sceptile!" the Grass-type Pokémon said as he turned to his trainer, pointing at his pipe.

"You're right," Ash said as he rolled up his right glove, revealing a second bracelet, but black and with a rainbow stone imbedded into it. "Paul, this has been a great battle, but if we plan to win now, we'll have to go all out. It's time to show you our real power!"

Before Paul and Reggie's shocked stares, Ash's bracelet began glowing, and so did Sceptile's pipe almost at the same time. Each began emitting some multicolored energy tendrils, and they interconnected, engulfing Sceptile in a purple energy aura. Paul could see his silhouette changing, growing a bit bigger in size, extending the tail and sprouting some spikes from his back.

"BREAK THE LIMIT, MEGA EVOLUTION!" Ash shouted.

"SCEPTILE!" Ash's Pokémon cried out loudly, dissipating the energy and revealing his new form. He looked almost the same, except for the red streaks across his body, like in the eyes, the lower jaw and some rings in his tail. And speaking of his tail, it now had changed to look like a pine tree.

"Mega Evolution?" Paul asked. He had heard about it, but it wasn't that common in his region, so he had never fought one. "That won't stop us, use Thunder!"

Electivire fired his electric attack at full force. Paul thought Ash's natural reaction would be trying to dodge or break through it with sheer willpower. But he did neither: he just stood where he was and let himself get struck by the Thunder in full. This time, however, it made no damage, and it actually seemed like Sceptile was… enjoying it?

"Sceptile!" the Mega Pokémon shouted, as if he had been recharged.

"What the hell's going on?" asked Paul. Even with the type resistance, that attack should have done some decent damage.

"When Sceptile Mega Evolves, he gains Lightning Rod as his ability," Ash explained. "Electric attacks won't work against him. Now, use Dual Chop!"

Sceptile stretched his arm blades, except they took a lighter shade of green. This was a Dragon-type attack, and when he charged against Electivire everyone noticed that he had gone the distance a bit faster, before delivering a dual crossed slash on Electivire's chest. However, Paul didn't let himself be intimidated by the surprise. He had much more than electric attacks in his arsenal after all.

"Fire Punch!"

Even if he couldn't use his Electric-type attacks, he could still capitalize on the effectiveness of a Fire-type attack. It was a good thing to have put him to train with Magmortar. Just like before, both of them engaged in a close-quarters fight, having punches and slashes as they tried to find an opening to deliver a good strike. As soon as he got it, Electivire delivered uppercut, but he only had a couple seconds to feel the triumph, as he realized Sceptile was less afflicted with the attack. He didn't get why.

"Dragon Pulse!" Ash called.

Sceptile began forming a light green energy sphere in his mouth. Once again, the Light Screen managed to reduce the damage, but Paul realized the effect had ceased right then, returning Electivire's defenses to normal again. Besides, looking up close, he also noticed the power of the attack.

'Two Dragon-type attacks… and the Fire Punch was not as effective the second time,' Paul thought. 'Could it be…?'

Paul had heard many Pokémon changed types when they Mega Evolved, frequently gaining an additional one. Could it be that, besides gaining the Lightning Rod ability, Mega Sceptile was also a Dragon-type? That seemed the logical conclusion. Things had just gotten more complicated, and he made a mental note to teach Electivire Ice Punch later.

"Leaf Storm!" Ash called.

Now without the Light Screen to soften the effect, Electivire took the full force of the attack and was blown away several feet. Paul noticed the attack, while not as strong as the first, still packed a lot of power, and he figured that absorbing the Thunder before made him compensate the initial power reduction. Electivire rolled a couple times and landed on his knees, while Paul tried to think about something fast while Sceptile charged for another Dual Chop. Recalling his battle against Ash in the Sinnoh League, he recalled there were other ways to use Electric attacks, even not directly.

"Use Thunder on the ground!"

Electivire sank his electric cords on the ground and channeled his electricity through them. This maneuver in the Sinnoh League had been, admittedly, a bit crude and done in the heat of the moment, but he had perfected it since then to use it more effectively. Rather than unleashing the electricity in a single go to blast pieces of the field and make them fall on the opponent, Electivire could unleash his attack in smaller and shorter bursts, and even direct the electricity so it would burst where and when he wanted. What he did was hampering Sceptile's advance so by the time he got to him, Electivire was ready to counter.

"Brick Break!"

Once Sceptile finally arrived to deliver a slash on him, Electivire had already charged his fists to intercept the attack with his hand, and he quickly used the other to deliver a hook to the face to begin his counterattack. Paul quickly called for a Giga Impact, and at such short distance Sceptile couldn't dodge in time. Ash for his part called for using Agility to increase his speed even further, surrounding Electivire in search for an angle to continue his assault.

Paul could barely follow Sceptile with his eyes. For a moment he considered using Thunder on the ground again to hamper him, but then he reconsidered. His original plan had been using Electivire's ability against Pikachu to gain an advantage. Against Mega Sceptile it wouldn't do anything but making things even more difficult. But perhaps…

'Ash does these crazy things all the time, and they work for him,' he thought. 'At this point, I'm running out of options. I have nothing to lose anyway,'

While Paul was the type who preferred to plan ahead, at the moment that wouldn't work at all. He wasn't Ash, but it wasn't the first time he took a page from the Kanto trainer's book for himself, even if he did so in his own.

"Electivire, use Thunder on yourself!"

"VIRE!"

To the surprise of Ash and Reggie, Electivire summoned his attack upon himself, carefully staying out of Sceptile's Lightning Rod radius. He began spinning his arms faster and faster, like a well-oiled engine, as he converted all that energy into speed. Paul nodded in satisfaction; all he had to do was testing it now.

"Fire Punch and Brick Break!"

Said and done; Electivire charged forward with a fist engulfed in flames and the other glowing with stone-breaking energy. He moved so fast, Mega Sceptile could barely cover himself before the Electric-type unleashed a barrage of unstoppable punches. The sudden speed burst took them by surprise, and Paul and Electivire capitalized on that to turn the situation around. Now they just had to keep the assault to prevent Ash and Sceptile from retaliating.

After a good round of punches where Electivire briefly dominated, luck took Paul's side and when he landed the Fire Punch, Sceptile was surrounded by a burst of flames, evidencing he had suffered burn status. That was Ash's cue to end the match as quick as possible. They were evenly matched in speed, and Paul and Electivire would capitalize on each time Sceptile suffered the burn while pressing the assault. They finally ended with a devastating fire uppercut that knocked Sceptile to the other side of the field. One more blow and everything would be over.

"Giga Impact!" Paul ordered.

Electivire charged, putting all his remaining energy in that decisive attack. Mega Evolution or not, he couldn't lose, at all.

"Sceptile, Leaf Storm to the ground!" Ash shouted.

"Tile!"

As usual, Ash wouldn't cease to bring out aces up his sleeve in the heat of the moment. Sceptile jumped and fired his Leaf Storm to the ground, propelling himself upwards right when Electivire was about to crash against him.

"Sceptile, Quick Attack and Dual Chop!"

"SCEP… TILE!"

Not waiting for gravity to kick in, Sceptile turned in midair and let himself drop headfirst on top of Electivire, still motionless due to the Giga Impact. Extending his blades as much as he could and using the Quick Attack's speed, he landed a double crossed blow on the back before he could turn around. The attack clearly hurt, but it wasn't enough to knock him out, and upon turning around he looked rather furious.

"Dual Chop!" shouted Ash.

"Fire Punch!" Paul yelled at the same time.

Both Pokémon charged forward at each other. The flaming punch clashed against the draconian energy blade, both of them evenly matched for a few seconds. However, the blade prevailed and Electivire finally gave up. In one last ditch effort he tried to extend his electric cords, but Sceptile anticipated and before he could be pulled, he stabbed his tail and one of his blades on the ground to avoid being dragged again. Ash knew his chance to end the battle was now or never.

"Sceptile, hurl him up into the air!"

"Tile!" Sceptile grabbed Electivire's electric cords and began spinning him around to gain momentum, until he finally threw him upwards.

"Leaf Blade and finish him!" Ash shouted.

As Electivire fell down, Sceptile humped up, slashing him up with the arm blades, holding on when he felt the burn again. Electivire was so dazed with the spinning that he couldn't do anything to reply to him. Sceptile landed, and Electivire fell spread on the ground, unable to move. The battle was over.

"Electivire is unable to battle, Sceptile is the winner! Ash wins the battle!"

"Yeah, we did it, we did it!" the Kanto trainer celebrated.

"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu made a V-sign in triumph.

"Sceptile…" Sceptile smiled in satisfaction as his Mega Evolution vanished, sitting down in tiredness. Ash quickly returned to his Pokéball, to prevent him from suffering further burn damage.

Paul did the same with Electivire. Mentally, he congratulated the Electric-type on his efforts, and after putting away the ball, he stared at Ash. The two had had their differences in the past, and even though he wouldn't' call him a 'friend', he had to admit he respected Ash's abilities. The Kanto trainer evidently hadn't slept on his laurels, and had worked to become stronger. He might not be the most social person in the world, but he could acknowledge when someone was better than him. The least he could do was properly showing him the respect he deserved.

Thus, Paul walked to the other side of the field with no hurry. He still thought Ash should leave that habit of celebrating his victories like a child, and take a more serious image, more befitting a trainer of his level. He had to clear his throat to get his attention. They glanced at each other for a few seconds, until Paul finally extended his hand.

"Good battle," he said. Ash smiled and shook his hand.

"Of course it was. I can see you've gotten a lot stronger. This was a great way to begin my training."

The eldest of the Veilstone watched them both, and smiled himself. During the battle he could notice many things. Not just in regards to their skills, especially Ash's but also that during the entire battle, Paul seemed to be enjoying himself. Years before, Paul only cared about strength and winning, but while he still had a bit of that, now he was as capable of enjoying the match and the challenge itself, to feel the thrill of fighting a strong opponent, just like Ash.

"You were amazing, both of you," said Reggie. "Alright, now it's finally over, shall we go eat something? My treat."

"Ah, that would be great, I'm starving," said Ash. Paul just shrugged, although he didn't mind the idea.

Pikachu jumped back to Ash's shoulder, and the three walked back to the Pokémon Center. After a battle like that, trainers and Pokémon needed a good break, and a good meal to replenish their energies.

---

At sunset…

After eating to their hearts' content, Ash and the Veilstone brothers went to sit by the hill nearby the lake to watch the setting sun as they commented about the battle. Eventually, the conversation went into the 'secret weapons' Ash had used during the fight, the Z-Ring and the Mega Stone.

"So it means the Z-Move and Mega Evolution are fueled by the bonds between trainer and Pokémon?" Reggie asked. "Awesome. With that kind of power, your bonds must be really strong."

"I hope so," said Ash. "I'll need that and more if I want to win our inner tournament."

"I almost couldn't believe it," said Paul. "You, of all people, a Frontier Brain, and competing for a slot in the most important tournament in the world. Years ago, I thought you were just a cheerful and pathetic idiot who knew nothing about training Pokémon."

"Really?" Ash replied. "And you don't have that opinion about me now?"

"No. I think you are a cheerful idiot, but one who has his merits and brings out his strength your own way."

Ash rolled his eyes and snorted slightly. "Oh yeah? Well, for the record, I already know why I lost to you do many times."

"You don't say," Paul replied. Despite his choice of words, Ash could notice his tone had a tinge of interest for what he had to say, so he proceeded to elaborate.

"When we met, every time we saw each other, I just wanted to beat you so you would respect me. That's why, even though I hated your methods and decisions, I tried to grow stronger the same way you did. Until I realized that wouldn't work, because I'm not you."

Both brothers gave Ash an inquisitive stare. Seeing he had their attention, Ash continued.

"You might have your way of doing things, and maybe you can grow stronger on your own, but like I said, I'm not you. I do things my own way, and I work better when I train with my friends, learning from them, and taking a bit of their own experiences for myself. In a way, I owe each of them having gotten as far as I've come by now, if only a little."

"The power of friendship in action." Reggie nodded. "You might learn some of that, Paul."

"Bah, who needs that?" Paul replied.

"Don't dismiss it so quickly. I think Ash knows better than you, we all have a limit of what we can do on our own," Reggie said wisely. "And the only way to break it is with the help of others. Some realized it earlier than others, but we all do so eventually."

Paul didn't say anything else, but he could see some sliver of truth in Reggie's words. He might not seek for 'friends' to help him; instead he preferred to improve fighting strong opponents. He learned better that way. If Ash wanted to do it with his buddies, that was his choice.

"In any case, you better take this battle's experience and win that tournament," Paul said to Ash. "Otherwise, I'd feel very disappointed in you."

"And why is that?" the Pallet trainer asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" said Paul. "If you win that tournament, you'll have the title of the strongest trainer in the world. That way, when I beat you, I can claim it for myself."

"Oh, is that a challenge?" Ash asked confidently.

"It's not a challenge, it's a fact." Paul replied in the same manner. "So don't you dare to lose, until you fight me again, is that clear?"

"Paul, I don't think that's how things work," Reggie chuckled.

"It doesn't matter," said Ash. "Alright, since you put it that way. I'll be waiting for the day we face each other again, and I'll be much stronger then."

"You better be."

"Haha, rivalries never die, do they?" said Reggie.

No matter what he said outwardly, the elder brother was pretty good in reading the younger one. During the battle, Reggie had noticed Paul looked, even subtly, more excited than he had seen him in a long time. He had enjoyed the match, like he did whenever he fought a particularly strong opponent. And that was especially surprising with said opponent being Ash, whom so many years ago he had dismissed as weak and pathetic, and couldn't understand how he could have beaten Brandon, the trainer he (Reggie) could never best.

He took a while to understand, where Ash got all that strength to fight until the very end, never giving up, and getting back up to no matter how many times he fell, and eventually rose to beat him. Paul respected him for finding his own way to bring out his true strength, but he had his own, and that would never chance.

"No time to question my moves, I stick to the path that I chose." Suddenly Ash's phone blared. The boy pulled it out from his pocket, checking it out and placing the call in wait for a moment.

"Sorry, I need to answer," he excused as he stood up.

"Your girlfriend calling?" Paul deadpanned. Ash didn't reply, though it wasn't too far off.

"I'll be back in a minute," said Ash, walking away to answer.

As he retreated a bit to keep his conversation private, Ash looked over his shoulder at the Veilstone brothers. Coming here was a better idea than he had thought. This battle with Paul was an excellent way to begin his training. Just like his old rival, Ash was very clear on the path he wanted to follow and the destination he wanted to reach. That was why he was here in the first place, and if he wanted to hone his skills, nothing better than fighting strong opponents.

FIN

---

Author's notes:

Alright, I finally finished translating this oneshot. The idea for this came from rewatching the Diamond & Pearl anime saga, specifically that humiliating defeat Ash suffered in Lake Acuity. Weirdly enough, writing the battle was easy, despite it coming out so long, but the final scene was rather difficult, as I wasn't sure as to how to close it. If anybody asks, yeah, this is set in the same continuity as the others I've written with Ash, Misty and Serena, but I went for something different this time, so that's why I didn't bring the girls, neither did I make any references beyond that call in the end.

Something I'd like to clear up, if there's a character in Pokémon I can say that I hate without hesitation, that's Paul. My reasons: I hate his arrogant, apathetic and smug attitude with everyone else, and the fact he shows no care for anything or anyone. It didn't help that during the entire Sinnoh saga the writers always took his side and rubbed his superiority in our faces, starting by the fact of not allowing Ash to score victories against him early on, even small ones. Also the fact that he was very rarely called out on his attitude, and whenever someone actually did, he didn't listen (the Chimchar issue in the Hearthome Tag Tournament, for instance), and his defeats against Cynthia and Brandon didn't do anything to knock his ego down a peg or two. That said, I acknowledge he's a strong trainer and his methods (for the Pokémon able to endure them) do give results, so that's why I didn't have Ash simply crushing him and his team, but I made sure to equip our hero with enough surprise factors that would give him an edge (Swellow with the Thunder Armor, Lycanroc, Pikachu with the Z-Move and Sceptile with Mega), and you can see he still struggled. Though at this point, if Ash faced him with some of his other aces, like Charizard and Greninja, he could have won even easier. Bottom line, I might hate the guy, but I don't deny his merits (unlike certain people who bash characters just for the sake of bashing).

Now, a few notes about the story itself. For starters, I occasionally switched the order of the rounds during the match, sometimes even while I was on course, and also the Pokémon both of them would use. Originally, I wanted to end the battle with Ash-Greninja, but after thinking for a while, seeing that I gave him and Mega Charizard their spotlight in the other story, I decided Sceptile deserved his too. And the idea of hiding the Mega Stone in the pipe, since he rarely loses the twig from his mouth, I thought, why not? Also, among other Pokémon I considered at some point, there was Krookodile and Goodra, but I tried to aim for a more or less varied team, trying not to go beyond two Pokémon per region, of course without removing Infernape. And the last two rounds were originally going to be Pikachu vs Electivire (the former overloading the latter with the Z-Move) and Aggron vs Mega Sceptile, but then I thought the latter's Lightning Rod ability would be more useful against the Electric-type, so that's why I switched opponents. On Paul's side, while I chose the first four slots rather quickly (Torterra, Ursaring, Magmortar and Electivire), the last two were particularly hard. On the one hand, I wanted an aerial battle, and that meant I needed Honchkrow or Ninjask, but other Pokémon I considered were the Nidoking he used against Brandon, the Gliscor who lead that pack Ash's belonged to (and ended up all but forgotten, sadly), or the Drapion he used at the Sinnoh League. In the end, I kept Aggron. Lastly, the Thunder Armor for Ash's Swellow de Ash, I put it in use based on what we saw of Swellow in canon. Specifically, I connected his high tolerance to Electric attacks and how he and Pikachu used it in the battle against Liza and Tate, so my logic behind it is that it's some kind of hidden ability that only triggers when Swellow can endure Electric-type attacks long enough, and "charges" with their power. Interestingly, it works very similar to how BREAK Evolution from the TCG works in "Pokémon Reset Bloodlines", so I took a bit of inspiration from there too. The part about protecting from Magmortar's Flame Body is my own idea, though.

Alright, I think this is it. Hope you guys have enjoyed this shot, and if you're interested, I'm considering to open up to write other battles or maybe pairings, if you prefer romance (let's face it, I know firsthand many people only read for shipping). See you next time.

P.S: If anybody could find me a good cover image, I'd be really thankful.