"Gible has fainted! Darkrai is the winner!"
Pikachu couldn't believe what he was seeing. Tobias had swept through three of Ash's Pokemon using only Darkrai. The mouse could see the fear in his Trainer's eyes as each of his Pokemon fainted to Darkrai.
Then he realised.
Pikachu gritted his teeth. If none of Ash's other Pokemon could defeat Darkrai, then that means HE would have to face the mythical opponent. Luckily, Ash told Pikachu that he was planning on using him last, so that meant he still had another two Pokemon to fight Darkrai with.
Pikachu was sceptical about Ash sending out Heracross first. He didn't doubt Heracross' power, but having him fight Darkrai before any of Ash's other Pokemon seemed like a bad idea.
But, Ash has made some bad ideas work out with some clever strategies before, so he didn't doubt his trainer's actions. That is, until Torkoal fainted without putting up much of a fight.
"Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash shouted, throwing his Pokeball out into the field. Sceptile emerged from his Pokeball and looked straight at Darkrai, ready to fight.
Pikachu wondered how they could look at Darkrai without getting scared. Then again, he was the only Pokemon belonging to Ash that knew about the achievements Tobias earned using only his Darkrai.
As the battle commenced, Pikachu decided to glance over at Dawn, Brock and Barry, who were all spectating. Standing next to Dawn were Piplup and... Buneary? The two Pokemon were watching in awe, keeping their sight on the battling Pokemon.
"Now! Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!" Ash commanded.
While the intense battle commenced, Pikachu couldn't help but wonder why Buneary was out of her Pokeball. She wasn't watching the previous rounds, instead staying in her Pokeball for those battles. Even the match against Paul.
So why was she watching this battle?
Pikachu thought about it for a second. Was it because she wanted to see the Darkrai for herself? Maybe she just wanted to see if Pikachu could defeat him?
...Regardless of why she was watching the battle, Pikachu didn't mind her presence. He could feel her encouraging spirit from where he was standing. The mouse assumed that it was because of how much she cheered for him during training.
Suddenly, Buneary looked directly at Pikachu. Both her and Pikachu had their eyes locked on each other for a few seconds. Pikachu's sight diverted to Piplup, who was approaching Buneary.
The mouse saw the penguin move his mouth, and Buneary looked towards Piplup. Then they started talking.
A loud thump was heard from the battlefield, so Pikachu turned back around to see what was going on.
"Darkrai is unable to battle! Sceptile is the winner!"
...Wait, what?
The audience suddenly got much louder and started chanting Sceptile's name.
Pikachu left out a gigantic sigh of relief after realising that he didn't have to face the Darkrai.
...Though he did feel bad for not witnessing the final blow that Sceptile delivered to finish the opponent off. Pikachu scratched his head sheepishly. He felt like such a bad friend.
As expected, Ash cheered happily after finally defeating the Darkrai, using four of his Pokemon.
"Yeah! Way to go, Sceptile!" Ash shouted. "You were awesome!" Sceptile turned around to face Ash and Pikachu.
"(You feeling relieved, Pikachu?)" Sceptile called out to the mouse next to Ash, to which he responded with a simple nod. Sceptile started chuckling.
"(Now you have no need to worry!)"
...Oh no.
After Ash and Tobias had finished talking, Tobias readied another Pokeball.
"Go!" Tobias shouted. Even though Tobias only said one simple word, it sent fear into Pikachu's body. The Pokeball flew into the sky and a Pokemon emerged from it. Flying down towards them was a...
...A Latios?!
"(Huh?)" Sceptile gasped. The Latios landed in front of Tobias and prepared itself for battle.
Pikachu couldn't handle the pressure anymore. He closed his eyes and lowered his ears, trying to keep his composure. He could hear the faint noises of Sceptile and Latios battling. Then he heard a loud bang, and there was a long silence afterwards.
After the silence, Pikachu heard Swellow's battle cry, and more battling commenced. This battle is going to be a nightmare...
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt one more time!" Ash shouted.
Building up his electricity again, Pikachu let out a powerful Thunderbolt directly on the Latios he was standing on. The shocking attack didn't leave much of an impact unfortunately, due to the Latios' Light Screen.
"Latios, ascend and get him off!" Tobias demanded.
Latios started flying higher and higher, before doing constant backflips at a high speed.
Pikachu couldn't hold on for much longer and was slingshotted off of Latios.
"Now..." Tobias spoke in a grand voice. "Finish this off with Luster Purge!"
Latios charged up his attack and aimed towards the descending mouse.
"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" Ash commanded.
It took Pikachu a moment to stop spinning and regain control of his body. He activated Volt Tackle and charged towards the Eon Pokemon below him. The mouse got closer and closer before Latios unleashed his Luster Purge.
Pikachu, still using Volt Tackle, collided with the attack, yet continued to move towards the Eon Pokemon. Latios continued firing the beam at Pikachu, but Pikachu kept getting closer and closer. Once he was close enough...
"Now!" Ash shouted loudly, "Use Iron Tail!"
Pikachu didn't hesitate to swing his tail forward, which had a direct hit on Latios. The impact created lots of smoke, engulfing the whole stadium in a dust cloud.
Pikachu landed on the ground, right next to Latios. The Eon Pokemon had swirls in his eyes, indicating that they had fainted. Pikachu felt like fainting right there and then, due to the amount of damage he had received from charging into Latios' Luster Purge, along with the recoil damage from using Volt Tackle.
He was so close to collapsing, but then he realised something. Buneary was watching, wasn't she?
She always encouraged him for anything that was related to battles. Fighting Team Rocket, battling Gym Leaders... He didn't want to disappoint her now, after she had been cheering him the whole way, did he?
Despite all the injuries, Pikachu struggled to his feet. Even he couldn't believe he was still standing after the battle. The mouse felt his strength slowly fading, yet he still stood tall. The dust cleared, and Pikachu could see the crowd clearly.
"Latios is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner!" The announcer declared. The crowd roared in excitement, chanting the mouse's name.
"Unbelievable! Ash Ketchum has managed to defeat two of Tobias' Pokemon!"
"Alright, Pikachu!" Ash called out to the injured mouse. "Way to go!"
Pikachu turned around to face Ash, a warm smile on his face. He would've given him a bigger reaction, but he didn't have the energy to do so. His attention focused to the people behind Ash, who were in the stands.
Dawn, Brock and Barry all looked at Pikachu in awe while Piplup stood next to them, dumbfounded. Buneary stared at him with admiration, though Pikachu assumed that she was looking at him with lots of happiness instead.
"Your Pikachu looks very tired." Tobias called out to Ash. The excited trainer looked at the mouse to see him heavily breathing and shaking.
"Pikachu, do you want to stop?" Ash asked, concerned. Pikachu turned towards Ash and clenched his own fist while smiling. Ash smiled back and turned towards Tobias.
"Hm, you're not giving up? That's admirable." Tobias complimented.
"But this is the end of the road for you! Go!" Tobias pulled his next Pokeball and threw it towards his opponents. The next Pokemon emerged, which was a...
...Huh?!
"(Hello there!~)" The Pokemon waved to the audience happily, before turning around to face Pikachu.
The mouse blinked twice. Was this real?
Suddenly, the opposing Pokemon's eyes widened in shock. "(YOU!?)" They shouted loudly.
The mouse scratched his head awkwardly. "(Um... hey there Phione...)"
To be continued...