"You ready for this?" Zoey called across the battlefield to Serena.

"Of course!" Serena said, grinning.

Iris stood on the sidelines, shifting her weight excitedly. "Show us what you got, you two!" she called as Axew jumped up and down on her shoulder.

"Gallade! Curtain, let's go!" Zoey shouted, releasing her Pokémon from its Poké Ball.

"Wow!" Serena gasped, her eyes practically sparkling with adoration. "It's the Gallade you used in the final round of the Grand Festival! Amazing!"

"Serena, you have to send out your own Pokémon!" Iris reminded.

Serena snapped back to attention. "Right. Sorry! Um… Go, Sylveon!" She tossed her Poké Ball, releasing the Intertwining Pokémon from it. Sylveon chirped attentively. "Okay, Sylveon, this is going to be one of our hardest battles yet! Are you ready?" Sylveon responded by standing readily, eyeing her opponent.

"You can take the first move!" Zoey offered.

"Thanks!" Serena responded. "Okay, Sylveon! Use Swift!" Sylveon quickly responded, dashing toward Gallade before leaping into the air and releasing several stars. Zoey stood firm, watching as the stars hit the Blade Pokémon, who barely even flinched.

"It didn't do anything," Iris muttered, shocked. "Gallade didn't even try to dodge it."

"Now Gallade," Zoey ordered calmly. "Use Swords Dance!" Gallade's forearms grew purple and longer as he posed.

Gallade's attack power is higher now, Serena mused worriedly. Better not let it land a hit! "Fairy Wind! Let's go!" As Sylveon released the sparkling blast, Gallade still firmly held his place, refusing to move.

Iris watched attentively. "A Fairy-type move should be super effective. Why isn't Gallade dodging?"

"Double Team!" Zoey ordered. The Blade Pokémon's body started to glow a bluish hue as multiple copies appeared around it. The wind struck the copies, leaving Gallade standing uninjured.

We can't do a thing to it! Serena thought to herself. "Sylveon, use Protect!" Sylveon's body was surrounded by a green shield as she braced herself, awaiting a counterattack.

Zoey smirked. "Swords Dance!"

"What is she doing?" Iris wondered aloud as Gallade performed the move. "Sylveon is helpless against Gallade. Why won't she attack?"

Serena considered the same question, making eye contact with Zoey and waiting for a sign. "Double Team, again!" Zoey called. Gallade once again made copies of itself as its body glowed blue.

"Gallade's attack and evasion are both really high now," Iris mused. "So it should be safe to go in for an attack. But I guess Zoey has a different plan."

It's like she knows what I'm going to do, Serena mentally complained. I have to take her by surprise. But how? Suddenly, her eyes lit up as an idea came to her. Of course. Why didn't I think of it sooner? "Sylveon, use Swift straight up in the air!"

Iris looked shocked. "What?"

Zoey grinned. "This should be interesting."

Sylveon leaped into the air, firing stars straight up. "Now spin and use Fairy Wind!" The sparkling gusts formed a large tornado, catching the stars from Sylveon's Swift attack within it and creating a beautiful, sparkling cyclone.

"Wow! What a great combination!" Zoey complimented.

Serena smiled proudly. "Thank you! Now Sylveon, toss it!" Grabbing the swirling attack with her feelers, Sylveon did a flip as she hurled it at Gallade.

"Gallade, take it down with Psycho Cut!"

"Finally, an attack!" Iris remarked. Gallade's arms turned blue and extended as he jumped up toward the attack, knocking the stars out of the way. Unfortunately for them, it had little effect on the Fairy Wind, causing Gallade to take the full force of the remaining pink tornado, hurling him into the air.

"Sylveon, Double Team! Get up there!" Sylveon rapidly began to move, leaving transparent illusions of herself behind as she practically flew up toward the Blade Pokémon until she was right above. "Now spin and use Swift!" Still in midair, Sylveon began to rotate, releasing the star projectiles in a ring around her. They were quickly caught in the fairy cyclone and hurled into Gallade's body as it dissipated, dropping both Pokémon to the ground.

"That was beautiful and effective!" Zoey remarked as Gallade got back to his feet.

"Thanks! I had to stop thinking of it like a regular battle," Serena explained. "If I just kept throwing attacks at you, I would have never accomplished anything! I had to think of it like a contest battle."

"That's great and all," Iris noted. "But I'm still waiting on that Mega Evolution!"

"I thought you'd never ask," Zoey grinned, holding up her wrist, which bore the Mega Ring. "Now, Gallade! Mega Evolve!" Gallade's body was surrounded by an aura as the stone on his chest glowed. His body was quickly transformed into its Mega form.

Iris and Axew were awestruck. "Amazing!" Iris cheered.

"Wow, Mega Gallade…" Serena said, equally amazed. She quickly shook this off, however, and returned to the matter at hand. "Sylveon, use Double Team!" Sylveon began running circles around the Mega Evolved Blade Pokémon, surrounding him with hundreds of illusionary opponents. Gallade watched, barely moving. "Now jump and use Fairy Wind!" The Intertwining Pokémon leaped into the air and blasted her sparkling gust at Gallade, her copies following suit.

"Gallade, Double Team! Then Swords Dance!" Zoey commanded. Gallade quickly created his own doubles, easily escaping the Fairy Wind. Each of the copies then proceeded to perform Swords Dance, moving in perfect sync and looking like an army.

"Wow," Iris cooed. "She makes even the simplest strategies look so stylish." Sylveon landed across from Gallade as its clones disappeared, Gallade's following shortly thereafter.

"This has been fun and all," Zoey said, "but it's time to wrap it up. Gallade, use Stored Power!"

"What?" "No way!" Serena and Iris gasped. Axew cried out his own concern as a purple light appeared from Gallade's chest, growing rapidly until it almost completely engulfed the Blade Pokémon, at which point it flew up into the air before crashing down toward Sylveon. "No!" Serena cried as the blast collided, kicking up dust. When the cloud cleared, Sylveon was badly injured but still standing. "Use Fairy Wind! Quick!"

"Psycho Cut, Gallade!" Zoey shouted. Both Pokémon moved to make their attacks, Sylveon whipping up the wind while Gallade dashed toward her with his arm glowing and stretching. As the gust flew in his direction, Gallade skillfully leaped over it before landing right behind Sylveon and moving to land the blow, Serena wincing in fear and disappointment. "Stop!" Zoey shouted. Gallade quickly retracted his Psycho Cut and returned to his normal form.

"What?" Serena asked, confused.

"Thanks for the awesome battle, Serena!" Zoey said. "But let's give Sylveon a break. This was just for fun, right? I don't want to take it too far."

"O-Oh, okay," Serena said, pulling out Sylveon's Poké Ball. "Sylveon, return."

"That was amazing!" Iris cheered, leaping over the railing and running onto the battlefield. "Mega Gallade is soooo cool! And your use of Swords Dance and Double Team to prepare for Stored Power… Brilliant! You're an amazing trainer, Zoey!"

"Thanks," Zoey said, almost blushing. "But Serena deserves some credit, too! That combination of Fairy Wind and Swift was great!"

"It wasn't that good," Serena argued. "I just came up with it on the fly."

"Don't sell yourself short, Serena," was Iris's response. "You're going to be a great coordinator!"

"I agree!" Zoey said.

Serena's face turned red. "That means a lot coming from a top coordinator like you, Zoey."

Zoey smiled, offering her hand, which Serena gladly shook.

"I'd better get going," Zoey said. "But I hope we'll meet at the next contest, okay?"

"You can bet on it!" Serena assured. The redhead flashed one more smile before making her way out of the battlefield.

"Wow! Your first rival in the Hoenn region is a top coordinator!" Iris noted excitedly.

"Rival? A-Are you sure?" Serena asked, taken aback.

Iris nodded. "Of course! You're both competing in contests, right? So you must be rivals."

Serena considered this. "I guess that's true… I don't think I'll ever be as good as she is, though."

"Well, you won't know until you try," Iris reminded cheerfully. "So let's get going! You've got a contest to get to… and I want to find a Mega Ring of my own! It's time for our journey to really start!"

Serena smiled, admiring Iris's excitement. "Okay! Let's go!"

As the two girls made their way out of the battlefield and into the Hoenn region, they remained unaware of a figure in the distance, watching their every move. As they walked out of sight, the figure put their binoculars away and kneeled down, a barely visible grin on their face. "Looks like our fun's just beginning, Aster."