H-Hey guys, I'm back.

I'M SORRY! I know it has been over a month since I last updated, but I've been REALLY occupied. Not to mention this story being a lower priority.

Don't worry, I fully intend to continue this story ut acerbis terminus.

And no, Max does not have a Groudon. I don't believe in Zoroark having to change into a team member only. I prefer to think of that as Zorua only, seeing as a Zoroark should have enough experience to mimic anything in terms of appearances.

Anyways, I believe it is time for a second preliminary...

"Go, Hitmonchan! Use Sky Uppercut!"

"Use Super Fang on its fist!"

Hitmonchan landed nimbly on the ice before it charged in with a fist glowing white and then jumped, but was intercepted when Glalie bit down hard on its fist. Glalie let out a low groan of pain while Hitmonchan gritted it's teeth.

"Use Focus Punch with your other arm!"

"Try to endure it, and use Bide!"

Hitmonchan released a massive punch with is other hand, but Glalie managed to go through it. Ash's opponent then realized how bad the situation was.

"Hitmonchan, get out of there!"

Hitmonchan struggled but Glalie was still firmly clamped onto it. Glalie then released Hitmonchan, let loose a massive roar of pain, and sent out a massive white beam.

When the dust cleared, and people's ears stopped ringing, it showed that Hitmonchan was clearly unconscious while Glalie was still holding on.

"Hitmonchan is unable to battle, Glalie is the winner! trainer, send out your last pokemon!"

"This is it, my friend! Aggron, I need your strength!"

A massive Aggron with a large number of dents and holed in its armor arrived. It roared as it came out, causing Glalie to involuntarily steady itself in a different position.

"Glalie," called out Ash. "You don't need to fight this one if you don't want to. Do you want to sit this one out, buddy?"

Glalie shook his head defiantly. He refused to let Ash down.

"Aggron, start off with Earthquake. I'm tried of all this ice in my way."

Aggron roared before stomping its foot. The entire stadium exploded and the debris was sent everywhere, dealing heavy damage to Glalie while also reinforcing it, making it feel more pain than otherwise.

"Glalie, use Sheer Cold on the stadium!"

Many people were confused by this request. If Glalie knew Sheer Cold, then why didn't it use it on Aggron? Glalie roared as it lowered itself into the ground before covering the entire stadium in ice. Aggron was lifted up, however, instead of being frozen.

"Aggron, use Autotomize and then Iron Tail!"

"Glalie, dodge and use Hail/Rain Dance and Counter Shield!"

Aggron swung it's tail, but slipped and missed Glalie. Glalie took advantage of this as it rose up into the air and used Hail, refreshing itself, while creating pillars of ice everywhere as it spun around. This made it incredibly difficult for Aggron to reach Glalie.

"Arceus-damn it, not again! Aggron, use Autotomize once more and then Smack Down!"

"Maneuver around him and use knock him down with Bulldoze! Then hit him with everything you have with Frozen Oblivion (Sheer Cold/Powder Snow/Ice Shard/Icy Wind/Ice Beam/Frost Breath/Freeze-Dry/Blizzard/Hail/Rain Dance/Avalanche)!"

Aggron slipped and slid around due to the ice as well as the pillars of ice, but as it jumped Glalie smashed down on it. The sheer force of the collision, not to mention Glalie's reinforced body sent Aggron down. Glalie then went in front of Aggron, who was now attempting to stand. Glalie gave off a dark stare at Aggron, causing the Iron Armor Pokemon to flinch. It then glowed whitish aura before sending out a massive roar that shamed even Entei. Ice and snow swarmed the entire arena and the barriers protecting the watchers nearly broke.

As the arena cleared up, it showed a refreshed Glalie victorious on a massive ice statue. As the statue broke, it showed that it was housing a knocked out Aggron.

"Aggron is unable to battle, that means that Ash is the winner!"

Ash ran out and hugged Glalie. "We did it!"

Dante returned his fallen pokemon. "You did well, my friend."

He then called out to Ash, "That was an excellent battle. Care to explain your tactics against my Aggron?"

Ash smiled. "Very well. I couldn't use Sheer Cold on Aggron immediately as it would not have affected you it in anyway. Rather, Glalie might have knocked itself out in the effort to take out Aggron. The ice on the stadium would make it difficult for Aggron to move. Hail and Rain Dance help refresh Glalie, and Counter Shield was a tactic I created a while ago. I used the last combo because OHKO moves don't always guarantee instant knock-outs. They can easily be overtaken by sheer willpower, the bonds of friendship, as well as a massive difference in strength. Your Aggron shows a lot of trust in you and was incredibly determined to not fail you, not to mention that Glalie is still not at full power."

Dante's eyes widened. This person practically gave him an entire strategy plan to try out with his Cryogonal. "I understand now. Thank you."

Ash grinned. "No problem."

Ash was relaxing in his suite along with Cynthia and Diantha. It was a pain in the ass to escape all the fangirls and the media. Hopefully, he could have some rest now that the preliminaries were out of the way.

He was glad to have actually entered the competition, but knew that he wouldn't be able to pull off as many one-man teams as easily as such anymore. Oh well, at least he had actually trained. He also knew that if pushed into a corner, he could use some of his legendaries to get himself out of this tight spot.

His next match was against a blast from the past - Harrison. Ash wondered if Harrison had any new pokemon. He then checked Larvitar with his pokedex.

Larvitar, the Rock Skin Pokemon. This Larvitar is a male, and has the ability Guts. This Larvitar knows Bite, Leer, Sandstorm, Screech, Hidden Power, Dig, Harden, Chip Away, Rock Slide, Scary Face, Thrash, Earth Power, and the egg move Outrage, though it has not been unlocked yet. Note, it is not possible under normal circumstances for a Larvitar to learn Harden.

Ash was impressed by Larvitar's arsenal, but chuckled as he remembered Larvitar's tendency to use harden around strangers.

"Alright, I will definately use you in the next Conference, Larvitar."

Larvitar cried out in joy as he heard this statement. He really wanted to make Ash proud. He wanted to repay him for everything that Ash had done for him before.

Ash was preparing for his match against Harrison. As he stared at his opponent across the battlefield, he promised himself he would not lose like last time.

"Hey Ash," called out Harrison. "Let's give them a match to remember!"

Ash grinned. No matter how he looked at it, Harrison was still a friend and rival. "You got it!"

"Weavile, battle dance!"

"Let's go!"

People were confused at how when Ash called out his pokemon, there was nothing in sight, just a dust cloud that was quickly blown away.

"Weavile, we don't know where his pokemon may be! Use Double Team, just in case!"

"Now, use Underground Flare Blitz!"

As Weavile created several duplicates of itself, it's eyes widened as it hopped from one foot to the next, as the ground began heating up and becoming red. A massive explosion then occurred and the ground erupted in flames, causing the stadium to be filled with dust.

As the smoke cleared, it showed a weakened Weavile and an Infernape.

"So that was you pokemon, hm? Very well, Weavile Rain Dance!"

"Infernape, don't be afraid of the water! Release yourself with Calm Mind."

Weavile started rain, which made Infernape a little jittery until using Calm Mind, which eased it up.

"Weavile, use Surf!"

"Use Toxic, and then Lightning Spear (Mach Punch/Thunder Punch/Swords Dance)."

As Weavile prepared the energy to release surf, Infernape sprayed poison into the water before creating a blade of electricity. Just as Weavile started to crash upon Infernape with the boosted Water Attack, Infernape was already behind it. Weavile then screeched in pain as the electricity had conducted through the water with much more intensity than expected.

"What was that about?"

Ash grinned. "Water conducts bet if the water has some impurities, provided they aren't in incredibly large quantities. I had a feeling that you had prepared in case someone used an electric move and taught your Weavile how to use pure water as surf."

Harrison was astonished. "You hit it at the mark. But regardless, Aerial Ace, now!"

"Infernape, Quick Guard!"

Weavile rushed in at blinding speeds, but hit a reddish shield surrounding Infernape. It struck against the shield several times, but it was unable to break through. It then had an idea. It stopped using Aerial Ace, and just walked inside the shield before using Aerial Ace again, scoring major damage.

Ash groaned. He would have to fix that issue later. "Makeshift Sky Uppercut (Low Sweep/Low Kick/focus Punch. The first two are intended to trip the opponent up by sending them moderately into the air. As the opponent attempts to recover, the user gathers up enough power to delivered the Focus Punch at point-blank range in an uppercut fashion. This deals more damage and allows the user to prevent the opponent from dodging the attack.)

Infernape swept Weavile's feet from beneath it before charging up a Focus Punch and smashing a stunned Weavile into the air. The combination was too much for Weavile and it fainted.

"Weavile is unable to battle, Infernape is the winner! Trainer, send out your next pokemon."

"You've gotten stronger Ash, but you won't beat this one! Hypno, let's go!"

Ash looked at Hypno as a smile tugged at the edge of his mouth, remembering how the battle went last time. If he remembered correctly, Hypno was rather frail, so he should just avoid any risky moves.

Before he could do anything, however, Harrison had already called out a move. "Hypnosis!"

Hypno swung it's pendulum around, causing Infernape to fall asleep quickly.

"Now, use Nightmare!"

"Sleep Talk!"

Hypno unleashed a burst of black energy that left Infernape writhing pain on the ground, but Infernape managed to unleash a Shadow Claw that devastated Hypno and nearly put it out of commision.

"Dream Eater!"

Hypno looked at Harrison with a look of disbelief, but it did so. As it took in the energy, it shuddered slightly at the nightmare that was raging inside Infernape's mind but was refreshed with new energy, albeit malicious.

"Infernape, we just need one last shot! Use Sleep Talk!"

Infernape's head was in agony as it resisted against the effects of Dream Eater and Nightmare. However, it heard Ash's pleading and resolved to not let him down. Refusing to go down sleeping it awoke from its slumber with a furious look on it's face as Blaze was unleashed. His fire was massive now, and his opponent seemed to back away in fear.

"Infernape, let's finish this! Use Flare Blitz!"

Infernape charged into a massive Flare Blitz that slammed into a wide-eyed Hypno. This caused a massive explosion to occur and enshroud the area in a field of dust.

As the dust cleared, it showed a clearly knocked out Hypno with a heavily breathing Infernape. Infernape screeched in pain as the recoil hit it, but it weathered it away like it was nothing.

Harrison looked at the battle field in shock. It was true that his Hypno's defense was rather poor, but it should have lasted through at least 4 Giga Impacts before succumbing to exhaustion. How strong was this Infernape.

Harrison shook his head and steadied himself after returning Hypno and preparing his third pokemon.

"Go, -"

Yeah, I'll be an asshole and end it here. To be honest, I really have no idea when the next update will come.

Yeah, I changed my name, and again if you sound it out you will understand. Yes, I stole the last part of the first name from Highschool of the Dead. And yeah, I'll probably change it again sooner or later.

I'll let you guys decide what pokemon Harrison will use next. It cannot be a legendary, but it can be any pokemon you want, including his owned ones.

See you guys next time.