"Huh. So Shane's the champion of the tournament..." Ash said as we walked towards the arena.
"Yeah. You seem to know him better than I do, but last I checked he was pretty formidable." I said.
"This is it, folks! The final battle of the tournament! Our courageous challengers Ash and Sai against our reigning champion, Shane! Ash and Sai will have the use of 3 Pokemon each for a total of 6 while Shane uses all 6 of his Pokemon." The announcer said as we walked into the arena, where Shane was already waiting.
"Sounds fair. Still 6 on 6." I said.
"I'll be looking forward to a great battle, guys! Give me the best you've got!" He said.
"You got it, Shane!" Ash said eagerly.
"If you think you can handle it." I said.
3 Pokeballs and an Ultra Ball went flying, Shane releasing an Umbreon and Espeon, Ash releasing Pignite and me releasing Seviper.
Background Music: "It Has Begun" by Starset
"I'll take Espeon, you get Umbreon." I told him.
"But Seviper's a Poison Type! You'll be at a disadvantage!" Ash said.
"So would Pignite. It'll have a much better chance against Umbreon. Besides, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's taking away the advantage." I said.
"Okay, then! Pignite, use Brick Break on Umbreon!" Ash ordered.
"Pig-NITE!" It complied, rushing in with glowing fists white.
"Umbreon, use Assurance! Espeon, use Psybeam!" Shane ordered.
"Umbre!" Umbreon complied, its paws glowing purple as it rushed in, clashing and trading blows with Pignite.
"Espe-ON!" Espeon announced as it fired a psychic beam at Seviper.
"Seviper, Dig now!" I told it.
"Viper!" It complied, digging underground and avoiding the attack.
"Oh, no! Where'd it go?!" Shane asked as he and Espeon looked at the ground, scanning for Seviper.
"Now use Crunch!" I ordered.
"SEVIPER!" It roared as it burst from the ground behind Espeon, grabbing it with its fangs and throwing him into the air.
"Espeon, no!" Shane called. However, Espeon managed to land on its feet, visibly having taken heavy damage from a powerful Dark-Type move, but it was still capable of continuing. "Are you okay?!" He asked.
"Es!" It confirmed.
"Alright, then! Use Psychic!" He said.
"Es...pe...on..." It chanted as its eyes turned blue and a similar colored aura surrounded Seviper.
"Se..." It grimmaced in pain.
"Seviper, no!" I shouted as it was thrown to the ground. Much like Espeon now, it had taken serious damage, but was still able to continue.
"Now's your chance, Espeon! Use Morning Sun!" Shane called.
"Es..." It said as it looked to the sky, sunlight shimmering down on it and healing it.
"No! Seviper, hurry, before it heals and while it's open! Poison Tail!" I called.
"Se-VIPER!" It hissed as it rushed in with its tail glowing.
"Umbreon! Protect Espeon with Faint Attack!" Shane called.
"Um!" It confirmed, rushing towards Seviper.
"Oh, no you don't! Pignite, use Flamethrower!" Ash called.
"Pig-NITE!" It shouted. breathing a stream of fire at Umbreon and knocking it out of the way.
"Good work!" I told him.
"Se-vi-PER!" It announced as it finally came in range and swung its tail, knocking Espeon out.
"Whew. Good work, Seviper." I said. Suddenly, still following Shane's last command, Umbreon recovered and slammed into Seviper with Feint Attack, bringing it down as well. "Oh, no!" I said.
Shane sighed, but smiled. "Good job, Espeon. Return." He said, withdrawing the Psychic Eevee evolution.
"You did great, Seviper. Take a good rest." I said. I then looked to Shane. "You trained Espeon well. I'm amazed it could get back up after taking Crunch like that." I said.
"Same with you and Seviper. I thought Psychic would've brought it down for sure." He said.
"My Seviper's a tough one. We went through some tough training to prepare for Psychic types." I said.
"Yeah. But you won't get so lucky this time! Let's go Quill!" He shouted, releasing Tranquil.
"Then I guess I'm going with Beartic." I said, releasing it.
"BEAR!" It roared.
"Aright, Quill! use Air Cutter on Pignite!" Shane commanded.
"Tranquil!" It complied, shooting out blades of wind towards Pignite.
"Nite!" It said worriedly as it saw the flying attack coming at it.
"Beartic, Surf!" I ordered.
"Bear-TIC!" It shouted, punching the ground and making a wave to destroy the wind blades as Pignite dove out of the way, which as a bonus, pushed back Umbreon, dealing decent damage. Tranquil managed to fly above it and dodge it.
"Alright, Pignite! Wrap it up with Brick Break!" Ash shouted.
"Pig-NITE!" It shouted, slamming its glowing fist down on Umbreon, managing to knock it out.
"Oh, man..." Shane sighed as another one of his Pokemon were defeated. "You did great, Umbreon. Return." He said, withdrawing it. "Not bad, Ash. But now you're in trouble! Go, RazerWater!" He called, releasing his Dewott.
"Wott!" It called out proudly.
"Alright! Pignite, use Flamethrower!" Ash said.
"Pignite!" It called, breathing a stream of fire from its nose as Dewott rushed in.
"Dodge it and use Razor Shell!" Shane ordered.
"Dewott!" It complied, jumping high above the stream of fire and creating an X with its Scalchops.
"Pig?" Pignite asked in confusion as it saw Dewott above it.
"De-WOTT!" It announced as it came down and slashed Pignite with both Scalchops.
"Nite!" It exclaimed as it was slashed. It slowly fell back slowly and landed on its back, knocked out.
"Pignite!" Ash said. He was shocked at first, but then smiled. "You did great, Pignite. Return." Ash said calling it back. "Okay, Shane! Now you're the one in trouble! Go, Snivy!" He called, releasing it.
"Snivy!" It said confidently as it was released.
"Pikachu might've been better." I said.
"Maybe, but this is just between Snivy and Dewott right now." Ash said. "Okay, Snivy! Use Vine Whip!" Ash ordered.
"Sni-VY!" It complied, extending its vines and swinging them at Dewott.
"Dewott! Counter with Fury Cutter!" Shane ordered.
"Dewott!" It confirmed, its Scalchops glowing green as it ran in, using the Scalchops to block or knock away the vines.
"Now, Beartic! Use Superpower!" I ordered.
"BEAR!" It roared, glowing light blue and rushing towards Dewott.
"Not so fast! Tranquil! Use Air Slash!" Shane ordered.
"Tran-QUIL!" It ordered, shooting out saw blades of wind towards Beartic, slamming into the Freezing Pokemon, managing to make it stagger and flinch.
"Bear!" It grunted as it staggered back.
"Not bad at all." I said with a nod.
"You haven't seen anything, yet." He said with a smirk. "Now, Tranquil! Use Fly!" Shane called.
"Tran! Quil! Quil! Quil!" It cried out as it repeatedly slammed into Beartic, who staggered and swung its arms in anger and annoyance, trying to get the bird away.
"Neither have you. Beartic! Use Blizzard!" I shouted.
"BEAR-TIC!" It roared. creating a massive freezing wind complete with snow and ice, hitting Tranquil and sending it flying.
"Tranquil, no!" Shane called out worriedly.
"Tran...quil..." It said weakly as struggled to get back up.
"Now! Wrap this up with Icicle Crash!" I shouted.
"BEAR!" It roared again, letting out a stream of freezing air with ice crystals in it, which slowly formed into large icicles aimed at Tranquil.
"Oh, no you don't! RazerWater! Use Aqua Jet!" Shane ordered.
"DEWOTT!" It cried out, enveloping itself in water and rushing towards Beartic, slamming into it and staggering it back, causing the icicles to misfire.
"It's open! Alright! Now, Snivy! Use Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered.
"SNI! Vy, vy, vy!" It complied, spinning and sending a tornado of leaves towards.
"De?" Dewott said in surprise, looking to the tornado, before being swept up in it.
"Alright!" Ash cheered.
"Dewott!" Shane called. It landed and skidded to a stop a few feet in front of him. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Dewott!" It confirmed determinedly.
"Alright, then! Use Fury Cutter on Snivy!" He ordered.
"Dewott!" It complied, rushing in with green scalchops once again. "De-WOTT!" It announced as it swung the scalchops and managed to hit Snivy.
"Snivy!" It shrieked as it was hit, falling to the ground, knocked out. "Snivy..." It said weakly in defeat.
"You did great, Snivy. Return." Ash said. He then looked to Pikachu. "You ready, buddy?" He asked.
"Pika!" It said, jumping in.
"Now, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash announced.
"Pi-ka-CHU!" It shouted as it jumped into the air and unleashed powerful bolt of lightnings, hitting and knocking out both Dewott and Tranquil at the same time.
"Alright!" Ash said, fist-pumping.
"I told you." I said with a shrug.
"It's okay, guys. You did an awesome job out there. Return." Shane said, withdrawing them. "Not bad, Ash. But it's not over yet! Time to bring out the big guns! Go, Aura! Ampharos!" Shane called, releasing his Ampharos and what was revealed to be a Lucario. Probably should've guessed that, it IS the aura Pokemon, after all...
"Hm... This might be tough." I said.
"We can do it! Let's go, Pikachu! Use Iron Tail on Lucario!" Ash called.
"Pika!" It complied, rushing in with its tail glowing, swinging its tail at Lucario.
"Counter, Aura!" Shane commanded.
"Lu!" It called, glowing with a multi-colored aura, catching Pikachu's tail. "Car!" It snapped, punching Pikachu away.
"Pika!" It cried out as it was hit, but managed to land on its feet and skid to a stop.
"Alright, Beartic, use Superpower!" I ordered.
"BEAR!" It roared as it glowed light blue once more, rushing in.
"Ampharos! Use Thunder Wave!" Shane ordered.
"Am-pha-ROS!" It cried out, releasing thin electric bolts from its body surrounding Beartic and limiting its movements.
"No!" I said.
"Beartic!" Ash said worriedly.
"Alright! Now, Ampharos! Use Electro Ball!" Shane ordered.
"Ampha-ROS!" It called, spinning and flinging a large ball of electricity from its tail.
"Pikachu! Counter with Electro Ball!" Ash ordered.
"Pika! Chu-pi!" It shouted, doing a similar motion and throwing its own Elector Ball, the two attacks cancelling each other out with an explosion.
"Now what?" Ash asked anxiously as we prepared for the smoke to clear.
"Aura! Use Return!" Shane called.
"LUCAR!" It shouted as it burst through the smoke, grabbing Pikachu and throwing it to the ground with great force, landing directly in front of Ampharos
"Now, Ampharos! Use Thunder Punch!" Shane ordered.
"Ampharos!" It shouted, throwing an electric covered punch forward, hitting Pikachu and knocking it back a ways. Pikachu started to get up, but then fell to the ground, knocked out.
"What?!" Ash asked.
"I had Ampharos use charge as soon as the smoke went up, powering up its electric attacks." Shane explained.
"Well, that's the last time he's getting away with that! Icicle Crash, Beartic!" I ordered.
"Bear..." It said through the pain, but shrugged it off and repeated its process to make the massive icicles, before flinging them at Ampharos, managing to knock it out.
"No!" Shane said, before giving a small growl. "Aura! Use Force Palm!" He ordered.
"Lu-car-RIO!" It announced, its paw glowing before it thrust it forward at Beartic, slamming into it and knocking it out.
"You did great out there, Beartic. Return." I said, withdrawing it as Shane did the same for Ampharos and Ash quickly recovered Pikachu. "Looks like it's down to you and me with our last Pokemon." I said.
"It certainly seems that way." He said with a nod.
"Well, then. Give it all you've got, Haxorus!" I shouted as I threw the Ultra Ball, releasing the Axe Jaw Pokemon.
"HAX!" It roared upon its release.
Background Music: "You're Going Down" by Sick Puppies
"Alright, Haxorus! Use Dig!" I ordered.
"Haxorus!" It roared before burrowing underground.
"That won't work this time! Aura, sense for Haxorus' aura below ground!" He ordered.
"Lu...Ca...rio..." It said, glowing light blue and its... head... appendage... things... rising up as it sensed out Haxorus' aura.
"Now!" Shane and I shouted at once.
"Car!" Aura exclaimed as it jumped out of the way.
"Rus!" Haxorus snapped as it burst from the ground a second too late to hit Aura.
"Now, Aura! Use Force Palm!" Shane ordered.
"Lu-Car!" It complied, rushing in with glowing palms.
"Counter it with Dragon Claws!" I ordered.
"Hax!" Haxorus roared, its claws glowing blue as it rushed it, the two repeatedly clashing, appearing to be evenly matched.
"This isn't getting us anywhere." Ash said.
"I'm well aware." I said. Eventually, the two briefly pushed against each other, but jumped back after being unable to force the other back.
"Now, use Dragon Pulse!" I ordered.
"Hax-o-RUS!" It roared, firing the beam of Dragon energy at its opponent.
"Aura! Use Copycat!" Shane ordered.
"LUCARIO!" It roared, firing a similar beam from its mouth. The two beams clashed and created another explosion.
"You know what to do." I said just loud enough for Haxorus to hear, not Shane and Lucario.
"Hax." It agreed.
Shane and Aura narrowed their eyes, trying to look through the smoke, but when it cleared, they noticed that Haxorus was gone. "What? Where did it go?" He asked, the two of them looking around, but not seeing the Dragon Type. "Wait!" He suddenly said in realization.
"HAXORUS!" IT shouted and it burst through the ground, slamming into Aura and knocking it back.
"CAR!" It cried out as it was knocked away, rolling a few times to Shane's feet.
"Aura! Are you okay?!" He asked.
"Lucar." It confirmed, starting to get back up.
"Alright then." He said as it got up. "Use Force Palm!" He said.
"Car!" It said, rushing in with its paws glowing.
"Finish this up with Flamethrower" I said.
"HAX!" It roared, spewing flames from its mouth.
"Dodge it and keep going!" Shane ordered.
"Lu! Car! Rio!" It called as it repeatedly moved out of the way of the fire, rushing in towards Haxorus and landing several harsh hits.
"Now, use Return!" Shane ordered.
"Car!" It confirmed, grabbing Haxorus' tail and throwing it over his shoulder, slamming it into the ground hard.
"You can do it, Haxorus! Get up!" I said encouragingly.
"Hax... or..." It groaned, struggling to get up, but managing to get back on two feet.
"Wrap this up with Force Palm!" Shane said.
"Lucario!" It said, rushing in once more.
"Wait for it..." I said. Lucario was about one more bound from striking distance and it took that bound. "Now! Use Flamethrower!" I ordered.
"HAXORUS!" It roared, spewing flames once again. Lucario was too close to dodge this one and took the full hit head on, skidding into the middle of the ring, knocked out.
End Music
"Unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen! The challengers have done it! They defeated the champion! They've won the tournament!" The announcer shouted and the crowd cheered.
Shane sighed, but smiled. "That was excellent, Lucario. Return." He said, withdrawing his last Pokemon before walking up to us. "Ash, Sai, that was incredible. More of a fight than I've had in a long time." He said.
"Same here. That was insane." I said.
"Yeah, Shane. You did a great job raising your Pokemon. You almost beat us." Ash agreed.
"Well, you guys earned the grand prize." Shane said.
"So did you. Feel free to join us. We can invite 2 friends each to the buffet and I'd consider you a friend. I don't have anyone else to invite anyway." I said.
"Uh... Thanks?" He said unsure.
Later...
We were enjoying the buffet along with our Pokemon, sharing stories and laughs, before Ash had a question. "So, Sai, are you gonna be challenging the Pokemon league?" Ash asked.
I thought for a moment, before shaking my head. "Nah. I already beat it once, no need to do it again." I said, leaning back a bit. "No, I think my time in Unova is over. There's another region called Kalos I'm thinking I want to explore." I said, before looking at Shane. "You feel like tagging along? It can get pretty old travelling by yourself sometimes." I said.
"I was actually planning on heading to Kalos myself. Sounds like fun." He said.
And so, after the meal, we prepared to head our separate ways. "Well, I guess I'll see you around sometime, guys." Ash said.
"We'll definitely see each other again. We'll more than likely see each other in Kalos in the future." I said.
"No doubt. None of us can resist an adventure. You'll probably get to Kalos right after we do." Shane said before we turned to leave.
And so, friends departed once again for greater goals, almost promising to meet again in this Kalos region. But only time will tell as the journey continues.