Hello everyone, and welcome to both the new year and a new chapter for Pokemon: Tournament of Champions

From here on out, we'll be having 4 battles a chapter instead of 3 just so we can get it over with, but the (hopeful) epicness will not be deterred. For that reason, I will be tweaking characters as I see fit. Some will be weaker, but a vast majority will be stronger.

Yeah, I know I tend to space out my updates by several months. I get sidetracked a lot. Also, the nicknames for Richie's Pokemon come from Nateman364, author of Chronicles of the Chosen One: Pokemon Master and dragonwolf12, author of The Chosen One's Journey (same author responsible for Ash's new battle cry in this story) If you somehow never read these stories or heard of these guys while browsing the Pokemon section of Fanfiction, then check them out. You won't regret it, I promise you that.

Anyway, here's the next chapter


With the stadium cleaned up and prepped for use once again, Ashley Serene from Twinleaf Town and Shana from Rustboro City made their way to the field.

In the stands, there were a few spectators that seemed particularly drawn to the competitors.

Ashley was around average height for her age, with deep blue eyes, brown hair, a green shirt and jeans. She was certainly cute and had a few spectators looking towards her. However, her looks didn't quite compare to Shana's, and not for typical reasons.

Shana's appearance would put a few people off, since it wasn't something common. Forest green hair, pale skin, red eyes, a white, sleeveless dress and heels, along with the garnet pendant, one would think she was dressed more for a galla instead of a Pokemon battle. What seemed to help was that the look seemed to be natural, instead of having to spend hours on the look. Still, to the perceptive members of the audience, they could tell something was up.

One of those spectators was the infamous "human poacher" Styles Kaizu, whose understanding of Pokemon could only be rivaled by N himself. When he saw Shana go out into the battlefield, he could tell something was up. Something just didn't seem quite human. Oh, sure, she looked, talked, and acted like a typical human, but his instincts told him otherwise, and they tended to not be wrong.

Originally intending to compete, he was forced to drop when that Ketchum kid took out one of his deadlier Pokemon with what looked like no effort at all, and discovered that quite a few people were tailing him. He was no coward, but he knew how to pick his battle and decided a tournament of this magnitude would make him too much a public face for the wrong people, and dropped at the last minute. Ironically, Shana was the one who obtained his spot at the last possible second.

Eclipse was the next one to notice the oddity, having isolated and disguised himself away from the public eye in order to gain information on potential opponents. Just the thought that a pupil of that smug little bastard being a possible foe had made him wonder who else could he be pitted against. Anyway, his years of physical and mental training had made him more adept to his surroundings, and he could tell something just didn't feel right with her. To him, Shana resembled a Gardevoir disturbingly so to the point he thought she was some type of Poke-human.

Ash, Daisuke, and M also had similar thoughts on this, but nothing could be done about it at the moment, so they decided to just watch the battle

"The battle between Ashley Serene of Twinleaf Town and Shana of Rustboro City will now commence. The rules apply as before, battle begin!"

"Do your best, Sceptile!" A familiar Forest Pokemon appeared on the battlefield, poised for battle.

"Pidgeot, let's do this!" The classic evolved Normal/Flying type appeared, taking to the skies for the fight.

"Pidgeot vs Sceptile! Battle begin!"

"Pidgeot, start off with Aerial Ace!"

"Counter with Night Slash!"

Pidgeot's streamlined body quickly dove for the Grass-type, but it quickly blocked with dark blades of energy.

"Now hold it, and hit it with Thunder Punch!"

Sceptile managed to hold the bird in place long enough to swipe at it with electric-infused fists, which made Pidgeot skid across a few feet.

"Now use Screech!" Sceptile let out a loud, booming voice that was extremely painful to the Normal/Flying type, as well as everyone else in the stadium that didn't have some form of protection for their ears. The force of the shockwaves created from the Screech actually sent Pidgeot flying back a couple of feet.

"Try Thunder Punch once more!"

"Counter with Hurricane!"

Sceptile grunted as it charged with a fist infused with electricity, but Pidgeot managed to regain its bearings and generated a massive tornado, which sucked in the Forest Pokemon, and started cutting it up due to the high speeds and force of the wind. When it ended, Sceptile fell to the ground and made a crater in the battlefield. It crawled out a few moments later, but it was in pretty rough shape

"Sceptile, are you alright?!" Shana yelled in concern. Sceptile nodded in the affirmative, even though its body said otherwise.

Shana didn't want to risk it, and recalled Sceptile for a new Pokemon

"Do your best, Gardevoir!" Shana's next Pokemon was essentially a clone of the trainer, which only added to some suspicion amongst a specific few

"Pidgeot, use Air Slash!"

"Send them back with Psychic!"

Disks of highly compressed spinning air were shot towards the Embrace Pokemon, who "caught" them with Psychic powers and returned them at twice the speed before, assuring the attack hit without a doubt

"End this with Moonblast!" A sphere of Fairy-type power was quickly launched at the dazed bird before anyone had time to react, and Pidgeot was brought down

"Pidgeot is unable to battle, Gardevoir is the winner!"

"What a match! Just when you think Shana's gonna lose a Pokemon, she pulls it out and secures a quick victory!"

"Return, Pidgeot. You did a great job. Now, Rhyperior, let's do this!"

Ashley's next Pokemon was a very large and very bulky bipedal Pokemon that was mostly earthy gray with dark orange plates surrounding it like armor. It also had two drills on its head.

"Rhyperior vs Gardevoir! Battle begin!"

"Return, Gardevoir!" Shana recalled the Embrace Pokemon "Now do your best, Sceptile!" The familiar Forest Pokemon appeared once more, still sporting injuries from battling Pidgeot

"Rhyperior, use Rock Polish!" The Drill Pokemon's armor began to glow a dark shade of red. "Now use Megahorn!"

"Sceptile, dodge and use Energy Ball!"

Rhyperior's massive boost in speed proved to be quite a shock for quite a few audience members, as well as Shana and Sceptile, who was distracted enough to be hit.

"End it with Poison Jab!"

Rhyperior's claws started oozing a rather deadly poison that were suddenly embedded in Sceptile's abdomen. Sceptile was down.

"Sceptile is unable to battle, Rhyperior is the winner!"

"Sceptile goes down without landing even a single blow, and in just two hits! That Rock Polish really did wonders for Rhyperior's speed, not to mention that immense power! How's Shana going to recover from this one!" said the announcer

"Do your best, Gardevoir!" Shana called as the Embrace Pokemon appeared once more. It was a risk, and something she really didn't want to do, but that Rhyperior had to go down somehow. 'I'm sorry for this'

"Rhyperior vs Gardevoir! Battle Begin!"

"Rhyperior, use Earthquake!"

"Use Protect!"

The stadium started to shake with such ferocity that the battlefield broke apart as the shockwave were sent all across the field, much like when Eclipse's Snorlax used it against Orange's Registeel. This time though, many were prepared for this Earthquake (*coughdaisukecough*) and had a Pokemon use Protect to halt off the shaking, including Gardevoir and her trainer, keeping the impact and shockwaves away until it settled.

After the shock waves subsided, and the shields were lowered, Shana decided to act now.

"Use Moonblast!" A sphere of fairy aura quickly shot at the Drill Pokemon, but couldn't so much as put a dent in its defense

"Rock Polish one more time, and then use Swords Dance and Poison Jab to end this!"

Rhyperior's armor glowed red once more as its speed gained a massive boost. Then, it's arms took on a dark purple hue, with its elbows now resembling the tip of the sword, and its hands the hilt. It then made an even faster dash towards Gardevoir than Sceptile, poised to end the battle.

"Quick, try to use Substitute!" Shana cried out. Gardevoir was then struck and cried out in pain, but then it vanished revealing a Pokemon plush toy in its place. The real thing was quite the distance away from its foe, panting at how quickly it had to made the substitute.

"Sorry, but I won't let you use that trick again. Rhyperior, use Sandstorm!" Ashley said with a bit of a smile. A massive sandstorm kicked up and surrounded the battlefield, impeding the vision of both battlers, as well as Gardevoir. Rhyperior however, was quite at home in this environment. Here, it was the king.

"Now, let's try this again. Rhyperior, use Poison Jab!" This time the Poison Jab managed to hit the real thing, and not a substitute. The sandstorm still raged on, but Gardevoir had essentially flew out of the storm and beside its trainer, out cold.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle! Rhyperior is the winner!"

"Rhyperior is two-for-two, having beaten both Shana's Sceptile and Gardevoir, with next to no effort! Unless her next Pokemon has a few tricks up its sleeves, Shana's done for!"

"Don't think for a second this battle is over! So long as my Pokemon are willing to fight, then I won't quit!" Shana said with determination, having Ashley nod with approval

"Do your best, Lucario!"

Shana's last Pokemon (and perhaps hope) was an all too familiar blue jackal with spikes on its chest and back of the hands.

"And that's not it. Now, Lucario show everyone the power of our bond! Mega Evolve!" Shana declared as she gripped her pendant, which upon closer evaluation showed it was holding a Key Stone

Lucario's body was enveloped in a cocoon of violet energy, which dispersed after a few seconds. Now, it had more spikes on its paws and legs, which turned crimson in color, thicker fur, and the feelers on the back of its head also grew longer, at least double in size!

"Lucario, use Calm Mind, then Extreme Speed into Power-Up Punch!"

Lucario entered a state of mental tranquility, clearing any doubt and uncertainty that lingered. Then, it sped off towards Rhyperior, and with a dark orange glowing fist, struck it across the face

"Keep it up! Don't give an inch!"

Lucario kept on striking the Rhyperior again and again, with each strike getting stronger than the last, and the Rock Solid ability becoming less and less effective by the second

"Grab it, then use Horn Drill!"

"Use Metal Sound, then Close Combat to get away!"

Lucario emitted a high pitched, metallic whine that made Rhyperior dizzy and would've caused its ears to bleed if not for its reinforced body structure. Still, both Rhyperior and its trainer became distracted by the noise. Then, Lucario started striking with a flurry of rapid punches and kicks backed with a lot of power. After Lucario was done and away from Rhyperior, the latter stood woozily and looked like a feather would bring it down.

"End this with Aura Sphere!" The well known azure sphere of Fighting energy manifested itself and struck Rhyperior true. After such a flurry of ferocious moves by a Mega Pokemon, Rhyperior was down and out.

"Rhyperior is unable to battle! The winner is Lucario!"

"Ladies and gentleman the tables have turned! Now Rhyperior is the one unable to land a single hit as it is knocked out by the deadly Aura Pokemon! It looks like Shana still has a chance to move on, if she can defeat Ashley's last Pokemon!"

'Not likely, considering this Pokemon is one of my most powerful. It'll bring down that Lucario, Mega Evolution or not.' Ashley thought with confidence. "Now Dragonite, let's do this!" Ashley's final Pokemon was large (like Rhyperior was) and had mostly orange scales with a cream underbelly. It had two, very small wings that seemed useless to lift a Pokemon of such a large size, as well as two antennae and a small horn with blue eyes.

"Dragonite vs Lucario! Let the final battle begin!"

"Lucario, use Bulk Up and Calm Mind!" A red menacing aura surrounded Lucario, boosting Attack and Defense, though at this point only Defense was being affected, since Lucario's Attack power had been maxed out from all those Power-Up Punches, and its Defense had been lost to Close Combat. Now, it's Defense and Sp. Def had been boosted, along with Sp. Atk.

"Dragonite, Dragon Dance, Bulk Up and Hone Claws!" Dragonite became cloaked in a combination of many differently colored auras, each boosting a different stat.

"It looks like neither trainer is wasting time as they're increasing the power behind their Pokemon quite a bit! Seems like both of them want this match to end as quickly as possible!" said the announcer

"Dragonite/Lucario use ExtremeSpeed!" Both trainers commanded, as their Pokemon became invisible to the naked eye as they exchanged blow after blow.

"Lucario, mix it up with Metal Claw!" Lucario's hand spikes turned into razor sharp, metallic claws

"Counter with Fire Punch!" Dragonite's hands became covered in fire as both it and Lucario continued to exchange blows. Even with the added moves though, neither Pokemon looked like it was doing any progress.

"When you can, break it and use Rain Dance!" Ashley commanded. Soon, Dragonite found the opportunity to send Lucario away from itself and sent a ball of water to the sky, bringing in a rainstorm

"Now Dragonite, use Thunder!" Dragonite's horn was now cackling with a very powerful current of electricity, which with the current rainstorm, couldn't miss

"Lucario, use Detect to keep away!" Lucario's eyes started glowing as it managed to dodge the deadly current of electricity the only way available to it at the moment; by jumping back, and then up as it struck the entire battlefield.

Unfortunately, that left it wide open to attacks from Dragonite now that Detect was no longer in effect

"Use another Thunder, then use Dragon Rush to end it if it's still standing!" Dragonite shot another blast of electricity towards the Mega Lucario, who was still stuck in midair with nowhere to go, and no means to dodge now.

As it fell to the ground, its fur singed and body giving off static electricity, Lucario was looking like total crap right now, and it was also struggling to get up with a determined look on its face, to not lose to its opponent. Shana couldn't take her eyes off of her Pokemon, clearly in such pain but repressing it and willing itself to continue forward despite everything. Truly, Shana couldn't have asked for more loyal Pokemon.

Dragonite, however, was covered in Dragon-type aura, making a nosedive for the paralyzed Pokemon, and struck the Aura Pokemon for the last time. Lucario's Mega Evolution had ended, which meant two things.

Lucario was down, and Shana was done. On a completely unrelated note, the rain clouds had finally dispersed.

"Lucario is unable to battle! Dragonite is the winner, and victory goes to Ashley Serene of Twinleaf Town!"

"Incredible ladies and gentlemen. What a truly grand and impressive display between two talented trainers who gave it their all in this exciting match!" said the announcer who had the audience pumped with excitement from the match

"Hey Shana. That was awesome back there. We should battle again sometime!" Ashley called out

"Yes, we should. I'll look forward to it, Ashley!" Shana replied

Up in the stands, Orange couldn't help but be happy for his childhood friend. Yes, he was still miffed about that crushing defeat from that mystery trainer, Eclipse, but even that couldn't stop the small smile from coming to his face after seeing his friend win her match.


"Wow, that Dragonite was just so cool!" Iris squealed in excitement. Despite having become the Gym Leader of the Opelucid City Gym, she was still excited seeing Dragon types battle. "I mean, not as great as mine, but still." she said afterwards, as if reassuring her own Dragonite which had probably heard Iris' previous statement

"Still, what was up with that Shana girl? Something just seemed off about her, but what?" Ash asked

"Nice to know I'm not the only one who thought so." M replied

"What are you two talking about?" May asked

"It's just a little strange how much she looks like and even feels more like a Gardevoir than a human." M replied

"Yeah, I mean didn't you guys notice anything at all?" Ash asked. It was a little weird to be the one asking that question after years of being on the receiving end of it

"Well whatever it is, it's best not to dwell on that, and rather focus on Sage and Nando's upcoming battle." Crystal replied

"Oh yeah, Sage's battling Nando! Man, I can't wait to see this one!" Ash said with excitement

"Raichu rai!"

"You said it!" replied Meowth

After Ashley and Shana left the battlefield, and it had been repaired once more, Nando and Sage entered the arena.

"Ah, Ms. Scott. So we finally have our chance to battle. I hope that this battle will bring joy for the both of us." said Nando in his usual calm and polite tone

"Well that depends, if you can keep up with me." Sierra replied with a confident smirk

"Being the significant other to Ash means you're by no means a pushover. But then again, neither am I. Now, let me demonstrate the battle style I have developed through years of coordinating and battling." Nando replied with a hint of excitement

"The battle between Sierra "Sage" Scott of Shadow City and Nando Naoshi of Michina Town will now commence. The rules as stated before still apply. Battle begin!"

"I believe it's ladies first, Ms. Scott." offered Nando, which caused Sierra to emit a rather creepy giggle before sending out a Hitmonchan

"So that's your first Pokemon. Then allow me; Altaria, let your voice be heard!" Nando shouted as the Humming Pokemon appeared, ready to battle

"Hitmonchan vs Altaria! Battle begin!"

"Hitmonchan, start off with Stone Edge!" A ring of stones surrounded Hitmonchan before being fired at the Humming Pokemon

"Altaria, please use Protect, and then use Sing." Nando said in a calm and polite tone as a green shield surrounded it. The ring of stones struck the green shield, but could do nothing as it held firm and true. When the barrage was over and the shield lowered, Altaria started to sing and sent the conjured music notes towards Hitmonchan

"Hitmonchan, use Close Combat to break away the notes!" The Punching Pokemon started to use rapid-fire punches to break apart the musical notes as they came. Unfortunately for Hitmonchan, they started circling around it and closed in, causing it to fall asleep. "Hitmonchan!" Sage cried out

"Now Altaria, use Moonblast, and then Aerial Ace to end it." Nando commanded, as a sphere of Fairy aura manifested and shot towards the sleeping Hitmonchan and made a direct hit. Then, Altaria flew towards the still sleeping Pokemon, surrounded by a "streamline" of sorts, and struck with the Super-effective move. Hitmonchan was sent crashing into the wall as a result.

"Hitmonchan!" Sage called out as the dust cloud started to disperse. It showed Hitmonchan was finally awake, albeit badly damaged

"Great job! Now let's use Counter infused with Ice Punch!" Hitmonchan's fists became cloaked in an icy aura as the rest of its body was surrounded by red aura

"Use Protect and Cotton Guard, Altaria. Then use one more Moonblast, if you would." Altaria became surrounded by another shield of nigh-impenetrable power. Then, cotton balls started emerging from its wings and surrounded it, increasing Altaria's defense to incredible levels

Sage smirked, expecting Nando to try something like that. "Mix it in with a Feint!" That caused Nando to let out a small gasp of surprise

"Now Hitmonchan's fists took on an even lighter sheen of color, and punched straight through the Protect. It wasn't done though, as it proceeded to use the other fist to land a devastating blow to Altaria, packing over double the damage thanks to the 4x effective Ice Punch. The durable cotton shield shattered as a result of the attack, but it's also what kept it from being a One-Hit-K.O.

"Use Mach Punch to end this!" Sage shouted

"Counter with Sing, Altaria!" Nando replied urgently. Hitmonchan managed to land that final swift punch that brought down Altaria, but still fell asleep as a result.

"Altaria is unable to battle! Hitmonchan is the winner!" stated the ref

"Well done, Altaria. You battled spectacularly." Nando said

"You held really held out there Hitmonchan." Sage said as she recalled Hitmonchan, recognizing the futility in keeping him in battle as he was

"You're quite the opponent, Ms. Sage. However, this battle is far from over, and I am just starting to become serious." said Nando

"That makes two of us, and I'm glad to know that. It wouldn't be much of a battle otherwise. Now Armaldo, let your strength be known!" Nando's next Pokemon was the "extinct" Plate Pokemon

Sage simply let out another creepy giggle before letting out a Spiritomb

"Armaldo vs Spiritomb! Battle begin!"

"Armaldo, please use Rock Blast." A cluster of large boulders surrounded Armaldo before being launched at Spiritomb

"Use Sucker Punch!" Spiritomb quickly sped up to Armaldo and "punched" it before either trainer or Pokemon could react. However, the rocks still struck

"Spiritomb, use Confuse Ray!" Spiritomb's body began glowing with a bluish purple aura before it was released in massive waves around the battlefield

"Armaldo, use Protect, and then X-Scissor." Armaldo shielded itself, waiting out the Confuse Ray. Then, its claws glowed with Bug-type energy as it made the proper motion for the attack

"Use another Sucker Punch!" Armaldo was once again "punched" by Spiritomb before it was struck by the X-Scissor

"Now use Hypnosis!" Spiritomb's eyes glowed for a second before Armaldo fell asleep

"Oh no, Armaldo!" Nando said with concern

"Now use Dream Eater and end this!" Sage declared as Spiritomb launched a spectral image of itself towards the sleeping Pokemon

"Armaldo, use Sleep Talk!" Nando declared as Armaldo's claws glowed with power once more. This time it was with poison. The attacks met with enough force to kick up a dust cloud, which quickly cleared to show Spiritomb unconscious, with Armaldo barely standing

"Spiritomb is unable to battle! Armaldo is the winner!"

"You did well, Spiritomb. Take a nice long rest." Sage said as she recalled her downed Pokemon 'Hopefully Hitmonchan has recovered enough for this.' she thought as she threw Hitmonchan's Pokeball to the field

"And it looks like Sage is letting Hitmonchan take the field once more, though it isn't looking so well." stated the announcer. It was obvious Hitmonchan was off far worse than first expected, he was still panting heavily, covered in bruising all around his torso.

'Hopefully he has enough energy for one final attack' she thought. "Hitmonchan, let's end this one with a Mega Punch, max power!"

"Armaldo, use X-Scissor, max power!" Nando replied as both Pokemon struck one another with their respective moves and one another

"Both Hitmonchan and Armaldo are unable to battle!"

Sage and Nando recalled their Pokemon, giving praise for their hard work, before staring one another down.

"All or nothing, right Nando?" Sage smirked "It would seem so, Ms. Scott"

"Lopunny, let your elegance be known/(creepy giggle) Sableye"

both declared as their final Pokemon emerged; Lopunny from a Pokeball, and Sableye from inside her hoodie, not unlike Daisuke's Gliscor.

"Lopunny vs Sableye! Let the final battle begin!"

"Lopunny, use Foresight!" Nando called out, as Sableye's Ghost-typing became negated for the duration of the battle

"Sableye, use Psychic!" Sableye's eyes glowed with psychic energy, enveloping Lopunny and sent her flying into the wall. "Keep up the pressure with Dark Pulse!" Rings of dark energy were sent towards Lopunny, who just emerged from the wall

"Lopunny, use Ice Beam." Lopunny fired a frozen beam of icy energy at the rings of dark energy, meeting in the middle causing another explosion.

"Lopunny, use Focus Blast." an intense sphere of fighting energy formed between its paws, and launched towards Sableye

"Try to use Confuse Ray to throw off its aim." Sage replied. Sableye's eyes started to glow as they let off a wave of psychic energy, which succeeded in confusing Lopunny. However, this happened only after the Focus Blast was launched. Even worse though, was that it struck Sableye due to the Foresight used earlier. The attack looked like it did a high amount of damage, and Sage looked a little worried there. Out of the corner of her eye though, she could see her older brother figure of sorts give her an ever so slight nod.

A signal to hurry and end it now

Sage nodded back, and looked back towards Sableye, who was starting to get back up from the Focus Blast. They both shared a quick look with one another and knew it was time.

"Now Sableye, use Hypnosis, then Dream Eater!"

"Lopunny, dodge quickly!" Nando commanded with anxiety, but Sableye's eyes glowed for a few seconds as Lopunny succumbed to sleep. Then, Sableye launched a spector version of itself towards the sleeping Pokemon, dealing quite a bit of damage to the now awakened Pokemon, who was now feeling too weak to do much of anything.

"End this with Focus Punch!" Sage commanded, as Sableye more or less leaped towards the shaky rabbit-like Pokemon before delivering an intense punch to its abdomen

"Lopunny is unable to battle! Sableye is the winner, and victory goes to Sage Scott of Shadow City!"

"Alright Sableye, we won!" Sage cried out with happiness as she hugged her strongest, and her favorite Pokemon, who reciprocated the gesture

"Quite an intense match, Ms. Scott. I don't believe I have ever experienced such a close match before."

"Same to you, we might have to battle again some time soon."

"I look forward to it." Nando gave a slight bow after a quick handshake


"Woah, I thought Nando might've had that had one." Dawn said, with Piplup chirping in agreement

"I don't think so." replied Daisuke

"Why not?"

"Sage has the rather nasty habit of playing around in her battles. She lets on her opponents into thinking that their attacks and strategies are actually working, then she'll turn around and crush them like they were rookies."

"But that's not fair! She's practically lying and having her Pokemon fake injuries to trick her opponents! Isn't that cheating?!" Max questioned with some heat

"She doesn't have her Pokemon fake injuries, as you proclaim. Rather she'll just battle like an average trainer before stepping up her game and cornering her foes. It's not illegal, and it's not even unfair. If trainers can't learn to adapt and change strategy when need they need to, a loss is the only thing to be expected."

Max looked around for some form of support, but no one was willing to have his back on this one. Not even Ash, who despite smiling at the fact his girlfriend won that match, was in full support of Daisuke's statement. Understandable, considering Ash operated like that long before he decided to go away and train his Pokemon.

No more was said on the matter as it was time for the next match; Ginji vs Rafe

"Alright, I'm finally up! Wish me luck guys!" he said as he took off for the stadium's battlefield

"He acts like a little kid, too." Iris deadpanned

"It's more like he prefers to do everything with a passion. It's his own little motto in life; 'If you're gonna do something, do it with gusto!' Crystal said with a slight giggle. She was the first person he ever said that to back when they were younger, and even then couldn't help but find his enthusiasm a little contagious


"The following battle between Rafe of South City and Ginji from Vulcan City will now commence. All aforementioned rules apply, battle begin!"

"Let's go, Bisharp!" Rafe called out as the Unovan Steel/Dark type emerged, to which Ginji gave a slight smirk. This was one Pokemon he had plenty of experience with.

"Alright Darmanitan, let's heat things up!" Ginji sent out the Fire-type Unovan Pokemon

"Bisharp vs. Darmanitan! Battle begin!"

"Darmanitan, start off with Focus Energy and Work Up!" Darmanitan surrounded itself with what could only be described as a highly aggressive and excited aura of power

"Bisharp, use Swords Dance and Focus Energy, followed by Guillotine!" Bisharp's aura was mostly focused within its blade-arms, which gave off a sort of magenta color, mixing the purple and red auras. Bisharp then dashed towards Darmanitan ready to deliver the one-hit K.O

"Darmanitan, use Double Team, then use Fire Punch!"

Darmanitan made pseudo-duplicates all around Bisharp, who was forced to stop its advance since it couldn't discern the real from the fake. The fakes eventually dispersed, and Bisharp realized the real one was behind it. It had only a second to turn around before a fiery fist sent it flying across the battlefield.

"Bisharp, are you alright?!" Rafe cried out, to which Bisharp nodded. Rafe smiled for a second before resuming his attempted onslaught "Bisharp, use Rain Dance!" Bisharp formed a ball of water and shot it into the sky, causing it to rain.

"A little rain won't stop us!" Ginji declared, with Darmanitan backing him.

"We'll see. Bisharp, use Scary Face, then use Slash! A phantasmal image of Bisharp appeared in the background, trying to scare Darmanitan so much it wouldn't move. At the very least Darmanitan stiffened up. Bisharp then launched towards Darmanitan and delivered a devastating...well slash across its chest, sending it flying across the battlefield this time.

"Darmanitan!" Ginji cried out in concern

"Bisharp, use Guillotine once more!"

"Use Hammer Arm!" Ginji declared as Bisharp was poised to cut down Darmanitan and end the match. However, Darmanitan had raised its arm, brimming with power, and promptly brought it down full force. When the dust settled, Bisharp wasn't only down, but its armor also had some dents in it.

"Bisharp is unable to battle! Darmanitan is the winner!"

"Darmanitan takes home the first victory, although it may have gone a little overboard!"

"Sorry about that! Darmanitan can get a little rowdy like that!" Ginji shouted, with Darmanitan nodding its head with a sorrowful expression.

"The damage to Bisharp's armor isn't anything serious, so it'll be okay after a trip to the Pokemon Center." Rafe said as he returned the battered Pokemon "Still, you gotta pay for that last one. Let's go, Whiscash!" Rafe's next Pokemon was the Water/Ground Whiskers Pokemon from Hoenn

"Darmanitan, how's about we let them in on a little secret technique of your's?" Ginji asked rhetorically, with Darmanitan all for it. "Use Calm Mind!"

Darmanitan closed its eyes and cleared its mind of all the hyper-anxiety and steadied its racing heartbeat as it was outlined by a light blue aura. However, it was then surrounded by it, and appeared to be evolving. However, it was only entering its Zen Mode.

"Surprised? My Darmanitan can enter Zen Mode just by clearing its mind and steadying its body's energy."

"Not bad, though it won't do you or Darmanitan much good here. Whiscash, use Muddy Water!" A wave of said attack went for the statued Darmanitan

"Use Psychic to return it!" The statue's eyes glowed as it returned the attack

"Ice Beam!" The Muddy Water was frozen into a large wave of ice "Get in close and use Aqua Tail!"

"Use Protect!" Whiscash broke through the iceberg it made and smashed a tail surrounded by high-pressure water into a barrier. Rafe smirked at that. Whiscash was in the prime spot to end the battle.

"Use Mud Bomb!"

"Darmanitan, try and use Protect once more!" Darmanitan just barely managed to raise another barrier to save it from another super-effective attack. Still Rafe wasn't concerned

"Now, end this with Fissure!"

"Oh no, Darmanitan!" A large split in the earth suddenly opened under Darmanitan, releasing an immensely large amount of pent up energy, effectively knocking out the Zen Pokemon.

"Darmanitan is unable to battle! Whiscash is the winner!"

"And Rafe manages to make one heck of a comeback! How will Ginji make his own comeback!"

Ginji returned Darmanitan with words of appreciation for its hard work, and pulled out his next choice, although he seemed reluctant to use it. 'Please let him have recovered like promised!' "Alright Breloom, let's heat things up!"


"Did he just say Breloom!?" Crystal asked with complete shock

"Yep. He wanted Breloom to be in top fighting shape for the tournament so he asked me to, more or less, heal up Breloom." Daisuke replied

"How long ago did Breloom have the 'surgery?' " she scathed at 'surgery'

"I started around five months prior to the tournament itself, with three weeks of recuperation and a week's time of physical therapy." Daisuke calmly replied, disregarding the scathing look of his friend at "surgery." Hey, people could argue with his unorthodox and highly risky methods (which just happen to show disregard for any living thing) but it always showed incredible and undeniable results, in both the good and bad sense of the word. He could tell everyone had a lot of questions to ask, but now was certainly not the time.


Back on the field, the Mushroom Pokemon appeared on the field, sporting a noticeable number of scars from the intense training and battles it had faced in its quest to stand at the top.

The audience and Rafe couldn't but either gasp, widen their eyes in shock, or do both. Clearly they hadn't expected to see a Pokemon in this type of condition, and the first thoughts that ran through everyone's minds ranged from "How did that Pokemon end up like that?" to "What did that trainer do to that poor Pokemon?" and even "That trainer is so f#%* when I get my hands on him." (courtesy of Styles)

Both Breloom and Ginji could feel all eyes on them, and they couldn't really care. However, to save both of them the typical hassle that would be associated with such scarring on a Pokemon, Ginji opted to remove the shirt he was wearing, revealing that he too possessed a great deal of scars on his torso,inadvertently giving the female members (and some of the males) of the audience some good eye-candy. To his friends though, they knew what this meant (although Crystal wished they would stop ogling her boyfriend)

"I know what you're all thinking, and to honest I really don't care. Me, Breloom, and all of my Pokemon understand what it means to climb your way to the top. What might and might not happen along the way. I didn't care, Breloom doesn't care, and none of my Pokemon do either. We all knew if we were gonna aim for the top of the world, we were gonna have to give it everything we had. We did that and so much more with our own gusto! To us, it's always been about achieving your dreams by putting it all on the line, and doing with as much gusto as we could!" Ginji exclaimed, finishing with a bit of what could be described as an idiotic smirk, with Breloom backing him 100%. At the end of Ginji's little speech, the audience had gotten riled up and excited from the passion in his words. Crystal couldn't but sigh and give a small smile of her own. It seemed like he said those same words to her all those years ago when they were just rookie trainers

"Well Ginji has certainly spoken for himself on this one! Let's see if Ginji's "gusto" let's him go all the way!"

"Whiscash vs Breloom! Battle begin!"

"Whiscash, use Ice Beam!" a beam of frozen energy was shot towards Breloom.

"Breloom, dodge and use Seed Bomb!" Breloom dodged with incredible speed for its species, and launched exploding seeds at the Whiskers Pokemon.

"Use Ice Beam to freeze the seeds!" This time the Ice Beam froze the bombs that were launched at it, causing them to shatter in mid air. "Now let's get in close, use Zen Headbutt!" Whiscash's head started glowing a light blue color as it sped towards Breloom, poised to counterattack.

'Wait for it...now!' "Breloom, use Counter!" Breloom became outlined in an orange-red aura that, after Whiscash collided with, sent it flying straight back into the wall, with swirly eyes.

"Whiscash is unable to battle. Breloom is the winner!"

"How about that! It looks like all that "gusto" landed Ginji back in the lead!"

"Impressive using Counter to deflect Whiscash's attack like that. I'm pretty sure it would've dealt massive damage, if not outright knocked Breloom out, if Zen Headbutt connected." Rafe said, mildly impressed with Ginji's strategy

"Thanks! Breloom and I are always practicing new moves and strategies." Ginji replied with some enthusiasm, with Breloom backing him all the way

"So it seems. It also looks like I can't hold back, even as early as the first round. Let's end this, Blaziken!" Rafe's starter and most powerful Pokemon emerged, more than ready to fight. Ginji could tell this Blaziken was high leveled, not as much as Sierra's, but damn near close to. He also took note of the accessory holding Blaziken's Mega Stone.

Still, he, Breloom, and all of his other Pokemon have faced worse odds, and continuously struggled to reach the top. He couldn't let this intimidate him.

"It doesn't matter what Pokemon you use! We'll still find a way to win!" Ginji claimed

"Blaziken vs Breloom! Battle begin!"

"Blaziken, use Flamethrower!" a torrent of fire shot out its mouth towards Breloom

"Counter it with Stone Edge!" a ring of stones surrounded Breloom before they shot off towards the torrent of fire, hoping to stop it. (Un)fortunately the fire's heat and power were so intense that the stones melted and struck Breloom.

"Breloom, no!" Ginji cried out as Breloom got back up, burns covering a good portion of its body. Now that it was finally up, a quick burst of fire suddenly struck Breloom, and forced it to one knee. Ginji, at first, thought it was just a side-effect of the burn. However, upon closer inspection, could see that old wounds were starting to open up, literally. Ginji had a really bad feeling about this, and something told him it wasn't just the Flamethrower from Blaziken that was responsible, even though it did play a part of it.

"Breloom, return!"

"And Ginji decides to recall Breloom! It appears that all that "gusto" just wasn't enough!" the announcer said, though if you listen closely, it sounded like a combination of smugness and amusement coming from his voice (in a bad way of course)

"I'm surprised. I thought someone with your mentality and attitude would've let your Pokemon decide to keep going or not. It's so strikingly similar to Ash's personality when I faced him in the Battle Tower years ago."

"Breloom can't fight anymore, so there's no reason to force it to keep going. I'm not going to jeapordize its health just because it's too stubborn. It's always been Breloom's bad habit, and if means being a little selfish and hypocritical to keep it from pushing his body like that, then I'll be those things!"

"Well said, but let's hope your next Pokemon isn't as handicapped." Rafe said cockily, which prompted Ginji to develop a bit of a stress mark

"Trust me, this next Pokemon will be more than enough. Gyarados, let's heat things up!" Ginji's final Pokemon was the infamous Atrocious Pokemon incredibly well known for its rampaging and destruction.

"Gyarados vs. Blaziken! Battle begin!"

"Blaziken, use Flamethrower!" a hot stream of fire was fired towards the Atrocious Pokemon

"Gyarados, use Hydro Pump!" an intense, and highly pressurized, stream of water shot out of Gyarados' mouth, easily tearing through the fire, and sending Blaziken into the wall. Rafe scowled slightly at how easily Blaziken was overpowered, type advantage or not. It looks like he was going to have to bring out his hidden ace. Tapping the Mega Ring under his sleeve, it started to resonate with the Blazikenite attached to his Blaziken. A violet cocoon of energy surrounded Blaziken, kicking up yet another pseudo windstorm. When both the cocoon and the wind dispersed, it showed Blaziken's Mega Evolved form.

"Now, Mega Blaziken, show them your new strength with Thunder Punch!" Blaziken's fist cackled with electricity as it dashed towards Gyarados faster than it or it's trainer could comprehend, and punched Gyarados so hard it left an imprint in the wall. To make it worse, it was now paralyzed.

"Now Blaziken, end this with Blast Burn!"

"Gyarados, use Rest and Sleep Talk!"

Blaziken became surrounded by an intense fire before punching the ground, sending it below ground and towards Gyarados in an intense fiery explosion. When the smoked cleared, it showed a green barrier surrounding Gyarados. The Sleep Talk had lead to Protect being used, which was fortunate enough. However, the barrier shattered without warning, and revealed that Gyarados was covered in severe burns. Had it not been for the Protect, Gyarados would've been done for.

"Gyarados, use Sleep Talk once more!" Hopefully it would work out in Ginji's favor.

However this time the move was Crunch. Not only was it not effective, but it put Gyarados right next the the Mega Blaziken.

"Blaziken, time to end this. Use Thunder Punch once more!" Blaziken's attack struck once more as Gyarados was sent into the air. "Now use Blaze Kick!" Blaziken's foot ignited as it leapt into the air, and kicked Gyarados straight back down, leaving behind a burning footprint.

"Gyarados is unable to battle! Blaziken is the winner!"

"Outstanding everyone! Rafe manages to come out on top despite the severe type disadvantage! With such a powerhouse as one of his Pokemon, Rafe might be a strong contender for the top!"

'Not likely.' thought every other competitor

"Since Gyarados is out, then I'm out!" Ginji declared, surprising everyone. "Breloom is in no condition to battle anymore, and my other two Pokemon have already been defeated, so there's no point in battling anymore. I forfeit!"

"Since his opponent has forfeited the match, Rafe from South City is declared the winner!" stated the referee

"Looks like Ginji's gusto just couldn't pull through on this one." said the announcer. You could hear the mocking tone clearer this time, and it starting to grate on a lot of people's nerves

'Insufferable jackass. What I wouldn't give to crack his jaw open just so he'd shut up.' Crystal thought

"Anyway, it looks like the nighttime sky is finally approaching. We'll be taking an extended break to allow everyone to stretch and refresh themselves, and resume later on with a couple of more matches before retiring for the night.


After everyone left the stadium and returned to their hotels, Daisuke was looking over Breloom's condition in an isolated location, with Ginji looking over his shoulder donning a worried expression.

'Looks like Breloom's body is rejecting the treatment. If things keep going like this, Ginji might have no choice but to bring it to either Summers or McKnight. I wouldn't trust any of our Pokemon with Välschwitz as far as a newborn could throw Groudon.'

XXXXXXXXX

Typically the idiom is "I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him." However, considering Daisuke could throw the decrepit old man quite a ways, the idiom needed some revision here.

XXXXXXXXX

While Daisuke was working on Breloom (and forcing Ginji to leave so he could focus) Ash decided to research and see what kinds of Pokemon Ritchie had caught since he last saw him, and considering the last time he saw Ritchie was back in Johto, it had been quite a while.

Anyway, Ash saw Ritchie had a whole plethora of new Pokemon from all over. From Hoenn to Sinnoh, and even from out of the way places such as Kalos and Unova.

Some of Ritchie's new Pokemon included a Rhyperior, a Tauros, a Swellow, a Bellossom, an Absol, an Espeon, Sliggoo, Pyroar, Gogoat, Floatzel, Ambipom, Seismitoad, Scrafty, and a lot of others. What made it even more impressive was this was all added on from some of his other Pokemon, including Sparky, his Raichu (who Ash had found out had evolved after they had met up in the Pokemon Center to catch up) his Zippo (full evolved) Happy, Cruise (fully evolved) Horus (Pidgeot, Nateman364) Clutch (the Tentacool, fully evolved) Ace (the Spearow-evolved-Fearow. Someone else made up that nickname) as well as a whole cluster of other Pokemon.

Long story short, there was no way to predict which Pokemon Ritchie would end up using for his battle. Still, Ash was pretty confident he would come out on top. After all, he did spend three years in training to prepare for the real challenges of this world, and the team he had on him consisted of some of his most experienced Pokemon, in addition to balanced types.

With these thoughts in mind, he decided to go over last minute strategies for his battle.

After the extended break was up and everyone was feeling refreshed, they returned to the main stadium where they awaited the first battle of the night life. For those unfortunate enough to not be in person themselves match was still being broadcasted, for 3700 Pokedollars of course.

Ash and Ritchie took their respective sides on the battlefield, their Raichu's (and Ash's new Meowth) staring at each other (Sparky still retained the sticking up tuff of hair), with spectators still eager to watch another exciting match up, especially Ash's friends and even rivals.


"I can't believe it's finally Ash's turn. I never thought they would get to it." Max said with excitement

"I know what you mean. With all of these battles, it certainly felt like it was taking forever for Ash's turn." Brock replied

"So Brock, how do you think this battle will turn out?" Misty asked with curiosity "I mean things didn't exactly play out in Ash's favor the last time these two battled."

"Yeah, but that was when Ash's Charizard was still disobedient, and his Pokemon were tired from dealing with Team Rocket at the time. Now, Ash is more experienced, with a fully rested team this time."

"Think he'll use Meowth for this battle?" Misty asked

"Who knows? He might, but whatever Pokemon Ash decides to use, they'll be ready to take on any challenge in their way."

"It's the same deal with this Ritchie kid though." replied Rebecca, looking at her laptop while suddenly joining in on the conversation "He's got an impressive team of Pokemon as well, and if he really is more or less Ash's twin, then it's going to be a really tough match here." she finished. As she was looking at Ash's profile, she noticed quite a few question marks where the Pokemon's image should be. When she tried clicking on them, all she got were question marks for image, stats, moves, everything. She wondered why this was happening, but figured she could try and harass Ash later for answers.

"You forgot something though." Ryan spoke up, something that surprised everyone since they forgot Ash's new friends were there as well. "Ash went through three years of hell in order to make himself and his Pokemon strong enough to take on League Champions, and perhaps even the legendary Pokemon Trainer Red himself."

Ash's old friends looked towards each other, all wondering the same thing: just how much stronger did Ash get if they were saying such a thing with confidence?


"I've been waiting for this one, Ash." Ritchie said

"The same here. I've been waiting for a chance to show off my Pokemon's power for a long time now. All those days we spent training and honing our skills to the absolute limit and then some, I can't wait for everyone to see.

"Don't think you've been the only one who's done some hard training for this tournament. I've been working really hard day and night with all my Pokemon!"

"Promise me that win or lose there's no grudge between us."

"You got it, Ash!"

"The match between Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and Ritchie Hiroshi from Frodomar City will now commence! All rules as stated apply, battle begin!"

"I choose you, Rocko!" Ritchie's first Pokemon was a rather large Rhyperior, slightly bigger than Ash's own. (It evolved in the month prior to the tournament)

"A Rhyperior, huh? It's a pretty big one too. Alright, then my choice is Kingler. Now, let's show them what we spent those three years for!" Ash declared as the highly underused Pincer Pokemon made a debut in a battle in years.

XXXXXXXXX

"Kingler? Haven't seen it in ages." Brock said

"Yeah, it hasn't been in an official battle since the Indigo League."

"Kingler was definitely one of those Pokemon that needed major work." Ryan remarked as he remembered the last few years.

"How come Ash never used Kingler in Hoenn, or the Battle Frontier?" May asked

"Or Sinnoh?" Dawn chimed in

"Or Unova?" Iris added her two cents

"Ash really only stuck with the Pokemon he caught in a specific region. I guess it was a stupid pride thing." Sierra Gonzales replied

"He didn't do that for the Orange Islands, or Johto, or even the Battle Frontier." Misty remarked

"The Orange Islands and Johto were something he never really intended to compete in. Really he was just running errands for the Professor at the time." Brock replied

"And what about the Battle Frontier? What happened there?"

"I guess since it wasn't a new region he was going through it would be kind of pointless to just act like he was restarting in Kanto."

"If only he was like that going through the other regions." Iris deadpanned.

XXXXXXXXX

"Rocko, use Stone Edge!" familiar rings of stone shot off towards Kingler.

"Use Iron Defense, and then use Water Pulse, rapid fire!" the stones connected and broke against the exoskeleton, but Kingler didn't do so much as flinch when the attack connected. When the stones subsided, Kingler opened its smaller pincer and launched pulsing balls of water at an incredible pace and struck Rhyperior before it could react. Due to its Solid Rock ability, and the size of the Water Pulses, it wasn't doing much damage. However, it did what Ash needed to be done and confused Rhyperior.

"Now Kingler, use Metal Crabhammer!" Now the larger pincer was in use, this time it was glowing a metallic blue color. Building up proper momentum, the large pincer struck Rhyperior and caused it to skid a few feet, and snapped it out of its confusion.

"Rocko, use Rock Polish, then use Chip Away!" At first, the orange rock started glowing red, raising its speed sharply. Then, it became outlined with a white aura as it took off towards Kingler.

"Intercept it with Vice Grip!" Kinger poised to intercept Rhyperior's attack, but failed as Rhyperior bypassed it and struck with a fist encloaked in the white aura, forcing Kingler to skid along the ground this time.

"Now Rocko, use Thunder Punch!" Rhyperior's fist was covered with electricity as it made to punch Kingler. However, it was still capable of raising its smaller pincher and using Vice Grip with it. As a result, it was able to stave off most of the brunt force of the attack, but it couldn't do anything against the electricity that was currently shocking it. Still, compared to taking such high voltage from actual Electric-types, this was practically nothing.

"Kingler, use Scald! Then end it with a Crabhammer!" a burst of scalding hot water was blasted in Rhyperior's face, forcing it to back off. Kingler then used that chance to charge up one more Crabhammer and struck Rhyperior with the finishing blow."

"Rhyperior is unable to battle! Kingler is the winner!"

"Did you see that folks! Ash's Kingler demonstrated just how much of a powerhouse it really is. Rhyperior's attacks looked like they had no effect at all!" said the announcer

"Wow, Ash! I didn't think your Kingler was that tough, even with all the training you guys did. I really thought Rocko stood a chance there."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. Truth is it took Kingler and I a lot of hard work to get where we're at now, and Rhyperior still pressured us." Ash replied, with Kingler nodding in affirmation

"Well I hope your ready for the next one, because this one will definitely push you over the edge! Go, Hedge!" Ritchie's next Pokemon was a Gogoat from Kalos.

"Gogoat huh? So that means you've been to Kalos." Ash said as a statement, not a question

"Yeah, just last year I had the chance to compete in the Kalos League. I actually managed to place runner-up."

"That's great! Now Kingler, use Blizzard!" Kingler shot an intensely freezing gust of wind from its pincers

"Jump, then use Zen Headbutt!" Gogoat managed to dodge the Blizzard attack, and then its horns started to brim with Psychic type energy. It then aimed towards Kingler and let gravity take its course.

"Kingler, use Iron Defense again!" Kingler however, gave no acknowledgement towards the command. It couldn't even move; it flinched due to Zen Headbutt's effect and took the attack head on.

"Hedge, use Giga Drain!" Ritchie commanded as green tendrils appeared from the hedge around its neck and drained Kingler's remaining energy as the tendrils turned red.

"Kingler is unable to battle! Gogoat is the winner!"

"And a swift comeback from Ritchie and his Gogoat! What will Ash do now?!"

"You did great Kingler. I'm really proud of you." Ash said as he pocketed Kingler's pokeball. "That's one strong Gogoat you got there, Ritchie."

"Thanks! Hedge and I spent a lot of time training ourselves, in and outside of the camp!"

Before the actual tournament started up, anyone that had received an invitation also had a chance to prepare by training with a well known and powerful trainer. In Ritchie's case, he spent his time training with not only Bruno, but Lorelei as well; learning to attack up close and from a distance. It was one of the many things everyone had talked about when they had all met up again at the Pokemon Center

"So did we, and we're just getting started!"

"So boss, whose da next Pokemon?" Meowth asked with curiosity. All he knew was that Meowth was going to be used in the next battle, since Ash had made a team meant to deal with most of Ritchie's Pokemon.

"This one's next; Typhlosion, to the battlefield!" Ash's fully evolved Volcano Pokemon emerged

"Gogoat vs Typhlosion! Battle begin!"

"Hedge, return! Go, Shake!" Ritchie's next Pokemon was a Seismitoad

"Fine by me, we'll still give it our all!" Ash declared with Typhlosion agreeing (deja vu anyone?)

Seismitoad vs Typhlosion! Battle begin!

"Shake, use Supersonic!"

"Dodge it, then use Sunny Day!" Typhlosion dodged the sound waves emitted from Seismitoad, and launched a ball of fire to the sky, illuminating the night sky with unexpected sunlight.

"Shake, use Rain Dance!" Seismitoad launched a ball of water into the sky, eliminating the sunlight and causing it to rain instead. Ash could see how pointless it would be to go back and forth with the weather, so he decided to attack now and wait for a prime opportunity to resume control over the weather.

"Typhlosion, use Leer!" Typhlosion's eyes glowed red as it looked towards Seismitoad, unnerving it a bit. "Now use Mega Punch!" Typhlosion's fist became covered with a lot of Normal type energy as it dashed towards Seismitoad and punches it with enough force to send it flying back several feet. "Now go in for an Aerial Ace!" Typhlosion suddenly took off for Seismitoad, who was just getting onto its feet, surrounded by a streamlined aura.

"Quick, counter with Brick Break!" Seismitoad and Typhlosion met head on, with neither one giving an inch, and they soon broke off. However, Typhlosion suddenly started looking sick with no prior warning. Ash looked concerned, while Ritchie smirking slightly.

"Shake's ability is Poison Touch, which means there's a 30% chance of poisoning my opponent's Pokemon if Seismitoad lands a physical attack."

Ash, of course, did look concerned for the state of his Typhlosion, but he was still prepared for something like this. "Typhlosion, use Facade!" Typhlosion was suddenly surrounded by an orange aura, which turned a purplish color and glowed even brighter, and moved to strike Seismitoad once more.

"Shake, use Hydro Pump!" Seismitoad shot out an intense pressurized jet of water towards Typhlosion, kicking up dust yet again. When it cleared, Seismitoad was knocked out, but Typhlosion was still standing, but rather shakily. The rain had finally cleared up, and Typhlosion had manifested its Blaze ability.

"Seismitoad is unable to battle! Typhlosion is the winner!"

"And despite a severe type disadvantage, Typhlosion still manages to emerge victorious! Although it looks like a feather could knock it out though." remarked the announcer

"Don't count Typhlosion out just yet." Ash said, and Typhlosion couldn't help but smirk with defiance, despite being on the verge of defeat.

"Trust me, I won't. Still, you have to admit that Typhlosion can't keep this up much longer."

"I know, but Typhlosion's still raring to go, so I'll stick with him." Ash said, with Typhlosion roaring and igniting the flames on the scruff of its neck.

"Go, Hedge!" Ritchie's Gogoat re-emerged once more, fresh and ready to go

"Gogoat vs Typhlosion! Battle begin!"

"Typhlosion, use Sunny Day, once more!" Typhlosion launched another fireball into the sky, making it sunny once again

"Hedge, use Leaf Blade!" Gogoat manifested a sharp blade of Grass type energy from its tail, poised to strike the severely weakened Fire type.

"Typhlosion, use Blast Burn, max power!" Ash shouted, as Typhlosion surrounded its fist with a sphere of condensed fire, before punching it into the ground, causing a great fiery explosion.

After everything settled, both Gogoat and Typhlosion were unable to battle, although Gogat was sporting a few severe burns, and the sun had disappeared.

"Neither Gogoat or Typhlosion are able to battle! Since trainer Ash Ketchum still has one Pokemon remaining, he is declared the winner!"

"And Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum is the one that will advance to the next round of the tournament!"

"Sorry about Gogoat, Ritchie." Ash apologized over Gogoat's condition.

"It's okay, Ash. I know you didn't do it on purpose, and there's a lot of experts on Pokemon care on the island, so I know Hedge will make a full recovery. Good luck Ash, I'll be cheering you on throughout the whole tournament."

"Thanks, Ritchie. You're a true friend, and a really good trainer. You almost had me.

"Thanks, but I didn't expect for your Typhlosion to hold out like that."

"Truth is, neither did I. He became really hardheaded after evolving into Typhlosion. It's so much different then when he was still the tired, timid Cyndaquil I caught him as."

"A lot of Pokemon change personality when they evolve, it's nothing out of the ordinary."

'Don't I know it.' thought Ash. Truth be told it was almost like having another Charizard without the disobedience problem.

"So, how's about we get our Pokemon looked at, though I'm pretty sure we're better off seeing Dr. Summers about Hedge and Typhlosion." Ritchie said

"I heard she's working in the Pokemon Center now, so I'll race you there!"

"You're on!"

As the two friends/rivals ran towards the Pokemon Center, soon joined by other friends, rivals, and even lovers for a select few, the feeling of happiness that came from Ash's victory suddenly became that much greater for him, and the anticipation and eagerness for battling the other competitors grew just as strong as he let this one thought run through his mind."

'Ready or not everyone, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town is here to win!'


Cut, wrap, that's the end of this chapter

Really the only thing to say here is that I hope the next chapter release won't take as long.

Also, if I'm ignoring characters from Ash's group or seem to be forgetting about them, let me know and I'll see to try and give them a couple of more speaking roles. Although keep in mind that unlike most tourney fics, I try to focus more on the battles between opponents and less on audience commentary.

As always, I'm KratosTheGodofWar, signing out!