Right. I guess I should stop making promises on the length of the chapters. Surprisingly, this one proved to be longer than the previous chapter. I hope the length compensates for the lack of updates. I actually wanted to update this story last week but I had to go to my new university for Orientation Week.

There are two battles in this chapter. One is a battle between OCs while the other one is a repeat of a 4rd round battle that happened in the Indigo Plateau Conference.

The rest of the chapters have been fully updated with the English terms.

Oh, and Shinichi will be referred to as 'Seito' from now on. The latter sounds better than the former in my opinion.

The fillers start after this chapter.

Enjoy.


Night had descended upon Caelum City. After an exciting first day, everyone from the competitors to the spectators had decided to hit the hay. The competitors were exhausted from competing while the spectators were exhausted from cheering. The competitors' Pokemon also failed to escape fatigue as they rested in their dual-coloured capsules. Most would have preferred nice and cozy beds but the Poke Balls were sufficient enough. The Pokemon practically spend the majority of their time in those capsules so it was not that surprising that some Pokemon got attached to those inanimate objects. Of course, there were Trainers who cared for their friends' comfort as they would fulfill their friends' wishes by allowing them a share of the beds. If the Pokemon were smaller than their Trainers, they were even luckier as they could use their Trainers as beds, the heartbeat of their owners lulling them into a deep sleep.

Niveus was one of the lucky ones as he got to sleep on Ash's chest. However, not even the rhythmic beating of his Pokemon Trainer's heart could send the brown-eyed Pikachu to the realm of dreams. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind was immediately assaulted by a myriad of images. Some of those images were blurry while others were extremely vivid. Even though the memories flashing before his eyes were completely foreign to him, a part of Niveus was convinced that those memories were in fact his. Confusion drifted across the Mouse Pokemon's features as he tried to comprehend the bizarre feelings he experienced ever since he set foot in Caelum City.

The Pikachu slowly stood up before jumping off Ash's chest and landing squarely on the floor. He dusted himself off before glancing at Ash over his left shoulder. Niveus smiled when he saw the peaceful expression on Ash's face as the black-haired boy inhaled and exhaled slowly. He then made his way over to the window and gazed out it. The sky was akin to a black blanket beautified with many sparkling pearls.

"I suppose a little walk would do me some good," Niveus decided. He turned around to walk to the door but suddenly stopped. The Pikachu felt a sudden surge of power in his body. His gaze gradually drifted back to the window. A second later, he found himself standing on the window sill. Without its owner's permission, his brain sent motor impulses to Niveus's paws which allowed him to open the window. A gentle breeze entered the room and swayed the fur on his face.

He poked his head out the window and looked down. He saw the clearing where he trained in earlier in the day. "All the trees are on the other side of the clearing," he observed. "There aren't any beams or branches that I can grab onto when I jump." The muscles in his body suddenly contracted with excitement. Niveus frowned in confusion. "Why am I feeling excited about this?" he wondered. "Shouldn't I be scared? I understand if I'm on the second floor but I'm on the fortieth floor. Have I gone completely mental?"

The Mouse Pokemon looked down again and tried to convince himself to back out of this insane stunt. He was unsuccessful. Niveus expelled a heavy sigh from his body.

"Might as well get this over with," he conceded. He stepped forward to the outer half of the window sill before shutting the window. Without hesitation, he jumped in manner as if he was diving into a lake from a high vantage point.

Niveus thought that he would be screaming like a banshee but he felt strangely calm. The wind was not blowing at him forcefully. Instead, it was caressing his entire body as if it had been finally reunited with a long-lost friend. Niveus closed his eyes and welcomed the feeling of peace coursing through his veins.

When he lifted his eyelids, Niveus calculated that he was about two hundred metres from the ground. He reached deep within the confines of his mind and discovered a new memory. Instinctively, he tucked his knees against his chest and began spinning like a circular saw. One hundred and fifty metres later, he uncurled himself but kept his legs bent to lessen the impulsive force when he landed on the ground. Just as his feet was about to come into contact with solid ground, his body suddenly froze but he could still move his limbs. It was as if he was floating in mid-air. Almost instantly, the invisible threads binding him loosened and Niveus landed gently on the ground.

The brown-eyed Pikachu was astonished that he had managed to pull off that stunt and stared at his paws. He remarked, "Wow, that was bloody amazing!"

Niveus looked down at his body and noticed that he was shaking, most probably due to a sense of giddiness and accomplishment. He chuckled when he thought of how Ash would react if the human saw his little stunt. Ash would probably throw a hissy fit and handcuff them together as insurance.

"Wait, I shouldn't be treating this as a joke," he mentally scolded himself. "Ash would get worried and he'll lose his focus." He thought about it some more. "On the other hand, when he focuses too much on a single matter, everything else ends up taking a back seat. Hehehehe. He doesn't even pay that much attention to his surroundings when his mind is set on something. That means I'm free to do more of these crazy stunts."

Putting his hands behind his head, Niveus walked towards the middle of the clearing. He then looked up at the starry sky. "Wow, those stars are really beautiful," he breathed in awe. "Who would've thought that I get to see this view in a metropolis?"

The peaceful moment did not last forever as Niveus ears suddenly perked up. He shifted his gaze from the stars to the forest in the east. His ears had picked up a sound. It was barely audible but he heard it nonetheless. Normally, he could care less about the noises he heard during the night but this one, for some strange reason, piqued his curiosity. Without a second thought, Niveus dropped down on all fours and broke into an all-out sprint towards the direction where the sound originated from.


Niveus had lost track of time as his mind was focused on finding the progenitor of the strange sound. He could have been running for minutes or even hours but he did not care. He only cared about discovering the source of the unusual sound and returning back to the hotel once his curiosity had been satisfied. The Pikachu skidded to a halt, not only to catch his breath but also to observe his surroundings. Niveus noticed that he was not in the city anymore. Instead, he was in a forest.

"Woah," he mouthed. "How did I end up in the outskirts of Caelum City?" He folded his arms across his chest and put on his thinking cap. "Guess some of Ash's habits must've rubbed off on me," he deduced. "Now I feel guilty for all those things I said about him earlier."

*SNAP*

Niveus immediately snapped his head to the right. He saw two Sakura trees with some healthy green foliage scattered on the forest floor between them. Above the foliage was nothing but darkness. It was like staring into a gateway. A gateway to the dark realm. Apprehension began to take root within Niveus's heart.

"I really should not venture into the unknown," he said logically. Unfortunately for Niveus, his logical mind became infected with the 'illogic' bacteria. "On the other hand, just because it looks ugly on the outside, doesn't mean it's ugly on the inside as well, right?" he asked himself. "There is bound to be something beautiful on the other side, I'm sure of it." To be frank, even Niveus was surprised with his positive outlook.

He took a couple of steps back, his eyes never leaving the dark 'portal' even for a second. With a shaky breath, he sprinted forward and jumped into the portal..., only to receive a mouthful of grass as he slammed onto the ground and skidded about two feet forwards. Groaning slightly, he pushed himself up to his knees and coughed out all the dirt and grass in his mouth. He then stood up to scan his surroundings.

The Pikachu noticed that he was standing on a cliff. It reminded him of the time where he and his friends saved Zorua who was being cornered by a tribe of Vigoroth on a cliff near Crown City. He walked closer to the edge of the cliff and gasped. The cliff that he was standing directly overlooked Caelum City. The 'concrete' part of the city was illuminated with bright neon lights of different colours while the 'nature' part of the city remained untouched. It was like he was looking at a painting where two contrasting elements were mixed together to form a sublime masterpiece.

"Great view," Niveus remarked. "This would be the perfect spot for me and Cloud to spend the evening together."

Niveus was completely awestruck by the view that the Pikachu did not notice a certain enigmatic teen creep up behind him.

"It would seem that my secret spot may not be so secret anymore," the teen whispered in Niveus's ear.

The brown-eyed Pikachu was immediately jolted from his reverie as he turned around to face the owner of the strangely familiar voice with his cheeks sparking with electricity. Those sparks effectively died down when Niveus realized that it was only Seishirou. Confusion once again descended upon his features. He cannot comprehend why he was suddenly so comfortable in Seishirou's presence. The human was practically a stranger to the Pikachu.

Seishirou asked, "Mind if I join you?"

Niveus found himself automatically nodding to Seishirou's question as if his body yearned for the human's company.

The sapphire-eyed teen smiled faintly at Niveus and sat down cross-legged beside the Pikachu. "There is no need for you to act mum," Seishirou assured Niveus. "Did you honestly think that your Trainer is the only one who could understand Pokemon?"

The Mouse Pokemon avoided eye contact with Seishirou and scratched the ground with one foot. "Kinda," he replied meekly.

"So naive," Seishirou claimed. "You have not changed one bit."

"Huh?" Niveus uttered in confusion.

Seishirou shook his head. "Nothing," he said laconically. The black-haired boy then pulled out a large lollipop which had a swirling pattern on it and held it out to Niveus. He offered, "Lollipop?"

Niveus wordlessly accepted the candy from Seishirou and began licking it.

"How goes your training with Ash?" Seishirou queried Niveus as he watched the Pikachu enjoy the treat.

"Pretty good," Niveus said in between licks. The Pikachu suddenly stopped licking the lollipop and lowered the treat, allowing Seishirou full view of the look of confusion etched across his face. "But...," he trailed off.

"Continue," Seishirou urged Niveus.

"It's... strange," the Pikachu said softly. He explained, "I felt as though I've suddenly become stronger. I know it's relatively normal to experience that feeling if you constantly train but in my case, I'm all... weirded out. A month ago, my Electro Ball, at its strongest, could only create a scorch mark on the ground. Now, it's capable of creating mid-sized craters and ram through five pillars of stone without even losing a fraction of its strength."

Seishirou argued, "However, it is not impossible for your Electro Ball to attain that kind of strength. Like you said, it's relatively normal for attacks to become stronger if you constantly keep up with your training."

A frown drifted across Niveus's face. "That is what's bugging me," he fretted. "I haven't been doing an ounce of training this past month..., mainly because Ash was just too tired from all the Team Plasma drama. I only started training yesterday."

"Team Plasma, huh?" Seishirou wondered aloud. "The organization which aims to separate Pokemon from humans and create a 'black-and-white' world."

"Aimed," Niveus corrected Seishirou. "It was just a facade. The father of the leader, Ghetsis, manipulated the innocence of his only son so that at the end of the day, only he would have Pokemon and rule the Unova region."

Seishirou gave Niveus an amused look. "Why do I get the feeling that this happens every time you visit a new region?"

"Well...," Niveus began as he sheepishly scratched his head, "let's just say that me and Ash are trouble-attracting beacons."

"It is understandable," Seishirou said dryly. "After all, Ash is the Chosen One."

Suspicion began to take root in Niveus's mind. "How did you know that?"

The nineteen-year-old human smirked at the Pikachu. "I have my ways," he answered vaguely. "In any case, I think there is little need for you to worry about your sudden increase in strength."

"Why?" Niveus asked earnestly.

Seishirou explained, "The main reason the power of attacks of Electric-type Pokemon suddenly increase is almost always due to electric overload. Since you shall have a lot of excess energy stored up in your body, your attacks will gain an added boost in power at the cost of control." He then asked, "Can you control all of your Electric-based attacks?"

"Yes," Niveus responded.

"Then you have nothing to fear," Seishirou stated. "If you are still confused about it, just think that Arceus has chosen to bless you in order to aid the Chosen One in his upcoming challenges."

"...I guess," the Mouse Pokemon agreed sceptically.

The sapphire-eyed Pokemon Trainer smiled faintly at Niveus. He then cast his gaze towards the mountains and noticed that the rays of the Sun were slowly creeping out. His gaze drifted back to his yellow-furred friend.

"You best be on your way," Seishirou advised him. "The Sun is awakening from its slumber. You wouldn't want to worry your Trainer, would you?"

Niveus threw a curious glance over his shoulder and caught sight of the emerging rays of sunlight. "Will... I see you again?" he asked longingly. "Er..., I mean..., if you have the time... and if it's not too much trouble, can you meet up with Ash? He really wants to apologize to you for his bad behaviour during his visit to your residence."

Seishirou raised an eyebrow at Niveus's question. He shrugged, "I suppose I can put it in my to-do list."

The Pikachu's eyes lit up with joy. "Thanks, Seishirou."

"Think nothing of it," Seishirou waved off Niveus's gratefulness to him as he reached out and ruffled the fur on the Pikachu's head.

The moment Seishirou's hand came into contact with his head, Niveus's mind was immediately assaulted by a multitude of strange yet somehow familiar echoes.


"L-, use Volt Tackle!"

"Love is a noose. Nothing good can come out of it."

"You were extremely foolish, L-. Did you really not expect this to happen?"

"I'm sorry. I... couldn't protect you. I... failed you."

"Ugh..., my... heart. It's... sha-"


Niveus eyes snapped open as he regained control of his mind. He noticed right away that Seishirou was gone. His eyes darted left and right but he failed to spot the mysterious teen. Sadness squeezed his heart but only for a brief moment.

"I better get going," he sighed. He moved closer to the edge of the cliff so that he may burn the spectacular view into his eyes. Niveus found his gaze travelling downwards until he spotted something that did not fit into the scenery at all. He saw a haystack at the bottom of the cliff.

The Pikachu sweatdropped. "That certainly is convenient," he remarked.

Like he did back at the hotel, Niveus spread out his arms as if he was being crucified. He took a deep breath before executing an eagle's dive down the cliff and landed in the haystack on his back.

On the higher ground, Seishirou emerged from behind one of the Sakura trees and glanced at the spot where Niveus once stood. "It is nice to see that you are doing well," he said, referring to Niveus. "As for your sudden increase in strength, you'll find out the true reason soon enough. I've suppressed those hidden feelings of sadness and confusion for the time being. However, there shall come a time when those feelings surface again and trust me, the strain that will be inflicted upon you shall be magnified by a factor of ten." He added, "By then, only a certain... being of darkness can help you overcome them once and for all. Until then..., try your best to bear with them."

With that said, Seishirou disappeared into the darkness.


"Master Silverline, it is time for you to wake up," a grey-haired man informed the sleeping nineteen-year-old.

Eclipse was undisturbed by the voice which was trying to rouse him from his slumber as he shifted his body so that he was sleeping on his side.

The black-garbed man pursed his lips in slight irritation as he strode over to the side of the bed. He placed a hand on his young master's shoulder and gently shook him. He told Eclipse, "You wouldn't want to be late for your match, would you?"

In another act of defiance, Eclipse lightly slapped his butler's hand away and mumbled, "Five more minutes, Alfred."

"Denied," Alfred waved off his plea. The wise old man calmly walked over to the window and, in a fluid motion, pulled open the curtains which allowed the sunlight to brighten up the gloomy atmosphere of the room.

The light struck Eclipse's eyelids, causing them to flutter open and reveal striking emerald orbs. With a tired groan, he lifted himself up to a sitting position and groggily rubbed his eyes. As his vision refocused, he caught sight of an elderly man, who was wearing a black suit with white gloves, tying the curtains back.

"You sure are heartless, Alfred," the silver-haired boy said tonelessly.

The butler simply sent an amused glance at Eclipse before pouring some tea into an expensive-looking teacup. Alfred then added a couple of sugar cubes into the tea before putting the cup on a saucer and handing them over to his young master.

Alfred explained, "Today's tea is being served using Wedgwood Pashmina China."

The emerald-eyed teen nodded absentmindedly before taking a sip of the tea. "This taste seems familiar," he stated. "Is this Jasmine tea?"

"As usual, your sense of taste is truly impeccable, Master Silverline," Alfred extolled.

Eclipse scowled faintly at his butler. "There is a fine line between a compliment and an insult, Alfred," he said. "When you constantly heap praise upon me, it gets annoying to the point that I'm thinking that you are actually patronizing me."

"You are most welcome, sir," Alfred chuckled, earning a halfhearted glare from his young master. The grey-haired man then told Eclipse, "A grilled chicken breast with fruit salad has been prepared for your breakfast. Toast, scones and hash browns have prepared as an accompaniment. Which would best suit your taste today?"

"...Hash browns," Eclipse yawned.

Alfred placed a hand over heart and bowed slightly. "I shall await your arrival at the dining table," he said. The butler then motioned to a set of neatly folded clothes on one of the sofas in the room. "I have taken the liberty of picking out your casual attire. I sincerely hope that you are fine with that."

Eclipse replied, "It's fine." Still feeling rather parched, he took another sip of his tea.

"Many thanks, Master Silverline," the butler said. Without uttering a single syllable, Alfred walked over to the door and exited the room, thus leaving Eclipse as the sole occupant of said room.

The emerald-eyed teen gazed blankly around his bedroom before setting his sights upon his reflection in his tea. "Guess it's my turn to make an impact, right Seishirou?"

After finishing his tea, Eclipse got up from the bed, tidied it up and proceeded to the bathroom for a quick shower.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, Eclipse stood in front of a large mirror, completely dressed in the clothes that Alfred had picked out for him. He scrutinized his reflection from head to toe. He saw a teen wearing a black leather jacket with rolled sleeves over a white shirt with black pants and white fur along the collar and the top of his pants. He also donned on a pair of black gloves and black leather shoes. His accessories also included a string of beads that was wrapped around his left forearm and a small sash that partially covered his right leg.

A small smile found its way across Eclipse's features. He remarked, "For an old man, Alfred sure has good taste in fashion. Perhaps I should ask him to pick out my outfits more often."

With a casual flip of his hair, Eclipse exited his bedroom and began his brief walk towards the dining room.


Eclipse poked the last piece of his chicken breast with a fork and inserted the meat into his mouth. He chewed it at a slow pace, displaying proper table manners despite the fact there not being a single dignified person in the massive dining room..., save for his butler. He shuddered when he thought of all those agonizing hours he had to go through just to perfect his facade as a gentleman. The emerald-eyed teen actually disliked having to act all dignified and gentlemanly but he did not have that much in choice in the matter given that Alfred was the personal tutor. The elderly man was a perfectionist and would always chastise him for every simple mistake he made. After only a few months, Eclipse had completely grasped the whole concept which allowed Alfred to shed the disciplinarian side of his character much to Eclipse's relief. The silver-haired Pokemon Trainer washed the white meat down with some Earl Grey tea before he retrieved his napkin and wiped his mouth.

"Please remind me my schedule for today, Alfred," Eclipse ordered as he adjusted the position of the knife and fork on the plate so that they were parallel to each other.

Alfred complied with his young master's order. He answered, "Other than the light training training session you shall have with your Pokemon after breakfast and your match that is scheduled to begin at nine o'clock sharp, there is nothing of major importance."

"I see," Eclipse said tersely. He leaned back into his chair and began to think about the ways he can make full use of his free time after winning his match. He was confident that he can get his two victories and advance into the round of 64. The nineteen-year-old presumed that Seishirou sent him a challenge by winning his two matches in emphatic fashion. Given Eclipse's character, he could do nothing but accept the challenge.

As if he was reading his young master's thoughts, Alfred suggested, "I think that it is probably best that you use the time gifted to you by preparing your speech for the launching of the Caelum City branch of Starlite Articuno."

Eclipse's left eye twitched at the mention of the word 'speech'. "Remind the reason as to why I have to give a speech," he suspired with annoyance. "Why can't Mr. Damian do it?"

"Mr. Damian is currently on honeymoon with his wife, Mrs. Daniels," Alfred reminded him. "As co-owner of this esteemed brand, it is your duty to fill in for Mr. Damian when he's unavailable to not only manage the many branches of Starlite Articuno but also attend the openings of new branches."

"Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from shattering that window," Eclipse grumbled. "If I accomplish that, I would be free of all that bothersome paperwork that keeps piling up on my desk."

"Unless you can capture Dialga which I recalled that you failed to accomplish in thirty attempts, you shall not be tampering with the past anytime soon," Alfred chuckled mockingly.

Eclipse scowled at his butler. "Since you have the energy to insult your employer," he stated with a hint of venom in his tone, "would you be so kind as to fetch me a blank card and an envelope?"

"If I can't even do that, then I am not fit to be your butler," Alfred soliloquized.

Alfred's employer threatened, "You are not fit to be my butler if you insist on procrastinating the completion of my simple requests."

The grey-haired man was unperturbed by his young master's threat as he deftly reached into the left breast pocket of his dinner jacket and produced the aforementioned items that Eclipse requested.

Eclipse raised an eyebrow. "What, no pen?"

With a smug grin, Alfred stretched out his other hand towards Eclipse and snapped his fingers. On cue, a blue ballpoint pen appeared out of thin air.

Failing to think of a suitable retort, Eclipse snatched the pen from his butler's hand and proceeded to write on the card.

"If I may ask, sir, what is it that you are writing?" Alfred inquired.

"An invitation" was Eclipse's immediate reply.

"To a Mr. Trodaire, perhaps?" Alfred guessed.

Eclipse responded, "No. Our relationship is strictly professional, nothing more, nothing less. This invitation is for an... 'acquaintance' of sorts."

"Hmm..., it is rather rare that you would consider anyone an acquaintance especially after going through such unfortunate heartbreak," Alfred said.

"I've known him even before that incident," Eclipse uttered bluntly. "However, we have not been in contact for about nine years. You cannot blame me for trying to reacquaint myself with him."

Alfred thought aloud, "You must hold him in high regard as I'm sure he reciprocates the feeling."

"Who knows?" Eclipse shrugged as he inserted the card into the envelope before tucking said envelope into a pocket in his jacket. "He is full of idiosyncrasies. Up until this day, I still can't comprehend his thought process." He took a deep breath before he stood up from his chair. "Have you fed my Pokemon, Alfred?"

"Yes, Master Silverline," Alfred answered. "All of them are eagerly awaiting for your arrival on the training grounds behind this mansion."

Eclipse nodded at his butler in appreciation before exiting the room, leaving Alfred to clean up the dining table.


Max knocked the door of Ash's room and mildly shouted, "Ash, wake up! Your match is gonna start soon!"

The bespectacled boy waited for Ash's colourful language to stimulate his sense of hearing but the atmosphere remained unusually calm. Max pressed an ear against the door, hoping to detect the faintest of sound from inside the room. He heard none. His brows furrowed in confusion.

"That's strange," Max thought. "Ash is prone to oversleeping, especially on the eve of his matches. Judging from what Dawn said of her experience while travelling with Ash, this habit surfaced during the Lily of the Valley Conference." Feeling rather curious, Max twisted the doorknob and was surprised when the door opened slightly. The teal-haired boy then removed his hand from the doorknob, placed it against oak-carved door and pushed the door open.

Max half-expected to have a messy room occupy his line of sight but was left gaping slightly when his prediction failed to materialized. Instead of a disorganized room, the bespectacled boy saw a neat and clean room. The curtains were expertly tied up at the side of the windows, offering no resistance as the sunlight spread throughout the room. There were no creases on the bed and the sheet was neatly folded up. The items on the dresser from a comb to a spray-on deodorant were aligned side by side in organized fashion. Max scratched his head in confusion.

"Am I in the right room?" Max wondered. "Wait, of course I am. I specifically remembered that Ash's room was located opposite my room. Still, the tidy nature of this room does not support this fact. Maybe he switched rooms when I went to bed?"

Max's focus was completely transfixed on his thoughts that he did not notice Cilan entering the room.

"Why are you staring blankly into space, Max?" Cilan asked.

The shorter of the two teens threw a glance over his shoulder. Max had learned to discern the pitch of his friends' voices so the possibility of sneaking up behind him and scaring him with a gentle whisper was extremely low, provided that the person sneaking up on him was unable to change the tone of his or her voice like a certain gentleman thief from his Case Closed manga.

"Oh, hey Cilan," Max greeted the Pokemon Connoisseur. He then asked, "Is this room absolutely and positively Ash's room?"

Cilan noted the disbelief in Max's tone as he answered, "Unless you were mysteriously transported to a parallel dimension, which is rather ludicrous thought and highly unlikely, then yes, you and I are currently standing in Ash's hotel room. Why are you suddenly sceptical of this legitimate fact?"

Max spread out his arms. "The reason is all around us," Max told Cilan. "Back when I was travelling with Ash, he wasn't big on cleanliness and tidiness. He usually leaves all the cleaning to Brock. Based on how Dawn described Ash's character in Sinnoh, he still could care less about neatness even though he had matured greatly." He then inquired, "Did he display this newfound attitude when he was in Unova, Cilan?"

The green-haired Pokemon Connoisseur held his chin with his thumb and index finger as he reminisced about his journey with Ash throughout the Unova region. "While he was in Unova," Cilan began, "he was a bit on the brash side and would more often than not charge headfirst into specific situations without proper planning. Iris kept calling him a 'child', much to his chagrin. However, after the events at N's castle, I've started to notice some changes in his personality. I guess that that specific experience was enough to make Ash move on from being a brash young teen to a mature young adult. Consider the state of this room a testament to Ash's newfound maturity."

"Woah there," Max motioned for Cilan to halt his explanation. "You kinda lost me. Who is this... 'N' person?"

"I do not have the right to tell you that," Cilan said. He added, "You should direct that question to Ash but don't get your hopes up. It is still a rather sore subject to him."

"I understand," Max accepted Cilan's reasoning. "Speaking of Ash, do you where he is?"

Cilan informed the younger boy, "He's currently training his Pokemon in the clearing behind the hotel."

Max's face scrunched up in confusion. He wondered why Ash would pass on using the state-of-the-art training facilities that were accessible to any Pokemon Trainer competing in the Zenith League and choose to go 'old school' with his training method in a manner of speaking.

As if Cilan was reading the teal-haired boy's thoughts, he stated, "Ash is only being logical, Max."

"What do you mean?" Max queried the Pokemon Connoisseur.

Cilan sighed in exasperation. "Let's view this from a different angle," he suggested. "If you were in Ash's shoes, would you train your Pokemon using the provided training facilities or the more traditional method?"

"I would definitely use the former method," Max answered without much thought. "Why wouldn't I? I could easily obtain accurate data concerning the strengths and weaknesses of all my Pokemon. From there, I can discern which area of their power, whether it be their offence or special attack, I need to focus on to make them become stronger in a short period of time. You don't really get that much time to train your Pokemon in between matches."

"You put forth a reasonable argument, Max," Cilan admitted. "However, you have to approach this matter through Ash's own eyes." He explained, "You have to remember that Ash started his journey about six years ago while you only have a year's experience under your belt, not counting the year you travelled with Ash in Hoenn and Kanto. Back then, Ash did not have the privilege to train his Pokemon with the help of technology. He had to depend on the traditional method to train his Pokemon. Though not as accurate as the method you prefer, he and his Pokemon grew up with that kind of training method. With the exception of his Unova Pokemon, it may come as too much of a shock to his other Pokemon if he decides to switch his training method at such short notice. As a result, his Pokemon shall not gain any benefit and precious time shall be forever lost."

Max closed his eyes and pondered about Cilan's words. On one hand, he disagreed with the green-haired Pokemon Connoisseur. Max knew that Ash can be very stubborn when the situation demanded it and would downright refuse to admit that he had travelled down the wrong path in terms of training methods. On the other hand, Max agreed with Cilan to some degree. Although Max considered Ash's training method to be 'old-fashioned', it was effective nonetheless. His semifinal showing at the Lily of the Valley Conference was a testament to this fact.

The bespectacled teen lifted his eyelids and smiled at Cilan. "Though I disagree with you in regards to Ash's reason for not following the current trend, I suppose I can give his ever-growing maturity a benefit of a doubt," he decided.

"I would be pleasantly surprised if you didn't," Cilan admitted. The Pokemon Connoisseur adjusted his bow tie before he stepped over to the dresser. He then pulled open a drawer and stuck a hand in it, pulling out a familiar card a second later. "The only reason I came up here was to retrieve Ash's Zenith League ID card for him," he told his younger companion as he balanced the card on his right ring index finger. "Whenever he gets overwhelmed with excitement, he can be quite the forgetful one."

Max chuckled, "Now that is a view that I fully share with you."

Cilan smiled at Max and motioned to the door. "Shall we?"

Max nodded. "Let's go."

Both of them promptly exited the room and made their way towards the clearing behind the hotel to watch Ash's training firsthand.


Max and Cilan's timing could not have been more perfect for if they reached their destination a minute later, they would have missed a jaw-dropping sight.

"Snivy, use Leaf Tornado to suck in those boulders and fire them at Niveus!" Ash commanded.

The Grass Snake Pokemon nodded at Ash's command as she jumped into the air and turned upside down. She then swished her tail which whipped up a large tornado of wind with circles of light green energy spinning around the tornado at the tip of the palmate leaf on the end of her tail. Snivy promptly swung on her side and scooped up three mid-sized boulders with the tornado. Narrowing her eyes at Niveus, she swung the tornado downwards as if she were drawing the arc of a semicircle in mid-air. The boulders were not only released from their 'prison' but were also launched straight at Niveus.

Ash ordered, "Niveus, destroy those boulders with Electro Ball!"

The Pikachu channelled his aura throughout his body, causing it to be surrounded by yellow electricity. Satisfied with the amount of electricity he managed to emanate, Niveus began to siphon all that electricity to the area above his tail. A ball of yellow electricity materialized a second later. Niveus lightly tapped the orb into the air with his tail before he jumped up and smacked it forcefully towards the boulders. As the Mouse Pokemon gazed at the Electro Ball which was slowly but surely about to come into contact with the first of the three boulders, he secretly hoped that the capabilities of his Electro Ball that were displayed during his previous training session were not flukes.

His hope was rewarded as the Electro Ball rammed through and destroyed all the three boulders. Amazingly, the orb of yellow electricity did not lose a fraction of its energy as it closed in on its next target, Snivy.

"Slash the Electro Ball with Leaf Blade!" Ash instructed.

Snivy deftly channelled her aura to the leaf on her tail, making it glow light green in the process. She then spun her body forwards and slashed the Electro Ball with her tail.

The Electro Ball froze in mid-air when Snivy slashed it with her tail. Speaking of Snivy, she landed gracefully on the ground before snapping her fingers. On cue, multiple 'swish' sounds reverberated throughout the training ground as Niveus's Electro Ball was sliced and diced out of existence.

"Awesome" was the word that pulsed in Max's mind as he witnessed the battle prowess of Ash's Snivy.

Ash once again tested Snivy's reaction time as he swiftly directed, "Vine Whip, Snivy!"

Her reaction time was once again proven to be top-notch as she instantly withdrew two vines and thrust them towards Niveus as if she were throwing javelins at the Mouse Pokemon.

Niveus's brain registered the situation and ordered his body to dodge. The Pikachu quickly angled his body sideways and avoided the two vines. Relief spread across his face but that relief was short-lived as the Pikachu caught sight of the grin on Ash's face.

"Snivy, sandwich Niveus's face with those vines," Ash commanded laughingly.

Snivy gave Niveus a devious smirk which made the Pikachu felt a sense of foreboding in his heart. The Grass-type Pokemon spread out her vines before whipping them closer. If the vines were to make contact with Niveus's face, he was sure that he will receive a broken nose as a parting gift. He seriously did not want to face Seishirou, if the sapphire-eyed teen kept his promise to meet up with Ash, with nothing less than an injury-free face. Niveus deftly ducked down and the two vines smacked against each other a mere inch above his head.

"Hurry, use Quick Attack, Niveus!" Ash exclaimed.

The Mouse Pokemon dashed towards Snivy on all fours with a white streak trailing behind him.

Ash then gave a command to Snivy. "Snivy, absorb the force of Niveus's Quick Attack and send it back to him with interest!"

The Grass Snake Pokemon held out her hands in front of her and waited for Niveus. The Pikachu slammed into her, sending her sliding a couple of feet backwards. In Niveus's case, he slided a couple of feet forwards since Snivy managed to grab his head and bring him along for the ride. Snivy felt the energy from the Quick Attack travelled through her arms and into her serpentine-like body. The Grass-type added some of her aura to the foreign energy before siphoning the energy back to Niveus. Her opponent was suddenly propelled backwards but Snivy was not spared as well because the backward momentum created from the forward momentum sent her body sliding backwards.

"Niveus, use Thunderbolt and Snivy, use Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered in succession.

Both Pokemon nodded in response to Ash's commands. Niveus began to charge up his energy, making his body glow bright yellow. Electricity sparked off every area of his body, especially around his red cheeks. He aimed at his target before releasing the pent-up energy in his body in the form of a larger-than-average lightning bolt at the target. In contrast, Niveus's target, Snivy, started spinning and released a pillar of green leaves. She abruptly sent those leaves towards Niveus in order to counter his attack.

The lone lightning bolt clashed with the pillar of leaves. Upon contact, the lightning bolt spawned into several smaller ones to even out the odds. The leaves negated the effects of the lightning bolts but got burned into ashes as a result. An explosion occurred from the combination of the Electric-type and Grass-type attacks and rendered both combatants' sight useless as the black smoke released obscured their view of their respective targets.

"Let's end this training session with a bang," Ash told his two Pokemon. "Use Iron Tail and Leaf Blade to clear out the smoke!"

Snivy's tail took on a green glow while Niveus's tail took on a metallic sheen. Both Pokemon broke off into a sprint towards the other at the same time and jumped into the smoke. A 'clang' sound stimulated the spectators' sense of hearing, signifying that Snivy's Leaf Blade and Niveus's Iron Tail made contact with each other. A second later, a shock wave blew the black smoke away and revealed both Niveus and Snivy whose tails were grinding against one another. Since the force behind the attacks were somewhat equal, Niveus and Snivy failed to overpower the other as they staggered backwards in mid-air. They instinctively arched their backs inward and flipped their bodies backward before landing squarely on the ground.

Niveus grinned at Snivy as he said, "Kudos to you for giving me such a great workout."

"Compliments mean nothing to me," the Grass Snake Pokemon mildly scoffed. "If anyone is deserving of praise here, it is you. I am mildly astounded by your sudden growth in power. Either Ash has been secretly training you behind my back or Arceus has chosen to bless you. In any case, a challenge has presented itself to me. Don't let your guard down. Show any weakness and I shall be there to exploit it."

"It's not often that I receive compliments from you, Snivy," Niveus stated as he scratched his head sheepishly. "Thank you."

A sadistic smirk suddenly found its way across Snivy's features. She threatened, "Mention this to anyone and I shall take pleasure in slowly squeezing the life out of you."

Niveus swallowed nervously. "U-Understood," he stammered.

Snivy chuckled softly before she said, "Glad you see things my way."

"That was a sweet training session, you guys," the two Pokemon heard their Trainer say. They turned their necks to the direction where they heard Ash's voice and found out that the human was kneeling in front of them with a smile present on his face.

"I see nothing wrong with your form, Snivy," Ash evaluated the Grass Snake Pokemon's performance. "Although, I would have preferred that that Vine Whip of yours connect with Niveus's face. Try not to hold back next time."

Snivy nodded and gave Ash one of her trademark smirks. "I shall keep that in mind," she promised him.

Ash patted the Grass-type's head before switching his attention to Niveus. "Gosh Niveus, I knew that you were strong but not this strong," Ash suspired giddily. "Yesterday, you managed to execute twelve Volt Tackles in a row before passing out. That was a massive improvement from the last time when your limit was only five Volt Tackles. Also, your Electro Ball..., wait, scratch that. I think all your attacks have gained a boost in power." Ash then queried, "Were you holding back all that power on purpose, Niveus?"

Niveus shook his head. "Of course not," he denied. "I'm just as surprised as you, Ash." The Pikachu stopped himself from elaborating any further as he knew that constant denial was the first sign of lying. He did not want to arouse any more suspicion from his suddenly perceptive Trainer.

The black-haired boy was dissatisfied with Niveus's answer but allowed the matter slide. Despite his suspicions, Ash was grateful that Niveus had become more powerful. Since the Pikachu was the unofficial leader of his Pokemon, Ash hoped that this strange occurrence would serve as an incentive for his other Pokemon to start training harder. He now considered Niveus to be his strongest Pokemon but he kept that thought to himself, mostly to avoid incurring the wrath of his fully-evolved Pokemon, especially Charizard and Samurott. If Ash was ever going to achieve his dream of winning a Pokemon League, be it regional or international, he cannot only depend on Niveus. After all, most Pokemon cannot win every fight.

After recalling Snivy into her Poke Ball and allowing Niveus to climb up on his shoulder, he stood up and was about to depart the scene until a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait up, Ash!" Max called out to him.

Ash turned around and saw his friends approaching him with Max having a huge lead over Cilan. He smiled and waved at them. He waited until they reached him before he greeted, "Morning. Liked what you just saw?"

Max nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh. Niveus and Snivy were absolutely awesome. Their attacks were in full synchronization," he observed. The bespectacled teen suddenly wondered aloud, "It was as if they knew what the other was thinking. Are they more than friends, Ash?"

Ash raised an eyebrow over Max's sudden question. He glanced at Niveus from the corner of his eye and silently snickered when he caught sight of the blush tinting the Pikachu's cheeks. Ever since he received his 'gift' from Zekrom, Ash was able to strengthen the bond he had with all his Pokemon. He also was able to discern the hidden personalities of his Pokemon. For example, Ash found out that Niveus was quite the gentleman. The Pikachu would often treat the girls better than the guys so it was considered normal when the male half of Ash's Pokemon insinuated that Niveus was in a relationship with one of the girls.

The brown-eyed Trainer decided to save Niveus from further embarrassment and answered, "Nope."

"Oh," Max mouthed.

"The ingredients that made up that training session were fresh and of the highest quality. The taste was nothing less than sublime," Cilan commended.

Ash, Max and Niveus once again stared blankly at the eccentric Pokemon Connoisseur, unable to comprehend the words that escaped through his lips.

"To put it simply, he is stating that both Pokemon are in top form and that the training session was an absolute thrill to watch," a teen with a familiar voice translated Cilan's words.

The quartet immediately scanned their surroundings and discovered the owner of said voice. The voice belonged to none other than Seishirou. The idiosyncratic teen lazily detached himself from the tree that he was leaning against and strolled over to Ash and his friends.

"It's a pleasure to cross paths with you again, Seishirou," Cilan greeted him.

Max's heart soared at the sight of his idol. "Good morning, Seishirou," he suspired with excitement.

"...Hey, Seishirou," Ash piped up rather meekly. His thoughts drifted back to the time when he and Trip visited Seishioru's residence. He was not sure whether or not Seishirou had forgiven him for unruly behaviour so he decided it was best to display a humble disposition.

Seishirou reciprocated their greetings by giving them a simple nod of his head. His eyes scanned the quartet in front him before they fell upon Ash and Niveus, specifically the former. "Based on that one training session, Niveus and that Snivy of yours are in peak condition. If all your other Pokemon are in top physical condition as well, you might do well in this tournament," he commented.

Ash sensed that there was not anything cynical about that compliment Seishirou had given him and nodded at the enigmatic teen with a shy smile.

The sapphire-eyed teen stared at Ash for a few more seconds before turning around to leave. He said nothing to explain his sudden choice of action and this alarmed Ash to no end.

"Seishirou, wait!" Ash called out to him.

The taller black-haired teen threw an impassive glance over his shoulder. "Yes?"

Ash avoided Seishirou's gaze and shifted from foot to foot. "I... want to... apologize for..., you know, being such a... jerk when I visited your house," he pitifully choked out.

"How can I accept that apology of yours if you cannot even look me in the eye?" Seishirou questioned. "Are you absolutely sincere about this or did someone force you to put on this pitiful act?"

The brown-eyed teen opened his mouth to protest, only to shut it quickly. In his heart, Ash knew that Seishirou was right. Contrary to what other people may think, Ash was actually a very sensitive person. He cared about how other people viewed him and disliked leaving a bad impression on someone. He wanted to prove to Seishirou that he was indeed sincere about his apology but it was easier said than done when the person he was apologizing to had eyes that pierced his soul. Despite his apprehension, Ash steeled himself and lifted his gaze from the ground to Seishirou.

The apathetic teen lazily glanced at Ash's eyes which were filled with fright. Much to his disappointment, Seishirou detected both sincerity and regret in them. His plans to torment Ash by constantly reminding him of the disrespect he displayed at his residence promptly went down the drain.

"Your apology is second-rate but you are forgiven," Seishirou stated.

"Huh, you're forgiving me already?" Ash uttered in disbelief. "Aren't you going to force me to do your housework for a week or something?"

Seishirou raised an eyebrow over Ash's interesting suggestion. "Now that you mention it, I am looking for a part-time slave," he voiced out with a mischievous expression plastered on his face.

Ash's eyes widened when he realized what he had suggested. "No, no, no. Please forget about that suggestion," he begged while flailing his arms wildly.

"Calm yourself," Seishirou assured him. "As if I would hire someone as incompetent as you to do my housework."

Ash sighed in relief. "Yeah, I'm very...," he trailed off as he realized the term that Seishirou had used to describe him. "Hey, what do you mean by 'incompetent'?"

Unfortunately for Ash, his inquiry was left unanswered as Seishirou had silently slipped away, leaving behind an annoyed Trainer with his three friends who were clearly amused by Seishirou's statement.


Eclipse was seating on a bench in one of the private waiting rooms located in Stadium 8 of the Yin region with his body hunched forward and his forearms resting on his thighs. He waited patiently for the clock on the wall to chime its musical tune which would give him the green light to exit the room and proceed to the battlefield. The emerald-eyed teen allowed his gaze to wander around the room. A diversity of colours mostly consisting of slate grey, midnight blue and dark green entered his vision. Eclipse noticed that the colours were more inclined to the cool side of the warm-cool spectrum.

"I suppose these colours had been specifically chosen so that the competitors enter a state of calmness before enduring the pressure of Pokemon battling," Eclipse concluded. "I wouldn't be surprised if the waiting rooms of the stadiums in the Yang region are painted with warm colours. After all, almost everything in this tournament is centered around the black-and-white theme."

However, the calm atmosphere was disturbed when Eclipse's cellphone, which he always carried no matter where he went, rang in an out-of-date tune. Call him old-fashioned but Eclipse never really cared about the latest trends, ringtones included. Exhaling a sigh, Eclipse dug into his pocket, pulled out his cellphone and hovered it near his right ear.

"Hello, this is Eclipse Silverline speaking," he drawled.

"...Hi, Eclipse," a voice on the other line greeted him in a barely audible tone.

Eclipse instantly recognized the owner of the voice. "What do you want, Seth?" he inquired forcefully.

"I... just wanted to... wish you luck," Seth said.

"Couldn't you wish me luck earlier?" Eclipse retorted. "I was fully focused on my upcoming match until you came along and shattered my focus."

Seth was taken aback by his partner's harsh tone. "I'm... sorry," he apologized meekly.

The silver-haired teen pinched the bridge of his nose and took a calming breath. He realized that he had no right to be angry with Seth when the exact time of his match was beyond the younger teen's knowledge. Besides that, the younger teen did admire him to some extent.

"There is no need for you to apologize," Eclipse told Seth calmly. "If anyone should be apologizing here, it is me. While we're on the subject of apologies, you should stop saying 'I'm sorry' all the time. It gives people the impression that you do not possess a backbone."

"I'm sorry," Seth repeated.

Eclipse sighed in exasperation. "Anything else, Seth?"

"Oh, our next meeting with the other Legendary Hunters shall be held at Aries Hotel in a month's time, at least that's what they told me," Seth informed Eclipse. "I heard that we will be discussing about the Legendary Beasts."

"Entei, Suicune and Raikou, huh?" Eclipse asked for confirmation.

"Uh-huh," Seth confirmed.

"Thank you for the info. Talk to you later," Eclipse monotoned.

"Bye," Seth said cheerfully before hanging up.

At the same time Eclipse inserted his cellphone back into his pocket, the clock on the wall chimed eight o'clock.

"Guess that's my cue," he announced as he made his way over to the door. When he gripped the doorknob and pulled the door, he was greeted by an unexpected visitor. He found himself staring down at a small boy who reminded him of a certain acquaintance.

"What do you want, kid?" Eclipse huffed, annoyed with all the distractions that plagued his day.

The silver-eyed boy gazed at Eclipse with a clueless expression. "Hmm..., that's a good question. What do I want from you?" the boy wondered aloud.

Eclipse got the distinct impression that the child in front of him was making fun of him. "As much as I would love to play Twenty Questions with you," he stated sarcastically, "you are making me late for my match so I would appreciate it if you would step aside."

The black-haired youth tilted his head in apparent confusion. "Why?" he asked innocently.

"You are making me late for my match, that's why," Eclipse replied, annoyance creeping into his manner of speech.

"Is your match really that important to you?" the younger boy prodded.

Eclipse narrowed his eyes at the boy before roughly pushing him aside. One could tell by this action that he does not give that much thought to anybody who annoyed him, kids included. Before Eclipse could even distance himself from the small boy, the latter reached out and gripped the silver-haired teen's pants with surprising strength, halting Eclipse in his tracks in the process.

"You really are an uptight individual," the boy remarked, the innocence in his voice replaced by a mocking tone. "I now see why my onii-san regards you as his favourite plaything."

"Plaything?" Eclipse thought as he glanced at the boy over his shoulder.

"My name is Seito 'Sanctus' Syuusuke," the boy introduced himself. "It is a displeasure to make your acquaintance." He then gave Eclipse a mocking bow.

His interest piqued, Eclipse knelt down and scrutinized the boy from head to toe. "You must be related to Seishirou then," he concluded.

Seito grinned impishly. "Wow, you're skills of observation are so sharp," he mocked. "How did you manage to come to that conclusion? Is it because my last name is also Syuusuke or it is because of my charming personality?"

"The former option more than the latter," Eclipse replied tonelessly. Since the boy claimed to be Seishirou's younger brother, Eclipse thought it was best to act as if Seishirou was in the boy's place. Whenever he was in Seishirou's presence, Eclipse felt relieved as he could just be himself. He refrained from putting on a facade when he interacted with Seishirou since the enigmatic teen was notorious for playing with other people's emotions. Plus, he did not know how the act in front of children. Though, the fact that the kid in front of him was related to Seishirou made things a tad bit easier.

Eclipse promptly reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. "Can you do me a favour?" he requested as he held out the envelope to Seito. "Could you pass along this envelope to your brother?"

Seito's eyes glinted with mischief. "So, relatively speaking, your wish is for me to become a courier?" he jumbled up Eclipse's request.

"...Yes," Eclipse said hesitantly. He was growing increasingly wary of Seito since the boy's personality somewhat matched Seishirou's personality with the exception of the boy's sarcasm. Seishirou had been more sardonic rather than sarcastic. If this really was the case, Eclipse would have to pay attention to the words that escaped his lips.

"I require payment," Seito said simply.

"Money?" Eclipse thought aloud.

Seito scoffed, "Like my onii-san, I have no interest in this world's legal tender. The price can be anything abstract or concrete, as long as it's value is equivalent to that of the wish."

"What shall happen if this requirement is not fulfilled?" Eclipse queried curiously.

"According to my onii-san, the punishment involves blood," Seito responded. "The balance of the universe has been affected so compensation in the form of either the client's or the granter's blood is required to restore the balance."

Eclipse shook his head. "This kid's just as vague as Seishirou," he inwardly moaned. He then uttered, "Name your price."

Seito closed his eyes in thought. He then opened them and stated, "Your cellphone-"

The emerald-eyed breathed a sigh of relief. He was slightly glad that the price was something he could easily replace. He casually took out his cellphone to delete all the content first before handing it to Seito.

"-with the content intact."

The older of the two boys was just a second away from pressing the delete button before Seito added those four words. With a grumble, he moved his thumb away from the delete button and held out the cellphone to Seito.

Seishirou's younger brother snatched both the envelope and the cellphone from Eclipse's hand before pocketing them in his pants. He then stared at Eclipse with a malicious glint in his eyes, making the older boy slightly nervous. Suddenly, Seito leaned forward and planted a kiss on Eclipse's lips. Almost instantly, he broke away from the kiss and sprinted away on his toes, laughing merrily as he was enshrouded by the shadows.

Eclipse stared blankly at Seito's disappearing form. Slightly perturbed by the kid's sudden action, he wiped his lips with his thumb to get rid of any lingering saliva. He immediately produced a handkerchief and wiped his thumb clean.

"The boy seems to be suffering from a minor case of bipolar disorder," he stated offhandedly. "Though, he is related to Seishirou so that could have been an act for all I care."

A shred of pity welled up inside of Eclipse but he quickly extinguished it. His mind cleared of all distractions, he proceeded to the battlefield where his opponent awaited him.


"Welcome to this opening match of Group XXXX, ladies and gentlemen!" the emcee announced. "This match shall be fought between Annalyn 'May' Moonwell from Twinleaf Town and Eclipse Silverline from Silver Shore Island which is considered to be a part of the Orange Archipelago. Both of these Trainers' resumes are not that eye-catching with Annalyn's best results being a semifinal showing at the Lily of the Valley Conference and victory at the Kanto Battle Frontier while Eclipse's achievements include victories in several small competitions. Regardless, the fact that they are here means that the Committee of the Pokemon League has acknowledge their strengths as Pokemon Trainers. Who knows? Perhaps one of these Trainers will come of age in this tournament." He paused for a moment to catch his breath before he roared, "Let's get this show on the road!"

All eyes were locked onto the giant screen atop the stadium. The screen promptly activated and the Trainers' images were immediately displayed. Three empty slots, which shall be used to display the images of the Pokemon competing, flashed into existence below each Trainer's image. A wheel consisting of yellow and blue segments popped up in the middle of the screen. A blue segment then lit up and the light began flashing from segment to segment before coming to a stop on a blue segment.

"The wheel has spoken!" the emcee exclaimed. "Eclipse shall send out his Pokemon first!"

"Haxorus, secure my victory!" Eclipse shouted as he released a Pokemon that was categorized in the same species as Fraxure.

"Eclipse has chosen to start things off with a Haxorus!" the emcee stated as the Axe Jaw Pokemon's icon appeared below Eclipse's image.

Annalyn pondered on the right Pokemon for her to send out to face Haxorus. After a moment's thought, she grabbed a Poke Ball and flung it into the air. "Floatzel, time to shine!"

The Sea Weasel Pokemon emerged out of his Poke Ball and grinned cheekily at Haxorus, eager to best the Axe Jaw Pokemon in battle. On cue with Floatzel's release, an empty slot below Annalyn's image lit up as Floatzel's profile shot occupied it.

"The first battle of the match is between Haxorus and Floatzel!" the official announced. "Let the match begin!"

"Haxorus, let's end this battle quickly," Eclipse called out to his Pokemon. "Use Draco Meteor."

The Dragon-type Pokemon released a vociferous roar as his body glowed orange and a ball of draconic energy formed inside his chest. The ball of light then travelled up Haxorus's body to his massive maw which the Axe Jaw Pokemon opened wide to accomodate the large sphere of energy. He bent his neck so that the sky entered his sights before firing the orb of energy into the air. The moment it's ascension to the clouds came to a stop, the sphere of light exploded and triggered the release of many orbs of light which were smaller than their proginetor. They rained down towards the battlefield or more specifically, Annalyn's side of the battlefield.

Annalyn hastily ordered, "Protect, Floatzel."

Floatzel held up his hands up into the air and conjured up a bluish-green forcefield around him. A second later, the spheres of draconic energy bombarded the battlefield around Floatzel, causing multiple explosions to occur and shards of rock to fly in every direction. Annalyn was forced to cross her arms over her face to prevent the rocks from hitting her eyes. If her sight was taken away, then her hopes of winning the match would be completely dashed. The layer of dust enshrouding the battlefield was swept away by a gust of wind to reveal Floatzel who was unharmed by the attack. The forcefield around him protected the Water-type Pokemon from the devastating Dragon-based attack but the same could not be said of the battlefield which was cluttered with depressions. Still, the condition of the battleground was not so bad that it required to be replaced.

"Good job, Floatzel," Annalyn praised him as Floatzel dispelled the forcefield surrounding him.

"Floatzel, like many other Pokemon in this tournament, has proven the usefulness of having the ultimate defensive move in your repetoire of attacks!" the emcee stated poetically.

Annalyn raised her finger and pointed it at her opponent's Pokemon. "Run towards Haxorus while using Ice Shard."

The Sea Weasel Pokemon deftly broke into a sprint towards his opponent. As the distance between them was dwindling, Floatzel held out a paw in Haxorus's direction. He siphoned his aura into said paw, making it glow light blue in the process. The Water-type Pokemon then proceeded to fire chunk after chunk of ice at the Axe Jaw Pokemon as if he were using a gun.

"Those pitiful shards of ice are extremely laughable," Eclipse uttered flippantly. "Haxorus, let's kill two birds with one stone. Use Dragon Rush."

The Dragon-type roared in approval as he eagerly lunged towards Floatzel. Suddenly, his body was enveloped in a light blue orb with white streaks trailing along its surface. Speaking of its surface, when the ice shards came into contact with it, they shattered out of existence.

"You are now witnessing the difference in power between both of the combatants' respective attacks, ladies and gentlemen!" the emcee cried out excitedly. "Despite the inferiority of Ice Shard, Floatzel presses on forward. What does Annalyn have in store?"

The emcee's question was answered almost instantly as Annalyn instructed, "Jump over Haxorus, Floatzel."

Floatzel hastily leapt forwards into the air. The fact that Haxorus was just an arm's length away from hitting remarkably did not faze him one bit. The Sea Weasel Pokemon then twisted his body in midair so that his back was facing his opponent and slightly arched his back inwards. Floatzel could practically feel the energy from the Dragon Rush brush against his back as Haxorus went under him. Once the danger had passed, Floatzel arched his back again, outwards this time, thus bringing him back to an upright position. Gravity did the rest as it attracted the Water-type Pokemon back to the ground.

"Great evasive action by Floatzel!" the emcee commented.

"Floatzel, freeze Haxorus's back with Ice Beam," Annalyn commanded. She added, "After that, use Focus Blast."

Annalyn's Pokemon lowered down his jaws and shot a thin beam of ice which struck Haxorus's back, freezing it in an instant. His opponent roared in discomfort as he was exposed to an attack that dealt him far more damage compared to other attacks due to the attack's element, Ice.

"Haxorus's reaction to that Ice Beam was expected since the Dragon-type Pokemon is weak against Ice-based attacks!" the emcee announced.

The Sea Weasel Pokemon, having completed the first command, immediately got to work on his second one. He held out his left paw in front of him and spun it in a circular motion. Gradually, a blue sphere of energy began to take shape in the 'circle' bordered by his moving paw. Once the Focus Blast was completed, Floatzel drew back his right arm and gave the orb of energy a solid punch. The ball of compressed energy practically zoomed the length of the battlefield in an instant and exploded upon impact with Haxorus's frozen back. To further add to the Axe Jaw Pokemon's list of woes, the Focus Blast shattered the ice on his back and tiny icicles were born as a result. They scraped against his back, eliciting a pained moan from Haxorus.

Eclipse was unfazed by this sudden turn of events. He ignored Haxorus's cry of pain that was ringing in his ears and receded into his thoughts. "I am in a disadvantageous situation," he mused. "Haxorus is weak against Ice-based attacks so I need to turn the tide in my favour soon. Luckily, Haxorus has just the attack for this type of situation."

Confidence was coursing through Annalyn's veins as she ordered, "Use Brick Break, Floatzel!"

One of his arms glowed white as he broke into a full-hearted dash towards his stunned opponent. He jumped into the air and raised his arm, eager to inflict more pain on Haxorus.

Haxorus's Trainer allowed a faint grin to drift across his features. "Dragon Tail, Haxorus," he commanded.

As with his Trainer, Haxorus grinned slightly before executing the command. He lifted his tail slightly before swinging it at Floatzel. Since the Sea Weasel Pokemon was airborne, his movement was extremely limited and he could do to nothing to prevent Haxorus's Dragon Tail from finding its mark. Haxorus's muscular tail slammed into Floatzel's gut, not only knocking the wind out of the Sea Weasel Pokemon but also sending him flying several more feet into the air.

"Floatzel!" Annalyn yelled out in concern.

Suddenly, Floatzel's Poke Ball shot out a red beam which engulfed the Water-type Pokemon and returned him back into his Poke Ball, thus forcing him out of the battle. Then, another one of Annalyn's Poke Balls snapped open and shot out a blue light that struck the battlefield. The blue light grew in size and shape before dissipating to reveal an Infernape. The Infernape in question looked around in question, curious as to why her Trainer did say out her usual battle cry before sending her out to battle.

Murmurs and whispers of confusion broke out amongst the spectators. The emcee immediately put his great knowledge of Pokemon attacks to good use as he informed them, "All of you had just witnessed the effect of Dragon Tail. If the opposing Pokemon is hit with this attack, then it shall be forcibly returned back into its Poke Ball and another Pokemon will take its place." The emcee added, "In this case, Haxorus's Dragon Tail worked to Eclipse's advantage as it replaced Floatzel with Infernape. With the exception of Dragon-type enthusiasts, most people do not know that Haxorus are slightly resistant to Fire-based attacks."

"Ooooohhhh," the crowd echoed. Up on the screen, the light around Floatzel's image faded to grey while the empty slot below it lit up, displaying Infernape's image.

Eclipse smirked. "Perfect."

Annalyn bit the inside of her cheek. She did not expect the advantage to be snatched away from her so soon. A minute ago, she could afford to order her Pokemon to battle freely and recklessly. Presently though, she and by extension, her Infernape, would have to be more conservative in their approach. While Haxorus was resistant to Fire-based attacks, this fact did not put Infernape at a total disadvantage since she was part Fighting-type.

"Overcome Haxorus with speed, Infernape," Annalyn called out. "Use Mach Punch."

The Flame Pokemon knelt down on her right knee before launching herself towards Haxorus with a glowing arm.

"Protect," Eclipse commanded.

On cue, a bluish-green forcefield surrounded Haxorus and protected him from Infernape's Mach Punch which bounced off the surface of the barrier.

Seeing Infernape's staggered state, Eclipse swiftly ordered, "Dragon Pulse."

Haxorus grinned sadistically before opening his mouth and shooting out a bright green ball of draconic energy at his opponent.

"Kick it back with Blaze Kick!" Annalyn called out forcefully.

Since Infernape's battle stance was in an unbalanced state, she knew that she could not execute Blaze Kick the normal way so she decided to improvise. The Flame Pokemon allowed gravity to pull her back until it came into contact with the ground. She then folded her legs against her chest and channelled her aura to the soles of her feet, making them burst into flames in the process. Without reservation, she thrusted her legs forwards and struck her intended target. As a result, the bright green orb was propelled back towards its proginetor who clearly did not expect his opponent to reverse the situation. The energy-filled sphere exploded upon contact with Haxorus's black-skinned chest and pushed the axe Jaw Pokemon a couple of feet backwards.

"A great reversal by Infernape!" the emcee complimented.

Annalyn noticed that Haxorus was still reeling from being struck by the Dragon Pulse. This gave her plenty of assurance to give out her next command. "Close Combat, Infernape!"

Infernape used her exceptional speed to her advantage as she closed the distance between her and Haxorus in just one second. She expelled a determined shriek as she assailed her foe with a flurry of punches and kicks. Each strike found its mark, damaging Haxorus even further.

"Annalyn has pegged back the momentum as Infernape is not letting up on its assault one bit!" the emcee exclaimed. "Eclipse better think of something fast or..." The emcee suddenly paused mid-sentence when he caught sight of the barely noticeable smirk across the silver-haired Trainer's features. The man with the mike resumed, "I retract my earlier statement. Eclipse does not seem the least bit concerned over the current situation. Does he have a plan in mind?"

Confusion marred her face as Annalyn gazed at her opponent. She suddenly felt a sense of foreboding in her heart when she noticed that the corner of Eclipse's lips had curved upwards a little.

"Use Toxic, Haxorus," Eclipse ordered.

The Axe Jaw Pokemon breathed in a huge intake of air before he sprayed a stream of thick, purple liquid onto Infernape's face. She immediately halted her assault on Haxorus and leapt backwards, hissing in pain as the corrosive property of the liquid splattered on her face took effect. The Fire-type Pokemon managed to wipe her face clean with her arms but as a result, the burning sensation was transferred to her most prized appendages. If that was not bad enough, her body suddenly glowed purple with some bubbles of the same colour emerging from her skin.

"Well now, it looks like Infernape has been poisoned!" the emcee observed. "From this point on, Infernape will have to contend with two opponents, Haxorus and time. Annalyn had better come up with a strategy to defeat Haxorus quickly as the poison coursing through Infernape's veins is slowly ebbing away at its health!"

"Thanks for the inside perspective, Captain Obvious," Annalyn grumbled in a barely audible tone. "Hmm..., I should ask Infernape to use long-ranged moves to minimize her movements but most of them are Fire-based. Since Haxorus is slightly resistant to Fire-based attacks, they are close to being useless. That means I have to rely on her close-ranged attacks to get the job done. I must act quickly before the poison overwhelms her."

"Use Agility to get close to Haxorus and execute Focus Punch!" Annalyn commanded determinedly. She added, "Then, follow it up with Double Kick!"

Infernape ignored the pain that was pulsing all over her body and focused on carrying out her Trainer's instructions. She held out her right arm to the side and balled her paw into a fist. Said fist suddenly took on a blue glow as Infernape transfered some of her aura into that particular appendage. Next, the Flame Pokemon ran towards her opponent while disappearing and reappearing in different spots, confusing her opponent to an extent. When Infernape reappeared in front of Haxorus, she straight away jumped up and delivered a solid punch to the Dragon-type's chest, forcing a cough to be expelled out of Haxorus. Infernape then contorted her body and planted two kicks on the same spot, sending the Axe Jaw Pokemon sliding backwards.

"Sweet combo there by Infernape!" the emcee began. "However-"

As Infernape's feet met solid ground again, her body suddenly spasmed and emitted an intense purple glow. The Flame Pokemon's body hunched forwards but she managed to stop her forward momentum by spreading out her legs. With a much wider base, her overall balance had improved as she corrected her stance.

"-this strategy is extremely risky because it involves a lot of movement on Infernape's part. The Flame Pokemon has to make every attack count for if it doesn't, it will surely succumb to the poison in its body." He continued, "Dragon Tail does not allow the Pokemon that replaced the Pokemon before it to be switched out so the sooner Infernape takes out Haxorus, the sooner it gets to rest in its Poke Ball."

Infernape's body glowed purple again, presenting Eclipse with an opportunity. "Pull yourself together and use Dragon Pulse."

Once Haxorus composed himself by taking a few deep breaths, he locked onto his target and shot another sphere of draconic energy at Infernape.

"Use Rock Tomb as a shield!" Annalyn countered.

Grunting in approval, Infernape raised her right leg and slammed the heel of her foot onto the ground. On cue, a pillar of grey stone erupted from the uneven surface of the battlefield in front of the Flame Pokemon. The pillar of stone was instantly sacrificed as Haxorus's Dragon Pulse collided with it. Thus, Infernape was prevented from being dealt with more bodily harm.

Infernape's Trainer was about to breathe a sigh of relief but the sight of her Pokemon's body flashing purple again turned the sigh of relief that she was about to exhale into a sigh of frustration. "This isn't good," she grumbled to herself. "The poison is spreading faster than I thought it would. Hmm..., in this situation, I can only depend on one attack."

After making sure that Infernape had indeed composed herself, Annalyn shouted, "End it with Flare Blitz, Infernape!"

The Fire-type Pokemon, in her poisoned state, had to exert a lot more energy than usual in leaping up into the air. Once she was satisfied with the potential energy she had gathered from her ascension to the skies, she promptly covered her body in flames and dived down towards her opponent.

"It would seem that this shall be Annalyn and Infernape's last-ditch attempt to score a first win in this match!" the emcee narrated suspensefully. "How will Eclipse and Haxorus nullify this effort?"

Eclipse shook his head in disappointment. His opponent had unknowingly given him the advantage on a silver platter by ordering her Infernape to use such a risky move. "Haxorus," he monotoned, "use Hyper Beam."

With his heart devoid of any mercy, Haxorus waited until his opponent was just a tad bit closer to him before opening his giant chompers and firing a powerful beam of energy at Infernape. Due to her inability to change her course due to being in midair, the Flame Pokemon could only brace herself as she was engulfed by the beam.

"Infernape!" Annalyn yelled out in horror.

In this minor skirmish, Eclipse had the last laugh, in a figurative way to be exact. He quietly observed the scene which was unfolding on the battlefield. In a more specific sense, he watched as his opponent's Pokemon was sent flying backwards, having been at the receiving end of a powerful Hyper Beam, at point-blank range no less. The Flame Pokemon crashed onto the battlefield, battered and unconscious. With her strength and energy continually sapped by the poison in her body, Eclipse would be mildly surprised if the Flame Pokemon even had the energy to lift a finger.

"Infernape is unable to battle!" the official, decked in his black and white attire, announced as he raised the blue flag. The colouration around Infernape's icon faded completely, signifying her defeat.

"Oh..., all of Infernape's hard work was all for naught!" the emcee exclaimed dramatically. "Just comes to show you that issuing just a single wrong command is fatal in a tournament of this calibre! Can Annalyn bounce back from this demoralizing loss and get back on track?"

The fourteen-year-old girl seriously wanted to strangle the emcee for that comment. She could read in between the lines and kind off figured out that the emcee was playing down her credentials as a Zenith League participant. Despite feeling angry towards the commentator, she calmed herself down by taking a deep breath and counting to ten. A cliche method to cool down but effective nonetheless.

"There's no point in me getting frustrated," Annalyn chastised herself. "I'm only down by one Pokemon. Victory is still possible." After recalling Infernape back into her Poke Ball, she immediately unclipped another one from her belt. "Amber, time to shine!"

The blue-haired teen tossed the Poke Ball into the air in tandem with that exclamation. The dual-coloured containment device snapped open and released a Charizard a second later.

"Looks like Annalyn has opted for muscle in an attempt to get back on track!" the emcee blared, his voice reverberating throughout the stadium. "Her second Pokemon is a Charizard!" The Fire-type's image was instantly inserted into the last empty slot below her Trainer's icon.

Annalyn noticed that her opponent made no attempt to withdraw his Haxorus, meaning that she was free to give out an order. "Amber, start things off with Dragon Rage!" she commanded.

The Charizard, without hesitation, formed a ball of fire in her mouth and released a fiery inferno towards Haxorus.

"Nullify it with Counter," Eclipse ordered in retaliation.

Haxorus crossed his arms over his chest and began to charge up his energy, causing his armored body to become outlined in orange. Amber's Dragon Rage struck its intended target but no harm came upon Haxorus. Instead, the attack was reflected back at Amber with its power multiplied by a factor of two.

Amber's Trainer quickly shouted, "Block with Steel Wing!"

The Fire-type's wings immediately took on a metallic sheen as she folded them in front of her body. The beam of draconic energy crossed the length of the battlefield and came into contact with Amber's hardened appendages. Despite its increased power, it failed to penetrate Amber's defence as the Charizard stood her ground. With a defiant roar, she swung her wings outward which had the effect of the Dragon Rage being dispelled.

"Astounding!" the emcee roared in tandem with the crowd's applause. "Charizard cancelled out that Dragon Rage as if were a small wisp of fire!"

Eclipse was unaffected by Amber's feat confidence-wise as he softly instructed, "Use Dragon Rush."

Just like earlier in the match, Haxorus rushed towards his opponent with the intention of slamming his body, which was covered in a bright blue orb, into the Charizard's abdomen.

Annalyn thought a bit before deciding upon a suitable command. "Use Aerial Ace!"

The Flame Pokemon flapped her wings so that she floated about ten feet off the ground. She then dived towards Haxorus with silver streaks trailing behind her. She folded her wings against her body mid-dive in to reduce wind resistance and increase the speed of her dive.

"This is gonna be a big collision, folks!" the emcee determined.

Unfortunately for him, Annalyn decided to get back at him for that comment he made after her Infernape lost to Eclipse's Haxorus. "Angle your body about 30 degrees to the left!" she called out to Amber.

Amber did exactly as her Trainer said as she avoided a collision with Haxorus by a mere whisker. Most of the crowd were disappointed at having been denied another explosion so they took out their frustration on the emcee by throwing popcorn at him.

Annalyn laughed silently before switching her attention back to the match. "Immobilize Haxorus with Dragon Claw!"

The blue-haired girl's Charizard made her claws glow light blue before she dived down and delivered two slashes on Haxorus's back. Haxorus dropped down on one knee as the pain of being dealt a super effective attack spread from his back throughout his whole body.

"Finish Haxorus off with Dragon Pulse!" Annalyn hollered with vigour.

Detecting the desperation in Annalyn's voice, Amber immediately opened her mouth and conjured up a turquoise ball of energy in front of it. Snapping her head backwards, she brought it forwards in one fluid motion and fired the orb at Haxorus exposed back.

Eclipse did not even bother to call out to his Haxorus to avoid the Dragon Pulse. Even if the Axe Jaw Pokemon did dodge the powerful Dragon-based move, it would serve to prolong the inevitable. After all, the Dragon-type Pokemon had already suffered damage that would affect his performance. As this was the case, Eclipse idly watched as his Haxorus was struck by the Dragon Pulse which was enough to sap the Axe Jaw Pokemon's remaining strength as he ended up sprawled on the battlefield.

The referee promptly raised the yellow flag and declared, "Haxorus is unable to battle!"

*PING*

If it had been the first day of the Zenith League, then the spectators would be wondering about the whereabouts of that sound since most of them had never been at an official Pokemon tournament. However, having experienced the atmosphere of a Pokemon tournament firsthand not twenty-four hours ago, they now know that the sound that they had just heard symbolized the defeat of a Pokemon.

"Return, Haxorus," Eclipse respired lazily as he recalled the Axe Jaw Pokemon back into his Poke Ball, switching it with another Poke Ball almost instantly. He whispered, "Leviathan, secure my victory."

The Pokemon that emerged from the Poke Ball turned out to be the same Pokemon that Annalyn was using at that moment. However, Leviathan's appearance could not be any more different from Amber's. Unlike Annalyn's Charizard, the front of Leviathan's two wings was red in colour while the back was black like most of his body. Also, his belly and the undersides of his feet were somewhat ash grey in appearance.

"Shiny Pokemon are quite the common sight in this tournament compared to the wild," the emcee stated observantly. "Yesterday, we had a chance to witness a Shiny Sceptile, a Shiny Pikachu and a Shiny Charmander in action. This time, we all get to see a Shiny Charizard strut its stuff!" Leviathan's icon lit up and occupied the second slot below Eclipse's profile shot a second later.

The crowd's cheering went up a notch as they were excited at the prospect of seeing two Charizard fight it out against each other. It was a very strange phenomenon. If fully-evolved Grass-type or Water-type Pokemon were sent out to fight, they would not get the same amount of applause as Fire-types did. Ever since the inception of Pokemon tournaments, witnessing battles between Fire-type Pokemon were always on top of the list of every die-hard fan. No one knew how the bias towards Fire-type Pokemon came to exist. It was just... there.

Unfortunately for the fans, they would have to wait a little longer as Annalyn immediately recalled her Charizard. She liked an all-out brawl between Fire-type Pokemon as much as the next person but she remembered that she was a Trainer, not a spectator. She came into the match with a specific game plan in mind and she would rather forfeit the match than throw her game plan down the drain just to satisfy the crowd.

"Floatzel, come back out!" she cried as she released the Sea Weasel Pokemon back into the battlefield.

"Ah, it would seem that Annalyn has opted for the type advantage," the emcee drawled, his enthusiasm struck down by the blue-haired girl's decision to switch her Pokemon.

Annalyn, inwardly chuckling for putting a plug on the emcee's zeal, took the initiative once again. "Razor Wind, Floatzel!"

Upon receiving his order, Floatzel made the two fins on his arms glow white as a result of pumping some energy into them. The Sea Weasel Pokemon then swung them outwards, firing a multitude of white, crescent-shaped disks from them towards Leviathan.

"Air Slash, Leviathan," Eclipse calmly commanded.

Grateful to his Trainer for allowing him to sate his lust for battle, he fully complied with Eclipse's command. Leviathan's wings gained a light blue glow as he smoothly crossed them in front of his body. A second later, he opened them up and released multiple light blue saw-like energy discs to counter his foe's Razor Wind.

On paper, Razor Wind and Air Slash were almost equal in power so it came down to their individual strengths to decide the outcome when those attacks collide with each other. Unsurprisingly, Leviathan's Air Slash sliced through Floatzel's Razor Wind and continued on towards the Water-type Pokemon. He was granted ample time to dodge the energy discs but he certainly did not expect them to suddenly speed up. His reflexes were not at fault but it was mostly due to the surprise factor that made those energy discs find their mark.

The emcee seemed to have regained the will to do his job as he spoke out, "Those razor-sharp energy discs must've surely done a number on Floatzel!" Inwardly, he gloated, "Hah, serves you right for switching out your Pokemon."

Eclipse, who still kept his expressionless mask on, instructed, "Wing Attack."

Leviathan quickly launched himself into the air with the flap of his wings and dived down towards Floatzel, eager to hit the the Sea Weasel Pokemon with one of his glowing wings.

"Jump and use Aqua Tail on Leviathan's back!" Annalyn hollered.

Floatzel quickly recovered from Leviathan's Air Slash and leapt into the air just in time to avoid his opponent's attack. When Leviathan was directly below him, Floatzel's two tails glowed light blue and he spun them around, a stream of water spiralling around each one. Spinning head over heels, Floatzel slammed his two tails on Leviathan's exposed back, sending the Flame Pokemon crashing onto the ground. The force at which Leviathan collided with the battlefield was rather substantial as dust was kicked up into the air. Floatzel then made use of the backward momentum to launch himself out of the cloud of dust.

"Oh, that's gotta hurt," the emcee observed. "Charizard was on the receiving end of a very powerful Aqua Tail! Are we bearing witness to a one-hit knockout?"

Everyone in the stadium received the answer a second later when Leviathan shot out of the dust cloud and chose to remain in the air. The Shiny Charizard slowly turned around to look down at his opponent, who was still airborne, with an annoyed expression on his face.

Eclipse sighed as he sensed his Shiny Charizard's growing impatience. He caressed a strand of his silver hair before he directed, "Use Flame Burst to push Floatzel back onto the ground."

Leviathan was slightly confused as to why his Trainer would ask him to use a Fire-based move but kept his reservations to himself. The Flame Pokemon reared his head back before he fired a bullet of black fire, which drew gasps of amazement from the fans, at his target.

"Aqua Ring, Floatzel!" Annalyn shouted.

The Sea Weasel Pokemon hastily held out his arms to the side and enveloped himself in a veil of water. Leviathan's Flame Burst exploded upon contact with Floatzel, knocking him down towards the ground. He managed to land on his two feet but the remaining momentum caused him to skid backwards a couple of feet. He was a bit shaken up but the barrier of water protected him from suffering any real damage. Once he had calmed himself, he dispelled the cloak of water and settled back into his fighting stance. His body glowed green for a moment as he gazed at his opponent in the sky.

"That was some quick thinking by Annalyn!" the emcee complimented. "Aqua Ring not only protected Floatzel from Charizard's Flame Burst but also healed its wounds received from Charizard's earlier attack!"

Annalyn was so focused on the battle that she completely tuned out the emcee's voice. She ordered, "Knock Leviathan out of the sky with Sonic Boom!"

Since Leviathan was in the sky, Floatzel had to improvise. He leaned forward and placed his paws on the ground before he lifted up the lower half of his body so that he was standing upside down. The Sea Weasel Pokemon made his tails glow white before he spun around like a top. On cue, several shockwaves were released from the 'top' and arced up at a slight angle towards Eclipse's Shiny Charizard.

"Blow them away with Gust," Eclipse commanded tonelessly.

With a flap of his massive wings, Leviathan released a strong gust of wind which altered the shockwaves' course back towards the ground. They bombarded the battlefield, littering it with small depressions.

"Such an effortless Gust from Charizard!" the emcee exclaimed.

"Flare Blitz," Eclipse ordered.

Leviathan let out a powerful roar as his body was engulfed in black flames, once again drawing shocked gasps from the crowd. Their shock was understandable since this was the first time they had seen a Charizard, a Shiny one at that, that was capable of spewing out black flames. The Shiny Charizard did not allow his concentration to be shattered by the spectators as he ascended higher into the sky before he dived down with his wings tucked against his back, intent on bringing a world of pain on Floatzel.

"Quick, counter with Hydro Pump!" Annalyn yelled.

The blue-haired girl's Pokemon promptly blasted a powerful jet of water from his mouth at Leviathan who was getting closer by the second. He was confident, despite the massive difference in size, that his opponent would get blown away by his attack as circumstances dictated that Water-based attacks always triumphed over Fire-based ones. However, in this case, Floatzel could only stand slack-jawed as Leviathan plowed through his Hydro Pump without any effort whatsoever.

Annalyn too was shocked beyond comprehension but managed to pull it together. Her gaze fell back upon the battlefield and she immediately noticed that Floatzel was standing still like a tree. She shouted, "Get out of there, Floatzel!"

Unfortunately for Annalyn, Floatzel did not hear her, the reason being that he was paralyzed with fear. When his Hydro Pump was ruthlessly dispelled, his bodily functions ceased to function and he was tossed into the chasm of doubt. In layman's terms, Floatzel had completely loss the will to fight. He could do nothing but close his eyes and await the inevitable. The Sea Weasel Pokemon felt Leviathan slam into him with brute force and the flames of hell burned every inch of his body as he was propelled backwards into the air.

"Floatzel!" Annalyn cried out in horror.

Mercy was absent from Eclipse's train of thought as he ruthlessly ordered, "Dragon Claw."

Leviathan quickly banished the black flames surrounding his body and siphoned some energy into his claws, making them glow bright green. He then zoomed past Floatzel and slashed his back, catapulting the Water-type Pokemon higher into the sky.

The Shiny Charizard's emerald-eyed Trainer raised his right hand so that it was in line with his shoulders. "AncientPower," he suspired as he snapped his fingers.

Utilizing Agility, Leviathan rocketed up until he was floating above his prey. After that, he tensed up all the muscles in his body and as a result, a silver glow was emitted from his body. The glow then compressed itself to form a silver ball of energy in front of the Shiny Charizard. Locking on to his target, he fired the sphere of energy and watched as it hit Floatzel's gut, pushing the Water-type Pokemon and slamming him into the ground. The silver ball of energy then exploded, increasing the damage dealt to the Sea Weasel Pokemon.

"That was a superb three-hit combo by Charizard!" the emcee bellowed. "Will Floatzel still be able to stand after enduring three powerful attacks in succession?"

The answer to the commentator's question was swiftly answered as the smoke cleared to unveil Floatzel whose consciousness had been taken away and cast off into the black abyss.

"Floatzel is unable to battle!" the referee announced as he raised the blue flag. Since he was now unable to partake in any more battles, Floatzel's image disappeared from the screen.

Annalyn recalled her downed Pokemon with a grim expression plastered on her face. She then looked up at the screen atop the stadium. The blue-haired teen actually did not need to look up at it to know that she only had Amber at her disposal but she did anyway. After watching Eclipse's Shiny Charizard completely decimate her Water-type Pokemon, she was not sure that Amber was capable of wresting this match from Eclipse. Even if the Flame Pokemon did, by some miracle, defeat her Shiny counterpart, there was still the issue of Eclipse's third Pokemon. She had no doubt in her mind that whatever the third Pokemon was, it was bound to be powerful.

She mentally slapped herself and shook her head. "Regardless, I promised myself that I, whether the circumstances favour me or not, would fight until the bitter end," she said with conviction. "If I give up now, then Michael would just see me as a wimp and undeserving of his forgiveness."

Taking a deep breath, she switched out Floatzel's Poke Ball for Amber's and flung it into the air. "Give it all you got, Amber!" she yelled.

Once Amber came out of her Poke Ball, the crowd became extremely zealous yet again. Since Leviathan had suffered little to no damage in his bout with Floatzel, they were pretty confident that they were going to witness the battle of their dreams. Regrettably, at least for the fans, they would be denied again as Eclipse casually recalled his Shiny Charizard. Cries of protest echoed throughout the arena and boos were heckled at the silver-haired teen.

"Fools. Your dreams and fantasies are inconsequential to me," he silently uttered. He then hovered his hand over the third Poke Ball on his belt. "End this, Xavier," he murmured as he tapped the dual-coloured containment device.

The Poke Ball snapped open and released a blue light towards the Sun where it disappeared from everyone's sights. The situation was swiftly resolved as the crowd could make out a figure spinning head over heels towards the battlefield. With only ten feet separating it from the ground, the figure uncurled itself before landing on its toes, kneeling on its right leg to stabilize the Earth's pull on him. The crowd instantly recognized this Pokemon from the four black appendages stemming from its head and the spikes on its arms and chest. They were staring at a Lucario.

"Ah, it would seem that Eclipse's final Pokemon is the Aura Pokemon, Lucario!" the emcee stated unnecessarily as Xavier's image was inserted into the last empty slot below Eclipse's image. "On paper, the type advantage goes to Annalyn and Charizard but having witnessed the strength of Eclipse's earlier Pokemon, I would say that the type advantage is rather irrelevant!"

"Master Eclipse, what is your wish?" Xavier conveyed his thoughts telepathically.

"Victory," Eclipse said laconically.

Xavier nodded and replied, "As you wish." The Aura Pokemon slowly stood up, lifted his eyelids and settled into a more appropriate stance for battling.

"Hmm..., Lucario are extremely speedy so this one could easily interrupt Amber's attacks," Annalyn contemplated. "If that's the case, then I should make Amber attack from the one place this Lucario can't reach her, the sky." She commanded, "Amber, take to the skies and use Fire Blast!"

The Charizard rapidly spread her wings, flapped them to lift her body slightly off the ground and took to the skies.

"Good strategy by Annalyn!" the emcee praised. "By having her Charizard attack from the sky, Annalyn is minimizing the chances of Lucario landing a hit on the Flame Pokemon!"

Everyone was so focused on observing Amber prepare for her attack that they did not catch the smirks that adorned both Eclipse and Xavier's faces. The fans watched as Amber's eyes glowed orange and her body became surrounded in a fiery aura. Next, the Flame Pokemon breathed in rather deeply, gathering fire in her mouth. She then released five blasts of fire from her mouth down towards Xavier. Each blast of fire took on a 大 shape.

Eclipse swung his right arm outwards and instructed, "Block those blasts of fire with Bone Rush."

Xavier nodded in approval before he held out his forepaws and created a light green bone of energy. He quickly grasped it and started to twirl it around like the blades of a windmill. As the flames crept closer, Xavier started to increase the overall pace of his twirling of the aura-formed bone until the speed was comparable to that of an aircraft engine. Strangely, instead of pushing the air outwards, the 'pseudo-windmill' actually attracted the wind to its centre, acting somewhat like a vortex. The flames were sucked into said vortex which caused them to be cancelled out. Noticing that the threat had been nullified, Xavier slowed the circular motion of the bone before tapping one end of the bone on the ground, dispelling it in the process.

Annalyn's left eye twitched after witnessing Xavier's feat. "Damn, wasn't expecting that," she silently growled. "No matter. As long as Amber stays in the air, then I should be okay."

Eclipse could not help but chuckle a little at his opponent's naivety. He absentmindedly played with the string of beads that wrapped around his left arm before he uttered, "Charge up, Xavier."

The Lucario obliged with his Trainer's command and knelt down on his right knee. He siphoned a large amount of aura into his legs, making them glow bright blue and crackle with electricity. Some of his aura flowed into the ground and made all the pebbles within a five-metre radius float in the air.

"Get ready for somethin' big, folks!" the emcee exclaimed with his voice full of suspense.

Once Eclipse determined that his Lucario had gathered enough energy, he thrust his fist in Amber's direction and said, "Jump."

The moment Xavier's brain registered Eclipse's order, the Aura Pokemon literally rocketed into the sky towards his opponent, leaving behind a sizable crater on the battlefield. Every living soul in the arena, save for Eclipse, were too stunned to even gasp in wonder or roar in amazement. Amber too was so focused on trying to comprehend exactly how the Lucario managed to accomplish such a feat that she did not notice the approaching 'missile' until it was too late. Xavier slammed into the Charizard's gut, making her eyes bulge out and the air in her lungs to be forcibly expelled.

"Amber!" Annalyn cried out.

Eclipse snapped his fingers as he instructed, "Keep up the pressure. Use Meteor Crusher."

Xavier detached himself from Amber's abdomen and began assailing the female Charizard with aura-imbued punches and kicks. Amber groaned in pain as the blows rained down upon her. After littering her abdomen with bruises, he pulled his left arm back and gave Amber a strong punch to her gut, making the Flame Pokemon hunch her body forwards. He then pulled back his right arm and made it pulsate with glowing white aura before thrusting it to Amber's chin, ending the attack with a stellar uppercut.

"What a devastating attack from Lucario!" the emcee shouted.

The Charizard's blue-haired Trainer desperately called out, "Amber, use-"

"Lance Barrage," Eclipse interrupted.

Sympathy was absent from his heart as Xavier swiftly connected his paws together and slowly spread them apart. Rather than a staff composed of aura, a spear with a forked tip, made of aura of course, was created instead. Without hesitation, he grasped the shaft of the spear and started to repeatedly jab her abdomen which was exposed thanks to his earlier attack. Droplets of blood dripped off the the tip of the spear when Xavier retracted it and plopped on the battlefield. Just when it could not get any worse for Amber, Xavier hefted the spear over his shoulder and filled the tip with a substantial amount of aura. Satisfied with the current state of his weapon, he flung it towards Amber and pierced her abdomen as a result.

Annalyn's eyes widened in horror but her ordeal was not over yet as the tip of Xavier's spear glowed brightly before it exploded, thus worsening the stab wound on Amber's chest.

"I don't k-know what t-to say, f-folks," the emcee stammered in shock. "Charizard couldn't h-have possibly s-survived t-that, could it?"

Amber knew that she was plummeting down to the ground. The pain was so unbearable that she was sure she could not stage a comeback. Despite the thought being a cowardly one, self-preservation mattered more to her than honour. She weakly opened her eyes and caught her Trainer's gaze. Amber saw horror, shock and... pain in Annalyn's eyes. Pain was omnipresent in the girl's life..., ever since her mother passed away. If that was not torture enough, the act of leaving her brother during the moment when he needed her the most crushed her with guilt. All of her Pokemon, including Amber, felt her pain and tried their best to ease her suffering, if only a little. The Charizard had high hopes for her Trainer when she went off to apologize to her brother yesterday but knew that it was a little naive for Annalyn to even think that Michael would accept her apology. As Amber expected, Annalyn came back bitterly disappointed but her determination had not waned in the slightest. In fact, Michael's rejection of her made Annalyn strengthen her resolve to seek her brother's forgiveness.

The Flame Pokemon chuckled faintly. "My giving up here won't exactly leave a good impression on your brother, huh?" she suspired tiredly. "Alright then. I guess self-preservation would have to take a back seat this time around."

Disregarding all the pain pulsing throughout her body, Amber executed an abrupt U-turn and launched herself towards Xavier with her body wreathed in flames. Her opponent was taken by surprise as the Flame Charge found its mark.

"Amazing!" the emcee cried out in surprise. "Charizard has recovered from Lucario's assault and surprised all of us by hitting Lucario with a quick counter-attack!" Cheers for Amber began to reverberate throughout the packed arena.

Annalyn was snapped out of her state of shock and saw that Amber had Xavier on the defensive. She hastily called out, "Use Dragon Claw!"

After making her claws glow light blue by filling it with draconic energy, she swung her arm downwards and slashed Lucario with those claws, sending the Aura Pokemon plummeting towards the battlefield. After that attack, her body spasmed in pain but the Flame Pokemon shrugged it off.

"You can do it, Amber!" Annalyn encouraged. "Flare Blitz!"

Like Flame Charge, she dived at her opponent with her body covered in flames. However, the flames covering her body this time were more ferocious and burning at a brighter intensity.

"Could this attack by the final move in what would be a superb come-from-behind win?" the emcee shouted gleefully.

Eclipse did not look the least bit worried about the predicament that Xavier had found himself entangled in as he smoothed out the white fur around the collar of his jacket. "I think this is enough drama for one day," he said. "Xavier, execute Dragoon Fang."

Xavier waited until his opponent was closer before he created another spear of aura. He calmly transferred his aura into the spear until it was coated with blue flames. Narrowing his eyes at Amber, he accurately flung the flaming spear at her head. Upon contact with the flames shielding her head, the spear exploded, launching Amber back towards the sky and speeding Xavier's descent to the ground. Thinking on his feet, he quickly formed an aura-composed spear and changed his body position so that he was falling perpendicular to the ground. Xavier lodged the spear into the ground and balanced himself on it and waited for the pain in his arms to subside. After that, he allowed gravity to do its work as he folded the lower half of his body and planted his toes on the ground.

"A great display of acrobatics from Lucario!" the emcee extolled, his voice drowning out the crowd's applause. "The Aura Pokemon seems to be fine but what about Annalyn's Charizard?"

Everyone cast their gaze from the ground to the sky but their view was obscured by the black smoke released as a result from the explosion. This meant that they were forced to wait until the smoke thinned out. When the smoke cleared, a gruesome sight entered everybody's vision. There was deep, large gash on Amber's forehead and blood was leaking out of the wound profusely. Her entire face was covered with the red body fluid, effectively blinding the Flame Pokemon. Despite, Amber managed to keep herself afloat, albeit barely. The crowd could make out pained moans coming from the Flame Pokemon.

Pity was not a term usually associated with Eclipse but he had to admit that he felt a little sorry for the Charizard. "You there," he called out, successfully garnering Annalyn's attention, "I think it is better that you forfeit this match." He added, "For your Charizard's sake, I mean."

Annalyn frowned a little. "Why?" she shot back. "Are you saying that I should not believe in Amber's capabilities?"

"It's one thing believing in her abilities," Eclipse began, "but overestimating her capabilities is another matter. Remember, you are the Trainer so you have the final say in any matter concerning your Pokemon. Usually, the act of forfeiting a match is scorned upon but in this case, it shall show that you put that Charizard's well-being above every other matter. Accepting defeat and knowing when to back down are essential towards becoming a well-respected Pokemon Trainer. The public will make all sorts of outlandish remarks about you. They do scratch your heart the first few times but the hurt gradually morphs into minor irritation over time." Seeing that the blue-haired girl was still indecisive, Eclipse decided to use his trump card. "What matters more to you? Victory at the cost of your companions' lives or vice versa?"

Annalyn balled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth. She was caught in a serious dilemma. If she forfeited the match, it would not leave a good impression on her brother and his forgiveness would surely be out of reach. If she continued the match, she was sure that Michael would be impressed with her fighting spirit but Amber's injuries could worsen to the point that the Charizard would be unable to battle again for the rest of her life. Though it may seem that she had been debating with herself for hours but in actuality, only ten seconds had passed before she came up with her decision.

The blue-haired slowly raised her right hand and meekly yet firmly announced, "I... forfeit this match."

The referee nodded at Annalyn and raised the blue flag. "Annalyn 'May' Moonwell has chosen to retire from this match!" he announced. "The winner is Eclipse Silverline from Silver Shore Island!"

"There you have it, folks!" the emcee narrated. "Annalyn has decided to forfeit this match. Though this match ended in an anticlimactic way, we would be kidding ourselves if we think that the battles we had just witnessed were not up to our expectations! Let's give these two competitors a round of applause!"

The fans did just that. Normally, they would let the competitors know of their frustrations at the match ending in a non-exciting manner but after hearing Eclipse's speech and due to the emcee's urging, they felt slightly ashamed at themselves and decided to be more respectful to the two Trainers, especially Annalyn.

Xavier dispelled the spear of aura in a dignified sort of manner and turned around to face his Trainer. "It is done, Master Eclipse," he stated as he once knelt down on his right knee.

"Good work" was the congratulatory remark Xavier received before the Aura Pokemon was engulfed in a red light and recalled back into an enclosed space that was all too familiar to him.

Eclipse clipped Xavier's Poke Ball back onto his belt and watched as his opponent did the same to her severely injured Pokemon. The girl then looked at Eclipse who nodded at her before the silver-haired teen departed from the battlefield.


Niveus frowned in minor annoyance at the scene that was playing before his pair of eyes. The Pikachu surveyed his Trainer who was pacing from one end of waiting room to the other, mumbling incomprehensible words in an attempt to soothe the butterflies in his stomach. Actually, Niveus could hear those words perfectly thanks to him having a more sensitive sense of hearing than Ash but the Mouse Pokemon thought that the black-haired human sounded so pathetic that he somehow managed to tune out Ash's mumbling. He achieved this by focusing all his thoughts on a certain silver-eyed Pokemon.

"Would you just calm down, Ash?" Niveus voiced out his thoughts in a tired tone. "Pacing around like that won't exactly cool down your nerves."

Ash halted his unnecessary movements and glanced at Niveus. "I know that," he affirmed, "but sitting down doesn't exactly help with getting rid of the jitters, at least in my case. This is gonna be my debut in a world-level tournament so you can't blame me if I'm feeling a little nervous."

"I can't see the reason behind your uneasiness," Niveus told Ash truthfully. "You've been in this situation before, Ash. I can understand if this is to be your first ever tournament but you've competed in four regional tournaments. What makes this tournament different from the rest?"

"I don't know," Ash sighed as he sat down on the floor beside his yellow-furred companion. "It's just..., I never expected myself to qualify for a tournament of this calibre. I always saw myself as just a good Trainer despite all my ramblings on how I'm gonna become the greatest Pokemon Master of all time. I suppose... I needed something to lean against, you know, to keep me going. When I received that invitation letter, I was so happy. Yet, I felt scared as well. What if the occasion proves too much for me to handle and I choke in the middle of the match?" Ash paused and looked at his hands which were trembling. "If that happens, then I would be letting a lot of people down especially my mom and my friends, be they human or Pokemon."

Having heard Ash's explanation, Niveus processed the information in his head before standing up. Placing his paws behind his head, he adopted a cheerful tone and advised, "Well, I think you should just keep faith."

"Faith?" Ash repeated, sceptical of Niveus's suggestion.

"Uh-huh," Niveus reiterated. "We believe in you, Ash. That's why I chose to save you from that flock of Spearow. That's why Charizard decided to obey you. That's why we all follow you. Whether you win or lose, you can trust us to always be by your side." The Pikachu added, "At least until we die, of course."

Ash smiled faintly and patted Niveus's head. "If it wasn't for that last sentence, I'd say that you would make a great motivational speaker," he joked. "Still, I feel a little better. Thanks, Niveus."

Niveus shrugged, "You can't blame me for tryin' to be realistic. Oh, and you're welcome."

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. "Can I come in, Ash?" a familiar voice requested politely.

"Sure," Ash granted the owner of the voice his permission. "Come on in, Dawn."

*CLICK*

Dawn stepped inside the room and carefully closed the door behind her. She adjusted the black beanie on her head and allowed a charming smile to occupy her featured. "Morning, Ash," she greeted him.

"Good morning," Ash returned Dawn's greeting. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the stands?"

The blue-haired girl shot him a quizzical look. "Can't I wish my mentor and close friend luck in his upcoming match?" she inquired in a teasing tone.

"Hehehe," Ash chuckled pathetically as he scratched his head. "That's one reason, I guess."

"Anyway, are you psyched for your upcoming match?" Dawn asked him earnestly.

"Well...," Ash began hesitantly, "I guess so. I've beaten Jeanette before so I should have an idea on how to approach her but our last and only encounter was about five to six years ago. Plus, I haven't heard from her since so she must've taught her Pokemon some new tricks. I got careless last time by underestimating her Bellsprout and allowed her to claw back from 2-0 down. I'd rather not have that happen again."

Dawn listened to her friend's uncharacteristically long response and offered, "But you've matured and grown stronger since then. Based on what Cilan told me, you should encounter no problems in this match."

Ash pursed his lips and folded his arms across his chest. "There's a thin line between confidence and overconfidence, Dawn," Ash said. "Battles are unpredictable so I can't afford to think about the outcome of the match. I have to focus on taking down each of Jeanette's Pokemon one by one."

"Wow, Ash," she breathed, surprised by his new attitude. "I really did not expect you to gain a philosophical outlook about Pokemon battles. You're usually very pumped up and confident that you can beat almost anybody. I've gotta admit though, I kinda miss the 'old' Ash."

The brown-eyed boy smiled at his blue-haired companion. "No need to worry, Dawn," Ash assured her by using the girl's favourite catchphrase. He placed a hand over his heart and stated, "The 'old' Ash is still here. He's just allowing the 'new' Ash to get used to his new home."

Dawn gave Ash a half-lidded stare. She questioned, "Am I supposed to find that reassuring or were you just joking?"

Ash chuckled faintly. "That's for you to decide," Ash replied. "Whether you like it or not, this is a change you have to accept."

Dawn motioned with her hands as she responded, "It'll take some getting used to but it's a small matter, Ash. As long as you don't become all Paul-like, then I'm fine with this change."

"Thanks-a-million, Dawn."

The digital clock on the wall suddenly dinged eight o'clock, granting Ash the green light to head over to the arena.

"Well, guess we better get going," Ash informed his travelling companion from Sinnoh as Niveus clambered up his back and perched himself on his right shoulder. He then walked past Dawn towards the door.

"Hold on, Ash," Dawn spoke up. When Ash turned around to face her, she produced a teardrop necklace from her back and looped it around Ash neck. She chuckled slightly when she caused of the red tint across the sixteen-year-old's cheeks.

"Umm..., what's this?" Ash asked innocently as he fingered the sapphire, teardrop-shaped crystal at the end of the necklace.

Dawn gave Ash an amused glance and answered, "It's a teardrop necklace, silly. When you think that the nerves are getting the better of you, just grasp that necklace and let your mind wander away from the battle for a moment. I guarantee you that the nerves will go away almost instantly." Taking out another teardrop necklace that had an amethyst crystal attached at the end of it, she added, "My mom taught me this trick just before I went to Johto and as a result, I won five straight Pokemon Contests in a row. That's why I have a lot of time on my hands."

Ash raised an eyebrow at Dawn. "How do you know that this trick will work on me?" he questioned sceptically.

The blue-eyed girl seemed to expect Ash's question as she immediately replied, "I knew you wouldn't believe it at first. That teardrop-shaped crystal is actually crystallized from the water in Lake Valor."

"Lake Valor?" Ash echoed. "...Oh, I get it."

Dawn nodded. "Yup. Since Azelf forged a bond with you, I think that that necklace should be compatible with you."

Grasping the teardrop-shaped crystal in his palm, Ash noticed that the nervousness he was feeling prior to Dawn's arrival was slowly ebbing away and his muscles began to loosen up considerably. "I'm starting to feel its effects," Ash told Dawn. "Thanks again, Dawn."

"Don't mention it," Dawn responded. "Before you go, I have one more gift for you."

Ash tilted his head in interest. "And that would be...?"

"This." Dawn suddenly ventured forward and gave Ash a hug, not a passionate one but simply the type of hug you give to your friends. When she detached herself from the hug, she could not help but snicker at Ash who was at a lost for words. Another reason was that she could see the blush across his cheeks. She gave him a sly look and teased, "Oh my Arceus, Ash Ketchum. Don't tell me that your body is actually receptive to my 'friendly' gestures. Hmm..., maybe you thought them to be 'intimate' gestures, didn't you?"

Ash was left speechless at Dawn's sudden boldness and did the only thing a person who just started noticing the opposite sex would do, he ran. The black-haired boy pulled open the door, stepped outside of the waiting room and slammed the door close. He placed a hand over his heart and straight away noticed that the organ was beating at a rapid pace.

"Damn this body," Ash cursed silently. "Why can't it act normally around Dawn like it did a year ago?"

"Earth to Ash," Niveus spoke up as he flicked Ash's forehead. "Unless you don't mind getting disqualified, I suggest you pick up the pace."

The Pikachu's Trainer was immediately jarred from his thoughts. "Oh..., sorry," he apologized sheepishly. Ash took a couple of deep breaths and waited until his heartbeat slowed down considerably. He then adjusted his cap before he proceeded to walk towards the battlefield.

Niveus looked at his Trainer and noticed that the blush on his face was almost gone. "Hmm..., can't have that now, can we?" he whispered silently to himself. The Mouse Pokemon suddenly began to snicker in a barely audible tone, hoping to catch his Trainer's attention. He inwardly grinned when Ash turned his neck to look at him.

When Ash queried him as to why the Mouse Pokemon was snickering, Niveus slyly answered, "It's nothing. I think it was nice of Dawn to give you that necklace. Now all you have to do is to give her something in return and sooner or later, you both will be on first base."

"W-What d-does that m-mean?" Ash stammered as the blush on his featured intensified tenfold.

"You know," Niveus whispered teasingly, putting emphasis on the second word, "when you rub Dawn's tongue with yours. Doesn't that turn you on?"

"Shut up, you good-for-nothing mouse!" Ash yelled at the Pikachu out of sheer embarrassment.

Niveus was unfazed by the reprimand given to him by a very annoyed Ash as the Mouse Pokemon continued to allow soft giggles to escape through his lips.


"Has the match started yet?" Dawn asked, skillfully manoeuvring her lithe body through the small gap between two rows of seats and sitting down next to Cilan.

"No, not yet," Chris said dismissively, slightly annoyed that Cilan and Max were separating him and Dawn by sitting in between them. He was also quite bothered by the fact that he had not been spending some quality time with the blue-haired babe. With him busy training his Pokemon and researching his opponents ten times as thorough, he simply could not find time to fit Dawn into his schedule. On those rare occasions that he could, he was disappointed to learn that she was busy spending time with Ash. He did not approve of Ash stealing her from him but after some thought, he came to the conclusion that Dawn just wanted to catch up with the brown-eyed Trainer. After all, Ash did help her when she was taking her first baby steps into the Pokemon world. In a way, Ash influenced his meeting with Dawn so the black-haired teen was still on Chris's 'friend' list..., for now at least.

"Thank Arceus," Dawn sighed in relief. "It seems that I've gotten much faster at sprinting." However, as she inspected her outfit, she grumbled, "Ugh, just look at my dress. It's matted with sweat."

Max, ignoring Dawn's rant, eagerly stated, "I can't wait to see Ash's Pokemon in action. His Snivy and Pikachu were simply amazing during that training session. If that training session was a reflection on how intense he trains his Pokemon, then I seriously better raise my game if I'm to beat him in the battle that he promised to give me."

Cilan chuckled merrily, slightly amused by the younger boy's bold statement. "Enthusiasm is good and all," he began, "but it would be in your best interest if you keep that copious amount of zeal in check. After all, you wouldn't want your Pokemon to be afflicted with Battle Exhaustion Syndrome."

"Hehe, I guess you're right about that," Max agreed with the co-Gym Leader of Striaton City.

A colossal roar suddenly reverberated throughout the stadium, causing the quartet to cease their banter and turn their attention to the boundary wall surrounding the battlefield. The metallic door on each side of the stadium slid open and revealed the Trainers who will kick-start the first match of Group XXXIII in Stadium 1 of the Yin region: Ash 'Satoshi' Ketchum and Jeanette Fisher. Both of them stepped out into the arena and met at the centre circle located in the middle of the battlefield.

"Nice to see you again, Ash," Jeanette greeted. "How long has it been since we last saw each other? Five, maybe six years?"

"Somewhere along that line," Ash replied as he inclined his head a little in a show of respect. The black-haired teen then looked past his opponent before he commented, "No offence but your entrance doesn't seem as lively as the last time."

Jeannette chuckled faintly. "You mean my cheering squad?" she asked her opponent. Receiving a nod from said opponent, she simply said, "I ditched them a year after I lost to you at the Indigo Plateau Conference."

Ash wanted Jeanette to elaborate further but decided against it when he sensed the annoyed undertone in Jeanette's voice. Instead, he held out his hand and said, "Let's have a good match."

Jeanette shook Ash's hand and boldly claimed, "It's payback time."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Ash shot back confidently.

The Trainers allowed their gaze to linger on the other for a while longer before they turned around and retreated back towards their assigned boxes: Ash went to the yellow box while his opponent, Jeanette, went to the blue box.

After the Trainers' images flashed into existence on the screen atop the stadium, a wheel which consisted of blue and yellow segments appeared in the middle screen. A blue segment promptly lit up and the light was passed on to the other segments for about ten seconds before it stopped on a yellow segment.

"There you have it, ladies and gentleman!" the commentator stated loudly. "Ash Ketchum will have the virtue of sending out his Pokemon first! Whether this circumstance shall prove to be a disadvantage for the young prodigy from Pallet Town remains to be seen!" He added, "It won't really matter as we will find out the answer to this question in a moment!"

"Trainers, send out your first Pokemon!" the female referee directed.

Feeling the nerves again, Ash took off his cap and ruffled his hair before placing the headgear back on his head. He glanced down at Niveus, receiving a nod of assurance from the Mouse Pokemon. He nodded back at his partner-in-crime and grabbed a Poke Ball, enlarging it in the process. The black-haired teen than glanced at his opponent who was standing on the other side of the battlefield with a determined expression plastered on his face.

"Unfezant, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he flung the containment device into the air with all his might. Unfezant expelled a croon of delight upon being released from the Poke Ball. The absence of a featherless 'mask' and the lack of pink, ribbon-like wattles confirmed Unfezant's gender to be female.

"Ash has chosen to start things off with an Unfezant!" the emcee declared as the Proud Pokemon's icon was displayed in an empty slot below Ash's image on the giant screen.

Without delay, Jeanette pulled out a Poke Ball from the sleeve of her kimono. "Emolga, front and centre!" she exclaimed as she released the Sky Squirrel Pokemon.

"Jeanette counters by sending out an Emolga which inadvertently means that the advantage goes to the Trainer hailing from Crimson City!" the emcee announced. Up on the screen, an empty slot below Jeanette's profile shot lit up before Jeanette's Emolga's image was inserted into the aforementioned slot.

The referee held up the blue and yellow flags in her hands and spoke out, "Are both sides ready?"

"Ready!" Ash stated energetically.

Ash's purple-haired adversary decided upon a reserved approach as she merely nodded at the referee.

"Then let the match..., begin!" the female official exclaimed as she brought down the flags in one swift motion.

"Judging from my past experience with Iris's Emolga, their primary ability is Static while their hidden ability is Motor Drive," Ash listed the facts in his head. "I think I can afford to look past the hidden ability because Unfezant doesn't know any Electric-based attacks. Guess mid to long-ranged attacks are the way to go then."

Jeanette saw that her opponent was preoccupied with his thoughts so she chose to capitalize on Ash's daydreaming. "Emolga, use Hidden Power," she commanded.

Emolga closed his eyes and began humming, his body becoming outlined in a green light a second later. The rodent-like Pokemon then transferred the energy into his hands and formed a green orb of energy. Taking aim at his target, he glided a bit to the right before he fired the orb at his opponent. At first glance, the orb of energy looked set to miss its target by a wide margin but it suddenly curved inwards due to the tremendous side-spin the green sphere possessed.

"Emolga's Hidden Power has materialized into a homing-type attack which appearance is similar to that of Energy Ball!" the emcee observed.

The emcee's voice, amplified by the giant speakers attached on each corner of the stadium, jarred Ash from his thoughts and brought him back to reality. "Razor Wind, Unfezant," Ash quickly yet calmly ordered.

Motor impulses were transmitted from Unfezant's brain to her left wing immediately after the Proud Pokemon received the command from Ash. She folded her left wing over her body before she swung it outwards and released a blade of wind towards the oncoming orb of energy.

The two Normal-based attacks slammed into each other and due to their similar power levels, they were both cancelled out with an explosion following their collision.

"What a way to start the match!" the emcee roared as a cloud of smoke concealed part of the sky.

"Unfezant, use Air Cutter," Ash called out.

Suddenly, a light blue 'X'-shaped energy shot out of the cloud of smoke and zeroed in on Emolga.

"Double Team" was the command that was expelled through Jeanette's bright and pink lips in an attempt to prevent Unfezant's attack from finding its mark.

The Sky Squirrel Pokemon swiftly created three copies of himself and formed a diamond formation. On paper, Emolga should have a seventy-five percent chance of avoiding Unfezant's Air Cutter but due to the immense size of the attack, most of the spectators gave Emolga a thirty percent of evading the attack at best. The 'X'-shaped energy struck three targets: one in the bottom and two in the middle of the formation. When the Emolga that were hit failed to produce a cry of pain, everyone knew that the real Emolga was safe.

"Whew, wasn't that a tense moment?" the emcee exhaled as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief which he conveniently kept in his pocket. "In any case, Unfezant better up its game because Emolga's evasion has been given an added boost!"

"Is that so?" Ash wondered. He, like any other Trainer, was confident of the capabilities of his Pokemon, even if they were in disadvantageous situations like the one Unfezant was in right now. However, commands that were capable of increasing a combatant's stats, albeit temporarily, could alter the battle significantly and sometimes it was better to adjust your strategy based on the current situation rather than stick to your guns.

After some thought, Ash decided, "Let's see how much better Emolga has gotten at dodging. Unfezant, ExtremeSpeed."

Unfezant promptly tucked her wings against her body and zoomed towards Emolga like a speeding bullet.

"Dodge and use Charge Beam," Jeanette countered.

Normally, it was close to impossible to avoid ExtremeSpeed but thanks to Emolga's heightened evasion, the Sky Squirrel Pokemon dodged the high priority move by gliding upwards, making Unfezant dart below him. He then held out his hands and formed another orb of energy which was similar to the previous sphere except this one was yellow in colour. A massive beam of electricity suddenly shot out of the orb towards Unfezant.

"Dodge it," Ash commanded.

The Proud Pokemon instinctively angled her body to the left and watched as the beam of electricity travelled past her and struck the ground.

"Ugh, so close," Jeanette lamented. "No matter. That Charge Beam didn't miss by much so sooner or later, Unfezant's luck will run out." She then instructed, "Emolga, give Unfezant a shock of her life with Discharge."

Emolga immediately began to charge up as per his Trainer's orders. Blue electricity started sparking off his entire body, particularly around his yellow cheeks. With a cry of determination, he released tons of light blue beams of electricity at his adversary.

Ash shouted, "Dart and weave around them, Unfezant!"

Hastily spreading out her wings, Unfezant flew around the stadium while dodging the beams of electricity emitting from her opponent. Though she considered herself to be an excellent flyer, Unfezant knew that she could not afford to let the pride go to her head because she was just barely avoiding the lightning bolts. If it were not for the fancy aerial manoeuvres that Skyla taught her for impressing the Gym Leader of Mistralton City, Unfezant would have probably been fried by now.

"Unfezant is displaying excellent acrobatic skills in dodging those lightning bolts!" the emcee praised. "However, how long can its luck hold out?"

The one-time winner of the Orange League saw the rationality behind the emcee's words. No matter how fast and flexible Unfezant was, she cannot keep dodging the beams of electricity forever. Sooner or later, she was bound to slip up and would be severely damage by the Electric-based attack. Ash knew that he must have Unfezant go on the offensive in order to turn the tables on Emolga. For that reason, Ash decided to cover his ears with his hands, his Pikachu following suit a second later.

"Unfezant, stun Emolga with Hyper Voice!" Ash yelled as he applied more pressure on his ears.

After dodging one more beam of electricity, Unfezant took a deep breath and let loose a horribly echoing shout. White shockwaves escaped from Unfezant's beak and enveloped their target, Emolga. Speaking of the Sky Squirrel Pokemon, he stopped his attack and tried to block out the sharp noise that was bombarding his eardrums but it was in vain as his hands were much smaller than his ears. Had he mastered the art of rolling his ears close which he saw many Minccino do back in Unova, then he could have at least lessen the damage done to his equilibrium.

"Emolga..., hang in there!" Jeanette hissed as she too felt the effects of Hyper Voice. "Use Thunderbolt!"

Jeanette's Pokemon slowly lifted his eyelids to get an image of his opponent but he could barely discern the exact position of Unfezant due to his hazy vision. Emolga squinted his eyes to improve his chances of locating Unfezant and succeeded when he caught sight of a bird-shaped silhouette. He swiftly channelled his aura to his cheeks and fired multiple yellow bolts of electricity at the Proud Pokemon.

Ash could not help but grin at himself. The battle was in the bag. He ordered, "Rocket upwards with ExtremeSpeed and strike Emolga with Sky Attack."

Unfezant avoided the rather badly-aimed lightning bolts with relative ease before she throttled higher into the sky and disappeared under the Sun. Almost instantly, she came diving back down towards Emolga with her body wreathed in white aura, a white streak trailing behind her as well. Due to the gravity's pull on her and the speed she gained from her earlier move, she slammed into her opponent with a force so great that in a split second, Emolga crashed into ground, sending dust up into the air.

"That was a powerful combo by Unfezant!" the emcee remarked. "Other than the Earth's gravity, that attack was further boosted by Unfezant's ability, Super Luck, which allows the user to inflict critical hits on the opponent twice as often as normal! Could Emolga have somehow survived that attack?"

The wind decided to lend a helping hand as it dispelled the dust particles away. Without the blanket of dust, everyone saw that Emolga was lying sprawled in a small crater, out like a light.

The female referee waited for a few moments to see if Emolga could get up. When the Sky Squirrel Pokemon did not, she raised the yellow flag and announced, "Emolga is unable to battle!" A second after the referee's declaration, Emolga's icon on the screen faded completely.

"Good work, Unfezant," Ash commended his Pokemon. "Let's keep the momentum flowing."

Unfezant was about to respond with a hymn of delight but instead gave out a cry of pain as sparks of electricity jolted around her feathered body.

"Ah, it looks as though Unfezant has been inflicted with Static!" the emcee realized. "This status ailment will greatly limit Unfezant's movement which is an essential part of her attacks!"

"Damn, I was careless," Ash cursed under his breath. "Can you keep going, Unfezant?"

The Proud Pokemon flapped her wings faster as if she were saying, "Of course. A mere status ailment won't stop me."

Ash nodded. "Okay then."

"Ash has decided to stick with Unfezant!" the emcee informed the crowd. "Question is, what Pokemon will be Unfezant's next opponent?"

"Return, Emolga," Jeanette said as she recalled the Sky Squirrel Pokemon back into his containment device. She glanced at the Poke Ball and appreciatively uttered, "Thanks for paralyzing Unfezant. You just take a nice rest and leave everything else up to your friends." She swiftly switched Emolga's Poke Ball with another one and lobbed it forwards. "Go, Swanna!"

Unfezant's Trainer frowned as he watched the White Bird Pokemon emerge from the Poke Ball that Jeanette lobbed. There was a majestic air about it. "Not that thing again," Ash grumbled as he recalled his previous encounter with a Swanna back in the Mistralton City Gym. Skyla's Swanna was pretty much the reason Skyla almost defeated Ash in their little bout. Luckily, Ash managed to build a two-win cushion over Skyla, thus making her Swanna too tired to finish the job.

Jeanette instructed, "Use Aerial Ace, Swanna."

The swan-like Pokemon quickly unfurled her wings and took off into the sky. She executed a loop in midair before darting towards Unfezant with her body surrounded in white streaks.

"Jeanette is taking the initiative by ordering her Swanna to use a very accurate attack!" the emcee narrated. "How will Ash and his Unfezant respond?"

Ash, taking Unfezant's slight paralysis into consideration, commanded, "Air Cutter, Unfezant."

The Proud Pokemon sent an 'X'-shaped energy towards Swanna effortlessly since the preparation of the attack did not demand much movement.

Response from Jeanette was swift as she ordered, "Cancel out your Aerial Ace, dodge and then use Scald."

Swanna stopped herself from continuing any further and, with a mighty flap of her broad wings, floated upwards, avoiding Unfezant's Air Cutter in the process. The White Bird Pokemon then opened her bill and fired a torrent of hot water at her opponent.

"Dodge it, Unfezant!" Ash called out.

Unfezant heard her Trainer and was about to move out of the way when the electric sparks came back with a vengeance. The Proud Pokemon could only watch as the hot and scalding torrent of water was inching closer to her while she was caught in a temporary state of paralysis. Once she regained control of her body, she hastily glided to the left but Swanna's Water-based attack still managed to splash against part of her right wing. Unfezant cried out her name in pain.

"Unfezant has finally taken some damage!" the emcee stated the obvious. He then muttered, "I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that attack, folks!"

Jeanette smirked. "Gotcha," she breathed excitedly. "Now use Pluck, Swanna."

Swanna heeded her Trainer's call as she surged forward and began to repeatedly jab Unfezant with her sharp bill, further damaging the Proud Pokemon.

The emcee observed, "Swanna is displaying no mercy to its handicapped opponent!"

"Stay strong, Unfezant!" Ash encouraged.

"Knock down Unfezant with Steel Wing," Jeanette commanded.

The White Bird Pokemon gave one last jab to Unfezant's check before moving on to the next attack. She spread her wings to her sides and began channelling some energy into them, making them gain a metallic sheen a moment later. Raising them up, she brought them down onto Unfezant in one swift motion, sending the latter hurtling towards the ground.

Ash quickly thought of a move to prevent Unfezant from attaining even more damage. "Use Gust on the ground to soften your landing!" he shouted.

The damage she suffered at the wings of Swanna was seriously affecting her perception of her surroundings but she could still make out the words Ash had uttered. She tiredly but determinedly altered the position of her body so that it was parallel to the ground. Then, she whipped up a gust of wind with a flap of her wings and directed it to the ground. The wind struck the ground and created a backward momentum that acted somewhat like a mattress. The speed of Unfezant's descent was slowed down to the point that the Proud Pokemon landed on the battlefield on her feet.

"Nice job, Unfezant," Ash cheered.

However, his joy was short-lived as electricity sparked off Unfezant's body, indicating that she was still suffering from the effects of the status ailment given to her by Emolga.

"That was some quick thinking by Ash!" the emcee remarked. "However, with Unfezant suffering from paralysis, he must find a way to end this battle quickly or risk allowing Jeanette to crawl back into the match!"

"In layman's terms, it means a one-hit knockout is as good a chance I get in winning this little bout," Ash said to himself. "Hmm..., maybe I don't need to win." He then called out, "Unfezant, your execution of these next moves will influence the result of this match. Are your ready?"

In response to her Trainer's question, Unfezant shook off the feeling of discomfort in her body and expelled a cry of determination.

"Alright then," Ash uttered seriously as he adjusted the cap on his head. "Get back up there."

Unfezant complied with her Trainer's command and took her place in the skies once again.

"I admire your Unfezant's tenacity, Ash," Jeanette admitted. "However, tenacity alone won't be enough to defeat Swanna especially when your Pokemon is partially paralyzed." The purple-haired girl took a deep breath before she commanded, "End this with Brave Bird!"

Swanna pulled in her wings and dived down towards Unfezant like a missile, her body bursting into flames in the process. As she spread out her wings, the flames around her body manifested into a blue cloak of aura.

"We'll just see about that, Jeanette," Ash countered. "Unfezant, use Tailwind."

The Proud Pokemon promptly stretched out her wings and began flapping them vigorously, creating a miniature tornado. Instead of launching it towards Swanna, Unfezant cocooned herself within it, the twister taking on the role of a barrier.

Jeanette's eyes widened in realization of Ash's plan. "Swanna, stop the attack!" she yelled desperately.

Unfortunately, Swanna could not really do as her Trainer commanded because she was going way to fast to halt her forward momentum. The White Bird Pokemon did the only think she could do; she closed her eyes and braced herself for impact. Her aura-cloaked body collided against the barrier-esque tornado which resulted in a larger-than-average explosion.

Everyone in the stadium were forced to shield their eyes from the intense light preceding the explosion. When the light died down, they remove whatever appendage they used to cover their eyes, be it their hands or arms, and surveyed the sky which was covered in a pitch-black smog. When the smog cleared away, everyone could see the repercussions of the explosion on the Pokemon. Actually, 'one of the Pokemon' would be a more accurate observation. Said Pokemon in question was Swanna. Her once pristine, white feathers were now smudged with soot and dust from the explosion. There were a few bruises and burn marks on her body but none were too severe thanks to the cloak of blue aura cocooning her earlier.

"Talk about turning defence into offence!" the emcee exclaimed. "The tornado surrounding Unfezant absorbed the impact from Swanna's Brave Bird and rebounded it back to the White Bird Pokemon! We can clearly Swanna which is slightly worse for wear following that collision but where is Unfezant?"

"Come on, Ash!" Jeanette urged him impatiently. "Stop ordering your Unfezant to hide! Make her face Swanna head-on instead of using the hit-and-run tactic!" She then questioned, "What happened to that Trainer I faced five or six years ago?"

Ash's left eye twitched a little. "I'm gettin' a little sick of that question," he grumbled. "You want him? Fine then." With sudden enthusiasm, Ash ordered, "Facade, Unfezant!"

The once absent Proud Pokemon suddenly reappeared above Swanna with white electricity sparkling around her feathered body. Giving out an exuberant croon, Unfezant rammed into Swanna full force. The electricity bound their bodies together as they were on a direct collision course with the battlefield.

What Ash did next was extremely unexpected. Instead of commanding of Unfezant to abandon the attack like most of spectators thought he would, he instructed, "Increase the impact with ExtremeSpeed!"

Their descent towards the ground was evidently quickened after Ash gave the command. Unfezant assumed a streamline-like posture which decreased the air resistance acting upon her body, thus increasing the speed at which both the Proud Pokemon and her opponent were plummeting down to the battlefield.

"Swanna, encompass yourself in Aqua Ring!" Jeanette called out in desperation.

Jeanette's Pokemon quickly covered herself in a veil of water, not because she heard her Trainer but out of pure instinct. Given her disadvantageous position, she knew that the probability of her launching a counterattack was very slim so Swanna decided to use the only defensive move in her repertoire of attacks to lessen the harm that shall be inflicted upon her body.

Dust blanketed the two aerial-type combatants as they crashed into the ground. The velocity of the collision was so great that chunks of rock were sent flying into the stands, forcing some of the spectators to push and shove against each other to avoid getting hit by the projectiles.

"The speed at which they came into contact with the ground was astonishing!" the emcee observed. "Let us witness the aftermath of that collision, shall we?"

The crowd surveyed the thinning cloud of dust in the middle of the battlefield. Slowly, they could make out two silhouettes in the dust cloud. It was promptly blown away by the passing wind, revealing the fighters who, despite the huge amount of bruises marring their bodies, were still standing, albeit weakly. They stared down the other as they struggled to remain on their feet. Unfortunately, their determination failed to produce results as their remaining strength was exhausted, leaving them little choice but to surrender to darkness.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle," the referee declared as she raised both the blue and yellow flags.

*PING* *PING*

"That was a well though out chain of attacks from Ash!" the emcee stated as the icons of the fainted Pokemon were removed from the screen. "He first ordered his Unfezant to use Tailwind which took Unfezant's speed up a notch while at the same time shielded it from harm. Next, he chained Tailwind with Facade which strength doubles if the user is afflicted with a status ailment. In this case, Unfezant was suffering from paralysis. For an added sense of assurance, he directed Unfezant to use ExtremeSpeed to make sure that Swanna could not get away due to the massive air pressure surrounding the two Pokemon." He paused for a moment to allow the crowd to digest the information before he resumed, "Though the battle ended in a draw, I think that Ash has gained the moral victory, simply because he only ordered Unfezant to attack near the climax of that battle. Jeanette must surely be shaken up by the result."

A rueful expression was plastered on Jeanette's features as she returned her downed Pokemon. "I didn't expect you to have a ruthless side," she bemoaned.

Ash shrugged and offered, "We've only clashed just once. I'm sorry but judging my personality based on that single encounter is a little naive."

"I guess you're right about that," Jeanette admitted as she chuckled in a sheepish yet dignified manner. She then exclaimed, "This is my last stand! Are you ready, Ash?"

Ash grinned competitively. "Bring it on then."


Dawn frowned a little as she watched Ash recall his Unfezant. "Hmm..., his battle style seems to have changed a bit as well," she mused. "There was a chance that the paralysis would stop Unfezant from using Facade and expose her to more harm from Jeanette's Swanna. Also, I think that that ExtremeSpeed was simply overkill and placed unnecessary strain on Unfezant's body. I can't help but be a bit worried for the rest of Ash's Pokemon."

The tallest of the quartet saw his chance to make Dawn see him in a more favourable light. "I think so too," he eagerly concurred with the object of his affection. "The dude really needs to chill out. It's only the group stages and already he's takin' some risks. If he keeps this up, he probably won't last long in this tournament. If he does exceed my expectations, let's hope his Pokemon won't kill him."

"Why don't you go take a good look of yourself in a mirror?" Max grumbled. "You and I both know that the only reason you're agreeing with Dawn is becau-"

The bespectacled boy was prevented from speaking any further as Chris clasped his hands over Max's mouth. Due to the massive size of his hands, he also covered Max's nose, making the younger boy flail his arms wildly in a desperate attempt to remove the appendages that were slowly asphyxiating him.

Cilan swung his right leg over his other one and leaned back into his seat. "To put it simply, you are worried that the stress of the tournament will start to affect how he trains his Pokemon," he guessed knowingly. "You're concerned that he will push his Pokemon to their absolute limits without any regard for their health like this 'Paul' person you told me about."

"...Well, yeah," Dawn hesitantly answered. "It's not that I don't have faith in him but sometimes he gets a bit too caught in situations where it would close to impossible to administer an intervention."

"I see," Cilan said laconically. "Tell me something, Dawn. Do you know how Cynthia, Wallace and Lance attained their 'Champion' status?"

"Erm, hard work and natural talent," Dawn answered randomly.

The green-haired Pokemon Connoisseur stifled a chuckle. "I don't know about natural talent," he said, "but you are correct on the hard work part. In your perspective, what is the definition of 'hard work'?"

Dawn receded into her thoughts for a moment before she replied, "Um..., I train my Pokemon hard for the upcoming Pokemon Contests but not to the extent that their bodies will be aching the next day. I also make sure I spend an equal amount of time with each of my Pokemon so that they don't think that they are simply tools."

"That's a nice way of defining the term," Cilan began, "if you are Pokemon Coordinator. No offence but if a Pokemon Trainer lived by your philosophy, the title of 'Champion' shall forever be but a fleeting dream."

The blue-haired girl was taken aback by Cilan's swift rebuttal and retorted, "So you think Ash should train his Pokemon until they drop dead?"

"No," Cilan denied. "The reason why the Champions got to where they are now was that they were not afraid to really push their Pokemon even when they are on the brink of exhaustion. This way of training may be interpreted in two ways. It's either that they train their Pokemon harshly or they have a great deal of trust in their Pokemon. If a Pokemon and a Trainer are compatible, then the former will sense the feeling of trust within the Trainer and attained a certain strength that shall allow said Pokemon to push beyond the barriers of fatigue and exhaustion." Ignoring the gagging sounds coming from Max, Cilan continued, "Like humans, there are many different types of Pokemon in terms of personality. There are those which want the Trainer to respect their limitations just as they are those which want the Trainer to push them to the very brink. Ash's team is made up of both types of Pokemon so if he can somehow manage them without second-guessing himself, then he's bound to become a far better and stronger Trainer than what he expected."

Even after hearing Cilan's speech, Dawn remained unconvinced. "But still-," she trailed off.

Cilan cut her off, "Just have faith in him. Every Pokemon in Ash's team are compatible with him." He then bragged, "As an A-class Pokemon Connoisseur, I am fully confident in my diagnosis of the bond between Ash and his team of Pokemon."

"Okay then," Dawn conceded and turned her attention back to the match, Cilan following suit a second later.

Max would have done so a long time ago but the low oxygen content in his small body was making him very queasy and dizzy. In a desperate attempt to get back the precious gas that sustained his life, he stuck out his tongue and licked Chris's hands, concentrating mostly on the metacarpus of each hand.

"Damn it, that's gross!" Chris admonished as he pulled back his hands and wiped them on his jeans.

"Air!" Max gasped. "Sweet, sweet air!"


"Good job, Unfezant," he complimented the Proud Pokemon who was resting in her Poke Ball. After clipping said Poke Ball back onto his belt, Ash pondered on his next move. He had a choice between the Pokemon in the other, somewhat worn out Poke Ball attached on his belt or Niveus. He chose the first option without much thought. He had not used the Pokemon for a while anyway.

"Bulbasaur, let's go!" Ash hollered as he tossed the Poke Ball and released one of the prominent members of his team.

Jeanette stared blankly at the Seed Pokemon before she casually commented, "Looks like you haven't evolved your Bulbasaur yet."

"He chose not to evolve," Ash told Jeanette. "I won't force him to undergo evolution if it is against his wishes."

Jeanette nodded in comprehension as she took out a Poke Ball from inside the sleeve of her green robe. "Unlike Bulbasaur, this one embraced evolution!" she stated. "It's all you, Scizor!"

The Pincer Pokemon emerged from his Poke Ball and landed on the other half of the battlefield. Once he realized that his opponent was the very same Bulbasaur that defeated him in their last encounter, he glared hard at the Seed Pokemon and gave out a buzz of anger.

"So we meet again," Scizor buzzed determinedly. "Prepare yourself! I shall avenge that defeat I suffered in your paws!"

Bulbasaur did not really show any outward reaction to Scizor's bold declaration as he simply stared at the Pincer Pokemon. Normally, he would display eagerness to battle but years of acting as a mediator at Professor Oak's lab taught him how to suppress his emotions. "I'm sorry but have we met before?" he queried in a flat tone.

Scizor did a double take. "How dare you?" he scorned. "Have I been completely purged from your memory?"

"I admit that I do have talents but a photographic memory, that I do not have," Bulbasaur reiterated. "Let's battle already. The longer I stay here, the greater the mayhem that shall greet me when I'm sent back."

"You shall pay for addressing me with that flat tone!" Scizor declared.

The emcee exclaimed, "For this battle, Jeanette's Scizor will be facing off against Ash's Bulbasaur! It should be noted that Ash's Bulbasaur defeated a Scyther during the last encounter between these two Trainers!" He added, "I'm willing to bet one hundred Pokedollars that this Scizor was that Scyther which lost to Bulbasaur!"

"Scizor, use Flash Cannon!" Jeanette ordered swiftly.

The Pincer Pokemon held out both his pincers towards Bulbasaur and channelled his aura to the them. A silver glow encompassed the pincers a moment later. Very slowly, he opened them and fired two beams of silver energy at his opponent.

"Jeanette is taking the initiative by having her Scizor use a damaging Steel-based attack!" the emcee narrated.

Ash countered, "Bulbasaur, protect yourself with Magical Leaf."

Bulbasaur nodded and closed his eyes. He released glowing, razor-sharp leaves from under his bulb into the sky. Utilizing his average mental powers, he made the glowing leaves swirl around him. The leaves began to pick up speed as they formed a protective barrier around their progenitor.

As soon as the silver beams of energy came into contact with the Grass-based barrier, they were taken along for the ride and spun around Bulbasaur as well. They swirled around the Grass-type Pokemon one more time before they were evicted from the barrier and launched back at Scizor.

"Ah, Scizor's attack is being sent back towards it!" the emcee stated excitedly.

Scizor's Trainer's reaction time was swift as she commanded, "Dodge and use Bullet Punch."

The part Bug, part Steel-type beat his wings and took to the skies, avoiding the two silver beams in the process. Crossing his arms over his chest, he concentrated his energy into them and made them glow bright red. Setting his sights on his prey, he dived towards said prey, intent on inflicting harm upon the prey's body.

"Bulbasaur, cancel that barrier and standby for any command," Ash instructed.

The Seed Pokemon effortlessly dispelled the leaves protecting him and sat down on his haunches. Though it may seem that he was in a relaxed state, Bulbasaur kept his muscles warm by through a simple breathing exercise he learned not too long ago.

Jeanette suddenly directed, "Hit-and-run with ExtremeSpeed!"

Scizor gained an added boost of speed and propelled forwards until a mere five inches were separating him and Bulbasaur. He raised an arm and swung it at Bulbasaur, nailing the former on the head and sending the Seed Pokemon sliding backwards. The Pincer Pokemon then disappeared and struck Bulbasaur's side, causing Bulbasaur to topple on his side. Scizor repeated the sequence without any mercy for his opponent, pummeling the Seed Pokemon relentlessly with his attacks augmented by his primary ability.

"Scizor is mercilessly assailing Bulbasaur with fast and powerful blows!" the emcee blared out. He paused for a moment to check Scizor's data on the laptop on the commentator table. He read aloud, "It would seem that Scizor's ability is Technician. For attacks which base power are below 60, their base power are increased by one hundred and fifty percent. Since Bullet Punch has a base power of 40, that means Bulbasaur is suffering twice as much of the original damage that would be inflicted upon it!"

"Keep it up, Scizor!" Jeanette cheered. "This battle is almost ours."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Ash said determinedly. "Bulbasaur, pull yourself together and use Grass Pledge!"

Ash's Grass-type Pokemon swiftly recovered from another one of Scizor's brutal strikes and composed himself. He noticed that his opponent had disappeared once again so he closed his eyes and listened to his surroundings. Bulbasaur tuned out the roar of the crowd and simply focused on determining Scizor's exact location. A buzzing noise suddenly stimulated his sense of hearing as he hastily channelled his aura into the ground via his feet, causing large columns of grass to erupt from the ground.

Bulbasaur's opponent was just about to hit him with glowing arms when he suddenly found his path obstructed by a column of grass. The Pincer Pokemon began beating wings to halt his advance. The moment he stopped, the column of grass dissipated to reveal Bulbasaur who had his vines out.

"Uh-oh," Jeanette mouthed nervously.

In complete contrast, a devious grin stretched across Ash's features. "Time for some payback, Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted. "Use Power Whip!"

Bulbasaur jumped into the air slightly and began to violently whirl his vines to harshly lash Scizor.

*SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP*

"Ouch," the emcee uttered in a sympathetic tone. "Those are bound to leave scars."

After giving Scizor a few more whips, Bulbasaur moved his vines backwards before he thrust them directly on the Pincer Pokemon's forehead, pushing his opponent away from him, on his back no less. In addition to the violent flogging session Bulbasaur had just given the Pincer Pokemon, his back was bound to hurt a little due to the friction with the ground.

"Scizor, are you okay?" Jeanette asked worriedly.

In response to his Trainer's question, Scizor buzzed in a defiant tone and shakily got back up onto his feet.

"Scizor is back on its feet!" the emcee exclaimed as the crowd cheered the Pincer Pokemon. "What resolve!"

Jeanette took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "You'll keep on fighting up until the very end, huh?" she said in a proud tone. "Okay then. Let's do it."

Giving his Trainer a nod, Scizor settled back into his fighting stance.

"Scizor, use Quick Attack!" she ordered zealously.

Tiredly but determinedly, Scizor launched into the air before diving back towards the ground. Just when it looked as though he was going to crash, he pulled up slightly so that he flew low to the ground. There was a white streak trailing behind the Pincer Pokemon as he closed the distance between him and Bulbasaur.

Ash decided to save Scizor from all the trouble of crossing the entire length of the battlefield just to get to Bulbasaur. The black-haired teen pointed a finger at the Pincer Pokemon and instructed, "Go, Bulbasaur."

Bulbasaur complied with his Trainer's instruction as he broke off into a fast sprint towards Scizor.

"Oh, Ash is ordering Bulbasaur to charge towards Scizor," the emcee observed. "What plan does this young Trainer from Pallet Town have in mind this time?"

"Scizor, X-Scissor!" Jeanette called out.

The Pincer Pokemon made his pincers glow light blue before he crossed them in front of his body. As he did it, a purple 'X'-like energy appeared in front of said pincers as he edged closer to his opponent.

"Wait for it," Ash whispered. Once he discerned that Bulbasaur was close enough, Ash shouted, "Vine Whip on the ground!"

The Seed Pokemon jumped forwards while bringing out two vines. He pulled them back before slamming them on the ground, using them to launch himself higher into the air. He spun over Scizor with his bulb aimed at the Pincer Pokemon.

Seeing that Bulbasaur was in position, Ash thrust our a clenched fist and commanded, "Seed Bomb!"

Jeanette's eyes widened in anxiety. "Scizor, get out of there!" she hollered.

Unfortunately for the Trainer hailing from Crimson City, she was too late as Scizor was slammed into the ground by a barrage of white orbs fired from Bulbasaur's bulb. To make matters worse, the white orbs exploded upon impact with Scizor's back, completely enshrouding the Pincer Pokemon in black smoke.

"Scizor, no!" Jeanette yelled out in concern.

"Direct hit!" the emcee bellowed. "That was a strong-looking Seed Bomb from Bulbasaur! Surely the match has come to an end!"

Speaking of Bulbasaur, he spun forwards one more time and landed on his four feet. He took a few deep breaths to correct his equilibrium. Though it was only a simple reverse back-flip, acrobatics were not his forte. Shaking his head, he surveyed the cloud of smoke behind him which dispersed to reveal his opponent who was fighting to stay conscious. However, Scizor's resolve could only get him so far as he finally slipped into a state of temporary slumber.

"Scizor is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "The winner with a score of 3-1 is Ash 'Satoshi' Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

The majority of the audience stood up from the seats and applauded the victorious black-haired Trainer. Their cheers went up another notch as Ash's image was expanded to cover the entire screen. The word 'WINNER' flashed periodically below said image.

Ash held up his hand, balled it into a fist and swiftly brought it down. "Yes!" he cheered.


D.O.N.E.

The battles were such a pain to write so I'll be treating you guys to some fillers after this.

I don't know when I'll update due to my university days starting but I hope you can bear with me.

Eclipse Silverline belongs to KingFatMan25.

Seth Trodaire belongs to Sol21.

Annalyn 'May' Moonwell belongs to OnewingedAngel118.

Chris Moore belongs to The Fan Fiction Writer.

Remember to REVIEW.

Onegai shimasu and arigatou.