I guess it's a good thing that I decided to only do a 3v3 battle instead of the full 6 that I was originally planning. Well here's the final battle between the two of them, and just to say right off the bat I got a little imaginative with some of the attacks and how they are used. So I just hope that I got the descriptions well enough to get them across to everyone. But I do believe that they would all be possible, one of the two will even get an explanation later on. And so it starts.


"Eevee eve!"

From my lap I could see that Eevee was probably cheering her hardest for her favorite yellow mouse. I laughed a little as I could see Pikachu's posture straighten up a bit after hearing her shouts. But not everyone there was completely confident in Pikachu's abilities.

Hearing him give off a light laugh I could see that Drew wasn't all that impressed by Ash's selection of his last Pokémon. "Really Ketchum? Your last choice is the rat?"

Right after hearing those words I immediately put my hand over Eevee's mouth as she began to tense up. "I know what you're thinking." I whispered to her. "And don't you even dare. If he thinks that low of Pikachu then let him take the consequences for himself. Even if I'm starting to agree that he deserves it."

Once again completely oblivious to what could have just happened to him Drew continued to laugh. "And here I was almost afraid that I would be facing an uphill battle seeing as how you could pick any Pokémon in your arsenal, but here you pretty much place a win straight into my hands. I'll win this and then May and I can travel to Sinnoh together. I believe that my luck is finally kicking in."

"If he really thinks that winning a simple battle will be enough to decide what I'm going to do, he thinks of himself first even more than I thought. After everything that's happened in the last couple of days, the only thing that I do know is that if I do go to Sinnoh I'll be traveling without him."

But I was surprised when Ash started to laugh as well. It started out as nothing more than a small chuckle but grew quite a bit as he tried to stop.

Drew's own laughter stopped rather quickly as soon as Ash's started. "What's so funny?" When Ash didn't answer Drew grew fairly irritated. "Stop that snickering! What the heck is so funny! Have you finally understood that Electric-Types can't win against Grass-Types?"

Finally getting his laughter under control, Ash looked at Drew with nothing more than a smile and a tear in his eye. "Sorry it was something that you said, I couldn't help myself. It's just that you've been the first person in months to openly consider themselves lucky to go up against my Pikachu. Lately I could tell that many were desperate not to face him. But if you think that you will have such an easy time finishing this fight then back up your words, I'm ready when you are. In fact I'll even give you the first move."

"Dawn?" I asked my friend who was sitting next to me. "What does he mean by that?"

"Oh that's right you wouldn't know what happened." She answered looking back at me with a cocky smile. "It's something that Ash has added into his fighting style after getting thrashed by some trainer a few months before getting his last badge. As you've probably noticed, the way that Ash uses his attacks is very different from when you last saw him."

I nodded indicating that she could continue.

"The trainer that he went up against used a strategy much like what Ash is using now, a fluid movement from one attack into another giving the opponent little time to react to the next hit. Or at least that's how Ash describes it. For months he trained all of his Pokémon to be able to pull off those maneuvers, but there was one Pokémon that he trained with far more than the others, of course the one I'm talking about is Pikachu, and unlike the others he only trained with him in private. He made sure that they were away from everyone, including me, Brock, and even his other Pokémon. In the months before the Sinnoh League Tournament he and Pikachu learned a new technique that has yet to be beaten."

"Wait, he did that? And what do you mean 'it's yet to be beaten'?"

"Yep, he did. And it's just as it sounds. Every person who has gone up against it has lost. Brock even stated that from what he could tell it would be next to impossible for someone to beat it if they were going up against it for the first time, and that the only way to beat it would be to find out how Ash is able to pull it off in the first place."

"So what is this technique?" My interest was easily perked at the sound of Ash actually becoming an even better trainer than I had originally thought; which after everything that I've seen in the last hour was already pretty high.

"Well I'd be willing to bet that we will see it in this battle and that can explain most of it better than I could, but as for the specifics I don't know."

"What, didn't he tell you?"

"Nope, he didn't even tell Brock. As of now I think that the only ones who know how it works are Ash and Pikachu. Whenever we would ask him about it all he would respond with is 'Sorry guys but I just can't tell you. It's not as if I don't trust you its just that I have no real reason to tell anyone'."

"Is it really that great of a move?"

"You'll just have to see for yourself."

Looking back at the battle I could see that Drew had yet to make his move. I'm not sure if it was from everything that Ash had said to him or if he was thinking up a specific strategy to use but it was nothing more than a stare down. Before it looked as if Drew would just stay that way for the rest of the battle he finally gave his first order.

"Roserade start this off with a Weather Ball, let's show this rat who the real stars are."

Still a little shaky from the final attacks of Gliscor, Roserade lifted its bouquets above its head again as the fireball began to form. As it grew larger Pikachu just stood there looking at the attack as Ash gave no order. Even once Roserade launched its attack Ash had yet to make a move. I could actually start to feel Eevee tense up again as it closed in. It wasn't until it was almost right on top of Pikachu that Ash finally gave his command.

"Dodge right then straight at it with Iron Tail."

The next couple seconds were something that I couldn't even completely believe. In a split second Pikachu jumped to the right and sped straight for Roserade, tail glowing. But that wasn't anything special, what was odd was the fact that as he moved there seemed to be one or two Pikachu coming off of the first. I even rubbed my eyes to try and clear them just in case it was just me. But by the time I had opened them again less than a second later Pikachu had already crossed the entire length of the field and closed the distance between the two of them. With a quick spin the steel-hard tail hit its target sending the Bouquet Pokémon sliding backwards.

I started to just think that there was just something wrong with me because between the blurring of Pikachu's body and the speed at which he executed everything it was virtually impossible for him to move like that. But looking back on everyone else here I could see that it might not have been just me. Drew had a completely blank look on his face as he stared at the yellow mouse while Dawn was sporting a large smile.

"Did I just see what I think I saw?" I vaguely asked her as I was starting to doubt not only my eyes by myself as well.

"Yep, that would be part of what Ash was training for. Somehow he was able to increase Pikachu's speed to a point where it's hard for a normal human to keep track of him. Seriously, there were some trainers in the Sinnoh League almost freaking out when they claimed that it wasn't natural for a Pikachu to move that fast. A few trainers surrendered before even fighting Ash saying that Pikachu was 'possessed' or something. But even Brock assures me that it should have been impossible for him to actually move like that, so there was something unique that Ash did in those months of training. Though if you think that this is impressive you should see the other thing that they learned."

"Other thing?"

"You've grown quiet Drew, is there something wrong?" Ash asked the stunned coordinator.

Shaking his head a bit Drew glared right at Ash. "This can't be real. No land-based Pokémon can move that fast."

"No one can tell you what you have to believe; in the end you can only trust what your eyes tell you." He responded in a very un-Ash like manner.

"Well what I do know is that I will still win, even with your little trick."

Even though he was putting up a brave front it was easy to see that Drew was a little unnerved by what he just saw.

"Roserade Leaf Storm!" Drew finally called out. "Even if this is some sort of trick if we use the multiple shots of Leaf Storm we should be able to get it."

"Rose." The Pokémon nodded weakly before pointing both of its bouquets at the waiting Pokémon. As the flowers fell into place leaves began to come off of the sides of them and started to swirl around the outstretched arms. Moments later a small cyclone of leaves spiraled towards Pikachu. Once again the attack sped towards its target and it wasn't until the last second that Ash finally gave his command.

"Dodge left and go for another Iron Tail."

I made sure to try and keep my eyes completely on Pikachu this time as he leapt out of the Leaf Storm's area and shot right at Roserade with his tail glowing the all too familiar metallic white. But no matter how much I concentrated on the Pokémon I still couldn't get him in focus. In fact this time it almost seemed as if it was harder to keep an eye on him, as if his speed increased even further.

"Turn and fire!" Drew quickly shouted as soon as Ash gave his last order, but by the time he gave it Pikachu had already dodged the first attack and was speeding back at the Bouquet Pokémon. The increasingly anxious Pokémon was barely able to turn fast enough to aim the second Leaf Strom in that direction, but just before Pikachu made contact he was caught directly in the whirlwind.

Yet only a fraction of a second later Pikachu appeared on Roserade's left and before the Pokémon could even completely turn to look Pikachu got a clean hit sending it head over heals across the blackened field. As the flower Pokémon came to a halt I could see that even after seemingly getting hit caught in the Leaf Storm for some reason Pikachu had yet to even receive a single scratch

Once again I just couldn't believe my eyes. "I could have sworn that Pikachu got hit head on by that attack. How the heck was he able to recover from that so quickly and get in his own attack? Did Ash really figure out how to make Pikachu fast enough to literally disappear from sight?"

As Roserade struggled to get to its feet Drew was once again speechless, but the anger and frustration that boiled up from him was obvious. After what looked to be a near perfect hit Pikachu wasn't even injured and dealt a major blow not only to Roserade but Drew's ego as well.

"Alright Ketchum," he started, voice seething with malice. "You've forced my hand. I was planning on saving this for the next Grand Festival, seeing as how we haven't completely perfected it yet, but I won't lose to the likes of you! Do it Roserade, Petal Dance."

After a moment to catch its breath the Pokémon closed its eyes for a second before opening them with an odd blue glow. It didn't last long as its entire body started to spin like a top. Faster and faster the flower Pokémon spun as pink rose petals started to come off of its body, but for some reason the petals didn't go anywhere. After shooting out of Roserade's body they slowed down and began to gather in clumps around the Grass-Type. Soon those clumps became larger clusters of hundreds if not thousands of petals, slowly surrounding it.

"What the heck is that? I've never seen a Petal Dance anything like this before. They should be shooting out of its body at Pikachu not stopping in midair and just hover there. I'm not liking the look of this."

Ash was watching very intently as the petals gathered. Motioning for Pikachu to back off a bit the Electric Mouse did accordingly, creating a good distance between him and his opponent.

"That's enough Roserade." Drew told his Pokémon as it came to a halt, the petals still hanging in midair. As it opened its eyes I could see that they were still glowing with that odd blue color. "I've always known that my Roselia was special, and now I'm just figuring out how special it is. Allow me to give you a sneak peak at what will win me next year's Grand Festival. Roserade use Extrasensory just as we practiced!"

With only a slight nod the glowing eyes from Roserade deepened in color as most of the petals started to faintly glow the same color. As more and more of the petals started to glow they started to move as if they were a single living being with Roserade at its fluctuating core. Without warning a portion of it shot out like some arm traveling right for Pikachu.

"Dodge it Pikachu!" Ash yelled as the arm neared it target.

Pikachu looked as if he didn't need a second opinion as he jumped off to the right of the mass of razor sharp petals. But even as he easily dodged the attack another portion of it came off of the primary mass and started to speed towards him as well. As he dodged arm after arm extending away from Roserade, the attacks kept on coming. At times he miraculously dodged what looked like a direct hit by almost literally disappearing and reappearing not to far away. As the arms continued to lash out at him the central mass became less and less pronounced as the petals continued to chase after the lightning fast mouse.

Even though Pikachu had yet to be hit by the telekinetically controlled leaves there was still little he could do to defend himself against them and it almost looked as if they were starting to surround him.

"That's it Roserade do it now! Capture that rat!" Drew called out.

"They are closing in on him." I finally realized.

As Pikachu was dodging each one of the attacks the rest of the arms were slowly creating a sphere around him. It finally got to the point where he had no more places to run to as they completely surrounded him. I could feel Eevee start to stir as she witnessed the sight as well. The best I could do to try and comfort the distressed Evolution Pokémon was to hold her and continually pet her.

"Now finish it!" Drew yelled as the thought of him winning probably came into being.

The sphere then completely closed off with every petal in Roserade's arsenal performing the capture, though the Pokémon looked completely exhausted from the mental stamina needed to control all of the petals. It was at that point that Ash finally gave his order.

"Pikachu Thunderbolt, max power!"

As the sphere shrunk down the entire field lit up with a blinding light as the electric potential of Pikachu was shown for the first time in the battle. I covered my eyes as the light became unbearable, only removing my hand when I could tell that the attack was over, and needless to say I was pleasantly surprised at the sight before me.

The field had completely changed from the state that it was in just moments before. The great mass of rose petals was reduced to nothing but floating ashes and the distinct smell of ozone. In the center of the field stood Pikachu, around him the ashes from the remains of his opponent's attack floated down to the scorched earth. Stray arcs of electricity occasionally pulsated off of him as his body readjusted itself after the massive attack.

On the other side of the field Drew wasn't happy to observe his opponent still standing. And seeing as how Roserade was starting to have trouble standing it was obvious that this battle wouldn't be lasting much longer.

"Pikachu, you think you still have enough for our finisher?" Ash asked his partner.

"Pika." He nodded, electricity flaring up from his cheeks once again.

"Alright then, you know what to do."

Gathering his energy once again Pikachu launched himself back at Roserade. Even after the massive Thunderbolt his speed didn't seem to slow down one bit. I was still having trouble keeping up with the electric mouse as he closed the distance between himself and his target.

"Quickly use Weather Ball!" Drew cried out as his chances of victory were almost completely smashed.

The Bouquet Pokémon weakly rose its flowers above its head again as the fireball took shape. But before the attack was even completed Pikachu was right up next to it, or he at least he was for a split second. Prior to him even stopping the Electric Mouse cut right and started to circle around the increasingly confused Roserade.

It was at that point where I completely stopped trusting my eyes. As Pikachu ran circles around his opponent the blur of his speed started to separate into several other Pikachu. But this was no Double Team, at least none that I've ever seen. As he continued to speed up the number of images increased as well and finally got to a point where there were three rows of them circling around Roserade, and one row of them was even running in the opposite direction of the other two.

I was getting as confused as the Grass-Type as I watched the supposed one Pikachu multiply into several individually moving creatures. Dawn just kept the same smile one her face as when Pikachu originally hit the field and I could only wish to know what was going through Eevee's mind at that point. Knowing her I could only guess that it was either of absolute joy to see Pikachu winning or one of amazement like I had; a stark contrast to the worried state she was in just moments ago.

Roserade was having a hard time keeping the Weather Ball focused as it tried to track each one of the Pikachu that kept on circling around it. Slowly the ball of red-orange flame diminished down to nothing, much to Drew's chagrin.

"Okay Pikachu, light it up." Ash stated with a big smile on his face. "It's time to really end this!"

As the multitudes of Pikachu continued to surround the Bouquet Pokémon crackles of electricity started to appear between them. As the number of arcs continued to increase they eventually formed into one large yellow ring, covering the Electric-Type and masking him from view. But at this point he was the least of anyone's notice.

It didn't take long for the ring to slowly close in on the helpless prisoner trapped within.

"Roserade get out of there!" Drew desperately commanded as defeat continued to loom over him.

But try as it might his Pokémon couldn't move one bit. When the ring started to close in the arcs of free electrons began to trail off of the ring and collect around the Grass-Type. Who, despite its natural resistance to it, became a living lightning rod; paralyzed by the countless thousands of volts running through its body.

Just when I thought that it was going to be a slow defeat at the hands of the ring, the field lit up one last time as the ring transformed into a pillar of light and energy, soaring straight up into the sky. After only a few seconds the light slowly began to disappear, with no more than a distinct smell and the blackened field as the only proof of what happened.

On the field Pikachu had stopped if front of Ash and was breathing in staggered bursts, no doubt from the two large uses of its electrical power in this battle. But he still looked ready for more if that was the case.

As the little bit of dust settled I could make out Roserade struggling to balance itself on the burnt bouquets that formed its arms. The rest of its body wasn't looking much better as electrical burns were apparent on every corner of its body.

"Come on Roserade we can't lose this!" Drew yelled at his Pokémon. But no matter how much he yelled there was little chance of it making getting up to its feet. And sure enough a mere second later the Bouquet Pokémon collapsed on the ground, unmoving.

"And that would be the end of the battle." Ash simply said as Pikachu walked back to his trainer. "I'm not sure exactly what you wanted to prove with all of this but now that you've lost Drew I think that you should just leave."

Returning his Pokémon to its Pokéball Drew turned and walked up to me, avoiding any eye contact with Ash whatsoever. "I will go, but first I have to ask a question." Pulling another rose out he looked straight at me. "May would you join me in traveling around Sinnoh together?"

Taking a glance back at Ash and Pikachu, I already knew my answer. "At one point I was honestly considering it Drew, but after everything that's happened in the last couple days I have to say no." His cocky smile quickly faded. "If this is how you treat my friends then that means that I have to choose between them and you, and that is simply just another battle that you can't win."

With an annoyed look he quickly withdrew the rose and left without saying a word, but not before giving a quick scowl at Ash. Ash though just looked back with a big smile, and it wasn't the smile that he had on during the battle. This was his smile, the one that I've always enjoyed seeing. I couldn't help but feel my mood rise even further as I watched him.

After Drew was out of sight Ash and Pikachu walked back towards Dawn and I. Well Pikachu almost made it back but was tackled by a certain someone before he even knew what was happening. After everything that happened I couldn't help but laugh at the two of them.

"As is expected of the Sinnoh League Champion." Dawn cheered as Ash got close. "That was a great battle. You put that narcissist right back into his place."

"That battle was amazing Ash!" I declared right after Dawn finished. "I never knew that you could do things like that! And the way that you pulled off some of those moves I could have sworn that it was straight out of the Grand Festival."

"I somewhat have Dawn to thank for that one." He said a little sheepishly with a slight blush forming on his face. "In training with her so often I unconsciously started to take notice of the moves that weren't only just powerful but also looked good."

"If you put a bit more effort into it I would bet that you could become a great coordinator as well." I told him with a wink. Noticing that Pikachu and Eevee were finally making their way over to us I bent down to congratulate the new victor. "And I still can't believe the moves that Pikachu did in that battle. He didn't even get hit once the entire time." As I began to pet him I could see him wince a bit as I went over a spot on his back. "Well he almost missed every one of them."

Taking a closer look I could see a small patch of reddened fur near his shoulder. Eevee was immediately next to me looking at it as well, a worried look on her face. "Looks like you still need to work on that one Pikachu. But don't worry, it doesn't look like anything major, I can fix you right up." As I reached to grab some medication and bandages from my bag I could see that my little Pokémon was already starting to lick the wound, trying to clear everything away. Smiling I took over for her in cleaning it and wrapped a small bandage around it. "There good as new."

With a quick grin he quickly jumped up into my arms and just gave a satisfied coo.

"You're welcome." I smiled down at the small ball of fur in my arms. Letting Eevee onto my shoulder before I got up I looked at my two other traveling companions. "So now that that's over how about we start heading to Pallet again?"

"Sounds good to me. So enough of these interruptions, let's get moving!" Dawn said as she started heading towards the road.

Looking over at Ash I could see him shaking his head slightly at the sight of our friend. "Shall we?"

"Might as well, otherwise it'll be a while before she notices that we aren't with her."


Ya I know; one more chapter till the end, and until the point that most of you have been waiting for as well. I originally wasn't thinking that I would get an entire chapter off of just this fight. Oh well, as always reviews are always appreciated.