Next chapter! I hope you're happy!

*Disclaimer* I don't own Pokemon

"X? That sounds like the name of a video game..." Bonnie said.

"Why, hello, Serena! Nice to see you again!"

Dumbfounded, Serena remembered her other childhood friend.

"Again?" Ash asked.

"This must be the challenger. You see, I met Serena in Pokemon summer camp. As soon as we were old enough to get our own Pokemon, we met again in Aquacorde Town. I got my starter at the same time she did, and we occasionally battled. I won every time! Eventually, I got to the league, beat Diantha, and here I am!"

"Wow! It's nice to meet you!" Ash said with a smile.

"So, Serena, I'm guessing that you and him are, you know, boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"Instincts. I'm actually dating Shauna, you know. It all started back on a night in Parfum Palace-"

"Can we save the stories for later? I'm not trying to be mean, but, I'm sure we have plenty of time to catch up after the battle."

"You're right. Are you ready, Ash?"

"I'm ready!"

"All of your training has been leading up to this moment. Also, be warned! If you lose, you-"

"I know, I have to beat the Elite Four again."

Calem smiled.

"You look like a nice trainer. If you win...never mind. I'll show you later."

"Let's do this! Hawlucha, I choose you!"

"All right! A Hawlucha isn't bad! But in that case, GOLURK, LET'S GO!"

The wrestling Pokemon and the automaton Pokemon stood ready for battle.

"This is it, Hawlucha! The final battle! I hope you're ready!"

"Come on, Golurk! Let's show them a good time!"

The two Pokemon nodded in approval.

"HAWLUCHA! HIGH JUMP KICK!"

"Stand your ground, Golurk!

The High Jump Kick landed, but Golurk stood unaffected.

"Hold him, Golurk!"

With that, Hawlucha was trapped in Golurk's clutches.

"Thunderbolt!"

Golurk landed a point-blank Thunderbolt and dealt tremendous damage on the Hawlucha.

"Hawlucha, hang in there, and use Flying Press to free yourself!"

Hawlucha wiggled and squirmed as he executed the move, and he was freed and soaring.

"Well done, Ash! Nice use of strategy and move-use!"

"Thanks, but we're not done, yet! Hawlucha, let's show them the result of our special training! USE GRASS KNOT!"

Hawlucha lifted his arms and tall grass appeared all over the battlefield. Once they got to Golurk, they tripped it, performing more damage than the Thunderbolt.

"I didn't know Hawlucha could use that move! You surprised me already!"

"That's not all! I also know that Golurk can fly!"

"How did you know that?"

"I'll tell you about it sometime. Hawlucha, take to the skies!"

"If you want an aerial battle, you've got it! Golurk, you fly too!"

The two Pokemon floated in the air as they awaited their trainer's instruction. Over in the stands, Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont gasped.

"Perfect. The stage is set, Hawlucha! Fly higher!"

"Go after him, Golurk!"

Golurk chased Hawlucha towards the ceiling of the cathedral.

"Great! Now use Rock Slide, Hawlucha!"

"What?!"

Rocks came falling towards Golurk and landed a direct hit. Golurk crashed to the ground.

"Excellent. Golurk, use Flash Cannon!"

"Fly and use Grass Knot!"

"You fly too, Golurk!"

Golurk flew again and aimed a Flash Cannon straight at Hawlucha, but missed. Hawlucha landed and Golurk did the same.

"You're in quite a situation here, Ash! Rock Slide won't do that much unless Golurk is in the air, Fighting-Type moves won't work against Ghost-types like Golurk, Grass Knot probably won't work again, and honestly, Flying Press won't do much!"

With that last part, Ash's eyes lit up.

"You're right! Flying Press won't do much! Hawlucha, keep using Flying Press, and when you hit Golurk, fly!"

"What?"

Hawlucha landed Flying Press, and every time it hit Golurk, he flew before Golurk could retaliate.

"That's a strange strategy! Golurk, grab him when he charges!"

"Keep going, Hawlucha! Don't worry!"

The next Flying Press had hit, but Hawlucha had been captured again.

"NOW, HAWLUCHA, GRASS KNOT!"

The strands of grass appeared again and sent Golurk and Hawlucha to the ground. Golurk fainted.

"Golurk return. Wow, Ash! What exactly was your strategy there?"

"I knew that if I used Flying Press over and over, you would eventually catch Hawlucha. In addition, since Flying Press wouldn't do much on Ground, it would do small bits of damage. Anyway, when you actually caught him, I had Hawlucha use Grass Knot to trip Golurk since Grass is super effective against Ground."

"Fantastic! What an amazing strategy!"

"Thanks, Calem."

"However, you won't be so lucky this time. GOODRA, I CHOOSE YOU!"

"Hawlucha, return! Greninja, I choose you!"

"A Greninja, huh? All right, then! You can move first!"

"Greninja, Ice Beam!"

"Goodra, Flamethrower!"

Greninja aimed an Ice Beam, but Goodra had disintegrated the Ice Beam and dealt damage to Greninja.

"I know that Protean is Greninja's hidden ability. So, if it used and Ice attack, I can not only avoid it with Flamethrower, I can also hurt Greninja!"

"Nice strategy!"

"You're not the only one who makes a decent strategy."

"All right, then! Greninja, use Ice Beam again!"

"Flamethrower again!"

"Run, Greninja!"

Greninja ran from the coming Flamethrower, and landed a super-effective Ice Beam on Goodra.

"Hmm...OK. Goodra, use Dragon Tail!"

"HYDRO PUMP!"

Instinctively, Greninja formed a Hydro Pump tornado and successfully countered the Dragon Tail.

"Nope! Goodra! Thunder inside that tornado!"

"Form an Ice Beam tornado!"

Suddenly, the Water tornado turned into an Ice Tornado, and headed straight for Goodra. The Thunder hit, but the Ice tornado also hit Goodra. Goodra fainted.

"I've never seen an elemental tornado before. Impressive."

"Thanks! We figured it out during our battle with N."

"The creepy guy? He looks like he lived in a castle."

"Maybe. But let's continue. All right! Gastrodon, let's go!"

The slug-like Pokemon appeared and started to move around the battlefield.

"Greninja, return! Noivern, I choose you!"

Noivern hovered in the air as it stared at its opponent.

"I'm surprised you haven't lost any of your Pokemon yet. Let's change that. Gastrodon, Rock Tomb!"

"Noivern, break the rocks with Dragon Pulse!"

Noivern weaved in and out of the falling rocks and destroyed them with Dragon Pulse.

"Great! Now, Gastrodon, use Body Slam."

Suddenly, with a tremendous jump, Gastrodon jumped and landed on Noivern, sending it to the floor. Noivern struggled, but it was to no avail. Gastrodon had pinned Noivern.

"It's no use to get out of that Body Slam, Ash. Gastrodon has Sticky Hold, so it won't be easy to escape.

"Maybe we don't have to escape! Noivern, SOLAR BEAM!"

Noivern began to charge power for the Solar Beam, but Gastrodon was ready.

"Ice Beam, Gastrodon!"

Noivern was hit with the Ice Beam, however, he wasn't frozen.

Ash thought about what to do in a situation like this. He then remembered he'd been in a similar situation before.

"Wait! Paul had a Gastrodon! He did the exact same thing with Staraptor! Staraptor was able to break free by using a sand attack, but I don't think Noivern knows any sand attacks...I've got it!"

"Noivern, use all your strength to fly!"

"Ash! Gastrodon has sticky hold, remember?"

"COME ON, YOU CAN DO IT, NOIVERN!"

Noivern struggled but he took to the skies with a frantic Gastrodon.

"But-how?"

"I know that we can't escape from Sticky Hold. But I DO know that even if we can't get Gastrodon off, we can just make him get off. NOIVERN, FLY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!"

Noivern started to increase its speed. The Gastrodon's grip was loosening.

"GASTRODON! ROCK TOMB!"

"FLY FASTER AND DODGE!"

The rocks fell, but Noivern's speed enabled him to dodge all of them. In addition, Gastrodon had freed Noivern and was falling towards the ground.

"NO, GASTRODON!"

"USE THAT SOLAR BEAM!"

With a burst of light, Noivern released the Solar Beam toward the falling Gastrodon, and had landed a successful hit. Gastrodon was severe;y damaged, but Ash wasn't done yet.

"DRAGON PULSE!"

The struggling Gastrodon wasn't given a chance to get up before he was hit with a Dragon Pulse. Gastrodon fainted.

"Gastrodon, return. You're halfway there. I'm surprised at your skill. My fourth Pokemon is Kingdra!"

The seahorse Pokemon took the battlefield with a look of determination on his face.

"Noivern, return. Pikachu, it's your turn!"

The Electric Mouse Pokemon ran onto the battlefield, returning Kingdra's glare.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"DODGE AND USE RAIN DANCE!"

The Thunderbolt missed and a rainstorm began.

"All right, Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

Pikachu landed the Quick Attack, but Kingdra stood unfazed.

"HYDRO PUMP!"

A shot of water went towards Pikachu.

"Dodge, and use Thunderbolt on the battlefield!"

The Hydro Pump missed and Pikachu used Thunderbolt on the battlefield, resulting in a cloud of smoke on the battlefield.

"Where's Pikachu? Keep your eyes peeled, Kingdra!" Calem said with a concerned attitude.

Meanwhile, Ash prepared to execute a strategy he had used in Unova.

"Ready, Pikachu?"

The Pokemon nodded in approval. A hole had formed in the smoke, and Kingdra and Pikachu saw each other.

"Kingdra, Hyper Beam!"

"Jump and use Thunderbolt!"

The Hyper Beam had landed, but the force from the attack was enough to send Pikachu flying. Pikachu executed and landed the Thunderbolt. Pikachu struggled, but he got up and prepared to continue.

"Oh no..." Calem said, realizing his mistake. Ash realized it too.

"PIKACHU, FINISH THIS WITH THUNDERBOLT!"

Pikachu easily hit Kingdra with the attack. The rain stopped. Kingdra fainted.

"Kingdra, return. I'm running out of options. LET'S GO, METAGROSS!"

"Pikachu, return! Charizard, let's go!"

The two Pokemon both had a serious gaze on their face. Ash noticed that the Metagross was wearing a Key Stone.

"I'm guessing you're going to mega-evolve Metagross."

"No. I'm saving that for later. METAGROSS, USE METEOR MASH!"

Metagross charged towards Charizard, preparing to use all four of its arms.

"TAKE IT, CHARIZARD!"

Charizard was hit with the attack with astounding force, and was slammed into the wall.

"SEISMIC TOSS!"

Charizard grabbed Metagross and prepared to slam it on the ground.

"Fighting isn't effective against Psychic!" Ash thought.

"Charizard, while you're spinning, use Flamethrower!"

The circle Charizard was spinning Metagross in now became a circle of fire. Charizard slammed Metagross on the ground, but Metagross wasn't finished.

"Stay ready, Charizard!"

"Metagross, use Meteor Mash again, but attack from behind!"

"Charizard, use Flamethrower in a spin!"

Flamethrower was used to form a fiery tornado, and much to Calem's disappointment, Metagross used Meteor Mash right into the tornado.

"NO!"

Metagross fell to the ground, but Charizard wasn't done.

"NOW, CHARIZARD, FLAMING SEISMIC TOSS!"

Charizard landed a fiery Seismic Toss, and left Metagross on the ground. Metagross fainted.

"Metagross, return. I think I'm actually starting to feel frustrated now."

Ash said nothing. He knew he only had one more Pokemon left before he becomes the new champion.

"My final Pokemon: Sceptile!"

Sceptile faced down the Charizard who was still ready to proceed. This Sceptile was also wearing a Key Stone.

"Sceptile, respond to my heart and MEGA EVOLVE!"

Sceptile underwent a quick transformation to become Mega Sceptile. Ash could feel how powerful it had just become. Yet, he still wasn't worried.

"Charizard, thank you. But I know who's going to finish the job."

Ash returned Charizard to its PokeBall.

"GRENINJA! I CHOOSE YOU!"

Calem laughed.

"This is it. Starter vs. starter. Not only are the types different, but one can Mega Evolve."

"Maybe. Greninja is special. He knows how to get the job done."

"Fine. SCEPTILE, LEAF BLADE!"

"Dodge!"

With incredible speed, Greninja dodged while Sceptile attacked.

"Freeze that Leaf Blade with Ice Beam!"

"Solar Beam!"

Sceptile quickly charged and fired a Solar Beam that countered the coming Ice Beam.

"Greninja, use Ice Beam on the battlefield!"

The Ice Beam turned the battlefield into an ice-skating rink. Sceptile looked around, confused.

"Now, use Ice Beam on Sceptile!"

"Jump, Sceptile!"

Sceptile jumped, but Greninja still hit the attack, as his opponent jumped as he was aiming.

"One more Ice Beam should do it! Use it one more time!"

"Cut through it with Leaf Blade!"

Sceptile used Leaf Blade to protect himself from the Ice Beam, and landed the hit on Greninja. However, it wasn't very effective.

"I FORGOT ABOUT PROTEAN!"

"Push Sceptile away!"

Sceptile was pushed and fell to the icy floor. He tried to get up, but kept slipping on the ice.

"Double Team!"

Copies of Greninja surrounded Sceptile, making the latter confused. After the Double Team was executed, Greninja became one with its trainer and formed into Ash-Greninja.

"What is that?!" Calem cried.

"Just our form of Mega-Evolution. GRENINJA, USE ICE BEAM!"

"USE LEAF STORM TO GET RID OF THE COPIES!"

Although the Leaf Storm took out the copies, the original Greninja still landed the Ice Beam. Sceptile landed and reverted back to its original form. Sceptile fainted. With his heart racing, Ash realized he did it. He had just made a huge step in the process of becoming a Pokemon Master. He had not only beaten Calem, but he also won with all six of his Pokemon. He was the champion of Kalos.

"Sceptile, return. Ash, that battle was nothing short of incredible. You managed to beat my best team not only using strategies I've seen before, but with strategies that completely blew my mind!"

"Congratulations, Ash!"

Serena ran down and gave Ash a hug. She was followed by Bonnie and Clemont.

"Ash, that was amazing! Congratulations!" Clemont said.

"That was awesome!" Bonnie squealed.

"Thanks!"

"Ash, come with me. We have to make sure that your victory is forever remembered in the Hall of Fame."

Ash stepped on one more elevator with Calem and rode up to a new room. In the center of the room was a device with six PokeBall slots. Ash placed five of them in the slots and Pikachu jumped up and put his hand in the last slot.

"I will never forget our battle." Calem said.

"Me neither!" Ash replied.

They both smiled as they rode down the elevator.

On Route 23...

The five exited the Pokemon League and took a walk towards Santalune City.

"Well, back to where we started." Ash said, as he remembered the first Kalos gym battle he had.

"Yeah," Calem agreed, "Hey Ash. I have something for you."

Calem reached into his backpack and took out a small box. He opened it, and gave Ash a bracelet and a Key Stone. A Mega Stone bracelet also came with it.

"You see, when I was in Lumiose City, Professor Sycamore gave me a Kanto starter with a Mega Stone. I chose Charmander, so he gave me a Charizardite. Maybe you can use it."

"Wow! Thank you so much!"

"No problem!"

"So you can Mega-Evolve Pokemon now?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"Yeah..." Ash said in disbelief.

"There are lots of Mega-Evolutions out there..." Clemont said.

"I know."

"So, what now?"

"I think I'll try my hand at the Pokedex. I did promise Professor Oak I would complete it."

"Wow..I hope you do it! Rumor has it that Professor Sycamore will give you rare items if you complete the Pokedex!"

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed.

They sat down on a bench. Serena laid her head on Ash's shoulder, Bonnie began to sleep, and Clemont, Calem, and Ash looked up at the stars. The future was upon them.

In the distance, a strange Pokemon watched the entire conversation. It then flew away to the Pokemon Village. The Pokemon were overjoyed to see it return. However, it said nothing, and walked into the cave.

TO BE CONTINUED?