"AND HERE WE ARE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL BATTLE OF THE PRELIMARY KALOS TOURNAMENT! We have a fierce battle on the way between the fan favorite, Grace! And Elizabeth, Sinnoh's tournament winner! Which one of these females will rein supreme!?"

"This is gonna be a good one, I can tell." Marcus crossed his arms. "But of course, I have to go with Grace."

"Agreed." Kasumi nodded. "Elizabeth's good and all, but Grace has this in the bag. There's no stopping her once she gets on that winning momentum, as you all can clearly see."

"So Elizabeth is the underdog? Lore chuckled softly. "I root for the underdogs, so I wanna see how this one goes."

"I don't want Grace to win. She's mean in battle." Kayla huffed. Her remark wasn't exactly off to the point where Marcus and Kasumi could refute it.

"I just can't wait to see who wins!" Ash grinned widely. Heck, he wasn't even bothered by his loss in the previous round because he knew that this final round was about to be incredible.

"I kinda want this to be over…but I also want to see who wins…" Rui was definitely at a crossroads. At some point she found herself sucked into the excitement each and every battle had to offer.

"Well well, here we are." Grace placed her hands on her hips, smiling at Elizabeth from across the battlefield. "The last two standing after a rough tournament. I don't even know what lies on ahead, but I do know that I will be winning this one. So I recommend that you don't hold back…otherwise it probably won't end too well for you."

"You tend to be rather snarky when you think you've already won." Elizabeth shook her head. "That's a bad habit to have, you know? No battle is decided from the beginning…but I'm looking forward to being the one to take down that Venusaur."

"Oh, I didn't bring it this time." Grace sighed. "It worked so hard against Marcus and Rapidash that I thought it deserved a break. …But I do hope that doesn't pose a problem. I'm at my best no matter if it's with me or not."

"…No problem at all." Elizabeth was a little disappointed to hear she wouldn't be facing the mighty Venusaur, but she intended to win no matter what. After the small talk was over, she threw her first pokeball into the air, calling forth her Gardevoir. "Gardevoir, let us begin."

"Electivire, come out!" Grace's first pokemon of choice was Electivire!

"Gardevoir vs. Electivire! The final round has officially begunnnnnn!" The announcer shouted.

"Even I am curious as to who will win…" Diantha was merely thinking aloud.

"Electivire, use Thunder!" Electivire gathered a large mass of electricity within its body only to inject its tails into the ground. The ensuring discharge caused an electrical shockwave to pulse throughout the ground while kicking up large chunks of debris that began to fall back to the ground.

"Gardevoir, dodge it!" Gardevoir took that command and began elegantly stepping around the falling debris. There was no time to even do anything else with the battlefield itself raining down on her.

"Ice Punch!" While Gardevoir was busy evading the falling debris, Electivire used this as an opportunity to sneak up on it and smash its ice coated fist into its chest, throwing telepathic pokemon backwards before landing on its feet with a grimace.

"Shadow Ball!" Elizabeth immediately retaliated. Gardevoir's counterattack was instant and a Shadow Ball was fired off, striking Electivire in the chest with enough force to send it skidding backwards across the ground. "Moon Blast!" The arena suddenly dimmed to a night ambiance, the moon appearing within Gardevoir's hands. With the power of the moon behind it, Gardevoir released a gigantic pink ray that cut across the battlefield.

"Thunder!" Elecivire gathered another mass of electricity within its body before throwing its hand forward; the bolt of lightning it fired clashed with the Moon Blast, resulting in a large explosion upon collision.

"Thunder Wave." Elizabeth had an idea in mind; one that she was certain Grace would fall for. Gardevoir extended its hand, unleashing a jolt of electricity to strike Electivire. Of course it failed for her, as it activated Electivire's signature ability: Motor Drive.

"Hah?" Grace quirked a brow, merely grinning as Electvire began rotating tis arms with more electricity sparking around its body. "What an odd move…but we'll use it nonetheless. Wild Charge!" A fierce yellow aura of lightning flared around Electivire and it rushed forward towards Gardevoir with vastly increased speed, closing the gap within the blink of an eye.

"Got her." Elizabeth's lips curled up into a tiny smirk. "Shadow Ball!" Perhaps her plan was a little mistimed. While Gardevoir managed to fire and land a point blank Shadow Ball, it was also hit with a powerful Wild Charge in return and flew back until it landed on the ground on its back. "Tch…! Psyshock!" Using its psychic powers, chunks of energy formed around Electivire to collide into it, dealing damage on top of already taking recoil from Wild Charge.

"Thunder!" Though it took quite a bit of damage, Electivire sped forward once again. However, Thunder came in a different variant this time: Electivire used its tails to wrap around Gardevoir's arms and waist before releasing Thunder at full power. Gardevoir couldn't resist as it received a shock to its system.

"G-Gardevoir…!" Elizabeth's eyes widened and the only thing she could do was watch until Electivire finally let go. Gardevoir just fell to the ground and didn't move an inch.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle! Electivire is the winner!" The referee exclaimed while pointing at Grace.

"One Pokémon has gone down! But it's still anyone's game!" The announcer vocalized.

"Trying to draw her in was a smart idea…but Electivire's speed was miscalculated." Clemont said while adjusting his glasses. "I knew about the speed increase from Motor Drive, but that was a little bit more than I was expecting and I doubt Elizabeth was expecting it either…"

"Elecitvire, return." Grace unexpectedly returned Electivire while Elizabeth did Gardevoir.

"You're withdrawing?" Elizabeth questioned before bringing forth her Vaporeon to battle now as her second pokemon.

"For reasons." Grace replied before calling forth her second pokemon. "Ursaring, you're up!" Ursaring let out a roar before standing across from Vaporeon.

"Vaporeon, Aurora Beam!" Elizabeth wasn't going to let Grace one up her again. Vaporeon opened its mouth and unleashed an ice cold rainbow beam towards Ursaring.

"Slash!" Ursaring reared its arm back before bringing it down for a diagonal slash to cut right through the Aurora Beam.

"Muh…!?" Elizabeth's eyes widened but only for a second. "Quick Attack!" Vaporeon then lunged forward, sprinting across the battlefield before ramming headfirst into Usaring's stomach. Right in the center of the ring. Bullseye, one may say.

"Hammer Arm!" Right after Vaporeon slammed into Ursaring, the bear raised its arm up and violently slammed it down onto the eeveelutions back, crushing it into the ground with brutal force. Right after, a blue aura appeared around Ursaring's body and traveled down; Ursaring's speed dropped after use of Hammer Arm.

"Water Pulse!" Vaporeon weakly lifted its head up, unleashing a sphere of water point blank at Ursaring. Water exploded into a small wave and Ursaring was carried off until it finally landed on its back.

"Ursaring…!" Ursaring stood back up…but something was wrong. Its eyes were red and it was in a daze! "Huh….!? Oh, don't tell me…!"

"It looks like Ursaring is confused!" The announcer shouted.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me…! Snap out of it and use Double Edge!" Ursarign roared before rushing forward and…well, it was just a mess. It somehow hit itself in confusion and staggered backwards along the battlefield, leaving itself completely open.

"Aurora Beam!" Shaking off the vicious impact from Hammer Arm, Vaporeon opened its mouth yet again to unleash an ice cold beam at Ursaring. This time, it was a direct hit and Ursaring was thrown off its feet and crashed on the ground on its side, wincing in pain.

"Oi oi!" Grace shouted at Ursaring, clearly annoyed by its performance thus far. Honestly, who isn't even the slightest bit upset when their pokemon starts hurting itself in confusion? "Get your act together, Double Edge!" Ursaring roared once again and actually did what it was told this time, delivering a reckless life-risking tackle on Vaporeon for considerable damage.

Vaporeon slid backwards while howling in pain, nearly collapsing from the damage it took, but Ursaring was still open and it was now or never to attack. "Water Pulse!" Vaporeon quickly released another sphere of water towards Ursaring that exploded on contact. The normal type stood no chance after the recoil damage and fell onto its side with swirls in its eyes to show its KO.

"Ursaring is unable to battle! Vaporeon is the winner!" The referee pointed at Elizabeth.

"We're still in this battle." Elizabeth said with a firm nod.

"My, my…" Grace shook her head while returning Ursaring. "Confusion is so annoying…but what can you do? We lost that round fair and square." Her blithe outlook on the matter was actually a tad annoying, yet it was clear that she was just a little bit salty at the end of the day. "Salamance, let's wrap this up." Salamance made its return to the battlefield, roaring while touching down on the ground.

"Salamance, huh?" Elizabeth made note of this pokemon: the one that defeated Marcus' Dewott and Mienshao in the previous semifinal battle. "Vaporeon, Quick Attack!" Vaporeon struggled to get started due to the damage it took prior, but it forced itself off its feet and darted towards Salamance at high speeds.

"Aerial Ace!" Salamance spread its wings and glided along the ground while rearing its claw back. Salamance and Vaporeon crossed each other in a flash and remained still. The result was clear: Vaporeon just fell over, unable to continue the battle.

"Vaporeon is unable to battle! Salamance is the winner!" The referee pointed at Grace.

"She's down to her last pokemon…" Kasumi tilted her head.

"Hrm…thank you, Vaporeon." Elizabeth returned Vaporeon with a smile. "Charizard, let's finish this." The real Charizard this time. Elizabeth's last pokemon was one of Kanto's starters, and it let out a mighty roar to let everyone know it would be fighting until it dropped. "Fire Punch!" Igniting its fist in flames, Charizard flew into the air where Salamance was and aimed a fiery fist at it.

"Aerial Ace!" Salamance flew down towards Charizard and clashed with it. It wasn't long before the two dragons were flying about in the sky; literal sparks were flying as the two opposing pokemon flew past each other. Charizard landed a punch, Salamance landed a slash, and this battle could have been going either way! "Iron Tail!" Salamance performed a flip midair, slamming its hard tail onto Charizard's head, sending it rocketing it back down to the ground.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Charizard recovered and opened its mouth, unleashing a stream of flame at Salamance. It was a direct hit and Salamance was shot out of the sky!

"Gah…" Grace bit her lip. Salamance flipped and recovered before staying airborne. "Fire Blast!"

"Flamethrower!" Once again, the two pokemon flew high into the sky, spewing flames at once another. It all happened so fast, all the audience could see were flames flying from one side to the other, Salamance hit Charizard and Charizard hit Salamance, neither side giving an inch.

"Dragon Rush!" Changing the game, multicolored energy erupted around Salamance's body in the shape of a dragon. Diving down, Salamance crashed into Charizard at full throttle, rocketing the fire pokemon back into the ground with tremendous force.

"Charizard…!" Elizabeth almost took a step forward to see if Charizard was okay. It wasn't. Bruised and battered, but still willing to stand up despite losing the battle. Charizard let out a powerful roar as flames erupted around its body; Blaze was active!

"Charizard's in pinch! But Blaze as has activated! Is a comeback possible now!? Will the upset happen!?" The announcer questioned.

"Now that's more like it. Fire Punch!" Vicious flames erupted on Charizard's fist, a blaze much stronger than before. Flying forward, Charizard slammed said fist into Salamance's stomach and sent it higher into the air. "Dragon Tail!" Not missing a beat, Charizard's tail covered itself in screen scales before paying Salamance back for earlier by slamming said tail on its head to send it towards the ground.

"Salamance, are you okay!?" Grace shouted up at Salamance as it recovered. The answer was originally going to be yes, but flames appeared around Salamance to deal extra damage. "Ah…!"

"Salamance got burned…!" Kasumi started leaning on and over Marcus while staring into the sky as the battle began to reach its climax. "Don't give up yet! It's not over! Fight Salamance!"

"Flamethrower!" Charizard inhaled for a only a second before releasing an incredibly large funnel of flames at Salamance that scorched the very air it traveled through.

"Fire Blast!" Salamance briefly reared its head back before unleashing a massive beam of fire to the incoming Flamethrower. The two fire attacks clashed before exploding in the center, filling the sky with smoke with their raw power. "Iron Tail!"

"Dragon Tail!" Despite the smoke obscuring vision, the two aerial pokemon charged forward regardless of this fact. Their tails collided and a powerful shockwave boomed out, instantly clearing the smoke that filled the air. There was a power struggle before both of them were forced away from each other only a small distance. "Flamethrower!"

"Fire Blast!" Once again, both sides took higher into the air to spit flames at one another. Just like before, it was duel in the sky where ones flames would overtake the other!

"If this keeps up…" Serena started to lean forward, completely captivated by the battle taking place. "Charizard could win and then beat Electivire!"

Though Marcus was practically supporting Kasumi's weight at this point, he didn't say a single word and just kept his eyes on the battle. "…."

"Hey…" Kasumi stared at Grace, noticing the smile on her lips. "She's smiling…! I've never seen her make that face with anyone excluding us!"

"She must be having fun," Marcus concluded. "I think she's found another person to take seriously, now."

"Elizabeth's having fun too." Kayla pointed out.

Rui nodded. "She's been smiling this whole time, whether she's realized it or not…"

"Aerial Ace!"

"Fire Punch!" Charizard and Salamance swung their arms at each other fiercely. Charizard landed a punch on Salamance's face, while Salamance landed a slash of Charizard's chest. The power both sides displayed stunned the audience into silence! Both sides flew back a great distance after striking each other and Salamance only took more burn damage.

Grace then threw her arm up before pointing at Charizard. "Salamance, Dragon Rush, full power!" Salamance roared while rearing its entire body back, draconic energy flaring around its entire body to take the shape of a roaring dragon. With no warning, Salamance hurtled towards Charizard.

Almost in time with Grace, Elizabeth pointed at Salamance. "This is it, Charizard! Flare Blitz!" Charizard howled while a powerful aura of searing flames surrounded its entire body. The flames were so hot they turned blue. Charizard then flew towards Salamance with full power. The two clashed in the middle of the sky while letting out tremendous roars. At the end of it all, a massive explosion occurred on the spot. Black smoke shrouded the battlefield and obscured Salamance and Charizard from all prying eyes. When that smoke cleared…..

"Charizard is unable to battle! Therefore, the winner is Grace!"

"AND THERE IT IS! GRACE IS THE WINNER!" The announcer could finally unleash all of his stress from watching the last few battles.

"What a fantastic show on both sides. Truly wonderful." Diantha nodded.

"Ahhhhhhhh…" Bonnie let out a heavy sigh. "I think I lost a few years watching all those fights…but they were so much fun!"

"Whew…" Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh herself. She was tense the entire time. "Thank you, Charizard…"

"Haaaaaaaa…." Grace brought a hand to her chest, exhaling heavily. "Don't scare me like that! I really thought you were about to win for a second there…I'm too young for this level of stress." It was a definite roundabout way of Grace saying she had a fun time. The two girls walked over to each other for a firm handshake, a show of excellent sportsmanship.

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Sometime later at the mini award ceremony, Diantha stood before the top 8 representatives and smiled. "You all fought wonderfully. I cannot wait to see how you will perform in the main tournament one week from today. As the winner of this tournament, Grace will be appointed your team leader. It is up to you all how to bond as a team and prepare for the tournament ahead. You will receive more details later in the evening." Dianthia then presented Grace with the gold medal, Elizabeth with silver (and she nearly fainted from being in Diantha's presence and receiving such an aware from her) and Ash with bronze. "Thank you all for wonderful battles! May you shine even brighter."

"….." Elizabeth was stunned into silence. Praise from Diantha? ….And she just fainted.

"…O-Oh…" Diantha gave a nervous chuckle. "W-Will she be all right…?"

"…Maybe?" Marcus shrugged.

"Idiots…" Wes mumbled.

From the audience stand, Jessie, James, and Meowth watched the entire thing, and now they were cooking up one heck of a scheme. "These trainers all have some pretty powerful pokemon…" Meowth grinned while rubbing his paws together.

"I think it's time we did a little sneaky snatching…" James nodded while looking towards Jessie. Team Rocket was all on the same page for this matter and perhaps a little too excited for their own good.

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"I see…" Ein nodded slowly while standing outside the Unknown Dungeon with a few other Chiper members. "Unfortunately the boss is unable to make it to assist us with the capture attempt. We will have to do it without him. No matter, we shall obtain the pokemon sleeping inside this cavern. Of course, you're already aware of our presence, aren't you…Mewtwo?"

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Next Time: The Capture.