Darkness and Light, Into the Chaos!

Andre saw the water-and-fairy type facing his starting Pokémon. "Tch. Better watch my back." he muttered. Against any other water type, I wouldn't worry, but Puka is far from just any water-type.

"Battle Begin!" James declared.

"Puka, Sparkling Aria!" Sekui ordered.

"Dodge and use Grass Pledge!" Andre countered. The primarina shot the orb of water toward his opponent, the serperior barely avoiding the attack before launching his own, knocking Puka off his tail and into the air. "Areal Ace, go!" Andre ordered, Serpent moving to obey instantly.

"Use Hyper Voice!" Sekui countered calmly. Puka's screech sent Serpent back to the ground while Puka himself landed easily. "Alright, use Water Gun!"

...

Up in the stands, Ash and company were watching in awe. "This is intense." Brock declared, everyone else nodding their agreement.

"It's almost like Andre is afraid he might lose." Celmont added, adjusting his glasses.

"But that's impossible, no one beats Andre!" Bonnie defended. It was true, not one challenger had ever been able to defeat the black-clad boy in a straight battle.

"Still," Paul muttered, watching Andre's annoyed expression.

…

"Shake it off, Serpent. Use Cut!" Andre ordered, his Pokémon's tail leaf glowing white before slamming it into the water-and-fairy type, causing him to stagger. "Alright Serpent, no mistakes. You with me?"

"Always." the serperior replied, nodding toward his trainer.

Andre's right eye shifted from a pupil to a keystone mark before beams of light shot out. "With the power of the Shadows fueling your mission, send our enemies spiraling into chaos." he chanted. "Serpent, Mega Evolve!" Beams of light shot from the mega stone in the Pokémon's rocky helmet and both connected. Serpent began glowing.

"Here...We...GO!" Serpent declared, the light surrounding him vanishing. His horns had grown to almost half his whole length, his collar had grown to stand just above his head, and his dark green coloring had changed to navy blue. "Ready for action."

"Use Grass Pledge." Andre ordered. Mega Serpent slammed his tail against the ground, the leaves making a tornado to strike Puka.

"Dodge it Puka!" Sekui ordered, slightly panicking at this point. Nothing good ever comes of Andre mega evolving, I'm going to have to use it then. "Alright Puka, they're giving it their all so let's do the same!" the blonde girl declared, crossing her arms.

"Shit. Serpent get out of there!" Andre ordered frantically.

"It's nothing." Serpent replied.

"Don't be a dumbass, nothing survives this move." Andre argued.

"As our mind and body flow like the ocean," Sekui began, moving her arms in a wave fashion, "So too does our power grow to a tsunami." she finished, her arms fixed to her left, Puka copying the stance. "Now sing the song of doom. Oceanic Operetta!"

"Here it comes." Andre muttered, fear evident in his voice if it was loud enough for anyone to hear over the giant bubble forming over the primarina's head. "Serpent, Grass Pledge Barrier." Andre ordered as the bubble floated toward the Regal Pokémon. Leaves started swirling around Serpent as the bubble hovered overhead. Puka sang and the bubble popped, causing a smoke cloud as the two attacks met.

"Did we get em?" Sekui wondered aloud. Andre remained silent as he waited for the dust to settle. When it did, he saw his Pokémon, still standing. "But how?" Sekui gasped.

"Still think you could have taken that without our defense move?" he asked sarcastically.

"Sh-shut up." Serpent huffed. The move had definitely injured the grass type, and both trainer and Pokémon knew things were almost over.

"Don't give them a chance to recover. Frenzy Plant!" Andre barked out. Serpent smashed his tail against the ground, roots coming up and striking Puka, knocking him out.

"Puka is unable to battle, Serpent wins. Which means the match goes to Andre." The crowd erupted into cheers. Serpent sighed in relief before reverting to his normal form.

"That was too close for comfort. Next time I say dodge, please dodge." Andre sighed, returning Serpent to his pokeball before meeting Sekui in the center of the ring. Extending his hand, he smiled and said, "Nice job Sekui. You almost had us."

The blonde smirked and shook the extended hand. "We'll win next time for sure."

...

Later that night, Andre was back in his office, reviewing the contestants left. "Me, Paul, Ash, Clemont, Gary, Barry, Trip, Max, Devak, Georgia, Iris, and of course little Bonnie. The other Sell-Outs couldn't even make it this far." he muttered.

"To be fair, there some are entered into the Contest/Showcase part of it." Tails commented.

"Maybe so, but right now there are only eight contestants left due to dropouts from the ones realizing they're in over their heads. And frankly between Zoey, Dawn, Serena, and Cress, dear little May doesn't have a prayer." Andre reasoned. Turning to his reports of the Archipelago's happenings, he sighed. "And there still hasn't been any news on Maria. She and her flying calamari are in the wind again."

"You saying what I think you are?" Tails asked, stiffening at the possibilities.

Andre nodded. "There's a storm coming, and we need to be ready." His Xtransceiver buzzed. "Let's see who we're taking out tomorrow." Andre chuckled. Pulling up the screen, both trainer and Pokémon stiffened. "Rebecca did this on purpose." the black-clad boy declared, an evil grin spreading across his face.

"We're gonna make that Sell-Out regret ever coming here." Tails declared, a dark chuckle escaping her as she continued to stare at the picture of Barry. Both were chuckling as Andre reviewed the profiles for his gym leader candidates.

…

Ash heard his Xtransceiver buzz and pulled it out. Both his picture and his opponent's appeared, and Ash's hand began shaking. "Ash, what's wrong?" Serena asked. Instead of answering, he turned the device in his hand to show his girlfriend. Next to his picture was that of Gary Oak. "You're going to beat him, you've done it before." Serena assured, laying a hand on Ash's shoulder.

…

Bonnie and Max looked at the pictures displayed in front of them. "Well, I've got that annoying 'Dragon Buster.' How about you?" The blonde asked.

"I got Iris. I have a pretty good idea of how to win, though." Max replied. At the blonde's questioning glance, the ravenette began explaining his plan for the dragon girl.

...

Paul looked at his Xtransceiver and saw the grim face of Devak looking back. "Looks like it's that guy that bent Andre out of shape." the purplette called into the bathroom over the sound of the shower running.

"Any idea what Pokémon he uses?" Cera asked from within, shutting the water off and grabbing a towel.

"Andre said he used a ninetails that he replaced Tails with when the little fox refused to evolve, as well as a Metagross. He wasn't sure about the third choice for Pokémon, but Andre warned me that this guy is worse than I ever was." Paul replied. "His words, not mine." he added quickly.

Cera nodded and sat on the bed next to her boyfriend and sighing. "This sounds like a decent battle at the very least." she shrugged. "I may not have been here to start, but I will be here when we make it to the Elite Four."

"You don't think we could become champion?" Paul asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Andre is in this. I'm good, but I'm not that good." Cera replied with a playful eye roll. The couple laughed before laying back, cuddling as they drifted off.

And done. The matchups are decided. If you weren't paying attention it's Ash vs Gary, Andre vs Barry, Max vs Iris, Bonnie vs Georgia, Paul vs Devak, and Clemont vs Trip as they were the only two not mentioned in the actual chapter. So what did people think? Yes I know Serperior don't actually mega evolve, don't question it. My story my rules, right? So, leave a review and maybe a prediction on how the battles will go. Not all will be exactly what you might be thinking. Well, see how things play out as the journey continues.