To the Guest who said that this story's main problem was that it was kinda generic for an Ash Betrayal fic. One, thank you, that's exactly what I'm looking for when I say respectful criticism. Two, your concerns are noted, but really I put this together for shits and giggles and actually wanted to make it more of a generic thing leading into something better. And Three, thanks for the praise, I'm proud of those segments myself and Paul's little side thing with Cera. And yeah, the Darkrai thing was kinda obvious. I fully admit it as well as the OPness of Andre's team, but they're all level 100 in-game so I figured they had an excuse.
To that Kingpyle guy and the ones warning me about him, I swear if you and your little buddies start an argument over my reviews section I'm blocking you all after I give you another dose of Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Yes it's childish but I'm an adult writing a Pokémon fic, should you really expect much else? Now without further ado.
Darkness and Light, Into the Chaos!
Dawn hug tackled Serena as she came backstage. "That was awesome!" the blunette declared, Piplup agreeing instantly.
Serena laughed as she returned the hug. "Thanks, but I really owe it to Ash. I used a lot of his ideas to help win that battle." the honey blonde replied. She had recalled Sylveon already, the fairy type looking exhausted, and she looked at her pokeball with a small smile. "Really though, I owe it all to Sylveon. She was the one who did all the heavy lifting."
Dawn broke away and smiled. "Ash is rubbing off on you." she teased before hearing Meowth call for her. "Guess I'm up. Wish me luck!"
"Good luck Dawn!" Serena called, watching her friend step onto the stage.
...
"So Andre, who do you think is going to win this one?" Clemont asked.
"Cress most likely." Andre shrugged. "No offence to Dawn, a week ago you wouldn't get me to say that you know, but Cress has way more experience with both crowd pleasing and battle competence."
Ash shrugged. "I think Dawn's gonna pull it off, really." he declared. "Guess we'll have to wait and see."
...
Crescent moon (I'm just gonna call her Cress to save myself some time) stepped out with her purrloin by her side. "Are you ready, Laios?" she asked.
"Of course my lady." the dark type replied.
"Alright, dis is gonna be the same as before, so let's get the timer up, the Pokémon out, and the battle rollin!" Meowth declared.
"Alright Piplup, Spotlight!" Dawn called, her partner jumping from her shoulder.
"Laios, showtime." Cress declared, Laios jumping forward as well. The timer began and both trainers didn't waist a second. "Laios, Shadow Claw." Cress ordered.
"Shadow Dragon Slash!" the dark type called, the ghostly energy surrounding his claws as he dashed at lightning speed, striking Piplup and causing Dawn's points to fall slightly.
"So he does that too?" Dawn absently noted. "Piplup, use Bubble Beam and follow it up with Ice Beam!" she commanded. Piplup did his usual spin as the bubbles came from his mouth before shooting a bright blue-white beam, freezing the bubbles as they collided with Laios and dropping Cress' points. "Now use Drill Peck!" Dawn snapped.
"Double Team!" Cress ordered quickly.
"Shadow Dragon Clones!" Laios called, copies filling the area as Piplup smashed into one of them, the troll move lowering Dawn's score again.
Said blunette growled slightly before giving her next command. "Piplup, Hydro Pump like we practiced!" the water type nodded before spinning like a top, letting loose the high-pressure stream of water to take out the copies and trap the real Laios, causing Cress' score to drop considerably. "Alright Piplup, use Ice Beam to freeze the Hydro Pump!"
No one was quite sure how, but Piplup obeyed, trapping Laios in a frozen pillar and causing another point drop for his trainer. "Damn, use Echoed Voice to break free!" Cress ordered. The ice began to shake and crack before breaking apart into sparkling crystals.
Dawn tsked as her points lowered. "Alright, how about this? Use Bubble Beam and follow up with Drill Peck!" she called. Piplup spun as his attack flew once again, the attack coming straight for Laios.
"Dodge and use Dark Pulse." Cress ordered, a smirk on her lips.
"Shadow Dragon..."the purrloin began, leaping over the bubbles only to come face-to-face with a still spinning Piplup headed right into his chest, knocking him back and lowering Cress points again. Laios managed to recover mid-air and finish his call. "ROAR!" The dark spirals hit Piplup, sending him tumbling backwards and lowering Dawn's score.
"Piplup, are you still good to go?" Dawn asked. The penguin Pokémon got back to his feet and nodded. "Alright then, let's try Drill Peck once more!"
"Double Team!" Cress ordered, Laios copies filling the arena. Piplup dove into one and went right through. "Alright, now use Dark Pulse!"
"Shadow Dragon Roar!" Laios called, firing the devastating dark type attack from behind his opponent.
"Piplup, use Bubble Beam right behind you!" Dawn called, slightly panicking. Piplup turned around and fired, only seeing the attack coming after he did but blocking it and causing both trainers' points to drop due to the clever tactic and counter tactic. "Let's end this, Drill Peck at the one who fired!"
"Laios, use Shadow Claw to finish them off!" Cress ordered. The clones vanished before Laios charged.
"This is the end!" Piplup declared.
"Shadow Dragon Slash!" was Laios' only reply as the two delivered their attacks. Both Pokémon landed feet first and the room was silent. "You really... are something." Laios admitted after a moment, falling forward. Cress' points dropped to zero.
"And dat's dat! Due to knockout, Dawn wins da match!" Meowth declared.
...
"I'll be damned." Andre muttered in pure astonishment.
"Told you Dawn would win." Ash bragged, Pikachu puffing up with his trainer. Andre only shook his head before leaving the trainer to his cheering. The black-clad boy had other things on his mind at the moment.
And done! Well, what did you guys think? Be honest, you thought I was gonna have Cress win last chapter. Well, hate to disappoint, and honestly I was planning on that at first, but Dawn's the winner today! Now the questions that remain. Who will triumph in the performance event of the tournament? Who will move on in the battles? And what will happen when Barry tells of Andre's declaration to Oak and the rest? The answers to come, as the journey continues.