Ruby and Jaune were on a tour bus when Ruby suddenly started to panic as they were reaching their destination.

"I don't know what to do!" said Ruby.

"What do you mean you don't know what to do?" said Jaune. "I thought you would have everything planned out!"

"I know! But I feel like the moment we arrive, I'll have no idea where to go or what to do! And we only have so little time before it's all over!"

"Then I guess we'll just have to wing it! We can't waste any time mulling over what could have been; we have to make the most out of every possible minute we're here!"

"You're right! I can't waste time thinking about what if! I'm just going to dive in and let instinct take over! I've been waiting my whole life to come here, and I'm going to make it one of the most memorable experiences of my life!"

"And besides, we can always come back next time."

"I'm not waiting another two years to enjoy this!"

The bus arrived at the city holding the biggest Pokémon event in the world outside of championship tournaments. Ruby and Jaune stepped off the bus and were in awe at the size and scope of this event; the booths and stages were setup as far as the eye can see.

"Whoa!" said Jaune. "It's even bigger than I imagined! Is this really the place?"

"It's real all right," said Ruby. "Jaune, welcome to The Vytal Battle Festival!"

The Vytal Battle Festival is a special event that takes place in a different region every six months; this season it was taking place in Vale. The festival consisted of many fun activities for Pokémon trainers, including meeting celebrities, buying extremely rare items, and the main attraction, participating in the special variety of battles and tournaments the festival held. Trainers see this as the perfect opportunity to show off their skills and meet Pokémon from other regions of the world.

As soon as Ruby and Jaune made their way through the entrance, they looked around and were nearly starstruck at everything the festival had to offer. In one booth was an item shop selling herbal remedies only found in the Mistral region; the booth across from that was selling specialty Poké Balls made exclusively in Atlas; and just a few feet away was an autograph signing for Mark Nutt, one of the most famous trainers in the world. It wasn't only the booths and celebrities that caught their interest; Ruby was also fascinated by the different Pokémon everyone had, some of which were rarely ever seen in the Vale region. It truly was a worldwide event.

Along their tour of the festival, they passed by a shop that was selling a wide array of hard to find items. Ruby took a quick glimpse of what they had, and noticed one of the items was a can of Metal Coat. Ruby immediately ran into the booth to make sure it was the real thing.

"Find something you like Ruby?" asked Jaune.

"Check it out!" said Ruby. "They have the Metal Coat! I can use this to evolve my Scyther into a Scizor!"

Ruby checked the price tag listed underneath; it was on sale for 25,000 lien, or 32 VP.

"Well there's no way I can pay for it in cash. I'm going to have to earn some VP. C'mon Jaune, we've got work to do!"

Ruby left the booth and was about to head off to the Battle District of the festival when she noticed Jaune staring in awe at one of the Technical Machines, as if it was a gift sent from the heavens.

"What are you looking at, Jaune?" asked Ruby.

"They have the TM for Hyper Beam!" said Jaune. "That's one of the strongest attacks in the world! If I had that machine, I can teach it to all my Pokémon!"

"But don't moves like that cost an absurd amount of money though?"

"It's worth every cent! Excuse me sir, how much for that TM?"

"Depends," said the booth owner. "You paying with cash or VP?"

"What's a VP?"

"Vytal Points, Jaune," explained Ruby. "When you participate in battles during the festival, they award you VP to spend on anything sold here. The more battles you can win, the more VP your earn."

"In that case, how much is it in lien?" asked Jaune.

"It's gonna run you about 90,000," said the owner. Jaune was stunned and heartbroken to hear of that astronomical price. He never had five digits worth of lien in his life.

"I can never afford that!"

"Well then, why not rack up some Vytal Points instead?" said Ruby. "I'm sure you'll be able to afford it that way!"

"But to get VP, I have to fight in battles, and you know how terrible I am at that!"

"But that's the beauty of the Vytal Battle Festival! They have so many varieties of battles that I'm sure there's bound to be one that even you can excel at!"

"All right then. From this point on, I am on Operation Get That Hyper Beam! I won't stop battling until I get that TM!"

"And I won't stop until I can get that Metal Coat!"

#

Ruby and Jaune weren't the only pair at the festival. On another side of the festival were the duo of Emerald and Mercury.

"What are we even doing here?" asked Emerald. "We need to get back to HQ."

"We have a day before we need to arrive," said Mercury, "so why not kill some time before then? Besides, we're just moving a bunch of junk from one place to another. Does the boss really need us when she has all those grunts to do it for her?"

"Whether or not it's important, we need to follow the boss' orders at all times. You know what happens when somebody disobeys an order."

"If you wanted to be there so badly, why didn't you go with Torchwick?"

"Because leaving you to your own devices is just asking for trouble. Besides, I'm sick of having to hang around Roman."

Emerald looked around and saw how excited everyone was to be enjoying the festival. It made Emerald want to throw up, especially with the disgusting junk food being sold everywhere.

"Ugh, look at all these idiots," said Emerald. "They call us criminals for stealing, yet they'll gladly pay up for overpriced junk and worthless garbage. Just looking at these people makes me wretch!"

"Look at this way," said Mercury. "This crowd is full of easy marks to pick pockets from. With all the expensive stuff this place is selling, one of them is bound to be carrying a ton of lien on them."

"You actually make a good point. In fact...I think I just found the perfect mark. Wait here and keep an eye out in case something goes wrong."

Emerald grabbed a half-full cup of soda lying around, put on a fake smile, and started turning her head from side to side, pretending to act like the dumb tourists she was surrounded by. As soon as she reached her target, she held out her drink and looked somewhere else as she "accidentally" bumped into her mark and spilled the drink on that person, a woman in a bright white dress. Unbeknownst to Emerald, this woman was the heiress to the Schnee Corporation.

"Excuse me!" shouted Weiss. "You stained my dress, you dunce!"

"I'm so sorry!" said Emerald. "Here, let me pay to get it clean!"

Emerald reached into her pockets and pulled out some lien cards. Weiss looked over the cards and scoffed at the paltry amount Emerald handed her.

"Is that all you have?" said Weiss, throwing the cards back at Emerald. "Keep your money. Cleaning this dress would cost more than you can possibly afford."

"Look, it's completely my fault this happened! Can I do anything to make it up to you?"

"How about you get lost and never talk to me again?"

Weiss stormed off, hoping to find a place where she can get the stains out of her dress. Once Weiss was out of sight, Mercury walked up to see the results.

"I'm surprised you didn't clock her for that money remark," said Mercury.

"You heard what she said," said Emerald. "She told me to keep my money."

Emerald reached into her other pocket and pulled out Weiss' wallet, stuff with loads of lien and credit cards.

"And boy, did I make a huge withdrawal!"

"Dang, that girl was rich. Like, Schnee rich. So what should we spend it on?"

"We might as well buy all those rare items they sell here. That way we have an excuse for being here."

"Can we get some food first? I'm dying to try those fried Slowpoke tails."

#

Ruby and Jaune were in the Battle District of the festival. They looked at the giant electronic news board that displayed all the battles going on right now. Jaune was trying to find the one gimmick that would play to his amateur style.

"All of these look intimidating," said Jaune. "I don't think I'll do well in any of them."

"How about this, Jaune?" said Ruby, pointing up to the board. "Roulette Battle: A battle where the rules change every round! Maybe if you're lucky, you can get a couple rule changes that fall in your favor!"

"That sounds perfect! I can win my way to the top through sheer luck!"

Jaune headed over to the Roulette Battle station. After a quick sign-up, Jaune only had to wait a few minutes until he was paired up with his opponent, a trainer from the Vacuo region named May Zedong.

"Welcome to the Roulette Battle!" said the announcer. "In this battle, the trainers will be fighting with one Pokémon each in random rules! Do the trainers have the skill and luck to adapt to these unknown rules? Let's find out! Our first one on one match will be between Jaune and his Steelix, versus May and her Fearow!"

Jaune and May called out their respective Pokémon. Upon seeing Steelix's size, May was already starting to look nervous that she wasn't going to win.

"That trainer looks even more nervous than me!" said Jaune. "Maybe this is one battle I can win!"

"All right, let's see what kind of battle the combatants will be fighting in!"

A virtual slot machine appeared in the middle of the arena with the different gimmicks flashing by rapidly. It eventually came to a stop on the word "INVERSE." After the gimmick was determined, the satellites surrounded the arena and emitted a force field.

"And it looks like Jaune and May will be fighting an Inverse Battle!"

"Inverse Battle?" asked Jaune.

"For those of you wondering, an Inverse Battle means that all type weaknesses and resistances are reversed! Water is weak to Fire! Bugs are resistant to Flying! Everything you know about types is flipped upside-down!"

"So if resistances are now weaknesses...OH NO! That means Steelix is weak to nearly everything!"

"Trainers, begin your battle in 3...2...1...GO!"

"Fearow, Fury Attack!" commanded May. Fearow flew up to Steelix's face and stabbed Steelix with its beak multiple times. Usually such an attack wouldn't phase Steelix, but the force field emitted a wave of energy that dealt serious damage to Steelix.

"What do I do now?" thought Jaune, already in a panic. "With everything reversed, Steelix is defenseless! How can I beat that flying...wait a minute. If everything is reversed, and Fearow is Flying..."

"Steelix, hit that Fearow with Earthquake!" Steelix raised its tail and slammed it into the ground, causing an Earthquake that shook the arena. While the ground itself did not affect Fearow, the satellites registered the type of move used and sent the shockwaves as magnetic pulses into Fearow, dealing a critical amount of damage.

"And Steelix counters with a powerful move!" said the announcer. "Fearow is already down to less than half of its health!"

"Yes!" said Jaune. "I actually pulled a good move! Steelix, use your Earthquake one more time!"

"Fearow, Fly now!" said May. Fearow flew straight up into the air right away as Steelix slammed into the ground and caused another Earthquake. Jaune expected Fearow to get knocked out of the sky, but this time Fearow wasn't affected.

"What gives? I thought Earthquake worked now!"

"A smart move by May!" said the announcer. "By using the Fly technique, Fearow has gotten high enough to avoid the magnetic waves!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" lamented Jaune. "Steelix, try hitting it with Rock Slide!"

Steelix grabbed one of the rocks in the arena and broke it apart; Jaune was hoping Steelix would crush it hard enough to send it flying up, but Fearow had flown up to the roof of the arena and couldn't be hit. Across the arena, May made a gun gesture with her fingers and pointed to Steelix's forehead.

"Fearow, attack now!" said May. Fearow dove down beak first and nailed Steelix at the top of his cranium. The damage was so devastating that it was able to knock Steelix out, putting a quick end to the battle.

"Oh, tough break for Jaune!" said the announcer. "Thanks for coming!"

A few minutes later, Jaune met up with Ruby back at the bulletin board.

"I'm not even good enough to get lucky!" said Jaune.

"So you had a bad go the first time around," said Ruby. "Don't give up Jaune! We just have to find another battle!"

"What's the use? At this rate, I'm never going to get that TM."

"I tell you what Jaune; if I can earn enough VP after I get that Metal Coat, I'll buy that Hyper Beam for you as well."

"You would really do that?"

"Of course! A move that good could benefit all of our Pokémon!"

"HA!" said a cold, shrill voice from behind Ruby. "As if having a strong move will make you any better of a trainer!"

Ruby and Eevee groaned, knowing there was only one possible person with that annoying tone of voice.

"It's the ice queen, isn't it?" asked Ruby.

"You know it is," said Jaune. They turned around to greet her arch-rival, who still had a wet circle on the side of her dress.

"Why hello Weiss, it's so bad to...what happened to your dress?"

"Some idiot spilled a drink, but never mind that!" said Weiss. "I never expected to see you two hanging around this place. Were you hoping to ask for VP donations?"

"I can earn VP on my own. I do have six badges after all."

"Oh goodie!" said Weiss, opening her jacket to reveal her seven badges. "That means you're still one badge behind, although I am surprised you somehow managed to get this far. Just how much dumb luck do you possess?"

Eevee growled at Weiss. She was always sick of the way Weiss talked down to Ruby, which in turn meant she was mocking Eevee for being weak.

"How come you always have to make fun of Ruby?" asked Jaune. "Ruby is an excellent trainer!"

"Simple: Because I'm better than her."

"You know," said Ruby, "for someone who loves to brag about how much better they are than me, you never actually do something about it."

"I'm sorry, but last time I checked, I defeated you in battle."

"Yeah, you defeated me by taking advantage of an untrained Eevee with your specialty bred Deino. My Eevee has gotten a lot stronger since then, and I've been accumulating some strong Pokémon along the way. Knowing you, you probably get all your Pokémon second hand, just like that Deino!"

"I may come from the Schnee family, but my skills and Pokémon are my own! I could be dirt poor and still have more skill than you could ever dream of having!"

"Then how about for the first time in your life, you finally put your unearned inheritance where your mouth is and fight me!"

"I'll do you one better! We'll have a Stadium Match!"

"Not a Stadium Match!" said Jaune. "Um...what's a Stadium Match?"

"The Vytal Battle Festival is home to the special Amity Stadium, where the field changes into different environments every round. Only the best trainers can rapidly adapt to such conditions and come out the winner. We'll have a three on three battle to see who truly is the better trainer."

"Lead the way, ice queen."

Ruby and Jaune followed Weiss to the stadium located at the end of the Battle District. After registering for their match, the two headed to their respective PC rooms to strategize who they were going to pick.

"This is harder than I thought," said Ruby. "There's so many Pokémon I want to use, it's hard to narrow it to just three."

"Eevee, Eevee!" yelled Eevee.

"What is it, Eevee? You want to fight in the match?"

"Eevee!" confirmed Eevee. One look into her eyes and Ruby understood how badly Eevee wanted to get back at Weiss after all the times Weiss had insulted her.

"You got it. Now, as for the other two, what do you think of Talonflame and Abomasnow?"

"Eevee!" chirped Eevee, satisfied with Ruby's choice of partners.

"Then we're all set! This should give the ice queen quite a challenge!"

#

"Welcome everybody to Amity Stadium, here at the Vytal Battle Festival! This stadium is like no other! Right now it appears to be a normal fighting arena, but that will quickly change as the battle commences! Trainers will soon find themselves having to adapt to different environments, much like they do in their journey across Vale! Aside from that, the rules of simple: Trainers will fight three on three, and the last trainer standing will be declared the winner! The winning trainer may choose to stay and face other upcoming opponents in order to rack up those sweet Vytal Points!

"Our opening contest is going to be quite a treat! We have two recent graduates from Beacon Academy who are on their way to the Pokémon League: Ruby and Weiss! Let's wish these trainers the best of luck and see what they're made of!"

Ruby and Weiss entered from opposite sides of the stadium and approached the edge of the arena, calling out their first Pokémon. Ruby would start the match with Talonflame, and Weiss chose her Doublade. Once the Pokémon were called out, the virtual slot machine appeared to determine the stadium environment; the machine landed on the desert symbol. The floor of the arena quickly transformed into a pile of sand as wind turbines emerged around the arena to simulate a sandstorm.

"Trainers, begin your battle in 3...2...1...GO!"

"Talonflame, Flame Charge into that sword!" commanded Ruby. Talonflame lit itself on fire and charged straight for Doublade.

"Doublade, Slash Attack!" commanded Weiss. One of the swords stood in place to take the hit as the other sword unsheathed itself and Slashed Talonflame; both Pokémon dealt moderate damage against each other.

As Talonflame got ready for another attack, the sandstorm started to blow in their direction. Talonflame took some minor damage as the sand blinded her eyes, while Doublade was unaffected by the weather.

"Doublade, Iron Defense!" While Talonflame was distracted by the sandstorm, Doublade fortified its steel body, greatly increasing its defenses.

"Talonflame, keep Flame Charging into Doublade!"

"Hold your position, Doublade!" Once it cleared the sand out of its eyes, Talonflame again charged into Doublade. Doublade stood in place and took the hit as it focused on defending itself. The sandstorm started to pick up again and continued to become a problem for Talonflame.

"Okay Doublade, Power Trick!" As Talonflame was protecting itself from the sand, Doublade's aura started to glow a faint pink as it perform its technique.

"Talonflame, this time use your Acrobatics!" Talonflame spread its wings and sped past Doublade, knocking one wing into Doublade. Talonflame sharply turned around and went for another strike.

"Doublade, Iron Head!" Doublade unsheathed both of its swords and swung at Talonflame on its fuller side; Talonflame was smacked hard and nearly fell out of the sky, taking a serious amount of damage from that attack.

"How did Doublade suddenly get so strong?" asked Ruby.

"Isn't it obvious you dunce?" said Weiss. "Doublade's Power Trick switched its defense power with its attack power. By increasing Doublade's defenses, I was really increasing its strength!"

"Talonflame is almost knocked out. I can't let Weiss take an early advantage! There has to be a weak spot with that Doublade!"

"Doublade, Slash that Talonflame!"

"Talonflame, Agility now!"

Doublade lined up its swords on Talonflame and went for a Slash. Talonflame quickly flew out of the way with Agility and distanced itself from Doublade. Doublade broke apart and chased after Talonflame with its two swords. Just when one of Doublade's swords would get close enough to hit Talonflame, Talonflame was able to fly away and avoid the attack. Doublade simply didn't have the speed to catch up with Talonflame and land a hit.

"That's it!" thought Ruby. "Doublade is too slow to go after Talonflame! That's why it usually stays in the same spot!"

"Talonflame, Flame Charge past Doublade!" Talonflame lit itself on fire and dove into one of Doublade's swords. Once it attacked Doublade, it kept flying away in order to avoid the other sword's Slash attack. Talonflame flew around the edge of the arena, waiting for the right moment to strike again.

"You're just wasting time," said Weiss. "If Doublade doesn't finish off that chicken, the sandstorm will!"

The sand continued to pound into Talonflame, who took the hits and kept flying around Doublade. Taking the hits would be worth it if it can land just one more attack on Doublade. Talonflame quickly turned towards Doublade and went for a Flame Charge.

"Doublade, Iron Head attack!" Doublade got into position and was ready to swing at Talonflame the moment it got close enough.

"Now Talonflame!" shouted Ruby. Just before it got close to Doublade, Talonflame suddenly bolted up and flew over Doublade, now charging at him from behind. Doublade couldn't correct itself in time as Talonflame tackled into Doublade with everything she had and burned Doublade out.

"And with that, Doublade has been eliminated!" said the announcer.

"My Doublade's speed is a real hindrance," thought Weiss. "I'll have to make a note of that."

"Well look at that!" boasted Ruby. "Suddenly you're the one on the losing end, ice queen! How does it feel now?"

"Hmph." Weiss simply smirked and shrugged it off. "You really are a dunce if you think I'm going to lose my cool over one of my weaker Pokémon being defeated. Time to show you one of my more promising prospects."

Weiss called out her next Pokémon: A ghostly figure who appeared to wear a kimono dress and hid its face behind a snow white mask. Its body floated lightly in the air.

"Weiss has called out her Froslass!" said the announcer. "This majestic Pokémon is truly a sight to behold!"

"Froslass?" thought Ruby. "Isn't that thing an Ice type? Why would she use that against Talonflame?"

"With a new Pokémon comes a new arena! What will the environment turn into now?"

The slot machine reappeared and landed on the water arena. The desert floors were suddenly transformed into water tanks to simulate the ocean, with little islands for Pokémon to rest on.

"The arena has been reset! Commence the battle!"

"This will be a cinch!" said Ruby. "Talonflame, Flame Charge!" Talonflame flew right into Froslass. Froslass floated upwards as Talonflame flew right past its body and dealt no damage.

"How could that have not done anything? Is that thing some kind of ghost?"

"Froslass, Shadow Ball attack!" said Weiss. Froslass gathered a ball of dark shadow energy and fired at Talonflame, scoring a direct hit; Talonflame appeared to be covered in shadows for a brief moment. Talonflame turned around and went for another Flame Charge.

"Icy Wind now!" Froslass waved its arms and launched a frozen wind gust at Talonflame; the chill from the blast caused Talonflame to slow down and nearly lose flight. She quickly flew over to one of the small islands in the arena to rest.

"Talonflame, Agility!" Talonflame focused its energy and flew up from the island, regaining its speed and circling around Froslass.

"Your Talonflame's speed isn't going to help you now!" said Weiss. "Froslass, finish it with Blizzard!"

"Talonflame, Flame Charge with everything you've got!"

Talonflame set its sights on Froslass and charged at full speed. Froslass held out its arms and unleashed a giant windstorm of sub-zero air that Talonflame wasn't able to avoid. Talonflame kept trying to push forward and reach Froslass, but the Blizzard was too strong for Talonflame to handle and took serious damage from the attack. Talonflame fainted and fell into the water, now eliminated from the match.

"Talonflame is out!" said the announcer. "Both trainers are now down to two Pokémon apiece!"

"You did your best Talonflame," thought Ruby as she called her Pokémon back. "We'll take care of the rest."

"Your Talonflame couldn't even land a hit on Froslass," said Weiss. "How very disappointing."

"I've still got two strong Pokémon left!" said Ruby. "Time to fight fire with fire, or rather, Ice with Ice!"

Ruby called out her recently acquired Abomasnow. The Abomasnow stood on one of the islands and let out a loud roar as the arena quickly got colder just by the mere presence of the ice monster. The slot machine appeared to change the arena, and to many's surprise, landed on the snowflake to represent ice.

"Hope you brought your winter jackets everyone," said the announcer, "because this battle is about to freeze over!"

The water tanks were quickly replaced by a snow covered field; the windmills began blowing snow and cold air onto the field, making the field appear like a tundra. Both Pokémon felt like they were right at home in this kind of environment.

"Abomasnow, launch your Ice Shards!" said Ruby. Abomasnow created several shards of ice and hurled them at Froslass. Froslass floated around to avoid the chunks of ice, just barely getting scraped by one across her cheek.

"Froslass, Captivate this mindless brute!" said Winter. Froslass began dancing around majestically in the air. For some reason, Abomasnow couldn't help but look at Froslass and be mesmerized by her hauntingly beautiful dance.

"Don't get distracted now, Abomasnow!" shouted Ruby. "Fire your Blizzard!"

Abomasnow shook his head and summoned a Blizzard to hit Froslass. Abomasnow was so distracted by the dance however that the attack wasn't very effective, and did little damage to Froslass.

"Froslass, Shadow Ball!" commanded Weiss. Froslass formed a Shadow Ball and fired at Abomasnow, landing a direct hit and draining some of Abomasnow's defense away.

"Don't take that from her! Ice Punch attack!" Abomasnow snapped out of his trance and formed blocks of ice with his hands, then ran after Froslass. Abomasnow threw a hard right at Froslass, only for Froslass to simply float up and avoid the attack, firing another Shadow Ball to hit Abomasnow. Abomasnow was getting frustrated and kept chasing after Froslass, who only needed to float up and keep firing Shadow Balls to damage Abomasnow. Weiss couldn't help but laugh at the Abomasnow failing to land a single punch.

"Your yeti is as dumb as a rock!" mocked Weiss. It wasn't long until all the Shadow Balls drained a lot of Abomasnow's health, who was panting and sweating from all the running and punching.

"Abomasnow, Ingrain yourself!" Abomasnow dug its feet into the ground and attached the roots from the sole of his foot to the soil, absorbing the water from the ground to recover his health.

"He's trapped Froslass! Unleash your Blizzard now!" Froslass held out her arms and unleashed her own snowstorm at Abomasnow, who couldn't move away due to being ingrained into the ground. Abomasnow took the full force of the attack as the arena was nearly completely covered in fog from all the Ice attacks that the Pokémon had launched at each other; nobody could tell if Abomasnow was still standing.

"Even if that thing was an Ice type, it was hit with so many Shadow Balls that its special defense was too low! Looks like I'm going to win this-"

"BAAAAAAAH!" screamed a voice from within the fog. The fog soon cleared and revealed Abomasnow still standing, looking furious and ready to hurt someone.

"What?" yelled Weiss. "That stubborn oaf is still up?"

"Abomasnow, shoot your Ice Shards!" Abomasnow created several Ice Shards and shot them all at once. Froslass floated away to avoid them but wound up getting nailed in the forehead, causing Froslass to flinch back and rub its head from the damage. That's when Ruby figured out where to aim her attacks.

"Abomasnow, focus your attacks on the head! Use Ice Punch!" Abomasnow froze one hand in solid ice, uprooted himself from the ground, and ran after Froslass.

"Froslass, Captivate him!" Froslass went into the air and tried to mesmerize Abomasnow again, but Abomasnow was too mad to pay attention to Froslass and ignored the dance. Abomasnow grabbed Froslass by her weightless body and pulled her down to his level, then punched her directly in the face with his Ice Punch. Froslass tried to break free from Abomasnow's grip, but Abomasnow refused to let go as it kept punching Froslass over and over. Froslass fired a Shadow Ball into the face of Abomasnow and finally broke free before its health was completely drained.

"Froslass, use Blizzard!" commanded Weiss. Froslass unleashed another Blizzard on Abomasnow, who this time was able to avoid it easily. Abomasnow quickly countered with Ice Shard; one of the Ice Shards hit Froslass in the eye and temporary blinded her, allowing Abomasnow to run up and knock her out with another Ice Punch. Weiss was displeased with her Pokémon's failure and called her back.

"And Abomasnow comes out on top!" shouted the announcer. "Weiss is now down to only one Pokémon!"

"So what excuse do you have for that?" asked Ruby. "Let me guess; you were holding back on me."

"It appears my Froslass is in severe need of improvement," replied Weiss. "Congratulations Ruby; you were able to beat a couple of neophytes. But now it's time to bring out my true contender!"

Weiss called out her final Pokémon, and as Ruby expected, it was the Dragon that Ruby first fought at Beacon Academy, only this time it had evolved to its next form.

"And Weiss' final Pokémon is Zweilous!" said the announcer. "Dragon types are some of the strongest Pokémon in the world, but will it be strong enough to survive to the end?"

"I've got you now, ice queen!" said Ruby, pumping with excitement. "Ice is a Dragon's greatest weakness!"

"Now let's see what the arena will transform into!" The slot machine appeared and spun around; this time it landed on a symbol resembling fire. The icy fog suddenly disappeared as the ground transformed into volcanic rock; the charred floors had bright red lines glowing through, emitting a great amount of heat. One feel of the heat rising up from the rocks and Abomasnow could already feel himself getting dizzy and falling to one knee.

"What was that about the type advantage?" asked Weiss. "Looks like your Abomasnow is about to give up!"

"Hang in there Abomasnow!" said Ruby. "Use your Ice Shard!"

Abomasnow stood back up and tried to fire Ice Shards at Zweilous, but the heat was so intense that Abomasnow couldn't form the ice big enough to be an effective attack. It launched a couple of small shards at Zweilous that barely did any damage.

"All right Zweilous, time to Work Up!" Zweilous roused itself up which raised its strength.

"Abomasnow, Blizzard attack!" Even though she was at a disadvantage, Ruby was hoping that perhaps with one lucky hit of Blizzard, she'd be able to beat Zweilous or at least freeze it long enough for Abomasnow to win. Abomasnow fired what little of a Blizzard he could, but Zweilous merely sidestepped out of the way.

"Now Zweilous, go on an Outrage!" Zweilous let out a loud war cry and stomped the ground multiple times. Zweilous violently charged into Abomasnow and struck it down with its two heads. It then proceeded to beat down Abomasnow mercilessly with its two heads and forelegs. Abomasnow did not have the strength to get back up and succumbed to defeat. Ruby was upset with herself as she called back Abomasnow.

"And just like that, both trainers are now down to their final Pokémon!" said the announcer. "What an amazing battle from two up and coming trainers!"

"You did all you could Abomasnow," thought Ruby. "I'm proud of your efforts."

"Well well," said Weiss. "Just a moment ago you were so excited because you thought you were actually on top! But now we've come to our final Pokémon! So, who have you decided to save the best for last? Because if it's anything short of a legendary, you're not going to stand a chance!"

"I'm using the Pokémon that I've stuck with since day one! Let's go Eevee!"

"Eevee!" shouted Eevee, as it jumped up from behind Ruby and entered the arena.

"Ruby's final Pokémon is Eevee!" said the announcer. "Now to determine the final arena type!" The slot machine appeared, spun its wheel, and landed on a destroyed building to indicate a wasteland. The volcanic rock transformed into broken down concrete as small crumpled buildings littered the outset of the field. Meanwhile, Weiss had burst out laughing when she found out she was going to fight Eevee.

"Have you not learned a thing since our first battle?" asked Weiss. "If that wimpy little puppy of yours couldn't beat my Deino, what chance does it stand against its even more powerful evolved form?"

"I have faith Eevee is going to win!" said Ruby. "Eevee, Sand Attack!"

Eevee ran up to Zweilous and kicked up sand to blind both of the heads. Since using Outrage caused Zweilous to get confused, Weiss decided to wait some time before having Zweilous attack.

"Zweilous, Dragon Pulse!" Still a bit dizzy from the Outrage, the Zweilous heads fired the Dragon Pulse in two different directions; Eevee jumped to the side to avoid one of the blasts as they crashed into the debris behind Eevee.

"Eevee, Swift attack!" Eevee kept her distance from Zweilous and fired her energy stars at Zweilous. Ruby knew Zweilous was going to be very dangerous up close, so Eevee needed to stay away at all costs until the time was right to attack head on.

"How pathetic," said Weiss. "You know Eevee is nowhere near strong enough to defeat Zweilous, so you run away and try to play it safe! If you think you can just run and hide, think again! Zweilous, Outrage attack!"

Zweilous pumped itself up and charged for Eevee. Eevee tried to duck behind one of the fallen buildings, only for Zweilous to break through and destroy the building. Eevee kept jumping back and firing Swift at Zweilous, which did little to stop Zweilous' rampage. Zweilous kept coming after Eevee, destroying any debris in its way.

"Eevee, run!" Eevee turned around and tried to run away, but Zweilous was able to catch up and slammed Eevee using one of its heads.

"Eevee, are you okay?" asked Ruby. Eevee stood back up and smiled at Ruby. After Zweilous was done going on its rampage, the two heads were wobbling back and forth in confusion. "Eevee, Zweilous is confused! This is our best shot! Take Down now!"

"Eevee!" chirped Eevee, turning around and charging straight for Zweilous.

"Zweilous, Crunch attack!" commanded Weiss. The left Zweilous head turned to the other and bit down on its neck, damaging itself. This gave Eevee the opening to attack with full force. The attack did moderate damage to Zweilous, but it also damaged Eevee.

"Darn it," thought Weiss. "If Zweilous stays confused for too long, that little snot is actually going to win! Come on Zweilous, A Schnee Never Loses!"

"Eevee, Take Down again!" Eevee backed up to get some distance, then rammed into Zweilous again with Take Down. Zweilous was still disoriented and took more damage from Eevee. Eevee was taking damage as well, but it would all be worth it if Eevee can land one more attack. Ruby could hardly contain herself; she was finally going to put her obnoxious rival in her place.

"One more time Eevee! Give it all you got!"

Eevee ran back even further, then charged for Zweilous. Just when Eevee was about to reach Zweilous and execute another Take Down, the left Zweilous head suddenly came down and Crunched on Eevee's body, dealing critical damage.

"Got you!" said Weiss. "It was only a matter of time before Zweilous got the upper hand!"

"Oh no!" said Ruby. "Eevee, Swift attack!"

Eevee tried to gather the energy to fight back, but Zweilous bit down harder and caused even more pain for Eevee. Hearing Eevee scream in pain was almost too much for Ruby to bear.

"C'mon Eevee, get out of there! PLEASE get out of there!"

With Eevee too hurt to do much else, the battle was just about over. Zweilous' left head lifted Eevee up by her tail and placed it next to the right head's mouth.

"Looks like I win again!" said Weiss. "Any last words before I end this?"

Eevee looked up and Weiss and stuck out her tongue. Weiss did not find that gesture amusing.

"Zweilous, Dragon Pulse attack!" Ruby could only watch as the right head gathered the energy needed to attack and fired the Dragon Pulse from point blank range. Eevee let out one last yelp before being knocked out by the Dragon Pulse. Zweilous' left head tossed Eevee's unconscious body back into the center of the arena.

"EEVEE!" yelled Ruby, jumping into the arena and running up to get her Eevee.

"And the match is over!" said the announcer. "Weiss is the victor!"

As the announcer continued to talk about how great the match was, Ruby rushed out of the stadium with Eevee in her arms. It was just like Beacon Academy all over again; Ruby had let down Eevee yet again. It seemed like no matter how hard Ruby would try, Weiss truly was the better trainer, and it made Ruby sick to her stomach.

#

Ruby and Jaune were in the festival's Pokémon Center lounge, waiting for Eevee to recover. Ruby's chest was in serious pain after Ruby witnessing Eevee's loss to Zweilous.

"I know it stinks that Weiss won," said Jaune, "but it was pretty close for most of the match. That counts for something, doesn't it?"

"I'm not upset that I lost," said Ruby. "I'm upset because I let Eevee get hurt again. I lost Eevee's trust because I made it fight Weiss when it wasn't ready, and even after all this time, I'm still making the same stupid mistake!"

Ruby buried her head in hands and started crying. Before Jaune can say anything, the nurse returned with her Eevee. Seeing Ruby crying, Eevee immediately jumped out of the nurse's arms and ran up to Ruby.

"Eevee!" cried Eevee, pawing at Ruby's legs to calm her down. Ruby put her hands down and saw Eevee looking up at her.

"Eevee, I'm sorry for getting you hurt again. I didn't-"

"Eevee!" said Eevee, jumping up onto Ruby's lap and nuzzling her stomach.

"I think Eevee is trying to cheer you up," said Jaune. Eevee looked up and nodded.

"Really Eevee? So you...don't think I'm a bad trainer?"

"Eevee!" shouted Eevee, shaking her head. Eevee climbed up her shoulder, resting her head next to Ruby. Ruby remembered like it was only yesterday that Eevee would turn away and wouldn't even look at Ruby after she got injured against Deino; now Eevee was doing everything she could to tell Ruby it was okay. Ruby smiled and hugged Eevee.

"Thanks, Eevee."

"What do we do now?" asked Jaune. "Getting enough of those Vytal Points in time is going to be impossible."

"Guess we'll have to come back in two years then," said Ruby.

"Attention trainers!" said a voice through the loud speakers. "This is a special announcement! Applications are now opened for the Vytal Battle Festival Doubles Tournament! This tournament is for trainers to compete in pairs; the winning pair of trainers will win 100 Vytal Points! Sign-ups are first come, first serve, so report to the Battle District ASAP!"

Ruby smiled and stood up. "Jaune, get your best Pokémon ready! We're entering that tournament!"

#

After earning some more Vytal Points, Weiss decided to browse the shopping booths to see if they had anything worth buying. Even if she didn't have enough points, she certainly had more than enough money to buy the items outright. She came across the booth selling rare TMs and battle items, and noticed the TM for Hyper Beam was still on sale.

"There's that Hyper Beam she was talking about. It would be really unfortunate if a more skilled trainer came along and bought it before her." Weiss smirked and grabbed the Hyper Beam.

"Excuse me sir, I would like to purchase this TM."

"You can buy it for 64 VP or 90,000 lien," said the booth owner.

"64 VP? Might as well buy it in cash."

Weiss reached into her pocket for her wallet. She reached down to the bottom of the pocket, but couldn't feel a thing. Weiss continued to search inside in case it was hiding behind something, but her wallet wasn't there. She checked her other pockets in case she left it somewhere else, but still couldn't find it. Weiss' mind started to race as she kept checking every single pocket in her dress and jacket. It was official: Her wallet was gone.

"What happened to my wallet? I couldn't have dropped it, could I? I had it on me this whole time! Retrace my steps...I battled Ruby, and before that I was getting my dress cleaned, because that dunce with the soda bumped into me..." Suddenly it all made sense to Weiss. "That dunce didn't bump into me by accident! She's a no good thief!"

"So are you going to pay for the TM or not?"

"I'm sorry, but it appears I have business elsewhere!"

Weiss put the TM back and ran out of the booth. First she was going to call her company and have her freeze all her cards, then report to the authorities and enforce a widespread manhunt for the criminals at large.

"Whoever you are, you just made the biggest mistake of your life! NOBODY gets away with stealing from a Schnee!"