"Here we are! The final match of the quarter finals: Marcus vs Elizabeth! The winner of this match will be advancing into the semifinal round!" Malva exclaimed, making sure James kept the camera on her and used the field as a backdrop. "The city terrain will provide an interesting field. Just how will these two trainers react!?"

"Elizabeth will get the first move. Trainers at the ready!" The ref exclaimed while speaking from the top of one of the buildings. Don't worry about him, since all referee's somehow avoid any injury.

"Luxray." Flinging her pokeball out, the capsule opened up to reveal her Luxray, which let out a roar as it was called upon. Luxray's image appeared in the first pokeball slot in Elizabeth's side.

"Rapidash, let's go!" Marcus tossed out his first pokeball to call out his Rapidash! He was bringing in some old faces from the preliminaries for the tail end of this tournament it seemed.

"Oooh, Rapidash!" Bonnie admired how majestic the fire stallion looked.

"This is going to be a promising battle…" Lore nodded several times.

"Ready or not, here we come." Elizabeth smirked just slightly before issuing the first command of the battle. "Luxray, Swift!" Luxray swung its tail forward, releasing an array of stars towards Rapidash. Swift always had very precise accuracy, and Elizabeth put a spin on this by having the stars move around the buildings, aiming to converge on Rapidash from various angles!

Marcus could see that Elizabeth intended to corner him from the start on the ground. So he would use another option and take to the air! "Bounce!" With its superior leg muscles, Rapidash sprang high into the air just as the stars converged on its former location to explode. Now above Luxray, it was actually a rather optimal position to strike!

"Watch out!" Elizabeth ordered. Luxray deftly evaded to the side just as Rapidash slammed its hooves into the ground! The impact shook the earth slightly and Marcus was far from finished.

"Flamethrower!" Opening its mouth, Rapidash unleashed a powerful emission of flames that briefly consumed Luxray. The electric type had to hold its ground to prevent from being blown away!

As soon as the flames receded, Elizabeth took the initiative. "Thunder Fang!" Along Luxray's maw, a jaw of lightning form and it sped forward. With a powerful leap, Luxray sunk its electrical into Rapidash and a small explosion of lightning occurred from the impact! Rapidash was sent stumbling backwards as it attempted to regain its balance.

"Don't let up! Iron Tail!" Luxray took to the air, allowing its tail to shine brightly and it swung its tail towards Rapidash's head to knock it down!

"Megahorn!" Rapidash regained its balance as the horn on the top of its head shone brightly and doubled in size! With a swift duck, Rapidash leapt forward to slam its horn into Luxray's underbelly! The hit was surprisingly strong and Luxray was lifted off its feet and hit a building pretty harshly before falling onto its side. Luxray wasn't down yet, snarling as it stood back up.

"Tch…what the heck is up with this Rapidash?" Elizabeth grit her teeth silently. Marcus started off with one hell of a heavy hitter…

"Fun fact…" Grace piqued up to grab the attention of the others. "Rapidash is actually the very first pokemon Marcus started off with. "Whenever he feels a battle may be incredibly tough, he usually brings it along."

"Really?" Lovrina seemed to have some interest in this for whatever reason. "Huh, how about that." And then she went back to filing her nails. "No wonder that thing hits like a truck. It must have been through a lot…"

"No kidding…" Kasumi sighed. "It's a tough cookie."

"It's so majestic…." Rui said while tugging on Wes's sleeve. "We gotta get one."

"Wha…?" Wes turned his head to Rui and let out a sigh. "You have some strange requests…."

"Flamethrower!" Rapidash's mouth opened and another stream of flame was unleashed in Luxray's direction.

"Swift!" Swinging its tail forward, Luxray sent forth another array of stars to clash with the Flamethrower. The result was an explosion, smoke filling most of the city arena. "Wild Charge!" Wasting no time, Luxray cloaked its body in a wild, untamed surge of electricity and proceeded to dash forward towards Rapidash.

"Flare Blitz!" Rapidash cloaked itself in an aura of fierce flames. Galloping forward, the majestic fire horse planned to meet Luxray halfway…and it did! The two collided against one another for a stalemate of fire and lightning! A large explosion eventually occurred from the collision of powers and blew both pokemon away! Luxray and Rapidash tumbled along the street before Rapidash stood up, red sparks appearing around its body due to the recoil it took. As for Luxray…..

"Luxray is unable to battle! Rapidash is the winner!" The referee pointed down at Marcus as Luxray's imaged grayed on the big screen.

"What a powerful Rapidash." Diantha smiled slightly at the work Marcus' Rapidash put in.

"Simply marvelous." Sycamore commented.

Oooh…Elizabeth could feel that. Diantha was praising her opponent! This wasn't the impression she wanted to leave with the champion watching. Her game needed to step up right now! "Thank you, Luxray. Take a good long rest. The others can handle this. Charizard, I choose you!" After returning Luxray, Elizabeth sent out her Charizard! The Kantonian starter let out a roar while emitting some flames in the process.

"Fighting fire with fire, huh?" Marcus quirked a brow. "Rapidash and I go way back. It's gonna take a lot more than that to bring us down. Flamethrower!" Not caring much for the type disadvantage, Rapidash spat out some flames towards Charizard!

"Evade it and use Shadow Claw!" Charizard took to the skies, not allowing the buildings to hinder its progress as it skillfully evaded the Flamethrower. The fire type then descending, flying past Rapidash while delivering a savage slash across its midsection for a hit of critical proportions!

"Tch…Solar Beam before it gets away!" Gathering solar energy within its horn, Rapidash soon unleashed a widespread beam of light in Charizard direction!

"Flamethrower!" Charizard turned and released its own flames at the incoming Solar Beam. The two attacks clashed and exploded! Charizard's back hit a building and…its form began to fuzz? One could see where this was leading.

"…Ah…so that's what's going on here…" Marcus noticed. "Megahorn!" Rapidash galloped forward at high speeds, aiming to slam its horn into 'Charizard's' stomach!

"Guess the Skitty's out of the bag. Night Daze!" Zoroark allowed its illusion to fade as Rapidash grew closer. Once the horse was too close, Zoroark unleashed a widespread haze of darkness that completely overtook the stallion, causing it to crash into the building behind Zoroark in KO.

"Rapidash is unable to battle! Zoroark is the winner!" With that exclamation, Rapidash's image grayed on the screen as Charizard's portrait was replaced with Zoroark.

"With a surprising turn of events, Charizard turns out to be Zoroark!" Malva exclaimed.

"So many strong pokemon out here…" Jessie remarked with a thieving grin on her face. "I can't wait to snag them all! Giovanni will be pleased with our findings once this tournament is over."

"For sure…" James chimed in. "The twerps won't know what hit them…"

"Thank you, Rapidash…" Marcus returned Rapidash with a smile. "Not bad…almost fell for your trick there."

"Zoroark and I go way back." Elizabeth replied. "Just because you can see past its tricks doesn't always mean you're going to beat them."

"Very impressive. Diantha nodded. "Zoroark has always been a fascinating pokemon…I'm glad she is able to put its illusory abilities to good use."

Oooooh…praise. That was what Elizabeth lived for.

"Dewott, you're up next!" Marcus' next pokemon was that fierce Dewott of his! The otter landed on its feet in a battle ready position.

"And Marcus' next pokemon is Dewott! Will it prevail over Zoroark!?" The host asked.

"This one…" Elizabeth was well aware this Dewott was stronger than most fully evolved Pokémon with its track record thus far, so taking it lightly because it was a mid-stage evolution was completely out of the question. "Shadow Ball!" Zoroark formed a violet-black sphere within its palms before shooting it forward across the cityscape towards Dewott!

"Fury Cutter!" Dewott reached for a scallop on its thigh, brandishing a violet blade from the shell. With a single, swift slash, the incoming Shadow Ball was cleanly sliced in half before it began darting forward. "Keep it up!" Reaching for the other scallop, Dewott aimed to slash as Zoroark once it got in close range!

"Shadow Claw!" Both claws of Zoroark were cloaked in darkness and it lunged forward to meet Dewott in the middle. The two suddenly found themselves in fierce close combat, meeting slash for slash with neither side letting up. Sparks flew from the collision and neither pokemon planned on letting the other go!

"Keep using Fury Cutter." Marcus commanded calmly.

"Don't let it escape!" Elizabeth commanded.

The back and forth exchanged continued until Dewott found an opening and slashed across Zoroark's chest! The impact was incredibly strong as Zoroark was thrown backwards a little bit with widened eyes.

"A direct hit!" Kayla exclaimed. "That had to have hurt…Fury Cutter one of the few moves that only get stronger with consecutive use…not to mention its super effective on a dark type like Zoroark."

"You good?" Zoroark stood up and nodded. "Excellent. Night Daze!" Once again, Zoroark unleashed a dark mist, only this time it wasn't meant for offensive! This mist clouded the small arena, shrouding the dark type from view. "Now…Shadow Claw!" It didn't seem like much at first, but Zoroark used its speed to keep from being tracked, flying past Dewott while slashing at it! Dewott stumbled back and forth with each hit aimed at its body.

"Dewott, calm down!" Marcus demanded. "Use your senses, and when you track it down hit it hard with Razor Shell!" Dewott nodded calmly to its trainer's commands, allowing aquatic blades to form along its shells. It used its ears to track Zoroark….now! Eyes opened and it brought its scallops forward to defend against the next Shadow Claw! Zoroark leap away and the mist cleared, now giving the opposition a clear shot at them. "Ice Beam!"

"Flaemthrower!"

The two opposing pokemon unleashed their beams of fire and ice respectively. The two opposing elements clashed in the center of the field, only to result in a massive explosion that created nothing but more smoke!

"Now's our chance! Aqua Jet!" Water exploded around Dewott and it sped forward towards Zoroark with incredible speed!

"Stop it with Shadow Claw!" Zoroark's claws enlarged with darkness once again, bringing its claws forward to halt Dewott's Aqua Jet! It was struggling to hold its ground while keeping Aqua Jet at bay, but on the opposite end Dewott was struggling to push forward to break through before Shadow Claw could end it! Eventually both ends ended up being unable to follow through and they were thrown backwards into separate buildings, swirls in their eyes to signify their defeat!

"Both Dewott and Zoroark are unable to battle! This is a draw!" That said, both images of the pokemon grayed out…leaving both sides with only one pokemon each.

"This is getting intense…" Ash commented.

"These two are really going at it…then again; it is a spot for the top 4, so I can understand why…" Lovrina was actually pretty invested into the battle herself. "Although…I did let Elizabeth borrow a little something of mine to put her on an even playing field along with the rest of you…" That remark got her some looks from the others.

"…What did you do?" Serena lifted a brow accusingly.

"Nothing bad, I swear!" Lovrina smiled. "You'll see!"

"Thanks." Both Marcus and Elizabeth returned their pokemon.

"So…one on one…" Elizabeth sighed. "I was hoping for a blowout to be completely honest. Then Diantha would have to acknowledge my talent and efforts. But for some reason I had a feeling you weren't going to let me have it."

"Of course not!" Marcus smiled innocently. "That's something you'll have to work on your own time. But enough chit chat…Gallade, let's go!" Marcus' final pokemon was his trusted Gallade. The fighting type had its cape secured to its shoulders and there was a fresh Mega Stone on it….

"Gardevoir, it's all on you!" Elizabeth's last pokemon was her Gardevoir, which had a bracelet with a Mega Stone placed securely on it.

"It's the final showdown for top 4! Gallade vs. Gardevoir! Which one will come out on top!" The host shouted from pure excitement and anxiousness.

"Gardevoir, Psychic on the rubble!" Gardevoir's body gave off a soft neon blue light as it used its telekinesis to lift up all the rubble scattered about from the partially broken buildings. Without further command, all of that rubble was sent flying towards Gallade!

"Gallade, Night Slash!" Gallade's bladed arms shone a bright violet light before it dashed forward, slicing through all of the rubble coming its way like ease! At the end of it all, the rubble was reduced to nothing! "Psycho Cut!" Lifting one blade up, kinetic energy engulfed the limb before Gallade swung it forward, unleashing a crescent slash in Gardevoir's direction.

"Shadow Ball!" Thrusting its arms forward, a ball of darkness was released towards the Psycho Cut. The two attacks exploded in the center after a fierce stalemate.

"Close Combat, let's go!"

"Return!"

Gallade entered close combat range of Gardevoir and began swinging! Despite Gallade's swift movements, Gardevoir was elegant and evaded every single hit delivered! Gardevoir also attempted to strike several times with Return, Gallade was just as proficient in defense as Gardevoir was in evasion! The two briefly clashed before springing back to the sides of their trainers.

"A heated battle! Neither side is letting up! This is amazing!" The host could barely contain his excitement. "Which one of these trainers is making it to the top 4!?"

"I can see how you kept up with Cynthia for a little bit…" Elizabeth sounded…a little jealous when she spoke. "You and Gallade are something else…but this is my time to shine." Lifting a necklace from her pocket, the bluenette wasted no time in holding it forward. "Gardevoir! It's time! Respond to my heart and surpass Mega Evolution!"

"Oh…?" Diantha quirked a brow. "She too possesses a Mega Gardevoir…?"

"Wait…when did she get a Mega Stone?" Takeba looked around to see if anyone had the answers.

"Guilty!" Lovrina hummed. "Don't tell her I told you this, but she was a little worried she didn't have anything special to keep up with you Mega Evolution users and that outrageous Greninja…" Her emerald irises cut to Ash who tilted his head. "So…I decided to lend her a helping hand and I let her borrow my Keystone and Megaring. I want to see everyone fight to the best of their abilities after all!"

"Man, you're nice." Kasumi snickered, which made Lovrina blush and look away like the tsundere she tried to be.

Mega Gardevoir appeared on the field in its full elegance, sparkles raining down on its body gently. With a wide grin at its beauty, Elizabeth stared to Marcus. "Well? Are you ready?"

"Heh…" Marcus held up his own Mega Stone…not the previous one that was cracked and recommended unusable. The sight of this made everyone's eyes widened. "Gallade, let's strut our stuff! Mega Evolve!"

"Wait…when did HE get one!?" Grace flailed her arms comically. "His was broken…!"

"I was wondering if he'd use that…" Sycamore smiled slightly. "I called him over to my lab because I happened to find a Mega Stone perfectly compatible with his Gallade. Much safer use than the one he was holding onto. Marvelous, isn't it?"

"You never cease to surprise, Augustine." Diantha smiled softly.

Mega Gallade, the White Knight appeared from its Mega Evolution! Mega Gallade vs. Mega Gardevoir; a matchup that was going to be remembered!

"Gallde! Psycho Cut!" With its sharped blades shining a bright light, Gallade swung both of its scythe-like arms forward, unleashing two gigantic crescent blades of kinetic energy towards Gardevoir! These cleanly shredded through any buildings in the way as they raced towards Gardevoir!

"Hyper Voice!" Gardevoir parted its lips, its voice reaching beyond that of an opera singer! The impressively powerful soundwave disrupted the Psycho Cut, causing them to dissolve as the now Fairy Type move struck Gallade's ears! Thanks to Pixilate, any normal type moves used by Gardevoir were Fairy Type, and Fairy was super effect against Fighting! "Now Moon Blast!" A large sphere of energy formed over Gardevoir's body to fire off a beam of fairy energy towards Gallade!

"Night Slash!" Gallade recovered from the Hyper Voice, crossing its blades in front of its body to slice through the Moon Blast, deflecting the beam off to the side before rushing Gardevoir down. "Let's go!" Brandishing its sharp blade, Gallade landed a swift strike against Gardevor's midsection to push it back! "Keep attacking!"

"Dodge them and fire back with Shadow Ball!" Gardevoir regained its footing and proceeded to once again elegantly evade Gallade's slashes, firing off a Shadow Ball whenever it could. Unfortunately for Gardevoir the Shadow Balls were sliced like butter and had no effect! "Psychic!" Pushing an arm forward, Gardevoir unleashed a powerful wave of telekinetic energy that pushed Gallade back into a building! "Now we can breathe…Hyper Voice!"

"Not this time! Shadow Sneak!" Gallade's shadow was incredibly fast, appearing behind Gardevoir's in an instant to strike its back and push it forward. "Now Close Combat!" While Gardevoir was off balance, Gallade rushed in to land a series of punches and kicks along the opposition's body, ending its combo with a fierce kick to the chest to send Gardevoir tumbling along the ground before coming to a halt.

"Don't let up…Hyper Voice!" Gardevoir stood up once again, its voice reaching a high level as the soundwaves crushed Gallade once again! Gallade staggered backwards, suffering from the clearly effect hit. This could have been it if Elizabeth played her cards correctly. "Keep it up! Don't give a moment to recover!"

"We're not finished yet! Gallade, Psycho Cut!" Gallade lifted its arm up and gave a horizontal slice. The incoming blade was so sharp it sliced through the Hyper Voice, pushing Gardevoir backwards and left both trainer and pokemon surprised. "Now we're the ones going to end it! Give it all you've got!" Gallade let out a battle cry as the kinetic energy along its arms expanded into sharp rainbow-hued blades.

"…!" Elizabeth remembered seeing something similar to this; when Marcus fought Cynthia's Garchomp, although this didn't look as potent, it was still dangerous. "Moon Blast, full power!" Gardevoir let out battle cry as it gathered the moon's power for one final strike! The result was a massive, widespread beam of magic that completely tore through the cityscape as it aimed to take down Gallade! It all happened so quickly, yet in slow motion at the same time. Gallade brought both of its arms forward to briefly form a singular blade of energy that was unseen by everyone else! All everyone could see was the final explosion that shook the entire stadium! Even the trainers battling couldn't keep their balance and landed on their rears. They didn't move….but they kept their gaze on the arena to see who emerged victorious…

The smoke steadily began to clear, leaving one silhouette visible within the cloud. The one that had fallen was…

"Gardevoir is unable to battle! Therefore, Marcus is the victor and advances to the semifinals!" With that, Marcus' imaged displayed on the big screen as the victor!

"AMAZING!" The host yelled. "After a fierce battle, Marcus ends up on top and advances onward!"

"…WHEW…oh man…" Marcus let out a heavy sigh of relief as the results were posted. "That was too close…."

"Not close enough…" Elizabeth sighed and returned Gardevoir, thanking it for its efforts in battle. "You got me. In front of Diantha no less…" She seemed less upset about the loss itself…more so upset that she put up such a pitiful show with Diantha watching! Still, she displayed a smile nonetheless. "Welp, looks like you can't lose now. If you beat me and lose right after, I'm going to be very upset, do you understand?"

"I got it…I got it…" Marcus laughed while rubbing the back of his head. "Top 4…"

"Hmmm…" Wes curiously stared at the battlefield. "What a battle."

"Is that all you have to say?" Bonnie looked at Wes like he was crazy. "That battle was amazing!"

"That concludes the quarterfinals of the tournament! However, before we all leave for tomorrow, let us see the matches for the semifinals!" The host turned everyone's attention to the screen where the profiles of Ash, Marcus, Kasumi, and Grace were shuffled around a bit. There was slight tension in the air as the suspense hung high! When it was complete the next two battles were…

Marcus vs Grace and Kasumi vs Ash!

"…Oh thank goodness…" Kasumi let out a heavy sigh while grinning towards Grace. "I don't know what I would've done if I had to fight you…" While she said it with a jest…her current circumstance made that statement more real than she would've liked it to be.

"Me too…" Grace sighed. "I'm still both of your seniors. I can't have you beating me just yet." Oh…if only she knew the situation. Perhaps then she wouldn't be saying it.

"We're gonna have a good battle, Kasumi!" Ash smiled. "Our battle before never finished. So we'll call this one the decider, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Kasumi nodded. That battle was going to decide something all right. One could only imagine the twinge Wes' lips had at the brewing situation. Causing internal strife between this group was perhaps the most fun activity he had yet…and he hadn't even started to get serious with his plans yet.

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Next Time: Clash Between Rivals; Redux!