Eventually, Serena goes back to Ash's house just in time to see everyone else awake and having breakfast. Ash, May, and Iris are all eating larger helpings than everyone else, but there is more than enough for Serena to eat. Once everyone has had their fill, Max, May, and Dawn decide to head over to Professor Oak's lab so that Max can train for the Indigo League, and May and Dawn can work on their routines with their Pokemon. Serena decides to stay in the house to groom her Pokemon and help Delia and Mimey around the house with Misty. As for Ash, Pikachu, Iris, Axew, Cilan, Alain, Mairin, Chespie, Professor Sycamore, Clemont, and Bonnie, they all go back to the beach where Timothy, Coovers, and Electchu are already waiting for them. Alain leads the group as he walks toward Timothy with a competitive smirk.
"You're here earlier than I expected," he says. "Eager to go against my Charizard and me?"
"Pretty much," Timothy says. "Though, we also didn't really set much of a time apart from just 'after breakfast,' so it's kind of a matter of perspective of who is or isn't on time."
Alain nods and asks, "Just so we're clear, this is a one-on-one battle with Charizard in its mega form against just one of your Pokemon, right?"
"Correct," Timothy says. "Shall we begin?"
"The sooner, the better," Alain replies, smirking.
The two trainers firmly shake hands and take positions on the beach with Electchu standing next to Timothy. Clemont stands in the middle while everyone sits down behind him.
"This should be a delightful battle to witness," Cilan says with a cheerful smile.
"Yeah, I can't wait to find out what a Mega Charizard is like," Iris says excitedly. "I bet it's going to be extremely powerful."
"It is," Bonnie testifies. "Alain's Charizard is so powerful. It's a shame that Greninja lost to it."
"Yeah, it really was," Clemont says with a sad smile. "But I wonder what Timothy is like in battle. After hearing about the two times Ash battled against him from Dawn, May, and Max, I wonder how strong he is."
"I agree," Professor Sycamore says with a smile. "I believe this will be an exciting battle to watch either way. Two trainers who have won a Pokemon League facing each other."
"But, Alain's going to win!" Mairin exclaims. "There's no way Timothy's Pokemon can take down Charizard."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Mairin," Ash says. "Timothy's Pokemon can't mega evolve, but they're still very strong."
"Pikachu," Pikachu says in agreement.
"Hey, who's side are you on, Ash?" Marin asks, pouting at the raven-haired boy.
"I'm not on anyone's side," Ash answers. "Alain and Timothy are both my rivals. I'm just hoping to see a good battle."
"I am too," Clemont says.
"Well, I'm rooting for Alain no matter what," Mairin states proudly.
"Chespin!" Chespie exclaims
"As am I," Professor Sycamore says.
"Well, then I guess that makes me the only one rooting for Timothy," Coovers says with a shrug. "So, I hope he overcomes what's waiting for him"
"Well, we won't know until we get this battle underway, so let's get started," Timothy says.
"I agree," Alain says.
"Alright, then. I will referee again," Clemont says before raising his hand. "This will be a one-on-one battle between Alain and Timothy. The battle will be over when either side's Pokemon is unable to continue. Are both sides ready?"
"Ready," Alain and Timothy reply.
"Then battle begin!" Clemont shouts.
"Charizard, respond to my call!" Alain shouts, throwing a Pokeball.
"Poliwrath, let's go!" Timothy yells, throwing his Pokeball.
Charizard and Poliwrath emerge from their respective containers, and Alain smirks at Timothy.
"I figured you would choose a water-type Pokemon," he says. "But you should know that your Poliwrath won't be the first fully-evolved water-type Pokemon Charizard has beaten as Ash can testify."
Charizard roars loudly, shooting a stream of fire in the air.
"Oh yeah? Well, your Charizard won't be the first mega evolved Pokemon Poliwrath has taken down as Bruno of the Elite Four can testify," Timothy counters, smirking back at his opponent.
"Raichu!" Electchu shouts proudly.
"Wraaath!" Poliwrath growls while cracking its knuckles.
"Then this will be an interesting battle," Alain says before touching the keystone on his bracelet. "Now, keystone, respond to my heart. Our minds become one beyond evolution!"
With those words, the keystone and Charizard's charizardite X start glowing, and beams of light emerge from both stones and begin to connect. With a flash, Charizard transforms into its X mega form, roaring menacingly at Poliwrath, who appears unfazed.
"Wow!" Iris exclaims. "So that's a Mega Charizard. Amazing!"
"Indeed. I can feel strong flavors of power surrounding it just by looking at it," Cilan says.
"Uh...flavors?" Bonnie asks, weirded out by Cilan's comment.
"Alright, Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Alain shouts.
Mega Charizard takes a large breath and unleashes a large stream of blue fire at Poliwrath.
"Blue fire. Interesting," Timothy says with a sneer. "Poliwrath, use Hydro Pump, followed by Dynamic Punch!"
Poliwrath unleashes a large stream of water, and it collides with Flamethrower. The two moves create a large cloud of steam surrounding the area, and Alain frowns seriously.
"Charizard, flap your wings to blow the steam away," he commands.
Mega Charizard does as it is told, and the steam is blown away to reveal Poliwrath charging at it with its fist glowing white.
"Now, Charizard, use Dragon Claw!" Alain shouts.
"Counter it with your Dynamic Punch!" Timothy orders.
Mega Charizard's hands become surrounded in light green, claw-shaped energy, and it swipes at Poliwrath. Poliwrath comes at its opponent with both of his fists glowing white, and it punches at the claws. Mega Charizard swipes again only for Poliwrath to deflect it with its other fist. The process goes on several times before Mega Charizard goes for an upper swipe that takes Poliwrath off guard and sends it flying in the air and crashing close to Timothy. The brown-haired Pokemon trainer with the 'H.A.K.' shirt is shocked to see Poliwrath injured before it slowly gets up to show that it's still able to battle.
"I see. You're stronger than I thought," he admits.
"No, we're stronger than you think we are," Alain claims while Mega Charizard roars again in agreement.
"Perhaps," Timothy says before turning to Poliwrath. "Poliwrath, use Bubble Beam!"
"Charizard, dodge, and use Thunder Punch!" Alain commands.
Mega Charizard makes a first, and sparks of electricity appear around it. It dodges Poliwrath's Bubble Beam and flies toward the tadpole Pokemon at great speed. Timothy watches Mega Charizard patiently until it gets close enough to Poliwrath to make his next call.
"Hydro Pump, dead ahead!" He shouts.
Poliwrath trusts its trainer and unleashes Hydro Pump right as Mega Charizard is about to throw its Thunder Punch. The stream of water hits the flame Pokemon and it lands on the ground.
"Now, use Surf!" Timothy commands.
Poliwrath summons a giant wave of water, and it crashes down on the incapacitated Mega Charizard. Timothy grins for a moment until he hears Alain make another call.
"Charizard, Thunder Punch again!"
Before Timothy has a moment to react, Mega Charizard has already punched Poliwrath hard in the gut with his fists sparking electricity again. Poliwrath screams in pain as it is sent crashing to the ground right next to Timothy and Electchu. Both Timothy and his partner stare in shock as Poliwrath lies on the ground with several serious scratches all over its body. Timothy and Electchu turn to Alain and Mega Charizard to see the latter standing up with barely any scratches and its body at all.
"But how?" Timothy asks flabbergasted.
"You're probably wondering why your water attacks aren't as effective as you thought they worked be," Alain says. "It's because Charizard isn't as affected when he's in his mega evolved form."
"I'm afraid he's right, Timothy," Professor Sycamore says. "When a Charizard is in this specific mega evolved form, it becomes both a fire and a dragon type, making water attacks less effective than they normally would be. So unless your Poliwrath has any ground, rock, or dragon type moves, which we all know it doesn't, you're not going to cause any serious damage to Charizard that way."
"Wow, so Charizard can be both a fire and a dragon type in its mega form?" Iris asks, invested.
Coovers looks at Mega Charizard, surprised, and turns to Timothy.
"You didn't know that Pokemon can change types when they mega evolve?" He asks.
"Evidently not," Timothy admits with a frown. "Looks like this is going to be a bigger challenge than I thought. Poliwrath, use Hydro Pump!"
"Counter with Flamethrower!" Alain commands.
Once again, Flamethrower and Hydro Pump collide and cover the area in steam.
"Flap your wings again, Charizard!" Alain shouts.
"Poliwrath, focus on where Charizard is and use Hydro Pump again!" Timothy instructs.
Poliwrath closes its eyes and meditates on its surroundings. It takes a moment until it can feel the direction Mega Charizard blows the steam away, and the tadpole snaps its eyes open and fires Hydro Pump. Mega Charizard clears the steam away just in time to see the water attack coming before it hits the flame Pokemon, making it howl upon impact.
"Clever, but let's see you avoid this," Alain says. "Charizard, use Blast Burn!"
"Oh, no. Not Blast Burn," Coovers says worriedly. "That's so powerful that it could easily wipe out the rest of Poliwrath's energy."
"I can vouch for that," Ash says.
Timothy frowns with the same thing in his mind. He tries to quickly hatch up a plan as Mega Charizard's body engulfs into light blue flames. The flame Pokemon then punches the ground, sending a wave of energy into the earth that heads toward Poliwrath.
"Rai, Rai, Rai, Raichu," Electchu suggests.
Timothy's eyes widen, and he says, "Good idea. Poliwrath use Surf quick! Ride on top of the wave and jump when I say now!"
Poliwrath nods at its trainer, and it creates another wave of water heading toward Charizard with the tadpole Pokemon riding on top of it. Timothy waits again until the Blast Burn is about to hit Poliwrath's Surf attack.
"Now, jump!" He shouts.
Poliwrath jumps into the air just before the Blast Burn hits the wave of water, destroying it.
"Now, use Dynamic Punch multiple times!" Timothy instructs.
Alain realizes what Timothy is up to, but before he can make another call, Poliwrath lands right in front of Mega Charizard and starts punching it repeatedly. Poliwrath punches Mega Charizard's face, stomach, and sides again and again, not giving its opponent a chance to react after each punch. Alain grinds his teeth, determined to bring the match back to his favor.
"Charizard, fight through it, and fly up!" He shouts.
Mega Charizard hears its partner's call and fights the pain from the constant punches and flaps its wings to lift itself off the air.
"Now, use Thunder Punch!" Alain shouts.
Mega Charizard doesn't hesitate to do a backflip and punch Poliwrath hard in the gut with Thunder Punch. The water-and-fighting-type Pokemon is once again sent flying back to Timothy's side of the ground, and it lies on the ground weaker than before.
"Poliwrath!" Timothy shouts.
"Raichu!" Electchu cries out for its friend.
Alain sighs, relieved that Poliwrath is prevented from hurting Mega Charizard more. He turns to his partner to see that Mega Charizard has several cuts and bruises on its body and is panting after taking so many hard hits from Poliwrath. Clemont looks closely at the tadpole Pokemon to see that it's still conscious but struggling.
"Come on, Poliwrath, you can keep going!" Timothy encourages. "Your opponent is getting weak. We're close."
"Raichu!" Electchu shouts.
Poliwrath lets out a weak moan and rolls over so that it's lying down on its front. It slowly pushes itself up with both of its hands and struggles to stay in balance before it faces Mega Charizard again, with its hands turned into fists. Mega Charizard sneers at the way Poliwrath is struggling to stay up, but Poliwrath continues to put up a brave face.
"I think Alain has this in the bag," Mairin says cheerfully.
"Pin, Pin, Ches," Chespie says.
"Poliwrath is clearly having trouble staying up," Iris agrees.
"Perhaps, but Charizard is looking pretty weak too," Cilan says. "Personally, I think it all comes down to the next couple of moves from both sides."
"Come on, Alain! Come on, Timothy!" Ash cheers.
"Charizard, use Blast Burn once more!" Alain orders.
"Poliwrath, dodge it using Surf again!" Timothy commands.
Mega Charizard's body engulfs in blue flames again and punches the ground, sending another wave of energy at Poliwrath. The tadpole Pokemon avoids the attack by creating another wave of water and rides it to avoid the attack.
"Now jump and use Dynamic Punch!" Timothy shouts.
"I don't think so," Alain says. "Charizard, fly toward Poliwrath and use Dragon Claw!"
Poliwrath jump into the air from the top of its wave of water with both its fists glowing white again while Mega Charizard flies toward it with another Dragon Claw. The two Pokemon begin dueling it out in the air, flashing with their respective attacks until Timothy gets another idea.
"Poliwrath, knock back both of Charizard's claws at once and use Hydro Pump at full power!" He instructs.
Poliwrath swings both of its fists, and it knocks back one of Mega Charizard's claws of energy, but the other claw hits it. Poliwrath screams in pain while subconsciously unleashing a powerful Hydro Pump that directly hits Mega Charizard. Alain's eyes widen as he watches the large stream of water send his partner crashing into the ground, creating a cloud of sand. Timothy's heart sinks as he watches Poliwrath crashes into the ground with a thud. When the dust clears, Poliwrath is lying unconscious with swirly eyes, and Charizard stands up, still conscious.
"Poliwrath is unable to continue!" Clemont declares. "Charizard wins, so the victory does to Alain!"
"Yay!" Marin cheers joyously. "Way to go, Alain and Charizard.
Professor Sycamore smiles and nods before he says, "Poliwrath put up a marvelous fight, but much like Ash and Geninja, it was no match for Charizard in its mega evolved form."
Coovers sighs, "Yup. It just comes to show that no one can win all the time. Not even Timothy."
Alain smiles at Charizard, who has returned to its normal form, and takes out its Pokeball.
"You were great, my friend. Get a good rest," he says.
"I second that," Timothy says as he takes out Poliwrath's Pokeball. "Get a good, long rest, Poliwrath."
Both Pokemon go back into their containers. Alain then walks over to Timothy, and Electchu and the two trainers smirk at each other.
"Good battle, Timothy," Alain compliments. "Your Poliwrath is pretty powerful."
"So is your Charizard," Timothy replies as he shakes Alain's hand. "I must admit that it was a difficult battle. Maybe if Charizard didn't become a dual-type in its evolved form, Poliwrath would have won with its water type moves."
"Maybe so," Alain says. "I guess in the end, our Pokemon gave it everything they got, and that's all that matters. I wish you luck at the Indigo League,"
"Thank you," Timothy says appreciatively.
With that, Alain walks over to where Mairin and Professor Sycamore are, and the short girl runs over to give Alain a tight hug. Alain is taken aback for a moment before he smiles and gladly hugs her back. Everyone sits down quietly while Timothy and Electchu are standing on the beach.
"So… what should we do now?" Iris asks.
"I'd like to see another battle," Bonnie says.
"As would I," Cilan says.
Ash turns to Pikachu, and the two of them smile and nod at each other before they stand up.
"In that case, I challenge you to another battle, Timothy," Ash declares.
Timothy raises his eyebrow and smirks at the raven-haired boy.
"Are you sure, Ash? He asks.
"Absolutely," Ash says. "I want to have one more battle with you before we compete at the Pokemon League."
"That sounds like a good idea," Clemont says with a smile. "I would like to see you two battling each other."
"Yeah, I'd like to see that too," Iris says.
"Axew," Axew says, nodding.
"I admit that I'm a little curious," Alain says while holding Mairin.
Coovers sighs and says, "I would like to see if Ash would fair any better than he did last time."
Timothy thinks for a moment and says, "Very well. Let's do a three-round battle. Best two out of three wins, and I'm not giving you a third-round if you lose the first two again."
"Don't worry. I won't," Ash claims.
"Alright then," Timothy says before turning to Clemont again. "Would you like to judge again, Clemont?"
"Absolutely," Clemont says.
Ash and Timothy nod before they take positions on opposite sides of the beach with Pikachu and Electchu standing next to their partners. Clemont steps in the middle again and raises his hand.
"This will be a battle between Ash and Timothy," he says. "The battle will be over when either side wins two out of three rounds. Are the contestants ready?"
"Ready," Ash and Timothy say at the same time.
"Then battle begin!" Clemont shouts.
"Gengar, let's go!" Timothy shouts, throwing a Pokeball
"Servine, I choose you!" Ash shouts, tossing his own Pokeball into the air.
Gengar and Servine come out of their Pokeballs, and both Timothy and Gengar grin at the grass snake Pokemon.
"You chose a Grass-type to go against a Ghost-and-poison-type, eh? I wonder how you plan to win when Gengar is resistant to grass attacks," Timothy says.
"You're about to find out," Ash said confidently. "Now, Servine, Leaf Tornado!"
"Gengar, flatten yourself, and then use Lick!" Timothy commands.
Gengar grins mischievously and flattens its body, phasing through the ground. It then slithers through the ground and emerges right behind Servine before licking it with its long tongue. Servine grunts and takes a couple steps forward, but it doesn't appear to be in any special pain.
"Hmmm. So it didn't paralyze this time. No problem," Timothy says. "Gengar, use Dark Pulse!"
"Dodge and use Vine Whip!" Ash shouts.
Gengar fires a beam of dark purple circles at Servine, but it dodges the attack before two vines come out of its neck and start hitting Gengar. Gengar grunts and shuts its eyes, slightly hurt despite the Grass-type attack only doing half the damage.
"Come on, Gengar. Don't let Servine get the best of you!" Timothy calls out. "Knock those Vines back with Sucker Punch, then use it on Servine!"
Gengar opens its eyes and quickly uses Sucker Punch to knock the vines before running toward Servine with the Dark-type attack.
"Counter that Sucker Punch with Leaf Blade, then use Leaf Tornado!" Ash instructs.
Servine's tail turns green, and with a spin, it blocks Gengar's fists. With its tail still locked with Gengar's fist, Servine then quickly summons a Leaf Tornado that appears from its tail and instantly sucks Gengar in. The shadow Pokemon screams in panic as the tornado separates it from the air, moves back into an upward position and floats into the air before it finally crashes down into the ground. Gengar groans before it gets up with a couple of minor scratches on its body.
"Ah, using Servine's tail to block and then attack Gengar. You're a clever one, Ash," Timothy compliments with a smirk.
"Thanks, but we're just getting warmed up," Ash claimed. "Servine, use Attract multiple times!"
Servine winks multiple times, and a cloud of pink hearts appear, heading toward Gengar. Timothy notices that the cloud of hearts is big enough that neither he nor Gengar can see where Ash or Servine are and frowns, realizing that Ash is up to something and turns to his Pokemon.
"Gengar, destroy those hearts with Dark Pulse!" He commands.
Gengar does as it's told, sending a beam of dark purple circles that destroy the hearts instantly and head towards the direction of where Ash and Servine was last seen. But Gengar and Timothy look in confusion to find that Servine was not where it was, and Ash was giving his rival a shrewd smirk.
"Servine, use Leaf Blade!" He shouts.
Timothy and Gengar only have a moment before Servine flanks the shadow Pokemon from the side and starts hitting it repeatedly with its glowing tail. Professor Sycamore, Alain, Mairin, Iris, Cilan, Clemont, and Bonnie stare in awe, realizing that the hearts were a distraction.
"Gengar, flatten yourself quickly!" Timothy shouts.
Gengar manages to phase through the ground again and starts slithering away.
"We're prepared for that, Timothy," Ash boasts. "Servine, use Leaf Blade on the ground!"
With its tail still glowing light green, Servine jumps into the air and does a flip before slamming into the ground right where Gengar is. Gengar screams in pain as it's forced to emerge from the ground with its eyes shut.
"Now, use Leaf Blade again!" Ash shouts, confidently.
"Gengar, hit back with Sucker Punch, followed by Shadow Ball!" Timothy shouts.
Servine gets ready to attack again, but Gengar recovers just in time to block Leaf Blade with one hand and punches its opponent with the other. As Servine takes a couple of steps back, Gengar summons a black and purple ball and throws it at the grass snake Pokemon. Ash's confidence drops as the Shadow Ball hits Servine and knocks it off its feet with several scratches on its body.
"Servine!" he called out.
Servine groans and clenches its teeth as it gets up to show that it can keep battling. Ash sighs in relief before he gets an idea.
"Alright, Servine, use Leaf Tornado!" He shouts.
Timothy frowns and considers telling Gengar to flatten itself like before, but decides it's a risk after it was forced out with Leaf Blade. The man in the "H.A.K." shirt is unsure of how to handle Servine with it having such a cunning trainer, but his first thought is to do something about its speed first.
"Gengar, dodge it and then use Lick!" he commands.
Gengar jumps away just in time to not be consumed by the Leaf Tornado and then extends its tongue to lick Servine out of hope to paralyze it. Ash notices what Gengar is doing, and he suddenly gets an idea.
"Servine, jump away, and grab Gengar's tongue with Vine Whip!" he instructs.
Servine jumps back to avoid the attack, and then two green vines come out of its neck and wrap around Gengar's long tongue. Gengar's pupils shrink and it starts to panic as it tries to pull its tongue back into its mouth but Servine's grip is too strong. Timothy stares at what is happening in disbelief before he shakes his head and brings back his competitive look.
"Gengar, calm down!" he calls out. "Hit Servine with Dark Pulse until it releases your tongue!"
"Not gonna happen, Timothy," Ash says with a grin. "Servine, lift Gengar's tongue up high!"
Servine smirks and uses its vines to lift Gengar's tongue up, forcing Gengar to look up at the sky. Timothy's eyes widened, realizing that Gengar can't do anything as long as it's forced to not see where Servine is so that it can aim its attack at its opponent.
"Gengar, just use Dark Pulse wherever you think Servine is," he says, desperately.
Ash's grin grows, knowing that his opponent made a bad call.
"Servine, move away from Gengar's line of fire and then use Leaf Blade repeatedly!" he instructs.
Servine gets low and charges at its opponent, dodging multiple Dark Pulse as it goes. It then starts hitting Gengar repeatedly with its vines still holding Gengar's tongue up, making the shadow Pokemon cry out in pain as it helplessly stands in place, taking the hits. Timothy watches in shock, as it becomes clear that Ash is using this situation to make up for Servine's grass attacks take only half of the damage. He starts to grow worried, trying to figure out how to help Gengar out of the predicament. Ash and his friends, on the other hand, smile, knowing that he has the upper hand.
"Now, finish this with Leaf Tornado, one more time!" Ash shouts.
Servine stops using Leaf Blade and turns its back on Gengar while summoning a tornado of leaves. The grass snake Pokemon finally lets go of Gengar's tongue right before Timothy's Pokemon gets sucked into the tornado. Timothy can do nothing but watch as Gengar once again screams in panic while the tornado separates it from the air, moves back into an upward position, and floats into before it finally crashes down into the ground. When the dust clears, Gengar is found lying on the ground motionless.
"Gengar is unable to battle. Servine is the winner!" Clemont declares.
"Alright!" Ash cheers.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu squeals.
"Servine," Servine says proudly.
Professor Sycamore smiles and says, "What a marvelous creativity on Ash's part."
Alain nods with a low hum and says, "I expect nothing less from him."
"Yeah, just like Ash to come up with something like that," Mairin says.
"Chespin, pin!" Chespie agrees.
"Way to go, Ash!" Iris cheers happily before turning to Cilan. "I guess in retrospect, maybe I should have considered Ash might have had a trick up his sleeve with Servine using Attract like that."
"Indeed, it was splendid to watch him show such an unpredictable amount of flavors in that battle," Cilan says with a smile. "That was a dish I was glad to enjoy again, like meeting an old friend."
Clemont and Bonnie looked at each other, confused as if Cilan just said a sentence of incoherent words. Meanwhile, Timothy and Ash return Gengar and Servine respectively before the man in the "H.A.K." shirt smirks at the raven-haired boy.
"That was a very interesting battle, Ash," he said.
"Thanks, but we're just getting started," Ash claims. "This time, I'm going to beat you in a battle for sure."
Timothy chuckles and says, "Don't get ahead of yourself there, pal. I can still win the other two rounds."
Ash smirks and nods in agreement before taking out another Pokeball.
"Primeape, I choose you!" Ash shouts, throwing the Pokeball into the air.
"Odyssey, come on out!" Timothy shouts, throwing his own Pokeball.
The two balls open, and Primeape and Odyssey come out, immediately glaring at each other and taking battle stances. Primeape bumps its fists together while Odyssey smirks mockingly at its opponent again.
"I'm not surprised that you picked Primeape," Timothy says. "It must have been overeager for a rematch for some time judging by how it was acting last night."
"Yeah? Well, Odyssey looked pretty eager last night too, so that makes both of our Pokemon," Ash counters.
"True, but let's see if Primeape can do better than last time," Timothy says. "Odyssey uses Bone Rush!"
"Primeape, counter with Thrash, followed by Karate Chop!" Ash shouts.
Odyssey creates a green bone of energy and attacks Primeape. The pig monkey Pokemon parries by throwing multiple punches and kicks rapidly against each attack Odyssey throws at with its bone. Then Primeape starts to karate chop at Odyssey's bone repeatedly. The Lucario holds its bone up to defend itself, but unbeknownst to it or Timothy, Ash and Pikachu notice Primeape doing something to the bone for just a moment before Timothy makes another call.
"Odyssey, hit Primeape with your bone right as it's about to Karate Chop again, followed by Strength!" He orders.
Odyssey nods at his trainer, and just as Primeape raises its hand for another Karate Chop, the Lucario hits it hard in the face with its bone, disorienting the pig monkey Pokemon. Odyssey quickly follows with its body surrounded in red aura before picking up Primeape and tossing it high into the air.
"Now, batter up!" Timothy commands.
"Counter it with another Karate Chop!" Ash yells.
Odyssey prepares another Bone Rush to swings it like a bat just as Primeape is about to crash into the ground. But the pig monkey Pokemon does a Karate Chop to block the attack before hitting the ground hard. Primeape quickly gets up with a small bump on its head and a couple of scratches around its body but is still pumped to fight.
"Seems like using Karate Chop only half worked that time," Iris comments.
"Axew," Axew says.
"Indeed, Primeape still took damage, but it might have been much worse if it got hit by Bone Rush," Cilan observes.
"Come on, Ash and Primeape!" Bonnie cheers.
"Yeah, take him down just like Alain!" Mairin shouts, earning a chuckle from Alain and Professor Sycamore.
"Primeape, use Mega Kick!" Ash shouts.
"Dodge it with Extreme Speed!" Timothy orders.
Primeape jumps toward Odyssey with its foot sticking out, but the aura Pokemon becomes surrounded with a white aura and runs away from Primeape's line of fire with inhuman speed. Primeape lands on its feet and looks around for its opponent only for Odyssey to suddenly punch it as it runs past its opponent. Primeape grows frustrated as Odyssey starts punching it again and again as it runs by the pig monkey Pokemon, making it angrier by the second.
"Primeape, calm down!" Ash shouts.
"Now use Strength again, followed by Aura Sphere!" Timothy shouts.
Before Primeape could react, Odyssey appears right behind it and tosses it high into the air. The Lucario quickly summons a blue ball of energy and fires it at Primeape while it's still in the air. The move hits Primeape, causing an explosion that sends it flying even higher into the air before it crashes into the ground with swirly eyes.
"Primeape is unable to battle! Odyssey is the winner!" Clemont declares.
"Aw, man!" Bonnie pouts.
"Primeape didn't even land a hit," Mairin pouts.
Ash and Pikachu run over to Primeape's side. The pig monkey Pokemon slowly wakes up to realize what just happened, and it sits up only for Ash to restrain it from trying to attack Odyssey again.
"Save your energy, Primeape," Ash says forcefully. "Save it!"
Primeape tries to break free from its trainer's grasp. Odyssey gives its opponent another smug look before Timothy returns it to its Pokeball. Primeape keeps on struggling until Ash whispers into its ear.
"There's a weakness," he whispers.
Primeape's eyes widen, and it stops struggling. It turns to Ash, who just smiles at it before he continues.
"There's a weakness we can exploit," he whispers. "If we keep training with your Karate Chop, we can use it to our advantage at the Pokemon League. I just need you to trust me, okay?"
Primeape hesitates, clearly wanting to get payback right away, but it eventually decides to trust its trainer. The pig monkey Pokemon gives Ash a firm nod, and Ash smirks before putting Primeape into its Pokeball and returning to his side of the beach with Pikachu.
"Alright, Ash, we each have one round in our hands," Timothy announces. "You think you can win the next one?"
"Oh, I know I will," Ash claims as he points at his rival. "Let's go, Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu shouts energetically as it hops in front of Ash.
"Ah, Pikachu again," Timothy says before turning to Electchu. "Let's see what they've got this time, Electchu."
"Rai!" Electchu responds as it steps in front of Timothy with sparks coming out of its yellow cheeks.
"Pikachu against Electchu," Iris says observantly. "This should be an interesting battle."
"Maybe, but Pikachu didn't do so well against Electchu last time," Coovers says. "I'm still rooting for Timothy, but I hope Pikachu does better with its rematch than Primeape did."
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash shouts.
"Starting off just like last time?" Timothy says, shaking his head. "Electchu, use Iron Tail!"
Pikachu charges at Electchu with amazing speed only for the mouse Pokemon to be waiting for its opponent with its tail turned into Iron. The taller mouse Pokemon prepares to spin around to hit Pikachu with its tail, but Ash was waiting for that.
"Pikachu, jump!" He shouts.
At the last moment, Pikachu leaps over toward Electchu, missing the Raichu's tail and rams right into its opponent head first. The impact sends Electchu taking several steps back, surprised by the sudden attack.
"Now, use Electro Ball!" Ash shouts.
Pikachu jumps into the air and prepares to throw an Electro Ball at Electchu.
"Electchu, knock it back with Iron Tail!" Timothy commands.
Electchu snaps out of its dazed state and realizes what is happening just in time to see Pikachu throwing its Electro Ball at it. The Raichu spins around with its tail still made of iron, and the Iron Tail knocks it back toward Pikachu.
"Now, use Electro Ball!" Timothy commands.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt quick!" Ash shouts.
Electchu throws a ball of electricity while Pikachu quickly stores electricity in its body while still in the air and unleashes a Thunderbolt at the Electro Ball. The two moves collide and explode close to Pikachu, sending it flying higher into the air with a loud squeal. Luckily, Pikachu does a flip and lands on the ground safely with a few small scratches on its body.
"Clever," Timothy says. "Electchu, use Thunder!"
"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouts.
Electchu unleashes Thunder, and Pikachu jumps away before unleashing Thunderbolt on Electchu. The taller mouse Pokemon grunts upon impact, but once the move is made, it just grins at Pikachu with a couple of scratches on its body.
"Nice work, Ash," Timothy compliments. "But you know that Raichu such as Electchu, are pretty resistant to electric attacks."
"Well, duh," Iris rebukes before Ash can speak. "But how come you just used an electric attack too?"
"Because Thunder is more powerful than Thunderbolt," Timothy answers. "So while it wouldn't do as much damage as it would to most other Pokemon, it still would have packed a good punch - more so than Thunderbolt at least."
"Maybe so, but half of Thunderbolt's effect is still damage," Ash points out. "And it's still more damage than we did on the ferry to Cremini Town."
"This is true," Timothy admits. "But let's see you cause any more damage. Electchu, Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail as well!" Ash shouts.
Both mouse Pokemon charge at each other with their tails turned into iron. They start clashing their tails together like swords, and they keep using their attack left and right, trying to upstage the other. After about a minute of clashing tails of iron, Electchu uses a powerful swing with its tail that knocks Pikachu back a couple of feet. The shorter mouse Pokemon quickly stands up, barely hurt at all from the attack.
"Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash shouts.
"Knock it back with Iron Tail!" Timothy commands.
Pikachu throws another Electro Ball, and Electchu knocks it back with its Iron Tail.
"Use Iron Tail to knock it back again!" Ash shouts.
Pikachu's tail turns into iron again and knocks the ball of electricity back to Electchu. The two Pokemon start knocking back the Electro Ball with Iron Tail as if they are playing ping pong. The process keeps going until Ash gets an idea.
"Pikachu, knock the Electro Ball to land in front of Electchu," he instructs.
Pikachu nods at Ash, and when Electchu knocks the ball of electricity back to their side, the yellow mouse Pokemon knocks it back with Iron Tail one last time, and it lands right in front of Electchu. The ball explodes, sending the Raichu back a couple of yards. Bonnie, Mairin, Iris, and Cilan's excitement grows as they realize Ash has the upper hand this time.
"Now, use Quick Attack!" Ash shouts.
"Dodge it!" Timothy shouts back.
Pikachu charges at a blinding speed, but Electchu comes to just in time to avoid the attack.
"Keep at it, Pikachu!" Ash commands. "Circle around it with Quick Attack until you have the right opportunity to attack!"
Pikachu keeps running, and it circles around Electchu multiple times. The Raichu becomes confused about where its opponent is until it hears Timothy's voice again.
"Don't worry about where it is, Electchu!" he calls out. "Focus on where it's going to be and use Iron Tail again!"
Electchu nods in understanding and closes its eyes and waits patiently. Once again, it can hear Pikachu's footsteps rapidly running around its target. At the right moment, Electchu opens its eyes and turns around to find Pikachu pouncing at it only for the taller mouse Pokemon to hit it hard with Iron Tail. Pikachu is sent flying into the air and lands on the ground several feet away.
"Now, use Hyper Beam!" Timothy commands.
"Stop it with Thunderbolt!" Ash yells.
Pikachu slowly gets up and stores up electricity before unleashing Thunderbolt while its opponent is preparing Hyper Beam. Unfortunately, the Thunderbolt doesn't affect Electchu enough to stop it from firing its powerful attack on its helpless opponent. The ground explodes, and the area is covered in smoke and sand. Everyone covers their eyes until the dust clears, and Pikachu is found lying on the ground unconscious.
"Pikachu is unable to battle," Clemont declares. "Electchu is the winner, which means victory goes to Timothy."
"Alright!" Timothy says, shaking his fist into the air. "Way to go, Electchu."
"Raichu," Electchu replies with a proud smirk before it starts wobbling after using so much energy.
Iris, Cilan, Bonnie, and Mairin frown sadly, wishing Ash had won. Professor Sycamore and Alain look at each other, silently agreeing that it was a tough battle for the raven-haired boy. Coovers smiles, glad that his long-time friend won again. Ash runs over to Pikachu and carefully picks it up. The yellow mouse Pokemon slowly wakes up and weakly gives its partner an apologetic look.
"Don't worry. You did great," Ash says. "We're gonna get them next time for sure."
"Pika," Pikachu says weakly.
Timothy walks over to Ash and Pikachu and kneels down and offers Pikachu a berry. Pikachu slowly takes a bite before it smiles and starts eating the berry vigorously.
"You did much better this time, Ash," Timothy says. "This time, you took down one of my Pokemon without my pride used against me. I'm very impressed with your creativity to say the least."
"Yeah, but I didn't do quite as well on the last two rounds," Ash admits.
"Maybe not, but keep training hard all the same," Timothy says. "Remember, I don't want you getting knocked out of the Pokemon League until we face each other."
Ash smirks at the man and says, "Don't worry. My Pokemon and I are going to work hard, and we're going to win the Indigo League, whether we face you or not."
"We shall see," Timothy says with a smirk.
"Ash?"
Everyone turns around to see Serena standing behind Iris, Cilan, Bonnie, Clemont, Professor Sycamore, Alain, and Mairin. She has a wooden look on her face as she stares at the raven-haired boy.
"Your mom is calling for you guys," she says. "She says it's time for lunch."
"Already?" Iris asks excitedly.
"Well, I suppose we've been here for a while," Clemont says as he looks at the sky observantly. "It's probably around noon right now."
"Well then, if that's so, then we mustn't keep Delia waiting," Professor Sycamore says. "Please lead the way, Serena."
Serena gives a brief smile before she turns around and leads Iris, Axew, Cilan, Bonnie, Clemont, Professor Sycamore, and Mairin. Alain and Ash stay behind to say farewell to Timothy, Electchu, and Coovers.
"I think my dad probably has lunch on the grill by now anyway," Timothy says. "Good battling with you two."
"Same here," Alain says. "We should battle again sometime."
"Of course. We can battle any time," Timothy says with a friendly smile before turning to Ash. "And Ash, I'm going to hold you to your word. If we do face each other at the Indigo League, I still want you to give me a battle I will never forget."
"I will. That's a promise," Ash says. "See you three at the Indigo Plateau."
"See ya," Coovers says as he, Timothy, and Electchu turn around and leave.
Once everyone else is gone, Pikachu hops onto Ash's shoulder, and together, they get ready to head back to the house for food until Alain firmly takes Ash by the other shoulder. The raven-haired boy turns to Alain curiously and sees the older teen have a serious look on his face.
"What's up, Alain?" He asks.
"I think I should be asking you that question," Alain says.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ash asks curiously.
"I've noticed that Serena has been acting down," Alain says. "When we were eating dinner last night, she looked like she was forcing a smile on her face, and she didn't seem to say anything apart from what politely needed to be said. She didn't even want to dance, which is not like her. Haven't you noticed that, Ash?"
Ash frowns and looks at the ground sadly.
"I have," he says. "To tell you the truth, she's been like that since the Grand Festival. I think losing to May broke her heart. She kept telling me she's okay when we were heading back to Pallet Town, but I can tell that she isn't."
"Was she really confident that she was going to win?" Alain asks.
"Well sure, but she lost a big competition like this before at the Master Class, and she seemed okay with losing," Ash says.
"Hmmm, so something about her losing the Grand Festival has made her very depressed," Alain says.
"Yeah," Ash says. "And it burns me up because I want to see her smiling again the way she did before she and May battled."
"How do you mean?" Alain asks.
Ash pauses for a moment and starts petting Pikachu as he speaks.
"Before the final battle, me, Dawn, and the others went to the waiting room to wish the two of them luck," he says. "But before we left to go back to our seats in the stands, Serena asked to speak with me privately. She wanted to express how much my support meant to her. I was taken aback by the way she said it, but then I just smiled and told her to not worry about it. But just as I turned around to leave, she gave me the tightest hug from behind that I've ever felt. She was holding me really hard and laying her head on my shoulder. It was really strange, but at the same time, I kind of liked it. It felt like she was saying 'thank you' again, but in a more special way."
Alain nods in understanding as Ash continues.
"And then she gave me this… this smile," he says, trying to figure out what he's saying. "I don't know how to describe it, but it was like she was happy in this really amazing way. I guess...I guess seeing her like that made me really happy too. I miss it, in fact. I want to see Serena happy like that again. I want to do something for her: something that will make her smile like that again."
Ash pets Pikachu softly and the yellow Pokemon coos while frowning at the same concern for the honey blonde girl in mind. Alain nods with his mouth closed and looks at the direction where their friends just left for lunch.
"I know exactly how you feel," he says. "In fact, you sound like me when Chespie was in a coma."
"Really?" Ash asks, surprised.
"Yes. When I was still with Team Flare, Lysandre challenged me to face ten trainers with Mega evolved Pokemon," he says. "Before my tenth battle, I lashed out at Mairin, telling her that I couldn't get stronger with her around."
"You said that?" Ash asks, shocked.
"I did," Alain says regretfully. "And the next thing I knew after the battle, I heard there was an accident and Chespie was in a coma. Mairin was brokenhearted. I blamed myself for the entire thing."
"So, what did you do?" Ash asks.
"I decided to collect more Mega Evolution energy," Alain answers. "I believed that the Mega Evolution system would be enough to wake Chespie up again. To that end, I ultimately took your advice by winning all eight badges and competing in the Kalos League to collect that energy."
"So when you competed in the Kalos League, it wasn't just to battle me again but to try to wake up Chespie?" Ash asks.
"I just wanted Mairin to smile again," Alain answers. "I would have done anything to bring the cheerful Mairin I knew back. In the end, that energy was used for Team Flare's evil plan, but that's how eager I was to make her happy again. In fact, that's all I want to see, which is what made me happy the most when I won against Timothy."
Ash nods and thinks for a moment before he asks, "So do you think I should do something for Serena?"
"I can't tell you what you need to do, Ash," Alain says. "She's your friend, so if you want to make her happy again, you need to think about how you can do that."
With that, Alain leaves to catch up with the others, leaving Ash and Pikachu alone. The two of them look at each other, confused for a moment before Ash crosses his arms and looks up at the sky.
"She's my friend, so what would make her happy?" He thinks out loud.
"Pika," Pikachu says, unsure.
The two of them remain silent until Ash's eyes snap open, and he snaps his fingers.
"That's it!" He exclaims. "I'm going to win the Indigo League for Serena!"
"Pika?" Pikachu asks, taken aback.
"It's perfect, Pikachu," Ash says. "Alain just said that he competed in the Kalos League partly as a means to make Mairin happy. It's only too fitting that I do the same for Serena. Think about it. Not only have I been supporting her a lot, but she's had my back since Santalune City. She was cheering for me during every single gym rematch and any other battles I've had since we went on our journey. She was there to cheer Boldore on while it was trying to get stronger so it could evolve. No one deserved to aid me in making it evolve, but her. It's why I -"
Ash stops talking in mid-sentence and looks down at the ground. Pikachu tilts its head confused while its trainer stares at the sand in realization.
"That's why I told her I'm going to win this time," he says. "That's right. The night after Timothy challenged me, I told Serena that I'm going to win because he doesn't have someone like her to support him. It's why I asked her if I could come with her on her journey through the Kanto region. Without Serena, I don't know what I would have done."
"Pikachu," Pikachu says.
Ash frowns, and his hands turn into balls of fists as he stares at the ground with a determined look on his face.
"That's what I'm going to do," he says. "I'm going to train hard with all of my Pokemon, and I'm going to win the Pokemon League for Serena. And no one - not Macy, Giselle, Holly, Max, not even Timothy is going to stop me. I'm going to win my first Pokemon League for everyone to see, and I will see Serena smiling just like before."
He turns to Pikachu, who is still standing on his shoulder and asks, "Are you with me, buddy?"
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaims happily.
"Good," Ash says, satisfied. "Then let's go eat some food and then start training. The Indigo League is weeks away, and I want everyone to be at their best during the Pokemon League. Let's give it our all!"
Thus, Ash begins running toward his house with Pikachu still on his shoulders. With a newfound purpose to win the Pokemon League, the raven-haired boy smiles brightly as his mind becomes set on training with all of his Pokemon and doing whatever it takes to make his honey-blond friend smile.