As Tobias returned Salazzle, Garchomp roared his dominance for the whole stadium to hear. Even Pikachu looked shocked. In the stands, Iris was nearly frothing at the mouth with jealously, while Cilan was shocked speechless. The announcer raved wildly about the tactics and powers displayed, while the crowd applauded mightily. Truly, this fight had been incredible to witness so far.

Excitement and nervousness raced through Ash, as he stared at the evolved form of his pokemon. It was hard to believe that a few weeks ago, that same Garchomp had been a tiny Gible, small enough to hold in his arms. Now he was practically large enough to ride. Some strange feeling, beyond the usual joy he felt at a win, began to bubble inside him. These were the moments he loved. Getting to see his pokemon progress and grow...

"That was a superb match, Ash Ketchum." Tobias shook his head to himself. "You continue to surprise me with what you are capable of."

Ash chuckled. "Honestly, I surprise myself! I wasn't even sure if that trick would even work."

Tobias raised one eyebrow (or at least, Ash assumed it was one, given that the other was hidden behind his hair). "Oh?" He chuckled very faintly. "Exactly what I would expect from you. Now let's see how you deal with this." In a single smooth motion, he tossed out a pokeball topped in black and gold.

Light spilled from within, forming a silhouette that seemed to keep growing and growing. Then the light faded, revealing the form of an absolutely massive winged gray reptile. Ash recognized it almost instantly as an Aerodactyl. Except this Aerodactyl was nearly twice the size of any he'd ever seen.

Ash gasped and even Garchomp's eyes widened at the sight of the massive pokemon. By his estimate, it stood over 10 feet tall, each wing alone spreading even wider. It scales gleamed a silvery purple in the sunlight and opened its jaws to let out a grating screech. It soared over the field before circling back to land on the ground surprisingly calmly.

"You are one of the few trainers with the privilege of battling my Aerodactyl," Tobias spoke, pride evident in his tone. "For you see, this is no ordinary Aerodactyl. It is what I like to call a titan. A one of a kind, apex of its species. It wasn't revived from a fossil, instead, I captured it myself after an intense battle. I cannot fathom how long it must have roamed the mountains before I bested it in combat."

"Whoah." It was the only thing Ash had to say. Seeing such pokemon up close was incredible. And if it was anything like the rest of Tobias' pokemon, it wasn't just for show. "Ready Garchomp? This guy isn't gonna go down easy." Garchomp gave a low rumble.

"Battle, begin!"

"Iron Head!"

"Double Edge!"

Both commands were shouted simultaneously. A glowing white aura surrounded Aerodactyl, while a silver one shimmered across Garchomp's head. In perfect sync, both pokemon launched themselves across the battlefield towards each other, in a silver streak and white streak. They met in the center of the battlefield with an explosive BANG that sent of a wave of wind rushing outwards.

For a full five seconds, both pokemon vied for dominance, each pressing against the other. With a final 'crack!', both pokemon were thrown backward and slid several yards.

In the stands...

"Oh man, Tobias' Aerodactyl must have Rock Head, right? That's why it didn't take any recoil damage?" Iris asked.

Cilan nodded as he stroked his chin. "That's absolutely right. A perfectly seasoned combination if you ask me. Although I daresay both pokemon took damage from a hit like that."

...

"Get up in the air, Garchomp!" Ash cried.

"You too, Aerodactyl," Tobias called.

Both pokemon exploded upwards leaving nothing but a blur and a puff of dust in their wake.

"Aerodactyl, Rock Slide." Aerodactyl flapped its wings, rising above Garchomp, then summoned several large rocks and shot them down at the dragon.

"Dodge it!" Ash cried. Garchomp twisted, turned, and jerked out of the way of most of the rocks, though one managed a glancing blow. As the final one came hurtling towards his head, Garchomp swung his arm and knocked it back, right into Aerodactyl's head. It glanced off its skull, causing it to screech furiously.

"Quick, Dragon Pulse!" Garchomp opened his jaws and blasted a beam of pure dragon-energy, hitting Aerodactyl in the chest.

"Sky Drop."

Aerodactyl shook off the Dragon Pulse, then dove at Garchomp, energy rippling over its body. In the blink of an eye, it snatched up Garchomp from behind and shot straight into the air, so high Ash could hardly make out more than a dot in the sky.

Then Aerodactyl dove back down, white energy forming around the two pokemon. Ash tensed as he saw Garchomp jerk around in Aerodactyl's grasp. Unfortunately, the prehistoric pokemon seemed to have a grip of stone. If he didn't break free and they hit the ground like this... There was no more time to think as the two streaked down like a comet. Yards above the battlefield, Aerodactyl released his grip and flung Garchomp towards the ground.

There was only once chance. "Dig!" Ash shouted. Dirt exploded everywhere as Garchomp hit the ground. Barely a second later, the dirt faded to reveal nothing more than a large crater and a hole in the ground. Aerodactyl blinked, as if puzzled.

With a roar, Garchomp exploded from the ground, speed increased tenfold by his fall. "Iron Head!" As Garchomp shot up through the sky like a jet, his skull gleamed silver and he smashed straight into Aerodactyl's chest, eliciting a roar from the pokemon as it was knocked back.

"Followed it up with Dragon Pulse!" Ash called triumphantly. Garchomp fired a blue beam right at Aerodactyl.

"Double Edge!" Aerodactyl dove straight into dragon pulse, then began to press through it. Garchomp's eyes widened and he poured more energy into Dragon Pulse. Yet Aerodactyl remained undeterred, driving back with even greater force. Slowly but surely, Aerodactyl pressed back, then finally struck Garchomp, sending him careening back towards the ground. "Now, Rock Slide."

Aerodactyl was all too happy to oblige, sending a flurry of rocks pelting down at Garchomp, battering him further. Garchomp shrieked as he crashed into the ground. He rose slowly, pushing himself to his feet, panting. Dirt and scratches covered his scales. Ash frowned. As much as he hated to admit it, fighting Salazzle and Aerodactyl had taken a lot out of him. And getting hit with his own Draco Meteor earlier had done a lot of damage. "Okay, Garchomp. One last Draco Meteor."

Garchomp gave a satisfied grin a the command. The familiar gold energy gathered in his jaws, then he fired it upwards. This time the orb flew up twice as fast as it had when he was a Gabite.

"Get up there," Tobias called. Aerodactyl flew up as well. Then the orb exploded. Giant meteors began to rain down onto the battlefield. Except... Aerodactyl seemed to have disappeared.

Both Ash and Garchomp glanced through the skies, but there was no sign of Aerodactyl anywhere. How?

The ground shook as meteor after meteor crashed into the ground. As the last of the meteors fell to the ground, one fell near Garchomp. Just before it hit the ground, Aerodactyl revealed itself from where it was clinging behind the meteor and leapt off. With a titanic roar, he used Double Edge and collided with Garchomp almost point-blank. The force of the blow exploded into Garchomp and launched him across the field into the opposite wall.

"Garchomp!" Ash cried. The dragon dragged himself off the dented wall, gave a single groan, and slumped to the ground. Smiling sadly, Ash walked over to him. He knelt next to him and patted his side. "That was amazing, Garchomp. I never would have defeated that Salazzle without you." Taking out his pokeball, he returned him, then walked back to the trainer box.

"That was pretty awesome!" he called to Tobias. "Having Aerodactyl hide behind Draco Meteor like that."

"Thank you. Only my Aerodactyl could have executed it," Tobias replied. Aerodactyl smirked, puffing its chest out at the praise.

Ash's smile faded as he concentrated. He now really only had Pikachu and Charizard left. Technically Primeape and Krookodile hadn't fainted, but he also knew they were still tired. However, Tobias only had two pokemon left as well. His Aerodactyl, who had already taken some damage, and someone else.

But Tobias' Aerodactyl was very strong, evidenced by how he'd managed to defeat Garchomp so skillfully. There was only one pokemon he trusted to fight something as strong as Aerodactyl, and one pokemon who would want to. "Alright Charizard, come on out!"

He threw the pokeball back out, releasing Charizard. As soon as the fire-type emerged and saw who his opponent was, his gaze began to burn with such intensity it would have made any lesser pokemon flinch. Even though it wasn't the same Aerodactyl, he knew Charizard would be eager for the chance at revenge.

"Battle, begin."

The two pokemon leapt into combat, Aerodactyl with Rock Slide and Charizard with Dragon Pulse. Rocks met energy and the two attacks exploded, canceling out. Charizard lunged with Wing Attack, roaring as he flew at Aerodactyl.

"Thunder Fang." Electricity crackled over Aerodactyl's jaws. Then Charizard reached Aerodactyl. and struck it with one of wings. The rock-type responded by sinking his teeth into Charizard's other wing. With a chilling snarl, Charizard flipped himself through the air, flinging Aerodactyl off and into the ground.

"Flamethrower!" Charizard spewed a blast of fire right into Aerodactyl, bathing it flames.

With a ferocious roar, Aerodactyl launched itself at Charizard, its body cloaked in the familiar aura of Double Edge. It rammed Charizard in the chest, sending him flying backward.

Flaring his wings, Charizard caught himself. "Seismic Toss!" Ash called.

"Sky Drop!"

Both pokemon exploded towards each other. Charizard grabbed Aerodactyl by the body while Aerodactyl used his dexterous claws to seize Charizard's neck. Both pokemon streaked into the sky, grappling as they flew upwards. With a twist, both pokemon began their plunge to the ground, still fighting. As they drew near to the ground, Ash could see no clear winner.

"Get out of there!"

Ash and Tobias' commands were spoken simultaneously. Yet neither pokemon broke free, each far too determined to be victorious. BOOM!

The ground shook as they made impact. The resulting explosion hurled both pokemon to opposite ends of the field, where they managed to land on their feet; digging their claws in as they slid backward. Both came to a stop a nearly the same moment, and roared at each other, the light of battling burning bright in their eyes. Both pokemon were breathing heavily but both determined not to give the other any ground. And both pokemon were still more than ready to keep fighting.

Tobias relaxed his stance slightly. "I must say, your Charizard is truly one of a kind." He paused, his left hand moving towards his head. "It wouldn't be right for me to give it anything less than my full power." He slowly tucked the strands of hair that normally hung in front of his eyes behind his ear.

A small object glinted on his earlobe, catching Ash's attention. It was hard to make out, but it appeared to be some kind of luminescent stone. Tobias brushed his fingers against the stone. Something flashed, and Ash's eyes were drawn to Aerodactyl. On its tail, a harness held a similar gem in place. The gem began to glow brightly, pulsing with many-hued light.

A hush fell over the audience. Tobias' voice rang across the stadium. He cast his arm outwards in a dramatic gesture. "Look upon the prehistoric ruler of the skies and despair! Erupt with fearsome power! Aerodactyl, Mega Evolve!"

Both stones flashed, then began to glow, pulsing with rainbow light. Tendrils of pure energy grew from Tobias' stone and Aerodactyl's. The energy tendrils linked up, merging into each other and growing even brighter. Then, before Ash's eyes, Aerodactyl began to glow with the telltale light of evolution.

Blazing rainbow light gathered around Aerodactyl and in it, a strange swirling symbol flashed for a brief second. The swirling orb of light exploded a moment later, revealing Aerodactyl's new form. Jagged spikes covered most of its body, growing from its horns, chin, and wings. Several also covered its tail, and a single large one grew from its back. Its size also seemed to have increased slightly, giving the prehistoric pokemon an even more frightening appearance.

"I can't believe it!" Freddie was practically screaming at this point and had stood out of his chair. "A mega evolution! Tobias has actually mega-evolved his Aerodactyl! Take a look at that, that is the prehistoric king of the skies!" His voice calmed, but only slightly. "For those unaware, mega-evolution is a phenomenon first discovered in Kalos. Despite the term, mega-evolution is not a permanent form of evolution, but a special form the pokemon is able to use during battle. I never thought we'd get to see one today!"

The stadium roared and cheered with delight. In the stands Cilan had nearly fainted, while Iris had screamed in shock and now stood, leaning against the railing, staring at Aerodactyl in awe and wonder. The thing was an absolute monster.

Ash simply stood, jaw hanging open, his brain struggling to even comprehend what he was looking at and what he heard. Mega Evolution? By listening a bit more to the announcer's ravings, he started to understand. Mega Evolution was a power that allowed certain pokemon to temporarily boost their power and change into a new form. The transformation required intense training and the use of the two stones he'd seen - one for the trainer and one for the pokemon.

It was crazy to even think about, although it also made him burn with excitement. More than anything, he wanted to travel to this 'Kalos' region and see more of this 'Mega-Evolution'.

The fossil pokemon hovered above the field, its large frame casting an imposing shadow on the ground below. Charizard set his jaw and snorted out a burst of fire. Ash gritted his teeth, trainer and pokemon's expression's mirroring each other. This fight had just gotten a whole lot harder.

And a whole lot more exciting.

So there's another piece of the battle for you! And another member of Tobias team revealed. It's an Aerodactyl, but not an ordinary one. Similar to how throughout the anime we see larger than ordinary pokemon, Tobias captured a 'titan'Aerodactyl. And he can Mega Evolve it.

In the end, I went with Aerodactyl because a) he's a cool fossil mon and b) having a Charizard vs Aerodactyl grudge match is awesome and c) I wanted a Mega.

There wasn't proper time to do a good mega for Ash, but like I mentioned earlier, I feel like Charizard for sure would be too stubborn to do it.

More importantly... Can Charizard defeat Mega Aerodactyl?

Reviews:

Fearofvengeance: I just had to make Gabite evolve, couldn't help myself. And there will be an epilogue/end chapter of sorts. I wont spoil it, but it may not be what everyone expects either ;)

MasterTrainer: I did consider Dracovish at one point, but it wasn't quite meshing. As you can see, i decided to go a little more classic with Aerodactyl. Though not just any Aerodactyl, but a "titan". Which apparently is a thing in the pokemon world, finding giant size versions of pokemon. Dracovish sweeping signature is pretty freaking OP, potentially even too OP. I mean, at full power that can one shot a LOT of pokemon. Its scary. Although maximizing its power depends largely on Focus Sash and for whatever reason, the anime ignores items. Ultimately I went with Aerodactyl because of the Charizard/Aerodactyl grudge match.

DaDragon: Thats Ash for you, lol. Pulling stuff straight outta... well i dont know how he gets some of those nutty ideas of his. Certainly caught Tobias off guard.

SatoruRyoma: Well I dont think its a spoiler at this point to say that whatever he has will be a monster. Though as you saw, even Garchomp couldn't stand up to that Aerodactyl. Of course, Garchomp suffered heavy damage already to he was pretty weakened after taking one of his own Draco Meteors to the face.
I don't have plans for a sequel at this time, since this was really only intended as one off. But there will be an ending of sorts.

TheQuotablePatella: So actually, at one point in DP, it was used at both- a wave and a beam. (Nando's Kriketune in the semifinals of the contest). My personal belief is Bug Buzz is like Stone Edge. In BW it was used to shoot a barrage of sharp stones at an opponent. But beyond that, they changed the stone edge animation to blue stones surging across the ground. I think there two variants of certain moves. So Bug Buzz can be a wave or a beam.

Reader: Thank you!

Lukenhaft: Power Surge... I like it. And I'm glad you liked Anger Point, I wanted it to feel super edgy. After all, it doesn't just boost the attack stat, it maxes it. SO he gotta look strong. On a side note, I wish they had given Krookodile a mega...
As you can see though, his second to last is actually titan Aerodactyl. I thought about a Tyranitar, but as I said above, Aerodactyl eventually won bc edgy fossil pokemon and letting Charizard fight an Aerodactyl.

As for Tobias saying he has a Legendary Arcanine, that would be hilarious honestly. Maybe I'll try and slide a reference to that somewhere...

Reader: Imagine an Illegal Spiritomb or Sableye with Wonder Guard. Pre Kalos... they would be invulnerable.

Guest: So the move Charizard pulled in the chapter 'Maverick Manuever' is a reference to the movie Top Gun. It follows the main character 'Maverick' and in the movie, he is a fighter jet pilot. In the movie, he pulls a similar move where he leads the enemy on a chase, only to do a hard break and get behind them and shoot them.
As for Volcarona, he doesn't use one in this battle but I absolutely feel like he has one in reserve.

TheQuotablePatella: Maybe Pikachu could pull it off? It'd be hard though, I feel like. One would have to practice to get it just right, if they wanted to hit it back at Garchomp. I guess they could knock it away still? But you'd have to be both very fast, and ready for it. Tobias did it because he had fought Ash before.

As for Volatility... well, I think Draco Meteor works like this. The Pokemon shotos what is basically a burst of pure energy straight up. This energy is not unlike Energy Ball/Electro Ball. Its Semi-solid. As it reaches its apex, thats when its energy maxes out and detonates, forming giant meteors charged with dragon-type energy. Thats when the meteors of course, fall down to the ground. (Thus making Draco Meteor Climb possible).

So the conclusion I have is that the move increases in volatility the higher it gets. Thus, if you can act before it reaches the top of its ascent, you can pull stuff like knocking it back. Thats my theory, anyway.