The exhibition rematch was kicking up. Every trainer was down one Pokémon now – Steven's Skarmory, Cynthia's Aegislash, and Aaron's Galvantula – except for Ace. Watching from the hot-air balloon that I rode with Kenny, Piplup, Empoleon, and Nerissa, I wondered: could Ace actually win this battle? Challenging the Champions was an audacious move, but Ace had the skill to back it up. I smiled. He reminded me of Ash Ketchum.

From his own hot-air balloon, Paul announced, "Cynthia and Aaron will need to send out their next Pokémon at the same time. Are both trainers ready?"

Cynthia nodded. Aaron gave Paul a thumb's up and added, "You bet!"

Paul gestured for them to proceed. All the spectators leaned forward from our balloons, eager to see who the Sinnoh League trainers would choose. Now that the sandstorm was gone, we had a perfect view of the whole battlefield, a series of narrow, flat-topped mountains surrounding a larger mountaintop that served as the starting point where Ace's Nidoking faced Steven's Excadrill.

"Come out again, Tyranitar!"

"I choose you, Scizor!"

And with Tyranitar's return to the battlefield, the sandstorm was back in full force. Spectators groaned and protested as sand stung their eyes and throats. Nerissa had brought goggles for the five of us – even Piplup's goggles fit perfectly, and I appreciated the Amity Square manager's thoughtfulness – so that we could watch the battle clearly despite the sandstorm. Presumably, the Devon Corp drones and Paul's binoculars employed a similar technology.

"Excadrill, use Earthquake!"

"Nidoking, Earth Power on Excadrill!"

"Scizor, show them our bond with mega evolution—and follow it up with Bullet Punch on Tyranitar!"

"Tyranitar, return!"

Kenny's jaw dropped, but he promptly closed it before he could choke on sand. "This is the second time in a row that Cynthia sent out Tyranitar just to set up a sandstorm."

"Most of their opponents are susceptible to the sand," I pointed out, "while none of the Champions' Pokémon in this battle are." That was an educated guess. Unlike Ace and Aaron, who had both shown all of their Pokémon, both Cynthia and Steven each had an ace up their sleeve—but one can guess that their final Pokémon would be their signature Pokémon. We'd find out soon.

Garchomp took Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch. Though Scizor's additional armor must have added further strength to his attack, Aaron's Pokémon seemed to take almost as much damage as Cynthia's Garchomp.

"Rough Skin," Kenny realized with a wince. "Tough break now that both of Aaron's remaining Pokémon are physical attackers. He'll probably leave Garchomp to Ace."

From the corner of the balloon where she huddled, Nerissa asked, "Don't you think Cynthia wasted a turn? The sand is bothering everyone except her opponents. If she was betting on Aaron sending out Heracross instead of Scizor, it seems like an ill-placed fifty-fifty."

"Cynthia's a better trainer than that," I retorted. "Sure, Nidoking and Scizor aren't affected by the sand, but they're not getting anything out of it, either. Meanwhile, Excadrill is twice as fast, and I have a special feeling about Garchomp."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Cynthia commanded, "Garchomp, bond with me and mega evolve!" Garchomp roared in triumph as he glowed and grew larger, his claws becoming red-bladed sickles. "As sands are like a tailwind to Excadrill, so they are an amplifier to your power, Garchomp."

Nerissa tipped her head to one side, beginning to understand. "So Aaron sending out Heracross would have just been a bonus, but not critical to Cynthia and Steven's strategy."

Kenny grabbed my shoulder. "Look at the mountain, Dawn!"

Excadrill and Nidoking's earth-quaking moves had created a fissure down the main battlefield, which splintered into smaller mountaintops like the ones in the periphery where Mega Garchomp and Mega Scizor sparred.

I whispered, "The battlefield..."

The mountain crumbled. Anyone who couldn't keep their balance would fall. Excadrill drove his thick claws into what remained of the mountain, holding on. All four Pokémon trainers leaped backward to more stable mountaintops, Cynthia glancing back to ensure her stiletto-heeled boots didn't make her stumble off her new narrow precipice. Aaron landed in a crouch on a slightly taller mountaintop. Ace stumbled back a step.

Nerissa shrieked. "This is so dangerous! Why isn't anyone stopping this battle? Actually, I can tell that Paul doesn't care about important matters like safety, but what about Officer Jenny?"

Aaron reached for Ace, but the new Gym Leader regained his balance on his own. He called Nidoking back to his Poké Ball a moment before the heavy Pokémon would have fallen through the crumbling battlefield.

With my goggles, even from a distance, I could see one of Paul's light purple eyebrows go up. "Nidoking is unable to battle! All trainers are down to two Pokémon."

Ace looked pained. I could understand. Nidoking had been the most essential part of his strategy with Crobat compromised by the Stealth Rock that Steven's Skarmory had set up at the beginning of the battle; Nidoking's ground typing also gave it the most advantage against most of his opponents' team. Ace brought his Ultra Ball to his lips, whispering motivation to his signature Pokémon before sending out Crobat.

At once, the surrounding mountains trembled as stones shot out of their hiding places and struck Crobat, disrupting his flight.

"Crobat!" Ace called out, concerned. The two had a tight bond; most trainers received their first Pokémon after turning 10, but Ace had met Crobat as a child, when the Pokémon was an abandoned egg.

Aaron reached out and rubbed Ace's fingers. "I got this, Ace. You get that."

"Got it."

Steven turned to Cynthia. "Did you get any of that? And more importantly, are we just gonna let them?"

Cynthia tossed her long mane of platinum-blonde hair to one side. I wondered how long it would take her to wash off all the sand—then again, this is Cynthia. No grain of sand would risk her ire. "You know the answer to that, Stone."

"Excadrill, use Earthquake!"

I almost fell out of the hot-air balloon in shock. "There's like no earth left on the mountain to quake!"

"Scizor, Bullet Punch on Excadrill!"

"Garchomp, finish off Crobat with Stone Edge!"

"Crobat, dodge and use Brave Bird on Garchomp!"

Nerissa leaned over the basket, tilting our balloon and ignoring her own rants on safety. "That's practically kamikaze!"