The Kalos League is underway. Ichigo had his first battle against Tsukishima. It ended up being a tough one, but Ichigo was able to pull out a win. He might have gotten past the first round, but there is still much to come. There are still great battles to come out of this. The fun and excitement of the Kalos League is only beginning.

Each and next chapter, the ultimate goal

Ready for battle, brave and bold

I know we're gonna make it

We will find a way

Oh-oh

We've come so far

We fought so hard to get where we are

Oh-oh

We belong together

It's always you and me

Pokemon

(Ichigo's voice): Keigo's Stand

The first round is over and done. The next round is about to begin. With the matches being revealed, it showed that Keigo was going against Vlad.

"Check it out. Vlad and Keigo are going against each other." Rukia said.

"Well, we can already predict how this battle is going to go." Ichigo said. "There's no way Keigo stands a chance against Vlad."

"Ichigo, try and be a little more supportive." Orihime said. "Keigo's your old friend. He was able to make it this far. He might surprise you."

"Orihime's got a point." Rukia said. "Keigo might do a lot better than you might think."

"Chill out. I'm just giving Keigo a hard time." Ichigo said.

"Well, there's no need for that." All of them looked and they saw Keigo standing before them. "Just you wait and see! I'm going to walk out of there as the big winner! I'll surprise all of you by winning the whole Kalos League!" Keigo seems pretty sure of himself, but Ichigo wasn't really all that sure.

"Keigo, it's good that you're confident, but you need to be careful out there." Ichigo said. "I've battled Vlad myself. He's a pretty strong trainer. Even I haven't been able to beat him."

"Just because you can't beat him doesn't mean I can't." Keigo said. "Just you wait and see, Ichigo. You're old friend is going to win big!" Keigo was sure he can win, but Ichigo is thinking he's just full of hot air. At least he can't say Ichigo didn't warn him.

...

The Arena

"Welcome back! We're moving on with the next battle of the Kalos League! The next match is between Keigo and Vlad!" The emcee announced. Vlad and Keigo both made their way out on the field. Ichigo and his friends were in the stands to see the battle, but the outcome does seem rather obvious.

"I sure hope Keigo will be okay." Orihime said.

"It won't be easy." Chad said. "We've seen how strong Vlad is."

"Chad's right. Keigo is in for a tough battle." Ichigo said.

"That might be true, but we still might see a good battle." All of them looked to see Mizuiro was joining them in the stands.

"Hey, Mizuiro. You seeing the battle too?" Ichigo said.

"Yeah, but I don't think Keigo will do well." Mizuiro said. "I did a little research on this Vlad. I think Keigo might be out of league with this guy." It sure does look like most people think Keigo can't win this battle.

"The battle is about to start. We'll see if Keigo really does have what it takes." Rukia said.

"We will now reveal the battlefield for this battle." The field came up and it showed that it was a mix between rock and water. "It's a rock and water field! Now, what pokemon will our two trainers be using?"

"Let's go, Blaziken!" Vlad called as he released his choice.

"Blaziken!"

"Okay, let's do this! You might be some tough trainer, but there's no way I'm backing down after coming this far!" Keigo said as he held out a pokeball. "Beedrill, let's do this!"

"Sptree!"

"And it's Beedrill vs. Blaziken as the starting battle. We'll see how this turns out."

"Beedrill?! Against a pokemon like Blaziken?! Keigo doesn't stand a chance in a match like that!" Ichigo said as he could see Keigo messed up already.

"I'm sure he has his reasons." Orihime said.

"I'm ready to get this battle started. Beedrill, start out with Toxic Spikes!" Keigo said as he made the first attack. Beedrill had poison fill its stingers and launched all of it into the air. The poison rained on the field and scattered about.

"And Toxic Spikes covers the whole field."

"Blaziken, Fire Spin!" Vlad said. Blaziken didn't waste a moment. It breathed out a vortex of flames and blasted Beedrill. Beedrill was knocked out of the air and hit the ground with the battle already over.

"Beedrill is unable to battle! Blaziken is the winner!" The referee said.

"Fire-types are strong against bug-types and this just proves it." Mizuiro said.

"Beedrill is out in one move." Ichigo said.

"But Keigo actually did make a smart move. Every time Vlad switches his pokemon now, Toxic Spikes is going to poison them." Rukia said. When she pointed that out, Ichigo and Mizuiro agreed that it was a smart move.

"Beedrill did what I needed. At least now you won't be able to switch your pokemon." Keigo said as he brought Beedrill back. "Linoone, let's go!"

"Linoone!"

"Keigo is going with Linoone as his second pokemon."

"Linoone isn't much of a better choice." Mizuiro said. "Blaziken is a fighting-type. One good hit from a fighting-type attack and Linoone is finished."

"Blaziken, Fire Spin again!" Vlad said.

"Linoone, big splash on the water!" Keigo said. Blaziken used the attack again, but Linoone splashed water and used it like a shield to block the attack. Another pretty smart move. "Now use Slash!" Linoone moved with great speed and slashed against Blaziken.

"Now use Double Kick!" Vlad said.

"Dodge it!" Keigo said. Blaziken threw a couple kicks, but Linoone was able to dodge both attacks.

"Linoone is pretty quick on its feet. Blaziken can't land a hit."

"We've got this! Linoone, Thunderbolt!" Keigo said. Linoone unleashed a blast of electricity and hit Blaziken with it. Linoone and Keigo were doing rather well out there. "Ha! I have you now! Blaziken can't take much more. You also can't switch your pokemon without the Toxic Spikes poisoning them. Looks like I've got this battle!"

"Oh please. You clearly underestimated my Blaziken." Vlad said. Keigo didn't like the sound of that. "Now use Thunder Punch!" Blaziken charged at Linoone and formed its own electricity around its claw. Blaziken gave an uppercut and knocked Linoone into the air.

"Blaziken finally lands an attack and it's causing Linoone to fly!"

"Hang in there, Linoone! Mud Shot!" Keigo said. Linoone unleashed a blast of mud.

"Double Kick!" Vlad said. Blaziken jumped past the mud and went straight at Linoone. Blaziken landed the first kick against Linoone. It swung its other leg around and slammed the second kick on Linoone's head. Linoone was sent plummeting down and crashed into the ground. When the dust cleared away, Linoone was knocked out.

"Linoone is unable to battle! Blaziken is the winner!" The referee claimed.

"Linoone is down and out. Keigo is now down to his last pokemon."

"Keigo's only got one pokemon left." Ichigo said.

"While Vlad still has all three." Orihime said.

"On top of that, Blaziken doesn't appear to be affected much by the damage it did take." Rukia said. "This is one tough battle for Keigo."

"Floatzel, let's go!" Keigo said as he made his last choice.

"Floatzel!"

"Keigo's last pokemon is Floatzel. A water-type is sure to have an advantage over a fire-type."

"We've got it this time! Floatzel, Aqua Jet!" Keigo said as he still isn't giving up. Floatzel coated itself in water and flew in for the attack.

"Blaziken, Thunder Punch!" Vlad said. When Floatzel got close enough, Blaziken pounded Floatzel with its lightning coated fist and knocked him down. "Now use Fire Spin!"

"Floatzel, dive in the water!" Keigo said. Floatzel moved quickly and dived in the water to avoid the attack. "Just try and get Floatzel now."

"Floatzel has taken cover in the water. A smart move against a fire-type."

"Floatzel, just stay in the water so they can't get to you!" Keigo said. "Come up and use Water Pulse!" Floatzel emerged out of the water and launched a blast of water. It hit Blaziken and dealt some damage. Keigo thought he had it, but Blaziken was still standing. "I thought that would have finished it."

"You can't hide from Blaziken forever." Vlad said.

"Just long enough to beat that Blaziken! Water Pulse again!" Keigo said. Floatzel emerged out of the water and was getting ready to attack.

"Double Kick!" Vlad said. Blaziken moved faster than Floatzel and knocked Floatzel away from the water.

"That's one fast Blaziken. Floatzel could be in real trouble."

"Ichigo was right. Vlad is one tough trainer." Keigo said as he could see his back was getting pressed against the wall. Floatzel was getting back up and wasn't beaten yet. Keigo wasn't going to give up yet. "Let's try this! Iron Tail!" Floatzel jumped in the air and was about to slam its tail against Blaziken, but Blaziken moved to the side and avoided Floatzel's attack.

"Finish this with Seismic Toss!" Vlad said. Blaziken got a hold of Floatzel by the tail. Blaziken jumped in the air and was getting ready for the finishing move.

"Uh oh! Floatzel could be in trouble here!" Blaziken spun Floatzel around to build some power. With one good throw straight down, Floatzel plummeted down.

"Floatzel!" Keigo called as Floatzel crashed into the ground. When the dust cleared away, Floatzel was knocked out.

"Floatzel is unable to battle! Blaziken wins, and Vlad is the victor!" The referee called.

"It's over! Vlad has won and didn't lose a single pokemon!" The crowd cheered for Vlad, but Ichigo and the others did feel bad for Keigo.

"It was a good effort." Chad said.

"Yeah, but Vlad is a powerful trainer even without Latios." Rukia said. Ichigo knew the outcome, but he and Mizuiro still felt bad for Keigo. The round continued with Kugo, Mizuiro, and Ichigo battling their opponents and all three of them won and advanced.

...

Later

Keigo went to see Nurse Joy. He got all three of his pokemon taken care of and had them back to full strength.

"Keigo..." Keigo turned around and saw Ichigo and Mizuiro there. Keigo expected what they were going to say.

"Hey, guys. Going to give me a hard time that I lost?" Keigo said.

"I thought you were pretty good." Ichigo said. That was the opposite of what Keigo thought. "You may have lost, but you actually did good out there. You used your head and made some good moves. Vlad was just a little stronger."

"Ichigo's right. You actually did a lot better than we thought." Mizuiro said. Keigo was surprised by their kind words.

"You guys..." Keigo said as he leaped at them for he wanted to give them an energetic hug, but he was met with Ichigo's fist instead.

"There's no reason to get that sappy." Ichigo said with annoyance.

"Hey. It looks like they're revealing the matches for the top eight." Mizuiro said. They all took a look at the screen as the pairings were set. It showed that Ichigo and Mizuiro were going against each other. "How about that. It's you against me, Ichigo. I'm actually looking forward to this. I've been saving a little secret weapon just for you."

"Just for me, huh? Well, it won't be enough for you to beat me." Ichigo said as he was sure he would win here.

Even though Keigo lost, he made it a great battle. He certainly did better than his friends thought. Now, the next exciting match is between two old friends. What kind of battle can we expect from this? Stay tune to find out.

To Be Continued...

Pokemon Question: Here we go, all you trainers. The answer to the last question is...Urshifu! Urshifu has two different styles where they strike with a single attack or rapid strikes. Here's the next question. What pokemon might look scary, but it's real nature is that it cares for others?