Last time, Keigo ended up going against Vlad. Keigo put up a valiant effort, but Vlad proved to be too much for him as Vlad won without loosing a single pokemon. Now, the next round of the Kalos League begins. Ichigo's next opponent is his old friend: Mizuiro. This is sure to be an interesting battle as well.

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): When Friends Battle

"It's done! Kugo wins and is moving to the final four!" The emcee announced. The quarter finals of the Kalos League have already begun. Kugo just finished his battle and is now in the final four. Upon the screen, Vlad and one other trainer have made it in as well. "There is now only one spot left and it will be filled by one of our last two trainers."

"That Kugo sure has gotten stronger." Rukia said.

"You said it. He and Vlad have made it to the semi-finals." Chad said.

"Yeah, but Ichigo is going to make it in too." Orihime said.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Keigo said. Since he lost his battle, he's joining them in the stands. "Mizuiro's pretty smart; his pokemon are strong. He's not going to be an easy guy to beat."

"We'll soon see. Here they come now." Rukia said.

"Let's now welcome our last two trainers. One of them will be moving to the semi-finals. Here's Ichigo and Mizuiro!" Ichigo and Mizuiro walked out on the field as they readied themselves for this battle. "We'll now see what field our trainers will be battling on." The field came up for their battle. "The battlefield is wasteland. Now we just wait to see what pokemon they're using."

"Here's my first choice. Exploud, let's go!" Mizuiro said.

"Exploud!"

"Tauros, you're up!" Ichigo said.

"Roo!"

"It's Exploud vs. Tauros. We'll see which one of these trainers will be the winner. Now, let the battle begin!"

"Let's win this! Tauros, Take Down!" Ichigo said. Tauros charged right at Exploud, but Mizuiro didn't seem too concerned.

"Exploud, Hyper Voice!" Mizuiro said. Exploud unleashed a powerful sonic attack. Tauros got caught in it and he was being pushed back.

"Exploud has managed to stop Tauros in his tracks."

"Now use Rock Smash!" Mizuiro said. Exploud attacked while Tauros was trapped in that Hyper Voice. Tauros got hit hard by a powerful attack and Tauros was taken down in just one hit.

"Tauros is unable to battle! Exploud is the winner!" The referee said.

"Tauros, return. It's all okay." Ichigo said as he brought Tauros back.

"Ichigo already lost his first pokemon. This puts him at a slight disadvantage."

"I might already be down a pokemon, but that isn't going stop me. Gyarados, let's go!" Ichigo said as he chose his second pokemon.

"RRRRAARRRGGH!"

"Ichigo's second pokemon is Gyarados. It's one fierce pokemon after another in this battle."

"He's using a Gyarados? Can it really battle outside water?" Keigo said.

"Don't underestimate Ichigo or any of his pokemon. They're all a lot stronger than they look." Orihime said.

"Sorry, Ichigo. I still plan on winning this battle. Exploud, Boomburst!" Mizuiro said. Exploud took in a deep breath and unleashed a powerful burst of sound.

"Use Hurricane!" Ichigo said. Gyarados generated a powerful gust of wind. The two attacks collided, but Hurricane pushed through and blasted Exploud. "Now use Ice Fang!" Gyarados had cold energy flow into his teeth and stretched out at Exploud. Gyardos had managed to bite down on Exploud and thrashed around with no chance of letting go as ice was starting to encase it.

"Gyarados has Exploud caught in its teeth! How is Exploud going to get out of this one?"

"Exploud, Rock Smash!" Mizuiro said. Exploud tried pounding against Gyarados head, but Gyarados won't let go.

"Now throw!" Ichigo said. Gyarados gave Exploud a good toss. Exploud ended up crashing against the ground and was knocked out of the battle.

"Exploud is unable to battle! Gyarados is the winner!" The referee said.

"It's tied up now. Both sides have lost one pokemon." Mizuiro brought Exploud back, but didn't seem the least bit concerned.

"Not bad, Ichigo. I can't wait to see what else you and your pokemon can do. Let's see how you do against this guy. Hariyama, let's go!" Mizuiro said as he chose his second pokemon.

"Hariyama!"

"It's Hariyama as Mizuiro's second choice."

"It might look like a heavyweight, but it's nothing compared to you! Ice Fang!" Ichigo said. Gyarados went on the attack as it tried to take a bite out of Hariyama.

"Force Palm!" Mizuiro said. When Gyarados got close enough, Hariyama slammed its palm against Gyarados head and unleashed a burst of energy that knocked Gyarados back.

"Ooh! Force Palm right in the face!"

"We're not stopping there! Arm Thrust!" Mizuiro said. Hariyama kept the attacks going as it smashed its palms against Gyarados and was dealing some damage. "Force Palm again!" Hariyama smashed its palm against Gyarados again with a burst of energy being released, but Gyarados hung in there.

"Gyarados took all those fierce attacks and is still standing!"

"Gyarados, trap it with Whirlpool!" Ichigo said. Gyarados generated a powerful whirlpool and released it at Hariyama. Hariyama ended up trapped in the center. "You can't stop my Gyarados so easily. He's like a force of nature! Thunder!" Gyarados generated a powerful burst of electricity. It blasted the water with Hariyama taking much damage.

"That Thunder is dealing even more damage from the Whirlpool! That has got to hurt!"

"That's a perfect combination!" Rukia said as everyone was impressed with what Ichigo just did.

"That's sure to have dealt a lot of damage." Chad said.

"Finish this with Hurricane!" Ichigo said. Gyarados unleashed a powerful blast of wind and hit Hariyama. Hariyama was blown back by the attack and was knocked out.

"Hariyama is unable to battle! Gyarados is the winner!" The referee said.

"Gyarados gets the second win. Mizuiro is down to his last pokemon. Who is it going to be?"

"Okay, Mizuiro. You said you had a secret weapon for me." Ichigo said.

"We'll get to that, but after I beat your Gyarados. Metagross, let's go!" Mizurio said.

"Metagross!"

"Metagross is Mizuiro's last pokemon. Can Gyarados beat this heavyweight with the brain of a supercomputer?"

"Gyarados, trap it with Whirlpool!" Ichigo said.

"Too slow! Metagross, Meteor Mash!" Mizuiro said. Metagross coated itself in energy and flew at Gyarados like a meteor. It smashed into Gyarados and stopped Gyarados' attack. "Now to use an attack that will really work! Rock Slide!" Metagross formed large rocks and launched them at Gyarados. The rocks smashed against Gyarados and Gyarados took great damage.

"Can you keep going, Gyarados?" Ichigo said. Gyarados might have taken some damage, but was still able to battle.

"Your pokemon are real tough." Mizuiro said.

"You don't know the half of it. Gyarados, Thunder!" Ichigo said. Gyarados unleashed a powerful electric blast. It managed to hit, but Metagross was hanging in there.

"Flash Cannon!" Mizuiro said. Metagross fired a shining blast and hit Gyarados. That was the finishing touch as Gyarados was knocked down.

"Gyarados is unable to battle! Metagross is the winner!" The referee said.

"Mizuiro tied it up again. That Metagross is a tough pokemon." Rukia said.

"Although, I'm curious as to what this secret weapon he was talking about is. What does Metagross have to do with it?" Keigo questioned.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." Orihime said. Ichigo brought Gyarados back in its pokeball and was getting his last choice ready.

"Well, Mizuiro, you sure are tough. However, I'm not going to lose that easily." Ichigo said. "You with me, Absol?"

"Absol."

"Good. Bring it on." Mizuiro said as he believed Ichigo was going with Absol.

"Silvally, you're up!" Ichigo said with Mizuiro a little surprised.

"Rai!"

"Ichigo's last pokemon is Silvally!"

"Silvally?! I was expecting Absol!" Mizuiro said.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Silvally can certainly hold its own. Silvally, Flamethrower!" Ichigo said.

"Dodge it and use Zen Headbutt!" Mizuiro said. Metagross moved to the side and avoided the attack. When that happened, Metagross' head was filled with psychic energy. Metagross charged right at Silvally and smashed its head against Silvally. Silvally took the attack, but was able to shake it off.

"Come on, Mizuiro. I'm curious as to what this "secret weapon" is." Ichigo said. "I haven't seen what makes your Metagross a secret weapon."

"This is actually why I was hoping I battle your Absol." Mizuiro said. "You don't really see it? Look at Metagross' leg." Ichigo took a look and soon realized there was something strapped there: a stong. Ichigo instantly recognized it. Mizuiro moved his watch and showed he had a stone with it as well. "That's right, Ichigo. Mega Evolve!" He tapped the stone and energy travelled form both stones. They joined together and allowed Metagross to become Mega Metagross.

"Look at that! Metagross mega evolved!"

"So that's what he was talking about!" Ichigo said. "I guess he wanted to battle Absol in hopes of having a battle between mega evolved pokemon. Oh well... You work with what you got. Mega evolved or not, we're still winning! Metagross, X-Scissor!" Silvally leaped at Metagross and slashed against it, but the attack hardly did much.

"You have to do better than that, Ichigo. Flash Cannon!" Mizuiro said. Metagross used the attack and blasted Silvally.

"Against a mega evolved pokemon, does Silvally even stand a chance?"

"We're not giving up! Flamethrower!" Ichigo said. Silvally breathed out the flames and blasted Metagross with it. However, Metagross was able to resist the flames. "Oh man. Metagross is stronger than it looks."

"Rock Slide!" Mizuiro said. Metagross generated the rocks and have them fall at Silvally.

"Jump across the rocks, Silvally!" Ichigo said. Silvally jumped from one rock to the next and was able to avoid the attack. "Now use Crush Claw!" When Silvally got over Metagross, he came down and smashed his claws against Metagross.

"That won't do much." Mizurio said as Metagross shook Silvally off. "Now use Meteor Mash!" Metagross was encased in energy and flew right at Silvally. Silvally got hit by the attack, but was still able to battle.

"Silvally is holding in there, but can it take much more?"

"Sorry, Ichigo. You should have went with Absol. You would have had a chance." Mizuiro said.

"It doesn't matter if Silvally can mega evolve or not." Ichigo said as he pulled a red disk out. "Silvally has his own way of battling and is just as tough. Silvally, here! A fire memory!" He tossed the memory at Silvally with Silvally transforming into a fire-type.

"Look at that! Silvally has become a fire-type now!"

"That means this is a fire attack. Multi Attack!" Silvally was encased in red energy and went on the attack. Silvally bashed against Metagross and did much damage. "Finish it with Crush Claw!" Silvally crushed its claws down on Metagross and held a lot of force behind it. The force of that attack crushed Metagross and it was taken out of the battle.

"Metagross is unable to battle! Silvally is the winner!" The referee said.

"It's over! Ichigo is our fourth finalist!" Mizuiro was shocked that he lost, but he could also see how powerful Silvally and Ichigo are. When the battle was over, the two of them shook hands.

"It was a great battle, Ichigo." Mizuiro said. "You've definitely become a powerful trainer, and your pokemon are just as powerful."

"Thanks, Mizuiro. You're a pretty good trainer yourself." Ichigo said.

"We now have our four semi-finalists. We will now determine the matches for the next round." Everyone looked to the screens to see who would be battling who. One of the battles ended up being Kugo vs. Ichigo.

"I'm up against Kugo." Ichigo said.

"How about that? This will be fun." Kugo said as he could see the matches himself. They were both looking forward to this battle.

Ichigo has succeeded in making into the top four. Now, he has to ready himself for his next battle against Kugo. It's sure to be a tough battle, but it is certainly one you don't want to miss.

To Be Continued...

Pokemon Question: Okay, all you trainers out there. The answer to the last question is...Araquanid. Araquanid might look scary, but it's actually a pokemon that cares for others. Here's the next question. What pokemon is practically blind that it uses its antenna instead?