Hey Guys! Welcome to Chapter 40 of 10 Minutes! Let me be the first to thank you for reading the chapter and let me also be the first (and only) to ask you to follow and favorite the story! It would mean a lot to me to help keep the story churning! Last chapter explained what happened to John when he was stabbed. I did not explain what John's crusade actually was for untold reasons that may or may not come back later in this story. Remember fellas, I got a plan for the story, and everything I do is for a reason.

Anyhow… this is the beginning of the elimination stages of the tournament. If you recall correctly, Ash and John had a brief scare against Iris and Cilan, but John's Eevee evolving in the nick of time and becoming a powerhouse along with some plotting on Ash and John's side of the battle got them out after a dreadful start.

Hope you enjoy it guys!

ReignZ Presents… 10 Minutes Chapter 40

Last Chapter…

He felt something nuzzling his left knee and peered down to see Delveon rubbing against him. John smiled and playfully scratched her on her forehead, making her cry out. "Delve!" John chuckled at his Pokémon before he realized everyone was staring at him. He looked bewildered for one small moment before John realized what he was going to have to explain: how he was alive. John smiled weakly before saying. "Is it that time?" Cynthia nodded slightly and Daniel said. "I think so mate."

John sighed and nodded. "Well… I'll explain what happened from my point of view from the start of what I remember… It went like this…"

Flashback to Chapter 35… John… 3rdPerson…

John was still watching Brittney closely. He saw her arm suddenly twitch. Curiosity got the better of him and he took a small step to his right to see around her, and didn't see anything on her arms, but couldn't see anything in her hands. And that was what made him pale.

Aaron had claimed her hands were ziptied.

And because of that, John knew immediately that something bad was about to happen when he realized. He acted purely on instinct, moving just a mere moment before "THREE!" was said. He stepped in front of them, and watched as Brittney pulled out a knife. He watched in slow motion and the knife went straight through his cloak and gasped lightly as he felt the blade pierce his skin. Then… he felt nothing. He looked down at the wound, still stunned by his own actions. He expected Aura to have protected him, however, as he saw his world rapidly fade away, he knew what had happened. He chuckled lightly at his own selflessness and then all went black for him.

'Rise Young One.' A voice penetrated his thoughts as he hopped to his feet in a flash. He blinked and looked around as he saw that he was in a bright and elegant room of the purest white. He was bewildered; where was he? Who was this voice that he heard in head? He then recalled the moments that had led up to this moment and he realized he had sacrificed himself to save the others. He took another moment to look around the room he was in. He saw a dresser with a mirror on it, a small computer like object on a table, and a window in his room. His bed was comfortable, but for some reason he felt as though he needed to be up and active. He walked to the window and what he saw made him breathe out. "Wow…"

What he saw would make anyone shocked and not believe what they were seeing. There, in front of him, was a city of the purest white. Every building was white, every object was white, everything appeared to be shining brightly. John couldn't believe it… it was as though he was now in the land of the pure. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. However, he most certainly couldn't comprehend when the voice that woke him up said, "Beautiful isn't it?" John immediately whirled around and whom he saw standing in the entrance to his room would be a sight her never forgot.

There, standing in front of him, was Arceus.

Present…

The FOLT was shaking. The fans were screaming and yelling their soul's out. This was it; the opening of the elimination matchups in the tournament. Fans were on their feet cheering for the opening matchup to commence, and it was going to be an interesting one. The prodigy of the infamous Norman Maple of Petalburg City had snuck into the top 16 and were now vying for the championship. Nobody really expected them to make it in for multiple reasons. For one, they were both very young. For another, they were both painfully arrogant and overconfident.

Like, PAINFULLY overconfident. They believed just because they had powerful Pokémon it meant they were the best trainers around. That was most certainly not the case. They were not bad, but as good of a job as Mr. Goodshow had done organizing the tournament, their acceptance to the top 16 was an odd one to say the least. Max's only strong Pokémon appeared to be his Gallade, while May had Blaziken and that was it. To be frank, it made them extremely vulnerable as well as predictable.

If their opponents knew which Pokémon the two would consistently use, they would know how to defeat it and therefore plan in advance to counter said Pokémon. The Maples, however, seemingly didn't know or rather didn't care about this. They boasted about how their two Pokémon were Invisible and how they couldn't lose with those two of their side. The problem wasn't that they weren't strong.

The problem was that their first round opponents had turned out to be the Infamous Alpha and Omega. Nobody believed in their right minds could the Maple's pull it off. They intended to pull off the most absurd upset in the tournament by knocking off the number 2 seed, but still, they couldn't seem to rally enough confidence just by talk, so they turned to more… promotional options. They borrowed some of their father's cash to gain a fan club and a rally for them, in hopes of attracting more attention. This, remarkably, worked in their favor. They had a section of the stands dedicated to their fans and they were sure as could be they would not lose to the cloaked men.

Ash quietly was talking to his team of two Pokémon about the game plan, arm not in a cast. Even though John had broken his wrist, John had healed it in about ten minutes by using Aura. He was extremely grateful for the action and John sheepishly responded that it was the least he could do for Ash saving his life. It had been about 3 days since John had been brought back. In that amount of time, Ash and John had visited Mr. Goodshow and told him the rule didn't have to be passed since John was still in the tournament. Mr. Goodshow immediately had gotten up to hug John and told him how happy he was that John was still alive.

Mr. Goodshow had said that for unseen circumstances, another trainer had come to him and asked for the rule as well, saying his partner died unexplainably and he was mourning. Therefore, the rule was announced anyhow. Ash and John knew who it was, none other than Keeghan Tolan. Porter had been his partner, and been killed at the hands of Gary. John had been shocked when he heard that the man he had taken a knife for had been killed anyway in fear of mutiny. Much to Gary's surprise, John did not blame him at all for the incident, telling him it was what he probably would've done if forced into a similar situation. That made Gary considerably happier.

They had also spent a good part of that time training for the battle, knowing it was do or die here. They planned to defeat the Maple's in humiliating fashion; a classic blowout Victory. They were not worried at all at the Maple's lineup, knowing exactly what would happen thanks to looking at past battle records.

John spoke to his team as well before returning them to their pokeballs. John walked over to his friend and said quietly. "It's time." Ash returned his Pokémon silently before walking over to the loading platform and pressing the red button on a panel nearby, indicating they were ready to battle. Ash was silent and John did not say anything either. They both knew they had to crush the Maples here and now. Ash turned to his friend and said. "Are you ready?" John chuckled. "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this." As if on cue, the panel next to them changed from red to green, and the platform began to rise.

John flipped his hood down and Ash did the same. As they slowly approached the top, the fans roars could be heard getting closer and closer, sending goosebumps throughout their body. They were nearly at the top when Ash put a hand on John's shoulder, nodding to him. John looked at his friend before nodded once more and Ash removed the hand.

"AND COMING OUT RIGHT NOW, HERE THEY ARE, ALPHAAAA ANDDDD OMEEEEGGGAAA!" They broke through the surface and the roars nearly deafened their ears. They saw the thousands of fans in the stadium dying to see the match and looking to support their trainers. It was an unbelievable sight to take in. Across the way, they were met with the cocky smirks of the Maple siblings. They looked so confident in themselves it almost made Ash sick.

The referee took the podium and cleared his throat. "This battle will be a 4 on 4 battle! Each trainer is allowed 2 Pokémon each, and the battle is over when both trainers on one side have lost each of their Pokémon. In this battle, no substitutions are allowed. The Maple's will have the first move, and will call out their Pokémon first as well." He paused for a second before looking at both sides. He too noticed how cocky the Maples were, and also how ominous the cloaked warriors were, but quite rightly, didn't mention it. "Ready? BATTLE BEGIN!"

Max called out. "Okay! Swampert, I choose you!"

"Blaziken, take the stage!" May followed her brother. The Water and Fire type cried out their respective names before getting into a battle stance in front of Alpha and Omega, attempting to intimidate them. However, their posture didn't change in the slightest, they almost looked bored. Ash and John silently agreed on their plan before calling out their Pokémon.

Ash said. "Bisharp, your time is now."

John spoke quietly. "Golurk, I need your help." The Dark type and Ghost type Pokémon took their places on the battlefield and glared at their opponents. Bisharp said to Ash with sarcastic glee. 'Oooh Yay! Fresh Meat.' Ash chuckled at his Pokémon's behavior before he heard May call out the first move.

"Blaziken, use Blaze Kick on Bisharp!" Blaziken nodded as it ran towards Bisharp with nimble speed, then jumped in the air. Ash ordered. "Bisharp, Swords Dance!" Bisharp glowed red, indicating that it's attack had increased. May smiled happily when the attack struck, and Bisharp was sent backwards with a noticeable bruise on its chest. "Good! Now use Sky Uppercut on Bisharp!" The fire type rushed in and attempted to land another crucial move, but John cut her off.

"Golurk, make it break off its path with Shadow ball!" Golurk charged up a ball of ghostly energy (Please Don't Make fun of me for calling it that)and hurled it at Blaziken. It had no choice but to break off its attack and stand in front of them. Max finally called out a move. "Swampert, Surf!" Swampert summoned a large mass of water before riding to the top of it and then letting it lose onto its opponents, and its own ally as well.

The crowd was shocked at Max openly allowed his own Pokémon to attack his sisters, but May had a solution to it. "Blaziken, show them what you can do! Jump over it!" Blaziken masterfully did a backflip over the mass of water, getting it out of harm's way. This still left the gigantic wave in the direction of Ash and John. However, they had done their homework. John grinned as he called out. "Golurk! Use Heavy Slam to Smash through!" The Maples couldn't really see anything over the surf, and they assumed both of their opponents Pokémon had been swept away. Their side of the field let out cheers of happiness, thinking that a major blow had been dealt to their opponents.

Those thoughts went to rest as they saw Golurk come smashing through the wave as though it hadn't even been there. "Huh!?" Max said in surprise. Both Blaziken and Swampert were shocked, totally caught off guard by the Ghost type magically appearing from the water. And to make matters worse for them, Golurk was charging at them with a speed that would compare to a Joltik. In other words, much faster than expected. John yelled. "Slam into Swampert! Full Force!" Max, still slightly dumbfounded at the prospect of Surf being a complete and utter failure, didn't even call out a move and watched his water-type get smothered by the steel type move. Because it was a steel type move, it didn't do much to Swampert, regardless of how much more powerful and large Golurk was in comparison.

May knew she had to call out a move to attack Bisharp, since it had been smashed by the water. She turned and yelled. "Blaziken, use…" Her voice trailed away as she looked to find Bisharp, but it was nowhere in sight. Where had it gone? Ash knew what she was thinking and sprung his trap.

"Now Bisharp! Psycho Cut!" May's jaw dropped open in shock when Bisharp emerged from its hiding spot; Golurk's Back! She didn't have time to react and could only watch in terror as Bisharp nimbly sliced Blaziken's gut with its blades. May watched in fear as she saw Blaziken begin to sway, then hit the ground, knocked out in one move, a powered up, super effective, critical hit strike. Max gasped at his sister's Pokémon being knocked out, and took his focus off the battle. John showed him no mercy, remembering the time he had hurled Max over a house in Twinleaf Town (Chapter 3). He yelled. "Golurk, use Shadow Ball!" Max, this time, did react.

Only, he chose the wrong move to use. "Counter that with Hammer Arm!" You could actually hear the gasps of shock and confusion in the stadium at the amateur move choice. John knew he had Max trapped. "New Plan! Same Moves, but let Swampert use the move on you, then smash it with a critical hit when it's vulnerable!"

Swampert charged up to Golurk, the swung it's arm downwards. It got quite a start when the move went right through Golurk's body. It didn't have time to react as it looked up and saw the Shadow Ball crash straight into its head. An explosion covered the field as a result. The referee peered around the smoke, attempting to see if he could locate Swampert and determine if it could still battle. He did after a few moments, and saw it had a very large bruise on the side of its head. He raised the flag.

"Blaziken and Swampert are unable to battle, Bisharp and Golurk win!" The crowd roared in cheers for the favored duo's, who praised their Pokémon for a tremendous opening battle. The announcer commentated.

"AMAZING! When Swampert used surf to attempt and sweep away their opponents, Omega used Heavy Slam to clear a path for the two of them, and Bisharp clung onto Golurk's back using it's pincers! What a way to break into enemy territory! And it seems as though Alpha and Omega have once again come in with a trick or two up their sleeves as they catch the underdogs off guard here in the opening battle! A brilliant strategy from a brilliant duo!"

The Maple's appeared very angry by this point. Not only had they been defeated in the first battle, Blaziken had been knocked out in one move, and Swampert had tried to use a fighting type move on a Ghost type making Max look like the idiot he was. They both began murmuring to one another, talking about a plan to stop the two Pokémon across from them. However, John and Ash knew very well what their strategy would be… and which Pokémon would come next.

The Girls…

All the girls were gleeful; their men were kicking ass! Elesa was ecstatic. "That was a perfect first battle! Ash planned that out beautifully; using Golurk not only as a shield, but also as a distraction, that was amazing!" Skyla nodded in agreement. "John knew Golurk could smash through a wave like nothing considering how much training he's put into it as of recently. This was probably their plan all along to catch Max and May off guard and to cause them to lose their mojo and strain their confidence."

Cynthia smiled lightly. "All they have to do is defeat their last 2 Pokémon. Ash told me before the match even began Max would be using Gallade, so that stands to reason Gallade will be used here any moment now. May has been using her Glaceon a lot recently as well from what I've seen, so those are my two predictions. Do you think Ash and John have strategies for them?" Jasmine told her. "If they don't have a strategy, they come with one on the fly. It's what makes them such good battlers; they're unpredictable because they have put so much time into training their Pokémon, and even if they can be predicted, their opponents still need to match the raw power of each of their Pokémon… which is also very unlikely."

Battlefield…

Sure enough, Gallade was there on the battlefield. However, May had called out Beautifly, who was now situated across from them yet oddly tense about something. Ash and John had already thought of a plan for this situation and knew exactly what they had to do to easily win the match. They were about to begin when they heard Max yell. "Hey Alpha, Omega!" The two looked up at the young trainer, making sure they were safely hidden underneath their hoods. He continued to try and infuriate them. "Why don't you two take off your masks you losers?! You too scared you look too ugly?" The two didn't say a word, they were silently communicating with one another as they watched Beautifly slowly moving towards them.

It did not take them long to see the Maple's plan; Max infuriating them was just a distraction. He continued to mock them. "Wow, tough crowd huh? No sense of humor either?" Ash saw his opening when Beautifly stopped moving for just a moment. "Bisharp, quickly! Use Night Slash on Beautifly!"

Max gasped in surprise as he realized they had been merely watching them try to sneak up on them the entire time. May was just as shocked and watched as Bisharp drove its blade through Beautifly's body. It got sent flying backwards and slowly got up on its wings again. Max growled under his breath and ordered. "Gallade, use Leaf Blade on Golurk!" For the first time in the battle, John was actually a bit worried. Being a Ghost-Ground type, John knew that attack would deal a hefty amount of damage to his Pokémon should it strike.

He called out the move he had been saving for a situation like this. "Use Phantom Force!" "Phanta-wha?" Max sputtered. Gallade was caught off guard when it jumped up to strike Golurk, only for Golurk to vanish into the ground and very much out of sight. Ash used this moment of confusion wisely. "Use Night Slash again on Beautifly! Knock it Out!" May cried in response. "Bug Buzz! Keep Bisharp back!" Bisharp attempted to attack Beautifly, but only got sent backwards by the bug-type move. Max ordered. "Use Psycho Cut on Bisharp!" Ash and John burst out into a round of hysterical laughter at the amateur battler. Max was held in a state of bewilderment before and after he saw Gallade strike Bisharp with the move and do literally nothing to it.

Ash grinned; he had come up with a plan to get Beautifly. "Bisharp, grab Gallade arm with your one pincher, then throw it into Beautifly!" The crowd gasped when Bisharp grabbed Gallade's wrist with its pincher, making Gallade cry out loudly in pain. Ash couldn't help but think of when John had broken his wrist the same way a few days prior. He saw his Pokémon throw Gallade into a very surprised Beautifly, and then Ash played his trump card. "Now! Activate your Quick Claw and use Night Slash!" In an instant, Bisharp has smashed Beautifly across the face, and sent it straight up into the air, flying in circles, not struggling whatsoever. It smashed into the ground and created a small cloud of dust around the battlefield where it had landed.

The referee immediately raised his flag when he saw Beautifly was knocked out. "Beautifly is unable to continue!" May cried loudly. "Nooooo!" She had been eliminated. Max however, was in for the worst of it. "Gallade, strike that Bisharp with Leaf Blade!" As Gallade rushed in, Max realized he had forgotten about something.

Golurk.

"Golurk, emerge from Phantom Force and use Double Team to make many copies of yourself, keep going in and out of Phantom Force to Make a Wall!" The crowd was shocked the see Golurk creating a circle around a very lost and confused Gallade. The copies of Golurk continued to fly out of the ground and up into the air before they would reappear from the ground and fly up again. It was a vortex of Golurk's!

John knew it was time to act before Max thought of a way out. "Now! Sandwich it!" The copies of the Golurks began to condense in on the free area that Gallade had, and making it immobile. It struggled to not panic in the situation it was in, desperately slashing and cutting at the copies, attempting to break free. John yelled. "Use Shadow Ball!" The moment he ordered the move, an explosion covered the field. Nobody could see what had happened, but everyone knew Gallade was either knocked out, or very close to it.

They were all murmuring softly, watching to see what the dust showed. What it showed was a very bruised Gallade, still in the middle of the double team/phantom force combination. Max was still at a loss, which would prove to be his greatest downfall. John had banked everything on the fact that Max would be unable to make a counter move to the combination he was using on him, and he was a hundred percent right. John ended the battle right then and there.

"Golurk, Unleash Phantom Force!" Suddenly, all the copies vanished, and from John's side of the field, came Golurk, flying in at maximum speed. "Nooooo! Gallllaaaaddeeee!" Max yelled in horror as he watched Golurk smother Gallade with a crisp, Ghost type move. It was Super Effective, and Max knew even without looking at his Pokémon that he had been absolutely manhandled by the two superstars, and didn't react nor hear the referee calling out.

"Gallade is unable to continue, Bisharp and Golurk win! And therefore the winners of the match and advancing to the Quarterfinals are none other than Alpha and Omega!" The referee announced in a loud and professional voice. Bisharp cried out its name loudly and held it's blade to the sky as a Victory pose. Golurk slowly raised its fist as well, asserting its dominance. Ash and John gave one another a bro hug before walking out to give their Pokémon praise. They watched as May and Max quickly returned their Pokémon and left the field, not even stopping to congratulate them on their Victory.

"Amazing! Quick thinking from Alpha and another unbelievable strategy from Omega has them rumbling to the Quarterfinals! A simply sensational Victory for the cloaked warriors! What a battle!" The announcer said jubilantly. As their girls cheered from their seats in the stands, the two men returned their Pokémon and as they walked towards the exit to the stadium, they each raised a fist, signaling their hard fought Victory.

They had come into the day looking for a blowout Victory, and that was what they got. The Maple's arrogance had been struck down with a vengeance, and their sorry asses would not be the only one's Alpha and Omega would be kicking in this tournament. It was a statement Victory, and they intended to get more.

AN: I typed this all in one sitting. A few hours, not really sure how many hahahah. Alpha and Omega swiftly defeated the Maples as though they weren't even in the same league as them. (And they aren't) Either way I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I expect the next battle chapter to be chapter 45 or so if I'm predicting it correctly… but then again when am I ever correct on predictions?

Please review, favorite, and follow the story if you have the time! It means a lot to me! Thanks guys! Have a good one, and until next time!

ReignZ