"Staraptor," Ash said, tossing a Pokéball onto the battlefield, "I choose you!"

Staraptor appeared in the customary flash of white light, and hovered above the arena floor; obviously being careful to avoid the Toxic Spikes. However, Paul's Drapion had other ideas; taking the momentum of the battle, the Ogre-Scorp Pokémon unleashed a volley of Pin Missiles at Staraptor. Fortunately, Staraptor easily avoided every single pin.

Hoping to break Drapion's momentum, Staraptor soared down at it from above with Aerial Ace; it looked like an easy hit, but then Drapion ducked flat to the ground. Its tail came up beneath Staraptor, who couldn't pull up in time to avoid it.

Staraptor tried to struggle free from the clawed tail which held it tight, but Drapion fired a Cross-Poison point-blank into its face; Staraptor took a massive amount of damage, and was also inflicted with poison. To finish it off, Drapion pounded Staraptor into the ground; allowing Toxic Spikes to take effect. That, combined with the damage Staraptor had taken in its fight with Gastrodon, was too much; Staraptor collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Ash scowled, and held out a Pokéball. "Staraptor, return," he said, then his expression softened. "Thanks for fighting so hard; you're the best."

"Looks like Paul has started fighting for real," Jason commented.

"Oh, you don't say," Jack replied sarcastically. "What gave you that idea; the fact that he just wiped out two of Ash's Pokémon without his own even getting hit?"

Jason shrugged. "That was part of it, yes. Although I get the feeling that Ash is hardly at the end of his rope..."

Back down in the arena, Ash set his jaw and reached for another Pokéball.

"Now, Torterra," he said, "I choose you!"

"He's at the end of his rope," Jack and Jason deadpanned in perfect unison.

Torterra landed heavily on the ground, and was instantly wracked with pain from the Toxic Spikes; it soon shrugged it off, but Drapion gave it little time to recover and attacked with Cross-Poison. Torterra barely even flinched, and countered with Energy Ball; the more focused attack cut through Drapion's Cross-Poison, and scored a direct hit which flung Drapion back several meters.

The Ogre-Scorp Pokémon landed on four legs, but now it was Torterra's turn not to let up; the giant tortoise-like Pokémon shook a shower of razor-sharp foliage from the tree on its back, and launched it at Drapion in a powerful Leaf Storm attack. The tornado of leaves scored a direct hit on Drapion but, like Energy Ball, it wasn't very effective against a half Poison-type; Drapion shrugged off the attack and countered it with Pin Missile, and the two attacks collided and exploded in the center of the arena.

Even before the smoke from the explosion cleared, Torterra followed up with Rock Climb; slamming its front legs into the ground, it forced a column of rock to rise up underneath Drapion's feet. The pillar of earth shot up almost fifty feet, taking Drapion with it; then Torterra, six-inch claws suddenly growing from its feet, launched itself at Drapion.

Drapion was momentarily taken by surprise, but it quickly regained its balance and intercepted the incoming Terterra; grabbing onto the Continent Pokémon's shell with its front claws, and holding it suspended in midair. Then, before Torterra could even try to escape, Drapion clamped down with vicious Poison Fang; only then did it release Torterra, who tumbled headlong down into the ground.

Torterra, knowing that it couldn't withstand another hit like that, used Synthesis to heal its wounds; glowing with energy as it absorbed the sunlight. Drapion merely looked on as its opponent healed itself.

"What's Paul planning?" Jack pondered aloud. "It's almost like he's… waiting for something."

As soon as the move had finished working, Torterra started charging up an attack; but the onlookers never got to see what it was, since Drapion beat it to the punch with a powerful volley of Pin Missiles. Torterra, unprepared for the attack right after healing itself, took the full hit; and when the dust cleared, it was unconscious.

"Taking Torterra down right after it used Synthesis was a really bad break," Jack heard Barry say from the next row down, where the young trainer was sitting with Brock and Dawn.

"It was almost like Paul was waiting for Torterra to recover," Dawn commented.

"Paul was waiting alright," Brock said grimly. "Waiting for the perfect moment to strike; and the perfect moment to destroy Ash confidence."

"Torterra, return," Ash said, recalling Torterra to its Pokéball. "You gave it everything you had; thanks. Now get a good rest."

"You've still got your Gliscor left, don't you?" Paul said, with a hint of sarcasm.

Ash nodded. "Yeah."

"I feel it only fair to tell you, I've got your battle-style all figured out," Paul said matter-of-factly. "Thanks to Agron and Gastrodon."

Ash furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"I purposely let you take out Agron and Gastrodon so I could be certain of your strategy, and exactly which Pokémon you'd use," Paul said, recalling Drapion to its Pokéball. "Ever since I brought out Drapion, I've been able to predict every one of your moves.

Ash seemed stunned for a second but then, to Paul's confusion, he grinned.

"Paul," Ash said; a spark returning to his eyes. "There's nobody quite like you; and that's why I'm going to win this."

Paul was momentarily taken aback, but after a second he too smiled; his expression was one of, for lack of a better word, contentment.

"You haven't changed," the purple-haired trainer said. "You're still the cocky, naive, optimistic trainer I met all those months ago; and that's why I'm going to win this."

"Gliscor," Ash said, tossing his Pokéball into the air, "I choose you!"

"Ninjask," Paul said, responding in kind, "Stand by for battle!"

"A Ninjask," Jack muttered. "I wonder…"

"Use agility," Paul commanded.

Paul had barely uttered the words before Ninjask disappeared from view, reappearing a few meters away from its initial position. It did this a few more times, literally flying rings around Gliscor; thanks to Agility, and its ability which Jack assumed was Speed Boost, it was almost as fast as Strike, Nicholas's Ninjask. Jack couldn't help but wonder if Paul had taken some pointers from their battle.

Gliscor was, understandably, a little disorientated from Ninjask's show of speed; every time it located Ninjask, the Bug-type would disappear again. Eventually though, at Ash's command, it stopped trying to pinpoint Ninjask and instead charged up a Stone Edge attack; launching a shower of jagged rocks which blanketed the arena, offering Ninjask no hiding places.

Ninjask didn't even flinch as it effortlessly avoided every stone that came its way. Its speed was so intense, even Jack could barely keep track of it; although one thing he did notice was that Ninjask seemed to only be able to maintain that speed over short distances. Even so, Ninjask emerged from the maelstrom of flying rocks completely unharmed; following up by lashing out with Fury Cutter at a bewildered Gliscor.

Gliscor couldn't even keep track of Ninjask's speed, and had absolutely no hope of avoiding the attack; Ninjask landed blow after blow with Fury Cutter, bouncing Gliscor around mid-air like a beach ball.

Gliscor tried in vain to land a hit on its assailant with Fire Fang, but Ninjask dodged it with contemptuous ease. The Ninja Pokémon reappeared above Gliscor and, using Fury Cutter once again, sent Gliscor plummeting to the ground.

Gliscor hit the ground hard, but even worse was the damage it took from Toxic Spikes a few second after the impact; Ash, knowing that Gliscor wouldn't take another hit, withdrew it to its Pokéball.

"Gliscor, return," Ash said. "Rest up; you'll get your chance, I promise."

"At this point all of Ash's Pokémon had taken plenty of damage," Jason said. "And Ninjask hasn't taken any. If Ash can't find a way around its speed, and quickly, Paul might finish things with Ninjask alone."

"Infernape," Ash said, tossing a Pokéball onto the field, "I choose you!"

Infernape appeared in a flash of light, and instantly took damage from Toxic Spikes.

Jack ground his teeth. "And then there's Toxic Spikes… Paul has Ash between a rock and a hard place, that's for sure. I'll be interested to see how Ash gets out of this one."

"You seem awfully confident that he will," Jason commented.

Jack shrugged. "What can I say; call it intuition."

"You read the script, didn't you."

"Shh," Jack said quickly, "they're about to start again."

"Infernape," Ash commanded, his confident grin returning, "use Dig!"

Jack's eyebrow shot up as though possessed. "Dig?"

"Dig," Jason affirmed.

Jack stared blankly down at the battlefield for a second, then a grin spread across his face and he let out a slow chuckle.

"Watch closely, Jason," he said, leaning back in his seat. "I have a strange feeling that we're about to witness the comeback of the century, and I intend to take notes. And before you ask, no; I didn't read the script."

Jason looked quizzically at his brother, but decided to keep quiet and watch; even though there wasn't much to see at the moment. Infernape had already burrowed into the ground and the battlefield had gone completely silent in anticipation, save for the sound of Infernape digging underneath the floor.

Suddenly, the digging stopped. Ash grinned and called out a command; a command which caused an expression of confusion to cross Paul's face, followed quickly by one of realization, and then fear.

"Infernape, Flare Blitz!"

Paul stood dumbfounded as the battlefield began to glow red with heat, and the blast shields rose up around him and Ash to protect them. Barely a second later, the arena erupted in a roaring inferno from underground; the flames rose easily more than fifty feet into the air, and the heat was so intense that Jack could feel it all the way up in the stands.

The immense blast of flames blew Ninjask upwards like a leaf in the wind, but that wasn't all. Flashes of purple light started popping up all around the battlefield as, one by one, the Toxic Spike were burned up from beneath. The attack complete, Infernape leapt out of the hole it had made and landed on the ground; around it the battlefield was filled with putrid smoke from the Toxic Spikes, but it soon cleared.

Jason's jaw hung open for a few seconds before he closed it with a snap. He then turned to his brother, who was looking pretty impressed himself.

"I've gotta admit," Jack said, "I was expecting something like that, but I wasn't expecting that. I certainly hope you got that, because there will be a quiz."

Jason shook his head. "And you're telling me you actually saw that coming?"

Jack shrugged. "Not that exactly, but I knew Ash had something up his sleeve; and I imagined it would be pretty impressive. Suffice it to say I was not disappointed. In fact, I'm starting to regret that we never got to travel with him; I'm sure it would've been interesting, at the very least."

Jason looked back down at the battlefield solemnly.

"I think you're right," he said, with something approaching awe in his voice.

Down in the arena, Ash was grinning confidently. "Well Paul, that takes care of your Toxic Spikes. What do you think of that?"

Paul had gotten over his astonishment by now, and he smiled a little.

I have to admit," he said, "That was a pretty clever move; I certainly didn't see it coming."

"Thanks," Ash replied. "Now bring it on."

"As you wish," Paul said. "Giga Drain!"

Ninjask darted over to Infernape and started circling above its head, but something was different.

"Ninjask is slowing down," Jason commented.

Jack nodded. "I'll bet it took a lot of damage from Flare Blitz; and Agility's probably worn off by now too. If he plays his cards right, this could be Ash's chance to take Ninjask down."

Ninjask, still flying in a ring around Infernape's head, started to glow as it absorbed energy from Infernape; leaving a trail of green energy behind it. Infernape took the hit, but kept its eyes on Ninjask; now that the Ninja Pokémon had slowed down, Infernape had no problem keeping track of it.

Infernape grunted to Ash, signaling that it was ready. At its trainer's command, Infernape then lashed out with Mach Punch at Ninjask; landing a solid hit, and sending the Bug-type flying. Ninjask hit the ground and bounced a few times before coming to a stop; completely unconscious.

Jason breathed a small sigh of relief. "Glass cannon?" he asked.

"That, or maybe Infernape's Flare Blitz did more damage than it seemed," Jack replied. "Either way, Ash just gained a little momentum; now he just needs to keep it."

Paul recalled Ninjask with an unreadable expression, and pulled out another Pokéball.

Ash looked at Infernape, who obviously wasn't up for another round quite yet, and made a call.

"Infernape, return and get a good rest," he said, recalling Infernape to its Pokéball.

"Froslass," Paul said, tossing his own Pokéball onto the field, "Stand by for battle!"

Froslass was a white, ghostly-looking Pokémon with a slim dress-like body and two thin arms with light blue frills, which looked like sleeves, hanging loosely from them. It also had what looked like a large red ribbon tied around its lower body, forming a bow at the back. Jack had never seen one before, but it creeped him out for some reason.

"An Ice-type..." Ash muttered to himself. "Alright Pikachu, you're up."

"Froslass," Paul commanded, "Hail."

Froslass floated up into the air like a ghost, and before Pikachu knew what was going on the battlefield was covered in icy fog. Froslass disappeared in the fog, and started reappearing randomly around Pikachu; obviously trying to mess with the Mouse Pokémon's mind. Then all of a sudden Hail real effect came into play; pellets of ice started falling from the sky and hitting Pikachu who, with no cover to hide under, could only try to endure the assault.

The second the hail let up, even if it was only a momentary reprieve, Pikachu fired off a Thunderbolt at Froslass; but the bolt missed its mark and dissipated harmlessly into the fog. Froslass then gathered the hail into an Ice Shard and threw it at Pikachu, who couldn't dodge in time and took a direct hit.

Pikachu was sent flying by the attack but he recovered quickly and retaliated with Volt Tackle, which Froslass dodged easily. The Ice/Ghost-type seemed almost to fade into the fog, making it impossible to pinpoint its exact location.

"I wonder," Jack muttered, bringing out his Pokédex. His hunch proved correct, as the device revealed Froslass's ability to be Snow Cloak; which, according to the Pokédex, increases the Pokémon's evasion in snowy weather.

Froslass was still fading in and out of view all over the battlefield, and Pikachu was still taking constant damage from Hail. Froslass, tired of waiting around being spooky, fired off another Ice Shard; but this time Pikachu jumped clean into the air and, pinpointing Froslass's location from the Ice Shard it had fired, brought a crushing Iron Tail down on Froslass's head.

Froslass went down like a ton of bricks, and crashed into the ground. The hit also broke Froslass's concentration, causing Hail to dissipate and the sun to shine once more. Froslass got back up, unfortunately, but it had lost its momentum. A half-smile played across Paul's face once again.

"Why does he keep doing that?" Jason asked. "He keeps smiling every time Ash interrupts his strategy."

Jack shrugged. "I don't really know, although I'd be interested to find out. I can only assume he enjoys a good challenge, and it wouldn't be much fun if Ash didn't surprise him every once in a while."

Down in the arena, Froslass floated back up in the air and fired off an Ice Beam at Pikachu. The Mouse Pokémon tried to dodge it, but the attack struck true and Pikachu was quickly frozen solid in a block of ice. Froslass then charged up an Ice Shard, and prepared to fling it at the defenceless Electric-type. If it hit, the battle would be over.

At the last second, Pikachu summoned as much electricity as he could muster and blasted his icy prison to smithereens; once free, he charged straight at Froslass with Volt Tackle. With no fog to hide it, the Ice-type had nowhere to go; Volt Tackle hit hard, and sent Froslass crashing to the ground. When the dust cleared, Pikachu had taken quite a bit of damage in recoil from his attack; but Froslass was out for the count.

"And so falls the fourth," Jason commented. "Ash is on a roll."

Jack nodded. "True, but he still needs to be careful; Paul still has two Pokémon, one of which hasn't even battled yet. And all three of Ash's Pokémon have already taken heavy damage. At this point, one wrong move and Ash is done."

Jason threw up his paws in exasperation. "What is it with you today? It seems like every time I say something, you say the opposite. Every time I say things look bad, you say Ash'll turn things around; and when I start getting optimistic again, you say it could easily go either way."

"You're just always wrong, that's all," Jack said with a shrug.

Jason snorted. "No kidding. I thought Solomon was the resident master of strategy; since when are you so good at thinking two steps ahead?"

Jack shrugged again. "Maybe I've just learned a thing or two; you know, by osmosis or something. Now shush, the battle's about to start again."

"Drapion, stand by for battle!"

"Gliscor, I choose you!"

The two Pokémon faced each other down; both of them had taken damage, but neither of them was going to go down quietly.

"Drapion," Paul commanded, "Pin Missile."

"Gliscor, up!" Ash shouted.

Drapion fired a volley of glowing projectiles at Gliscor, to which the Fang Scorpion Pokémon responded by launching itself off the ground into the sky; dodging the attack completely. Once airborne, Gliscor fired off a hail of razor sharp Stone Edge at Drapion, who countered with Cross Poison; resulting in a stalemate, and an explosion which covered the sky above the arena floor with thick smoke.

Gliscor, hidden from below by the cloud of smoke, used Giga Impact; all that Paul and Drapion could see through the smoke was flashes of light which seemed to come from all over at once. Then, before Drapion could pinpoint it, Gliscor exited the cloud directly above the Ogre Scorp Pokémon.

Drapion prepared a Poison Fang attack to counter, but at the last second Gliscor changed its trajectory and came down right behind Drapion's head. Drapion took massive damage from the powerful Giga Impact attack; and before it could turn around and nab Gliscor with its tail, the Ground/Flying-type in question was nowhere to be found.

Drapion looked up to see Gliscor, who was momentarily paralysed from Giga Impact's backlash, riding the updraft caused by the attack itself back up out of Drapion's reach. The perfect hit-and-run attack.

"Well done, Ash," Paul said to his opponent. "That Stone Edge got my attention, and I fell right into your trap. But this is far from over; Pin Missile!"

The claws on Drapion's arms glowed white as it unleashed a maelstrom of glowing projectiles; Gliscor knew it couldn't dodge all of them, so it did the only thing Paul might not expect. It dropped like a stone straight towards Drapion, weaving between the Pin Missiles which rushed past it mere inches away; as it fell Gliscor crossed its front arms, which glowed with energy as it prepared a powerful X-Scissor attack aimed straight at Drapion's head.

The last leg of the battle between Ash and Paul had officially begun.