IMPORTANT UPDATE 6/13/2016

What's up everyone? Silent here. First off, I hope you're all doing well. I want to say I know it's been a while since my last update. I know that many of you have sent me messages asking about the next chapter, what is wrong and if everything is alright. I want to say thank you for taking the time to check up on me. That means a lot to me and I appreciate it. I want to apologize for being away and for not responding like I usually do. And here is the reason why I've been gone...

I thought I had finally found my way back into the groove of things. But I was wrong. I had to take care of some personal things and that caused me to be away along with other things popping up. From work taking up my time, being struck with a terrible flu, to dealing with a bug infestation in my house and several other things, it was just one thing after another and I just couldn't catch a break.

But the biggest reason why is when I finally did have some time to work on my story, I just couldn't. I've been having so many ideas for my other stories and for "The Blue Spirit" as well that it didn't allow me to function and gave me major writer's block. Even though I have outlines done for my next ten chapters or so with the main points ready to go, I just couldn't write. It came to the point that I was just staring at a computer screen for a couple minutes many times and when I was able to actually type something, it just didn't come out well at all.

As a result, it caused me to miss my own scheduled deadline to post in time for my one year anniversary. I had a huge thing planned for my readers on that day. A big surprise that I wanted to do for you all. But when I realized that I couldn't make it, I just shut down. I didn't think that would happen to me. I never missed a deadline that I put for myself before. Because of that, I felt as if I let myself down as well as my readers. I just couldn't come to terms with it and couldn't even come online to check what was going on. I kept thinking I failed...that how could I continue...how could I keep my promise to finish the story when I couldn't even finish writing a chapter. It didn't help either that I was busy taking care of the above mentioned stuff and other things. Because of all that, it just kept getting pushed back again and again and again...

It took a while for me to bounce back. But I'm happy to say that things are different now. I've come to terms with it finally and got my head on straight once more. I still need to finish up some things but I'm not going to stress myself out over stuff like this anymore. And I won't make anymore promises about this story or my other ones. I will say this though; the plans I made initially will still be acted upon but I will only tell you about them again once I finish them.

Thank you for the support and for reading my story. I will do my best to continue keeping the quality high and keep my readers interested in it. I will make this one promise to you all though; no matter what happens, I will finish this story. That is one promise I will keep.

I hope all of you are doing well. But if you are going through some bumps in life, here's my advice to you; don't let it control you and don't stress over it. We can't control some things and so we're better off not worrying about it. Instead, focus on the things that you can control and/or make you happy. Whether it's taking care of errands, fixing something that needs to be fixed, writing, playing a game, cycling, watching movies, visiting a friend or reading a book...don't worry about the things you can't control and spend your time doing other things. Because most of the time, the thing you can't control, just ends up fixing itself or it becomes a non-issue again. And if you need someone to vent to or to just talk, I'm here for ya. I'll do my best to respond like I used to. (Usually a day or two)

I almost forgot...I'm finally working on my next chapter now. I won't say when it'll be up but it will be soon. Thank you for being patient and for understanding. Take care everyone!

A/N - Hey guys, it's Silent! By the way, I watched Captain America: Civil War and it was pretty good! Well worth watching and I'm caught up with the new season of Game of Thrones! So many things happening and its getting interesting! A few quick points...

1. Replies to some reviews;

Jaguars5 - You'll find out soon enough if Serena is the pregnant girl.

MANbearPIG1 - No worries dude. I didn't take it offensively. It was more of a sarcastic remark. lol. Drax is an OC, you are correct on that. About Natasha speeding up her recovery, there will be some things sped up because of the precious time ticking away so you'll see what I have in mind. As for Gary and Ilene, it'll just be snippets here and there of what they're doing/going through until they come back. As for Iris, I do believe in that as well (not partnering main girl from each region with another other than Ash) but I had to do it for this story. As for whether or not Iris and Cilan break up or have rocky relations and what not will be shown as the story moves on. Your in luck since the match will be big, long and epic! (I hope you and others enjoy it)

Rams30 - What gender the pregnant's girl child will be will be decided/revealed after the tournament.

2. Jimmy & Marina - I don't recall Ash and Misty ever meeting them in the canon anime series or what not, but I figured it would make sense because Ash and Misty had traveled around Johto and Jimmy and Marina are natives of that region.

3. Background stories - Each of the characters mentioned in the story so far will have their story told. However, it will take some time as I like to flesh things out little by little most of the time and only drop bombs when its needed. I will say this though; Sarah will have her story said during her date with Ash, Clair's darkest hour/past will be revealed in this chapter and Liza's betrothal will also be expanded on in this chapter as well. As for the other characters, even the minor ones, they will get some light shined on them here and there until the moment comes when its their turn to take the lead.

4. Daisy's Protectiveness - Touching on that a bit above, I will be leaving hints to the reason why Daisy is being so protective over Misty and Ash. Besides what's been going on so far in the story, there is another reason why for her behavior.

5. Iris and Cilan - There are things between these two that I have planned from the beginning of the story that will be looked at a little in this chapter. There are secrets that will hurt their relationship and make them realize some obvious truths. Things are going to be rocky between them and it may or may not work out at the end.

Okay, with that done, I hope you're ready for the battle between the Dragon Master Drax and the Aura Guardian Ash Ketchum! Enjoy!

- I DON'T OWN POKEMON -

- WARNING; MATURE CONTENT -

THE BLUE SPIRIT

CHAPTER 48 – THE SEMI FINALS

At the Indigo Plateau Hotel, about an hour after most of the group had left to go to the mall, the parents had gathered in the living room. They were waiting for Sabrina's parents to show up and were passing the time by drinking some tea and discussing some things. Johanna placed her tea cup down after taking a sip. "So it looks like Natasha is doing better."

Her words were met with nods. "That's true. And I must say she is gorgeous. I never would have guessed that when Ash first brought her here," admitted Grace.

"Jealous are we?" teased Delia and they chuckled while Grace sighed.

"Hey, don't be trying to hide that you're feeling a little jealous too!" shot Caroline and Delia blushed slightly.

Norman shook his head. "Females," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?!" snapped Caroline, Johanna, Grace and Delia together.

"Nothing!" answered Norman but they still glared at him. "Ah, I'm gonna go to the balcony for a bit." Norman quickly left the area to put some distance between him and the women so they don't become angrier at him.

Caroline crossed her arms and glared at her husband's back as he left. "Hmph. No fun for him for a month." The other three mothers burst out laughing at her remark. "What?" she asked.

"You and we both know you won't stick with that punishment," retorted Delia, making Caroline go crimson.

"Shut up!"

"Oh, we hit a nerve!" remarked Grace.

"Now we know where May gets her fiery side from!" commented Johanna.

Caroline moved her gaze away from the other mothers. "Haters," she replied back and the other three laughed even harder. It took them a couple minutes to slowly stop.

"So what are we going to do when Sabrina's parents arrive?" asked Johanna after they quieted down.

Delia sighed. "No real plan. We'll just try to discuss and explain things properly and calmly." Grace, Johanna and Caroline agreed with that. Before they could say something themselves, their suite door was knocked on. "That must be them." Delia got up and went to the door as Caroline went to get Norman from the balcony. Ash's mother opened the door and saw Sabrina's parents. "Hello, I'm Delia Ketchum. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, come in," she greeted them and gestured for them to come in.

David responded with a curt nod as a thought went through his head; so this is Satoshi's wife? Kate gave a smile. "Thank you Delia," said Kate and the two walked into the suite and moved into the living room as they followed after Delia. When they saw the other parents there, David and Kate introduced themselves and received introductions in return. After getting acquainted with one another, the parents sat down on the couches. Johanna handed their guests cups of tea. "Thank you," replied Kate and Johanna said that it was no problem. "Have to say, nice suite. Must be fun being here. Am I right?"

Some chuckles were made by her hosts. "Yes, it is nice. And we have had our fair share of fun here," said Caroline with a smile.

"So how was your trip here?" asked Delia.

"Not bad at all. David teleported us here," revealed Kate.

"Oh. So Sabrina inherited her powers from you then," commented Grace.

"That's right," confirmed David with a nod and a hint of pride. "So, since our daughter was mentioned, let's get to the reason as to why we're here."

They nodded in understanding and waited for him to speak but instead his wife spoke up. "We're here because our daughter Sabrina is in love with your son…" At this point, both David and Kate locked eyes with Delia. "…Ash. And your son states that he loves her back. But he also said that he loves your daughters…" They now looked at Johanna, Grace, Caroline and Norman. "…who I believe are Dawn, Serena and May along with a few other girls. Are we correct?" she asked them. They replied back that she was so far. "Alright. Now, I want to know just how are things working out? Why do you support it? Aren't you worried? What has he promised or said to make you feel comfortable with all this?" Kate finished asking their questions and the parents were quiet for a second.

Grace was the first to answer them. "You know, I asked myself these same questions and a few others when I first found out about all this. It was shocking at first but after speaking with my Serena, with the other girls, with Ash and seeing how they are with one another…it makes sense for them to be in this kind of special situation."

Sabrina's parents tilted their heads and asked her what she meant by that. Johanna answered this time. "What Grace means and what we have seen and believe is that they have this…bond between them. It just makes it work between them. The girls don't see each other as one of Ash's girlfriends. They see each other as sisters, family. They are loyal to one another, respect one another, communicate their thoughts and feelings to one another and treat each other like they are the missing piece of themselves."

David scratched the side of his head. "Okay. I guess that makes sense," he said. "But how is he able to keep them all happy? I wouldn't be surprised if there are problems, fights or feelings of being left out or not given enough attention among many other things."

"You have a point there," admitted Caroline and the other parents nodded their heads. "However, they have discussed with one another what they want, what they're looking for and along with what was said before, they have come up with rules to keep things fair. And it's working splendidly between them."

"Rules?" asked Kate and the parents nodded again. "Huh. Interesting. I guess that would make sense. What about…" The parents continued to discuss with one another about the special situation between their daughters, the other girls and the raven haired guardian for quite some time.

As their conversation went on, a young teenage couple was in one of the bedrooms. "Yea, we won!" shouted Bonnie triumphantly before she and Max high fived one another. They had just beaten Call of the Trainer on the hardest difficulty level together. "No one can beat us when it comes to video games!"

Max smiled at her enthusiasm. "You got that right Bonnie!" The young blonde girl smiled at him but also blushed slightly from his gaze on her. "So we beat this. What should we do now?" he asked her.

Bonnie thought for a moment. "Hmm, how about you think of something and I'll go get some snacks for us in the mean time." She stood up to go but then felt her hand grasped by his, making her glance back at him. Her blushing became more pronounced.

"I'll go get the snacks this time and you come up with something for us to do okay?" asked Max. Before she could reply back, Max got up and left the room, leaving her alone.

Bonnie sat back down on the floor and leaned against the bed with the TV in front of her. "What should we do?" she asked out loud. She crawled towards the TV stand and looked at the games and movies stacked there. She looked at a few but none caught her interest. She then pulled out a movie and saw that it was titled 'Armageddon'. Her heart beat increased after reading the title and hearing Ash's words in her head all of a sudden; the world was covered in darkness, drenched with evil. All were lost in it. Bonnie shivered from remembering that. She set the movie down on the stand and sat on her legs. She thought about all that Ash had done while he was gone for three years. The sacrifices he made and the horrible things he had to deal with not only during his intense training, but throughout his life as well.

Bonnie took in a sharp breath at that. Her and Max's idol had gone through so much. She understood serious things when she was younger too but now? It just hit her how precious their time was. That any moment could be their last. And for all she knew, the two years before the darkness emerged could be all that they had left. She believed in Ash of course. Heck, the Alpha Pokémon, Arceus, believes in him and even if he didn't, she, Max and their friends and family would no matter what. But she was still worried. Worried for Ash, her family, her friends and worried for…Max.

Bonnie's heart thumped strongly as she thought about Max. She imagined him in her mind and she felt herself fill up with emotion suddenly and that surprised her. Is…is this…what love is? I mean, I do like him. I do feel something when we're together. And when we touch… She felt her heart skip a beat when she remembered their first kiss at the arcade. Sure it wasn't the most romantic one in the world. But it was theirs. And she thought of when he encouraged her during their training. How he prevented her from feeling down about herself. How he was there to comfort her when she was scared yesterday. I think…I think my feelings for him are real. I want…

Bonnie's thoughts were cut off when the door opened and Max walked back in with some chips and soda. He sat on the ground and leaned against the bed. "Sabrina's parents are here. They look like they're really into their talk," he said while setting the food and drinks onto the floor next to him. Bonnie merely nodded back. "So did you decide what we're doing next?" he asked her. He grabbed a chips bag and was about to open it when the blonde teenager moved to be beside him and stopped him. He looked up at her with a confused expression. "You don't want this?" he asked her.

Bonnie shook her head. "It's not that. I…I want to ask you something. But…before I do…do you promise to tell me the truth?" she asked him quietly.

Max felt his heart start to beat rapidly. He was worried as to where she was going with this. He set the bag of chips back onto the floor and sat up some more against the bed. He looked into her eyes and she did the same to him. "I promise."

She was quiet for a moment. "Do you remember our…kiss?" she asked him. Both of them turned red at that. Max answered by nodding his head. "And…did you…like it?" He nodded again. "Do…do you…like me?" The two had their faces turn dark red. Max slowly nodded his head once more. "Last question; do you…want me to be…your…girlfriend?" she asked him.

Max's eyes widened at that. He couldn't believe what Bonnie was asking but her last question made him completely surprised. He wasn't expecting anything like this. He snapped out of his stupefied trance and composed himself. "Bonnie...let me tell you this; we have so much in common and I'm happy whenever we're together. I do like you. A lot." The young teenage girl smiled at his words. "And though I would like you to be my girlfriend, I don't know how to be in a relationship. And aren't you…we…a little young…to be in a…relationship?" he asked her.

She understood what he was saying. Sure they were barely teenagers. But they were mature for their age. And they did like one another. "Max…it might be a little soon for us to think about or pursue something like this," started Bonnie and he nodded in agreement. "But, I think we can handle it. And it's not like we have to change what we do right? We can be together. That is…if that's what you want." She hung her head, too embarrassed to keep looking at him.

Max felt so happy over her words and he gained courage from that. "Hey…" Bonnie slowly raised her gaze to his. "Do you like me?" he asked her. She nodded. "Did you enjoy our kiss?" She turned crimson before she nodded again. "Do you want me to be your…boyfriend?" he asked her. A moment later, she nodded once more and he had a large smile form on his face. "Then in that case, let's make things official." Max stood up and extended his hand to hers and assisted Bonnie in standing up after. "Bonnie Citron, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked her.

She beamed at him. "I will. And will you be my boyfriend Max Maple?" she asked him.

"I will," he answered her with a smile.

The two looked into one another's eyes, feeling many good emotions spiraling around inside them. Without even thinking, the two slowly leaned in closer to one another. Before they knew it, Max and Bonnie had their lips meet one another's. It was a better but still simple kiss. It enflamed the two, making them keep going for a good minute before they finally stopped. Immediately afterwards they took up the other into an embrace and told one another that they were happy. When they separated, Bonnie set up the movie for them to watch and Max got their snacks ready to munch on.

While the new couple began watching a movie in their room, Clemont was in his room. He was working on his experiments like he said he would be doing. He was trying to fix his energy siphoning device that he used on Ash when he had a mental breakdown. He had figured out what the problem was but just couldn't isolate it. Every time he attempted to correct it, something else would go haywire. "Ah, come on damn it!" he said in frustration. He smacked his invention, letting out a yelp as a result while holding onto his hand. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" He was still very sore from training and he had his hand hit the dense metal part. The pain slowly went away and he sat down on a chair. "Man, what am I going to do?" He thought a bit about it before shaking his head and let out a sigh. "I need a break…"

Clemont glanced around the room. He thought about watching some TV but then decided against it. Maybe Bonnie and Max might want to do some practice battles. He got up and went to his backpack that was on the table. He picked it up and searched for his poke balls that were inside it. Rather than getting a poke ball though, his hand touched something else. "What the…" He took out the item and had a surprised expression form on his face. It was a picture frame of him, his sister, Ash, Serena and their other friends from Kalos. He instantly knew that his sister had put this in his backpack. "Bonnie, why would you…" He stopped talking when his eyes fell onto a particular person on the picture. She had brunette hair, tanned skin, green eyes and a cheerful look on her face.

Clemont smiled at seeing her in the photo. I wonder how Shauna is doing. The gym leader thought about her for a bit. He thought of their adventures throughout Kalos together and how they would hang out together with their other friends Tierno and Trevor. It's been a while since we talked. Maybe I should give her a call. He put the picture down, raised his Poketch, scrolled down his list of contacts and called her. It rang a few times before it was picked up. "Hey Shauna, how are you doing?" asked Clemont.

An excited voice was heard from the other line. "Clemont! Hey, it's good to hear from you!" answered Shauna. "How's everything? How's Ash? How's Bonnie? How's Serena?"

"Whoa, slow down!" chuckled Clemont. "Always on full speed aren't you?" he asked her.

"You betcha!" she replied back with a laugh.

He smiled at that. "Well, we're all doing well now. Things are getting better and the tournament is almost over. How are things back home?" he asked her.

"Well that's good to hear. Well, we've been…" Shauna began explaining what she and their other friends have been up to and how worried they were about Ash over his last few matches. Clemont understood that and told her that they shouldn't be worried since everything was alright. He then asked her if she was doing well. "That good to hear. Well, I'm having another super duper day here in wonderful Kalos!" giggled Shauna and he replied back saying he wasn't surprised. "That's right! You know me Clemo!"

Clemont groaned. "Please stop calling me Clemo," pleaded the gym leader.

Shauna quieted down after laughing a bit. "But I like it," she said. Unknown to each other since they couldn't see each other's faces, they both blushed slightly. "So, I gotta ask...why the sudden call? Missed me did ya?" asked the brunette curiously and teasingly.

Clemont had his heart skip a beat at the sudden question and went redder. "Ah, well…I-I just wanted t-to see how you're doing. You know, since w-we used to h-hang out a lot and it's been awhile," said the gym leader truthfully.

A smile formed on the girl on the other end of the line. "That's sweet of you." He felt happy hearing that from her. "Well, I hope you don't forget to…"

"SHAUNA!"

"Who was that?" asked Clemont while trying to ignore the ringing in his ear now because of the sudden shout that cut her off. He heard Shauna tell the other voice to hold on for a moment because she's talking to Clemont. He heard someone speaking again but couldn't make out the words.

He wondered who the voice belonged to when Shauna began talking again to him. "Sorry Clemo. It was Tierno. He says hello."

"Oh okay," he replied back. "Thanks and tell him I saw hello too. Is everything alright though?" he asked her.

"I will and yea everything is fine. He's just getting anxious cause we're gonna go see a movie together and he wants to see the previews," informed Shauna.

Clemont chuckled in response. "Yea, that sounds like Tierno. Say hello to the others too for me when you see them there."

"What do you mean?" asked Shauna, confused at first before she got it. "Oh, Trevor and Miette won't be there."

Now Clemont was confused. Usually they would hang out in a group that consisted of him, his sister Bonnie and their friends Shauna, Miette, Trevor and Tierno after Ash left and Serena became busy with her showcases. "I assumed that since Bonnie and I aren't there, that you four would hang out together now."

"OH!" Now she understood. "I see what you mean now. Sorry, I should've mentioned that Trevor and I are going out alone."

Clemont heard his own heartbeat in his ears now. "You mean…like a…date?" he asked her.

He couldn't tell but Shauna went redder on the other end of the line. "Well, I guess you can call it that," answered Shauna embarrassingly. It became quiet for a moment. Unable to bear the silence anymore, she spoke. "Why do you ask? Is…there something…wrong with that?" she asked him.

"No no, just…surprised. That's all," replied Clemont while feeling horrible for some reason at what he found out.

"Oh okay." It became quiet again as the two stayed on the phone. Both were wondering what to say and the silence started becoming a little awkward. "Well, I guess I should go. You know how impatient he gets," joked Shauna.

Clemont forced himself to chuckle. "Yea, I do. Have fun Shauna. It was good talking to you again."

"Same here Clemo. I hope to hear from you again soon," she said.

The two said their byes together before both of them hung up. Clemont sunk into a chair and started wondering why he felt so terrible now. Why did I start feeling that way... when I found out she's going out with Tierno? Shouldn't I be…happy for them? He glanced over at the picture he placed on the dresser. He got up, picked it up and looked at it again. The moment he saw Shauna's image on it, his mouth formed into a smile. His eyes then roamed over the photo and landed onto Tierno. Anger spiked in him suddenly with his smile vanishing at once. That both surprised him and scared him. He placed the photo face down onto the dresser and took a step away from it. Why did I feel that way? Am I…jealous? He's my friend but why am I so…angry with him? He started shaking a little, his emotions getting the better of him. He took in several deep breaths to calm himself down. It's probably nothing. I'm just wired up from everything that's happened so far. Yea, that's it. He walked over to where his invention was and started working on it again. But every now and then, his mind would wonder towards the cheerful brunette. And each time he would force his mind to focus back onto his task.

As the day went on, while the three younger adults were in their rooms, the parents came to an understanding. And soon afterwards, Ash and company reappeared in the penthouse suite balcony. Their sudden appearance caught the attention of their parents. They got up and went to the newly arrived group. As they drew nearer, they heard several conversations going on at once. Liza, Sabrina and Cynthia were trying to comfort Clair. Violet, Lily and Misty were speaking with Daisy and asking if she was alright. Iris and Cilan were arguing and the others were just trying to fully understand what had happened and calm things down. Natasha was feeling overwhelmed at all the heated conversations going around her and she stayed near Ash and May.

Unable to distinguish what was going on, Norman and David let out loud whistles that drew their attention and Delia spoke afterwards. "What's going on here?" she asked them. Everyone in the group turned their gazes onto the parents as they went silent immediately. Then they glanced at one another but said nothing. "Really?!" The parents glared at the group and Delia faced her son. "Ash Ketchum! What happened?!" asked Delia.

All eyes went to Ash and he sweat dropped. Even Natasha felt a little scared for him at the way his mother and the other parents were looking at him. The raven haired guardian thought quickly before answering. "Let's just say that Drax is not someone we want around us and I have a huge battle to get ready for," he replied back.

"Got that right," huffed Daisy as she crossed her arms while others nodded in agreement.

The ones who stayed at the hotel didn't know what they were talking about and asked them what had happened. Taking control, Liza explained what Drax had done, while leaving some things out such as what happened between him and Clair in the past. Getting the message, the parents understood now. "Okay, well let's head inside, have a drink and just calm down," advised Johanna.

Most everyone agreed to that except for one. "You guys go on ahead," started Ash before facing the Blackthorn gym leader. "But Clair and I need to talk." He gestured to the railings and she nodded. The group allowed the two some privacy. Most went inside with Natasha sticking with May and Delia at first before heading to her own room so she could think about how she could confess to Ash. But Sabrina, Cynthia and Liza remained behind and Ash knew why. "I know you're here to support her and that's great. But I need to talk to her alone for a moment please." The three glanced at Clair who said she'll be alright and they went inside as well.

When Ash and Clair where left alone at the railings, he turned to face her. "What happened between you and Drax? You confronted a drunk and maddened Aura Guardian without fear but you broke down because of him. Why?" he asked her. He wanted to know and now was the time.

Clair sighed before looking towards the horizon. She spoke with her sight away from him. "You're going to think I'm a pathetic and idiot girl," she said quietly.

Ash took a step towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder that made her turn her gaze onto his. He locked his eyes with her and her heart skipped a beat. "I will never think that Clair. Stubborn and foolishly bold? Yeah. But never what you just said."

She felt powerful feelings rise within her but controlled them. Though Ash sensed that, he didn't comment on it. She stayed silent for a moment before looking at the horizon again. "He used me," she revealed all of a sudden. Ash lowered his hand and took another step closer to her. Clair continued speaking while Ash stood at her side. "He came to my gym almost two years ago right when a tournament was about to start for only up and coming dragon trainers. I was also going to participate in it since only Elite Four members and Champions were not allowed. He showed up before it started and asked for my assistance to learn more about dragons. I decided to help him because I was honor bound as a gym leader to help those who ask for it and…because he was respectful, charming and handsome." She turned red, embarrassed over what she just admitted but Ash said nothing. He only nodded to show he was following so far and Clair noticed it. She took a breather before continuing. "I taught him almost everything I knew and we had many practice battles. He was really good right off the bat but after taking my advice and teachings to heart, he quickly became even better. As a result of our many hours together practicing, soon enough we became close. We even went out a few times but kept it secret. Only Liza, Sabrina and Cynthia knew about it. I didn't want anyone else to know about it cause it was all new to me, I didn't know how my family would react and he said he didn't mind." Clair stopped at this point. Her heart began beating rapidly since her mind was flashing images of what happened later on. Ash could sense her feelings going all over the place and she was doing her best to stay in control. "We had dinner at my place the night before the tournament started to celebrate our completed training. The night went on well enough…or so I thought. After finishing dinner and talking for a while, I…I…was feeling so happy and wanted to experience…more."

Ash didn't say anything about that but inside his stomach twisted into knots at hearing that and that startled him. What the hell? Why did I just feel that? He thought to himself but when she continued speaking, he pushed it aside and forced his attention back onto her.

"I excused myself to use the bathroom. I wanted to look my best for him. It was my first time ever dressing up or using make up. I hadn't done that for anyone before. On my way back, I heard him talking to someone on the phone quietly." Ash's eyes grew sullen, knowing where this was heading. "I stayed hidden and heard him say that he was going to leave me after the tournament. That he was only with me so he could get information on how to be a better dragon trainer. He then finished up by saying he has his goal of being the strongest dragon trainer in the world. That he didn't have time for a relationship especially…especially with someone like me. That he had someone else who was promised to him and would get with her instead no matter what." Ash had both rage and sadness fill him over what he just found out what this Drax did and was planning to do to her. Clair was starting to show signs that her emotions were taking over her. "I was…I was so devastated. But…I-I confronted him right there, telling him to get out and what he said wasn't what I was expecting at all; h-he didn't…d-deny it! He said that he was actually glad that I found out since…since he didn't need me anymore and…and thought I was dull, unimaginative and…and a needy slut…even though…we hadn't…done anything yet…" She couldn't hold it back anymore and started crying. Ash took her up into his arms and she cried into his chest with her hands placed against it as well. "H-he u-used me!" she cried. "I-I was s-so heartbroken that I-I didn't compete and didn't a-answer my friends' calls. I c-could've beaten him…but h-he had b-broken me…the first guy I opened up to and he completely used me! I-I couldn't Ash. I just couldn't face him because anything and everything about him just made me remember how gullible and desperate I was!" He started rubbing her back gently as he tried to comfort her, feeling horrible over what she went through because of that asshole. "I'm so stupid! I should've known he was using me!" she cried. "All the red flags that were there that I ignored! But he's right! How could anyone like me or love me? I act tough but the second fear fills me, or I have feelings for someone, I can't function. I can't do anything. I hid away from everyone and everything for over a month before even stepping out of my house. If-if it wasn't…f-for my best f-friends…I-I'd still be hiding away…I t-tried to m-move on…but I-I'm still a-a mess…" Clair couldn't talk anymore and just sobbed into his chest.

Ash felt so horrible over what she went through. He tightened his hug on her, wishing he could've prevented what had happened to her. "It's alright Clair," he said softly to her as she continued to cry. "You found out the truth about him before he could do anything else to you. Before he could use you more." He thought a bit about what to say to help comfort her. "And you confronted him. That took courage. You took him on again today and that was also brave. You stood up to your fear. You should be proud of yourself." Clair felt something stir inside her but it had nothing to do with her sadness or crying. "You are none of the things he said you are. You deserve to be respected, to be loved but not by just anyone. You deserve an incredible guy, one who would treat you the way you deserve to be treated. You are a beautiful and smart girl, a powerful trainer and a great friend," he told her in a calm and soothing tone of voice.

His words washed over the blunette and it helped her to gradually stop her sobbing. After several minutes, Clair slowly raised her head and looked at him with a teary gaze. "Do you…do you really mean that?" she asked quietly, looking into his brown eyes with her blue ones.

Ash let a smile form on his face. "Of course I do. You're one of kind Clair. You deserve the best. I know you'll find your prince charming," he told her at once.

Clair's heart beat increased and she felt powerful emotions fill her. She felt an almost overwhelming desire to just tell him right there how she feels about him that took all of her willpower to contain. "Thank you," she told him in a whisper a moment later before she hugged him tightly. I've already found him. You are my prince charming Ash.

Ash's eyes widened at her thoughts and his own heart began beating rapidly as he sensed her feelings skyrocket. Even though he had suspicions about her possibly liking him, he couldn't believe what he just found out. He felt something stirring inside him and he suddenly felt this incredible pull towards her. He was about to say something to her when she separated from him. She gave him a warm smile as she wiped away her tears. "Thank you for being here for me Ash." And with that, Clair leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. She turned red as she did so before leaving Ash alone in the balcony and went back inside.

Ash watched her go with a stunned look on his face until she disappeared inside. He turned his gaze towards the horizon, lost in thought with his hand on his cheek. Did that just happen? Why did I feel that way? He thought about Clair more carefully. Her personality. Her attitude. The way she held herself. How she looked. What she revealed to him. How she tried to stop him from making a mistake after the club. How she was mad at him for not believing in her more during the first time they trained. How she tried to protect Sabrina in her own way. How he felt so bad when he found out that she was thinking about becoming intimate with Drax. He felt the stirring feeling inside him become stronger as he thought about her and it was the same thing that stirred when he had thoughts about his girlfriends. I can't believe it…I…I have feelings for Clair. And she has feelings for me. His mind brought up the other girls who he had suspicions about and the stirring feeling within him remained. Is this…is this what I'm feeling for the other girls too? What is this going to cause to happen? He checked his Poketch and saw he still had a good amount of time until his match with Drax. He stayed outside and looked over the horizon as he thought some more. After several minutes, his mind landed onto a particular blonde girl that made him send out a mental message. Misty? Can you hear me?

A startled tone of voice was heard in his head. Ash?! Where are you?!

So you can still hear me. Cool. I'm in the balcony. Where are you?

Wow! You're getting better! And I'm in my sisters' room.

He smiled to himself. Thanks Mist. Is Daisy with you?

She is. Why?

I wanted to check in on her since she battled with Drax too. How's she doing?

Misty's voice in his head was now covered in a sullen tone. She's a little shaken up still. She told me, Vi and Lil how she was never beaten so brutally before. And before the battle, she ran into him earlier on in the mall and he was a complete jackass to her. How could someone be so cruel like that?

Ash felt anger rise in him but kept himself from showing it via his mental communication. I don't know Mist. There are so many rotten people out there. I hope she feels better soon.

Unfortunately. And she will Ash. Especially when you show that asshole what a real trainer is like.

I promise Mist that I'll show him how wrong he is.

That's my Pokémon Master. Ash couldn't help but smile again. I'm gonna focus on Daisy now okay?

Ash's smile faded away and his expression turned serious. Okay. Tell her from me that things will be alright.

Will do!

Their mental conversation ended and the raven haired guardian began thinking about everything that happened with Drax and what he learned about him. How he used Clair like an object. How he had said and did some things to Iris and Cilan to jeopardize their relationship. How he disrespected Daisy. The brutality of his battling methods. He felt his anger rise even higher and he gripped the metal railings hard, bending them. You will pay for this Drax. You will apologize for what you've done. Ash stayed out in the balcony a little longer, thinking about his upcoming battle and who he was going to use for in it.

When everyone went inside the suite while Ash and Clair talked, Iris and Cilan headed into their bedroom to speak in private while most of the others were in the living room. As soon as they entered the room, they began talking about what happened. Little by little, their conversation was becoming more and more heated and soon it turned into an argument. Cilan shook his head after Iris said something and said he doesn't want to hear excuses anymore. The purple haired girl however kept talking to her green haired boyfriend but he wasn't listening. "Please Cilan, he means nothing to me!" stated Iris after her last explanation.

"How can you say that Iris?!" shouted Cilan, outraged and feeling humiliated over what happened. His shouting caught Iris off guard and made her take a step back. "You became excited when you heard who Ash was facing him next! You let him kiss you! You two were even promised to one another and you never told me about that! You barely fought back! You looked like you were debating about what he said!" yelled Cilan, taking in some breaths afterwards.

Iris became angry at that. "You know I love dragons and admire dragon trainers! And you saw me get angry! You saw me shocked! How could you blame me for not taking action quicker because of that?!" she asked him.

"That's not the point Iris!" snapped back Cilan, deflecting her question. "You kept secrets from me!"

Iris took in a sharp breath but didn't back down. "I'm not the only one with secrets!" Cilan asked her what she meant with that. "You know exactly what I'm talking about! All those connoisseur conventions you go to every few months. What have you been doing there huh?!" she asked him.

Cilan shook from that before responding back. "You know that's one of my passions and I've never betrayed you!" he growled at her.

"Then why was Burgundy with you every time you went?!" she asked him with venom.

Cilan's heart thumped loudly. "First of all, of course she would be there. She is a connoisseur too. But that doesn't mean we did anything together while there Iris. I never spent much time with her. I'm not one to cheat and you should know that by now," he told her.

Iris however merely smiled weakly back at him, making him become confused. "I never said you cheated. You're lying to me Cilan." He was about to open his mouth when she silenced him with what she said next. "Did you forget about Georgia?"

Cilan's face lost color, going pale instantly. "G-Georgia?"

Seeing his reaction, Iris knew she had struck gold that he had forgotten about her being there too. "Yes Cilan, Georgia. Did you forget she and Burgundy are good friends? That she is one of my biggest rivals? That we keep in touch? Every time you went to one of those conventions, she was there too and you saw her. Remember?" Cilan began sweating bullets now. "She saw you and Burgundy having so much fun together and from what she said, it sounded like you were having the time of your lives," revealed Iris sadly.

Cilan looked like he was slapped. "I'm…I'm sorry for not telling you. But nothing happened between us Iris. I swear it," he told her.

Iris shook her head. "Then why lie to me Cilan? Why keep it a secret? Whenever I asked about how it went, what you did or who you saw, you never told me you spent time with her."

Cilan was feeling embarrassed and ashamed at being put on the spot like that but then anger sprang up within him. "What about you Iris?! You lied to me about Drax and how you two were promised to each other! That's worse!"

Iris gasped from his words and clapped her hands over her mouth. She was frozen for a few seconds before getting out of it. "How is that worse?! I didn't mention him because it was so long ago in my past and I forgot about it! It's not like I was constantly dealing with him while with you! Unlike you doing that to me with Burgundy!" she snapped at him.

Cilan shook with rage at that. "You expect me to believe that you just forgot about being promised to someone? Someone who you have great respect for? Someone who is everything that you're looking for? And what about everything else regarding how we got together Iris?!"

Iris's heart began beating faster. "What are you trying to say?" asked Iris quietly.

Cilan's angry demeanor did not soften. "Maybe this was supposed to happen! To show that we're not supposed to be together!" he shot at her.

Iris was shocked at what he said, becoming quiet for a moment until she snapped out of it. "Maybe you're right!" she replied back angrily.

"Fine!" barked Cilan.

"Fine!" snapped Iris back. She quickly exited the room and Cilan glared at the door closing behind her before he started pacing in the room while thinking about everything that just happened.

When Clair went inside, feeling much better, she went to her room and found Sabrina, Cynthia and Liza there. The three went to her at once. "Are you alright?" asked Sabrina.

Clair smiled and nodded her head, surprising her friends. "Yea. I'm good."

"Really?" asked Cynthia, tilting her head while Sabrina and Liza glanced at one another. "Because we thought that you would be feeling like shit right now after telling Ash what happened," remarked the blonde champion.

"Well, I was to be honest," started Clair slowly, making her friends give her gestures to hurry up and explain. That made her chuckle before continuing. "But man, Ash has a way with words. Never thought he would be so damn smooth," she admitted, turning red. Understanding dawned on her friends and the three girls shook their heads while laughing quietly. "And…I hope you don't get mad at me," said the blunette, making two of her friends look at her carefully now. "But I gave him a thank you kiss on the cheek for helping me."

Her friends were surprised at her action but Cynthia and Sabrina said it was fine. Clair thanked them for understanding. Seeing how unnaturally quiet Liza was being, she turned to her. "So where's your teasing and insulting comments? C'mon, I'm waiting," remarked the gym leader. Liza however just sat down on one of the beds and put her head in her hands. "Liza?"

Becoming concerned, the three girls gathered round the caretaker and sat down beside her. They waited for her to talk and a few minutes later, she did. "It's…it's about my caretaker duties and...and Drax." And with that, Liza started explaining everything to Sabrina and Cynthia about the test her ancestors made, what it entailed, the trainer who beat it to catch up the two before explaining to all three what she noticed about Drax. "It's him…he's the one who won the gauntlet! He's the one I'm promised to and have to get with to not sully my family name!" she finished up saying before starting to cry loudly.

Her friends were beyond stunned and were worried about her. But the three quickly snapped out of it and began comforting their close friend. "Don't worry," said Cynthia after a moment. "We'll figure something out."

Liza sighed but then Sabrina spoke up. "She's right. We won't let anyone force you. Not even the League."

"Told you we got your back," added Clair.

Liza looked up at her friends and saw them smiling at her. She sniffed before pulling the three into a hug. "Thanks you guys. What would I do without you?" she asked them rhetorically.

"Probably annoy someone else," remarked Clair at once.

"Bitch," whispered Liza, making the four of them laugh out loud.

Some time passed and an alarm sounded out in the balcony. The raven haired guardian dismissed it and went inside the suite and headed to his room. He woke up his starter, explained that they have an important battle to prepare for before the two headed out of his room. He saw that almost everyone was in the living room except for a handful. Ash told them to get ready to leave if they want to watch the match, to find the others and tell them the same as he went to the red head's room. "Hey, I have to go for my match. Do you want to stay or go with us?" he asked Natasha after stepping inside and seeing her sitting on her bed. She was lost in thought about when and how she should come clean to him and this was a perfect thing to distract her from it. And perhaps, it may allow her to figure out the way to do it. I'll come. I don't want to stay alone. She stepped out with him and the two entered the living room seeing everyone there now. Ash noticed Iris and Cilan having weird auras but when he glanced at them, they merely nodded at him. Deciding to worry about that after his match, he turned to face everyone. "I'm gonna go take care of something before getting to the stadium." He glanced at the red head again. "Would you mind staying with the girls?" She looked at him and shook her head before moving towards May, Leaf and Misty who welcomed her.

"What are you going to do?" asked Dawn.

"To prepare for my match," replied Ash before he and Pikachu disappeared.

The guardian and starter reappeared on New Island in front of his large group of pokemon. Immediately his pokémon went up to him, happy to see him. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder in time to avoid the sudden multiple tackles. Ash was pushed onto the ground and many of his smaller pokémon nuzzled him affectionately. Many of his pokémon, including Lucario, Gardevoir and Mewtwo smiled at the sight of him being smothered by them. "Yea, I'm glad to see you guys too!" His pokémon finally let him stand back up and he looked at them all. "How have you all been?" he asked them. He was answered with many roars and it looked like some were itching for a battle. He smiled at them. "Good to hear." His happy expression turned serious and seeing that change, his pokémon grew serious too. "It's the semi finals of the tournament. And we're facing someone who goes by Dragon Master Drax. He is strong. But he's also got a bad attitude. We will not hold back this battle." His pokémon nodded in understanding.

"I feel there is more you want to say," commented Mewtwo.

"I do. Its time to fully embrace who I am and we need to make a quick pit stop in Hoenn," replied Ash.

His pokémon and ally knew what he meant by that. Gardevoir moved towards him. "Ash, are you ready for that? And will you have enough time to do that before your match starts?" she asked him.

Ash faced her, checked the time and nodded. "Yes, and I believe so." He went inside his island home to change into some new clothes. When finished he stepped back outside and went towards his pokémon. They stood at attention and he looked at them trying to pick who will be battling. Finally he decided who would battle, told them to be ready and Ash then faced Mewtwo. "Would you be so kind buddy?" he asked the psychic feline. A second later, Ash, Mewtwo and Pikachu vanished.

The four of them reappeared in front of a large spiral tower. Ash raised his gaze and saw that the tower went so high up into the sky that the tip was covered in some low floating clouds. He looked at the entrance and saw it was boarded up. He quickly brought out a poke ball and his Pidgeot appeared. "You do know I can just teleport us up there right?" reminded Mewtwo.

"I know. But this is a test just like everything else," replied back Ash as he climbed onto Pidgeot and Pikachu tightened his hold onto his jacket. Ash faced his friend. "Were you testing me too?"

Mewtwo smirked. "Of course."

Ash shook his head. "Why am I not surprised? Pidgeot, to the top and as fast as you can go."

Pidgeot let out a chirp of happiness. She really loved flying fast. "Pid pidgot!" She opened her large and beautiful wings before shooting upwards with one flap of them. She quickly increased her speed and Mewtwo followed beside them. The psychic feline glanced at his friend and saw his expression completely serious and he could sense his anger boiling. Something must have really pissed him off. I pity the fool who did that.

It didn't take long but soon enough they reached the top of the tower and Ash felt the coldness from the clouds and felt his breathing becoming a little ragged. "Pidgeot, clear away the clouds." His falcon quickly got rid of the nearby clouds to reveal the top of the pillar and an altar. Pidgeot landed onto it and Ash jumped down as Mewtwo landed beside him. "Thank you," said Ash before returning the falcon. The raven haired guardian glanced at Pikachu and then at Mewtwo. Both of his friends gave him looks that clearly said they're with him.

Ash took a step forward towards the altar and immediately a voice was heard from behind him. "Who dares enter the sacred temple of the Lord of Dragons?"

The three whipped around and saw three people there dressed in black and white clothes with their faces masked. They were surprised that they couldn't sense them until now. "I, Aura Guardian Ash Ketchum, have come to challenge the Lord of Dragons to seek his reward," stated Ash.

The three took a step forward and each took out a poke ball from beneath their cloaks. "So be it. If you can beat the three of us at once, you will have proved yourself worthy to face the Lord of Dragons. If you succeed in completing his challenge, he will grant you the reward you seek. Are you ready challenger?" said the middle person.

Ash and Pikachu glanced at one another before facing the three once more. "We are," he said before Pikachu jumped onto the floor with its cheeks sparking. The three altar protectors were astonished at the challenger's choice of pokémon but nonetheless, they tossed out poke balls right after. An incredible battle ensued with their three pokémon against Pikachu.

Near the Indigo stadium, inside a cave at the base of a mountain, a tall man with silver hair was digging through his duffel bag while his large dragon was resting beside him. Drax took out three stones from inside it before placing them on the ground. He dug through the bag once more and pulled out the other item he was searching for. He looked at it for a second before facing Salamence. "This one has been causing us trouble but will be helpful in the upcoming match. The guardian is stronger than anticipated. He blocked your attack like it was nothing. We will show that I am in charge," stated Drax and the blue dragon nodded its head. Drax placed the ultra ball he took out on the ground and then unclipped the other poke balls around his waist before he tossed them. His five other dragon pokémon appeared with loud roars before standing attention and faced their trainer. He checked his Poketch and saw he still had about an hour before his match started. "That's more than enough time. We have some business to attend to before our next match." His pokémon made no sound except for slight growling when he picked up the ultra ball.

Drax opened the ultra ball and the pokémon appeared with a loud cry of its name. Instantly it went on guard while looking for a way to escape. It saw that the only exit was blocked by the silver haired man and his pokémon. Realizing it was trapped, it snarled loudly at Drax. "Silence!" shot the dragon trainer but it would not heed his command. "If you will not heed my commands willingly, you will be forced to! Do not anger me!" The pokémon instead shot a Dragon Pulse at the trainer but it was blocked by one of his dragons. "So be it," stated Drax coldly. His six dragons advanced onto the lone pokémon and attacked it without mercy. The lone pokémon did its best to evade and counter, managing to hurt them back with its own attacks but its opponents were too strong, too skilled and working together. It was soon overwhelmed by their attacks and dropped onto the cave ground while wheezing for breath. Drax's pokémon backed away a few steps but kept their gaze on the defiant pokémon.

Drax walked forward and when he reached the weakened pokémon on the ground, placed his boot on the base of its neck. The pokémon whimpered from it but the Dragon Master didn't care. "You have power but you are no match for me. You will obey or you will be beaten every time you challenge me." The pokémon glared at him but it didn't affect him. "Defiant to the end. A true dragon. But you are forgetting that dragons are honor bound to submit to the one who captures them." The pokémon's glare faded away and it looked away, sadness filling it from the truth. "That's what I thought. You will obey me. Or you will bring dishonor on your kind." Drax went silent for a moment to let that sink into the pokémon's head. "Now I have an important match coming up. I only had to use one or two pokémon so far in the tournament. But my next opponent is strong. Though I will beat him, I'm not taking any chances with him. You will aid me in defeating him or I will make sure that the rest of your days are filled with agony for failing me. Understand?!" The pokémon glanced at Drax again for a moment before looking away. Realizing it had no choice, it closed its eyes and slowly nodded. "Good." Drax took his foot off its neck and went towards his duffel bag again while his other pokémon kept watch on the hurt one. The Dragon Master took out several restorative potions from his bag. He went back to his pokémon and applied the potions onto his dragons, leaving the defiant one to the end. After doing that, he gave three of his pokémon the stones before returning them all except for two. He looked at one of them. "You will sit this battle out." His pokémon nodded and was returned. Drax then locked eyes with his Salamence. "Time to go." Salamence lowered itself so Drax can climb onto its back and the blue dragon flew out of the cave before rising into the air. The silver haired Dragon Master had a large grin appear on his face. You have no chance Guardian.

In a large castle that stood in the middle of the Kingdom of Rota, the young blonde Queen was in her room lying on her bed. Ilene was staring up at the ceiling, exhausted. She had been extremely busy since her return yesterday in the evening. The moment she came back home, she was bombarded with important tasks and updates from her advisors that had come up during her absence. She stayed up late into the night and only had a few hours of sleep before being awakened early in the morning that day. But thanks to her trusted advisors, Riley's suggestions and her own quick thinking and decision making, she finally finished all that needed to be done for the moment to keep her kingdom running smoothly. She shook her head suddenly. That's the last and only time I take a couple weeks off for a vacation without setting things in place for unseen problems while I'm gone, thought Ilene.

She took in a long breath and exhaled. There was a good aspect about her being so busy though. It allowed her to not think about what had happened the day before. And right now, she was too tired out to even think. Ilene was about to close her eyes to sleep a bit when her door was knocked on. Letting out a disgruntled groan, she ignored it and turned to her side. The knocking continued. "Ugh, what is it?" she called out with an annoyed tone of voice.

"My Queen, I only wanted to remind you that the next match is about to begin," came Riley's voice through the door.

Ilene's eyes snapped open. "Alright. Thank you," she replied back calmly as she sat up. Before leaving, Riley said that he'll have it ready for her to watch in the main living quarters. The young woman stood up and went to her dresser to check on her appearance. Her face showed tired reddened eyes and her royal attire was wrinkly since she was lying down with them on. It'll have to do. I don't want to miss his match. Her mind formed her Knight's image in her head, making her both a little happier but also a little sullen. She shook her head, clearing the image from her mind and walked out of her room. Soon enough, Ilene entered the living quarters and true to his word, Riley had readied the match for her to watch. "Thank you Master Riley. And is everything okay with you and Daisy?" asked Ilene as she sat on the couch.

Riley nodded. "No problem my Queen. And yes, I have spoken with her a little earlier on." Ilene smiled at that, saying she hopes the best for them. Riley thanked her as he sat down as well and she turned her attention to the screen. The television showed the stadium filled up with the announcer speaking about the last match, getting the crowd pumped for the battle. "I believe Ash will do well," commented Riley.

Ilene agreed with his statement. "As do I. My Knight will win." Riley gave a curious glance towards his Queen, sensing her emotions spike a little. But Ilene didn't notice because her attention was on the screen. As the two watched the broadcast of the match, Riley periodically checked on her expressions and reactions.

At the Indigo Plateau stadium, five people were inside the VIP room of the stadium. Each was anxiously waiting to see the next match that would determine the final round matchups of the tournament. One of the four, an elderly man who had a bundle of energy, turned to look at the rest. "So, before it starts, you guys sure you don't want to switch up the bets?" he asked them.

Three of them chuckled while the fourth merely stayed quiet. "It's already been decided on Charles. No changing minds now," replied Diantha.

"Alright, just making sure." Goodshow turned back around, grabbed some chips and tossed them into his mouth. "Steven, how come you didn't invite Ms. Snow?" he asked without looking at the champion.

Steven reddened from the sudden question and that his fellow champions were eying him curiously. "Ah, I…"

Alder clapped his back, making Steven yelp all of a sudden. "We wouldn't have objected. And Cynthia's not that angry at her anymore. Nor is she here. Then again, it would be wise to not mention anything about Snow in front of her for now," he advised the younger man. Steven sighed before going quiet. They let him be and conversed with one another while waiting for the match to start.

The large group of family and friends reached the stadium with some minutes to spare. They walked in and noticed something different. There were now league officials standing at each and every stadium entrance and exit. Knowing it was because of Ash's last match and what happened, they took up seats in the front rows of the stands. Ash's girlfriends and the girls who have feelings for him all sat near each other across two rows. Their family and friends sat around them. Iris and Cilan sat next to each other to not draw suspicion from others that they were on rocky roads but did not interact with one another. The group made some small talk here and there while the stadium filled up and Sabrina's parents felt some excitement. It had been a while since they had been to a tournament in person. "Is it just me, or is the stadium more packed than before?" asked Caroline, noticing more people than usual.

"There's definitely more people," replied Norman, seeing some standing or sitting in the aisles, unable to find seats.

"Second to last match of the tournament with Ash and Drax competing. One Aura Guardian and the other a Dragon Master. This should be interesting," said David.

"I'm surprised we found seats together," remarked Kate. "And I wonder if the crowd will go crazy this time too," she thought

That made the group become worried but before anyone could comment, the announcer started speaking. "LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!" The crowd quieted down to hear him. "THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THE LAST PART OF THE SEMIFINALS OF THE SPIRIT TOURNAMENT!" The crowd roared and cheered. "IN OUR LAST ROUND WE HAD TOBIAS BEAT JIMMY AND ADVANCED TO THE FINALS! NO SURPRISES THERE!"

"HEY!" Ash's group turned to see the young man who shouted and saw him standing up in the stands. He was angry about what was said. He lost sure, but he fought valiantly, taking out Latios before Darkrai completely overwhelmed him. They saw his girlfriend pull him back down to sit on the stands. They shook their heads, chuckling a bit before listening to the announcer again.

"THAT LEAVES US WITH THIS BATTLE TO DETERMINE WHO WILL FACE TOBIAS, THE TRAINER OF LEGENDARIES IN THE FINAL MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT!" Once again, the crowd roared and cheered but even louder this time. "LET'S BRING THEM OUT! OVER ON THE RED SIDE, WE HAVE A TRAINER OF DRAGONS WHO HAS DOMINATED EVERY SINGLE MATCH OF HIS WITH POWERFUL POKEMON! DRAGON MASTER DRAX!" The moment the announcer stopped talking, a loud roar was heard from above that made everyone look up towards the sky. The saw a large blue pokémon rocketing towards the field but at the last second he pulled up, leveled out and a tall trainer dressed in black and white jumped down from him and landed in his trainer's box. Salamence hovered beside him before letting out a loud roar again when Drax straightened out. The crowd shouted and cheered seeing the Dragon Master. Cilan glanced at Iris to see if she had any sort of reaction towards Drax's appearance but he couldn't see anything since her expression was neutral.

"Some entrance that was," said Serena sarcastically.

"I like Ash arriving in his pajamas the best so far," commented Dawn making several of the girls from their group giggle while others glanced at one another and just shrugged.

"Of course you do," shot May, making the blunette blush.

"She's not the only one who did I bet." Misty nudged the brunette who smiled sheepishly.

"We all did," admitted Sarah and they laughed with Cynthia smiling in agreement.

"Wonder how Ash will make his entrance?" asked Anabel, saying what was on Sabrina's mind.

"We'll find out soon enough," answered Leaf before the announcer started speaking again.

"AND NOW FOR THE GREEN SIDE! YOU ALL KNOW WHO HE IS! THE SAVIOR OF THE TOURNAMENT, AURA GUARDIAN ASH KETCHUM!" A large light blue sphere appeared in the trainer's box on the green side immediately after he stopped speaking. A pair of dark blue eyes glowed from within and streaks of white electricity shot up and arced around the blue sphere that cackled, making the crowd gasp and awe over it. The sphere of aura burst open with rays of blue light racing over the stands into the air. In its wake, it revealed the raven haired guardian with blue glowing flames dancing around him with his loyal Pikachu on his shoulder. His aura died down and they saw that he was dressed differently than usual. A blue fedora hat was on his head and a blue cloak was wrapped around him at first. Until he flung it open to reveal him dressed in his guardian's attire of blue pants, black long sleeved tight shirt with a blue vest over it, black gloves that left his finger tips exposed and black combat boots.

The crowd was silent at first before most of them erupted in cheers as his aura faded away. They had never seen an entrance like that before. Many females in the crowd were screaming their hearts out to him, seeing how dashing he looked in his Guardian's uniform. Even his girlfriends were unable to resist shouting out words of affection for him. "Now that's an entrance!" praised Cynthia after sitting back down.

"You said it!" agreed Sabrina with a large smile. The other girls who were hiding feelings for him were blushing slightly at the sight of him while complimenting and encouraging him. Clair nodded her head along with the rest but kept silent, watching Ash and Drax walk up to the referee in the middle. She couldn't take her eyes off the raven haired man.

A good amount of spectators however were still uneasy about what the guardian had done and did not cheer for him. Yet, they were all gossiping and murmuring since they had heard rumors of him and Drax having an argument at the mall before the match. They and everyone else watched as the two took the microphones and looked at one another. "I hope you're ready Ketchum. That stunt you just did, didn't even faze me. I will show everyone that you're not all powerful," boasted Drax.

The young man's eyes narrowed. "You will learn to watch what you say. And you will apologize for what you've done to my friends," replied Ash with a serious and angry tone of voice.

Drax however only smirked. "Let's see if you can make me do that Guardian." He then glanced towards the stands and looked around a bit. "I hope your friends and family are here too. I want them to see that you're nothing. Especially the one that was promised to me. She will see what she could've reached if she remained with me." Drax glanced at Ash and his expression turned even smugger. "But the people here came to see a grand battle. Don't lose too quickly against me." They didn't shake hands and went to their respective sides on the field. Witnessing the tension between the two powerful trainers made the stadium buzz with many conversations going on over it. Iris went red but kept her expression neutral when her friends glanced at her before facing the field again.

The referee raised both green and red flags before speaking. "This is a six versus six, one on one match with no time limit. As a reminder, for the final two rounds of the tournament, substitutions and mega evolutions are allowed."

Because of the last match, the crowd knew this but Ash and his group didn't. Cynthia knew as well but had forgotten about it because of everything that had happened. Though Ash wasn't troubled, his group was. "Mega evolutions are allowed?!" asked Giselle. "How come we didn't know?!"

Clemont took out a small thin book from his pocket and quickly scanned through it. "Looks like it was in the rule book for the tournament."

"Do you always keep that with you?" asked Bonnie and he replied back that it's so small that why shouldn't he. Bonnie rolled her eyes at her brother making Max laugh. Clemont told the two to shut up, which only made them laugh harder.

The blunette fighter from Hoenn spoke up then. "No good came from it though since Ash didn't know," remarked Shauna. "Hope he's able to get past that if Drax decides to mega evolve." She hoped this won't cause too much trouble for him.

"He'll be fine," spoke up Daisy. "Look at him. He's not even troubled about it." They all looked more carefully at Ash and saw that there was no indication that he was worried.

"Maybe he knew or maybe he has plans to deal with that," suggested Lizabeth.

"We'll find out soon enough," said Clair and the group focused on the match in time to see Drax toss out a poke ball.

A Dragonite appeared with a loud roar and took up a battle stance on the field. Drax's Salamence laid down behind his trainer, wondering if he'll get to battle. Ash stood up straight and crossed his arms before his eyes glowed blue. A blue orb appeared on his side of the field before it turned into a poke ball. It opened and a large black and purple bat like dragon appeared with large ears. Noivern let out a powerful sound wave as it appeared that traveled over the entire stadium, making many shiver from it. "Begin!" shouted the referee.

Drax let out a sigh at the sight of Ash's choice. "That's who you choose?! You promised me a tough battle Guardian. He may be a dragon but I'm disappointed. You think your dragons can compete with mine? You're making a big mistake trying to match me. End this with Ice Beam!" ordered Drax. Dragonite fired the powerful beam of icy energy almost instantly. But Noivern dodged the beam and took up a battle position.

"Noi noi." Dragonite saw the bat smirking at him. He grew furious and went for another attempt but once again Noivern dodged his strike easily. The black dragon maneuvered behind his opponent and the beige dragon whirled around with a snarl.

"Dragonite! Relax!" barked Drax and his Dragonite took in a breath, calming itself. "Your evasive maneuvers won't help you forever!" shouted Drax.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Show me what you got," replied Ash. Noivern taunted Dragonite again by gesturing him to come at him with his claw.

Dragonite growled but didn't react further, waiting for his trainer's order. "Oh we'll show you, don't worry about that! And then you'll apologize for taunting us! We're gonna start strong immediately! Let's see you dodge this! Cover the field! Full power Draco Meteor!" ordered Drax. Dragonite flew up high into the air, hovered over the field and charged up his attack. He fired it and a very large meteor looking energy ball rocketed downwards a bit before exploding. Countless smaller meteorites rained down upon the arena, making many scream and shout over the incredible area attack.

Noivern waited patiently and calmly as the projectiles came closer however. "Boomburst!" ordered Ash. The black dragon had his large ears loosen up before letting out devastating sound waves from it that shot in all directions around him. The sound waves were so destructive that they nullified Dragonite's attack by disintegrating them from the sheer force of it. Everyone was astonished as to how the most powerful dragon attack was stopped in its tracks. Not even Drax could believe it, stunned into silence. "Hurricane!" said Ash, seeing their opponent needing a moment to recover from using his attack.

Noivern shot up into the air with amazing speed and began whipping up a fierce vortex of wind around Dragonite that soon engulfed him. The sharp winds were cutting into its victim, making him let out yelps of pain. "Get out of there!" shouted Drax but his pokémon was unable to do so. Every time it tried to escape, Noivern would appear out of nowhere and hit him with his wing to keep him trapped inside it. "Damn it! Use Extreme Speed to get out!"

Dragonite stopped attempting to escape and concentrated. A second later, the mythical beast shot forward so quickly that the bat couldn't stop him at all. Dragonite escaped from the vortex and in the process, clipped Noivern in the wing. Both dragons started falling down towards the ground as the winds died down. "Dragonite!" shouted Drax. "Don't let that wannabe dragon take you down! Compose yourself! Catch that bat in the air and use Slam!" His pokémon heard him and gathered his senses. He quickly adjusted himself in mid air and grabbed the bat, pulled him into a bear hug and prevented him from escaping so he can slam him into the ground.

"Hyper Voice!" shouted Ash. Noivern let out a point blank echoing sound with tremendous power behind it that made Dragonite scream in agony but he didn't let go. The two crashed into the ground, creating a small crater from the impact and drawing up dust and smoke. When it cleared and they could see again, they saw Dragonite still holding Noivern. He was trying to crush him in his embrace.

"Thunder!" snapped Drax, seeing his chance to end him and his dragon's antennas began glowing yellow.

"Echoed Voice nonstop!" shot Ash. Noivern moved his large ears, having them face his enemy and rapidly blasted out sound wave after sound wave onto Dragonite's face. His opponent cried out in pain, his concentration for Thunder interrupted and let go of the bat who continued his relentless attack.

Seeing his pokémon writhing about in agony from the continuous assault that kept getting stronger with each passing second made Drax's blood boil. "OUTRAGE!" It took a moment for his pokémon to gather his willpower and muscled through the onslaught. A blue outline appeared around his dragon as he slammed into Noivern, making him stop finally. But he didn't let up; Dragonite kept slashing away with his claws before grabbing hold of his opponent from his wing and flung him into the stadium wall that brought up another dust cloud. After using the move, Dragonite started seeing double from his exhaustion and became confused.

"WHAT A BATTLE! IS NOIVERN OUT FOR THE COUNT?!" Everyone waited anxiously to see if Noivern was defeated or not. They got their answer when several condensed blades of air were shot through the dust cloud. Each blade of air slammed into Dragonite, breaking him out of his confused state and also made the dragon scream out in pain. A black figure shot out of the cloud and the way he did made the stadium comment in surprise. Noivern was running against the wall, moving faster and faster until he became a blur. "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?! NOIVERN IS STILL IN THE GAME AND IS NOW WALL RUNNING SO FAST THAT THE BAT HAS TURNED INTO A BLACK AND BLUE BLUR!"

Drax scowled. He didn't think that Ash's pokémon would be this resilient. He looked at him and saw him with an unreadable expression on his face. Damn him! Just what the hell is he planning?! "Dragonite! We've been going easy for too long! Time to step things up! Stop him in his tracks!" His pokémon went after the blur and was gaining on it. "Use Dragon Claw!"

Dragonite was about to hit his target, having gained on him when… "Super Fang!" shouted Ash. The blur that was Noivern quickly did a u-turn and launched itself onto his pursuer. He sunk his glowing white sharp teeth onto Dragonite's shoulder. Letting out a howl from the pain, Dragonite tried to shake him off but the attack had severely drained his energy. "Take him for a ride!" Noivern spread his wings open and shot up into the air with its victim. He spun around once in the air before flinging him down towards the ground.

"DRAGONITE! STOP YOURSELF!" screamed Drax but the last attack and the sudden spinning had thrown off his dragon. His pokémon smashed into the hard surface. After the dust that had risen from the impact cleared, everyone saw the dragon still up. It was angry, growling but also looked really hurt. "Enough games! End this! HYPER BEAM!" commanded Drax.

Dragonite winced as he tried to power up the attack, breathing heavily but Drax wasn't seeing it. Instead, he kept ordering him to keep attacking when his pokémon couldn't do it. Ash shook his head in disgust. "Noivern! End his pain! HYPER BEAM!" Noivern let out a cry before firing the white beam of energy right at the dragon from up in the air. Dragonite was hit by the beam and a large explosion occurred with smoke filling the arena.

When it finally cleared, the outcome was visible. The beige dragon was out cold in the middle of a crater. "Dragonite is unable to battle! Noivern is the winner! Trainer, send out your next pokémon!" said the referee. The crowd erupted, unable to believe what they just saw and Ash's group was also amazed.

"That was…incredible," said Clair under her breath.

"That's it Ash! Make him pay!" remarked Iris with vigor, making Cilan glance at her again.

Drax returned his Dragonite and turned to glare at Ash. "You got lucky. Let's see if it holds out with him!" He tossed out a poke ball and a blue land shark pokémon appeared. Garchomp roared and stomped the ground, causing tremors to rock the area. Noivern landed in front of Ash and waited to see if he would battle this one too.

"That Garchomp is strong," commented Cynthia. The group glanced at her before turning back to the field with worried expressions.

"Good job Noivern," said Ash, returning him before sending out another. A light and dark purple dinosaur looking pokémon appeared. Goodra took up a battle stance immediately.

Drax took one look at their next opponent and burst out laughing. "HAHAHA! You're using that slimy thing that looks like a melted dinosaur?!" Even his Garchomp let out throaty sounds to show he was laughing. Goodra growled and launched a Dragon Pulse so fast that neither reacted in time. Garchomp was hit square in the chest and pushed back many feet before it stopped. Both trainer and pokémon had their eyes widen at the destructive force behind the attack since Garchomp was hurt. "Impossible," muttered Drax to himself. He glanced at Ash, seeing his eyes narrowed and then at Goodra who was snarling. "No more games. Time to become serious. Rapid Dragon Rage!" stated Drax. His Garchomp let loose multiple shock waves of draconic energy towards Goodra.

"Sludge Wave!" countered Ash. His purple dragon summoned a giant wave of sludge towards the oncoming attacks. The draconic waves of energy slammed into it, one after another. Each time it was hit, the toxic wall was cut down a size until both attacks canceled each other out. But when the wall was brought down, it revealed Ash's pokémon near Drax's, surprising them both. He had moved in closer while shielded by the wave of sludge. "Power Whip!" shot Ash. Goodra violently whipped Garchomp with his appendages that grew out of his head causing the land shark to make anguished cries.

Drax had steam shoot out of his ears. "Push him back with Dragon Breath!" The blue dragon fired a stream of green colored flames from its mouth that washed over the purple dragon, which made it let out cries of agony. Goodra took a few steps back before his body began to tense up a little and he felt like he couldn't move as quickly as before. He had become paralyzed and both trainers noticed. "That's it! It's over! End him with Dragon Claws!"

Garchomp rushed forward and took advantage of his opponent's weakened state and started slashing at him nonstop. Goodra took up a defensive stance at the incoming attacks and held firm as he tried his best to endure the attacks. "LOOKS LIKE DRAX HAS ASH UP AGAINST THE ROPES! GARCHOMP IS TEARING AWAY AT GOODRA! MAYBE THE GUARDIAN SHOULD RECALL HIS POKÉMON BEFORE IT GETS SHREDDED TO PIECES!"

Ash's posse was beyond worried and were wondering why he wasn't taking action. "What's he doing?!" asked Johanna.

"Maybe he's planning something?" asked Grace.

"C'mon Ash! You can do it!" shouted Delia.

Drax was having a large grin appear on his face. He was relishing in what he was causing to happen. Ash however still had a stoic expression. He was watching his pokemon get pummeled continuously by the relentless dragon. However, each subsequent strike that Garchomp landed onto Goodra was making him move slower and slower. That's it buddy. Keep making them think you're on your last legs. We're almost there, encouraged Ash. A moment later, Goodra's stance strengthened and he heard his pokémon's thoughts back saying he was ready. "UNLEASH IT NOW!" yelled out Ash all of a sudden, making everyone jump from their seats.

Goodra had a white glow appear around him that pushed Garchomp back, stopping his assault before following up with an enormous blast of white energy. It slammed against the blue dragon and sent him flying back before it crashed against the stadium walls. "What the hell just happened?!" asked Drax with rage as he watched his dragon barely get back up onto its feet.

"Bide," answered Ash simply and Drax snarled in response.

Many had understanding dawn on them but a young blonde teenage girl tilted her head. "What's Bide?" asked Bonnie.

Max supplied the information to her. "Bide is a move that pokémon can use if it can endure attacks for a while before dealing it back with twice the damage it endured through." Bonnie let out an 'oh' as she understood and so did a few others in the group.

Garchomp sluggishly moved back into his side of the field, since he was very hurt and covered in purple goo. Goodra's slime that he had secreted from his body's pores had went onto him after each strike, hindering his movements. Drax was furious as to how he was being schooled by the guardian. He should've known about these tactics but he was being blind in his haste and rash actions. He glanced at Ash and saw him still being serious. "THIS ISN'T THE END GUARDIAN!" shouted Drax and he raised his left hand, revealing a mega ring on his ring finger. He touched it with his other hand and Garchomp was covered in a white glowing sphere before it exploded and revealed his mega form. He was taller, more stream lined with many sharp protrusions all over its body. His claws and bladed appendage on his arms had merged into one, created curved swords for its hands. His minor wounds were also completely healed and the slime that was on him was melted off from the intense energy. Mega Garchomp let out a vicious roar that made many cover their ears.

"This isn't good," commented Brock. "Garchomp looks much more powerful and his minor injuries also healed. I hope Ash has a plan," he said with the group silently agreeing.

Ash and Goodra however weren't backing down. Drax smirked as his Mega Garchomp took off into the sky. "You will come to understand the true power of a dragon! Dragon Rush!" The land shark shot forward like a bullet while outlined in a blue glow towards Goodra.

"Acid Armor!" Goodra altered its cellular structure to liquefy itself and raised its defenses in preparation to receive the attack.

Seeing that happen, Drax quickly switched up their attack, knowing how to turn the tide. "Now's our chance! Fire Blast!" Garchomp stopped a few feet in front of Goodra and let out a large five pointed fire attack at point blank rage.

"Protect!" shouted Ash but Goodra didn't react in time because of using Acid Armor. It took some time to get out of that liquefied state. The powerful flames scorched his dragon, doing more damage than usual since it was from up close. Goodra let out an agonizing cry from it.

"Finish it! Hyper Beam!" added Drax, not letting up. Garchomp powered up a white ball of energy in front of his mouth before launching the beam. Goodra tried to evade it but his paralysis did not allow him to. He was struck in the chest before the beam exploded, sending him flying back into the stadium wall. He slid down unconscious.

Ash returned Goodra while thanking him after making sure he was alright and not in a severe situation. He went back to his trainer's box and looked at Drax and Garchomp. Drax looked very pleased with himself and Garchomp looked ready to go another round. But Ash could sense that he was tired out some from using such powerful attacks so quickly. A blue orb appeared in the field before a blue and white cat like pokémon appeared. Glaceon let out a cry of its name. Many females started 'awing' over the pokémon. Cynthia let a large smile form on her face. She had both kinds of pokémon that were on the field and they were two of her favorite.

"Finally you make a smart decision. You can't match me by using dragons so you go for pure type advantage. But that still won't save you. Sandstorm!" snapped Drax. Mega Garchomp summoned a swirling storm of sand and rocks that blanketed the area. The blue land shark vanished into the swirling dirt storm.

"Two can play at that game. Hail!" countered Ash. Glaceon summoned a hailstorm of icy thick winds as well that mixed in with the swirling sands. The ice type also vanished from sight.

"INCREDIBLE! BOTH POKÉMON USED THEIR ELEMENT TO HIDE AND DAMAGE THEIR OPPONENT!" The crowd was making noise from the incredible display of the sand and hail mixing, creating a brown and blue swirling cloud.

"Wow, what a sight!" commented Giselle.

"That'll be great for contests!" remarked Dawn and May together, making their group shake their heads.

Drax growled. He wasn't expecting that. "Garchomp! Flamethrower all over the place! Expose Glaceon!"

"Glaceon! Counter with Ice Beam!" snapped Ash.

Multiple flashes of red and blue appeared throughout the swirling mixed up storm with many shouts of pain from both pokémon. This kept going until a large explosion occurred from within the middle of the storm and two figures were seen flying out of it. Both hit the ground hard in front of their trainers. The spinning sand and ice storm dissipated. Garchomp got up looking tired with some scratches and frozen marks on its body. Glaceon got up as well with some bruises and burnt marks on her fur.

"Not bad Ketchum. But this is just the beginning," stated Drax. "Dig!" Garchomp dug into the ground quickly and vanished from sight.

"Use your tail to feel the vibrations Glaceon!" advised Ash. The white cat did just that, placing its tail onto the ground. It focused its mind and body so it can try to sense where and when the blue land shark would appear.

"Not bad but it won't help you! Giga Impact!" shouted Drax. Mega Garchomp popped up in front of Glaceon instantly and was just about to slam into her when he bounced off a white shield at the last second.

The ice cat had used Protect. "Good job! Blizzard!" A howling icy storm was summoned from behind Glaceon and it collided against the disoriented dragon. Garchomp roared with pain and Drax ordered him to escape into the ground again. "Don't let him! Quick Attack into Iron Tail!" Glaceon vanished into the storm before reappearing behind Garchomp and smashed her tail against him, making him stumble about while the blizzard kept slamming into him.

"Fly up over it!" ordered Drax. Garchomp tried too but was grimacing from the incredibly damaging attack he was so weak to. Garchomp went into a defensive stance to try to endure the attack but his entire right side was being covered up with an icy layer. "Push through it Garchomp! You feel no pain! It is nothing to you!" encouraged Drax but Garchomp was unable to not feel it. The icy sting was agonizing but he would not fail. Summoning his will, the mega pokémon shot up into the air and Glaceon stopped her blizzard. "Rock Slide!"

"Double Team!" Glaceon split into a dozen copies as the boulders were dropped onto her and avoided most of the attack until one clipped her and sent her stumbling with the other copies vanishing.

"End that pipsqueak!" shouted Drax to take advantage. "Metal Claw!" snapped Drax. The land shark had its bladed arms coated with a metallic sheen and was about to dive bomb his victim but then flinched. The icy layer on him prevented him from moving. "SHIT!"

Ash capitalized on that. "Ice Beam!" A bluish white energy beam was fired at the pokémon. Drax shouted for Garchomp to move out of the way but it was no use since he was frozen in pain. The beam connected and incased him in a block of ice. The frozen dragon came hurtling down to the ground and the block of ice shattered from the impact. It freed the unconscious pokémon within before Garchomp reverted back into his normal form. Drax returned his pokémon and glared at his opponent.

"INCREDIBLE! WITH TWO POKÉMON DOWN, THAT'S THE MOST DRAGON MASTER DRAX HAS LOST IN THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR! ASH KETCHUM HAS LOST ONE AS WELL BUT HE LOOKS TO BE IN THE ZONE! THIS IS TURNING INTO ONE HELL OF A BATTLE!" The crowd roared and cheered as Drax sent out another pokémon. A huge three headed black, red and blue dragon appeared, making many shout in fright over the sight of it. Ash returned Glaceon and sent out a small white and pink cat like pokémon appeared that made many females go starry eyed over how cute it looked. May and Dawn were about to say something about the adorable pokémon being used for contests. But then Misty and Serena shut their mouths before they could, telling them they got it. That made their friends and family laugh out loud. "DRAX HAS CHOSEN HYDREIGON AND ASH HAS CHOSEN SYLVEON, THE FAIRY EEVEE EVOLUTION! TYPE ADVANTAGE GOES TO THE GUARDIAN BUT SHEER SIZE AND MULTIPLE FIRE BREATHING CAPABLE HEADS GOES TO THE DRAGON MASTER!"

Not wasting time, Drax issued his next command. "Scary Face!" Hydreigon glared at Sylveon with all three heads, making the small pokémon flinch and look away. Many loud boos were heard from many of the females in the stands over him scaring the cute pokémon. "Work up!" The three headed dragon began growling and stretched out its muscles and wings, increasing its power.

"Stand firm Sylveon!" encouraged Ash. "Pysch Up!" The fairy pokémon copied its opponent, doing the same thing and also increased its power. Drax scowled at that. "Good! Now, Swift!" Pink glowing stars materialized in the air and were launched at her target.

"Protect!" snapped Drax. Hydreigon formed a shield in front of it and the stars collided against it. "Tri Attack!" ordered the tall trainer afterwards. Three beams of energy were fired, one from each head at the white and pink fairy.

"Light Screen!" The fairy type brought up a wondrous wall of light that suppressed the beams of energy and it hardly did any damage to it. "Good job! Flash then Calm Mind!" The cat like pokémon let loose a bright light that blinded the three headed dragon before quietly focusing its mind to calm its spirit and raise its special attributes.

Hydreigon roared with annoyance and shook each of its heads, trying to clear their sight. "Stop that at once!" shouted Drax and his pokémon immediately ceased. "Focus Energy!" The dark dragon took in deep breaths from each mouth and focused its energy. As a result, it helped the dragon get rid of their temporary blindness quicker.

Seeing Drax trying to build up its next attack, Ash decided to stop him before he can. "Moonblast!" Sylveon concentrated before it fired a powerful pink beam of energy at its opponent.

"Into the air!" snapped Drax and Hydreigon shot up into the air, avoiding the attack. "Diversionary tactics!" His pokémon nodded in understanding and stayed where it was in the air without moving from its spot.

"WHAT'S THIS? THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE SEEN DRAGON MASTER DRAX DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!" The spectators who were watching silently with rapt attention began murmuring and gossiping with one another as they wondered out loud what he was going to do.

What is he planning? Ash kept his stoic gaze but his mind was racing while trying to figure out what Drax was up to. Need to find out. He said diversionary tactics but he's not doing anything. We're going to have to bite to see what he's got in store. Sylveon glanced back at Ash and nodded, agreeing with her trainer. "Fairy Wind!" ordered Ash. His pink cat summoned pink colored wind towards the brutal multi headed dragon and it slammed against it. But Hydreigon didn't move or make a sound, making everyone become confused. Why didn't that…

Ash's question was answered before he could finish thinking it. The dragon in the air faded away as Drax spoke again. "Steel Wing!" Hydreigon reappeared behind Sylveon instantly and slammed its metallic covered wing against it. It had used Substitute to put up a decoy in its place.

Sylveon went flying forward before crashing into the ground with such force that it rolled a few times before skidding to a stop. It got back up onto its feet, panting a little from the attack. The dark dragon went after it, getting ready to hit it again. "Get out of there with Quick Attack!" Sylveon sprinted away from its spot towards the side to avoid its pursuer.

But Drax had a plan for that. "Shock Wave!" Hydreigon stopped in midair and let loose a quick jolt of electricity that raced after Sylveon. It hit its target, making the fairy type stumble and fall down. The dark dragon closed the distance between the two quickly while the raven haired guardian shouted for his pokémon to use Protect again but the pink cat was barely getting back up. "Fire Fang!" Hydreigon reached his victim and clamped down onto Sylveon with its middle head's powerful jaws coated in flames. Sylveon cried out in pain as it was lifted up and shaken, allowing its teeth to sink into its flesh even deeper. "Finish it with Flash Cannon!" The other two heads charged up a slivery orb in front of their mouths in point blank range of Sylveon.

Seeing his pokémon become a chew toy for the dragon was angering Ash but was also filling him up with fear. "Disarming Voice!" ordered Ash and his pokémon tried to follow up with the command but the dragon bit down harder, preventing it from doing so and the two other heads fired their attacks. Sylveon screamed out from feeling the powerful attack from such close range. After the attack, the small fairy cat was still conscious but was groaning in pain, covered in bruises and burnt marks.

Seeing his opponent still in the fight, Drax smirked. "Impressive! But time to end that annoying cat! Flash Cannon again!" ordered Drax and his dragon began powering up the attack again.

"NO! STOP!" Ash tried to return Sylveon but Hydreigon kept moving about, not letting him. Drax was laughing sadistically while many boos and shouts were made but he didn't care. Ash's group was shouting, yelling, cursing, pleading but the Dragon Master didn't listen to any of them. "DAMN IT! SYLVEON! YOU CAN DO IT! DAZZLING GLEAM!" shouted Ash. Sylveon heard its trainer's voice and it concentrated all the power she had left before letting out a bright pink energy blast in all directions, engulfing the three headed dragon. Hydreigon was finally forced to let go of Sylveon. The fairy fell to the ground as the dragon roared from the tremendous pain before it too dropped to the ground. Both pokémon were still as rocks.

Everyone watched with waited breath to see if one would stir. A moment later the referee lowered both flags. "Hydreigon and Sylveon are unable to…" The referee was caught off when both pokémon began stirring and very slowly raised themselves up. He raised both of the flags. "Correction, they are still able to battle."

"WHAT UNBREAKABLE WILLS! WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP?!" said the announcer and the crowd was going bat shit crazy over the match. Nobody could believe that they were both still able to fight.

Drax was filing up with anger. He couldn't believe how he was being pushed to his limit. That his dragons are getting beaten, seeing his Hydreigon panting heavily. This can't be happening! Nothing is stronger than dragon types! I will not lose! I will reach my goal of becoming the strongest and will show everyone that I am the best!

Ash let out a slight sigh of relief. He knew that his pokémon could go on but he didn't want her to push past her limits when it wasn't needed. He still had two other pokémon who are fresh and ready to go. He had learned his lesson after Arceus opened his eyes about that and he had sworn to never let that happen again if it wasn't needed. "Good job Sylveon," he praised her and his pokémon turned her head to look at him. "Take a good rest." He raised her poke ball to return the fairy cat so he can switch out to someone else when a loud roar was heard.

Distracted, he and everyone else turned their gaze in time to see the brutal pokemon flying through the air in a downward fashion while in a multi colored glow towards Sylveon. Ash quickly hit the recall button on the poke ball, knowing his pokémon won't be able to dodge it. Yet the red beam didn't reach his pokémon in time. Hydreigon smashed into her hard, making it scream out in agony while being pushed down into the ground, making a crater form and dust to rise up from the sheer force. The dust cleared away to show both pokémon out for the count. Drax had sacrificed Hydreigon in order to take out Sylveon. "Both pokémon are unable to battle! Trainers, send out your next pokémon!" Drax merely returned his dragon while Ash ran to his fairy.

Many in the stadium couldn't believe what the Dragon Master just did. That he would be so brutal and literally have his pokémon do something like that. "How could he be so cruel?" asked Daisy in disbelief.

"Because Drax has no heart," commented Clair with anger and her closest friends nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe he did that," whispered Iris, making Cilan look at her again.

He saw the shock in her eyes towards the one she was promised to but had left. He then saw her move her gaze slowly towards something else. He followed her line of sight and saw their mutual friend reach his pokémon in the crater. He looked at her again and saw her eyes become filled with something he never saw before. Iris…

In the VIP room, the president and champions were astonished over the incredible match and by the brutal tactics of Drax. Sure they had seen him being ruthless in his matches before. But for some reason, he was being even more so now against Ash. "Looks like Drax really has it in for Ash. But why? The rumors didn't say the reason," asked Steven.

"Who knows?" replied back Alder as they watched Ash went to check on his pokemon.

Diantha turned her gaze towards Lance. She saw him deep in thought as he kept his gaze on Drax. "Are you alright?" she asked him.

It took a few seconds but then Lance turned to face Diantha. "I'm alright. I was just thinking if I was that brutal when I was younger. They say Drax is better than me when I was young. I didn't believe it before but seeing him go all out against Ash and giving him a run for his money…it's making me think that they could be right. And its making me think of how people see me as," he told her.

Diantha gave him a reassuring smile. "It's alright Lance. You're the Dragon Champion. You earned that title. You didn't name yourself it. Drax is just a hard headed trainer who believes brute force is better than skill or experience. Let them say what they want. Let him call himself a Dragon Master. Boasting about things is nothing because he will never be you," she told him kindly.

Lance went crimson at her words and felt his heart beat increase in speed. "T-thank you Diantha," he said quietly and she replied back saying he was welcome.

"Hey you two, quit flirting and pay attention to the match!" shot Alder, making both of them become embarrassed and shout at him to shut up and stay out of it. Goodshow and Steven chuckled, unable to hold it in.

When Ash reached his fairy, he saw Sylveon completely out cold with many bleeding injuries. He gently picked her up into his arms. "I'm so sorry Sylveon," he whispered to his pokémon. He placed a glowing blue hand onto his pokémon and pulsed out some healing aura onto her for a bit. Sylveon's bleeding stopped and its injuries went away. The fairy cat slowly opened its eyes and looked up at her trainer. Seeing the concern in his eyes, she let out a weak cry to let him know she was okay. "It's alright. You'll be fine Sylveon. You did great. Take a nice long rest," he told her. The fairy pokémon closed its eyes and went to sleep. Ash returned his pokémon before moving back towards his trainer's box. He turned around slowly and locked eyes with Drax and saw him smirking. His eyes narrowed and his hands clenched into fists. "Drax…"

"Shut up," cut off Drax, angering many with his disrespectful attitude and harsh battling. "I told you I will make you look weak in front of everyone. You couldn't even save your own pokémon. You will bow to me and you will give up being a trainer! You're not powerful enough to win! You don't deserve to be able to use aura! You're nothing compared to me! This is power! Power is everything!"

"You want power?" asked Ash in his scary calm tone of voice, sending shivers down many spectators' spines. A blue orb appeared in his hand. He was shaking in fury and the ball began shaking as well, the pokémon inside sensing his anger. "You want to see how powerful an Aura Guardian and his pokémon can be?" He glanced at Pikachu who nodded at him with a serious face.

"Even your rodent from hell can't beat me!" shot Drax.

Ash turned his gaze back onto Drax. "Oh, I'm not talking about Pikachu. He's powerful and one of my best. But I have someone else in mind for you."

Drax just laughed however, not at all afraid. "No matter who you use against me, you won't win! Not even a legendary pokémon can beat me!" boasted the Dragon Master.

"Is that so? You want to test that out?" he asked him.

Drax scoffed as he unclipped the ultra ball from his belt and Salamence glanced at his trainer, wondering if the pokémon inside will listen to him or not. "Doesn't matter who you have! You can't beat me! You are unworthy of everything that you have! You're weak and unable to make the hard decisions! Just like your friends! Just like that piece of trash that got with my intended! Because of him, the one who I was supposed to marry had bailed on me and instead of becoming strong, she has grown weak!" insulted Drax, gripping the ultra ball tightly.

Iris and Cilan went crimson in embarrassment at his words. Though others had no idea who Drax was talking about, their friends and family did. Iris started having tears form in her eyes as many memories and things went through her head. Her friends noticed and did their best to comfort her as she started crying. Cilan felt saddened and wanted to help in some way but something was holding him back from helping Iris…

Ash snarled in response and his eyes glowed blue because of his rage, making everyone become surprised. His family and friends became concerned and wondered what he was going to do. "That's it Drax! No more insults from you! No more gloating! You wanted power? THEN YOU GOT IT!" The raven haired guardian tossed out the ball high into the air. Bright white light escaped from the ball and shot up towards the heavens above, disappearing from sight.

The stadium went eerily silent as everyone waited to see what pokémon would appear. But after some time passed with nothing happening, Drax started laughing loudly before controlling himself. "Your pokémon is so scared that it bailed on you! It knows that you can't win against me so it would rather flee than face humiliation!" insulted the silver haired man. Though Ash paid him no mind, the people in the stands began laughing out loud as well as conversing again with one another about that while his group looked around with uneasy expressions on their faces. "Just forfeit Guardian," advised Drax. "Forfeit and show everyone that you're not some great person that…"

Drax trailed off as dark clouds began forming above the stadium. Rumbling was heard from them that silenced everyone. Streaks of lightning began appearing all over them and the sounds of thunder sounded out that made many flinch. "Drax!" He lowered his gaze from the clouds onto his opponent and saw him with a serious gaze on his face. "You say that not even legendary pokémon can beat you. I normally don't condone using legendary pokémon in official battles because that's not fair. But you're asking for it because of your disrespectful behavior." Drax glared at him. "So let's put it to the test. Allow me to introduce my pokémon…one that I just recently befriended…the Lord of the Sky…the Lord of all Dragons…" Drax's eyes widened and so did many others such as Clair, Iris, the President and the Champions. "…the Sky High Pokémon…Rayquaza!" An incredible roar was heard from above after Ash's small speech that made all sets of eyes except for one to look up.

A very large and long green and yellow colored snake like figure with two limbs appeared through the dark clouds. Rayquaza flew down from above towards the middle of the stadium. The crowd was frozen still from what they were seeing. Not a single soul was making a sound nor were they moving as they watched the mythical beast. At the last second the legendary dragon pulled up and went towards the raven haired guardian. Rayquaza encircled Ash with his body before raising the top half of him behind the young man. It was so large that it took up much of its half of the field. The green dragon let out an ear splitting roar that sent out shockwaves from its sheer power. Except for Ash, everyone else in the stadium was forced to hang on to their seats to prevent being blown away while Drax crouched low to the ground to escape most of it but was still pushed back greatly. Even the glass windows in the VIP room were vibrating from it.

When it ended, the crowd slowly recovered and Drax stood back up and stared at the two. "No way…" he whispered. His eyes were glued onto the dragon, unable to process what he was seeing.

And he wasn't the only one in that state. Nobody could believe what they were seeing. Rayquaza was there in front of them, in the stadium. They saw him but it felt so surreal. Even Ash's group was too shocked to see him to comment but soon enough each of them was having many thoughts racing through their minds. Finally, after several long moments, the referee came to his senses. "Red trainer, send out your pokémon or you will forfeit!"

Hearing the referee made him snap out of it. Drax growled under his breath as the grip on his ultra ball tightened. "How did you capture the Lord of all Dragons?! You're not even a dragon trainer! You're not from any bloodline of dragon trainers! You can't be strong enough to beat him! How is this possible?! Rayquaza should be partnered with a dragon trainer like me! Not you!" shouted out Drax with jealousy. Ash didn't reply at all but maintained his serious gaze and so did Rayquaza. Drax started shaking from anger and humiliation filling his body. How could he be its trainer?! I should be! Not him! I was supposed to capture him one day! This isn't fair! But it doesn't matter! I will not lose and I will not be mocked! "Damn you Guardian! You may have him on your side, but you will not triumph! And you're not the only one with a legendary pokémon! I will win! I swear it!" shouted Drax before he tossed the ultra ball into the air. A flash of bright white light and then his pokémon appeared.

Ash let his arms fall and a surprised expression formed on his face after seeing who it was. Even Brock and Misty let out surprised gasps as to who appeared. That made their family and friends glance at them to see if they were alright. "No…" remarked Brock quietly with his face covered in shock.

"It can't be," stated Misty in a sullen whisper.

The pokémon that Drax had released was none other than the single remaining survivor of the dragon and psychic pokémon family that protected Alto Mare…Latias.

The second that she appeared, the pink and whitish dragon didn't know where she was and felt intense anxiety, fear and hopelessness. She didn't want to battle but had to. Before she could get a good look around her surroundings, she was called. "Latias!" The legendary flinched hearing her trainer talk before slowly moving his gaze to his. "You better win or you will face the consequences! Now get ready to battle!" ordered Drax. Latias cowered under his command as if he just struck her again.

"YOU DAMN FOOL!" Latias had her eyes widen. She knew that voice anywhere. She looked around frantically and now noticed her opponent. She gulped, knowing who the dragon was and knew she was no match for him. She was about to back away when she lowered her gaze and saw…him. Before she even knew it, Latias shot forward and when she reached him, hugged him tightly. "It's okay Latias. It's okay," he told her while gently hugging her back. Some awes were made throughout the crowd by the females, including the girls he has feelings for since they were moved by the display. Ash locked eyes with Drax as they narrowed. "What have you done to her?!" he shouted with anger in his voice.

Drax couldn't believe what he was seeing. His own pokémon being friendly with his opponent?! Not if he could help it! "None of your business guardian! Latias! Get back over here and battle right now!" Latias shivered from his yelling and separated from Ash. But she didn't go back towards him. Instead she went behind Ash. "Get back here right now or you will face my wrath!" shot Drax, earning himself some rude comments from the spectators.

Ash's eyes glowed a brighter blue before his aura flared out from him. Seeing his aura emerge made everyone, including Drax, become concerned and filled up with fear. "She doesn't want to be with you and she doesn't belong to you either," said Ash coldly, with his voice echoing.

Drax was at first frozen from seeing the guardian unleash his aura like that but he snapped out of it and shook with rage over what he was just told. "It matters not what she wants! I captured her! I am her trainer! She will listen to me! You have no authority to tell me that I can't keep my pokémon! And if you don't give her back to me then you will be disqualified!" snapped Drax.

"I'm not keeping her from going back to you," said Ash calmly. "If she wants to join you she's free to do so." He glanced at the eon pokémon. "Go if you want." Latias shook her head and stayed where she was. Ash faced Drax again. "See? She doesn't want to. And as Arceus's Knight, I do have the authority to take pokémon away from their trainers if they are abusive or if the pokémon they caught has important duties or is important for the world's balance," he said calmly.

Drax let out a frustrated sound. He locked eyes with the referee. "Do something!"

The referee stammered a bit before composing himself. "He is not preventing her from coming back to you. There is nothing I can do," revealed the referee. Drax cursed out loud and started shouting loudly at Ash and the referee.

"SILENCE!" Everyone in the stadium went quiet immediately. Rayquaza had started speaking telepathically and he was facing Drax with an angry gaze, who started shaking a little in his spot. "You disgrace the name of dragon trainer." Drax felt like he was stabbed over those words. "A true dragon trainer would know that Latias is needed to stay at her home to protect Alto Mare. You have endangered the city for your own selfish desire. You will withdraw her from the match and release her at once so she can return to her duties of protecting the city," finished up the green dragon with a very serious tone of voice.

In the VIP room, the Champions were unable to believe what was going on anymore. But now the Lord of all Dragons was telling Drax what he had to do. "Can Ash and Rayquaza make him do that?" asked Diantha, turning her head towards Lance.

The spiky haired champion faced her and thought for a moment before answering her. "They can. He is a legendary pokémon and whatever they say goes when it comes to protecting the world and keeping the balance. And one of the jobs of an Aura Guardian is to maintain that balance." Lance turned his gaze back towards the field. "So in this case, both are correct and cannot be crossed. Drax has no choice," stated Lance. The others nodded in agreement as they continued to watch.

Drax was feeling like the green dragon was looking into his soul with the way he was staring at him. After a long moment, Drax swallowed the saliva in his mouth before replying back in a somewhat quiet voice. "You say I'm not a true dragon trainer but that is false! I've worked and trained with dragons all my life!" Drax began regaining some of his confidence back as he spoke and his voice became stronger. "I've worked hard to get where I am now! I know of many more secrets and prophecies regarding dragons than any and all others! And how is it fair that I give up a pokémon that I caught legitimately? Especially now in the middle of a battle?!" asked Drax. "Aren't dragons honor bound to serve the one that has beaten them fairly in a battle and then captured by them?! And aren't you important for the world's balance as well? Why are you with the guardian then?" asked the silver haired trainer.

The eon pokémon looked up at the Lord of all dragons with fear over what she heard. "You are correct about dragons being honor bound to do so in that regard," answered the green dragon after a moment, making Latias feel horrible that she would have to serve him no matter what. Drax smirked in triumph but then it went away when he heard what the dragon said next. "However, if a dragon has a duty to protect something, like a city for example, or is vital for the world's balance, than all other things are unimportant and will not affect its honor." Drax felt his stomach churning since what he said held no value. "And I am not needed unless there is a world endangering event. Nothing else." Drax frowned at that since his reasoning was brushed aside. "But a dragon is always fair. You will not be the only one to withdraw your pokémon. Withdraw Latias and release her so she can go back to her duties and I will withdraw from the battle completely as well." Ash did not get involved in that since he knew that when legendary pokémon decide on something, then there is little to be done to change their minds. Most of the time.

Drax thought about that offer carefully. If Rayquaza withdraws, then I'll have an even better chance of winning. I might have been able to defeat the Lord of all Dragons, but my pokémon would've been in poor conditions to continue on…and he still has one fresh one to use along with two others who aren't too tired. Damn it. I have no other…wait…I do have another option… Drax let a small grin form on his face as he thought up of something. "Alright then. You have yourself a deal but only if you agree to my condition too."

"What condition?" asked Ash. His aura had regressed back to him and his eyes returned to brown when his legendary dragon started speaking with his telepathy.

Drax's grin grew larger. "I will do as Rayquaza has commanded but my condition is that when I win, he will become my pokémon instead."

"What?!" replied back Ash in surprise. "I don't bet my pokémon! They're my friends! Not objects!" he snapped at the silver haired trainer.

"Take it or leave it. That is my condition and won't be changed. I'm releasing a legendary pokémon that I caught fairly. I should get something in return," stated Drax.

Ash began shaking with rage. "It is alright." Ash felt his anger evaporate as he looked up at Rayquaza in shock. The green dragon was looking at him with a kind expression before he turned his head towards Drax and it turned serious. "Drax," started the legendary making all look at him. "The Aura Guardian will never agree to a deal like that. But I will. I accept your condition with one more added from me then." Drax nodded with a grin. "Good. Release my kin and I will withdraw from the battle completely. Win or lose, you will leave her alone and you will also not pursue any other legendary pokémon. Am I understood?" Drax nodded his head in agreement. "Good. Do not go back on this agreement or I will unleash my full wrath on you." Without even waiting for a response back, the Lord of the Sky looked at Latias. "And you will not interfere in the battle." Latias didn't object to that. Rayquaza looked at Ash and nodded his head.

Ash raised his premier ball and pressed the return button. The sky high pokémon disappeared into its ball and then he clipped the ball to his belt. "I withdraw Rayquaza from the match completely," stated Ash immediately.

Drax reacted almost instantly afterwards. "I withdraw Latias from the match completely." He then dropped her ultra ball onto the ground before crushing it with his foot. "There, she is released."

Latias felt so much happiness fill her all of a sudden that she was finally free. She took up Pikachu in her arms and zoomed around Ash. The sight of her doing that made many smile and laugh. The people in the stands all smiled and some even laughed a bit at the happy display. Ash watched the eon pokémon zooming around gleefully until a loud roar was heard from the other side of the field. He turned his attention to that and saw Salamence had taken up position. "So you finally decide to use him do you?" asked Ash as another blue orb appeared into his hand. Latias glided back down to hover beside Ash while Pikachu stayed on top of her back.

"You got lucky until now guardian," replied back Drax. "You might have won with Rayquaza on your side but without him, you have no chance. You're Glaceon is tired out and so is your Noivern. And your Goodra, Sylveon and the Lord of Dragons are out of the match completely. I still have Salamence and one other. You will lose like I said so and when I win, I will be the trainer of the most powerful dragon in the world! I will become unstoppable!" remarked Drax before laughing loudly. "You know, I must thank you! I didn't think he would be mine until much later!"

Ash shook his head in disgust. "Having a legendary pokémon isn't everything. I've beaten them before in the past and will continue to do so. And don't thank me just yet!" Drax narrowed his eyes at Ash when he raised his hand and showed the poke ball in it. "I was planning on giving you a taste of your own medicine by having you think you could win before unleashing Rayquaza on you." Drax growled loudly at that. "Though you may not fight against Rayquaza, you will fight against the pokémon who beat him!" Drax's eyes widened and so did everyone else's. The raven haired guardian tossed the ball into the air and it opened with a bright white light.

A large red and orange dragon appeared and landed against the ground, spreading its mighty wings. Instead of its usual letting out a stream of fire into the air, Charizard took up a battle stance at once, growling at Salamence. The flame on the tip of its tail grew larger.

"That's it?!" asked Drax, confused. "You're Charizard is nothing! There's no way it could have beaten Rayquaza! Not by its own! Not in this stage! It's not even a true dragon type! " mocked the Dragon Master. Salamence even let out throaty growls at its opponent, laughing. Charizard growled and narrowed its eyes, its tail flame growing larger from his rage.

The occupants in the VIP room couldn't believe what Ash was saying. "Drax has no idea what he's getting himself into," commented Alder rather calmly.

"If that Charizard really can take out Rayquaza on its own, I wonder how each of us might fare against it," added Steven and the others began thinking about that too.

Ash remained quiet, not replying back. "Fine. I'll make the first move. Dragon Rush!" Salamence covered itself in a bluish glow and rocketed to the red dragon. Charizard caught him but was pushed back several feet before he dug his clawed feet into the ground. Both Drax and Salamence had their eyes widen in shock. "Impossible! Flamethrower!"

"Show them a real Flamethrower!" snapped Ash. Both pokémon spewed out flames at close range but Charizard's flames overpowered his opponent's and flowed over him. Salamence let out a cry of pain at it and freed itself out of the red dragon's grasp and backed up a bit.

"AND THE SHOW CONTINUES! AFTER AN UNINTENTIONAL INTERMISSION REGARDING THE LORD OF ALL DRAGONS, THE SEMI FINAL BATTLE OF THE TOURNAMENT HAS BEEN KICKED UP A NOTCH!" The crowd began cheering and shouting over the match. But the two trainers and their pokémon in the field had their attention onto each other only.

I will not lose! I will not miss my chance to have the most powerful dragon in the world be mine! "Dragon Dance!" ordered Drax.

"Stop him with Aerial Ace!" Charizard vanished from sight and struck Salamence with his tail before he could finish the dance, preventing the power up.

"DRAGON CLAW!" shouted Drax in frustration.

"Dragon Claw!" copied Ash. Both pokémon had their claws glow and intercepted each other's attacks. Charizard growled and his flame grew once again. He began pushing back Salamence.

Both the silver haired man and his blue dragon were astonished over that. "CRUNCH!"

"METAL CLAW!" The blue dragon attempted to bite the red dragon on the neck but instead the fire starter had him bite down on his claw covered in a metallic sheen. Salamence let out a cry of agony, hurting its teeth and jaws from trying to bite the metalized claw. "Stun him! Wing Attack!" ordered Ash. Charizard slammed both his wings at once against Salamence's head, making him become dazed. "Seismic Toss!" The red dragon grabbed the blue dragon in a tight hold and flew up into the air.

"NO! SALAMENCE! GET OUT! FREE YOURSELF!" screamed Drax but it was no use. Salamence was unable to regain his senses, especially when Charizard started doing a few circles in the air while spinning his body rapidly. Midway through his final circle, the fire starter pulled the blue dragon away from him and hurled him down to the ground with tremendous force. "STOP YOURSELF!" commanded Drax but it was no use. Salamence slammed into the ground at maximum speed, making a hole in the ground. Charizard landed gracefully in front of Ash. Both waited to see what happens.

Ash's group was flabbergasted over what was happening in his latest match. "That has to be it! How could he survive that?" asked Kate.

"Don't say it's over till it's over," advised David.

"SALAMENCE!" shouted Drax. A few seconds later, an angry roar was heard before the blue dragon shot up onto the field again. It was gravely hurt, panting heavily, covered in bleeding scratches and blackened bruises. Yet it was snarling at Charizard who maintained its angry glare back.

"UNBELIEVABLE! EVEN AFTER ALL THAT PUNISHMENT, THE HOENN DRAGON WON'T GIVE UP!" The crowd was going wild over the unbelievable battle going on between the two.

"This cannot be fuckin happening!" cursed out Drax, ignoring the announcer's warning. "Shut up! We're not done yet!" He pushed the Mega Ring on his left hand again and Salamence was covered in a white sphere of energy before it erupted. Mega Salamence appeared with a loud roar. Its red wings have changed its shape and becoming larger with its body becoming slightly larger but much more streamlined. Most of its wounds healed and the dragon was ready for round two.

Did he just mega evolve his pokémon again?! Can he do that?! wondered Natasha. The red haired woman was rendered silent over her savior's battle just like her new group until now. The second mega evolution had snapped her out of her trance. She wasn't able to ask the others but her question was soon answered.

"Damn it," muttered Cynthia, making her group fix their attention onto her. "I knew we should have changed the rule to only allowing one mega evolution in the final battles. We didn't think anyone would have more than one mega pokémon since the stones are hard to find."

The group let out sighs and sounds of understanding but didn't give up hope. They knew that Ash can do it. Among them, a certain blunette gym leader was looking at Ash intently. Please be careful Ash. I know you'll win but be careful.

"That wasn't bad Ketchum, but now you're done! No one has ever beaten my Mega Salamence! The only one who could've done so was Rayquaza!" boasted Drax.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," replied Ash calmly.

"It'll never happen! End him with rapid Dragon Pulse!" The mega dragon fired beams of draconic energy, one after the other to the red dragon.

"Smokescreen!" Charizard let out dark smoke from his nostrils, hiding within it. The beams of energy went through the smoke but hit nothing except the ground and walls.

"Clear away the smoke! Air Cutter!" Many razor like winds was launched into the smoke, clearing it and revealing a hole in the ground. "Dragon Pulse into it!" The blue dragon quickly fired the attack into the hole before backing away and a loud explosion was heard. The stadium quieted down to see what would happen. "I don't think he survived that," smirked Drax.

Ash paid him no mind but grinned in return, making Drax and many to become confused. "Charizard is just getting warmed up. I think he's ready. FIRE SPIN!" roared Ash.

A loud roar was heard from beneath the ground before the spot underneath the mega pokémon began glowing red. The dragon moved out of the way at the last second before a swirling vortex of red, orange and yellow flames burst forth and shot up into the sky. Many gasped at the sight of the fire tornado. Another one popped from underneath Salamence's new position and once again the dragon was barely able to dodge it at the last second. This kept going on until there were many holes caused by the powerful fire attacks. "IT'S LIKE WHACK A BUISEL BUT IN OPPOSITE! CHARIZARD IS TRYING TO CONNECT HIS TRAP MOVE BUT SALAMENCE KEEPS DODGING! MAYBE THE BLUE SPIRIT SHOULD TRY A NEW TACTIC?!" Ash and Charizard kept going however. He would barely miss Salamence but prevented him from attacking back. Finally, one of the Fire Spins connected, singing his wing and making the dragon cried out in pain.

That made the silver haired dragon master became even more angered. "That's it! Make him get out! Earthquake!" ordered Drax and his dragon slammed his tail onto the ground hard but Charizard was already out of the ground by then covered in a red glow.

"INFERNO!" yelled Ash and his fire starter let out an intense ball of flames at the dragon. The flames engulfed his opponent and made Mega Salamence cry out in agony. The flames died down, leaving the dragon in multiple scorch marks, wincing. It was left with a severe burn from the flames. "Good job buddy! Hidden Power and Slash combo!" Charizard focused and brought out his inner power that materialized into multiple white energy spheres around him while his claws glowed white.

"SALAMENCE! YOU BETTER NOT LOSE! FINISH IT WITH HYPER BEAM!" The mega pokémon quickly charged up the attack and launched it at Charizard with many shouts and screams made from the crowd. He was hit in the chest and the beam exploded, covering the red dragon with smoke.

The smoke cloud was still up with Mega Salamence panting heavily, waiting to see its fallen opponent. Many white spheres of energy shot from the smoke cloud and struck the blue dragon, making it roar with pain. The red dragon then appeared through the smoke, flying towards its weakened opponent with its claws glowing white. Charizard slashed the dragon several times, making him stumble back, barely conscious. "Finish it Charizard! MEGA PUNCH!" Charizard clenched his claw into a fist and it glowed a bright white before striking Mega Salamence in the chest, sending the powerful pokémon through the air before it collided against the stadium wall. It dropped to the ground and reverted back to its normal form.

"THE BLUE SPIRIT TRIUMPHED OVER DRAX'S MOST POWERFUL POKÉMON EVEN WITH IT MEGA EVOLVED! LOOKS LIKE THE GUARDIAN'S CHARIZARD MAY HAVE BEATEN THE LORD OF DRAGONS!" Many in the stadium and all those watching couldn't believe it while Ash's group was shouting out praise and encouragement.

Liza however was still seated, lost in thought. She couldn't believe how powerful Ash's Charizard is. She knew that Ash wouldn't lie or boast about how strong his pokémon can be. But to hear about a Charizard beating the legendary Rayquaza in a one on one match? And something about this particular one was making her rethink some things. It was moving just like the Charizard who had beaten the test. She shook her head after a moment. It can't be. There's no way that's the same one. The trainer had white hair not black…and...and not…silver… Liza's eyes widened as she remembered something else. Ash did say he disguised himself during his disappearance…but it…couldn't be…could it? Could Ash be the one? Could he be…could he be the one who I'm…promised to? Liza's heart began beating faster as she thought of the possibility that he could be the one…

Drax returned his Salamence and looked at the Charizard in front of him. It had some scratches and bruises from the Hyper Beam but it didn't look as damaged as he hoped. That's one powerful pokémon! Drax took in a deep breath. Maybe it did beat the Lord of Dragons…no, that's impossible. Get a grip on yourself because it's no match for my secret weapon. "I'm impressed Ketchum," said Drax, unclipping his final pokémon. "I never thought you would have Rayquaza on your side. Nor did I ever think that your Charizard would be this strong. But I also have to say this too; Salamence isn't my strongest pokémon." Everyone went silent, startled at the revelation. "I hope you're ready!" He tossed out the poke ball and what emerged from it, made many gasp and become surprised.

"No way…"

"What are the chances?"

"Are you kidding me?"

The pokémon landed onto the field opposite Charizard and roared loudly. "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT FOLKS! DRAGON MASTER DRAX ALSO HAS A CHARIZARD! BUT THIS ONE IS BLACK INSTEAD OF RED! THIS SHOULD BE ENTERTAINING WITH BOTH POKÉMON BEING AMONG THEIR TRAINER'S STRONGEST!" The crowd went insane, anxiously waiting to see both powerful fire starters go at it. Both Charizard looked insanely strong and Liza started worrying again about Drax being the possible winner.

"I thought you only train dragon pokémon?" asked Ash curiously.

Drax chuckled before answering him. "I do. My Charizard may not be a dragon…yet." He pushed the mega ring again and his Charizard was engulfed in a white glow.

"NOT AGAIN!" screamed out the girls in the group at once. The white glow erupted to reveal the fire pokémon in its mega form. It was now colored dark and light blue, with flames trailing out of its mouth from both sides. Its wings becoming wider and jagged as well. The flame on its tail and mouth were colored blue instead of the usual red orange.

"Now he is a true dragon! I introduce to you my most powerful pokémon…MEGA CHARIZARD X!" declared Drax with a large smirk on his face and his mega pokémon let out a loud roar that made many cover their ears. "You may have overcome my Mega Salamence, but my Mega Charizard X is three times stronger! There is no way you'll triumph over my most powerful pokemon!"

Charizard glanced back at Ash. Both pokémon and trainer looked into one another's eyes. After a moment, Ash nodded and so did Charizard. The red dragon faced forward once more and eyed his kin. "Dragon Master Drax…" started Ash, making everyone quiet down to listen to his words. "You are wrong to think like that." Drax scoffed and laughed, shaking his head. "We will show you that you don't need to be a dragon type to be a true dragon!" Ash uncrossed his arms and raised his left hand to be level with his head. A blue glow appeared around his wrist and a second later, it faded away only to have a pure white bracelet appear with a blue stone embedded in it; a Mega Ring.

His group gasped. They didn't know he had found mega stones and could mega evolve as well. Liza's eyes went wide and she let out a yelp, making everyone around her, from her group of friends to strangers, look at her. Clair, Cynthia and Sabrina were looking at her with very concerned expressions. "I can't believe it! No way! He…he…" but she couldn't finish, stammering until she was silenced by Ash speaking again.

"The Charizard you're facing here in front of you…is one of the few pokémon in the world to go the distance…to reach new heights in its power…to have taken on several legendary pokémon on its own and come out the victor …and it is the only Charizard in history to complete the Gauntlet of the Charicific Valley!" revealed Ash. Drax, the Champions in the VIP room, Liza, Sabrina, Clair and Cynthia all had their jaws drop and their eyes widen.

The self named dragon master was frozen for a bit before snapping out of it. "Impossible!" retorted Drax. "No Charizard can do that! None can fight fifty battles one after another against the strongest in the valley with no rest!" The crowd took in sharp breaths, utterly stupefied that the Guardian's Charizard had so much strength and endurance that he was not only able to beat a legendary pokémon on its own but also able to survive against fifty nonstop rounds against the strongest in the valley. It was practically suicide since the pokémon there are so brutal.

"Mine did and he was rewarded for his determination to be the best," replied Ash calmly and touched his mega ring. Charizard was covered in a white glowing sphere. The white sphere glowed an intense white before it erupted, revealing its mega form. Unlike its opponent, it stayed its normal color of red orange. Its body grew larger but also became very aero dynamic. Its wings grew longer, sharp appendages grew from its fore arms and another horn grew out from the top of its head. "Allow me to introduce the strongest Charizard in the world…the King of the Charicific Valley…MEGA CHARIZARD Y!" The mega evolved pokémon let out such a loud roar that the glass windows shook in the VIP room and sent shockwaves throughout the stadium, making everyone close their ears. They felt the sound wave wash over them but instead of sending them flying, it sent shivers down their spines. The temperature around the stadium and field began going up, the heat becoming almost unbearable. His Charizard's special ability of Drought had activated.

"WHAT HAS THIS COME TO?! WE HAVE MEGA CHARIZARD X AND MEGA CHARIZARD Y WHO IS ALSO THE KING OF THE CHARICIFIC VALLEY?! MY LORD, I NEED A DRINK! HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS AND SEATS FOLKS! THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE HELL OF A BATTLE!" The crowd snapped out of their trance and they made so much noise that many people that they would go deaf.

Drax had his anger fill him at being shown up by the guardian. "It doesn't matter if your Charizard is the king or also mega evolved! I will still win!" he snapped, not allowing himself to become overwhelmed. His Charizard X growled at his opponent as well.

"You said power is the only thing important and that you are powerful. So prove it against the King," suggested Ash.

Drax snarled in response before shouting his command; "Dragon Claw!"

"You too!"

Both Charizard shot forward with their claws glowing and struck each other across the chest, damaging each other. "Flamethrower!" shouted both trainers. Blue and red flames collided and erupted, covering the field in smoke. Charizard Y flew up into the air.

"Dragon Rush!" ordered Drax. Charizard X followed his opponent and slammed into him, making him move backwards while letting out a grunt of pain.

"Air Slash!" snapped Ash. Charizard Y quickly shot condensed blades of air with his wings at the blue pokémon and they connected, making him flinch. "Follow up with Ancient Power!" Boulders made out of energy appeared in the air and collided against his target. Charizard X roared with agony and started falling to the ground.

"SNAP OUT OF IT! FLAME CHARGE!" yelled Drax. His pokémon composed himself, covered itself in flames and shot forward, slamming into his target once more and increased its speed. "Send him to the ground with Thunder Punch!" An electrified clawed fist hit the red dragon and sent him rocketing to the ground.

"Level out!" shouted Ash and his pokémon stopped his descent immediately with his wings. "Barrel roll!" snapped the raven haired guardian and his pokémon rolled to the left, avoiding the other pokémon's dive bomb.

"Not bad! But not good enough!" taunted Drax as the two mega Charizards righted themselves and growled at one another.

"Funny. I was going to say the same to you," admitted Ash, making the tall trainer shake with fury.

Pure dislike appeared on both trainers' faces before they sent out their next command. "FLARE BLITZ!" shouted both at the same time. Once more both dragons shot forward but this time they intercepted one another's attacks. Each was trying to overtake the other.

"Overheat!" shouted Drax.

"Dragon Claw!" ordered Ash.

Charizard X opened its mouth but was quickly closed again by a powerful strike against its jaw, sending it to the ground. Even with his opponent's speed boost, Ash knew his pokémon was much faster. He had his Charizard fly up into the air again.

"GET UP!" screamed Drax and his pokémon got back up. "DRAGON PULSE!" A powerful beam of draconic energy was launched up towards the red dragon.

"Show them a real Dragon Pulse!" said Ash and his pokémon fired an even larger beam of energy right at the incoming one. Drax and everyone else was left in a startled state as they watched it completely overpower the other beam like it wasn't even there and slammed into its target. Charizard X was pushed into the ground with a large explosion. The smoke cleared and they saw the pokémon panting but still able to fight.

"You're out classed Drax. Surrender!" advised Ash seeing the state his pokémon was in.

That however just pissed off both his opponent and his pokémon. "HELL NO! I HAVE NEVER SURRENDERED, I HAVE NEVER LOST AND I WON'T START NOW! FLAME CHARGE INTO FLARE BLITZ!" ordered Drax. Charizard X shot forward again but with tremendous speed, surprising Ash and his dragon. The black and blue starter engulfed itself in a large blue sphere of flames and smashed into the red starter. Charizard Y was hit hard and he began falling to the ground. His friends and family shouted out over it.

But then Charizard quickly recovered and flew up into the sky. Drax ordered his Charizard to go after him. The two began flying around the stadium with the red dragon evading random streams of flames shot at him while being pursued by the black and blue dragon. "Go into the ground!" ordered Ash, confusing many as to why he would do that, giving advantage to his adversary. The red dragon dodged another stream of flames by diving down immediately. He angled his descent towards one of the holes in the ground and disappeared into it.

"You fool! You just gave me the match! EARHTQUAKE! MAX POWER!" shouted Drax. Charizard X rocketed to the ground and slammed onto it, causing a massive tremor to rock the area. Many people were thrown from their seats with many others screaming in fright. No sound came from below the field and when the tremors finally stopped, it was silent. "That was idiotic!" said Drax to Ash. "So much for your Charizard being the King! Looks like he's reign is over before it even began! And without him, you're done for! Your other pokémon can't beat my Charizard X!" cackled Drax and his pokemon let out throaty growls, also laughing.

Ash however let a smile form on his face, making the two stop laughing and everyone to become confused. "Thank you Drax for allowing us to finish the battle with our next move." Drax was about to comment back when he was silenced abruptly by Ash. "CHARIZARD! FIRE STORM!"

The entire field began glowing red, making everyone gasp and shout out in fear. Drax looked at his pokémon and saw that he was surrounded by many holes, right in the middle of them all. Before he could order his pokémon to get out of there, what happened next was something he never would've even dreamt of seeing.

Vortexes of fire shot up from each and every hole, climbing higher and higher into the sky. The fire pillars were so hot, so powerful that they started melting the ground around them. The fire pillars were expanding so rapidly that Charizard X couldn't get out of there in time. He let out anguished cries as the scorching flames struck him. His resistances did nothing to help lessen the damage or the pain. He attempted to get out from within the fire pillars but kept getting struck over and over by them. Soon enough, the fire pillars had merged into one colossal blazing fire that had engulfed the entire field. The heat was so overwhelming that it made almost everyone sweat uncontrollably and the people in the front stands were frantically moving as far back into the stands as they could from it. The mega pokémon collapsed in the middle of the deadly attack, unable to move and reverted back to its normal form. The attacked immediately ceased, the last trailing flames dissipating into the air. A large red sphere of flames shot up from beneath the ground. It went high up into the air before it burst to reveal Mega Charizard Y in all his glory with its wings spread out. He let out a loud victory roar into the sky.

"Drax's Charizard is unable to battle. Winner of the battle is Ash's Charizard and the winner of the match is Ash Ketchum!" said the referee, holding up the green flag.

"HOLY COW! THAT IS ONE MATCH THAT WILL FOREVER BE REMEMBERED! WHAT POWER! WHAT STRATEGY! WHAT CUNNING! WHAT HEART! THE AURA GUARDIAN HAS ADVANCED AND WILL FACE TOBIAS, THE TRAINER OF LEGENDARIES, IN THE FINALS OF THE TOURNAMENT!" The crowd and Ash's group cheered loudly and clapped, ecstatic over his victory. The stadium quieted down though as Ash and his now normal Charizard walked over to Drax who had already returned his pokémon. Latias and Pikachu also followed but stayed a little behind them.

Drax glared at Ash as he came closer to him. "What do you want?! You already won!" he shot at him.

Ash was quiet for a second before answering him. "We had a deal. Apologize," he told him seriously.

Drax had his eyebrows raised. "That's it?! That's all you want?!" he asked him in surprise. Ash said nothing, waiting for his apology. Drax growled at him before mumbling out an apology.

"Speak clearly and louder so you can be heard," stated Ash.

Drax had steam shoot out of his ears. He grabbed his microphone, holding it to his mouth. "I apologize to Clair, Daisy, Iris and Cilan. There I said it." He threw the microphone to the referee before turning his back to Ash and walked towards the field exit.

"Do not forget the other parts that you agreed to Drax!" stated Ash, making him stop. "You will no longer battle until you learn to be a decent person! And you will never go after a legendary pokémon again! Is that clear?!" The silver haired man glanced back the raven haired man before barely nodding. He then continued on his way and soon exited the arena. Ash looked around before spotting his friends and family. He brought the microphone to his mouth. "I dedicate this victory to my friends; Iris, Cilan, Daisy and Clair." The four mentioned felt so much gratitude and were humbled over that while the rest had smiles form on their faces over what he just did. "I'll see you guys back at the hotel…" He glanced at the eon pokémon. "…after I take Latias home." The crowd watched as the guardian, the starter and the dragon disappeared in blue glows.

The three of them reappeared in a secret garden with a pond near the end of one side of it. Ash and Pikachu had smiles form on their face as they watched Latias zoom around happily again since she was back home. "Hey! What are you doing here?!" came sudden yelling that made Ash and Pikachu whip around and Latias to stop her flying at once. "You have no right to…wait…ASH?!" Before he knew it, Ash was taken up into a bear hug that made him lose his breath. "I can't believe it's you!" cried the person.

Ash was turning blue from the lack of oxygen due to the girl's tight hug. "Can't…breathe…" he whizzed.

The girl realized she was choking him. She quickly let him go and he bent over forward, leaning against his knees as he took in gulps of air. "I'm so sorry!" said the girl hysterically. "Please forgive me!"

Ash raised one of his hands and waved them in front of him while continuing his heavy breathing. "Its…fine…" He took in a couple more breaths before feeling better. He straightened out and looked at the girl who almost choked him to death. She had grown older and more beautiful since the last time he saw her. She was wearing a white skirt and green short sleeved blouse. She had red like brown hair and brown eyes. "Hey Bianca, thanks for not suffocating me." She went red at that and he chuckled. Pikachu jumped into her arms and nuzzled against her cheek, happy to see her too. She giggled a bit as he did that. "How did you know me, Pikachu and Latias were here?" he asked her.

Bianca tilted her head as Pikachu jumped onto the ground. "I've been keeping watch since…wait, Latias?" She moved her gaze towards the pink pokémon who appeared beside the young man. "LATIAS!" The two hugged one another and let out some tears of happiness at seeing their best friend. "I was so worried about you! Where have you been? What happened? Why did you leave?" she asked the eon pokémon.

"It wasn't by choice and it's a long story," replied Latias through her telepathy. Ash was surprised that Bianca wasn't startled from that but then figured that since the two are best friends, she would've known about that. "But it was because of Ash that I was able to come back home."

The two separated and Bianca wiped her eyes dry with her hands. "Tell me everything." She turned to face Ash once more. "Thank you Ash for bringing my best friend back home." She hugged him again and this time he reciprocated since he was able to.

"No problem," replied back Ash. He smiled at her before looking at Latias who smiled back. "If either of you ever need anything, just let me know." The two nodded and then Ash and Bianca exchanged numbers on their Poketchs. "I'll tell Mist and Brocko that you said hello. Take care." Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and two disappeared in a blue glow, making Bianca gasp.

The girl was frozen for a few seconds until she felt someone grab her shoulder. She turned her gaze onto the legendary and smiled. "It's good that you're home again Latias. I kept the Soul Dew safe and hidden as always. But, where were you? What happened? And what did Ash do?" she asked the pokémon.

Latias sighed before replying back. "Like I said, it's a long story. But I'll tell you everything." The pink dragon floated down to the grass and lied down on it as she started to explain everything. Bianca sat down on the ground next to her and listened to it all.

Ash and Pikachu reappeared in the balcony of his suite. The two glanced at one another and sighed. "What a day huh buddy?" he asked his starter.

"Pika pika," agreed the yellow mouse as he began walking to go inside the suite.

When he entered it, he saw that most everyone was in the living room as well as another person there too. Ash was surprised to see the Dragon Champion there. He was greeted with congratulations and words of praise over his victory from his family and friends. Before he could say anything, he was taken up into a group hug by the four who he had dedicated his victory to. After the hug, they thanked him for that and he smiled at them before facing the champion. "Hey Lance, what's up?" he asked.

Lance didn't say anything but gestured towards the balcony. Receiving a nod from the young man, the two moved out there to speak in private. Pikachu however went to the couch, curled up and went to sleep. Liza, Clair, Sabrina and Cynthia glanced at one another with one of them feeling like her heart was going to pop out of her chest. They wondered if Lance would tell Ash and if he did, what would that cause to happen.

When the two trainers reached the railings, Lance looked out over the horizon before facing Ash. "That was quite an entertaining battle," he remarked and the younger man thanked him. "I must say though that I'm surprised you caught Rayquaza of all legendaries and that you even used him."

Ash smiled a bit. "I wasn't planning on catching him. Not so soon anyways. I had plans to do so in the future for the coming war. But things happened that forced my hand," he explained.

Lance thought over what he was told. "I see. I assume the things that happened had pissed you off and you wanted to show him up. Am I correct?" Ash said nothing over that. "It's alright. I did the same when I was younger. But I took things too far." That made Ash raise his eyebrows in surprise. "A story for some other time because that's not why I'm here."

"Alright. Then why are you here? Not that I mind of course," said the raven haired guardian.

Lance chuckled. "Well, there are a couple things I need to tell you. First, I believe Cynthia told you about our meeting?" He said that she did tell him. "Good. And here's our proof." He took out the smart phone from his pocket and held it between the two. "I've had some of my most trusted and most capable try to crack it but none of have been able to. Even the two videos in it, one of which was a recording of the red head you rescued being tortured and violated…" Ash let out a growl at hearing that. "…have their sound choppy and we cannot make things out. But this is evidence that something is happening concerning you Ash."

The young trainer could say nothing over that. He hung his head and shook it slightly. "I'm sorry Lance but I just don't know why. It's not like I mean for these things to happen and you know the reason why I disappeared." He raised his head again and locked eyes with him. "But you know that I will also do anything to protect everyone. Especially the ones I love and care about."

Lance smiled at that. "I know. But here's the second thing I wanted to ask; would that include my cousin Clair as well?" he asked him.

Ash kept his expression neutral but inside his heart began hammering. "She is my friend so of course I will do so."

Lance gave a small chuckle in response that was almost a scoff. "Nothing more huh?" Again, Ash said nothing. "Well, between you and me, she does deserve someone great and I support whatever decision my cousin makes." Seeing the slightly surprised expression on his face made the champion laugh out loud. "Wasn't expecting that were you? I'm not all serious business." Ash couldn't help but laugh a bit himself over that. "One more thing about Clair though. Do you know what happened between her and Drax?" he asked him.

Ash quickly stopped his laughing. He took in a breath and nodded. "I do. But I'm sorry Lance. I cannot tell you what she told me. But I can tell you that she has overcome it and I believe she will be fine."

Lance was quiet for a moment. "Alright. Thank you for that at least. The final thing I have to say is this; you won the test. But do you know what else comes with winning the gauntlet of the Charicific Valley?" he asked him.

Ash turned his gaze towards the horizon. "I do."

Lance's eyes widened. "You do?! How did you find out? Then how come you haven't taken it? How come you haven't let it be known?! She may be older than you by a few years, but how come you haven't taken Liza in for your wife yet?!" He was beyond stunned as to why Ash would just give up something like that which held so much honor, glory and an attractive wife as well.

Ash turned his gaze back to Lance. He smiled a bit before answering him. "Because I don't believe that people should make decisions for others regarding such things. I knew about it so I went in disguise but left immediately after she gave me the mega stone so she wouldn't have to say it. Love, marriage and everything else related to that shouldn't be forced or based on some random things or even old traditions and customs that don't make sense anymore. And Liza deserves more than someone like me who won't have much time for her." Ash looked away from Lance. He was quiet for a bit before continuing. "They all do. I love my girlfriends with all my heart…but sometimes I wonder just what they see in me and whether or not I'm worthy enough for them."

Lance couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had always known there was something different about Ash. Their team ups against evil organizations in the past, what he had done in the stadium attack and the rumors and news about him all over the world. He had respected him but had allowed his jealousy to cloud his mind until recently. He may have gotten over it finally and had apologized to the young man, but never knew what he was going through. It had just hit him that this trainer who was over a dozen years younger than him, had more responsibility and worries that ones who are three times his age. That he never viewed himself as better than anyone else but instead thought if he was good enough. Hell, he doubted even the current pokémon master behaved in such a way as the young guardian.

At that moment, his respect for him grew and knew that this man was his equal…if not more. "A true man does not take things for granted and never believes himself better than others." Ash glanced at him, wondering where he was going with this. "You are that man. And I am happy to say that you have helped me become my old self again. For that, I thank you. And allow me to say this; you are being too hard on yourself. No one is perfect but if you continue thinking this way, you may make a mistake that could haunt you for the rest of your life. Trust me. You don't want that to happen."

If Ash was surprised before over his words, he was beyond stunned now. "Lance…" He took in a breath. "Thank you." He raised his hand to him who took it and two shook on it.

"You're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things I need to take care of." Lance was about to call out his Dragonite but then stopped. "I almost forgot. I have no use for this. Perhaps you may get lucky in getting something out of it or know someone who may be able to do so." Lance gave him the smart phone and Ash put it in his pants pocket. Ash thanked Lance and asked him to not bring up the matter with anyone that involves Liza. "I will not. But you must be prepared if and when Liza speaks with you about it since you revealed it. Even if you hadn't, she would've known because of the mega stone and evolution your Charizard went through." The raven haired man nodded while the champion called out his pokémon and soon they took off into the air.

Ash watched them go for a few seconds before heading back inside. He saw that the living room was mostly empty except for his mother. "Where did everyone go Mom?" he asked her.

"They thought that you and Lance would talk for a long time so many went off to their own rooms while a few of the couples went out for a walk," said Delia. "Oh and everything is alright with Sabrina's parents. They left already but they are on board."

"That's great to hear. One less thing to worry about. Thanks Mom!" he told her as they hugged.

"No problem sweetie. Now, you should go to your room. There's a surprise waiting for you," she told him with a knowing look.

Ash titled his head and wanted to ask what she meant by that but she wouldn't say. Wondering what it could be as he went to his room, Ash was lost in his thoughts as he opened his room door. The instant he stepped inside and saw what was waiting for him, his jaw dropped. His girlfriends Leaf, Sarah and Anabel were sitting on the bed dressed in their respective night gowns. "Like what you see?" asked Sarah with a grin.

"Don't keep us waiting too much now," said Anabel with a devious smile.

"We won't bite. Much," smirked Leaf.

Seeing him still out of it, the three girls giggled before Sarah grabbed a pillow and tossed it at him. Ash snapped out of it when hit him in the face. "Thanks and nice throw Wiseman." He picked up the pillow and tossed it back to the grinning girl and she caught it. "I'll be right back. Just let me change out of my guardian's uniform," he told them. He went into the bathroom with his sweats only pajamas as the girls got into bed and waited for him to come back. When he came back into the room, he climbed into bed, gave each of the girls a kiss and then made himself comfortable. The three girls snuggled against him with Leaf on top, Sarah on his left and Anabel on his right. After some talking, teasing and joking around, the three girls told him that they are proud of him and so are his other girlfriends. They also told him what they decided on for tomorrow if he had no battles and he agreed to it. Soon enough afterwards, the four of them fell asleep.

As that occurred in the master bedroom, several other things were going on in the other rooms. In one of them, Liza, Clair, Cynthia and Sabrina were discussing about what they found out. How Ash was the one who won the gauntlet and how Liza is actually promised to him now. They talked for a long time about that and what they could do until finally the green haired girl snapped. "What do you want me to do?!" asked Liza as she faced Cynthia and Sabrina. "Nothing that you say will help me! I thought it was Drax and it nearly killed me! But finding out it was actually Ash has made me so happy!" The two girls' eyes widened and realizing what she let slip made Liza clap her hands against her mouth.

"Wait, what?!" asked Cynthia in surprise.

"What do you mean by 'made me so happy'?" asked Sabrina quietly.

Liza lowered her hands and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Nothing. I just meant that…that it's not Drax…and…and that…"

"Don't lie to us Liza," interrupted Sabrina. "You didn't like it when I lied to you so don't do the same."

Liza looked at the two for a moment before hanging her head and let her arms fall down. She then said three words in barely a whisper; "I love Ash." That made the two girls gasp and even surprised Clair that she just said it like that. Liza continued speaking towards the floor in a low voice. "Ever since the club, I've been developing feelings for him. I can't take my mind off of him. And when I saw him get hurt in his match against Damian, I felt like I my heart dropped into my stomach." The three other girls said nothing about that since that was how they felt as well. They continued listening to what she said after she raised her gaze back up. "I'm sorry but I don't know why him or why now. But I do know that I love him and want to be with him. But I will never jeopardize things between you and him." Liza moved her eyes to lock with Sabrina's. "Especially you Sab. You were there for me so many times and though I like to annoy you, you are one of my best friends." Sabrina had her eyes become watery over what she heard. Liza was doing the same thing she did before. The green haired girl faced the other two. "And so are you two. I will never hurt any of you intentionally and I'm sorry for what I'm feeling. But with my feelings for him, me being promised to him because of the gauntlet, you two being his girlfriends and his other girlfriends…I have no idea what to do." She was about to say some more when she was suddenly grabbed by the psychic prodigy and pulled into a deep hug. Cynthia joined in and so did Clair.

"It's alright Liza. I don't blame you," said Sabrina. The caretaker of the valley started crying into the embrace.

"And we're not that mad. In fact we have something to tell you," said Cynthia. When they separated after a few minutes, the champion of Sinnoh smiled at her before facing the blunette. "But first, do you want to come clean too or what?" she asked her.

Clair's heart started thumping loudly as she looked at Cynthia before facing Sabrina. "I…ah…" She took in a deep breath. "I love Ash too." She tensed up and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" asked Cynthia.

Clair opened one of her eyes and saw that she was sitting calmly down on the bed and so was Sabrina. "You're not mad? You're not gonna kick my ass?" she asked her. Cynthia burst into laughter before shaking her head and Sabrina merely chuckled. Clair opened her other eye and relaxed a bit. "Why aren't you though?" she asked them.

"What, you want to get beat up?" asked Cynthia in surprise. Clair shook her head but told her that she knew about her past and how she might feel a little threatened by all this. "You know, I think I would've been if it was someone else. But with Ash, somehow I have this feeling that it was always supposed to be this way." Clair and Liza titled their heads but Sabrina nodded in agreement. She felt the same way. "Maybe it's because it's you and the other girls but whenever I think about him being with one of them or you, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. But when I think of some other random girl with him, it pisses me off. Don't know why, how and I don't care. But I'm actually alright with it all."

Clair and Liza were stunned over what she said and glanced at one another before shrugging. They faced Sabrina and Cynthia before Clair spoke again. "Well, thank you I guess. But what about his other girlfriends? And there is something you two should know as well."

"That's right," started Liza. "It's not just us who…"

"Don't," interrupted Cynthia, surprising them.

"We know," said Sabrina, making the two have their eyes widen. "Don't say anything to anyone."

Liza recovered first. "But…but…how?!" she stammered out.

"Like you said, when Ash faced Damian, a lot of things were revealed. You may not have said it, but your actions revealed it," informed Cynthia.

"So does this mean that the other girls know that there are six others who have feelings for Ash?" asked Clair and the two girls nodded.

"Why haven't you said anything?" asked Liza in bewilderment.

"Because we didn't want to say anything about it and we wanted Ash to figure it out without us telling him," answered Sabrina. The psychic prodigy was asked why they would do that. "Firstly is because we trust him. We know that he won't do anything if and when he finds out how you feel before talking with us." The two girls nodded in understanding over that. They knew that he would be like that. "Second, for some reason, something is telling us to let him figure it out on his own."

"Really?" asked Clair and they replied back saying yes.

"So what about the other girls?" asked Liza.

"What about them?" asked Cynthia.

"Aren't you going to talk to them too?" asked Clair.

Sabrina and Cynthia looked at one another before grinning. "Well, our sisters will. But when it's the right time," revealed the psychic prodigy. Liza and Clair understood that and said no more on that subject. After some more talking that allowed the four of them to get on the same page, they decided to call it a night. The four went to bed with two of them feeling absolutely joyful that things were working out better than they dreamed it would so far. They fell asleep soon enough with good dreams visiting them.

In another room two people were in their beds. They had decided to sleep on separate beds that night. They had also decided to take a break from each other after another argument happened between the two after their friend's match. But they decided not to tell anyone anything for the time being since they didn't want attention on them right now. Both of them had just laid in their respective beds for a long time before one of them fell asleep. The other one, who was just about to fall asleep herself, was startled awake when she heard her now ex-boyfriend snore. She turned her head and gave him an annoyed look before facing the wall again.

She tried to go to sleep but couldn't. After a while, she turned onto her back and faced the ceiling. She thought of everything that she had gone through. All of her adventures with all the people that she traveled with. Her family and friends that she loves and cares for. Her dreams and goals that she had when she was younger. The choices that she made that she thought were for the best or made sense. She also thought of all the mistakes that she made. All the times that she quit when she should've pressed on and vice versa.

And that made her think of her relationship with the green haired connoisseur. The reasons how it started, the good and bad times they shared, what they did for one another and how they kept each other going. But then she thought about how even though she was happy with him, it wasn't what she originally wanted. That she had been keeping secrets from him. And it looked like he was keeping secrets from her too. Perhaps they weren't meant to be together forever. Perhaps they were only there to help each other take the next step in life before moving on from one another.

She wondered about all that for so long that she felt like she was coming undone. She took in some air through her nose before exhaling it out through her mouth. She did that several times to help her calm down and get a hold of herself. She glanced at her roommate and looked at him for a couple minutes. She then faced the ceiling again before closing her eyes and said a prayer in her mind. Please Arceus…help us figure out if what we had was right. Help us find what we're looking for. If we're not for each other, help us find the one who is. Please. After that prayer, the purple haired girl moved onto her side and faced the wall again. A couple minutes later, she fell asleep.

Not too far from the hotel, a man in his early thirties was resting on his couch while flipping through the channels on his TV. Seeing that there was nothing on to watch, he was thinking about turning it off when he happened to stop on a news channel. He listened to the report about the outcome on the latest match of the tournament. When it finished, he chuckled a bit while turning it off. "Should've known it would be you Ketchum. That so called dragon master had no chance against you. But I am glad. We will face off once more. I hope the first person who has ever beaten my Darkrai has become a lot stronger." After that statement, a dark shadowy figure rose up from beneath the ground until its form sharpened and became corporeal. The man grinned at his pokémon. "For we have made the ultimate team now and are much stronger. Are you ready for the rematch of the century Darkrai?"

The legendary dark figure that was hovering in the air crossed his arms and nodded. "I am Tobias."

A/N - Several characters who have been in the dark have been brought forward with Clemont, Bonnie and Max making more progress in their growth. Several other new characters have been introduced/mentioned. Many questions have been answered but now, many more have come up. I will say this as well; I have made plans to upload sooner but I'm not sure yet if it will happen since I will be going camping this upcoming weekend. Also, I am planning to do something special for all of you because of my one year anniversary coming up in writing this story. Damn, I can't believe that it's less than 2 weeks for it to be one year writing this and it's still going strong. Thank you everyone for that! I just hope I can make it in time to post up what I want to do for you guys on that day in appreciation for all the support. Remember to review, fav and follow! Until next time, Silent is out!

Question 1 - Did the battle meet, exceed or fail to meet your expectations and what was one of your favorite parts of the battle if there was one?

Question 2 - Anyone else love camping and if so, where is your favorite spot?

Ash's Harem Status

In the Harem - Misty, May, Dawn, Serena, Leaf, Sarah, Anabel, Cynthia and Sabrina

Not in Harem but have feelings for him - Clair, Liza, Giselle, Lizabeth, Shauna (Hoenn), Daisy Waterflower

Tournament Upcoming Match

Finals