"Aura Stone Strike!" Lucario lunged, pouring all the speed he could muster into his leap. A blast of Rock energy flew from his outstretched fist at the exhausted Dragonite. The Dragonite's Trainer cried out an order, but it was too late. Dragonite took the blast straight to the face and fell, going limp even before he hit the ground.

Xerneas, from within his Ultra Ball, tapped into his own Life and sent a small trickle of it into Dragonite's body as the Trainer recalled him, soothing Dragonite's pain.

Calem smirked as Lucario landed and the announcers proclaimed his victory. There was no doubt the Trainers were getting more difficult. William Williams had only taken out Aurorus, but this Trainer, a third-year Kantonian by the name of Rio Slater, had come rolling up with a team of Venusaur, Kabutops, and Dragonite and had given Calem an impressively difficult fight. If not for Calem's switch-based strategies, he would have lost, and even with them he had been left with just the injured Lucario.

It was a good thing that the next battle was tomorrow. That would give Calem's battered team plenty of time to rest up.

Calem's opponent met him in the center of the field. "Not bad for a rookie," he said. "Where'd you get a Blastoise and a Lapras? Those are rare even in Kanto-Johto."

"Here and there," Calem answered.

Rio grinned. "Fine by me. Nice switches, by the way. Real difficult to keep up."

The Kantonian turned and walked off the field. Calem did the same.

"So," Calem said, looking down at Xerneas's Ultra Ball. "From what I've read, Marcus's battle is coming up soon. You've been wanting to see that, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have," Xerneas replied.

Calem sighed. "All right, Xerneas. You want to see Marcus in action? I'll show you just what kind of Trainer he is."

Cloyster had not yet seen the stadium from this perspective. It seemed even more ridiculously large from in the center, with the stands rising up so far that he couldn't even see the top from within his Pokeball, and the entire place was absolutely packed with people, hundreds, even thousands of people sitting and watching. Yet more would be watching through screens from all around Kalos and the rest of the world.

It was simply staggering how many eyes were on Marcus at this point…and how many eyes would be on Cloyster. He shuddered slightly, wondering how Drapion, Houndoom, and Kriesh had even managed to handle the stress.

"The next match will be between Marcus Grayson and Connie Stevens!" April announced. "Marcus's Drapion certainly proved itself to be strong in the last round, playing a vital role in his victory over Brian Duke! But Connie's Tyranitar is no slouch either, as to be expected from her Ace! Could this battle result in a clash between these two Dark-type titans? I certainly hope so!"

Connie strolled out onto the opposite side of the field. Even at this distance Cloyster could see her eyes scanning the crowd and knew she was looking for Piers and Marnie. From the way her eyes lit up before she looked back at Marcus, she'd found them.

The coin was quickly tossed, and this time Marcus had to be the one to release first.

Connie tilted her head and smirked. "So, we doin' it?"

"Doing what?" Marcus asked.

Connie gestured towards the announcer's box. "You heard them. You know what they want. So how about it?"

Marcus hesitated for a moment, then smirked himself. "All right then. Drapion, let's go!"
"Tyranitar, you're up!"

The two behemoths slammed down onto the field. It was an Ice field today, and as such the sheer force of their landings set the ice under them to cracking. Drapion and Tyranitar glared at each other and both let out challenging roars, the sound of their bellows mingling with the audience's cheers.

"Drapion, Cross Poison!" Marcus ordered.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Connie cried. "Tyranitar, block it and rush him!"

Cloyster watched closely as Drapion's Blast soared straight for Tyranitar. "Sand Stream!" Tyranitar bellowed. A wave of Rock energy burst out of Tyranitar's body, expanding into a sandstorm that, from the narrowing of Drapion's eyes, he recognized.

"Storm Barrier!" Tyranitar snarled, gathering some of the flying Rock energy into a Protect that deflected Drapion's Blast. "Sand Stream!"

Cloyster had not seen Wulfric's Beartic and his Swift Swim Ability in action, but he'd gotten a good idea of what it had been like from Drapion and Houndoom's stories. So, as Tyranitar faded into the sandstorm, his outline barely visible as he became one with the storm and used its momentum to charge Drapion at impossible speed, Cloyster realized that Sand Stream, apparently, was a very similar Ability to Swift Swim, just for sand.

Tyranitar rematerialized on Drapion's left. "Storm Claws!"

"Block!"

It was Drapion's turn to muster a Protect, seamlessly deflecting Tyranitar's Rock energy-enhanced strike. "Rip!" Drapion snarled, swiping one of his arms at Tyranitar, enhancing it with Bug energy as he did so. But Tyranitar swatted the blow away with his still-active Storm Claws. Drapion twisted with the deflection, swinging his tail at Tyranitar's other side, but Tyranitar growled "Sand Stream!" and dematerialized back into the Sandstorm. Drapion's tail hit nothing but sand.

"Battle Armor," Drapion growled. Chitin shifted, a thin layer of it covering every spot where sand could reach. Now Drapion was insulated from the Sandstorm, his skin shielded by his Battle Armor. It was a technique that Drapion had developed in the brief training window between the last battle and this one, as Marcus had explained that Tyranitars were known for utilizing Sandstorm extensively in their battling style.

"Ya think this scares me?" Drapion growled. "Ah beat Wulfric's Beartic. An' yer nothin' compared ta him."

"Storm Quake!"

Tyranitar rematerialized back on the other side of the arena, raising one foot and slamming it down onto the ice. Ground energy erupted from his claws, rushing towards Drapion. The Poison/Dark Pokemon was quick to raise a Block to deflect it, but at the very moment that the Block went up, Tyranitar grinned. "Sand Stream!"

"Drapion, Battle Armor, right!" Marcus cried.

Tyranitar indeed materialized on Drapion's right. "Storm Claws!" It was only Marcus's sharp order and Drapion's quick reaction to it that allowed him to shift his Battle Armor, forming a wall of chitin between him and Tyranitar. Yet Tyranitar's fist sent Drapion staggering despite Battle Armor, eliciting a grunt of pain from Drapion.

"Funny," Tyranitar snarled. "I beat Wulfric's Beartic too. Sand Stream."

As the announcers praised Tyranitar's 'quick thinking', Drapion, looking frustrated, opened fire with a No Escape, a strategy that Cloyster recalled had been one of the main reasons (according to Drapion) that he'd been able to win that particular clash. Indeed, the rays twisted and flew after Tyranitar's barely visible form.

"Rock Blast!" Connie commanded.

Tyranitar rematerialized; with a snarl of "Rock Storm!", he raised one arm and released a barrage of Rock energy that intercepted and dispersed the No Escape. "Blast!" Drapion snarled, seeking to break through Tyranitar's guard, but Tyranitar simply raised his other arm. "Storm Barrier!"

"Drapion, Dig!" Marcus ordered. "Straight at him!"

Drapion hesitated for a moment. Surprise filled Cloyster's mind. Didn't Tyranitar have Earthquake?

But Drapion obeyed. "Burrow!" he growled, lunging into the icy floor of the current field and disappearing from sight.

Connie grinned. "That was a mistake, Marcus. Earthquake!"

Tyranitar matched his Trainer's expression. "Storm Quake!" he bellowed, slamming one foot down on the ground once more. The ice before him cracked and broke as the ground heaved under the Storm Quake. Cloyster winced at Drapion's loud snarl of pain as the Poison/Dark-type Pokemon exploded out of the shattered earth.

Right in front of Tyranitar.

"Battle Armor! Slam!"

Tyranitar's eyes widened. "Sand St-"

But he couldn't react in time. A brutal clublike blow slammed straight into Tyranitar's stomach. Tyranitar doubled over and fell to the ground, wheezing in pain.

"An amazing move from Marcus!" April gushed. "Turning an opposing super-effective move into an opportunity has finally allowed his Drapion to land a hit on that surprisingly slippery Tyranitar! But Drapion certainly didn't get out unscathed! That underground super-effective Earthquake definitely hurt!"

What April didn't include in that summation, however, was that while Drapion was standing, Tyranitar was on the ground, winded and clearly not in prime position to use his moves. Drapion grinned and lunged forwards, Poison energy-tipped claws shining wickedly.

Connie gulped. "Rest, and Sleep Talk!"

Tyranitar's eyes closed and his panicked breathing slowed. Drapion landed his blows, his claws sinking into Tyranitar's stony flesh. Tyranitar, his eyes still closed, suddenly lashed out. Completely unprepared, Drapion staggered under a quick blow to the face. Freed, Tyranitar rose, still snoring slightly.

Cloyster had heard about this combination of moves enough to understand what they did. Rest allowed the user to slip into a sleeplike trance, allowing them to recover spent energy and numb pain at the cost of rendering them temporarily inactive. Sleep Talk enabled a Pokemon in a state of sleep to fight unconsciously. Combined, the two moves resulted in a Pokemon who could, whenever they wanted, use Rest to recover their energy while firing off random moves with Sleep Talk, which not only was sometimes more dangerous than usual due to the randomness, but also ensured that the Pokemon in question could keep fighting longer than the average Pokemon in such a situation.

Normally, the Rest/Sleep Talk combination was used by higher-level Trainers. Snorlaxes were the prime example of the combo; Marcus had once spoken of the Sinnoan Trainer Barry, one of the strongest and most well-known members of the Sinnoh Battleground, whose Snorlax was well known for utilizing such a strategy. So Connie having the capability to use the strategy was quite terrifying; indeed, Marcus had his fists clenched, a sign of nervousness.

But there was one major reason why Rest was usually so high-level; while it numbed pain, it did not heal wounds, much in the same way that Full Restores did. Unlike Full Restores, Rest was actually legal in sanctioned battles, but it didn't change the fact that eventually the number of wounds dealt to a user of Rest would bring it down no matter how much energy it could restore. And from the way it had been knocked down so easily before using the technique, Tyranitar's main specialty was not taking hits.

A few more hits of that caliber would finish Tyranitar off, Rest or no Rest.

Now, though, Drapion was on the back foot as Tyranitar fired off blades of Rock energy that narrowly missed Drapion, blasts of Ground energy that Drapion barely raised Protects in time to deflect, and even what looked like a half-formed Hyper Beam that mercifully sailed over Drapion's head.

"He can't use Sand Stream in that state!" Marcus cried. "Take the offensive!"

Drapion fired a Pierce at Tyranitar, and grinned as his opponent's random attacks failed to deflect it before the Bug energy-laced spikes hit home. The Poison/Dark-type Pokemon lunged forwards, dodging another wild blast of Rock energy and manifesting a quick Block to intercept a lashing arm.

"Battle Armor!" he snarled. "Slam!"

Tyranitar was hit hard in the side. The towering Rock/Dark-type Pokemon staggered, clutching his side. His eyes flashed open and he glared at Drapion furiously, ignoring his own pain in favor of absolute fury.

"Giga Impact!" Connie ordered.

Tyranitar grinned. Energy exploded across his body as he charged straight at Drapion, not even bothering with Sand Stream.

"Oh, crap," Marcus muttered. "Drapion, Protect!"

"Storm Smash!" Tyranitar roared, hurling his Energy-covered form at Drapion's upraised Block. A thwoom of noise engulfed the arena. Drapion stumbled, the effort of keeping his Protect raised against that clearly difficult for him.

"Storm Claws!"

Which meant that when Tyranitar surged forwards, Rock energy-infused claws slashing, Drapion could only manifest a quick use of Battle Armor in their path.

Chitin crunched under the blow as Drapion was knocked down. "Sand Stream!" Tyranitar snarled, dispersing and reappearing on Drapion's other side. "Storm Quake!"

"Tail, left!" Marcus ordered.

Tyranitar raised his left foot to slam it down on the ground, and then Drapion's tail slammed straight into his right ankle. Tyranitar tumbled to the ground with an earth-shaking crash that shattered what little ice remained in his vicinity. Drapion rose. "Battle Armor!" he bellowed, forming chitin over both arms as he raised them high. "Double Slam!"

"Hyper Beam!" Connie ordered.

Drapion brought his arms down. Tyranitar inhaled - "Storm Blast!" - and opened fire with an accompanying roar of pain as Drapion's clublike arms slammed straight into his left side. Drapion took the Storm Blast straight to the face and was hurled away, his flailing body soaring halfway across the arena and into the stadium wall with a nasty crunch. The material of the stadium wall was thankfully enough to take it, and Drapion tumbled to the ground, clearly unconscious.

But so was Tyranitar, lying in a crater in the center of the arena, his body driven into the floor by Drapion's final attack. His Sandstorm dissipated as a last gesture of finality.

"Impressive," Steven remarked. "A double knockout."

"Impressive?" April asked. "Try outstanding! That was awesome! I can't wait to see what the rest of this battle brings!"

"Indeed," said Steven. "Remember, these two first-year Trainers are fighting for a spot in the coveted Top 32. There is certainly a lot riding on this battle, and both Trainers are therefore giving it their all."

As Marcus returned Drapion and Connie did the same with Tyranitar, the former Spikemuth Gym Trainer gave Marcus an honest smile. "Well, that certainly lived up to the hype, didn't it?" she asked. "Gotta say, not many have pushed Tyranitar as hard as that. But let's see how well the rest of your team does! Shiftry, you're up!"

"Cloyster, your turn," said Marcus. Cloyster trembled in mingled nervousness and excitement as he was released onto the half-destroyed Ice Field opposite a strange, brown-and-white Pokemon that looked a lot like a Grass-type and was glaring at Cloyster with leaflike claws clenched.

"Charge!" Connie cried. "Fake Out!"

"Protect!" Marcus retorted.

Shiftry lunged, blitzing across the shattered ice insanely fast. "First Blow!"

"Impenetrable Shell!" Cloyster cried as Shiftry brought one clawed hand down upon him. It bounced off the Protect, sending Shiftry stumbling slightly. "Offensive Shell!" he cried, lunging straight for Shiftry's stomach shell-first.

"Sucker Punch!" Connie ordered.

"Swift Blow!" Even as Cloyster slammed into Shiftry, Shiftry's other hand drove straight through the gap in Cloyster's shell and hit him square in the body with an uppercut. Both Cloyster and Shiftry flew, Shiftry landing on her back and Cloyster landing on his front, having done three-quarters of a flip.

"Aurora Beam!" Marcus ordered.

Cloyster rolled over. "Ice Blast!" he cried.

Shiftry, rising to her feet, saw it coming. "Pickpocket!" she cried. One hand lashed out and snatched the incoming blast of Ice energy straight out of the air. "Catch and Return!" Shiftry twisted, bringing the Ice Blast with her and hurling it right back at Cloyster, who barely managed to get through his surprise in time to raise an Impenetrable Shell to block it.

"How did you even do that?" Cloyster asked. "Ice Blast isn't even solid!"

"Oh, I know," said Shiftry. "But since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. My Ability, Pickpocket, allows me to steal things. When I make contact with them, they become mine. And so when I touched your energy, I was able to steal it and use it as my own. Normally it's an Ability used by thieves to steal items, but I've refined it over the years."

"That makes no sense whatsoever!" Cloyster protested.

"You know, I really don't care," Shiftry said bluntly. "Leaf Blast."

A swirling tornado of Grass energy flew from Shiftry's upraised hand at Cloyster. "Ice Blast!" Cloyster cried again, intercepting Shiftry's ranged attack with his own. The two attacks slammed into one another; Shiftry's held greater power, but Cloyster's had type advantage, and so they canceled one another out.

"Try Pickpocketing this! Ice Flurry!"

"Oh, I will. Pickpocket: Redirection!"

Shiftry lunged straight into the half-dozen blasts of Ice energy Cloyster flung at her. Her hands darted out faster than Cloyster could see, grasping each blast out of the air and flinging it to the side. Three landed on Shiftry's left and three on her right, leaving Shiftry in the middle unscathed.

She glanced up at Cloyster, smirking. "How about that?"

"Skill Link: Ice Flurry."

Shiftry's eyes widened as she took in the two dozen blasts of Ice energy. "Okay, that might be a little much…Extrasensory!"

Drawing onto her limited Psychic abilities, Shiftry sent a wave of Psychic energy into the sky. The blasts of Ice energy wavered under the blast, but did not fall.

"Leaf Barrage!" They did, however, make it so that what appeared to be a flurry of Grass energy-enhanced seeds were enough to finish them off. But the time needed to launch both attacks was enough time for Cloyster to hurl himself forwards again. "Defensive Shell Impact!"

"Swift Blow!" Shiftry cried, attempting another uppercut, all she could manage on such short notice. Her fist impacted against nothing but shell, a second before that same shell slammed straight into her body for the second time this match.

"Gah!" Shiftry cried as she fell to the ground. She was not built for taking such hits. Normally she would leap in and use her blades to end the fight as quickly as possible, all while ruining any attempt at a counterattack with Pickpocket. But she couldn't very well steal a Cloyster's shell, and that shell hurt.

Steven's praise for Cloyster's quick thinking did not help matters.

Cloyster, for his part, let fly with another Skill Link-boosted Ice Flurry. "To the side!" Connie shouted, and Shiftry rolled to her feet and ran, taking a few shots but getting clear of most of them. The shots that did hit hurt a lot, and she nearly fell down again, but this time she managed to keep her footing.

If I can run to the side and avoid the worst of it, I can Pickpocket the rest next time.

"Skill Link: Ice Flurry!"

Cloyster had decided to eschew all strategy in favor of throwing as many Ice-type attacks as he could at his opponent. This time, though, Shiftry simply hurled herself to the side again. "Pickpocket: Redirection!" she cried, catching the icicles that would have hit her and throwing them to the side while simply avoiding the rest.

Guess that doesn't work anymore, Cloyster thought grimly.

"Leaf Blast!"

"Ice Blast!"

Again the two attacks collided and canceled one another out, but this time Shiftry was the one to take advantage of the ranged attacks clashing. She was halfway to Cloyster before he could react, arms glowing green. "Leaf Blade!"

"Impenetrable Shell!" Cloyster cried, raising the Protect between him and Shiftry.

But as Shiftry's left arm came down on the Protect, she grinned. "Pickpocket: Enhancement."

The arm touched the Impenetrable Shell, and before Cloyster's shocked eyes seemed to absorb it, the energy of the Protect flooding into the arm. Shiftry raised her left arm again, now glowing blue and green.

Cloyster gulped. "Defensive Shell!"

It didn't really help.

There was an almighty thwack, and Cloyster flew. He heard a loud crashing noise, shortly followed by a thud as he finally felt ground beneath him again. Slowly, Cloyster reopened his shell, wincing in pain as he did so. Even through the shell, that attack had hurt.

And, apparently, knocked him straight into the arena wall.

"Leaf Blast!" Shiftry cried.

"Skill Link: Ice Blast!" Cloyster cried, splitting his return fire into three. One of the Ice Blasts impacted the tornado of Grass energy, dispersing it once again; the other two arced around it and streaked for Shiftry. But with a cry of "Pickpocket: Catch and Return!", Shiftry reached out, caught both Ice Blasts, did a flip, and hurled them right back. Another Impenetrable Shell managed to block them, but now Shiftry was charging again, having clearly realized that there was no beating Cloyster in a ranged duel.

"Cloyster, hold," Marcus warned.

Shiftry neared, Grass energy glowing across her hands. Cloyster waited, watching nervously as she raised them, knowing that Impenetrable Shell would be of no use, wondering what Marcus was planning."

"Supersonic!"

Shiftry's eyes widened a second before Cloyster - "Sonic Blast!" - unleashed an unearthly scream that had the spectators sitting in the stands just above Cloyster wincing and clapping their hands to their ears. Shiftry had it far worse; she staggered and fell to the ground, screaming in pain, having not quite gotten her hands to her ears in time.

"Somehow, I always forget I have that," Cloyster muttered. "Anyway - Skill Link: Ice Blast!"

"Shiftry, snap outta it!" Connie cried, but her words simply could not get through the fog of confusion enshrouding Shiftry's mind. A trio of Ice Blasts slammed into the writhing Grass/Dark-type, knocking her clear across the arena. She was still conscious, even after that, but as Cloyster readied an Ice Flurry Connie recalled her second Pokemon.

"Shiftry forfeits," she announced. Relief flooded Cloyster, shortly followed by pain as the adrenaline wore off and he suddenly realized just how much being thrown into the stadium wall had actually hurt.

That, and the punch that had landed straight into his actual body.

Ow. That…really hurts.

"Scrafty, you're up," said Connie, releasing the aforementioned Pokemon. Cloyster frowned; that had not been a Pokemon on Connie's bio.

"Cloyster, get back," said Marcus. "Let's give Medicham a turn."

Cloyster felt a sense of profound relief as the arena disappeared and the warm, familiar surroundings of his Luxury Ball came into view.

"A good switch on Marcus's part," Steven commented. "And it appears that he has at last brought out his own Ace. I, for one, have been quite excited to see this Pokemon in action."

Medicham looked somewhat surprised at that, an expression of shock emblazoned on her face for a brief moment before she turned to look at her opponent. Her eyes narrowed. Cloyster understood why, remembering the Scrafty she'd faced in the forest between Shalour and Coumarine. Come to think of it, the only experiences the team had ever had with the Scrafty line were battles with Team Flare.

No wonder Medicham looked furious.

Scrafty smirked and clenched his fists. "What's wrong? Scared?"

Medicham let out a furious cry and lunged forwards. "Pure Power: Aura Strike!"

"Medicham, wait!" Marcus cried.

But Medicham paid no heed to Marcus's commands. Cloyster watched, shocked, as Scrafty easily dodged Medicham's wild strike. "Foul Play!" he snarled, striking Medicham in the side with a brutal Dark energy-infused fist and knocking her down in one blow.

Worse, as Scrafty landed the punch, his body began to glow with energy.

"Medicham, focus!" Marcus cried.

Connie grinned. "Don't bother! Scrafty's hit her with a Swagger. She's blinded by rage right now, pourin' all of' her power into her attacks without care for whether she hits or not! And Foul Play, of course, deals more damage dependin' on how much power the opponent's last attack was usin'! It's a pretty nasty combo…somethin' we only bust out when a fight gets really good."

Medicham howled and let fly with another Aura Strike that Scrafty again dodged with ease. "Moxie. Foul Play!"

"Detect!" Marcus cried.

Thankfully, Medicham's ears picked up on the order and she spun out of the way, barely avoiding Scrafty's second attack. It was a good thing she did, for that attack looked even stronger as Scrafty poured the energy he'd obtained from the previous attack into the already strong Foul Play. There was so much energy, in fact, that Scrafty stumbled, having poured too much energy into what he'd assumed to be a surefire hit. Medicham threw a third Pure Power-boosted Aura Strike, and Scrafty, having no way to dodge, took the full-power attack head-on. For the third time this battle, a Pokemon was flung into one of the stadium walls.

"That's the danger of Swagger!" April commented. "It gives your opponent a power boost at the cost of accuracy, but if the attack hits anyway, it's gonna hurt! And worse, if the opponent snaps out of confusion, it still gets to keep the power boost! What looked like an impressive trap for Marcus's Medicham may have just turned into a perfect situation for Marcus!"

Medicham shook her head as Scrafty, momentarily stunned by his involuntary flight, lost control over Swagger. Fury pulsed in her eyes. "Pure Power: Aura Blast."

"Scrafty, Protect!" Connie cried.

Still reeling, Scrafty reached out. "Foul Barrier." A Protect sprang up, deflecting the Aura Blast. Using the opportunity to its fullest, Scrafty rose to his feet. "All right. What's-"

"Pure Power: Aura Barrage."

"Oh."

Scrafty charged sideways, running for dear life as Medicham began rapid-firing Aura Blasts at his fleeing form. He did an admirable job of avoiding them, dodging, blocking with Protect, and even countering one by throwing a Rock Tomb at it, but eventually Medicham managed to lead one of her shots enough to force Scrafty into a stumble, allowing her follow-up shot to send him flying once again into the stadium wall.

"Scrafty, focus!" Connie cried, clearly realizing that she was on the verge of losing. "Sure, she's got her attack boosted, but you've got Moxie! Focus Blast, stagger!"

"Detect!" Marcus ordered as Scrafty, with a snarl of "Foul Blast," formed two spheres of Fighting energy in his hands and flung them at Medicham, one after the other. Medicham used Psychic Avoidance, twisting out of the way of one, but Connie's order to stagger the Focus Blasts had the desired effect.

It didn't seem to do all that much damage. But now Scrafty was charging as more energy pulsed around his body.

"High Jump Kick!" Marcus cried. "And Feint!"

Cloyster could have sworn he heard Medicham mutter, "Thanks for spoiling it."

Indeed, Connie, clearly on the verge of ordering a Protect, quickly stopped. "Focus Punch!" she cried.

Medicham lunged, foot outstretched and glowing with Aura. Scrafty clenched his fist tightly and hauled back, pouring a ludicrous amount of energy into it.

"Pure Power: Aura Finisher!"

"Moxie: Full-Power Foul Punch!"

Scrafty's fist slammed right into Medicham's foot, and a colossal explosion of light and energy erupted from the point of impact, to gasps and cries from the audience, a shout of "Whoa!" from April, and a comment of "Impressive," from Steven.

Had the male commentator even raised his voice once during this entire battle? Cloyster couldn't recall.

The light began to fade, the energy dispersing, and Cloyster saw the two, Medicham still in midair, leg outstretched, foot trying to force back Scrafty's fist. Yet Scrafty's fist was matching it, and neither Pokemon took nor gave an inch.

"Over and in the back!" Marcus yelled.

Medicham suddenly leaped, pushing off of Scrafty's own outstretched fist. Scrafty, once more a victim of his own momentum, stumbled forwards as Medicham leaped over him, landing smoothly on the ground. "Pure Power: Aura Blast!"

"Protect!" Connie cried, but Scrafty didn't even have time to turn around before the Aura Blast slammed straight into his back and drove him face-first into the ground.

Medicham raised herself to her full height. Connie, face falling, reached for Scrafty's Pokeball, but before she could recall him Scrafty shifted. Snarling, the Fighting/Dark-type Pokemon planted both hands on the ground and rose, trembling but still ready to fight.

"Charge!" Both Trainers gave their orders at the same time. Medicham and Scrafty lunged for each other, fists drawn back.

"Moxie: Foul Punch Barrage!"

"Pure Power: Aura Strike Barrage!"

The two Pokemon clashed in a storm of rapid punches, both giving their all, putting all their energy into the attacks. Initially, they seemed evenly matched, but Cloyster began to notice something as the clash went on.

Namely, Scrafty's Moxie aura was glowing brighter.

"You think…you can beat me?" Scrafty snarled. "With my Moxie Ability, the more pain I inflict upon you, the more strength I gain! And these punches aren't doing wonders for your knuckles, are they?"

"Fighting Sweep!"

Abruptly Medicham changed tactics, sweeping one foot out in a classic tripping maneuver. But Scrafty saw it coming. "Moxie: Foul Kick!"

Without any Aura protecting it, Medicham's ankle took the full force of Scrafty's superpowered kick. There was a loud snap and Medicham screamed as her ankle bent in a way it was definitely not supposed to.

Distracted, Medicham could not stop Scrafty's follow-up punch, and it was her turn to be thrown to the ground.

"It's over," Scrafty growled. "My Moxie boosts are now too powerful for you to withstand."

Medicham winced, not trying to stand up. "Fair enough…but the problem is, you're not going to be able to make use of them."

"And why is that?" Scrafty asked.

Medicham just smirked. "Pure Power: Aura Barrage."

Scrafty instinctively leaped to the side.

And straight into one of the two Aura Blasts Medicham had aimed at either side of him.

This time, Connie did recall him. The crowd erupted in cheers as Connie sighed, looking understandably dejected at her loss.

Still, she met Marcus's eyes as he recalled the injured Medicham and gave a respectful nod. Marcus returned it and quickly turned to depart the stadium, uncaring of the announcers' praise towards him.

"So," said Xerneas. "Impressive. He certainly pushes his Pokemon to their limits, but it is telling that they are willing to be pushed to their limits."

Calem sighed. "That's…not the point I was-"

"You were hoping he would lose," Xerneas said. It wasn't a guess, but a statement of fact.

Calem's lack of response was answer enough.

"The battle is over, Calem. I suggest you begin preparations for your Top 32 match."

Calem quickly rose and moved towards the exit, shouldering a couple people aside as he did so.

It was difficult to keep a straight face.

Shauna had fallen in the first round to that Fighting-type Trainer. Tierno had been eliminated in the second round by Serena - unlucky match, that one. Trevor had been knocked out in the third by that Fairy-type Trainer, Emma, only managing to take down one of her Pokemon.

They had all failed, yet Marcus of all Trainers had succeeded?

It...just wasn't right.

Xerneas detected that thought in Calem's mind, running over and over as he rushed towards the exit.

It just isn't right.

"How is she?"

"They say she'll at least heal up by tomorrow," said Marcus. "They'll have to keep her overnight, though; a broken ankle isn't something to sneeze at."

"Sorry about that," said Connie. "Scrafty's a…bit of a rough fighter. He's one of my strongest, but I don't use him too often, and he's honestly not the brightest."

"So…" Marcus asked. "What now?"

Connie chuckled. "Not sure. Probably…go to Cyllage and catch a boat back to Galar. See how the Gym's getting on."

"You sound disappointed."

"Is it that obvious?" Connie asked.

"Yeah."

A pause. "So what about you? What're you doin' after this?"

Marcus, too, paused. "Truth be told, I have absolutely no idea," he said. "Probably…probably visit home, and then see where life takes me."

"Sounds 'bout right," said Connie. "Maybe sometime you can come to Spikemuth. Your Drapion could certainly teach Joshua a thing or two."

"Maybe I will," said Marcus.

"I'll talk to Piers about it," Connie responded. She rose. "Well, see you around, Marcus. And good luck with wherever your life takes you."

"Thanks," said Marcus. "Same to you."

"As the Top 64 has now concluded," said Steven, "we have entered into the six-on-six rounds, starting with the Top 32. As such, the Top 32 and their families and friends are cordially invited to the Top 32 Brunch Social tomorrow morning. With that, we once again thank you all for coming to the 116th Annual Kalos Pokemon League Tournament!"

Calem barely paid attention to the speech. He was staring down at his Pokedex, eyes narrowed at his Top 32 matchup.

Fate could not have picked a worse time. He should have been happy. He was in the Top 32 as a rookie. Sure, he aspired to more, but at the very least the Top 32 was a good cushion. Even if he failed in the next round, he would at least be remembered somewhat.

But, of course, the supposedly random matching system had pitted him against Marcus for his next match.

And so Calem was glaring down at his Pokedex with fists clenched.

"Xerneas," he growled. "Do you want to battle with me?"

Xerneas's voice arose in Calem's mind. "That is not a simple question. Right now, you merely want my power. The answer is no."

Calem sighed.

"Why? You have not asked since Victory Road. You have navigated through three battles without me. That last one especially was quite difficult. So why ask now?"

"I'm fighting Marcus tomorrow."

"You are oddly fixated on him."

"You want to know why I didn't want him to win?" Calem asked. "Because now I have to prove all over again that I'm better than him! And that was before I learned I've got to fight him in the Top 32! You don't understand, Xerneas! I have to win this battle!"

"Why?" Xerneas asked again.

"Because if I lose to Marcus, he'll be able to claim that I'm a weak Trainer!" Calem cried. "That I only beat him last time because of the element of surprise! That my Pokemon are weak, and the only reason they win is because they hide behind my strategies!"

"And your solution to this," Xerneas asked, "is to call upon my aid? The aid of a Pokemon you haven't even trained? Is that not the actions of a weak Trainer?"

"Don't you dare call me weak," Calem snarled.

"If you feel so confident about your strength," Xerneas asked, "then why are you so worried about Marcus?"

Calem hesitated. Then he clenched his fist even tighter. "You're right, Xerneas. My team beat him easily last time. There's no reason we can't do it again. But Xerneas, you're coming into the arena with me anyway."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'm going to take him on with the same team I had last time," said Calem. "Lapras. Chesnaught. Blastoise. Lucario. And...I guess I'll take Aurorus, just in case. That's all I need."

"Would it not be prudent to at least take a sixth battler?" Xerneas asked. "I know your Pokemon are strong. But have you not considered his may be strong as well?"

"No!" Calem snapped. "You're my sixth. Because I want you to see up close and personal just how bad of a Trainer he is. I want to show you what he's actually like. Because that demeanor he keeps up…it's all an act. I know who Marcus really is. And I want you to see the real Marcus. I want you to see him closely."

Xerneas paused again, and when he spoke again his tone of voice was filled with warning. "Calem," he said, "do not allow your feelings to overcome you. This path is dangerous. I suggest-"

"Xerneas?" Calem asked. "Shut. Up."

Xerneas remained silent for the longest period yet. "As you wish…Calem."

Cloyster. Kriesh. Trevenant. Drapion. Houndoom. Of their number, only Medicham was missing, laid up in the Pokemon Center with her broken ankle.

Marcus was sitting on a bench, his face grim. "Tomorrow's the Top 32," he said. "We're fighting Calem."

The mood changed instantly. Drapion, Kriesh, and Cloyster's faces instantly hardened, remembering the Trainer and his unfair strategies.

"I've read up on his bio and his KPLT Grades," said Marcus. "He's used five Pokemon. Chesnaught, Blastoise, Lapras, Lucario, Aurorus. I don't know what his sixth will be. He's gotten A, A, and A- respectively, and the third was only because he got matched against a third-year Trainer in the Top 64. Whereas we've faced nothing but rookies and gone down to the wire every time."

He sighed. "This is going to be tough. But we've got three advantages. Firstly, we know his strategies. He rapid-switches, we adapt. He calls moves immediately after switching, we retaliate. He Toxic stalls us by not switching in a Pokemon? We switch ours out as well. Secondly, I've got a plan. Since he loves switching things in and out so much, Cloyster, I think your Spikes moves are going to see a lot of use. But we have to get rid of that Blastoise before we set them up. It's got Rapid Spin, which removes entry hazards from the field. So we may need to take a few losses before we can actually implement that plan. And let's just hope his sixth isn't a Defogger or something."

Marcus smiled. "Thirdly...I've got all of you. And I know you can do this. We're going to beat Calem. And we're going to prove that unfair strategies like his aren't the key to winning. Are you all ready?"

"Of course we're ready," said Kriesh, forgetting once again in the moment that Marcus couldn't understand her.

But clearly he recognized the statement as being in the affirmative, for he nodded. "Get a good night's sleep," he said. "Tomorrow...most likely, one of the toughest fights of our lives."

Did you know Google Drive actually has a character limit? Because I certainly didn't until I started writing this chapter.

Next time, I won't put the entire story and all my notes in one Google Drive file.