Admittedly, this chapter is one that I've been a bit excited for, mostly because of the battle it features. Hopefully it'll live up to the hype. I've also hit a bit of creative inspiration regarding this story recently so I hope it'll make it just a bit better! Enjoy!


Diego lead the way to the arena as the afternoon sun shone brightly in the mostly clear sky, the boy's confidence almost completely contrasted the feeling of unease and anxiety that Julia seemed to have.

"Hey!" Verity began. "Don't be scared, you're gonna beat that guy! Just watch!"

Julia sighed and looked at her younger cousin with a smile that looked bittersweet.

"Maybe, but we know who he is and he's one of Jack's toughest rivals. The one time one of us tried knocking him down a peg, it didn't really end well... I guess seeing that Jack is the only one to beat him makes me nervous." Julia admitted.

"Don't sell yourself short." Jack replied, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You worked hard to get here and you more than deserve a chance to win." Cynthia thought for a moment before smiling at her niece.

"Whenever I have an important battle coming up, I always take some time to talk to my pokemon. Even if they can't physically talk to you, if you're on the same wavelength with them they'll understand how you feel. I know you're a skilled trainer, all of you are, and your pokemon have placed their trust in you. Put your trust in them and no matter what happens, I know that things will be alright."

Julia couldn't help but smile at her aunt's words as she looked at everyone.

"Maybe you're right. I shouldn't get so caught up with this, at least not right now. I don't face Alan until tomorrow so I want to train and have a game plan for when the time comes!" She looked a bit upset as she looked over to Diego. "Hey, D, I'm sorry but I think I'm going to miss your battle. I've got some work to do!"

The suddenly enthusiastic girl ran off into a seemingly random direction, her sister couldn't help but laugh a little.

"I'm glad she's feeling better but, that speech was kind of cheesy." She said.

"It was." Cynthia agreed, laughing with her. "But it wasn't wrong at all."

"And I think I'll follow your advice when we get to the arena!" Diego exclaimed as he already continued moving to his destination.

"Speaking of your battle." Jack said. "Do you have a plan for how to deal with Sandra's pokemon?"

"You're the one who's gonna battle my sister?"

The group stopped at the sight of Apollo looking at Diego with intrigue while laughing to himself.

"Sister?!" The two younger boys blurted out.

"Haha, yup. That fiery redhead you're going to battle is my sister, and from what I'm seeing based on her performance so far, you're going to have a rough time. She's not tougher than me, but she's definitely giving it her all here." Apollo explained.

"Well get ready for a reality check, because there's no way she's gonna beat me!" Diego asserted.

"What do you mean when you say she's not tougher than you?" Renée asked.

"Hm? Oh, hehe, believe me that isn't me trying to be overconfident. I'm tougher because I'm a member of the Edath region's Elite Four."

Everyone, even Cynthia was surprised to hear Apollo's revelation. Though for the Sinnoh champion, she looked more confused than overtly shocked.

"Y-you're an Elite Four member?!" Renée stammered.

"Yup, the name's Apollo; Fire type master of the Edath Elite Four!"

"Did something happen to the Champion or one of the other members?" Cynthia asked.

"The Champ's fine, she's apparently taking a vacation here in Kanto too. But one of the other members, I think her name was Amethyst or Ame for short, she apparently headed back to her home region. They're apparently going to get their league back up and running again and some people over there ain't too happy about that."

"I see." Cynthia nodded, a perplexing look now on her face.

"So there are currently only three members of the Elite Four?" Renée asked. "How does that work?"

"Well we're not going to have another tournament for basically another year. Until then it's just a matter of waiting for someone to get all eight badges and challenge the League. The Eighth gym leader will act as a temporary member of the Elite Four. If the challenger wins then we have a new Champ and the old one will become that last member."

"Well Ginny isn't one to lose so easily." Cynthia stated, snapping out of her thoughts. "She and I are still rivals."

"Uh, no offense." Diego said. "But I'm gonna go to my next battle now."

"Right!" Verity called out suddenly. "We can't miss that!"


As everyone finally arrived at the arena, Diego took a moment to send out all of his pokemon in the prep room.

"Alright guys, I know this is out of nowhere but I was talking to Cynthia and she said that talking to you guys might be good to do and if the Champion of Sinnoh says something like that, then it's gotta be good advice. Now I know we're all super tough and probably going to win, but we've gotta be smart about this too. I don't exactly know all of the pokemon the girl we're gonna battle uses except for her ace: Mega Houndoom."

Diego looked over at his Golduck and Krookodile with a smile.

"You two are going to be my go-to choices to take that thing down. It'll be tough but I have faith in you!"

Golduck silently nodded while Krookodile gave its trainer a toothy grin. Returning the smile, he then looked over at the other four of his pokemon.

"As for the rest of you: Sceptile, we practiced with a whole new set of moves, time to see if it works out. But who are we kidding, we got this!"

Diego shared a fist bump with his Sceptile before approaching his Raichu and Crobat, the latter resting on the head of the Electric type.

"Raichu, you already know that if I need a reliable team member to bring a shock to anyone's system, you're the one to call! Crobat, just like Sceptile, we've been working with a new set of moves and we're gonna rock with them!"

Raichu struck a confident pose while Crobat began to fly eagerly. With a deep breath and his smile widening, Diego approached his Charizard.

"Last but not least, the MVP; what is there to even say? Charizard, I know you're gonna put in the work, especially with that new move we've been practicing!"

A confident roar escaped Charizard's mouth as he also shared a fist bump with Diego, who looked at his team one last time before recalling them back into their pokeballs.

"Alright, let's get it!"

With a confident stride, Diego headed to the battlefield...


"Welcome back to the Indigo League tournament!" Juanita greeted. "This early September sun has just enough of the last sprinkles of summer heat to make this day perfect for a battle!"

"And what a battle we have coming up next, Juanita!" Dallas added. "Here now we have two trainers who have garnered quite a reputation within the Kanto region, particularly in their efforts against the criminal organization known as Team Dark Star. Our first trainer here is even reported to be a former member of this group before the villains tossed her aside like a Rich Boy tosses out Full Restores. Since then she's gone straight with the help of her family, which includes Edath Elite Four member: Apollo! Please give a warm welcome to Sandra!"

While there were many cheers emanating throughout the arena, many wary eyes loomed over the young woman as well as she approached the battlefield. The fierce look in her eyes almost contrasted the calm demeanor she had behind her green glasses and scarlet colored hair that had been neatly tied into a bun. With a curious glare, Sandra scanned the field, observing a small patch of long, dead grass that sat on one side that sat apart from the majority of the field like a sea of Primeape fur. It was high enough to reach her ankles if she were standing in it. Various rocks also littered the field, some larger than others.

"Ignoring the atrocious pun that my partner here just made." Juanita began. "Sandra's opponent has made his name known for facing off against Team Dark Star, holding his own against their higher ranking members. However his most prestigious title comes from him being the son of the legendary pokemon trainer: Red! Is he trying to follow in his father's footsteps, or carving out his own path? Ladies and gentlemen: Diegooo!"

The crowd went ballistic as the young man approached his side of the arena, almost certainly at the mention of the former Champion. As much as Diego wished to soak up the adulation of the crowd, his full focus was on his opponent, their eyes locked onto each other.

"You really know how to hype up a crowd!" Dallas chuckled. "But I want to take a moment to talk about this field for just a moment. These two will be battling on the Savanna field. Fundamentally it acts just like a typical Grassy Terrain, with all the benefits and flaws that come with it. The only difference is with it's appearance. The long grass could make for a good hiding space for some smaller pokemon, and the stones might work for some temporary protection, but in the end it's all up to our competitors today and their own skills!"

"I have a really good feeling about this fight!" Juanita cooed as she leaned in for a closer look. As the two looked ready to begin their battle Diego spoke up...

"Are you gonna warn me that this is my last chance to back down?"

"No."

Her response made Diego raise an eyebrow in confusion and intrigue. He was about to ask why but she wasn't done talking just yet...

"I already know you have no intention of surrendering." She said. "Making it to this point and even going up against some of the admins of Team Dark Star shows that you have considerable skill and I acknowledge you as a trainer that has talent."

Sandra took off her glasses and put them into a case she brought out from her bag. Diego didn't notice it before but her eyes were a very sharp emerald green that complimented her hair well.

"But you're not the only one who's strong." She continued. "I've had to suffer with not only being a scientist of those criminals, but with being in the shadows of both my mother and my brother."

From within the audience, Apollo raised an eyebrow upon hearing his sister. Jack, Renée and the others looked to him in confusion.

"Shadow?" He repeated.

"Does she really feel this way?" A woman asked, catching their attention. Just like Sandra and Apollo, her hair was a deep red. She wore a black office uniform top and skirt with black leggings, dress shoes.

"Mom, heh, didn't think you had time to show up." Apollo laughed.

"Well it isn't easy getting here. I retired from my League position years ago but I'm still very popular." The woman replied before noticing Cynthia. "Do my eyes deceive me?! Cyn-Cy... Cylene! How are you?" The woman laughed nervously as she looked around at the people beside her.

"Fine! Fine!" Cynthia laughed, unsure of how to truly react to the fake name.

"Um...?" Renée called out.

"Ah, I don't believe you've met!" Cynthia stated. "Everyone, this is Lorelei, former Ice type master of the Elite Four." The Sinnoh champ tried to keep her voice down in order to avoid any unnecessary attention.

The three unaware of Lorelei's status were shocked at the news while Apollo let out a small chuckle.

"Kind of ironic that the Ice master has kids that gravitate more towards Fire." The man smirked.

"Well that is the road you chose." Lorelei smiled before looking to see her daughter. "And I suppose we'll the see what's come of Sandra from the path she chose..."

"I'm not just here to show off my strength." Sandra continued. "I clawed my way here to make a statement: I'm just as strong as the rest of my family. The passion and motivation I have burns just as hot as the fire of my pokemon and it is a heat that burns as hot as the sun!"

In a swift motion, Sandra fiercely undid her hair bun, allowing her scarlet hair to flow down to her lower back. Seeing it flowing freely almost resembled the mane of a male Pyroar.

"I told you that my strategy has never failed! I hope you're prepared to go down in a blaze of glory!"

Sandra's speech did nothing but motivate Diego further as the two sent out their first pokemon, which had been a Torkoal on Sandra's side up against Diego's Sceptile. The choice on the latter's side raised many eyebrows around the arena, especially since Diego himself had a calm and confident smirk plastered on his face. Torkoal's shell began to glow as the sun began to shine brightly onto the arena..

"Hmm, Diego starts off the match with a bad type advantage and some risky weather with a Drought. Does he have some sort of secret plan because he might need it if he sent a Sceptile out first..."

"It doesn't look like it has it mega stone either, unless he wants to add some drama and make this some kind of turnaround victory, I don't think this was a smart choice at all." Juanita added.

"Isn't having a Grass type like Sceptile bad against a Fire pokemon?" Verity asked.

"Normally, yes." Jack replied in a rather casual tone. "But knowing Diego, he's got something unexpected up his sleeve. You just never know what they guy can pull."

Apollo couldn't help but laugh some more.

"Hope I can have a match with that kid if that's the case."

Sandra shook her head slightly upon seeing Diego's choice and willingness to stick by it.

"The chances of you getting an early lead in this scenario is nigh impossible, and miracles only exist in fairy tales. If you're so stuck in your foolish choice then I may as well make the rest of this battle easier for me; Torkoal, Stealth Rocks!"

With a huff, Sandra's Torkoal exhaled a plume of grey smoke from it's nostrils and launched out an assortment of spiked stones from its shell. The stones flashed white for a moment before camouflaging themselves within the arena.

"A miracle?" Diego asked. "Well here's the thing about miracles: if they don't exist then we'll make them exist! Sceptile, Swords Dance!"

With it's eyes narrowing and the blades on its arms growing as they sharpened considerably, Sceptile let out a rather soft hissing noise at it appeared to focus on its target.

"You're going to create a miracle? That completely goes against the very definition of a miracle. It looks like you've made the foolish mistake of not switching out, and that will prove to be a fatal mistake. Torkoal, Overheat."

The very air around Sandra's Torkoal appeared to distort as a haze generated from the sheer amount of heat began to form. With a shout, the Coal pokemon unleashed a bright red beam from its mouth. The overwhelming heat ignited some of the grass in its path before the attack even got close to it before being completely incinerated when it was struck. The remaining cinders and flames reached the other nearby blades of grass, quickly lighting them up as the fire slowly began to spread throughout the arena...

"Now, Sceptile, Rock Slide!"

The Forest pokemon leaped skyward, boulders sprouting up from the ground following it, with a punch and a kick to each of the stones, they smashed into Torkoal, knocking it into the air while the Coal pokemon retracted itself into it's shell to minimize as much damage as it could.

"Oh-ho! So that was his plan! Pretty clever!" Dallas praised, nodding his head.

"Not bad, but I think he got pretty lucky to avoid that Overheat." Juanita added. From down in the audience, Apollo was laughing his head off.

"Oh man, I like this kid! Having the pokeballs to do something like that, nice!"

Despite the praise he was receiving and the damage being done to her pokemon, Sandra simply continued to stand and keep her eyes locked on the two combatants.

"Toxic." She called out. Torkoal peeked its head out of its shell and spat out an almost pitch back glob of sludge that managed to hit Sceptile right in the chest, slowly seeping into it's body and causing the pokemon to cough and choke a bit.

"Push past it and finish it off!" Diego commanded. With one last cough, Sceptile grabbed one last boulder and slammed it onto Torkoal. The force sent the Coal pokemon crashing into the ground before Sceptile proceeded to slam the boulder once again onto its target, smashing the boulder completely into rubble as Torkoal lay in an unconscious heap. Once its attack was over, Sceptile leaped back over to its trainer, stumbling a bit upon landing and coughing a bit more.

"Not bad." Juanita smirked. "Diego takes the early lead despite the type disadvantage, but his Sceptile didn't come out of it unscathed..."

"He did it!" Verity cheered. "And it looked so cool!"

"It's nowhere near over though." Jack noted. "And just like the announcer said, Sceptile didn't come out of that at one hundred percent. Even though it wasn't a directly damaging attack, getting hit by Toxic is serious if you're not prepared."

"That's not even the part he should be worried about." Lorelei said seriously, earning the confusion of everyone except her son.

"She's right." Apollo added. "My sister's Torkoal isn't really meant to be an attacking force. I mean sure it knows Overheat and, as you saw, it's insanely strong. But Torkoal's job is to set up harsh sunlight using it's Drought ability, use Stealth Rocks to make sure enemies take damage whenever they get sent out into battle, and use Toxic to wear them down slowly."

"But the harsh sunlight goes away, right?" Renée questioned when Cynthia's eyes lit up almost immediately.

"It does." The Champion replied. "But it can last for a longer amount of time if the pokemon that sets up the sun is holding a Heat Rock..."

"Bingo." Apollo chimed. "That sun's staying for a while and even if this kid gets rid of those Rocks, he runs the risk of getting hit by the super-powered Fire attacks that Sandra will definitely use. I gotta hand it to her though, using the sun ain't a bad plan. I might consider using it myself but I'm already way tougher than most of the people here."

"Hey, my mommy is probably way tougher than you!"

"Verity, hush!" Cynthia urged, trying to make sure her cover wasn't blown. "While I'd love to battle, I'd rather not take attention away from all the trainers that are working hard here. I only came here to support my nieces and their friends."

"Hey, uh, sorry for butting in here, but Sandra's sending out her next pokemon." Jack stated, as everyone looked at the field they were able to see that Sandra looked unimpressed at Sceptile's victory, a pokeball already in her hand.

"Congratulations, you managed to overcome the pokemon I explicitly use to support the rest of my team. Now how about a member of my team that is meant for combat."

With a smirk and a confident glint in her eyes, Sandra sent out a Drapion that reared the front of its body back a bit in order to tower over Sceptile.

"What, is your pokemon trying to scare us?" Diego asked. "Because it won't work! Sceptile, Brick Break!"

"Venoshock."

The Forest pokemon lunged forward, speeding through the now Burning Field and jumping upward in order to try delivering a swift chop to the Ogre Scorp pokemon. However, as Sceptile drew in close, Drapion used one of its claws to block the attack and stop Sceptile's momentum before opening its jaw. With a growl, the Scorpion unleashed a stream of purple venom point blank at Sceptile. Once finished, Drapion simply released Sceptile and allowed it to collapse onto the ground, no longer able to battle.

"Wow! Sandra ties things up without her pokemon even breaking a sweat!" Dallas exclaimed, practically leaning outside of the booth he was sitting in. As the field continued to burn, the heat began to rise up to the booth, which bothered Juanita enough for her to wipe her brow and take out a paper fan.

"I wish I could say the same about us... Who knew the heat would get this intense so early..."

"See?" Apollo noted. "The members of her team that are actually meant to fight are deadly. Even if Drapion as a species are more inclined to be physical attackers, Sandra's trained hers well enough to use even special attacking moves with high potency. Your friend's in for a brutal fight that he might not even win."

Jack gave a knowing smile as he watched Diego.

"That's just it though. He knows that this battle will be tough and that Sandra's much smarter than he is." Jack began. "But that's why he's been so excited for this battle, because he wants to beat the odds that are stacked against him!"

"Alright, so if you're gonna use a strong attacker then I will too! Krookodile, it's on you!" Diego announced, sending out the Intimidation pokemon. Without warning, the Stealth Rocks suddenly reappeared and crashed into Krookodile, who was able to shrug off the surprise attack without much issue. The two Dark type pokemon locked eyes, Krookodile hissing at the Ogre Scorpion, who silently stared back with its fangs bared.

"X-Scissor." Sandra ordered.

"Block it with Dragon Claw!"

With a sudden leap that looked surprising, given the size of the pokemon, Drapion came flying towards Krookodile with its arms outstretched and claws glowing a light green hue. Krookodile's claws began to glow a mix of red and blue as it braced itself. The two collided and grappled their attacks, Drapion stood still in the air for a moment before landing back down onto the ground, its claws still locked with Krookodile's. The two pushed back against each other as hard as they could with both sides not giving an inch and having plenty of energy to spare.

"Fire Fang!" Both trainers called out. Releasing their hold, the two pokemon's jaws became cloaked in a fire that seemed to burn even hotter thanks to the flames that had almost completely overtaken the field. The two then lunged at each other, Drapion managing to chomp down on Krookodile's arm while the latter clamped down on the longer neck of the Ogre Scorpion.

The bite hurt Drapion enough for it to release the hold it had on Krookodile, which Diego wasted no time in capitalizing on.

"Now, Stone Edge!" Diego commanded.

With a mighty stomp, Krookodile began to glow white and gathered the pebbles and shattered stones Sceptile created earlier, the rocks began to chip and crumble until they were as sharp as knives before a wave of the Ground type's arm sent them spiraling into Drapion. The Poison pokemon cried out in pain as its entire body was scratched and sliced with the rock shards.

"Use X-Scissor again!"

"Krookodile, Fire Fang!"

Shaking off the pain as best as it possibly could, Drapion charged forward as fast as its four legs could take it with its claws outstretched. But the Intimidation pokemon lunged faster and bit onto Drapion's right arm with its burning fangs again. This time the Croc lifted Drapion into the air and spun it around. After reaching a complete five rotations, Krookodile finally released Drapion from its grasp, allowing it to fly through the air and land in a patch of burning grass, snuffing out the flame from both the impact and the dirt that had been kicked up.

"And that brutal biting bash brings in another pokemon down for the count!" Dallas proclaimed. "But with how quickly Sandra managed to even things out before, can she do it again?"

"Hmph, either she is, or she's planning to go nuclear." Apollo quipped.

"What do you mean by that?" Renée asked.

"That's what my son usually says whenever he's about to make a very big risk." Lorelei explained. "Fire type pokemon generally have a lower defense than most other types but they compensate by having high power moves or moves with devastating effects. For Apollo, his primary strategy is to quickly go on the offensive and overpower whatever he faces. In contrast, my battle style relies mostly on taking a more defensive route while also working with the secondary effects of Ice attacks. But, admittedly, I haven't watched my daughter battle much, so I don't know what she intends to do here."

"Ah, c'mon mom, do you really have to give them my strategy?!" Apollo laughed.

From back on the field, the intense sun finally began to die down just a little bit, weakening the fire that was rampaging the field slightly as the rays began to darken. At that point, however, approximately 75% of the field had already been ignited. Diego looked at Sandra expectantly while maintaining a confident smirk on his face, his Krookodile was taking a few deep breaths but still looked raring to go. Looking right back at him, Sandra continued to remain unwavering in her appearance as her eyes were still full of an intense determination.

"You really think it'll be simple, don't you? That just because I'm currently using a team centered around sunlight and fire attacks that you'll be able to just run right through me using Rock type attacks, or your Krookodile, or the inevitable Water type you have yet to send out." Sandra began, Diego's smirk faltered as he was left with a mix of confusion as to what his opponent was getting at and curiosity as to what she would do next...

"But it isn't. It never is." With a shake of her head, Sandra tossed a Dive Ball forward, which had opened to reveal a Lapras as her next choice. The sight of the Transport pokemon genuinely surprised Apollo and Lorelei for a moment before the latter smiled.

"Lapras, begin charging..." Sandra ordered. Lapras began to sing ominously as embers danced around it...

"Nope! Not gonna let you take down Krookodile like that!" Diego called out, recalling his pokemon and sending out his Raichu.

"Smart move, and a fast one too!" Renée noted.

"Fast, but not smart." Cynthia replied, confusing her niece.

"Now, fire the Solar Beam!" Sandra commanded.

"Lapras can use Solar Beam?!" Everyone, even Lorelei, said in complete shock. With a battle cry, Lapras completed charging it's attack and lowered its head and allowing the beam of light to blast out of its horn and consume the Mouse pokemon. Despite the heavy hit, Raichu was able to get back up to its feet, albeit now breathing heavily after the unexpected attack. Just like what happened with Krookodile before, Raichu was struck by the hidden Rocks right after being blasted, causing it to lose its balance a bit before readjusting.

"WOW!" Dallas exclaimed. "Who knew Lapras, an Ice and Water type, would pull out Solar Beam of all moves! I mean I always knew it had an unexpected set of moves it could learn but who knew?!"

"I admit, I'm actually really impressed. This girl did her homework!" Juanita added.

"You think pulling a trick like that is gonna beat us?!" Diego asked, regaining his composure. "Well we've got our own surprises! Raichu, Thunder Bolt!"

"Hmph, really, a Thunder Bolt is supposed to be a surprise? Lapras, Earth Power!"

Raichu charged forward on all fours, its cheeks sparking as it ran while Lapras reared itself back a bit before slamming down onto the burning ground. The force Lapras emitted generated cracks that began to head straight towards Raichu...

"Now, jump!" Diego called out. Raichu then stopped right in its tracks and leaped upwards before letting loose some of the electricity it had stored up, sending it out as a bolt that zapped Lapras right on its horn, stunning it long enough to stop the Earth Power and for Raichu to land safely back onto the ground with a grin of its own. However, Raichu was suddenly surprised by a suddenly rising flame as the entire arena was now engulfed in an inferno that launched small embers everywhere. Several of these flames sparked up into the air and hit both Lapras and Raichu, stinging them a bit but not giving them any serious burns.

"Uh oh!" Juanita announced playfully. "Looks like the field is completely covered in flames now, officially making it a Burning Field! Watch out for those stray embers, they'll be sure to burn pretty much any pokemon that isn't used to a super-heated environment unless they have a special ability that can beat the heat! Ahahaha!"

'Ah man, most of my team won't really like this kind of field except for Charizard and maybe Golduck, but neither of those two are going to be good against Lapras and I might need them for whatever she has in the back...' Diego thought, though he was interrupted by Sandra's next move.

"Stay focused! I'm not done with you yet!" She called out. "Lapras, Hydro Pump!"

"Use Quick Attack to get in close!"

With a growl, Lapras blasted out a surge of water from it's mouth. The heat of the flames died down a bit as stray bits of water splashed onto the ground. Raichu, being boosted by its speed, was able to barely dodge the flooding water before coming to a stop right in front of Lapras.

"Now, Electro Ball!"

With a sly grin, Raichu brought its front paws together and formed the aforementioned ball of electricity. With a simple push, Raichu tossed the ball forward, with it moving at an alarming speed that Lapras couldn't avoid no matter what Sandra had ordered it to do. As the orb made contact it had exploded, causing a burst of light that blinded the arena for just a moment before the light died down and revealed Lapras, blasted back several meters and unconscious.

"As if the heat wasn't enough, now we may have to worry about being blinded too..." Juanita sighed.

"I feel like this isn't the first time a member of the Pikachu line is involved in something like this." Dallas added. "Still, Diego furthers the lead four to two. Unless Sandra has some sort of secret plan, I think Diego might have this all wrapped up."

Sandra shook her head in disappointment and sighed.

"These announcers just keep trying to build up senseless drama and false hope when we know that isn't the case." She said.

"What do you mean 'false hope'?!" Diego asked. "I'm mopping the floor with you!"

"Keep telling yourself that. You still haven't realized what exactly is going on. Perhaps after meeting my Victreebel you may understand a bit more!"

With that, Sandra sent out the Flycatcher pokemon, which entered the field with a shriek. Despite the burning terrain, the Grass pokemon simply looked around and ignored the flames, instead focusing on Raichu but with a noticeable look of apprehension in its eyes.

"I haven't realized? Maybe the heat is getting to you. Raichu, knock Victreebel into the fire with Iron Tail!" Diego ordered.

"Sludge Bomb." Sandra replied casually. Raichu leaped forwards with its tail glowing a solid grey but was caught off guard by its target lurching forwards with its open maw aimed right at it. Raichu almost didn't even see the dark purple grime that had bombarded it before the Mouse was blasted back towards its owner. The Electric pokemon tried to slowly rise back to its feet while coughing but the pain it had gone through proved to be too much as Raichu collapsed...

"And Raichu goes down! Is this the beginning of the comeback that we've been waiting for?!" Dallas proclaimed. As Diego recalled his Raichu, he found himself deep in thought...

'Dang, what do I do now... Krook gets beat pretty bad in this situation but is my best bet to take those Stealth Rocks. Golduck isn't really a good choice either... Crobat and especially Charizard don't take Stealth Rocks well at all...'

"Looks like I only have one choice right now. It's on you..." Diego announced. "...Crobat!" The Poison type glimmered as the shiny pokemon flapped its wings and descended onto the field. Both Diego and his pokemon cringed in discomfort when then Stealth Rocks activated, slamming Crobat with enough force to knock the Bat pokemon onto the ground momentarily.

"Bold move sending out a flying pokemon when there is an entry hazard that cripples them." Sandra commented.

"Yeah, but it's the only way I can get rid of those rocks! Crobat, Defog!" Diego exclaimed with confidence. With a flap of its four wings, Crobat created a wave of air that blew away the Rocks and turned them to dust. Some of the fire around the field had been snuffed out by the wind but it wasn't enough to completely put it out.

"Oh, you got rid of the hazard? How cute. Victreebel, Knock Off!"

With an almost unnatural speed, the Flycatcher lunged forward and smacked Crobat with the vine on the tail end of its body. Surprisingly however, Diego actually looked happy to see the attack land.

"Thanks for getting in close!" He said. "Crobat, Air Slash!"

Rebounding after getting struck, Crobat reared back its four wings and flapped them with a force that cut the very air between itself and Victrebell, knocking the wind out of it and sending it flying across half of the field.

"Now let's use the fire to our advantage, Heat Wave!" Diego continued. With one last wing flap, Crobat kicked up a wave of air that reignited the parts of the field that had been put out earlier and empowered the flames before sending the heated wind and kicked up embers at the Plant, burning it and blowing it further away. The burning air proved to be far too much for Victreebel as it fainted with one last shriek.

"And just like that Sandra is down to her last pokemon!" Juanita stated. "Looks like it might not be the comeback we thought it would be."

"He's almost won!" Verity cheered. "Just one last pokemon and he wins!"

"Too bad that last pokemon is most likely Sandra's best." Jack noted. "And if my hunch is right, it's her Houndoom."

"You're right on the money there, kid." Apollo said. "How'd you know it was a Houndoom?"

"Because I've actually seen her use it personally, and from what I've seen; Diego might be in some trouble here..."

"Hah! It's three against one now! Still want to pretend to be confident?" Diego laughed. His confidence paused when he heard Sandra laughing with him.

"Pretending, that's a good one." She cackled. "Oh... you stopped laughing... Did you figure it out yet? From that look on your face it doesn't look like you have. That's fine, I should have seen this coming. Take a moment to think about what happened back in the Team Dark Star base back in Celadon City. Specifically, the fire..."

It then suddenly hit Diego like a person running into a Stakataka...

"That fire... That was you?!"

"Of course it was me!" Sandra shouted, the flames growing and almost dancing around her. The look in her eye burned almost as hot as the field itself. "And I want to show you exactly how I managed to burn that base down!"

As she sent out her Houndoom, Sandra reached for and activated her Key Stone. As the Dark pokemon landed onto the field, it became cloaked in a cocoon of pure fire before reemerging in its Mega Evolved state as it let out a haunting roar. The sight of the Mega Houndoom standing in the field of burning grass either terrified or enchanted the audience. Verity began to clung to Cynthia for protection as Apollo looked somewhat impressed, Jack even took a picture of the sight.

"Even sitting this far away from it is terrifying." Renée gulped. "But... I can't look away. I can only imagine what Diego's feeling..."

"Hold on..." Diego said. "Are you trying to tell me this was your plan in this battle the whole time? To wear down my team as much as possible so that your Houndoom could clean things up?"

"Precisely, and we'll do just that! Houndoom, Dark Pulse!"

"Use Air Slash, Crobat!"

Crobat once again flapped its wings to make a blade out of the very air we breathe while Houndom roared again, sending out a wavy beam of pitch black energy. The two attacks collided for a moment before the Dark Pulse overpowered Crobat's attack, destroying it before the beam sped towards the Bat pokemon and blasted it, sending it crashing down to the ground and no longer able to battle.

"That Dark Pulse look absolutely sinister!" Dallas reported. "And with Crobat's defeat, Sandra brings it to two against one. Can she manage to bring this back?"

"Saying 'anything is possible' is so cliche." Juanita sighed. "But Diego does have a Krookodile that's not at one-hundred percent. Sandra may actually have a chance."

"Send out your next pokemon, the result will remain the same." Sandra declared, her arms crossed and eyes locked onto Diego. With just a hint of apprehension, Diego sent his Krookodile back out onto the field. The Intimidation pokemon looked a bit winded but otherwise raring to go, something that Diego knew his opponent wanted to take advantage of in order to snuff out the flame of confidence the Ground type had.

"Type advantages will not help you anymore." Sandra taunted.

"We'll see about that now, won't we! Krookodile, Bulldoze!"

"Fire Blast."

The flames surrounding Houndoom swirled around the canine as a white-hot flame burst out of its mouth in a star shape, unlike the typical Daimonji shape the attack would normally have. As the flame rushed towards Krookodile, the Croc stomped on the ground, vibrating the field enough for Mega Houndoom to lose its balance a bit. Despite Krookodile's attack, it had been blasted by the flame and was easily defeated as it lay in a field of ash and charred dirt.

"YOWZA! Now that's a hot Fire Blast! Did you see that shape?!" Dallas professed in absolute awe while his partner looked both dumbfounded and confused.

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'yowza'... Whatever... Sandra has managed to completely brought the battle back to an even one-on-one. Can she pull off a surprise victory or will Diego dins a way to win?... 'Yowza', I can't believe this man..."

Diego looked down at his last pokeball he would use, a small part of him was nervous about his chances but at the same time he knew that he had nothing to fear.

"You got this Charizard!" He called out sending out his ace. The Flame pokemon roared skyward, unleashing a Flame Thrower that spiraled as it erupted from Charizard's mouth. "And you're not the only one that can Mega Evolve a pokemon! Charizard, let's show them what we've got!"

As the young man activated his own Key Stone, Charizard was enveloped in a flaming sphere just as Houndoom was before. As Diego's Mega Charizard Y emerged, the sun intensified once more, empowering the flames to the point where they were almost as tall as Houndoom.

"Ah, yes, go right ahead and chew the scenery." Sandra scoffed. "All that you've done is empower Houndoom even more thanks to its Solar Power ability."

"Wouldn't Solar Power damage Houndoom over time?" Renée asked.

"Yes, however the boost in power it gives the pokemon that has that ability is very potent. Even if Sandra had her pokemon use another Fire Blast or perhaps even Solar Beam, it would still cause heavy damage to even a pokemon that resists those moves such as Charizard." Lorelei explained.

"Then Diego would have to finish this battle quickly." Cynthia responded, placing a hand on her chin in interest.

"Houndoom, end this with Fire Blast!"

The Hellhound blasted out another star-shaped burst of fire at its Mega foe, the burning sunlight made the Blast look almost like an actual star with how bright it was.

"Air Slash!" Diego commanded. Charizard flew upwards before performing and inside loop and spinning in place as it completed the loop, a blade of air forming with each rotation. The wind blades sliced right through the Fire Blast, allowing everyone to see that the inside of the attack almost looked like molten lava for just a moment before the star exploded in a burst of smoke that was quickly cleared by the continuing wind slashes. As the Air Slash blades neared Houndoom, the Dark pokemon quickly dashed away to avoid the attacks, even when Charizard tried to aim in its direction. The missed attacks kicked up dust, dirt, and chunks of the ground into the air.

"Now, switch over to Ancient Power!"

Charizard stopped spinning, instead roaring again as its body began to glow a light purple color. White energy spheres began to form around its body that transformed into rocks, the stones that had been created by the Air Slash had also been coated in this mysterious energy before all of the stones suddenly shot towards Houndoom at breakneck speed.

"Dark Pulse."

As the mystically empowered stones honed in on Houndoom, the Mega pokemon charged up what appeared to be a purple ball of energy for a moment before firing it at the ground in front of it, sending out a shock-wave that sparked with an electric pulse of the same color, destroying all the stones that Charizard had created.

"Solar Beam!" Both trainers called out. Without wasting a second, both Fire types blasted out the sun-based energy beams that instantly clashed with each other. The two beams surged to one side for a moment before shifting to the other though it was hard to tell as the clash created a light that looked like it would blind everyone in the arena as if the actual sun itself had descended upon them.

"Dive forward!" Diego ordered.

"What?! What are you doing?" Sandra called out in shock.

Charizard dove towards Houndoom, both pokemon still firing their attacks and not giving an inch. As the airborne pokemon made its descent, the pressure between the two Beams became too much, resulting in an explosion that finally made the light die down but now everyone's sight was obscured by a thick cloud of smoke.

The arena fell into silence as they awaited for the smoke to clear. A flap of Charizard's wings helped the smoke dissipate, revealing both pokemon still able to battle, but covered in dirt, scratches and scrapes. Both struggled to breathe as Charizard hovered slightly above the field, which was still burning, but the force of the blast and the smoke in the air caused the once roaring fire to die down and become smoldering embers and ashes with very small flames dotted around the field. Even the announcers appeared to be too stunned to speak. The silence was finally broken by Sandra, just like the field itself, the fire within her seemed to be more subdued.

"You... I can't believe you've managed to bring this much out of us."

"You should have known by now that my team and I do not back down!" Diego replied. Sandra couldn't help but laugh again, but this time she looked less angry... She looked more... relaxed.

"I don't get you." She smiled, but her smiled quickly faded as her expression returned to the deathly serious one she had throughout the battle. "But we're not done yet."

"Yeah, we're not." Diego said, a confident smile on his face. "And this has definitely been one of the toughest and most fun battles I've had the pleasure of having my entire time here! Your pokemon have strength that's burning and you really do have a passion that's like the sun. But my pokemon and I, we're burning hotter than that! We're gonna take this hot streak we earned and go all the way to the top! But to get there, we've got to settle this. Charizard, Raging Flame!"

Diego's speech roused Charizard's energy, it's body began emanating an aura of deep crimson with streaks of black, a flame of the same color burning out of its closed mouth...

"Houndoom, stop them with Fire Blast!"

Charizard zoomed towards Houndoom, the two pokemon unleashing their attacks at each other. The aura coming from Charizard melded into the flame that it had exhumed from its mouth, which had made contact with Houndoom's Fire Blast for a moment before it completely overtook the attack and enveloped Houndoom. Excess flames shot skyward, retaining its crimson and black color, completely obscuring Houndoom. Despite being caught up in the attack, the Dark pokemon slowly stepped forward just a bit, it's horns cracking at the sheer power of the attack. Houndoom tried bracing itself for just a moment longer before being overpowered and reverting back to its normal form...

As the wrathful blaze finally faded, Houndoom was revealed to have been blasted to the end of the field. Charizard was panting and holding its head in pain, fatigue plastered on its face. The rest of the field had been reduced to ash and soot as Diego let out a sigh of relief.

"Absolutely unbelievable, folks!" Dallas proclaimed. "With what has to be one of the most incredible moves this announcer has ever seen, we have our winner!"

"That was... awe-inspiring!" Juanita sighed, her face flushed as she fanned herself. "The sheer power, the dominance, the annihilation of the terrain! I love it!"

"He actually did it." Apollo chuckled, slapping his knee.

"Of course he did." Jack stated with a smirk. "He always has something up his sleeve."

Sandra recalled her pokemon with a serene look on her face.

"And so it ends..." She began. "Diego!" The young man looked over to her, curious as to what she would say next. "It's not often that I get proven wrong, but... thank you. You've proven to me that you are more than strong enough to be here. I just hope you'll be able to use that strength if Team Dark Star ever resurfaces."

Diego nodded with a smile, appreciating the compliment.

"And for what it's worth... That was the first time I truly had fun battling in... quite a long time."

With that, Sandra began to walk away, leaving Diego to soak up the adulation of the crowd for a moment before he also left the field.


"See, what did I tell ya'?! I was gonna win!" Diego gloated.

"Pfft, yeah, barely!" Renée pointed out.

"Heyyy!" Julia called out as she ran towards the group. "I saw everything! That was such a cool fight! Congrats on the win!"

"We're you expecting something different?" Diego asked, earning a playful punch in the arm from Jack.

"Hey, look!" Verity called out. "It's the girl with the Houndoom!"

Sandra had just exited the arena, her hair back in a bun and her glasses back on her face. She stopped when she saw her mother and brother had been waiting for her.

"You battled well." Lorelei spoke softly.

"My team and I performed to the best of our abilities. We lost and we will learn from our mistakes." Sandra replied, adjusting her glasses with a hand that only one with a very good eye would notice was shaking a little bit.

"Ah, don't be such a stick in the mud." Apollo scoffed, draping an arm over his sister and playfully shaking her lightly. Sandra herself didn't seem to appreciate the sentiment as she removed his arm.

"Can we talk for a bit?" Lorelei asked. "As a family, I mean. It's been quite a while since we've all been together."

"Father is here?"

"Yeah, he finally got some time off. He got here in the middle of your battle though so we'll have to fill him in on the deets." Apollo explained.

"I see." Sandra stated, a hint of a smile on her face. "I suppose it would be... nice for us to all be together as a family."

As the three redheads began to leave, a polite cough of interruption stole everyone's attention. The gang all turned to see Max as the source of the sound.

"Pardon me for the interruption, I was actually here to try to console Sandra after her loss but it appears as though her family beat me to the metaphorical punch. Though I suppose they are likely to be the better option in talking to her." Max stated.

"Aren't you her boyfriend or something?" Diego asked flatly.

"Boyfrie- What?!" Max blushed in embarrassment. "Not at all! She and I are simply educated minds that share similar scientific interests and a love for pokemon. We have no romantic interest in each other, I can assure you. But while you are here..." The flustered boy regained his composure as he looked over to Jack. "Following your victory it appears that we will be battling each other next. Just like Sandra, I have a strong battling spirit, as do you. So I expect you to bring your best come tomorrow, as I intend to bring mine!"

Jack simply nodded as the group parted ways with the former Dark Star scientist.

"You know, the numbers in this tournament are slimming down pretty fast." Renée noted. "The next round puts us at the Top Sixteen and who knows what kind of stuff is waiting for us when we get there."

"Well there's no way to really predict what's going to happen next." Jack sighed.

"Not for you at least." A female voice called out. Everyone's attention was once again grasped by an outside party, this one however was one that stuck out as a result of the girl's appearance. She had snow white hair and kimono that was both white and grey. The blood red irises she had looked ominous at first in comparison to the rest of her, but her kind and confident smile did well to quell the initial shock her appearance had.

"But as a Fortune Teller, I can predict all that can happen in the future!" The girl continued.

"Hey, aren't you in the tournament?" Renée asked.

"Yes! My name is Sakura, the best Mystic straight out of Mahogany Town and Fortune Teller extraordinaire!"

"So you can see the future?" Diego asked. "Ok, tell me how much I dominate the rest of this tourney!"

"I will not make any predictions about the winner." Sakura said sternly. "I can see aspects of the future, but I am not a cheater. Besides, I have my next opponent right in front of me."

Sakura glanced over at Renée, causing the girl to shudder a bit as the two locked eyes. Sakura grinned sinisterly for a moment before busting out in laughter.

"Ah man, you should see your face!" She giggled. "Don't worry, I said I'm not a cheater by any means. I only try to look at the futures of people, not battles. Tell you what though, as a way of showing some good will to my next opponent, I'll read some of your futures for free."

"Hehe, thanks." Renée replied. "But I think I'll pass."

"Read mine! I bet you're gonna see me winning the title of Champ!" Diego proclaimed.

"Sure! But I want to give you all a bit of a warning in advance. The future is never set in stone, so don't expect my predictions to be one-hundred percent fact. This is especially true when it comes to predictions that may involve other people. Take good care of yourselves and the people around you." Sakura explained, Diego gulped as nerves begin to overtake him but he quickly shook them aside as Sakura brought out a crystal ball.

"Take my hands." Sakura said, placing her hands on the table. Despite her cold and ghostly appearance, Diego took her hands and felt assured when they felt warm. The mystic woman closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Renée looked on with a blank look of doubt on her face, feeling as though this whole fortune telling business was just a scam. Part of her doubts were thrown completely out the window when she saw what could only be described as an astral projection of Sakura's arms reaching out to the crystal ball between her and Diego. The astral arms touched the crystal, causing it to glow...

"I see you." Sakura began. "I... can't exactly tell where you are. It's not dark but I can't see anything besides you and... some sort of dragon."

"Heh, it's gotta be my Charizard." Diego replied.

"No! This dragon is one that bursts with a holy flame... You two appear to be facing off against... something indescribable..."

Sakura's eyes then snapped open as she gasped, the astral arms faded away as she was pulled from her vision.

"Are you alright?" Julia asked. "What happened."

"I'm fine." Sakura replied. "That usually happens when the vision I see is too clouded by whatever is in it. Whatever you're doing in that vision, it involved something powerful."

"Something powerful... hmm." Diego pondered.

"Oh! Me next!" Julia said, taking Diego's seat the moment he had gotten up.

"Sure!" Sakura replied, unable to hold back a laugh at Julia's eagerness. The astral arms returned as Sakura resumed meditating.

"Hmm..." Sakura began. "I see you on the the edge of what looks like some kind of lake. You're... crying."

"Crying? But why?" Julia asked.

"I'm not sure. Whatever happened to upset you must have happened at least a few hours before what I'm seeing. But there's... a boy walking towards you."

"R-really?" Julia asked, a blush forming on her face. "What does he look like?"

"He looks..." Sakura was about to reply before stopping. "I, um, can't see his face clearly... But he appears to be comforting you. I can't hear exactly what you two are saying but you two seem very close. From the look of things it seems like you've been having these feelings for this boy for quite some time and he's a very strong trainer..."

Sakura opened her eyes with less shock this time as she separated her hands from Julia's. The twin was silent as she stood up, wondering about her fortune.

"This boy sounds like he's a sweetheart." Cynthia giggled.

"And he's supposed to be super strong too! Maybe he's a Gym Leader or maybe even a Champion!" Verity added.

Jack blushed as a million thoughts ran through his mind, some more positive than others. Renée and Diego gave him their usual teasing glances before Jack himself sat down next.

"Alright, you've gotten me interested, do you mind doing one more prediction?" He asked.

"Not at all!" Sakura replied. One last time, the astral arms grabbed the crystal, as Jack looked on intently. His curiosity only increased when Sakura's brow furrowed in concentration.

"This... this is unlike anything I've ever seen to be honest. I see what looks like... some sort of pokemon? It's not like anything I've ever seen or even heard of in any story or myth I've read."

The mention of this mysterious pokemon caught everyone's attention. The mystic's face began to change into an expression of fear at what she was seeing.

"It... It looks like it's every color at once. It's enormous! But there's also some sort of strange machine close to it too, and it's also pretty big... Wait... What just..?"

Sakura's eyes opened as she had a confused look on her face, she immediately reached for a pokeball and brought out an Alakazam.

"Your fortune suddenly changed to something completely different. I've never had that happen to me before but I wasn't blocked out of reading your fortune like I could with the other boy's. My Alakazam here can help me amplify my fortune telling power so that I can properly see what happened. Let's continue."

With his apprehensive curiosity rising and the others now equally confused and concerned, Jack joined hands with Sakura again.

"Ok... I see... what look like a field of asteroids! I can see you standing on one and you look like you just got done battling someone although I'm not sure how you're able to even breathe in an asteroid field. I can see parts of what look like used to be a life-sized mannequin or puppet of some kind and... a girl." Sakura explained, her breathing getting more heavy.

"A girl?" Jack asked in confusion, from behind Julia blushed in confusion and even from what looked to be a hint of jealousy.

"Yes. But she looks to be around... eleven or twelve years old if I had to guess. She looks like she might be homeless or something too since she's not wearing shoes. But the... the thing that's with her... It can't be!"

Both Sakura and her Alakazam flinched back as the latter began grasping its head in pain.

"What happened? What did you see?!" Jack asked.

"I... I don't think I even know. It resembled Arceus, but there's no way it was the real deal. You... just what exactly is going to happen to you?"

Everyone turned to Jack, who was too stunned to even think of what to say, let alone process what he had just heard...


I believe that is a good enough spot as any to end the chapter. I know I'm not exactly the best at writing these battles but I hope I made this one fun! We're getting to a point where many of the main characters are going to be battling each other soon! So look out for that! Until then, let me know what you all thought about the chapter!

New Move:

Raging Flame

Fire type

-120 Power

-90 Accuracy

The user unleashes a ferocious flame that decimates it's target using whichever attack stat is higher, but may leave the user confused from fatigue.