The time has come for Ichigo to finally earn his eighth and final badge If he is able to defeat Zangetsu, he'll earn his eighth badge and be able to compete in the Kalos League.

"Here we are." Ichigo said as he and his friends stood outside the gym.

"Are you ready?" Orihime asked.

"Zangetsu is going to be a tough opponent." Rukia said.

"Don't worry. I'll be having that eighth badge soon. Right, Absol?" Ichigo asked.

"Absol." Both of them were ready to go, but can he really win that eighth badge?

Pokemon

No time to question my moves

I stick to the path that I choose

Me and my friends are gonna do it right

You'll never see us runaway from a fight

To be a master is my dream

All I have to do is believe

(I believe)

I'm on a master quest

(Master quest)

I'm on my way to victory

I can be a champion if I just believe

I'm on a master quest

(Master quest)

I want the whole world to see

(I believe)

I'm gonna be the very best

Cause all I have to do is believe in me

Pokemon!

(Ichigo's voice) Shine of the Black Moon

Ichigo and his friends went inside the gym. When they went inside, they stood at the battlefield. Zangetsu was already there and was waiting for them. The two of them stood on opposing sides and was ready to go.

"Are you ready, Ichigo? Understand that since is for your last badge to compete in the Kalos League, there is no holding back." Zangetsu said. "I don't want there to be any excuse as to why you aren't doing the same."

"Don't worry. You'll get the battle you're looking for." Ichigo said.

"The gym battle between Zangetsu, the gym leader, and Ichigo, the challenger, will now begin." Winston said as he was the referee. "Each side will use three pokemon, and will be over when all three of one side can no longer battle. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute pokemon. When both sides are ready, you may begin!"

"Here is my first pokemon. Let's go, Umbreon!" Zangetsu said.

"Umbreon!"

"He's starting out with Umbreon. In that case, I know who I'm using!" Ichigo said as he threw in his first choice. It turned out to be his own Umbreon.

"Umbreon!"

"Umbreon vs. Umbreon!" Orihime said as this already looked interesting.

"We'll see which one is the stronger one. At least Ichigo's Umbreon is a different color and will be easier to tell who is who." Rukia said.

"Let's get this started! Umbreon, let's use Swift!" Ichigo said. Ichigo's Umbreon held up its tail and started shooting stars from its tail.

"Focus Energy, then use Double Edge!" Zangetsu said. His Umbreon focused its power and charged. His Umbreon pushed through the stars and smashed against Ichigo's Umbreon with some real damage being dealt.

"Are you okay?!" Ichigo said. His Umbreon shook its head around, but was able to hold together. "Good, Umbreon. Don't quit. Now use Night Shade!" Ichigo's Umbreon and used the attack, but Zangetsu's Umbreon didn't seem that much affected by the attack.

"You'll have to do better than that. Snarl!" Zangetsu said. Zangetsu's Umbreon snarled and unleashed a dark blast with Ichigo's Umbreon getting hit. "Snarl again!"

"Protect!" Ichigo said. His Umbreon formed a barrier around itself as Zangetsu's Umbreon used the attack and it ended up being blocked.

"Double Edge!" Zangetsu said. Zangetsu's Umbreon attacked the moment the barrier dropped. It smashed itself against Ichigo's Umbreon and took it out.

"The challenger's Umbreon is unable to battle! The gym leader's Umbreon is the winner!" Winston said.

"No. Poor Umbreon." Orihime said.

"We knew from the start that this wasn't going to be an easy battle." Rukia said.

"He still has two other pokemon. He still has a chance to win this." Chad said.

"Umbreon, return. You did your best." Ichigo said as he brought it back in its pokeball. "Time to see what you can really do." He said as he held out a white pokeball.

"Is that who I think it is?!" Rukia said as they didn't expect he use that pokemon.

"Silvally, let's go!" Ichigo said.

"Rai!"

"A Silvally?! That's a really rare pokemon. I can't wait to see what you can do with it." Zangetsu said. "Umbreon, let's start out with Moonlight!" Umbreon generated moonlight and it began to heal itself.

"What's going on?" Orihime asked.

"Moonlight is a move that restores some damage you've taken. Double Edge does cause recoil damage. Having a move like that is pretty useful." Rukia said.

"Now use Double Edge!" Zangetsu said. Umbreon charged right at Silvally.

"Silvally, Crush Claw!" Ichigo said. Silvally got ready. It moved to the side when Umbreon got close enough and caused Umbreon's to attack to miss. Then, Silvally took its claw and crushed down on Umbreon with a lot of force behind it. When everyone could get a clear look, Umbreon was already knocked out.

"Umbreon is unable to battle! Silvally is the winner!" Winston said. Ichigo's friends were shocked at what they just saw.

"In one hit?!" Orihime said.

"Silvally is a lot tougher than it looks!" Chad said. Zangetsu brought Umbreon back in its pokeball with him recognizing Silvally's strength from that attack.

"Perhaps this battle will be of more interest than I thought." Zangetsu said. "Let's go, Mightyena!"

"Migh!"

"Ichigo, I should probably alert you on something. My Mightyena's ability is Intimidate." Zangetsu said. "When Mightyena is called into battle, this ability lowers the attack power of the opponent. You're Silvally is clearly strong, but you shouldn't rely too much on strength alone."

"I usually don't. I was a little surprised myself that Silvally took Umbreon out like that." Ichigo said. "I like to see what else Silvally can do. Silvally, let's start this battle with Crush Claw!" Silvally jumped in the air and was ready to come down with the attack.

"Mightyena, Headbutt!" Zangetsu said. Mightyena jumped in the air and landed its attack before Silvally could land anything. It smashed its head against Silvally, but Silvally landed on the ground and was still willing to battle.

"Use Flamethrower!" Ichigo said. Silvally breathed out fire and blasted Mightyena with the intense flames.

"Mightyena, Crunch!" Zangetsu said. Mightyena fought through the flames and went at Silvally with it ready to take a big bite out of it.

"Dodge it!" Ichigo said. Silvally jumped out of the way just in time. "Now use X-Scissor!" Silvally took its claws and slashed against Mightyena in an X-shape and knocked Mightyena down.

"Yes! That's a bug-type attack. That's really effective against dark-types." Rukia said.

"Can you keep battling?" Zangetsu asked. Mightyena struggled, but it was still able to get back on its feet. "Now use Crunch again!" Mightyena charged at Silvally and moved as fast as it could before Silvally can attack again.

"Flamethrower!" Ichigo said. Silvally breathed out the flames and blasted Mightyena with the attack being perfectly timed. Mightyena took some hard damage from that attack and was knocked down.

"Mightyena is unable to battle! Silvally is the winner!" Winston said.

"Yes! One more win and Ichigo is going to get that badge!" Orihime said.

"Silvally is a lot stronger than it looks." Chad said.

"You can say that again, but let's not get too carried away." Rukia said. "I doubt that Zangetsu's last pokemon is going to make it easy on them."

"Silvally, you did great. Return for now." Ichigo said as he brought Silvally back in its pokeball. "I know who Zangetsu's last pokemon is. That's why I want to use you for this one, Absol."

"Absol."

"Let's go, Houndoom!" Zangetsu said as he released his last pokemon.

"Houn!"

"Here we go, Absol." Ichigo said. Absol went out on the field and was ready to battle. Zangetsu expected this battle to happen.

"Time to see if you can really earn that badge." Zangetsu said.

"Absol, Razor Wind!" Ichigo said.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" Zangetsu said. Both pokemon used their respective attacks. When they used their attacks, they collided in the center of the field and caused a large explosion. That was just to see what the other was made out of. "Not bad. I think I might actually have to try on this one." He moved his hair out of the way to show the keystone on his glasses.

"I hear you." Ichigo said as he held out his own keystone.

"Beyond evolution! Mega evolve!" Both of them said as they activated the power in their keystones. The power flowed from them and responded to the mega stones both pokemon had. As the two energies came together, it caused Houndoom and Absol to become Mega Houndoom and Mega Absol.

"Wow! Both of them mega evolved!" Orihime said.

"I'm starting to wish we had some seatbelts." Rukia said.

"Now to see what you can really do. Houndoom, Flamethrower again!" Zangetsu said.

"Houn!" Houndoom unleashed the flames and they appeared to be much stronger.

"Now use Swords Dance!" Ichigo said. Absol generated the swords and was able to block out the Flamethrower.

"Interesting way of using Swords Dance, but that won't help." Zangetsu said. Absol tried holding the flames back, but the flames got through and blasted Absol.

"No way!" Ichigo said.

"The Swords Dance defense was beaten!" Orihime said as that hardly ever happened.

"That isn't good!" Chad said.

"We can take the heat! Absol, Night Slash!" Ichigo said. Absol jumped through the flamed and slashed his horn against Houndoom, but Houndoom barely budged since it was a fellow dark-type attack.

"Let's show the real power of dark-types. Houndoom, Dark Pulse!" Zangetsu said. Houndoom pushed Absol back and blasted Absol with the attack. Absol was doing his best to endure, but was still sliding back.

"No way! Is Houndoom that much stronger than Absol?!" Ichigo said as this wasn't looking good for Absol at all. "Doesn't matter. We still need to fight back."

"But who will you battle? Houndoom, Double Team!" Zangetsu said. Houndoom created copies of itself and had Absol completely surrounded. "Now use Flamethrower!" All the copies of Houndoom got ready to attack Absol from all angles.

"Absol, jump!" Ichigo said. Absol jumped in the air and was able to get out of there as all the flames hit. When the flames passed by, Ichigo noticed something with the copies. "Absol, only one has a shadow! Aim Razor Wind at that one!" Absol spotted the only one with a shadow and got ready to attack.

"Absol!" Absol used the attack and blasted Houndoom with it.

"Impressive, but we're not beaten yet. Double Team again!" Zangetsu said. Houndoom made copies of itself again. All of them went at Absol with them ready to attack. All of them went at Absol, and Absol stayed on his toes to try avoid all of them as there was no way to tell where the real one was.

"It's like a pack attack. Where's the real one?" Ichigo said as he can't figure it out.

"Houndoom, Incinerate!" Zangetsu said. Houndoom unleashed balls of fire and blasted Absol when it was dodging the fakes. "Now finish it with Dark Pulse!" Houndoom blasted Absol and Absol was sent flying through the gym with him hitting the roof. A small explosion went off and blew a part of the roof off.

"Absol!" Ichigo shouted as he had no idea what happened to Absol. He spotted Absol falling to the ground and was reverted back to his original form. That can only mean one thing.

"Absol is unable to battle! Houndoom is the winner!" Winston said.

"Absol!" Ichigo called as he hurried to Absol. He made sure Absol wasn't badly hurt. Thankfully, he wasn't, but Absol has been taken out of the battle.

"I can't believe Absol was actually beaten." Orihime said.

"As powerful as Absol is, even Absol can be beaten." Rukia said.

"All he has now is Silvally." Chad said.

"Silvally might be strong, but can it really take on a mega evolved pokemon?" Orihime questioned.

"Houndoom might be able to mega evolve, but that doesn't mean it can't be beaten either. Ichigo just needs to be careful with what attacks he uses. Ichigo moved Absol to rest right next to him.

"Thanks for doing your best out there, Absol. We're still going to win this." Ichigo said as he got his last pokemon ready.

"Silvally, let's go!" Ichigo said.

"Rai!"

"It's all on you Silvally! Let's use X-Scissor!" Ichigo said as he wasn't waiting around. Silvally charged at Houndoom and got the attack ready.

"Houndoom, Incinerate!" Zangetsu said. Houndoom launched the balls of fire, but Silvally was able to jump around the attacks and slashed against Houndoom.

"Use Flamethrower!" Both of them said. Both pokemon breathed out fire, but Houndoom's was stronger with it blasting Silvally.

"Now use Dark Pulse!" Zangetsu said. Houndoom unleashed the attack and blasted Silvally with it, but Silvally was doing his best to endure the attack.

"Crush Claw!" Ichigo said. Silvally pushed through and got its attack ready. Silvally tried crushing down on Houndoom, but Houndoom jumped out of the way.

"Flamethrower!" Zangetsu said. Houndoom blasted Silvally with it. The battle wasn't looking good for Ichigo, but he can't figure out a way to turn this around. "It looks like this battle is just about over."

'No...' Ichigo thought. 'There must be something Silvally can do. There's got to be something that Zangetsu wouldn't expect. The only other attack Silvally has is Multi Attack, but that might not deal enough damage.' When Ichigo thought of attack, it reminded him of something else from Silvally. He reached for a case and opened up to see all the memories that were in there.

"This battle is over. Finish it with Incinerate!" Zangetsu said. Houndoom generated as much fire power as it could and unleashed the attack.

"Silvally!" Ichigo called as it took a memory and threw it at Silvally just when the attack hit. An explosion went off and they all thought the battle was over after that. They all seemed surprised when they saw Silvally standing, but also that Silvally looked different with some blue added to it.

"What happened?!" Zangetsu said.

"That's what makes Silvally an awesome pokemon." Ichigo said. "I remembered just in time that Silvally can change its type by giving it a memory drive. I was able to get the one that made Silvally a water-type.

"Brilliant!" Rukia said. "Since Silvally is now a water-type, those fire attacks won't do much damage!"

"It also changes the type of this attack. Use Multi Attack!" Ichigo said. Silvally surrounded itself in a blue aura and went on the attack. It assaulted Houndoom with multiple attacks. Silvally bashed its head against Houndoom to finish it. Houndoom was sent flying and slid against the ground. When the dust cleared away, Houndoom reverted back to it's original form.

"Houndoom is unable to battle! Silvally is the winner! Victory goes to the challenger!" Winston said.

"Yes! We did it Silvally! Way to go!" Ichigo said. The battle was impressive and his friends were thrilled for him.

"He really won!" Orihime said.

"I can't believe Silvally was able to beat a mega evolved pokemon!" Rukia said.

"Amazing!" Chad said. It was certainly an incredible battle. When it was all over, Zangetsu and Ichigo shook hands.

"That was a great battle, Ichigo. You and your pokemon are great together." Zangetsu said. "That is why I'm rewarding you with the Darkened Badge." He handed him his badge with it looking like a black crescent moon.

"Thanks a lot." Ichigo said as he was able to take his eighth badge.

"The Kalos League will be held in Lumiose City. Best of luck." Zangetsu said.

"Thank you so much for this." Ichigo said as he can't wait for it to begin.

Ichigo has done it. He has eight badges and is now capable of entering the Kalos League, just as Orihime is capable of entering the Ultimate Talent Star. The two of them are getting closer and closer to making their dreams a reality. Will they be able to win both events? There's only way to know for sure, as the journey continues.

To Be Continued...

Pokemon Question: Here we go, trainers. The answer to the last question was...Gigalith. Gigalith absorbs sunlight to generate powerful and destructive beams. No question this time. See you all later.