Slateport City

It had been 10 minutes since the first round of the competition had ended. Suzy, Trish, and the others had changed back into their regular clothes and took part in a complementary lunch provided by the Contest Association.

Suzy, Trish, Dawn and May decided to eat together and found a good spot under a large tree. "So it appears that the four of us managed to make it to the second round." Trish said.

Suzy decided to have sushi for her lunch, which was one of her favourite foods. "Yep, it feels great doesn't it?"

May and Dawn decided to have rice for their meal as they listened to Suzy and Trish's conversation. May stopped eating for a moment to respond to Suzy's question. "It does feel good. However, just because the four of us made it to Round 2 doesn't mean I will go easy on any of you okay?"

Trish and Suzy nodded their head in response to May's question, but Dawn didn't respond to her question. "No need to worry."

A few meters away, Frank, Nando, and Drew decided to have their lunch at a picnic table that was provided by the Contest Association. When they took their seats, Drew looked around and noticed something was strange. "Where is the Black Greninja? I haven't seen him since the contest."

Frank decided to have Chinese food for his meal and decided to listen to the others while he ate. Drew's right, where is the Black Greninja?

After a few minutes, Nando stopped eating his meal and turned his attention to Frank. "There has been something on my mind ever since I saw your match Frank. Why did you decide to become a Coordinator? You appear to be the type that would compete in Gym Battles instead of performing in Contests."

Frank put down his meal and reached into his pockets to pull out two cases. When he handed them to Nando, Nando's question was answered. "Oh I see. You compete in both as well? That's fascinating."

Nando returned the two cases to Frank and put them back into his pockets. "I was 10 when I saw your match against Zoey, and when you fought Ash in the Sinnoh Conference. That inspired me to do both Contests and Gym Battles, and I believe it also helped improve my bond with Chesnaught."

After hearing what Frank said, Nando smiled. "Well that is good to hear. I never expected that someone would want to take up both Contests and Gym Battles because of me, but I am glad to hear that."

An hour later

Once the Coordinators were done with their meals, Trish and her friends reunited with Nando, Drew and Frank. Suzy decided to sit in the shade of a large tree and polish her rifle. May turned her attention to Trish and asked her a question. "How did Suzy get a rifle that can summon Pokémon?"

But before Trish could respond to May's question, the man in a dark purple coat appeared behind him. When Dawn turned around, she smiled. "Hey Paul!"

Paul gave Dawn a hug and broke it off after a few minutes. As he looked into Dawn's eyes, he began to speak. "I wanted to see you compete, so I came down to Hoenn the first chance I got. Congratulations on making to round 2."

Dawn smiled. "Thanks Paul, I am glad you're here."

But before the conversation could continue, a figure came out of the Slateport Contest entrance. It was David, who had his face covered in orange soda. "Hey guys, it's been a while."

After hearing what David said, he turned his attention to David and glared at him. "So, you're the Johto brat I heard about."

David managed to get the soda off of his face and walked over to Paul with an annoyed look on his face. "You must be Paul. I saw you back in the Sinnoh Conference and wow you were pathetic."

Paul reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball. "I am not going to subject myself or Dawn to this meaningless argument. If you want to put your money where your mouth is, let's battle."

David smirked. "Bring it."

With that, everyone decided to walk to an open area for the match. Once they found one, Drew decided to be the referee for the match. "Okay, this shall be a one on one battle. The battle will end when one Pokémon has fainted. Let's begin!"

Paul reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball. "Aggron, I choose you." Paul then released his Pokémon into battle.

David smirked at the sight of Aggron. Steel/Rock type eh. Well in that case, I got just the Pokémon to do the job. David reached for his sword and pulled it out of its scabbard. As he raised his sword to the sky, he began to speak. "Bonds beyond time… Lucario, it's time to fight!" With those words, the sword emitted a beam of light that transformed into Lucario.

Paul had a confused look on his face after seeing David's way of summoning his Pokémon. "How were you able to do that?"

David put the sword back into its scabbard before responding to Paul's question. "I created this to summon a Pokemon. I am not that big of a Pokeball fan, and this helps with another thing. But I will get to that later."

Paul sighed in response. "Aggron, use Metal Sound!"

Aggron opened its mouth and released a loud frequency sound wave at Lucario. But both Lucario and David smirked at the sight of the attack. They looked prepared for this. "Lucario, dodge and use Swords Dance!"

Lucario managed to avoid the sound wave and summoned three transparent swords, increasing its Attack Stat. Paul was stunned by this turn of events. How was this brat able to dodge that sound wave with ease?

"Lucario, charge at Aggron and use Force Palm!"

Lucario dashed at Paul's Aggron, but Paul didn't seem to be worried. "Aggron, use Metal Sound!"

Aggron began to repeat the same attack once again, but Lucario managed to avoid once again and started using Force Palm on Aggron. Aggron was able to dodge most of the attacks, but he did get hit by a couple of Force Palms, which was super-effective against him. After that attack, Lucario managed to get enough distance away from Aggron to prevent any damage to itself.

Paul was surprised that his attacks on Lucario had failed, but he smirked in response. "All right then. It's time to get serious. Aggron, use Flash Cannon!"

Aggron opened its mouth and fired a gigantic beam of energy at Lucario. "Lucario, dodge it!"

Lucario tried to avoid the attack by jumping into the air, but was ultimately hit by the Flash Cannon. "Now Aggron, use Double Edge!"

As Lucario fell to the ground, Aggron charged at Lucario and managed to hit Lucario directly, taking massive damage. After witnessing Aggron's attack, David became suspicious. "That Aggron has Rock Head doesn't it?"

Paul nodded his head. "Now Aggron, finish this with Metal Claw!"

Aggron's claws turned from gray to a stainless steel like color as Aggron was about ready to finish off Lucario. But before Aggron could finish the attack, Lucario grabbed Aggron's claws and threw him into the air.

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"

But Paul wasn't going to let David land a hit on Aggron. "Aggron, use Flash Cannon!"

Both Pokémon fired their attacks, creating a huge explosion in the process and hurting both Pokémon as a result.

When the dust cleared both Aggron and Lucario were panting from the attacks.

David was worried for his Pokemon, while Paul had the same serious look on his face as he always does. Paul crossed his arms as be asked David a question. "Not bad David. You lasted longer than I expected against Aggron, but there is something that has been bugging me throughout the match so far. I have noticed that your Lucario will sometimes attack without command. You mentioned before that you invented that sword for another reason. What reason is that?"

David sighed and reached into his pocket to pull out a Timer Ball. "This is Lucario's Pokeball. These tools are used to enslave Pokémon to your every command without fail. I am sure that you know the origins of the Pokeball, but I believe in the theory that a Pokémon is stronger if you make a bond with them first. I can sense that you have a bond with your Aggron, but are the bonds genuine or is it the bond given by capturing it in a Pokeball? That's why I created this sword, it will only work with Pokémon that have a strong bond with their trainer first…"

After hearing what David said, Paul uncrossed his arms and sighed. "A bond with a Pokémon is never enough to win a battle, it requires strength and planning. Some Pokémon are too destructive without their leash wrapped around them, which is why the Pokeball was invented. I used to believe that power was the only way to win a battle, but I was proven wrong. Power is important, but it requires more than just that to win, you need a bond with your Pokémon and the determination to see it through till the end…"

Paul then reached into his pocket and pulled out a Mega Ring and attached to his right arm. "But now it's time to end this."

David nodded his head and removed the glove on his right hand to reveal a small Mega Ring on his index finger.

Both of them activated their Mega Rings in unison as their Pokemon began to mega-evolve. Once the evolution finished, both trainers continued with their match.

"Aggron, use Double Edge!"

Aggron charged at Lucario once again, but this time Lucario managed to jump over Mega Aggron and hit him with another Force Palm. But Aggron did not stop his Double-Edge attack and continued charging at Lucario, while Lucario continued to dodge the attacks and laying a few good Force Palms on Aggron.

"I grow tired of this. Aggron, use Flash Cannon!"

Aggron opened his mouth once again as he prepared his attack.

"Lucario, get in close and use Aura Sphere!"

Lucario dashed at Aggron and charged an Aura Sphere attack at Aggron's mouth. When both attacks collided, they were both blown away by the resulting explosion.

When the dust cleared… "Both Pokémon are unable to battle, this match is a draw!"

Paul sighed for a moment before returning Aggron to his Pokeball. "Good job old friend."

David smirked as he pulled his sword out and returned Lucario to it. "Great job Lucario."

They both walked to the center of the area and shook each other's hands. Afterwards, they all went back to the contest arena to start the 2nd round of the Ultimate Coordinator.

Matches

Dawn vs Kenny

Frank vs Harley

Drew vs Ursula

Jessalena vs Jasmine

Black Greninja vs Lila

Suzy vs Solidad

May vs Trish

Nando vs Zoey.