"And now, Trainers, let's continue the battle. Both of you, send out your Pokemon!"

"Gengar! Come on out!" Ash and Jira shouted at the same time.

" Eh…?"

Both Gengars came out as they were ready to face off in a mirror match. Jira's Gengar's smile was a little wider, but you couldn't easily tell which one is which.

"Hey… Competitor Ash. I request you, for this battle only… to allow us to use this little device." the referee spoke. "It will turn your Gengar Shiny for this battle."

"Well, if that helps me, Jira and everyone, that's a good thing. Please do it!"

A small laser was pointed by the referee at Ash's Gengar, giving it a blue-ish look. Ash's Gengar, now Shiny, was now easy to tell apart.

"That's better." the referee spoke. "Battle start!"

"Gengar! Shadow Ball!" both trainers shouted at the same time, as the two ghost-type Pokemon fired at each other.

Ash's POV

Jira, you… I don't know if you watched my battle against Leon, but I remember saying something along the lines of my adventures coming together in that battle.

Now I guess against you, even in this local tournament, I could say that these two years of hiding and mental training come together here.

My Gengar and its Shiny look seemed to gain a slight advantage as Sludge Bomb overpowered his Thunderbolt. Jira's next attack however was unexpected. He commanded his Gengar to use Thunderbolt again, but this time on the field… in a way that reminded me of Paul's strong Electivire.

With Ash's friends

"Gengar, no!" Serena cried.

"Just like Paul's Electivire…" Dawn added. "It's like in Contests, you learn strategies from your opponent."

"Don't worry, guys. Ash has this in the bag." Brock reassured everyone.

"And especially you girls. You seem so worried now… you told me you were always with a smile on your face. Whenever Ash was in a gym battle or at a League."

Goh kept his mouth shut, knowing that something was up. He kind of knew why, but figured that now's not the time to talk about… that.

Back to the battle

"Gengar! Are you okay?" Ash spoke.

"Gen…gar!"

"Ah, that's better." Ash said, before he smirked.

" Jira. I hope you're ready for this. Here I come."

"Return, Gengar!" Ash suddenly shouted, before…

"Let's get huge!" he continued as the Pokeball was growing in size. "Kyodaimax!"

Suddenly the skies turned dark purple, and the huge Ghost-type Pokemon appeared on the battlefield. Kyodaimax Gengar, known for its downright terrifying tales in lore, shocked everyone in the crowd, including Ash's friends as they were staring at its sheer size.

Jira and his own Gengar smirked as they felt ready to battle their huge opponent.

"Gengar! Kyodai Phantom!" Ash spoke.

"Psychic!" Jira shouted.

Jira's own Gengar was trying to stop Kyodai Phantom and those haunted objects it carried, but it was ultimately hit twice, leaving it unable to escape.

"Let's finish it off! Max Starfall!" Ash spoke as huge stars fell off the sky and hit Jira's Gengar at point blank, causing rose smoke that blinded everyone for a few moments.

"Gengar… erm, Competitor Jira's Gengar is unable to battle! Competitor Ash's Gengar wins!"

"As expected! Dynamax makes its entrance with authority and allows Ash to go up 4-3!" the announcer spoke, in an excited manner.

"Return, Gengar. Thank you." Jira spoke.

"He only has one Max Move left. Hmmmm…" Jira thought.

"It's hard, he has Max Mindstorm for Crobat and Max Starfall for Weavile… but…"

" Maybe he will be able to avoid it through the Misty Terrain."

"Weavile! Show them what you're made of!" Jira shouted. That's right, the other ace Pokemon Jira had was now making its first appearance on the battlefield as the tournament was approaching its climax.

"Gengar! We have a huge opportunity to win this once and for all!" Ash spoke. "Let's go!"

"Geeeeeen… gen!"

"Weavile. Let's wait here. He'll probably use…"

"Max Starfall!"

" It's time to do something really stupid… but it should work."

"Weavile! Charge towards Gengar at full speed!"

The weasel used its natural speed to dash towards the Ghost-type Pokemon as Max Starfall was slowly approaching the battlefield. Moments of tension passed before Jira suddenly…

"Jump inside its mouth!"

"WHAT?!" Ash thought.

This was an incredibly risky move! Kyodaimax Gengar was the kind of Pokemon that sucked up sandstorms and sent them to the underwhere, and legends told that spirits could communicate with the real world through its mouth…

Weavile nevertheless listened, and went inside its mouth as Max Starfall missed and created a big rose explosion. Gengar then shrinked back to normal size, it seemed, as its three turns were finally up. But where was Weavile?

Gengar then felt a huge weight inside its body and had a belly that felt like a balloon. It felt like it was in pain…

"Gengar… dissappear for a little."

Gengar listened and went out of sights, but did not take Weavile with it as the weasel fell to the ground. Nevertheless, Weavile was able to succesfully stand up, and wasting a precious Max Starfall move was always great.

With Weavile and Gengar back to their trainer sides, Jira had Weavile strike with Night Slash as Gengar responded with Shadow Ball. It was a little hard to see from the crowd's point of view because of the Misty Terrain effect, left behind by the same Max Starfall.

"I told Ash," Brock spoke, "that I want to… um, have a talk with the person who invented Dynamax."

"Yeah… I get what you mean." Misty said. "It's such a strong technique. I never really got to play with it… I don't even think I have a Dynamax Band."

Weavile kept the momentum after slashing Shadow Ball, while charging towards Gengar. The Ghost-type was helpless at this point.

"Oh no! Dazzling Gleam!"

"Night Slash!" Jira responded.

Dazzling Gleam and Night Slash clashed on Ash's side of the battlefield. Weavile was feeling the pressure of the Fairy-type move as it was gnashing its teeth. Eventually, however, Night Slash connected and sent Gengar flying into the wall, as Weavile was also knocked back a little bit.

"Gengar is unable to battle! Weavile wins!"

"Return, Gengar. Thank you." Ash smiled.

"Thank you, Weavile. Return for now." Jira spoke as well.

"Now, buddy…" Ash spoke to Pikachu. "He's only got Crobat left, besides Weavile. I think it's time to get a bit of action."

"Pikachu! I choose you!"

"Crobat! Let's get them!" Jira spoke as the bat was flying left and right before facing the electric mouse.

"Let's not give them any time! Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.

"Heat Wave!" Jira responded. Both Pokemon fired off their powerful special attacks as they collided at the center of the battlefield.

"Now! Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

"This is gonna be quick…" Brock thought.

"Air Slash!" Jira responded. Pikachu jumped over the Air Slash and hit Crobat straight in the face.

"Iron Tail!"

"Poison Fang!"

Pikachu was really feeling at home as Poison Fang bit the hardened steel Pikachu's tail was now made of, dealing no damage. Ash really had the momentum, it seemed.

"Let's finish it off with Thunderbolt!"

"Brave Bird!" Jira shouted, feeling a little desperate. As Crobat was enduring the Thunderbolt with its blue aura, it charged towards Pikachu and hit it with the Flying-type move at point blank.

And the dust cleared, with both Pokemon seemingly damaged, before Crobat fell off to the ground, fainting in the process. Pikachu felt a little shaken as well. That Brave Bird must have hurt.

"Crobat is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!"

"It's now 5-4!!" the announcer spoke. The crowd was feeling worried at this point as their local favourite felt like he was about to lose. Meanwhile, Ash's friends were cheering loudly, especially the four girls who were looking for him for two years now, they beamed…

"Buddy, you were great out there." Ash spoke.

"Return for now… let me battle with this guy first." he continued.

"Ash. It really came down to this for my final Pokemon." Jira smiled.

"Yeah… don't tell Latios." Ash smiled as well, as the Eon Pokemon was feeling irritated before letting off a quick smirk.

"Weavile!" Jira shouted. "Let's show them… what you're made of!"