Several hours later, a traumatized Harry was found in his room in the fetal position, rocking back and forth with kiss marks all over his face. He kept muttering, 'No more hugs, no more kisses.' Iriana managed to calm him down enough to battle, promising to keep the rapid fangirls away. The fangirls meanwhile, had been given their own chibi-Harry plushies to cuddle to keep them calm and from attacking Harry.

The duo were back in the locker room, Harry peeking over his shoulder every two seconds. 'Man, I'm more paranoid than Moody now!'

"Don't worry Harry. Officer Jenny checked this whole area, no fangirls anywhere." Iriana said, snickering silently.

"I am so going to get you back for that…" Harry growled threateningly.

"Survival of the fittest Harry, as well as quick thinking." Iriana smirked. "Come on, let's get this battle done. You can plot your revenge all you want later."

Falling in step, the duo walked of the locker rooms and out onto the arena floor. If they thought the crowd was nuts before, they were tamed compared to now. Everyone was screaming, cheering, waving banners, all for them.

"I think we've entered the Twilight Zone." Iriana whispered.

"The 'What' Zone?"

"Never mind."

"Here they are folks!" The announcer yelled over the noise. "Two of the three heroes of the Naturis League, Harry and Iriana! And boy are we glad to see Harry in good health after both attacks." Said teen just blushed redder than a Charmander along with shuddering at the memory of evil fangirls. "And our other challengers Serina and Ian! Would the Trainers please step forward to shake hands?"

As they made their way over to the middle, Harry quietly asked, "Why didn't they make us do that before?"

"It would have taken too much time with the number of people they had before." She whispered back.

The two groups shook each others' hands. "Let's make this a great battle guys." Ian said with a grin.

Serina looked at Harry, "Are you alright? What happened was horrible…" Ian's eyes showed that he was worried too

Surprised at the concern being shown to him by strangers, Harry gave a smile to set them at ease, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just don't expect me to run a marathon any time soon." The other three Trainers laughed. "Anyway, good luck to us all." The two groups parted ways back to their boxes in high spirits for a great Battle.

Once they were back at their spots, the referee jumped down from his spot in the stands to his area. Iriana slapped her hand over Harry's mouth before he could start his rant. "I know, the Universe is out to get you by having the referee stalk you everywhere." Harry just pouted behind her hand.

"This will be a three on three battle, similar to how the Glacies Gym uses. The first Trainer to have their Pokémon KO'd will send out the third one. The first group who either forfeits or has all their Pokémon faint loses."

"Medieon, show 'em what you're made of!"

"Gardevoir, let's win this!"

"Typhlosion, take 'em out!"

"I chose you Meganium!"

Harry whipped out his Pokedex at the same time Iriana did. Harry pointed it at the first Pokémon, which was a blue and cream, bipedal Pokémon with what seemed a ring of fire around its neck. Typhlosion, the Volcano Pokémon. If its rage peaks, it becomes so hot that anything that touches it will instantly go up in flames.

The other Pokémon was a quadrupedal, green Pokémon. It had a pink flower with white edges around its neck with two stamen-like protrusions sprouting from the top of its nose. Meganium, the Herb Pokémon. Meganium have the ability to fully restore dried up plants and bring them back to life with its breath.

"Now, let the battle-"

But before the referee could officially start the battle, a strange thing happened in the sky above the stadium. Once more, a rip in the fabric of reality appeared and out came all the Legendary Pokémon. They all circled the arena before stopping, those who couldn't fly were sitting on the backs of the Pokémon who could.

"Sorry for the interruption, but we wanted to see Harry's and Iriana's battles for ourselves." Arceus said with an almost sheepish look. The entire stadium gave an anime sweatdrop.

"Um… no problem." The announcer said, slightly confused. "Anyway, let the battle begin!"

"Meganium, use Razor Leaf!"

"Typhlosion attack with Flamethrower!"

"Dodge with Teleport Gardevoir and then use Psychic!"

"Medieon, use Quick Attack followed up with Shadow Ball!"

The Fire and Grass attack somehow merged into one, creating flaming leaves. But that didn't do them much good when Gardevoir and Medieon simply vanished from sight.

"Where'd they go?" Ian asked, looking everywhere, his Pokémon doing the same.

"Behind you!" Serina cried too late. Medieon slammed into the Fire-type and then launched him into Meganium with the Ghost attack. Trapped in a pile of tangled limbs, they were easy picking for Gardevoir when she appeared, eyes glowing. The two Pokémon were levitated up in the air and then were slammed back together again. Gardevoir lowered her arms, causing the two Pokémon to crash to the ground. Meganium was knocked out, but Typhlosion was still standing. And mad by the ferocity of his flames around his neck.

"Meganium is unable to battle. Serina chose your next Pokémon!" The referee said.

"Return Meganium!" Serina called, putting away the Grass-type's Pokeball. "Time to shine Linoone!"

Harry and Iriana gasped, seeing the very familiar scarred Pokémon. "Iriana, isn't that?"

"It's possible."

Hearing their voices, the Normal-type stared at the two humans, before grinning and rushing at them. When he tackled the two to the ground, it caused everyone in the audience and the Legendaries to sit up in alarm, only to turn to confused at the two's laughter.

"I never thought I'd see you two again!" Linoone said happily nuzzling them.

"It's great to see you too." Harry said with a grin.

Iriana laughed, "How have you been? You must have gotten very strong to be here."

The Rushing Pokémon nodded, finally letting the two sit up, "Yes I have, my Trainer has taken very good care of me and her Pokémon."

"That's great Linoone. I'm very happy to hear that." Harry said, hugging the Pokémon.

"Um…I'm not sure what's going on here." The announcer said confused. "Could one of you please explain why Serina's Linoone attacked you two?"

Suddenly remembering where they were, Harry and Iriana both blushed. "Well, you see it's like this." Harry started. "We were on our way to Unda when we heard a Pokémon crying in pain in some bushes. It was Linoone, covered in scars from the whips that Quasso used." Everyone present growled at this, remembering the screams Harry made when he was attacked.

Iriana took over, "We did what we could to stabilize it, and then we ran to the Pokémon Center in Unda. Nurse Joy was able to fix him right up. After we got our Badges from Aqua, we said goodbye to Linoone, and that's the last we saw of him till today."

"Well I'll be! That's a very interesting story you two." The announcer said happily. "I'm glad you three friends were reunited again."

"So am I." Serina said smiling. "I found Linoone running around the country side and caught him after a very hard battle. That Pokémon is one tough cookie."

The duo grinned at this and gave Linoone a quick hug. Putting him back down, Iriana said, "Linoone, we're in the middle of the League Semi-Finals…"

Linoone nodded and interrupted, "I know that we have to battle. I'm happy to finally fight against you two so give it all you got."

The emerald-eyed teen grinned, "You better give all you got as well, because we plan on winning this. Good luck Linoone." The Normal-type nodded and rushed back to the other side of the arena.

"Now we not only have a battle for the Semi-Finals for the Doubles, but also a battle between old friends. May their friendship last much longer than this battle!" The announcer said. "And now the second half of the Semi-Finals…begin!"

"Gardevoir, use Magical Leaf!"

"Medieon, Spirit Call!"

"Use Fire Blast Typhlosion!"

"Linoone, use Quick Attack to get away from their attacks!"

Gardevoir waved her arms around, causing the green and red leaves to appear. Waving them again shot the leaves at the Normal-type. Meanwhile, Medieon had summoned seven feline spirits, all different colors right at Typhlosion. The Linoone was able to keep ahead of the Grass attack but was unable to lose them. Meanwhile, Typhlosion's attack was only able to stop the green feline –spirit which represented the type Grass, the others just danced around the flames before slamming into its source, knocking him out.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle!" The referee said.

"Linoone, it's all up to you! Lose those leaves and use Slash!"

Nodding, the Normal-type started to run faster and faster around Gardevoir and Medieon, turning into a tan blur with red and green blurs chasing it. Gardevoir and Medieon stood back to back, waiting.

"What should we do Harry?" Iriana asked, trying to keep up with Linoone and failing.

Harry bit his lip, "Neither of our Pokémon can match that kind of speed…we need to slow Linoone down."

"I got it!" Iriana said and whispered in Harry's ear. Emerald eyes lit up at the idea. "It'll work, trust me."

"Okay. Medieon, use Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered. The Psychic/Ghost type took a deep breath and let out a howl. From his mouth came a black wave of darkness, slamming into Linoone. Though all it did was make him stumble a bit, but that bit was enough.

"Gardevoir, use Hypnosis followed up with Dream Eater!"

Gardevoir made eye-contact with Linoone, putting him into a trance and forced him to stop running. Within seconds, he was sound asleep. Purplish light surrounded both Pokémon, with Linoone twitching in his sleep. When the light faded, Linoone was out for the count.

"Linoone is unable to battle! The winners of the Doubles Semi-Finals are Harry and Iriana!" The referee said.

"We did it!" The duo chanted happily, pulling their Pokémon into their happy dance. Ian and Serina walked up to the two with smiles on their faces.

"While we're not exactly happy about losing, we are happy that it was to you two that we lost." Ian said.

"Make sure you win the Finals and become Pokémon Masters." Serina added. "We'll be cheering you on."

"Thank you, we'll do our best." Harry said.

The announcer came back on, "Attention please. The Tournament will resume in one hour so the Trainers will have time to prepare for the final battles. The first to battle the Champions is the Singles Semi-Finals winner, Ash Ketchum!"

Harry and Iriana went back to the locker rooms, where they were met with cheers and whistles from the other Trainers. "You two did great, I really think you can beat the Champions" One said with a grin.

Nurse Joy walked up and gave the two hugs. "I came to fix up your Pokémon real quick."

"Thank you Nurse Joy." Iriana said, handing her the Pokeballs, Harry's as well.

After she left, Harry looked around, "I wonder where Ash is?"

"Oh, he's preparing for his battle. I saw him talking with his mom and Professor Oak." Another Trainer said. "His battle will start in a few minutes. They gave just you two the hour to prepare since you just battled."

"Oh, alright. Let's get something to eat." Iriana said, dragging Harry behind her.

"I kinda need that arm you know."

"Oh hush, you'll live." Harry could practically hear her smirk as she said this. His well-thought out response was just to roll his eyes.

After grabbing some sandwiches and water, along with their Pokeballs ('Man Nurse Joy was fast' Iriana muttered), they went back to the cafeteria, where once again, the tables were pushed off to the side and everyone was on the floor with their Pokémon. "Room for two more?" Harry asked.

"Sure!" "Of course!" "Sit over here!" "No here!"

Shaking their heads at the statements being yelled, Iriana finally shouted, "How about the middle?" A large whole was made in the middle for the two of them to sit in along with all their Pokémon. Harry laid against Ninetales with Medieon and Froslass on his legs with Serperior curled around their forms. Metagross and Absol on either side. Iriana was sitting in the middle of Salamence, Dragonair and Flygon in a triangle formation, Lucario and Gardevoir sitting beside her. Gyarados curled around them all easily.

On the TV, Ash's battle had already started against Wallace, Glalie against Ludicolo.

As the two Pokémon went all out, Iriana asked, "So, how does the Finals work? I know that we have to fight the Champions but how exactly?"

Togetic's Trainer answered her, "Well, in Ash's case, it's a one on one battle with them using four Pokémon each. If Ash beats Wallace, he'll then fight one of the other Champions, most likely Lance. If he beats Lance, he wins the Singles Tournament."

On the TV, Glalie managed to take down Ludicolo and was now fighting a Wailord with the fight going in the Water-type's favor.

"So, wait, he doesn't have to fight all four of them?" Another Trainer questioned.

"No." An elderly Trainer replied. "Since it's only Ash fighting, he just has to beat two of the Champions in one on one fights."

Wailord beat Glalie, but fell quickly to Pikachu, who was now fighting Milotic.

"Now, with you two, they will fight against two Champions at once, each of them using only two Pokémon each, so it's still a two on two fight."

"And if we beat the first two Champions, do we have to fight the other two?" Harry asked.

"Nope." The suit Trainer replied. "You just have to beat the two they pick to fight you."

Thanks to a double KO, both Pikachu and Milotic were out. Wallace was on his last Pokémon while Ash still had two left. Wallace sent out his own Gyarados while Ash sent out Sceptile.

"Do you know who we're going to battle?" Iriana asked Harry.

"No clue." He replied.

"I'm guessing it'll be Cynthia and Astra. Those two will be the hardest to beat, they fight very well together." A Trainer with a Sunflora said.

Sceptile was just standing still in the middle of the arena, but he seemed to be glowing. Gyarados was preparing a Hyper Beam.

"What the heck is that Pokémon doing? He's just standing there." The Togetic Trainer said.

"Well…Sceptile's glowing, so maybe he's preparing an attack?" Harry suggested.

"Oh…he's getting ready to use Solar Beam." She replied

Iriana looked worried, "But won't a Solar Beam and a Hyper Beam just create a-"

BOOM

The camera actually shook with the shock waves from the two attacks colliding. The arena filled with dust and smoke. Over the residual noise, everyone could hear a loud 'thump'.

"What happened?" "What was that noise?" "Who won?" "Quiet!"

Everyone fell silent at Iriana's command. "Much better, now if you all would just be patient, the dust is clearing."

Sure enough, her words were true; the dust was beginning to settle back onto the arena floor. Along with a certain Pokémon.

"I can't believe it, Ash won!" "But how?" "What happened to Gyarados?"

On the TV, the Atrocious Pokémon was out cold, Sceptile standing near the large Pokémon, tail glowing a light green. Everyone quieted when Ash began to speak. "I knew that the only way to win was to land a solid attack on Gyarados, so I used Solar Beam to distract you. In the dust, I had Sceptile land a Leaf Blade directly on Gyarados, KO'ing it."

The referee raised a flag towards Ash, "Gyarados in unable to battle, the winner is Sceptile!"

"And there you have it folks! Straight from the winner's mouth! Ash Ketchum wins the first round of the Finals! The next battle will be against Lance in ten minutes." The announcer said. The crowd went nuts with cheers, the Legendaries also cheering for one of their favorite humans. Ash just waved and smiled at the crowd before heading off camera, most likely to treat his Pokémon real quick.

"Wow, that was a tricky move on Ash's part." Harry said impressed.

A couple of the Trainers laughed, "That's one of his specialties. That kid is always able to come up with inventive plans on the spot."

"I've heard that he once used an old Gym Leaders area against them." One started. "It was a Leader that specialized with Ice-types, so the arena was completely covered in it along with some stalagmites on the floor. Most Pokémon couldn't find their footing on it so they always lost."

Another one took up the tale, "Not Ash though, he got Pikachu to start bouncing off the pillars, going faster and faster. Finally launched himself off, straight at the Leaders Pokémon, KO'd it, and won his badge."

The younger Trainers, along with Harry and Iriana, had their jaws on the floor. "Wow, he sure can think of inventive ways to use, not only his own Pokémon, but the area around him to his advantage." Iriana said, impressed.

"Hey! The next battle is about to start." Harry said pointing at the TV.

Both Trainers had their Pokémon out already, Ash with his Lapras and Lance chose Tyranitar. The second the referee said 'Begin' both Pokémon had launched their attacks.

"That reminds me!" Harry sat up suddenly. He turned to the other Trainers. "Have you all had the same referee at each Gym Battle and here?"

Stunned by the sudden question, and confused by Iriana slapping her forehead, they shook their heads. "No, each Gym has its own referee. They stay there because that's where they're stationed at." The suit Trainer said.

Lapras kicked Tyranitar's butt with a well placed Hydro Pump and was now fighting Dragonite.

"I guess if they petitioned for a new town, they could move that way…" Another trailed off.

Harry just sat blinking in confusion, so Iriana took pity on the others, "Every Gym battle we've been in, and every battle here, we've had the same referee every time. It's been driving Harry nuts. We first thought that the guy was part of a family where they all looked the same, like Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy."

Dragonite knocked out Lapras with a Thunderbolt, but was KO's quickly by Glalie with an Ice Beam. The Ice-type was now battling against Charizard.

The Togetic Trainer shook her head, "Not possible, they're the only ones with a family like that. I looked it up; curious to see if any other family was like them."

"So that guy HAS been stalking us!" Harry yelled.

Charizard knocked out Glalie with a Flamethrower after first softening it up with a Seismic Toss. Ash's next Pokémon was Staraptor. The two Pokémon were now fighting in the sky.

"I know Harry, the world is just out to get you. Your luck sucks like that." Iriana said in mock sympathy.

He just turned to her and said seriously, "You just now figured that out? How in the world did you survive being my friend for this long?"

Charizard launched Overheat while Staraptor had been attacking with Close Combat. After a mini-explosion, the Fire-type was knocked out of the sky. Lance's last Pokémon was Steelix, who merely slammed his tail on the tired bird Pokémon, knocking him out. Ash then tossed out his own Charizard.

"Instincts my friend." Iriana replied. "Plus a lot of good luck charms."

"Hey, they're at their last Pokémon!" A young Trainer said pointing at the TV. Everyone stopped talking to watch the battle.

For a bit it seemed that Charizard had the upper hand with being able to fly and launch Fire-type attacks at the Steel/Ground type. The table was turned though when Steelix started thrashing, building up a Sandstorm. Unable to see, Charizard was forced to land to avoid flying straight into the stadium wall.

The Fire/Flying type let out a huge roar, which actually knocked the Sandstorm away. He and Ash were surprised though when there was no sign of Steelix.

"Where Steelix go?" Harry muttered.

"Oh crud look!" Iriana pointed, but it was too late. The Pokémon had dug underground when the Sandstorm started and now launched himself from directly under Charizard, slamming into him with his weight. Charizard wasn't down for the count yet and fired a close-range Overheat straight at his attacker.

Both Pokémon landed with a heavy 'thud', neither one moving. Both of their Trainers were yelling at their Pokémon, trying to wake them up. Slowly, sluggishly, they both raised themselves though everyone could see that they wouldn't be able to fully get up. Then, just like a domino effect, Charizard fell first followed closely by Steelix.

"Charizard and Steelix are unable to battle. However, as Charizard fell first, the winner is Champion Lance!"

The crowd started cheering while both Ash and Lance went to their tired Pokémon. They whispered something and recalled them. The crowd quieted when they approached each other. Ash put out his hand first with a smile on his face, "Thanks for the great battle; we'll have to do that again someday."

"Indeed we will Ash. I look forward to it." Lance said with a smile of his own as he shook hands with Ash. The audience started cheering once again, along with the Legendaries at Ash's response to losing.

"What an ending folks and what great sportsmanship between two fantastic Trainers! I hope I'm around when they battle it out again. The Doubles Finals will start in one hour, which should be enough time for the League Team to repair the arena. An announcement will be played when you should return to your seats. That is all." The announcer shut off his mike.

"Let's go find Ash." Harry said, standing up and recalling his Pokémon.

Iriana nodded, recalling hers, "Yeah that was a great battle no matter who won or lost."