Naruto: Johto Journeys

by KitsuneDragon

Naruto is a young trainer who wishes to become a Pokemon Master. With his trusty Cyndaquil by his side can he overcome the challenges he will face and make his dream a reality? Pairing: NarutoxHinata and SasukexSakura.

31. Chapter 31:Bringing Down the House

Naruto: Johto Journeys

Chapter 31: Bringing down the House

"Pokemon" Normal speech

'Pokemon' Normal thoughts

"Pokemon" Pokemon that can talk

"Pokemon" Flashbacks

"Pokemon" Pokedex speech

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I don't own Pokemon. I do however, own this laptop and this story and NONE OF YOU CAN HAVE IT!

A/N: Pokemon X and Y are AWESOME AS FUCKING HELL! The 3D, the new features...the Diagonal Movement (the highlight of it all lol), it's all so frickin' amazing.

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Indigo Plateau-Pokemon Grand Festival Stadium

Hinata and Espeon walked into the viewing area of the stadium and sat down on her chair, her legs slightly shaking as the adrenalin left her body. She patted the sides of her face to wake herself up.

'I can't believe it!' She thought as she looked at her Psychic-type Pokemon. "I'm in the semi-finals of the Pokemon Grand Festival." The gravity of her achievement suddenly crashed down on her and a great big smile slowly stretched across her face.

"I MADE IT TO THE SEMI-FINALS!" She cheered, scooping up her partner Pokemon in her arms and jumping up and down. Espeon released an elated cry alongside its trainer.

"Espeooooon!" The Sun Pokemon licked the side of Hinata's face and the girl giggled as her Pokemon's tongue tickled her cheek. She and Espeon then stopped cheering when the young Hyuga felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Hikari, Sora and Sakura all standing behind her with their Pokemon. Hinata set down Espeon as the Eeveelution went to celebrate with the other three Pokemon.

Hikari, Sora, Sakura and Hinata all grinned widely at each other.

"We're such badasses." Sora stated.

"That's not even required to be said. It's understood." Hikari agreed.

Hinata and Sakura nodded readily before the four engaged in a group hug. After the small period of jumping and shouting in celebration of how far they had come, the four and their Pokemon exited through the back exit.

"So what do you say we go out and eat to celebrate?" Sakura suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea." Hinata nodded in agreement. Her stomach found no need to disagree, voicing its opinion in the form of a loud growl. Hinata blushed in embarrassment as her friends and Pokemon laughed. "All that battling and stuff really makes me hungry. For some reason I'm craving ramen."

"Naruto must have rubbed off on you more than you thought." Sakura teased, flicking the Hyuga's nose.

"Nyah." Hinata stuck her tongue out in response like the mature thirteen year old that she was. Hikari and Sora looked at the other two coorindators with sheepish looks on their faces, scratching the backs of their heads in nervousness.

"Sorry guys, but I still feel a bit guilty over what happened with Ino. I'm going back to the Pokemon Centre to check on her." Hikari said with an apologetic bow. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Hinata replied with a nod of understanding.

"We'll come too after we finish eating." Sakura added. Hikari nodded and the blue haired girl ran off in the direction of the Indigo Plateau's Pokemon Centre. Sakura then noticed Sora's own nervous expression.

"You too, Sora-san?" Hinata asked with a small frown. Sora grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry. But remember I made that bet with Mai-sa...Mai-chan." Sora corrected himself. "I promised to take her out for dinner tonight."

"So you're taking her on a date?" Sakura asked with her green eyes shining with awe. "Wow you must be so nervous! What are you going to where? You better pick a good place to eat or Mai-san will hate you! Oh what WILL you eat?! Do you even know what Mai-san likes? What are you going to do after? TELL ME EVERYTHING BOY!" Sakura roared as she gripped Sora's shoulders and shook him back and forth.

"Sakura-san." Hinata gripped her pink haired friends and stopped her from shaking the brown haired boy. Sora dizzily stumbled away fromthe two girls and shook his head from side to side to calm his head which felt like it was spinning. "I'm sure Sora-san will do fine on his date with Mai-san. Besides...it's just dinner."

Sora nodded his head and then smiled in thanks to the pale eyed girl. Hinata smiled back and nodded her head. "Alright, well I'm off. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Sora-san!" Was the simultaneous cry from both girls.

"Mega!"

"Espeon!"

Espeon and Meganium voiced their own cries of support to the blue eyed Ninetails user. Sora raised his arm skyward, displaying a thumbs up to his friends before he and his Ninetails ran off into the distance to go and look for one Mai Shiranui. Hinata and Sakura then looked to each other and shrugged.

"Guess it's just us." Sakura said.

"Just us for what?"

The girls and their Pokemon turned around, their necks feeling slightly strained from the whiplash. "Naruto-kun?!"

"Hey Hina-chan." The blonde gave a small wave to his girlfriend and Typhlosion did the same to Espeon. "I saw your battle against Diana, you did a really great job."

Hinata smiled with a blush on her face from the praise. "Thank you. So Sakura-san and I were about to go eat, are you both too busy to eat with us?"

"Teme?" Naruto turned to Sasuke with a raised eyebrow. Sasuke looked down at Feraligatr and the Big Jaw Pokemon gave its trainer a stiff nod. Sasuke sighed before nodding his head.

"Hn."

"Yup, we're in. Let's go!"

"I've been having a craving for ramen today so we can go look for a ramen shop here in the Indigo Plateau." Hinata said before Naruto suddenly grabbed her and hoisted her into the air a bit.

"Hina-chan you're the best girlfriend ever!" He cried anime tears of joy.

"Anytime...Naruto...kun" Hinata's face turned a light shade of blue and she could have sworn she heard her bones creak. "Naruto-kun...choking...not breathing." She managed to gasp out as Naruto's tight grip on her body was actually a bit TOO tight. Naruto chuckled at that before releasing his girlfriend and setting her down.

"Sorry, but really I am proud of you for coming so far." Naruto grinned his trademark foxy grin before turning to Sakura. "You too Sakura-chan. Even the teme was impressed, weren't you teme?"

Sasuke turned away with a bored look on his face. "Hn."

"Awww Sasuke-kun is so nice." Sakura said as she hugged her crush's arm. The raven haired boy scowled slightly before pushing her away. "So Hinata do you know where the ramen shop is?"

Hinata sweatdropped at her pink haired friend's question, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "Ummm...no."

Everyone face faulted. "Hina-chaaaan, the ramen!" Naruto made 'grabby motions' with his hands as anime tears flowed from his face. The other three trainers and the Pokemon all gave exasperated sighs as they watched the sulking blonde. Sakura then grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar and dragged him across the ground.

"Come on, we're going to look for a ramen shop. Hinata, Sasuke-kun, let's go."

Hinata and Sasuke looked between each other and shrugged before following after the other two Pokemon trainers, their Pokemon partners following behind them.

After much searching and much whining, on Naruto's part, they eventually came across a ramen shop.

"Five bowls of Grumpig ramen, extra noodles please!" Naruto hollered as he sat himself down on a chair. The waitress who was serving them nodded her head and scribbled it down before turning to the others.

"I'll have mine with Corpfish." Hinata said.

"Same here." Sasuke and Sakura spoke simultaneously.

"Very well. Your orders will be out in a few moments." The waitress bowed her head. "Though I must inform the two gentlemen that you will be paying for your own meals."

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You see since the Grand Festival is on now, Pokemon Coordinators are allowed to eat for free, but anyone who is a non-competitor will have to pay. Therefore, Haruno-san and Hyuga-san will be the only ones to get free meals." The waitress explained as she set down a few bowls on the ground for the four partner Pokemon who were sitting off to the side. "The reason for me telling you this is that there have been many a case in which customers have come with the misunderstanding that if you are friends and/or family with a coordinator you will also receive free food and drink."

"Ah." The four trainers nodded their heads in understanding.

"Ok, that's no problem. We got money." Naruto took out a relatively large coin purse that was filled to the brim with Poke. The jingling of the golden coins could be heard as Naruto shook his Politoed themed wallet. Sasuke took out a regular black wallet and did the same. The waitress nodded before leaving the table. A period of silence passed between the four trainers, merely watching their Pokemon eat their food.

"So you guys are doing really well." Naruto said. "To make it to the semi-finals already, you guys have really come a long way from when you started off a year ago. Hina-chan, by the way, badass use of that Psybeam and Psychic combo. It was all like, straight shot but then you used Psychic and branched it off. I was like all 'MIND FUCK!'" Naruto exclaimed as he made exaggerated movements with his arms.

"Thanks." Hinata laughed at her boyfriend's excited form.

"Oh and Sakura-chan you should have heard Sasuke. He was spouting stuff about how much confidence he had in your performance saying it was an obvious win against Sasame and stuff." Sakura blinked in confusion, tilting her head as she glanced at Sasuke.

"Is that true, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. "You had...faith...in me?"

Sasuke didn't reply initially, glancing everywhere but at Sakura's face. "Hn. It was obvious you would have won, I don't see how that is surprising. I state facts."

"Really Sasuke-kun?"

"You've fought stronger opponents than that girl. You went up with the dobe to take on Ho-oh, you took on a ROOT admin like Sapphire and not to mention you had out Meganium. Your ace and your strongest Pokemon out of the entirety of your team. There was no doubt that you would not lose." The black haired boy replied. Sakura's eyes were wide at Sasuke's words, her green eyes staring into his own coal coloured ones. The son of a gym leader pursed his lips and averted his gaze as he suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Sakura smiled warmly at her crush and nodded her head. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"For what?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"For having such confidence in me. I know that a year ago when I was just a pitiful fangirl of yours I wasn't your ideal teammate, in fact I knew I couldn't have even been your teammate since you were always a loner. I worked really hard to gain your approval and for you to recognize my strength as a trainer and a coordinator so that I wouldn't hold you back." Sakura wiped away the tears of happiness that lined her eyes. "It's just...it really makes me happy to know that I finally became strong enough to have you recognize me like this. So thank you for having confidence in me and for acknowledging me."

Sasuke clicked his tongue as he occasionally glanced back and forth between the table and Sakura's smiling face.

"No...No problem."

Hinata and Naruto looked at their two friends before glancing to one another. Hinata gave off a small smile while Naruto's foxy grin reared its head once more.

"Looks like we got a little chink in the Uchiha's armour." Naruto whispered. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Sasuke-san and Sakura-san have really gotten closer." Hinata whispered back. "They look really cute together."

"Meh, the teme's gotta first learn that he actually likes girls first." Naruto and Hinata released stifled snickers.

"So Naruto-kun, how has your training and Sasuke-san's training been going?" Hinata asked. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and shrugged.

"It's fine."

Sakura and Hinata gave blank stares at the two Pokemon League qualifiers.

"Really?" Sakura deadpanned. "That's it? Fine?"

"No description of any tactics or anything like that?" Hinata added with a bit of annoyance in her tone.

"We do have that in mind, but the truth is that the teme and I have actually been training separately. We only meet up when we need to Trade Evolve some of our Pokemon. We've been putting a lot of focus on not just our main teams, but all the other Pokemon we've caught over the course of the journey we took." Naruto explained.

Now this got the girls' attentions.

"Huh?" They replied with the utmost intelligence in their tones.

"Yup." Naruto and Sasuke nodded in confirmation.

"The dobe and I realized that the Silver Conference Victory Tournament is composed of numerous rounds. You have the qualification rounds which consists of three separate rounds. Then you have the actual battling rounds, but since the competition may change in level we decided that it would be best to hold out our best six for when we reach higher up in the battles. Maybe the the quarter-finals." Sasuke explained. "We have been training the other Pokemon we have caught to ensure that we show variety in our teams and this will also prevent other competitors from keeping a fix on our strategies and Pokemon."

"But that sounds like such a big risk, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said. "With you and Naruto training your other Pokemon it will put a bit of a disadvantage for you guys since you aren't used to battling with those Pokemon."

"What do you think we'll be spending three months doing? It's only been two or three days since we split up and went our separate ways. It's only because you girls came so far in the Grand Festival that we came to see how it would end with our own eyes." Naruto said. "After that, it's back to the training grounds."

"I see." Both girls looked at each other before turning when they saw the waitress from earlier resting their ramen bowls on the table before them. A pause was made to allow them to eat, or to wolf them down in a matter of seconds and order more in Naruto's case. The four then ate in silence, their Pokemon doing the same. The sounds of idle chatter surrounded them from the other customers and the people outside.

Once they finished eating, the four trainers and their Pokemon rose from their chairs and headed back outside and decided to take a stroll through the streets.

"So are you two going to get any late night training in?" Naruto asked as he held hands with Hinata. The dark haired girl gained a tint of red on her cheeks. She was still new to the whole 'together' aspect of hers and Naruto's relationship so of course she would still be a bit embarrassed by holding hands with the blonde in public.

"Well I don't know. Meganium is fine and I don't want to tire her out, I mean, even if the Pokemon Centre does fully recover Pokemon I don't want to do anything unnecessary."

"Same here, Naruto-kun." Hinata nodded in agreement with the pink haired girl. "Espeon has worked incredibly hard these past few battles and I think training wouldn't exactly be the first thing they want to do after already defeating so many opponents."

Espeon and Meganium smiled at their respective trainer's thoughtfulness towards them, nuzzling said trainers to personify their feelings. Sakura and Hinata smiled and patted the Pokemon on their heads.

"Sasuke-kun, you've been quiet...well more quiet than usual. Is something wrong?" Sakura asked. The black haired boy shook his head suddenly as his brain registered Sakura's voice.

"Hn. No, not really. I was just wondering about how it is going to play out when you take on your opponent, Sakura." Sasuke replied. Sakura blinked in confusion.

"Me?" She pointed a finger at herself. "Why such concern?" Sakura then got a teasing grin on her face as she slid in closer to her crush. "Don't tell me Sasuke-kun is finally getting feelings for me and worries about me and my poor Mega-chan? Isn't that right, Meganium, Feraligatr?"

The Big Jaw Pokemon and Herb Pokemon both released stifled cries of amusement as they saw Sasuke's face gain a twitch of annoyance, a small scowl present on his face. "Nothing of the sort." He denied quickly. Sakura chuckled before hugging Sasuke's arm. An action Sasuke actually did not repel much to Hinata and Naruto's amusement. The four Pokemon gained slightly perplexed looks as the normally 'no-touchy' Uchiha allowed Sakura to hang off of his arm.

"Awww, so mean Sasuke-kun." She pouted cutely. "But really though, why so focused on my match tomorrow?"

"Because, should you fight Hyuga you're going to have to come up with new strategies. You both know each other's Pokemon and strategies inside and out because of how long we've traveled together. However, even if you weren't to go up against Hyuga, those other two..."

"Hikari and Sora." Sakura informed the black haired boy of their names. Sasuke nodded.

"Hn. Yes, them...they both possess Fire-type Pokemon. They have the type advantage as Sora has a Ninetails and Hikari with her Flareon. Both possess a higher level of speed and not to mention they have Flash Fire as their abilities allowing them to perform those tactics where they run through their own attacks to create self-induced power boosts."

Sakura bit her lip as the words of the raven haired boy sunk in. She then turned to Naruto and Hinata.

"What do you guys think?" Sakura asked, though her eyes were focused on Naruto as she spoke. Naruto squinted his eyes in thought making him look very fox-like due to his whisker-like birthmarks. Naruto squeezed Hinata's hand lightly as his brain ran through battle simulations of his friend fighting with Meganium against the two powerful Fire-types.

"Sora's Ninetails knows Will-O-Wisp, Flamethrower, Psychic and Iron Tail. Hikari's Flareon has Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Quick Attack and Crunch." Naruto recalled from watching the previous matches. "Sakura your only form of salvation lies in Meganium's high defense and endurance as well as your Earthquake attack. Though you could use your ultimate move, Frenzy Plant, to take them down, you shouldn't risk it. If the attack misses or is countered you're basically a dead man walking because of the recharge drawback. Overgrow could give you an edge as well should you get weak enough, which is a logical guarantee since you will be up against Fire-types. To be safe, Sakura-chan, think over some strategies for Meganium to follow and counter Fire-type attacks as well as utilize Meganium's tough body. Despite Meganium being slow, no offense..."

"Meganium." The Herb Pokemon nodded its head to say there was no offense taken.

"...Meganium is very durable. Take advantage of that and I'm sure you'll be much closer to pulling off a win." Naruto explained. Sakura nodded to her battle oriented friends. However, the group then paused when they heard the staccato of footsteps against the cobblestone roads. A familiar voice then rang through the air, calling out to the four trainers and their Pokemon.

"OOOOOOOOIIII!" The male voice raced through the air and met their ears. The group blinked in confusion before turning around. Sakura, Meganium, Sasuke and Feraligatr remained confused, but surprise replaced the confusion for Naruto, Hinata, Espeon and Typhlosion. Running towards them, clad in a red hiker's outfit was none other than Akatsuchi. The chubby hiker trainer grinned widely and waved his arms in the air, the backpack on his back jumping up and down with his movements.

"Akatsuchi?!" The young Uzumaki and Hyuga exclaimed.

"Typhlosion?!"

"Espeon?!"

The black haired trainer stopped in front of the group, panting heavily and bending over to clutch his knees as he aimed to recover his breath. After a moment, the red clad hiker raised his head and grinned toothily at his friends.

"Hey guys." He greeted them. Hinata squealed with joy before hugging the young man. Hinata released Akatsuchi before he and Naruto clasped their hands and twisted slightly to lightly clash their shoulders against the other male's chest. The pound hug as it was more commonly known as. Naruto and Akatsuchi then separated and the blonde grinned at his friend.

"Akatsuchi, it's really good to see you man." Naruto then wiped his shoulder dry as he felt it was a bit moist. He then looked at the sweaty hiker and frowned. "Did you run all the way here?"

"No, I biked most of the way. It was only coming here to the Grand Festival area that I had to walk. The path to Victory Road, the original path to the Indigo Plateau is heavily guarded by the Uchiha police force and only allows trainers with the eight badges to pass through it so I had to take the long way around. The path that I'm sure the girls had to take."

Sakura and Hinata nodded. "Yeah, the Victory Road is locked off to everyone but League qualifying trainers." Sakura informed the group. "Coordinators and regular trainers can only get to this half of the Indigo Plateau by going up the winding path that leads here. Truth be told, Victory Road is actually the shorter of the two roads leading to this place."

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Obviously Sakura and Hinata weren't aware of the fact that there were numerous caverns and branching pathways within Victory Road that made the trip longer than how it originally was supposed to be.

"So what brings you here, Akatsuchi-san?" Sakura asked. Akatsuchi smirked.

"Well as you know, I left the group to start some work in the Ruins of Alph. I just finished my work there with the excavation team and so when I heard through the Radio on the Pokegear that you and Hinata made it through to the semi-finals of the Grand Festival Battle Rounds I knew I had get here as fast as I could. Hence the sweat. By the way bro, sorry about that." Akatsuchi pointed at the small dark spot that Naruto was still trying to dry out.

"No problem, Akatsuchi. Nothing a little washing machine can't fix, besides I could always just fly home get Kaa-chan to do it." Naruto replied. "By the way, I realized we never really went to the Ruins of Alph when we were traveling together."

"That's true." Hinata added. "What's it like?"

"I heard that it was the home of an ancient civilization and that there may have been a rare Pokemon that made its home there." Sakura pointed out. Sasuke didn't speak, but the mention of there being rare Pokemon at the Ruins of Alph caught his attention as he put a bit more effort into not tuning out the others at that point.

"Oh, guys it was awesome!" The hiker exclaimed. "The Ruins of Alph are composed of many different cavern-like structures that lead to a lower basement level. The excavation I was with, we explored those levels and found the walls were lined with really weird looking symbols." Akatsuchi removed his backpack and set it down before reaching into one of the front pockets and pulled out a small blue device.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

"Ty Ty?" The Volcano Pokemon looked at the device with a perplexed look.

"This is the Unknown Report. You see the symbols on the walls were actually carvings of the ancient Pokemon living within the ruins. Because of their complete enigmas to the Pokemon world they were labelled as Unknown. They are generally weak Pokemon, all of which are found at level five and their only move being Hidden Power, but despite being the same Pokemon, they all come in many different shapes." Akatsuchi activated the blue device and the Unknown Report's screen flickered before revealing an image of an Unknown 'A' on the screen.

"Oooooooo." Naruto, Hinata and Sakura drawled out, while Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow. The Pokemon released their various cries of awe as they looked at the screen. Akatsuchi swiped his finger across the screen as the different forms of the Unknown were shown to the other trainers and their partner Pokemon.

"As you can see, the Unknown are very unique looking types of Pokemon. We captured a few of each type of Unknown and so as a gift to you guys, I had contacted Professor Iruka to receive those four Unknown at his lab. You should be getting right about..." The Pokedex-es in the four trainers' pockets released beeps. "...now."

Naruto, Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke reached into their pockets and pulled out their respective Pokedex-es. The handheld encyclopedia's blue light flashed a few times before the trainers opened them up. The screens lit up as they activated and revealed an image of the respective Unknown that were given to them. Sasuke and Sakura had gotten Unknown 'S', Hinata had an Unknown 'H' and Naruto had an Unknown 'N'.

Unknown the Symbol Pokemon. A Psychic-type Pokemon. Their shapes look like hieroglyphs on ancient tablets. It is said that the two are somehow related.

"Cool." Naruto stated. Sasuke gave a nod of thanks to the rotund young man while Sakura and Hinata were more vocal with their thanks. Akatsuchi smirked at his friends.

"No problem. When I contacted Professor Iruka, he was ecstatic. He also says that he's been tracking the records of the Pokedex entries he had given your graduating class. Apparently you four are the only ones to be taking this Pokedex completion task seriously as none of the other members of your class has even reached the one hundred mark. He's very proud of you guys." Akatsuchi reported.

The four trainers nodded. "Oh and one more gift."

"There's more?!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed. Akatsuchi nodded.

"Well there isn't a Fossil Revival lab in the Johto region and Kanto is kind of blocked off for reconstruction on the Route leading to it. Not to mention the SS. Anne is also undergoing upgrades so you can't sail to Vermillion City from Olivine City just yet." Akatsuchi dug through his backpack before pulling out four items. "These are for Naruto and Sasuke since you girls wouldn't really be that interested in wanting fossils, I assume."

"Not to mention it's a bit too late to take in a new Pokemon for the Grand Festival." Hinata said. "So what are they?"

In Akatsuchi's hands there were two amber coloured stones. Within the rocks, small pieces of bone and flesh dotted the interior. Alongside the amber rocks were two fossil stones. The first fossil had a large spiral shaped seashell and the second looked like a shell as well, only this one was more dome-shaped.

"These are fossil remnants of Pokemon I found within the Ruins of Alph. Rock Smash is very handy in those situations." Akatsuchi chuckled. "The Old Amber, the reddish gold rocks, they contain the remnants of the ancient Pokemon known as Aerodactyl."

"Aerodactyl?" Naruto and Sasuke were wide eyed. Akatsuchi nodded.

"Yup. Knowing you both would want such a cool looking Pokemon, I looked around for quite a long time. It was hard enough finding one of these babies, but two was like I was blessed by Arceus." The hiker handed the Old Ambers to Naruto and Sasuke who graciously took it.

"And what of those other two?"

"Well these, I only found one of each. I tried to look for others, but I came up empty-handed so it looks you'll have to choose one or the other. The one with the spiral-shaped shell is the Helix Fossil while the dome-shaped shell is the Dome Fossil. Revive the Helix Fossil and you will get an Omanyte and an eventual Omastar when you evolve it. The Dome Fossil gives you Kabuto and its evolution, Kabutops."

"DOME FOSSIL!" Sasuke and Naruto yelled as they placed their hands on the Dome Fossil.

"No way teme that Kabutops is mine!" Naruto exclaimed.

"In your dreams, dobe. Only a true Pokemon trainer should be able to wield the power of a Kabutops. The Uchiha are the only ones capable of doing so and unlocking their full potential." Sasuke retorted.

"Oh, you wanna go teme?!" Naruto roared.

"Like you could win, dobe." Sasuke growled back.

The two rivals butted heads and their eyes locked, anime lightning sparking between their heated gazes. They gritted their teeth as they pushed back against each other before separating. Akatsuchi, the girls and the Pokemon all looked at the two teenagers with sweatdrops forming on the backs of their heads.

"Well...it seems some things haven't changed with regards to these two." Akatsuchi muttered.

The sweatdrops then grew as they saw Naruto and Sasuke planting their fists in their palms.

"Rock...Paper...Scissors...SHOOT!"

Naruto's face broke out into a foxy grin as Sasuke scowled in annoyance.

"Scissors beats Paper, teme. Snip Snip Motherfucker." Naruto said with glee before swiping the Dome Fossil from Akatsuchi's hands. Sasuke's scowl deepened as he took the Helix Fossil from the hiker. The two boys put the fossils and Old Ambers away in their backpacks.

"Well...now that that's over and done with, what have you guys been up to other than kicking ass and taking names?"

"Training for the Pokemon League." Naruto and Sasuke replied simultaneously. Akatsuchi smiled at the two younger boys however being caught up in the excitement of seeing his friends again he had only just noticed the fact that Hinata was standing extremely close to Naruto and that they were holding hands. The dark eyed hiker raised an eyebrow before his eyes widened in realization.

He stepped back with a look of shock on his face. "No way!"

"What?" The four trainers tilted their heads in confusion with their Pokemon. If Akatsuchi wasn't as surprised as he was, he would have found the simultaneous action to be very amusing. He then pointed a finger between Naruto and Hinata.

"You two are...?" He waggled his pinky finger and Naruto and Hinata blushed lightly at how blunt their friend was being, but nodded.

"Yeah."

Akatsuchi grinned before wrapping them both in a massive bear hug. "It's about damn time! I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Th-Thanks...Akatsuchi." Hinata gasped out. Suddenly the feeling of her spine beginning to break raced through her body.

"Akatsuchi...crushing...spine...let...go!" Naruto wheezed out. Akatsuchi chuckled in embarrassment before releasing the two. Naruto and Hinata audibly shifted their backs back into place, the cracks echoing slightly.

"Still though, really happy for you guys." The young hiker smiled. "So when did this happen?"

"About a few days ago just before the teme and I left Ecruteak City to go and head through Victory Road. Hina-chan and Sakura-chan stayed behind because there was a Pokemon Contest there." Naruto explained.

"Hmmm, I see." Akatsuchi crossed his arms and nodded in understanding. He then glanced between Hinata and Sakura.

"Well I'm expecting some major ass kicking deliveries from you guys tomorrow when I sit in the stands."

"What else would you expect?" Sakura asked rhetorically.

"I'll do my best." Was the Hyuga's reply.

"Well, I'm gonna go ahead and see if I can find an available room in the Pokemon Centre. If not, I guess it's back to camping like back in the old days." The red clad young man said.

"I'll come with you, Akatsuchi-san. I need to go back to the Pokemon Centre as well and go through those strategies to fight off some Fire-types. Come on Meganium." Akatsuchi, Sakura and Meganium parted from the group and headed off in the direction of the Pokemon Centre.

"Teme, why don't you go help her with that. I'm sure she'll be very appreciative of it." Naruto waggled his eyebrows at his rival. The son of a gym leader scowled and didn't even offer his rival a reply before going off in some random direction, Feraligatr following him from behind.

"I think you struck a nerve, Naruto-kun." Hinata frowned. Naruto waved his hand lazily.

"Ah he'll get over it. Besides it's so much fun to tease him now that we know he's not a heartless bitch anymore. No, Sasuke Uchiha is now a bitch with a heart." Naruto chuckled and Hinata rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, slapping him lightly on his shoulder.

"Don't be mean Naruto-kun."

"Sorry, Hina-chan." Naruto scratched the back of head as he noticed the light glare his girlfriend was giving him. The light of the setting sun was slowly disappearing, the fiery colours soon replaced by the darkness of night and the shining of the silver moon and twinkling stars.

The two trainers and their Pokemon walked through the Indigo Plateau and settled themselves in a small park area, sitting beneath a tree while marveling at the infinite expanse of the space made by Palkia.

"Wow...this place really knew what they were doing when they chose the top of this mountainous region to be the location for the Pokemon League." Naruto said as his sapphire orbs looked up at the night sky. Hinata nodded in agreement. She leaned to the side so that her head rested on Naruto's shoulder and the blonde responded by wrapping his arm around her. Typhlosion and Espeon looked on from the side and smiled at their trainers.

"Ty Ty!" The Volcano Pokemon yelled out. Naruto turned and glared at the Fire-type with a blush on his face.

"Yeah yeah keep your flames down!" Naruto yelled back to his partner Pokemon as he saw him and Espeon with amused looks on their faces. The pale eyed girl blinked in confusion at the Pokemon before looking up at the blue eyed trainer.

"What did Typhlosion say?" Hinata asked. Naruto looked down at Hinata with a light blush on his face, his eyes then zeroed in on her lips as Typhlosion's comment came to mind.

"H-H-He said...'Kiss Her'." He replied with an even more intense blush present on his face. Hinata's eyes widened before breaking out into a giggling fit with a blush on her face. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just that you look cute when you get flustered." Hinata replied. Naruto formed his trademark foxy grin before leaning down and capturing Hinata's lips with his own. The pair of teenagers held the kiss for a minute before parting.

"Who's flustered now?" Naruto laughed as he pointed out the blush on Hinata's own face. Hinata poked her index fingers together as a bit of her sky demeanor came back to her. She pouted cutely as she glanced at the blonde trainer.

"So mean, Naruto-kun."

"Mah Mah, Hina-chan, you know I love you. I'm teasing." Naruto replied. "Anyway, Hinata, I just wanted to say again that I'm really proud of how far you've come in the Grand Festival."

"Thanks Naruto-kun. It means a lot to me to hear you say that." She replied with a small smile on her face. "I'm going to do my best to win, just like you when you fight in the Silver Conference."

Naruto patted Hinata on the head. "I'm sure you'll do fine. And if you lose, and I'm not saying you will, just know that I know you did your hardest out there. Your Pokemon have grown really strong over the past year, I still remember that stuttering little girl who still needed help with Pokemon battle tactics."

"Well I'm better now thanks to you. You taught me everything I know after all." Hinata pecked Naruto on the cheek before a determined look crossed her face. "I won't let you down, Naruto-kun." 'And I will show you that I am worthy of your praise, Otou-sama.'

"I know you won't, Hina-chan." Naruto nodded to the young coordinator. He then released a yawn and stretched out his taut muscles. He raised his hand and looked down at the Pokegear that was attached to his wrist. The time showed that it was about half past ten. "Well, it's getting late. Let's head back to this side's Pokemon Centre and get some sleep."

"Ok...Typhlosion! Espeon! Come on we're heading back!" The two Pokemon lazily rose up from their sitting positions and nodded, walking back to the Pokemon Centre with their trainers.

---

The Next Day

The golden rays of the noonday sun poked through the clouds, the warmth filling the Grand Festival stadium once more. The audience members quickly filled the stands and not a single seat was left empty. This was because today was the most important day of the Pokemon Grand Festival. After three harsh days, the finale of the Grand Festival had reared its head.

Two semi-final battles would take place followed by the finals in which the two greatest Pokemon coordinators of the tenth Grand Festival Tournament would fight one another for the coveted title of being the champion of the Grand Festival and be awarded the Ribbon Cup.

"Good luck out there, Hina-chan." Naruto pecked his girlfriend on her lips and the pale coordinator returned the gesture of affection.

"Alright." She then turned to see Sasuke and Feraligatr were walking out the door with her boyfriend and his own partner Pokemon. Akatsuchi gave both girls a pat on their shoulders to show his support before following his fellow male trainers outside of the viewing area to take their seats in the stands. As the guys left, Hikari and Sora walked up to their fellow coordinators, their respective Fire-type Pokemon trotting beside them.

"Well guys, it's been fun." Sora smiled at his friends. "But starting from now, I'm not holding back. I'm gonna kick every one of your asses and get me that Ribbon Cup."

"In your dreams Sora." Sakura retorted with a challenging look in her eyes. "Meganium and I are gonna wipe the floor with every single one you. Isn't that right, Mega-chan."

Meg Meganium." The Herb Pokemon's golden eyes blazed with battle lust, ready to fight and make its trainer a champion.

"Cool your jets guys. We still need to see who is fighting whom in our battles. THEN we can settle on ass kicking." Hikari stated with a calm tone of voice.

"Hikari-san is right." Hinata agreed with her blue haired friend. The Flareon trainer smiled at the younger girl in thanks for her support in the current conversation. The four semi-finalists then nodded to one another before looking up at the screen which showed the purple haired beauty that was Anko Mitarashi.

---

The voluptuous announcer took her place in the centre of the arena. She twirled the microphone in her hands before tapping the headset on the side of her head.

"Everything set?" She asked the camera crew.

"Yup, Anko-chan." The television and radio crews all gave the woman a thumbs up and the brown eyed woman nodded.

"Then let's do this shit." Anko spun her microphone in her hands before gripping it tightly and raising it to her mouth. "HELLO INDIGO PLATEAU! ARE YOU READY FOR SOME ACTION?!"

The crowd raised their hands and cheered wildly.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU BITCHES! I SAID ARE YOU READY FOR SOME ACTION?!" The crowd cheered even louder to the point that it was possible that some were now on the verge of hurting their throats. Some of the fans even went so far as to jump up and down on their seats, especially the members of the audience who were children. Anko chuckled at their reactions.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about." She spoke into her microphone once more. "Now then, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages and Pokemon of all forms...it has been a long three days since the beginning of this energetic competition, but sadly it is about to come to a close." A chorus of groans of disappointment filled the arena. "But with that, it's our pleasure to have you people experience the greatest Grand Festival experience you can imagine. So without further ado, we bring to you the semi-finals of the eleventh annual Kanto-Johto Grand Festival!"

The energy and cheers rose up once more to extraordinary levels before Anko pointed to the small side tunnel. "The first round of the final three battles of the Grand Festival will be between...Sakura Haruno and Sora Yasuharu!"

A moment after the announcement, Sakura and Sora emerged from their entry way alongside each other. The blue eyed boy met the gaze of the green eyed girl, both wearing looks of determination on their faces.

"This is the final frontier, Sakura-san. I'm not going to hold back against you, even if you are my friend." The spiky haired boy informed her.

"Same here. Meganium and I are gonna do whatever it takes to beat you."

Sora and Sakura then bumped fists before taking their respective positions on the arena floor. The screens around the stadium lit up as they activated. The profile images of Sakura and Sora appeared and the doughnut shaped rings filled themselves with yellow pixels. The timer's numbers blinked on and off, switching from 0:00 to 5:00.

"Alright, five minutes are up there on the clock. Remember the rules of losing. You lose by either knockout, point loss or lowest amount of points by the time the five minutes are up. Sora Yasuharu and Sakura Haruno, are you ready?!"

The two coordinators nodded as they gripped the Poke Balls in their hands tightly. They tapped the centre buttons, the spheroids expanding in their hands.

"THE FIRST ROUND OF THE JOHTO-KANTO GRAND FESTIVAL SEMI-FINALS WILL NOW BEGIN! LET'S GO!" Anko announced. Both trainers immediately responded as the horn blared through the loud speakers to signify the time to start.

"Meganium, I choose you!"

"Go, Ninetails!"

The two Pokemon appeared in flashes of white light and their images appeared beneath the image of their respective trainers on the big screen.

"Alright Ninetails, let's start off fast and strong! Flamethrower!"

"NINE!" The Fox Pokemon unleashed a mighty tongue of orange-yellow fire from its open maw. The fire streaked across the stadium grounds towards the Grass-type Pokemon.

"Dodge it and then use Petal Dance!" Meganium nodded and its relatively heavy weight body ran out of the way of the super effective attack. Sora's points went down my a marginal amount causing the boy to grit his teeth in annoyance.

Skidding along the ground as it slowed itself down, the Grass-type type reared its head back before thrusting it forward. The pink and white petals around its neck flew forth at a rapid pace, regenerating and being used as weapons once more. The flurry of petals moved towards Ninetails, but the Fox Pokemon used its slender build and quick reflexes to avoid the strikes. Sakura watched as her points went down by a marginal amount to make it equal to Sora's.

"Backflip underneath the next wave and use Will-O-Wisp to burn it!" Sora commanded. Ninetails leaped over the second wave of the Petal Dance attack and performed a backflip. Once it completed the acrobatic movement, the evolved form of Vulpix fanned out its nine tails and ghostly blue fireballs formed at the tip of each tail. The tails then snapped forward and each one of the nine spheroids launched themselves through the air.

"Come on Meganium, use that Petal Dance!" Sakura commanded. Meganium nodded and the Herb Pokemon sent its third wave of petals at Ninetails's attack. The petals burst into flame upon contact with the sapphire orbs and thus the attack was blocked. However, as the black ashes and blue embers fluttered through the air, Ninetails and Sora saw Meganium was panting heavily in exertion. The saurian Pokemon stumbled to the sides a bit and that's when Sora realized Meganium was confused.

"Alright. Ninetails we won't hold back this time. Use Will-O-Wisp again and then strike it with Flamethrower!" Ninetails nodded. Sakura's eyes widened as she saw her stumbling and confused Pokemon about to be struck by the nine ghostly blue fireballs once more.

"Meganium, dodge it!" The Grass-type gritted its teeth but ended up just smashing its head against the hard earth. Blood flowed from its damage head before it was sent skidding backwards as the Will-O-Wisp attack struck it in the chest. Meganium panted heavily, the cauterized areas of green flesh present on its body.

Ninetails then took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully. "NINETAILS!" The Fox Pokemon exclaimed as it released its Flamethrower attack.

"Dodge it, Meganium! Please!" Sakura pleaded with her confused Pokemon. Burned and bleeding, the Herb Pokemon shook its head as it once more slammed its skull against the ground. However, due to hurting itself in confusion it had managed to stumble and fall on the ground. The Flamethrower attack passed harmlessly over its head and crashed into the high walls of the stadium and created a small explosion. The audience members in the stands moved a bit farther back to avoid being assaulted by the flames.

"And out of sheer luck, Meganium's confused status has allowed it to survive another round. Sora's points took a big hit due to missing what could have been a decisive super effective attack. However, Sakura's points are faring that well either." Anko looked at the screen and pointed at it. On the screen it showed Sora's points were only a just above the quarter mark while Sakura's points were already near the halfway point.

Meganium gritted its teeth shook its head as it finally snapped out of confusion.

"Meg Meganium!" The Herb Pokemon stomped its feet in defiance, ready to fight. Sakura grinned.

"We're not down yet, Sora!"

"I can see that." Sora grinned back. "Alright Ninetails, Flamethrower again!"

"Dodge it and use Earthquake!" Meganium complied as it ducked beneath the Flamethrower attack and once the flames completely passed, the Grass-type reared up on its hind legs, bending its raised forelegs.

"MEGA!" The Herb Pokemon roared as it slammed its legs down on the ground and the force of the impact resulted in the earth beginning to the shake. The force of the earth was truly a sight to behold as the earth cracked and broke apart. Ninetails stumbled around as the shifting earth ruined its sense of balance, but that mattered little in the end as the force of the earth suddenly racked its body. Ninetails released a cry of pain as the seismic waves rattled it to its bones.

The super effective move has Ninetails stumbling around a bit before it released a bit of vomit from the nausea.

"Ooooo and that's something you don't want to see. Sakura's Earthquake attack strikes home and Ninetails coughs up its dinner." Anko informed the viewers.

"Hang tough Ninetails and use Psychic!" Ninetails's red eyes flashed with a bright electric blue colour before focusing on Meganium and then with a howl, a powerful burst of telekinetic energy was launched from its body. The blue energy was visible to the naked eye and Meganium's golden eyes widened before it ran out of the way of the attack.

"Use Earthquake again!"

"Jump into the air and then use Flamethrower!" Ninetails leaped into the air just as Meganium's forelimbs slammed down on the battlefield once more. The Fox Pokemon then took aim and exhaled a massive torrent of fire from its jaws.

"Meganium, jump back!"

"Use Psychic to manipulate the flames! Don't let up!" Sora commanded. Sakura gritted her teeth.

"Duck and Roll!" She ordered to her Pokemon. Ninetails's eyes took on the electric blue shine once more before an aura of blue encased the Flamethrower attack that Meganium had jumped back to avoid. Forced to duck immediately after, the Herb Pokemon sweated due to the heat as the tongue of flame seemed to gain a life of its own and aimed to strike it once more. The Flamethrower attack slithered through the air like an Arbok before shooting off towards Meganium once more, who quickly ducked and rolled to the side to avoid the incoming attack.

"Run towards Ninetails! Close the distance between you two!" Meganium nodded at its trainer's words and took off towards the Fox Pokemon. Ninetails continuously sent the manipulated Flamethrower attack at Meganium again and again, but the Herb Pokemon avoided the attack again and again. And again and again, Sora's points steadily dropped until it reached to the half way mark, at which point Meganium closed the distance between itself and Ninetails.

The Fox Pokemon and Sora's eyes were wide with shock as Meganium released a battlecry.

"Spin around and hit it with your hind legs!" Sakura commanded. Meganium did just that, rotating on its forelimbs, the Herb Pokemon spun around so that it was facing away from Ninetails but then lashed out with a devastating mule kick with its hind legs. A small yet audible 'clack' was heard as Ninetails was struck against its lower jaw. The lack of focus resulted in the manipulated Flamethrower attack being reduced to embers as it dispersed in midair and Ninetails being sent into the air.

"Ninetails, counter with Iron Tail!" Sora yelled.

"TAILS!" The Fox Pokemon righted itself in the air before flipping to gain momentum with the aid of gravity. The nine tails shone with silver light before crashing down harshly against the head of Meganium.

"Dig into the ground and hold steady!" Sakura said. Meganium dug its feet into the earth and remained steady. A sight which shocked many as Meganium gritted its teeth to remain immovable. Ninetails gritted its teeth as well as it tried to push down on Meganium's body, to ground the defiant and stubborn Pokemon. However, Meganium's tenacity allowed it to survive the strike and Ninetails eventually lost its momentum and the Iron Tail's glow was lost.

"Bite down on its tails and slam it down! Follow up with Body Slam and Earthquake!" Sakura ordered. Meganium pushed against Ninetails's rear appendages and Sora could only watch as Meganium opened its jaws and bit down on one of the nine luxurious tails. Blood decorated its teeth and tongue and the snap of a tail bone was heard by the canine and saurian Pokemon.

"Meeeeeganium!" The Herb Pokemon slammed Ninetails harshly into the ground and then reared up on its hind legs and slammed down harshly on the Fox Pokemon's body to perform Body Slam. Ninetails released a yelp of pain as the weight of the Grass-type bore down on its body. Bones creaked, but Ninetails's durability prevented its bones from breaking...much.

Meganium reared up on its hind legs once more to perform Earthquake, but Ninetails reacted very quickly.

"Use Iron Tail on its hind legs! Knock it off balance and then knock it away with Psychic to gain some distance!" Ninetails complied and quickly lashed out with its glowing tails. The tails as hard as iron slammed harshly against the two rear limbs of the Grass-type and the Fire-type Pokemon watched as Meganium collapsed onto the ground. Then with a deafening bark, Ninetails's eyes shifted from crimson to electric blue and a burst of telekinetic force slammed into Meganium's body and sent it skidding along the ground.

Meganium rose to its feet steadily and panted heavily, wincing as the burns from Will-O-Wisp still effected its body. Ninetails panted heavily as well and its leg muscles were visibly seizing up every now and then as a result of the paralysis effect of Body Slam affecting its body.

Both coordinators then looked up at the screens. Sora had lost approximately three quarters of his points while Sakura had lost just a bit more than that. Two minutes were ticking down on the clock.

"Alright, Meganium's lost enough health from all those blows. Then..." She smirked as she saw her weakened Pokemon's body glow with a green aura.

"And it looks like this battle is beginning to heat up in more ways than one!" Anko exclaimed. "With being struck so many times, Meganium has begun to resort to using its ability, Overgrow! For those of you that aren't aware, Overgrow is an ability found specifically in Grass-type starter Pokemon such as Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treeko, Turtwig, Snivy and recently discovered Chespin of the Kalos region! This ability allows these Grass-type titans to use their Grass-type moves to their utmost potential, upping their powers when in pinches such as these!" Anko turned to Meganium with a grin on her face. "Let's see how Sakura plans to utilize this new power!"

"Ninetails, attack with Flamethrower!" A tongue of fire burst forth from the powerful canine. Meganium leaped back slightly as the flame impacted with the ground. A small explosion occurred and Meganium released a cry of pain as flame and smoke covered its body. Ninetails and Sora smirked as they watched the cloud of dust.

"And we're done." Sora spoke with confidence. Sakura released a chuckle to portray her amusement, an act that made Sora and Ninetails direct confused looks in her direction. "What's so funny?"

"What's funny..." She started her reply. "...is that you think you've won...MEGANIUM NOW!" Everyone looked to see the smoke cloud had begun to disperse, but from the thinning cloud, a bright glow emanated from it. When the cloud finally dispersed, the judges, Anko, Sora, Ninetails and the audience saw Meganium standing strong and proud, the glow of Overglow still covering its body. However, that wasn't the only glow there. The petals around its neck were a bright gold, photons being taken in from the sun's rays and absorbed into the petal's cellular structure where the energy was being accumulated.

"Use Solarbeam!" Meganium nodded before the last remnants of necessary sunlight was absorbed into the petals around its neck. The Overgrow aura spiked in size as Meganium focused on the Fox Pokemon.

"Meeeeee-GA!" The Herb Pokemon unleashed the powerful Grass-type move and Ninetails and Sora were in awe at how fast the attack streaked across the arena floor.

"Counter with Psychic!" Ninetails sent a burst of telekinetic energy to try and take control of the rapidly moving Grass-type move, however the attack's brightness resulted in Ninetails being nearly blinded. The Fox Pokemon yelped as it squinted its eyes.

"Agh, the brightness is preventing Ninetails from focusing. No matter, use Flamethrower!" The tongue of orange-yellow flame sped forth from Ninetails's mouth and then clashed with Solarbeam. The two attacks fought against each other for dominance, but Solarbeam was edging forward. The fire and light energies began to accumulate at a single point however and so a massive explosion occurred. Ninetails took the brunt of the blast wave as the area of accumulation was closer to it and so Ninetails was sent skidding backwards rather quickly. Meganium skidded backwards only by a marginal amount.

"Now use Earthquake!"

"Jump and use Flamethrower!"

Sakura smirked as the earth shook from the Ground-type move. Her opponent's Pokemon was now airborne and unleashing its deadly Fire-type move at her Pokemon...and with that, she struck forth.

"Okay Meganium, wrap it up!" Meganium nodded as its eyes glowed a solid emerald green. The power of Overgrow only enhanced that glow. Meganium reared up on its hind legs and then slammed then down forcefully on the ground.

"FRENZY PLANT!"

"MEGANIUM!" The Herb Pokemon roared and suddenly the ground rumbled. Massive spiky tree roots burst forth from the ground that were at least three times the size of a Tyranitar.

"Incredible." Tsunade muttered. "I've been a Grass-type specialist for years and I've never been able to feast my eyes upon this attack."

"She really wants to end with a bang." Deidara added. Shizune and Mr. Pokemon had no words to describe the feeling of awe as they watched Meganium perform the ultimate move.

"Oh my!" Anko exclaimed. "It seems that Sakura has decided to pull out the stops on this one! Sakura has decided to use the ultimate Grass-type move, Frenzy Plant! A move that makes even attack like Solarbeam look like firecrackers in comparison!"

"Go Meganium!" Sakura ordered. Meganium's glowing green eyes narrowed at Ninetails and with a battle cry, the tree roots slammed against the Flamethrower attack. Sora and Ninetails were in shock as they saw Frenzy Plant tear through the Fire-type move like it was nothing. Ninetails was then slapped down to the ground by the massive tree roots and a small crater formed from the impact it made with the ground.

"Ninetails get up, hurry!" Sora exclaimed. Ninetails panted as it rose up to its feet, but the second tree root swept across the landscape and slammed into Ninetails with devastating force. The Fox Pokemon was then battered about through the air as one tree root sent it flying into the next. The final tree root then raced towards Ninetails.

"Hold it off with Iron Tail!" Ninetails gritted its teeth, but used it adrenalin to power through the pain and twisted, its shining silver tails crashing against the massive Grass-type attack. Ninetails grunted in effort as it held off the attack, but the root eventually overpowered it and Ninetails was sent tumbling through the air. Ninetails managed to right itself and landed on it paws, skidding backwards from the momentum.

"Use Flamethrower and run through it!" Ninetails unleashed a blast of flame and ran through it, the Flame Body ability it possessed allowing it to be rejuvenated by a significant amount in terms of energy but not in terms of health.

"MEGAAAAA!" The Herb Pokemon sent tree root after tree root at the Fox Pokemon. Ninetails used its amazing agility to avoid the majority of spiny tree roots, but suddenly one grabbed it by the hind legs. Ninetails's eyes widened before it was pulled down and slammed into the ground. It was then raised up once more and slammed into the ground again.

"NINETAILS!" Sora called out to his Pokemon. Sora's mind raced through battle plans in a matter of miliseconds, but he drew a blank in the end. After all, one does not simply counter the ultimate Grass-type move. However, he then noticed as Meganium released a grunt of pain as the burns from Will-O-Wisp affected it once more. The pain resulted in the tree root releasing Ninetails from its grip.

"Use Iron Tail on the ground to soften your landing! Then run on the tree roots and use the Fire Hammer tactic!" Sora exclaimed.

'Fire Hammer?' Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what that is, but I'll stop it before it can happen!"

"Meg." Meganium nodded in agreement with its trainer before attacking with Frenzy Plant. The massive pieces of spike covered bark raced towards Ninetails as it fell to earth. However, Ninetails quickly slammed its Iron Tail move into the ground, softening its landing and then tightened its powerful muscles to push off of the ground. Ninetails then landed atop one tree root and ran along it length.

The audience watched in awe as Ninetails ran along the length of the other tree roots, leaping from one to the next as they tried to take it down. Then Ninetails's speed increased as it unleashed a burst of flame from its mouth and ran through it. The Flash Fire ability allowed Ninetails to absorb the flames into its body and soon it was nothing more than a streak of flame, leaping from root to root of the Frenzy Plant attack.

"NOW ATTACK!" Sora exclaimed. Sakura's eyes widened as Ninetails leaped between the Frenzy Plant roots and then pushed off from the last root's surface and rocketed towards Meganium. Meganium's eyes widened in shock as the platinum blonde streak that was Ninetails flipped through the air, the tails glowing as it utilized Iron Tail and the flames covering its body setting those tails aflame.

"FIRE HAMMER!"

"NIIIINE..." Time seemed to slow down for Meganium and Sakura as the Fire-type brought down its shining, flaming tails. "...TAILS!" The powerful fusion of Steel-type and Fire-type moves crashed down on Meganium's body and an explosion of fire washed over Meganium's body and sent the Herb Pokemon flying through the air. Sakura watched in complete and utter shock as her Pokemon went through the air. The roots of Frenzy Plant sunk back into the ground before Meganium impacted with the arena floor.

The horn blared loudly as the time limit was up.

"Five minutes are gone and it was certainly a close match folks! Sora had only one sixty-fourth of his points left while Sakura has none and not to mention her Pokemon is unconscious! Meganium and Sakura have lost by point loss and knock-out! The winner of your first semi-final rounds of the Johto-Kanto Grand Festival is Sora Yasuharu!" Anko yelled into the microphone.

Sakura's eyes were still wide with shock. She didn't even realize she had fallen to her knees until she felt the pain in her knees.

"Meganium...no...no way." Sakura muttered softly. She scuffled on her knees towards her downed Pokemon and looked at its unconscious form. Bleeding and burnt all over its body, not to mention it was now exhausted from using Frenzy Plant, the Herb Pokemon had indeed lost. Sakura held out her Poke Ball as he bent her head down, her bangs shadowing her eyes.

"Return." Meganium's form was coated in the red beam that erupted from the Poke Ball's centre and was returned to its capturing device. Sakura rose to her feet and through her bangs she saw the outstretched hand of Sora Yasuharu.

"You fought very admirably Sakura-san. I'm proud to call you my rival and my friend in the competition." Sora said with a serious tone and an equally serious look in his eyes. Sakura just stared at the hand with her green eyes and nodded to the brown haired boy. She shook it lightly before turning and walking back into the viewing area without a word, her grip on Meganium's Poke Ball growing tighter with each step.

As she entered the viewing area, she looked up to see Sasuke, Naruto and Akatsuchi standing beside Hinata and Hikari and with Typhlosion and Feraligatr.

"Sakura-chan...I..." Naruto's brain shut down after that as he really didn't know what to say. Sakura stopped as she looked at them, her green eyes shone in the light of the room before tears pooled beneath her. She held Meganium's Poke Ball even tighter.

"I...I worked so hard." She spoke as if there were a lump in her throat. "I was so close. I made it to the semi-finals, I thought I could win, but I couldn't...I was so...so close!" Sakura fell to her knees once more and sobbed into her hands. Sasuke walked forwards and patted her on the head. The pinkette froze at the contact and sniffled as she looked into the dark eyes of her crush.

"You...did pretty well out there, Sakura." He said. "There's no need to cry over your loss. Like Naruto and I told Yamanaka...there's always someone stronger out there."

Sakura's lip quivered and her eyes teared up even more before she shot up and grabbed onto the dark haired boy's shirt and continued to cry her eyes out. Her feelings of disappointment in herself, her guilt for not being strong enough, for not having Meganium fight to pull off the win, she let it all out. Sasuke frowned a bit as his shirt was being stained with her tears, but having dealt with his mother when they lost Itachi he simply stood there and slowly...he placed the girl in his embrace.

Naruto, Hinata and Akatsuchi merely watched with the Pokemon. The sight of their fallen friend was truly heartbreaking and they didn't even notice when Sora had walked in with his limping Ninetails. Hikari did though and she noticed how the boy had a guilty look on his face, but the boy steeled himself and he walked past them without a word. Hikari nodded to herself in approval.

Fighting friends was hard. It was even harder when you were the winner because of the guilt you feel of crushing their dreams with your own Pokemon. If you couldn't do that then there was no need for you to be a Coordinator of this level.

Sasuke had taken a seat in the viewing area's couches. Sakura was still in a state of depression, but she did manage to utter a good luck to Hinata. The young Hyuga nodded before she turned to Naruto.

"Wish me luck." She said with a small smile. The blonde bent down and kissed his girlfriend on the lips before pulling back with a foxy grin on his face.

"You don't need luck. You got skills." He spoke confidently. Hinata nodded before facing Hikari.

"I won't hold back. I will beat you, Hikari-san." Hinata spoke with conviction.

"I expect no less of you, Hinata-san. However, it is I who will taste victory...not you."

The two girls stared at one another before they walked out of the viewing area and on to the arena floor that replaced the former one since Sakura and Sora had pretty much torn it apart.

"And now for the second round of our Grand Festival Semi-Finals!" Anko gestured to both females. "Hinata Hyuga and Hikari Nonaka, please take your places on the battlefield!" The two girls did as they were told and held stoic looks towards one another. The screens around the stadium lit up once more and showed their images and the yellow point ring.

"Flareon, light 'em up!"

"Espeon, let's go!"

Both Eeveelutions planted their feet firmly on the ground as they burst out of their Poke Balls. The Poke Balls returned to their trainers and the two evolutions of Eevee glared at on another as their images appeared alongside their trainer's on the screen.

"Hikari and her Flareon versus Hinata and her Espeon. Let's see which adaptation of Eevee proves supreme!" Anko spoke with an interested tone of voice. The judges leaned forward in their chairs.

"Oh this will be definitely be interesting." Mr. Pokemon commented.

"I'll say. It's not everyday you get to see two forms of Eevee's evolution fighting tooth and nail with each other." Deidara added.

"Alright, we've got five minutes on the clock! The point rings are filled! LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!" Anko excalimed. The horns blared through the loudspeakers and with that the clock counted down and the two trainers and their Pokemon got ready to battle.

"Flareon use Quick Attack!" Flareon raced forward at breakneck speeds, a streak of colour marking its movement. Espeon tensed its leg muscles, prepared to enact a dodge maneuver, but just as Flareon reached a few feet away from it...

"Skid on the ground and get underneath its stomach!" Hikari ordered. Hinata's eyes widened as Flareon quickly used friction to skid on the ground on its back. The momentum carried the Flame Pokemon forward and underneath Espeon's body before the Fire-type pushed upwards with its four limbs. Espeon's eyes widened as it coughed out a bit of spittle, the wind being removed from its lungs. Espeon was then sent skyward.

"You...that was my..."

"That's right." Hikari grinned toothily. "You used that tactic against me when your Espeon was still an Eevee during the Goldenrod City contest. I thought it was time to show you what it's like to be on the receiving end of it. Flareon use Flamethrower now!"

"FLARE!" The Flame Pokemon opened its jaws and unleashed a burst of flame straight at its opponent.

"Disperse and strike with Psychic and then follow up with Shadow Ball!" Hinata commanded. The flames tore through the air, but the pale eyed girl's orders were then carried out as Espeon's airborne form focused on the flames.

"Essspeon!" The Sun Pokemon's violet eyes took on an electric blue colour before a telekinetic blast dispersed the Flamethrower. A second Psychic attack tore through the air and pressed down on Flareon's body, the ground caving in from the force of the Psychic-type attack. Flareon released a cry of pain as its body was compressed painfully. Espeon then began to fall before firing a Shadow Ball. The Ghost-type move flew through the air and descended rapidly towards Flareon.

"Use Quick Attack to dodge and then use Flamethrower!" Flareon quickly took off to the side and the crater exploded as the Shadow Ball collided with the ground. Espeon fell to earth and quickly rolled out of the way as Flareon fired off a Flamethrower attack.

"Flash Fire tackle!" Hikari commanded. Flareon nodded and ran through the Flamethrower, increasing its power and speed with its special ability before crashing harshly into Espeon's side. The Psychic-type Pokemon grunted in pain as the attack sent it skidding backwards.

"Counter with Psybeam!" The crimson orb on Espeon's forehead shone before a rainbow coloured blast of energy tore through the air and struck the Fire-type in the chest. "Now use Shadow Ball over its head!"

Hikari and Flareon watched in confusion as Espeon purposefully fired a Shadow Ball over Flareon's head, missing it entirely. However, both trainer and Pokemon were caught off-guard when Espeon's eyes shone blue. The Shadow Ball quickly reversed direction and altered its path to strike Flareon from behind and send it straight towards the Sun Pokemon.

"Now Iron Tail!" Espeon nodded and ran towards the Flame Pokemon, its twin tails shining with silver light. The Sun Pokemon then leaped and twisted in midair and lashed out with its tails.

"Counter with Flamethrower! Follow up with Quick Attack and then Fire Blast at close range!" Hikari commanded. Flareon released a yelp of pain as the Iron Tail struck in the torso. A crack was heard as one of its lower ribs broke. The Fire-type's breathing became slightly laboured, but as it flew through the air from the force of the strike, it managed to backflip and land on its feet. A tongue of red flame raced through the air and Espeon released a cry of pain as the attack struck home.

Flareon's body then became a blur as it sped from its previous spot. Espeon's eyes widened as it didn't even have time to react as Flareon crashed headfirst into the Psychic-type's chest. Espeon rolled along the ground and glanced up in time to see Flareon inhaling deeply.

"FLAAAAAREON!" The Flame Pokemon exhaled forcefully and a massive ball of fire flew from its jaws. The fire ball then exploded outwards to become the five pointed star of blazing power.

"Espeon, use Shadow Ball on the ground to give you the recoil to dodge!" Hinata exclaimed.

"What?!" Hikari yelled.

Espeon nodded and opened its jaws and fired a quick Shadow Ball. The blob of shadow energy exploded near Espeon and sent the Psychic-type off to the side with enough force to completely avoid the powerful attack, an explosion marking its previous position. Espeon rolled on the ground before going with its momentum to climb back onto its feet.

"Use Quick Attack again!" Flareon sped off and raced towards Espeon.

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

"Skid under it!"

"Not again! Espeon, counter with Iron Tail and send it flying!"

"Flamethrower attack!"

Flareon's speeding form raced towards Espeon, but the Psychci-type Pokemon quickly fired off a blast of rainbow coloured energy. However the linear strike was avoided as Flareon skidded on the ground, bringing its body low down to it. The blast wave from the explosion made by Psybeam increased Flareon's speed, but that proved to work against it as Espeon had quickly spun around, its tails alight with silver light. The Iron Tail struck home, but Flareon quickly caught itself in midair and fired off a Flamethrower. A small explosion occurred as Espeon was also sent airborne.

Both Pokemon crashed down on the ground painfully and rose up steadily. Espeon's fur was singed and so a Burn status had been dealt upon it, but Flareon's breathing was very heavy. It seemed the broken rib from earlier was beginning to take its toll.

"Use Psychic!" Hinata ordered. Hinata's partner Pokemon complied and sent a burst of telekinetic force at the Flame Pokemon. Flareon released a yelp of pain as it was sent flying.

"Rotate to face away from Espeon and then use Flamethrower!" Flareon quickly spun around to face away from Espeon and then fired off the Flamethrower attack as it was told. Espeon and Hinata stared in awe at the rapid movement of the Flame Pokemon as if it were a rocket.

"Espeon dodge it!" But the Flame Pokemon moved much too quickly and the Fire-type slammed harshly against Espeon's body. The Psychic-type's eyes widened as the force of the blow was registered and both Pokemon were sent rolling on the ground. Flareon quickly managed to pin Espeon and then opened its jaws to reveal sharp teeth.

"Crunch attack!" The Dark-type move was used and Espeon released a high pitched cry of pain as the sharp teeth dug into its upper left limb. Blood flowed from the wound before Flareon shook the Sun Pokemon like a ragdoll, the teeth tearing even further into Espeon's flesh.

"Get it off with Shadow Ball! Then Iron Tail to the face!" Hinata cried out. Espeon opened its jaws and fired off a Shadow Ball at Flareon's face. The dark eyed Pokemon released a howl of pain as the energy based attack exploded and sent it flying backwards. However, Espeon limped as fast as it could before pushing off with three to meet Flareon in midair and spun around to slam an Iron Tail attack down on Flareon's face.

"Counter with Fire Blast!"

"Use Psychic!"

The powerful blast of flame soared through the air just before Flareon met the ground and Espeon's airborne form unleashed a devastating Psychic attack. The two attack clashed against one another and fought for dominance. Espeon's eyes glowed with power as the Twisted Spoon item wrapped around its wounded limb enhanced its Psychic ability to call for a stalemate.

The resulting explosion sent Espeon flipping through the air, but managed to land in a safe position that wouldn't cause too much damage.

Flareon rose up, blood flowing from its broken nose and also spat out a wad of blood as it began to trail from its lips. Espeon grunted as the burns began to take their toll.

Both coordinators looked up at the screen. The clock was down to a bit more than two minutes. Hinata's points were at the three-quarter mark while Hikari was just above that.

"Fire Blast attack!" Flareon attack ferociously with its most powerful move.

"Psychic!" The attack streaked across the land and Espeon's tired form could only curl up into a small ball, coating its body with psychic energy before taking the blow. The powerful Fire-type move sent Espeon careening across the stadium, but Espeon managed to right itself and dug its claws into the ground. Small trenches marked Espeon's path before it came to a stop.

"Flash Fire Tackle!" Hikari ordered as Flareon unleashed a Flamethrower attack and ran through it with Quick Attack. The flaming bullet raced towards Espeon, but Hinata countered.

"Counter with a barrage of Shadow Balls!" Espeon opened its jaws and fired off five blobs of shadow. Flareon's flaming visage and the Shadow Ball attacks collided forcefully and the Flame Pokemon was sent skidding backwards as its coat of flame protected it from most of the damage. A Shadow Ball then fired off at the Fire-type evolution of Eevee.

"Use Flamethrower!" The two attacks collided and the resulting explosion was about to send Flareon skidding backwards, but Hikari would have none of it. "Dig into the ground and push off with Quick Attack!" The resulting explosion kicked up a massive dust cloud. However, Flareon raced through the smoke and dust with a Quick Attack and slammed into Espeon's body. Espeon countered by biting with its sharp fangs and clamped down on Flareon's right leg. Espeon then rolled with the fall as the two Pokemon tussled before the crimson orb on its forehead glowed with energy.

Flareon's eyes widened at that before Espeon unleashed the pent up energy. The rainbow coloured blast struck Flareon dead centre between the eyes.

"Manipulate it with Psychic and go for the rapid shot!" Hinata said. Espeon's eyes shone with blue light and the rainbow coloured beam suddenly dispersed into seven smaller threads of light. The light beams were coated with an aura of blue as the Psychic attack told hold of them before they raced forth and slammed into Flareon one at a time.

One struck its stomach, another on its bitten leg. The third and fourth struck simultaneously on its back to send its airborne form down, but beams number five and six hit its chin to prevent that from happening. The seventh and final Psybeam thread spiraled around the Fire-type's body before crashing into its chest and a glob of blood was ejected from Flareon's mouth as the internal damage was dealt.

Flareon landed harshly on the ground. Its eyes were flickering, holding on to consciousness like a lifeline. However, it's eyes snapped open as a loud blaring horn was sounded. Espeon, Hinata, Flareon and Hikari all turned to see the time limit had run out.

"Time's up!" Anko announced. "Truly a heated battle that was almost as or equally intense as the previous one! These two Eevee evolutions battled tooth and nail and by the bloodshed you can say that literally! However, it seems that Hikari Nonaka is the loser in today's rounds having lost points up to the one sixteenth mark while Hinata Hyuga held her own at the one eighth mark! The winner of the second round of the semi-finals of the Grand Festival is Hinaa Hyuga!"

The crowd burst into cheers and applause. Hinata's eyes were wide as she and Espeon looked back and forth betwen each other before grinning widely. Espeon limped towards its trainer and the pale eyed girl hugged it gently.

"You fought really well." Hinata and Espeon looked to see Hikari and Flareon standing in front of them. Hikari's hand was outstretched and Hinata took the hint before grabbing it. Hikari shook Hinata's hand stiffly.

"You fought really well too Hikari-san." Hinata said. "You are truly one of the toughest battles I've ever fought."

"Well of course." The Flareon trainer replied. The two laughed before Hikari let go of Hinata's hand and patted her shoulder.

"You fight as hard as you can in the next round, Hinata. It's down to you and Sora and you saw how he took down Sakura. He's earned his place here and so I'm rooting for both of you. As a fellow Fire-type trainer I'm going to tell you he's not going to go easy on you and as a fellow Eevee evolution trainer I'm going to tell you to kick his ass."

Hinata steeled her gaze and nodded stiffly. "I will."

The two girls then bowed to the audience as they cheered louder and louder for the two. Hinata and Hikari let Nurse Shizune heal their Pokemon back to full health with the items in her healing kit.

"You two fought admirably. Hikari you did really well and you kept me on the edge of my seat. Hinata, do your best in the finals."

"We all share Shizune's feelings." Tsunade spoke.

"Now that was a bang up job in that battle you two. A shame for your loss Hikari, but Hinata proved to be the better of you both." Hikari shrugged at that. What could she do? She lost so she had to suck it up. " Now then..." The blue eyed contest judge smirked at Hinata. "...give us that explosive ending to this year's Grand Festival. You and Sora won't disappoint, I can tell."

"We won't." Hinata replied sternly. With that, both girls left the arena floor. Anko watched as the girls walked away before bringing the microphone to her lips.

"Alright guys that's it for the semi-finals round. Now for a message from of our sponsors at the Pokemon League, the birthplace of Champions!" And with that television all across the joint region cut to a commercial.

---

Pokemon Grand Festival Stadium- Viewing Area

Hinata and Hikari walked back into the viewing area to see Sakura sitting with Sora. The two were chatting up a storm before they raised their heads upon hearing their friends' footsteps.

"Hey guys!" Sora waved energetically at them.

"Hey." Hikari waved back.

"Sakura are you feeling better?" Hinata asked with a worried look on her face. The green eyed coordinator nodded.

"Yeah. I cleared things up with Sora...it's just that...it's really hard to take that loss at face value." Sakura said. She then wrapped Sora in a one armed hug and administered a painful noogie. "But you just have to get through the pain."

"AGH THAT HURTS!" Sora exclaimed before he managed to wriggle his way out of Sakura's grip and rubbed his scalp. Noogies really, REALLY hurt...especially Sakura's.

"Anyways, really great battle out there guys." Sora and Sakura gave the two girls a thumbs up.

"Thanks." Hikari and Hinata smiled at their friends. The four coordinators then went into long drawn out conversation as to how they felt during their battles. Then it shifted to Hikari and Sakura pestering Hinata about what it was like to have a boyfriend and moving on to Sora and how his date with Mai went last night. The brown haired boy quickly averted the topic.

The time flew by and then...it was time.

"Good luck out there you two!" Sakura and Hikari hugged their two friends before leaving the viewing area to take seats in the reserved area for the coordinators who lost. Hinat and Sora walked out of the viewing area and onto the stadium's battlefield.

"And here are your two finalists!" Anko pointed the two. "Sora Yasuharu and Hinata Hyuga!"

The crowd rose from their seats and applauded and cheered loudly for the two coordinators. Hinata's eyes scanned the crowd and she smiled as she caught sight of her blonde boyfriend waving his hands wildly to get her attention. The pale eyed girl waved to Naruto and the blonde released a toothy grin. Typhlosion released small plumes of flame into the sky while Feraligatr sent out small sprays of water.

The surrounding people made sure to shield themselves the best they could from the elements.

Hinata giggled at the two Pokemon's antics before her eyes moved down to the closer set of rows and spotted the stoic expression of her father. Hiashi was lightly clapping along with the rest of the audience. His pale eyes met her own and the teenager gave a determined glare in his direction. Hiashi closed his eyes, but an amused smirk came to his face.

Hinata's gaze hardened even more before she and Sora stopped in the centre of the battlefield. Tsunade and Deidara rose from their seats and walked towards them, Anko standing off to the side as the cameras zoomed in on the four coordinators.

"Hinata Hyuga and Sora Yasuharu, you have both traveled many a mile throughout the Johto region to earn your ribbons and reach this point in the Pokemon Grand Festival." Tsunade started. Deidara cleared his throat and his gaze shifted from one young coordinator to the other.

"You have both done well. You have trained, fought, cried, sweated and in the cases of your Pokemon, bled, for your cause. To become a Grand Festival Champion is not just a title, it is a responsibility." Deidara's visible blue eye gained a serious look. "This final match between you both will determine which one of you will carry on the title as well as holding on to the coveted Ribbon Cup."

"The Ribbon Cup will be your symbol and the proof that one of you is ready to take on the responsibility that comes with being at the top, with being a champion. As a former Grand Festival Champion, I am pleased to say that I am very proud of how this Grand Festival went and applaud you both for reaching the finals." Tsunade's brown eyes gained the look that a mother would often give her children. Hinata and Sora bowed lightly to the older coordinator.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama." They replied.

"We expect this final battle to be quite the show stopper. Sora...Hinata...good luck to you both." Deidara patted them both on their shoulders before he and Tsunade walked back to the judges table.

"Now coordinators, take your places!" Anko exclaimed. Hinata and Sora turned to each other, Sora bearing a toothy grin while Hinata held a gentle smile that denied her true intentions.

"So Hinata-san, looks like it's down to you and me." Sora said as he looked down at the shorter coordinator with a determined look in his eyes. Pale lavender met electric blue as anime lightning sparked between their gazes.

"So it seems."

"Best of luck."

"I don't need luck. I have skill." Hinata replied confidently before she and Sora shook hands. The grips were very firm and Sora was actually quite surprised to receive such a handshake from the petite girl. The two held each other's hands for a few seconds before nodding stiffly and separated. They walked to their respective ends of the arena and took out their Poke Balls.

"AND THE FINAL MATCH OF THE KANTO-JOHTO GRAND FESTIVAL WILL NOW BEGIN!" Anko announced louder than she has ever shouted before. "HINATA HYUGA AND SORA YASUHARU, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

The two coordinators took out their Poke Balls and tossed them into the air.

"Ninetails, let's go!"

"I choose you, Espeon!"

As both Poke Balls were tossed into the air, the screens lit up. The images of Hinata and Sora appeared ans the doughnut shaped rings filled themselves with yellow pixels for the third time that day. They descended and the five minutes on the clock blinked.

"AND LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" The horns blared loudly through the speakers, the five minutes counted down and the Poke Balls snapping open seemed to be positively deafening. Both Pokemon landed on the ground after emerging in flashes of white light. They barely even touched the ground before they kicked off from their positions and shot off towards one another.

"IRON TAIL!" Was the simultaneous command.

"ESPEON!

"NINE!"

The twin tails of the Sun Pokemon and the nine tails of the Fox Pokemon shone with a metallic silver light before they rotated in midair. Time seemed to slow down as both Pokemon neared each other. Closer. Closer.

WHAM!

Both attacks collided with devastating force and a shockwave raced throughout the stadium from the point of impact, a ring of dust and dirt expanded outwards from the where the rear appendages collided with one another.

"And the battle starts off with an explosive collision of Iron Tail attacks! The shockwave produced by the impact is enough to make my skirt fly up!" Anko exclaimed as she looked down at her skirt. Audience members experienced nosebleeds once more as they saw the statement was indeed true. "Bet you wish you were down here, neh Hikari-chan!"

The cameras zoomed in on the blue haired coordinator in the stands who was gritting her teeth in rage, ready to pummel the purple haired announcer. A cloud of pixels covered her mouth on the screen and beeps were used to cover up her words as she began to spout profanities. Anko chuckled as she saw the younger female's reaction before turning back to the battlefield.

"And they have not even separated! Neither Pokemon is willing to give an inch!" Espeon and Ninetails gritted their teeth as they pushed their tails against one another before they pushed off against each other. The two flipped in midair and landed on their feet.

"Flamethrower!"

"Shadow Ball!"

A tongue of orange-yellow flame raced forth from the Fox Pokemon's jaws and the Sun Pokemon unleashed a blob of condensed shadow from its maw. The two attacks streaked across the battlefield before colliding with one another and caused a relatively large explosion as a result.

"Espeon, disperse the smoke with Psychic and then fire off a Psybeam!" Espeon's eyes shone with electric blue light before the smoke cloud dispersed to reveal Ninetails had aimed to use it as a cover and run through it, however with it's cover blown, Ninetails was now wide open. The red orb on the purple furred Pokemon's forehead shone with a bright light before the multicoloured beam that was Psybeam was sent rocketing through the air.

Ninetails's crimson eyes widened before the attack struck home, nailing in the chest. Ninetails yelped in pain as it skidded backwards from the blow and Sora's points dropped by one eighth.

"Use Flamethrower!"

"Psychic attack!"

The flames and the telekinetic blasts collided with one another before wisps of blue energy and embers were scattered across the stadium floor, but Ninetails used its incredible speed to race towards Espeon.

"Espeon, fire off a Shadow Ball!"

"Ninetails use a zig-zag motion and dodge it!" Ninetails nodded and quickly ran in a diagonal pattern as Espeon fired off a Shadow Ball. Another Shadow Ball followed after, but Ninetails avoided it as well by jumping to the left. A jump to the right allowed it to avoid the third strike. With each avoided attack, Hinata's points went down by small amounts that ended up making her points equal to Sora's before decreasing even more. This repetitive set of events continued for a few more rounds and Hinata smirked as she realized Sora was using the tactic Diana had used on her with Feraligatr to try and get in close.

"Alright, keep firing those Shadow Ball attacks!" Hinata ordered.

---

"What is she thinking?" Naruto wondered. "Sure they are using the zig-zag tactic to get in close, but Sora's not stupid. Hina-chan better catch on quickly or she's gonna take a serious blow."

"True. Ninetails is getting closer, but the speed at which Ninetails moves at will allow for it to do more than just get in close." Sasuke agreed with his rival.

"Come on Hina-chan, keep Ninetails at a distance." Naruto muttered.

---

Unfortunately, Hinata was doing the exact opposite. Ninetails was now close enough to go in for the customary straight forward strike and Hinata expected an Iron Tail attack so she quickly called out to her Pokemon.

"Espeon, use Psychic!" Espeon's eyes glowed with psychic power.

"Ninetails, Psychic right back!

"Huh?" Hinata's eyes widened as Ninetails's crimson eyes took on the same shade of blue as Espeon's. With a harsh battle cry, both Pokemon unleashed the devastating Psychic attack and a collision of forces erupted between the two Pokemon. The two Pokemon were sent skidding backwards, but Sora had other plans. Both coordinators' points decreased.

"Turn around and use Flamethrower in midair for some thrust!" Sora commanded. Ninetails quickly rotated and unleashed a powerful Flamethrower attack that sent it rocketing through the air. Espeon's eyes widened as the same tactic Hikari had used with her Flareon was used once more. "Now Iron Tail!"

Ninetails spun like a wheel before its glowing tails slammed down harshly on Espeon's skull. The Psychic-type Pokemon released a loud cry of pain as blood flowed from the part of its head where it was struck. Hinata's points flew down all the way to the halfway mark.

"Now use Will-O-Wisp!"

"Roll to the side to dodge it!" Espeon quickly did as instructed and avoided the ghostly blue fireballs, but suddenly began to teeter as the nausea from the head blow settled in slightly.

"Don't let up! Bite at it!" Espeon turned and shook its head from side to side to rid it of the dizziness before turning back just in time to see Ninetails's leaping form, fangs bared to bite down on it.

"Iron Tail to the jawline!" Espeon spun and lashed out with its steel hard tails. A resounding 'clack' was heard as Ninetails's lower jaw was snapped upwards to collide with the upper one. The Fox Pokemon tumbled through the air from the force of the strike. "Now bring it down to the ground with Psychic and use Shadow Ball!"

Espeon's eyes turned from violet to blue once more and Ninetails's body was outlined with a blue aura. The Fox Pokemon's eyes widened before it was forcefully slammed into the ground with enough force to crack it. Espeon then opened its jaws and dark energy pooled together within them, condensing into a sphere at a rapid rate. The Shadow Ball was fired and Ninetails was struck and sent rolling along the ground.

Ninetails grunted as it rose from steadily and quickly rolled to the side to avoid the follow up Shadow Ball.

"Will-O-Wisp!" Ninetails's tails fanned out behind it and nine small fireballs were launched through the air.

"Jump and use Psybeam!" As the status afflicting move neared Espeon, the Sun Pokemon launched itself into the air and fired off a Psybeam attack. The rainbow coloured attack zoomed through the air and rocketed into Ninetails. The Fox Pokemon grunted as it skidded backwards.

"Follow up with a rapid fire Shadow Ball!"

"Dodge them!" Sora commanded. Espeon sent a flurry of Shadow Ball attacks at the Fire-type, but the Fox Pokemon used its spectacular agility and reflexes to avoid the onslaught of Ghost-type moves.

"Use Psychic and bring them back!" Hinata ordered.

"Stop them all with Flamethrower!" Ninetails turned around just as the spheroid of dark matter altered their course and flew back towards it. The Fox Pokemon inhaled deeply before exhaling a massive stream of fire. The Flamethrower attack slammed into the Shadow Balls with tremendous force and a massive explosion of dark matter and flames formed as a result. Ninetails skidded backwards from the explosion and Sora's points were whittled away at.

"Run at it while it's skidding and use Iron Tail!" Espeon took off at a rapid pace and then leaped into the air to meet the skidding Ninetails's body. The Fox Pokemon glanced backwards and its crimson eyes widened as it caught the Psychic-type in its peripheral vision.

"Lean backwards and kick up into its stomach!" Ninetails quickly used the momentum of its motion to go onto its back while still skidding and as Espeon was in the middle of its flip to crash down the Iron Tail attack, Ninetails kicked up with its strong legs. Espeon's eyes widened before it was sent skyward.

"Will-O-Wips and then Flamethrower attack!" Ninetails did as its trainer requested and sent a flurry of small fireballs against its adversary. The light purple fur was singed badly and this elicited a cry of pain from Espeon before said cry became even louder as a burst of flame slammed into Espeon's body to sent it higher. "Now meet it with Iron Tail!"

"Espeon, don't let it! Counter with Psychic!" Ninetails leaped up to slam its glowing tails against Espeon's body, but Espeon countered with its own Psychic attack to send Ninetails back to the ground from whence it came. "Follow up with Psybeam!" The rainbow coloured beam stabbed itself into the ground before Espeon adjusted its head angle to slam it into Ninetails. Espeon continued to force the attack on the Fox Pokemon's body, dragging it across the field before a small explosion formed.

Espeon landed on the ground and panted heavily, wiping away the blood from its head wound and then winced as its burn status affected its body.

The dust cloud from the explosion parted and revealed Ninetails standing on four shaking limbs. The quadrupedal canine Pokemon panted heavily and winced as it felt the burn from the blast of energy on its stomach. Ninetails coughed harshly a few times before spots of blood shot forth from its throat. Psybeam had damaged the canine's internal body it seemed.

"Geez and I thought their semi-final battles were intense! This is an unbelievably fast paced battle! Attacks are flying back and forth fast than a Quick Attack and I think I'm getting dizzy just from trying to keep up with it all!" Anko spoke into her microphone. "The two Pokemon are now on their last legs and so is this match! With two minutes and twenty seconds left on the clock, Hinata Hyuga has lost a bit more than sixty-five percent of her points while Sora has lost what looks like seventy percent!" Anko informed her television viewers and radio listener as well as her sitting audience who was too busy looking at the Pokemon to pay attention to the screens.

"From this, Hinata is holding the lead! But until points, time or health is gone, it will still be anyone's game!"

The two coordinators glared at one another, their Pokemon doing the same with each other. Hinata wiped the sweat from her brow as her mind raced through potential battle plans, but Sora's blue eyes brightened as he saw Hinata's calculating gaze, her eyes shifting from side to side as she thought. She was distracted.

"Flamethrower!"

"Huh?" The pale eyed girl could only stare in shock as Espeon was suddenly hit with the full force of a massive tongue of flame. Espeon skidded backwards from the force and burning fur and flesh had smoke rising from it. Espeon's eyes glanced up and then narrowed with rage before its eyes shone menacingly with blue energy.

"Psybeam!" Espeon fired off the rainbow coloured beam of energy. It sped towards Ninetails, but then Espeon's eyes widened as it called upon its telekinetic abilities. The Psybeam then split apart into seven smaller beams.

"Flamethrower again!" The Fire-type move washed over the Psychic-type move and rendered it utterly useless. "Now aim skyward!"

Espeon and Hinata looked to the skies like everyone else in the audience as the Flamethrower attack raced into the clouds.

---

"Why would Sora do that?" Sakura asked.

"Maybe he's trying to do the Flash Fire maneuver." Hikari guessed. Mai shook her head at the blue haired girl.

"Sora-kun isn't doing that for that reason. Look around you." Hikari and Sakura followed Mai's words and looked at the audience members who were all focused on the Flamethrower attack in the air.

"Everyone's looking at it. So what?" Sakura said with a shrug.

"Exactly. EVERYONE is looking at it."

Sakura and Hikari looked back at each other and then at Mai. Suddenly their eyes widened in realization.

"HINATA AND ESPEON!" Hikari exclaimed.

"HINATA, FOCUS ON NINETAILS! IT'S A DISTRACTION!" Sakura yelled out to her friend.

---

Hinata blinked in confusion before looking away from the Flamethrower attack as it finally extinguished, but suddenly her eyes widened when she saw Ninetails was already in her Pokemon's face.

"ESPEON LOOK OUT!" The Sun Pokemon, also having been distracted from the burst of flame, looked back at its trainer in confusion and then looked ahead. Its violet eyes widened in shock as the pearly whites of Ninetails were in its face. Said pearly whites clamped down harshly on Espeon's collar area and blood flowed from the wound profusely.

"Now slam it into the ground!" Sora commanded. Ninetails's white teeth were stained crimson before the Fox Pokemon raised Espeon up off of the ground. With a brutal display of force, Ninetails crashed Espeon into the ground and the ground cracked beneath the Sun Pokemon's body. "Use Flamethrower into the air once more and use a self-induced Flash Fire!"

Ninetails sent a burst of flame into the sky once more and then leaped up into the torrent of red and yellow. The flames coated Ninetails's body and then Ninetails's eyes flared with power before it snarled menacingly. With the cloak of fire surrounding its body, the Fox Pokemon zeroed in on Espeon's downed form as gravity took a hold of it.

"ESPEON DODGE IT!" Espeon grunted in pain, but couldn't move. The blood loss made it woozy and its vision was blurring, not to mention the burns of Will-O-Wisp made it weak as well. Ninetails continued to descend towards its target.

"DODGE IT ESPEON! PLEASE!" Hinata's called out to the Psychic-type, tears lining her eyes as her voice desperately reached out to her partner...but to no avail. The evolution of Eevee just wouldn't respond. Time seemed to slow down for everyone as Ninetails was now just a few feet above its opponent. Audience members were biting their nails and shouting. Naruto and Typhlosion were standing up in their chairs, yelling at Espeon to follow Hinata's commands. Sakura, Ino, Chouji and Hikari were doing the same while the many other trainers such as the contest judges, Sasuke, Sasame and Shikamaru leaned forward in their seats as the anticipation grew.

"NINE!"

Then time returned to normal. A loud crash echoed throughout the stadium and a massive explosion of fire, dirt and dust created a mushroom cloud. The stadium fell silent as the explosion's blast wave raced across the area of the battlefield. When the dust settled, everyone's eyes were wide as they saw an unconscious, bleeding and burned Espeon laying unconscious and defeated beneath the panting form of Ninetails.

---

"Oh no." Sakura, Ino and Hikari raised their hands to their lips as they looked at the shocked and tear-lined face of their friend.

Naruto and Typhlosion were in complete and utter shock. Their blue and red eyes respectively, wide and unblinking. The world was deaf to them as they watched the fallen pair. Naruto clenched his hands into tight fists and gritted his teeth. His heart ached when he saw his girlfriend fall to her knees, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Damn." He muttered as he turned away from the stadium floor.

---

The Fox Pokemon looked around the stadium and then focused on its trainer. Crimson eyes shone before the canine Pokemon unleashed a howl of victory. The howl triggered a chain reaction as the audience members rose out of their seats and unleashed a myriad of sounds. Some were sad and disappointed at Hinata's loss, while the remainder of them were cheering and applauding for Sora's victory.

"POSITIVELY SPECTACULAR! NOW THAT WAS A FINAL BATTLE WOULDN'T YOU SAY FOLKS!" The audience released an uproar in response.

"IN THIS FINAL TITANIC BATTLE OF POKEMON, THE GREATNESS OF THESE TWO COMBATANTS WAS REVEALED, HOWEVER IT SEEMS THAT ONE WAS GREATER! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, POKEMON IN THE STANDS, THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL GRAND FESTIVAL HAS COME TO A CLOSE AND WITH IT, THE CROWNING OF A NEW CHAMPION! PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR YOUR NEW GRAND FESTIVAL AND RIBBON CUP WINNER, SORA YASUHARU AND NINETAILS!"

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(A/N: OOOOOOOH Plot twist! You all expected Hinata to pull a hat trick and win it all didn't you? But I didn't have her do that! Boom, I totally got you all and psyched you guys out! Hinata lost! I'm probably gonna get so flamed for this *hides in Distortion Zone* YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME BITCHES!

Anyway the reason for Hinata losing is that I wanted her to taste true defeat. Falling against a legendary Pokemon is one thing, falling in a competition like the Grand Festival when the final victory is so close you can taste it is another. Plus, like I explained earlier in the chapter, being the Grand Festival Champion shows that you are ready to bear the responsibility of being at the top, of being the greatest coordinator out there. Even though Hinata is denying the position of becoming the gym leader of Saffron City by her father, it shows that she still has some growing up to do in terms of readying herself for holding a position of power. If she can't willingly accept the title of becoming a gym leader then it'll only be an even worse situation should she take the Grand Festival Champion title.

Anyway, with this the Grand Festival has come to a close. It's finally over...FINALLY! Now in the next chapter, we move into the Grand Festival's epilogue and then a bit of filler as Hinata and her father go into a discussion as to what her fate will be now that she has lost. And then once that's all said and done...I can finally go into the arc you have all been waiting so long for. That's right, Pokemon League here we come!

Well, hope you guys enoyed the battles in this chapter. Listening to the Hoenn Elite Four theme from the Pokemon anime, extended version of course, while writing them really got me to up my game. I recommend you guys listen to said track while reading the battles as it really enhances the overall feel and the epicness of it all. Thank you all for reading this and remember to review, review, review!

P.S: I will be going through my chapters and counting over the Pokemon seen and caught because I think I may have accidentally left out or added in other Pokemon due to the large gaps in updates of certain chapters. So, in the next chapter, don't be alarmed if you see a noticeably shift in the number of Pokemon Seen or Caught in the Pokdex record below. Also, Omanyte, Kabuto and Aerodactyl are not to be counted until they are revived.)

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Pokedex: Seen-179

Caught-109

Character Bio: Orochimaru

Eye Colour: Gold

Hair Colour: Black

About: Jiraya. Tsunade. Orochimaru. These three trainers are three of the most powerful trainers to ever walk the earth within the Kanto-Johto continent. Being a free-spirit, Jiraya traveled the world while Tsunade and Orochimaru became gym leaders. Orochimaru specialized in Poison-type Pokemon and ruled over the gym of Fuschia City in the Kanto region. Thirty years after the fall of ROOT, Orochimaru's loss to Minato Namikaze sparked the fires of a craving for power, not the crazy psychopath kind, but close to it. Eventually his labours beared fruit and the Pokemon League recognized his strength as being at the level of a Master's and labelled him as the Poison-type Pokemon Master and the second member of the Elite Four upon the earlier Elite Four's retirement. Orochimaru took on a student once upon time named Kabuto and the boy became the new gym leader of Fuschia City in his stead.

Naruto's Team:

Typhlosion(Male)

Pidgeot(Male)

Heracross(Male)

Quagsire(Female)

Amphoros(Female)

Dragonair(Female)

Hinata's Team:

Espeon (Female)

Butterfree(Female)

Nidoqueen(Female)

Jumpluff(Female)

Lapras(Male)

Togekiss(Male)

Sasuke's Team:

Feraligatr(Male)

Sneasel(Male)

Gengar(Male)

Rapidash(Female)

Red Gyarados(Male)

Rhydon(Male)

Sakura's Team:

Meganium(Female)

Azumarill(Female)

Porygon2(No Gender)

Wigglytuff(Male)

Ninetails(Female)

Raichu/Pika(Male)

Akatsuchi's Team:

Golem(Male)

Steelix(Male)

Sudowoodo(Male)

Crobat(Female)