The time has finally come for Ichigo to earn his final badge. It won't be easy since Byakuya is considered the toughest of all the gym leaders in Unova.

"Good luck, Ichigo." Orihime cheered as she and the others with Jushiro were excited for this battle.

"Thank. I'm going to win." Ichigo said.

"Absol."

"Do not sound arrogant before the battle has even started." Byakuya said.

"The gym battle between Byakuya, the gym leader, and Ichigo the challenger will now begin." The referee said. "Each side will use three pokemon. The battle will be over when all three of one side's pokemon can no longer battle. Only the challenger may substitute pokemon. You may begin."

"Let's go, Dragonair." Byakuya said.

"Dra!" Ichigo's toughest gym battle is about to begin.

Ohh oh-oh-oh oh-oh
I'm unbeatable
Walking down this endless highway
With nothing but my friends beside me
We'll never give in, we'll never rest
Advanced Battle is the ultimate test
From the earth, the land
The sea and sky
They can never win, but they sure can try
Ohh oh-oh-oh oh-oh
I'm unbeatable
Pokémon
(Advanced Battle!)
Oh oh-oh-oh oh-oh
I'm undefeatable
From the stars and the ancient past
They come to play, but they'll never last
Ohh oh-oh-oh oh-oh
I'm unbeatable
Pokémon
(Advanced Battle!)
Ohh oh-oh-oh oh-oh
I'm undefeatable
Oh oh oh
(Advanced Battle!)
I'm unbeatable
Pokémon

(Ichigo's voice) Nobility of the Eighth

"He's going with a Dragonair. I know who I'm using." Ichigo said. "Weavile, let's go!"

"Weavile!"

"Using a Weavile? It's going to take more than the type advantage to beat Byakuya." Jushiro said.

"Ichigo made a big mistake. He hasn't had much practice with Weavile." Rukia said. "Entering a battle like this with a recently caught new pokemon is fatal."

"Let's do this, Weavile. Give that Dragonair a taste of your Ice Shard." Ichigo said. Weavile formed a shard of ice and shot it towards Dragonair.

"Dragonair use Light Screen." Byakuya said. Dragonair formed a wall of light and blocked the attack. "So much for your special attacks. That should hold them back for a while."

"Weavile's got plenty of other attacks. Weavile use Fury Swipes." Ichigo said. Weavile charged at Dragonair.

"Use your tail and block those attacks." Byakuya said. Dragonair swung its tail around and was able to block each one of Weavile's slashes. "Now use Twister." Dragonair formed a twister around its tail and hit Weavile hard with it. Weavile slid against the ground, but was able to get back up. "You may have the advantage, but that doesn't always mean you'll win."

"Weavile use Shadow Ball." Ichigo said.

"Weavile!" Weavile formed the dark orb and toss it out, but smashed against the Light Screen.

"Shadow Ball at rapid fire." Ichigo said. Weavile fired a barrage of the attack and they were all slamming against the Light Screen.

"I know Light Screen cut some of the attack power, but isn't Dragonair still taking damage?" Orihime asked.

"Correct, but that doesn't appear to be a concern." Jushiro said.

"Use Twister again." Byakuya said.

"Dodge it by using Agility." Ichigo said. Dragonair was getting ready to use the attack, but Weavile increased his speed and was running circles around Dragonair and there were some afterimages surrounding Dragonair.

"Is that suppose to fool me?" Byakuya said and Ichigo got a little concerned. "Now use Iron Tail." Dragonair twirled around with its tail turning to iron and was able to hit the real Weavile in the back. Weavile was sent flying, but Ichigo caught Weavile with him getting knocked off his feet.

"Weavile!" Ichigo said as he saw Weavile was unconscious.

"Weavile is unable to battle. Dragonair is the winner." The referee said.

"Aw. Ichigo had the advantage." Orihime said.

"It's going to take more than that to beat my brother. Only a rare few have ever truly beaten him." Rukia said.

"I'm just going to be added to that list. Gallade, I choose you!" Ichigo said.

"Gallade!"

"A Gallade. They're actually some of my favorite." Byakuya said.

"Just wait till you see what mine can do." Ichigo said. "Gallade, why don't we show them by using Vacuum Wave." Gallade had wind gather around him and shot it out. It smashed right through the Light Screen and hit Dragonair hard. "Great. Now use Leaf Blade."

"Iron Tail." Byakuya said. The two of them used their attacks and it was a strong collision. Both of them were pushed back and continued to fight hard. "Now use Hyper Beam." Dragonair charged up its attack and fired it out.

"Protect!" Ichigo shouted.

"Gallade!" Gallade formed the barrier and shielded himself from the attack.

"Now use Psychic and hold Dragonair down." Ichigo said. Gallade used its mind and was able to hold Dragonair from going anywhere. "Finish it with Vacuum Wave." Gallade used the attack again and blasted Dragonair with it getting knocked out.

"Dragonair is unable to battle. Gallade is the winner." The referee said.

"Not bad." Byakuya said. "Half the trainers I battled have such a hard time against my Dragonair. You must have done well to raise your pokemon."

"I'm just getting started. So who's next?" Ichigo said.

"Let's go, Flygon." Byakuya said.

"Flygon!"

"So it's Flygon next. You think you can handle it?" Ichigo asked. Gallade was all set to go. "Start out with Vacuum Wave."

"Use Sonic Boom." Byakuya said. Both of them used the shockwave attacks and the two of them collided, but Flygon's attack was stronger and blasted Gallade. "Now use Steel Wing." Flygon flew down with its wings turned to steel and slammed against Gallade.

"Battle back with Leaf Blade." Ichigo said. Gallade used the force to use his hands to jump up. Gallade slashed against Flygon and did some damage.

"Now use Dragon Rush." Byakuya said. Flygon pulled itself together and focused its energy. Flygon slammed against Gallade and knocked him to the ground.

"Gallade, are you okay?" Ichigo asked and Gallade was able to get back up.

"That's one tough Gallade." Jushiro said.

"Gallade's a fighter. It won't go down so easily." Chad said.

"Gallade, grab Flygon with Psychic. Don't let it escape." Ichigo said. Gallade focused and was able to grab a hold of Flygon with its attack.

"Dragon Breath." Byakuya said. Flygon breathed out the breath attack and Gallade got hit hard and Flygon got free. "Now use Steel Wing." Flygon flew down and crashed into Gallade.

"Gallade, hang in there." Ichigo said, but Gallade took so many hits and was struggling to get back on his feet.

"I say it's about over. Flygon use Dragon Rush." Byakuya said. Flygon built up power and was ready to deal the finishing blow.

"Gallade, you've got to get up." Ichigo encouraged. All of them thought it was the end, but Gallade's fighting spirit would not be stopped. Gallade got up and gave Flygon a powerful strike. All of them were impressed as they saw Gallade hit Flygon around and wasn't stopping.

"What's gotten into Gallade?" Orihime asked.

"That's an attack. It's called Close Combat." Rukia said.

"Now that was an amazing stroke of luck." Jushiro said.

"Excellent work. Gallade, finish this battle with Leaf Blade." Ichigo said. Gallade slashed against Flygon and Flygon went down.

"Flygon is unable to battle. Gallade is the winner." The referee said.

"No way!" Rukia said as she was amazed at what she saw. "A handful people have beaten two of my brother's pokemon and still have some in reserve."

"I'm impressed. This Ichigo is certainly something special." Jushiro said.

"How noble of your pokemon to continue fighting for you like that, but I won't forfeit a badge over that easily." Byakuya said. "Now for my final choice. Let's go, Altaria!"

"Altaria!"

"Here it is. One last battle." Ichigo said and Gallade was ready for this.

"Gallade use Vacuum Wave." Ichigo said.

"I think not. Altaria use Sky Attack." Byakuya said. Altaria flew straight at Gallade and it was too fast for Gallade. Altara nailed the attack against Gallade and Gallade was beaten.

"Gallade is unable to battle. Altaria is the winner." The referee said.

"That was so fast!" Orihime said.

"Poor Gallade didn't stand a chance." Chad said. Ichigo brought Gallade back and took a strong look at his opponents. Byakuya is pushing him and his pokemon hard, but he won't fall so easily.

"It's all on you, Absol." Ichigo said.

"Absol." Absol went out on the field and was ready just like Ichigo.

"So our final battle is here." Byakuya said. "You've done well where most would have fallen already. For your efforts, I shall reward you with the power I allow only a certain few to see." He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a pendent with a keystone on it.

"Hold on. Does that mean Altaria can….?" Ichigo stuttered.

"It does." Byakuya said as he tapped the stone. "Mega evolve." Altaria's stone was in a collar under Altaria's feathers. The power from Altaria's stone merged with the energy from Byakuya's stone and Altaria became Mega Altaria.

"This isn't good at all for Ichigo. When Altaria mega evolves, it turns into a dragon and fairy-type." Rukia said. "A dark-type like Absol doesn't stand a chance."

"This is awesome." Ichigo said as he was excited. "Now there's no reason for us to hold anything back. Let's go, Absol. Mega evolve!" Ichigo did the same thing as he tapped his stone and the energy traveled to Absol and allowed Absol to become Mega Absol.

"So you can mega evolve your Absol. It won't help you." Byakuya said. "You can't overcome the disadvantage you have."

"If you could do it with Dragonair and Weavile, I can with you." Ichigo said. "Absol use Razor Wind."

"Absol!" Absol launched the attack and it was a clean hit against Altaria.

"Altaria use Dragon Dance and go into Round." Byakuya said. Altaria glowed a pink aura to grow stronger and unleashed the powerful soundwave. Absol got caught in it and Absol was in a lot of pain.

"What's wrong, Absol? It wasn't that bad against Cryogonal." Ichigo said.

"When Altaria mega evolves, its ability becomes pixilate. It raises the power of normal-type attacks and transforms them into fairy-type attacks." Byakuya said. "Against a dark-type, that can be quite harmful."

"Absol, are you going to be okay?" Ichigo asked. Absol shook it off and was ready to get back in the fight.

"Altaria use Sky Attack." Byakuya said.

"Use Night Slash." Ichigo said. The two of them charged at each other and slammed into each other. They both tried to push the other back, but Altarai was strong and Absol got hit hard. "Absol use Dark Pulse." Absol fired the beam of dark rings and blasted Altaria, but Altaria was able to resist it.

"It's a wasted effort. Dark-type moves do little damage against Altaria." Byakuya said.

"We're just going to need to get a little extra power. Absol use Swords Dance and use Dark Pulse again." Ichigo said. Absol generated the swords and gained some power. Absol used Dark Pulse again, but even with the added power, Altaria was still able to resist the attack.

"You can raise your power all you want, but your attacks won't do much." Byakuya said. "Altaria use Round." Altaria unleashed the sound attack and it pushed through Absol's attack. It reached Absol and Absol was getting badly damaged.

"Absol, hang in there." Ichigo said. Absol was doing his best to resist the attacks.

"Don't give up." Orihime cheered.

"Stay tough." Chad cheered.

"Oh my! I've never seen anyone resist this much against Byakuya and Altaria." Jushiro said. Altaria kept the attack going and Absol could barely stay up anymore.

"It's time we finish this. Altaria, put that Absol out of the misery of this battle with Draco Meteor." Byakuya said. Altaria was powering up the attack inside its body and released all that energy.

"Absol!" Ichigo called out, but Absol could barely move. The energy burst into meteors and was about to rain down on Absol. Rukia couldn't stand it anymore.

"You can do it, Absol!" Rukia cheered and hearing that gave Absol the strength to keep fighting.

"You heard the lady! Go!" Ichigo shouted.

"Absol!" Absol jumped up and jumped across the meteors to get to Altaria.

"Swords Dance and go into Night Slash." Ichigo said. Absol generated the swords and was able to gain extra power. Then, Absol's horn glowed and slashed against Altaria. "Now use Dark Pulse." Absol unleashed the attack and blasted Altaria to the ground.

"It's power….unreal!" Byakuya said as he was actually amazed at what Ichigo and Absol are doing.

"Finish this with Razor Wind!" Ichigo shouted.

"Absol!" Absol charged the attack and unleashed it at full power. Altaria took that attack at full force and an explosion went off. All of them waited to see what happened and they saw Altaria transformed back.

"Altaria is unable to battle. Absol is the winner. Victory goes to Ichigo!" The referee said and none of them could believe it.

"I won!" Ichigo cheered. "We did it, Absol! We won!" The two of them ran towards each other and were proud of their victory. His friends were happy too and Rukia found it amazing that someone actually beat her brother no matter how many times she's seen it. As the sun began to go down, Ichigo was being rewarded his badge.

"Congratulations, Ichigo. You are one of the few who has won here and also earned my respect." Byakuya said.

"Thank you, Byakuya." Ichigo said and he was begin given his badge.

"Here is proof that you won here. This is the Noble Badge." Byakuya said as he handed a sword-shaped badge. Ichigo accepted it with honor and pride.

"I did it! I got my eighth badge!" Ichigo said.

"Eighth?! That explains your strength. You are now eligible to enter the Unova League." Byakuya said.

"It will be held in Vertress City." Jushiro said.

"Really?! That's not far from Karakura Town, my home." Ichigo said.

"That's great. We can stop by and you can see your family." Orihime said.

"I assume you're going too, Rukia." Byakuya said.

"Yes, brother. I must see my journey with Ichigo and the others through, to the end." Rukia said.

"Very well." Byakuya said. "Ichigo, I wish you luck."

"Thanks. That Unova League win is mine!" Ichigo said.

Now that he finally has all eight badges, the Unova League awaits Ichigo. Will he be able to win? I suppose you'll just have to wait and see for yourself.

To Be Continued…