So I managed to update in a more… timely pace. And by that, just a little over a week since the last update. I was basically on fire once I got back into it and knew how to write this chapter. Generally I'm on fire for battle chapters, but that's probably coincidence. Don't think that this would be my regular pace, though. Aside from school, work, and other things, part of my inability to update on a more regular basis was simply out of laziness and a lack of motivation to get back at it. But no matter what, I will see this story to the end.

Must I repeat it? Maybe.

The next day, Thursday…

"Come on! Move those arms! They're called 'push-ups' for a reason, you know!"

"… I'm… *huff* … trying…!"

"There is no try! Do or do not, little one!"

"What does it… *huff* … look like I'm… *huff* … doing?!"

An early morning workout on the day on the scheduled battle would normally show dedication and perseverance, but for Anabel's case, it was starting to be more harmful than helpful. It didn't help that Greta continued egging her on with somewhat ridiculous and over-the-top exercises. They had already done two laps around the whole island. Granted that New Island was not necessarily huge compared to other islands neighboring the Kanto region, it was still fairly wide on its own terms. Anabel drew the line on doing another island lap, and on her hands as an added condition.

So instead, the Frontier Brain duo settled for simpler exercises, such as stretches, sit-ups, and the like. It had already been a couple of hours since they began, with the Champions League resuming third round battles an hour ago, and Anabel felt that she was past her limit of physical extenuation. While her personal physical condition had vastly improved since she started out as a Trainer, she still considered herself a bit frail and delicate. But of course, her friend, Greta, would not take 'no' for an answer in helping her.

"At this rate, you have a… mmm… decent chance for victory for your battle at three," Greta surmised. "… Well, I estimate you'll fight at three given the other matches taking place before yours finish on time."

At that moment, the last ounce of endurance in Anabel's arms gave out and the Salon Maiden landed flat on her face and front. She managed to turn her face to the side as to not be completely muffled out by the grassy ground.

"Gee… thanks for the vote of confidence, Greta," Anabel mumbled sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm just making sure that you're ready to face your brother when that round comes," Greta responded, hands held up defensively. "If you can't outwit Lucian, then you could try overpowering him."

"… 'Overpower' my Elite Four of a brother?" Anabel repeated dully.

"Err, when you say it like that, well…," Greta admitted, giving a sheepish chuckle as an afterthought. "… It could happen."

"Lucian is known as one of the strongest Trainers in Sinnoh, just under Cynthia," Anabel pointed out as she pulled herself up to rest on her knees. "Overpowering him is a very slim chance."

"And that's why you got to give it all you got!" Greta added. "Overpowering and outsmarting him is the way to go."

"We'll see if I've actually gotten that far," Anabel commented, getting to her feet and standing back to full height. "Can I go change out of these workout clothes and take a shower now? My shirt feels so soaked."

"You shouldn't have tripped while we did our run down the coastline."

"It was hard to get proper footing on the sand. And that was on our second lap! I was exhausted by then!"

"It only goes that you need to be trained more if your Pokémon are to follow your example."

"Don't start with me. You already gave Scott enough sass last night when he called us in to simply tell us to continue promoting the Battle Frontier, so I don't need to hear anything from you. And I don't want my Pokémon follow my example back on the beach!"

"Whoa… chill out, Anabel. You're just cranky because you haven't had breakfast yet."

*Growl…*

"Uh…"

As if it was timed, a rather quiet yet rumbling noise resounded from the slim stomach of the Salon Maiden. Anabel turned away, trying to hide her mortified expression from her colleague and not look at that triumphant look she now bore as a result of her very accurate prediction. As far as she would admit, Anabel would lose a bit of control over her emotions if she did not eat for a good length of time, but then again, who wouldn't?

"Let's get some breakfast first," Greta suggested courteously. "I recall that you didn't eat much yesterday because you wanted to rest up for your battle today. Also, you seemed to know who you're going up against."

"He's someone I knew back at Verdanturf Town where I lived before I started my journey," Anabel confessed. "I'm surprised I didn't tell you much about Morrison."

"I was going to say something when we got our matchups for this week, but I keep forgetting to ask you," Greta said. "Why don't you tell me on the way back?"

"Sure," Anabel confirmed, smiling.

"Cool! Race you back!" Greta announced, immediately taking off with a head start, leaving behind a stunned Salon Maiden in her dust.

"… Not more running," Anabel sighed, crying internally before going off at a slower pace.

Later…

"Welcome, one and all, to the grass field stadium this fine, young afternoon!" the grass stadium announcer greeted, his voice echoing within his stationed stadium. The usual enthusiastic cheers filled the air after his first line, keeping the spirit of Pokémon battling at a high. "I'm personally grateful to be here, watching all these remarkable Trainers fighting for glory. Who's with me?"

"YEAH!" the crowd answered back.

"Every match has gone on by on schedule, so I'm pleased to announce the combatants for this on-the-dot three o'clock match right now!" the announcer resumed; somewhere within the stadium audience, Greta pumped a fist to herself. "Having looked at their backgrounds, these two Trainers have originated from Verdanturf Town of the Hoenn region. One is a young man that has fought hard in a few past Conferences, his last being in the Top Eight at the Johto Silver Conference. The other is a young woman of pronounced and dignified importance, belonging to the well-renowned Kanto Battle Frontier. Please raise your voices loud and proud for Trainer Morrison! And send a regal standing ovation for Salon Maiden Anabel of the Battle Tower!"

The announced Trainers for the current battle ascended up from their Trainer boxes, receiving the zealous applause the announcer commanded the fans to give. Morrison couldn't stand still and waved back merrily to the audience. Anabel had a bit of a difficult time keeping a straight face and managed a polite wave to her sides while subtly trying to find Ash in the audience. She was certainly in better spirits than from this morning.

"Guess it's my cue to take over," a new voice, belonging to the selected battle commentator, proclaimed. "I hope you Pokémon fans are ready for this battle! I know I am!"

The crowd cheered loudly once more. They expected a great heated battle from a roaming Trainer and a representative of the Battle Frontier. Anabel still scanned around to find Ash, only to catch from the corner of her eye that Morrison was waving over to her in order to get her attention.

"Hey, Anabel! Great seeing you again!" Morrison called out, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. "Good luck! You're going to need it against me!"

Anabel smiled and waved back as she couldn't yell back her sentiments, at least not over the loudness of the audience at the moment. Morrison was still as good-natured as she knew him to be many years back.

Eight years ago…

*Ding-Ding*

The Verdanturf Trainer School bell had signaled the end of classes for the day. The young aspiring children quickly ran out the front door, eager to get home and show their families what they learned. It had been another typical school day that mainly consisted of learning about different Pokémon types in depth, what moves certain Pokémon can learn, and holding practice battles with the school's rental Pokémon. Everything about the place was casual and friendly, including the dress code. It definitely suited the overall peaceful mood of the whole town.

Anabel was the last to leave, having stayed behind to receive some more fond recognition from her teachers on her seemingly natural skills at Pokémon battling. Then again, she was also expected to rise up as her year's prodigy, given who her older brother was. Lucian had already joined the Sinnoh Elite Four and displayed an impressive mastery of the Psychic-type, something that Anabel appeared to be following with her preferences for the school's Psychic Pokémon.

The little lilac-haired girl, while appreciative of the encouragement and confidence her teachers and peers had for her, knew full well by now that it was because she was Lucian's baby sister that she was receiving all this attention. They were starting to get on her nerves rather than motivating her onward to live up to her potential. She really wished they recognized more on her special ability of sensing and being in tune with a Pokémon's emotions, practically being a translator or some sort of bridge of understanding between humans and Pokémon.

Just as she was about to descend the small set of stairs at her school's front door, a large rice ball rolled right passed her leg and down the stairs. She picked up the sound of rushing footsteps getting louder behind her, accompanied with a wild yell. Knowing what was going to happen next, she jumped to the side to see a chubby orange-haired boy a couple years younger than her tumbling from behind and landed face first on the bottom step.

"Morrison, are you alright?" Anabel asked in concern, trying to help the heavier boy up.

"Ow… Oh! Hey, Anabel," Morrison greeted, grinning in spite of his dirtied face. He quickly used a sleeve of his and wiped his face clean, resuming his big grin with a missing tooth. "My third lunch got away from me. Sorry about that."

"You need to be more careful," Anabel advised, giving a hand to help the portly boy stand up.

"Wow, Anabel, you're so kind and generous," Morrison commented as he got back on his feet. "No wonder everyone likes you!"

"Um, yeah… I suppose."

Anabel couldn't help but blush a bit as she looked away, but the sound of her tone felt unconvincing to Morrison. He took a step closer to look, to which Anabel looked back at him with an inquisitive expression.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know," Anabel sighed. "I don't think anyone here really likes me for… well, me, but who I'm related to."

"What?! That's crazy!" Morrison exclaimed, clapping his hands to his cheeks in astonishment before a rather dumbfounded look settled on his face. "… Wait, who are you related to again?"

The little lilac-haired girl couldn't help but giggle at the boy's cluelessness and mild attention deficit. It certainly gave him a childishly cute charm that accompanied the pudgy kid look. She was certainly grateful for having a few real friends that appreciated her for who she really was, even though Morrison was just a happy-go-lucky kid she occasionally ran into the hallway before class.

"I have an older brother who's an Elite Four member in the Sinnoh region," Anabel admitted as though she rehearsed the saying many times. "He's Lucian, a Psychic Specialist."

"Whoa! Really?!" Morrison responded, apparently ecstatic to learn about Verdanturf Trainer School's favorite student related to some powerful Pokémon Trainer before falling into confusion once again. "An Elite Four as a brother, that's definitely something to aspire up to−Wait a minute… I thought Trainers could only join the Elite Four of their home regions."

"There's no official rule that states that," Anabel explained. "But even if that was true, Lucian is actually a Sinnoh native, born and raised at Hearthome City. My family moved around a few times in the past because my father works in a special field of communications and gets pulled around time to time. Basically, he's been working on perfecting the Pokémon trading system and will be working on a global trading system pretty soon that will allow Trainers from anywhere in the world trade Pokémon with one another."

"I see," Morrison said, nodding in understanding. "He was born there, and you were born here."

"That's pretty much it," Anabel concluded with a friendly smile, beginning her walk home. "I'll see you tomorrow, Morrison."

"Wait, Anabel!" Morrison called out, quickly walking besides her. "I want to know where your parents are from if they didn't live here in the Hoenn region before."

Anabel was a bit perplexed at first, seeing as people mostly asked her about her brother, but a warm smile soon took over her face, happy that someone was asking about her and the rest of her family. Morrison was very loyal despite all his silliness and gluttony.

"Well, my parents were also from Sinnoh," Anabel began as they walked away from the Trainer school. "My father was from Canalave City and my mother was from Alamos Town. They met at a museum in Eterna City when they were teens because they both had an interest in learning a bit more on Sinnoh's ancient myths and eventually fell in love after a few years. I know how much Mom gets emotional whenever she shares with me her proposal story at the coasts of Sunyshore City."

"Cool. Then I'm guessing they settled in Hearthome City and Lucian came along?"

"Yep. My father got pulled back to Canalave City a few years after Lucian was born and they settled there for the most past. My brother gained his fondness of reading at the Canalave Library a few years before our age. Then after he started his journey−."

"Your family moved here to Hoenn and you came along?" Morrison predicted, catching Anabel off guard. She blinked a few times in surprise. "… Sorry."

"That was… pretty much the whole summary," Anabel said, smiling again. "Why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself and your family then, Morrison?"

"Okay, okay! Heh heh!" Morrison panted, overeager to share his family history with his new true friend. "I can guarantee my parents' meeting each other is going to be epic, possibly even more than yours, no offense. Anyway, it all started on a Monday…"

Anabel smiled softly to herself. Even though they were more neighborly towards each other than actual friends back then, Morrison helped her learn a valuable lesson about not judging a book by its cover upon first glance. At this time, though, she was more than happy to acknowledge that they shared a strong friendship. Maybe that was why she felt more connected and at peace being with down-to-earth, confident, passionate, and somewhat oblivious guys.

Speaking of such a guy, he sat close to the front rows, observing the interactions between the competing Trainers while patiently waiting to see her training with him pay off. He managed to blend in so well among the crowd despite the rising fame he gained from his last battle. Perhaps his red cap covered part of his face well enough to avoid detection. Most likely, everyone else around him was more interested in seeing a battle that had a powerful Frontier Brain participating in it.

"This will be a three-on-three single battle," the referee announced loud and clear. "Substitutions are allowed, no time limit. The battle will be over when all three Pokémon from either side are unable to continue. Trainers, choose your first Pokémon."

"I'll get this party started!" Morrison asserted, first Poké Ball already on hand. "Swampert, let's do this!"

"Go, my friend!" Anabel quickly followed up, throwing in her first chosen Pokémon.

Morrison's Swampert took the field, flexing its arms out with a guttural roar as the light it formed out of had vanished. It watched as its first opponent in battle took the form of Alakazam, who stared back impassively while holding up its spoons in a prepared battle stance.

"The rules have been set and the first Pokémon have taken the stage," the commentator began. "I hope ya'll are ready for another fierce battle!"

"Battle begin! Anabel gets the first move!" the referee declared, swinging the flags down and inciting not only the commencement of the match, but also the supporting energy from the Pokémon fans around the grass stadium.

Anabel & (Alakazam, ?, ?) VS Morrison & (Swampert, ?, ?)

"I've overcome my unwillingness to fight friends before because I know now that giving it your all in battle is the best way to honor friendship," Morrison muttered to himself, grinning excitedly for this battle. "We're all bound to fight each other eventually and that includes you, Anabel. I've seen your powerful battle style many times now, so take me seriously and give me your best shot!"

Morrison certainly looks like he changed the last time I saw him from preschool, Anabel thought, opening her telepathic communication with Alakazam. He used to be so unwilling in fighting those he considered to be friends. Time to see if this is true. Alakazam, start off with Psybeam!

Alakazam leapt into action, running off to the side while crossing its spoons to charge energy for Psybeam. Swampert slowly rotated its body about, keeping its opponent within line of sight and range of attack. Before the Mud Fish Pokémon could fully lock itself on Alakazam, it received a dazzling sensation on its left shoulder before being pushed back by the bright colorful beam that caused the sensation.

"And Alakazam lands the first attack in the form of Psybeam," the commentator narrated.

"Swampert, hang tough! Fight back with Hydro Pump!"

Redirect with Psychic!

The Psybeam was soon shrugged off by Swampert's physical strength, allowing it to freely release the huge stream of Hydro Pump out of its mouth. Alakazam stood firm and strictly focused, sending a telekinetic wave from its mind to catch the incoming Water attack. Using its spoons as conductors, the Psi Pokémon successfully diverted the Hydro Pump upward before having it diagonally turn down in Swampert's direction.

"Swampert, quick! Use Ice Beam!"

Realizing that its own attack was being redirected back, Swampert found where the Psychic-led Hydro Pump was coming in and fired an Ice Beam to counter it. The force from the Ice Beam was enough to weaken Hydro Pump's power, as well as freeze it into a large block of ice. Swampert then send a fist up and shattered the solidified block of its former attack.

"That was a quick defensive ploy Morrison had called out!" the commentator exclaimed. "After Alakazam had taken over Hydro Pump with Psychic, he had Swampert weaken it with Ice Beam before finishing it off before it could hit."

"That was cool, pun intended," Morrison chuckled. "But we're not done there yet! Ice Beam again!"

Swampert was quick to retaliate with another round of Ice Beam, this time striking Alakazam head on despite it having braced its arms together prior. Alakazam fell on one knee once the attack ended, its arms hanging down and feeling numb. This was not really a surprise as a bit of ice had formed on its forearms, prolonging the damage caused by the freezing attack.

"It looks like Alakazam is feeling some cold aftereffect from Ice Beam," the commentator openly noted.

Use Recover!

Alakazam managed to get its body to relax, allowing it to receive the full treatment of Recover washing all over itself, including its partially frozen arms. The healing energy illuminated its body, slowly thawing its forearms.

"Is that Recover we're seeing right now?" the commentator spoke up, considering how it was often difficult to predict what move Anabel would telepathically command her Pokémon to use until it was completed.

"We're not letting you get away that easily!" Morrison declared. "Swampert, use Focus Punch!"

Swampert tightened both its right fist and its mind, focusing a tremendous amount of striking power into the former. The light of Recover on Alakazam's body was starting to dim down and the Psi Pokémon appeared healthy and determined to resume the battle.

"Swampert is launching an attack while Alakazam is still vulnerable while using Recover," the commentator continued. "Will it success in getting the jump on Alakazam?"

Alakazam, fight back with Focus Punch as well!

As Recover was finishing its effect on replenishing Alakazam's stamina, Alakazam concentrated power into its right fist. Despite getting the head start on charging up a Focus Punch, Swampert was lumbering over at a slow pace as a testament of its lackluster speed. It had not picked up on how calm its opponent and Trainer were despite their temporary idleness.

Its slow speed and unsuspecting nature would ultimately prove to be its undoing as Alakazam stood back up quickly once Recover ended, having prepared its own Focus Punch during its recuperation. Swampert picked up on this and glared at its Psychic-type opponent, all the more trying to pick up its speed to knock it out.

"Alakazam is back up!" the commentator exclaimed, much to Morrison's initial surprise upon hearing it. "And it looks like it's about to fight Focus Punch with Focus Punch."

"Give it all you got, Swampert!" Morrison shouted.

Go, Alakazam! Anabel mentally cheered on.

*SLAM*

Swampert's and Alakazam's charged fists collided, the resulting sound closely emulating that of a sonic boom. Their power struggle barely lasted past five seconds as Swampert, having the stronger muscle between the two Pokémon, managed to overpower Alakazam's attack and send it stumbling about. The Psi Pokémon held on to its right hand, attempting to ease the stinging numbness from Swampert's brute strength.

"Follow up with Hydro Pump!"

Swampert allowed no opportunity to rest as it unleashed another pressurized stream of Hydro Pump, this time nailing Alakazam on the chest. Alakazam had managed to plant its feet firmly into the ground prior to being attacked, thus managing to still stay standing despite the vigorous force of water that was practically drowning it trying to push it back.

"Morrison has definitely improved since I last heard of him," Anabel muttered to herself, taking out a Poké Ball. An unwavering fire lit up in her lilac eyes. "But so have I. Alakazam, return now!"

The Salon Maiden promptly recalled her Pokémon back into its Poké Ball, saving it from more punishment from that overbearing Hydro Pump. The remaining gallons of water washed over to where Alakazam previously stood.

"The first substitution of the match has been made, surprisingly by Anabel!" the commentator noted with Alakazam's image slightly dimming down on the Trainer scoreboard. "Who will she send out to counter Swampert's might?"

"Go, my friend!"

Anabel's next Pokémon turned out to be her top Pokémon, Espeon. The Sun Pokémon immediately crouched down slightly into battle with matching determination, ready to act upon command from her Trainer.

"And Anabel's second Pokémon is Espeon!" the commentator announced with Espeon's picture displayed.

"So it's starter versus starter," Morrison remarked offhandedly. "Just because you started out years before I did and the fact that you don't telegraph your attacks doesn't mean you should underestimate me."

"I never underestimate my opponents," Anabel replied back with a confident smirk. "But I do know how to quickly adapt to them in order to throw them off once more."

"I'm going to win this battle no matter what! Swampert, use Ice Beam!"

Dodge and use Psychic!

Under Anabel's swift mental command and improved reflexes as a result of training with Ash and Pikachu, Espeon practically disappeared as a blur right as Ice Beam struck her former ground. Morrison and Swampert gaped, wondering where Espeon ran off to. The Japanese-styled Trainer was too late in locating the opposing Pokémon as he discovered Swampert painfully bound by Psychic power.

Espeon was soon discovered a few feet to the side where she originally was, basically next to the cluster of ice that formed up when Swampert's Ice Beam struck the ground. Her eyes were focused and brilliant with telekinetic energy.

"That was an impressive dodge by Espeon," the commentator pointed out. "Its speed certainly outmatched Swampert's, as we've all witnessed."

With several twists and turns from her head, Espeon directed Swampert's body on colliding with the ground and even the stadium walls. Once she repositioned the Mud Fish Pokémon back in front of her, she sent a powerful Psychic shockwave to send Swampert tumbling back.

However, once it was released from the Psychic hold, Swampert managed to control its rolling slide by grabbing alongside the ground to stop it. Despite appearing a bit dirtied and bruised up, it was still raring to go.

"Now that's true endurance right there!" Morrison exclaimed. "Now Swampert, take them down a notch with Muddy Water! Make it a big one!"

"Swaaahhmp…!" Swampert growled, charging into its water power.

Dark, opaque water emerged from underneath its body, starting out as a swirling torrent with Swampert in the heart. Before long, it erupted like a huge geyser and forming what appeared to be a rather muddy version of the move, Surf. The dirt and grass washed up along from the field also added quite the texture to the wave. Swampert was riding the Muddy Water wave from the top, readying its power to wipe out Espeon.

"That is one huge wave of Muddy Water I've ever seen!" the commentator exclaimed. "Swampert certainly has no qualms in showing off its incredible power."

Espeon, wait until that wave comes close enough! Anabel advised, relaying her strategy over. Then use Iron Tail before it crashes down!

The Sun Pokémon gave a slight nod back before going back to carefully observing this next attack, scanning and waiting patiently for the desired weak spot. Once the Muddy Water wave had reached its maximum height and depth, Swampert commanded it to roll forward and submerge the field. When the top of the wave began to curl downward, the instinctive glint sparkled in one of Espeon's eyes.

Now was the time for the Sun Pokémon to strike.

"It looks like Espeon is going to take on that Muddy Water head-on," the commentator highlighted. "Just what is it planning to do?"

The answer made itself known with Espeon's tail lighting up with power, becoming as hard and lustrous as silver. She leapt and somersaulted into the wave, keeping her Iron Tail out as she spun herself faster into a ball.

"What're they up to?!" Morrison demanded.

With flawless execution, Espeon slammed her tail into the center of the Muddy Water wave, effectively slicing it in half. Swampert panicked as the chasm Espeon opened up in its Water attack happened to be right below where it stood on the wave. Once the split reached the top, the Mud Fish Pokémon lost balance and fell downward.

"Swaaaaahh!" Swampert cried, attempting to climb back up through the air with its limbs, but to no avail.

Espeon was not finished with her task just yet. Right as Swampert passed her, she swung her still active Iron Tail overhead and slammed it down hard. Swampert flew into the ground faster, crashing heavily into the ground on its back with a dazed expression and swirling eyes for all to see.

"Swampert is unable to battle!" the referee declared, raising a flag to Anabel. "Espeon wins!"

The crowd cheered on, having been ecstatic for witnessing a tough battle. They applauded both Trainers for the efforts they have given in the early stage as the scoreboard was updated with Swampert's image darkening completely.

"The first victory goes to Anabel, putting her ahead by three to two," the commentator announced. "How will Morrison counter her Espeon?"

Somewhere in the stadium…

"You've got this, Anabel! Woo-woo-woo!" Greta cheered loudly, much to the discomfort of the spectators sitting around her as she continued making wild calls to her colleague. "Aw, yeah! Piece of cake for Mama this round! Woo! Get some!"

"I really hope that cake is a lie just to shut her up," one random audience member murmured, trying to look for a new seat away from the irksome Arena Tycoon in vain.

"Swampert, return," Morrison grunted, pulling his defeated Pokémon back into its Poké Ball. "You were awesome. Take a nice, long rest." Swapping Swampert's Poké Ball with a new one, he looked back up tenaciously. "Guess she's not fooling around anymore. Then neither should I. Metagross, let's go!"

Morrison immediately called upon what was considered to be his signature Pokémon by many fans due to its more frequent appearances in battle, as well as snagging many victories for him. Metagross emerged out of the Poké Ball's light, hovering slightly above ground before unfolding its large legs and securing them onto the ground with a bit of tremoring upon doing so.

"Meh-tah!" Metagross growled mechanically.

"Morrison's second Pokémon is Metagross!" the commentator continued with Metagross's figure lighting up on the scoreboard. "Metagross has been notably one of his main powerhouses from past Conferences."

"Speaking as a Metagross owner, his looks particularly tough," Anabel added under her breath. "He raised it well, though I believe Espeon should be able to handle this."

The referee raised his flags up, signaling the commencement of the new round. Anabel was quick to the draw, sending a mental command to Espeon under the cover of the rising voice of the audience cheering them on. The Sun Pokémon charged energy in her limbs for a major speed boost, scurrying off towards Morrison's Metagross as a trail of light followed behind.

"And Espeon is making the first move with what appears to be Quick Attack," the commentator surmised.

"You can take that, Metagross," Morrison remarked. "Let them come."

Now switch to Iron Tail!

Espeon continued her speedy Quick Attack while storing up power in her tail for the next attack. Once her tail became stiff and tough to the attack's namesake, the Sun Pokémon leapt up high in the air and readied herself for a hard strike.

"Your attacks won't do a thing! Metagross, use Take Down!"

Metagross locked eyes upon the incoming Espeon. With a steely expression, it hardened its sturdy body to the point that it gave off a brilliant, lustrous shine all over. It then lifted its leg up and locked them into its main body, preparing for a major take off.

A burst of power was all it took to send the Iron Leg Pokémon rocketing right into the flabbergasted Espeon, easily overpowering her Iron Tail and overall forcefully tackling her smaller body with something comparable to an armored tank. After knocking Espeon out of the air, Metagross gradually came to a hovering stop, bothered by the recoil damage sensation coursing around its body before shrugging it off.

"That looks like it left quite a mark on Espeon!" the commentator exclaimed, tone indicating speechless. "A Take Down from a large and durable Pokémon like Metagross would leave almost anything sore for a week!"

"Now use Bullet Punch!"

While still in the air, Metagross unfolded its front left leg and powered it up for an immediate strike. Espeon was still on the ground, apparently in terrible pain from the previous Take Down. She managed to stand back on all fours despite the lingering soreness, watching her opponent come down swiftly with a huge outstretched leg claw.

Use Quick Attack to dodge!

Ignoring the remaining painful sensations throughout her body, Espeon forced another temporary speed boost to scamper away before the high-speed Bullet Punch smashed her into the ground.

*RUMBLE*

Metagross punched its leg into the ground deeply before unfolding its remaining legs to help it pull out its lodged leg. The impact of its Bullet Punch made a minor tremor that caught most of the people sitting in the front fearful for their lives.

"Morrison's Metagross is showing us what incredible attack power it has," the commentator added on. "Espeon was lucky to have gotten away before that Bullet Punch came crashing down."

Regular attacks won't work on Metagross, Anabel thought, thoroughly analyzing her current situation. We need to get in close before they can retaliate. Our next attack has to hit if we're to stand a chance.

She then looked upon the physical condition of her Espeon, who was notably panting heavily a fair distance away from the Iron Leg Pokémon. Her stamina had taken a major dip from going against Metagross's heavy Take Down. Anabel did not realize how one-sided a round could quickly become, given that Espeon took little to no damage against Swampert, but was struggling against Metagross in a few short moments since it was released into battle.

It was more than clear now that Morrison raised his Metagross quite well. And to add more fuel to the conflicting fire, Espeon was at a bad type matchup against Metagross as most of her attacks would barely put a dent in its impressive defense.

Espeon looked back at her and nodded, surprising the Salon Maiden a bit before fully understanding the depth on how much she wanted to help her win and move on to the next round.

"Fyie!" Espeon reassured, a tenacious spirit emanating from her eyes.

It was time to take a risk.

Espeon, I know you can do this, Anabel cheered on. Get in close to Metagross and wait for my signal!

Feeling her Trainer's complete trust and resolve uniting with hers, Espeon charged in towards Metagross with one thought in her mind, and that was to help Anabel be recognized by her own power. Metagross glared back, eager to handle its smaller opponent once and for all.

"Metagross, let Espeon come in close!" Morrison called out. "Use Bullet Punch to finish this!"

Metagross lifted its front right leg claw and prepared to strike down Espeon once and for all. Espeon did not waver in her full-frontal assault despite the intimidating appearance the Iron Leg Pokémon managed to pull off. She felt encouragement from Anabel to go in for the surprise attack. Tension was high and all seated around leaned in to see who was going to have the first hit.

"This is all or nothing, ladies and gents!" the commentator exclaimed, the suspense becoming thicker and thicker as Espeon got closer to Metagross.

Timing was at its critical point. Who will strike first?

*Beat*

"Let them have it, Metagross!"

Jump and use Zap Cannon, now!

The ploys have been made. Metagross locked its aim on Espeon and anticipated her probable location to attack. Espeon sensed the pattern of her opponent's attack through the air currents, making it clear to her where and when to jump.

"Meh-tah!" Metagross grunted, swinging its lumbering leg claw along the ground.

Espeon expertly leapt up at the very last second, right over the Bullet Punch, and instantaneously charged up a glittering electrical orb in front of her forehead gem. Before a moment's notice, she launched the Zap Cannon squarely into Metagross's face. Given that they were at very close range, it would have been nearly impossible to miss.

The electricity immediately surged into Metagross's entire body upon contact, static discharge crackling about all over. Metagross roared in discomfort, the paralyzing effect starting to take in aside from the forward damage done by the Zap Cannon.

"We're not done!" Morrison quickly proclaimed. "Metagross, Take Down!"

Responding to its Trainer's immediate call, Metagross pushed itself through sheer willpower before the paralysis could take full effect. It ignited its own legs as rockets, empowering itself and flying straight towards Espeon, who had just barely gotten a short distance away after unleashing her surprise attack.

Her body was not ready. Her current reflexes were unresponsive and unprepared to escape this time as Metagross stormed in quickly. Espeon's eyes were wide, utterly helpless as Metagross harshly collided into her, sending her rolling nearly half the length of the whole grass field. Metagross received recoil once again, though it was nothing compared to Espeon's current state. The Sun Pokémon could stand no longer, much to Anabel's personal dread.

"Espeon is unable to battle!" the referee declared, raising a flag high for Morrison. "Metagross wins!"

"Both Trainers are down one Pokémon each," the commentator announced with Espeon's downfall, her image darkening completely on the scoreboard. "Metagross is one tough Pokémon. Who will Anabel send out to fight back?"

Ash looked over the aftermath rather impassively, though he could not help but feel a bit concerned for the Salon Maiden as she certainly gave it her all during their training sessions. Pikachu displayed a bit more worry than he did, but kept quiet as it was still early to decide anything yet. Both of the competing Trainers still had two Pokémon left, in which they have been weakened from previous battling.

"Espeon, return," Anabel said as she recalled her fond Pokémon back into the Poké Ball. "Thank you for your hard work, my friend. Your efforts won't be in vain." Putting away Espeon's Poké Ball, she took a deep breath for calming herself in spite of the setback of losing her first Pokémon. "I really need to step up my game now."

"Hey, Anabel!" Morrison called out. "You better not be going soft on me. I looked up to you, so you better not disappoint me this battle!" His Metagross buzzed in agreement. "I know it'll take more than that to get you down!"

"Looked up to me," Anabel repeated softly with a demure smile. "It's funny and a bit ironic. The past weeks I've been looking up to Ash for getting stronger than before, which was partly why I was happy that he offered me to train with him. But following his unwavering example alone won't help me win this." She looked up again with her next Poké Ball selected on hand. "I must stand for myself and do things my way, just like how Ash has been doing things his way. I have my own style, and I must perfect. Together, with my friends! Go!"

Anabel gave the Poké Ball a firm toss into the air, releasing from within a quadruped Pokémon with fur colored an electrical blue and a spiky mane and tufts of shining yellow. Its feral red eyes stared down against Metagross's robotic pupils. The mood of this new confrontation proved to be promising.

"Anabel has revealed her third Pokémon to be Manectric," the commentator publicized with the Discharge Pokémon's image taking in the third spot on Anabel's side of the scoreboard. "This is one of the notably few Pokémon under her ownership to not be a Psychic-type."

"Now this ought to be interesting," Morrison added, amused. "I was not expecting you to have an Electric-type like Manectric on your team."

"Manectric was actually one of the first Pokémon I caught when I started out," Anabel explained. "That was before I completely devoted myself to specializing in Psychic Pokémon, but it never hurts to have variety. Manectric and I are really close since we've been together for a long time, so a fair warning to you is that even though it's not a Psychic-type, I can command it without ever saying a word out loud."

Ash watched on, hiding his own anticipation to see how this matchup between Manectric and Metagross would turn out. He trained with her Manectric a few times, so it wasn't a surprise that he felt eager inside to see it release its true power into battle.

"It doesn't matter what you try to do. I'm still going to win this. Now Metagross, show them a Zen Headbutt!"

Metagross attempted to float, but static electricity sparked up ferociously on the joints of its limbs. It grumbled in pain, unable to move as the paralysis took full hold of its heavy body.

"Metagross is completely paralyzed at the moment!" the commentator exclaimed.

Manectric, show them we mean business with Thunder! Anabel commanded.

Her Pokémon obeyed with an instant gathering of electricity around its mane before the voltage completely overtook its body. Manectric howled into the sky, unleashing a potent bolt of lightning upward into a large black cloud conveniently forming over the stadium opening. Most of the grass field was cut off from sunlight as the Thunder cloud solidified. Many audience members covered their eyes and faces in anticipation of a big Electric attack.

*RUMBLE*

It was clear in everyone's minds that once that black cloud was fully condensed in a matter of seconds…

*BOOM*

The Thunder came roaring down. The huge manifestation of electricity lit up the mild darkness of the grass stadium while pummeling Metagross from above with its power. Its naturally impressive defensive power was able to hold out against the powerful Electric attack, but it did not help the fact that Metagross's paralysis prevented it from escaping out.

"And Manectric brings the Thunder on Metagross, who's currently unable to move as a result of Espeon's last Zap Cannon," the commentator remarked. "Will the scales tip fully to Anabel's favor this time?"

"Come on, Metagross!" Morrison shouted. "You can't throw in the towel just yet! I know you can break out of there!"

His encouragement reached out to Metagross despite it being bombarded by a weighty amount of electricity. Metagross managed to open its eyes after enduring a bit of more pain, pushing itself out of the Thunder while its paralysis had momentarily subsided. With a mighty thrust from all four legs, it escaped the remainder of Manectric's Thunder while the attack itself dissipated soon after.

"Taaahh!" Metagross bellowed.

"It appears that Metagross is getting more into this battle," the commentator noted. "It's certainly not going down without a big fight."

"Now Metagross, let's resume our last plan!" Morrison praised. "Zen Headbutt!"

Dodge and use Fire Fang!

Despite sparse amounts of paralyzing electricity crackling around its body, Metagross was freely able to focus into its next command. Tucking its legs in, it hovered several feet off the ground for greater force before diving. Once Metagross felt it was high enough, it flew towards Manectric while utilizing its psychic power around its whole body to amplify its tackle.

Manectric observed closely, reading into its opponent's movement and anticipating the proper way to avoid the Zen Headbutt unscathed. Metagross moved side to side as it descended. The timing needed to be precise.

"Mayne!" Manectric grunted, discovering the chance to act.

The Discharge Pokémon slowly advanced forward, also sidestepping as to properly time itself against the incoming Metagross. Baring its fangs, they were soon engulfed in fire as part of its counterattack. When Metagross felt it locked into Manectric's position completely, it took no time to immediately speed down and attack instead of waving around back and forth any longer.

Seeing Metagross's forward tactic, Manectric angled itself and sprung away as hard as it could to quickly get away. Metagross flew in for the strike, but narrowly missed a direct hit against Manectric. However, the outer psychic covering from the Zen Headbutt still managed to graze against one of the Discharge Pokémon's hind legs. Manectric cringed, but managed to continue moving, leaping off the ground upon landing towards Metagross and biting down hard from behind with flame-engulfed jaws.

The fire from Manectric's attack quickly spread and engulfed Metagross, causing the Iron Leg Pokémon to freeze in midair as the heat and flames consumed it.

"Wait! Manectric knows Fire Fang?!" Morrison yelled in astonishment.

"That's another surprise Anabel pulled by revealing that her Manectric knows Fire Fang, which is super effective on a Steel-type like Metagross!" the commentator proclaimed. "Will that be enough to take down Metagross, though?"

Metagross took the moment to shake Manectric off while putting the flames from the Fire Fang out. The flames did not last long, but it was becoming apparent that Metagross could endure that kind of attack only one more time before finally giving out. All those brutal Take Down recoils, the Zap Cannon paralysis, one massive Thunder strike, and that swift Fire Fang had whittled away a great portion of its stamina.

The Iron Leg Pokémon retreated back to its side of the battlefield while Manectric did the same, resulting into a standard standoff and stare down. Likewise, their Trainers shared in their passion for battling and coming out on top. Every audience member conversed with one another over who would ultimately come out with the victory, seeing how somewhat even both Morrison and Anabel were performing so far.

"… Manectric has improved a lot," Ash passed as a subtle comment. "… But Metagross won't go down easily… Not without additional strength from within…"

Let's wrap this up, Manectric, Anabel encouraged. Use Discharge!

Living up to its species namesake, Manectric conjured many wild streaks of silver-blue lightning out of its body, several being focused out of its yellow mane. Several jumping Discharge bolts aimed themselves towards Metagross.

"Metagross, Psychic! Let's go!"

It was time to shift gears for the Iron Leg Pokémon, from using its legs and body to its psychic abilities to attack with. Metagross's eyes lit up with telekinetic power, sending out the Psychic wave to capture the Discharge bolts within range and combining them into one large electrical orb. Manectric saw what was happening and promptly cut off its attack. However, Metagross managed to absorb the remnants of its Discharge into that orb.

"Metagross is using Psychic to stop Manectric's Discharge," the commentator noted. "What's it going to do with all that power? Use it against Manectric?"

"I don't see why I shouldn't," Morrison chuckled. "Using one's power against them has always been an effective tactic. Go, Metagross!"

"Actually, this case won't go the way you want it to be," Anabel responded with a smirk, much to Morrison's confusion.

It only took a second for the portly Trainer to realize what was really going to happen. Clutching his head in a panic, Morrison berated himself for going for an obvious tactic, not knowing the opponent Manectric's full strength.

"I'm an idiot! Metagross, stop the attack!"

"Too late!"

Metagross was unable to pull the psychically directed Discharge away from Manectric as the latter took on the Electric head on. Rather than wince or show any expression of pain from being hit from the attack, Manectric seemed to relish being within that electric shower. Soon enough, its body was lightly glowing yellow, its Ability taking effect.

"Everyone, it looks like we're witnessing the activation of Lightning Rod, Manectric's Ability," the commentator explained. "Lightning Rod nullifies any damage done by Electric attacks and instead raises the special attack component in the strength of the Pokémon with this Ability."

"Because you claimed Discharge as your own with Psychic, Manectric's body didn't recognize the attack as its own anymore, thus allowing Lightning Rod to take effect," Anabel clarified.

"Dang! And I thought I had this," Morrison grumbled, soon turning his sour mood back into his determined self. "You've still got it, Anabel, I have to admit. But this battle's not over! Metagross, Bullet Punch!"

Fire Fang!

"May-nehctrihc!" Manectric grunted, getting into position.

It was quick to draw, still having plenty of energy left to battle, which was certainly more than what Metagross currently had. It was able to anticipate where Metagross was going to come in under Anabel's telepathic guidance, knowing how to evade its Bullet Punch and striking back with Fire Fang on the thinner part of Metagross's outstretched leg claw.

"No!" Morrison cried. "Metagross, knock it away with Psychic!"

Finish it with Discharge!

Letting Metagross go from its Fire Fang, Manectric prepared its wild and widespread Electric move. It felt confident that this would end the round when it found out that the paralysis had completely restrained Metagross's movements now, including its ability to carry out Psychic. Not taking any chances, though, Manectric unleashed its unpredictable Discharge, consuming the Iron Leg Pokémon with searing electrical pain. The additional special attack boost from Lightning Rod's activation gave it some extra assurance for victory.

That was it.

*THUD*

Metagross lost energy to support itself in the air any longer and had collapsed on its underside instead of landing on its legs. The impact had tremored the field for less than a second. It became clear what became of it now through the way its legs had lifelessly sprawled out in addition to the red swirling pupils in its eyeholes.

"Metagross is unable to battle!" the referee declared, directing a flag to Anabel. "Manectric wins!"

"With Metagross's downfall, Anabel takes the lead once again!" the commentator exclaimed as Metagross's image darkened out. "Morrison is now down to his last Pokémon while Anabel still has two of hers left. But they both have taken some damage during their battles. Will Morrison be able to turn this around and win?"

"Metagross, return," Morrison mumbled, looking on sadly that his main Pokémon was taken down as he retrieved it. "You were awesome. Take a good long rest. My last Pokémon and I will handle this." As he put away Metagross's Poké Ball, he noticed Anabel recalling Manectric back. "Switching out already?"

"I want to give my other Pokémon a chance to battle," Anabel replied rather cheekily. "Plus, it's strategy."

"Don't give me that," Morrison brushed off, grinning back. "You're definitely up to something. It won't matter though. I'll take you down for what you did to Metagross!"

"Go, my friend, Alakazam!"

The Psi Pokémon returned to the grass field with a vengeance, mildly weary from its battle from Swampert. It held its fists and metal spoons up in zeal, ready to resume the battle.

"Going back with Alakazam, huh? Let's see you try this one! Darmanitan, let's go!"

Out of Morrison's third and final Poké Ball emerged a strange creature Anabel and several audience members have never seen before. The Salon Maiden heard that name while on her break in the Unova region, but had not encountered a Pokémon of that name during her stay. This battle was going to change that.

For Ash, though, he looked on intently. He was well-versed on Darmanitan's powers and strengths from his Unova journey.

Anabel bore a pensive expression, observing as the Pokémon's appearance became clear from its release. It looked like a peculiar blue statue with its limbs completely bound to its round body, as well as having blank round eyes and a sealed mouth. The only outstanding feature on its body was its orange eyebrows.

Despite its immobile appearance, Anabel could sense a great power sleeping within it. The last thing she swore she would ever do was misjudge a Pokémon based on appearances alone. She was certainly not about to take any unnecessary risks now that she was one step close to victory for this round.

"And Morrison's final Pokémon is Darmanitan!" the commentator announced with the image of the said Pokémon taking its place at Morrison's empty slot on the scoreboard.

Anabel noticed how different the image was compared to what she was actually seeing on the field. Darmanitan's appearance on the scoreboard was certainly livelier with a body colored hot red and sharp teeth boldly bared out, along with great flaming eyebrows. There was definitely more than what met the eye when that Pokémon was released into battle.

"Confused?" Morrison taunted. "This little one is very special. I haven't fully finished my journey in Unova when the announcement of the Champions League came around, but I caught this Darmanitan early on and learned a whole lot of new things while training it."

"Now you've got me curious," Anabel said, looking on neutrally. "I'm more than eager now to see it in battle."

"And so you have wished it, so it shall be," Morrison concluded, smirking with a snap of his fingers. "Time to rise and shine, Darmanitan!"

A flare of flames suddenly engulfed the seemingly lifeless statue, appearing as a large fireball that started to grow bigger. Anabel and many spectators were mesmerized by the process of which Darmanitan was coming to life. A low roar was heard coming out of that blaze of flames, gradually rising in volume and intensity.

"Daaahr-man!" Darmanitan bellowed, bursting out of the flames in its active glory with arms stretched high; its appearance now matched that of the scoreboard, complete with its fiery red body fur, fierce grin, and great flaming eyebrows.

"You've just witnessed Darmanitan waking out of Zen Mode, its unique Ability," Morrison explained. "Cool, huh? It's actually rare to find a Darmanitan in the wild with this kind of Ability, so count me lucky."

"Interesting," Anabel commented. "You ready to go, Alakazam?"

"Alah," Alakazam grunted in affirmation, looking back at the Salon Maiden before focusing on its newest opponent, who started beating on its chest out of excitement.

"It's your turn to start us off, Anabel," Morrison offered.

"If you say so," Anabel replied with a cheeky smirk. Alakazam, use Psybeam!

Morrison and Darmanitan kept a close eye on Alakazam's actions with both of them predicting a long-ranged attack upon seeing the Psi Pokémon cross its spoons together to charge up psychic energy. He was intuitive enough to recognize which attack Alakazam was going to use regardless of Anabel not giving the vocal command for it.

"Darmanitan, dodge it and use Hammer Arm!"

With remarkable reflexes and agility, Darmanitan evaded the Psybeam once it was fired by leaping high up. It placed its forearms together, storing up strength in those muscles for a smash. Alakazam ceased its attack to look up and see the Blazing Pokémon descending towards it at a critically alarming rate.

Back step and use Psychic!

Alakazam's reflexes were still keen enough to help it get back and out of the way as Darmanitan instantly created a sizeable crater in front of them. The Psi Pokémon felt the aftershocks of Hammer Arm, as well as the debris of dirt and grass flying up from impact. Nevertheless, Alakazam regained footing and sent a strong Psychic blast to push back the overly excited Darmanitan.

The Blazing Pokémon rolled back, but managed to land on its feet perfectly fine despite of the Psychic knocking it about for a bit. Darmanitan started chuckling, much to Alakazam's vexation. It seemed as though it was taunting the Psi Pokémon, but it was thoroughly enjoying this high-leveled battle.

"Now Darmanitan, Flare Blitz!"

Darmanitan planted its feet firmly into the ground, assuming a stance that looked like it was about to power up. Squeezing its fists and flexing its biceps, Darmanitan screeched loudly as light blue flames emanated from its body before consuming it whole. Now that it was encased in this great fire power, it sped forward at an incredible speed, catching both Alakazam and Anabel off guard.

*BAM*

Before Alakazam knew it, it was sent flying off the ground after being hit by what felt like a train coming out of a volcano. Its body had been engulfed by flames on contact, which slowly died down as it fell back to the ground. It felt virtually the same pain as its ally, Espeon, experienced during her battle against Metagross, though the only difference was that burning pain still lingered.

At the meantime, Darmanitan slid to a stop, notably burning away the grass in its trail and reducing it to barren soil. It looked back to where Alakazam was lying and grinned, only to momentarily feel the stinging recoil from its vicious move.

"Alakazam, are you alright?!" Anabel cried out, distressed over her Pokémon's well-being.

The Psi Pokémon managed to stand back up, leaning on its knees for support. Anabel was really thankful for Ash for helping build up her Pokémon's stamina and defenses the past week as she knew that there was no way Alakazam would have survived on a thread against such a ruthless hit. Alakazam was breathing heavily, reaching its limit. Despite the noticeable burn marks around its body from the Flare Blitz, Alakazam showed its willingness to continue until the end. Anabel nodded to her Pokémon in understanding.

"Okay, Darmanitan, no mercy! Wrap this up with Focus Blast! Take it up close and personal!"

Psychic! Let's go!

Ever full of energy, Darmanitan leapt high and directed itself towards its weakened opponent, clasping its hands to the side as it gathered energy for its Focus Blast. Alakazam focused itself with its remaining willpower, waiting for its opponent to get closer. Fortunately, the way Darmanitan handled itself with its next attack made things all too predictable and easy.

"Alah-kah-zam!" Alakazam shouted, swinging its arms out and synchronously sending out a powerful Psychic wave all around it.

Right as Darmanitan leapt in to thrust the Focus Blast into Alakazam's face, it unwittingly got itself captured in Alakazam's Psychic hold. It appeared as though the whole battlefield was frozen in time by the power of Alakazam's mind. Taking a deep breath soon after, it displayed several arm formations to concentrate its power on Darmanitan, who was struggling to break out while trying to hang tough against the constricting bind it was in.

"Hang tough, Darmanitan!" Morrison called out. "You can get out of there easily!"

With a universal gesture of throwing something, Alakazam sent Darmanitan flying straight into a stadium wall farthest from where they were. The impact startled the spectators sitting where Darmanitan crashed.

The Blazing Pokémon found itself wedged into its wall crater and that it was greatly weakened from the attack. Gasping profoundly, it couldn't believe that its stamina had dropped past the halfway point already, but that was a given after taking on two powerful Psychic blasts and suffering recoil damage.

Darmanitan was momentarily depressed that its preferred method for battling and having fun was cut short like this, but that was what would happen when taking on strong hits from powerful opponents. However, it then realized that it needed to get out before its other side took over. Otherwise, it would just make things a bit more inconvenient than necessary.

Alakazam, use Recover and get as much strength back as you can! Anabel advised, a bit of anxiety mixed into her inner state of mind. Something's about to happen with Darmanitan. I can tell that this was only half the battle.

Alakazam closed its eyes and activated Recover, cloaking its entire body with the rejuvenating energy. While Darmanitan was prying itself out of the wall, the look on Alakazam's face displayed how much it appeared to be more and more at peace. Some burn marks were starting to disappear. Its overall appearance was starting to look cleaner and livelier.

"Dahrman-ihtahn!" Darmanitan hooted, successfully breaking out of its wall prison before collapsing on one knee.

"What's going on now?" Anabel inquired, sensing a shift in power within Darmanitan.

"Zen Mode is activating now that Darmanitan's energy is halfway down," Morrison explained. "It'll turn back into that doll statue form you saw at the start, but it'll have a whole new set of abilities and strengths for you to contend with."

Right after its Trainer explained its Ability, Darmanitan shrunk down and took up its unique position while under Zen Mode by placing its hands on where its ears would be and curling its legs together. In a great poof of smoke, the Blazing Pokémon was in its smaller blue statue form once more.

"Darmanitan has changed back into what's known as its Zen Mode," the commentator spoke up. "It is said that each form of Darmanitan has different strengths and qualities. I wonder what this form will bring to us since it first appeared. Will it save Morrison from defeat?"

Right about the same time after Darmanitan had transformed, Alakazam stood back at full height, fully reenergized from the Recover. With most of its stamina restored, it felt it can go another full round. It was then that Alakazam too sensed a change in power in Darmanitan's different form. It then prepared itself into an attack stance, waiting for Anabel's next command.

Alakazam, I'm not entirely sure what's up with Darmanitan now, but we'll have to be very cautious and find out what it does, Anabel relayed. Since it appears to be immobile, start with a long-ranged attack. Use Psybeam!

The Psi Pokémon clicked its spoons together again and fired a potent Psybeam at the immobile Darmanitan. The beam struck Darmanitan directly in its face, but a moment later it seemed to have bounced off, much to Alakazam and Anabel's surprise.

"That wasn't very effective," Anabel mused. "Zen Mode as a unique ability, I know I looked into it for a bit…"

"Having trouble figuring it out?" Morrison asked, grinning rather insolently, though it was still all in good fun. "Not many people know about this power, though I'm surprised. You, of all people, should get it."

"Why should I get−It's part Psychic-type now, isn't it?" Anabel realized.

"Yep, and as you can plainly see, while the first form you fought focused on physical offense, this form focuses on defense with one more special gift," Morrison continued. "I won't spoil the rest, but just a heads up, a Psybeam like that won't do anything to Darmanitan."

"It's becoming all clear to me now," Anabel mumbled, looking on somberly. "Still, I can't help but feel that there's still something more to Darmanitan's Zen form. I need to test it more. Oh, well, it can't be helped."

"Darmanitan's defenses are stronger than ever," the commentator shared. "Anabel's only hope for victory is if she can overcome this enlightened Pokémon."

Alakazam, use Focus Punch!

Tightening its focus and its right fist once more, Alakazam charged forward with its fist wound up as it was reaching full power. Darmanitan lied there lifelessly and Morrison appeared too smug about the situation. Anabel soon realized that she was running straight into a trap.

Seeing the look on her pale face was enough to let him know that she found out what was really going on. Now was the perfect time to exact revenge.

"Darmanitan, Overheat!"

Though Darmanitan moved no muscle, the exterior of its body glimmered a fiery red. Anabel sensed a huge spike of energy being brought forth in front of the Blazing Pokémon. Huge amounts of heat energy were condensed in the form of a fiery orb ready to burst once Alakazam was close enough.

The Overheat erupted into a massive beam as Alakazam was in the process of throwing its Focus Punch, blasting the Psi Pokémon at close range and carrying it right into a stadium wall corner behind Anabel. The flaming stream lasted for a bit, having completely engulfed Alakazam and trapping it on the wall.

"No, Alakazam!" Anabel cried out, quickly glancing back at Darmanitan. "That attack was so terrifying…"

Once the intense stream had ended, though, a discouraging gray glow emanated from Darmanitan for a few seconds. Morrison frowned, knowing that its special attack would have fallen a few stages as an aftereffect of using Overheat. However, he felt his Pokémon should still be strong enough to take care of Anabel's remaining team.

At the meantime, Alakazam landed on its hands and knees, hanging back on a thread once more despite a fully recovery. Its own sturdy special defense helped it survive against the Overheat, but that particular Overheat was supernaturally powerful. It sensed its Trainer's thoughts as she figured out Darmanitan's mysterious Ability.

"Man, your Alakazam is really quite the tough guy," Morrison praised modestly. "Nothing should be standing after Darmanitan uses Overheat while in Zen Mode. Its special attack power while in that form should be off the scale!"

"So that's it," Anabel concluded, to which Morrison immediately slapped both hands over his mouth upon realizing that he gave away the final detail to his Pokémon's strength. "While in Zen Form, Darmanitan focuses on special attacks in contrast to its previous form that uses physical attacks. They basically swap over in addition to those increased defenses." She then took out a Poké Ball and pointed to where Alakazam was to recall it back. "Now I know… Alakazam, rest now, my friend."

"Hey! What's the big idea switching out?!" Morrison demanded. "I'll take down all your Pokémon in the end anyway!"

"I care a lot about all my Pokémon's well-being and Alakazam has done enough," Anabel replied, smiling assertively with Manectric's Poké Ball on hand. "Besides, you told me in the start of our battle that you wanted me to take you seriously and to give it all I got. Since you have wished it, so it shall be. Go, my friend!"

Manectric reappeared and took its weakened ally's place, snarling at the seemingly harmless statue of Darmanitan. Even before the Salon Maiden had a chance to warn it, Manectric was already fairly wary of this foreign opponent. It exuded some sort of strange power as far as it could determine.

"Anabel has substituted Alakazam with Manectric, who seems to be ready to handle this new challenge after taking down Metagross," the commentator announced with the latter's image lighting up in precedence. "We'll soon find out if this was a wise decision on her part."

Discharge!

Manectric gave off a fierce skyward howl, unleashing a bright flare of multiple bolts of blue electricity in various directions. Fortunately, they were controlled enough not to extend out to the audience. A good number of Discharge sparks, though, were concentrated upon Darmanitan, striking it from several directions.

Anabel was able to sense that some sort of effect was taking place as the immobile Blazing Pokémon was receiving quite the shock despite its external appearance showing no indication of pain. That was another factor to bear in mind during intense Pokémon battling as looks can be capable of betraying what was really happening.

"Go big or go home! Focus Blast! Keep throwing them until one hits!" Morrison commanded confidently. I have to avoid using Overheat until I can catch Manectric off guard…

Dodge them all!

Manectric kept its eyes focused on Darmanitan, watching each bright energy orb form in front of its body and thrown at its direction. Even as it evaded the first, Darmanitan began to anticipate where to fire based on Manectric's movement patterns. The Discharge Pokémon moved closer, slipping through the Focus Blasts while getting into position to attack back.

It kept going on the path until it got to the section where much grass was burned away from Darmanitan's Flare Blitz. Manectric somehow slipped on the soil when it pushed itself forward, losing its balance. Anabel gasped from that horrible instance of luck.

"Gotcha!" Morrison declared triumphantly as Darmanitan fired one last Focus Blast and struck the ground where it stood, the shockwaves of the aftermath knocking it into the air.

"And Manectric has been struck after all those Focus Blasts!" the commentator exclaimed. "It wasn't a direct hit, but that one was strong enough to sweep it off its feet."

"Manectric!" Anabel called out worriedly.

"Now's our chance, Darmanitan!" Morrison rallied. "Once we take out Manectric, Alakazam will stand no chance at its condition! Finish it off with Overheat and make it a good one!"

"I don't think so," Anabel muttered defiantly. Manectric, I believe in you! Light Screen!

The Discharge Pokémon managed to catch itself on the ground after the last hit, but at this rate, it wouldn't escape the Overheat on time. However, it heard its Trainer's voice and her faith in its abilities. Pulling itself together, Manectric concentrated as a brilliant barrier with a shimmering gold hexagonal pattern formed out of the air and took the shape of a cube around its body.

The Overheat stream, notably smaller than before, struck the Light Screen head on. A hexagonal shape appeared to vanish, but the special protective wall still held firm. Manectric winced briefly from the hit, but looked ahead as though it was unaffected further from the ongoing Fire-type attack.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Morrison gaped comically. "Talk about having another trick hidden under her sleeves!"

"It looks like Manectric has just saved itself with Light Screen, cutting down Overheat's power even more," the commentator explained. "There seems to be no use of trying to use it any longer as Darmanitan's special attack power would drop even lower."

End this with Thunder!

Manectric howled and sent another huge surge of electric power into the sky while under its Light Screen's protection. A black cloud immediately formed overhead, as though it was called in by Manectric's authoritative howl. The Thunder struck quicker this time, nailing Darmanitan from above as it had not moved from its location since its transformation. Anabel, Morrison, and various other audience members watched intently as Thunder did its job.

*BOOM*

Darmanitan's form was seen flying up in the air from the explosion, landing and rolling closer to the center of the field before landing on its backside. It started to glow and expand, changing the Blazing Pokémon back into its standard form, but with a noticeable overwhelmed expression on its wild face this time. Despite that, its great flaming eyebrows did not extinguish.

"Darmanitan is unable to battle!" the referee ultimately concluded. "Manectric wins! The victory of this match goes to Salon Maiden Anabel!"

"That last bout had me at the edge of my seat, but now we can breathe easy now that it is all over," the commentator jested. "Anabel gets to move on to the next round, but still give a major round of applause for both Anabel and Morrison giving us a remarkable battle this afternoon! We'll be back in about half an hour to get this field cleaned up for the next battle. Thanks for being here today!"

"Darmanitan, you were awesome," Morrison sighed wistfully, recalling his Pokémon back into its Poké Ball while kneeling beside it. Anabel and Manectric soon came up to him right as he got back up. "That was definitely one of the best battles I've had! Anabel, you're awesome as always."

"Thank you, that really means a lot to me," Anabel replied demurely before the both of them gently shook hands.

Morrison appeared to have sensed something and glanced at a direction. Anabel followed his gaze, leading to where Ash was standing out of his seat. He angled his cap up, revealing an eye, and left them with a mysterious smile as he made his way out of the row.

"Man, I wanted another chance to battle Ash, especially after seeing his battles with Jump and Katie the past couple of rounds," Morrison confessed. "It felt so nostalgic seeing old rivals from past Conferences. That Ever Grande Conference when Ash competed was my first one since starting out."

"Somehow it doesn't surprise me that you know Ash," Anabel said with a quick giggle.

"Wait! You know Ash too?!"

Sometime later…

Ash and Pikachu watched as the sun was about to set, this time from outside the grass field stadium. There were only a few bystanders outside checking out the booths and other attractions. After all, most of them would rather be watching battles between the strongest Trainers while staying here. Being around passionate Trainers that also desire to be the best was gradually reigniting his former passion for his dream. That was not to say that he had given up on it. The whole fiasco with Team Rocket a year ago had to put those plans on hold.

It was refreshing to live in a time of peace again, no longer being stalked by a couple of petty Pokémon thieves that had better potential doing other things in life than working for a terrorist organization. As too good as it felt, maybe he can be finally free from his past burdens and move on.

"Ash!" a soft voice called.

The Pallet Town Trainer saw Anabel and Morrison exiting the grass field stadium from behind, both quickly walking up to him. He managed a small smile seeing his old friend and rival from the Hoenn region.

"… Hi, guys," Ash greeted. "… Long time, no see… Morrison…"

"Ash, you're one of the coolest guys I've ever met!" Morrison exclaimed. "You went on to conquer the Battle Frontier, according to Anabel. Now everyone is expecting you to conquer the Champions League after seeing your recent win over Lorelei. Even Anabel admits to training with you to become stronger. It's no wonder she managed to beat me today!" He then had a guilty look and switched to the Salon Maiden. "Err, I'm not saying it was because of Ash that you beat me. I mean, you were already super strong and… Uhh… Where was I going with this again?"

"Don't worry about it, Morrison," Anabel assured amiably. "Ash really helped me out in keeping up with the competition despite the fact that we could be competing each other later on."

"… … You're giving me too much credit," Ash mumbled, further concealing the upper half of his face with his cap.

"Hey, no matter how strong either of you get, I'll also get stronger too!" Morrison proclaimed. "Once I do catch up to you, I want a rematch with you one day, Ash."

"… I look forward to it," Ash replied.

Morrison offered a hand to him. Ash took it, expecting a shake, but was unwittingly pulled into a tight brotherly hug by the bigger Trainer, much to his shock. Both Anabel and Pikachu were laughing at his expense, though Ash merely shrugged it off, knowing how much he missed fooling around as he used to in days past.

"Well, I'm heading back to Unova to train for the Vertress Conference," Morrison declared upon releasing Ash from his overbearing grip. "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck, Morrison," Anabel said, waving goodbye. "We really need to catch up again one day."

"Ash and Anabel, you two better make it to the top," Morrison replied before taking his leave.

The Pallet Town Trainer placed a hand on his back, trying to knock out some kinks induced by Morrison's hug as Anabel approached him. Upon giving her his full attention, he experienced that unrecognizable feeling once again that concerned specifically on her. It was warm and comforting while at the same time, strange and something to be suspicious of. Ash needed to know how to go about handling this properly.

He needed an opportunity to experiment on this new feeling.

"Hey, Ash," Anabel began, looking away shyly for a bit before forcing herself to keep her lilac eyes on him. "You… We've been training really hard, and I'm grateful for your help since we began. Now, I want to make it up to you."

"… Hmm?"

Little did Ash realize that the Salon Maiden was practically providing the desired opportunity he needed. It was as though she read his mind.

"… Will you go out with me tomorrow?" Anabel proposed rather boldly, surprising both Ash and Pikachu. Perhaps her recent victory over Morrison gave her that confidence boost. "I heard the new Meloetta Café is a lovely place for Trainers to relax. And I can tell you need the break, even if you don't show it."

Ash was aware enough to know what a date is. He certainly was not raised in the wild, despite the fact that he basically had lived in the wild with very little contact with society for the past year. That did not totally diminish his people skills, but he was still getting used to the company of others again since returning to compete in the Champions League. In any case, he would not have any reason to mistake the foreign word known as 'date' as some kind of meal. He had little basic knowledge from his mother years before he left and learned a bit more about such things from Brock during their travels together, which still was not much. But then again, he never really pushed on fully understanding the issue as he was more interested on winning regional Conferences and becoming a Pokémon Master than on picking up on concepts pertaining to romance.

Wait… romance?

He looked down pensively for a moment while Anabel patiently waited for an answer. Pikachu appeared concerned, which slightly worried Anabel upon reading the Mouse Pokémon, but remained hopeful. Romance was certainly something new to Ash, at least in participation of it. Until he knew more about his strange new feelings for Anabel and the concepts of romance, he knew he had to take his chances when they become available. As far as he knew about dates, it was more traditional for the boy to ask the girl out, but that did not necessarily mean it couldn't be done the other way around.

At least to make it more proper in the future, if he still felt that this strange feeling was connected to Anabel, he would have to take the initiative.

But for now…

His answer was clear.

"… Yes."

At the meantime…

"Brock, you have a message," Nurse Joy called him over, waving a white envelope in her hand. "It's unsigned, though."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Brock replied, accepting the note graciously before turning around and unfolding it.

He skimmed through the whole note solemnly. There was only one line of text, as well as an ambiguous signature at the bottom. Rather, it would've been ambiguous if Brock did not know where this note really came from. A simple message confirmed his plans for tomorrow. He needed to get everyone together again for this. Dawn will also be on her way in the morning, so there was no need to worry about her about being absent. She, especially, would benefit from this.

The Pokémon Doctor folded the paper and kept an additional mental note to properly dispose of it right after fully memorizing it. He was pleased that the one who had written this note was actually honoring his promise from the last time they saw each other.

Find me outside the grass stadium at one o'clock. I'll handle the rest from there.

~PB7

And that's a wrap. I hope this chapter made up for the previous one, where there was not a lot of action. Anyway, time for fun facts and clarifications about special details of the chapter.

I'm implementing my own battle introduction highlights, if you had already noticed that detail as the battle began, as the anime has been doing now for the Trainer and Gym Battles in XY. I really enjoyed that detail for this season, so I figured I ought to give that a shot here, even though there's nothing that involves Kalos at this point (not regarding Mega Evolution, but we'll see later on).

Anabel having a Manectric is a reference to her owning a Raikou in Pokémon Emerald when challenged for the Gold Symbol. This was done so that she wouldn't actually own a Raikou. Nothing personal against it, but it was obvious that the anime regards some Legendary Pokémon off limits and I'm honoring that 'unspoken rule' (excluding Tobias and Brandon had his Regi golems stay behind at the Snowpoint Temple to protect Regigigas). So would I have her own an Arcanine or some other powerful Fire-type to allude to Entei? You'll have to wait and see.

I have to say (once more if I already said this) that writing more of Anabel's past has been my favorite part in this story so far. She is a blank canvas with her lack of background from the anime and other media ready to be painted upon. For instance, it kind of made sense to me to openly make one of her parents from Alamos Town (supposed to be inspired from Granada and Barcelona, Spain) considering the root of her name (Anabel is the Spanish version for Annabel, just putting it out there). At this point, I hope you understand why I made her background the way I did after having read the whole chapter.

And as for Morrison having Darmanitan, it was originally going to be an Infernape to reference the fact that he shared both his English and Japanese voice actors with Son Goku from Dragon Ball Z. But I want to showcase different Pokémon throughout my whole story when possible, and Ash's Infernape will eventually make its appearance (Guess which battle it'll star in). So Darmanitan seemed like a suitable substitute here (and I couldn't help but poke a bit of fun at its great flaming eyebrows along the way).

If you picked up anything interesting while reading or have something to comment about my writing, please share in a review!

L-ater!