Rivals in the Game, Friends for Life

In every game that Max and Emily played together, the girls always had friendly competitions, but would give it their all in proving who was the best. But for every game, they would remember to be good sports and stay friends. With grace and dignity, Emily admitted that Max was the toughest opponent she ever had in her life. But it was also what made her a true friend. Max gave her all in every challenge to push Emily to be her best. The blonde struggled, but kept it together and always managed to find a way. Emily also admitted that she would never find her strength without Max's help. She also wondered if she ever helped Max in the same way.

Looking through the database, Emily saw that Max had a good variety of Pokémon of different types like she did. But they were all strong Pokémon of high levels and most of them were also capable of Mega Evolution.

Today was the day of destiny. Max and Emily were going to face each other. They had Pokémon battles before with the video games, but this was reality. Things would be very much different. Both challengers would battle with a full party of six Pokémon and the battlefield would chosen by random. The battlefield would be earth-based with rocky terrains.

Max was permitted to make the first call. She chose Sudowoodo as her first Pokémon. Emily carefully analyzed the battlefield and her opponent's Pokémon. She chose Sylphid as her first Pokémon. Sudowoodo made the first move by using Hammer Arm against the ground, making it shake. Sylphid kept leaping from one boulder to another. As he was coming in on Sudowoodo, he was getting ready to use Double Kick. Sudowoodo grabbed Sylphid by his hind legs and slammed him against the ground. With that one attack, Sylphid was down for the count.

Emily was just going to have to go for a type advantage. She tossed her Pokéball and called Undine into battle. Max called Sudowoodo back and chose Jolteon. Jolteon attacked with Discharge, but Undine took cover behind the stones. With the protecton provided by the stones, Undine cautiously made her way towards Jolteon and attacked with Aurora Beam. Jolteon gets hit, but he surrounds himself with electricity as he uses Discharge and lands a direct hit on Undine. She took a lot of damage from that close range attack, but she got back on her feet. Jolteon got on the rocks and attacked with Thunder. It was an electric Pokémon's most powerful attack, but only when it landed a hit successfully. Undine escaped the attack and used Water Pulse. Being covered in water, Jolteon ended up zapping himself. He also became confused. Undine took this chance and attacked with Hydro Pump. The pressure of the attack hosed Jolteon down against the rocks and knocked him out.

Max was impressed that Emily would win this round through a type disadvantage, but the battle was just getting started. Max chose Feraligatr as her next Pokémon. She had him attack with Hydro Cannon. Max knows Undine will get her strength back because of her special ability, but she wanted to make it a fair fight. It wouldn't have been fair if she beat Undine because she was worn out after that last battle. Of course, after using Hydro Cannon, Feraligatr can't move for a while. But that was enough time for Emily to land an attack. Undine jumped and began smacking Feraligater in the face with her tail. Feraligatr grabbed her tail in his mouth and used Crunch. He also gripped her in his claws and tossed her towards the rocks.

Emily called Undine back and sent Lumina into battle. Feraligatr used Hydro Cannon again, but Lumina ducked and avoided it. After that, she used Confusion to attack Feraligater. He became confused and had a hard time understanding Max's commands. Lumina attacked with Psychic and knocked him out.

Max called Feraligatr back and sent Houndoom to take it from here. Emily called Lumina back and sent Salamando to take her place. Houndoom made the first move by attacking with Dark Pulse. Salamando dodged and used Flamethrower. Unfortunately, Houndoom's special ability was Flash Fire and his attack power was raised. He used Dark Pulse again and defeated Salamando.

Emily sent Lumina back into battle. Max decided to stick with Houndoom. She had her canine attack with Dark Pulse, but Lumina saw it coming and dodged with ease. Her psychic attacks woudn't work, but she could still attack with Swift. It was a good thing Emily practiced battling with Kaiba's Houndoom several times since her journey to the Silver Conference. She had a plan to end this. Lumina did a back flip in the air as she avoided Houndoom's Dark Pulse and she hid behind the rocks to avoid damage. And because Lumina was slick and swift, she could fool Houndoom by showing up in a different direction. But this attack wasn't Swift. She gathered the energy around her and focused it into an attack called Last Resort. And with that, Houndoom was taken down.

Max called Houndoom back and chose Hypno as her next Pokémon. Hypno used Hypnosis and lulled Lumina to sleep. There was no way for Lumina to avoid that attack. She fell asleep on the ground and Hypno drained her strength by using Dream Eater. She also used Nightmare to drive her into madness and take what was left of her energy. Lumina was no longer in any condition to continue battling.

Emily chose Shade as her next Pokémon. Hypno's psychic attacks wouldn't typically work on dark-type Pokémon like Shade, but that combo would. Max withdrew Hypno and sent Sudowoodo back into battle. Sudowoodo was about to attack, but Shade landed a sneak attack by using Sucker Punch. Sudowoodo had no idea what happened or where that attack came from. As he looked around, Shade used Faint Attack and Assurance. Shade was just too fast for Sudowoodo to catch. He tried to attack again, but Shade landed another Sucker Punch. Sudowoodo couldn't take any more.

Max sent Hypno back into battle and Emily sent Undine back into battle. Hypno kept trying to hypnotize Undine and lull her to sleep, but Undine kept her eyes closed. Emily was just going to have to be Undine's eyes. She guided her to Hypno and had her use Aurora Beam. Hypno tried to dodge, but her feet got stuck in the ice. She also lost her grip on her pendulum as Undine smacked her hand with her tail. Undine was free to open her eyes again. She used Water Pulse and defeated Hypno.

Max was down to her last Pokémon. She tossed her Pokéball and called on Tyranitar. Undine was the only Pokémon who had a type advantage against Tyranitar and she was going to fight with everything she had left. Emily also noticed that Tyranitar was wearing a brace on his body with a Mega Stone. There was no denying Max was going to tap into the power of Mega Evolution. She and Undine were just going to have to end this fast. Undine made the first move by attacking with Water Pulse. Tyranitar used the rocks in the field to protect himself. He also used Hyper Beam. The attack blasted through the rocks and landed a direct hit on Undine. After taking all of those hits, it was no surprise that she couldn't take any more.

With Undine out of commission, Emily decided to take a chance with Shade. Tyranitar couldn't move after using Hyper Beam, so that gave Shade the chance he needed to attack. He charged towards Tyranitar and bit down on Tyranitar's arm. Tyranitar caught him and tossed him across the field. He also attacked using Earthquake. Shade tried to get his balance back, but could not get back on his feet. As the tremors of Earthquake subsided, Shade fell in defeat.

Emily was down to her last Pokémon. Luna was the last of the siblings and they were all counting on her. Max couldn't take Emily or Luna seriously. What chance does the blonde hope of having by pitting a little Pokémon like Eevee against a massive Pokémon like Tyranitar? It was time to put that matter to the test and what better way to do so than by tapping into the power of Mega Evolution? Max placed her fingertips against her Keystone. Tyranitar's Mega Stone reacted to the power of Max's Keystone, allowing him to Mega Evolve.

This was going to be like the battle of David and Goliath. Luna, a little Eevee, against a giant of a Pokémon. He was big, but Luna's spirit was bigger and so was her faith. And as long as she believed in herself and in her friend, she couldn't lose. Luna attacked with Shadow Ball, but Tyranitar waved it away with his arm. He attacked once again with Hyper Beam, but Luna dodged by running under Tyranitar. The massive Pokémon tried to bend over, but fell forward. Luna approached Tyranitar and bit down on his ear. Tyranitar cried out and tried to shake Luna off. Luna lost her grip and was sent flying across the field. Tyranitar got back on his feet and attacked with Earthquake. Luna tried to keep her balance, but kept falling over. Tyranitar took this chance to attack with Hyper Beam, but Luna avoided it just in time. The rocks in the field got blasted and were raining down on Luna. She saw a stone and kicked it towards Tyranitar, hitting him in the face. The head is still a delicate part of the body even for a rock-type. As he was trying to recover, Luna used all of her strength to knock Tyranitar down. Tyranitar fell back and the effects of Mega Evolution wore off. The match was over.

Max called Tyranitar back into his Pokéball. She smiled at Emily and said, "Congratulations. You've won."

The blonde could hardly believe it herself. Her Pokémon fought against very strong Pokémon of higher levels and they all came through. Faith really was an important key in winning.

That night, Max asked Emily to meet up with her at the lake. "So you're leaving?" Emily wondered.

Max shook her head. "Not quite. I think I'm going to hang around with you and the guys for a little while. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Emily was pleased to hear that. "I'm glad to hear that."

Max was glad in the same way. "You know, whenever I think I've got you figured out, you surprise me." To explain what she means, she tells Emily, "I never expected anyone with a Pokémon party like yours to defeat mine. I guess Pokémon are full of surprises like you and me."

Emily agreed. "It's like I always say: 'Don't be fooled by what you see.' Because when you're too quick to judge, you start to notice the unexpected and that's what makes it fun and worthwhile."

"That's why I'm not disappointed that I lost to you," said Max. "In fact, I'm happy because of what you and I have accomplished. By fighting you with all I had in an ultimate battle of intellect and power, you gave the same in return. You did all that I hoped and expected you would."

"In the end, is that what it's always about?" Emily wondered.

Max nods and says, "You and I are fierce rivals, but we're also friends. Through our battles and trials, we're helping each other just like in the ancient past. And that's the only way you and I are going to end this. I just hope the Great Goddess and the Dark Lord will realize that."

"So do I," said Emily. "And when that time comes, we'll still be friends. The Battle of the Gods won't change that. I won't let it."

It was just natural for the girls to feel this way. Despite their differences, they understand each other because they care about each other.