A/N: To the guest who told me about Misty's Gyarados, I know she had a mega. Why do you think I put in so many anime lines that she said and the hair tie placement in the last chapter? I reference my XYZ story because I changed the typings in there. I wasn't claiming she didn't have a Mega Gyarados.

While the day of the quarterfinals were nothing special, just that Ash was determined to face Gladion tomorrow in the semi-finals, there was something that happened that was interesting. Ash was taking a quiet walk at around sundown, which gave a unique view of the time given how high up he was on the top of a mountain. He was all by himself since he wanted to think about how far he's come. To think, he's so close to winning this tournament... and there's two people left in the way. Gladion, and preferably, Hau. His first battle... it feels so far away with how much he's done. And the fact he's got a girlfriend. He still can't believe how lucky he is to have a girl like Lillie fall in love with him. But by now, he's getting used to it, and he's learning how to be romantic thanks to her.

"Hey." A voice got Ash out of his thoughts, as he focused on... Guzma?

"Guzma? Why are you here?"

"Nothing special. We still have a score to settle." He answered with a stern face. He looked serious.

"Do we?" The Kanto born trainer inquired, genuinely forgetting if they had a score or not.

"Whether you remember or not, I'm getting a battle from you whether you like it or not!" Guzma sent out the red, metallic insect Pokemon, Scizor.

"Well, if I have no choice." Ash sighed. "Hawlucha, I choose you!" Sending out his Wrestling Pokemon, he wanted to get this out of the way quick. "Use Flying Press!"

"Use U-turn." Guzma countered. Scizor was able to able to counter the fighting/flying type's attack, but despite its considerable strength the power was weak so the Pincer Pokemon was slammed into by Hawlucha and smashed into the ground, though it promptly returned to its Pokemon so that Golisopod could come out. "Use Liquidation." Forming a sword made of water, it went on the attack.

"Dodge it with Acrobatics!" Speed blitzing the Hard Scale Pokemon, it was unable to see where it was going, for there was no rain this time to keep track where it was. One landing on its back resulted in its defeat as it was smashed into the ground strongly enough to crater the ground. Hawlucha simply crossed his arms as he gazed at Guzma.

"Went down in one move. Even better than before. Tsk." The Team Skull leader scoffed before returning his Pokemon.

"Guzma, why did you decide to battle me?" Ash questioned the gang leader, who's eye twitched.

"There's something about you that bugs me. What's with you? I just can't stand how you've come to where you are now. Clenching his fists in fury, he pointed at Ash. "You already failed one region's League challenge, so why are you here?!" His voice echoed through the atmosphere, and Ash just simply stared at this angry, irritated man.

"Because I had friends this time. They helped me not run away this time." Guzma internally gasped. Not running away. That struck a sore spot in him as he growled.

("He was able to reach this far... because of friends? That's... illogical. How could friends help someone reach to their dreams as far as he has?! Professor Kukui was no good to me. All he ever did was-") That was when it hit him. He finally saw it now. Even if he didn't have the words, the reason why things happened to him the way they did was obvious now. He only gave a half smirk.

"Hmph, is that all? Whatever." Turning his back to Ash, he left. Ash watched Guzma as he went away, wondering what was going through his head. That was until his stomach grumbled, along with Hawlucha's to his embarrassment.

"Haha, looks like it's time for a late lunch, huh? Come on, let's go see the others so we can eat."

"Cha." The Wrestling Pokemon said as he followed Ash.

"Mom, Professor Oak?! What are you doing here?!" Ash asked, surprised to have found them chatting with his friends in the food court.

"Oh, hi Ash!" Delia called him over, and when he did he was instantly smothered in a hug. "My strong young man, about to go to the semi-finals!"

"Mom, please!" Ash whined as he tried to escape his clutches in front of his friends. Misty and Hau giggled while Lillie smiled. Once he got out of her grasp she explained, "Well I couldn't just continue to watch from the comfy yet far away seat of our home, so I called the Professor to come over and see you make it all the way! Congratulations!"

"That's very nice of you Mrs. Ketchum." Lillie told her as she went to Ash's side, taking his hand.

"It's no big problem. Awww, you two are just so cute together!" She then went and hugged both of them, doubling the heartwarming and potentially embarrassing factor to it. "I'm so happy you two wound up together!"

"Mom!" Ash complained that she was getting too physical, but Lillie and the others just laughed. Professor Kukui came along just as Ash's mother stopped hugging them and was pleased with their arrival.

"Delia, Oak, I'm so glad you came! What brings you here at this time?"

"It's the very least we can do to cheer on Ash." Samuel answered.

"Excuse me, Lillie?" A new voice called for the girl's attention, and they all spotted Wicke.

"Miss Wicke?" Lillie was surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"I cam to see you and Gladion to deliver a message from your mother. Follow me please." Going off to see Gladion, Lillie turned to her boyfriend with sad eyes, though still retaining her smile.

"Sorry Ash, I've got to go for a bit, okay?"

"No problem." Ash winked while giving her a thumbs up. She hugged then kissed him before letting go to leave with Wicke, giving him one last turn and smile as she did so. On a training ground, Gladion was supervising a battle between his Lucario and Sivally.

"That's enough, good job you two." He told his Pokemon, whom grunted in acknowledgment.

"Gladion, look who's here." His sister called to his attention. He turned and was surprised to see the woman next to Lillie.

"Wicke? Why are you here?"

"Hehe, Lillie almost asked me the same thing. I came to deliver a message from your mother." Holding up a video pad, their mother Lusamine came on screen.

"Hello you two. I'm just so proud of you too." Gladion didn't say anything to that.

"Mother, why call us like this?" Although her smile remained, her face became more sorrowful.

"After all I did to you, I don't think I really deserve to be there in person. I believe I'd be, what is it you kids say... "Cramping your style?" Gladion groaned in a rather annoyed manner, shielding his face with his hand while Lillie giggled from Lusamine trying to be cool.

"Mother, if you wanted to come see us, you could've asked." The girl told her mom. "I would've been okay with you coming. What about you Gladion?" The emo teen kept his cold stoicism up... but he did eventually say,

"I guess."

"Oh thank you so much for your generosity! I'm taking a heicopter straight to Ula-ula Island so that I can watch my son face against Ash! Don't practice too late Gladion. You need your rest for tomorrow." Gladion lowered his hand to look at her.

"It's important. I'd like to be as prepared as I can be." Lusamine giggled.

"You two are so much alike. You and your father." Both children's interest were peaked from that. "Yes, he gets so worked up before a battle, he even forgets to sleep. We were almost late getting married because he got so involved with training on our wedding day."

"Really?!" Lillie gasped. She then imagined her unusually tall mother in a wedding dress. The measurments must be insane, and bride gowns are expensive as is. Good thing the Hartley family is rich. She then imagine herself in a wedding dress, getting married to A-Lillie shook her head in a mad blush and a big stupid grin, not wanting to think of such a wonderful though just now. "Huh? What's wrong Lillie?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Oh father." The young girl sighed.

"You're looking forward to your battle with Ash, aren't you?" Lusamine asked her son.

"Of course." Gladion finally smiled as he gazed up at the moon.

"Today has come! Today, we will see who will be Alola's very first champion! But for right now, it's the semi-finals between rivals who've both fought against and with each other several times throughout their journeys! It's Ash Ketchum and Gladion Hartley! The battle field can barely contain their fiery spirit! Now let us all watch as the end of the semi-finals are about to begin!" This time, Professor Kukui came onto the field.

"This match will be a four-on-four! I want you to give it your all and make it a fair fight!" Gladion sent out his Crobat, while Ash sent out his Salamence. Delia was getting it all on camera, wanting to get every moment. "It's Crobat and Salamence! I can only imagine what kind of battle their planning, but it looks like it's going to take to the skies!"

"Battle, begin!" Kukui declared.

"Salamence, get up high!" Ash ordered, which his Pokemon did with strong flaps of his wings.

"Use Acrobatics!" Thanks to its speed, Crobat vanished into thin air, confusing everyone. Salamence was able to soar, but not without having a poison/flying type land a blow to his underbelly, causing the Dragon Pokemon to groan.

"Use Dragon Dance!"

"Acrobatics, again!" When the Bat Pokemon disappeared, Salamence started to do an aerial dance in the air, and by the time Crobat went on the attack, Salamence was able to zoom past out of the way just in time, stumping the very fast bat.

"Alright, now use Dragon Claw!"

"Counter with Cross Poison!" Crobat's wings glowed purple as it flew towards the dragon/flying type, while Salamence's claws took on a green aura as bigger claws. The two swiftly clashed, but Salamence's supreme attack overpowered the Bat Pokemon, and swatted down straight into the ground, unsettling dust and cracking the arena.

"Crobat is unable to battle! The winner is Salamence!"

"Alright! Way to go buddy!" Ash called up to his flying Pokemon. Returning his Pokemon, Gladion smirked.

"How about this?!" The emo teen yelled as he sent out his Lucario. "Use Aura Sphere!" Forming a ball of blue fighting energy, the Aura Pokemon threw it at the Dragon Pokemon.

"Be sure to stay ahead!" Ash requested, and even though the attack was honing in on Salamence's location, the ball wasn't fast enough to catch up. Gladion growled.

"Throw a whole bunch of Aura Sphere's in there!" Putting its hands into the air, Lucario fired a barrage of the same attack into the air, swarming it with Aura Spheres. Now Salamence was struggling as he had to weave around an onslaught of attacks. Ash didn't know what to do, until he saw when two of the orbs missed his Pokemon and collided, exploding in the process. Thinking of something, Ash acted on his idea. "Salamence, use Dragon Dance straight up!" Flying high into the air, the Aura Sphere's followed suite. However, that seemed to work against them as the Dragon Pokemon flew so high into the clouds, the orbs kept drawing nearer and nearer to each other until they all exploded against each other.

"Wow, that was really smart!" Hau was amazed by that.

"He must've realized that they can't avoid each other if there's too many at once." Misty deduced. She smiled with pride. "He really has come far from his beginnings."

"He has." Lillie nodded. He was so great, she thought. Everyone kept looking up, wondering when he was going to come down. Eventually, he did, and was descending like a meteor.

"Okay Salamence, use Brick Break!" With his wings glowing white, he went on the attack. Gladion and Lucario were visibly worried by its speed.

("It's too fast! Even with his aura senses, he won't be able to dodge something this fast! We'll have to take it out mid-attack!") "Lucario, Stone Edge!" White orbs appeared around the blue jackal before they turned into stone, and sent them up to barrage against the incoming dragon missile. Although the rocks were seriously hurting Salamence with his fast he was flying into them, his momentum was too great as he soon smashed into the frightened Lucario, as the entire area rumbled from the impact, everyone gasping and yelling from the adjecsent force spread through the ground as cracks spread all over the ground. Even Ash, Gladion and Kukui were unable to keep standing as they fell down. Once all the dust was blown away by the high altitude wind, it showed that both Pokemon were out cold.

"Uhh... both Pokemon are unable to battle! It's a draw!"

"Salamence, return!" Ash recalled his Pokemon, and smiled down at it. "That was awesome! Sorry if that last one hurt."

"Aplogies Lucario. I'll make sure you're completely healed." Gladion told his Pokemon as he returned it. Without a word, he sent out his Silvally.

"Hawlucha, I choose you!" Sending out his fighting/flying type, he was about to make his move when Gladion shouted,

"Night Daze!" Glowing crimson, the Pokemon generated a crimson forcefield which took Hawlucha off guard as he was pushed back by the attack, grunting from withstanding it.

"Wait, when did Silvally learn that move?!" Ash gasped.

"Wait, could it be?" Lillie wondered.

"Hawlucha, get in close!"

"Use Flamethrower!" Breathing a torrent of flame, it appeared that the Wrestling Pokemon was going to be roasted, but Ash was ready this time.

"Cut through it with X-Scissor!" Crossing his arms, a green X appeared in front of him as it took the blunt of the damage. Sure, the heat hurt, but he was able to power through and deliver a weakened yet still strong blow against Silvally. It howled from the pain as its appearance shimmered, the Pokemon turning out to be Zoroark all along.

"Astounding! Gladion didn't bring out his Silvally, but rather his Zoroark!" Caster announced in shock.

"Zoroark." Ash remarked.

"Zoroark, use Night Daze!"

"Jump into the air!" With his great strength and agility, Hawlucha leapt high into the air, outside of the attack's range.

"Use Focus Blast!"

"Counter with Brick Break!" Jumping high just like Hawlucha, the Illusion Fox Pokemon created a ball of blue energy, larger than an Aura Sphere, though the Wrestling Pokemon was able to chop it away. But that left him open.

"Flamethrower!" Hawlucha got a face full of fire as he screamed towards the ground, crashing onto his back. "Time to finish this!" Gladion declared as he activated his Z-Crystal. "Night of the new moon, and its dusky gloom wonders, be the eternal traveler that you must become! Neverending Nightmare!" Zoroark caused the atmosphere to change, that into a black and purple wasteland which caught Ash and Hawlucha totally by surprise.

"What is this?!" Ash gasped, getting unnerved. Hands started sprouting out of the shadowy ground, and they started rushing towards Hawlucha! "No, we can't lose here! Here we go!" Activating a Z-Move of his own, he and Hawlucha synced up. "Supersonic Skystrike!" Flying into the air, Gladion could only watch in wonder as Hawlucha generated lost of cyan colored power as he broke the sound barrier, before turning around to head back down into the mass of incoming arms, and crashed into Zoroark with enough force to create an explosion. The illusion broke, the two trainers bracing themselves from the wind generated until the wind died down. Soon the dust settled, and it was revealed that Hawlucha and Zoroark were knocked out.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" Professor Kukui told the crowds.

"I don't believe it! We just witnessed a double KO back to back!" Caster cried out in amazement. Both trainers returned their Pokemon, thanking them for their efforts. "Now Gladion has one Pokemon left, while Ash has two! He'll need to double down on his efforts if he wants to go to the finals!"

"I have to admit, that was pretty spooky." Ash laughed.

"I don't think anyone but you could've dealt with Neverending Nightmare that well. Really." After a brief moment of just looking at each other, the two boys laughed. Kukui didn't know what to make of it, along with everyone else.

"Was there a joke I hadn't heard?" Hau asked the two girls next to him.

"Maybe?" Misty shrugged, but Lillie understood.

("They're just having fun.") She thought.

"I'm glad those two are having such fun." Delia commented sweetly.

"Haha, this is so great." Ash remarked.

"The best." Gladion nodded in agreement. Ash showed his next Pokeball, same with Gladion with his Ultra Ball. "Ready?!"

"All set."

"Vikavolt, I choose you!" Sending out his Stag Beetle Pokemon, it buzzed around, finally happy to be involved in a major battle. Gladion sent out his Silvally, whom was preemptively green in color.

"Huh? Wasn't that a different color?" Ash asked in confusion.

"Since giving my Pokemon something mid-battle is against the rules, I made my Silvally ready to take on your Primarina and Mudsdale if the need arised, though only after your Hawlucha and Salamence were taken out first.

"That's a good move Gladion, but we're not going to lose here!

"Neither am I!"

"So let's do this!" Both trainers shouted.

"Silvally, use Crush Claw!"

"Retaliate with Thunderbolt!" With a giant glowing red claw, Silvally was able to smash the bug into the ground, but it was after the fact that the bug/electric type generated the electricity needed to zap its opponent off, before buzzing back into the air.

"You ain't winning that easily! Use Crunch!" Charging with its jaws ready, Ash knew how to counter.

"Use Energy Ball against the ground!" Generating a green ball of natural energy, it created a smoke cloud by exploding it against the ground. Silvally charged right through, but missed as the force sent Vikavolt soaring up. "Now use Flash Cannon!" Firing a stream of silver energy, the Synthetic Pokemon was blasted by the attack which resulted in another explosion.

"Crunch, again!" From the smoke, Silvally jumped up and bit down hard on Vikavolt, making it buzz in loud pain.

"Thunderbolt, once more!" Ash pleaded.

"Throw it aside!" Gladion countered. Silvally threw the charging Vikavolt away from it, but the Stag Beetle Pokemon fired its energy from all directions, so the Synthetic Pokemon was shocked anyway as it groaned from the pain. It couldn't take much more of this. "We're finishing this now! Use Crush Claw with both claws!"

"Counter with Signal Beam!" Ash commanded, sensing this was it. Building up a multi-colored beam within its lengthy mandibles, this allowed Silvally to land its two attacks first, but only by a split second as it was blasted in the stomach by the Signal Beam, the two attacks each creating a powerful from each other, sending wind wildly around as the trainers and Kukui braced against it and any debris from the ground. As the dust settled, the silhouette of Silvally could be seen, seeming like the Synthetic Pokemon triumphed. However, the nudging from a barely concious Vikavolt managed to push it onto its side, floating up wobbly while buzzing.

"Silvally is unable to battle! So the winner of this match, is Ash who will go to the finals!"

"Yes! Great job buddy! I know all that training would pay off!" Ash cheered as he ran to hug his Vikavolt. Which crashed to the ground as it fainted, though that just made him chuckle awkwardly.

"All the way to the finals! Yeah Ash!" Misty jumped to celebrate her friend's victory.

"Woo, which means it's down to us! That's amazing!" Hau laughed from the potential fun and excitement of such a match. Lillie didn't say anything as her eyes sparkled.

("They were both amazing. Truly.") She thought to her boyfriend and her brother.

"One more battle, and Ash might become the Alola League Champion!" Professor Oak said, highly impressed. "That was quite a bout!" Delia agreed.

"Either way, I'm so proud of my son."

"Hey." Ash's attention was caught by a smiling Gladion whom held out a hand, while helping Silvally. "Normally I'd say this is annoying, but there's no one else more that I think deserves to reach the finals, and become champion. You'd better not lose against Hau." Ash returned the smile as he took the offering hand.

"Thanks Gladion, great battle."

So, it's come down to this. A battle of best friends of Ash from Pallet Town, Kanto, going up against his first friend here in Alola, Hau. They've been through a lot together, and now it's come to see who is the best trainer in all of Alola. Tomorrow will be great.