Part CLIX: Thinning the Competition

"Folks welcome back to the second day of the Wallace Cup and the first of 3 days of pulse pounding Contest battles to look forward to!" Jillian said to the cheering crowd as Ash and Emily walked out of the wings to kick off the battle round of the Wallace Cup. "It's time be begin the battle round!"

Ash was ready for this and already had a plan for the upcoming. After the appeals had ended they'd all headed back to the hotel that competitors and their friends were staying in to plan for today and then get some rest. Misty couldn't be with them, she was being kept separate in the judges area even though she wasn't judging the battles, but the rest were there as they enjoyed the night before they all went to bed early.

Now it was morning, the 16 trainers remaining were back in their formal clothes, and the battles were set to begin. Ash had left Pikachu with the others up in stands as he'd not be needed so he would be watching the battles with Piplup and Dawn's Azumarill. Now, he was ready for this battle with the Kanto girl that Misty had mentored at times.

Ash had faced Emily twice before with a win and a loss between them but now he had a chance to change that and the perfect Pokémon for it. The girl was a fairy specialist after all so he could counter it and get some more experience against the newest type in one go. All that plus with this outfit on how could he not use the Pokémon who's species he'd first met when he'd worn a similar get up.

"Alright folks we're just about set for the first battle." Jillian said as she raised her arm to gesture to the brunette on the other side of the ice battlefield from Ash. "And boy is it a good one as we have one of the favorites this year in the very first match. With 4 ribbons and an established member of the Big 3 as voted by fans, plus the only coordinator to beat the number one favorite this year, give it up the Charming Fairy from Mt. Moon out in Kanto, Emily!"

The crowd roared a cheer for Emily. Ash could understand that, she was a shy but capable coordinator who'd really grown into her own on the Kalos circuit, likely due to her surprise success in the Kanto Grand Festival, and he earned her status. Ash could tell that she wasn't the top fan favorite, the home regions one always were, but Emily had a very solid support on the circuit this year for sure.

"Verses a man who needs no introduction but will get it anyway." Jillian said as she swept her arm to Ash's side. "That's because he's the man who revealed the emergence of fairy types to the world in dramatic fashion, the type Emily uses by the way. In addition, he's the runner-up in from the last Indigo Conference, and a trainer going for it all in the Lumiose Conference this year, once he gets that last badge that is. He's face Emily twice before as he enters Contests to test and train himself and his Pokémon, winning one of them, so he's looking to live up to his name today. From Pallet Town in Kanto, it's the Upset of Kanto himself, Ash Ketchum!"

Ash just ignored the intro as he pulled out his Poke Ball, Emily doing the same, and got ready for the battle while the crowd gave him a polite but not too loud cheer as he wasn't a coordinator so not the biggest fan favorite out there. Besides, there wasn't need for idle chit chat or banter, he didn't know Emily well enough for it and even if he wanted to there was their ties to Misty that was best left unsaid. Emily seemed to know that as well, so it was going to be a silent start.

"No banter? Oh well that just means that we can start right away then." Jillian said as she raised her hand and the timer appeared on the screen with their faces and points bars on it. "Battle begin!"

"Carbink, fairy lights!" Emily said tossing out her Poke Ball and revealing a new Pokémon that Ash had never seen her use before, but one Ash had seen before.

"Lucario, I choose you." Ash said sending out his own Poke Ball at the same time and grinning at the sight of the odd-looking rock and fairy type he'd faced off against when he'd had that full battle against Kenny and knew at once that he had the advantage, which he intended to use it to its fullest by focusing on what Lucario was best at, close quarters combat. "Get in there close with Metal Claw, dodge whatever it throws at you."

"Carbink, keep it back with Moonblast." Emily said her tone calm, but Ash could hear a little waver in it, and he understood why, Adam was a fighting expert and knew Ash's Lucario well enough to know what it, and its species as a whole, could do as the steel claws formed from the spikes on Lucario's forepaws in preparation for the steel type attack. "And don't let that land, this is a bad matchup for us so show how a Contest Pokémon counters such a disadvantage."

Lucario just ran at the sentient rock thing with crystals on it, the ice not great for traction but he was just about able to deal with it, and besides there was that next gym battle that would likely be on ice so if he showed he could handle it now then Ash might use him in that battle as well. As Lucario ran, Carbink borrowed the power of the moon above its head before blasting it right at Lucario as he charged it.

All Lucario did was grin as the attack came at him. Ice may not be a great surface for him to run on, but it was great for sliding so as the blast of fairy type power came at him, he leapt forward and then slid feet first on the smooth ice, his speed increasing so that the attack missed him by a fair bit and slammed harmlessly into the ice behind him cratering it a bit but otherwise doing nothing as Carbink looked on in surprise.

With a bark, Lucario slammed his paws into the ice to launch himself off it and arc into the air. As he came down, almost on top of Carbink as he'd slightly miscalculated his attack due to sliding further and faster on ice than he would on early, he raised his forepaws and then slashed down, his arms parallel to each other in a diagonal slash.

The steel type attack landed and raked across Carbink's body causing it to let out a howl of pain as the doubly super effective slammed into the top of its rock right by its head, driving it into the ice from the angle only for Carbink to bounce up. As always, Ash wasn't one to turn down such an opening.

"Bone Rush." Ash commanded.

"Stone Edge." Emily said as the bone made of aura formed in Lucario's paws.

Lucario twirled the bone around and raised his arms as he stepped forward ignoring the pillars of stone that shot out of the ice. Lucario didn't even bat an eye as the sharpened stones slammed into his sides, both his types resisted rock type attacks so it was only a quarter effective on him, something he could easily shrug off as he brought his bone down.

With a well-practiced, fluid sequence, Lucario landed 4 blows on Carbink with his bone before it vanished, each on super effective thanks to Carbink's weakness to ground type attacks. This really was a battle where Lucario held all the cards due to the types involved and the moves that he knew. He almost felt bad for Carbink, almost, he was still here to win and advance with Ash.

"Dazzling Gleam." Emily said. "Use it to put some distance and then use Gyro Ball."

Before Lucario or Ash could react, Carbink suddenly flashed bright white as it attacked with the fairy type move. Lucario grunted in pain and closed his eyes even if it was too late to avoid being momentarily blinded, taking a few steps back from the hit that his steel type helped ensure was only average effectiveness. Had he still been a Riolu this would have hurt a lot more but that was a long time ago and he could feel Ash's passive aura fueling him, his passion for battle increasing it so that Lucario could draw on it and make himself stronger.

He'd need that as his vision returned and he saw that Carbink had backed up and then launched another attack at him, this time coming base first and spinning its body as fast as possible putting all of its weight into the attack. Lucario felt Ash's reassurance and trusted his human to make the right call, which he did.

"Block it with Metal Claw." Ash called out. "And fling it back the moment it starts to slow down."

Lucario just barked in agreement as the claws formed over his paws from the spikes there and he crossed his arms in time to intercept the attack on his claws. Carbink spun hard against it, the two steel type attacks sparking as they clashed, but Carbink lacked the strength to break through Lucario's defense and the moment he felt the spin slow Lucario countered.

With a growl, Lucario uncrossed his arms putting all his strength into tossing Carbink back. Carbink's spin was broken by that, and it was tossed back and into the air, flipping end over end in the process and giving Ash another opening in the process.

"Aura Sphere." Ash said.

"Block it with Moonblast." Emily countered but it was too late as Lucario had already formed the sphere of fighting type power between his paws as fast as possible and then launched it at his opponent.

Unless a Pokémon used a move like Dig, Fly, or Bounce, or actually had the time to set up a protective move, Aura Sphere was an attack that didn't miss. It could be blocked by another attack if timed right, but Carbink didn't have the time to get off the Moonblast before the ball of power slammed into its center mass as it flipped causing it to wail and be blasted backwards.

Thanks to Carbink's rock type it wasn't resistant to fighting type attacks though it was no longer weak to them ever since it had mysteriously added this new type that humans called fairy. However, the additional type it had somehow gained, it still didn't know how or why that had happened, had made it even weaker to steel type attacks so between the Metal Claw at the start, the Bone Rush that was also super effective, and the Aura Sphere Carbink was pushed past its limits and was out cold before it slammed into the ice.

The impact kicked up some mist that covered it for a moment as Carbink's weight ensured that it didn't bounce on impact but the second the mist cleared the Xs went off from the 4 judges scoring the battle rounds and it was clear why they'd done that. Carbink was lying on its back in a small crater in the ice with swirls for eyes and the crowd took a moment to process the sudden end of the match before letting out a cheer at the first surprise of the Wallace Cup.

"And the first upset has occurred, and it was by none other than the trainer known for his upsets practically whenever he enters a Contes and why he is called the Upset of Kanto." Jillian said into her microphone. "Ash Ketchum has won the first battle of the Wallace Cup and against one of the favorites on Kalos's circuit this year no less by battle off with 2 minutes remaining. With this win he advances to the quarterfinals."

"Alright Lucario, we did it." Ash said as Lucario hurried back to him with a bark of triumph to celebrate as Emily recalled and thanked Carbink behind him. "I knew that you could do it."

Lucario just nodded at that. The battle had been in his favor from the start, but he'd never counted out his opponent once during it, he knew better than to do so given his own record, and he'd put his all into it. Now he'd won and their team would advance. Pikachu had done his part to allow them to reach the battles were the real training would occur, now Lucario had continued that success, so it was up to whoever was next to keep them going as they sought to win this competition for Ash.

"Take a good rest, you've earned it." Ash said as Lucario reached him, recalling his Pokémon and looking up to nod respectfully at Emily who returned it before leaving without a work.

Ash understood that there was no need for words and the day was going to be a busy one regardless, so chatting should be limited regardless. Hopefully, she grew from this like he did when he lost, and Misty could chat to her if need be.

For now, though, Ash just turned and left to get back to the waiting room and saw Brock there in the wings ready for his own match that was about to start as soon as the ice was repaired. Ash had to get back to support his best friend who he wanted to win so that they could face off in the quarterfinals as the first day of battles began to heat up in the Wallace Cup.


"After such a dramatic first battle, complete with Ash living up to his well-earned name and upsetting one of the Big 3 in the first battle, will we see another such upset?" Jillian said as Ash passed Brock in the wings with a nod of support that Brock returned before began to walk out for his own Contest battle as the final touches to the ice were done so that the battle could start on time. "Because the second of the Big 3 this year is about to battle against another non-coordinator from the Kanto region."

Brock had watched Ash's battle with Emily from the wings and could tell that the win was more a mix of Lucario's type advantage, Ash's own style and experience as a normal trainer, and Lucario navigating the ice well. The factors were in Ash's favor, and no doubt Lucario had been chosen to counter the fairy types Emily used, but her choice of Carbink was one of her worst ones given Lucario's moves. The next battle for Ash wouldn't be as such and if Brock advanced he'd make sure of that.

Of course, he had to advance, and he was up against Jessilina who he recalled from Sinnoh as he watched the homely girl walk out opposite him so he knew that this wouldn't be easily. Jessilina had been notoriously unpredictable in battle back in Sinnoh and had even once beaten Misty, so she was a going to be good. Add in that she was one of the Big 3 this year and this would be tough, but Brock intended to give it his all. After all, a battle with Ash was on the line and it had been years since he and Ash had had a good battle.

Naturally, Jessie was thinking similar thoughts on the other side as she reached the start. She'd watched Emily closely expecting to face her given her status this year until the king twerp had won in a surprise, but not shocking, upset over her. That meant that if she beat the prince twerp then she'd face the king in a no holds barred Contest battle tomorrow. So many years and so much pain to get her revenge for that she had to win this.

Thankfully, the king twerp had shown that forethought was a good idea when knowing your opponent, so Jessie was doing just that as tried to decide who to use. Her opponent was known to favor rock types in general and while he had other types he'd used one in the appeal so couldn't use it now. However, Jessie recalled the performer party and which Pokémon had with the twerp during it. Somehow she felt that that might be the choice and if not it was likely a rock or ground type. In that case she had the perfect Pokémon to face him.

"Alright it is time for our second battle of the day and who else to begin with but the second member of the Big 3 in the Wallace Cup." Jillian said gesturing to Jessie who gave the crowd that was cheering for her a small wave and a shy, innocent, smile. "She came out of retirement and all the way from Sinnoh to compete on the inaugural Kalos Contest circuit and has quickly established herself as one of the 3 best on the year. It also doesn't hurt that she is the only coordinator on the circuit this year with a win over a future Top Coordinator in the past as she once beat Misty in Sinnoh. It's the Maiden of Sinnoh, give it up for Jessilina!"

At this the crowd really cheered. Of the Big 3 Jessie had the most fan support because of her homely and innocent personality and willingness to be in the spotlight or engage with her fans. Emily was too shy to really play to it while Brianna was, well, the word Jessie would use to describe her was one that was no where near appropriate in polite society. Jessie didn't care though, that just meant more support and money from advertisements for her, so she really played to it.

"Up against her is one of the most interesting men in the field, after his good friend Ash Ketchum that is." Jillian said turning her arm to Brock. "He's been a gym leader, an aspiring breeder, a onetime coordinator who reached a Contest final in his one Contest, and now he's going to become a qualified Pokémon Doctor in the coming years. From Pewter City out in Kanto give it up for Brock the Rock!"

Brock just waved a little to the crowd as he pulled out his Poke Ball, Jessilina doing the same opposite him, and got ready for the battle. In the past he'd have hit on Jillian, but he had his beautiful fiancée supporting him from the crowd and he was going to show her how well he could battle by beating a member of the Big 3 and moving on to face Ash tomorrow.

"Battle begin!" Jillian announced.

"Croagunk I choose you." Brock said tossing out his Poke Ball.

"Frillish come on out and dazzle." Jessie said throwing out her own ball and repressing a grin at how she'd guessed right and was using the perfect Pokémon for this. "Start out with Psychic."

"Brace Croagunk." Brock said as the pink Unova ghost and water type began to glow blue. "This is a terrible matchup for us but push through it and use Poison Sting. Show that you can defend against this and break that Psychic with your own power."

Croagunk just croaked in agreement as he was enveloped by the psychic type attack and lifted up off the ice. The move was ultra-effective against him as both his types were weak against it so all he could do was brace and prepare as he was slammed into the ice hard. He pushed through it and opened his mouth, making sure that the odd pink Pokémon before him was in sight before he unleashed a series of purple needles right at Frillish.

Frillish for her part was so focused on the next slam that she didn't see the attack coming until it was too late, and the poison type attack slammed into her. She wailed in pain though she was neither weak nor resistant to the attack and her concentration was broken causing Croagunk to fall back to the ice where he landed safely on his feet looking at her closely as he awaited his next order. Thankfully Frillish wasn't poisoned and already Jessie had a plan for what to do next.

"Mist." Jessie ordered. "Cover the stage and hid in it."

"Croagunk, stay sharp." Brock said as the mist billowed out of Frillish's mouth to cover the battlefield. "Activate Poison Jab and sense for Frillish. If she tries a Psychic again then sweep with Poison Sting until you hit her. We can defend against that move now."

Jessie had to repress a grin at that as Frillish moved into the thick mist obscured by it though with her pink complexion she wasn't as well hidden as her male counterpart might be. Still, it allowed her to move around and attack from any angle as Croagunk stood in the middle of it, his fingers glowing purple to show where he was.

For the moment Jessie wasn't going to use Psychic because while it was her best attack she wanted to save it for when she needed it the most. Though when she did, and the Pewter twerp tried his tactic he'd miss enough to really boost her chances of win.

"Now Frillish, Shadow Ball." Jessie said.

"Block it with Poison Jab." Brock countered as he and Croagunk looked out into the mist to try and see where Frillish was and where the attack would come from. "I know you can do it."

Croagunk listened to his human and kept his eyes open for the attack but the mist covering the stage made it hard to. A second later the attack came, and a ball of ghost type energy shot out of the mist and slammed into the back of Croagunk's left shoulder. He turned but there was nothing there except the mist.

"That's it keep it up Frillish." Jessie said. "Two more Shadow Balls and then reapply Mist."

"Keep warry Croagunk." Brock said starting to get nervous, he recalled Jessilina from his days in Sinnoh when she'd been a rival of Misty's, but this was a whole new level for her, she'd really upped her game in the years since Brock had last seen her. "I know you can do it."

"Cro." Croagunk croaked in agreement as he saw a subtle shift in the mist to his right-hand side.

He turned quickly and jabbed his glowing fingers forward to slam into the attack as it shot out of the mist. The Shadow Ball exploded on contact with his Poison Jab not effecting him at all. It also briefly cleared the mist, but Frillish was already gone having moved the moment she attacked so as to not be open to a counter. Before Croagunk could react the next Shadow Ball shot out and slammed into his left side staggering him.

"I can do this all day." Jessie said with a light laugh as the Mist move was reapplied thickening it even more. "Keep it up Frillish, we got this."

"Poison Sting." Brock said as his frustration got the better of him. "Sweep the area."

Croagunk croaked in agreement at that, opened his mouth and began to spew forth his attack spinning as he did. Alas Frillish was not near him at the time in the mist and just moved with the attack easily avoiding it, which cost Brock points, before releasing another Shadow Ball that slammed into Croagunk's head. These were going to add up, so Brock had to rethink his strategy.

"New plan Croagunk." Brock said. "Keep Poison Jab active and block or dodge anything that comes at you. That will lessen her points and we will win that way."

Croagunk croaked again as his fingertips glowed purple, his eyes peeled for another attack. When it came from behind him he was able to sense it in time to flip up and over the Shadow Ball causing a miss. He could do this, together he and Brock had a plan, and they'd win.

At least that was the hope but now that it was clear what was going on Jessie just held back. It had taken 3 minutes to reach this point in the battle and for the rest of it Frillish just kept taking pot shots at Croagunk whenever she felt that she had an opening and using Mist whenever it began to seem like it were thinning.

It was only because of the dark color of the Shadow Balls in the mist that the judges could see the attacks at all and used them to record the hits and misses as both points bars continued to slowly tick down until finally the bell sounded to end the match that no one had really seen. Course seeing a Pokémon wasn't as important in a battle as it was in an appeal and the hits had been visible, so everyone was still entertained by the battle.

"And that is it." Jillian said as the mist began to finally disappear to reveal a battered but still standing Croagunk and an almost unharmed Frillish several feet away and to one side. "After that rather interesting battle, one we've not seen the likes of before but with Jessilina you never quite know what she'll do, the time has run out which means that the winner will be decided on points. So, the winner of the second battle is…"

At that everyone looked to the scoreboard above the judges where the pictures of the trainers and their Pokémon were to see. Both had bars with less than half of their points gone but one was barely below half while the other was at best a quarter full showing that there had been a clear winner of this battle.

"…Jessilina." Jillian said as the crowd cheered at that. "She has advanced to the quarterfinals to face Ash in the first battle tomorrow."

"Croagunk return." Brock said a little upset at his loss but accepting it nonetheless and looking at the ball in his hand. "That was a good job out there, you did really well my friend. We were hampered from the start with a ghost type that knew Psychic, but an evasion move that helps obscure her and then only using ranged attacks that weren't Psychic was ingenious. That allowed her to control the entire battle and easily win on points with the grace you'd expect from a coordinator. She's a lot better than in Sinnoh, it's no wonder that she's a favorite this year. Don't worry, we'll support Ash against her tomorrow."

With that Brock collapsed the ball and put it away before looking up at Jessilina who'd already recalled and praised Frillish. He gave her a respectful nod, which she politely returned though he was unaware of how much she hated doing that, before he turned and walked off as the battlefield was swiftly repaired due to the little damage they'd caused to it. Jessie did the same repressing the smirk she had on finally upstaging a twerp.

Brock had given it his all and come up short, but it was still a good time and Brock was just happy to enjoy it with his friends. Max was next so he was going to hurry back to the waiting room to watch his battle before changing and joining the others during the lunch break with the lunches he'd prepared for them. Hopefully, the others would fair better than he had as the day progressed.


"What a match, even with the disadvantages in types and experience Brock held in until the end so a good showing despite his loss." Jillian said as Brock walked off and passed Max with a shrug and Max knew that his friend had done his best given the battle before he began to walk out for his own match with his friend and traveling companion Owen. "Next up we have an interesting matchup that will ensure another non-coordinator or performer coordinating this year advances though as they are both men the latter can't be the case with them."

Max just ignored this as he made his way out to the starting spot ready to face Owen in a proper battle and not a training battle or whatever that fighting tournament was for the first time since the one they'd had when they met. Back then he'd had the edge against Owen's Galarian Linoone, but Max was certain that it wouldn't be Obstagoon this time. No, he had a feeling that he knew Owen well enough by now to know who he'd use in this battle.

That of course meant that Max had to decide how to counter it. He was sure he knew who Owen was going to us which meant that he knew the type that he'd face but who was best against it? He had some options but in the end, despite a weakness, he went with that mix as the strengths outweighed the weaknesses in his mind. If he won he'd almost certainly face Brianna who was a terrible person that made his sister unhappy and that meant that he had to win this match.

"Both of these trainers are not coordinators though I will start with the one with Contest experience rather than the one with Contest pedigree in his family." Jillian said as she gestured to Owen. "He's come to Kalos to improve his breeding skills and grow, and he's been showing us some interesting Pokémon from his native region of Galar, from Ballonlea, it's Owen."

The crowd gave a good cheer though nothing like the last two battles as this was one of those standard Contest battles that held no real interest as it was two of the weaker advancers who'd gotten lucky with the draw pitting them against each other. It would be good, and the crowd were ready for it, but this didn't have a favorite or a character like Ash in it to really get them going.

"Against him and in his Contest debut is a normal trainer who's the younger brother of one of the talented Top Coordinators that Kalos has come to know over the last 2 years in May." Jillian said gesturing to Max now as both boys took out their Poke Balls. "He's from Petalburg City in Hoenn where the last Wallace Cup was hosted, it's Max!"

Again, the crowd was tepid at best though a bit louder because of Max's sister. He didn't care, this was for fun and training and a chance to defend his sister's honor against a girl who hated her because May had the brains to dump an asshole that wasn't worth her to begin with. Max was going to give this his all to win.

"Battle begin!" Jillian said.

"Hatterene, game on." Owen said throwing his Poke Ball out and confirming who Max was expecting.

"Just as I predicted, you'd use the other one that could use the experience after an evolution." Max said noting that Owen arched an eyebrow at him as he tossed his own Poke Ball out. "Scolipede, let's go."

"Interesting choice." Owen said as the Pokémon appeared before their trainers and the timer for the battle began. "A poison and bug type, strong and weak against a pure psychic type Hatterene and your only Pokémon at the moment with strong attack moves against her. I should have expected this from you."

"You also use a lot of fairy type moves which I have a defense against now thanks to Scolipede's secondary type." Max said as he briefly looked over the odd Pokémon while Jillian squealed over the new Galarian Pokémon being debuted and how cute she was.

Hatterene was a tall Pokémon at just over 2 meters or almost 7 feet, though still smaller than Scolipede making this one of the largest matchups of the entire year on the Contest circuit with a narrow body that had a white base, pink middle and light blue top with what looked like a large light blue witches hat on top. There was also an odd hand thing at the end of a long strand coming out of her hat thing that was light blue as well except for a ball thing between the hand and the strand. To top it all off her light blue face with black eyes and pink eyebrow things was in the middle of a gap near the top of her body.

She was certainly a strange Pokémon to look at but then again Scolipede was also a little strange, so this battle was going to be good. It got even better when you factored in that Max's Scolipede was female thus negating the most frustrating move that Hatterene had. Naturally Max struck first.

"Scolipede start with Venoshock." Max said.

"You may be strong against poison types, but you don't resist them either." Owen said as the battle began. "So, dodge and counter with Psybeam as Scolipede is still weak to psychic attacks despite being strong against the type thanks to her bug type."

"Spray the field." Max said in an order that showed his lack of Contest Battle skills, but he was here for fun and training not whether or not he retained his points. "Make sure that it hits her."

Scolipede understood what her human wanted and tilted her head back before she spewed forth the special liquid that was Venoshock as she swept her head back and forth ensuring that it arced out and covered the battlefield in front of her in a way that Hatterene couldn't avoid as she was still getting used to her taller body. It was also what Max had come up with for this move so that they could hit their targets and had come in handy in a few gym battles over the year.

That much was clear as Hatterene tried to slide out of the way only for Scolipede to correctly guess the way her friend would slide so that the poison type attack fell right on top of Hatterene with only a small bit of the attack missing. What happened next however took everyone present by surprise.

Rather than just grunting or grimacing from the drenching of the poison type attack, Hatterene let out a howl of pain from the hit as if it had caused more damage than it should have. To add to the confusion there was no telltale sign that she'd been poisoned which might have explained away the pain.

Max just deduced that it was a critical hit and thanked Arceus for that lucky break to start the battle with. He'd talk to Owen later about his thoughts on it, but first he had a battle to win and Hatterene may be hurt but she wasn't out or done yet.

She proved that as she sent out a blast of peculiar psychic power that was Psybeam. Max had watched Hatterene grow up from a shy Hatenna when he'd first met her with Owen to a confident and motherly Hatterene though even she deferred to his Gardevoir when it came to being the mother of the group. In that time Hatterene had also improved in battle and that was seen by her withstanding the Venoshock and countering with a Psybeam that slammed into Scolipede's chest before she could get out of the way of it.

Scolipede let out a wail of pain of her own from the super effective attack, but it wasn't enough to down her and already Max was ready for what came next. He'd chosen Scolipede because he knew she was the best to face Owen and she'd show it now.

"Steamroller." Max ordered going with the one move he knew would be super effective.

"Break it up with Magical Leaf." Owen countered as Scolipede leapt forward, rolling her body up and spinning fast before she shot across the ice, the segments of her body making it easy to traverse the ice as it gave her the necessary grip on the slick surface. "It won't do much damage, but it will hit and that is important in a Contest battle."

"Power through it." Max said as Hatterene flicked her head and the special leaf that never missed shot out from her and spun at Scolipede. "I know that a simple attack like that won't break your attack."

Max was right and Scolipede was only slowed for a second by the impact of the grass type attack that she was resistant to with both her types. All it did was smash into her, briefly halt her momentum, and then it was over, and she was through continuing her roll towards Hatterene with anymore impediments. Max grinned but he also didn't doubt that Owen had a trick up his sleeve for this which he showed a moment later.

"Psychic." Owen said. "That will stop her and do a lot of damage at the same time."

"Hit her before she uses it." Max said as Hatterene began to glow blue.

Alas this time Scolipede wasn't fast enough. It turned out that the Magical Leaf had been just enough to slow her down to the point that at the last second Hatterene was able to grab Scolipede with the Psychic and lift her friend off the ice so that she spun harmlessly in the air just in front of her face with a thrum of pain from the super effective attack.

Max had to admit, it was impressive, but he also grinned. He had one more move to play, one that wouldn't miss and Scolipede was right in position for it to slam home.

"Smart Strike." Max yelled as the spinning ended.

Before Hatterene or Owen could react, Scolipede unfurled herself and lunged her head forward despite still being suspended in midair with her horns flashing. The steel type attack never missed and with this position there was no way to block it before the tip of her horn slammed right into Hatterene's forehead.

Again, just as with the Venoshock, something strange happened. Hatterene let out a howl of pain from the attack and her Psychic ended dropping Scolipede who landed on her feet with ease as Hatterene staggered back. It shouldn't have been that effective but somehow it was, and Max wasn't one to hold back when he had an opening like this.

"Venoshock again." Max ordered, the closeness ensured that it wouldn't miss and would be better than Steamroller as Scolipede couldn't build up the speed for that move to be as effective as it could be.

As Hatterene staggered back Scolipede opened her mouth and spewed forth the special liquid of Venoshock right into Hatterene's face as that was the nearest part of Hatterene to her. Again, Hatterene wailed in pain beyond what it should have been, and as she hadn't been poisoned by the first Venoshock that shouldn't have been possible, but it was and she kept staggering back, shaking her head to try and clear it of the poison. Max wasn't going to allow that, not when he knew that he had the battle won.

"Smart Strike." Max ordered.

"Stop it with Psychic." Owen said and Max could hear the worry in his voice. "That is the only way to avoid a hit from that move with what you know."

Unfortunately for Hatterene and Owen, Scolipede was faster, and she lunged forward as soon as her human gave the order and before Hatterene could activate her Psychic to slam the tip of her horns right into Hatterene's upper chest. This time Hatterene didn't let out a wail, she had been pushed well past her max by a fourth super effective attack landing, though as of right now no one present realized that that was the case, she just fell back to crash into the ice and lie there with swirls for eyes. The moment that was seen the 4 Xs to signal a Battle Off were heard.

"And the battle is over." Jillian declared as the crowd cheered following such a strong showing in the third battle. "Scolipede has won by battle off with only half the time having elapsed meaning that Max has advanced to the quarterfinals."

"Scolipede, return." Max said holding out his Poke Ball and recalling his Pokémon as Owen did the same with Hatterene. "You were amazing out there. I'm still not sure what actually happened, that was a bit quicker than we'd have expected but a win is a win and we're moving on."

Max put the ball away and looked up to see Owen looking at him just as confused as he was with that match but as their eyes met his friend gave him a nod which Max returned before they both turned to leave the stage. Whatever had happened had happened and if Max thought on it he'd realize what it was, and that word needed to be sent to Galar so that the main test could be performed.

That might come in time but for right now Max was still confused by how fast the battle was and left quickly so that he could watch the other matches. He had to prepare for the next round by studying the match that followed as he had a feeling that he'd need to understand it if he wanted a chance to reach the semifinals and a possible matchup against Ash.


"That last battle was a little unexpected I think, those poison and steel type attacks really seemed to bother Hatterene more than they probably should." Jillian said and she wasn't wrong as Max had a confused look on his face as he left despite his win, not that Brianna cared about the villainess's little brother other than that he'd won which meant that she could crush him next and do so in front of his horrible sister. "We'll have to shelve why that was because next up we have one of the best coordinators on any expansion circuit this year, possibly even the best in some people's minds, and we need to be ready for that."

Brianna smirked as she walked out knowing that it was her who Jillian meant. She was the best there was right now in Kalos who wasn't a Top Coordinator, even she had to admit that she'd lose to May in a battle at her current level of experience even if one day she'd surpass her thanks to her darling Drew, and she was going to show why she was the best today. Add in that the green haired guy walking out the other side to face her was on her list of villains that she had to destroy, and it was going to be all the sweeter.

She didn't know much about this Adam or was it Allen not that she cared what his name was, guy other than that he was a fighting specialist and Pokémon nerd who knew how to plan but likely not execute a battle. She'd seen the latter herself when she'd lost to Emily in her only, and totally unfair, loss of the year so far because of this boy's advice.

Emily was a good coordinator, Brianna had to give her that, but she wasn't in Brianna's level, no one was this year. Therefore, the only way that she could have managed to defy someone like Brianna who was personally trained by the amazing Drew was if someone had told her to use Klefki, a Pokémon not known for battle use, in their final in Laverre Town as Brianna was likely going to use her best Pokémon against a fairy type.

That someone was this boy, the person who traveled with Emily and understood tactics according to Drew. He would have predicted based of Brianna's known Pokémon and her personality that she'd go for the Battle Off given her desire to defeat all the evil in the world and as Emily was the closest thing to Misty's protégé out there that made her evil by association to Misty who was evil by her association with May and Ash.

If he predicted what Brianna would go for then he'd also predict that she'd go for the fastest and best way to achieve that. Naturally, that meant that he'd have predicted she'd use her Roselia as it was her only poison or steel type making it perfect against most fairy types. Sure, she'd bested Emily the first time with Flygon but that had been to make a point in her first Contest in Kalos, the point that Brianna was in a league of her own, that she could use a dragon type to defeat a fairy specialist. Next time she just wanted the quick win.

However, that damned villain across from her had denied her that right by realizing her strategy and countering it with Emily's only Pokémon capable of doing so in her Klefki. Only a fairy and steel type could properly counter a poison type attack due to steel's immunity to poison which meant that as far as Brianna knew the only Pokémon that could do that were Mawile and Klefki, both of which Emily owned but had only shown the latter in Kalos and only in an appeal. That had been what had cost Brianna her perfect record.

Of course, Brianna wouldn't admit that it was her own arrogance and oversight in not thinking that Emily would use Klefki in battle that allowed it to happen, no it was someone else's fault, this boy's fault. That was why she was going to go all out to crush him, and she knew his specialty was fighting so she was using the perfect Pokémon for him, one that was strong against fighting types and strong against a few of the known combos that he might have given the duel types the boy occasionally used.

As such Brianna was grinning as she pulled out her Poke Ball with her Pokémon choice for this battle the moment she reached the starting spot. She was ready for this battle and by Arceus she was going to win this with power and style.

"As with the last two, it's only right to start the introductions with the Big 3 member in this battle." Jillian said as she held her arm out to Brianna. "She's only lost once on the circuit this year, is considered the top of the Big 3 and the only coordinator on the Kalos circuit with a Grand Festival finals appearance when she was the runner-up in the Johto Grand Festival last year. From Chrysanthemum Town out in Kanto, it's the Flower of Kanto herself, Brianna!"

Brianna didn't bother to wave or even acknowledge the cheering crowd; she was too good for that and there was only one person's adoration she craved, a person above the ignorant masses who didn't see him for the hero he truly was. He would be watching Brianna though, so she was just focused on her upcoming victory as she glared at the boy who'd dared help an inferior coordinator defy her across the ice battlefield.

"And facing her is a Contest debutant, trainer, and fighting specialist from Hoenn." Jillian said sweeping her arm to the other side to where Adam was as she watched him take out his own Poke Ball. "He's trying to qualify for the Lumiose Conference and is two badges away from that but is here for some fun and practice, from Dewford Town, it's Adam!"

"I'm going to crush you for daring to help humiliate me in the Laverre Contest." Brianna spat out as the crowd cheered for the impending battle. "You will be the first to pay for the indignation I suffered there. That evil bastard Ash Ketchum may have taken my chance to destroy your girlfriend, not that I mind as he's a higher priority for my justice anyway, so I'll just have to make an example of you here and now in front of her to make it clear that when we meet in the Grand Festival, which is when we next will as I'm going to win the Wallace Cup for my 5th ribbon now that none can even hold a candle to me, that she's next."

"Huh, Emily's not my girlfriend." Adam replied but Brianna knew the truth, she saw the blush in his cheeks, and it sickened her as he got to be with his woman, but she still couldn't be with the man she loved because of the ignorance of the world seeing it as wrong simply because he was also her mentor. "And it's fair to beat someone with tactics and you became predictable. I just helped Emily see that so that she'd have the best chance to beat you and most of that was her doing anyway."

"I am the best on the circuit, I shouldn't be humiliated by some type specialist from the boonies!" Brianna yelled ignoring the fact that she was possibly more boonies than Emily being from one of the islands on the fringes of the Kanto region rather than the actual mainland like Emily was. "That's it you will pay you bastard!"

"Ah some good trash talk, just what we want though do keep an eye on the language lest you get a formal warning for it." Jillian said but she just recoiled as Brianna glared at her, it wasn't the MC's place to tell her what she could say before or during a battle. "Um, anyway, battle begin."

"Scrafty, time to fight." Adam said sending out one of the one Brianna had hoped for, her victory was going to be even sweeter now.

"Perfect, one I can easily crush." Brianna said grinning as she tossed out her own Poke Ball. "Masquerain, steal the show and start us off with Gust."

"Avoid it and counter with High Jump Kick." Adam said as Masquerain began to beat its wings.

"That won't work." Brianna said with a sneer more than happy to show off what her Pokémon could do as Scrafty tried to leap into the air and across the battlefield to kick her darling Pokémon. "Change the angle of your wings, make sure it lands by showing how only you could manage it."

Masquerain did just that as the Hoodlum Pokémon crossed the battlefield initially able to clear the Gust. Her wings however were some of the best for any flying type and just as she could fly in any direction thanks to them she could alter her attack to blast the Gust anywhere which she did as she angled them upwards mid attack, both showing off her skill and control and ensuring that the move shifted and slammed right into Scrafty as he reached the apex of his leap towards her.

The fighting and dark type let out a howl of pain as he slammed into the wall of wind that abruptly stopped his momentum in midair. The attack was super effective on him, and he couldn't do much more than arc back a little before he crashed back to the ice to land on it hard enough to wind him and crack it.

"Silver Wind, hit that tool of evil before it can get up and continue to oppress good Pokémon like yourself." Brianna said as she glared at Adam. "I will not let you even touch my superior Pokémon."

"What is with you?" Adam asked sounding confused but then again to Brianna a villain would likely not think he was the villain because he no doubt had twisted reality to see himself as the hero when he was the furthest thing from it, it was what May and her vile ilk had done so this guy was no different. "Scrafty, Payback."

However, before Scrafty could even get up Masquerain had already swooped over him and fluttered her wings so that scales poured off them and flew with the wind and into the still prone Scrafty. He let out a grunt of pain as his Payback was aborted and his types canceled the attack out making it an average level of damage. The only thing from the attack that Brianna had messed up was that Masquerain was too close to Scrafty, not that she'd be able to dodge what came next anyway.

"Feint Attack." Adam said. "That will work."

Before Brianna or Masquerain could react, Scrafty slammed the back of his head against the ice to launch himself off it and right at Masquerain. As he did he cocked his fist back and punched her in the face with the dark type attack sending her spinning backwards, only her wings allowing her to keep aloft.

"How dare you touch her!" Brianna roared furious that her beautiful Pokémon had been sullied by such a thug. "You insignificant worm! You aren't worthy of landing a hit. Masquerain, Gust."

Masquerain was still spinning but she got her wings under her and as soon as she was facing Scrafty she beat them furiously. The winds whipped out from them and into Scrafty before he'd even touched down on the ice sending him flying back with a wail to hit and bounce off the ice as the second super effective attack hit him at full force. He was still in it, but he wasn't sure how much more he could take.

"Aerial Ace." Brianna said pressing her advantage. "Show off that flying and dodge anything that excuse of a Pokémon throws at you as you close in and crush that tool of evil!"

"Sludge Bomb." Adam said and Brianna took great pleasure in hearing the worry in his voice as Masquerain shot at her opponent. "Stop it before it gets to you."

"You can't stop the righteous power of good when it is triumphing over evil." Brianna said laughing as she did because she knew that her divine justice was about to be served. "We will take you down as the first of many villains to fall to me in this Cup."

Scrafty for his part was able to get up, focus on the toxins in his body, open his mouth and spew forth a few balls of poisonous sludge at his opponent. However, Masquerain showed her flying skills by easily avoiding the attacks as she neared Scrafty before she dipped down and then up to slam into his chin and lift him off the ice with the force of the blow.

"Finish it with Gust." Brianna said triumph in her voice as Scrafty wailed in pain from the super effective hit and barely hanging on in the battle. "We've got this."

Brianna took great pleasure in watching Adam open his mouth for a counter just as Masquerain began to flap her wings really hard. The wind whipped around and shot at Scrafty, slamming into his chest before Adam could get an order off and cutting his voice off as Brianna smirked in triumph.

The fourth super effective attack was too much and Scrafty was out cold the moment the attack landed so he didn't feel it as he was blasted backwards at high speed, past his trainer, and into the wall behind Adam with enough force to crack it though his weight was low enough to not crater it.

Instead, he just stayed there with swirls for eyes for a second before he flopped forward to land on the ground at the base of the wall. The 4 Xs for a Battle Off sounded and the match ended.

"And for the third time this morning a battle has ended in a Battle Off as Masquerain knocks out Scrafty to win with over a minute remaining in yet another Battle Off victory for Brianna." Jillian said as the crowd cheered though not as loud as they had for the past battles and Adam recalled his Pokémon. "Brianna has shown her status as one of the Big 3 and advanced to the quarterfinals to face Max tomorrow. That concludes the morning session, we will now take an hour-long break for lunch before the afternoon slate of matches kick off to end the first day of battles in the Wallace Cup."

"Masquerain return." Brianna said giving Adam a smirk and a shooing gesture to get out her sight as he was no longer a concern of hers when he tried to look at her before she turned and walked off looking at her Poke Ball. "You were amazing as always; you help bring justice to someone who deserved it and tomorrow another of the team will do the same as we put the worst villain in the world's little brother in his place and send a message to that vile May that her time will come, and she will pay for what she did to our darling Drew."

With that Brianna put the ball away and walked into the wings and to her dressing room. Drew would be there waiting for her with food and heaps of praise as he showed his love for her the best he could and they enjoyed a romantic lunch going over the battles, her first triumph of the Cup as they planned for what was to come.

One villain had faced a taste of her righteous justice and tomorrow another would as well. All was going well for Brianna, and she knew that she would win it all because the heroes always won and in this war she was the hero who would finally bring May, Ash, and all their evil ilk down and give them their long overdue punishment for all they'd done to good people like Drew.


"Well, that was an intense start." Dawn said as Brianna left the battlefield, and the lunch break began. "A lot of good battles there though they were a more forward than I was expecting."

"Your telling me, those were great and much more direct than I thought they'd be." Lucy said with a nod as Lyra agreed from her side. "More like how I'd battle though with less taking the hit to land the devastating counter in return."

"Yeah that is more you only Lucy." May said. "But they were good battles but remember none of them were between two coordinators. You had Ash who battles normally and can control a battlefield really well, Max and Owen who are just normal guys in a battle that was a lot larger than expected, and, well, Brianna may be a coordinator but is on the warpath, so she'd make an example of Adam for him helping Emily beat her which she'd take as a deep insult. The only close one was Brock's loss but even then that was more due to the nature of the opponent than anything else as Jessilina chose the perfect counter for Croagunk and did so gracefully."

"True and while it is a shame that Brock has lost it will be nice to have him with me for the rest of the Cup." Lucy said with a mixed smile at her love's loss. "Looks like it's time to shift support to Ash."

Dawn just nodded at that; she was supporting her unrequited love from the start, so she understood why Lucy was supporting her own love first. As for said lover boy who'd defied the odds to land Lucy, he hadn't yet returned after his loss but along with Adam, Owen, and Emily, he'd gone to the changing rooms as soon as the final battle of the morning finished to get changed into his normal clothes now that he'd been knocked out. That and to get the lunches he'd packed for them and give out those to the others who'd advanced or had yet to go.

That was something that they were all looking forward to as Brock's cooking was the best. They'd all had Owen's curry the night before and most had had Clemont's but the four girls currently present had all preferred Brock's cooking even if all 3 were excellent cooks. Mostly because they knew it best, so they were biased and preferential to it but still it was very good.

"Well, as we wait, let's analyze what we just saw." Dawn said. "May, you are the expert here, you're thoughts?"

"All were different in their own ways but looking over them I can see how all fell the way they did." May said thinking on the battles that they'd just watched. "In all honesty the only one that was a bit of a tossup was Max and Owen and that was more due to the fact that I don't know their styles well enough beforehand as I haven't seen them battle enough to get a feel for it."

"Even Ash's upset?" Lyra asked. "He beat one of the Big 3."

"He did but, well, that actually was what I was expecting the moment I saw the draw." May said. "There are several factors there but the main one is that as good as Emily is, and she is deserving of her status this year, she's still only a second-year coordinator who's also a type specialist facing one of the best pure battlers challenging gyms this year. I'm not just saying that because of my feelings for Ash, we all know that he is good at battles."

"Yup two of us have lost full battles to him and rather convincingly in both cases." Dawn said as Lyra nodded. "And we know that he beat Lucy on the Battle Frontier on his first attempt."

"That was a really fun battle though." Lucy said. "He had to use type advantages to win which I respect, and it was a true offensive slugfest against him just as I like it."

"So yeah Ash had the advantage there." May said. "And he knows how to control a battlefield to ensure that he has the edge in the battle. He did it last year against Zoey, a Top Coordinator who I've beaten but Misty never has, so a second-year girl with a fairy specialty was going to be straightforward."

"Especially if she'd beaten Ash before." Dawn said recalling the intro. "Didn't she do so in their last match?"

"I'd have to ask Misty, but I think so and ironically that was in Chrysanthemum Town where Brianna is from." May said thinking back on what Misty had told her about Emily and her history with the younger girl. "And we know that Ash always learns from a defeat."

"That he does and with the knowledge of fairy types now known he'd go for a counter to ensure it." Lucy said understanding it well, any pure battler would, especially if they had a serious motivation to win like Ash did given what the ribbon was now called. "Which for him is his Lucario, that steel type balances out its fighting type and allows for a strong offense against a fairy type."

"It does and his Lucario is probably his strongest on him in terms of raw power at the moment." May said. "Sure, Pikachu is well Pikachu."

"Pika pi." Pikachu said from Dawn's lap agreeing with May.

"But he is still a first stage." May continued. "Ash has Greninja now and that weird Battle Bond thing they do does make Greninja the strongest overall in battle so long as that phenomenon is triggered but he can't use Greninja because of it and he has a dark type so weak to fairy types despite a strength against rock types. Same can be said for Goodra as a dragon type. No, Lucario was the best and Ash controlled that battle from the start. When you add in that Carbink is weak to ground attacks, not resistant to fighting, and super weak to steel, the three types that comprise the moves Lucario knows, well Ash had it from there."

"True I just thought that a coordinator like Emily would be able to win." Lyra said. "Or at least show off more in a battle against a standard trainer that took place in a Contest."

"Emily is good but she's, well, only in the Big 3 because this is an expansion region." May said bluntly. "In fact, few of the expansion regions have a coordinator in them who'd be a favorite in one of the original four. As painful as it is to admit, Brianna is one of them who'd be a favorite anywhere this year, same with Kenny in Alola. The only other one would be Mollie out in Unova as she more than proved herself one in Kanto last year. Not even Jessilina would be."

"Why not?" Lyra asked confused. "Didn't Emily make the semifinals of the Kanto Grand Festival last year? Surely that's a good sign and I know Mollie managed the same and Jessilina did it in Sinnoh a few years back according to Khoury. We know a bit more about her because we saw her win over Misty back in Sinnoh when Misty took us to a Contest there and he's lost to her this year once as well."

"Jessilina is the kind of coordinator who's too unpredictable on an established circuit to be a favorite, her semifinal showing in Sinnoh was a bit of a surprise compared to the others who made it that year I think." May said. "And Emily, she got there because of the whole fairy unknown at the time. She did amazing to upset Nando, but she won that because Granbull was now a fairy and not a normal type when Lopunny landed that fighting type attack. A year prior I'm sure that Granbull would have been knocked out by that giving Emily the loss, but he was resistant, so she countered with a devastating Outrage which tipped the scales to Emily."

"And as for Mollie, she did beat not only Misty but Nando and Kenny as well that year." Dawn said. "In fact, she's the only active coordinator out there that hasn't lost to Misty as far as I know, Zoey is a Top Coordinator, so she doesn't count. They were very vocal about Mollie's accomplishments at the Kanto Grand Festival because she was the only Kanto favorite and the only one to beat Misty, something that neither me nor May can claim."

"All true." May said with a nod, her losses to Misty were well known especially because they were watching the very tournament where she'd lost 3 times to Misty in a row all in the finals. "So, Emily is arguably the weakest of the Big 3 this year and Ash has experience against her. Add in the use of Lucario against Carbink and the win was his to lose. Emily is going to be a Top Coordinator one day, maybe this year, maybe next, maybe in a few years' time, but she'll do it. Remember it took me 4 years and Misty 3. Hell, this is Brianna's 5th year I think so it takes time to build the experience to lift the Ribbon Cup."

"Ah ok I get it." Lyra said with a nod. "So, against most she'd have won but Ash was a bad matchup for her."

"It was and remember Emily is still the only one to defeat Brianna this year so she's more than earned her spot as a favorite." May said. "She is probably going to match her Kanto performance in the Grand Festival, the random draw just wasn't on her side this time."

"It wasn't on any in the top half of the bracket." Dawn said looking at the bracket that was currently on screen for people to study during the lunch break with the results of the first 4 battles clear to see. "Ash is against Jessilina next, and we saw how she beat Brock."

"Yes my love failed there but he didn't have the types and Frillish knew Psychic which put him at a disadvantage from the start." Lucy said with a sigh. "Though using Poison Sting to get out of it, that was impressive and a tactic to keep in mind myself though with Flamethrower as that is Seviper's ranged attack should it happen to her. The rest was just him losing due to Jessilina being more graceful and Frillish only knowing ranged moves so she could use that Mist and hit and run tactics to whittle down Brock's points and win that way without having to worry about using Psychic. It also came off as a true Contest battle which no doubt worked well for Jessilina."

"Brock can battle in a Contest; his one appearance was in the Gardenia Contest that I won over him in the final." May said recalling it well and how fast Brock had been to register for it at Yuma's suggestion. "In fact, he did so well that Yuma wouldn't take him as a student as she felt he already had a good grasp of Contests and instead took the girl he beat in the first battle to be her protégé. Seeing as that girl was Mollie it worked out well for her."

"And me, good thing Brock won all that." Lucy said with a grin. "He may have been taken by someone else before I got my fangs in him and I know he enjoys that."

"Please don't." Dawn said. "It's already hard enough to actually accept he's gotten a woman, let alone a beauty like you, just avoid the sex stuff as I do not want to imagine Brock that way at all."

"Sorry." Lucy said not sounding it at all though she did blush a bit at Dawn's complement. "Just glad that I never had to deal with a rival for him, not that I am even aware of any others out there."

"Lucky there." Dawn said. "I, um, wasn't…"

"We know." May said kindly. "Though how did Misty manage to throw your Gyarados into a ceiling? That still doesn't make sense to me."

"Misty did that?" Lucy asked surprised. "Wow now I need that story. I have a Gyarados though I don't use it much, so I know how tough and hard to budge they are."

"Later but it is a good one." Dawn said. "Misty and I didn't exactly have what you'd call a good first meeting. Ok that's an understatement, our first meeting was an utter disaster where we brought out the very worst in each other in spectacular fashion."

"That was your first meeting!" Lucy asked. "And you battled so hard that she managed to toss a Gyarados in the air? I know that Misty can be intense in a battle, the final clash of her Typhlosion with my Electric was a really good one, but that's on a whole knew level."

"Let's just say that it took me a while to adjust to losing to Misty and, well, she knew the only way to speed up the process was to beat it into me." Dawn said realizing that she was going to have to at least go over the general outline of that battle now. "I met her first after she'd started dating Ash, pretty soon after in fact, and, well, I am a stereotypical dark haired girl when it comes to things like anger. She rose to it and challenged me to a gym battle that she ended up winning."

"Piplup." Piplup said glaring at Dawn though he was still on her lap. "Pip, Piplup."

"I know I'm sorry I put you into a concrete wall." Dawn said to him.

"How?" Lucy asked.

"Er…" Dawn said she really wasn't proud of this, but she'd come to terms with her issues and knew that she had to own it, it's what Sabrina had taught her and if she wanted to be better in the future she had to embrace her past mistakes. "I used a Hyper Beam on him, a Hyper Beam from my Gyarados."

"Piplup." Piplup said with a nod though Pikachu decided not to correct his delusional friend about Piplup's claim to have gotten in a few good hits in, his ego was fragile enough as it was without adding the fact that Piplup's loss to Dawn's Gyarados was almost instantaneous. "Pip, Piplup."

"Oh, that would do it." Lucy said shocked. "And overkill."

"Yeah I have serious anger and jealousy issues, learned that the hard way." Dawn admitted. "And Misty got her own back in the last matchup. She used Togekiss, which threw me for other reasons that I won't get into, and that was actually when we first noticed the dragon type attack immunity. That surprise was what tipped the battle for Misty, and she landed some more hits before a mix of a Sky Attack and an Aura Sphere from a fully evolved Pokémon that hit at just the right angle was enough to cause that result."

"Ah I can kind of see that." Lucy said. "Still hard to imagine though."

"You'd have to see it to believe it." Dawn said. "I'm a water specialist and if I hadn't watch my beautiful Gyarados lifted out of the pool and throw into a glass ceiling 30 feet off the ground I wouldn't believe it but that, and the image of him falling to the water below along with the tidal wave it caused, is something you don't forget."

"I bet." Lucy said. "Well, I want a full blow by blow later as that battle sounds intense. Moving on though, the Max and Owen battle. That was good and more of an offensive dual than I expected."

"Two Pokémon that are over 2 meters tall going at it will do that." May said. "Though why did Hatterene go down after only a few poison and steel type hits? That wasn't expected and those hits looked like they really hurt her."

"I don't know or care, that Scolipede is one of the scariest bug types out there." Dawn said shivering and they all recalled her terror at seeing it for the first time and how she'd freaked out at it. "I didn't even know they came that large."

"It's either the largest or second largest bug type." May said thinking on it.

"There's larger!" Dawn said her eyes wide. "How is that possible!"

"Oh, I think I've heard of it." Lucy said. "Some fire and bug type out in Galar. Shame it has legs or else it would be perfect for me as I think its body is quite serpentine, just, well, with legs."

"That's not too bad then, fire can be quenched by water." Dawn said with a sigh of relief. "Still freaky but I can counter that kind of bug type with my beautiful water types and no water type is ugly."

"Still that battle ended more surprising than expected." May said deciding not to question Dawn on her love of water types, especially given her own past with Tentacools. "I'm sure they will sort it out though, there has to be an explanation."

"Well poison and steel being more effective than expect." Lyra said. "Those are two points in favor of one thing."

"Fairy type addition." Lucy said. "And Hatterene wasn't on the list, nor were its earlier forms."

"And poison weakness is the second biggest note after dragon immunity, but we can't confirm that what we saw was that, Scolipede's Venoshock could just be that strong or Hatterene especially vocal about getting hit." May said. "Steel weakness is the other weakness but again that could just be the move landing a critical or something like that. We'll tell Owen later and let him deal with it but without the immunity test we can't confirm anything."

"That will come." Dawn said. "And does explain that match. The last one though…"

"That was obvious." May said simply though her tone darkened as she spoke. "We all know how Brianna is and how she sees a loss. Adam was instrumental in ensuring that Emily won that match in Laverre, so Brianna wanted revenge and went all out for it. Add in that Emily was knocked out by Ash of all people and has ties to Misty which would associate Adam with us, and Brianna would be even more pissed. She was completely unrestrained there and it showed with the fast win. She may get a reprimand for it, but it was all within the bounds as she called didn't do more than ensure her victory."

"True and a bug and flying type has a huge advantage over a dark and fighting type like Scrafty as it would no longer be resistant to bug type attacks in addition to being weak to flying type ones." Lucy said. "She knew he'd use fighting so went with flying but got lucky on the rest. She won't be able to do so against Max as his Pokémon are more varied in their types as far as I know."

"No and I'll help him prepare." May said seriously. "Brianna is after me, my brother is probably the only one that could rival Serena to her beat, so he'll need to be ready. He looks up to Ash though, she won't know what hit her against him. Max is strong, he'll hold his own."

"I know he will and if not then she might have to face Ash." Dawn said with a grin. "And she's not ready for that."

"Not ready for what?" Brock asked finally returning with their lunch, it seemed that Owen was going to eat elsewhere with the other two before they came back as they had been chatting a bit about Galar between matches. "What did I miss?"

"An evaluation of the matches and a tease of Dawn's battle with Misty that I can't wait to hear more about." Lucy said accepting her meal and giving Brock a chaste kiss. "But for now, let's eat and enjoy the afternoon slate. That one is more open, and I can't wait to see how performers engage in a Contest battle."

The others nodded as they all began to eat. The morning had been interesting with some surprises, but the 4 afternoon matches were wide open, as was the path to the final for them so they couldn't wait to see what came next as the Wallace Cup last 16 continued.


"Well lunch is over; we've digested and now we are onto our afternoon slate of battles." Jillian said enthusiastically as Bonnie and Serena walked out of the wings and to their starting spot and the crowd cheered the resumption of the battles. "And we have a great slate for you with all 7 of the Kalos natives remaining about to battle with a chance of 4 advancing to the quarterfinals thus ensuring a Kalos finalist in the Wallace Cup!"

This really got the crowd going, which was of course made sense as it was almost all Kalos natives. The idea that one of their own could get a shot, and it was a very good chance that one would, at taking home the first ever Misty Ribbon in the first Wallace Cup held in an expansion region was big.

This was the most prestigious Contest short of a Grand Festival after all and with the ribbon counting in any region, though all those seeking that path had failed and only one winner in the last decade had managed that feat which incidentally was Misty the year before, so a Kalos native winning was big. This was their shot to show that Kalos's own coordinators could stand with the ones from more traditional regions and the crowd was loving it.

To add to it three of the remaining Kalos natives were the three Master Class Showcase finalists which really helped as they showed that Kalos's own unique competition could bring something to Contests. They were the three best rookies from the last Showcase year showing that they could do Contests as well and advancing in the Wallace Cup. This was going to be really good for the crowd and who better to start it off than the Master Class winner who challenged Aria for the title of Kalos Queen herself in Serena.

Serena was worried however as she reached her spot and smiled warmly at Bonnie who smiled back only hers was a little more mischievous just the way the girl liked it. Bonnie had good reason to smile like that and Serena had good reason to be nervous because the last time they'd battled, the only time in fact, Serena had been forced to forfeit after the test phase was complete. That had been due to the moves and Pokémon in the battle however, kind of like Misty's shock win over Anabel, and Serena, like Anabel had made changes after that.

Of course, if there was a rematch there was one additional problem that Anabel didn't have to worry about. The Pokémon Serena had lost to was Bonnie's Litwick which was now a fully evolved Chandelure, a strong Pokémon but one Bonnie hadn't been able to control last time they'd seen it back when it evolved. All this made things interesting, and Bonnie's smirk really didn't put Serena at ease.

She could chose a different Pokémon, hell if she was up against Brianna or Ash in the final or faced Amelia in the semifinal then this was a bit of a waste given some of the Pokémon those three had, but there was more to this than just planning. No this was about pride, honor and actually giving Bonnie a proper battle unlike last time. Serena wasn't sure that Bonnie was going to use that Pokémon, but she was still going to use hers as a way to ensure that Bonnie got the battle she deserved against it.

For her part Bonnie was just here to have fun and a chance to battle the girl she most looked up to, who was like a big sister to her, and who she'd beaten in a training battle, well that was just icing on the cake of her Wallace Cup experience. This battle made it all worth it and if she won then good, if not then well she gave it her best shot with her best Pokémon against her best friend. Serena deserved no less an honor from Bonnie, and she'd get that and more in this battle.

"And what a way to start this slate off than a battle featuring the Kalos Princess herself." Jillian said as she gestured to Serena as Serena reached the starting point. "She's the most famous Kalos girl on the circuit this year thanks to her Master Class win and showdown with Aria last year and to top all that she was the only person to beat a Big 3 member who wasn't also in the Big 3 with a win over Jessilina in the Coumarine Contest final, well she was until Ash beat Emily today that is. She's going for her 3rd ribbon and a shot at the wildcard qualification at least, from Vaniville Town, it's Princess Serena!"

Serena just smiled at the introduction and waived to the crowd. The whole nickname was a lot, even if it was clever, but actually using that as a title to her felt too much to her as the only person in Kalos who deserved to be known by their title was Queen Aria in Serena's mind. It also didn't help that many knew her as May's protégé and May's own moniker was the Princess of Hoenn, which no doubt also played into why Serena's was the Kalos Princess.

It was all a lot to deal with, but she was here, and she was going to give it her all. After all, Serena knew better than probably anyone not to underestimate an opponent, especially not Bonnie.

"Facing her is the youngest competitor and a part time coordinator, performer, groomer, and whatever else she feels like doing this year as she finds herself just as we all did at her age." Jillian said sweeping her arm over to Bonnie's side. "She's also the younger sister of Clemont, the Lumiose City Gym leader, who I am assured by her is Kalos's most eligible bachelor looking for a lovely lady to take care of him according to his charming sister, so she has family pedigree that is beginning to show in its own way. Give it up for the Treasure of Lumiose, Bonnie!"

Bonnie just grinned with her trademark smirk as she waved enthusiastically to the cheering crowd knowing that Clemont was watching from some Pokémon Center on his way home and hoping he enjoyed that little shout out to him and his status as Kalos's premier eligible bachelor. This would really help him find a woman to marry as far as Bonnie was concerned.

"No hard feelings Bonnie." Serena called out over the crowd getting Bonnie's attention. "Though, um, I think Clemont might be a little startled by that."

"It's for his own good just like Laverre was." Bonnie said reminding Serena of the fact that the little girl had a minimum of a year long ban from that city due to her antics, a ban that might last a fair bit longer knowing Bonnie's utter lack of remorse for what she'd done there. "And of course, no hard feelings Serena, I've been looking forward to this for a while. You get the honor of being the first to face him now that he finally listens to me."

"Aww some nice and sweet comradery from a pair of close friends just what we like to see." Jillian said with a smile as the girls pulled out their Poke Balls and Serena already knew who Bonnie was going to use making this a really good battle. "And on that note, battle begin!"

"Sylveon, let's go." Serena said tossing out her Poke Ball ready for this rematch this time.

"Come on out my cutie, Chandelure!" Bonnie said throwing her own ball out and getting a couple of gasps at the Pokémon she was using as it wasn't what many would have expected from someone like her. "Start us out with Fire Spin."

"Protect." Serena said instantly as she thought of a strategy for the battle that had just begun, she had one she just needed the few extra seconds Protect offered her to implement it.

As Chandelure let out a vortex of fire that shot at Sylveon ready to trap her in the flames it create, a protective barrier formed around her. Short of an ability that could get through it, like what Emily's Whimsicott had, or one the few moves that could bypass or negate it Protect would activate first.

In this case it did just that and Sylveon was protected from the Fire Spin that didn't trap her thanks to Protect. Even if it did, Serena would have hoped that the next move she used would have escaped it but that was just a bonus to her given everything else it offered her.

"Dig." Serena ordered revealing her newest move for Sylveon.

"Damn that's not good and a totally new attack." Bonnie said as Sylveon suddenly burrowed into the ice and out of sight. "Can't attack just yet. Chandelure, keep an eye out and be ready to counter. Use Shadow Ball as soon as you can. Even if Dig hits, it won't take you out and Sylveon will be too close to counter you unless it's ability has triggered and that isn't a guarantee."

Chandelure just let out a strange sound as he got ready to counter. When he'd fully evolved he'd become too strong for Bonnie to handle but she'd not given up on him. She'd worked hard to improve herself, improve her other Pokémon, even partaken in a few more Contests and Showcases for the experience to show him that she had it, and slept with his ball out every night while singing her special Chandelure song to show him that she loved him.

It had taken a long time, basically all the way up to their first time in Snowbelle before Pierre's part, but finally Chandelure had accepted her and now he was her protector as he was by far her strongest Pokémon. That also meant that he was more than ready for this battle as he prepared for the Dig to hit. It would be super effective on him so he braced himself for the blow and hoped that this Sylveon's ability wouldn't trigger as he remembered what it had done to him as a Litwick even if he had won that matchup in the end.

Sylveon for her part just dug through the ice to reach Chandelure glad that it was too thick to be seen through, her coloring helping further that, or else her new attack may have been negated. That wouldn't have been good as this was her best move in a matchup like this.

Serena had realized that she needed a new move for Sylveon in the wake of that forfeit to Bonnie and Litwick and that was reinforced by Sylveon's loss to Emily's Sylveon in Laverre. So, after discussing it with May and Misty who'd also had Eevees though theirs had evolved differently to hers, she'd come to the decision that Dig was best.

Serena's issue had been that she wanted a move that could be used to counter Sylveon's weaknesses to poison and steel types. Now that she was doing more battles due to becoming a coordinator to further her performing she needed to think more about this kind of thing, and this was what Ash would do so she decided to go with that. However, she hoped that she could find just one move for that purpose so as to keep the remaining 3 as they were good for appeals and her next crack at the Master Class when she was ready for that.

Thankfully, there was one type that was strong against not just poison and steel but also fire, the last type that resisted fairy type attacks like Sylveon's Fairy Wind though fire wasn't strong against fairy type Pokémon, and that was ground. Alas there was only one offensive ground type move that Sylveon could learn and that was Dig which wasn't good for a Showcase but for a battle it was perfect. The fact that it was also a contact move and thus allowed for the chance of Sylveon's ability to trigger was an added bonus.

As such they'd spent their time learning it with May and her Glaceon who'd known the move as an Eevee so could help Sylveon out with it. It had taken time and was one of the focuses of Serena's time in Snowbelle before Ash and Misty rejoined them, but it had paid off in the end and now Sylveon knew Dig which was about to serve Serena well.

That was because Sylveon burst from the ice right below Chandelure and slammed into his pointed base causing him to wail in pain as he was launched flipping into the air by the super effective attack though Serena had to admit Chandelure looked good as he backflipped thanks to the fires he had. Sylveon just flipped back and landed daintily on her feet with a grimace as she felt something was off. Before she could assess that however, Chandelure had also been ready and as he flipped he released a Shadow Ball right at Sylveon.

She didn't have a chance to dodge it as it slammed into her face and drove her into the ice. She bounced off it and then slid a few feet back when she landed as Chandelure finished his flip to land just on the other side of her exit hole still in the fight though even with his hit Serena had more points remain. Chandelure didn't know or care too much about that at the moment as he just gave his version of a grin to Sylveon.

That was the moment Sylveon knew what she was feeling as she suddenly combusted in flames and let out a mew of pain. She'd been burned but no fire move had been used which meant that this was Chandelure's ability, Flame Body, at work. It was just like the last time they battled.

"That's it Chandelure this time we triggered our contact-based ability." Bonnie said with a grin as Serena growled annoyed at herself for forgetting what Chandelure's ability was as an ability rarely changed on evolution unless type changes were involved, or they were special like Ash's Greninja. "Now press that advantage with Flame Charge."

"Fairy Wind." Serena said as Chandelure cloaked himself in flames and shot at Sylveon. "I know you can do it and brace for the hit. This is a risk, but Chandelure isn't the only one who's ability can trigger on contact."

Sylveon just mewled and opened her mouth, spewing forth a pink mist that was Fairy Wind right into Chandelure's path. The Luring Pokémon just ignored it as he plowed through the minimally effective attack, he was resistant to this type after all, and slammed into Sylveon's face at full speed while Bonnie's points ticked down a bit thanks to the hit.

She let out a wail as she was thrown back, Serena's points dropping as she flew, before slamming into the ice and sliding several feet over the slick surface on her side. However, as Sylveon rose she was grinning despite her pain and Serena matched her look. That was because Chandelure had stopped in his tracks almost as soon as he'd made contact and now had hearts for eyes. Her ability had also triggered in this battle causing Chandelure to be infatuated. Of course, that grin vanished a second later when Sylveon combusted from her burn once again.

Bonnie just grimaced unsure what to do and for the first time showing her inexperience in a battle that had gotten a little out of her control. They'd learned that Chandelure's ability was still Flame Body while practicing for Max's battle with Wulfric. So, to give Chandelure and Bonnie a chance to improve their battle partnership Flame Charge was taught to Chandelure as it allowed for the ability to trigger under Bonnie's control without Chandelure having to be on the receiving end of the hit.

That said it had one glaring weakness and that was that when facing a Pokémon with a similar contact activated ability like Sylveon's Cute Charm it could backfire which it had right now. It was a rookie mistake by Bonnie, she should have stuck to range after the ability had been triggered by Sylveon's Dig attack landing, but she'd pressed her advantage and it had backfired.

The triggering of the abilities hadn't been simultaneous like when Serena had face Emily in the Laverre Contest but both contact abilities were now in effect though only one was breakable before the affected Pokémon fainted. Even with that Serena was the one with the advantage as Sylveon wasn't prevented from attacking while might be Chandelure due to how infatuation worked. The counterbalance though was that infatuation, like with confusion, wore off during a battle while a burn did not. All that meant that Serena had to capitalize now.

"Fairy Wind." Serena said. "Keep it up Sylveon until Chandelure breaks the infatuation."

"Chandelure I know you can do it." Bonnie said. "Shadow Ball. Fight that infatuation, you don't really love Sylveon like that, her ability has just tricked you into thinking that. I know you are smarter than that my darling."

Alas Chandelure was too infatuated to break the hold and Sylveon just let out a Fairy Wind that crossed the stage and hit Chandelure not doing much damage but taking points from Bonnie which was the key. May had drilled it into Serena that in a Contest battle the key to victory wasn't knocking out the other Pokémon, which was a side effect and only to be used when you felt it was necessary if you wanted to be a respected coordinator, but instead to just ensure that hits were landed and opposing attacks dodged as you would then win on points.

That was exactly what Serena was doing now as Sylveon grimaced through another burn before using Fairy Wind again and Chandelure continued to ignore Bonnie's orders, so it hit him again. There was an advantage to this tactic as well, it wasn't cruel which would paint Serena in an excellent both with the Contest Committee and the fans alike.

Chandelure was fully evolved so had a lot of health to spare and Fairy Wind was an attack he resisted so Serena was taking points from Bonnie while not coming off as cruel by using an attack that wouldn't do that much damage rather than brutalizing him for a Battle Off. Well, that and Sylveon's third offensive attack was a normal type move so had no effect on Chandelure, so Serena was stuck with Fairy Wind.

Finally, though, after the third Fairy Wind and burn that was starting to take its toll on Sylveon, Chandelure snapped out of his confusion with a violent shake looking around confused. Bonnie saw this and acted right away.

"Fire Spin." Bonnie said. "Trap Sylveon and then blast her with Shadow Ball."

"Dig." Serena said more to avoid the attack than anything else.

Sylveon did just that leaping forward and digging into the ice to escaped the Fire Spin that landed right where she had just been thus costing Bonnie some more points. The move was evasion but now that Sylveon was using it Serena figured they may as well attack with it.

"Watch for the flare of her burn." Bonnie said. "That should show her position and then…"

Bonnie didn't get to finish her statement when suddenly a buzzer sound went off. Both girls were momentarily confused by that as they'd been so into the battle that they'd actually forgotten about the time limit that a Contest battle had but one glance at the timer on the scoreboard and they saw that it was at 0:00. They also say their points bars and while it was close, those burns had seemed to cost Sylveon points, it was still clear who was the winner as one had just over 30% remaining on her points and the other just over 20%.

"And that is time folks though I know I didn't want it to end." Jillian said as Sylveon clearly knew that it was over and aborted the Dig by digging up and popping her head out of the ice to look around before her burn flared again, melting it around her and allowing her to hop out and the crowd cheered at the end of the battle. "But it has and the winner of the 5th battle by a closer margin than expected is…Serena!"

At this the crowd cheered even louder. The battle had been surprisingly good even of there had been that lull with the infatuation during a good portion of the battle. The afternoon slate of matches had started strong and was really showing what Kalos coordinators brought to the table.

"Sylveon return." Serena said before the burn could trigger again. "Well done girl, that was close, but we won and avenged that loss to Litwick. Take a good rest, you earned it, and we'll get that burn sorted out as soon as possible."

"Chandelure, return." Bonnie said recalling her own Pokémon and looking at the Poke Ball in her hands. "You fought well, I'm so proud of you for that, but that Cure Charm ability was just too much in the end. We will get better though because we will learn from this, I promise. Regardless, this was fun and at least we lost to Serena."

"It was Bonnie and I look forward to seeing how much you and Chandelure grow in the coming years." Serena called out smiling at Bonnie.

"Thanks Serena now go and win this; I'm rooting for you." Bonnie said smiling back before she turned and left knowing that Serena was doing the same as the ice was quickly restored to normal for the next match.

Bonnie was just happy that she'd been able to advance to the battles and face Serena. She may still have no idea what she was going to do with her life, but the occasional Contest was fun to engage in. However, she was out of the Wallace Cup so as she passed a nervous looking Trevor she hurried back to the changing room to get changed into her normal clothes and then rejoin her friends in the stands to watch the rest of the day's battles. Come tomorrow she'd be supporting Serena in full force to win the Wallace Cup.


"That was a lot closer than anyone could have predicted and shows why we love the Wallace Cup." Jillian said as Tierno smiled at the beautiful Serena who had just won a hard-fought battle with Bonnie on points and enjoyed the smile she gave him back; it would incentivize him to win so that he could face her and show off his skills in the next round. "And next up we have another pair of Kalos natives, this time they are a pair of strapping young men here to show us what the men of Kalos can do and after such a display of what our women can do how can they not?"

The crowd cheered at this as Tierno, and Trevor walked out both calm and ready though Tierno was nice and loose while Trevor was a little more nervous given their natures. Still, they were close friends and had experience battling in front of crowds thanks to the being in the last Lumiose Conference, so this was going to be fun.

Tierno knew he had the advantage; he was certain of it. He had a strong feeling that he knew the Pokémon that Trevor had so he knew which was best to face him, well second best but he'd used his best in the appeals. It was a good choice and left him with plenty of strong options for his battle with Serena if he beat Trevor. Even if he was wrong and Trevor used the other likely Pokémon Tierno wouldn't change his plan as that one had basically the same weaknesses.

Trevor for his part knew that when it came to Pokémon he was at a disadvantage. Tierno still had three Pokémon that could easily counter his top two, and he was almost certainly going to use one of them in this battle and had two options to employ as he'd burned the third in the appeals.

Well, Trevor still had a few tricks up his sleeve, though one couldn't be done due to the rules, so he'd removed it to avoid temptation, and there was more than one way to win a Contest battle, especially when you had the mobility advantage. That was why he was going for his best, his friend deserved no less.

"Alright they are in position so let's start with the one who's actively a coordinator this year as well as a trainer and has already secured 3 ribbons and a spot in the wildcard round at least but he's going for the full qualification." Jillian said as she moved her arm to Tierno's side. "From Santalune City it's one of the best Kalos coordinators on the circuit this year and a trainer who was top 8 in the last Lumiose Conference, give it up for the Dancer from Santalune, Tierno!"

Tierno waved to the crowd before doing one of his signature dances for them that always got them going and they were really cheering for him at the moment. He was always lose and ready to bust out his moves as he got into the whole thing ready for what was to come while Trevor just shook his head in amusement at his friend's antics.

"And against him is a fellow trainer and friend who's done a few Contests but like Tierno he's going for the Lumiose Conference again this year." Jillian said moving her arm to the other side of the battlefield and gesturing to Trevor. "From Lumiose City, it's Trevor."

Trevor just let out a small wave to the cheering crowd which was louder than he expected given his lack of experience or introduction but nowhere near as loud as it was for Tierno. Still, he was a Kalos native so that likely played a large role in their support for him.

"Let's do this Trevor." Tierno said as he flipped and pulled put his Poke Ball in the process. "Been a while since we had a proper battle."

"Agreed Tierno." Trevor said pulling out his own Poke Ball. "Let's have some fun and see who's currently better and who needs to practice for the Lumiose Conference."

"That's the spirit boys." Jillian said cutting out any more fanfare. "And on that note, battle begin."

"Charizard, say cheese." Trevor said as he tossed out his starter and the timer began to count down. "And stay in the air and mobile."

"Raichu, let's dance." Tierno said throwing out his own Poke Ball and confirming to Trevor that he was using one of the Pokémon that he expected though he had expected one of the water types more than Raichu. "Start us off with Thunderbolt."

"Dodge that." Trevor said as Raichu's cheeks began to spark. "And counter with Heat Wave."

Charizard roared and easily flew to the side as a bolt of electricity was shot at him. He knew that the attack would be super effective so avoiding it was for the best and with his mobility he could do just that, easily banking in the air to let the electric type fly past before diving and opening his mouth.

Raichu stood no chance as Charizard unleashed a blast of hot air that engulfed her, melting the upper layer of ice around her before he flew up in a graceful arc and rolled in the at to fly back to his side. Still, he made sure to keep his awareness just in case she decided to counter right after the hit.

For her part Raichu just grunted from the hit but held strong knowing that in a battle like this she had the advantage. She just had to trust her human and she knew that Tierno would do his utmost to lead her to victory.

"That's it Charizard now use Fire Spin." Trevor said. "Trap Raichu."

"As always the beautiful Serena has taught me something with her grace." Tierno said suddenly seeing his chance as Charizard opened his mouth and flames appeared in it very glad that he'd focused on Serena's battle while it was happening. "Raichu, dodge it with Dig."

"Dig?" Trevor asked confused as Raichu leapt up, spinning and dug into the ice with her tail and avoided the Fire Spin as it reached her. "But Charizard is a flying type, it won't work on him."

"True but just as I learned from Serena, I also learned from Ash that sometimes you can't think linearly in a battle or rely on sweet dance moves to win it." Tierno said as his plan came to him. "Immunity to a type is a good thing, but it can cause complacency, that's what that slightly scary lady from the party showed in her battle with Queen Aria. Raichu, Thunderbolt!"

Trevor had been so confused that he hadn't noticed that Raichu had already finished her dig to the other side before she burst from the ice behind Charizard and began charging her attack. With a roar she let off her Thunderbolt just as Charizard was turning in confusion as he wasn't sure what was going on. He stood no chance as the super effective electric type move slammed into him and he let out a wail of pain, dropping from the sky to slam into the ice hard enough to crack it but not to create enough debris to cover him.

Tierno grinned as Trevor lost points knowing that he'd landed a solid hit. So, he'd lost a few points for the miss, which wouldn't matter if he went for a Battle Off which was the plan as Trevor was also a regular trainer, so this was more a standard battle than a Contest one for them, even if Tierno's style was more at home in a Contest than a normal battle. Plus, Tierno was now realizing that he had to learn from fights he watched or lost as he'd just used tactics from three trainers he'd seen or faced recently, one of whom he might face tomorrow.

Trevor for his part wasn't out though and he was already preparing his counter attack. It was a good trick that Tierno had used but Trevor was now wary to it so it wouldn't work again, and he'd watched Ash battle as well and while he wasn't ready to try and emulate him he was still open to learning how to think out of the box in a battle.

"Dragon Tail." Trevor said as Charizard rose. "Bring it close to Raichu and sweep at her. Follow it with Dragon Claw if she dodges it."

"Dance Raichu." Tierno said grinning as he too began to dance, Raichu able to see him as she was facing him at the moment and began to mirror her trainer. "This is what we are best at."

"Rai, Raichu." Raichu said as Charizard flew at her his tail glowing with dragon type power.

Raichu bounced on the balls of her feet as she loosened up so that at the last moment she could leap up and flip to the side as Charizard swept his tail at her easily avoiding it. Charizard wasn't done yet though as used his momentum to flip over and bring his tail directly down onto Raichu. However, she'd already landed on the ice before he'd flipped so she just rolled back from the blow that shattered the ice and ended the Dragon Tail before hopping up.

Charizard roared in frustration as claws of dragon type power formed over his own claws. He then raked the right-hand claw at Raichu, but she spun gracefully to the side avoiding it with a perfect pirouette on her toe before ducking down into a ball and rolling forward to avoid the overhand slash of the other claw and get really into Charizards area of attack and right where Tierno wanted her to be as there was no way she'd miss her counter now.

"Thunder Punch." Tierno called out using his newest move for her that he'd taught her only a few days before and leaping up into the air with his fist raised.

"Raichu!" Raichu said as she clenched her right fist, cloaking it in electricity before she leapt up at her opponent.

The whole routine had been designed to get in close and within Charizard's guard so that he couldn't avoid the attack. The perfect dance and counter, a stable of their tactics and one that had won Tierno several battles over his time and was why he'd adapted to Contest battles so easily, his regular style was perfect for them. Between that and his battle experience he was one of the best in battle rounds this year making him a serious threat come the Grand Festival.

That was seen a second later as Raichu landed her Thunder Punch in a devastating upper cut to Charizard's jaw that sent him ass over teakettle away from her in a flip as Raichu just spun 360 degrees to both look good and still face her opponent, her fist raised the entire time before she landed gracefully on the ice as Charizard slammed into it again. This was it and Tierno knew it.

"Thunderbolt." Tierno roared.

"Dodge and counter with Heat Wave." Trevor yelled out the frustration clear in his voice.

Alas Charizard's bulk was such that it was hard for him to move fast when he was on the ground and the slick ice wasn't helping. Naturally, Raichu capitalized on it, sparking before letting out a shout and blasting a bolt of electricity that tore across the ice to slam into Charizard's stomach.

Charizard let out a roar of pain as he was fried, and his limit was pushed past by the third successful super effective attack. He was good but 3 electric type attacks on him, all powerful and from a strong Raichu, were more than enough for him and he fell back to the ice with a thud. He lay there on his back with swirls for eyes indicating that the battle was over, something that the 4 judges scoring it confirmed a second later with 4 Xs.

"And that is it." Jillian said as the crowd roared their approval following the battle. "Charizard has been knocked out, so Raichu and Tierno win by Battle Off and advance to the quarterfinals to face Serena!"

"Charizard return." Trevor said recalling his Pokémon and looking at the Poke Ball in his hand. "You were amazing my friend, I let you down there. We got stunned by Tierno mixing things up and then returning to his own style in the end beat us as Raichu has some serious dance moves. I promise we will get better for the Lumiose Conference."

"Raichu, return." Tierno said recalling his Pokémon and smiling at her Poke Ball. "That was awesome, your moves in battle and dance were all in sync, I knew you could do it and now we get to face the beautiful Serena in the next round, I can't wait. Trevor was good, we had to mix it up for him so let's hope we have a rematch at the Conference."

"I'd like that Tierno." Trevor said with a smile at his friend who smiled and nodded back. "Good luck, you'll need it tomorrow against Serena."

"Thanks." Tierno said as they both turned and walked off the battlefield.

Trevor knew he'd done the best he could, but he also knew that he had to get better, and train harder to be able to beat Tierno next time. Tierno was just the first though, Trevor had seen the level of skill some of the others had and he knew he had to catch up.

Well, he had time before the Lumiose Conference, he and his Pokémon were going to work hard for it so that they could go far in it. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Khoury as he passed him and headed to the changing room to change and support Shauna as the Wallace Cup trundled on towards the end of the first day of battles.


"Another stunning and surprisingly graceful battle there but that is what we've come to expect from Tierno who's one of the few Kalos coordinators this year who excels primarily at the battles." Jillian said as Shauna smiled at her friend following his victory over their other friend, who'd she console if he needed it later though she knew that Trevor was here for fun so he should be ok, as Tierno smiled back and walked past her to get to the waiting room. "And now we have another battle, the first of the afternoon with two who are coordinators this year though it is not their primary profession as well as the only non Kalos trainer left to go."

Shauna just smiled as she walked out of the wings and to her starting position with Khoury walking out opposite her while the crowd cheered for them. This wasn't going to be an easy battle for her. Khoury had 4 ribbons and was more accustomed to battling than Shauna was. However, she had her own style, as well as some inspiration from an earlier battle, and she was going to employ it fully to win this battle and she had just the Pokémon for it.

Khoury for his part was a little nervous, the stage was large, but he knew that he had to win. Not only was he the only non Kalos native in the lower portion of the bracket but he wanted that 5th ribbon to fully qualify for the Grand Festival, so he was going to go for it. Plus, Lyra had been knocked out, so it was now up to him to show off for her. Still, this wouldn't be easy as Shauna was a top-level performer, and their unique style was a tough thing to counter for someone used to more straightforward like him.

"Both competitors have strong Contest histories but let's start with the Kalos native as she is the second of the three Master Class finalists to go today." Jillian said gesturing to Shauna. "Plus, it is ladies first. So, without much fanfare, you all know her from the Showcase circuit last year where she made it all the way to the Master Class final and a shot at Kalos Queen until she lost to Serena there. Also, from Vaniville Town, it's Shauna!"

The crowd roared almost as loud as they had for Serena for Shauna as she waved to them. She was one of them and like Serena one of the better performers who was using Contests to complete herself for another shot at the Kalos Queen even if that was still a few years off, Aria was just too good at the moment, but Shauna would get there one day. To get there she needed to get better and know her Pokémon on a deeper level and that was what Contests were already doing for her as she got ready for her impending battle.

"Against her we have the 4th of the 4 coordinators at the Wallace Cup with 4 ribbons and going for that elusive 5th and final ribbon to avoid the wildcard route." Jillian said as she swept her arm to the other side to where Khoury was. "He's one of the closest to the Big 3 this year and an aspiring breeder from the Johto region, it's Khoury!"

Khoury just pulled out his Poke Ball, as did Shauna, and met her gaze while the crowd cheered for them eager to see their battle. He wasn't confident enough to play to the crowd, so he didn't. Instead, he focused on what was to come and readied himself. There was no need for chatter, they didn't know each other well enough for it, so they'd let their Pokémon do the talking for them.

"Alright, well with no back and forth I guess it's battle begin." Jillian said when no banter ensued, so she started the battle, and the timer began to tick down.

"Feraligatr, go." Khoury said tossing out his Poke Ball.

"Floette, let's perform." Shauna said throwing her own ball out, it was time to go with small and evasive to counter the raw strength of Khoury in a style only a performer could truly pull off. "Start with Dawn Terrain, we may need it just not how it is usually used."

"Don't loose sight of it." Khoury said seeing the strategy at once and given his own style this wasn't good thanks to Feraligatr's moves that he still needed to work on. "And hit it with Aqua Tail."

Feraligatr roared and charged forward, water coalescing around his tail as the ice was covered in a pink mist that would prevent status conditions and cut the power of dragon type moves in half. The second half of a strange change that the move had undergone at some point in the last year or so which had led to it being the first non-attack move to be reclassified as a fairy type move in line with the new type and its effect on the dragon type. Before then Dawn Terrain had only prevented status conditions hence its reclassification from normal to fairy.

That wouldn't stop Feraligatr as he closed in on Floette as the move ended and leapt, bringing his tail to bear in the process. The water type move slammed into Floette's side before she could avoid and drove her right into the ice with a thud, she wasn't heavy enough to crack it, and out of sight as she quickly righted herself as she bounced off it. Points fell from Shauna's bar but now Floette was hidden just as she wanted but that was just the start, Shauna had a plan that would be a risk at the start but would pay off in the end.

"Fill the stage." Shauna called out. "Petal Blizzard and Fairy Wind."

"Keep your eyes pealed and prepare Ice Fang." Khoury said inwardly cursing that he'd still not taught Feraligatr a ranged move. "Then when you can use it."

As he was speaking Floette had flown behind him and then emerged from the mist to unleash first her Petal Blizzard that filled the stage with a violent storm of petals which slammed into Feraligatr making him roar in pain from the super effective attack though he kept his Ice Fang active despite the hit. With that done, Floette began to fly around releasing the pink mist of Fairy Wind in a circle around Feraligatr.

The second attack was a deliberate miss that cost Shauna some points but that was part of the overall plan for the battle. She'd seen how effective obfuscation could be as a tactic when she'd watched Jessilina's battle against Brock that morning and was now using her own version of it. Between the petals in the air, the mist on the ground and now the Fairy Wind a small Pokémon like her Floette would be hard to see though not impossible.

The one slight issue with this tactic though was that the attacks were all pink in color and Floette, while small, white, and green, had a bright orange flower in her arms. Had she had a pink or white flower, like the one that Trevor's Florges would have had before evolving, then she would have been fine, but orange stood out too much when contrasted with pale pink. Well, that and she was used to being a Showcase Pokémon, so she was used to standing out.

As such, Feraligatr, who by this point had opened his mouth and coated his teeth in ice, was able to see her out of the corner of his eye. Predicting her path, he used his strength to leap to the side and snap his jaws shut on the surprised Floette as she finished her Fairy Wind.

She let out a wail of pain as the ice type attack struck her and Feraligatr shook her in his jaws, which was a sight given their respective sizes. Thankfully, there was no hope of the frozen side effect triggering and she was just hurt by the attack that was neither strong nor weak against her. Feraligatr for his part just shook her in his mouth to impart the attack before he tossed her to the side, his head turning so that she was always in his line of sight.

"Fairy Wind." Shauna said as Floette was tossed away. "Use it as cover and as a counter."

Floette let out a cry as she let out the pink mist of Fairy Wind in a billowing attack right in front of her. It put up a barrier between her and Feraligatr that gave her the cover she needed to dart to the side and down to use the Dawn Terrain to her advantage, but it had one unintended benefit that Shauna had noticed as she gave the order. With only physical moves, Feraligatr had pressed forward as Floette was thrown away so as to keep her in range but ended up taking the Fairy Wind full in the face staggering him a bit and costing Khoury more points from the hit.

"Aqua Tail." Khoury said. "Hold it and be ready."

"Moonblast." Shauna called out as water encased Feraligatr's tail. "Time for hit and run tactics so strike when you have an opening and then flee."

Feraligatr looked around intently trying to find his opponent, but he couldn't see her as Floette kept to the low-level mist, using it to cover her body and her speed and agility to get behind him. Once she was there she borrowed the power of the moon and used it to cut through the obfuscation she'd created and slam into the back of Feraligatr's head.

He let out a grunt and stagged forward, turning but by that point Floette had already moved to use the mist to her advantage and get away. This was the plan and Shauna realized that with one of her moves she might actually be able to push this to a Battle Off is she was able to pull it off.

"Petal Blizzard." Shauna said. "That's a grass type attack so super effective against Feraligatr."

"Use Aqua Tail to block the worst of it." Khoury yelled as the petals began to whip up in a violent storm.

There wasn't much Feraligatr could do but he understood his human and brought his tail up to whip it around as he moved as gracefully as he could, which was to say not that gracefully at all, hitting some of the petals with his attack but still taking plenty of damage from them. It also cost him his move as he finished defending himself panting hard and clearly battered from the attacks.

"Moonblast." Shauna called out.

"Dodge it." Khoury said.

That would have been a good idea if Feraligatr could see where it would come from, but he couldn't find Floette as she'd gotten into his blind spot below his jaw and a second later the blast of moon power cut down from above and slammed into his chest bringing him to a knee. He was still in this fight and a good hit would turn the tables both he and his trainer knew it and now they had their chance. The Moonblast had come from in front of them, cutting through the obfuscation and showing Floette's position briefly as he fell to a knee and that was all they needed.

"Superpower." Khoury said. "She may be resistant but that move is still strong even with a resistance to it."

Feraligatr roared and leapt at Floette to attack but as he was in the air a buzzer went off showing that time had ended. As such he had to abort his attack and ended up slamming face first into the ice with a growl, Floette flying back glad that she'd survived as she wasn't sure she would have without the buzzer. As she did the Dawn Terrain and remaining Fairy Wind dissipated to show the two Pokémon still standing meaning that this had come down to points.

"What a battle." Jillian said excitedly as the crowd roared. "Another clever use of moves to hide and counter but Feraligatr was ready. Who won, well let's look at the points."

Everyone, especially the two trainers in the battle, looked to the board to see the points. The victor was clear as one had about 35% points remaining while the other had just below 50% left in the bar.

"And Shauna has won the 7th battle of the day!" Jillian announced to the cheering crowd. "She will advance to tomorrow's quarterfinal and face the winner of our 8th and final match."

"Feraligatr return." Khoury said recalling his Pokémon and looking at the Poke Ball in his hand. "That was a tougher battle than we expected and again it's my fault, I really need to teach you a ranged attack so that we can deal with a situation like that in the future. Your moves are strong and varied but they all require up close and personal battles, against a small, maneuverable opponent like Floette that is a lot harder. We will get better for the Grand Festival, I promise."

"Floette, return." Shauna said smiling and breathing a sigh of relief as she looked at the Poke Ball amazed that her tactic had worked. "You were amazing out there. We were at a disadvantage due to size and raw power, but we used our training for Showcases to win, this is just what we are going for with Contests and we will use all of this to improve our performance."

Shauna then collapsed the Poke Ball, looked up and smile at Khoury who'd just done the same. He gave her a respectful nod before they both turned and left the battlefield.

Khoury was thinking on the battle and how to improve as he left the stage. He had one more ribbon to get to qualify for the Grand Festival outright and he planned on getting that as soon as possible while he and Lyra made their way to her final gym battle. Then he'd really train hard and show how much he'd improved when the Grand Festival rolled around.

That was the plan, and he was so focused on it he didn't even notice the girl in purple who he passed as he left to change and meet up Lyra for a nice romantic dinner. There they'd have strategy session for what was to come as their own personal journeys to the end of the year competitions continued.


"Well, that was a battle that showed how evasion and size do matter in a Contest battle as a good way to counter overwhelming power while also showing off what a Kalos performer brings to a Contest battle." Jillian said as Miette nodded to Shauna who passed her with a smile following her win in a rather conflict free battle showing the biggest skill the performers had here, they knew how to be evasive thanks to their freestyle training. "And that leads us into the final battle of the day and the first round as well as the only battle of the day to feature two performers."

Miette took that as her cue to walk out of the wings and to her starting position as Amelia did the same from the other side a smile on her face but hate burning in her eyes as Miette met them. She returned the glare with her own cool one, she could match coldness with ease and the same was with power in the coming battle.

Serena had told her about Amelia the night before, well more than Miette already knew about the other girl, so she was ready for this. Amelia was a skilled trainer and a master of the technical side of performing, possibly even a match for Aria on that front that was how good she was, but she completely lacked the ability to inspire a crowd and win over their hearts the way the truly top performers could.

That was Amelia's weakness and one she never addressed it seemed. She got by on sheer talent but when someone could match that, or at least come close, it was that intangible factor that beat her out just as it had done when she'd faced off against Serena in Fleurrh City the year before.

As such it seemed to make Amelia resentful and while the girl could put on a good face in public she was clearly roiling with hatred for those who'd made the Master Class the year before and was looking for vengeance on them. Well, if Amelia was going to be a bitch then Miette saw no reason not to match that, she could be a bitch if she needed to be as well and more so than Serena or Shauna could be.

Miette would be the one to defend her friends and take care of Amelia for them. She'd be a good test for someone who was overcome by hatred in Brianna who Miette would likely face in the final if she made it that far.

For her part Amelia was basically just what Miette thought she was, a calm and controlled woman with a black heart of hate for the trio who'd taken her spotlight by making the Master Class final that she should have been in but for Serena. However, to Amelia, Miette was nothing but an insignificant blip on her radar. She was the 3rd place finalist, the lowest of the trio who would be the first to fall and not the biggest enemy to her, that false performer would be her last and most pleasurable one to deal with.

Sure, of the three Miette was probably the most dangerous in a battle as she had an edge to her, a chip of sorts that allowed her to match Amelia in ways the other two bitches couldn't but that wouldn't matter. In the end the little sharpness Miette had paled to what Amelia was going to bring to this battle.

Amelia was going to beat her and not on points but by Battle Off to really show everyone and then get a crack at the next in line for her to crush beneath her heel in Shauna. Thankfully, Shauna had won so now Amelia had extra motivation to destroy Miette and get to the next on her list.

She was glad that it had played out like this, that she would have a chance to face all 3 false performers in ascending order to reach the final as she'd get to show off with the next rung each round, culminating in the worst of them in Serena, the bitch who'd dared humiliate her in her own hometown and get Palermo's support. That was going to be a pleasurable win, she just had to get there first.

"It's only right that we start with the final Master Class finalist present as we did that for the last two." Jillian said as she gestured to Miette causing Miette to smirk at Amelia who's smile faltered briefly at the clear slight to her tremendous pride and the intensity in her eyes increased as Jillian spoke. "She was third in that final and like the others she has come to Contests to help improve her performing and show everyone how we Kalos ladies do things. With two ribbons she's going for that third one and a shot at the wildcard round for the Grand Festival. It's Miette!"

Miette just smiled and waved to the crowd the way she would for a Showcase to try and plant that seed that would get them on her side in the end. She knew that the core of a performer, the thing that set the top tier apart from the rest and which put Aria in a league of her own was the ability to win the crowd to your side. That was what Miette was doing now as she played to the cheering masses and got ready for her upcoming battle.

"Against her is one of the up-and-coming performers this year, the first to qualify for the Master Class, and one of at least four favorites for it who's been coordinating to keep in shape for it, but we hope she will go for the Grand Festival next year." Jillian said moving her arm to the other side to gesture to Amelia. "She already has one ribbon, so we are expecting great things from her in the future. From Fleurrh City, it's the Pride of Fleurrh herself, Amelia!"

"Did you give that silly nickname to yourself." Miette taunted as the crowd cheered though noticeably not as loud as they had for her as Amelia wasn't the most well-known performer on the Contest circuit this year. "It's too arrogant and narcissistic for the Contest scene unless it was actually earned and awarded by the fans themselves, not that they would do such a thing for you. I know the ones with such grandiose titles, and they don't like them, but they did earn them. We are in the tournament that has been owned by the Prodigy of Sinnoh for years and she truly earned that moniker. I should know, she put me in my place the one time I faced her."

"It's what my hometown citizens gave me because they recognized me as the best of the city at anything, be it performing, coordinating, battling, you name it." Amelia shot back at Miette keeping her composure even if the ignorant masses had shown the blue haired bitch before her more support than herself. "And at least I have a nickname unlike you. Must be humiliating not having one when your rival and better is the Kalos Princess despite not deserving that herself. Hell, even that little blonde girl has one but not the last placed finalist."

"At least I made that final." Miette said with a grin not letting Amelia's jibe get to her. "I didn't lose my shot at the Master Class in my own hometown and to the best of our rookie class no less. Serena may be a rival of mine in more ways than one but she's also a dear friend who I can acknowledge is the better performer at the moment even if it took a while to do so. She deserves to be our princess; she is the one who has the best shot at usurping Aria one day right now, but I am not above taking that title for myself. Until then, I'll earn my own nickname rather than give it to myself, it's better that way. I want a title I don't like but actually earned."

"You really are something else, aren't you Miette." Amelia said her composure cracking slightly. "You're not like the other two, I can tell that already but finally facing you I can see the truth. There's a hardness to you Miette, a sharp edge that I will enjoy blunting today. You are a fitting first step for me to stand on on my way to winning the Wallace Cup as I do so against the three finalists who dared to take what was rightfully mine."

"I know I'm different from Serena and Shauna and I embrace that, it's what makes me, me and what will in the end take me to the next level." Miette said calmly. "And it is why I can see through your act and to your black heart Amelia, so I'll be coming for you just as hard as you are coming for me. You want our heads, well mine is first and it won't fall easily. I will defend my friends from the likes of you and Brianna, I will show them that I am as good as they all are, that I am worthy to have fallen for the same man as many before me, many who are my betters, but I will be their equal and I'll prove that today when I beat you into the ice in front of all of them."

From her spot on the judge's panel Misty had to be controlled as she listened to Miette and was glad she wasn't judging the battles. The girl was really something unlike almost all of her other rivals and much more like Dawn than Miette probably knew.

Miette was fiercely loyal to her friends despite her confrontational nature, almost as if it was all part of helping them be better themselves, and she was going to stand up for what she believed was right. Miette was of course worthy to be Misty's rival and she was looking forward to the girl showing her real worth for the rest of the world to see today.

"Yes ladies that's what we want to see, a good little banter between performers to whet the appetite of battle." Jillian said interrupting everyone before Amelia could respond annoying her even more while also completely missing the hardness to the girls' conversation. "And on that note let the final battle begin!"

"Slurpuff, time to perform." Miette said tossing out her Pokémon and hoping that Amelia would use that Dragonair of hers, that would be good. "And start us off with Fairy Wind."

"Gorebyss, perfection." Amelia said grinning as she sent out her own Pokémon as the timer began to count down to the end of the final battle of the day. "I wouldn't dare bring out my dragon against a performer who's primary Pokémon is a fairy type, I'm not some dumb bimbo you know. You'll have to deal with my water type. Gorebyss, dodge and use Attract. Bombard that Slurpuff, I know it's gender and this is going to be ours."

"Slurpuff, keep on your toes and avoid those hearts." Miette said as the Fairy Wind spewed from her starter's mouth to billow across the ice towards Gorebyss. "It's male so that will work on you. We can't let it hit."

"Ignorant of you to assume that just because my Gorebyss is pretty and pink he's not a boy." Amelia said with a grin as her water type slithered to the side to avoid the pink mist though he wasn't fast enough to fully avoid it and he took a glancing blow to the side that caused him to grunt in pain and for Amelia to lose some points, but it wasn't a bad hit for them. "That will be your downfall."

"You made the assumption that I was ignorant, I made no such assumption but deduced it based on your own statement." Miette said as she got an idea for her defense as Gorebyss winked at her. "I know that a Pokémon's appearance isn't its gender unless it has a known difference, I do have a Meowstic after all, or is a single gender species, and I know that Gorebyss isn't single gender. Slurpuff, defend that with Psychic and keep it up before sending it back. Let's see if it can infatuate itself because you're a girl."

"Slurpuff." Slurpuff said as her eyes glowed blue with her Psychic.

The hearts were nearing her, but she managed to stop them in time, her power holding them at bay. Then with an effort, she sent them back at Gorebyss. Gorebyss just stayed there and took the attack. As he was male and the originator of the attack nothing happened which was understandable, but it still annoyed Amelia as it cost her some points for a miss, so she decided to up the battle a bit.

"I've studied you Miette, I know your cheap tricks so let me counter this right away." Amelia spat. "Gorebyss, Rain Dance."

"That's the opening we need." Miette said seeing it and ignoring any attempts to goad her while Gorebyss opened his mouth and shot a ball of water into the air. "Get in close for Play Rough."

"That won't work." Amelia said with a smirk as the ball of water burst open and the rain began to fall causing Gorebyss to glow just as Slurpuff neared him and soaking everyone on the stage including the girls. "You're still thinking like a performer not a battler, Miette. In a battle the only point in having a move like Rain Dance is to trigger an ability and that's just what I've done."

Before Slurpuff could strike Gorebyss shot to the side and clear of her, turning on a dime to face Slurpuff. He was a lot faster now that it was raining and as such could dodge and get onto position better while the rain continued to pour down on them.

"You see, some abilities like Hydration or Swift Swim need rain to trigger and my darling has the latter so in rain he's even faster than he normally is." Amelia said as Slurpuff slipped on the wet ice trying to stop herself. "So, you see, this is mine now. Scald."

Gorebyss opened his mouth and unleashed a blast of boiling hot water that cut through the rain and slammed into Slurpuff's face sending her flying back and skidding over the slick ice with a wail of pain though the potential burn side effect didn't trigger. Miette grit her teeth, but she wasn't done yet, she still had plenty of tricks up her sleeve for this battle.

"That's it Gorebyss." Amelia said with a laugh that didn't sound particularly sane and certainly wasn't friendly. "Show it who's the real boss. Ice Beam."

"Use the ice to dodge it and counter with Psychic." Miette said as Gorebyss opened his mouth, and the ice type attack began to form in it. "Speed will mean jack all if you have it in your hold Slurpuff and I know that you're better than that Gorebyss, you can do it. Grab and drag it to you to Play Rough with it."

Slurpuff understood what she had to do as she got up and as the Ice Beam shot through the rain, freezing what it touched, and at her she dove forward and to the side out of its way and slid on her stomach across the ice using it to her advantage this time. As she did she turned her head to look at Gorebyss who was correcting himself to face her and activated Psychic before she'd even stopped sliding.

Her eyes glowed blue and before Gorebyss could move so too did he as Slurpuff grabbed him in her psychic hold. She then let out a cry and yanked him towards her through the rain as she finally slowed to a stop. The move was risky and hectic, but it was the best she could do, and she already had her next move ready as she dropped Psychic the moment she knew that she wouldn't miss nor would Gorebyss be able to get out of the way of the attack.

That was because the wailing Gorebyss slammed into her at full speed sending them bouncing end over end on the ice, the rain lashing them as they did and Slurpuff ignored all else as she roughly played with Gorebyss. Her move added to the bouncing over the ice until on one bounce she managed to get her feet under Gorebyss while in the air and pushed him down and into the ice, backflipping as she did to land on her feet and slide over the ice.

Gorebyss hit the ice hard and bounced up writhing in the air as he pivoted to correct himself, his ability giving him the boost of speed that he needed to manage it. Amelia was snarling at the move and already had her plan for what to do next. She still had his ability active so this would easily work and give her the edge she needed.

"Use your speed boost to get in close and land Attract." Amelia yelled. "Dodge anything that is thrown at you by it."

"Speed is all well and good but now that I have the space I'll show you that it can be countered." Miette said really glad that Slurpuff still knew this move as it was about to come in handy. "Cotton Spore."

"Dodge that weak attempt to slow you down." Amelia ordered as Gorebyss shot at Slurpuff who'd just opened her mouth to spew forth her Cotton Spore.

Two things were in Gorebyss's favor right now and both had to do with the rain. The first was that he was faster because of it and as such wouldn't have been able to roll to the side and arc around Slurpuff as quickly as he did without it thus avoiding the Cotton Spore. The other was that the Cotton Spore absorbed the rain showing exactly where it was and easily allowing for him to know how to avoid it just in case any got too near him.

He made a few looping passes to toy with Slurpuff as he shot around her in the rain, her attack registering as a miss because it never touched him, so as to get a sense for her reaction time. Then, when he knew that she was going to be unable to avoid it, he winked as he passed behind her sending a stream of hearts at her back.

Slurpuff had know hope as the hearts slammed into her and she was suddenly infatuated with Gorebyss thus making it much harder to attack him. Miette growled but this wasn't the end. Even when infatuation a Pokémon could still attack.

"Fairy Wind." Miette said. "I know you can do it."

"Ha like that will work now that Slurpuff has acknowledged Gorebyss's handsomeness." Amelia said with a laugh. "Gorebyss, Scald and Ice Beam. Put it out of its misery and propel me to the next round as we show Kalos that Miette is beneath us."

"Dodge that." Miette said but alas Slurpuff was still to infatuated to move. "And keep trying to use Fairy Wind, I know that you can do it."

Slurpuff could hear what her trainer wanted but she didn't want to hurt the handsome Gorebyss who suddenly launched another boiling hot Scald that hit her in the face and sent her skidding back across the ice though thankfully the burn side effect didn't trigger again. He was even so considerate of her that he soothed the Scald with a cold Ice Beam to the same spot that made her slide back further though she was starting to really feel the hits.

"It won't affect him." Miette said as an idea came to her that might just work. "It's a sign of your love, use Fairy Wind!"

It was? Well, Slurpuff did trust her human so if she said it was then it was. With that she opened her mouth and spewed forth the pink mist of Fairy Wind before Amelia could order another attack. Gorebyss was too shocked that Slurpuff could attack while infatuated with him that he didn't move, and the Fairy Wind slammed into him causing him to grunt in pain. To add to it all the rain stopped showing that the Rain Dance had ended and with it his boost.

"Rain Dance." Amelia said. "We still got this while Slurpuff is infatuated. Reapply…"

Amelia didn't get to finish her statement when the buzzer went off and the match ended. Gorebyss had been about to use Rain Dance but aborted it as he knew he couldn't attack with the match over while Slurpuff snapped out of her infatuation and realized what had happened, pissed at herself for letting Miette down like that and getting hit by Attract.

"What!" Amelia exclaimed in pure rage and frustration as she looked to the screen to see that the time limit was over. "I was going to win by Battle Off! I have to annihilate the false performers utterly so that there is no doubt that I am their superior!"

"Sorry honey but I'm not false and I don't go down that easily." Miette spat back. "If you want to win then it will have to be on points like a coordinator should win. Let's see if that is the case or if I've sent you packing back to Fleurrh where you can't bother us anymore."

"Woah ladies the match is over, this is some heated rivalry and just what we like to see from our Kalos girls to really boost Contests here with intra-regional rivalries." Jillian said though it was unclear if she was trying to diffuse the situation or if she was genuinely oblivious to the animosity present between Miette and Amelia. "That was one intense match to end the day on and it came down to the wire but one of our lovely ladies has won in the end and it is…"

At that Jillian paused for effect as everyone looked to the screen to see the points. They were damn close, closest of the day and near the bottom of the bars with one hovering around 10% and the other just below 15% showing that one had in deed won and it was…

"…Amelia." Jillian said as the crowd cheered though not as loud as it had for some of the other winners, but the intensity of the battle did boost it more than it would have had Amelia won it the way she wanted to win it.

"Slurpuff return." Miette said with a sigh of resignation, she'd given it her all but in the end she'd not been enough, and Amelia had won showing that she did know how to battle, a talent that could make Amelia a great coordinator in time if she properly applied it. "I'm sorry Slurpuff, that loss is on me not you. I let you down there. We should have won and stopped her, but our failure is now Shauna's burden that we will help her with. Hopefully, she does better than me."

"Gorebyss return." Amelia said, she'd thank him later for the win as he did deserve it, but she was still pissed at not ending this by Battle Off and glared at Miette who coolly rose her head to meet her eye not showing any sadness in her loss. "You may have hung on by a thread, but you still lost which is enough, for now. I'll end the next false performer before besting the last and worst of you three for all to see. Mark my words, I'll show that I am the best in Kalos."

"Do whatever you want it won't change the past and it won't help your future." Miette said simply. "You're still just an angry, spiteful girl who didn't get what she wanted and is too prideful and arrogant to acknowledge her own faults so that you could work on them to be a better performer, and as much as it pains me to admit your talent is there, so you do have the potential, but your personality is holding you back. If you weren't such a bitch I'd pity you Amelia but you ain't worth it. You beat me but you'll need more for Shauna. See you around, I'm going to change and then support my friends and crush in this."

With that Miette calmly turned and walked away head held high as Amelia spluttered and grumbled at her back before she too turned to leave and make sure that Shauna knew what was coming to her and play a little psychological warfare with her next enemy. Miette didn't notice this as she was too busy thinking. She'd come here to do her best, but she'd failed at the first battle.

She still had a lot of work to do to get better and after the Cup, she meant it when she said she'd stay and watch, she intended to train harder so that next time she ran into Amelia or someone else it was Miette who came out on top. With that she walked into the stadium to change and head back to the hotel ready to watch the rest of the Wallace Cup.


"And with that win the Amelia punches her spot in the quarterfinals as the final competitor to reach tomorrow's battles." Jillian said as the bracket changed before shrinking to show the 8 remaining with 4 on the top of the screen and 4 on the bottom. "Which means that the quarterfinals are set and here are the 8 left in the Wallace Cup. We will resume tomorrow with two matches in the morning and two in the afternoon. Congratulations to all of our competitors and I'll see you all for tomorrow's exciting quarterfinal."

With that Jillian signed off and all the screen showed the 7 still in the waiting room was the bracket, Amelia would be back soon while Miette no doubt went to the changing room to change and would therefore meet them at the hotel later after her hard-fought loss. The rest just looked at the screen and knew who they were facing when the Wallace Cup resumed.

It would start with Ash verses Jessilina, the latter noting it and ready for the king twerp before she turned and left to rejoin James and Meowth not wanting to deal with the others. She had to get ready for that battle as her vengeance for years of undeserved abuse from him as she only wanted to steal his Pokémon, who would soon be hers once they resumed their day jobs after the Wallace Cup.

After that match was Brianna verses Max and that one was going to be intense. It was also one that would start with the trash talk before because that was just what Brianna was like.

"Well, it looks like I get the brother of evil incarnate to serve justice to tomorrow." Brianna said grinning at them from her spot away from them so as to not be polluted by their evil, that and her brutal victory over Adam had unnerved some but with her personality and clearly growing insanity it was to be understood that they'd avoid her. "I will enjoy crushing you and seeing you go crying to big sis monster when I end you in record time."

"I won't be doing that; I know you are better than me at this so it's not like you're punching up in this battle." Max said calmly as he adjusted his glasses. "This is your scene where you've been for 5 years now and have made it to a Grand Festival final, so you know how to win a Contest battle. This is my first Contest ever and I battle normally, of course you'd be the favorite to beat me. All the world will see is a skilled coordinator beating up on a younger, clearly inexperienced, trainer. I would say that it would damage your image, but you've done a fine job of destroying that already."

"I don't care what the ignorant masses think of me as there is only one person's opinion that matters, and he's already approved of me." Brianna said with a sneer as Amelia returned to engage in her own trash talk and declarations before tomorrow's matches. "I'm here to win and put the villains of this world in their places even if their leader is beyond me so I'll have to make it hurt by beating her underlings. It is never punching up when the few who are good are triumphing over the hordes of evil, I am the little one here, but I already know that I am right and that is all that matters. I'll enjoy demolishing you and showing the world a true hero."

"Whatever you need to do to sleep at night I guess." Max said turning to the others to no longer give Brianna the time of day as he was not going to justify her delusions. "I'm going to head out and help Owen with his curry, I need to clear my head and plan for tomorrow."

"Of course, see you later." Ash said as Max nodded to them and left ignoring Brianna's glare that she then turned-on Ash.

"And you'd better win as well, Ketchum." Brianna spat at him. "I want to beat you myself, another feather in my hat as I make my way to the Misty Ribbon and have her present it to a pure girl like me even if she too is already lost to the forces of evil like the rest of you pathetic low lives. Your win over Emily was expected, beat Jessilina so I can beat you after you've beat my only two rivals on the circuit this year and remind everyone that I am the best here while also bringing my divine justice to you. Serena, you win out as well. Beating so much evil to win this will be a supreme pleasure only being with Drew would surpass."

On that, and before anyone could comment, Brianna turned and left knowing that she'd told the villains what she had to and not caring what they had to say to try, and fail, to defend their indefensible villainy. She wasn't going to be around such evil any longer than she had to be. She needed to be back with her love and his pure heart that always soothed her as she prepared for another victory in the morning.

"She's something else but she's not wrong about some of you though those of you who I don't know and aren't part of my world aren't worth the time of day to me." Amelia said looking at them with a hard stare in her eyes. "I've already taken down one false performer; I'll take down the next in Shauna tomorrow then I'll deny that chick her strange vengeance because Serena's ass is mine when we meet in the semifinals. Win tomorrow Serena so I can enjoy beating you in front of everyone after I've taken care of your lackies. Then all of Kalos will know that I will be their next Queen, not you."

Again, before anyone could say anything Amelia turned and left. She had to be ready to best Shauna and she already had a plan for that given what she knew about the girl and her Pokémon so with the right nudge Shauna would use the one Amelia wanted her to use. Amelia grinned at that, she would easily crush Shauna and regain some face after that bitch Miette had the audacity to deny her a Battle Off, that wouldn't be the case tomorrow.

"Those two were pleasant." Shauna said when Amelia had left before turning to the others. "You guys sure know how to make some enemies."

"Hate can cause that to a person, especially when it is fed by a master of emotional manipulation." Serena said with a sigh. "At least Tierno and I will have a good and normal Contest battle after lunch to show everyone that it's not all bad before yours Shauna. She will come for you though so be ready."

"I know and I will be." Shauna promised. "Don't worry, I've got something that will be able to hold its own against Amelia."

"And I can't wait to face you Serena." Tierno said to his crush hearts in his eyes. "Our battle will be a graceful dance who's beauty is only surpassed by your own."

"Um thanks." Serena said. "But we should get going and change before heading back to rejoin the others at the hotel. We have a lot to get ready for."

The others just nodded as they headed out to the changing rooms to do just that before heading back to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow and hang out with friends. One day of battles were done, two more remained and they all had one question on their minds as they left; who would still be here this time tomorrow when only 4 remained in the Wallace Cup?


"Another interesting slate to end the day." Dawn said to May as most of the people around them began to leave. "Just as open as we expected it to be though Bonnie did really well against Serena, better than I expected from her."

The final match, a brutal one between Miette and Amelia that had lived up to the trash talk beforehand, had just ended with Amelia claiming victory on points by a small but clear margin. She was clearly pissed at it and Miette wasn't going to be happy with her loss, but it was over, and the afternoon matches had ended so the day was over. Now, only 8 competitors remained in the Wallace Cup.

With the day over the people around them were starting to leave. Bonnie, who had arrived having changed back into her normal clothes at the end of the 6th match, had already left to see Serena. Owen had left the moment the matches ended to prepare dinner for some of them while Lyra did to go get Khoury so that they could change before they went out for a date that night now that both were out of the Cup. Brock and Lucy were doing the same while Adam and Emily had left for their own reasons. That just left May and Dawn to dissect the afternoon slate.

"That was actually a rematch." May said. "We had a training battle a while ago by the Kalos Canyon when we took a break from our journey because we ran into them there and so that Owen could determine Litwick's gender. The only way to do so reliably with a ghost type that doesn't have a gender difference is the Cute Charm ability as Attract won't work so Bonnie and Serena had a battle to trigger it."

"And Sylveon has that ability so that's why it was used to face Litwick." Dawn said understanding. "And then they battled afterwards for training and experience as you may as well finish what was started."

"Bonnie's Litwick always loved battle." May said. "And she had the full advantage there to the point that Serena forfeited. It wasn't like with Anabel, Serena could still attack but she only had one attack that Litwick was resistant to and Sylveon was burned and Litwick knew a poison type attack at the time, which is bad for a fairy type, so Serena called it. It was a bit of a surprise, but Serena is still a second-year trainer herself and has little battle experience. She was preparing for this, it's why she had Sylveon learn Dig as it's the perfect move for a fairy type to know and my Eevee knew it so I could help there."

"A ground type move would be good." Dawn said realizing it. "Poison, steel and fire, the three types resistant to fairy type moves, are all weak to it and that's especially good with the first two that are strong against fairy types."

"Yup that's why we went for it." May said with a nod. "Well, that and it's the only offensive ground type move that a Sylveon can learn. Also, we know that Chandelure doesn't have Levitate thanks to that training battle, though I think Serena forgot about that, so it worked out really well for her. I was just surprised that Bonnie can now control it."

"She couldn't before?" Dawn asked.

"Litwick was Bonnie's only battle Pokémon in the sense that he loves to battle." May said recalling it. "And we had a run in with Team Rocket during which time Litwick evolved into Lampert to help win as he and Bonnie where the only two not captured by them. Then, well, Lampert went to Bonnie's bag once we were all freed from the traps and got the Dusk Stone she had there fore when he was ready and evolved again. Only a stone or trade-based evolution can be that quick from first to third stage, and, well, when you evolve that fast."

"It's going to take time for a 10-year-old rookie to gain control of a Pokémon with that level of power." Dawn said understanding well though her main disobedient Pokémon was more about inability to stay in his Poke Ball, she'd had to leave it at the Pokémon Center because of that issue, rather than anything else. "When was this?"

"Several months ago, right after we were at a Fire Festival in the northwest of Kalos as we made our way to Laverre and those three were heading back to Lumiose via Coumarine." May said. "Misty had a similar thing happen with her Mamoswine so gave Bonnie some good advice. Clearly she's used that to get control and gave Serena a good match but in the end Serena's experience won out. Well, that and a triggering of Cute Charm that gave Serena the upper hand she needed to reduce Bonnie's points enough to secure victory."

"Yeah it was a good battle for sure." Dawn said. "And the next one was more traditional."

"Tierno and Trevor are trainers so it would be and Tierno had the advantage on two fronts." May said. "His dance style is actually really good for Contests, give it a year or two and he could become a Top Coordinator if he really applied himself, and he had the type there with Raichu. Trevor did well avoiding it and may have won on points; the melting of the ice was a good touch I felt it could have prevented Tierno's usual dancing but for that Dig changing where the battle was being fought thus allowing Raichu to dance when needed. In the end a few good, solid hits and some dance moves was all it took."

"Electric on flying will do that." Dawn said. "Still good and then we saw another evasion and obfuscation match only one that was more due to the matchup than how Jessilina used it against Brock."

"That was Shauna's best strategy for sure." May said. "Khoury is a better battler and has more experienced so Shauna showed what a performer could do and went small with Floette to create what she needed to evade the attacks and win that way though the Petal Blizzard was a good move to have as well. It also preserved her Ivysaur, or maybe Venusaur by now, for later as she may need it against Amelia. That said it could be a risk, Amelia has yet to use her Espeon and that's a strong matchup for her against Venusaur or Ivysaur and she's clearly after the Battle Off."

"I noticed that against Miette." Dawn said. "She went with the Attract and assault while infatuated like Serena only cruel. I was impressed that Miette managed to land in some solid hits, including that Psychic into Play Rough that was just what Ash would do as it was out of the box, and she even managed to get a Fairy Wind off while infatuated which isn't easy. What is Amelia's issue though? There was no jealous female shit there, more some mix of hatred, arrogance, pride, mild delusions of grandeur, and feeling inferior."

"That sounds about right." May said. "Amelia is, well, a talented performer on the technical side of the craft but she lacks the ability to move a crowd, what Palermo, a former Kalos Queen turned performer instructor who trained Aria personally and who Serena has an offer from for whenever she's ready to take it, considers the intangible factor, and she can't see her own faults. That was how Serena beat Amelia last year in the Fleurrh Showcase and where Palermo first noticed it in her. The Master Class confirmed to Palermo that Serena had the potential to one day be at Aria's level hence the offer."

"Fleurrh, that's where Amelia is from, right?" Dawn said not knowing the Kalos geography but knowing hearing that when Amelia was introduced. "So, she lost in her hometown."

"It was worse than that." May said. "She lost her shot at a 3rd Princess Key, the one needed to qualify for the Master Class, at it to Serena who got her third there. Amelia clearly hasn't taken it well and her negative traits of arrogance and anger seem to have consumed her and now she's out for some revenge against them in the Wallace Cup as the bracket has fallen in such a way to allow it. She beat Miette and now has Shauna with Serena possibly in the semis, she'll go all out for that."

"Seems like a thing Serena should mention to Sabrina." Dawn said thinking on it. "She'd understand more, my own anger issues are a little different and I don't think I can help, but this isn't that bad as the issues Amelia has aren't like Brianna's."

"I'll suggest it." May said. "It's all a bit of a shame though, with her talents Amelia would make a good coordinator, possibly even the first Kalos native to win the Kalos Grand Festival, well her or Tierno could do it I'd say, but she's focused on Showcases."

"A narrow mind that thinks it's infallible and can't accept its own faults will do that." Dawn said as she got up and stretched still holding Piplup and Azumarill. "But we should head back, they'd have changed and gone by now. We can discuss more there and enjoy a dinner and preparations for the quarterfinals. Tomorrow will be just as good as today, I'm sure of that."

May just nodded as she rose and they carried Piplup, Azumarill, and Pikachu out to go and rejoin their friends who'd be available, mainly Ash and Serena at least and possibly Miette as Shauna would be with Trevor and Tierno most likely, for the evening. The first day of battles was in the books and had been good which meant that tomorrow was going to be even better as the Wallace Cup continued.