Part CLXXXIX: One Will Become A Master

This was it, Ash was ready as he took a deep breath, Pikachu on his shoulder like always, as he centered his mind and prepared for what was to come. After a long year in Kalos where he'd had many adventures, faced 8 gym leaders, beating 7 first time and needing a second attempt to best the last one Wulfric but growing a lot from it, followed by a long Conference it all came down to this one moment. All those battles culminated in this final full battle; the Lumiose Conference final was upon him.

Ash was just waiting for the signal to head out and as soon as it was given he stepped out of his entrance as the crowd roared and began to make the long walk across the walkway to the circular battlefield in the middle of the vast Lumiose Stadium. Across the way from him Paul had walked out at the same time looking just as he had all tournament, calm and collected for the coming match.

Both boys knew how tough the other was having battles so often in Sinnoh, including two full battles, and now they'd do it again on the greatest of all stages, a Conference final not a quarterfinal like last time but the actual final. The Kalos League trophy and that came with it was on the line and as both boys had made it this far in the past but fallen just short in other regions this was a match that was bigger than ever for both of them.

All the fans in attendance knew this however as they'd all been informed of Ash and Paul's records throughout the Conference by the enthusiastic announcer and seen how well both had performed throughout. On paper Paul looked better, he'd not lost a gym battle all year and had only used two Pokémon the entire Conference, but no one was ruling Ash out either as they made their way to their starting points.

Naturally, Ash's cheer section was out in full force today for him, as were all his other friends who were supporting him both here in the stands and around the world as his mother, his Pokémon back home, Professor Oak, Dawn, Brock, Cilan, Iris, and many others tuned in for Ash's second finals. As was Paul's brother Reggie who was back in Sinnoh ready to cheer for his brother along with Paul's many Pokémon who were eager to see their human win especially as his relationship with them had improved greatly over the last few years.

Now it was time for that moment and both boys were ready for it as they reached their starting points, Pikachu hopping down to stand next to Ash, and stopped as a light breeze blew through the stadium. They locked eyes but unlike other matches no words were needed, they knew each other well enough to not need them plus Paul was never much of a talker at times like this as he preferred to let his Pokémon talk for him though he'd scold any foolishness he saw in the battle. Ash for his part was just ready as he went over his plans one more time.

"Here it is folks, at long last the Lumiose Conference final is upon us!" The announcer said excitedly as the crowd roared and cheered for what was to come. "It's been a long competition that comes down to this battle between arguably the top two trainers of the entire competition and both deserve a full introduction before we begin the final as they both go for the trophy and the right to face the Kalos Elite Four and possible replace one of them or even become the Champion if they can beat all of them and Diantha afterwards."

This really got the crowd going as they roared. Paul was just indifferent to this, he didn't care for the whole hype aspect, he just wanted the battle to begin so that he could do everything he could to win it, but he would have to deal with it. Ash was more used to it from all the Contests he'd been to, so he just stood patiently as he waited for it to start.

"I guess it's best to start with the trainer with less Conference or Cup appearances." The announcer said. "They have 13 between them but for one this is his 6th Regional Competition in as many regions and is coming off an impressive runner up performance in last year's Galar Cup, their version of a Conference, that went down to the wire in the end. From Veilstone City in the Sinnoh region, it's Paul!"

Paul just looked indifferent to this as the crowd cheered at his introduction. He'd not won any supporters, but he'd not alienated any either as he'd just been focused on his battles and winning, and he continued to do so now.

He knew he'd need everything to beat Ash and he was going to come out with his hidden weapon right at the start to really put Ash on the back foot. Unlike the others in the Conference, Ash was actually good so he deserved all that Paul had to give because he alone could beat Electivire and Avalugg. The goal was to surprise Ash and should take down some of his Pokémon in the process though he knew that it would still be a tough fight because Ash didn't surprise easily.

"Facing him and competing in his 7th Conference in his 6th region is another highly decorated and talented trainer who last year made the finals of the Indigo Conference in his native Kanto but as with Paul in Galar he fell just short." The announcer said moving onto Ash. "He also revealed fairy types to the world at that Indigo Conference but more importantly he beat Paul in their only Conference matchup in the quarterfinals of the Lily of the Valley Conference a few years back so he might have the edge here not that that really counts for anything. From Pallet Town in the Kanto region, give it up for Ash!"

The crowd again gave a defining roar at that, there was a large support for Ash in this match, and the crowd was eager for it to start. At that, the ref stepped up and into position looking to both boys. Clearly he was expecting some chat or trash talk like pretty much all of the past battles had had, but Paul cut that off right away.

"We've both been here before." Paul said sharply. "Let's just start this already."

"Agreed." Ash said knowing there was no point in engaging with Paul before this battle. "It's time to decide who will win the Lumiose Conference."

At that Paul just nodded and pulled out a Poke Ball so Ash did the same to show that he was ready for the battle. They both then turned to the ref and nodded to show that they were ready, so it was going to start right away.

"Well looks like we're ready to begin without any preliminary chatter so the wait is over." The announcer said a little surprised but clearly fine with it. "And on that note, battle begin!"

"Talonflame, I choose you." Ash said tossing out his Poke Ball as the line of hexagons appeared next to Ash and Paul's pictures on the jumbotron and betting on Paul going with Avalugg first to save his Electivire, his strongest, for later hence why he went with a Pokémon that would be good against Avalugg.

"Aggron, standby for battle." Paul said surprising Ash and everyone in the crowd by revealing a third Pokémon though Ash knew Paul had one, he'd face it in the Sinnoh Conference and beaten it with Infernape with a Mach Punch after burning it with Flare Blitz, but it was still a surprise to see it here.

At least it was a surprise until Ash saw the special glove on Aggron's left hand. It was a dark black, specially made glove for a Pokémon but notably there was a spherical, clear stone that glowed slightly with a white and dark gray swirl in it that was on the back of the glove. Ash was too far away to notice the lighter gray part of the swirl, but he knew at once what it was.

It was a Mega Stone and revealed that Paul's Mega Pokémon for this battle was his Aggron. That was a Mega Evolution that Ash had heard of but hadn't seen yet so he was eager to face it. It was also one that actually played to Ash's advantage in this matchup though he didn't realize that as he didn't know what happened when Aggron was Mega Evolved.

"I can't take anything for granted against you Ash so I'm going to go all out right at the start." Paul said as he lowered his left hand to his belt and touched his Key Stone there. "Aggron, upgrade to your battle peak and Mega Evolve."

As expected there was the usual light of Mega Energy that connected Paul's Key Stone to Aggron's Mega Stone before Aggron glowed and began to change. It didn't get much bigger, but it got a hell of a lot bulkier as it Mega Evolved.

Ash watched as what appeared to be thick armor like plates appeared on its legs, calves, upper chest, lower chest and belly, on the rings on its tail and on its forearms with the latter having spikes shoot out from them. The helmet thing it had on its head grew larger, the spikes from it longer, and the two segments below it grew out to cover more of its back. Lastly the things on its shoulders shot up and curved slightly right before the light faded and Mega Aggron let out a roar.

Mega Aggron hadn't changed color in full or part like how Ash had seen with Mega Alakazam and Mega Lucario that year, but the armor was now gray like the little bits of it had been before Mega Evolution only now it was covering a lot more of Aggron than before. Meanwhile, the remaining parts visible under the armor were the same color as Aggron normally was. Pretty much it just looked like it had gotten significantly more armored when it Mega Evolved so Ash assumed it was much stronger defensively now.

Regardless, Ash just grinned at this. He hadn't expected to face a Mega Evolved Pokémon right off the bat, most trainers saved those for last or when they needed to get back into a battle, but Paul was different to most trainers so Ash should have expected something like this from the start. Well, he was going to give it his all and he'd beaten this Aggron once before, now he would beat it again only as a Mega Aggron.

"Flame Charge." Ash said.

"Stop it with Flash Cannon." Paul ordered as Talonflame ignited, he knew that this was going to be harder than he'd expected thanks to the Pokémon Ash had chosen first, but he wouldn't reveal that to Ash. "Don't let it hit you."

"Dodge it, I know you can do it." Ash called out. "Then land that Flame Charge, it's steel type will negate its rock type so we're not at as big a disadvantage as we have been against rock types in the past."

Talonflame cawed in agreement as he soared in, his eyes on Mega Aggron's open maw as a light appeared in it. A second later Mega Aggron blasted out the light right at the burning Talonflame. Talonflame however showed off his flying skills by angling his wings and corkscrewing around the Flash Cannon as fast and as close to it without touching it as he could so that he reached Mega Aggron before it could move its head to reorientated the light. Thus, as the Flash Cannon ended, Talonflame crashed into Mega Aggron with a caw.

Mega Aggron let out a roar of pain from the blow though while it was greater than normal in terms of effectiveness thanks to how Mega Aggron lost its rock type upon Mega Evolving. However, it wasn't double damage that a super effective move would usually cause thanks to Mega Aggron's Filter ability that it gained upon Mega Evolving.

It was an ability that mitigated some damage from a super effective attack. It also meant that now Mega Aggron would take recoil damage from one of its moves as it no longer had the Rock Head ability, but Paul was willing to take that damage in this battle to win it.

"Double Edge." Paul ordered.

"Dodge and use Overheat." Ash said going for the all-out flame attack now as he had other Pokémon who could handle the Avalugg if Paul used it and Mega Aggron was a strong, tough, foe that deserved Ash's best.

Talonflame cawed as he flew around, glowing red now, and tried to get away but Mega Aggron showed that despite its bulk it still had raw strength and leapt at Talonflame to tackle him in a reckless, life risking tackle as Talonflame flew around Mega Aggron. Talonflame just let out a caw of surprise as he was grabbed by nearly 900 pounds of Mega Pokémon and brought down to the ground with a crash that kicked up a fair bit of dust.

However, this was just a normal type attack, so it wasn't enough to take down Talonflame, though it did do serious damage and added to the damage on Mega Aggron, so Talonflame was still in the fight. Plus, he now had no chance of miss so as he lay on the ground with Mega Aggron in top of him, something he wanted to rectify right away, and as such Talonflame opened his mouth and let out an intense, full powered, fire type attack in a raging inferno.

All Ash and Paul saw was the dust that obscured both Pokémon before suddenly a conflagration of flames burst from the center, mixing with the dust to create an uncontrollable fire that burned away the remaining dust and covered both Pokémon for a moment as it scorched the ground around it. That ended with a caw as Talonflame, who'd used the flame and the pain it caused Mega Aggron to get free, as he shot up and out of the flames, a little battered but still strong before he turned and looked down at the conflagration below him.

From within the fire, everyone heard Mega Aggron roar as it slowly got up, its body now glowing from the heat as the fires burned around it, but Mega Aggron showed that it was still in the battle as it rose and glared at Talonflame above it. It was certainly impressive and only because of its Filter ability but that didn't negate the fact that it was still battling at all.

"Flame Charge." Ash said. "Dodge whatever is sent at you."

"Double Edge." Paul said, a stoic look on his face but inside he was scolding himself for underestimating Ash and his Pokémon as this wasn't going how he'd planned but at least he'd seen how much better Ash had gotten so he was going to adjust to that as he began to deduce Ash's strategy. "If that Talonflame wants to take you down then let's take it with us."

Mega Aggron roared as he understood the situation. He rarely got Mega Evolved, this was only the second time this year in fact, and he loved the strength it gave him, but it cost him his rock type which meant that fire became a weakness. Thus, this matchup wasn't a great one for him and this Talonflame was a strong Pokémon just as Paul had warned him about with their finals opponent. As such, he knew that he wasn't likely to win this matchup despite Mega Evolving so best to ensure that the other Pokémon that was now burning and diving at him didn't either.

It came down to timing and as Talonflame reached the right point Mega Aggron let out one final roar and leapt at Talonflame to tackle him with another reckless tackle of Double Edge. There was no way for Talonflame to avoid it, so he just cawed as he angled his wings to crash into Mega Aggron's chest, imparting his second Flame Charge as the Double Edge hit him and they both crashed to the ground again, dust kicking up for a second time and dousing the last of the flames from Overheat as it covered both Pokémon.

Neither trainer could see what had happened but quickly it became apparent that one of them had been defeated as there was a flash of light from within the dust that indicated the end of a Mega Evolution that only occurred once the Mega Evolution was no longer needed, or when the Pokémon that had been Mega Evolved had fainted. In this case it was going to be the latter as Mega Aggron couldn't take three fire type attacks from a Pokémon like Talonflame and two recoils, so it had clearly fainted. What wasn't clear was what had happened to Talonflame.

That was cleared up a moment later as with a caw of triumph that shocked Paul as Talonflame burst up from the dust have extricated himself from under Aggron, though this time he had to wait for the Mega Evolution to fall to do so, and taken to the sky to show that he'd won over a Mega Pokémon. He hovered there clearly the worst for wear, he'd taken two strong Double Edge attacks but he was a fully evolved and seasoned Pokémon at this point so he could handle it.

"I don't believe it." The announcer said in amazement as the dust cleared to show a normal Aggron now on its chest, arms splayed, head to the side and swirls for eyes. "Mega Aggron has been beaten by Talonflame, Paul's opening gambit didn't pay off but then again when a Pokémon loses the type that negates a weakness that can happen."

"Wait what?" Ash asked confused as the ref made his declaration and the image of Aggron on the jumbotron next to Paul's picture turned gray to confirm that it was out the battle. "It lost a type?"

"You didn't know?" Paul asked astounded by another example of Ash not knowing something that he probably should have known as he recalled Aggron and used this to his advantage. "Thank you Aggron, you did well there and ensured that we'll win. A shame though but yes, Ash, when Aggron is Mega Evolved it joins Bellossom as the only Pokémon to lose a type upon evolving as its rock type vanishes making Mega Aggron a pure steel type though unlike Bellossom it is only temporary. Anyway, thank you for being distracted. Avalugg, stand by for battle and use Frost Breath."

As Paul had been talking he'd swapped his Poke Balls out and before Ash could process much more than what he'd been told about Aggron's Mega Evolution Paul had sent out his Avalugg and forced Ash to keep in Talonflame. This was the matchup that Ash had thought the match would start with but now Talonflame was stuck in the match, but Ash wasn't going to let that take out Talonflame just yet.

"Block that with Overheat." Ash said as Avalugg landed with a thud, opened its mouth, and blasted out a cold breath of air at Talonflame. "Then follow it up with Steel Wing. Plow through the flames if you have to but make sure that you land that hit."

Talonflame let out a caw of agreement as he glowed red and then unleashed the fire from his mouth at the approaching icy air. Overheat was great the first time but significantly worse every subsequent time so as an attack it wasn't going to be the best that Ash could use here though it would still do more damage than normal thanks to Avalugg's ice type, but it had one more advantage, it could be used defensively. Ice melted and fire was useful in blocking it so that was just what Talonflame did.

The fire of Overheat met the cold air of Frost Breath and burned it away allowing Talonflame to caw as he dove at the fire, his wings turning to steel as he did, and shoot through it just as Ash had ordered. Of course Paul was still ready for this and had just the move to deal with Talonflame, and any other fire types that might cause Avalugg issues.

"Surf." Paul called out as Talonflame burst from the mix of Overheat and Frost Breath. "Use it the moment you know you won't miss."

Avalugg let out a roar as it realized that it wasn't going to get it off in time to avoid a hit so waited as Talonflame reached it and turned sideways to score a line along its broad back with the Steel Wing attack. Avalugg grunted in pain from the super effective move but knew it had the matchup as it turned, and water bubbled up around it.

Talonflame for his part and gone for the body shot both because it was the easiest target on an Avalugg and to ensure that he would be able to avoid a counter. However, Avalugg had moved with the blow showing surprising grace and turned so that the wave a water suddenly shot up and at Talonflame as he flew around to get ready for another strafing run.

Ash called out to his Pokémon, his faith clear and trust there and Talonflame tried to outrun the wave of water that was bearing down on him. He knew a flip up wouldn't work as the water was closing too fast for him to pull up like that, but alas between all the damage he'd taken from Mega Aggron in the first battle he didn't have the speed to do so. Thus, the water crashed down on top of Talonflame, driving him to the ground and completely covering him.

The super effective water type attack was too much for Talonflame to take and he was out before he hit the ground as the water crashed all around him before sinking into the ground to create a large damp patch in the already partly scorched battlefield. In the center of it was a soaking, battered, Talonflame with wings splayed and swirls for eyes.

"Talonflame is unable to battle." The ref declared as the announced commentated on it but neither boy paid attention to the commentary as it was generic, the only thing they noted was that Talonflame's image had gone gray on the jumbotron bringing the battle back to a tie. "Avalugg is the winner."

"Talonflame, return." Ash said recalling his Pokémon with a smile as his Pokémon was sucked back into his Poke Ball. "You did great there and beat a Mega Aggron, that was better than I could have asked for. Take a rest, you earned it, we know how to…"

"Avalugg, return." Paul said recalling his Pokémon the moment he could. "Rest, you did well to both add to what Aggron did and to avenge him, but it will take the whole team to beat Ash."

"So, you have something new then." Ash said with a grin as he looked up at Paul and put away his Poke Ball to pull out his next one. "Alright, let's do this then."

"I know I can't beat you with just 3 Pokémon so I made sure to bring in some of my strongest that I know you haven't seen me use before, if at all, to best you." Paul said simply as he pulled out his third Pokémon before he tossed it out. "Let's see you handle this one. Weezing, standby for battle."

"Goodra I choose you." Ash said at almost the same time as he threw out his second Poke Ball of the battle. "And Weezing, I know how to face that Pokémon, I…ok that's not a Weezing I know."

For the most part, it was just the same as the Weezings that Ash knew from Kanto, mainly the one that James's from Team Rocket had before it oddly vanished from battles early in Ash's Hoenn journey, with the exception of that it was dark gray in color not poison purple like Ash knew. However, the general body type was the only thing that was similar to the Weezings that Ash knew.

For starters while there was smog coming from it, the smog from this Weezing was lime green smog and it covered the upper lip of the larger head while surrounding the smaller one's mouth and forming eyebrows there but that still didn't compare to the main difference that Ash noticed. That main difference was the large, smokestack things from the top of its heads, the larger head had a larger one, that added a lot of height to it and for some reason were producing clean looking white smoke from them.

"No, it's not a Weezing you'd know from Kanto." Paul said as Ash and Goodra assessed their latest opponent. "But I am sure that you know what it is."

"A regional variant, almost certainly Galarian given that you were there." Ash said quickly deducing what it was. "Which means that this is going to have some tricks but still worth the challenge. Goodra, Dragon Breath."

"Use Strange Steam." Paul said as Goodra opened his mouth. "Get in close so you don't miss."

Weezing just groaned as it flew forward, with its flight Ash was certain that its ability was Levitate which would be annoying to deal with as he couldn't use ground type attacks should it come to it, but he could work around it, and at the Dragon Breath that was expelled from Goodra's mouth in a powerful gust. That surprised both Ash and Goodra a little, but Paul wasn't one to avoid a hit if it meant landing a stronger one in return, so it was all in keeping with what to expect from him.

At least it was up until Weezing burst through the breath without any damage at all or even being slowed down by the contact with the dragon type attack. There was only one thing that could do that, the still new and not fully understood fairy type that Ash had revealed in similar fashion a little over a year ago in Kanto. The Galarian variant of Weezing had to have the type.

That alone was bad but what was worse was when Weezing was close enough, it lowered its body so that its smokestacks were pointing directly at Goodra and emitted a powerful blast of steam from them that engulfed Goodra. That had to be the Strange Steam attack, one that Ash had never heard of mainly because it was an attack that only a Galarian Weezing could learn it, but that wasn't the worst part of the move.

No that was reserved for the wail of pain that Goodra let off as he staggered back showing that the move was almost certainly a fairy type one just as at least one of Weezing's types. This wasn't good but Ash was already on it and had the counter ready.

"You can handle that Goodra, counter with Sludge Bomb." Ash said. "Send it back and let's see if it's still a poison type as well. Whatever you do don't let that attack hit you again because I'm sure that it's a fairy type one."

"Strange Steam again." Paul said as Goodra focused on the toxins in his body as Weezing prepared another Strange Steam attack. "Ash's figured out the fairy type nature, so we don't need to hide it anymore, go for our strength Weezing."

Goodra let out a roar of agreement as he unloaded his Sludge Bomb at the strange Pokémon he was facing. This thing had the type that that evil Pokémon that had driven him from his home had and it had a move he'd never seen before that was of the same fairy type as well which wasn't good. However, Goodra was trained to deal with this type so that he could reclaim his home one day, and he wasn't going to let this connected set of sentient gas balls beat him as he fired his Sludge Bomb at it.

The poison type attack struck Weezing in the back as it was still lowered to fire off a second Strange Steam though it didn't get that before the Sludge Bomb hit it and drove it into the ground to bounce off the ground with a groan of pain. However, there wasn't the tell-tale roar of pain that would indicate a super effective attack, so Ash quickly deduced that it was still part poison type making it a poison and fairy type a potentially unique combination as Ash had never heard of it before. Regardless it was going down and the Sludge Bomb was just the start.

The attack also had the advantage of giving Goodra the moment he needed to dash to the side as the Strange Steam was unleashed at the ground, the nature of the move meaning that it might hit him as it covered the ground and area in front of Weezing unless he was away from where it was going to go. This worked out well for him as it put Goodra in a good position for his next move that Ash was already giving as Paul realized Weezing had missed and was righting itself to turn towards Goodra and continue the fight.

"Ice Beam." Ash said.

"Sludge." Paul countered as Weezing righted itself and Goodra opened his mouth showing the glowing ball of ice that was forming there.

Goodra let out another roar as he blasted off his Ice Beam at Weezing who tilted its body back and coughed out a ball of unsanitary sludge. Thanks to that move, the Sludge soared in an arc over the Ice Beam ensuring that the two moves didn't collide, and as such both found their targets. The Ice Beam struck Weezing just below the marking on its big head and sent it wailing back and spinning in the air while the Sludge landed on Goodra's face with a splat as he closed his mouth that caused him to shake his head to clear the stuff from his eyes.

The Sludge also caused a purple line to appear beneath Goodra's eyes and as Weezing came to a halt as it steadied itself while Goodra shuddered from a round of poisoning. That wasn't good but Ash had just the thing for it.

"Goodra, Rain Dance." Ash said surprising Paul a little, but he saw his opening as Goodra quickly shot a ball of water into the air.

"Weezing get in close and use Strange Steam again." Paul said as the ball of water burst in the air and rain began to fall down on them. "We've got this."

"Evade and use Sludge Bomb." Ash said as Weezing shot through the rain at Goodra.

The reason for the rain was to trigger Goodra's Hydration ability and cure his poisoning, which it did, but it did give Weezing the seconds it needed to close the gap, lower its head, and belch out the smoke from its smokestacks that was Strange Steam before Goodra could act. It was a trade off that was a risk for Ash and it hadn't fully paid off as he would have wanted but in the long run it might still be useful for him and his team.

That was because while fairy type doused Goodra for a second time that battle causing him to wail and Goodra knew that he was near his limit, he wasn't there yet and thanks to the Rain Dance he wasn't poisoned anymore. If he had been that would have ended him, and there was no guarantee that he could have dodged the Strange Steam attack regardless, so he concentrated on the toxins in his body and unleashed the Sludge Bomb.

The Poison Gas Pokémon clearly believed that it had won with that as it hadn't noticed that Goodra was no longer poisoned so it had righted itself as it waited for the steam to die down and reveal its victory. That was why it wasn't expecting several balls of poisonous sludge to shoot out of the steam and catch it in its main face blasting it backwards with a groan, its poison type negating it's still unexplained new fairy type's weakness to poison type attacks but at the same time that new fairy type had made Weezing no longer resistant to its primary type.

Weezing had been caught as is by Paul when he was in Galar the year before and had evolved before the emergence of fairy types that was why it didn't understand the new type only that it had suddenly happened one day and had changed things for it but in this battle it failed to be enough hence the latest attack. Paul scowled at that; he'd have stern but not harsh words with Weezing afterwards for letting its guard down like that but now wasn't the time to be pissed as they could still win this because there was no way that Goodra could take much more damage.

"Dark Pulse." Paul called out.

"Dodge and use Ice Beam." Ash said as Weezing righted itself, concentrated on its negative thoughts, and unleashed them in the distinctive dark type attack.

Goodra tried to move but he'd taken a lot of damage and before he could the dark type attack shot through the last remnants of the Strange Steam, dispersing it and slammed into his chest. That was it for Goodra and he let out a long wail as he recoiled form the hit and toppled over to the side with a crash and splash as he landed in a puddle that had formed there, the steam now gone but the rain still falling as Goodra lay on his side in said puddle with swirls for eyes.

"Goodra is unable to battle." The ref declared raising a hand to Paul's side as Goodra's image on the jumbotron went gray. "Weezing is the winner."

"Goodra return, you did well, that loss is on me so take a rest." Ash said quickly switching out and pulling out his third Poke Ball as fast as he could to prevent Paul from subbing out as he tossed out his latest Pokémon with the order already given as Weezing was moving back to hover in front of Paul on his side of the battlefield. "Lucario, Metal Claw. Block whatever is thrown at you and land it."

"Stop it with Strange Steam." Paul said as Lucario burst from his Poke Ball with a bark and running at full speed at Weezing who had just reached the position that it clearly wanted to be in. "Use that to evade it."

"Leap over it and strike Weezing." Ash said as the Metal Claw formed on Lucario's hands and Weezing leaned forward. "You can do it."

Lucario barked out an affirmative, he could do this and if meant taking an attack to land what he sensed would be a super effective one he would do it but he was ordered to leap over it so that was the first course of action. As such he just charged forward as the steam billowed from a now lowered Weezing's smokestacks to cover the area between them as the rain continued to beat down on them.

This was the moment of truth as Lucario neared to edge of the incoming steam. He wasn't certain he could do it, but he'd give it his all as he leapt high into the air just before the steam reached him, his leap meaning that Weezing couldn't back up as it tried to right itself before Lucario was on it, slashing down with his Metal Claws and slashing each head with one of the claws.

Weezing roared in pain as Lucario landed on the ground having evaded the Strange Steam mainly because of the nature of Weezing's smokestacks and landing between them with the space to strike with Metal Claw. It had been the perfect landing point and while Lucario was a little closer than he would have liked he had still managed it.

However, the blow did send Weezing back and give Paul an opening to use the move that he'd taught Weezing to counter steel types the moment he realized that Weezing was also a fairy type as well as a poison type. That been thanks to Ash's revelation the year before answered all the strange questions Paul still had following Weezings win over Raihan's Flygon and loss to his Duraludon's Metal Claw in their double battle for Paul's final Galarian gym badge the year prior.

"Heat Wave." Paul said revealing the fire type move he'd taught Weezing to handle steel types though this was the first time they'd actually used it in a battle as until now Paul hadn't needed to use Weezing while in Kalos, but Ash was good enough to merit it. "Make sure that if Lucario is to beat you that it doesn't do so without plenty of damage so that the others can beat it."

"Push through it and land another Metal Claw." Ash said knowing that Lucario couldn't evade the attack, but he could withstand it as Weezing righted himself and looked at Lucario. "You've got this, I know it."

Lucario barked in agreement as Weezing opened his mouths and expelled hot breath from both of them that washed over Lucario as he had no way of avoiding it as the rain that hit it steamed on contact. Lucario growled in pain from the super effective fire type attack, but he pushed through it as the Metal Claw formed on his hands and he slashed them at Weezing. This time the claws raked along Weezing's big head only and sent him backwards with a long groan.

However, rather than stop, Weezing kept moving backwards before it toppled over and crashed into the ground, faces up to the open sky as it slid for several paces until finally coming to a stop as the rain continued to beat down on them. When it did it just lay there with swirls for all four of its eyes.

"Weezing is unable to battle." The ref declared raising a hand to Ash's side as the image of Weezing went gray on the jumbotron brining Ash back to tie with Paul following the brief lead the other boy had taken with Goodra's defeat. "Lucario is the winner."

"Weezing, return, you were good out there to take down Goodra though we should have expected that that Rain Dance was for its Hydration ability to cure it, a good use of an ability there even if it cost Ash the matchup." Paul said. "Still, rest up and…"

"Lucario return." Ash said recalling Lucario rather than keep him out and preventing a swift change from Paul that might involve a ground, fighting, or fire type that could easily beat Lucario as Ash knew that Paul's Magmortar, as a Magmar, had beaten Maylene's Lucario so he expected something like that to occur again. "Take a rest, I'll call you later should I need you."

"Not bad Ash, very well then let's see you handle this Pokémon." Paul said as he switched out Poke Balls with Ash doing the same and then tossing out his new Pokémon as soon as he could. "Flapple, standby for battle."

"Noivern, I choose you." Ash said as he threw out his Poke Ball a second later and then blinked at the Pokémon that appeared before Paul and hovered in the air there as Noivern burst from his Poke Ball and flapped his wings once to control his landing on the ground in front of Ash. "Ok that's certainly a Pokémon I've never seen before. Galarian I take it."

"Correct but that's all I'll say." Paul said regarding the small Pokémon before him that looked like a cracked apple with a red base, red apple-like wings on the backs of its green arms, a red helmet with a crest on it while two green horns poked up from it and a green body with large yellow eyes. "Now use Wing Attack."

"Very well, Acrobatics." Ash said deducing that Flapple had to be a grass and flying type based on its appearance and the move is just used so he was going with what should be a super effective move to confirm that as it began to fly at Noivern with surprising speed, it's wing things glowing with flying type power.

Noivern gave a caw as he shot forward with the nimbleness of Acrobatics as he tore towards the smaller Pokémon. He didn't know what this Pokémon was at all, he'd never seen anything like it, but he did know that it was stronger than it its size made it look so he couldn't take it lightly. As such Noivern wasn't going to let it get the better of him.

Flapple for its part was just trying to land the attack. It knew that it was strong, it had been part of Paul's team that had just fallen short last year and paired with Weezing for the final gym badge, so it knew that it was good. However, it like the others had failed so now was its chance for redemption and it would do all it could while using its smaller size as much as possible, to ensure it. Still, it wasn't a flying type so when it came to airborne battle Noivern was the Pokémon with the edge here but that was fine as Flapple had a surprise of its own for Noivern.

That was shown a second later as the Pokémon clashed in the air high above the midpoint of the battlefield. Noivern's larger size helped him out as he rammed headfirst into the smaller Pokémon but as he did Flapple twisted its body so that it could get a wing up and slash it into Noivern's neck thus landing his blow as well. Still, the blow Noivern had landed was super effective thanks to Flapple's grass type, but Paul was about to reveal Flapple's other type and counter effectively against a Pokémon with Noivern's typing.

"Dragon Pulse." Paul ordered.

"Damn, it's got to be part dragon not flying type." Ash said in shock though he was correct in his deduction as Flapple opened its mouth as it was blasted back and down from the Acrobatics it had taken. "Dodge that and counter with Boomburst."

Noivern cawed but as he was flying up to avoid the move the shockwave that was Dragon Pulse blasted from Flapple's mouth and slammed into Noivern's chest sending him upwards in the air with a caw of pain from the super effective move. However, Noivern wasn't going to let one super effective move stop him and he angled his ears as he was hit and unleashed his Boomburst right at the Flapple below him.

The Apple Wing Pokémon had no way to avoid it as the area affecting, sound based, normal type attack blasted out of Noivern's ears and slammed into Flapple at full force. It wasn't resistant to the move, it couldn't be weak as nothing was weak to normal type attacks, but Boomburst was still a powerful move that had been unleashed by a fully evolved Pokémon who knew what he was doing, and it blasted Flapple down and into the stage with a crunching sound due to its odd body type. It was still in it though, so Ash instantly pressed his advantage.

"Dive with Steel Wing." Ash ordered.

"Get back in the air and counter with Wing Attack." Paul said as Noivern dove his wings turning to steel as he did. "Then turn and charge it with Dragon Rush after you've landed that hit."

"After the dive, meet it and down Flapple with Dragon Claw, that should do it as it's a dragon type like you." Ash added as Flapple pushed itself off the ground and took to the air its own wing things, they looked like pieces of apple stuck to the back of its green arms to Ash, but they worked and he'd long since stopped questioning how Pokémon biology worked, glowed with flying type power as Flapple soared at Noivern. "I know you can do it."

The stage was set now as the two airborne dragon types flew at each other, Noivern diving and Flapple flying up to meet him. Flapple knew that Noivern had the wingspan and the mobility in the air on it, so it used its smaller body to go for the hit even if it had to take the steel type attack in the process. Noivern for his part was just trying to make contact because he was sure that if he landed this then his Dragon Claw would end it.

As such, the Pokémon met in the air and blew past each other with a boom and a cry of pain from each as they scored hits on the other in the process. Noivern's right wing, the part between the point it connected to his body and the talons on it, slammed into Flapple's gut as the edge of Flapple's right wing thing scored a line along the side of Noivern's face.

Flapple was forced to flipped forward several time as it was struck while passing Noivern, but he did so to maintain momentum. Meanwhile, Noivern just shook his head and angled his wings to pull up from his dive and arc high with a twist to turn around in the air and face his opponent one more time.

Flapple had to beat his wing things a little bit to regain its composure in the air, but it had twisted as it flipped so that it could face Noivern as Noivern finished his own move. Now, for the first time all battle, they were facing each other in midair at the same altitude as the other. They stayed like that for a split second before charging as they already had their next orders and were determined to use them to end their opponent.

This was what Flapple was going for as it knew that its smaller size was an advantage in this exchange as it rushed to tackle Noivern with overwhelming menace. At the same time the glowing claws of dragon type power formed on Noivern's talons on the middle of his wings as he charged ready to move and slash down to end Flapple with his Dragon Claw. It was an airborne clash that all held their breaths for as the neared each other and then collided with a boom that almost rivaled the sound made by Noivern's Boomburst attack.

At the last moment Flapple had used its size to get in and under the left set of claws that Noivern had shifted in the air to bring to bear so that it could slam at full speed into Noivern's face with the super effective dragon type attack. The blow was what caused the boom and sent Noivern back but with the last of his strength and before he passed out Noivern used the hit to reorientate and bring his right claws down savagely as he slashed down and caught Flapple in the head with them causing a second boom from the impact.

Flapple was out in an instant and didn't know anything more as it was blasted down to the battlefield and landed with a loud crunch less than a second after taking the hit though its size and weight ensured that not much else happened. At the same time Noivern passed out right after landing his blow and fell backwards out of the sky to land with a loud thud on his back on the battlefield where he lay motionless, wings splayed and swirls for eyes. Flapple too lay on the ground on his side with swirls for eyes showing that the battle had ended in a tie.

"It's a tie!" The announcer said sounding incredulous as the crowd roared and the ref acknowledge as much while the images of Noivern and Flapple to go gray on the jumbotron at the same time showing that both were down to three left with at least one of those three already known in Avalugg and Lucario. "Ash and Paul have now lost half their Pokémon, how will the other half fair in this exhilarating final!"

"Noivern return." Ash said recalling his Pokémon and ignoring the announcer as he looked at the Poke Ball in his hand. "You beat that Flapple, a Pokémon neither of us had ever seen before and had to learn the types of during the battle but we managed it, so you did well despite the tie. Take a rest my friend, we've still got half the team left, this battle is far from over."

"Flapple, return." Paul said looking to the Poke Ball in his hand now that he had a brief moment thanks to the tie so he didn't need to bother with a quick change and doubted Ash would do the same to avoid giving Paul an advantage. "Thank you for your efforts there, you did well and used your size to your advantage. Good job."

"Let's keep this up Paul." Ash said with a grin that Paul just scowled at as he put away Flapple's Poke Ball, he still didn't agree with Ash's overall attitude to things even if he'd mellowed out a bit since their days together in Sinnoh, and pulled out his next one as Ash pointed out to the battlefield confirming his choice a second before he spoke. "Pikachu, I choose you."

"Pikachu." Pikachu said as he ran out.

"As expected, very well it doesn't matter who I use this against as only your Greninja is a threat to it." Paul said as he tossed out his Poke Ball. "Coalossal, standby for battle."

"Coalossal?" Ash asked confused and presuming that it was another Galarian Pokémon that Paul had caught the year before and brought for this battle to get an edge on Ash. "That's…woah…"

"Pika…" Pikachu added as the Poke Ball burst open and a massive Pokémon burst forth with a roar and landed with a thud before Paul.

The pitch black, bipedal Pokémon before Ash and Pikachu stood just over 9 feet tall with thick, rock-like legs, a bulky, rocky torso, thick rock arms ending with three stubby fingers and two large protrusions from the backs of its shoulders. It's head was small, and it appeared to have no neck as it sat at the front of its torso for some reason with black eyes jagged teeth that were parted showing a glowing maw of a mouth. However, the most notable feature on it was the mound of glowing coal that was behind its head that was above the rest of its thick torse.

It was clearly a rock type which wasn't actually that big of an issue for Pikachu thanks to his Iron Tail, but Ash's gut and the glowing coals he saw pointed to it also being a fire type, possible a type it gained upon evolving to this clearly fully evolved Pokémon. Ash would have to learn more about to know that but that would come in time though, first Ash and Pikachu would have to beat it to win this match. It shouldn't be too hard; they'd beaten tougher looking foes together so they could best this Pokémon as well.

"Alright Pikachu, Quick Attack." Ash said. "Dodge anything thrown at you and then use Iron Tail afterwards."

"Ancient Power." Paul commanded as Pikachu charged at Coalossal.

Coalossal roared as it blasted off the rock type move that was prehistoric power at the charging Pikachu. However, Pikachu was a fast, strong Pokémon despite not wanting to evolve and he'd had years of practice with his Quick Attack, so he easily evaded the Ancient Power with some smart weaving here and there before he was in range and leap up to slam headfirst into the gut of the giant Pokémon.

Pikachu wasn't afraid of this battle; he'd bested bigger and stronger Pokémon in the past, so this was just another challenge to him. Besides, the bigger a Pokémon was the harder it fell, this one just might take a little bit to bring down, but Pikachu fully intended on bringing this behemoth down all by himself no matter what it took to do so.

Thanks to its rock type Coalossal wasn't too phased by the blow as it was resistant to normal type attacks, but it did notice as Pikachu flipped as he bounced off its body, turned his tail to steel, and lashed it at the same point he'd hit with his Quick Attack. That Coalossal did feel, and he grunted from it glad that his fire type negated his rock type's weakness to steel type attacks as Pikachu fell to the ground to stay close should Ash order another Iron Tail and that was just were Paul wanted Pikachu to be.

"Heat Crash." Paul ordered as Pikachu landed on the ground. "Flatten it."

Coalossal roared as its body ignited with fire before it leapt up and forward bringing its entire weight down on a startled Pikachu with a crash before Ash and Pikachu could react. There was a boom as Coalossal landed on Pikachu with the fire type attack that was all dependent on weight differences and, well, Coalossal had a significant weight advantage on Pikachu, so it did a lot of damage to the Mouse Pokémon. However, Ash knew his Pikachu and knew that he wouldn't be beaten by just this. As such he'd already gave his order as Pikachu was crushed.

"Thunderbolt." Ash called out as sparks began to appear from beneath Coalossal and spread up its body.

Pikachu was crushed under almost 700 pounds of flaming, sentient, coal and rock so he knew that he was basically on the cusp of fainting, but he was still in it and at this distance he had no way of missing as he roared as best he could as he unleashed his Thunderbolt from underneath Coalossal. The Coal Pokémon had not been expecting that and it roared as the average effectiveness electric type attack hit it from beneath causing it to leap back thus getting off Pikachu in the process.

As it did a squashed looking Pikachu sprang up from the very clear Pikachu shaped dent in the ground and backed up as he shook his head and bounced a little when Coalossal landed on the ground. This battle was still going on, clearly and neither boy would let up as Paul went for a move that would be beneficial in the long run if it took out Pikachu and forced Ash to resort to Greninja to beat Coalossal.

"Burn Up." Paul ordered.

"Leap high and avoid it and then use Electroweb." Ash called out not sure what the move was but not trusting it at all. "Use another Electroweb on Coalossal if you have to but you need to get above this battle Pikachu."

"Pikachu." Pikachu said understanding as he leapt up into the air and looked down before sending out an Electroweb right at Coalossal who was glowing now.

Pikachu had aimed the Electroweb at Coalossal as he knew that he'd need to use his opponent's body to do so and that's just what he planned on doing as the Electroweb shot out and expanded. Thanks to the angles involved the web didn't fully ensnare Coalossal but did land in such a way that it formed a rough square between Coalossal's raised hands that it had raised to fend off the Electroweb and the protrusions on its shoulders which was just what Pikachu needed to pull this off.

That was because to everyone but those who knew Ash's surprise Pikachu landed in the web as it imparted damage to a still glowing Coalossal. The web sank under Pikachu's weight before reaching its maximum elasticity and pulled taught sending Pikachu soaring up and into the air high above Coalossal as it was finishing its Burn Up attack with a roar.

As Pikachu ascended into the sky Coalossal burnt itself out sending fire everywhere around it adding to the scotch marks on the battlefield from Talonflame's clash with Aggron while burning up the Electroweb that was currently on it. However, Pikachu was too high to be hit by it, which would have ended him for sure, so it didn't affect him.

That said it was still beneficial to Paul in the long run because it got rid of Coalossal's fire type which ensured it wouldn't be too weak to Greninja should Ash follow Pikachu up with that Pokémon as a water type would be the worst matchup for Coalossal if it still had a fire type. However, it even without its fire type it still had a fire type move that could end Lucario though Lucario as a fighting and steel types would still be a problem, but Paul was ready for that as well.

Of course, all that would only be effective if Coalossal could beat Pikachu and that wasn't set in stone as Pikachu flipped in the air as the Burn Up ended and send down a second Electroweb that expanded outwards and over all of Coalossal this time thanks to the height that Pikachu was now at. As such all Coalossal could do was look up in confusion before it was ensnared in the electrified net that had been sent at it again. That was just what Ash wanted as Coalossal roared from the damage it was taking from a third electric type hit.

"Now use Iron Tail." Ash said.

"Rapid Spin." Paul countered as Pikachu began to fall to the ground right above Coalossal his tail turning to steel in the process. "Break free and avoid it, that move is a problem now."

Ash wasn't sure what Paul meant by that as he wasn't aware of the nature of the Burn Up move but he didn't care as Coalossal tried to move but suddenly sparked and spasmed showing that it was paralyzed. Pikachu's Static ability had been triggered by the Heat Crash impact, but his subsequent Thunderbolt had hidden that from everyone and now Coalossal wasn't able to move. This was just was Pikachu needed as he began to flip in the air adding speed to his descent before he came out of it as he struck Coalossal in the head with his Iron Tail.

Coalossal roared in pain from now super effective steel type attack and staggered but was still in the Electroweb as Pikachu fell to the ground. Ash pressed his advantage for all it was worth knowing that Pikachu would be able to do it.

"Iron Tail again." Ash said.

"Heat Crash." Paul countered. "Use it to break that Electroweb and beat Pikachu."

Coalossal tried but as it was getting ready Pikachu, while still falling, turned his tail to steel again and slashed it across Coalossal's body as he fell. In the process he cut through the Electroweb, and it fell away as Coalossal briefly leapt up but that was inconsequential to the landing the super effective Iron Tail.

Paul's order to use Burn Up had cost him in the end thanks to Ash's tactics with Pikachu as Coalossal let out a roar as it fell back to the ground keeled over to the side the moment it landed. Pikachu hit the ground a second later and quickly backed up to avoid the falling Coalossal is it crash to the ground with a boom.

The force of Coalossal hitting the ground kicked up a lot of dust that covered Coalossal's massive body as Pikachu kept backing up to Ash's side of the battlefield. It took a moment for the dust to settle but when it did it showed the large rock and fire type, well fire type when it didn't use Burn Up, on its side with swirls for eyes.

"Coalossal is unable to battle." The ref announced as the announcer commentated on how Pikachu had pulled off such a victory and Coalossal's image turned gray on the jumbotron showing that for the moment Ash had retaken the lead in the battle. "Pikachu is the winner."

"Coalossal, return." Paul said recalling his Pokémon but not showing a rush for his next Pokémon likely because Ash knew the two he had left, and Paul had a good sense for the only one of Ash's that he'd not seen yet so he was taking a moment to decide who to use next. "You were good out there, well done. Take a rest, we aren't done yet."

"Pikachu, return." Ash said recalling Pikachu who turned and scurried back to Ash's side, the order from Ash ensuring that the change was made while Paul put away Coalossal's Poke Ball and pulled out his next one. "Take a break, you need it and I'll call you back in when I next need you."

"Pikachu." Pikachu said in agreement as he returned to Ash's side and stood there to watch the next battle as Ash pulled out his Poke Ball for it.

"I expected as much, and we both at least have a good idea what the other has left now." Paul said as he tossed out his Poke Ball. "So why hide it anymore. Electivire, standby for battle."

"Lucario, I choose you again." Ash said throwing out his Poke Ball a second later as Paul's final, overall strongest in Ash's opinion, and most expected Pokémon appeared before him. "Good, just the matchup I wanted. Use Aura Sphere and follow it with Bone Rush."

"You can withstand that move Electivire so focus on your Thunder." Paul said simply as Lucario formed the Aura Sphere between his paws and opting not to waste his defensive move when the result would be taking a super effect ground type attack in the process. "Then defend like we practices."

Electivire just nodded as he set himself as the Aura Sphere was shot at him. True Electivire could could use Protect but they'd practice hard for Ash's best Pokémon, his Lucario and Greninja in particular, and had a strategy for the former at least as Ash had used it a fair bit so far in the Full Battles of the Lumiose Conference. Greninja would be tougher, but Electivire had the type advantage there, so they were not as worried about it. Lucario on the other hand, that was Ash's only Pokémon they knew had a ground type move so they had to be ready for it.

As such, Electivire's tails arched up and over his head as they sparked and sent out a Thunder Attack into the air as the Aura Sphere bore down on him. The near perfectly accurate fighting type attack struck him a second later and pushed him back a few paces with a grunt, but it would all be worth it. Electivire would show that soon.

As for Lucario, he'd begun to run after his Aura Sphere as before, the aura bone forming ready to bring it to bear against the toughest foe he'd face according to Ash. When they prepared for the final the team was informed of this Electivire by Ash and Pikachu and so they had to be ready for it as it would take a lot to bring it down according to Ash. Lucario would be the main force as he had the best move against it, and he was ready for it as he ran after he Aura Sphere.

What he wasn't ready for was the sudden crack of Thunder coming down on top of his head and frying him as he ran. He growled in pain from it but withstood it because he could, though with that super effective Heat Wave that he'd taken from that odd Pokémon earlier he was certainly feeling things now as pressed on with only a stumble to show for the hit he'd just taken. In that time his Aura Sphere had hit, and he was able to see his opponent as he swung his bone at Electivire the moment he could.

However, this was the big training Electivire had done, and he stepped back from the bone to avoid it as the stumble from the Thunder Lucario had taken had given Electivire the time he needed to prepare for the swipe as his left tail shooting out to grab Lucario's right wrist tightly and then yank it to the side to get his arm high and away from him. As Lucario yelped in surprise, Electivire used his other tail to grab Lucario's other wrist and yank his left arm away as well keeping Lucario's arms spread in an X shape to avoid taking the Bone Rush attack.

It was similar to how Electivire had beaten Ash's Gliscor back in Sinnoh and this was all part of Paul's plan from studying Lucario and Ash's fighting style over the last few days. It began with making sure that Lucario was briefly immobilized to prevent it from using its close quarters combat skills on Electivire and then when that was done it was time for Electivire's counter with his best move against a Pokémon like Lucario.

"Brick Break." Paul called out as soon as Lucario was in Electivire's hold and he knew that they had Ash's second best right where they wanted it.

Electivire smiled as he raised his right hand, fingers out and chopped it down onto Lucario's head as hard as he could. Lucario let out a howl of pain from the super effective fighting type attack and dropped his bone ending the Bone Rush as he was driven to his knees and Electivire let go of his wrists to prepare for what was to come.

Paul and Electivire knew that this wasn't the end of Lucario, they'd seen this Pokémon's resilience too many times to believe that it would be down even after two super effective attacks. Rather this was a feint to lure Ash into the counter that they expected he'd use when he and Lucario were in such a situation. Ash didn't disappoint them.

"Reversal." Ash said, he'd not seen the plan that Paul had coming and was going for the all-out counter he and Lucario always used when the end was near as it almost always turned the tables for them or at least set up the rest of the team for a win and against this Electivire the latter was going to be crucial. "I know you can do it."

"Protect." Paul said as Lucario barked in agreement and shot up from the ground at Electivire. "The use Brick Break once again."

Lucario was nearing the end, he knew it, but he also knew that he still had some fight left in him as he barked and shot up for his all-out move. It would be very close to its strongest and while it likely wouldn't end this Electivire as it was a tough Pokémon that knew a move that was super effective on Lucario it should at least help his team out.

At least that was the plan until Lucario crashed into the protective shield of Protect that showed its high priority as it triggered before he could reach Electivire. All Lucario could was fruitlessly pound on it for a few moments as he fruitlessly tried to break through it before his move ended.

The moment it did Electivire raised his right hand again and chopped it down with the same force as before once again driving Lucario to his knees with a howl of pain however this time Lucario was pushed past his limit so when Electivire lifted his hand again Lucario stayed there for a moment before he toppled to the side. Three super effective attacks and a strong Thunder were too much for Lucario to take in this match and he lay on his side, mouth open and eyes swirls.

"Lucario is unable to battle." The ref announced as Lucario's image went gray on the jumbotron showing that Paul had once again brought the match back to level in the first matchup after Ash had taken the lead in thus continuing their back and forth in the Lumiose Conference final. "The winner is Electivire."

"Lucario return." Ash said deciding to take his time and see if Paul would recall Electivire and preserve it for when Ash used Greninja which Paul did though he did thank Electivire for his efforts in defeating Lucario. "You did well out there today, got that Weezing right when we needed it after Paul took the lead when he and Weezing beat Goodra and landed a blow in Electivire that will help in the long run. It's my fault that I forgot that it knows Protect so that loss is on me, but I am sure that we can avenge it."

"Avalugg, standby for battle." Paul said as Ash put away Lucario's Poke Ball and Ash looked up slightly surprised that Paul hadn't bothered to wait and see if Ash would use Greninja now or go back to Pikachu. "Come on Ash, you think I'd keep Electivire in when I still had Avalugg? No, you've got to beat it first to face Electivire again."

"I know and I intend to." Ash said pointing out as Avalugg reappeared in the battle. "Pikachu, Quick Attack into Iron Tail. Whatever happens make sure that you land that combo."

"Bulldoze." Paul ordered as Pikachu shot out and onto the battlefield as fast as he could.

Quick Attack was a move with priority over most so Pikachu was able to tear across the battlefield in seconds and leapt up to slam his face into Avalugg's before it had even moved, though Avalugg's slower speed did play a factor in it as well. Regardless, Pikachu knew that he'd have one chance at this, and he didn't waste it as he bounced off Avalugg he flipped, his tail turning to steel he did, and then he brought it down onto Avalugg's head with a boom that drove it to its knees.

It was a quick combo that only Pikachu could pull off thanks to his training and long history with those moves and he was grinning as he leapt back from it knowing that the moves had done plenty of damage to Avalugg, especially the Iron Tail as it was super effective. However, it wouldn't be enough to take down Avalugg and as Pikachu fell to the ground Avalugg pushed off its hind legs as it reared up and stomped the ground, it's front feet hitting it at the same time Pikachu did.

Pikachu didn't have a chance as the Bulldoze ran through the battlefield and his body the moment he landed on the ground. He was already near his limit thanks to that Heat Crash; a super effective ground type attack was too much for him to handle as well and Pikachu collapsed seconds after landing on the ground with swirls for eyes and the Bulldoze ran its course.

"Pikachu is unable to battle." The ref announced raising a hand to Paul's side as Pikachu's image on the jumbotron went gray showing that Ash was down to his last, still as of yet officially unknown, Pokémon but Ash ignored that as he rushed out to pick up his buddy. "Avalugg is the winner."

"Oh, and just like that Ash is down to his last Pokémon." The announcer said as Ash hurried back to his side with Pikachu in his arms and Paul made no move to change Pokémon which made sense as he currently had the lead so why use Electivire when Avalugg could at the very least injury Greninja. "But we all know what Pokémon that is, so we know that Ash isn't out of this yet."

"You were great Pikachu, really set us up to beat Avalugg and then end this." Ash said as he returned to his box and gently laid Pikachu on the ground where he'd be safe. "Rest up, we've got this."

"Stay in Avalugg." Paul said as Ash turned to face him pulling his last Poke Ball off his belt. "We know what Ash will use so be ready."

"Yeah this isn't over yet Paul, you know what I have left but knowing is different from actually facing him in battle." Ash said as Avalugg grunted, and Ash tossed out his Poke Ball. "Greninja, I choose you. Start with Double Team into Aerial Ace."

"Frost Breath." Paul said as Greninja burst from his Poke Ball with a croak and began to run at Avalugg.

As Greninja ran he suddenly burst into several Greninja clones as Avalugg opened its mouth and spewed forth the Frost Breath at the charging Greninjas. At the same time all the Greninjas' right forepaws glowed with flying type power and Avalugg began to sweep them to try and hit the real Greninja.

Fortunately for Avalugg, it did hit the right Greninja, and the Frost Breath automatic critical hit was triggered as Greninja took the blow. Fortunately, Greninja was resistant to ice type attacks and easily pressed through it as his clones vanished to reach Avalugg and strike it in the face with Aerial Ace.

"Night Slash." Ash ordered as Avalugg groaned from the hit.

"Bulldoze." Paul countered as the blade of dark type power formed in Greninja's hand the moment Ash gave the order.

Avalugg didn't get a moment to get the attack off as Greninja struck it in the face with Night Slash right in the same spot that he'd hit it with the Aerial Ace only moments before. While the higher-than-average critical hit didn't trigger, it was still enough to bring down Avalugg who let out a groan before it collapsed to its front knees and then pitched to the side with a crash as its legs went limp and Greninja backed up to Ash's side with a nod. By the time Greninja reached Ash's side everyone could see the swirls for eyes that Avalugg now had.

"Avalugg is unable to battle." The ref declared as Avalugg's image went gray on the jumbotron leaving Paul with one Pokémon left just like Ash, so this was what it all came down to. "Greninja is the winner."

"This is it folks!" The announcer said as the crowd roared. "Both Ash and Paul are down to their final Pokémon, so the entire Lumiose Conference comes down to this moment just as we all hoped for."

"Avalugg, return." Paul said looking at the Poke Ball while ignoring the announcer. "Well done, thank you for all you've done in this battle. It comes down to this and we won't lose to Ash this time around."

"Alright Greninja, it's time." Ash said as he and Greninja's battle wavelengths overlapped with thanks to the recent victory over Avalugg, a Pokémon that had once beaten a Battle Bond active Greninja, along with the thrill of the final battle of the Lumiose Conference and everything coming down to this moment. "Let's get strong and stronger and stronger together!"

"As I'd expected, it comes down to this and I've prepared for it." Paul said as the water sprout erupted out of nowhere as it formed around Greninja, and Paul tossed out his Poke Ball and the announcer raved about seeing Ash-Greninja again. "Electivire, standby for battle."

Electivire burst from his Poke Ball with a roar as the water exploded from around Greninja showing the changes he'd undergone and began to coalesce on his back to form the large 4-point water shuriken there. Electivire landed as Ash-Greninja finished his change and the two-battle hardened Pokémon locked eyes across the battlefield.

Both Pokémon had won a battle while taking a hit today and now it came down to this battle to decide the winner of the Lumiose Conference. They were ready, their trainers were ready, it was time for the final matchup of the Lumiose Conference to begin.

"Thunder." Paul ordered.

"Dodge and counter with Water Shuriken." Ash said as Electivire's tails began to spark.

"Bat that down with Brick Break." Paul said as Ash-Greninja ran forward and Electivire got his Thunder off. "Make sire that it doesn't land."

"Follow it up with Night Slash." Ash said as the rapid-fire orders to begin the final matchup ended with the Thunder coming down at Ash-Greninja.

However, Ash-Greninja was ready for that Thunder and leapt forward and to the side as it came down at him, his hand going to his shoulder and yanking off the water shuriken there that he then tossed at Electivire in a smooth move as the Thunder missing him. Electivire was also ready for this, however, and already had his right hand up as the Water Shuriken flew at him so that he could bring it down onto the Water Shuriken with his Brick Break active to break it apart, sending the water to either side of him in the process so it didn't hit.

Ash-Greninja wasn't deterred by this though as he had leapt in the direction of Electivire when he avoided the Thunder, well at least he'd leapt forward, and was already close as the water type attack missed, blades of dark type power forming in his hands. As such, he was on Electivire the moment the Water Shuriken was blocked and before Electivire could get his arm up after the Brick Break Ash-Greninja had struck the Thunderbolt Pokémon with both blades that pushed Electivire back a few paces.

Electivire grunted from the blows, but he wasn't weak or resistant to the dark type attack the and the potential critical hit wasn't triggered this time, so it had done slightly above average damage thanks to Ash-Greninja's dark type and the boost that he got from his ability. It wasn't nearly enough to bring him down, though, and Paul knew that even if there had been a critical hit that Electivire could take it and already had his counter ready.

"Thunder Punch." Paul said as the Night Slash ended. "Send Greninja back and then use Thunder, we have the type in this matchup."

"Double Team to evade that Thunder and counter with Night Slash." Ash said as Electivire clenched his now sparking right fist knowing that it would be next to impossible to avoid the Thunder Punch. "I know you can do it Greninja."

Ash-Greninja just croaked in agreement as he braced for the Thunder Punch that struck him a second later in the chest and blasted him back with a wail of pain from the super effective move, Ash grimacing as he felt it as well. It was a painful move, one that Ash-Greninja had taken before at the hands of that powerful Charizard a while back but as Electivire was also and electric type it added to it. Still, it wasn't nearly enough to take out Ash-Greninja as he slid back over the battlefield and activated his Double Team as he slid.

Instantly there were a dozen or so Ash-Greninja's sliding back at the same time, then when they came to a stop they pushed off the ground and charged at Electivire as Electivire's tails crackled and blades of dark type power appeared in all of the Ash-Greninjas' hands. A second later Electivire roared and blasted off his Thunder Attack as the Ash-Greninjas closed on him.

The strong electric type attack soared into the air but showed it's lower than normal accuracy by crashing down onto one of the Ash-Greninja clones, destroying it but doing nothing to stop the real Ash-Greninja. Before Electivire could process his miss however, the real Ash-Greninja suddenly showed himself in front of Electivire as the other clones vanished and he slashed both blades across Electivire's face and chest, Ash mirroring it behind him.

Electivire let out a wail of pain as the critical hit potential of Night Slash was triggered this time and Electivire staggered back. Despite this it still wasn't enough to take him down and Paul was already ready to counter again.

"Brick Break." Paul said as the Night Slash landed.

"Water Shuriken." Ash countered as Electivire stopped his stagger and got his arm up and across his body.

"Use Protect as soon as you can after Brick Break." Paul said as Electivire chopped across his body in a horizontal slash so that the fighting type attack hit Ash-Greninja in the chest as Ash-Greninja reached up to the large water shuriken that was on his back.

"Keep it up, Protect is hard to use in succession." Ash said through the pain he felt as the super effective move struck Ash-Greninja and the force of it tossed him back. "Use a second Water Shuriken as soon as you can."

"Thunder as soon as you can." Paul said as Ash-Greninja flew through the air but got off his Water Shuriken in the process, another forming right away that Ash-Greninja reached for as well.

Electivire roared at his orders and activated Protect as the first Water Shuriken reached him thus intercepting it causing the water type attack to burst on his shield in a spray of water that momentarily blinded him. Protect was useful like that but the very nature of Ash-Greninja's Water Shuriken was now working to the Ninja Pokémon's advantage.

That was because Electivire didn't see the second Water Shuriken that came a moment later and struck him in the chest, exploding in a mist of water on it and driving him back a few paces in the process. As with the Night Slashes it felt a lot stronger than it should have been, but Electivire chalked it up to ash-Greninja's type and ability as he got his tails up and blasted off the Thunder.

Ash-Greninja for his part had landed near the midpoint of the battlefield and then hopped back as his Water Shuriken neared the Protect and tossed his second after it with Ash mirroring this behind him, so that it landed as he returned to his side of the battlefield. Electivire wasn't resistant to water type attacks like he was with flying type ones, which was why they were using Night Slash over Aerial Ace for the close combat attacks, so he'd taken the full force of that blow.

Unfortunately for Ash-Greninja only seconds after the Water Shuriken had landed the third Thunder of the matchup was fired off and this one landed on target, crashing down on him in a super effective attack that Ash felt in his entire body and drove Ash-Greninja to a knee with a wail of pain. However, he grit his teeth and slowly got to his feet as the mist cleared to reveal Electivire still standing there.

Both Pokémon were panting hard now and had taken a lot of damage. For Electivire the Aura Sphere he'd taken had been more costly then he'd expected, and he was now near the end after two Night Slashes, one of which was a critical hit, and a Water Shuriken from a water and dark type that was on par with a Mega Evolved Pokémon. However, he still had the type advantage as all three of his offensive moves were super effective on Ash-Greninja.

As for Ash-Greninja, he'd taken 3 super effective move and a not very effective one, with one of the super effective ones being of the same type as the Pokémon using it so he too was nearing the end of his ropes in this battle. However, he was still in this, and he had moves that could bring down Electivire, both he and Ash knew it.

Both trainers knew this as well and they knew that it all came down to the next move each of them used to determine who won the match and the Lumiose Conference as a whole. A hit could win it, a miss would leave an opening and a move like Protect was too much of a risk as Ash and Ash-Greninja could probably get a second move off faster. That meant that it would come down to close quarters contact moves in an all or nothing final clash and both trainers had those moves and gave them right away.

"Night Slash." Ash said.

"Thunder Punch." Paul said at exactly the same time as the Lumiose Conference came down to this.

Ash-Greninja croaked and Electivire roared as they charged at each other. Blades of dark type power formed in Ash-Greninja's hands in reverse grips as electricity crackly and shone with a bright yellow light around Electivire's at the same time. They both knew that it was all or nothing for them as they ran at each other and then met in midfield and Ash-Greninja ducked down low and croaked out his war cry as Electivire punched out as soon as he knew that he'd hit Ash-Greninja.

A second later they clashed with a boom as they passed each other and landed their respective hits. Ash-Greninja's Night Slash struck Electivire in the gut with the right-hand blade where the opening was and scoring another critical hit as Electivire's Thunder Punch scored a line along Ash-Greninja's back. It only lasted a second and they were past each other and continued for a few more paces before they came to a stop, Ash-Greninja still bent down and arms to his side as the last of the sparks flickered on his body and Electivire leaning forward with his right fist still out.

It was in that moment that it all hit Ash and he remembered the vision that Olympia had had. He'd completely forgotten about that vision ever since Frogadier had evolved in Greninja as that part had fallen into place but now it came back to him as he realized that all of the factors that were needed for this to happen had been met regarding Ash and Greninja reaching the maximum of their Battle Bond. That meant that the final part of the vision was this and suddenly it all made sense as Ash recalled Olympia's words.

Olympia had said that it would be either the same or greater with one past exception and Ash realized that that meant his conference performances which with the exception of Vertress had always seem him match or improve upon his previous performance. Reaching the final in Kalos ensured that he'd match his last Conference, but it also meant that the rest of the vision applied as well.

The bond, Greninja's Battle Bond, would be instrumental in it and it was, it was the last thing of the battle that Ash and Greninja had triggered when they needed it. However, as Olympia had foreseen they were only here because of the whole team setting it up so that it would all come down to this move, this clash though in the vision Olympia had said that the crown shall fall to light or dark.

Ash hadn't understood that back then but now he did, and it was a lot deeper than he could have ever realized as he'd just thought of good and evil at the time and not about, well, types and moves. He was the dark, him and Greninja because of Greninja's dark type and the use of a dark type move like Night Slash in the clash while Paul and Electivire were the light because of Electivire's electric type and electricity gave light.

Honestly, Ash felt that it was a bit too cryptic to really understand, but it still worked and that meant that this whole battle came down to this moment, these attacks, and not even Olympia could see who would win it. Ash naturally forgot the last line in that moment as he and Paul waited for the results to be known.

Neither boy breathed, nor did the stadium it seemed like the moves ended and Ash had his revelation to himself. All this lasted but a few precious heartbeats however as the Pokémon were frozen in their places, their trainers staring at them and the crowd waiting to see the results.

Finally, Ash-Greninja let out a groan and staggered but as he did he got his feet under him while Electivire just pitched forward and crashed into the ground, fist out in front of him and head to the side with swirls for eyes. It took a few seconds for all that to be processed but finally it was, and it was the trained referee who was the one who brought them all crashing back to the moment and what it meant.

"Electivire is unable to battle." The ref said breaking the silence as he raised his hand to Ash's side of the battlefield and Ash-Greninja stood up to his full height and thrust his right fist into the air to show that he was still standing but only barely while the image of Electivire on the jumbotron went gray, the 6th and final one in Paul's like to do so. "Greninja is the winner. Paul is now out of Pokémon that means that the winner of this match and the Lumiose Conference is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."

"That is, it folks! The final is over!" The announcer said as the crowd roared at the results and Ash and Paul recovered from it to process exactly what had happened at the end of the battle. "Ash has defeated Paul and is this year's winner of the Lumiose Conference! I repeat, Ash has defeated Paul and is the winner of the Lumiose Conference! Stay tuned folks because the trophy presentation is coming right up."

"Electivire return." Paul said his face neutral as he looked to the Poke Ball in his hand. "Well done, thank you for all your efforts out there. We fell short again, but it was to a worthy opponent at the last minute when it could have gone either way, we won't again. It's time to take our leave and go to a new region once you are all healed up. Rest now, you've earned that."

Paul then put his Poke Ball away and looked up at Ash who was looked at him clearly waiting to see what Paul did. Paul just nodded a congratulations to Ash before he turned and walked away from the battlefield. There wasn't any more to say or do, Ash had beaten him fair and square and earned this moment, there was no need for Paul anymore. It did was motivate him to get better, train harder, so that the next time he'd beat Ash.

Ash for his part just nodded back as Ash-Greninja's transformation fell and he turned to head back to Ash though it was clear that he was right at the end of his ropes. Finally, as Paul walked away did it all hit Ash and he rushed out to embrace, support and thank Greninja as Ash's trainer card and the header WINNER appeared on the jumbotron with the images of his 6 Pokémon from the final on the smaller side screen with three on each of them.

He'd done it, after so many years, countless battles, ups and downs, and a lot of training Ash had finally achieved his goal and won a Pokémon League. He had claimed victory in the Kalos League's Lumiose Conference.

In the stands all of his friends were cheering, crying and embracing each other as they celebrated Ash's win knowing how big this was for him and that there'd be a huge party when more people could make it to Kalos while all over the world all those Ash had known, who loved him in many ways or had been helped by him and had watched this final were cheering as well. He'd done it, he'd finally done it and won, and everyone was happy for him.

"Thank you Greninja, all of you both here, back at Professor Sycamore's lab and at home on the ranch, you all played a part in this victory." Ash said as Pikachu came too and slowly walked to them to join in realizing what had happened but not strong enough yet to properly celebrate but looking forward to the party to come. "We did it as a team and finally won a Conference."

"Greninja." Greninja said with a nod as a small platform rose from the center of the battlefield.

"Folks, it is time for the trophy presentation." The announcer said over the cheers and Ash looked around to see that Diantha, Professor Sycamore, and several suited members of the Kalos Pokémon League were making their way onto the battlefield as the former carried the Kalos League trophy carefully in her arms. "Would the winner please step onto the podium."

"Oh ok." Ash said letting go of Greninja who he was supporting as he stepped up, Greninja moving to one side and Pikachu the other though all the Pokémon in the team this year, as well as all those in Kalos and back home in Kanto, would get their moments to celebrate with Ash and the trophy. "I guess it's time, but these things are often pretty soon after the battle."

As Ash waited he looked at the Kalos League trophy. It was now his and would join his large collection of achievements back home as the pride and joy of his collection, so he wanted to look at it as it was brought to him.

It was a decently sized thing with a gray, rectangular body with a rounded top and curves on the sides at the bottom of it that connected to a trapezoid brown base with 4 golden spikes on the corners inlaid with what looked like jade. There was a design in the center of the trophy with what looked like golden antlers coming up from the brown base to frame the design nicely and a smaller set of antlers on the back of the trophy. To top it all off there was a large, gold Poke Ball on the top of the trophy as Ash would expect from a League Conference trophy.

Diantha held it length wise as she approached Ash on his podium, one hand on the brown base and another gold Poke Ball at the top of it to keep it secure. All Ash could do was look at it as the Champion of Kalos approached him and the crowd went silent when she reached him, Professor Sycamore and the League members all stood at a respectful distance back to give them space.

"Ash." Diantha said loudly and clearly as she handed the trophy, he took it with one hand on the body of it and one under the base but didn't lift it as Diantha took a step back and clearly wasn't done with her congratulations speech, so he waited for her to continue. "You've created a strong bond between you and your Pokémon that has been on show this entire Conference and as a trainer you've displayed unparalleled strength through a number of challenging battles throughout the course of this year and this Conference to reach this point. For all that I and all of Kalos applauds and congratulates you on this achievement."

"Thank you Diantha, that means a lot to me and my Pokémon." Ash said as Greninja and Pikachu nodded on either side of him as they shared this moment with Ash. "It's been a long road to this point but I'm finally here."

"I know for I and many others have also traveled it." Diantha said with a smile. "And soon you will get to exercise your right as the Lumiose Conference winner to challenge the Kalos Elite Four in this very stadium and if you best all of them then you will face me as well. I for one do hope that comes to pass for I'd like to finish our battle properly but all in good time Ash. For now, enjoy this well-earned moment."

"I will." Ash said with a nod before he finally raised the Kalos League Trophy over his head and the crowd cheered and applauded him.

Ash held it there as he savored this moment; one he'd dreamed of for years and had worked hard to finally reach. It had taken 7 attempts, but he was finally here holding a Conference trophy he'd won above his head.

He was the winner of the Lumiose Conference and soon he'd face the Kalos Elite Four and hopefully Diantha herself should he prevail against them. That was his next step in his journey to becoming a Pokémon master and as he held the Kalos League Trophy aloft, only three words came to Ash about what was to come for him.

Bring it on.