Part CXCVIII: Respite

"How ready do you think you are?" Misty asked as the second day of the two day break between Ash's completion of his Kalos Elite Four challenge and his upcoming full battle with Diantha drew to a close. "For tomorrow that is."

Ash and Misty were alone in the room they shared in the Lumiose Gym where they'd been staying since they returned to Lumiose City before the first Kalos Grand Festival and had just stayed in the wake of Ash's victory in the Lumiose Conference. It was well into the evening so while they weren't in bed yet they would be soon.

For the moment, though, they were just cuddling on the couch in the two room suite Clemont had provided them, he'd done that for May and Serena as well though theirs had two beds not one, as they relaxed following a long day of training, strategizing, and preparing with everyone for what was about to come. However, now that dinner was over and the others had retired to their rooms in the gym or the Pokémon Center for the night it was a nice moment for the couple to enjoy this little respite alone before what was about to come.

What that was, was a first in the history of the Kalos Elite Four challenge though Hoenn had dealt with it 3 years ago back shortly after Ash lost to Tobias in the Lily of the Valley semifinal, Sinnoh a little over a decade prior in Sinnoh when Cynthia had done it, and Kanto about 15 years back when Lance had also achieved the feet. That said, until a few days ago no one had done it in Kalos, no one had swept their Elite Four in the challenger's right following the Lumiose Conference win until Ash did it this year.

That meant that Ash had earned the additional right to face Diantha in a full battle to try and take her title as Champion of Kalos from her. Usually you'd have to beat at least one member of the Elite Four to take his or her place and then serve a year as a member and survive the next year's challenge to earn that right, which you could exercise once a year whenever you saw fit once you earned it, but a special exemption was made for trainers who swept the Elite Four in their challenge. Ash would exercise that exemption tomorrow.

To make sure that everyone was ready and that Ash himself had time to recover following four intense four on four battles with the Kalos Elite Four there was a mandatory two day break similar to how the preliminary rounds of most Conferences ran for four days before two days of rest and then the start of the final rounds where the full battles took place. The difference this time would be that there would only be one full battle at the end of the break, a full battle greater and tougher than any that Ash had faced before.

As such, after celebrating the night of Ash's fourth victory as he'd earned that celebration given what he'd accomplished, they had all gotten together yesterday to begin the process of training for Ash's battle with Diantha. There were a few things about this battle that would make it different from the others that Ash had had recently and not just because it was a full battle not a four on four battle like the ones with the Elite Four had been. No, the big difference was that Diantha, like Alder, Cynthia, and Leon, was a Champion without a type preference.

To add to that, while Diantha had once been a member of the Kalos Elite Four, albeit for only a year before she defeated the previous Champion, her type specialty as a member had been rock types as that had been before the Cyllage City Gym became a rock type gym and despite her known primary Pokémon since her days as a trainer being a Gardevoir. It just made it clear to Ash that while he could easily predict her Mega Pokémon, as well as which one was her strongest, he had no clue what else she might use and she could easily use no rock types at all.

That he understood well though. Had Ash lost a match he would have accepted his right to join the Kalos Elite Four and waited a year before challenging Diantha as soon as he could and his chosen type would have been a type that wasn't electric, he only had Pikachu there and the Lumiose Gym was an electric type gym so he couldn't specialize in that type regardless. In fact, it would be a type only one of his team that he was going to use against Diantha had.

That was why he was going on the assumption that she could have any type from any region and as such he needed his team to be well balanced and strong to counter whatever he might face tomorrow. It was, in sum, the best of the best he could throw at her while covering as much ground as possible at the same time.

To compound this, however, was the rule on Mega Evolution being limited to one Pokémon so if Ash chose any of the four he'd used in the challenge he'd have to remove their Mega Stones as the second of the two Pokémon he knew Diantha would expect him to use was Greninja and with the Battle Bond ability he had to be the registered Mega Pokémon. There were several reasons why Greninja was going to be on his team and so with him and one other known, Ash and his Pokémon had spent the day before deciding who'd round out the team to face Diantha.

That had taken most of the first morning after Ash's victory over Drasna as while he had an idea who he wanted to use, certain performances recently along with types that some of his Pokémon who he hadn't used had and moves that they knew had to be taken into account. With all that, Ash had finalized the team that he felt was best to beat Diantha.

With that done, they'd knuckled down and started to work hard to be ready with Misty, Dawn, May, Serena, Miette, Clemont, Brock, Cilan, and Lucy helping him train for Diantha by using all their Pokémon so that Ash faced a variety. Even his own mother helped out though that was more just to give Mimey directions as Mimey had the same type combination as Gardevoir so he was a big help in training. That's what they'd done over the day before and today so Ash knew that he and his Pokémon were in the best shape they could be for the battle tomorrow.

Then, at the end of all the training, they all had a massive meal cooked for them by Brock, Cilan, and Clemont for their group to enjoy and chat one last time so that they could all be with Ash the night before. Only when that was done and digested did everyone retired for the night and Ash and Misty got their moment. Even Pikachu and Piplup were giving them space as they relaxed with some of the other Pokémon in a special suite Clemont had set up for them, that and Pikachu really wanted to be fully rested for tomorrow as well.

In addition, there had been other revelations that Professor Sycamore had told them about who was going to be in attendance tomorrow over dinner when he and Professor Oak had shown up to join them that they wanted to discuss as they had a final chat before turning in early. Ash needed to get a good night's sleep before the battle to be held in the early afternoon just like the ones against the Elite Four had been hence the early night.

"As ready as I can be." Ash said after a moment's thought in response to Misty's question. "There's no doubt, though, this will be my toughest match ever."

"Well it is a full battle with a regional Champion, those with that rank are considered the best in the world so yeah it's going to be tough." Misty said. "And doesn't Diantha rank pretty highly out of all the Champions, the new Alola one doesn't count I think."

"He doesn't." Ash said shaking his head. "I don't know who he is though, other than it was some native Alola guy who beat Iris in the final, but as the winner of that match automatically became Champion without having to deal with an Elite Four and existing Champion it's not right to put him in the same league as the other 7. That and apparently it wasn't even a full battle so a lot of people aren't going to consider the Alolan Champion on the same level as the other ones for a while I feel."

Over the last few days, especially as Ash kept winning his battles and his shot at Diantha became more and more likely, they'd actually spent some time looking into the other Champions to see how they were ranked in comparison to each other, which would in turn give a rough sense of their global ranks. They were the top trainers in their respective regions after all, well multiple regions in the case of Lance, so there was always speculation as to how they'd stack up against each other in battle.

There wasn't really a definitive answer to that beyond who the clear number 1 was but the debate was spirited so Ash had taken some time, when taking breaks from training, to look into it as a way of adding to his preparations. Now that he'd defeated all the members of the Kalos Elite Four that research was going to be important.

It helped that Ash had met at least 4 of the current Champions by this point, as well as one no former Champion in Wallace who was active the first time Ash met him but no longer, so he knew what they were like to some extent. All 4 who he'd met were impressive individuals to say the least and finally Ash would get a chance to properly battle one, so he couldn't wait to see how he faired against a Champion in an official battle.

Unbeknownst to Ash was that he'd actually 5 of the current regional Champions but he'd met Steven Stone before the man became the Hoenn Champion. As such Ash, and given how different Steven looked as Champion compared to the man Ash had met in Granite Cave on the same island as Dewford Town, he'd not realized that they were the same person given.

"7, not 8?" Misty asked once again breaking Ash from his thoughts as she tried to figure out the discrepancy between the number Ash had given and the number of regions that she knew about. "I get Alola, that region only recently got a Champion, but which region doesn't have one?"

"Johto." Ash said. "Lance is the Champion of both Kanto and Johto."

"Why?" Misty asked confused.

"Honestly, I don't know." Ash admitted. "It might be because the regions are on the same continent, it's the only one with two official regions, or because Johto is the second smallest after Alola, I think at least, but yeah he's the Champion of both."

"Oh well I guess that makes sense." Misty said as she thought on it. "But he's not the strongest."

"He's not, however he is the strongest single type specialist as he's a dragon specialist though he does use a Gyarados, but many see him as the second strongest trainer in the world." Ash said shaking his head. "Leon, the Galar Champion who's never lost apparently is considered the number 1 out there based on my research but Lance is seen, at least at the moment, as the number 2. I think they've even had a battle before that Leon won which if true would confirm it."

"Never having lost does help when determining who's best." Misty said. "I wonder what he's like."

"Same, I hope we can meet him in Galar whenever we visit that region as so far I've met the Champions of the last three regions I've visited so I'm on a roll on that front." Ash said. "But that will have to come in time."

"Yes, we need to go there, Alola, and Paldea when we get the chance but right now we need to focus on Diantha." Misty said. "Where does she rank of the Champions?"

"It's hard to say." Ash admitted as he recalled the various forums he'd looked at that tried to rank the Champions after Leon and Lance. "Most agree that the 3rd strongest Champion is Cynthia, her sweep was notable apparently and she's shown her strength since then but as both Leon and Lance have been at their ranks longer, she's never faced either in battle, and they're win streaks against challengers, apparently facing another Champion doesn't count for rankings, are longer so she currently ranks behind them."

"I can understand that and it is good to hear that my region's Champion is up there." Misty said. "Even if she's after yours."

"Yup, Lance is great, I've met him a few times and really liked him." Ash said. "I think I've met Cynthia more though and if so then I've actually met her more times than any other Champion if I recall, but both are impressive. I hope to face them in battle someday."

"If you win you might." Misty said. "Both are going to be in attendance tomorrow so they could challenge you, or accept a challenge from you, if you beat Diantha which I for one know you will do. I still can't believe that they're going to be in attendance though."

Ash nodded in agreement at that. He'd been shocked when the Professors had come to dinner to break the news that both Lance and Cynthia had arrived in Kalos that morning to attend the match but once he'd gotten over it Ash had been excited that they'd be in attendance.

When asked about why they were here, Professor Sycamore had explained that all active Champions were invited when such an occurrence happens but only those two had accepted it. That had been understandable but Professor Oak had given the reasons why the others weren't present regardless.

Apparently Steven was busy in Hoenn, Alder was wandering somewhere in northern Unova and couldn't be reached, Leon was getting ready to face the winner of the Galar Cup which was their version of a Conference where the winner faced Leon for his title, and the Paldea system was complicated as multiple trainers held the rank of champion there but the top one, a woman called Geeta, had declined without a reason. The Alola Champion was too new for this and hadn't been truly challenged so he'd not been invited.

Thus, two Champions and the two Ash had the best relationship with would be watching his coming battle with Diantha to see if he could beat her and thus join their ranks as her replacement. It made him nervous but excited at the same time because if he could beat Diantha then it would show Lance and Cynthia that he was on their level and they may battle him one day as well just as Misty had said.

"It's big that they will be here." Ash said. "I can't let them down. Lance is my region's Champion and has been a mentor in the past while Cynthia is yours and likewise has helped me become a better trainer."

"She did bring Lucario's egg to you." Misty said. "She clearly knew that you were the right trainer for it and given all that Lucario has accomplished that was a big help to you."

"Very true." Ash said. "And I know you've not met Lance as we didn't get a chance to see him at the Indigo Conference last year but he's a great guy. Been a few years since I actually spoke with him, last time was in Hoenn where he was helping take down their criminal teams there."

"Teams?" Misty asked. "As in more than one?"

"Yeah Hoenn is really different in that regard, we faced two teams there in Magma and Aqua." Ash said. "Crazy adventure dealing with them and some of the Hoenn legendary Pokémon but a story for another time."

"True, you are a magnet for that kinda stuff even if it has toned down in recent years." Misty said as she brought the chat back on topic. "So where would Diantha rank after Cynthia. It's between her, Alder, Steven and that Geeta person if I recall."

"I don't think Geeta counts, at least most of the forums don't consider her in their rankings it seems." Ash said. "Paldea has an odd system and is why they're kinda isolated at the moment. It's best to just leave that region be for the time being as they seem content with their current status though I certainly wish to visit it with you someday. We can learn more about it after this is over for said visit but most of the rankings I saw only listed her because she's their top trainer, most put her at the end due to lack of knowledge."

"Makes sense." Misty said. "That leaves Diantha, Alder, and Steven then."

"Steven is ranked 6th." Ash said with certainty as there wasn't a debate as to Steven's ranking. "He may have swept his challenge and beaten Wallace but he's the most recent trainer to become Champion and unlike the others he's a type specialist specializing in steel types."

"Wait but Wallace is a water specialist." Misty said. "So he's would have had an advantage there as water is resistant to steel."

"But not strong against it the way fire, ground, and fighting are." Ash said. "I don't know how that battle went other than that Steven obviously won it but I do know that many see Steven as the rising star of the Champions because of that, his sweep, and doing all this as a type specialist. By contrast, it seems like Alder is on the downswing."

"He is?" Misty asked. "I don't know much about him so I can't say how good he is. I recall that he was at that Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup we were at in Unova and faced that Trip dude because he won it but that's about it. His main Pokémon is a Bouffalant, right?"

"Yup, a normal type native to Unova that doesn't evolve at all." Ash said with a nod. "An interesting Pokémon. I've met Alder a few times, he's a rather eccentric person. If I had to describe him I'd say he's strong but reckless when he's serious while being carefree when not."

"Huh?" Misty asked confused.

"Well one time I saw him leap in to physically stop a rampaging Gigalith, Boldore's evolved form, and that's not an easy Pokémon to stop." Ash said. "He managed it as he identified the problem being a nail or something like that in one of its feet, at least if memory serves that is. However, when I had a battle with him he fell asleep standing up and his Bouffalant attacked him for it. He also seems forgetful and a bit Brock-like at times."

"Brock-like?" Misty asked. "So he flirts with any women he likes."

"He's certainly overly friendly towards women, that's how he's like Brock." Ash said. "Not sure about flirting."

"Right, he's a massive flirt then who is constantly shot down." Misty said. "Ok sounds like an interesting person. He's on the downswing though you say."

"It's more he's a wanderer who doesn't really have the same presence that the other Champions do so he's not well understood." Ash said. "He's talented but his attitude and the lack of data on him tends to put him below Diantha though there are plenty who believe that he's better than her. They've never faced off as far as I know and he's considered to not have a specialty so for the most part they're seen as equal, give or take. It's really hard to say between the two of them but I'm going to treat Diantha as stronger."

"Wise, always better to overestimate than underestimate." Misty said. "So that puts her fourth, which seems about right. Alright so this will be a really tough match but you've trained hard and the team is ready."

"That it is." Ash said. "And I'm confident in them that they will win it. Together we've got this."

"Well you've put together one of the best you could." Misty said. "I've seen them all in action and I agree, they're the best for dealing with a trainer who you only know one Pokémon for. Still, her Gardevoir is going to be tough to face."

"I'm ready for." Ash said with a grin. "Plus Greninja and I have a score to settle with that Gardevoir so we're both really looking forward to facing her."

"I'd say, that battle was something else." Misty said recalling it well and not just because of how Diantha had literally helicoptered to their location just to challenge Ash and Greninja but because it was actually a close battle. "It's a shame that you weren't ready for the full Battle Bond during it because you actually landed some hits on Gardevoir and even forced Diantha to Mega Evolve it. That was unreal to see."

"I know right, I actually thought that we had a chance of winning for a moment." Ash said his grin widening. "And it really showed us what Greninja could be at his best and that he could handle a Pokémon like Diantha's Gardevoir even when it was Mega Evolved. I've faced off with Alder's Bouffalant before though that didn't really count so that was the first time I ever managed to actually put up a good showing against a Champion's Pokémon and not just any Pokémon but her primary one at that. Making her Mega Evolve Gardevoir, that was the crowning moment of the battle and why we really want to finish it. I know that Diantha feels the same way about it."

"It showed us what we all already knew, that you can challenge a Champion and hold your own." Misty said with a smile. "And now you will get that properly as you face Diantha in a full battle. Plus you've faced a Mega Gardevoir with Ash-Greninja and won back in the Lumiose Conference so you have some experience there."

"True and Max's is good, I remember her as a Ralts that he saved during our time together in Hoenn and promised to go back for." Ash said recalling it well. "So they're really close, closer than he is with his starter and she was his first catch if I recall. It's no wonder that she can Mega Evolve and is with him on his next journey so facing her was a great chance to get ready for Diantha. I know that Diantha's is going to be tougher but the challenge was there and got Greninja and me ready for it by seeing a battle against a Mega Gardevoir to the end. It was similar with Tierno's Mega Blastoise prepping me for Siebold's though that was just a good coincidence."

"It certainly helped, you dealt with Siebold pretty easily, at least that's how it looked from where we were during the battle." Misty said. "It seemed like that was the battle you had the least trouble with."

"It was and I thank Dawn for it." Ash said. "Her training and expertise in water types made me ready for anything I might face and I know Starmie really well thanks to her. Plus, what she couldn't help with the other patched up like how I was ready for a Barbaracle thanks to facing Max's in the Lumiose Conference."

"She did do a great job there." Misty said. "And between May, Serena, myself, and even Bonnie you were really ready for Malva as well. That match really showed Kalos that you could compete on that level and to face her and Siebold as your first two it really drove home what you could do."

"I think it was the best thing for me to start against those two." Ash admitted. "Knowing their Mega Pokémon and being able to train for them so well was a great confidence boost to kick of the first half of the challenge and it helped me going into Wikstrom who turned out to be the toughest of them all to face."

"Really?" Misty asked surprised. "But Drasna is higher ranked so theoretically she should have been the toughest."

"She is but she's a dragon expert and I know dragon types better than steel so I was better prepared for her." Ash said. "I have four myself compared to one steel type, who I didn't even catch as a steel type as Riolu added it when he evolved into Lucario, and while I can counter steel types well thanks to having plenty of fire, ground, and fighting types Wikstrom still surprised me with Pokémon that could negate some of those advantages and forced me to use other tactics against them."

"That Klefki." Misty said figuring that that had to be the one Ash was referring to as it was the one that had caught his cheer section by surprise when Wikstrom had used it. "Yeah I agree that one was a bit of a shock. I know that Emily uses one but hers is a Contest Pokémon and for her it's more an appeals one at that as she only used it in her win over Brianna because Adam predicted that it would be the best one for that match, is not a good comparison. Add in that the other one you know is Monsieur Pierre's Klefki and I can see why it would surprise you."

"Klefki threw me as it was unexpected and facing it was tough I'll admit but I shouldn't have overlooked it simply because it's not a typical Pokémon you'd expect in a standard Pokémon battle." Ash said. "You've shown me more than anyone that any Pokémon can be used for any style so I shouldn't have been surprised to face one."

"True I've used a few Pokémon that you wouldn't expect though May has said that she knows a Contest Banette that her negative rival Harley uses so that Pokémon isn't unheard of as a Contest Pokémon but man I'd like to face it and show him what my Banette can do." Misty said. "And if possible Mega Evolve him against Harley so I can get some payback for May. Still, I've shown traditional battle Pokémon like Mamoswine in Contests or Machamp and Malamar in Showcases."

"And your Spiritomb." Ash said trying not to think of Misty Mega Evolving Banette again though he'd never stop her from doing so if she wanted to. "Hard to forget about that Pokémon whenever you use him."

"My Spiritomb defies all conventions seeing as he's one of only three known Spiritombs." Misty said with a smile. "But I get that with him, he's different from anything for sure so just using him at all is a shock. Still, seeing Wikstrom use Klefki in a standard battle was the first time I saw a Pokémon I'd associated with Contests and Showcases in a normal battle because that was the only basis I had for it so it surprised me, especially because there was no doubt that that was a battle Pokémon."

"No question, that Klefki was a tough challenge that I relished having and Infernape gave his all to ensure that Charizard could easily beat it later." Ash said. "But it wasn't just that though, Wikstrom really kept me on my toes the entire time with his Pokémon. Sure, Probopass was easy but I had a huge advantage there that I went after right at the start, but Aegislash is an extremely defensive Pokémon that I had to hit at the right times to beat while Klefki was tough as nails, and Scizor wouldn't go down without a fight. It was a true challenge."

"That Scizor may be tough." Misty said. "But all people will remember was how you wrecked the entire battlefield with it at the climax of the battle."

"Yeah that was a bit much." Ash said a little embarrassed at how badly he'd damaged the battlefield in his final matchup against Wikstrom. "But it won't happen again. Still, it lasted a while despite Charizard having the edge as a fire type. I knew that battle was mine to lose when that was the Mega matchup but I didn't let it get to me or make me complacent."

"After what you did no one would accuse you of that, Ash." Misty said. "You fought that one fully to the end and came back from two Pokémon down to win in a fashion that will never be forgotten so I can see why you'd say Wikstrom was the hardest."

"Don't get me wrong, Drasna was a challenge as well." Ash said. "Her Noivern showed me what mine could be with a good bit mor training and beat a Pokémon it was really weak to in Glalie. I had to use Mimey to win that one."

"I'm still shocked you chose him." Misty said. "Of all your choices he made the least sense when you presented your teams to us after the night after the draw occurred and you knew the types you were up against. Even Aerodactyl made some sense as you could Mega Evolve it. Mimey was, well, he's not one of your famous battle Pokémon."

"True but he's a dragon buster." Ash said using Georgia's term for herself to describe Mimey. "A fairy type who knows an ice type move, I had to use him against someone like Drasna. As expected she countered him well with Dragalge even if it was weak to psychic types. That showed me that Mimey was a good choice only because of what he brought to the battle but he was still outmatched there. Dragonite ensured we got back in it as Drasna did have the upper hand until Dragonite ensured that it was all tied up when he beat Druddigon but Gengar was the real winner there though I still got supremely lucky at the end."

"To think that Altaria's secondary type changes from flying to fairy upon Mega Evolving though, the very combination everyone wondered about in the wake of the emergence of the fairy type and it actually does exist." Misty said and that change had been confirmed the day before when both Lisia's and Titus's Mega Altarias was used to test the dragon immunity and as both showed it, it was confirmed that Mega Altaria was a dragon and fairy type. "No one could have seen it coming and for you to use a poison type, that wasn't expected either as Gengar wasn't exactly a good choice against a dragon specialist, so that couldn't have been predicted."

"That was why I taught him Dazzling Gleam, between that and Ice Punch Gengar was ready for Drasna." Ash said. "But that change did help me in the end. It also made me want to train harder because I know that the battle broke in my favor to set up this challenge so I can't let that fact go to waste by losing to Diantha."

"I know and on that note I think it's time for bed." Misty said as she leaned over to give Ash a chaste kiss on the lips. "Come on, you need your sleep for what is to come so that you can be at your best for Diantha. Tomorrow Ash Ketchum becomes the new Champion of Kalos."

Ash just smiled at that as Misty got up and helped him off the sofa so they could head to the bedroom in the suite that Clemont had given them to use. Misty was right, Ash needed his rest because tomorrow the toughest battle of his career would occur with the greatest prize he'd ever been after on the line as for the first time ever he had the chance to become a regional Champion.

Tomorrow Ash's Kalos journey came to an end one way or another as he engaged in a full battle against the Champion of Kalos. At long last it was time to face Diantha and as Ash retired for the night he knew that he was ready. The only question was, was the world ready for the full battle between Ash and Diantha?