Asher's Team:

Lago - Rhydon
Crust - Golem
Sebastian - Nidoking
Selena - Nidoqueen
Seraph - Clefable
Barret - Dugtrio
Sonic - Sandslash
Death - Marowak
Colossus - Steelix

I let out a deep breath to help cool my nerves and silence any jitters that I was having about my battle. I knew that beating the shit out of Clair, whilst probably not easy exactly, was entirely possible for my team right now. I didn't have any need to worry about this shit.

That thought didn't make me calm down though.

I laughed a little as a thought passed through my head. I might always be acting like whatever comes my way isn't a big deal, but when push comes to shove, I'm not really as resolute as I want to be. I know I'm going to win if I do everything right, but, there's always the possibility that I might just do something wrong, that I screw up, that my team pays the price for my fuck up.

Still though, I've always nutted up and gone through with it anyway. You can't slow down in life, if you do then before you know it you're just some loser stuck on the street with nothing to their name other than the clothes on your back.

Sometimes in life, you just need to keep walking.

Suddenly, I felt a strong vibration in my pocket, and halted my advance through the halls of the stadium to pick up my pokegear and answer whoever the fuck decided to call me when I'm about to kick some ass in front of the entire region of Indigo.

I picked up my phone from my pocket and popped open the burner phone-like device to answer whoever decided to call me.

"Hello." I automatically spoke into the device, not even bothering to check who decided to call me at a time like-

"Asher, it's Giovanni."

I instantly felt all the nerves I'd just cooled flare up once again, the realisation of who I was talking to kicking into action.

Giovanni is someone who I've been keeping contact with every now and then, though the leader of Team Rocket, he is the best ground-type specialist in Indigo. Even just a call every now and then is enough to get valuable information. Plus, he is technically my sponsor and the reason I can even hold nine pokemon at once, even if he's the boss of Team Rocket, he's still been super useful to me.

I daresay that the guy has gotten pretty chummy with me, though that's probably just because I'm a monster when it comes to my rapid growth, and as my sponsor he'll have gotten amazing benefits from my success.

I almost feel bad that I'm gonna be handing him over to the League... yeah that's a lie. He might be a bro, but he's still the leader of Team Rocket. It's nothing personal, it's just business.

I put on a fake cheerful tone and answered the voice of my sponsor through the mic." Hey man, there a reason you're calling me when I'm about to beat the crap out of my last opponent and win this thing?"

In response, all I got was a good-natured laugh and a few friendly words." Well you are a rather talented trainer, and as your sponsor, I just wanted to wish you good luck, and that I'm glad I met you that day. It's been too long since I've met a strong ground specialist, and young talent should be allowed to thrive."

You know, Giovanni is amazing at selling this whole nice-guy act. If I didn't have my meta-knowledge then I wouldn't have ever suspected him of even being involved in criminal activity before, that's just how convincing his acting is.

I responded to his words after a moment." Well it's not like I did everything on my own. I had help here and there, and if it weren't for you then I wouldn't even be able to keep all my pokemon on me at once. So, thank you for believing in me." Even if I didn't regret that I was gonna stab him in the back, I still felt a little guilty that I was betraying him. Even if he's a bad guy, he helped me, and he believed in me. What am I doing in return? I'm going to ruin him.

I feel like a dick.

"Oh please, I should be thanking you. Kanto's trainers have been getting weaker in recent years, and with people like you around, well, my worries feel unfounded. I can't wait to witness how far you go. Now go and win the day, Asher."

I smiled a little at his words. He was a nice guy.

"Thanks Giovanni, I'll bring home the gold." With those final words I hung up on him.

A really nice guy.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, today we are here to witness history in the final round of this year's Indigo Conference! The battle between Asher Blight of Viridian City, and Clair Blackthorn of Blackthorn City will now begin!"

My breath hitched as I exited the darkness of the tunnel leading up to the battlefield, and entered the light.

Immediately upon exiting the darkness, my senses were overwhelmed by the cheers of a wild crowd and the bright lights shining down on me. I even brought up my hand in an attempt to block out the blinding shine of the spotlight.

I've battled here before, I've gotten used to it even, but the air tonight felt so much different. Like me winning would either make or break me. Like so many people were glaring a hole through my very being.

But, I wasn't interested in any of the crowd. They were bit players. No.

There was only one person who I needed to be in that mass of nobodies tonight.

My eyes travelled the mass of strangers, in an attempt to search for the seat of my girlfriend, and after tracing the seats I found her.

She was just a purple smudge from our positions, hardly even something you could register from this distance, but I knew that was her.

So, I gave her a wave. It wasn't much, and maybe she didn't see, but I raised my hand and waved at my girlfriend. I was really glad she was watching me today.

But, the crowd seemed to take that as some kind of message for everyone, and they all ended up waving back at me, their cheering intensifying and I think I even heard some whistles.

I smiled softly, before my gaze returned to facing the front. I slowly walked to the battle pitch, making sure to take my time and crack my knuckles as a little tic.

When I finally got to the top, Clair was waiting, looking very impatient and practically glaring a hole through my head, but in return I just smirked at her, silently relishing in the sight of her visibly showing her annoyance from my very relaxed attitude, even if deep down I was shaking with excitement.

I have a feeling she'll either lead with her Kingdra or her Gyarados. Those two both have a type advantage over my entire team, except Seraph of course, and I've confirmed her roster of pokemon, assuming that she doesn't have anymore in reserve, I can make an educated guess on her first choice in this battle.

She may very well chose a different pokemon, but that didn't matter much. I'd just have to adapt if things came down to that.

I swiped a pokeball from my belt, perfectly confident in my choice, whilst Clair mimicked me and made her own decision for a first pokemon. We locked eyes, and we couldn't have been more different in that moment. She had a certain cold seriousness to her, whilst I was... happy, in fact I was overjoyed. This was everything I've every wanted. I felt like I was at the centre of the universe, and I couldn't help but feel really- really alive. This felt so right, like the entire reason I was born was just so that I could stand in this ring.

It's a little ironic that my second life was where my true calling lied, my old world was never somewhere I fit in, this place suits me much better.

"Trainers, are you ready?" Shouted the announcer from inside the microphone, clearly very eager to begin our battle.

I could only nod, grinning madly like an idiot, as I prepared to throw my pokeball and win my final battle of this damned tournament.

This is everything to me.

I let out a shuddered breath as the stadium went silent, Clair's piercing sky blue eyes meeting my own golden ones. It's do or die.

"BATTLE BEGIN!"

Still grinning like a maniac, I threw my arm forward and tossed an ultra ball high into the air over a battlefield, and Clair did the same, though her face was as cold as a statue, and the world seemed to freeze as our pokeballs both opened up to eject their contents.

In two massive flashes of light, though my pokemon was still bigger, both of our serpentine pokemon burst forth.

First Clair's Gyarados appeared with a prideful roar, this Gyarados was much bigger than the one Colossus fought before, it's scales looked tougher, and overall he just looked a whole lot more powerful than that one was. A powerful opponent.

But, my pokemon wasn't a slouch either.

My humongous Steelix roared upon entry to the battlefield, his heavy and metallic body shaking the ground when he landed, and when he roared he completely cut across the cry of the opposing water-type.

Just when it came to size, it still wasn't a competition. Like at all. Whilst the size of Clair's Gyarados was no joke, Colossus was a pokemon with the alpha gene. He was nearly three times the size of his species average. Looking next to the two, I almost felt uncomfortable with how small the Gyarados looked.

But, much to it's credit, the Gyarados wasn't intimidated in the slightest by my pokemon's overwhelming size, at least not outwardly, in fact it just looked more determined than ever to rumble with my boy.

I could respect that.

"Would you look at that, Asher has chose his gigantic Steelix to lead with, whilst Clair has picked her Gyarados! Will the type advantage be enough to overcome the difference in power, or will Gyarados fall to the overwhelming power of a titan?!"

I took notice of the fact Clair and her Gyarados got visibly pissed off at the fact they basically just got called weaker than me. She was gritting her teeth, and her glare only intensified to the point where she looked like she wanted to murder me.

Should I add fuel to this fire? Nah, there's no need right now.

"Fight!"

Hearing those words, I made no move to take the first shot, that wasn't the optimal move right now. Clair can have this one.

She took the bait and shouted a command out." Use Hydro Pump!"

Perfect.

"Block it with Iron Tail, and whilst you're at it charge up Stealth Rocks." I calmly spoke, in direct contrast to the intense and loud words of my opponent.

Clair's Gyarados roared in delightful glee, quickly opening it's gaping maw and, in just a split second, launched off a powerful looking stream of pressurized water that would bully most Steelix into submission.

Most Steelix, not Colossus.

In response, my steel serpent raised the tip of his tail and raised his head, simultaneously using two moves at once, and, just before the stream struck my partner, his tail glowed a bright silver that acted as a solid shield, completely blocking the attack from even touching him.

Then, just before the move finished, a set of rocks began to encircle Colossus, and right as the Hydro Pump sputtered out, he roared and sent a barrage of Stealth Rocks Clair's way to hover above her side of the field, ready to attack any pokemon that she might send out next, and they all turned invisible to hide themselves.

Whoever declared Stealth Rocks a bad move in this world must have been retarded. In my old world this attack was so busted that it made pokemon like Moltres and Charizard redundant in competitive, literally redefining the metagame as the best trap in the game. Calling it weak just because it wasn't big and flashy, like Hyper Beam or something, was stupid.

Clair and her pokemon both showed frustration at the lack of damage and, seeing that just attacking wouldn't break through, Clair immediately switched tactics.

"Gyarados use Dragon Dance, then Aqua Tail!"

Okay, if that's how we're gonna play this.

"Use Iron Defence, then use Iron Tail, overpower them!"

Gyarados roared in anger and agreement with their trainer, shining with Dragonic energy as they started to slither in a motion that vaguely looked like dancing, if a snake even could dance, and they gave a gleeful cry as they were empowered by the technique. Then, directly after powering up, their tail glowed blue as water wrapped around the tip of their tail and they leaped forward with surprising speed for their size.

But, Colossus wasn't idol during that period either, he shined with silver steel-type energy, increasing his defensive capabilities, and just a split second later he raised his tail and moved forward to strike his opponent.

Gyarados, the smaller and more nimble of the two giants, had the advantage of speed and pushed the offensive as it attempted to overpower Colossus by jumping and dropping down with an Aqua Tail boosted by the momentum of gravity.

But, Colossus was the bigger and heavier of the two. Even with the boost in power and speed, my Steelix held steadfast and hardly budged at Iron Tail met Aqua Tail. In fact, the strength caused by Gyarados' advantage in momentum vanished after just a few seconds, and after that, the water serpent was easily overpowered and pushed back, crashing into the ground as they were send hurdling back to their trainers side.

Gyarados fell to the ground, groaning slightly, but otherwise showed it's tenacity and simply picked itself back up. Despite the damage it had taken, it was more than ready for round two.

Impressive.

Clair, seemingly annoyed at the lack of results, once again chose to try a different approach." You won't be able to overpower them Gyarados, roast them alive with Fire Blast!"

Yeah, no.

"Nip that in the bud with Earth Power, then use Flash Cannon."

Gyarados, looking very offended for some reason, opened their maw to reveal blazing orange flames which, after a seconds delay, it let loose in a ball of flames which expanded into the signature cross of fire that I recognised very well as Fire Blast, that would have done big damage to Colossus if it hit... emphasise on if.

An explosion of earth suddenly emerged out of the ground, dispersing the flames almost immediately and cutting the attack off, and, before our opponent could even respond, my Steelix unleashed a massive stream of silver energy from his mouth.

Clair was actually really quick to her credit, casting her arm aside with her cape as she yelled out." Counter it with Hyper Beam!"

Gyarados listened to their trainer, all that rage from before fuelling their attack, black and purple energy swiftly gathering in their mouth, before being let loose in a powerful, but obviously premature, Hyper Beam that pushed against Colossus' Flash Cannon.

The two attacks met and proved to be equally matched, cancelling each other out and ending in a draw. But, Clair's Gyarados wouldn't be able to move for a little bit.

The grin which spread across my face obviously made Clair cringe back. Good, she should be worried.

"Speed up with Autotomize, then use Thunder Fang!" This should do a nice chunk of damage.

Colossus cried out, his skin shining red as his weight was reduced and his speed was increased, and with impressive speed he slithered to the other side of the battlefield as his blunted teeth sparked with electricity. He was closing in on his prey.

Clair, noticing that I was going for an electric-type attack, instantly gained a panicked look and called out for her partner." Quick, you need to move Gyarados!"

But, unfortunately for her, the backlash from Hyper Beam was immense and Gyarados was just a second too soon to avoid a powerful bite to the gut from the metallic serpent, tyhe super effective attack causing it to cry out in agony and roar with outrage at being struck by the opponent.

I could only smirk like a prick at the scene. This was good, great even. Only a couple more hits like that and her Gyarados was-

"Fight through it Gyarados, hit it with Hydro Pump!"

My smirk almost instantly dropped when I digested the command my opponent just asked for.

What?!

Gyarados, writhing in pain as electricity continuously assaulted their body, slowly pushed through the pain and adjusted their mouth so that it's maw was pointing right at Colossus' underbelly. Then, still being bullied by the way, it roared with determination as a powerful stream of compressed water was unleashed and it almost instantly hit it's mark and caused my Steelix to falter enough that his tight grip on her pokemon loosened!

The Thunder Fang cut off as my Steelix flinched in pain from the unexpected attack, the super effective hit doing visible damage as Clair's Gyarados continued their assault, the damage and pain they were in being ignored as they showed an utterly crazy amount of tenacity and sheer willpower!

For a moment I was actually shocked at the crazy amount of stubbornness Clair's Gyarados just showed me. That was a crazy stunt, when a pokemon takes a super effective hit the pain they feel is also amplified to the point where they're basically blinded by it, if only shortly, but since Gyarados was a water and flying-type the pain they felt would have been even worse than that, yet they pushed through and hit us back!

That's an insane amount of tenacity.

Gyarados winced and finally cut off their attack, the water-type panting and shivering slightly from pain and exhaustion.

But, of course, tenacity can only do so much.

I quickly assessed Colossus' condition, actually feeling a bit anxious about his condition, but thankfully he seemed to be mostly fine from the attack. He wasn't unaffected by the hit, but he was still ready to go. A little winded, but ready to go. Unlike that Gyarados.

And Clair could tell that as well as me. That girl was terrible at hiding her emotions, and I could tell clear as day what she was feeling in the face of my pokemon. Frustration at her lack of success, worry for her partner, and fear of loss. Even if the match just begun, the flow of the game is hard to get back once it's lost, and I had tons of it so far.

And, once you have the pendulum swinging your way, you shouldn't let up, not even for a second.

"Colossus use Stone Edge!"

The gigantic Steelix roared in agreement, the rocky spikes along his body shifting rapidly as a wave of rocky spikes emerged out of the ground directly below tail, making a B-line straight for Clair's Gyarados.

Clair sweated slightly, her teeth gritting against each other aggressively as she spoke with desperation." Wipe them all away with Hydro Pump!"

I didn't feel much of a need to switch commands as her pokemon started to build up water in their maw to wipe out the incoming rocks. My pokemon are all stamina freaks with high physical abilities, as a result they aren't tired out as quickly by using big attacks, so, I just need to keep up the pressure until Clair's Gyarados runs out of-

Gyarados suddenly screeched in agony and discomfort, it's attack being cut off as their body locked up. The culprit revealing itself in the form of several thick sparks of electricity.

I blinked slightly, but that turned into a smirk when I realised what was happening. Paralysis, nice.

For me, not Clair.

The blue haired girl's eyes widened as she realised what was going on." Gyarados, quickly get away-"

Her pleas were silenced as the mass of Stone Edge rammed right into her serpentine, blunted rocks shattering on Gyarados' skin and gouging out scales in the process as the rock-type move did massive damage to the opponent.

Spit flew out of Gyarados' mouth as the wind was knocked out of them, blood flying around slightly around the struck area as they let out just a single weak cry of defiance before they fell backwards with it's eyes rolling into the back of it's head.

They were done.

Silence permeated throughout the stadium... for all of one second. In the next, the crowd went ballistic at the sight of Colossus standing tall and strong, despite the type advantage Gyarados held, and that I had claimed the first victory of the day.

"Hahaha, it looks like Clair Blackthorn was overwhelmed by the power of Asher's Steelix, and as a result, he scored a complete victory against her Gyarados! Can Clair come back from this, or will she be left in the dust?!"

I frowned when I heard his words. Whilst I did win, I wouldn't exactly call my victory absolute. That Hydro Pump will definitely hinder Colossus for the rest of this battle, and it's not like me winning is set in stone right now. She still has five pokemon left, a comeback is entirely possible, at least from an outside perspective.

Somebody needs to get this place an announcer that will actually take this thing seriously.

Though, unfortunately, Clair just appeared frustrated when she heard his words, her openly sneering and sending an aggressive glare my way as she withdrew her pokemon and moved to swap her Gyarados for a different ball on her belt.

What is she going to pick next? She could go with her Kingdra or her Charizard, since those two are her only other pokemon that have a natural advantage against Colossus left, but those aren't exactly perfect choices against a Steelix either. So, no matter what she picks, this battle won't be all tied up.

Even if she won this next rumble, she was in deep shit.

Unbelievable. That was all Clair could think right now.

Gyarados was beaten soundly, and there isn't a route she could choose that would get her and her opponent to battle on even footing.

When Clair picked her Gyarados as an opener, she did so with the impression that she could gain an early lead and pivot from there when her pokemon inevitably went down. This was because, though she loathes to admit it, her Gyarados wouldn't have been enough to sweep her opponent no matter what angle she looked at it. Asher is a formidable adversary, a truly worthy opponent, and she would need to give her all if she wanted to come out victorious. So, she acted on the assumption that her Gyarados could take out one or two of his pokemon before going down.

However, what she didn't expect was for her Gyarados to be beaten before they could even take out a single pokemon!

He led with his Steelix, whilst admittedly an impressive pokemon, she didn't doubt that due to her type advantage she could ultimately come out on top. But, her Gyarados failed to overpower that titanic Steelix, and was brought down, only able to get a single attack off on that behemoth.

She was stunned as their battle took place. At practically every turn she was outplayed and countered perfectly. If she attacked, he halted their attempts and retaliated. If he attacked, she was overpowered. During that entire battle she was on the receiving end of his fury, and she could do absolutely nothing to stop that.

And now, she wasn't certain of what to do. She had a strategy in mind to push the offensive, but that clearly wasn't going to work. She had to adapt somehow, she needed a new plan.

And she needed one now.

But, what could she do next? She could pick her Charizard or her Kingdra to do battle with that Steelix, however, as much as it wounds her pride, she is uncertain on whether or not they could actually defeat her opponent. Type advantage had been proven to not be enough on it's own.

But, no matter what, she needs to beat that Steelix with her next pokemon if she wants to make a comeback.

Her indecision shined through as her hand twitched and she stared at the pokeballs on her belt, conflicted on what to do.

"Clair Blackthorn, if you fail to pick a pokemon in the next thirty seconds, then you will risk giving your opponent a one move start."

The words of the referee made her chest swelter up with panic, though she did her best to hide it from her opponent. She needed to make a decision.

She let out a deep breath, knowing that if she took the path to victory then she'd need to... bend her pride a tad.

Making her decision she quickly picked up her pokeball and threw it forward. She was hoping to save him for later but-

"I need your streength Dragonite!"

Her starter burst onto the scene with a prideful roar, strength pulsing from his very being as he flew confidently and with relative grace.

Though, that didn't last long.

The Stealth Rocks, which she had forgotten about, instantly came out of hiding and rained down on her Dragonite, the sharp rocks scratching and chipping away at his resilient scales, him wincing in pain at the unexpected attack as he raised his arms to defend against the shower of pain.

Clair clicked her tongue in annoyance. She'd forgotten about those, and none of her pokemon knew Defog to rid her field of those things. Those traps were there to stay.

Asher, seeing her frustration, taunted her with a mocking voice and a cocky smirk." What's wrong? Are a few rocks enough to hurt one of the mighty Blackthorn's dragons?"

When she registered those words, Clair glowered at him and flushed with rage as she spat out." More like annoy, those puny things couldn't hurt a Caterpie!"

She felt rage and indignation surge up in her chest as her partner snarled and glared down, he too loathing him for his words.

She shook her head, doing her best to keep a cool head and reel in her pride. She shouldn't buy into his games, he was just trying to rile her up, it was a lame tactic, and she shouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her lose it.

She took in a deep breath, and let go of her anger, merely settling for commanding her pokemon. She needs to stay in control.

"Use Extreme Speed to get in close, then Flamethrower!"

Her pokemon, unlike her still caught up in his rage, eagerly roared as he sped into a blur and got uncomfortably close to the giant Steelix' face, before letting loose an impressive stream of orange and slightly white flames.

Asher didn't tell his pokemon to dodge, in fact it was a useless attempt, when you're that big and that slow, a pokemon simply won't be able to dodge an attack at point-blank range, so he could do nothing but watch as his pokemon roared and groaned in agony from the super effective hit.

Clair relished the sight of Asher's smug look leaving his face entirely. She hated it when someone questions her power, and whenever they did so she made a point to prove them wrong- except with her family, she didn't have the nerve to speak out against them- and so him dropping that cocky look on his face?

It made her happy.

Asher's next words however, immediately caught her attention." Shake it off and use Dragon Tail, send them away."

Clair, felt her smile falter when she registered his words. Dragon Tail?

She was cut off as the enemy roared and, pushing through the pain, with surprising speed considering that it's Autotomise boost had warn off, the metallic serpent swiped at Dragonite using their tail, pulsing with shimmering green energy, to knock them away.

Her Dragonite grunted in pain, his arms still raised as a previous action to minimize the damage he took from the attack, though otherwise he was completely unaffected by-

Clair was taken by surprise as, quick as a flash, her starter glowed white and shot back into his pokeball, which still remained on her belt, and, against her will, a different pokeball was unlocked to release it's contents!

The white flash materialised into the form of her Dragonair, who looked around, confused at being let out of her pokeball, before she was bombarded with the sharp blades of Stealth Rock, making her cry out in anguish!

Clair felt her jaw hang open at the sight of her Dragonair being called out to the field. What happened?! That Steelix didn't make use of the move Roar, so how was her Dragonite forced out?! What was that move he used, Dragon Tail?! What the hell is that, and what-

"Use Flash Cannon!"

The orders of her opponent cut her line of thought off, and she once again became aware of just what exactly her position was.

She needed to act.

"Dodge it with Extreme Speed, then use Water Pulse!" This isn't ideal, but she doesn't exactly have a choice in the matter. She can't ask questions right now

Though, after their battle, she'll need to ask about that attack he made use of. Even she, a dragon-type expert, has never even heard of 'Dragon Tail'.

Her partner quickly dodged as she became a blur to the human eye to avoid the stream of silver energy, then she allowed a ball of compressed water to quickly build up in front of her mouth before she let it loose like a bomb to send her opponent reeling.

"Take that thing and use Earthquake!"

The Steelix, listening to it's trainer, groaned slightly as the Water Pulse made contact and exploded with a mass steam of liquid, that will have counted as a super effective hit, however that went ignored as they turned that pain into power and shook the very field itself!

Her Dragonair was struck by the powerful ground-type attack and flew backward, a shriek of pain as she endured through the damage sent her way.

"Dragonair, don't let them-"

"Trap them with Rock Slide, then finish them with Hyper Beam!" Asher brutally spoke, cutting her off as her pokemon managed to stand once again.

With great speed, the Steelix summoned a massive volley of large boulders that rained down in the dragon-type's general direction, not precise by any means, but more importantly they were trapped and surrounded on all sides.

Clair instantly understood what their plan was. They were going to trap her pokemon before finishing them with a finishing move!

One of the rocks caught her Dragonair by the tail, pinning her firmly to the ground, and Clair felt dread pool up in her stomach as the Steelix began to build up black energy in their mouth which she very easily recognised as Hyper Beam.

This wasn't good.

"Dragonair, break out of there with Dragon Pulse!" She knew that she sounded desperate, but she really didn't care in that moment. Her partner was about to be beaten, and she cared more about her pokemon than her pride.

Dragonic energy quickly build up in her pokemon's mouth, but just a single look at the opposing Steelix was enough to make her realise that she was finished. Dragonair would be able to escape from her trap in just two seconds, but it would be an instant too late.

"Finish them!"

Hearing it's trainers cry was enough push it forward, the Steelix screamed out as the inky black aura it was building up exploded out of it's maw on a premature Hyper Beam that was, in all likelihood, enough to take her pokemon down in just one hit. Dragonair aren't known for their defenses, and a direct hit with a move that strong would be enough to take her down.

Clair gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Like hell were they about to quit now!

"Redirect your attack, fight that Hyper Beam with everything you've got!" Even if they lost, they would do so with their head held high.

Dragonair shrilled in agreement as they unleashed a multi-coloured beam of dragon-type energy that was set to counter the black aura of Hyper Beam and rage against the inevitable with all their might!

"DRAAA!" Her Dragonair cried out with determination as Hyper Beam met Dragon Pulse, the two attacks fighting for dominance and pushing against each other with the strongest normal-type move slowly gaining inch after inch.

Asher, however, wasn't satisfied and screamed out with vigour." DON'T LET THAT PUNY LITTLE SNAKE TAKE YOUR FUCKING THUNDER, INCREASE YOUR POWER!"

"PUNY LITTLE SNAKE?! SHOW THEM WHO THE WEAKLING IS DRAGONAIR, DESTROY THEM WITH DRAGON PULSE!"

The size of her Dragonair's attack suddenly increased, the massive rainbow beam matching the Hyper Beam in power and width as the dark energy blast halted it's advance on the dragon-type.

Clair felt adrenaline and rage made her ignorant to the stars which were gathering in her eyes as Aura bled out of her and into her pokemon, empowering them, fuelling them, uniting them as-

Dragonair, still fighting against the Hyper Beam, started to glow a brilliant blue as her eyes shined the same colour as her trainers and her screaming only got louder as she burst in a familiar light in front of the entire stadium.

Dragonair was evolving.

Clair smirked at the sight, her heart pounding as though it were about to explode as her vision became clouded with stars and her senses were dulled. But, even then, she couldn't stop herself from forming a massive grin that practically split her face open.

She was about to get her second Dragonite.

For some strange reason, the world started to ring, but she could only register that her pokemon was evolving and that Dragonai- no. Dragonite wanted to win more than anything else in that moment. She wanted to prove her dominance over this insolent worm that dare strike at her.

And, Clair wanted that too.

"GO DRAGONITE, END THIS!"

Her pokemon's evolution took place at a rapid rate, so very quickly that it almost looked unnatural, and all the while she was still firing Dragon Pulse as though she had unlimited energy, as though there was no limit to how much power she could generate in that moment.

Her newly evolved Dragonite roared with fury as they evolved, and as she burst forth in her new form, the attack she was using suddenly multiplied it's own power to the point where it was pushing back the massive Hyper Beam they were fighting.

Wing picked up, and Asher gritted his teeth as he screamed out to push his partner forward as well, his voice full of heat.

"LETS DO THIS COLOSSUS! WE AREN'T LOSING HERE! GIVE HER EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"

The Steelix, eyes clenched shut from the strain of keeping up such a powerful attack constantly, instantly snapped it's two crimson eyes open that slit as their face scrunched as they pushed past their limits and the attack they were using grew... and grew and grew and grew.

Soon the battle between Hyper Beam and Dragon Pulse had turned into an all-out war between two pokemon. They were perfect equals in that moment. Neither was yielding, even as the ground splintered and shattered, wind picking up rocks and the announcer screaming in panic about what the hell was going on, and where the two pokemon had gotten their strength.

In that moment, nothing else was happening in the world other than that battle.

Then, that moment passed. All hell broke loose.

The energy from the two attacks built up and collided where they met. Energy building up, merging, sparking, flaring up... until it was released.

An explosion occurred in the middle of the battlefield. massive rocks and pieces of ground were ripped out of the ground, wind picked up and swirled in all directions, and both pokemon were consumed by the explosion they created. They were hidden from their trainers views as they stepped into the light.

Clair and Asher weren't exempt from the blast zone either. Ground flew near the two of them, rocks grazed and cut their skin. Clair's hair tie came loose and her cape was blown away, whilst Asher's shirt was torn as they were both sent flying backwards from their own attacks.

The world went suddenly went dark for both of them as their backs hit hard concrete and they passed out. Asher from hitting his head, and Clair from the overuse of her aura.

It took a whole minute, but, when the smoke settled, it was also revealed that both of their pokemon were completely scorched from being caught up in their own attack. Unconscious, and in dire need of medical attention, their battle had ended in a draw.

Though, it also destroyed the battlefield and left them lying in a crater of their own making.

When the dust settled, and everyone else in the stadium stopped covering their ears to prevent the ringing, they all thought just a few words in that moment. Be they men, women, Kantonian, or Johtonian, they all had the same words running through their minds.

"What the fuck just happened?" The announcer swore on national television as he spoke with a voice of pure disbelief into the microphone.

Silence was the only answer he received.

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