Diantha gracefully walked onto the battlefield and waved to the crowd while Lance strode out opposite her. Instead of bowing, Lance flung back his cape dramatically and Diantha smiled, silently acknowledging that, while the man lacked subtlety, he had a sense of showmanship. Everybody already knew the rules but the referee listed them anyway before the two Champions released their first Pokemon.
"Dragonite, lets go!" cried Lance and a rather fat looking Dragon appeared. Despite his bulk, Dragonite carried himself with surprising grace.
"Aurorus, time to act!" Diantha released a diplodocus like Pokemon with an icy cold body.
"Dragonite, Iron Head!" Lance ordered and the blunt horn on Dragonite's head turned to steel as he swooped forwards.
"Aurorus, Reflect!" Diantha ordered and Aurorus formed a blue screen. Despite this, she was thrust back a couple of meters, visibly shaken by the Steel type attack.
"Draco Meteor!" Lance ordered and Dragonite fired a large orange orb into the air which exploded into a shower of meteors.
"Light Screen!" Diantha countered and Aurorus created another screen, this time golden and tilted upwards, to weaken the meteors though the sheer power and velocity caused her to stumble slightly, "Now Hyper Voice!"
Aurorus opened her mouth and let out a loud noise that was half screech and half roar, unleashing a barrage of sound waves. Unlike a normal Hyper Voice, this one was freezing cold and powered by her Refrigerate. Dragonite roared in agony but remained on his feet and spread his wings.
"Dragonite, use Iron Head!" bellowed Lance once Aurorus ran out of breath. Dragonite flew across the battlefield and smashed into the ice dinosaur with another quadruple effective Iron Head. Reflect held but the impact still sent Aurorus crashing to the ground.
"Aurorus is unable to battle! Dragonite wins!"
In the locker room, Cynthia, Ash, Iris, Alain, Steven and Leon all watched. Steven had only remained as a display of good sportsmanship, believing it to be impolite to leave until the tournament was over.
"Good thing Dragonite has Multiscale or it would have been finished," commented Leon. On the screen, Dragonite was visibly shaking.
"Good job Aurorus," Diantha said, "Tyrantrum, time to act!" Another dinosaur like Pokemon appeared, this one resembling a tyrannosaurus.
"Take a break, Dragonite," said Lance and recalled his Pokemon, "Gyarados, you're next!" A huge, serpentine creature appeared. Unlike a regular Gyarados, this one was red which made him look all the more frightening as he used Intimidate to lower Tyrantrum's Attack power.
"Tyrantrum, Rock Slide!" ordered Diantha, unfazed by the Intimidate. Tyrantrum created a dozen boulders from thin air and launched them at Gyarados
"Gyarados, Dragon Dance!" Lance retaliated and Gyarados glowed purple as he began to sway back and fourth. With surprising speed for such a huge creature, he snaked his way through the Rock Slide and the purple glow turned orange, signalling that his Attack and Speed had increased. "Now Aqua Tail!"
Gyarados tail became surrounded by spiralling water and he smashed it onto Tyrantrum. Reflect appeared but the force of the blow still drove Tyrantrum back.
"Thunder Fang!"
Tyrantrum's opened his mouth and his fangs sparked before a huge, electrified mouth appeared and clamped down on Gyarados who roared in agony. Once the fake mouth had vanished, it was revealed that Tyrantrum now had its real electrified teeth clamped firmly around Gyarados' tail, which was still surrounded by water.
"Ouch," Leon said with a grimace. "Strong Jaw boosted Thunder Fang on an Aqua Tail."
"Ice Fang!" bellowed Lance and Gyarados' formed own teeth froze and extended as he clamped them down on the Reflect which began to flicker, signalling that its time was up.
"Get back Tyrantrum! Rock Slide!" yelled Diantha and Tyrantrum made a hasty retreat as the Reflect faded before summoning more boulders and launched them at Gyarados.
"Dragon Dance!" cried Lance but when Gyarados tried to obey, sparks surrounded his body. He quickly shrugged off the paralysis but not quickly enough and the Rock Slide pummelled him. "In that case, Dragon Pulse!"
"Breaking Swipe!"
Gyarados fired purple, draconic jaws which slammed shut on the Light Screen which flickered out of existence. However, it had done its job as Tyrantrum's tail glowed purple and he used it to swiped away the remnants of Dragon Pulse before lunging and slamming Breaking Swipe into Gyarados' chest, causing the giant serpent to topple.
"Gyarados is unable to battle! Tyrantrum wins!"
"Dragonite, you're up again!" Lance cried and Dragonite reappeared, "Hyper Beam!"
Dragonite wasted no time, firing a massive orange beam from his mouth which struck Tyrantrum squarely in the face.
"Tyrantrum is unable to battle! Dragonite wins!"
"Wow, that was sudden," Iris commented.
"And no need to recharge," Steven said as Lance used the same strategy the Hoenn Champion had used against Leon, switching out his Pokemon immediately after his win while Diantha recalled hers.
"Hawlucha, time to act!"
"Arcanine, let's go!"
A majestic, dog-like Pokemon appeared to face a small bird that resembled a professional wrestler. Arcanine growled and Hawlucha glowed blue as her Attack decreased.
"Another Intimidator," Iris noted.
"Lance couldn't be sure that Diantha would send out a Physical Attacker though," Leon added, "Lucky guess."
"Hawlucha, Bulk Up!" Diantha ordered and Hawlucha flexed her muscles and glowed red as her Attack and Defense increased.
"Use Thunder Fang!" Lance commanded. Unlike Tyrantrum, no giant fangs appeared when Arcanine lunged forwards and clamped his Thunder Fang onto Hawlucha's midsection and hurled her into the air, "Now Fire Blast!"
"Acrobatics!" ordered Diantha.
Hawlucha, still in midair, became outlined in white and redirected her trajectory, darting around the flaming star Arcanine had fired from his mouth and slamming into him before ascending back into the air and descending back down onto his back before he could get up.
"ExtremeSpeed!" shouted Lance.
As Hawlucha darted away in preparation for another strike, Arcanine became surrounded by a green aura, shot towards the Flying and Fighting Pokemon and slammed into her.
"High Jump Kick!" Diantha responded and Hawlucha smashed her knee into Arcanine, knocking him off his feet.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Acrobatics!"
Arcanine fired a purple pulse from his mouth at Hawlucha, who darted around the draconic jaws and slammed into Arcanine again, knocking him out.
"Arcanine is unable to battle! Hawlucha wins!"
"Too fast for Special Attacks and Bulk Up raised its Defence as well as its Attack," commented Alain.
"Go Kingdra!" shouted Lance, sending out a seahorse-like Pokemon that was balancing on its tail.
"Hawlucha, High Jump Kick!"
"Agility!"
Hawlucha lunged but Kingdra darted away, remaining perfectly balanced on his tail as he bounced around his opponent, who smashed her knee painfully into the ground. Diantha was taken aback by how effortlessly Kingdra was moving, despite being out of his element.
"I've only seen one other Kingdra who can move that easily on land," Ash said, remembering Clair's Kingdra.
"Dragon Pulse!" ordered Lance and Kingdra stopped showing off and fired a draconic pulse from his nozzle like mouth.
"Hawlucha is unable to battle! Kingdra wins!"
"Hawlucha return," said Diantha, "Goodra, time to act!" A bulky Dragon covered in slime with tentacles extending from the back of her head appeared.
"Use Dragon Pulse!" Both Champions commanded at the same time.
Both of Dragons fired pulses of draconic energy and the jaws on the end of the purple beams clamped shut around each other, creating an explosion.
"Power Whip!" Ordered Diantha
Goodra's tentacles glowed green before extending far beyond their natural length and shooting out in front of her. One walloped Kingdra in the chest to knock him over and the other slammed down on him from above. Kingdra started thrashing about on the ground and if not for Lance's smirk, one would assume he was helpless.
"Surf and Dragon Pulse!"
Kingdra stopped thrashing and his eyes glinted as a wave of water erupted beneath him. Effortlessly righting himself on the lip of the wave, proving that his thrashing had just been an act, Kingdra fired another Dragon Pulse whilst riding the wave. Dragon Pulse slammed into Goodra right before the Surf joined it.
"Dragon Pulse right back!" order Diantha.
Goodra recovered from the double whammy surprisingly quickly and fired a Dragon Pulse of her own. The jaws of draconic energy slammed shut on Kingdra and exploded. When the smoke cleared both Pokemon glared at each other for a moment.
Then Kingdra collapsed. Diantha breathed a sigh, relieved that he hadn't had a chance to use another Agility.
"Kingdra is unable to battle! Goodra wins!"
"Good thing Goodra's got awesome Special Defence," Iris cheered.
"Kingdra great job," Lance said, "Tyranitar go!" A large armoured lizard appeared and immediately summoned a sandstorm via his Sand Stream Ability. "Use Stone Edge!"
"Power Whip!"
Tyranitar created sharp stones around his body and fired them at Goodra who thrashed her extended tentacles with surprising precision, knocking away almost every stone before being momentarily distracted by Sand Stream, causing a couple to penetrate her defence. However, Goodra shrugged them off and extended Power Whip further, slamming both tentacles into Tyranitar.
"Use Muddy Water!" Diantha ordered and Goodra summoned a filthy swirling stream of water which slammed into Tyranitar causing him to stagger back.
"Tyranitar, use Avalanche!" Lance commanded and Tyranitar roared before creating boulders made out of hard ice above Goodra. The Avalanche crashed down on the Dragon and knocked her out.
"Goodra is unable to battle! Tyranitar wins!"
"Goodra return," said Diantha before sending out her 5th Pokemon which resembled a pumpkin with a long neck and hair that doubled as arms on her head, "Gourgeist, time to act!"
Watching from the stands, Jessie squealed with excitement, so loudly that James and Meowth both covered their ears.
"Tyranitar, use Crunch!" ordered Lance and Tyranitar charged with surprising speed, opening his mouth and creating black, glowing fangs as he moved.
"Phantom Force!" Diantha ordered and Tyranitar clamped his Crunch on thin air as Gourgeist disappeared, "Seed Bomb!"
Gourgiest reappeared, shrouded in shadowy energy whilst simultaneously firing large seeds from the giant, grinning mouth on her pumpkin like body. The Seed Bomb exploded repeatedly against Tyranirar before Gourgiest landed the Phantom Force to finish him off. She then flinched from the Sand Stream.
"Tyranitar is unable to battle! Gourgeist wins!"
"I've gotta teach my Gourgeist to do that!" Jessie exclaimed.
"So you're actually going to do some proper training for once," James asked.
"Tyranitar, return," Lance said and smirked, "Aerodactyl let's go!" A pterodactyl like Pokemon made from rock appeared, "Aerial Ace!"
"Use Trick-Or-Treat!"
Aerodactyl surrounded himself with white strikes before diving into Gourgeist. The Pumpkin Pokemon retaliated by forming a white sphere of energy in front of her body while images of jack-o'-lanterns appeared behind her. Multiple white ghosts were released from the sphere and flew into Aerodactyl who didn't react at all.
"Your Gourgeist can't do that," James said.
"But it didn't do anything," Jessie said, confused.
"Shadow Sneak!" ordered Diantha and Gourgeist created a shadow which extended up towards Aerodactyl and struck him hard enough to knock him out of the sky.
"Shadow Sneak's a pretty weak move but Trick-Or-Treat made Aerodactyl part Ghost type," commented Cynthia.
"Aerial Ace!" ordered Lance and Aerodactyl righted himself before he hit the ground, surrounded himself with white streaks, and slammed into Gourgeist knocking her out.
"Gourgeist is unable to battle! Aerodactyl wins!"
"Only Gardevoir left," muttered Ash.
"True but Sand Streams time is up," said Steven as the sand stopped swirling
"Gardevoir, time to act!" Diantha sent out her ace, a graceful and beautiful humanoid like Pokemon who's thin legs were so well hidden that she almost looked like she was floating.
"Alright, Aerodactyl," said Lance with a grin and flung back his cape to reveal a keystone hidden beneath it. He took it out and pressed the stone as the Aerodactylite floated over to Aerodactyl and activated once it reached him, "Mega Evolve!"
Aerodactyl roared as Mega Evolution energy engulfed him, transforming him into a larger form with jagged, black, spiky rocks sticking out of his body, most notably on his wings in order to resemble huge claws.
"Gardevoir, we'll Mega Evolve too!" Diantha called to her Pokemon and grabbed her Mega Charm, activating the Gardevoirite. Gardevoir grew larder, a voluminous dress extending from her hips as she completed her transformation.
"Use Iron Head!"
"Reflect!"
Aerodactyl dove so quickly that Gardevoir barely had time to set up Reflect before the Fossil Pokemon was slamming headlong into her with a steel skull which, despite the barrier, knocked her off her feet.
"Awesome power!" cried Ash.
"Any contact move is boosted by Tough Claws, just like Mega Metagross," said Steven, "And if it can hit that hard without a Same Type Attack Boost…"
"Use Stone Edge!"
Aerodactyl fired sharp stones at Gardevoir which, unlike a regular Stone Edge, looked dangerous enough to cause serious bodily harm if they landed.
"Blast it away with Hyper Voice!" Diantha ordered and Gardevoir unleashed shockingly powerful sound waves from her mouth which, unlike a regular Hyper Voice, were glowing pink. Stone Edge was blown away too imprecisely to hit Aerodactyl but the Hyper Voice itself slammed into him with full force.
"Earthquake!" boomed Lance and Aerodactyl smashed his weight into the ground, unleashing a powerful shockwave through the earth.
"Jump Gardevoir!" Diantha ordered and Gardevoir, despite her massive dress, leapt into the air with surprising agility to avoid Earthquake and used her Psychic powers to stay safely above it.
"Iron Head, go!" ordered Lance.
"Use Hyper Voice!" Diantha countered and Gardevoir unleashed another Pixilate boosted Hyper Voice. Despite Tough Claws, Aerodactyl was visibly straining to push his way through the Hyper Voice but he finally made it, only for Gardevoir's Reflect to absorb the damage. "Now Thunderbolt!"
Gardevoir unleashed a blast of electricity at point blank range. Aerodactyl crashed to the ground while Gardevoir landed gracefully, remaining in her Mega form while her opponent transformed back into his regular form.
"Aerodactyl is unable to battle! Gardevoir wins!"
Lance gritted his teeth as he recalled Aerodactyl but nonetheless, he sent Dragonite back onto the battlefield.
"Dragonite, use your Thunderbolt!" he ordered and Dragonite unleashed a powerful blast of electricity from his antenna which caused Gardevoir to stumble.
"Hyper Voice!" Diantha ordered and Gardevoir, still being electrocuted by Thunderbolt, unleashed another Hyper Voice. Knowing the battle was over, Dragonite closed his eyes before it landed.
"Dragonite is unable to battle! Gardevoir wins! The victory goes to Diantha!"
"There you have it folks! Todays 2 battles concluded with Leon and Diantha moving into the second round! Tomorrow we shall start with Ash against Alain and end with Iris against Cynthia!
"PIKA!" Pikachu looked up at Ash in shock as he knelt in front of him apologetically. Goh was watching them with Grookey on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, buddy," Ash said, "but Dragonite, Lucario, Sirfetch'd, Dracovish and Gengar have been working so hard for this. And Greninja's still got a score to settle with Charizard. I just can't fit you on the team."
Pikachu looked disappointed. Ash hadn't done this since he defeated Gary Oak in the Johto region. Ever since that day, Pikachu was always involved in full battles.
"You get it right? This is just like against Gary," Ash said. Pikachu huffed but nodded. He did get it but that didn't stop it from being disappointing. If Alain beat Ash a 4th time, Pikachu wouldn't be able to show his stuff during the biggest event in the world.
Grooky hopped off Goh's shoulder and went to Pikachu, chattering to him encouragingly. Pikachu relaxed and smiled at Grookey before giving Ash an uncommonly serious look. Ash knew exactly what Pikachu was trying to say.
Don't lose.
"Don't worry, Pikachu," Ash said, "Alain's going down this time."
Professor Samuel Oak was about to go to bed when Ash called him to request that he send Greninja over.
"Ash, couldn't you have requested this before 11 PM?" Samuel groaned.
"Sorry," Ash said apologetically, "but the battle's first thing tomorrow and Greninja's got a score to settle with Alain's Charizard."
"Alright, I'll get him," Samuel sighed.