"Welcome one and all to the third battle in the Masters 8 Tournament! This battle will be Ash vs Alain. Let's give 'em a hand folks!"
The crowd cheered as Ash and Alain entered the stadium. For once, Pikachu wasn't with Ash, instead standing on the stadium wall with Grookey while Goh and Hop sat behind them in the front row, roaring with the rest of the crowd. The judge rode his Aegislash and hovered in between the two competitors as he announced the rules.
"This will be a 6 on 6 battle with substitutions permitted on both sides. Each trainer will be allowed one battle gimmick, either a Mega Evolution, a Z-Move or a Gigantamax form. Let the battle begin!"
"Chesnaught, let's go!" Yelled Alain and sent out a bipedal hedgehog-like Pokemon with massive spines on its shell.
"Gengar, I choose you!" Ash cried and his shadow-like Pokemon emerged with its signature wicked grin.
"So this battle will begin with Gengar against Chesnaught."
"Gengar, use Sludge Bomb!" Ash ordered.
Alain smirked as Gengar shot a stream of filthy sludge balls which exploded when they hit Chesnaught. When the smoke cleared, Chesnaught was completely unharmed.
"Bulletproof. Ash," Alain explained, "Use Gyro Ball!"
The spikes on Chesnaught's back glowed light-green it spun around with a light-green ring surrounding it. It slammed into Gengar and sent it flying into the air.
"Gengar, Dazzling Gleam!" Ash ordered and Gengar surrounded his body in a field of rainbow-coloured energy which expanded outwards and blasted Chesnaught into the ground. "Follow up with Will-O-Wisp!"
Chesnaught picked itself up but was too slow to avoid the searing blue flames and howled in pain as it was burned.
"Chesnaught, Leech Seed!" Alain cried.
Chesnaught shot a small seed from its mouth which landed on Gengar and burst open, causing thin vines to wrap around the Ghost's body and glow red. Gengar grimaced in pain as the red energy transferred to Chesnaught to counteract the fact that the burn was weakening it.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Spiky Shield!"
Gengar created another field of rainbow energy but Chesnaught slammed its fists together and a green forcefield of energy covered in spikes absorbed the attack. Chesnaught then caught fire but quickly recovered as Leech Seed gave it some of Gengar's energy.
"Gengar, return," Ash said and Gengar disappeared into his Poke Ball, "Dragonite, I choose you!"
Dragonite appeared and Alain's mouth tightened slightly.
"Use Leech Seed!"
"Hurricane!"
Chesnaught managed to land the strength sapping seed before being blown across the battlefield by a massive gust of wind and knocked out.
"Chesnaught is unable to battle, Dragonite wins!"
While the crowd cheered, Alain stoically recalled Chesnaught before sending in his next Pokemon. The monstrous Tyranitar emerged and immediately summoned a massive sandstorm which swirled around the battlefield.
"Dragonite, blow it away with Hurricane!" Ash yelled shielding himself from the sand which Alain had grown so used to that he didn't flinch.
Dragonite flapped her small but powerful wings and another ferocious wind blew away the Sand Stream but did virtually nothing to Tyranitar itself. Dragonite then flinched from the Leech Seed and Alain seized the opening.
"Use Stone Edge!" He ordered and sharp stones spun around Tyranitar's body before flying across the battlefield.
"Quick, Dragon Dance!" Ash countered and Dragonite spun whist surrounded by orange energy, boosting her Attack and Speed whilst dodging Stone Edge at the same time, "Now Dragon Claw!"
"Crunch!" Alain retaliated.
Dragonite's claws became surrounded by green light which formed into claws larger than the ones she actually possessed. Tyranitar was unfazed, even smirking as it opened its mouth and created a dark purple aura shaped like a set of teeth, which clamped down on Dragonite. Once the fake teeth disappeared, they revealed that Tyranitar's real teeth were sinking into Dragonite's arm.
"Stone Edge!" Alain ordered and Tyranitar swung its head and hurled Dragonite back before launching a flurry of sharp stones after her. Dragonite hit the ground hard and didn't get up.
"Dragonite is unable to battle! Tyranitar wins!"
While the commentator and audience praised Tyranitar's performance, Ash recalled Dragonite and sent in the duck-like Sirfetch'd who pointed his leek threateningly at the Pseudo-Legendary. Upon seeing the Fighting type, Alain recalled Tyranitar and replaced it with Malamar.
"Malamar, use Psycho Cut!"
"Sirfetch'd, Night Slash!"
Malamar fired pink crescent blades of Psychic energy from its tentacles but Sirfetch'd charged straight into them, using his shield to deflect any Psycho Cuts that his leek, which was now glowing purple, missed as he cut them down. The commentator and crowd roared their appreciation at Sirfetch'd fearlessness.
"Use Knock Off!" Alain ordered as soon as Sirfetch'd was in range.
Malamar's tentacles glowed purple and as Sirfetch'd thrust forwards with his leek, the Overturning Pokemon slammed the leek and shield out of the Duck Pokemon's wings. Sirfetch'd's weapons landed on opposite sides of the battlefield, leaving him wide open.
"Superpower!" Alain ordered.
Malamar loomed over Sirtfetch'd with a wicked leer before glowing blue and smashing into him, sending him flying across the battlefield. The blue energy surrounding Malamar's body then turned into the same shade of orange that Dragon Dance caused when it signalled rising stats.
"Thanks to Malamar's Contrary, Superpower has boosted its Attack and Defence instead of lowering it like it normally would!" yelled the commentator.
"Use Psycho Cut!" ordered Alain.
"Detect and grab your leek!" Ash yelled and Sirfetch'd's eyes glowed blue as he darted between the crescent blades with surprising speed and grabbed his leek. Malamar lunged towards him.
"Knock Off!"
"Dodge, then Fury Cutter!"
Malamar swing its tentacle but Sirfetch'd leapt over it, somersaulting and slashing its leak into the Psychic and Dark types back in mid flip.
"Get your shield!" Ash yelled and Sirfetch'd abandoned the momentarily downed Malamar and rushed towards his shield as the Overturning Pokemon picked itself up.
"Psycho Cut!" Alain ordered.
"Night Slash then throw!" Ash countered.
Sirfetch'd flicked his leek out behind him as he ran, using it to deflect Psycho Cut before grabbing his shield and whirling to face Malamar properly. He hurled the shield, which had now turned purple like his leek, straight into Malamar like a frisbee, knocking it over before the shield returned to Sirfetch'd's wing.
"Meteor Assault!"
"Use Superpower!"
Malamar glowed blue and lunged across the battlefield while Sirfetch'd's shield flashed and yellow sparks surrounded it before extending into a yellow aura that surrounded the leek and Sirfetch'd's body. He charged and thrust the leek into Malamar with all his strength. A massive explosion sent both Pokemon flying across the battlefield.
It took a moment for the smoke to clear but once it did, Sirfetch'd could be seen using his leek to keep himself upright. Malamar was lying motionless.
"Malamar is unable to battle! Sirfetch'd wins!"
"Not bad!" Alain commented casually, "Tyranitar, you're up again! Stone Edge!"
Tyranitar appeared and immediately summoned Sand Stream while Sirfetch'd was recharging from Meteor Assault. Tyranitar then fired sharp stones across the battlefield.
"Block it!" Ash ordered and Sirfetch'd used his shield to block the Stone Edge trying to ignore Sand Stream, "Meteor Assault!"
Sirfetch'd recovered from the previous Meteor Assault and used a second one, charging across the battlefield once more, smashing into Tyranitar and knocking it out.
"Tyranitar is unable to battle, Sirfetch'd wins!"
Pikachu was jumping up and down, forgetting to be angry with Ash for not including him in the battle, while Goh, Hop and the rest of the crowd roared. However, despite losing two Pokemon to Sirfetch'd, Alain was smirking. He had every right to as Sirfetch'd fainted from Sand Stream.
"Sirfetch'd is also unable to battle.
"Awesome job, Sirfetch'd," Ash said sincerely as he recalled his fallen Pokemon, "Lucario, I choose you!" His jackal like Aura Pokemon appeared.
"Metagross, let's go!" cried Alain and his second Pseudo-Legendary appeared. Unlike Steven's Metagross, this one was green.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" ordered Ash.
"Send it back with Psychic!" countered Alain as Lucario fired an orb of Aura energy. The X on Metagross' face glowed blue along with its eyes as it telekinetically caught the Aura Sphere in midair and hurled it straight back at Lucario, knocking him off his feet with his own attack. "Now use Hammer Arm!"
Metagross lunged with alarming speed, raising one of its massive arms which glowed white as it smashed it down on…
"Double Team!"
…the place where one of Lucario's copies was now standing. The fake Lucario vanished but a dozen others surrounded Metagross on all sides and, on Ash's order, all of them were forming Aura Spheres. Lacking its Mega Evolution's Psychic ability to detect where an opponent was, Metagross had to wait until the real Aura Sphere slammed into it before locating Lucario.
"Use Psychic!" Alain ordered and Metagross turned to face the real Lucario with astonishing speed, seizing him in its Psychic grip and smashed him into the ground before hurling him all over the battlefield like a rag doll, "Now Hammer Arm!"
Metagross hurled Lucario into the air then ascended after him and raised a massive forearm. Lucario's eyes widened as Hammer Arm slammed down on top of him, smashing him into the ground with such force that a crater was left in the middle of the battlefield.
"Hang in there, Lucario!" Ash cried, "Use Reversal!"
"Psychic!" ordered Alain.
Lucario was surrounded by a red aura which was then focussed into his fist as he lunged at Metagross. However, he never reached him as Metagross stopped him in midair with Psychic before sending Lucario flying back across the battlefield to smash into the wall.
"Lucario is unable to battle! Metagross wins!"
The crowd cheered while Pikachu, Grookey and Goh were stunned that Lucario had been defeated so easily. Goh composed himself and mumbled "Maybe Ash should have used Mega Evolution" as Tyranitar's Sand Stream, which had been irrelevant against the Steel types, died down.
"Lucario, return and take a break," Ash said, "Gengar, let's go!" Gengar appeared, grinning wickedly.
"Metagross, Psychic!" Alain ordered.
"Disappear!" Ash ordered and before Metagross could seize Gengar in its Psychic grip, the Ghost had vanished into thin air, catching both Alain and his Pokemon off guard. Metagross briefly resented its Mega Evolution for being able to so easily detect invisible Pokemon, "Will-O-Wisp!"
Purple wisps appeared from thin air, revealing Gengar's location.
"Meteor Mash!" Alain ordered and Metagross turned just as Will-O-Wisp landed. Ignoring the searing pain of the burn, Metagross lunched across the battlefield and a golden meteor appeared around its hand as it punched Gengar.
"Hang in there! Use Shadow Ball!" Ash yelled and Gengar formed a black ball of energy and slammed it into Metagross at pointblank range, blasting it across the battlefield.
"Metagross is unable to battle! Gengar wins!"
"Way to go! That training with Paul paid off!" Ash cried as Gengar grinned, looking exhausted but proud of himself.
"Go Charizard!" Alain cried and his ace emerged, spreading his wings and roaring.
"Gengar, Shadow Ball!"
"Use Thunder Punch!"
Gengar hurled another orb of shadowy energy but Charizard, without even moving from where he was standing, simply punched Shadow Ball straight back across the battlefield with his electrified fist, knocking Gengar out with his own attack.
"Gengar is unable to battle! Charizard wins."
"Same strategy Alain used with Metagross," muttered Hop and Goh nodded grimly. Alain recalled Charizard and sent out his Bisharp as Ash sent out the ugly Fossil Dragon, Dracovish.
"Dracovish, use Water Gun!"
"Dodge and use Iron Head!"
Dracovish fired a stream of water from his mouth but Bisharp dodged it easily before lowering its head and charging across the battlefield, the lethal looking axe fixed to its head glowing.
"Use Dragon Rush!" Ash countered.
Dracovish charged in, blue energy surrounding its body as the maw of a Dragon appeared in front of him. As he smashed headlong into Bisharp, the Dragon's maw closed and the resulting explosion knocked both Pokemon back.
"Bisharp, Stone Edge!" ordered Alain.
"Fisheous Rend," Ash yelled.
Bisharp fired a flurry of sharp stones while Dracovish's lower jaw glowing blue as he crunched the stones in his mouth until he was within range and turned his head sideways to avoid the axe on Bisharp's head. The Strong Jaw boosted Fisheous Rend slammed shut around Bisharp's skull and Dravovish twisted his head back into the right position and hurled the Blade Pokemon across the battlefield.
"Hang in there Bisharp, use Thunder Wave!" Alain ordered and Bisharp held up his hand shot rings of yellow electricity from its palm at Dracovish, paralyzing him. Ash gritted his teeth, already knowing what was coming next, "Guillotine!"
"Dracovish, dodge it!" Ash yelled in desperation.
Dracovish was immobilised by the Thunder Wave as the blades on Bisharp's elbows glowed light blue before extending into lethal looking swords of blue light. Bishop lunged at the helpless Dracovish and slashed it. Ash knew the battle was over before the referee confirmed it.
"Dracovish is unable to battle. Bisharp wins!"
Ash got a sense of deja vu as he took out Greninja's Poke Ball. He knew Greninja was more than capable of beating Bisharp as he had done so before.
"Alright buddy. You're all I've got left! Go Greninja!"
Alain smiled as the Ninja Pokemon emerged. Greninja held himself with the confidence of a very experienced fighter as he looked at Bisharp, then at Alain.
"Bisharp, use Thunder Wave!"
"Dodge and use Water Shuriken."
Bishop shot out Thunder Wave but Greninja reacted with blinding speed, moving even faster than Alain remembered. Effortlessly evading the paralysing electric rings, he hurled a flurry of Water Shuriken's at Bisharp knocking it backwards.
"Finish with Night Slash!" ordered Ash.
Greninja shot forwards, almost invisible due to his sheer velocity, holding two purple knives of energy that he had formed from thin air. A second later, Greninja was standing behind Bisharp with a smirk on his face as the Blade Pokemon collapsed.
"Bishop is unable to battle! Greninja wins!"
"Did you see that folks?" exclaimed the commentator, "No seriously, Greninja was so fast I could barely even see where it was! How could Alain's Charizard even keep up with such an agile Pokemon!"
"Charizard knows Greninja's battle style," Alain said as he recalled Bisharp, "lets go!"
Charizard exploded out of the Poke Ball with a mighty roar. Once he fixed his eyes on his opponent, he smirked. Greninja glared back, remembering the 3 times this Pokemon had defeated him. Before their Bond Phenomenon even activated, he could tell that Ash was remembering too.
"Greninja, let's finally settle this!" Ash yelled and Greninja heard him with both his ears and his mind as the Bond Phenomenon activated and transformed the Ninja Pokemon into his alternate form.
"Look at that! Greninja's done something that appears to be Mega Evolution, but it's done it without a Mega Stone!"
The audience went mad. Pikachu, Goh, Grookey and even Hop were screaming encouragement to Ash but they couldn't be heard over the passionate roar of the crowd.
Only Alain and Charizard were unimpressed. They'd seen this before and Charizard had never lost a battle to Greninja. Alain calmly pressed his Key Stone.
"Charizard, let's get this done. Mega Evolve!"
Charizard roared as he glowed with Mega Evolution energy, his entire body turning black and flames blazing from his mouth as the Mega Charizard X form emerged from the glow. He flexed his claws while Greninja tensed on the other side of the battlefield.
"Greninja, use Night Slash!" Ash roared.
"Charizard, Dragon Claw!" Alain bellowed.
The two Pokemon lunged. Charizard's mighty Dragon Claw slammed against the purple knife that Greninja had formed from thin air. Then the two Pokemon were duelling viciously. Charizard's overwhelming Attack power pushed Greninja back during each clash but the Water type's superior Speed enabled him to dodge and deflecting any direct hits whilst darting under Charizard's guard to land his Night Slashes.
"Greninja, Water Shurikan!" yelled Ash and Greninja leapt away, grabbing the huge Water Shuriken attached to his back and hurling it at Charizard as another giant Water Shuriken appeared on his back, ready to be used.
"Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered and Charizard ripped the Water Shurikan apart before launching himself into the air and closing in on Greninja.
"Ice Beam!" Ash yelled, catching Alain and Charizard off guard. Before Dragon Claw could land, Charizard's claws, quickly followed by the rest of his body, apart from his head due the flames permanently attached to his mouth, were frozen by a close range Ice Beam.
"Use Flare Blitz!" Alain ordered and Charizard's body burst into blue flames, instantly melting the ice as he slammed headlong into Greninja and then ascended into the air. Ash and Greninja retaliated within the split second it took for Charizard to wince and recover from the recoil damage.
"Water Shurikan!" A second giant Water Shuriken rocketed towards Charizard and this time it landed, throwing the Flame Pokemon off balance before he could return to the ground "Now Aerial Ace!"
Greninja's webbed hands and feet glowed and he darted in, socking Charizard in the jaw before landing two brief but powerful kicks.
"Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered and Charizard landed a brutal, Tough Claws boosted Dragon Claw which hurled Greninja into the air.
"Water Shuriken!" Ash yelled and Greninja somersaulted in mid air, grabbed the giant shuriken on his back, and hurled it at Charizard.
"Fire Blast!" Alain roared at the exact same time and two stars, one made of Fire and the other made of Water, collided and steam shrouded the battlefield. Alain instantly realised that Charizard was at a disadvantage so he yelled "Charizard, ascend!" but Ash had been expecting that.
"Aerial Ace!"
Blinded by the steam, Charizard couldn't see Greninja appear behind him. A powerful kick from the Ninja Pokemon sent him plummeting towards the ground before Greninja disappeared back into the steam. Then he reappeared again, not even waiting for Ash's order this time, and smashed a brief but vicious flurry of punches and kicks right into Charizard's belly.
"Use Thunder Punch!" Alain bellowed and Charizard roared, smashing his electrified fist into Greninja and hurling him across the battlefield. Ash flinched, feeling Greninja's pain through the Bond Phenomenon as Charizard lunged after the Ninja Pokemon, "Now Flare Blitz!"
"Water Shruken again!"
Charizard smashed into Greninja and this time took the Ninja Pokemon with him as he ascended but as soon as he broke off to deal with the recoil, another Water Shuriken slammed into him.
"Fire Blast!" hollered Alain and Charizard launched another flaming star which landed on Greninja with a huge explosion. Ash knew, even before the smoke cleared, that Greninja had been burned. "Finish it with Thunder Punch!"
"Go for broke, Greninja! Duck then Aerial Ace!" Ash bellowed.
Greninja lunged, ducking beneath Thunder Punch and then, with astonishing strength, using Aerial Ace to flip Charizard over him, shocking everybody except Ash. Ignoring the pain from the burn, Greninja whirled and the order had barely left Ash's lips before another giant Water Shuriken smashed into Charizard. Greninja barely retained his balance as he landed and caught fire from the burn, knowing that if he didn't win with the next move it was all over.
"Charizard, Dragon Claw!"
"Greninja, use Night Slash!"
Both Pokemon charged. They met in the middle of the battlefield and slashed. Greninja spun past Charizard so fast that nobody could tell if he had been hit or was just recovering his momentum. Charizard's claws were still glowing and Greninja was still holding two purple knives as they stood on opposite sides of the battlefield with their backs to each other.
Greninja caught fire. Ash watched in horror as he fell…
And caught himself on one knee. Exhausted, barely conscious, dangerously close to being down and out, Greninja painfully turned his head to look at Charizard. The Flame Pokemon was looking back at him out of the corner of his eye.
Charizard smiled and nodded. Then he transformed back into his regular form as he fainted.
"Charizard is unable to battle! Greninja wins! The victory goes to Ash!"
Pikachu leapt off the wall and rushed towards his trainer while Ash sprinted towards Greninja, catching him as the Ninja Pokemon finally succumbed to the burn.
"Greninja we did it!" Ash exclaimed, "We finally beat Alain." Greninja was in no shape to hear him but Ash hoped the message had gotten through. Pikachu landed on his shoulder, squealing with joy as the crowd applauded.
Ash recalled Greninja and straightened as Alain strode towards him. Alain didn't say a word. He simply smiled and held out his hand. Ash, knowing they had said all they needed to say, shook it.
"I'm sorry, Ash," Nurse Joy said as she, Ash and Goh stood outside Geninja's hospital room, "but Greninja's beating and burn means he's going to need a full day to recover. You won't be able to use him in the next round."
"Aw man," said Goh.
"That's okay," Ash said and meant it, "Greninja finally beat Alain's Charizard. He deserves a break."
"By the way Ash, Iris and Cynthia's battle is in 10 minutes," Goh reminded him.