Episode 175: Win the Stars

Amid his battle with the Tenno Champion Galileo, Ash declares, "No sense in wasting time! Let's do this, Greninja!"

"Greniiiiinjaaaa!" Ash and his Greninja both adopt the same stance where they hold their right arms into the air. In their mindscape, their phantom forms move in to overlay with each other.

Galileo shouts, "Gigastar, Lightray Pulse!"

In the black void, Greninja stumbles back, and both of them are ripped from their connected realm. Ash gasps. "Huh!?"

Galileo laughs. "I saw your trick before, and how powerful it made Greninja. I may want to battle against this Bond Phenomenon, but it would be unwise of me to allow you to transform unchallenged."

Ash grimaces as he glances towards Greninja, who's getting up after being knocked over by the super effective Light-Type attack. He clenches his fists.

Ash is in the middle of one of his most challenging battles of all time, and Tenno Champion Galileo is proving to be every bit as powerful as Ash expected. But can Ash overcome this power?

Brenda gasps. "He stopped Greninja's transformation!"

Brock states, "It's the right move for Galileo for sure. How will Ash deal with this?"

Jessie shouts angrily, "Come on, Twerp! Pull off that transformation!"

James ask with surprise, "Jessie, are you rooting for the Twerp?"

Jessie laughs at James. "Of course not!" She pulls out an Ash-Greninja action figure from her merchandise cart. "If we want to sell these things, then the audience needs to be reminded of just how cool Greninja is once it transforms!"

"Wobbuffet!"

Meowth adds, "So cool that we can get away with a 300% markup."

James nods slowly. "Your sense of economics is impeccable."

Galileo orders, "Gigastar, use Lightray Pulse once more!"

"Gigaaaaas!" Gigastar unleashes a massive flash of light from its body that rips through the air towards Greninja.

Ash promptly orders, "Jump over it and use Water Shuriken!"

"Gren!" Greninja leaps up over the incoming wall of light of throws two shuriken at Gigastar.

Galileo counters, "Overheat!"

"Staaaar!" Gigastar attacks with a wave of extreme heat, so hot that both Water Shuriken are instantly evaporated before ever coming close to Gigastar.

Greninja kicks off one of the transparent floating panels to move out of the way of the Overheat.

"Use Cut!" As it comes back down towards the panel again, Greninja kicks off of it once more to send itself moving in towards Gigastar as it brandishes a blade of solidified water.

But Galileo is ready to counter, "Lightray Pulse!" This time Greninja is already committed to its action. Despite its speed, there was enough distance between it and Gigastar for Gigastar to pull off the attack. The pulse of light sends Greninja hurtling back.

Ash thinks firmly, We have to find an opening to get a moment to transform. But if Galileo doesn't let us get an attack in, that won't happen. But then he grins. I know what to do.

As Greninja's getting back up, it nods at Ash in understanding, their minds still in sync enough to come up with the same idea.

Ash orders, "Double Team, go!" Greninja breaks off into multiple duplicates of itself, each leaping in a different direction. "And Cut!"

The duplicated Greninja all leap in towards Gigastar from different directions.

"Gigastar! Spin about while you use Overheat!" Gigastar rotates on its axis, allowing it to release a wave of pure heat in all directions. The many Greninja are instantly forced to disappear as they contact the burst. But Galileo realizes something is wrong. "Hmm? None of them were the original?"

From nowhere, a giant Water Shuriken strikes Gigastar with such an impact that it's forced to the floor and then rolls back.

Galileo looks with surprise towards the source of the attack. On a floating platform above Ash, a silhouetted figure stands in a dramatic pose against the stars of the night sky. Below it, Ash is standing in the exact same pose.

Galileo nods. "I see my mistake."

The silhouetted figure is Ash-Greninja.

Brenda gasps. "Woah! When did that happen!?"

Brock nods as understanding dawns on him. "The Double Team…"

Galileo surmises, "So, the frontal assault with Double Team was just a distraction, while the real Greninja went into hiding so it could safely transform. Very clever, Ash."

Ash grins. "It wasn't just my idea."

Galileo nods. "Yes, you and Greninja think as one. I plan to test the limits of this bond you share in battle."

Ash nods back. "That's what Greninja and I both want. Okay, Greninja, let's show them a real Cut!" Greninja uses its powerful legs to propel itself forward while brandishing another blade of solid water, but this time the blade is three times as large.

"Lightray Pulse!"

"Water Shuriken!"

As Greninja hurtles towards incoming wave of light, it pulls the giant Water Shuriken off its back and throws it directly ahead of it. The shuriken explodes on impact with the Lightray Pulse. And while the overall wave continues on towards Greninja, a shadow has been cast in it. A hole has appeared where the shuriken exploded, and Greninja deftly flies straight through it before flying past Gigastar and delivering a slashing blow as it goes.

"Gigaaas!"

Greninja slides several feet from its momentum as it lands on the reflective ground. It turns about to face Gigastar once more. At once, both it and Ash hold their arms into the air. Ash announces, "Let's give it everything, Greninja! Full-power Water Shuriken!"

"Greeeeeeen!" The Water Shuriken Greninja holds into the air floats above its palm and begins to spin. As it spins, a fierce whirlpool cloaks Greninja as the Water Shuriken grows larger and larger and begins to glow orange.

Galileo shouts, "We're too slow to avoid it! Put everything you have into a defensive Overheat! Boil it away!"

"Gigaaaaaaaaastaaaaaaaar!" Gigastar unleashes its fiercest explosion of heat yet. It uses so much energy, that the light of Gigastar's body noticeably dims, and once the attack is launched, Gigastar slouches from exhaustion.

Ash shouts, "Go!"

"Niiiiiiiiinjaaaaaaa!" Greninja throws the massive Water Shuriken, completely ignoring the incoming Overheat. The shuriken, powerful enough to seem to tear through even the air about it, collides into the Overheat, and passes through to the other side completely unhindered. It goes on to directly strike the exhausted Gigastar. There's a massive explosion on impact, which, once cleared, reveals Gigastar on the ground.

"Gigastar is unable to battle!"

Ash and Greninja both smile the exact same grin simultaneously.

Somewhere else, Alain and his Charizard have just completed a battle at a Pokémon Center's field. Their opponent is a fallen Mega Cofagrigus, a version of Cofagrigus with a four-armed mummy-like figure coming out of the coffin. The Mega Cofagrigus turns back into a regular one. Alain's Mega Charizard X also reverts back into regular Charizard.

Alain glances at a TV screen showing Ash's match and grins when he sees Ash-Greninja standing triumphantly.

But Alain isn't the only one watching. Attached to a tree behind him is a camouflaged Zygarde Cell, and through it, Squishy the Zygarde Core is watching the battle as well. It gives a satisfied nod upon witnessing Greninja's victory.

Brenda leaps up as everyone around her is cheering. "That's three down! Ash is already halfway there!"

Brock points out, "Just don't forget that you could also say that Ash is only halfway there."

Meowth waves around two Ash-Greninja figures as he shouts, "Twerp-Greninja action figures featuring real Water Shuriken action! On sale now for an incredible negative 300% off!"

A clamoring crowd forms around him to buy one.

After Galileo recalls Gigastar, he says to Ash, "Some part of me is pleased that I failed to suppress your transformation. But Greninja took quite the beating before it transformed. Even in this form, it is not invincible. Let's see how much longer it can hold up." He throws another Pokéball. "Reach for the stars, Eatyai!"

"Eatyaaaaai!"

"Let's limit their options! Use Memory Alteration!"

"Eatyai! Eatyai!" Eatyai holds an arm out and points its colored fingers towards Greninja. Both Greninja and Ash instinctively enter a ready stance for the coming attack. But, rather than attacking, Eatyai's fingers begin to light up one at a time in a sequence that gets faster and faster. It seems to have a hypnotic effect on Greninja, and through it, Ash as well. Both of them drop their guard and sway slowly from side to side.

They both quickly shake it off. Ash orders, "Greninja, use—!" He pauses in confusion. "Wait… What was the move…?"

Brenda looks down with concern. "What's wrong with Ash?"

Brock can't help but chuckle at the situation. "Memory Alteration is a move unique to Eatyai. It uses it to temporarily make a Pokémon forget the last move it used. In this case, Water Shuriken." He laughs. "And because of Ash's connection to Greninja, he seems to have forgotten it as well. No need to worry, though. It will pass."

Ash, looking increasingly frustrated, shouts, "Oh, whatever! Just use Aerial Ace!"

"Ninjaaaa!" Greninja leaps at Eatyai for close up attack.

Galileo shouts, "Photon Beam!" Eatyai's still held-up arm begins to glow even brighter. A powerful beam of golden light bursts out from its glowing fingertips to strike the incoming Greninja and fling it back.

Ash curses to himself, Even while falling back, Greninja still has a line of sight! If only we had a ranged attack! We could strike with it now! He stares for a moment at the giant Water Shuriken on Greninja's back, as if he were forgetting something important. He quickly shakes it off. "Kick back and aim for the side with Cut!"

Greninja is just about to hit the bottom of a floating platform when it kicks off of it to send itself back at Eatyai with its blade ready.

Galileo chuckles. "This will end the same as your last melee attack. Photon Beam!" Eatyai is once again able to blast Greninja away with another super effective beam of intense light.

Ash and Greninja both shout in pain together, as their link is severed and Greninja transforms back to its regular form. It crashes into the bottom of another floating platform, but this time it is unable to use it to its advantage. It falls limply to the ground.

"Greninja is unable to battle!"

After recovering from his moment of pain, Ash suddenly shouts, "Water Shuriken! How could I forget about Water Shuriken!?" He sighs. "Sorry, Greninja." He recalls it and switches Pokéballs. "Ninjato, I choose you!"

Brenda looks intrigued. "Ninjato? Does Ash feel it's one of his strongest Pokémon, even though it only just evolved?"

Brock contemplates the question. "If I had to guess, Ash is taking a gamble on Ninjato. The full extent of its power isn't apparent yet, as we've seen so little of it so far. It may not have proven itself as one of his strongest yet, but he's willing to give it that chance."

Galileo gets right to business and orders, "Photon Beam!"

Ash shouts, "Disappear into the night!"

"Nin!" Ninjato leaps up and seems to fade away into the darkness of the moonless night. The Photon Beam flies harmlessly by.

"Now Night Slash!"

"Jato!" Ninjato reappears to Eatyai's side to deliver a slash with its blade.

"Photon Beam, quickly!"

"Eatyaaaaai!" Eatyai fires off another Photon Beam, but Ninjato has already disappeared back into the shadows.

Galileo nods. "I see. Your Ninjato, as a master of stealth, has the ability Night Shroud. Fortunately, we have a way around that. Eatyai, use Miracle Eye!"

"Eeeeeatyai!" Eatyai's eyes glow a bright purple. It looks around the field and locks in Ninjato, despite its incoherent form in the shadows of night. It's approaching Eatyai from the other side for another sneak attack.

Ash's eyes widen. "Ninjato! It can see you! Get out of there!"

But Galileo is already commanding, "Arcane Blast!"

"Eeeeeatyaaaaaaaai!" A powerful explosion of purple psychic energy bursts out from Eatyai's head. Ninjato is caught in the explosion and tumbles back.

Brock winces. "Ooh, that was a powerful super effective attack."

Brenda questions, "Super effective? But Ninjato is part Dark-Type. It shouldn't be affected by Psychic-Type moves."

Brock explains, "Not only does Miracle Eye allow Eatyai to see stealthy opponents, but it also allows Psychic-Type moves to hit Dark-Type Pokémon. And since Ninjato is also a Fighting-Type, that leaves the Psychic move as being super effective. It's incredible, with one move, Galileo just neutralized Ninjato's two greatest advantages in this battle."

Brenda nods as she thinks the implications over. "Oh… That's not good…"

Ash seems to be realizing the same thing. He says, "So, Ninjato being a Fighting-Type is becoming a hindrance. Then I think it's time for my next surprise."

Galileo raises a brow, clearly curious to see what Ash has up his sleeve next.

Ash pulls something out from his pocket. It's a small ball, similar in form to a black Pokéball.

Brock squints as he tries to look closely at what Ash has. "It couldn't be…" He pauses. "A Tera Orb?"

Ash holds what is indeed a Tera Orb up as he grins. He explains, "A man named Dr. Asimov owed me a favor for helping him stop a rampaging robotic Pokémon, so I called in that favor and asked to borrow his Tera Orb again. Now, let's see if I remember how to use it." He brandishes it forward and shouts, "Let's sink even deeper into the shadows, Ninjato!"

Brilliant sparkles of energy gather around the Tera Orb and spiral into it, causing the orb to glow intensely. As it glows, a force like a strong wind pushes back against Ash. It causes his clothes to ripple and his hat to twist around backwards on his head. He throws the orb exactly like he would a Pokéball. It explodes into a shower of sparkling light above Ninjato. The light condenses around the Pokémon to form a layer of crystals that entirely encase it. After a moment, the crystals explode off of it to release the Terastallized Ninjato. Its entire body is covered in shimmering facets, as if it were made of crystal itself. Atop its head is a massive crystalline crown with a shape like a menacing face atop it. "Jatoooooooo!"

Team Rocket all spot this transformation as they're selling Ninjato action figures. They freeze up as they slowly look to their non-Terastallized action figures and compare them to the real deal. They gulp nervously.

Brock exclaims, "That was an incredibly smart move! Thanks to Terastallization, Ninjato is now a pure a Dark-Type Pokémon! Not only is its Night Slash powered up now, but Psychic-Type moves are no longer super effective against it! He just took the advantage back!"

Brenda nods eagerly. "Ash wasn't kidding when he talked about going all out! That was quite a favor to call in!"

Ash orders, "Ninjato! Double Team and Night Slash!"

Ninjato generates two blades, each of which are infused with crystalline Tera energy. Duplicate after duplicate of it jumps out from its position to launch a barrage against Eatyai.

Galileo orders, "Wide-sweeping Photon Beam! Quickly!"

Eatyai swipes its arm as it fires the Photon Beam. The resulting wide-sweep attack stops most of the Ninjato duplicates before they reach it, but the final few make it past the beam and come down together to deliver slash after slash to Eatyai. The final blow is dealt by the real one, which leaps back instead of disappearing.

"Another Photon Beam, before it can move again!"

"Eatyai! Eatyai!"

Ash is quick to counter, "Slice through it with Night Slash!"

"Nin jatoooo!" Ninjato puts all of its energy into creating one oversized blade, which it uses to part the incoming beam to pass harmlessly by it.

Galileo quickly changes to, "Swap into Memory Alteration!" Eatyai stops the beam and starts flashing its finger lights.

Ash's eyes widen as he shouts, "Don't look at it, Ninjato!"

But it's no use. Ninjato had to be focusing on Eatyai to block the beam, and Eatyai moved directly from one move into the next. It's caught staring into the hypnotic lights. Like Greninja before it, it sways back and forth slowly as it watches the pattern completely transfixed.

"Arcane Blast!" Ninjato is snapped out of its trance by the oncoming wave of psychic energy blasting it back.

Ash shouts, Ninjato, you've got to try using Night Slash! Can you do it!?"

Ninjato looks to Ash with confusion. "Jato?" It's as if it has no idea what he's talking about.

Ash grunts in frustration. "Fine, just use Karate Chop instead!"

"Jato!" It lunges at Eatyai with two glowing hands to deliver two consecutive chops too fast for Eatyai to avoid or counter, but they seem to do minimal damage.

Brock comments, "And now Galileo has taken the advantage for himself again. Not only was Night Sash Ninjato's most powerful move and super effective against Eatyai, but it was boosted by the power of Terastalization. And now it's no longer an option."

Brenda says in amazement, "What a battle…"

Galileo orders, "Photon Beam!"

Ash commands, "Ninjato, retreat to the upper platforms!"

Galileo orders, "Follow it!"

Ninjato escapes the Photon Beam by jumping up on to one of the floating platforms, but Eatyai floats up onto a platform of its own and fires another beam. Ninjato leaps from platform to platform to avoid it.

As Ninjato is jumping about, Ash urges, "Ninjato! You have to remember how to use Night Slash! You just got to go like this! Whoosh!" He makes a motion with his arm as if he were swinging a blade of his own.

Brenda questions, "Wait… What…? Is he…?"

Brock nods with some amusement. "He's trying to teach Ninjato how use Night Slash again. Midbattle."

Brenda shakes her head in disbelief. "What a very…Ash thing to do."

Ash continues making the motions. "Just gather that energy in your hands and swoosh!"

Ninjato glances at him as it dodges. It tries mimicking Ash's movement, but nothing happens. It seems very confused.

"Think about that Ninja Scroll the Guardian gave us! Night Slash is one of the basic ninja techniques! You have you to remember that, right? Think about everything you learned from that scroll! Think! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

The speak of the scroll seems to have gotten Ninjato's attention. It focuses in on Eatyai, and lunges forward immediately after avoiding the most recent Photon Beam. "Niiiin….!" As it's moving forward, it summons two blades, bigger than ever before.

Brenda gasps. "No way! He did it! He actually did it!"

"Jatoooooo!" With one of the blades, Ninjato swipes upwards at Eatyai from below, flinging the Pokémon into the air.

Brock gasps. "No, he did much more than just that…"

"Ja ja ja ja ja toooooooo!" Ninjato delivers a rapid series of attack after attack. It speeds by Eatyai to deliver a slash, only to disappear with great speed and then reappear to attack from a different angle. The rapid series of attacks goes on for several moments before Ninjato allows Eatyai to fall to the floor, where it collapses, unable to get back up. Ninjato lands atop another platform, but it's panting from physical exertion. It suddenly collapses to its knees as the Terastalization effect about it shatters away. Then it falls the rest of the way.

"Double knock out! Both Eatyai and Ninjato are unable to battle!"

Atop the tallest point of the stadium are two figures silhouetted against the starlight. A closer look reveals them to be the Guardian and his Ninjato. The Guardian states, "Very good, my student."

His Ninjato agrees, "Jato."

With that, they both take off, disappearing from sight with a great burst of speed.

Brock cheers, "That was Midnight Fury! Ash didn't reteach Ninjato Night Slash, he taught it something better!"

Brenda nods. "Incredible!"

Who's That Pokémon!?

It controls three units called Mini-Noses using magnetic force. With them, it can attack the foe from three directions.

Ash turns his hat back forward as he recalls Ninjato. He glances up to the scoreboard and says to himself, "Two left. If we just keep up our pace, we'll do it. We'll win." He produces his next Pokéball.

Galileo also has his next ball out as well. Both trainers throw them at once.

"Charizard, I choose you!"

"Reach for the stars, Fallamence!"

Both dragon Pokémon appear on the field and roar with a combined might that seems as if it could shake the stadium.

Brenda cheers, "Charizard! All right! Based on everything I've heard and seen, that's got to be Ash's strongest Pokémon next to Pikachu, right?"

Brock, however, is grimacing. "Perhaps it is, but it was unfortunate timing for Ash to select it now. A Rock-Type like Fallamence is going to do some massive damage against a Fire and Flying-Type like Charizard.

Almost as if he could hear Brock, Ash declares, "Charizard, it may seem like we have the disadvantage, but don't worry, I've got a secret weapon. Are you ready for this?"

Charizard roars as it breathes fire into the sky.

"Then let's not waste any time!" He reaches into his pocket again.

Brenda leans in. "Ash still has surprises left? What is it this time!?"

Ash holds two different objects, one in each hand. He throws one towards Charizard. "Catch!"

Charizard plucks the thing out of the air and glances at it. It's a marble-like blue and black gemstone. A Mega Stone.

Meanwhile, Ash is slipping a Mega Band onto his wrist.

Brock grins broadly. "Ash really is going all in with his bag of tricks. Mega Evolution. Wow."

Ash taps the Key Stone embedded in the Mega Ring as he declares, "Charizard! Let our bonds connect us and empower us! Mega Evolution!" Rainbow beams of light shine out from the Key Stone, as well as Charizard's Mega Stone. Tendrils of light then connect the two together as Charizard becomes engulfed fully in an intense glow. Charizard grows larger and features on its body begin to change, until the transformation is complete and the light surrounding bursts away to reveal it transformed into Mega Charizard X.

Charizard roars once more, this time breathing bright blue flames that illuminate the entire battleground.

Seeing Charizard having Mega Evolved, Jessie throws a regular Charizard action figure she was selling down onto the ground as she shouts in frustration, "Again!?"

James shouts, "Quickly! Somebody grab me a bucket of black paint!"

Galileo nods in appreciation. "Mega Evolution. Exciting."

Ash grins. "This one comes courtesy of a Monk of Mega Evolution that I rescued from a giant sludge monster."

Galileo hesitates for a moment after hearing that story.

Brock crosses his arms in a show of resentment. "If Ash wanted to borrow a Key Stone, all he had to do was ask me. I would have lent him my Mega Necklace in a heartbeat."

Brenda gasps. "You have the ability to Mega Evolve Pokémon!?"

Brock grins proudly. "Sure can. My Mega Steelix is as tough as they come. But I left it and my Key Stone back at the Pewter Gym."

Brenda points out, "Well, I'm guessing you couldn't lend Ash the Mega Stone for Charizard. Also, knowing Ash, he's not looking for handouts. In his head, he's probably justifying using the Mega Evolution Monk's because he earned it by rescuing him, just like he earned use of the Tera Orb by stopping the Iron Jugulis."

Brock nods acceptingly. "Of course. You're completely right. But still, I do have a Key Stone."

Brenda chuckles at him. "Regardless, Mega Charizard X is a Dragon-Type instead of Flying-Type, right? So didn't Ash just weaken those Rock-Type moves?"

Brock nods. "True, but he did also open Charizard up to super effective Dragon-Type hits. So, one attack will do less, but now more attacks can do more. I'm not sure which option is better…"

Galileo orders, "Fallamence, use Meteor Beam!"

Fallamence roars, "Faaaaaall!" as it unleashes a beam of yellow energy from its body at Charizard.

"Counter with Flamethrower!"

Charizard roars as it musters its most powerful fire for a massive blue Flamethrower. The flames meet the beam and the two collide to stop the other's progress.

Ash urges, "Quickly follow with Dragon Tail!" Immediately as the Meteor Beam dissipates, Charizard flies forward just above the ground and swings its glowing green tail at Fallamence, sending the Pokémon tumbling upwards.

Galileo seems unworried by the situation. "Meteor Impact."

"Fallameeeeeeence!" As Fallamence reaches the peak of its ascent, it manages to orient itself to point straight down at Charizard. It falls with incredible speed and force towards the opponent Pokémon, and as it does, a golden energy builds up around its body.

Ash shouts, "Out of the way, Charizard!" Charizard moves aside as fast as its wings can carry it, seemingly to safety.

But Fallamence has other plans. Using its vestigial wings as fins, it redirects its trajectory so that it still collides into Charizard with a massive, ground-shattering impact. An explosion rips outwards from the point of collision.

Before the smoke even clears, Ash orders, "Dragon Tail!" From the smoke of the explosion, Fallamence suddenly hurtles out in a tumble along the ground. The shockwave of this forces the smoke to clear, to reveal Charizard standing on the bottom of a crater. It roars. "Now Steel Wing!" Charizard lifts off the ground to pursue the tumbling Fallamence with wings glowing silver.

Galileo commands, "Meteor Beam!" Fallamence uses its oversized claws to get a grip on the ground and arrest its tumble. Once upright, it fires off another beam at the incoming Charizard.

Ash steadfastly shouts, "Aerial spin!" Charizard spins about while still moving in towards Fallamence and the Meteor Beam. The result when combined with the Steel Wing is like a drill. And that drill pushes right through the Meteor Beam to continue on towards Fallamence unhindered.

Galileo orders, "Dragon Claw!"

Just as Charizard's coming in, Fallamence swipes upwards with its claws to strike the spinning Pokémon. This knocks it off its axis and cancels the spin. But, from above, one of Charizard's glowing wings shoots down at Fallamence like a jab. This leads into the two of them rapidly trading blows between Fallamence's claws and Charizard's wingtips. They each block most of each other's strikes, but each manages a hit here and there.

At the same time, Ash and Galileo get the same idea. "Flamethrower!"

"Meteor Beam!"

Both Pokémon attack at the exact same time, expecting their opponent to be unready for the sudden shift in tactics. At close range, the collision of the two mighty attacks causes an incredible blue and yellow explosion. Both Pokémon are flung high into the air.

With Fallamence once more midair, Galileo orders, "Meteor Impact!"

Ash shouts, "Here's our chance, Charizard! Fallamence thinks it's good at falling? Let's push it to the absolute limit and see how true that is! Seismic Toss!"

Charizard roars as it gives several powerful flaps of its wings to regain control of itself and it flies directly at the falling Fallamence. It dives down to match Fallamence's velocity and wraps its arms around the meteoric Pokémon.

Fallamence roars in discomfort at this development.

Charizard and Fallamence fall together until a split moment before hitting the ground, when Charizard uses its wings to pivot them about and transform their momentum upwards. With this boost, the two Pokémon rocket quickly high above the stadium. Once up at the peak, Charizard begins to circle around several times, as if flying around the globe. Each circle increases their movement speed more and more until they become little more than a black and brown blur.

Ash shouts, "Do it!"

As Charizard and Fallamence are facing towards the ground, Charizard throws Fallamence down with all of its strength. The throw is so powerful, that shockwaves which rip through the air emanate sequentially from Fallamence as it plummets towards the ground with far too much velocity to regain control.

When Fallamence impacts the ground, the entire stadium shakes. Brock and Brenda grip their arm rests because of it. James complains as a paintbrush flies out of his hand.

Charizard remains at altitude as it looks down towards the smoke-filled crater beneath it. The smoke parts to reveal a fainted Fallamence.

"Fallamence is unable to battle!"

Ash cheers, "Yes! Yes! Only one Pokémon left! Amazing, Charizard!"

Charizard roars in triumph as it releases a blue Flamethrower that lights the night sky.

Somewhere in a Pokémon Lab, Gary and his Blastoise are glancing up at the large screen on the opposite wall, which is displaying Ash's battle. Gary laughs. "That's Ash for you. Never give him the chance to improvise, right Blastoise?"

"Stoise." The Pokémon agrees as it looks closely at the flying Charizard.

Gary shakes his head in dismay. "Ashy Boy's really gone and grown up, hasn't he?"

Back in the stadium, a massive crowd has swarmed around Team Rocket. One boy runs off happily with his purchase, a Mega Charizard X action figure, which, upon closer inspection, is actually just a regular Charizard painted black. The boy pauses and looks at his toy with disgust when he realizes there's wet paint getting all over his hands.

Brenda says excitedly, "This is it! One Pokémon left! And Ash still has two! He actually made it this far and managed to hold on to his lead!"

Brock grins. "It really is incredible, isn't it." He pauses. "However, we do have to be realistic here. Ash and Galileo have been swapping wins this entire battle. Ash's lead might as well be non-existent given that fact. But still, the fact that Ash made it this far. Incredible. Absolutely incredible."

It's Probopass!

As Galileo recalls Fallamence, he comments, "I must congratulate you, Ash. It's been quite some time since anyone has been able to give me such a run for my money. The battle not even over yet, and I can already tell you it's destined to be written among the stars." He looks up to the stars himself. "When people look up at the stars, most do not comprehend the lesson they have to teach. Each and every person has their own lesson that they can learn from the stars. I believe you have ascertained greater meaning. I think, whether you know it or not, you truly do look at the stars and understand their meaning, Ash." He pulls out his final Pokéball. "Now, let us bring this battle to an end. Let's see who has reached closer to the stars." He throws the Pokéball. "Reach for the stars, Dracosmic!"

Galileo's signature Pokémon appears. The majestic starry dragon is not as it usually is. It is wearing an ornate necklace with an embedded gemstone. It's another Mega Stone.

Ash gasps. "Dracosmic can Mega Evolve!?"

Galileo grins. "Ash, just as you have pulled out all the stops to face me, I am willing to pay you the same respect. I honor you as a true opponent by showing to you our true power!" He pulls out his telescope and looks up to the sky with it at an angle which reveals the Key Stone embedded on its side. A finger moves to the Key Stone and it begins to glow.

Just as with Charizard before, Dracosmic begins to undergo a fantastic transformation. Galileo shouts, "From the power of a supernova a new star is born! Constellation of light, Dracosmic, rise and Mega Evolve!"

The light breaks away to reveal Mega Dracosmic. The Pokémon now has three heads, with one on either side of its original. Each of these heads sport more elegant head crests than the original. Great wings now come out from its back. A swathe of the surface of the wings glow with a hazy white light, almost appearing like the Milky Way on a dark night. It floats in a pose with its tail towards the ground, its now longer body mostly winding straight up, save a single twist. In this pose, the brighter star-like lights across its body and center head form the constellation Hydra.

Ash is grinning in anticipation of the battle to come. "You ready for this, Charizard?"

Charizard bellows a mighty roar in response.

Galileo orders, "Dracosmic, let rain the destruction from the stars! Draco Meteor!"

Dracosmic ascends upwards into the night sky. "Dracooooooooo!" With its roar, it launches an orange orb of energy upwards, which explodes into countless meteors that fall towards the ground.

Ash shouts, "They're spread everywhere! We have to make it past all of them and up to Dracosmic for an attack!"

Charizard nods in agreement as it flaps its mighty wings to take off. As it flies up, it uses Dragon Tail to smack aside an incoming meteor. Then it spins about while using Steel Wing to take out two more. As it emerges from its spin, it uses an intense Flamethrower straight upwards to vaporize three at once. Like this, it continues its climb to Dracosmic, but the meteors keep falling. Despite all of its efforts, Charizard starts to fall behind. No matter how hard it works, it's struggling to keep up with the onslaught of meteors.

Ash shouts, "You can do it, Charizard! You have to!"

Charizard roars as it spits its greatest breath of flames yet to immolate a great group of meteors and give it some breathing room. But one slips through the flames and strikes Charizard's wing. Charizard roars in pain. This moment is just enough for Charizard to be completely overrun. A meteor strikes it in the chest. Charizard's face shows the great discomfort as it hurtles towards the ground.

Ash shouts, "Charizard!"

Charizard strikes the ground, only for several more meteors to fall onto its position. Charizard forces itself to stand back up, only for it to collapse entirely and to suddenly revert back into its regular form.

"Charizard is unable to battle!"

Ash recalls Charizard somberly. "You did great, Charizard. It took Tenno's strongest trainer's strongest Pokémon Mega Evolving to beat you. You're as strong as ever." He puts away the Pokéball, as well as the Mega Band. He looks to Pikachu on his shoulder. "I've saved the best for last. You ready to get out there?"

Pikachu looks above to Mega Dracosmic and nods in determination. "Chu."

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Pikachu leaps forward onto the battlefield.

Brenda leans in eagerly. "Pikachu versus Mega Dracosmic. This is going to be amazing!"

Galileo nods. "I've been waiting to face your famous Pikachu. I take that means we're done with your surprises for the night?"

Ash grins and gives a chuckle. "Nope, I've got one last surprise." He reaches once more into his pocket. "This one comes courtesy of a scientist that I helped to stop his giant rampaging experiment." Ash slips a sports wristband over his hand and onto its wrist.

Galileo raises a brow. "A Dynamax Band? I'm sorry, Ash, but last I checked, those only work at Power Spots, which only exist in Galar."

Ash brandishes the Dynamax Band in front of him. "I forgot to mention that the scientist's experiment was to allow him to Dynamax Pokémon outside of a Power Spot. And this is his prototype. Let's do it, Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumps backwards and performs a flip to land Ash's arms. Ash's Dynamax Band begins to glow purple. A similar purple aura surrounds Pikachu.

Ash shouts, "Max power! Let's go!" He throws Pikachu forward. As Pikachu soars back onto the field, it begins to grow in short bursts, each one making it several times larger than the last. As Pikachu lands, the ground shakes beneath it as it has grown to be nearly 70 feet tall. It's transformed into Gigantamax Pikachu.

This leaves the entire stadium in awe. Brenda gasps. "Z-Moves, Terastalization, Mega Evolution, and now Dynamax… Ash really is bringing everything…"

Jessie is once again looking at her merchandise, this time a Pikachu plush, with frustration.

But Meowth declares, "Not to worry, I think we're actually prepared for this one."

James questions, "We are?"

From nowhere, Meowth pulls out a stuffed Pikachu that's larger than he is. While it's not a Gigantamax Pikachu, its giant size and chubbier proportions meant to make it look cute could allow it to pass as such. Meowth shouts, "Come and get your Max-Sized Pikachu Plushie while supplies last!"

Galileo says, "Ash, I think the word surprise no longer suffices. This has gone far beyond that. Okay. Mega Evolution versus Gigantamax. Let's see how this goes. Dracosmic, use Dragon Force!"

"Draaaaaacoooo!" Dracosmic spins and twists about as it generates an orb of purple-blue energy at the midpoint of its twisting body. From the orb, a piercing beam fires towards the massive Pikachu.

Ash orders, "Max Steelspike, go!" Pikachu slams its oversized tail into the ground. This causes a series of massive metallic spikes to erupt out from the ground. One of these completely blocks the beam. Another one ejects out from the ground beneath Dracosmic.

Galileo orders, "Dodge and use Hyper Voice!"

Dracosmic's body twists about to avoid the spike jabbing into it. It rises above the spike as it recedes back into the ground and then shouts, "Coooooooooosmiiiiiiiic!" Golden soundwaves erupt from Dracosmic's mouth and grow many times in size as they travel towards Pikachu. Pikachu is far too large and bulky to have any chance to dodge, and the attack pushes it onto its back, where it struggles to get back up.

Brenda asks, "That was no normal Hyper Voice! What was that?"

Brock explains, "That was Mega Dracosmic's ability at work. Radiate. As long as it has that ability, any Normal-Type moves are turned into Light-Type moves, and they're powered up."

"Powered up enough to topple even a Pikachu the size of building. Wow."

As Pikachu gets back up, Ash orders, "Show them your ultimate move! G-Max Volt Crash!"

"Pikaaaaaaa chuuuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashes a titanic thunderbolt into the sky, which then rains back down as a shower massive lightning bolts.

Galielo orders, "Dodge them all and use Hyper Voice up close!"

"Draco!" Dracosmic dodges and weaves through the Gigantamax-sized lightning storm, barely avoiding the many colossal thunderbolts. Once close to Pikachu it prepares for a pointblank attack, banking on the fact that Pikachu is too slow to react, given its size.

Ash shouts, "Their mistake! Grab it, Pikachu!"

"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu shoots an arm out and grabs Dracosmic. It's giant hand easily wraps around the entire Pokémon.

Galileo grunts as he realizes his mistake.

"Pikachu! Throw it up and give it another G-Max Volt Crash!"

"Pikaaaaaaa chuuuuuuuuuu!" Just before Pikachu unleashes another massive electric bolt it hurls Dracosmic straight up into air, where it gets caught in the electricity. The dragon Pokémon is sent hurtling into the sky along with the bolt, only to fall back down when the gigantic thunderstorm comes down as well. This time, all of the bolts strike one spot. The spot where Dracosmic fell.

Team Rocket have all frozen mid-sale when they see the attack. A collective shiver runs down their spines. Jessie declares, "That's one Thunderbolt I would not want to blast off to…"

Ash next commands, "While it's down! Follow up with Max Steelspike!"

"Chuuuuu, pikaaaaaaa!" Pikachu slams its tail into the ground to summon the mammoth spikes like before.

Galileo shouts, "Dracosmic! In the air!" Just in time, Dracosmic recovers from the Volt Crash and moves into the air with incredible speed. Even still, it only just barely outruns the metal spike's emergence. "Draco Meteor!"

"Dracoooooooooo!" Once more, Dracosmic summons up a storm of orange meteors that fall across the field.

Ash thinks to himself, Pikachu can't dodge while it's so big, and given its size, most of those rocks will hit it. Galileo is turning Pikachu's size against it! He shouts, "Get rid of as many as you can! G-Max Volt Crash!"

"Pikaaaaaaa chuuuuuuuuu!" The next Volt Crash is focused on creating many more thunderbolts, meaning each one is smaller than normal. Most of the meteors are instantly taken out by intense electricity, but there's enough of them that many still make it through and pelt Pikachu one after the other.

"Now Dragon Force!"

"Draaaaaacoooooo!" With Pikachu bracing against the meteors, it has no chance to do anything against the powerful beam attack.

As Pikachu is struck, it's as if the attack drains it and Pikachu abruptly begins to shrink in successive bursts. A moment later, and it is once again its regular size.

Brenda gasps. "Oh no! The Dynamax ran out!"

Brock comments, "Well, on the bright side, at least we know Pikachu won't be stuck as a raging giant monster, like that Gigantamax Charizard test subject."

Ash pockets the Dynamax Band. "No worries. We'll just handle the rest with our own power."

"Pika!"

Galileo commands, "Dracosmic, use Dragon Pulse!"

"Coooosmic!" Dracosmic launches a purple orb of draconic energy at Pikachu.

"Deflect it with Iron Tail!"

"Chu, pika!" Pikachu bats the Dragon Pulse back at Dracosmic with its tail.

"Follow it to attack!"

Dracosmic easily dodges to the side of its deflected projectile, but then Pikachu comes in directly behind it to attack with Iron Tail. "Chuuuu, pikaaaaaaa!"

"Dodge it, Dracosmic!" Dracosmic floats back a little and leans its heads toards the side to allow Pikachu's Iron Tail to slip right past it.

Ash orders, "Keep it up, Pikachu! Apply the pressure!"

Pikachu lands and jumps forward with another Iron Tail, but Dracosmic dodges it in the same manner. This keeps up for several more swipes of Pikachu's tail, each one resulting in Dracosmic floating back and casually dodging out of the way, no matter how fast Pikachu attempts to attack.

Ash suddenly shouts, "Add in Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaaa chu, pikaaaaa!" As Pikachu whips its tail at Dracosmic once more, this time it's electrified by the in-progress Thunderbolt. The electricity easily travels through the metallic tail, and sparks arc from it to the dodging Dracosmic. This stuns the Pokémon just enough for Pikachu to redirect its Iron Tail and score a hit.

Seeing this, Galileo responds, "Get it off you with Hyper Voice!"

"Draaaaaacoooooosmic!" Dracosmic shouts a shockwave of light at Pikachu, sending the Pokémon tumbling back.

With Pikachu pushed back to a safe distance, Galileo orders, "Draco Meteor!"

"Dracooooooooo!" Dracosmic rises high above the ground once more to summon down a rain of mighty meteors.

A grins manifests on Ash's face, as he's recalling something amusing. "Pikachu! Let's see if you remember this one! Use Iron Tail on the Draco Meteors!"

Pikachu, apparently remembering, grins in determination. "Pik!" It leaps up while using Iron Tail, spins about in the air, and slams its tail down into the first Draco Meteor to fall. Then, using its tail as a springboard, it pushes itself up, to where it can fall onto the next meteor and repeat the process.

Brock gasps. "Pikachu's using Iron Tail to climb the Draco Meteor!"

Ash declares triumphantly, "Draco Meteor Climb! Just like in Kalos!"

Pikachu zips from meteor to meteor, quickly ascending towards Dracosmic's level. This takes Dracosmic by surprise, allowing Pikachu to deliver an Iron Tail to it and bounce up even higher as Dracosmic is blasted towards the ground.

Ash immediately follows with, "Hallowed Lighting! Straight up!"

"Pika, pikaaaa, chuuuuuuu!" Pikachu launches a charged orb of electricity straight up into the air, away from the falling Dracosmic.

Galileo squints. "What's he doing?" He pulls out his telescope for a better view and realization dawns on him. "Dracosmic! Don't allow this attack to connect! Use Dragon Force!" Even as it falls, Dracosmic turns itself to face Piakchu above it and begins to charge the energy required for Dragon Force.

Pikachu itself collides into its initial Hallowed Lightning attack and absorbs the orb into itself. Ash orders, "Now give it a sky-diving Volt Tackle!"

"Pika, pika, pika, pika, pika…!" Pikachu allows itself to fall into a nosedive, with its cloak of electricity forming around it for Volt Tackle. Then the massive lightning bolt called down by the Hallowed Lightning orb strikes Pikachu and is absorbed into the Volt Tackle. The electricity around Pikachu crackles with an intense force as it transforms into a rainbow-hued display.

Ash shouts with excitement, "Aerial Hallowed Volt Tackle!"

"…pika, pika, pika, chuuuuuuu!"

"Dracoooooooooo!"

Pikachu slams into Dracosmic just as Dracosmic is firing its Dragon Force beam. Pikachu forces its way through the brunt of the beam while bearing through all of its damage. The two collide in a massive explosion that briefly obscures them both.

Across the stadium, everyone is leaning in for a better look as they try to see through the smoke cloud. Suddenly, both Pikachu and Dracosmic are ejected in opposite directions. Both of them slam into the ground. The entire audience goes silence as they wait to see what surely must be the final result.

Brenda holds her hands to her mouth as she leans in closely, the anticipation clearly wreaking havoc on her.

Even Team Rocket have stopped selling their merchandise for the opportunity to see what happens.

On opposite ends of the field, both Pikachu and Dracosmic stir. Simultaneously, they both force themselves up off the ground. This causes a collective gasp to spread across the stadium. Both Pokémon are completely battered and beat up as a result of the collision.

Pikachu forces itself to take a step forward. "Pik…"

Dracosmic forces itself to float an inch off the ground. "Draco…"

And then Pikachu collapses.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! The Champion Galileo is the winner!"

Dracosmic's Mega Evolution reverts and the Pokémon heavily pants. "An excellent battle, my friend." Galileo returns his partner.

Ash is standing completely still. Allowing the reality of the situation to sink in.

Brenda questions with worry, "Is Ash all right…?"

Ash takes a deep breath, then finally breaks the silence. He jumps in joy and shouts, "That was the greatest battle ever! I was that close to beating a Champion! Yeah!"

With his positive display, everyone in the audience gives standing ovation.

Galileo grins. "That is the perfect way to think of this, Ash. You impressed me. It's been a long time since I've been put up against the ropes like that."

Brock nods in agreement. "Even if Ash lost, this really was a victory for him. This is the first step towards something greater."

Brenda nods as well. "I guess you're right."

James comments, "I can't believe the Twerp actually lost. Who would have thought."

Jessie grins perversely. "You know what that means?"

Meowth answers questioningly, "That the only thing we have to do to beat the Twerp is to become as strong as a Champion?"

Jessie laughs. "Of course not! Because we just beat him!"

James asks, "We did?"

"Yeah. The Twerp just lost, and meanwhile, we won. Look around. Do you see a single member of this audience without our Twerp-enirs? And think of all the cash we made off of the Twerp and his likeness. He lost. We won. That means we beat him."

"Wobbuffet!"

James and Meowth look to each other, then grin as they nod in agreement. James says, "Well, when you put it like that, it feels pretty good to come out on top."

Meowth agrees, "It certainly does, my friend."

They all cheer together, "Looks like Team Rocket's not blasting off again!"'

Elsewhere, someone turns off the TV showing the match. The person stands up and looks out a window towards the grand stadium of Wyndon in Galar. He says to himself, "Okay, Ash Ketchum. I'm waiting for that rematch. We're going to have a Champion Time." The speaker turns around to reveal his identity as Leon.

Ash stands atop a podium. Galileo hands him a grand trophy studded in reflective facets that shine like twinkling stars when the catch the light. Galileo announces, "I am pleased to officially name Ash Ketchum as the winner of this year's Tenno League Cosmic Conference! His name will now forever be written in the stars!" The audience erupts into applause for Ash as he takes the trophy.

Ash says, "Galileo, there's something I want to ask you."

"Oh? What's that?"

"What's your ranking in the World Coronation Series?"

Galileo laughs. "The World Coronation Series? Don't have a rank."

"Don't have a rank…? Do you mean…?"

Galileo nods. "I've never entered it before, despite all the invitations."

"But you're a Champion, one of the strongest trainers in the world. I thought every Champion entered."

Galileo shakes his head. "No. Not every. You see, Ash, I don't feel the need to show off and prove myself to be the best of the best. The way I see it, it is a Champion's job to make the best come out of others. I'm here to make you the best you can be. Not me."

Ash's eyes widen. "Woah…"

"And, if getting you to be the best means entering the World Coronation Series, then that's what I think you should do. In fact, as the Tenno Champion, I can even sponsor your entry into the competition."

Ash's eyes widen. "What!? You could!?"

Galileo nods. "I take it that's what you want?"

"Absolutely. Now that I've battled against you, I want to battle all the other Champions too! I want to battle Leon again!"

"Then consider it done. I will send word to the Pokémon Battle Commission first thing tomorrow morning. Until then, Ash, would you care to spend the night stargazing with me?"

Ash grips his trophy as he grins profusely. "That would be great." They both look up together into the vast and pristine Tenno night sky. A shooting star streaks by.

And that's it. The Tenno League is officially over. Ash may not have beaten Galileo, but he still made more progress than ever before on his road to become a Pokémon Master. And now, the World Coronation series awaits him. But first, our hero's journey in the Tenno Region isn't quite over yet. Our time together is growing short, but for now, the journey continues…

To Be Continued…