That night, I'm looking outside the window since I can't sleep. Golly, Alice, and Reisa are in the same room as me, and I just decide to look at the glowing stadium.
"Starting tomorrow, that's where we'll be..." I say. "I'll bet the stadium's going to be packed. All this time traveling in the Unova Region just so we could compete in the Unova League. We've battled against a bunch of different Gym Leaders, haven't we? You know? All those Gym Leaders got us here. We'll win this for all of them. We're going to show them what we're made of."
Alice then slightly wake up and mutters, "Ash... you should go to sleep now... You're gonna have to get some rest if you want to do well tomorrow..." She's right, so I have to get some rest.
The next day, Iris is not going to sit with us because she's staying with Mr. Goodshow at the stands. This time there isn't a Torch Runner, with Officer Jenny being the one lighting the flames. There are also the qualifying rounds that only allow one Pokemon for the preliminaries.
As we look at the screen, the others already find theirs. "There I am, huh?" I gasp in shock because I'm facing Trip in the preliminary round.
"I can't believe Brother is battling Trip first." Golly says.
"That's great. Ash seems to be so pumped up at the moment that this could wind up working for him."
"So it's me against Trip." I say.
"Looking forward to it, Ash." Trip says to me before leaving. I know that we've gotta win against him.
The time has come when I'm battling Trip. The others are in different stadiums so that I am not sure if they win their matches or not. I only know that Stephan wins since we're in the same stadium.
"You ready Trip?" "Of course. Now let's just see how much stronger you are."
He goes for Serperior, his Starter Pokemon. So I go with Pikachu, since I've been planning to kick off the Unova League with him.
"When it comes to speed, Pikachu's just as fast!" I say. "Let's show them how fast! Quick Attack!"
Just before the Quick Attack hits Serperior, he dodges it. I then have Pikachu use Iron Tail which Serperior dodges yet again with his incredible speed. The same goes for Electro Ball as well.
"Okay. Now, it's my turn. Serperior, use Dragon Tail!"
Trip then commands Serperior to use Dragon Tail on Pikachu, and it is faster than Pikachu so he can't dodge. Pikachu immediately takes a big hit from Serperior's Dragon Tail and lands on the ground hard.
"Pikachu, no..." I mutter. "Come on, Pikachu! Get up!"
Pikachu slowly does, but falls right back into the same position after taking a blow from Serperior's Energy Ball. Serperior then launches a barrage of Dragon Tails, and with all the damage Pikachu has taken, he is not able to dodge all of them and gets hit again. Serperior immediately follows up with Wrap, squeezing Pikachu hard with his tail.
"So what now, Ash?" Trip asks.
"Alright... Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" I command, and Serperior is then commanded by Trip to stick his tail into the ground. The ground absorbs the Thunderbolt's electricity and negates all damage.
"That Thunderbolt didn't do a thing..." I grit my teeth in anger. Trip then commands Serperior to squeeze Pikachu with even more force, and Pikachu's head turns blue making him look like he will faint at any second.
"Ever since that loss, I have been training hard." Trip says. "I can't lose to you again."
"Pikachu! Listen to me! You can't give up now! Open your eyes!" I say.
"Gues it's time to wrap this up. Alright then! Smash Pikachu into the battlefield!" Trip commands.
It is then Pikachu regains consciousness in the process, and I have him use Iron Tail on the battlefield, which cushion his landing.
"Use Iron Tail again!" I command while Serperior overpowers him with a Dragon Tail.
"You have battled well, but it's over now."
"Over?" I say. "I should return the words to you."
I quickly come up with an idea, so I command Pikachu to use a combination of Iron Tail and Electro Ball, and Trip commands Serperior to intercept with Dragon Tail, and as both Pokémon execute their attacks, a huge explosion billows. As the smoke clears, Pikachu looks extremely weak, but takes a quick look at Serperior and starts jumping for joy.
"Wait a minute. So, what's up with Serperior?" Trip says in shock, then he sees his Serperior being defeated.
Everyone in the stands begins to go crazy, especially all of my friends since Pikachu defeats such a strong Pokémon against all odds and gains me access to the next round.
Back in the Pokemon Center, we find Trip who is preparing to leave.
"Are you leaving already?" I ask.
"Look, Ash, you won it fair and square. But next time will be different. If I'm ever going to defeat Alder, I'll have to be stronger than I am now. That's just the way it is." Trip replies.
"Alright, so let's both give it our best." I say while shaking hands.
After that, we boys are in the Sauna as we are talking about our battles. Stephan asks, Hey, Ash, how is it like when you battle the champion?"
"Well, I feel nervous, but then I am more excited since I want to win against the Champion." Ash replies.
"That sounds interesting." Nate says.
The next day, we find that Cameron is battling Rosa while I'm battling Bianca. Cameron's Samurott immediately goes on the offensive against Rosa's Escavalier, and though Rosa maxes out Escavalier's defensive power with Iron Defense, a successful double Razor Shell from Samurott still gets through, and Escavalier is out.
Rosa calls up Emboar, which seems like a strange choice. As a Fire-type, it's at a disadvantage against the Water-type Samurott. But it is thanks to Emboar using Attract that Samurott is defeated by some fighting moves. Cameron then calls on his beloved Riolu, who proves to be quite a powerhouse despite its small size. Its speed, dexterity, and expert timing, combined with moves like Copycat and Vacuum Wave, are enough to finish Emboar off, and Cameron claims the first win in the Unova League's main event.
"I lost so early, but thanks for the battle." Rosa says to Cameron.
"No problem." The two shake hands and leave the field.
As for me and Bianca, I start with Braviary against her Musharna, her Musharna proves to be a strong opponent with Yawn and Dream Eater, but Braviary wakes up in the end and finishes with Crush Claw and Sky Attack. As for her second Pokemon, she chooses Cinccino, which uses Tail Slap to knock my Braviary out.
I decide to go with Sawk, by using Low Sweep to lower its speed, and then finishes with a bunch of Fighting moves. Bianca is not happy that she loses, and she begins to cry.
"Why did we have to lose? Oh, why?" Bianca then yells, "You just wait until the next time!"
Hugh, Stephan, and Virgil also advance to the next round, though Nate, Rosa, and Bianca decide to stay and watch our battles. Then we all manage to defeat our opponents until we are at the top 16, I find that I'm going to face Stephan.
"It's Ash. Can't wait!" Stephan says.
"Yeah." I say back.
While everyone discusses how to spend the evening since the matches are tomorrow, we notice that there is a fireworks show. It is then that Axew wanders off and is quickly lost in the crowd.
When we are searching for Axew, Virgil suggests checking the surveillance cameras. We rush out into the city to look for Axew, but the crowds are just too big. We decide to split up to cover more ground, and Pikachu, Zoroark, Samurott, Absol, and Emolga team up to search.
We finally find Axew and the other Pokemon, but we find that Garbodor is attacking them because Samurott eat all of the Trubbish's food. Virgil puts his Pokémon Rescue Squad skills into action, first using Espeon's Psychic to get everyone out of the way, then bringing out a Soothe Bell to calm Garbodor down. Once the battle is averted, we make amends by preparing a delicious dinner for Garbodor and the Trubbish, including his special-recipe Pokémon food, and everyone settles in to watch the fireworks together.
Now it is time for me and Stephan's battle. Stephan says, "Man, am I ready to rock! Now, Liepard! Go!"
I decide to go with Krookodile first. Liepard first uses Shadow Claw, and I have Krookodile use Dragon Claw. Both moves collide and make a powerful explosion, as Liepard moves straight into Shadow Ball and Krookodile repels it with Stone Edge.
"Alright, Liepard! Hyper Beam!" As the cat Pokemon fires the attack, I have Krookodile dig to dodge. Right before Krookodile can attack, Liepard uses Double Team. After resurfacing, Krookodile looks around for the real Liepard but cannot point it out. Without any room to dodge, Krookodile is hit with multiple Shadow Claws and Shadow Balls, resulting in massive damage.
"Krookodile! Hang in there! Stone Edge now!"
After pulling himself together, the Stone Edge lands and causes Liepard to fall down. Stephan has Liepard use Double Team again, and Krookodile attempts to avoid any possible attacks with Dig.
"Just as I thought. Aim Hyper Beam into that hole!" The attacks force Krookodile out of the ground. I command Dragon Claw, as Stephan commands Liepard to counter with Shadow Claw.
Both Pokémon land roughly on the ground, as they are both commanded to make another collision with Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw, respectively. After a powerful collision, Krookodile falters, making Liepard look like the winner for a split second, but Liepard falls soon thereafter, giving Krookodile the win.
"You were great, Liepard. Alright number two! Go! Zebstrika!" Stephan says while sending out the next Pokemon.
"Krookodile, rest up for now." I decide to substitute into Seismitoad.
Stephan commands Zebstrika to use Double-Edge, as Seismitoad goes for Mud Shot. Zebstrika dodges Golurk's attack with great speed and lands its attack on Seismitoad. Zebstrika follows up with Stomp and I command Seismitoad to dodge, but Seismitoad can't pull it off with Zebstrika's speed and takes damage from the attack.
"We've got new moves up our sleeve, too! Use Sludge Wave!"
The attack lands and poisons Zebstrika, but Stephan says, "Alright! Facade, go!"
I gasp as Facade has an increased power when the user is infected with a status condition. The attack causes Seismitoad to take a lot of damage as Zebstrika takes continuous damage from poison.
After pulling himself together, Seismitoad is about to get hit by another Facade as I have Seismitoad use Supersonic to stop it in its tracks. Supersonic does its work and stops Zebstrika's attack, along with confusing it, making it start hurting itself.
"Time to finish this! Use Hydro Pump!" I command, which lands and forces a lot of damage upon Zebstrika. However, this was a mistake, since it cures Zebstrika of its confusion. Zebstrika proceeds to charge in with a Giga Impact, and I have Seismitoad to dodge, but he doesn't do it in time and gets hurled in the air. However, Seismitoad quickly fires back with Mud Shot, hurling Zebstrika into the air also. Both Pokémon smash against the wall and faint at the same time, leaving Stephan with one while I have two.
"Alright! You're up next! Let's go!" The third Pokemon is obviously a Sawk. I decide to go with Accelgor to battle.
Sawk starts out with Bulk Up, and Accelgor starts out with Struggle Bug. Sawk uses Close Combat, and I command Accelgor to dodge.
"After the evolution, Accelgor is now one with speed with some special training." I say. "Now use Skitter Smack! Go!"
Accelgor lands and causes Sawk to take some damage. Stephan commands Sawk to go in for multiple Karate Chops. However, Accelgor dodges them all with grace. Stephan gets the idea that Leavanny won't be able to dodge if Sawk uses an attack that lowers speed, so he commands Low Sweep. However, Accelgor dodges again and uses Giga Drain, which Sawk blocks.
"Now Water Shuriken!" I command, and the attack hits and sends Sawk flying back. Sawk gets up, and I have Accelgor use Skitter Smack again. However, Sawk manages to catch it and uses Low Sweep, which lowers my Accelgor's speed.
"Close Combat!" After being weakened, and having his speed lowered from the attack, Accelgor is unable to dodge an incoming Close Combat from Sawk. I command Accelgor to use Water Shuriken again, but Sawk blocks it and lands his attack on Accelgor, knocking him out and evening the score.
My only Pokemon left is Krookodile, and it is exhausted from the damage he took earlier in the battle.
Sawk is commanded by Stephan to use Close Combat while Krookodile is commanded by me to counter with Dragon Claw. After attacking, Krookodile begins to look like he can't take another attack, right as Sawk prepares for a Karate Chop. However, I fire right back by commanding Krookodile to use his new move: Aerial Ace, catching Stephan by surprise. Krookodile charges in and dodges the Karate Chop, turning around and landing his super effective attack on Sawk, knocking him out and giving me the win and entry into the quarterfinals.
"Of course, so that's why you switched Krookodile out after our first battle."
"You bet. I know you're going to use Sawk in the last battle, so I saved up Aerial Ace until the very end." I say.
"Pretty smart, Ash. Even if I did lose, it was a great battle!" Then we shake hands with each other.
Right after this, Hugh, Virgil, and Cameron are both shown to have won their battles as well. I find that I'm facing Cameron in the quarterfinals. I can't wait for that to happen.
Here is the first of the two-part Unova League Chapter. I hope you like it and the next chapter will be the finale of the Unova League Tournament.
Ash and Alice's Pokemon:
Charizard x2, Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu x2, Lapras, Meganium, Espeon, Steelix (Crystal), Mantine, Sceptile, Gardevoir (Shiny), Milotic, Absol, Infernape, Lucario, Abomasnow, Magnezone, Victini, Serperior, Emboar, Samurott, Watchog, Stoutland, Liepard, Simisage, Simisear, Simipour, Musharna, Unfezant, Zebstrika, Gigalith, Swoobat, Excadrill, Audino, Conkeldurr, Seismitoad, Throh, Sawk, Leavanny, Scolipede, Whimsicott, Lilligant, Basculin x2, Krookodile, Darmanitan, Maractus, Crustle, Scrafty, Sigilyph, Cofagrigus, Carracosta, Archeops, Garbodor, Zoroark, Cinccino, Gothitelle, Reuniclus, Swanna, Vanilluxe, Sawsbuck, Emolga, Escavalier, Amoonguss, Jellicent, Alomomola, Galvantula, Ferrothorn, Klinklang, Eelektross, Beheeyem, Chandelure, Haxorus, Beartic, Accelgor, Mienshao (Shiny), Druddigon, Golurk, Bisharp, Bouffalant, Braviary, Mandibuzz, Zweilous, Volcarona, Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Tornadus, Thundurus, Reshiram, Zekrom, Landorus, Kyurem, Meloetta
Golly's Pokemon:
Gastly, Liepard, Scolipede, Krookodile, Scrafty, Cofagrigus, Garbodor, Zoroark, Amoonguss, Jellicent, Chandelure, Bisharp, Mandibuzz, Zweilous
Eve's Pokemon:
Houndoom, Mightyena, Liepard, Krookodile, Scrafty, Zoroark, Bisharp, Mandibuzz, Zweilous
Iris' Pokemon:
Lapras, Aggron, Excadrill, Archeops, Emolga, Axew, Druddigon, Hydreigon
Cilan's Pokemon:
Pansage, Maractus, Dwebble, Ferrothorn, Stunfisk