I Wanna Be The Very Best

Chapter 92: The Battle Of Two Champions.

Two further days have passed by since Ash's world was turned upside down at the talk show, where the world learned who his father truly is.

Over those two days things have been pretty rough to say the least. From the moment Ash found out things have been tough, but at least he's not been alone through any of this.

The passionate love making him and Serena shared was something he needed, just to be in the zone, thinking about just her for an extended period of time. All that did was let him blow off some steam and erase some of the bad thoughts that clouded his mind. It wasn't long or drawn out, not having the energy for that, but exactly what he needed in that moment.

Since then Serena has been his number 1 supporter and the biggest reason why he's mentally sane at the moment. On so many occasions when he's needed it she's shown him the love he needs. She's sat and talked with him for hours about everything when she's needed to, or just let him be quiet and reflect when he needs to have some space.

Ultimately she's been his rock in this situation and made everything better. She's had to stay strong for him and she's done it with flying colours.

But it's not just been Serena who's been there for him. The day after the announcement the two of them made the conscious effort to sneak over to their friend's hotel in person to see them all and explain what's going on from their point of view.

It was right then that the two of them learnt that their friends are all going to be with Ash throughout this troublesome time. Gary obviously already knew about Red long before Ash did so he's got no problem with such a thing.

However, Brock and Misty had no idea, yet they honestly couldn't care less. In fact it was sort of like Serena said it would be, they saw Ash for who he is and not who Red was. Sure they were surprised, but hearing that Ash only found out this information after the Alola league, they could respect him wanting such privacy and not revealing this to anyone else.

His mom was always going to be supportive, but Ash sort of felt bad that he made her feel so guilty about who is father is. The Red Delia knew and the one behind the footage are completely different people as far as she's concerned. But she does understand Ash's hate for the man and does feel bad about how things played out in retrospect.

Ash was quick to tell his mom that it wasn't her fault what happened, and to reassure her that she made the right choices in raising him without the knowledge of who his father was for so long.

Professor Oak was more annoyed that the information got out if anything, already on the case to finding out who leaked such information. Ash honestly doesn't really care at the moment, with who revealed it being irrelevant. As far as he's concerned, it was probably just some over analytic journalist looking for some attention.

Ash and Serena decided to spent that day in Delia's hotel room, knowing she'll appreciate the company with this being a tough time for her too. They spend the day with her doing the usual family things and making a nice big family dinner that brings them all together.

While Serena and Delia cook this feast, Ash spends the majority of his time on the phone to various different people. So far he's spoke to every single travelling companion, all giving him the same encouraging message that if anyone can get through this it's him. Sure some of them are a little surprised he never told them, but they can understand why from his point of view.

He's also spoke to most of his past rivals, except for a few exceptions being mainly his rivals from Hoenn, Unova and Sinnoh, apart from Paul. Those rivals he hasn't spoken to in years though so it's honestly no surprise to him at all.

These conversations are different for sure, but at the same time are good ones to have. Even if some of them like Paul's essentially go along the lines of "Stop being so pathetic and get on with it will you."

The final group of people that Ash has spoken to have been his fellow champions. All of them have been supportive to him with them all reiterating their support. Even Lance has been quite strong and supportive with his message, despite the fact that the two of them are facing each other in such a block buster battle in a few days time.

Speaking of that battle, the next day Ash and Serena head back to their own house to spend the final rest day they have to prepare for that very battle.

It was never apart of Ash's plans to leave one day for planning out his team for the biggest battle of his life, but here he is. He'd have loved to have done more training and planning but he's got to deal with the hand he's been dealt now.

As such he spends the entire day either at his computer or in front of the tv screen, studying every battle he can find of his opponent. The only thing he really does in between apart from his basic human needs is go outside to do some brief training to test a strategy before going back to studying.

Evening soon comes around with it being time for dinner. Knowing Ash is studying, Serena elects to cook for both of them. Yes she has been doing the majority of cooking lately but she doesn't mind as long as Ash is appreciative of what she does for him.

She soon loads their dinners onto two trays before she brings them out to the living room. She sits down next to her boyfriend and holds out a tray towards him as she exclaims "Here you go handsome. I made spicy ramen because I know it's one of your favourites. A big portion too because you need a big meal for tomorrow."

Ash smiles at Serena's sudden appearance and her meal of choice. He takes the tray from her hands and gives her a small peck on the lips as he replies "Thanks beautiful, you're the best!"

Serena giggles a little at Ash's excitement, really taking a lot of courage from every smile he gives her at the moment. She knows he's still feeling a little down and confused, which is why it's so important she can be there for him whenever she can. Today her day has basically consisted of doing little things to help Ash with his preparation, making this day a little easier for him where she can.

Ash decides to take a break from studying for the most part as he proceeds to eat his dinner with his unofficial wife for a bit.

As the two sit and eat together, Serena finds herself glancing up at the screen to see what sort of battle Ash is watching this time. A bright smile soon comes onto her face as she exclaims "This is the same battle we watched together as kids. Lance's first ever battle as champion."

Ash smiles over at his girlfriend as he replies "Yeah it is. I saw you were dishing up dinner so I decided to put this on for a little nostalgia while we're eating."

Serena smiles at Ash's thoughtfulness, finding this touch of nostalgia a little romantic in her own weird way. She sighs a little in nostalgia as she exclaims "That's really sweet of you Ash. So, how was your studying been so far?"

Ash turns towards his girlfriend and nods as he replies with a small smile on his face "Yeah it's been good. Lance has so many different pokemon and so many cool tactics that he's a little difficult to prepare for. Nevertheless I think I've found a good strategy and have a good set of 6 I think I'm going to bring. Some are obvious but some are a little more out there choices that I'm hoping will throw Lance off guard. But overall it's been nice to sit here and not think about what's gone on, just to focus on one thing and forget about him. Those are the times that I feel the best about myself."

Serena internally smiles at the fact Ash's preparation has gone well, while also happy that he's found this activity a nice distraction from the mess that Red has left him in.

Distracting him is one of the many things she's tried to do over the last two days, and the main reason why she did what she did the other night.

Seeing as Ash is willing to talk about Red right now, she decides to bring it back up as she questions "So, how are you feeling about it going into tomorrow? You going to be okay? If you want, the offer still stands to walk you out to your trainer's box tomorrow."

Ash thinks for a second before he shakes his head and exclaims "I feel about as well as I can do to be honest. I'm just focusing on what I can control. That being us, and the result of the battle tomorrow. The crowd will shout what they want and I don't have any control over that. I'm going to do what you said to me in Alola, block out all the noise and focus on what's important. I would usually be happy to walk out together, but that would be me letting Red change the norm. I want you in the stands as usual, cheering as you do while I walk out. I want to send a message, that you can put me down but you'll never keep me down. That starts with walking out tomorrow in my usual confident manner."

Serena takes in Ash's words and is honestly more than fine with all of that. She's glad Ash is seeing things in a more positive light, and she's glad he seems to have thought all this through. That positive mental attitude is one of the many things that made her fall in love with him in the first place. The fact that's still in tact after everything he's been through makes her love him even more than she already thought possible.

She soon smiles brightly before she leans over, stroking a hand against Ash's cheek before connecting her lips with his. She gives him a long sweet kiss before she pulls back with an even brighter smile on her face.

The Kalos queen's eyes shine with love as she exclaims "You don't realise how happy and reassured that answer makes me feel. I just want you to know that no matter what happens tomorrow, I'm so proud of the man you've become. I love you lots and I'm ultra proud of how you're dealing with this. It makes me so happy to be your girlfriend you know. To be the one you can open up around."

Ash smiles back at his girlfriend as he modestly replies "It's all down to you Serena. If you hadn't helped me so much over these last few days then there's no way I could be as focused as I am now going into this battle tomorrow. I love you too and I'm so proud of the Kalos queen you are."

The amour couple continuously smile at each other as they continue to eat their food, stealing glances and having small giggles with each other.

However, their peace doesn't last forever as an excited cry sounds from out the garden before being followed by a proud deep cry.

Ash and Serena both turn their attention towards the two cries before proud smiles sit on their faces. All of a sudden, Serena's young Aerodactyl flies through the open back door before flying straight towards the amour couple. He reaches the two and flaps his wings to hover in the air while letting off a happy cry.

Serena places a bright smile on her face as she exclaims "Oh my Arcues look at you Aerodactyl! You learned how to fly!"

Aerodactyl smiles at his trainer's praise as he flies over towards her, landing on her lap while putting his head up into the air to receive praise.

Serena begins to pet her young prehistoric pokemon on the head gently as she remarks "I know, I promised that if you mastered flying we'd go out shopping and get you some toys and your very first performance outfit. I promise I'll find you something when we're next in Lumiose city. They always have the best things to buy!"

Aerodactyl lets off happy cries at the Kalos queen's words, clearly quite happy with the prospect of new toys and a performance outfit. While his main thing is that he wants to be strong, he also wants to perform with his trainer like she does with the rest of her pokemon. He's seen them work and he thinks it looks cool. Plus Serena gives her pokemon lots of praise after a performance and he's a sucker for that sort of thing.

Ash soon looks over at the duo with a smile on his face as he comments "I knew all that training with Charizard would pay off. I was surprised that he was so determined to help you out Aerodactyl but I'm glad he did. Soon enough you'll be racing around with the rest of my flying pokemon.

Aerodactyl smiles at the idea of racing against Ash's other flying Pokemon, dreaming in the back of his mind at receiving that first place medal.

Serena giggles a little as she exclaims "Well, Charizard can be quite sweet when he wants to be Ash you know that. Plus, I may have promised him an extra few pokepuffs at dinner if he gave Aerodactyl a few more lessons. Yeah I kind of bribed him."

Ash can't help but sigh a little as he mutters "Why am I even surprised?"

Serena giggles at her boyfriend's reaction before she looks down at the prehistoric pokemon on her lap once again. As she looks at him she begins to notice that he's already starting to develop so quickly.

He's been putting on a steady amount of weight as of late and his head, wings and jaw are already starting to grow and change shape like a full grown Aerodactyl's would. He's probably already grown by about half the size he was, making him sit snuggly on her lap. She could still hold him in her arms quite easily, but she knows that's not going to last much longer.

The Kalos queen takes a small sigh as she exclaims "Your already growing up so fast Aerodactyl. I think in about a month or so you'll be too big for me to carry, then you'll probably be the one carrying me. It makes me a little sad to see you getting so big, but makes me so proud of you at the very same time."

Aerodactyl looks up at his trainer with a reassuring smile while sort of understanding her emotions. Sure he likes to be babied so he can sit on her lap or sleep in her arms. But he's a pokemon that wants to grow up to be big and strong so he can protect his trainer. One day she won't be carrying him around, he'll be flying her around and getting plenty of praise for it.

Ash looks at the two and smiles a little as he exclaims "It's so crazy to see how quickly Pokemon babies grow up. Do human babies grow up this quick too? Like do they just become like kids in a few months?"

Serena nearly bursts out laughing from her boyfriend's sudden innocent question, finding herself biting her bottom lip to stop herself. She soon gathers herself as she shakes her head a little and explains "No Ashy, human babies take a lot longer to grow up. We all know you're still growing up mentally. They won't just double in size in a week like Aerodactyl here."

Ash scratches the back of his head nervously as he admits "Oh, I'm sorry Serena. Guess I just didn't really think that through."

Serena sighs at Ash's cuteness, while also being a little glad that they are once again having a natural conversation without having to think about Red.

Aerodactyl soon flies back off towards the garden to continue to play with the other pokemon after showing his 'mommy,' his new trick.

Ash soon takes the last bite of his dinner before he changes the topic of conversation and exclaims "That was delicious Serena. Don't tell mom I said this but I think your Ramen might be even better than hers."

Serena smiles brightly at Ash's praise as she replies "Thanks Ash. The truth is she taught me how to make it so it's all her doing. As your unofficial wife it's my job to know all your favourite dishes."

Ash isn't going to argue with his favourite chef knowing how to cook his favourite foods. Of course he also knows all of Serena's favourites and how to cook them all for her too, he just doesn't think he's as good at it as she is.

The Alola champion soon smiles back as he takes his girlfriend's empty tray and exclaims "I appreciate it Serena, and since you cooked I'm volunteering to clean. Then after that, it's up to you what we want to do."

Serena takes in Ash's words and gets an idea as she replies "Do you remember that boxset of the greatest 100 battles of all time I got you for Christmas? Why don't we start watching a few of those again? We only watched the first few before we kind of ran out of time."

Ash is more than down for this idea as she exclaims "That sounds good to me beautiful, I'll be back in a few minutes."

The Alola champion heads off to the kitchen to do the dishes while Serena sorts out the tv and gets the episode they were on ready to go.

A few minutes later, Ash returns with a fluffy blanket and a bowl of popcorn in hand. He chucks the blanket over Serena before climbing under himself. He places the bowl of popcorn in between them both before Serena clicks the play button on the remote.

The two of them soon cuddle in as the first battle between Blue Oak and Lance begins to play. Both of their eyes glue to the screen, as they prepare to spend their evening doing something a lot quieter before the chaos starts tomorrow!
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The next day, Ash and Serena are up bright and early for the usual pre battle routine. However today is different, with an excited buzz running through the air as the minutes draw nearer to the start of the battle.

Today is the day champion meets champion, the day Ash could potentially become the champion of 3 seperate regions. Of course that brings with it nerves, but it also brings with it excitement that flows into both their systems.

The morning passes by rather quickly before the two of them head to the indigo league stadium for one last time on this journey.

Once at the stadium they do the usual routine before meeting up with the rest of the gang. This time the rest of the gang come down to Ash's changing room with him, once he's dressed obviously.

Being in the view of the crowd is something that doesn't quite appeal to the rest of the gang, with them knowing that the atmosphere today will be different around them all with the announcement of Red being Ash father. Nevertheless they aren't going to let that affect them, wanting to stay positive for the Alola champion.

An hour or so passes by before it's nearly time for the battle to finally get underway. With that in mind the gang all head towards the edge of the tunnel, preparing to wish Ash a final good luck before everything kicks off.

As they stand at the edge of the tunnel, Ash takes a deep breath and exclaims "You know after all that's happened, this is the first time I think I'm actually realising how big this battle is. I mean I have the chance to become the champion of my home region."

Misty sighs a little at Ash's remark as she replies "You really do have the ability oblivious don't you? This battle is one of the biggest in Pokemon league history and yet you hardly even realise it."

Ash smirks a little and decides to hit Misty back with a diss of his own as he exclaims "Well your ability is stench from what I can tell."

Misty nearly shouts back something just as mean back at Ash, but actually stops herself to take in the moment for once. It's been a little weird over the last few days actually needing to be nice to each other with what's gone on. The fact Ash is willing to get involved in a war of insults shows her he's probably well and truly back.

Delia soon approaches her son with a small smile on her face. She takes a small sigh as she exclaims "I know the last few days have been rough on you son, and I'm still so sorry that you need to face all this because of him. I wanted to tell you before you go out there, that I'm so proud of the young man you've become. No matter what happens out there it's not going to change that fact."

Ash smiles at his mother's loving words as he replies "Thanks mom, and please stop saying sorry. After everything you've done for me over the years, you never need to apologise for anything."

Delia shakes her hand as she exclaims "I'd do it all again in heartbeat for you my son. Now go out there and show the world who Ash Ketchum is."

The Alola champion nods in agreement as he remarks "That's the plan."

Gary shakes his head a little as he nonchalantly exclaims "Okay Ashy boy enough sappy shit. Are you sure you don't want me to hire that group of cheerleaders. Listen they can make enough noise to shut up the rest of the crowd if they start saying things about your old man."

Ash sighs at Gary's point, clearly haven heard this all before as he replies "I've already told you Gary, the point is to block out the noise from the crowd and focus on what's important. I really don't want to add to it. Plus I've already got my own cheerleader who makes more noise than any fakes you can hire. Trust me I know what I'm doing."

Gary smirks a little as he comments in his usual manner "Good, because that was all just a test of course. Now you know what to do, go out there and blast every one of Lance's dragons out the dam stadium!"

Ash nods in agreement as he replies "I'm sure as heck going to try. You know Gary you may be a bit of a fool sometimes, but you are one hell of a best friend I'll give you that."

Gary shrugs as he exclaims with his usual arrogance in tact "I know I am, now hurry this along before we run out of time."

Ash chuckles a little at Gary's words before Brock takes the initiative and exclaims "You know, I've watched you battle the most here it's safe to say, and I never thought we'd be stood where we are right now with you about to take on the Indigo league champion. But we're here because of all your hard work to get to the top. I know it's been tough over the last few days, but if anyone can mentally respond to adversity and comeback stronger then it's you. Take your time and work closely with your Pokémon. If you do that then I know you've got a chance of taking home those two titles."

Ash smiles at his first ever traveling companion's words as he replies "Thanks Brock. I'm certainly going to give it my all as I always do. Thanks for showing me the ropes and putting up with me for all this time."

Brock shakes his head a little as he exclaims "The feeling is mutual Ash."

Professor Oak soon steps towards the raven haired trainer as he comments "You seem in good spirits son, I'm hoping you'll be able to take all the spirit and transfer it onto the battlefield."

Ash smirks a little as he exclaims "You know me professor, nothing can keep me down for too long. If that was the case then I wouldn't be where I am today."

Professor Oak smiles at the young champion's attitude as he replies "That right there is the very reason I gave you a pokemon in the first place, your ability to take a hit and get back up. You keep that same mentality in today's match and I know for a fact that it will suit you well."

Ash nods in agreement as he replies "Thanks Professor, I promise I won't forget it."

With everyone else's little speeches complete, they all move away to give Ash and Serena some space to say their final words to each other before this big battle.

Serena approaches her boyfriend and instantly places her arms over his neck as they fall into their usual embrace. They lock eyes as the Kalos queen exclaims "I still remember the first time I watched you battle, losing to Viola and her Vilvillon. Now here you are about to go out there and battle for the championship title of another two regions. It makes me so happy to see how far you've come."

Ash shakes his head as he corrects "How far we've come Serena. I remember you cutting a ribbon too long at your first showcase and losing in round one. Now you're stood here as the Kalos queen and the best performer in the world."

Serena takes in Ash's words and calls it even in her head, knowing that really they have come this far together.

She looks into his eyes lovingly as she exclaims in a motivational manner "Like I said to you last night Ash, I'm so proud of you for taking everything in your stride like you've done so far. No matter what the result is today that won't change. I'll still be very proud of you and I'll still love you the same. Now, remember to go out there and do your best. Smile, be yourself and have fun like you always do. Don't listen to what others have to say, and if you ever get lost I'll be cheering as loud as I can to get you back on track."

Ash smiles at Serena's support as he replies "Thanks beautiful, hearing you say all that means a lot to me. I'm not naive to the fact that there's going to be some tough moments out there. But that's when I'm going to look to you and use you to guide me like an angel in the night."

Serena blushes a little at Ash's words despite the underlying cheesiness that comes with them. She soon decides to add a little more cheese to the situation as she decides that it's time for the second to last good luck kiss of this tournament.

She gets on her tippy toes and cups Ash's Z mark cheeks before moving her lips towards his. Soon the two set of lips connect as the two share a loving kiss. The good luck kiss lasts for a few seconds longer than usual, with Serena putting a little more passion into it as a way of trying to give Ash even more good luck.

The two of them eventually pull away as they gaze at each other with bright smiles. Serena winks at her boyfriend as she remarks "Good luck Ashy. I'll see you at the half time break."

No more words need to be said as Serena turns away and walks towards the rest of the gang to leave Ash to collect his final thoughts.

The Alola champion takes a small contempt sigh as he remarks "That woman is too perfect."

Soon his thoughts are snapped from his head as he feels Pikachu's paws hit his shoulder. He turns towards his starter pokemon as he greets "Hey buddy, have you finished saying goodbye to Sylveon and the baby."

Pikachu scratches the back of his head nervously as he casually remarks with a small blush on his face "Pika, pi pikachu."

Ash chuckles a little at the fact that Pikachu has clearly had a few good luck kisses of his own. He pets the electric mouse behind the ears as he replies "You and me both buddy, now let's go and make everyone proud of us out there shall we?"

Pikachu nods in agreement with his trainer as he places a battle ready look on his face, ready for a tough battle to come.

The rest of the gang soon reach the stands as sit in their usual seating order. As they do the cameras in the stadium all pan to them, interested to see what their reactions will be.

A few cheers ring out around the packed out stadium upon seeing Serena on the big screen, but not as loud as they usually are. Sure everyone still loves her and wants to support her, but they're not sure if they should after the press have been slandering her name a little over the last few days. Only a small amount of journalists have said bad things about her, but that bad Pr can he effective.

Serena ignores the crowd's response as she takes 6 pokeballs out of her purse and releases her whole team. Sylveon, Pikachu, Aerodactyl, Delphox, Absol and Altaria all take seats or perch themselves on the railing to watch closely.

Serena's reasoning for sending out her pokemon is simple, she wants them all to cheer on Ash and his pokemon. As far as she's concerned the more positive noise she can create the better.

Obviously Sylveon and Baby Pikachu want to watch Ash's Pikachu battle so that's why they are here. Delphox is her starter and she too quite enjoys watching battles. Altaria wants to watch some strong dragons up close and Aerodactyl is simply too young to be away from his trainer yet so Serena keeps him with her.

As for Absol, Serena bought her along just in case anyone tries to threaten her man about the situation with his father. If so she'll be more than happy to let Absol loose on them.

The atmosphere inside the stadium continues to build, the loudest the stadium has ever been pre match. Many banners and flags wave in and amongst the light breeze that hangs over the plateau.

The crowd are soon silenced for a second as the announcer shouts "Good evening ladies, gentlemen and Pokemon of all ages! Welcome to the final of this year's Indigo league! The battle to decide who will claim the titles of both Kanto and Johto!"

The crowd roar in approval of the statement as excitement lingers in the air for just a bit longer than usual.

The announcer lets the noise die down before he continues "Now ladies and gentlemen, let's get straight to the main event! Introducing first, your champion for the past 11 years! The man known for his ability to use the fabled dragon type Pokémon to the best of their potential! Please put your hands together to welcome the champion of two regions! Lance!"

The crowd roar with cheers of welcome for the region's champion as Lance steps out of the opposite tunnel to Ash. The dragon type master looks completely composed and business like as he strides towards the battlefield in his usual dragon themed attire.

Up in the stands, Professor Oak scratches his chin as he comments "I've never seen Lance look so serious in all my time watching him. At least before going into a battle that is."

Gary smirks a little and folds his arms as he comments "That's because he knows he's in for a tough battle against Ashy boy. He's not faced an opponent like him in a long time."

Delia shakes her head as she comments "I think it probably has something to do with the news recently as well. Lance was always a loyal member of Red's elite 4 and took a lot of inspiration from what he used to say. Seeing the responses some of these people have given Ash has probably soured him somewhat."

Misty nods her head in agreement as she adds "It's certainly soured me alright. But that's what happens when people get the wrong idea. Ash is definitely not like that guy but people just can't seem to see past the surface level."

Brock sighs a little as he adds "The fact a reputation can change so quickly like it has is honestly a little upsetting. Society is just looking for the next person they can cancel.

Serena takes a second to breathe out a sigh of frustration before she finishes "The people's opinion doesn't matter right now, and neither does our reputation. All that matters is the battle and that's where Ash is going to do his talking."

Lance soon makes it to the battlefield before he stops in his trainer box. He takes in the atmosphere and huffs slightly, hoping his opponent will get the same luxury of a positive reaction like he did.

The crowd soon silence and wait with a mixture of anticipation and confusion on their faces as they all wonder what the reaction will be to Ash's arrival.

They soon realise that they're about to find out as the announcer takes a deep breath and begins "Now introducing the challenger! He is the man who beat the elite 4 challenge to get here! The Alola champion with many impressive victories to his name. Not to mention, the recently discovered son of the disgraced...."

"Not Another word!"

The crowd gasp in shock as the announcer is stopped mid sentence by a pretty pissed off looking Lance.

The dragon type master shakes his head in disgust before he scolds "The man you were about to mention is not the man I'm fighting today. So don't bother mentioning him. Instead introduce my opponent properly without mentioning him. Give him the introduction he deserves!"

The announcer sort of shrinks into his shell a little after receiving a telling off from the champion as he apologies "I'm sorry Mr Lance, let me try that again."

He coughs awkwardly to clear his throat before he continues "As I saying, he is the Alola champion and the hero who beat Giovanni and saved the world from disaster! Please welcome Ash Ketchum from Pallet town!"

A smaller portion of the audience than usual begin to cheer loudly for Ash while a small portion of the audience boo him for his father's crimes. The larger majority of the audience are silent and are indifferent, not sure how to react to his presence as of yet.

However all that noise soon disappears as no one steps out of the tunnel. The whole crowd raise eyebrows in confusion of what's going on, until music blasts out of the speakers to symbolise Ash's arrival.

Music Ash is walking out to, with a cool little AMV attached because why not.

The music soon blasts out through the speakers as Ash finally exits the tunnel with his trusty Pikachu on his shoulder. A confident smirk sits on the raven haired champion's face as he adjusts his hat, before striding forward towards the battlefield with his eyes never leaving his opponent.

The majority of the crowd soon cheer at Ash's arrival, unable to resist the urge to cheer for someone when they look so cool like he does.

Up in the stands, Serena places a bright smile on her face as she exclaims "That's the Ash I wanted to see. The one looking confident and ready to battle. Not to mention so handsome as he does it."

Gary shakes his head a little as he adds "I'm not so sure about all of that, but what I do know is Ashy boy looks ready."

Brock smirks a little as he exclaims "This idea to use entrance music is genius. It lets Ash focus on the music and not the sounds of the crowd."

Professor Oak raises an eyebrow as he questions "So which one of you came up with this idea then?"

Serena giggles a little and raises a hand in the air as she replies "It was mine, well mine and Ash's."

Misty just shakes her head a little and sighs as she comments "Why am I even surprised that you came up with this?"

Delia smiles a little at Serena's idea as she exclaims "Well this music certainly does help make quite the entrance, and it does work for blocking out the noise. But Serena dear, I wish you chose one of your own songs. I prepare them to anything else on the radio these days."

Serena scratches her head a little as she admits "Well that's initially what the plan was, but I convinced Ash to change it. This song right here is a song about believing you can achieve, and all about trying to make it to the hall of fame. Well that's exactly what Ash's goal is today. To win this battle and make it into the indigo league hall of fame."

Ash soon reaches the battlefield and takes his place in the trainer's box as the music cuts off, leaving the crowds shouts for him to hear with no surrounding noise to block it.

Ash doesn't even listen to any of that however, instead he just turns towards the stands and looks into the eyes of his girlfriend. He flashes her a small smile, which she returns before blowing him a kiss.

With Serena's support, Ash turns back towards his opponent and looks him in the eyes. He takes a deep breath before he exclaims "Everyone seems to have forgotten who I am lately, so I thought it would only be right to introduce myself again! My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet town! My dream is to become a pokemon master! I've worked hard for years to reach the point where we are now. We've suffered setbacks along the way, but we've always grown stronger from them! Now it's time to use everything we've learned over the years to take another step closer to achieving our dream!"

Some of the neutral members of the crowd actually find themselves cheering at Ash's statement. Those smart enough understand the clear underlying message hidden in those words. He's his own man, with his own dream. He's ready to forge his own path and not let the ghosts of his past define who he is.

The commentator smirks a little as he comments "Even after a tough few days, it looks like Ash's positive attitude is very much still in tact."

Lance looks over at the young champion in front of him as a competitive small smirk creeps up onto his own face. In truth he's happy to see the teenage champion so fiery, glad that his recent bad news isn't going to affect their battle negatively.

A more serious look soon coats the Indigo league champion's face as he exclaims "If you're going to be doing introductions then it's only fair that I introduce myself too. I've been waiting for you Ash! I knew that you, with your skills, determination and love for Pokemon, would eventually reach me here at the Indigo plateau! I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you as a kid that you were special, now I want you to show me all that power you have! There is no more need for words now. It's time for us to determine which one of us is stronger on the battlefield. As the champion of the indigo league! I, Lance the dragon master, accept your challenge! Now be prepared to face my army of dragons!"

The crowd go completely berserk thanks to Lance's passionate speech, sensing a deep respect between the two champions. However, there is no denying that they both are even more determined to prove to each other that they are the strongest.

Excitement sits on the commentator's face as he exclaims "I don't think I've ever seen Lance so determined during one of his pre battle speeches. It's time to strap yourselves in folks because this one right here is going to be a battle for the ages."

With the initial greetings out the way, the referee makes his way between the two as he steps into the referee's box. A serious look soon grows onto his face as he announces "This battle will be a 6v6 battle between the Alola champion Ash from Pallet town, and the champion of both Kanto and Johto the dragon master Lance! Both sides will be allowed to make substitutions at will and there will be no time limit. As Ash is the challenger for a championship title, this battle will be held under champion's advantage rules, meaning Lance is free to lay out the rest of the terms of this battle!"

Lance keeps a serious look on his face as he exclaims "No crazy suggestion from me. Keep this battle held on a normal battlefield. As for gimmicks, limit them to two uses each, but no restrictions on which ones can be used."

The crowd take in the rules and begin to mutter amongst themselves, wondering who will favour these rule sets more.

As far as Ash is concerned these rules are pretty good for him. He was honestly only expecting the use of one gimmick so two makes things even sweeter for him. It also makes him intrigued to see which gimmick Lance could potentially use. He's never seen footage of him using one ever, so the fact he can use two is pretty cool to hear.

The referee takes in the rules and continues "As always, both trainers will be allowed a half time break once one of them loses three Pokémon. The battle will be decided when all 6 of one sides Pokemon are unable to battle. Now trainers, please send out your first Pokemon!"

Ash already decided his first Pokemon days ago so has no hesitation in thinking about who he wants to start this one off with. He holds his arm out in front of him as he smirks and yells "Pikachu I choose you!"

Pikachu runs up Ash's arm before leaping down onto the battlefield below. The electric mouse soon begins to spark his cheeks with electricity as he smirks away, ready to begin his trainer's first ever champion vs champion battle.

Up in the stands, Serena places a smile on her face as she cups her hands around her mouth and shouts "Go Pikachu! Show them all how strong you are!"

Sylveon lets off a happy encouraging cheer upon seeing her mate hit the battlefield while Baby Pikachu sits wrapped up in her ribbon feelers, letting off her own encouraging cheers of her own.

Misty places a rather neutral look on her face as she comments "I'm a little surprised that Ash is using Pikachu as his first Pokémon. I thought for sure that he'd save him for the final few battles."

Brock shrugs his shoulders as he replies "Maybe he just wants to use a pokemon he can fully trust to start this battle off. Pikachu is pretty reliable after all."

Gary smirks a little as he adds "Plus, Ashy boy is quite the sentimental guy. It wouldn't surprise me if he just wanted to use his starter pokemon first in his first ever official battle against a champion."

Professor Oak folds his arms over his chest as he comments "Either way, picking Pikachu is never a bad option for Ash at this point in his battling career. I'm sure Ash knows what he's doing."

As Delia looks down at her son's choice of pokemon, she can't help but sigh as she feels a wave of sad nostalgia run through her veins. She shakes her head a little as she mutters under her breath "Like father like son I guess."

Back down on the battlefield, Lance feels that same wave of nostalgia as he finds himself smirking away.

He soon makes his own choice as he takes a pokeball off his belt. He soon throws said pokeball forward as he exclaims "Salamemce your up!" 

The pokeball hits the ground as Salamemce emerges. The mighty pseudo legendary pokemon lands on the battlefield with a loud thud, shaking the ground below him a little. He soon lets off a loud roar before he looks over at his opponent, stalking the electric mouse like he's his prey.

Ash stares at the pseudo legendary pokemon and is pretty unfazed by his appearance, sort of expecting something like this to happen. A lot of pseudo legendaries are dragons, so it only makes sense that a dragon master would have a fair few.

The referee soon snaps Ash out of his thoughts as he raises a flag in the air and questions "Are both trainers ready?"

Ash and Lance lock eyes and nod, ready for this battle to get underway.

The referee takes that nod as all the confirmation he needs as he lowers his flag and announces "Then let the battle begin!"

Ash decides he wants to make the first move of the first battle as he extends his hand forward and commands "Pikachu use electroball!" Pikachu nods as he leaps up into the air while forming a ball of electricity on his tail before throwing it forward towards his dragon type foe.

Lance sees the attack coming and shakes his head as he shouts "Use fire blast!" Salamence opens his jaws wide before firing off a fire blast in its usual unique shape. The two attacks clash together and push against one another for a few seconds, eventually causing a small explosion that kicks up some dust.

Ash reacts first and looks to take advantage of the lack of visibility as he commands "Now use quick attack!" Pikachu nods as he coats himself in a faint white aura before dashing through the smoke towards his dragon type foe. He moves at a speed that Salamence can't track before slamming his whole body into the pseudo legendary Pokémon's stomach. Salamence lets off a small cry of pain as he skids back towards his trainer.

The Alola champion looks to keep the pressure up as he orders "Now use iron tail!" Pikachu nods as he leaps up into the air while coating his tail in pure iron both preparing to slam it down towards his opponent.

This time Lance isn't so slow to react as he shakes his head and commands "Counter with dragon claw!" Salamence shakes off his previous pain as he lets off a loud roar before extending a set of green glowing claws. He flaps his wings and flies up into the air, before slashing said claws towards his opponent. The two attacks collide and push against each other for a second, before Pikachu's tail manages to get caught in between the gap in Salamence's claws.

Lance instantly looks to take advantage of the situation as he shouts "Salamence use psychic fangs!" Salamance almost grins a little as he opens his jaws wide, revealing a set of sharp teeth that glow in a pink psychic like aura. He soon uses those teeth to bite down on Pikachu, causing him to cry out in pain and skid back along the ground before coming to a stop in front of his trainer.

Ash grits his teeth a little as he questions "Are you okay Pikachu?"

Lance doesn't give Pikachu the chance to answer his trainer, knowing at this level he can ill afford to let Pikachu rest up.

Instead he extends his hand forward as he orders "Don't let up and use dual wingbeat!" Salamence nods as he flaps his wings that glow with a bright blue aura before flying in towards his downed opponent.

Ash sees the attack coming and can feel the momentum of this battle starting to shift towards Lance's side. He decides he needs to find away to turn this around as he commands "Pikachu, use  quick attack to dodge it!" Pikachu takes a second to recover from his previous damage before he springs into action. He coats himself in a faint white aura before he suddenly kicks off, moving out of the way of the attack just in the nick of time to leave Salamemce a little vulnerable to a counter attack.

Ash doesn't hesitate to use that chance to his advantage as he shouts "Now Pikachu, use quick attack again and climb on top of Salamence!" Pikachu grins, knowing exactly what Ash wants him to do. The electric mouse kicks off again with the usual faint hint glow surrounding him before leaping onto to the pseudo legendary Pokemon. He smirks a little as he moves up to position himself by Salamence's head while smirking away.

Lance sees how the situation is about to unfold and places a concerned look on his face as he yells "Get him off of you Salamence!"

Ash just smirks even more as he commands confidently "Now Pikachu use thuderbolt!" Pikachu sparks his cheeks with electricity as he prepares to unleash is signature move. "PIKKKAAAAACCHHUUUU!" The electric mouse screams as he unleashes his powerful thunderbolt. Electricity soon surrounds Salamence as he finds himself crying out in pain as he slams about the place wildly, trying to throw Pikachu off of him.

The pattern continues for about 30 seconds with Pikachu firing off constant thunderbolts that zap Salamence to his core. The dragon type Pokémon continues to scream in pain as he continues to try and get Pikachu off of him at all costs.

Eventually Salamence has enough of Pikachu's games as he swings his head around, managing to toss Pikachu off of him and send the electric mouse flying directly up into the air vertically. The pseudo legendary dragon shakes a little from the continuous attack, clearly affected badly by Pikachu's electric assault.

Lance doesn't take a second to make his move as he yells "Now use fire blast!" Salamence shakes off some of the previous damage before he takes a deep breath and fires off a powerful fire blast towards the falling Pikachu.

Ash sees Pikachu falling from the sky and the fire blast coming towards him at the same time. His mind works quickly before he finds a solution and commands "Pikachu, spin past it!" Pikachu takes in his trainer's words and focuses hard as he see the fire blast coming towards him. He's done this sort of technique before from a regular standing position but never in free fall. However, he trusts what Ash says as he prepares his move.

He lets the fire blast get as close as possible before he tucks himself towards his body and spins straight through the incoming fire, causing the crowd to roar with applause and Lance to gasp in shock.

Pikachu smirks a little as he commands with finality in his tone "Now Pikachu, wrap this one up with iron tail!" Pikachu grins himself as he coats his tail in a steel like coat while free falling towards his opponent. He soon spins around and slams that tail straight into Salamence's forehead, causing his head to slam into the battlefield and dust to kick up everywhere.

The crowd gasp in shock as they all focus on the battlefield below. Ash smirks confidently while Lance looks on with a face full of shock before a proud smile actually grows onto his face.

After a few seconds, the dust settles around the battlefield as both Pokémon come into view. Pikachu stands on one side of the battlefield with a few marks and bruises on his body while panting a little heavily, but still very much able to battle.

Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield, Salamence lays flat on the ground with swirls clear in his eyes.

The crowd roar with noise as the referee raises a flag into the air and announces "Salamence is unable to battle, Pikachu is the winner!"

The noise coming from the crowd grows even louder, all completely forgetting about Ash's family ties for a second to focus on the young talented trainer currently on the battlefield.

The Alola champion ignores all the noise and focuses on his Pokemon. He punches a fist into the air before he yells "Great job out there Pikachu! That's how we start the first battle of our first champion vs champion face off!"

Pikachu smiles at his trainer's praise and rushes over to see him, leaping up into his arms to celebrate with the Alola champion.

Up in the stands, Serena rises up to her feet and lets off an excited squeal of delight before she shouts "That was amazing Ash! You and Pikachu were so awesome! You're in lead against Lance!"

Baby Pikachu stands on the railing and lets off a happy "Pika!" While her mother lets off another happy cheer, before clearly overjoyed by Pikachu's performance in that last battle.

Brock lets off a small chuckle before he comments "Ash really did do a great job in that last battle. He used a little trick he used all the way back in Sinnoh, but modified it to use it in the air. It's stuff like that and the ability to innovate on the fly that makes him a champion level battler."

Gary smirks a little as he nonchalantly remarks "It doesn't surprise me that he's using some of his old tricks. After all he's going need to use all of his experiences to overcome Lance. He's definitely no slouch that's for sure."

Delia watches her son on the battlefield and can't help but smile as she exclaims out of nowhere "Well, that's another difference right there between you and your father Ash. You know how to win your first match against Lance with your Pikachu."

Misty raises an eyebrow in confusion as she questions "What do you mean by that Mrs Ketchum?"

Professor Oak answers for the brunette as he explains "Well you see Misty, it's a sensitive topic at the moment but when Ash's father battled Lance he also lead off with a Pikachu. Expect the difference there was that Red actually lost the first battle whereas Ash won it."

Serena shakes her head a little at the mention of Red as she comments "We already know Ash is different to his dad, I don't need anymore proof of that."

Delia takes a small sigh, feeling bad about bringing up the man in question as she replies "I know you don't dear, he's just on my mind that's all. I know I should keep mentions of him to a minimum at the moment but I've got so many memories of him flowing through my mind at the moment, both good and bad, that I struggle to keep a grip on them to be honest.

Serena feels a little guilty about shutting down such a thing so quickly as she apologies "I'm sorry Mrs Ketchum, I was thinking too much about Ash's feelings and not yours then."

Delia shakes her head at Serena's apology as she exclaims "There's no need to apologise dear, now let's forget about him like you did and refocus on the battle in front of us."

Serena nods in agreement with her future mother in law as they both refocus on the action going on down below.

Back on the battlefield, Lance takes a small sigh as he returns his fainted Salamence to his pokeball while thanking him for all his efforts.

He soon places the pokeball back on his belt as he looks over at his opponent. A small smile soon creeps up onto his face as compliments "You have raised that Pikachu of yours very well. He's fast alright, but he's also very trusting of you to pull off that midair manoeuvre the way he did."

Ash takes in the compliment and smiles back as he replies "Thanks Lance, and that Salamence of yours was so strong too. But I knew that there was simply no way I was going to lose that battle. Pikachu was too determined and tenacious not to win the first battle in our first champions challenge."

Lance stands in an impossing manner as he remarks "Going down 1-0 is never ideal this early. However, the path this battle is going is about to change drastically with my next Pokémon."

Lance takes a pokeball off his belt and holds it out in front of him. He soon throws said pokeball forward as he shouts "Flygon your up!"

The pokeball hits the ground before Lance's Flygon emerges onto the battlefield. The dragon type Pokémon floats in the air while grinning at his opponent, ready for battle.

Ash takes in Lance's choice and is a little surprised to see Flygon, given the sheer amount of Pokémon that Lance could have used first. He's pretty spoiled for choice when it comes to dragon type Pokémon so predicting them all is kind of difficult.

However, he soon shakes off those thoughts as he thinks about who he's going to send out to battle. With Flygon being a ground type, he makes a sensible decision as he looks down at Pikachu and exclaims "You take some rest for now buddy. I'm going to need you later on."

Pikachu nods as he stands by his trainer's side, resting up for more action later on in the battle.

Ash soon takes a pokeball off his belt as he makes his decision. He holds said pokeball out in front of him before he throws it forward and shouts "Annhilape I choose you!"

The pokeball hits the ground as Ash's newly evolved Annhilape emerges onto the battlefield. The ghost and fighting type Pokémon has no emotion in his eyes as he stares straight down into Flygon's soul.

The commentator raises an eyebrow as he comments "Intresting selections from both trainer's, it'll be intriguing to see how this one plays out."

Ash soon decides to get this battle underway as he extends a hand forward and commands "Annhilape, use stone edge!" Annhilape nods as he punches a fist into the ground, causing the battlefield to shake a little. Sharp pointed stones soon sprout up and head towards the dragon type Pokémon on the other side.

Lance shakes his head as he orders "Dodge it Flygon!" Flygon shows off some tremendously fast speed as he begins to fly through the air with some picture perfect aerial skills. He moves up down, left and right as he dodges every single stone that comes his way.

The Indigo league champion decides to go on the offensive next as he orders "Now use earth power!" Flygon grins as he flies down before slamming his tail into the ground. All of a sudden the earth begins to move before it splits beneath Annhilape and throws some of sort of natural earth power in his face. The ghost type Pokemon cries out in pain from the sudden attack as he skids back a little towards his trainer.

Ash isn't too worried about Annhilape taking a strong hit, knowing that the more hits he takes the more powerful his signature move gets. He soon punches his fist forward and calls for that move as he commands "Use rage fist!" Annhilape's eyes fill up with red rage, his anger spurred on by the fact that Flygon has landed an attack on him. He soon uses that rage to fuel him as he clocks back a fist that coats itself in dark purple ghostly aura before charging towards his dragon type foe. He soon reaches Flygon and catches him off guard by the ferocity of his attack as he slams a fist straight into him, causing the Hoenn native pokemon to cry out in pain and skid back towards his trainer.

Ash looks to stay of the offensive as he shouts "Now use ice punch!" Annhilape nods as he clocks back a fist that sparks in an icy white aura before he charges forward towards his dragon type foe.

Seeing the 4x effective attack coming towards his Pokemon, Lance makes a play as he shouts "Dodge it!"  Flygon recovers from the previous attack as he watches Annhilape come towards him. He soon flaps his small wings and flies up into the air, hovering above his opponent.

It's at this moment that Lance decides to show his trump card as he orders "Now use dragon tail!" Flygon grins a little as he coats his tail in a bright green scale like dragon aura. The Hoenn native dragon type soon swings his tail straight down, smacking Annhilape right in the body. The ghost type Pokémon cries out in pain as he skids on back towards his trainer before digging his fist into the ground to come to a halt.

However, at that moment Annhilape turns into nothing more than red energy before disappearing into his pokeball. All of a sudden another pokeball on Ash's belt pops open before a beam of red energy hits the ground.

Within a flash, Ash's Dragonite stands on the battlefield with a confused innocent look on her face as she tries to figure out how she got here and why she was suddenly sent out.

The commentator smirks a little as he exclaims "Looks like Lance didn't like that match up, so he used dragon tail to force Ash into switching his pokemon with its secondary effect."

In the stands, Gary places a serious look on his face as he comments "Ashy boy needs to be careful around dragon tail. Not only is Lance quickly revealing members of Ash's team which will come in handy later, he's also going to try and chip down a lot of Ash's Pokémon's health. If he's not too careful he might find himself struggling for energy come the end of the battle."

Brock nods in agreement as he adds "Lance is looking to play the long game, a true experienced champion. Ash really needs to watch out."

Back down on the battlefield, Ash just smirks a little as he exclaims "I can see what you're trying to do with dragon tail Lance. You want to create favourable match ups for yourself and chip away at my team as you go. Too bad that no matter, I trust my Pokémon in any match up. Isn't that right Dragonite?"

Dragonite nods in agreement with her trainer as she focuses on the battle in front of her. In truth she doesn't like how Lance disturbed her peace like that and she wants to make him regret it. She may not have expected to make her league debut in such a way, but right now it's needs must.

Lance just smirks a little as he remarks "I admire your bravery to bring a dragon type Pokémon against a dragon master like myself. It's a shame that I must take down such a beautiful dragon, but that's the game we choose to play."

The Indigo league champion decides that he wants the first move as orders "Flygon use boomburst!" Flygon flaps his wings to get up into the air before letting off a massive high pitched scream that sends off powerful sound waves towards his fellow dragon type Pokémon.

Ash shakes his head as he orders "Dragonite, fly up into the air and dodge it!" Dragonite nods as she flaps her smaller wings compared to her large body before flying straight over the incoming normal type move to dodge the powerful sound waves.

Ash looks to go on the offensive as he commands "Now use dragon claw!" Dragonite nods as she continues to fly on forward while extending a set of green glowing claws.

Lance smirks a little and decides to match Ash's move as he commmads "You use dragon claw as well!" Flygon flaps his wings and begins to fly forward towards his opponent while extending a set of green glowing claws. The two dragon type Pokémon soon meet in mid air as they begin to clash claws with one and other.

As soon as the close quarters battle begins it becomes pretty clear to everyone in the stadium that Flygon has the speed advantage as he flies around Dragonite before landing a quick two piece slash that forces the pseudo legendary pokemon to cry out in pain.

However, Dragonite doesn't give up for a second as she shakes off the previous pain before flying towards her opponent again. This time she takes the more head on approach as she flies directly towards Flygon with no fear over his actual power. She uses one claw to slash away his guard while leaving the other one free to attack. She soon uses that spare claw to her advantage as she slashes Flygon in the chest, causing him to cry out in pain as he skids back through the air towards his trainer.

Seeing that Flygon looks hurt, Ash looks to keep up the pressure as he yells "Now use hurricane!" Dragonite flies higher up into the air before flapping her wings frantically. All of a sudden, a hurricane begins to form in the air before slowly making its way over towards Flygon.

While most trainers would be fazed by such a powerful hurricane, Lance isn't at all as he orders "Flygon, use your speed to dodge it." Flygon shakes off the previous damage, being a pokemon that Lance has trained to take hits and move fast. He shows off the second side of that equation as he flies away from the hurricane with great skill, avoiding being hit by an attack that could have potentially been his end.

Ash is a little frustrated that Flygon seems to still be lasting, but doesn't let it show as he calmly commands "Dragonite use dragon claw again." Dragonite nods as she lets off a loud roar while extending out a set of green glowing claws before charging in towards her opponent.

Lance sees Dragonite recklessly charging in and smirks a little as he orders "Dip down and fly under her Flygon." Flygon nods as he uses his speed to his advantage once again. Right as Dragonite tries to slash him with her claws, he dips down and flies straight underneath the pseudo legendary pokemon before finding himself right behind her with a chance to strike.

Lance once again doesn't hesitate to take advance of his this as he orders "Use dragon tail!" Flygon grins himself as he flies up a little while coating his tail in a green dragon scale like aura. He swings his tail around and slams it straight into Dragonite's back, causing her to cry out in pain and skid back through the air.

All of a sudden she turns into red energy that flows back down towards the ground before hitting Ash's belt as Dragonite goes back into her pokeball.

Suddenly another one of Ash's pokeball's pop open before red energy hits the battlefield. In a flash, Ash's Tyranitar appears on the battlefield as a sand storm suddenly brews and begins to sweep through the air.

The commentator smirks a little as he shouts "Lance has forced another pokemon out of the battle, this time bringing in Ash's Tyranitar in their place. If this keeps up Ash's whole team is going to be revealed before long!"

Up in the stands, Serena places a small frown on her face and groans in frustration as she exclaims "Seriously another dragon tail!? That move is really starting to get on my nerves!"

Misty sighs a little as she adds "It's certainly frustrating for both of us and Ash. But the important thing is that Ash can't get impatient like he usually does. He needs to stay focused and find a solution for this soon."

Professor Oak scratches his chin a little as he comments "The problem that Ash is going to have now is Tyranitar is not exactly a natural match up for Flygon. Being a rock type he'll be weak to Flygon's ground type moves, If I was him I'd be tempted to swap back in Dragonite or Annhilape."

Back down on the battlefield, Lance doesn't give Ash a second to think as he commands "Flygon use earth power!" Flygon nods as he flies down towards the ground before slamming his tail into it. All of a sudden, the ground beneath Tyranitar begins to break apart as the earth's power fires up towards him. Ash is caught off guard by the speed of Lance's attack, causing Tyranitar take the hit head on as he cries out in pain while skidding back towards his trainer.

Seeing the pain on Tyranitar's face encourages Lance to stay on the offensive as he orders "Now use boomburst!" Flygon flies up into the air, before letting off an ear piercing cry as a bunch of sound waves shoot off towards his opponent.

Ash is ready this time as he shouts "Defend yourself with stone edge!" Tyranitar takes in his trainer's shout and acts accordingly as he slams down his foot into the ground. All of a sudden the ground starts to shake before a barrage of pointed stones begin to sprout up towards the ground and head towards Flygon. The two attacks soon collide and push against each other, before cancelling each other out with an explosion that kicks up some dust across the battlefield.

Lance looks to use the decrease in visibility to his advantage as he orders "Now use dragon claw!" Flygon nods as he puts his head down and flies straight through the smoke, looking to land a big hit.

Ash shakes his head a little as he punches a fist forward and shouts "Tyranitar you use dragon claw too!" Tyranitar takes in his trainer's order and soon follows suit as he lets off a loud roar while extending a set of green glowing claws.

The two Pokémon soon engage in a hotly contested close quarters duel with both sides not willing to give an inch. At first Tyranitar finds himself on the defensive, constantly blocking Flygon's quicker slashes. However, the pokemon Ash once hatched from an egg doesn't give up as he blocks a slash before delivering one back to Flygon's chest, causing the dragon type Pokémon to skid back a little thanks to the super effective damage.

However, Flygon doesn't fall so easily as he flies back in for more. This time he manages to use his speed to great effect, landing a few quick slashes that cause Tyranitar to cry out in pain as he skids back a little.

A small smirk soon rises up onto Lance's face as he orders "Use dragon tail again!" The process soon looks to be repeating itself as Flygon flies up into the air while coating his tail in a green dragon scale like aura.

This time, Ash has a plan as he matches Lance's smirk and commands "Tyranitar, bite down on the tail with crunch!" Tyranitar listens to his trainer's call as he opens his jaws wide before slamming them around Flygon's tail. All of a sudden the dragon type Pokemon cries out in pain as he finds himself trapped in Tyranitar's jaws.

Ash smirks a little more as punches a fist forward and shouts "Now Tyranitar, let's wrap this up with ice beam!" Tyranitar grins as he keeps his jaw locked on Flygon's tail while beginning to breathe out a cold icy beam. All of a sudden, cold ice begins to grow onto Flygon's body as he continually cries out in pain from the cold. Eventually the build up of ice becomes too much as his body encases itself fully in the stuff before a huge explosion occurs.

The explosion leaves a tone of dust in its wake, making visibility hard to come by as the crowd look on with intense looks on their faces.

Ash places a confident smirk on his face while Lance looks on with concern for his ground and dragon type Pokémon.

The dust soon settles as both Pokémon come back into view. Tyranitar stands on one side of the battlefield, looking a little winded and battered but very much still in the battle.

Meanwhile on the other side, the same can't be said for Flygon as he lays flat on his back with swirls in his eyes.

The crowd roars with cheers as the referee raises a flag in the air and announces "Flygon is unable to battle, Tyranitar is the winner!"

The noise from the crowd only increases upon hearing confirmation that Ash has made a dream start in theory, winning the first two battles. The news about his father and people's negative thoughts towards him are slowly disappearing, instead replaced by the thoughts of how well Ash is doing going through people's minds.

The commentator is one of those people as he exclaims "For the first time in his career, Lance is two Pokémon down in a championship battle! This is completely unprecedented! No one would have called this before the battle got underway today."

Far away on mount Silver in the Johto region, a travelling family watches the battle from the safety of a cottage house at the bottom of the mountain, a place where no pokemon tends to go.

However, in this case that isn't true, as a a motherly looking Tyranitar watches on through the window. A small smile coats her face as she looks at her son on the tv screen, beaming with pride as she lets off a happy cry.

Back in the Indigo league stadium and up in the stands, Serena places a an ecstatic look on her face as she leaps off her seat and shouts " Yes yes yes! Ash did it! He's winning 6-4 up against a champion! He's doing so well out there!"

Delia has a similar reaction as she exclaims "That's my son! If he keeps going at this rate then he's going to do it!"

Brock analyses the battle itself as he comments "Lance made the mistake of going to the well too many times. It took Ash 3 attempts but he successfully managed to counter that dragon tail and use it against Lance. If he keeps up these counters we'll be at the half time break in no time."

Professor Oak decides to air on the side of caution as he exclaims "I'll admit everything looks good in the short term for Ash, but I can't help but feel like Lance is setting himself up perfectly for the long run. After all 4 of Ash's 6 Pokémon have already hit the battlefield as opposed by Lance's 2."

Gary nods in agreement as he adds "Flygon may have gone down in the end but he did force Ash to use 3 Pokémon to do it. Not to mention he landed hits on all 3 of those Pokemon, a few of those being super effective. Seeing how they recover now will be key to how the rest of this battle goes."

Misty shrugs her shoulders as she exclaims "That's all speculation, personally I'd rather be in Ash's position than Lance's right now. But I guess we'll soon find out if that's correct or not."

Back down on the battlefield, Lance actually smiles, knowing Flygon has done the job he needed him to do as he returns him to his pokeball while thanking him for all his hard work.

He soon clips the pokeball back onto his belt as a small smile coats his face. He looks over at Ash as he casually remarks "You did very well to counter my dragon tail strategy eventually, but do you think you found the answer soon enough? Your team took quite the beating."

Ash shakes his head as he confidently exclaims "I know my pokemon still have a lot left in the tank, and one more win and they all get a nice long break anyway. We're still feeling pretty refreshed."

Lance smirks a little as he takes a pokeball off his belt and cryptically comments "Let's see if this next Pokémon can change your mind at all."

The Indigo league champion takes said pokeball and throws it out in front of him as he shouts "Hydreigon you're up!"

The pokeball the battlefield as Hydreigon emerges. The pseudo legendary pokemon glares at his opponent while flying up into the air, ready to do battle with his fellow dark type pseudo legendary.

Ash takes in Lance's choice and can honestly respect the Hyderigon pick. He's faced only a few in his time as a trainer and they've all caused him a lot of problems in the past.

Looking at the state of his team, he knows using his 5th completely fresh pokemon right now is probably not the best thing to do. Therefore he decides to stay with Tyranitar for now, seeing as he looks pretty fresh.

Lance soon decides to kick this battle back off as he shouts "Hydreigon use dark pulse!" Hydreigon nods one of his 3 heads as they all take a deep breath before firing off 3 separate dark purple hexagonal beams toward Tyranitar.

Ash sees the attack coming and quickly commands "Tyranitar, block it with dragon claw!" Tyranitar nods as he obeys his trainer's command and extends a set of green glowing claws before crossing them over in an X shape. The dark pulse soon slams into those claws, forcing Tyranitar to skid back a little but to ultimately not take too much damage apart from small bits of chip due to his resistance in combination with the special dance boost gifted to him by the active sandstorm.

The Alola champion soon looks to move forward with this battle and go on the offensive as he shouts "Now use ice beam!" Tyranitar shakes off the previous damage before he takes a deep breath and fires off a powerful beam of ice towards his opponent.

Lance sees the attack coming and shakes his head a little as he orders "Dodge it!" Hydreigon nods as he flaps his wings (I think that's what they are) and flies up into the air with surprisingly quick speed for a pokemon his size, dodging the ice beam in the process.

Ash shakes his head and tries again as he commands "Now use stone edge!" Tyranitar lets off a loud roar before he stamps his foot against the ground. All of a sudden, large pointed stones begin to sprout up from the ground and head straight towards his fellow dark type pseudo legendary.

Lance uses the same strategy again as he orders "Hydreigon, dodge it now." Hydreigon nods his head as he focuses on the stones coming towards him. He tries to dodge them all, but can't move as fast as he'd like in the air. As such, a few stones clips his body, causing him to cry out in pain and skid back a little towards his trainer.

Ash looks to take advantage as he instantly punches a fist forward and shouts "Now use dragon claw!" Tyranitar lets off another loud roar as he extends a set of green glowing claws before charging forward towards Hydreigon recklessly.

Lance sees the slow speed in which Tyranitar comes forward and knows he has a chance to flip the battle on its head with one well timed counter. He soon finds that counter as he shouts "Hydreigon, shake it off and use focus blast!"

Ash's eyes widen a little in worry as he hears his opponent call for a fighting type move. Suddenly, Hydreigon shakes off his previous pain as all 3 of his heads open their jaws up wide. They all charge up blue balls of aura inside their mouths, before firing them off all at the same time towards his opponent. The focus blasts slam through the air with speed before reaching the charging Tyranitar. His eyes widen in fear, crossing his claws over in an X shape in an attempt to defend himself as the 3 orbs slam into him, causing a huge explosion.

Dust sits in the air for a few seconds as the crowd all gasp in shock at Lance's sudden comeback. Ash grits his teeth a little while looking concerned for Tyranitar's health, while Lance just smiles knowingly.

The dust soon settles as both Pokémon come into view. Hydreigon is seen first, floating up in the air while looking a little tired but very much still in the battle. Meanwhile Tyranitar lays flat on the ground while looking up at the sky with swirls clear in his eyes.

The referee soon raises a flag into the air as he announces "Tyranitar is unable to battle, Hydreigon is the winner!"

The crowd soon roar with cheers in Lance's favour as the commentator exclaims "Just like that, Lance has pulled back a victory and put himself back in this battle. How will Ash respond to his first real setback of the day?"

In the stands, Serena takes a small sigh as she exclaims "It was never going to stay with Ash winning every battle, but I sure wish it could have lasted a little longer than that. I guess it's time to strap in for the usual emotion of a 6v6 battle."

Delia sighs as well as she adds "It's only going to get harder and more emotional from here on out I know. Trust me dear, we just need to be strong and encourage him where we can."

Gary shakes his head a little as he looks down at the battlefield and comments "The power on display from Hydreigon there was something else. I get that he's a pokemon known for his special attack, but Tyranitar got his claws up and yet he still couldn't take that move. I guess that does show how important super effective moves can be."

Brock nods in agreement as he adds "Ash just learnt a valuable lesson about facing a fellow champion. If you give them even an inch they'll take a mile. He left Tyranitar's defences open for just a moment and he got punished."

Misty shakes her head a little as she exclaims "Let's not forget the important thing here. Ash is still in the lead and he's got the advantage of having seen what Hydreigon can do now. I'm sure he'll knock him out with his next Pokémon and take the lead into half time."

Professor Oak shakes his head as he comments "That's true that Ash still has the lead, but it wouldn't surprise me if Lance still has a trick up his sleeve, especially considering he's yet to reveal his last two moves yet. He's a champion for a reason and we can't underestimate him at all."

Serena sighs a little as she takes in the professors wise words. She soon takes a strong grip of her lucky blue ribbon as she whispers under her breath "Come on Ash, you can do this."

Back down on the battlefield, Ash recovers from the intial shock of losing Tyranitar as he refocuses on the battle at hand. He knows today he can't get too high when he wins or too down when he loses. This is the perfect example of this.

He soon takes a pokeball off his belt before he returns Tyranitar to it. He holds said pokeball up to his face as he smiles and whispers "You were awesome out there Tyranitar, now take a good long rest."

He clips the pokeball back onto his belt before he looks up over at his opponent. He takes a small knowing sigh before he humbly exclaims "I got too aggressive in that last battle and you made me pay for it. However, I'm not planning on making that same mistake again."

Lance smirks at his younger opponent as he replies "You were caught out by the strength of my dragons weren't you? You never expected such a powerful move so suddenly. Well that's exactly what my Hydreigon is all about. His power."

Ash smirks a little back as he cryptically exclaims "Then I guess I'll show you how powerful my dragons can be."

The Alola champion takes a pokeball off his belt as he holds it out in front of him. He soon throws said pokeball forward as he yells "Dragonite I choose you!"

The pokeball hits the ground as Dragonite emerges onto the battlefield. The original pseudo legendary pokemon stands with her usual loving smile on her face, but ready to do her best for her trainer.

The commentator smirks a little as he exclaims "Looks like we've got another battle here between two pseudo legendary pokemon. Let's see how this one plays out."

Lance soon makes his move and kicks off the battle as he orders "Use Draco meteor!" Hydreigon grins for a second before he opens his mouth up wide and fires off a powerful orange meteor into the sky. That meteor soon bursts and splits, sending smaller meteors slamming down towards Dragonite.

Ash shakes his head and decides to copy his opponent as he commands "Dragonite, you use Draco meteor too!" Dragonite nods as she opens up her jaws wide before firing off a meteor into the sky. All of a sudden, the meteor splits in half in the perfect shape for a draco meteor before all of the said meteors slam towards the ground.

Soon both dragon type Pokémon find themselves flying through the air, trying to dodge each other's meteors. Each meteor that slams into the battlefield causes the whole stadium to shake, with more and more dust kicking up over time. Both Pokémon try their best to dodge every meteor, but with the amount there is that isn't really possible. Eventually they both take hits from each other's draco meteors, causing them to both cry out in pain before falling through the air and slamming into the battlefield below.

Dust hangs in the air for a few seconds before it settles as both Pokémon come into view. As they do they both slowly rise up back into the air while marks and bruises coat their bodies. They soon both share a competitive but admirable smirk, both impressed with each other's powerful draco meteors.

Lance confirms as much as he nonchalantly comments "That was a very powerful move."

Ash smirks a little as he simply replies "Call it agreed.

Lance can't help but smile for a second at the irony of the conversation before he refocuses on the battle. A more serious look soon sits on his face as he extends his hand forward and commands "Use dark pulse!" Hydreigon shakes off his previous pain as he opens up his jaws wide before firing off three separate dark purple hexagonal beams from his three heads.

Ash sees the beams coming towards Dragonite and makes his move fast as he shouts "Dodge it!" Dragonite follows her trainer's command as she flaps her wings. She shows off impressive speed and skill as she zips through the air, avoiding the dark purple beams in the process.

The Alola champion soon looks to turn defence into offence as he commands "Now use fire punch!" Dragonite continues to fly in towards her opponent while clocking back a fist that sparks with flames. She soon reaches Hydreigon as she slams her fist straight into the middle heads face, causing him to cry out in pain and skid back a little through the air.

At this point Ash is filled with confidence upon landing a successful hit and continues to push the pace of the battle as he shouts "Use dragon claw!" Dragonite roars as she extends a set of green glowing claws before swooping down towards Hydreigon.

Lance sees the strong dragon type move approaching and knows that Hydreigon isn't going to take such an attack. Instead he decides to get out of this match up as he shouts "Use U turn!"

Hydreigon shakes off his previous pain and listens to his trainer's call. He coats himself in a green bug like aura before he spins straight towards his opponent like a mini torpedo. He manages to beat Dragonite to the punch as such, slamming into her midsection and causing her to let off a small cry of pain as she skids back a little.

All of a sudden, Hydreigon turns into nothing but red energy before that energy flows back towards his trainer. It slams into a pokeball attached to Lance's belt as Hydreigon returns to rest up.

A few members of the crowd murmur in confusion as the commentator explains "To those that are unaware, u turn is a move that makes a pokemon retreat back into their pokemon after attacking. That means that Lance will have to choose a new pokemon to use."

In the stands, Misty shrugs her shoulders a little as she comments "I guess Lance wasn't too happy about that matchup so decided to use U turn to get out of there."

Gary nods in agreement as he adds "That's definitely part of the reason. But remember, using draco meteor lowers a Pokémon's special attacking potential, but when a Pokemon switches out those changes are negated. In a way, using U turn with draco meteor is a genius strategy. 

Back down on the battlefield, Ash finds himself taking a deep breath to compose himself, knowing he can't get frustrated by any of Lance's tricks. Sure he may have been moments away from going into a half time break at 5-3 up, but there's no way he can dwell on that now.

Lance soon takes another pokeball off his belt as he holds it out in front of him. He soon throws it forward as he shouts "Aerodactyl you're up next!"

The pokeball flies up into the air before it bursts open as Aeorodactyl emerges. The prehistoric pokemon lets off a loud roar before he looks over at his opponent with a small glare.

In the stands, Serena's baby Aerodactyl sees another one of his species for the first time and finds himself intrigued to meet one of his own, as well as finding out what a fully grown version of himself can do.

Back down on the battlefield, Ash looks at the Aerodactyl in front of him and notices a small detail about him that's different to other Aerodactyls.

A mega stone attached to his wing.

A small competitive smirk soon coats the Alola champion's face as he comments "So, you didn't think your dragon type could beat mine. So you switched in a non dragon type Pokémon."

Lance doesn't rise to Ash's little taunt as he calmly replies "I'm simply doing what I need to do to win this battle. That's all a good trainer should be thinking about when it comes to their choice of Pokémon."

Ash shakes his head a little as he exclaims "I choose my Pokemon based on trust. But that's not the point. I want to see exactly what you and Aerodactyl can do with no restrictions. Don't hold back!"

Lance smirks as he simply replies "As you wish."

The Indigo league champion rolls up his sleeves, revealing a standard mega ring attached to his wrist. He holds the ring up in front of him as he shouts "Aerodactyl, go beyond your limits and mega evolve!"

Lance presses down two fingers on his mega ring, sending bright mega evolution energy shining through the air. That mega evolution energy soon strikes the mega stone on Aerodactyl's wing as he finds himself surrounded by said energy. Suddenly he begins to glow and cry out as his body changes. That glow soon dissipates and a mega evolution symbol flashes up in front of him as he completes his transformation into mega Aerodactyl.

The crowd roar with noise as the commentator exclaims "Well this is certainly a new one, Lance has chosen to mega evolve his Aerodactyl! It was not the pokemon I was expecting Lance to mega evolve but it looks like he's pulling out all the stops to give Ash a hard time here today. How will the Alola champion respond?"

Up in the stands, Serena places a nervous look on her face as she comments "In all the research we did, we never saw Lance mega evolve his Aeordactyl once. This is a new one Ash is a little unprepared for."

Gary nods in agreement as he adds "There's no doubt in my mind that Lance has been saving this one for a special battle. He's picked mega evolution as his first gimmick on a Pokemon that's not a dragon type. That's going to throw Ash off his game for sure."

Professor Oak shakes his head a little as he exclaims "It's unexpected for sure, but Ash still has the tools to deal with such a pokemon if he plays his cards right. He needs to stay focused."

Meanwhile, Serena's baby Aerodactyl looks down at a Pokemon of the same species as him mega evolving and is honestly a little shocked that they can do something like that. It's a little surreal to see how strong a fully grown version of himself can actually be if raised properly.

Back down on the battlefield, Ash sees the mega evolution in front of him and smirks a little, actually feeling excited that Lance is going all out and not holding anything back.

He soon decides to make the first move of the battle as he extends his hand forward and commands "Dragonite, use hurricane!" Dragonite nods as she flies up into the air before flapping her wings somewhat rapidly, slowly forming a giant swirling hurricane before sending it towards her opponent.

Lance is pretty cool and collected as usual as he orders "Into the air and dodge it!" Aerodactyl lets off a pretty ear piercing high pitched cry as he flaps his wings and takes off into the air. He soon flies around in the air with extremely impressive speed, zipping past the hurricane before flying straight ahead towards his opponent.

The Indigo league champion soon extends his hand forward as he shouts "Now use dual wing beat!" Aerodactyl nods as he turns his wings a deep blue shade of aura before angling them towards Dragonite as he flies in closer towards her.

Ash sees the attack coming and reacts quickly as he orders "Block it with dragon claw!" Dragonite nods as she extends a set of green glowing claws before crossing them over in an X shape. The two attacks soon slam into each other with Aerodactyl's wings clashing against Dragonite's claws. The pseudo legendary pokemon does struggle a lot but manages to push Aerodactyl off of her and back towards his trainer.

This time Ash looks to go on the offensive as he extends his hand forward and commands "Now Dragonite, use your signature draco meteor!" Dragonite listens to her trainer's call as she flies up into the air while forming a bright orange meteor in her mouth. She soon flies down while firing said meteor out in front of her. As usual the meteor splits into many different little meteors that fly right behind Dragonite as she guides them towards her opponent.

Lance sees what's about to happen and stays calm as he casually remarks "Let them get closer Aerodactyl."

The mega evolved prehistoric pokemon nods as he carefully watches his opponent come closer towards him.

Dragonite continues to charge in, with Ash always committed to this plan. Lance lets Dragonite fly as close as possible before he bursts into action and shouts "Now fly underneath her!"

Like a bolt of lightning, Aerodactyl takes off in a flash as he flies straight under the dragon type Pokémon with such speed and skill that it causes the crowd to gasp in shock.

Lance doesn't hesitate to turn defence into attack as he yells "Now use stone edge!" Aerodactyl cries out as he extends his wings out, forming sharp pointed stones all around him. He soon flaps his wings forward, sending those stones crashing towards Dragonite. The super effective attack lands, causing the pseudo legendary pokemon to cry out in pain and lose balance as she begins to tumble towards planet earth.

Ash instantly gasps with worry as he shouts "Dragonite no!"

A serious look coats Lance's face as he casually commands "No more games, end this with ice fang!" Ash's eyes widen in fear, knowing there is nothing he can do for Dragonite now. Aerodactyl swoops down through the air with his fangs coated in a blue icy white aura. He soon reaches the falling Dragonite as he bites his teeth into her, causing her to cry out in further pain thanks to the 4x super effective attack. Aerodactyl soon releases his grip, allowing the pseudo legendary to helplessly fall through the air before slamming into the battlefield below as dust kicks up everywhere.

The whole stadium's view is obscured by the dust with large chunks of the crowd waiting with anticipation on their faces to see the result of the collision. Ash looks on with concern clear on his face for Dragonite while Lance just confidently smirks.

The dust soon settles around the battlefield as both Pokémon come into view. Aerodactyl hovers in the air with a few marks on his body but nothing too serious. Meanwhile, Dragonite lays on the other side of the battlefield on her back as swirls sit clear in her eyes.

The crowd roar with cheers as the referee raises a flag in the air and announces "Dragonite is unable to battle, Aerodactyl is the winner!"

The crowd's cheers only increase as the commentator shouts "Another huge win for Lance! He's pulled back that two Pokémon deficit and levelled things up here in style! Now it's up to Ash to respond to the Indigo league champion's impressive might. This one is going to keep going back and forth folks I can tell you that for free!"

Up in the stands, Serena frowns as she moans "I feel really sorry for Dragonite. She tried so hard in all her battles and did so well. But ultimately when people look at the facts of this battle they're going to point out she didn't get a win. But that's really unfair because she did so much damage in her first league battle."

Baby Pikachu and Aerodactyl both let off sad cries in agreement, both unhappy to see their aunt Dragonite go down like that. Dragonite is such a caring Pokemon, and the two youngsters have certainly grown attached to her care.

Sylveon and Delphox both approach the two to help comfort them a little, while hoping that Ash's next Pokémon can get some form of revenge.

Gary shakes his head a little as he exclaims "It may seem like Dragonite had no wins on paper, but realistically we all know she's played a huge role in this battle. She's done big damage to both Flygon and Hydreigon, and landed a hit on Aerodactyl with that dragon claw collision. That's not to mention that she's definitely tested his stamina. I'd personally call that a pretty successful league debut."

Misty nods in agreement as she replies "For once in your life Gary you're actually right, but that doesn't help Ash in winning this battle now."

Brock analyses the situation as he exclaims "That Aerodactyl is super fast in the air, that it makes it difficult for Ash to nail down consistent damage on him. He's going to need to find a way to match or negate that speed moving forward."

Professor Oak folds his arms over as he comments "Unfortunately that is a lot easier said than done. Aerodactyl are naturally a fast species of Pokémon and that speed only gets boosted by mega evolution. If Ash wants to beat him he's going to need to be on top of his game."

Delia shakes her head a little as she exclaims "I know my son, and I know he'll already be able to think of ideas in his head to bring this battle to a close. I know he can do this."

Back down on the battlefield, Ash takes a small sigh before he takes Dragonite's pokeball off his belt and returns her. He soon smiles down at said pokeball as he whispers "You were awesome out there Dragonite, and you did a ton of great things out there. Now take a good rest because you deserve it."

He soon clips the pokeball back onto his belt before he looks up at his opponent. A small smile grows onto his face as he exclaims "I never expected you to mega evolve Aerodactyl of all Pokemon, but I must say I'm impressed by how fast and strong he is."

Lance smirks a little as he replies in a confident tone "I know for a fact that if you didn't expect a mega Aerodactyl, then that means you're not properly prepared to face one."

While Ash hates to admit it, Lance is partially right. Sure he knew that an Aerodactyl could be coming to this battle, but he certainly didn't predict the mega version. If he did he probably would have used certain pokemon a little differently, but that's all in the past now.

The Alola champion shakes off that thought and calmly replies "It's a good thing I'm known for thinking on the fly then. My biggest weapon is my innovation, so preparation for now can take a backseat."

Lance finds himself smirking a little at the Alola champion's words, hope this battle is turning out to be just as exciting as he predicted. His opponent is as fearless as he hoped.

Ash soon kneels down as he looks down at his first pokemon. He runs a hand over his head as he questions "You want to give it a shot buddy?"

Pikachu places a competitive look on his face and lets off a determined cry in agreement with his trainer. The electric mouse soon kicks off as he moves onto the battlefield, sparking his cheeks with electricity as he looks over at his opponent with a determined look.

The crowd let off mild cheers upon seeing Ash's starter pokemon return to the battlefield as the commentator exclaims "Ash has chosen to take on Aerodactyl with his famous Pikachu. It'll be interesting to see how well recovered Ash's starter pokemon is after his tough battle against Salamence earlier on in this match."

Lance takes in Ash's choice and isn't too surprised to see Pikachu, considering he is a Pokemon that does have type advantage against his Aerodactyl.

Nevertheless, the Indigo league champion decides to kick things off as he commands "Aerodactyl, use stone edge!" Aerodactyl lets off an ear piercing cry as he flies up into the air while forming a few dozen stones around him. He takes his wings and pushes them forward, sending the array of sharp stones shooting out towards Pikachu.

Ash isn't fazed by the stones and decides to use an innovative technique to start things off as he shouts "Pikachu, bat them all away with iron tail!" Pikachu nods as he leaps up into the air while coating his tail with a bright sheet of metal. He soon takes his tail and swings it around wildly like a baseball bat, smacking every single stone that comes towards him right back the way it came.

Lance sees Pikachu turn the tables on Aerodactyl's attack and is honestly a little impressed by how strong the electric mouse's tail is. Nevertheless, he shakes off that thought as he shakes his head and orders "Dodge it!" Aerodactyl flaps his wings as he takes off through the air once again. He shows off his great speed and skill as a flyer as he dips in and out of all the stones, essentially dodging his own attack.

Ash keeps his focus and doesn't let the pressure of such an important battle get the better of him as he commands "Use electroball!" Pikachu listens to his trainer's command as he leaps up into the air before forming a ball of electricity on his tail. He does a small flip before he fires off that ball, sending it straight towards Aeordactyl once again.

Lance's strategy doesn't change for a second as he orders "Use that speed again and dodge it!" Aerodactyl nods in agreement with his trainer as he watches the electric type move head towards him. The mega evolved prehistoric pokemon soon uses his biggest weapon again as he shows off great speed to fly around the electroball before continuing on his flight path towards Pikachu.

With the gap between the two pokemon closing, Lance decides it's time to go on the offensive as he commands "Use aqua tail!" Aerodactyl nods as he coats his tail in a dark blue aura while continuing to fly towards Pikachu before flipping into the air to slam it down towards his opponent.

Ash counters quickly as he yells "Use iron tail!" Pikachu instantly leaps up into the air while coating his tail in a metal sheet as he slams it forward towards his opponent. The two pokemon clash tail on tail as the two attacks push against one another, quickly locking both pokemon in a stalemate with neither able to break through.

Ash is the first to react as he shouts "Use electroball!" Pikachu grins a little as he quickly begins to form a ball of electricity on his tail. The ball of electricity grows fast before zapping Aerodactyl. The prehistoric pokemon soon finds himself crying out in pain as he slams back through the air, just about catching himself from hitting the ground as he hovers in front of his trainer.

The Alola champion looks to stay on the offensive as he shouts "Now use thunderbolt!" Pikachu grins a little as he leaps up into the air while sparking his cheeks with electricity. "PIKKKKAAAAAACCCHHHHUUUUU!" The electric mouse screams as he fires off his signature thunderbolt towards Aerodactyl.

Lance sees the super effective attack coming and reacts quickly as he orders "Dodge it!" Aerodactyl watches the thunderbolt all the way before he flaps his wings and takes off again. Despite the undeniable accuracy and power of Pikachu's thunderbolt, Aerodactyl uses his speed to his advantage once again as he manages to avoid another one of Pikachu's attacks.

The dragon type master shakes his head a little at Ash's lack of plan to counter his Aerodactyl's speed as he shouts "Now use dual wingbeat." Aerodactyl lets off an ear piercing cry before he coats his wings in a bright blue aura and flies in towards Pikachu. He soon reaches the ketchup loving rodent as he slams him with one wing, causing Pikachu to cry out in pain and stumble a little. The prehistoric mega evolved pokemon soon flies around for another pass as he smacks Pikachu with his other wing. This time Pikachu can't keep his balance as he cries out in pain while skidding back towards his trainer.

Pikachu lands on all 4s as he pants heavily with marks and bruises coating his body. Ash can tell that Pikachu is quickly coming towards the end of his health, and he can only hope that his gamble just now was worth it.

Lance can see that Pikachu is starting to look a little weary and doesn't hesitate to take advantage as he commands "Aerodactyl, wrap this one up with stone edge!" Aerodactyl grins as he begins to fly higher into the air as he prepares to fire off another powerful rock type move. However, just at that moment he lets off a cry of pain while sparks of electricity surround him.

In the stands, Serena places a bright smile on her face as she shouts "Yes! A perfectly timed static paralysis! It's about time Ash caught a break with one of those!"

Brock can't help but let off a small chuckle as he exclaims "Well, that sure explains Ash's reasoning behind letting Pikachu get hit with dual wingbeat just now. He was praying on that static chance."

Back down on the battlefield, Ash sees the paralysed Aerodactyl and smirks a little as he shouts "Now Pikachu use thunderbolt!" Pikachu grins a little himself, feeling a little extra surge of energy run through his body after catching a break in such a tough battle. He soon leaps up into the air while furiously sparking his cheeks with electricity. "PIKKKKKAAAAACHUUU!!!" The electric mouse screams as he fires off his signature thunderbolt. With the decrease in speed thanks to paralysis there's no way Aerodactyl can dodge this one. The mega evolved pokemon soon cries out in pain as super effective electricity surges through his body. Once the attack ends he finds himself barely able to keep himself in the air, hovering just above the ground.

Ash soon tries to follow up one super effective hit with another as he orders "Now use iron tail!" Pikachu nods as he leaps up into the air while coating his tail in a sheet of metal as he prepares to slam it down towards his opponent.

Lance sees the attack coming and reacts quickly as he shouts "Counter with aqua tail." Despite feeling weak, Aerodactyl shows some incredible powers of recovery as he coats his tail in a blue water like aura before slamming it towards Pikachu. The two attacks collide and push against each other for a second, before ultimately pushing both Pokémon back towards their respective trainers.

Pikachu stands on all 4s in front of Ash while Aeordactyl hovers in front of Lance. Both Pokémon pant extremely heavily with marks and bruises coating their bodies. It doesn't take a Pokemon master to figure out that both Pokémon are at about their limit, and that one more big strike from either side could end this.

With this in mind, Ash decides to go all out as he rolls up his sleeve to reveal his black Z ring and yells "Let's use our Z power!"

Pikachu nods in agreement with his trainer as he stands up straight and readies himself for what's about to come.

Ash soon chucks his hat to Pikachu who puts it on before giving his trainer a high five and a fist pump. Z energy soon begins to flow out of Ash's Z ring and towards Pikachu as it slowly begins to surround the electric mouse.

As the Z energy grows, Ash's face fills with intensity as he shouts "This is everything we've got! To protect those closest to us and take us one step closer to achieving our dreams! Stronger than a thunderbolt! 10 million volt thunderbolt!"

Pikachu takes all that Z energy as he surrounds himself with it before leaping up into the air. He soon begins to spark his cheeks with electricity as the whole stadium marvels at the sight of Pikachu using his signature Z move.

"PIKKKKAAAAAAACHUUUUUUUUUU!!!!" The electric mouse screams as he releases his Z move, sending dozens of rainbow coloured thunderbolts towards his opponent.

Lance sees the Z move in front of him and knows for a fact that there's no way Aerodactyl can dodge that, even without the paralysis. Instead he looks to throw off his own strongest attack as he orders "Use stone edge!" Aerodactyl nods as he flies higher into the air, before throwing his wings back as he forms a few dozen stones around him. He soon throws his wings forward, sending those stones crashing towards Pikachu.

The many rainbow coloured thunderbolts slam into Aerodactyl, causing him to cry out in immense pain as he struggles against the electricity surging through his body. Pikachu doesn't find himself any better off as he finds himself getting pelted by stones, as he lets off cries of pain of his own.

Eventually the two attacks become too much for both Pokémon to handle as they both cry out in pain one more time as two massive explosions occur.

Smoke kicks up everywhere as the view of the battlefield becomes rather obscured.

The crowd all gasp in shock at the ferocity of the explosion while wondering if either pokemon will be able to come through that one.

In the stands, Serena grips her blue ribbon tightly while preying that her boyfriend will come out on top.

The two trainers stare at the sight of the explosion with gritted teeth, unsure about the current status of their pokemon.

So far this battle has been an intense one for both of them, taking a lot out of them physically and mentally.

The battle will only get more intense from here with such a grand prize on the line.

Which one of these two champions will come out on top?

Find out next time as the battle rages on!
_________________________________

And cut!

Word count: 19145

Well that's it for another chapter and part 1 of this 2 part battle.

First things first sorry about the cliffhanger but it's necessary.

So, how are you guys enjoying the battle so far?

I've tried to make it as unpredictable as possible with all the dragon tail and u turn shenanigans.

It makes things a little less straight forward for me which is a brain taxer. It means I have to think more which is probably not the best thing considering I'm sick again but meh.

Anyway in the next chapter.

The battle rages on as Ash and Lance fight on to determine the champion of both Kanto and Johto.

What Pokemon will both trainers last two Pokemon yet to be revealed be?

Will either Aerodactyl or Pikachu come through the explosion?

What tricks lay ahead?

Who will be the one standing tall at the end?

Well I guess you'll have to wait a week to find out.

So on that note, please vote and comment down below as always.

Have a nice day and I'll see you guys soon.

Bye bye :)