Shout out to Todarelli, of DeviantART, for the artwork above!

Ash held a Pokéball in his hand, as his fingers traced the button that would enlarge the device and begin the battle. The whole world seemed to stop and all noise disappeared into a void while leaving nothing, but silence. He took in Giovanni's demeanor. He was tense, muscles shaking, while his eyes exhibited anger and hatred in them.

Ash's breathing intensified, as he faintly heard the words of the ref, telling them to reveal their first choices. He had made his game plan for the battle, but he knew that it would all go down the drain, once the battle had started. This was it! Everything will be finished within the next few hours. He was ready to battle.

This ends now!

Giovanni let out a grunt, as he threw his first choice into the air. The light dimmed to show a Kalos dragon type. The dragon Pokémon stood tall while being predominantly black with a purple belly and purple on its outer wings. It had a red V shape between its eyes that shown bright yellow. White fur could be seen sticking up from his back. In place of ears, there stood two large speaker-like appendages that were teal colored. The dragon and flying type let out a deafening roar at a high pitch. Ash grabbed his ears, as the roar caused his ears to ring with the loud cry. As he turned back, he saw Giovanni smirking at him.

"What's wrong, Aaron?" he asked sadistically. "Can't handle Noivern's loud roar? Well, his bite is worse than his bark."

Ash regained his composure. His finger moved gently over the button, before clicking it and expanding the device in his hand.

"You haven't heard an actual roar, Sakaki!" Ash yelled back. "Now, it's my turn to show my own dragon!"

Ash threw his Pokéball with force. Landing with a thud and roar, out came a predominately navy blue Pokémon. Its slender frame betrayed its strength. On its back, there was a fin, which resembled that of a shark. On its legs and arms, there were two spikes, a piece, that showed white and was mirrored by the claws at the end of its wings and feet. Its chest was red, while its belly was white. On its muzzle, there was a yellow star, while two torpedo-shaped appendages came from either side of its head. It let out a roar, as it swung its tail.

Giovanni snarled. His plan to use Noivern's loud cry, to disrupt his opponent, didn't work. He felt his body shake at the Garchomp that stood before him.

---

"Wow! Two powerhouses to start! These guys are going for broke!" Max exclaimed.

"Yeah, they're really going for it!" Bonnie added.

"Well, of course, they are," Trevor interjected. "After all, this is the Finals. They both want to leave it all out on the battlefield."

"Yeah, I can remember my first Grand Festival Final Stage," Dawn said. "I left it all out against Zoey. It's obvious that both these guys are doing the same. They want to win no matter what, while leaving it all out on the battlefield." The rest of the group hummed in agreement.

Cynthia looked down to the dragons, as once again, she felt her belt begin to shake. Her own Garchomp was pleading to be let out so that it could battle. She looked back and froze, as she saw Lance. He held a serious expression, one that he had never worn before. He had always looked serious, but there was always a lighter side, in his eyes; however, not today. Sure, the two competitors had frustrated him, but the expression showed her that they were battling for more than just a championship. Her eyes shifted, as she saw a figure fly past him. Serena came to a stop, with both her hands clasped in front of her chest. The worry on her face was evident but was quickly whisked away as she took in a deep breath, before yelling her heart out.

"Go Aaron!" she hollered at the top of her lungs. "You can do it! I believe in you!"

Serena let herself go light headed. The mix feelings of fear and anxiety, along with shortness of breath, made her nearly stumble over. but she caught herself.

Who are these guys? Cynthia's mind began to race, as she turned and saw that the battle had begun.

---

"Garchomp use Stone Edge," Ash commanded.

Garchomp roared, as he leaped into the air, while circles of small rocks appeared around him, before being sent at its opponent.

"Noivern use Hurricane to deflect the attacks! Then, follow it up with Boomburst!" Giovanni retorted.

Suddenly, the sound wave Pokémon was enveloped in high force winds, causing dust and rocks to be kicked up from the stadium floor into the air. The rock type move was sent cascading away in differing directions. Some rocks hit the stadium wall, as others found their way into the stands, causing shrieks to come from the onlookers, who were near the impact, while others hit the light fixtures, causing explosions.

Ash looked on, as suddenly the winds were sliced through with sound waves that hit his Pokémon, causing Garchomp to scream in pain, as it was sent flying into the wall of the stadium.

"Dragon Rush! Let's go!" Ash responded, without hesitation.

Bursting from the dust, came to the Mach Pokémon, as its entire body was covered in a blue energy.

Giovanni didn't falter. "Hurricane again, and then, use Dragon Claw!"

Again, the dragon and flying type summoned hurricane-force winds, which caused Ash's Pokémon to lose balance, as it traveled through the air. Using the opening, the sound wave Pokémon hit the dragon and ground type, under the chin, with green glowing claws.

Ash responded quickly on his feet. "Dragon Tail into Stone Edge! Now!" he yelled.

Garchomp quickly composed himself, as he swung his tail, which had also begun to glow green. His tail struck his opponent in the head. Noivern cried in pain, as it hit the ground with a thud. Garchomp spun around again while sending a volley of rocks at the shaken Pokémon.

Noivern vanished into a dust cloud. "Noivern! Fight back with another Boomburst!" Giovanni pushed on.

The dust quickly dissipated, as sound waves raced toward the hovering Mach Pokémon while sending the Sinnoh native flying into the adjacent wall.

"Dragon Rush!" Ash countered.

Again, without hesitation, the powerful dragon encased in blue appears. This time, Giovanni hadn't expected such a quick reaction. Noivern took the attack in the chest and gasped, while not being able to muster the power for a scream, as the dragon and ground type propelled him into the wall. Garchomp flew from the wreckage. He did a backflip, before coming to a stop, in front of Ash, as it began panting, but still ready for battle.

Noivern groaned while pulling himself off the wall and flying back to his starting position, in front of his master. Noivern winced, as he landed, going to a knee briefly, before pushing himself back up to a full standing position. Giovanni snarled, as he took in the situation. Noivern has taken a lot of damage from a lot of effective attacks, more than Garchomp.

Ash was also assessing his own situation and the battle strategy that Giovanni had come up with. Giovanni doesn't want a straight up battle. He's using Hurricane to keep us at bay; but once we get in close enough, he sends us back, while also countering. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist while eyeing his opponent.

The stadium fell into an eerie silence, as the crowd had calmed themselves with the pause in the action.

---

"Fascinating!" Wallace exclaimed.

"What is it?" Brock asked.

"Both of these trainers are only feeling each other out." the occupants looked on the Hoenn champion in shock, while he continued. "They came in, looking to get a beat on each other. Aaron wanted to see how Sakaki would deal with a fast-paced battle, while Sakaki wanted to see how Aaron would react to a counter. They're playing this like two masters in a game of chess."

"Who's winning then?" Ashley questioned Wallace.

"Still too early to tell," Wallace answered. "But we'll find out soon who has gotten more from that little scrape."

---

Giovanni looked on and smiled, as Noivern seemed to have finally caught his breath, before making his next move.

"Use Dark Pulse, Noivern!"

Noivern shot a beam of dark, intertwining circles at his opponent.

"Garchomp, Sandstorm!" Ash countered.

Garchomp jumped into the air and summoned a column of sand that encased and shielded him from the oncoming attack. The dark type move hit the column of dust and sand, causing a minor explosion. When the dust settled, Garchomp was nowhere to be seen.

Giovanni growled, as his eyes began to scan the skies, above the stadium. To his dismay, he couldn't find any sign of the Mach Pokémon. His eyes quickly moved the floor of the battlefield, as the ground, in front of Noivern, began to shake.

"Get out of there, Noivern!" He yelled, but it was too late.

"Dragon Rush, Garchomp!"

The ground gave way to the Mach Pokémon, who had wrapped himself in a blue energy. The attack again hit the sound wave Pokémon in the chest, but the Sinnoh Pokémon wasn't done yet.

"Garchomp, use Dragon Tail, then into Stone Edge!" Ash encouraged his Pokémon, as he pushed his advantage on.

Garchomp jumped back a bit, causing the blue aura to disperse before an empowered tail hit his opponent. The attack hit home and sent the Kalos Pokémon skidding across the ground, for only it to disappear in a barrage of rocks.

"Noivern, use Giga Impact!" Giovanni roared.

His roar was mirrored by a shriek of acknowledgment from his Pokémon. Noivern launched himself, from the ground, toward the shocked Pokémon.

Ash stood in amazement, as the bat-like Pokémon nailed his dragon, in the chest, with the powerful normal type attack. Garchomp and Noivern slammed into the stadium wall before Noivern made a quick jump back. The stadium wall began to crumble, as Garchomp fell to the ground.

Giovanni smirked, as he thought the first round had gone to him; but much to his dismay, the dragon and ground type rose onto shaking legs, before shaking his head and letting out a roar. His eyes then moved to his temporarily immobile Pokémon. Noivern was gasping for breath at this point. It seemed that it had been pushed to its limits. Both Pokémon seemed to be standing on willpower alone.

Ash shook himself out of his shock, before continuing his attack. "Garchomp, end this with Stone Edge!"

Again, Garchomp leaped into the air, as the rocks appeared around him. He let a roar, before launching the attack towards his opponent.

"Hurricane into Boomburst, Noivern!" Giovanni countered.

Noivern summoned the powerful flying attack, but unlike before, a few of the rocks were able to cut through the strong winds. One rock struck its stomach, causing it to stagger forward, before another came in and made contact with its head, forcing it to stumble backward. It regained its footing and sent to normal type attack. The attack struck Garchomp, while forcing it back, but with less force than previously.

Ash gritted his teeth, as Garchomp fell to a knee, before standing once again. I have to end this now, but I can't get in close! All my straightforward attacks are being sent back! Ash winced, as a ray of sunlight hit his eyes. He covered his eyes and looked up. That's it!

"Garchomp, use Draco Meter, and then, attack with Dragon Rush!" Ash commanded.

Garchomp nodded. He began to focus energy in his chest, which glowed orange. He turned his head to the sky, before shooting an orange ball of energy into the air. The ball traveled high, above the stadium, before exploding like a firework. The explosion sent dozens of small spheres, plummeting to the earth below. Garchomp, after seeing that his first attack was successful, leaped at his opponent, using the next dragon type move.

"Dodge that, Noivern!" Giovanni implored his Kalos Pokémon.

Noivern frantically spun to and fro, in its attempts to dodge the meteors that struck the stadium floor. With its attention on the falling spheres, it didn't notice the Garchomp that was closing in.

Garchomp struck the Pokémon, in the chest, while its wings wrapped around the reeling Pokémon's body. Garchomp then threw his opponent to the ground, before rolling away from his opponent. Noivern opened its eyes, but only to close them again, as it saw a sphere colliding with the sound wave Pokémon.

The dust settled, after the collision, to reveal a knocked out flying and dragon type. Garchomp roared with pride, as Giovanni silently returned his fallen Pokémon to its Pokéball. He snarled while gazing towards the still celebrating Sinnoh Pokémon.

---

Serena jumped and shouted with glee, from the front row of the elite suite. She had managed to sneak her way into the front row and sit next to Gary.

"Go, Aaron! You can do it! Woo!" she shouted with all her might.

Gary smiled when he saw his friend, jumping up and down, next to him. "It seems Aaron has gotten the better of Sakaki."

However, his smile didn't last long.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Diantha spoke. The rest of the group turned to the champions, who were all nodding their heads, in approval of the Kalos champion's comment.

"What do you mean?" Serena questioned. "Wallace even said that it would be clear who got more out of their first engagement, and it was Aaron."

"I did say that," Wallace answered, "but Diantha is right. Even though Aaron did manage to win this round, the battle could still go back and forth, until the very end."

"That's right," Trevor responded as he turned to the performer, as he gives her an example of that scenario. "It's what happened in my battle against Aaron. Although he won the first two battles, he then loses three battles, before the intermission. After the break, he managed to win three battles, then losing two more, before finally claiming victory in the last battle. You see, Serena, the winner of the match isn't determined by just one battle. It takes at least six battles and how many Pokémon a trainer has left remaining, by the last round of a matchup, to determine a victor. Aaron may have won this round, but the battle is far from over.

"What does that even mean?" Serena asked.

"It means that these two titans are just warming up." The group turned to Lance, who stood in the back. The Kanto and Johto champion didn't look impressed. He just stood there, emotionless, as his eyes gazed down upon the battlefield below. "Remember, these guys have a long fight ahead of them. Things are just getting started."