Jamie took a deep breath as he waited for the the final five minutes of his break to pass. Every minute that went by was spent on devising a way to overcome the wall that he would face upon walking out onto that field. Seth, for as long as he'd known him, was like Felicity in the fact that he was incredibly driven, something he'd noticed from the start. The three of them were at the top of their class and always pushed each other to their limits in every battle they'd ever been in during those years they'd spent at the academy. Now, in the quarterfinals, he'd get the chance to really test how far he'd come against who he considered one of his greatest rivals, the other being Felicity.

Seth was always a pillar of strength, not just to him but to his peers. He always found a way to overcome any obstacle that was in his way no matter if he was at a disadvantage or not. He'd seen it in his graduation match and in the gym battles he'd seen Seth take on. Now it was Jamie's turn to show Seth just how much of an inspiration he'd been, and what better way to do that than to give it his all in a battle? As the tunnel lit up to signal the start of the quarterfinals, Jamie stood up from the bench and began to walk to the end of the tunnel to await his introduction. The crowd began to cheer as the announcer took his place on the field and adjusted his mic to address the crowd.

"Welcome back to the Lumiose Conference quarterfinals!"

The crowd roared excitedly to show their enthusiasm.

"We're only a few rounds away from crowning a new conference champion, so why don't we start things off by introducing the first of our quarterfinalists? Seth and Jamie, you may now make your way to the center of the arena!"

All eyes were on the red and green tunnels as Seth and Jamie walked out onto the battlefield. The two stopped and stared each other down, determination burning in their eyes. Jamie was the first to speak.

"We're finally here. It's not exactly how I thought it would turn out though," Jamie admitted.

"How did you think it would happen?" Seth asked, arching a brow.

"I'd always envisioned us meeting in the final round, you know? Duking it out to see who would be champ," Jamie said with a wide grin. "But eh, it is what it is right?"

"Funny you should say that because I'd thought of something similar. I guess this will have to do for now," Seth replied with a chuckle. "Regardless, let's give it our all with no regrets. Know this, I won't be holding back," Seth warned as he reached out to shake his friend's hand.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on going easy on you either. I'll be doing my best to take you down," Jamie replied smirking.

The two walked back to their respective trainer boxes and waited for the judge to enter the field. After a few words from the announcer, the judge began to speak.

"The winner of this match will move on to the semifinal round! Like the preliminary rounds this will be a three on three battle. The match is over when all  Pokémon on either side are unable to battle! Trainers, please send out your first Pokémon!"

Jamie grinned as he reached down to his belt to make his first selection. Seth replicated the action and both of them shouted in unison as they released their partners into the air.

"Flygon, time for battle!"

"Vespisol, engarde!"

"Both sides ready?" The judge asked, raising a hand after getting confirmation from both sides. "Begin!"

"Flygon, start things off with Dragon Claw!" Jamie commanded.

"Vespisol, strike back with Mega Punch!" Seth countered.

Flygon powered up his claws and shot toward Vespisol like a bullet, claws glowing with an emerald light. Empowering his fists with wind, Vespisol darted forward and met his draconic adversary head-on in a blurred exchange of blows, taking a few slashes to the chest and face before countering with a well placed punch to the dragon's gut and jaw. The desert dragon opened his maw and fired off a beam of draconic energy at the soldier bee, forcing him toward the ground.

Flygon hovered above the arena as the smoke began to clear, his eyes trained on the shadow that began to move within. In a flash, Vespisol rocketed out of the dust cloud, verdant blades extended from his hands as he lashed out at Flygon, slashing him across the face and then arcing a blade downward to send Flygon into a downward spiral toward the arena floor. Righting himself, Flygon managed to zip out of the way as Vespisol narrowly missed his kick. Rearing his head back, Flygon launched a stream of fire at Vespisol who swayed to avoid it only to be set upon swiftly by his foe.

"Fire Punch!" Jamie called out.

"Mega Punch!" Seth retaliated.

The two attacks simultaneously connected, Flygon's being the more forceful of the two which sent Vespisol crashing hard into the ground while Flygon was forced upward and backward. When the dust settled, Vespisol was revealed to be unconcious.

"Vespisol is unable to battle, Flygon wins the round!" declared the judge.

"That's about how I thought that match would go. Pretty impressive Jamie," Seth said to himself as he recalled Vespisol to his ball. "He wasn't kidding around when he said he was going to get serious with me. I guess I should return the favor," Seth said with a grin as he readied his next Pokémon.

"Nidoking, you're up!" Seth shouted upon releasing his next teammate.

A mighty roar heralded the arrival of the venomous, blue, horned beast. The Drill Pokémon stared down his opposition and growled challengingly at the desert dragon. Jamie looked warily at Nidoking having remembered how savage it was the first time he saw it in action. Still, even as intimidating as it was, Flygon held every possible advantage in this match and while Jamie knew this he also knew who his opponent was, and if there was one thing he knew about Seth, it was that he always found a workaround.

"Flygon, we've got the speed advantage, close in with Outrage!" Jamie commanded hastily.

"Jumping the gun a bit aren't we Jamie? Speed isn't always the determining factor in a match. But I'm sure you learned that already from our battles at school," Seth reminded as Flygon closed the distance.

Nidoking clenched his fist and drew it back, swerving his body ahead of time to just barely avoid getting bodychecked. An icy aura gathered around Nidoking's fist as he swung home an Ice Punch, the freezing effect taking hold almost immediately upon contact as the dragon went sailing through the air, landing in a half frozen heap in front of Jamie. The judges hand shot up to call the round.

"Flygon is unable to battle! Nidoking wins the round!"

Felicity winced as she saw Flygon go down. She couldn't say that she wasn't expecting it considering how unpredictable Seth's Pokémon could be. Jamie was definitely in a tight spot and by the looks of things he knew that already. While her friends were probably her two biggest concerns, there were a few others she'd been keeping track of that gave her just as much cause for worry as Seth and Jamie. Vincent and Grayson were powerful in their own right and either one of them would give her trouble if she wasn't careful.

"They're really going at it aren't they?" Grayson said as he stepped up beside her to get a better view.

"They most certainly are. I've known those two for years and I can tell you... this is typical for them," Felicity chuckled, casting a sidelong glance at Grayson.

"From where I'm standing, I'm inclined to believe you," Grayson laughed. "I've only battled Seth once and he's no pushover. If we meet in this conference I know I'll have my work cut out for me that's for sure."

"That's one way to put it," Felicity replied, crossing her arms as she watched Jamie reach for his next ball.

"I guess I should have expected that result," Jamie muttered to himself as he expanded his next sphere. "Clawitzer, we've got work to do!"

And there he is, Seth thought, his eyes zeroing in on the Howitzer Pokémon.

Seth had battled this crustacean multiple times at the academy and knew it to be quite a challenge. Looking over at Nidoking, he considered his next course of action.

"Clawitzer, Water Pulse!" Jamie commanded.

"Careful Nidoking, his ability amplifies his power! Thunderbolt!" Seth countered quickly.

Clawitzer opened his massive pincer and began drawing in power. After a few seconds, a powerful burst of water erupted from within in the form of a giant sphere that moved rapidly toward its target. Nidoking's horn crackled with electricity and with a mighty roar, he unleashed a bolt of lightning that tore through the air and crashed into the watery assault and exploded upon impact.

"Crabhammer!"

Bursting forward from his side of the field, Clawitzer raised his massive claw and brought it down upon Nidoking who threw his arm up to cushion the blow.

"Shake him off, use Thunder Punch!"

Nidoking gritted his teeth as the Crabhammer bore into his arm and buckled his knees. With a snarl, Nidoking retaliated by swinging an lightning powered fist toward the fast-moving crustacean who zipped away, his body cloaked in water as he narrowly avoiding getting zapped as several bolts of lightning tore up the ground behind him. 

"Sheesh, what the hell did he teach that thing?" Jamie muttered to himself as Clawitzer swerved away from another Thunderbolt. "Ice Beam!"

Clawitzer shot toward Nidoking, avoiding a Sludge Wave that spewed from the venomous beast's mouth before launching a close quarters icy blast that pushed the behemoth several yards away, nearly freezing half his body in the process. As Clawitzer closed in to capitalize on his attack, the ice began to melt as a stream of fire burned through it and forced him to alter his course of action. Closing the gap, Clawitzer powered up his claw and Nidoking charged his horn with electricity.

"Water Pulse!"

"Thunderbolt!"

A deafening boom resounded through the arena as both attacks collided, spraying dust and debris and obstructing the view of the combatants. After the dust finally settled, both Nidoking and Clawitzer were revealed to be out of commission.

"Nidoking and Clawitzer are unable to battle! The round ends in a draw!" declared the judge as their hand went up.

"This feels just like old times doesn't it? I missed this feeling you know?" Jamie laughed. "I guess it's time to kick things into high gear isn't it?" Jamie said, smirking as he removed his final pick from his belt and gave it a toss. "Blastoise, let's rumble!"

The giant turtle-like Pokémon landed with a heavy thud as he was released. It was no secret to Seth that Jamie was fond of Water-types, considering he'd chosen Clauncher to start with and had a list of various Water-type Pokémon he'd wished to capture. It came as no surprise that Jamie would have something as powerful as a Blastoise in his arsenal, and judging by the obvious collar around its neck, a Mega Blastoise at that. A smile curved onto Seth's face as he laid eyes upon his friend's ace.

"Looks like I've got no choice now do I?" Seth chuckled to himself as he reached for his last choice and enlarged the sphere. "I was planning on using this if we made it to the semifinals together but I suppose now's as good a time as any. Besides, it's only fair since you used who you started out with," Seth continued as he drew his arm back to throw.

"Bisharp, engarde!"

Jamie took a deep breath as Bisharp burst onto the field. Jamie couldn't help but dawn a nervous look as he remembered the countless sparring matches his Clawitzer had with Seth's Bisharp while they were still in their first stages. At first, Jamie had won against them due to Pawniard had been difficult from the beginning and gave Seth a hard time starting out. But after they began working together their synergy improved drastically and suddenly, they were next to unstoppable.

"I've been waiting for this," Jamie muttered, determination burning in his eyes as he held up his arm to tap the keystone on the wristband before raising it above his head.

Blastoise loosed a mighty cry as power flooded his body. His skin toughened as he underwent the process of transmutation. Small shells housing water cannons, formed around his arms while a much larger cannon protruded from his back shell, replacing the two that normally were there. With the transformation complete, Blastoise readied himself for battle, training his cannons on his foe.

"This is it Bisharp. I know it's a little early but I think we can show off a little of your training results," Seth said smirking.

"Bring it on Seth, we're ready for ya! Blastoise, put those new cannons to use with Water Pulse!"

Three orbs of water rapidly formed in front of all of Blastoise's cannons as he kept a steady aim on his target. Bisharp hadn't been ordered to move and simply stood there as the shots were fired in three simultaneous bursts, one large orb in the center followed closely by two smaller spheres on either side. Sparks of light blue energy began crackling around Bisharp's body, and before the blasts could make an impact, Bisharp darted swiftly out of the way and shot forward, his body nearly blurred due to the speed boost he'd given himself moments before. As he ran, swords of light danced about his frame, embuing him with newfound strength just moments before he jinked to the right of another attack from Blastoise's cannon.

"Night Slash!" Seth roared as Bisharp closed in.

Both of Bisharp's blades glowed with an eerie black and purple aura as he lashed out at his opposition, slashing the armored turtle across the front of his shell and face in quick succession, the force of the attack causing Blastoise to stagger and fire off a charged Aura Sphere into the sky as it was knocked off balance. Barely regaining his balance, Blastoise righted himself and redirected his cannon right at Bisharp as he moved in again, hastily firing off a Water Pulse to ward him off.

"Looks like he got a bit faster. That's fine, we can do that too! Aqua Jet and keep using Water Pulse!" Jamie commanded in a determined tone.

Blastoise shot forward, a stream of high pressure water trailing behind him as he moved like a jet ski toward his opponent, cannons locked and loaded. One after another, the cannons fired off short bursts of water that exploded around the arena as Bisharp and Blastoise zipped around the battlefield. All the while, Bisharp was gradually increasing his speed as he moved, making it more difficult with each pass for Blastoise to hit his target.

This can't be good, Jamie thought as he caught sight of the sparks flickering off of Bisharp's body. He's just making himself faster! Blastoise can't keep up if he can't aim at him—wait... that's it! He shouldn't be aiming at him, he should be aiming ahead of him!

"Blastoise, watch where he's going and aim there!" Jamie called out suddenly. "Hydro Cannon!"

The burly cannon turtle slid to a stop and took careful aim at Bisharp as he sped toward him. The ground began to rumble and the inside of the cannon lit up as Blastoise prepped his assault. As Bisharp charged, Blastoise fired off several small spheres of water ahead of the path that Bisharp was taking, forcing Bisharp to run in a wide circle around Blastoise as he turned and opened fire with his smaller cannons. After his cannon was fully powered up, Blastoise finally discharged the cannon, releasing an explosive, watery blast ahead of Bisharp with a loud bang resounding as the cannon blast hit its mark.

Smoke veiled the scene where Bisharp had been. The judge watched the smokescreen intently to see what had become of Bisharp during the blast. Jamie looked on nervously, knowing he'd taken a huge gamble with what he'd just done, leaving Blastoise potentially wide open if the attack didn't land. When the smoke cleared, Bisharp could be seen sitting with his back against the wall and his head down. Jamie stared in disbelief, the thought of possibly having won slowly overtaking him as the judge's hand went up to call the match.

However, before the call was made, Bisharp's body exploded in a cloud of smoke, revealing that it was in fact a Substitute. Jamie's eyes caught sight of Bisharp a little late as he flickered into view behind Blastoise, its blade arm glowing with darkness.

"Night Slash!"

Bisharp swung his blade and uppercutted Blastoise in the chin, the power behind the strike causing Blastoise to topple over backwards onto his shell and hit the ground with a heavy thud. The judge's hand shot back into the air as Blastoise passed out.

"Blastoise is unable to battle! The winner and first to move on to the semifinals is Seth Da Silva!"

"What an amazing battle! I don't know about you all but I was on the edge of my seat the entire match! Let's here it for these two combatants one more time!" Shouted the announcer, prompting the crowd to erupt into a frenzy of cheers as Seth and Jamie met to shake hands in the middle.

"Man, I really thought I had you this time!" Jamie said, shaking his head with a laugh as he gave his friend a firm shake.

"You almost did actually. Had Bisharp not acted quick enough, it'd be you moving on," Seth replied, relief washing over him as he hitched Bisharp's ball to his belt.

"It was fun though, wasn't it? Maybe sometime after this we can have a full battle of our own, what do you say?" Jamie asked hopefully. "I haven't even gotten to show off my full team yet."

"I'd definitely be up for it," Seth replied grinning.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Alright, see ya after the conference. I'll be watching from the stands. Melody saved me a spot with a good view so... yeah..."

Seth rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, pinning his friend with a stare. "You know she likes you right?"

Jamie scratched the back of his head nervously and nodded. "Yeah... it's pretty obvious she does. Not gonna lie, I kinda like her back," Jamie said with an anxious laugh.

"I figured as much. With the way you two hung around each other all this time it wasn't much of a secret," Seth replied with a wry grin.

"So... it'd be cool if we went on a few dates right?"

"You don't need my permission to do that you know? I know my parents wouldn't object or anything since they've known you for as long as I have. Treat her the way you always have and we won't have any issues, alright?" Seth answered, chuckling as his friend gave a relieved sigh.

"That's a relief. Well... I'd better get on that then. Good luck in the next round man! I'll be rootin' for ya!" Jamie called over his shoulder as he and Seth parted from the battlefield.

The rest of the quarterfinal matches went by rather quickly after Seth and Jamie's matchup. When all was said and done, only Vincent, Grayson, Felicity and Seth remained.