Ash glared across at Malva. He was surprised she had waited for him to send Serena and Mairin down safely. She answered his mental question quickly though. "I'm quite interested to have a battle with you. I'm impressed with your Infernape." She said.

Ash looked at Pikachu and smiled. "Well get ready to be even more impressed. Infernape's strong, but Pikachu's my ace."

Malva narrowed her eyes. "Pikachu was your starter Pokemon?" She asked.

Ash nodded. "Pikachu and I have been together for a long time. We've been through a lot together. He's my best friend."

Malva smirked. "He doesn't look like much to me." She gestured towards her growling Houndoom. It pawed at the ground, looking impatient. "This looks like real strength." She then gestured towards the ground, where Ash's friends were. "Your Charizard, Infernape and Greninja look to have real strength." She looked at Pikachu. "He's weak."

Ash shrugged. "Charizard is probably my strongest Pokemon and Infernape and Greninja aren't too far behind, but Pikachu's got a little something special." Pikachu looked back and smiled at his trainer. "Pikachu's speed, smarts and heart are what make him my best weapon."

Malva laughed. "We'll see how long he lasts against Houndoom. If he lasts a couple of minutes, maybe that will change my mind."

Ash didn't answer, but instead ordered his first attack. It was time to stop talking and get this battle started. "Pikachu, let's start this off with our favourite move. Thunderbolt!" Pikachu leaped into the air, and let loose an already charged thunderbolt, straight at Houndoom.

Malva was quick to respond. "Dark pulse!" She ordered. Houndoom stepped back and blasted the dark energy straight towards Pikachu's thunderbolt. The two attacks slammed into each other and exploded on impact. "Now leap over and use crunch!" Malva shouted.

"Iron tail!" Ash countered. Houndoom easily leaped across the hole in the roof and rushed towards Pikachu. He opened his jaws to bite, just as Pikachu swung his shining, silvery tail towards it.

"Now hold onto its tail!" Malva shouted, looking pleased. Houndoom sunk his jaws into Pikachu's iron tail attack. They stood there a moment staring at each other. Pikachu still in the air looking at the powerful Pokemon that had his tail in its jaws. "Now your trapped." Malva said, smirking.

Ash smiled. "Not quite. Pikachu, electro-ball!" He felt a rush of satisfaction as he saw Malva's look of shock. Pikachu's tail quickly charged up the sphere of electricity and he released it right into Houndoom's jaws.

Houndoom roared in pain and was launched back, barely managing to stop itself from falling through the hole. "Smarten up, Houndoom!" Malva yelled. Houndoom looked back at her, looking frustrated. Ash thought he noticed something. Did Houndoom's horn just shrink a little? He thought.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash ordered. Pikachu again leaped into the air and launched a powerful bolt of electricity towards Houndoom.

"Flamethrower!" Houndoom reared its head back and opened its jaws. He jerked his head forwards and launched a massive blast of flames that powered through the thunderbolt and then rocketed towards Pikachu.

"Quick attack to dodge." Ash said quickly. Pikachu sped out of the way, just in time, narrowly avoiding the flames that scorched into the ground where he'd just been standing. "Now, use that speed and hit it with iron tail!" Ash yelled. Pikachu continued its quick attack and was in front of Houndoom before it could even register what was happening. Pikachu leaped into the air, pulled his tail back and swung it forward, now gleaming in a silvery shine again. He slammed it into Houndoom's side, knocking the mega evolved Pokemon to the ground.

"Pay attention, you mutt!" Malva shrieked in anger. Houndoom struggled to his feet and then turned and barked angrily at Malva. Ash saw again, its horn shrink just a little bit. Maybe just a centimetre or two. He also noticed its bony chest armour look a little smaller too. What's going on? He thought. He didn't have time to think though, because Malva ordered her next attack. "Flamethrower!"

Houndoom didn't charge his attack this time, but instead immediately fired a quick jet of flames towards Pikachu. Without having time from his opponent's charge, Pikachu was unable to dodge the flames that sped towards him. He was struck in the chest and knocked backwards. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled in concern. "You ok, buddy?"

Pikachu struggled to his feet and then looked at Ash with a smile. "Pika!" He said confidently. He then glared at Houndoom.

"Great job, Pikachu!" Ash yelled. "Now show them what you're made of!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled and a blast of lightning shot down from the sky and hit Pikachu. Ash knew it was nothing to be concerned about though, it only charged Pikachu up.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled.

Malva countered. "Dark pulse!"

Pikachu launched his supercharged thunderbolt, while Houndoom dug its feet in and blasted a dark stream of energy to counter. The two attacks met in midair and crackled against each other. It was now a battle of wills over which Pokemon's attack would force its way through for contact.

"You can do it Pikachu." Ash said. "Stay strong."

"Don't let that puny Pokemon overpower you." Malva yelled. "We have mega evolution on our side."

Houndoom dug its feet in more and opened its jaws wider. Ash heard him roar as he somehow forced his attack to have more power. Bit by bit, the dark pulse attack began to overpower Pikachu's thunderbolt. Slowly, but surely, the dark stream of energy was inching towards Pikachu, who was looking nervous and tired, attempting to keep up his attack.

Ash took a deep breath and then looked at Pikachu. "Come on buddy." He said quietly. "I know you can do it." Ash had said it to himself, but for a moment he saw Pikachu's eyes dart towards him, before reverting his attention back to his battle of wills. He, like Houndoom moments before, dug his feet in and willed himself into putting out more power. He'd sensed Ash's belief in him and it had boosted his reserves.

"Pi-ka-chuuu!" Pikachu shouted. He closed his eyes and amazingly, the electricity coming from his cheeks appeared to double. His body was now encased in a shield of electricity. And now, his attack started to overpower Houndoom's. And, bit by bit, the power from Pikachu's attack extended closer and closer towards Houndoom.

"Alright, Pikachu, let's go!" Ash said, motivating his partner Pokemon. And, with one final yell of determination, another bolt of lightning came down supercharging one last burst of energy that exploded from Pikachu and rocketed towards Houndoom.

The mega evolved Pokemon's eyes widened in fear as both his dark pulse and Pikachu's massive electrical attack blasted into him, slamming him back into the ledge of the building. Ash watched as the powerful dog-like Pokemon stumbled weakly to his feet, feeling victory within reach. He was almost unable to believe that he might actually defeat an Elite Four member's strongest Pokemon.

Malva looked stunned. "Flamethrower!" She shouted.

"Electro-ball!" Ash countered.

Houndoom inhaled deeply and launched his attack, while Pikachu leaped into the air and quickly charged his electrical sphere, before releasing it with a determined yell. The attacks collided quickly, creating a massive explosion, leaving a huge amount of smoke.

"Quick attack, through the smoke!" Ash called quickly.

Malva answered quick as well. "Smog!"

Pikachu had just whipped into the smoke at full speed, when Ash saw Houndoom blow dark, purple gas in his path. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled in concern.

"Pika!" Pikachu responded confidently, which Ash noticed made both Malva and Houndoom look shocked.

Ash smiled. "Finish with iron tail!"

Pikachu appeared instantly from the smoke, a puff of purple gas shot off of him, but he still looked strong and determined. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Pikachu had leaped out, still appearing to have a white glow from his quick attack. He had smoke and purple gas from the smog attack, trailing off of him, but he had determination and satisfaction on his face. His tail stretched out behind him and glowed in a silvery gleam. He seemed to hover in front of Houndoom. Then, he flipped and swung his tail forward, slamming it with all his might onto the top of Houndoom's head, with a loud, "PIKACHU!"

The scene seemed to stand still in that moment. Wisps of grey smoke and purple gas still hovered in the air behind Pikachu. Malva and Ash stared at the scene in shock. Pikachu seemed to be holding his position, his tail locked onto Houndoom's head. Houndoom stared up at Pikachu, shocked at the much smaller Pokemon's strength. And then, Houndoom dropped to the ground. He became smaller as he fell, and his horns shrunk and curved. His bony armour seemed to disappear became simple bony stripes on his back again. He was a normal Houndoom again, and unable to battle. Ash glanced at Malva, expecting her to pull out another Pokemon, but she was immobilized with shock. She was defeated. Ash and Pikachu had won.

XXXXX

Serena, Bonnie, Mairin and Clemont stared up at the building. They'd just heard an explosion a moment before, up above and could see smoke billowing upwards. And just now, they'd herd Pikachu yell loudly, but they couldn't tell if it was in pain or as he attacked. The only thing they could do was watch in agony, not knowing if Ash and Pikachu were alright.

"Ash..." Serena said quietly.

And then she saw him. He had Pikachu on his shoulder and he was at the ledge of the building, waving down at them, a huge smile on his face. "Get Officer Jenny!" He called. "We've got a Team Flare member up here. She's been taken care of!"

Serena felt tears stream down her face. Tears of utter joy. He'd done it. He'd actually beaten an Elite Four member and her mega evolved Pokemon. She started laughing. She could hear Bonnie and Clemont laughing also. It was so Ash. He'd likely just had the most amazing victory in his entire time as a trainer and he just seemed so normal about it.

To Serena's surprise, Officer Jenny was already over there. She glanced around and realized that many of the Team Flare members were now in handcuffs. The battle seemed to be over. Charizard went up to get Ash and Pidgeot flew up with Officer Jenny to go and collect their prisoner. When Ash landed with Charizard and got off, he was tackled. First by Serena and then Bonnie and Clemont joined.

"Ash! An Elite Four member! You beat an Elite Four member!" Clemont shouted, sounding more amazed he time he opened his mouth.

"Ash, you're so awesome!" Bonnie yelled. "Pikachu, you too!"

Ash smiled. He looked up at Pikachu on his shoulder. Serena saw that the electric mouse was looking pretty tired. He also had a strange, dark look to his complexion. Ash turned to Clemont. "Hey Clemont, do you have anything for poisoning?"

Clemont quickly grabbed a berrie from his backpack and held it up to Pikachu. "Here, that's a pecha berry. It'll make you much better, Pikachu."

"Chu!" Pikachu said gratefully. He ate the berry in a couple of bites and instantly started to look much better.

"Thanks, Clemont." Ash said, looking at his partner Pokemon happily.

Serena was about to say something, but then Mairin walked over, holding up Alain who was now finally conscious. Alain was looking at Ash with a mix of gratitude, sorrow and admiration on his face. "Thank you, Ash." He said. "After what I did, you saving me...you're a much better person than I am, that's for sure."

Ash looked shocked. "Hey, don't worry about it. We all make mistakes." Serena noticed him glance at his hand that he hurt from punching the Team Flare grunts. He looked at Alain. "You made up for fighting for them. You saved Serena, Sylveon and Pikachu. You have no idea how grateful I am for that."

Alain glanced at Serena and she blushed. She got the feeling he'd just figured out that her and Ash's relationship was a little different than the last time they'd met. Alain looked back at Ash and smiled. "You've gotten a lot stronger since our last meeting."

Ash scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Uh...well I guess my Pokemon and I have trained pretty hard. He smiled at Pikachu. "Pikachu deserves the credit though." He looked over at Infernape and then Serena as well. "And Infernape and Serena's Sylveon fought Malva as well."

Alain shrugged. "Well, my Charizard was mega evolved and he had a tough time against yourCharizard." Ash's Charizard roared happily at that.

They were interrupted by Pidgeot landing next to the group. Officer Jenny got off and then pulled down Malva, who was in handcuffs. Jenny looked shocked. "I had no idea an Elite Four member would be part of Team Flare."

Malva glared at her. "None of you would have been able to take me if it wasn't for my Houndoom becoming so weak." She gestured to Jenny to get the pokeball from her pocket. "Take it. I'm done with it."

Serena's eyes widened. She looked at Ash, but noticed he didn't look too surprised. "I knew it." He said. Everyone looked at him. "When we were battling, I could see your bond breaking with Houndoom. His mega evolution wasn't working, because of how you treated him. Clearly you've forgotten whatever bond you had that allowed him to mega evolve in the first place."

Malva looked shocked, but still furious. "Don't you try and teach me about battling! I'm a member of the Elite Four!" She shrieked.

Serena laughed. "A member of the Elite Four who just lost to the one who is trying to teach you something."

Malva glared at Serena. "Nobody asked you, you little brat."

Ash stepped forward, eyes flashing angrily. Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity from his shoulder. "Don't even talk to her." He said through gritted teeth.

Officer Jenny took the pokeball. "You're giving up on your Houndoom?" She looked shocked, but seemed to be getting an idea. Malva nodded. Jenny tossed out the pokeball and released Houndoom, who looked tired, but a little better after the battle. He looked a little fearful of the crowd around him.

Malva glared at him. "You're nothing to me anymore." She said. Houndoom looked shocked. His eyes widened, not believing he was hearing these words from his trainer. Malva lifted up her foot over the pokeball that had just released Houndoom, and she stomped down, crushing it, and releasing her ownership of the powerful Pokemon.

Serena's jaw dropped. "How could you do that?" She stared at the Elite Four member. "If he could mega evolve, you must have had a strong bond?"

Malva eyed her former Houndoom with dark eyes. "As he said," she gestured to Ash, "whatever we had is now broken. Houndoom has to fend for himself now." She glared once more at Houndoom and then let Officer Jenny lead her away.

Jenny looked at Ash before they left. "Meet me at the Pokemon centre later. We'll need to discuss what happened with Lysandre. He seems to have disappeared." She paused and glanced at Houndoom. "I think Houndoom is going to need some help. If you could talk to him it would help." She whispered. Then, she continued walking away with Malva, to take her to the police station.

Serena's eyes widened and then she looked at Ash, who had a shocked expression on his face. "What can we do?" He asked. Serena had been hoping he'd come up with the same thing as her, but it appeared she had to nudge him towards it.

Serena looked down at Houndoom, who was watching Malva go with eyes, both sad and angry. She knelt in front of the dog-like Pokemon. "Houndoom?" She asked. Houndoom looked at her. She couldn't believe this was the same Pokemon that had launched a powerful flamethrower towards her not too long ago. He looked devastated. He looked weak. She reached out her hand and gently stroked his snout. She noticed he was still wearing his mega stone on his collar. "You don't need Malva, Houndoom." She said. The horned dog tilted its head, waiting for her to continue. Serena looked up at Ash. "Right? He doesn't need a trainer like that?"

Ash smiled and knelt next to Houndoom as well. "Houndoom, I saw how hard you tried and how strong you are. You're an awesome Pokemon. I'm sure your a big reason why Malva made it into the Elite Four." He looked at Serena and then back at Houndoom. "Serena's right. If Malva doesn't realize how great of a Pokemon you are, then you don't need her."

"Pikachu." Pikachu agreed, happily from Ash's shoulder and Ash smiled up at him.

Houndoom stared at Serena and then Ash. Serena felt such pity for him. He truly looked so lost and confused. He bowed his head and stared sadly at the ground and whimpered a little. It was amazing how he had gone from being one of the most intimidating creatures Serena had ever seen, to a creature that all she wanted to do was hug and comfort.

"Houndoom..." She said quietly.

Ash then reached forward and slowly put his hand underneath Houndoom's lower jaw. He gently lifted up so that Houndoom looked him in the eyes. "I know it's tough, but you're strong and you can get through this." He looked over at Infernape, who Serena noticed seem to be watching the scene with very emotional eyes. Ash continued and answered why. "Houndoom, Infernape had the same thing happen when he was just a Chimchar. His trainer abandoned him and then you know what he did? He used that as motivation to get stronger." Ash then looked at Charizard, and Serena realized he, too, was looking quite emotional. Ash explained this, as well. "Charizard was also abandoned, when he was a Charmander. Then, he grew up, trained hard, and he's used it to motivate him to become stronger." He looked back at Houndoom. "If they could go from being a little Chimchar and a little Charmander, and be what they are now, imagine what you can do."

Houndoom looked at Charizard and then at Infernape. Serena could see the horned dog thinking. He then looked at Ash, appearing to want him to continue, still looking troubled. However, Serena stepped in this time. She had a feeling she knew what else was troubling Houndoom. "Houndoom, are you worried that anyone will think less of you, because of what Malva made you do?"

Houndoom looked at Serena in shock, but then nodded. Serena smiled and then looked at Alain, who had now managed to gain enough energy so he didn't need Mairin's help anymore to stand. "Alain, you can admit that you made mistakes by working for Team Flare, right?"

Alain looked a little insulted, but he nodded. "Yeah, I'm definitely not happy about it." He said with a bitter voice

Serena shook her head. "But, you did think you were doing the right thing?" He nodded, now appearing to get her point. Serena looked back at Houndoom. "Alain did bad things, but he thought he was doing right, because he was told to do those things by people he cared about." She looked at Ash and then Mairin, before turning back to Houndoom. "Then, other people who cared about him helped him and he realized where he'd gone wrong. I'm sure it's going to be tough for him, but he's got people he can depend on to help him through a tough time."

Alain nodded and then looked at Mairin. "Serena's right, Houndoom. I've got a tough road ahead, to try and come to terms with what's happened here, but I do have support."

Serena smiled and then looked at Ash, who continued to look at Houndoom with a sympathetic gaze. Houndoom watched Serena, waiting for her next words. Serena turned to the horned dog. "It's not wrong to admit you need support."

Ash smiled and stood up. "You know, Houndoom," he said, "maybe you want to talk about this later." He looked around at his friends and Pokemon. "Maybe we should head over to the Pokemon centre." He smiled at Houndoom. "I'm sure Nurse Joy can help you feel better."

Houndoom nodded. Serena smiled and stood up. She was happy with what she had said to Houndoom, and she was pretty sure Ash knew what she was up to, but she admired that he didn't want to rush it.

Ash collected his pokeballs from Clemont and recalled Pidgeot, Talonflame, Hawlucha and Noivern, who were all gathered around. He didn't have Infernape's and Charizard's pokeballs so he obviously had to leave them out. Clemont recalled Luxray, Alain recalled his Charizard and Mairin recalled her Chespie and Bebe. Squishy, who had been quiet despite being a giant snake-like creature, reverted back to his blob-state and Bonnie put him back into her bag, next to Dedenne. "You were awesome, Squishy." She said, looking at the little green Pokemon in admiration. He made a proud noise in acknowledgement of her praise.

Once everyone was ready, Ash walked over to Serena and held her hand. "Ready to go?" He asked. He was addressing the group, but Serena could tell his focus was all on her now. She nodded and they set off.