"And the next match will be Kingdra for Remo, against Gible for Ash," the announcer called out. Serena couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed in Ash's choice. Gible looked more like the kind of Pokemon Bonnie would try to cuddle up with rather than a strong battler. However, she knew that Ash wouldn't choose the small dragon type if he wasn't capable of winning. She had no idea about its battle history.

Dawn actually enlightened the group about Gible, and her excitement made Serena much more confident. "Gible's amazing," she exclaimed, her pom-poms shaking from her excitement. "Remember how he totally beat Conway, Brock?"

Brock nodded, also looking pretty excited about the choice. "Gible might not look as fierce as some other Pokemon that Ash has, but he's up there with the strongest of them."

Serena, feeling much better now, turned her attention back to the battle. She hadn't even noticed Remo had ordered an attack. His Kingdra, a blue seahorse like Pokemon, was firing off a powerful looking hydro pump that was rocketing towards Gible. Ash, however, didn't panic. "Pretend the water is dirt, and use dig to dive under!" It was the most bizarre way Serena had ever seen dig be used, but she couldn't deny how effective it was. Gibles little arms and legs furiously started moving and he swam deep into the water, easily dodging the hydro pump.

Clemont laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Am I ever not going to be surprised by a move that Ash uses?"

Remo obviously wasn't as happy about Ash's innovative tactics, judging by the scowl on his face. He twirled his umbrella and held it up as he ordered his next attack. "Kingdra, use twister!" Immediately, wind started whipping around the water and it started to swirl up like a whirlpool. It suddenly shot into the air, and Serena felt terrified, seeing Gible get shot into the air, getting caught in the tornado of water.

"Draco meteor!" Ash shouted, his voice completely empty of any panic. Serena realized why, as the wildly spinning Gible was somehow able to fire off a fireball that shot into the sky. It exploded loudly and split into a barrage of fireballs that started raining down on the water. There were loud hisses as each one landed, bringing up huge amounts of steam from the water. A few of them even shattered the rocks. And there was a loud grunt of pain as Kingdra was struck by and knocked into the air. In that moment, Gible was released from twister and was in midair, ready for Ash's next order. "Dragon pulse!" As Gible was falling towards the water, he pulled back his head and then thrust it forward, launching the blast towards Kingdra, who was also on its way down. The attack landed perfectly and sent Kingdra rocketing away, outside the boundaries of the battlefield and into the wall of the stands, where it slumped to the ground.

"Kingdra is unable to battle. Gible is the winner!" the referee called out.

Serena saw Ash do a happy fist pump and Gible open and close his large jaws happily. Things were definitely going well to start off. "I guess Gible proved you guys right," Serena said to Dawn and Brock.

"Gible's amazing," Dawn said smiling. "That draco meteor is really strong. Piplup knows that better than anyone, don't you Piplup?"

Piplup had a bit of an irritated look on its face as it nodded. "Pip...piplup."

As Remo called back his Kingdra and pulled out his next pokeball, Bonnie suddenly grew very excited. "Oh look!" she shouted, pointing to something behind the group. Serena turned and saw Bonnie was talking about someone who was going around selling snacks. Obviously, with Ash starting out so well, the little girl's attention was not as much on the match as it could have been. "Can I get some ice cream, Clemont?"

Clemont sighed. "Bonnie, don't you want to watch Ash's battle?"

Bonnie folded her arms, looking quite upset. "I just wanted some ice cream. I'd enjoy the match more with some ice cream."

Before Clemont could argue any more with his sister, Serena stood up. "It's ok, Clemont, I'll go get it for her." As much as Serena wanted to watch the match, which she noticed was just getting underway now, between Gible and a three headed dragon Pokemon, she felt the need to get up and move with all the nerves she was feeling. It helped that Ash was doing so well and she felt she could afford to be momentarily distracted as she got up.

"Thanks Serena!" Bonnie and Clemont both said. Bonnie sounding happy and Clemont sounding apologetic.

As Serena made her way towards the person selling snacks, Ash was just ordering another draco meteor. Remo's Pokemon, which Serena heard him call Hydreigon, was countering it by shooting into the air with dragon rush. It looked like a strong Pokemon, but Serena was quite impressed with Gible's performance against Kingdra, so she had a good feeling he'd be able to pull this one off.

Just when she reached the snack vendor, Serena heard a loud splash and looked towards the field and her eyes widened. Hydreigon was up in the air and steam was shooting up from the water. Gible floated up a moment later. "Gible is unable to battle. Hydreigon is the winner!" the announcer called out.

"Would you like anything twer- I mean uh...young lady?" the snack vendor asked. It was a woman with red hair and she looked a little familiar.

"Um, yes please," Serena said, her voice hesitant as she tried to keep her attention on the battle. Ash had just sent out a spherical, icy rock Pokemon with horns. It looked pretty strong, so she felt confident enough that she'd be able to make her order and turned back to the vendor. "An ice cream cone please."

"Sure thing!" the vendor said happily. She quickly scooped up a large helping of ice cream and put it on a cone. She handed it to Serena. "Enjoy!"

"Uh...how much?" Serena asked, confused. "I haven't paid."

The vendor shook her head and leaned forward and whispered. "It's on the house, twerpette. Tell the twerp, Team Rocket says good luck."

Serena stared in shock at the vendor for a few moments and then shook her head to make sure she wasn't seeing and hearing things. "Jessie?" Before the vendor, which all signs pointed towards being Jessie, could answer, Serena heard a loud crash and looked towards the battlefield. Ash's Pokemon had just crashed into a rock and wasn't looking too good. "Uh...sorry. I have to go," Serena said quickly and she quickly started heading back to her friends.

XXXXX

Ash winced as Glalie was once again smashed into a rock from a fierce tri attack and didn't move. "Glalie is unable to battle. Hydreigon is the winner!" the referee announced. Suddenly, this battle was tied up and Remo had used only one Pokemon to do it. This Hydreigon was bringing up bad memories of Cameron's Hydreigon in the Unova League.

"I've got someone who can take this," Ash said quietly, although with the mikes on the platform he was on, his voice whispered throughout the arena. He recalled Glalie and pulled out his next pokeball. He tossed it out, shouting, "Gliscor, I choose you!"

"Gliscor!" the vampire bat Pokemon hissed out as he emerged. He danced through the air, opening and closing his pincers threateningly as he stared down Hydreigon. Ash assumed he was likely doing his creepy wink as well, although he couldn't see from where he was standing. Ash was excited about this one. He had the feeling Gliscor and Hydreigon were capable of having a pretty heated battle.

The referee signalled for the battle to resume and Ash made the first move. "Gliscor, use stone edge!" Gliscor shot higher into the air immediately. He crossed his arms in front of him and they briefly glowed. He then shot them out outwards and dozens of little stones shot outwards, very different from the way stone edge worked for Serena's Pancham.

"Counter it with tri attack!" Remo ordered quickly. The three heads of Hydreigon separated and spread out, the middle went up and the outer ones went to the sides. A white line of light connected the three heads, in the form of a triangle, and then they shot outwards towards. The triangle shaped blast of energy smashed into the stones from Gliscor's stone edge and exploded on impact, creating a huge cloud of smoke, that covered the majority of the field between Gliscor and Hydreigon.

"Now's our chance, Gliscor," Ash shouted, knowing that Gliscor was getting the same flashback as him from their battle with Paul. "Giga impact!" The vampire bat Pokemon shot into the huge cloud of smoke, covered in a purple and yellow light, as he built of the power for his attack. All that could be seen was a yellow light darting around the smoke as Gliscor prepared his strike. Ash couldn't see Remo through the smoke, but he knew from the silence that his opponent was trying to spot an opening. Ash knew it wasn't coming, though. Gliscor was too good a flier for that. There was a rushing wind sound and Ash knew the strike was about to happen. The smoke was just starting to clear up and Ash got a perfect view of Gliscor smashing into Hydreigon with full force, sending the three headed dragon crashing towards the water, where it landed with a huge splash, the water actually shooting up towards Remo, who conveniently had his umbrella to keep himself from getting drenched.

As Gliscor rolled away through the air, the way he'd trained to for avoiding recoil damage after giga impact, Hydreigon emerged from the water, each of its three heads panting. That had been a pretty good strike, even for a powerful Pokemon like Hydreigon. Remo wasn't going to wait for any recovery, though. "Dragon rush! Hit it quickly while it tries to recover."

Hydreigon was quickly enveloped in its blue light as it prepared to launch upwards. Ash clenched his fists. This was going to be close, but he had enough confidence that Gliscor was going to have enough time. The three headed dragon Pokemon shot upwards, heading towards the spinning Gliscor with impressive speed. As the gap closed, Ash tensed up, a hint of doubt creeping into him. Maybe Hydreigon would be too fast. And just then, Ash noticed it. A change in Gliscor's positioning. He was ready. "X-scissor! Go!"

The power of both Pokemon was obvious to everyone in the stands, both trainers on the field and most importantly, both Pokemon going head to head. Just as Hydreigon was about to make impact, Gliscor spun forward, his arms crossed, and then he quickly began to extend them, before they got locked in contact with Hydreigon's dragon rush. The stronger Pokemon's attack would prevail. They just needed to wait to see which would be able to power through.

Finally, there was a huge explosion up above where the two Pokemon had clashed, creating yet another cloud of smoke. Gliscor's arms had extended as he'd finished his x-scissor attack, but Hydreigon's heads had rushed forward in the same moment. It was unclear who had won the clash of wills, or even if it had been a draw. The smoke cleared and the scene above was shocking to everyone in the stadium, including Ash and Remo. Neither Pokemon was crashing to the ground, but rather locked in close combat. They weren't even using official moves. Gliscor's pincers were shooting out from side to side, fighting back Hydreigon's outer heads as they darted forward, while the vampire bat Pokemon's tail was being used in an attempt to strike the middle head.

Ash smiled as he noticed this. A heated battle was just what he wanted, and he could tell Gliscor was loving it. He could see an opening, though, and he wanted to make progress on this battle. That meant finishing things off. "Gliscor, fire fang!" The swift flier, saw the opening as well. With Hydreigon's three heads locked in combat with Gliscor's pincers and tail, the vampire bat Pokemon was able to dart his head in, his jaws flaming up, and bite into the middle head as it was knocked back by Gliscor's tail.

Hydreigon immediately was engulfed in flames and shrieked in pain, as Gliscor whipped backwards, apparently admiring his work. Fire fang might not be an effective move against Hydreigon, but it had done what Ash had wanted, in causing burn damage.

"Let's wrap this up, Gliscor," Ash called, getting a quick nod from the vampire bat. "X-scissor!" With Hydreigon still struggling from his burn, Gliscor had ample time to cross his arms and prepare a devastating strike. He shot forward, his arms still crossed, and then, just as he approached Hydreigon, he uncrossed and unleashed the super effective hit from above. Once again, Hydreigon was sent plummeting towards the water beneath them. It landed with a loud hiss and steam shot up due to the flames that had engulfed the three headed dragon. It floated up a moment later, not moving.

"Hydreigon is unable to battle. Gliscor is the winner!" the referee announced. Ash looked over to the screen and saw Hydreigon's picture disappear and one of the pokeballs next to Remo's picture go black. Three down and three to go.

The announcer's voice then rang throughout the arena. "Alright folks, we'll have a brief intermission, as the battlefield changes and we give Remo a chance to regroup after having his first three Pokemon go down. See you in a few minutes."

XXXXX

"Ash, your Pokemon are so cool! And you were cool, too!" Bonnie squeaked out excitedly, making Ash chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarrassment. He had been able to come over to the stands during the intermission, which Serena was quite happy about. And obviously Bonnie was as well, getting a chance to compliment the coolness of Ash and his Pokemon.

"Having Gible use dig to swim was really quite an impressive move," Clemont said, the amazement still clear on his face. "And Gliscor's spinning to avoid recoil damage after giga impact...that was amazing."

"Well Gliscor learned that while training with the Air Battle Master, McCann," Ash explained. "He worked really hard at perfecting giga impact. Mastering it was pretty important to him."

Serena wasn't too surprised, hearing that. Gliscor, like all of Ash's Pokemon, seemed to have an amazing battling spirit. His determination to train was proof of that, as was his performance just now against Remo's Hydreigon. It was incredible how Ash's Pokemon worked so hard for him and it was the same in reverse. Ash did everything he could to make his Pokemon stronger.

"Who are you using next?" Bonnie asked, once again jumping up and down in excitement. "Please, please, please tell me!"

Just then, the announcer's voice rang out again, interrupting before Ash could either refuse or comply with Bonnie's pleas. "Ladies and gentlemen, please return to your seats. The battle is set to resume in a moment."

"Good luck, Ash," Serena said quickly, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Go out there and finish the job."

"Uh..." Ash shook his head, having momentarily lost his focus. Dawn and May were giggling at his reaction. "Yeah...yeah, I'll do that." He gave a thumbs up and ran off to get to his spot.

XXXXX

"Primeape, power up punch!" Ash yelled, thrusting out his own arm, as though he was the one in battle. This was likely Primeape's last chance to finish his opponent.

"Druddigon, dragon claw!" Remo countered, knowing how beat up both Pokemon were as well, needing this strike to land to keep him close.

Primeape pulled back his fist, leaped on a rock and used it to launch himself high into the air. Meanwhile, Druddigon lumbered forward, holding back with his glowing green claw. Primeape rocketed downwards, shooting out his boxing glove fist, just as Druddigon slashed out with his claw. The attacks met with impressive force on each side, but Ash could see that the downward momentum was carrying Primeape down with more power. Sure enough, Druddigon's claw slipped just a little bit as Primeape shoved forward. The pig-monkey's fist shot past Druddigon's claw and his body soon followed. He slammed forward once again and the power up punch struck the dragon type in the jaw, lifting it up into the air with impressive force. It came crashing down and slumped to the ground, leaving Primeape standing in front of it, looking quite proud.

"Druddigon is unable to battle. Primeape is the winner!" the referee announced, holding up a flag to signal the victor.

"Awesome job, Primeape!" Ash called out to his fighting type. He pulled out a pokeball and returned the happy, but tired looking Pokemon. He then selected the next one, but waited for Remo to go first.

"Not bad, kid," Remo admitted, "but my next one is a fierce one. Haxorus, come out!" A large two-legged dragon type emerged. It was mostly a sickly yellow green colour, with a black torso. Its claws and scythe-like tusks were coloured red.Almost like blood, Ash thought darkly.

Ash wasn't backing down, though. He had a powerhouse that could match this Pokemon. "Snorlax, I choose you!" The massive green Pokemon with a white belly and pointed ears emerged, luckily awake and ready to battle. "Ready to go, Snorlax?" Ash asked, wanting to make sure.

"Snorrrr-lax!" Snorlax growled out, nodding. Ash felt pretty satisfied seeing Remo swallow nervously at the sight of Snorlax. Ash had made sure to include his often hungry Pokemon for this battle, knowing that he'd need his size and strength at least once. Battling Haxorus seemed like a good opportunity to put that power to use.

The referee signalled for the battle to continue, and Remo made the first move. However, Ash could tell the move was from impatience and fear, because it wasn't well thought out. "Dual chop!" Remo shouted.

"Protect!" Ash countered. Ash Haxorus ran forward, the ground shaking beneath it as it did so, its claws glowed in a green light. Snorlax was ready as it approached, though. He glowed in a white light for a moment, and then extended his large belly forward. Haxorus struck out with his claws and they slammed into Snorlax's stomach. However, the attack didn't do a thing, and Haxorus looked at Snorlax with the same fear that Remo had looked at him with. "Ice punch!" Ash shouted. Snorlax quickly pulled back his fist, and a frosty glow covered it. He then thrust forward and slammed it into Haxorus' stomach. The dragon Pokemon's eyes bulged for a moment, and then it was launched backwards, where it slammed into a rock which subsequently exploded.

"Get up!" Remo shouted. "Use dragon pulse!" Haxorus struggled to his feet, the super effective hit having winded him pretty good. He pulled back his head and then swung it down, unleashing the shiny, dragon shaped beam of energy. It rocketed towards Snorlax with impressive speed.

"Protect!" Ash shouted. However, despite Snorlax trying, protect didn't work and the attack slammed into him and knocked the massive Pokemon to the ground.

"Now's our chance," Remo yelled, "use guillotine!" Haxorus roared and stood up straight, his sycthe like tusks shone in the sunlight.

Ash narrowed his eyes. That move was a one hit finisher. Snorlax needed to fight fire with fire. He had a move that could definitely finish this thing. "Alright Snorlax, get ready. Use hyper beam!" As Haxorus rushed forward, eyes narrowed in determination, Snorlax quickly managed to get to his fit. Ash saw him dig his feet into the ground and the glow of orange light coming from his hyper beam preparation. Then, just as Haxorus was about to strike, the massive blast of yellow and orange light shot out of Snorlax's mouth.

It was amazing to see the blast carry such a large creature through the air. Ash got the feeling that Haxorus was knocked out before he was even slammed into the wall of the stands, only a little distance away from where Kingdra had landed earlier. The green dragon Pokemon slumped down and the call was easy for the referee. "Haxorus is unable to battle. Snorlax is the winner!"

Remo wasted no time in calling out his final Pokemon and Ash supposed there would have been no reason for doing so. His Garchomp emerged and stood threateningly in front of him, staring down Snorlax, who Ash was keeping out for now. The referee signalled for the battle to continue, and Remo, in his desperation, called the first attack. "Garchoo, use dragon rush!"

"Snorlax, use protect!" Ash countered, a little alarmed at how desperate Remo sounded, and also wondering why he wasn't using mega evolution yet.

As Garchoo rushed forward, Snorlax quickly dug his feet into the ground once more and braced himself. His body glowed in a white light for a moment and then he once again extended his large belly forward. Garchoo slammed into him and strained against the barrier of protect, but ultimately was unable to get through. He staggered back, glaring at Snorlax for blocking his attack.

"Alright, that does it!" Remo shouted, holding up his umbrella and placing his hand on the top of it. "Garchoo, show your true power! Mega evolve!"

Here we go... Ash thought to himself, tensing up from nervous energy. The bright lights from the interacting key stone and mega stone shone brightly throughout the stadium. Ash held the brim of his hat down to shield his eyes, and noticed Snorlax looking away. Finally, after a few moments, Mega Garchomp was revealed, and this one looked just as powerful, if not more so, than Professor Sycamore's. It was taller and bulkier. Its jaw and forehead had grown out, fully showing off its razor sharp teeth and intimidating eyes. Bony, teeth-like blades extended throughout his body and his blade-like arms were bright red.

"This one just got a lot more exciting, folks," the announcer called out. "Remo's Garchomp has mega evolved. What will Ash do to counter this development?"

"I'll do a lot," Ash assured the crowd. "Snorlax, get ready." He needed Snorlax to brace himself, because he knew that Remo was going to make the next move. Patience would be much better than taking the offensive against a supercharged Garchomp.

Remo did just as Ash thought. "Garchoo, dual chop!"

"Ice punch!" Ash yelled.

Garchomp whipped forward, his speed much greater now after his mega evolution. His blade-like arms glowed green and he slashed forward. Snorlax, who had pulled back his fist as Garchomp approached, thrust it out, now covered in a frosty glow. Garchomp's first arm smashed into the ice punch and the ice on Snorlax's fist shattered, making it almost look like it was snowing in between the two Pokemon. Then, Garchomp slashed out with his other fist and struck Snorlax under the jaw, somehow knocking the huge Pokemon into the air.

"Now finish this with dragon rush!" Remo ordered, satisfaction in his voice. There was no time to counter it. Garchomp covered himself in a blue light and he shot up into the sky, slamming into Snorlax and carrying the huge Pokemon with him. The two spun around the air for a few moments as Garchomp did his best to make Snorlax as dizzy as possible, and then they came crashing down. Snorlax hit the rocky terrain with a loud thud and groaned.

"Snorlax is unable to battle. Garchomp is the winner!" the referee announced, waving his flag to signal Garchomp.

Ash took a deep breath and then returned Snorlax to his pokeball. He took a glance over to the screen showing his and Remo's remaining Pokemon. He now had three left. That didn't matter, though, because he only needed one. It was going to come down to this anyways. "Noivern, I choose you!" He threw out the pokeball and his bat-dragon Pokemon emerged and braced himself, seeing the powerful enemy he'd already clashed with once before. "You can do this, Noivern. I'm counting on you," Ash encouraged. Noivern looked back and gave a confident nod.

The announcer suddenly laughed. "Well, folks, looks like we've got the two Pokemon that had an early run-in at the opening ceremonies last night. This is sure to be a heated battle, but I don't know how much Noivern will be able to do against a mega evolution. We'll just have to wait and see."

The referee signalled for the battle to continue, but this time, neither Ash nor Remo made a move. Despite Ash still having two other Pokemon, this battle was crucial to both trainers and, even more so, to both Pokemon. The bad blood had been built up the night before, and Garchoo and Noivern were each desperate for this win.

Finally, Remo's patience wore out. "Garchoo, dual chop!"

Ash decided to counter just as he had the night before. "Dragon claw!"

Both dragons shot forward, Garchoo's blade-like arms glowing green, while Noivern's claws also glowed green. They each swung forward with one arm and their attacks clashed with a shower of green sparks that sprayed into their faces and onto the ground beneath them. Somehow, Noivern was just managing to keep up with his mega evolved opponent, his determination matching the mega evolution energy. Finally, their initial swipes slipped past each other and so they swung forward once again with their other arms, again creating a shower of green sparks. They strained against each other another few moments and then shoved each other back, each wanting to get some space to recover.

Ash felt pretty good about that start. Incredibly, Noivern was managing to keep up with Garchoo's power. However, keeping up wasn't good enough. They needed to win this, and that meant getting ahead. "Noivern, get into the air. We'll beat him in the sky." Noivern nodded and gave one hard flap of his wings and he shot into the sky, quickly getting above Garchoo, who Remo ordered to follow. "Dragon claw again!" It was risky to be in close combat with Garchoo, but Ash needed to find a way to soften the opposing dragon type up. That way, Noivern might be able to finish things with a boomburst.

"Dual chop!" Remo shouted.

Once again, both dragon types shot forward towards each other, green claws and blades swinging out in front. Unlike the earlier clash where they had struggled against each other for control, this time they rapidly slashed out, using both claws and blades, in a rapid exchange of blows. Each strike caused another show of green sparks, and in a few moments, it was almost like the two Pokemon were just covered in a green light as they continued to slash out at each other. Neither was giving an inch. Each of them were desperately try to land a blow, but each strike was blocked.

"Get back and use acrobatics!" Ash ordered, hoping the powerful flying attack could create an opening.

"Do the same and use dragon rush to counter!" Remo shouted in response to Ash's command. It seemed as though their Pokemon's moves almost mirrored each other in the early going of this battle.

Noivern and Garchoo quickly shoved out at each other and then whipped backwards. Immediately, Noivern covered himself in his blue light and danced around the air, charging up the power to dart in towards his opponent. Garchoo meanwhile, covered himself in his own blue light and seemed to be locking in on Noivern. Suddenly, both Pokemon shot forward and slammed into each other with full force. The shock wave sent both of the spiralling backwards away from each other, each wincing in pain.

Remo seemed quite agitated that Noivern was keeping up with his Mega Garchomp, and the panic in his voice proved it. "Garchoo, flamethrower!"

"Boomburst!" Ash countered.

Garchoo quickly pulled back his head, and flames quickly appeared in his open jaws. He thrust his head forward and the jet of fire launched outwards and rocketed towards Noivern. The bat dragon Pokemon was ready, though. He flapped his wings, screeching loudly, and launched the powerful, blue shockwave towards the flames. It ripped right through and narrowly missed hitting Garchoo, who slid out of the way just in time. The boomburst crashed into a rock and shattered it into little pieces as it exploded loudly.

Then, Ash got an idea to gain the edge on Garchoo. If this went as he thought it would, he'd have the advantage in a few moments and he'd be heading to the next round very soon. "Noivern, use supersonic. Keep using it and don't let Garchoo get close."

Remo narrowed his eyes, looking frustrated. It was clear he didn't know a good way to get in close to stop supersonic. That apparently left him with only one option. "Garchoo, dive to the ground. Use dig!" Garchoo responded quickly, slipping past Noivern's supersonic waves and shooting towards the ground. He burrowed under with impressive speed, and in a moment, it was quiet as Remo and Ash paused, Noivern flying above and Garchoo somewhere below.

Ash smirked. This was exactly what he wanted. "Noivern, hit the ground with everything you've got. Boomburst!" Ash saw Remo's eyes widen as he realized he'd been tricked into trapping his Pokemon. Noivern zipped down so he was closer to the ground and then started firing off his shockwaves of loud, blue energy. Each strike created a loud explosion, shaking the ground and bringing up a large cloud of dust.

Finally, after about a dozen strikes of boomburst, Garchoo shot out of the ground, screeching and holding his head, looking quite agitated. Remo wasn't going to let them give up, though, which Ash had to respect, although he knew there was no reason to give up just yet anyways. "Dragon rush! Get back up in the sky!"

"Acrobatics!" Ash countered, spreading out his arms, just as Noivern spread out his wings. He was starting to feel it. They were getting in sync. The bat-dragon darted around the air and then whipped downwards, just as Garchoo was approaching. They slammed together, just as they had done before, and each shot back from the shock wave of extreme energy.

"Flamethrower, quick!" Remo shouted. Ash clenched his fists, seeing that there was no chance to counter it. As Garchoo spun away from the collision, he was able to quickly fire off a jet of flames. They struck Noivern, before he knew they were coming and the bat-dragon screeched in pain as the flames engulfed his body. "Now hit him with dragon rush again!" Garchoo quickly managed to straighten himself and then bathed himself in a blue light and shot upwards.

"Counter with dragon claw!" Ash shouted. Noivern shook himself and flapped his wings to get rid of whatever flames were biting his body. He then held up a claw and it glowed green, just before he folded his wings and dove down to meet with Garchoo.

The two dragons clashed once more. Noivern thrust down with his claw and Garchoo barrelled forward with all the speed he had. There was a brief moment as Noivern's claw held strong against Garchoo's dragon rush, but then the latter was able to overpower him. The bat-dragon's claw slipped and Garchoo sped up and slammed into Noivern's chest with full force, followed by quick strike to the jaw.

Noivern hovered in the air a moment and then started to drop. It was a devastatingly powerful strike and it was super effective. Perhaps it was too much for Noivern. Ash clenched his fists as he saw Remo's satisfied smirk as he watched Noivern fall to the ground. No...he's not done."Noivern, I know you've got more in you. Let's show these two how strong we are. I don't care if that Garchomp is mega evolved. Our bond can bring out just as much power!"

If it had looked like Noivern was going to go down in that last moment, what happened next, could have made everyone in that arena think he'd been resting at the Pokemon centre all day. With renewed energy, he opened his eyes wide and flapped his wings ferociously, stopping his descent towards the ground. He wasn't going down that easy.

"Awesome!" Ash shouted happily. He pulled back his arms, just as Noivern's wings flapped in preparation for his next move. "Now, use acrobatics! Put everything you have into it."

"Dragon rush, one more time!" Remo ordered, nervousness in his eyes.

Both dragon types enveloped themselves in their blue lights and then charged towards each other, Garchoo coming from up above and Noivern shooting upwards from the ground. The speed of both of them made it difficult to follow, but Ash couldn't have seen it clearer. It was like he was staring up at Garchoo himself. Then, just as they were about to crash into each other, Noivern dipped a wing and spun to the left, barely dodging Garchoo. He then shot up and past the enemy dragon type, flipped around and picked up some extra speed. Garchoo turned around just in time to watch with wide eyes as Noivern slammed into him with all the force he could muster.

"Now knock him down with dragon claw!" Ash shouted. Noivern knew what Ash was ordering before it was ordered. His claw was already glowing green and he shot down, closely trailing the wincing Garchoo. He struck his opponent once again, slamming his claw into Garchoo's chest and rocketing him towards the ground. He landed with a huge explosion of dust. However, as the dust cleared, Garchoo was just barely standing, glaring up at Noivern.

"Come on, Garchoo!" Remo shouted. "Keep going. Use flamethrower!"

Ash narrowed his eyes, knowing the result was clear. Garchoo had managed to get up, but one more hit would do it. "Noivern, finish things off! Boomburst!"

Garchoo tried to open his jaws and use flamethrower, but he was too exhausted. At most, Ash was able to see a red spark shoot out from his mouth, but that was it. The opposing dragon type could only watch as Noivern flapped his wings, screeched and fired down his blasts of blue energy. With a loud crash, the first shock wave hit the ground next to Garchoo, causing him to stagger to the left. Another hit in front of him, making him stumble back. Finally, the third struck and the momentary cloud of dust wasn't enough to hide the fact the battle was over.

When the immobile form of Garchoo in his regular form was revealed, the referee held up his flag towards Ash. "Garchomp is unable to battle. Noivern is the winner! This means, the match goes to Ash from Pallet Town and he moves on to the next round."

The loud cheers didn't matter to Ash. When Noivern landed, Ash leaped off his platform and ran to his Pokemon and grabbed him in a huge hug. "Noivern, you were so amazing. Thank you so much!" Ash shouted. Noivern, panting from the exertion, just smiled.

"Congratulations, kid. You're...uh...not such a bad trainer." Ash turned and saw Remo looking at him, frustration on his face, but also an accepting smile.

"Thanks Remo," Ash said, forgetting their bad blood immediately, as he usually did in these kinds of situations. "It was a great battle. Hopefully we can have another someday."

Remo gave a short laugh. "Yeah, kid, that would be fun. Make sure to win this thing, though. It'd be fun fighting the champion."

"Will do," Ash said, holding out his hand to his opponent. Remo nodded and returned the handshake, before turning and heading off towards his exit.

"Ash!" And suddenly Ash was tackled in a hug by Serena. "Round two! You were amazing out there!" She looked at Noivern then. "And you, too, Noivern. That was the strongest I've ever seen you."

Ash smiled. "We were a real team, weren't we Noivern?" Noivern nodded, giving a noise of affirmation. "This isn't it, though. We've got a lot of work to do. Each battle is only going to get harder and harder."