"Today's gallantry award goes to Noivern!" Brock announced happily, placing a large bowl of his homemade food at the pleased looking dragon type's feet. "You did a great job. Eat all you want!"

"Vern!" Noivern said, nodding and then leaning down to eat. Hawlucha, who Ash had called back along with his other Kalos Pokemon, patted his best friends back, looking quite pleased. Ash had wanted the other Kalos Pokemon to be able to celebrate Noivern's big victory, although he'd made sure to tell Professor Oak to give the Pokemon he'd used against Remo a big feast, especially Snorlax.

Ash and his friends were having a bit of a celebration for the success of the first round earlier in the day. Everyone was there, and Astrid, who had also emerged victorious in round one, had come along as well. Bonnie had become quite determined to set the fellow blonde up with Clemont, so the little girl had begged her to join them for the celebration. Sawyer and Tierno had also come out on top in their first round matches. Sawyer had won a convincing six to one match, using only three Pokemon, while Tierno had managed a six to three win like Ash. Trevor was also participating in the celebration, being quite a good sport about his loss. He had no reason to be disappointed, in Ash's opinion. He'd proven he'd belonged in the Kalos League.

Ash had tried to find Calem, to invite him, but wasn't able to find him. Ash had wanted to bury the hatchet, but unfortunately, that wasn't exactly possible if Calem wasn't around. Of course, maybe the other trainer had been trying not to be found. Ash knew they'd have to run into each other at some point. As long as they both kept winning, they'd have to deal with their run-in after the opening ceremonies.

"It's crazy that thirty two of the strongest trainers in Kalos are already done," Astrid said, shaking her head in disbelief. "And tomorrow there's going to be sixteen more."

"When are they announcing the next matches?" Serena asked, sitting down next to Ash at the picnic table that he, Bonnie, Clemont, Astrid and Brock were at.

"I heard that it'll be tonight. We'll be able to watch at the Pokemon centre. It should be on pretty soon actually," Clemont informed the group.

"I can't wait to find out my next opponent," Ash said excitedly, looking over at his Pokemon. Goodra was in the middle of playing with Dedenne, while Clemont's Chespin was helping himself to some abandoned food near the two of them. Ash wasn't mad, though. Goodra had likely given it to the always hungry grass type. "I really wanna know. I need to figure out my next team."

"I hope it's not Alain," Bonnie said, looking over at the mentioned trainer, who was talking to Gary about something. "That would ruin the rest of the tournament. You two need to battle later."

"Well I wouldn't mind another crack at Alain," Astrid said, sounding pretty confident. "He beat Absol and I pretty badly when I battled him before. I'd like some revenge for that."

"Speaking of revenge, I wonder when I'm gonna get mine," Ash said confidently, looking at Astrid's Absol who was eating behind her. He then looked over at Hawlucha, who was showing of some karate chops to Noivern and Greninja. "You're not the only one who wants to make up for a bad loss."

"I really hope none of you guys need to face each other," Serena admitted, sounding a little sad. "It really sucks that Trevor got eliminated. I don't want any more of you to be knocked out until as late as possible."

"No need to worry about me being knocked out," Ash stated confidently. "I'm winning this thing. I promised you I would and I'm not letting you down."

"Ab-absol..." Ash looked down and noticed Astrid's Absol was looking at him with narrowed eyes. They weren't angry eyes, though. It was more like interest.

"Absol really wants to battle you again, I think," Astrid informed Ash. "He likes your battling spirit.

"Lucha..." Ash hadn't noticed Hawlucha coming over, but realized the fighting type was right behind him and was looking at Absol, recognition in his eyes. He looked up at Ash, and Ash knew that his Pokemon was remembering the last time he'd seen this Absol. "Haw...hawlu-lucha," he said.

Ash nodded. "You've got it. He won last time, but you're a lot stronger now. And besides, you and I hadn't been together that long when you battled Absol. We're a good team, now. We might not be able to mega evolve, but you and I can work together to beat anything in our way. Just like Noivern and I did earlier."

Hawlucha gave a confident fist pump. "Lucha!" he shouted. He then looked at Absol and narrowed his eyes, but smiled. "Haw-lucha-lucha."

Absol nodded, returning the stare. "Sol."

"Hey Ash!" Ash looked up and saw Dawn waving from where she was in front of the Pokemon centre. "They're about to show the next matchups on TV."

"Be right there!" Ash called back. He stood up and recalled his Pokemon and Pikachu hopped up on his shoulder. "Let's go see who I'm gonna beat."

In a few minutes, the group was all crowded into the Pokemon centre, along with a few other eager trainers and fans. The TV was on and President Goodshow and Diantha were in the middle of talking about the success of the first round.

"We had some heated battles," Diantha said. "As expected, Ash Ketchum put on quite the performance, defeating a skilled dragon trainer in Remo. As you said last night, President Goodshow, he has a fine Noivern."

"Oh yes," Goodshow agreed happily, "that was a heated battle for sure. Noivern put on quite the show in defeating a mega evolved opponent."

"And the other highlight of the day would have to be the Mega Charizard battle between Trevor and Alain. The scoreboard showed a bit more of a lopsided defeat than it actually was. Trevor put up quite a fight," Diantha said, looking at the camera. "All the defeated trainers put up quite the fight. You should all be proud of yourselves. Making it to the Kalos League was a tremendous accomplishment on its own."

"Yes, indeed," Goodshow agreed with a nod. "However, we must now focus on those who did advance." The screen shifted to eight rows with four pictures each, for the remaining trainers. "We will now randomly shuffle the trainers and see tomorrow's matchups." Then, just as Goodshow had said, the pictures turned around and immediately began to shift around, quickly gaining enough speed so it was impossible to follow. Finally, the pictures stopped and turned around, and the matchups were revealed. Ash looked over to Astrid, just as Goodshow began to speak again. "Oh...look at that. Another tough matchup for Ash as he faces off against Astrid."

XXXXX

"Oshawott, follow what Greninja does when he uses Night Slash. You can probably use Razor Shell in a similar way." Serena laughed a little as the little otter-like Pokemon pulled out his scalchop and swung it around kind of wildly, attempting to mimic Greninja's swift movements.

As soon as Ash had found out who he'd be facing, that being Astrid, he'd called Professor Oak and transferred a couple of Pokemon to do some training, and of course Serena had decided to watch. It seemed he was hoping to have Oshawott learn to fight in close like Greninja. Ash had mentioned that Oshawott was actually pretty skilled with his scalchop, but he'd also pointed out that any lesson learned from Greninja would be a huge advantage.

"Alright, ready?" Ash asked his Pokemon. Both Greninja and Oshawott nodded. "Ok, Greninja, use Night Slash. Oshawott, use razor shell. Make sure to follow what Greninja does. Again, both Pokemon nodded and then Greninja made the first move. He whipped out his sword of purple light, bent his knees, held the sword so it crossed along his body, and then swung out. He then leaped forward and swung it back where he was standing a moment before with an overhand strike. Serena could see Oshawott was pretty stunned by the quick movements.

"You can do it, Oshawott," Serena encouraged. "Remember how powerful you were against Team Flare."

Oshawott looked at Serena and nodded confidently. "Osha!" He then held up his scalchop in a similar fashion to how Greninja had held his Night Slash sword, and then he lunged forward and slashed towards the right. He quickly followed that up by pivoting and swinging backwards, although he slipped and was just about to accidentally strike Greninja's leg, before the frog-ninja Pokemon quickly sidestepped.

"That was close, Oshawott," Ash said, sounding much happier than Oshawott must have expected, because the otter Pokemon jumped up happily. He seemed to think for a moment and then he pulled out a pokeball and called out Hawlucha. "It might be a good idea to practice with Hawlucha. He can practice defensive moves. That sound good to you Hawlucha? You need to be ready for tomorrow."

"Lucha!" Hawlucha shouted out confidently, doing one of his victory poses.

"Osha!" Oshawott yelled, mimicking Hawlucha's pose.

"Ok, ready?" Ash asked his Pokemon and both nodded, getting into position to face each other. "Oshawott, use Razor Shell back to back. Hawlucha, dodge and use Karate Chop." Oshawott looked more desperate to impress his trainer this time. He lunged forward, doing quite an impressive copy of Greninja's movement earlier. He slashed outwards and Hawlucha swiftly stepped backwards and then smack down with a glowing fist. Just as Oshawott was moving up for another strike, Hawlucha's fist hit the otter Pokemon's wrist and the scalchop dropped to the ground. Hawlucha then ducked low and brought his fist up and...stopped it just under Oshawott's chin.

"Wow, Hawlucha, you look ready," Serena noted, impressed with the quick movement by Hawlucha. Maybe Oshawott wasn't the strongest, but his speed was impressive enough that Hawlucha dodging that quickly was quite the feat.

"Yeah, good move Hawlucha," Ash said, although he seemed kind of distracted. "Can you try doing Karate Chop again?"

Serena didn't understand what was so important about the karate chop and Hawlucha seemed a little puzzled as well. "Lucha?" he asked. Ash nodded and the fighting type leaped back, pulled back his fist and swung it down and forward as it glowed in a white light. Serena noticed it this time. It seemed to be a little different than a normal karate chop. Hawlucha seemed to notice as well, as he was looking at his fist with a very pleased expression. "Haw-hawlucha!"

"Looks like you're training pretty hard," a voice said and Serena noticed Astrid was standing near the battlefield that she and Ash were on. The blonde trainer had her Absol and Meowstic next to her. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to spy. I was just coming to do some training too."

"No problem," Ash said, shrugging. "I just want a good battle tomorrow. So make sure you don't tire yourself out training."

"I won't," Astrid assured him. "Make sure to follow your own advice, though."

It was kind of a strange moment. Serena could see that these two had become friends, but she could also sense how much they wanted to beat each other. Their smiles were strained and their eyes were narrowed. It was more obvious with Hawlucha and Absol. Their initial fight hadn't been much, but both could tell their next one would be much closer. The league was getting a lot more interesting and it was really only just starting.

XXXXX

"Staraptor is unable to battle. Altaria is the winner!" the referee called out, waving his flag towards Astrid's side of the water field.

Ash gritted his teeth and recalled Staraptor to its pokeball, as the first pokeball next to his picture on the monitor was blacked out, signalling him as the first to lose a Pokemon in the match. This wasn't how he had wanted to start things, but at least it proved one thing. Astrid was a good opponent. He pulled out his next pokeball and threw it forward. "Talonflame, I choose you!" His fire and flying type emerged from its pokeball, flew threw the air, and then landed on one of the rocks in front of Ash.

"And we'll have another aerial battle, folks. Altaria versus Talonflame. Let's see how this one shapes up," the announcer shouted out excitedly.

The referee signalled for the battle to continue and both Astrid and Ash called for the Pokemon to take flight. Ash decided to make the first move. "Talonflame, get in close. Steel Wing!"

"Altaria, counter with Cotton Guard!" Astrid shouted.

Talonflame gave one hard flap of his wings and launched himself forward, slicing through the air with incredible speed. His wing glowed in a silvery gleam as he quickly closed the gap between him and his opponent. Altaria, however, looked ready to clash. It brought its fluffy, cottony wings up in front of it and then they expanded, making it look like a cloud was covering the dragon type. Talonflame's wing slashed outward, but it didn't seem to do anything as it seemed to get caught up in the cottony defence.

"Now hit it with Dragon Pulse!" Astrid ordered, her voice calm but commanding. Immediately, the cloud-like cotton around Altaria began to retract and then it opened its mouth and the dragon shaped blast of energy shot outwards, taking hold of Talonflame, and rocketing towards the water below. With a huge splash, Talonflame crashed into the water.

"Talonflame, you ok?" Ash called out, not sure what the answer was. Fortunately, the answer was positive as Talonflame shot out of the water, hovering in the air and glaring up at his opponent. He turned his head and gave Ash a quick nod. "Good. Alright, let's get serious then. Flame Charge!" Altaria and Astrid didn't have any time to react. Talonflame was shooting into the air in an instant and was engulfed in flames a second before slamming hard into Altaria. "Now Steel Wing, back to back!" Ash ordered. Once again, Talonflame whipped forward, somehow faster than before, and slammed one wing upwards, striking Altaria under the chin and then slamming down with his other wing, shooting Altaria to the ground.

"Impressive comeback attack by Ash and Talonflame as they've quickly managed to take control of this aerial battle," the announcer noted. "Amazing teamwork right there!"

Astrid wasn't ready to concede this part of the match just yet, though. "Altaria, use Take Down! Charge at Talonflame with full speed."

"We'll match power for power! Fly up high and use Brave Bird!" Ash yelled, pumping his fist with the order.

Both Pokemon actually flew further away from each other in preparation for their attacks, Altaria flying lower to the ground and Talonflame flying higher into the air. Then, they both turned and faced each other and launched themselves forward. Altaria had tucked its cottony wings in and narrowed its eyes, shooting up like a missile. Talonflame, meanwhile, covered himself in a blue and white light and fired himself down, using his extra speed from Flame Charge and his downward momentum to give him extra power. The collision happened in only a couple of seconds and the shock wave of energy shot out around the arena. Then, a blue shape went crashing to the ground and struck a rock before rolling into the water.

Ash was sure they'd won it, but a moment later, a panting Altaria emerged, shaking off the water from its cottony wings. Astrid could see her Pokemon was losing energy, so she quickly made an order, likely desperate to finish up Talonflame before moving on with the battle. "Altaria, use Perish Song!" Immediately, Altaria began to sing a very eerie sounding song, that sent chills down Ash's spine. He couldn't remember what that move did, but he didn't like the sound of it.

The announcer informed the arena of the effects of Perish Song. "This one got exciting in a hurry, folks. With Perish Song, both Altaria andTalonflame will fall within using three moves each. Astrid has managed to use her already weakened Pokemon to put Ash in a bind."

"We'll finish it before three," Ash assured himself and the crowd. "Talonflame, let's do this! Flame Charge!"

"Dragon Pulse!" Astrid countered, looking pleased with her latest move.

As Talonflame shot down, engulfed in his flames, Altaria fired off its dragon shaped blast of energy. Ash was immediately able to see it wouldn't be powerful enough to overpower Talonflame's attack, but it was enough to slow him down. The fire-bird's flaming body easily crashed through the dragon pulse, but the minor explosion it caused, slowed him down enough so that he missed hitting Altaria who swiftly moved to the side and dodged.

"One down, two to go," Astrid informed Ash, looking quite confident. "Altaria, use Take Down!"

"Counter with Steel Wing!" Ash ordered. He wasnot happy about how his moves were very limited now. He needed to finish this.

As Altaria launched forward towards Talonflame, head bowed low to strike, Talonflame spread his wings and they glowed in a silvery light. Then, just as Altaria was about to strike, Talonflame swiftly moved his body up and then slashed down with his wings, striking Altaria down towards the water, where it landed with another splash. However, it still emerged again, although it was panting heavily. Ash clenched his fists in frustration. They would win this if they didn't have to worry about Perish Song.

Astrid gave a little laugh, seeing Ash's frustration. "Altaria, Dragon Pulse! Get in close before using it."

"Brave Bird!" Ash shouted, all his emotion in the order.

Both Pokemon shot high into the air once again. This was it. The third move each. Ash didn't know if it mattered who won the battle at this point, or if winning would cancel out Perish Song, but he knew Talonflame wanted to win, so he wasn't giving up. Altaria was doing its best to get close to the fire-bird, but Talonflame was too fast as he shot higher and higher into the sky. Just when he was so high up it was hard to see him, he turned around and began his descent downwards. Ash could just barely see the blue and white glow around him. Altaria quickly released its Dragon Pulse and it fired up, heading straight for Talonflame. The Brave Bird attack easily overpowered it, though and Talonflame just barrelled right past it. Then, he reached Altaria in an instant, slammed into the dragon type with full force, and sent it rocketing to the ground, where it crashed into the water with a huge splash.

It was clear the battle was done. Ash looked up at Talonflame and saw him flying towards the ground. He was just thinking that maybe Perish Song had done nothing after all, but then there seemed to be an echo of the eerie song, and Talonflame's eyes widened, before his flying stopped and he dropped like a stone to the water, landing close to where Altaria had hit.

"Both Talonflame and Altaria are unable to battle. It's a draw!" the referee shouted, holding out both of his flags.

"Good battle, Ash," Astrid said, recalling her Altaria and pulling out a pokeball. "Just remember, I'm not quite the same as Remo. You're going to have a much harder time with me." She then threw out her next pokeball and a large serpentine Pokemon appeared. A Gyrados, which immediately took advantage of the water field, submerging itself and then shooting its head up for an intimidating roar.

"I'm all for tough battles, Astrid," Ash assured his opponent. "And so is my friend, here." He plucked a pokeball from his belt and tossed it out. There was a laugh from the crowd as Oshawott emerged, looking very nonthreatening in comparison to Gyrados. Astrid, though, did not laugh. Ash knew she wasn't going to underestimate an opponent based on appearance. The referee signalled for the battle to continue and Ash made the first move. "Oshawott, Hydro Pump!"

"Counter with your own Hydro Pump!" Astrid ordered.

The crowd couldn't laugh at Oshawott now. The two jets of water matched each other perfectly, power for power. The size and appearance of each Pokemon meant nothing. Ash couldn't help but feel a little pleased at his move. He'd used it as a test, and Oshawott had passed.

"Not bad," Astrid admitted. "Now let's see if Oshawott can match this. Gyrados, use Aqua Tail! Hit Oshawott with everything you have!"

"I don't think so!" Ash shouted, bending his knees and getting into his battle pose. "Oshawott, use Aqua Jet to dodge!"

Gyrados moved pretty quickly, despite its size, likely due to the being in the water field. It raised its large tail and a rush of water surrounded it and it quickly darted towards Oshawott. The otter Pokemon was ready, however, and enveloped himself in water and leaped into the air. The torrent carried him high into the sky, easily slipping past Gyrados' tail.

"Now combine it with Razor Shell and strike hard!" Ash yelled, thrusting a fist outward with the command. Just as commanded, Oshawott's Razor Shell extended out from his Aqua Jet, appearing like a lance in front of the torrent of water. Then, the jet turned towards Gyarados and launched downwards.

"Counter with another Aqua Tail!" Astrid ordered. Gyrados' tail immediately sprang up again, enveloped by rushing water once more. It sprang up and stood in a defensive stance in preparation for Oshawott's attack. Then Oshawott's Razor Shell/Aqua Jet combo struck the Aqua Tail and the force of the strike was undeniable. There was a huge splash as Gyrados' tail whipped away in pain and it crashed towards the water.

"Now, quick strike! Razor Shell!" Ash called out, sensing the perfect opportunity. And it was just that. With Gyrados reeling from the pain of the previous strike, Oshawott was able to drop down from his Aqua Jet and slash out back to back strikes with his Razor Shell as he descended towards the water. The first hit Gyrados under the jaw and the second struck the side of its head. Then, Oshawott landed in the water, dove under and then emerged, leaping onto a stone in front of Ash. He stood up proudly, again mimicking one of Hawlucha's poses. "It's not over yet, Oshawott," Ash warned, but with amusement in his voice. "Make sure you're ready."

"Osha!" Oshawott shouted confidently in reply.

Astrid could see this was going to be a tough battle, Ash could tell by a bit of a frustrated expression on her face. Then her eyes widened, as she seemed to get an idea. "Gyrados, use Twister!" she yelled. It was too fast for Ash to counter it. Immediately a tornado started swirling around a stunned looking Oshawott. The otter Pokemon stared around, obviously trying to find a way he could get out of it, but he was clearly trapped. Then, he was swept into the air and rapidly started to spin around in the violent, swirling water. Ash winced, feeling sympathy for his energetic water type. Then, Astrid decided to make things worse. "Now, hit it with Hyper Beam!" What Gyrados did next was alarming to everyone in the crowd. It slammed its tail into the water and launched itself into the air. It hovered in the air, blocking out the sun a bit and leaving the tornado, that was rapidly spinning Oshawott, in a large shadow. Its jaws opened wide and an orange and yellow light began to form. After another moment, the twister attack ended and a dizzy looking Oshawott was suspended in midair. Then, Gyrados unleashed, just before descending back towards the water. The Hyper Beam shot out with tremendous force, completely enveloping Oshawott, and making Ash sure the little water type was done for. He was launched back and slammed into the wall of the arena, leaving an imprint of his body, before falling to the ground.

"Wow! And it looks like little Oshawott is down!" the announcer yelled out. "It was a predictable result, from the start, but it is a shame seeing that spunky Pokemon go down. He was looking like a fierce little competitor."

The referee raised his flag. "Oshawott is-"

"Wott!" Oshawott suddenly yelled out, struggling to his feet from where he'd landed. The crowd gasped, unable to believe that little Pokemon had managed to get up from that. Ash had to admit, even he was surprised. That was a nasty looking Hyper Beam. Then, he looked at Oshawott's eyes and saw a surprising sight. The almost always happy Pokemon looked utterly enraged, eyes wide and jaw clenched. He wanted revenge.

Wait...revenge? Ash thought. Maybe..."Oshawott, let's do this! Use Revenge!" The speed he moved at was too much for Gyrados. Whether he'd been launched to the other end of the arena didn't seem to matter one bit. Oshawott closed the gap in what seemed like only a couple of seconds. And, instead of using his scalchop, he leaped up and slammed a little fist into Gyrados' jaw that sent the massive water serpent reeling back. "Now, Aqua Jet to get around and then hit it with Razor Shell!" Just as Oshawott was descending to the ground after his initial strike, he enveloped himself in water and did as Ash instructed. He whipped over Gyrados' head and then came up behind, emerged from the water, and then slashed out with a strike that almost perfectly mirrored what Greninja had taught him. Gyrados' head was once again sent reeling away and then it crashed into the water with a huge splash, Oshawott landing softly on a stone next to it.

"Gyrados is unable to battle. Oshawott is the winner!" the referee shouted, unable to hold back the surprise in his voice.

"I don't believe it!" the announcer shouted. "Little Oshawott downs his hulking opponent. What a victory!" Ash laughed as he saw Oshawott again mimicking Hawlucha's victory poses.

"Not bad, Ash...not bad," Astrid admitted, returning her Gyrados to its pokeball. "There's still a long way to go, though."

"I know," Ash said, nodding. "I'm looking forward to it."