Ash and Serena were walking through the trainer's village for what was probably the twentieth time in the past week. They'd both come to enjoy it, especially as the many of the trainers were now gone, already moving on to new challenges. It was a bit quieter without them, and their large groups of friends and families. However, there were definitely still quite a few people, as many fans had jumped at the opportunity to stick around for last week's announced bonus match up, which would be taking place tomorrow.

"Do you think you're ready?" Serena asked, her tight grip on Ash's hand showing how nervous she was about the coming battle. Despite being one of Ash's biggest supporters, she could definitely get quite nervous sometimes. It was odd how she would be confident when he was doubtful, and then other times it was the reverse. Maybe that was why they meant so much to each other. They could always inspire confidence in one another.

"Of course I am," Ash said confidently. "You know how much training I've done. Besides, this match has a way different feel to it than my battle with Alain. It's a bonus match. It doesn't affect me challenging the Champion's League, so I don't need to be stressed about it." He instantly felt relief in his hand, as his words seemed to calm Serena, which made her vice grip loosen up a bit.

Serena took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. "It means more than that, though, doesn't it? There's no way you see a battle against Diantha as just a bonus match. You want to prove you can do it, right?" She stopped walking, causing Ash to stop as well, and the two locked eyes. "You can show not only her and the Elite Four, but also yourself that you can battle against the best and win."

Ash laughed a little at that, and took a glance up the street, in the direction they had been walking towards. He could see Pikachu up there, in the middle of getting a meal from Brock, who had prepared his best for the Pokemon Ash had selected for his battle against Diantha. Well, almost all of them. One of the Pokemon he was using was likely eating through about twenty truckloads of food right about now at Professor Oak's lab. The other five, though, seemed to be enjoying what Brock had prepared.

For a moment, Ash stood still and watched his Pokemon. He'd had quite a hard time in deciding who to use. He had the advantage of knowing Diantha's Pokemon, but he knew that if he selected his Pokemon solely based on type match ups, he'd start the battle already behind. He'd had to select his Pokemon with the best battling spirit and of course raw power. He knew that each and every one of them was going to give it their all tomorrow, and that each had the strength to match up against Diantha.

Finally, he looked back at Serena, who was watching him, waiting for him to speak. "Of course it's more than a bonus match. I just think it's easier to do what I was struggling with at the start of my battle against Alain. Or did you forget what you wanted me to do?"

Serena nodded, blushing a little in embarrassment. "Yeah, I know. Obviously I want you to enjoy it. I just know that this is a different kind of challenge for you."

"I like new challenges," Ash said with a smile. "That night after I got out of the hospital was the start of a really fun new challenge for me. If this one is just half as exciting, I'll definitely enjoy it."

"I don't think it could even be half that exciting," Serena said, giggling a little. She grabbed Ash's hand again and they started walking again. "That was really nice of Aria to let me give you your trophy for the ceremony last week. Did you ask her to do that?"

Ash shook his head, but smiled at the memory. "No, I didn't have a chance to, although you know I would have, right? It meant even more with you giving me the trophy. Like I said, we're accomplishing our dreams together. And this is just one step in that. Even fighting together at your Masterclass was a step."

Ash and Serena walked the rest of the way towards their friends in silence. As they approached, Pikachu briefly left his food to greet them, before having to rush back to keep Clemont's Chespin from getting it. Ash was glad to see that all of his Pokemon looked loose and ready to go. It didn't surprise him that some of them almost looked bored. They were ecstatic about the opportunity to go head to head against the strongest Pokemon in all of Kalos

There was Pikachu, of course. Ash would never leave his first Pokemon off of his most important match. He probably trusted Pikachu more than anyone to be there when needed. Team Rocket had been right all these years in thinking he was a special Pikachu. Ash doubted any other could do what his could.

Next was Charizard. He'd always been one of Ash's strongest Pokemon, even as a Charmander. When he'd evolved and turned disloyal for so long, it had been devastating for Ash. However, now he would do anything for Ash, and he would be part of this crucial battle. He enjoyed tough opponents, and he was going to get them.

Ash's Sceptile was there as well. He was a stubborn Pokemon, but like the others, he loved a good battle. He never gave up, and knew how to fight in crucial battles. His performance against Tobias' Darkrai in Sinnoh had proven he was capable of going up against the best.

Then, there was Infernape. After the cruel training he'd been forced to do with his old trainer, Paul, as a Chimchar, he'd quickly embraced Ash's friendlier approach. Together, he and Ash had grown stronger on their journey through Sinnoh, and eventually Chimchar had become a powerful Infernape. His victory over Paul in the Sinnoh League had shown him capable of pushing himself to the very limit and fighting the toughest of trainers. A perfect Pokemon to battle Diantha.

Still back at Professor Oak's lab, but ready to fight, according to Tracey, was Snorlax. Snorlax might have had a bottomless pit for a stomach and a love of sleeping, but he put his all into whatever fights Ash asked him to participate in. He'd been crucial to Ash's victory over Gary in the Johto League, and he'd even helped out here against Remo. Perhaps he would have beaten Remo's Mega Garchomp, but Professor Oak had apparently realized that Snorlax had eaten a bad patch of apples and was likely not fighting at full strength that day. Tracey was making sure that didn't happen again for tomorrow.

And finally, there was Greninja. There was no way the frog-ninja Pokemon would be kept out of this match. He was capable of more than nearly every Pokemon on the planet. He fought with furious determination and never gave up. His battle against Charizard had given Ash this chance and obviously he was going to be on the team.

"Hey Ash," Sawyer greeted, running up to him, notebook in hand. "I've saw your Sceptile training earlier, and I think he's definitely figured out that move we taught him. It looks even stronger than when my Sceptile does it when mega evolved."

Ash looked over to his Sceptile, who was busy eating, but clearly listening, trying not to show how proud he was. "Yeah, he seemed to really get the hang of it yesterday. It's gonna come in handy tomorrow, that's for sure." He looked over a Sceptile and gave a thumbs up. "Right, Sceptile?"

"Tile!" Sceptile shouted confidently, nodding and giving a fist pump.

Ash smiled and then looked over to his Charizard, who was eating his food next to Alain's Charizard. "How about you, Charizard? Do you think the move Alain taught you is ready?"

Charizard looked up at Ash and his eyes shone with excitement. He then reared his head back, aimed high into the sky, and fired a huge jet of flames into the air. He was probably ready to use the new move right then and there, but luckily had enough control to not do so. But the excited Flamethrower definitely showed that Charizard was confident and ready to show some new skills in battle against Diantha.

"I think everything's gonna be fine tomorrow," Ash said happily, giving Serena a knowing look. "We're all set."

"Ash, wake up!" Serena hissed, shaking her boyfriend's arm as he snored loudly. "Ash, your battle!"

That got him up in a second, his head shooting off of his pillow and his eyes widening. "Battle! Where?" he yelled. He stared at Serena, terror in his eyes. "I didn't miss my match against Diantha, right?"

Serena bit her lip to stop from laughing, knowing that if Ash was fully awake he would know that nobody would let him sleep through his match. "Relax, I'm just waking you up, because you wanted to make sure to get Snorlax from Tracey."

Ash opened and closed his eyes a few times, obviously trying to wake himself up. "Right, I should've remembered that. Alright, I'll do that now.

He quickly hopped out of bed and immediately went to the phone to make his call. Serena decided she'd go outside while he did that, and quietly made her way out. When she got outside, she was surprised to see Diantha approaching the room. Serena just stared blankly as the Champion approached, her surprise making her voice disappear.

"Hello Serena," Diantha greeted, giving Serena a kind smile. "How's everything here?"

"Hi. Um...it's fine," Serena answered, confused as to what Diantha's purpose for coming here before the battle was. It seemed a little odd, as she'd had an entire week to talk to Ash, so why come now?

Diantha nodded, looking away like she was slightly distracted. "That's good. I'm looking forward to this match. I want Ash to have a clear head so he can show his true strength."

"He's ready," Serena said confidently, any nervousness and confusion about Diantha's arrival leaving. "Ash picked his team and he's trained hard. They're all ready to show you what they can do. He's going to give you the toughest battle you've ever had."

Diantha smiled, amusement in her eyes. Serena blushed at the Champion's look, not having meant to show that much support for Ash in front of her. "I'm glad," Diantha said seriously. "The truth is, I rarely get a good challenge. It's a problem for any regional Champion. Not even the Elite Four are capable of taking us to the limit. They can test us, sure, but they can never give us a match like Ash and Alain gave each other. I don't mean to sound conceited. I'm just saying that this match is very important to me, because I see it as my first chance at a challenge in a long time."

Serena glanced towards the room, amazed that only a few moments ago, the trainer that the Kalos Champion was talking so highly of, had been snoring like a little child. She looked back at Diantha, smirking at the thought, but was completely serious with her next words. "It's a very important match to Ash as well. And don't worry, because he'll not only give you your toughest challenge in a long time, but the toughest match of your life."

Diantha chuckled at that, eyes lighting up in both excitement and amusement. "I'm sure he will, especially with all of his friends supporting him." She then raised and eyebrow and smirked at Serena. "And with a special girl like you supporting him, his strength seems limitless."

The door to the room opened in that moment, and Ash stumbled out, Pikachu on his shoulder. It seemed as though he was still a little bit tired, so he wasn't moving very gracefully. He came to a sudden stop when he saw Diantha, though, and immediately straightened up. "Diantha!" he exclaimed, quite loudly, his surprise making him unaware of the volume of his voice. "Uh...what are you – I mean hi, how's it going?"

Diantha nodded in greeting, smiling and looking somewhat amused by Ash's arrival. "Hello, Ash. I was just telling Serena, here, that I came by to ensure that you were ready for our match later on. She tells me that you'll be giving me the toughest match of my life."

Serena's eyes widened and she felt her cheeks go fiery hot at that. Whether she was Ash's girlfriend or not, it was still kind of awkward if he knew that she'd been talking so highly of him in front of the Kalos Champion without him being there. However, Ash couldn't have looked happier, as he smiled gratefully at Serena. He then looked at Diantha and gave her a confident nod. "Serena's right about that. And not only will I give you your toughest challenge, but I'm gonna beat you, too. If I want to be the best, I need to beat the best. Right, buddy?" he finished, looking up at Pikachu.

"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu answered back confidently, giving a fist pump and then looking at Diantha with narrowed eyes. The electric mouse looked ready to battle right then and there.

"If you battle the way you did against Alain, I have no doubt that you'll stay true to your word," Diantha said seriously, before smiling with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Although, perhaps not the part about you beating me. I won't let that happen."

Serena couldn't help but speak up here, ready to show her support in front of the Champion again. "Ash wins all the time when people don't let him. I know he's gonna win today."

"Electivire, finish with Thunder!" the purple-haired trainer ordered calmly, waving his arm in front of his face, dismissively. He was slightly bored with this battle. No battle had excited him in years, even when he'd lost. Not since, well, not since the trainer he'd often called pathetic. Not since Ash Ketchum had defeated him in the Lily of the Valley Conference.

Paul watched in boredom as his large, yellow Pokemon with black stripes, roared and huge blasts of electricity showered down on the Machamp in front of them. After a few seconds, the dust settled, and the multi-handed fighting Pokemon fell to the ground, completely still, smoke still coming off of its body.

"Machamp!" Paul's opponent, a tall, black-haired trainer who seemed to like acting like a tough guy until now. He knelt down at his Machamp's side, eyes wide, completely surprised at his Pokemon having been defeated. He turned to Paul. "How...how are you so strong?"

"I train hard," Paul answered simply, pulling out Electivire's pokeball and recalling it. "A job well done, Electivire." He suddenly turned around and started walking away. The trainer he'd just battled against called out once, but there was no point in answering. Paul had no interest in any rematch offer or in giving advice. He'd mentioned he trained hard, so that should have been enough.

For a few minutes, Paul walked aimlessly through the forest near Veilstone City. He had been spending some time with his brother, Reggie as of late. He was preparing for his next journey, deciding he needed to train a bit before it. Just as he'd heard Ash had done in Unova, Paul had had a setback after his success in Sinnoh, losing fairly quickly in his second time challenging the Hoenn Leauge. He'd only made it to the Top Sixteen, and hadn't felt right the entire time he'd been battling throughout the league.

No battle had felt right since Sinnoh. Paul had even had a few battles against Reggie, but they'd been no challenge, despite the respect he had for his brother. He'd re-challenged some of the better gym leaders around, but still, they'd all seemed so dull. Even his battle against Brandon in Snowpoint City had been dull in comparison to Ash. He needed to have something to reinvigorate his battling spirit. He might not have ever shown it, but he did enjoy a good battle, but now, these days, he could never even achieve that private enjoyment.

Paul suddenly noticed his brother's house in the distance, and decided he might as well get home. His Electivire could rest after the battle, and Reggie would be able to do whatever Nurse Joy would've done at the Pokemon Centre. Maybe he'd be able to have a battle with Reggie later as well. Even if it wasn't exciting, Reggie at least kept Paul's senses sharp, so that one day, if he managed to get the spark back, he'd be able to fight at the top of his game.

When he reached the house, Paul could hear noise coming from inside. It sounded kind of like it was echoing, so he assumed it was the TV. As he entered the house, he noticed his suspicion was true, as he the flashing light of the TV, and the sight of Reggie sitting on the couch in front of it. Paul quickly kicked off his shoes and went inside, glancing at his brother's large collection of badges before walking over to the couch and then sitting down next to Reggie.

"So, any good battles today?" Reggie asked, as Paul slowly started removing the pokeballs from his belt.

"Not one. Electivire beat a Machamp a few minutes ago. It wasn't a challenge at all," Paul answered, unable to keep the bitterness and frustration out of his voice.

Reggie just laughed, as though he'd expected it. He'd been sympathetic to his brother's frustration most of the time, but sometimes he would laugh when Paul talked about being bored at an easy victory over what would sound like a tough opponent. "You know what Paul, I think you might want to watch this with me," Reggie said after a couple moments of chuckling. "A very exciting battle is about to come on."

"I don't usually like to watch other people battle," Paul said, uninterested. "It doesn't really do anything for me. I mean, I'd watch you battle, of course, but there's hardly anyone else I'd find interesting enough to watch."

Reggie laughed again when Paul said this. Paul glared at his brother a moment, and felt irritation increase as the latter continued smiling. "Paul, I think there is someone in this battle you'll want to watch. Someone is taking on the Champion of the Kalos region. He won the Kalos League last week. I guess we didn't hear about it since we've been so busy with our own training."

"Who is it?" Paul asked, finally looking at the TV for the first time, but only seeing an irritating commercial for a special kind of pokeball that makes wild Pokemon friendlier after being caught. "I'm not really interested in seeing someone pointlessly battle a Champion. It was even ridiculous for me when I tried to battle Cynthia."

"Take a look for yourself," Reggie said, amusement and excitement in his voice. "It'll be back on in a second."

Paul rolled his eyes and watched the TV, staying patient through one more commercial only because his brother seemed to be particularly excited about this battle. Finally, the commercial ended, and then the image of a big city with a tall tower at its centre showed up on screen. Paul recognized it from pictures he'd seen. Lumiose City in the Kalos region. A few more images of the city were shown, and then a shot of the stadium came up, showing a hexagon shaped arena. It looked massive, and had pictures and lights all over it. It definitely looked like a good place to battle.

Suddenly, the camera shifted to an inside arena shot, showing the seats inside the stadium being packed with excited fans. At the centre of the arena, a plain dirt field seemed to be rising up from below. At that moment, a TV announcer started to speak. "Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, for this highly anticipated match up. We had quite an exciting Kalos League finale last week, and if predictions are correct, Champion Diantha and her young challenger will put up at least an equally good performance."

"I've heard Diantha's really strong," Paul said to Reggie, not even noticing as he started to position himself more comfortably on the couch. "She's got a Gardevoir, right? And it can do that strange evolution."

"Mega evolution, yes," Reggie answered. "But according to what they've been saying, her opponent's got something that may be just as good."

"Why won't you tell me who it is?" Paul asked, narrowing his eyes in frustration as they started showing highlights of various Diantha battles. It was mostly her Gardevoir teleporting away from opponent's attacks, and then ending the battle with a single Shadow Ball. She looked far too good for even a league winner to be able to match up against her.

Reggie didn't answer, and just smiled as the screen flashed to the field again. Diantha was now approaching the battlefield, walking along a long pathway, towards a hexagon-shaped platform. The announcer sung her praises as she walked and waved towards the crowd. When she reached her platform, she stood still, confidently staring ahead, her hand at her hip, already gripping a pokeball.

"And with Diantha's entrance done, we now get to introduce her challenger, last week's Kalos League Victor," the broadcaster announced. "This young man has really shown some spunk the last couple of weeks, and he's about to get quite the test of his skills. Let's look at what Ash Ketchum has managed to do."

Paul's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He didn't even look at Reggie, who he knew was probably smirking at him. He didn't care, though. He had to see what had happened. How his old rival had won, and why he was deserving of this big battle against a Champion. Highlights of his Kalos League battles began to show. He had a bat-like dragon Pokemon that had defeated a Garchomp that had one of those special forms. A Mega Garchomp. Then, there was a hawk-like Pokemon with cape-like wings that had defeated a Mega Absol. More surprises came after that. Ash had apparently defeated a disgraced Elite Four member, using her own Houndoom. Paul knew he'd need to find out what on earth had happened there.

The next part was the most interesting. In Ash's quarterfinal match, he was battling against some green-haired kid. It started out pretty close, and the green-haired kid seemed to be a decent battle. However, Ash's experience eventually took over the match. His large, two legged purple and white dragon type Pokemon, a Goodra, completely knocked out his some blue shrimp-like Pokemon. Then, the green-haired kid sent out his Sceptile. In answer, Ash sent out a frog-like Pokemon that looked kind of like a ninja.

Paul wasn't too surprised when the green-haired trainer managed to mega evolve his Sceptile, having heard that Sceptile was capable of doing so before. However, when Ash's frog-ninja Pokemon, Greninja, changed form, Paul's eyes widened further. Ash hadn't even used whatever those special stones were. And, his Greninja seemed to even look like Ash. When they showed clips of the battle, Paul could see the raw power of both Pokemon, but it eventually became clear who was stronger, and Ash's Greninja finished the match with a powerful Aerial Ace.

The next match was closer, with Ash using what Paul believed to be mostly his Pokemon from Kanto. His Squirtle and Bulbasaur put up impressive performances against their fully evolved counterparts, as did Pikachu. Then, Ash's Pidgeot had a fierce aerial battle against a Fearow, eventually managing to get the win. The Charizard and Dragonite battle was fierce, with each Pokemon landing many powerful blows, before Charizard managed to get the win. Finally, when Ash's opponent sent out a grass type with a spiky shell on its back, a Chesnaught, it managed to make the match close. However, Ash then sent out Pikachu, who managed to win another fierce fight, putting Ash into the finals.

Paul immediately became furious with himself for not somehow knowing this had been going on, as he was quickly hooked by just the highlights of the Kalos League final. Ash's entire team put up incredible performances, battling all out with the powerful Pokemon they battled. Pikachu was perhaps the most impressive, defeating a Tyranitar and then going head to head with the mega evolved Charizard Ash's opponent had as his final Pokemon. When Pikachu fell, Ash then sent out his Greninja, who changed form again. It looked to be one of the fiercest battles ever. Paul was amazed at how in sync Ash was with his Greninja. Eventually, it came down to Greninja throwing some kind of glowing, orange disc that clashed against the fiery molten rock attack that Charizard countered with. Each hit the ground hard, and it came down to whoever could stand first. Greninja managed to rise, and Charizard couldn't, leaving Ash as the winner.

As the screen then shifted back to the live footage, they showed Ash starting to walk down his path toward his platform. He smiled and waved, looking like the same happy and energetic trainer he'd been back in Sinnoh. There was then a close up of him, looking up into the crowd and winking. It seemed to have more meaning than a simple wink to the crowd. The camera then changed focus, and suddenly it was showing a large section of the crowd. Paul immediately recognized Ash's friends Dawn and Brock, but they weren't who the camera focused on. It zoomed in towards a girl with honey-blonde hair, who blushed and waved, likely on screen in the arena as well. Paul didn't really understand what that was all about, but assumed she was an important friend of Ash's or something, and he saw her as crucial to him winning the league.

Once Ash had made it to the platform, and the broadcaster started speaking some more about how exciting the match was going to be, Paul turned to Reggie. He couldn't help it, as a smile came to his face. "Ash finally did it, huh?"

"Yeah," Reggie said, also smiling. "Not bad, eh? And it looks like he's got some really strong Pokemon."

"I hope he uses Infernape," Paul said quietly. "I'd kind of like to see Infernape again."

Paul then turned to the TV and watched and listened carefully, as they prepared to begin. The broadcaster started speaking the rules, as the referee on the field did as well. "This will be a six on six full battle between Ash, the Kalos League Victor, and Diantha, the Kalos region Champion. Substitutions will be allowed. Both competitors have agreed to a plain battlefield, in order to give no field advantages to one type of Pokemon. There will be no intermission after three Pokemon have been defeated. Once all Pokemon for one trainer have been defeated, the other will be declared the winner." The referee then seemed to ask if both Ash and Diantha agreed, and both nodded, pulling up their first pokeballs. "Trainers, please select your first Pokemon!"

Paul actually clenched his fists in excitement as each trainer threw out their first pokeball. On Diantha's side, a flash of light revealed a large, T-Rex-like Pokemon, with fur around its head and neck. And then, on Ash's side, a flash of light revealed his first choice, and Paul leaned forward, even more excited.

"And the first match of this highly anticipated battle, will be Diantha's Tyrantrum versus Ash's Infernape!" the broadcaster yelled excitedly.

Paul narrowed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He then smiled, as the screen showed a close up of a determined looking Infernape. "Go get 'em Infernape. And good luck, Ash."