All eyes in the stadium were fixed on Katrina and Logan as they stared each other down. Logan didn't seem at all surprised that he was going up against Katrina. His expression betrayed his thoughts of excitement for the match.

I must be out of my mind. I don't know if I'm excited to face her, or nervous that I'll get creamed. She hasn't used anything but her Magmortar to get this far. Oh well, I've got three chances to take down one of her powerhouses. The only question is, which one will she use? Logan thought as he reached for his first partner.

"The second round of the qualifiers will now begin! Trainers, send out your first Pokémon!" The judge bellowed.

"Azumarill, let's do this!" Logan hollered.

"Trevenant, time to battle!" Katrina called out.

"You may begin!" The judge declared.

"Azumarill, Ice Punch!" Logan commanded.

"Will-O-Wisp!" Katrina riposted.

Azumarill tightened her paw and channeled supercooled energy through it, creating an icy aura around her paw. She then launched herself towards Trevenant, encasing her body in a watery aura as she powered through the wisps and swung at a vanishing Trevenant. Azumarill skidded to a stop and began to listen for the haunted tree's approach. Her ears twitched, causing her to whirl around and duck an oncoming Phantom Force assault, leaving Trevenant open for a split second. Seeing her chance, Azumarill struck home with a powerful Ice Punch that sent Trevenant back a few feet. The sinister tree snarled at Azumaril.

"Aqua Jet!" Logan ordered.

"Horn Leech!" Katrina countered calmly.

Azumarill cloaked herself in an aquatic veil before tearing off towards Trevenant, an icy aura shrouding her paws as she aimed to strike. Trevenant snarled and took off as well, lowering his head as he faced the water rabbit head on. The two came to blows in the center and both attacks struck home, knocking both combatants away. Trevenant seemed to come out with the better end of the deal due to the energy he sapped from Azumarill upon impact. The water rabbit still seemed ready to go at it again.
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Brendan had joined Courtney and his parents in the stands to watch the battle take place. He observed Trevenant as he fought and could tell that Katrina was simply testing Logan. So far, he wasn't doing too bad and was lasting a lot longer than anyone else had. Katrina seemed rather satisfied with this as she looked to be enjoying herself. He had fought both contenders and knew their strengths well enough to be able to determine who would come out on top in this match.

"Someone's focused," Courtney said casually as she noticed that Brendan had his attention fixed on the match.

"Yeah...because there's a chance we might meet in the semi-finals," Brendan pointed out.

"Indeed, the chances of that happening are quite high. You and her would have quite the battle if that were to happen," Courtney replied.

"Then again, there's the off chance that she could lose. Then Logan would be in the semis. Sadly, I don't see that happening," Brendan said with a frown.

Quite observant aren't you, Brendan?" Cynthia interjected, prompting Brendan to turn to face her. This was the first time he'd seen her up close. She carried the same intimidating presence that Katrina did, making him slightly nervous to be in her presence. Sure, Katrina was powerful, but Cynthia was on an entirely different level.

"I do what I can," Brendan admitted, scratching his head slightly out of habit.

"My sister talked quite a bit about you and your friend Tim," Cynthia replied.

"Heh...not much to talk about. Unless of course, you count the crazy stuff that went down recently, then there's plenty to discuss," Brendan shrugged.

"Ah, that. Yes, that was quite the catastrophe wasn't it? Thankfully not many were hurt," Cynthia responded, her eyes shifting back to the match.

Brendan also turned his attention back to the fight, keeping an eye on the strategies of both opponents.
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"Bounce and use Aqua Jet!" Logan commanded.

Azumarill sat back on her tail, bouncing a few times before rocketing high into the sky. Water shrouded her body as she began to plummet at high speeds towards the haunted tree. Trevenant stood there, waiting for his adversary to descend. Katrina looked up as Azumarill came down, a look of deep concentration on her face.

"Wood Hammer!" Katrina commanded.

Trevenant's arm and claws began to twist and morph into a glowing green hammer. Trevenant pulled back and swung hard at the critical moment as Azumarill reached him, belting the water rabbit clear across the arena, sending her crashing into a wall. Azumarill slid down from the wall in a daze.

"Azumarill is unable to battle! Trevenant wins!" Declared the judge.

Logan winced at the result and returned his aquatic friend.

That plan backfired. I guess I need to take a different approach, Logan thought, reaching down to grab his next partner from his belt.

"Machamp, time to rumble!" Logan called out.

The Superpower Pokémon surged onto the battlefield and flexed his four, massive arms. Katrina frowned at the appearance of the four armed muscular menace. To most trainers, this move wouldn't make sense. But to her, there was only one reason why anyone would go with such a ludicrous tactic.

"Trevenant, use Phantom Force!" Katrina called out.

Trevenant gave a haunting laugh as he vanished, leaving no trace of himself as he seemingly faded from existence.

Machamp closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his surroundings. As he felt out the environment, he felt a sudden shift behind him. In a swift motion, he whirled around, his eyes lighting up as he turned to catch the oncoming wooden claw that aimed to rake across his back. Having used Foresight, Machamp cocked back one of his fists and channeled power into it. Trevenant struggled in the grip of Machamp. Realizing his struggle was futile, his eyes flashed a violet color, and a small ring of ghostly energy formed around Machamp for a brief moment before vanishing. A bluish-white aura surrounded Machamp's fist as he swung it around and hit home while still maintaining his grip on Trevenant. The concussive blow rattled the tree, putting it in a confused state.

"Fire Punch!" Logan ordered.

Three of Machamp's fists were set ablaze and with blinding speed, he repeatedly hammered into Trevenant without relenting. With a final decisive blow, Trevenant was pounded into the ground, out of the match.

"Trevenant is unable to battle! Machamp wins!" The judge proclaimed.

Suddenly, Machamp collapsed into the ground, unable to continue.

"Machamp is also unable to battle!" The judge exclaimed.

Katrina smirked as she returned Trevenant. "Thank you my friend, your work is done here," she stated, clipping Trevenant back onto her belt before reaching for her next partner.

"Garchomp, prepare for battle!" Katrina hollered.

The mighty dragon roared onto the battlefield, ready to battle it out with whatever Logan sent her way. Logan sweat-dropped at the sight of Garchomp. This was Katrina's best Pokémon. He took note of the Mega Stone around her neck and knew that there was only one way this would play out. He reached for his last partner and primed his ball.

"Steelix, you're up!" He called out, releasing the steel snake from his capture device.

The massive steel snake towered above the arena, giving off an air of intimidation. About his neck was a Mega Stone as well. Logan reached for his pendant and tapped the keystone inside, causing a reaction from Steelix's Mega Stone. Katrina reached up and tapped her earring's keystone and resonated with Garchomp. The stadium was filled with a blinding light for but a moment or two. When it calmed down, Steelix had grown a bit longer while Garchomp remained unchanged as far as height was concerned. The stage had been set.

"Steelix, use Iron Tail!" Logan called out.

"Brick Break!" Katrina countered.

Steelix's heavy tail lifted and swung hard to the side, aiming to sweep Garchomp across the arena. Garchomp crossed her scythe-like wings and dug into the ground as the blow struck. With a show of force, Garchomp shoved Steelix back, forcing his tail away, causing the massive Iron Snake Pokémon to skid back a few feet. With a roar, Steelix laced its teeth in an icy aura and dove towards Garchomp.

"Fire Blast!" Katrina commanded.

Garchomp reared her head back and loosed a blast of intense fire at close range. Steelix roared in pain as he was struck in the face. He recoiled from the blast and slid back, glaring menacingly at Garchomp who hadn't moved from the spot she was released to since the match began.

I knew it would be tough to handle her Garchomp, but this is ridiculous. She hasn't budged a bit. Sure, she skidded back a little from blocking the blow, but otherwise, she hasn't moved at all. I guess it's time for a new strategy.

"Earthquake!" Logan shouted.

"Brick Break!" Katrina commanded.

Steelix roared and raised his tail, slamming it onto the ground with tremendous force, causing the arena to shake violently. Garchomp took to the skies to avoid the assault only to barely evade an oncoming Iron Tail on the way up. Garchomp dove towards Steelix and powered up his scythe-like wings and slashed twice across the face of Steelix. The steel snake roared in pain and swatted at Garchomp with a water laced tail. Garchomp deftly avoided the tail and loosed a powerful stream of fire that connected with incredible force, sending Steelix crashing to the ground. Steelix's mega form vanished as he was knocked out of the fight.

"Steelix is unable to battle! Garchomp wins, which means the victory goes to Katrina!" Declared the judge.

Logan sighed as he returned Steelix to his ball. A soft laugh escaped his lips as he hitched the ball to his belt. "Well, I guess placing in the top eight isn't so bad. Good fight Katrina, you deserved that win."

Katrina smiled faintly and nodded. "It was a great match indeed. You were a worthy opponent Logan," Katrina replied, casually flipping her hair as she turned tail and walked back through her tunnel.

The announcer cleared his throat and tapped the microphone. "Wasn't that amazing!? But that's just the sort of thing you'd expect from our top competitors! Our next battle is between Wally and May! Let's hear it for these two trainers!" The announcer boomed as Wally and May began to walk through their tunnels.

"The third round of the Ever Grande conference is about to begin! Which one of these two hopefuls will move on to the semi-finals? Let's find out!"
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So in a display of strategy and power, Katrina shows her dominance by crushing Logan and securing her seat in the semi-finals. Now it's May and Wally's turn to give the audience a show. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter because I sure enjoyed writing it! Get ready for the next one!"