(In the Battlefield)

Everyone watches with baited breath as the dust settles. When it settles they see Blastoise and Arcanine facing each other but neither moving a muscle. They stay like that for a minute. Suddenly Blastoise's face starts shows a sign of grimace and it collapses onto one knee. A huge gasp goes through the stadium. Then suddenly Arcanine's body slouches and it's feet start shaking which causes another gasp. Then Blastoise collapses onto both of its knees and a huge gasp goes through the stadium. Following that Arcanine gives a howl before it's face contorts and it completely collapses. The moment Arcanine faints a huge roar erupts among the spectator.

"Arcanine is unable to battle. Blastoise wins." Referee announces as the stadium erupts in deafening cheer while both trainers recall their Pokemon into their Poke-ball.

"Oh dear. It seems you won this battle." Serena says in a sarcastic tone while thinking 'You may win the battle but I will win the war.'

'Don't think I don't know you are up to something my dear.' Ash thinks to himself while smiling back as they both enlarge their Poke-balls.

"Let's see whether you have what it takes to take on this Pokemon my dear." Ash says as he tosses his Poke-ball.

"We'll see who handles who." Serena says as she simultaneously tosses her Pokemon.

(In the VIP Box)

"So Ash takes the early lead. That's good." Brock says.

"I would hardly call that a lead. Ash won by the length of a hair." Lucy replies.

"Yes but winning by the length of a hair or by a mile is still winning." Cynthia points out.

"Yup. But any thoughts on the overall battle?" Gary asks.

"It was the Aqua Ring that made the difference." Goodshow remarks.

"Indeed." Gary says while seconding with Goodshow's observation.

"What do you mean?" May asks in a confused tone.

"You see Aqua ring not only protected Blastoise from those Fire Blasts but every time it was used it also healed a portion of Blastoise's health." Brock explains.

"I get it now." May replies.

"Though that wasn't the only thing was it?" Paul says.

"What do you mean Paul?" Roark says.

"The moves Serena used. Several of them were Recoil type moves like Wild Charge and Flare Blitz. So that recoil damage also made an impact." Paul says as the VIP box explodes with murmuring.

"It's not just that. The final move Ash used. That Water Pulse. That made the difference between defeat and victory." Bertha remarks.

"Yes. Mega Launcher. You are quite right." Seibold says while agreeing with Bertha's observation.

"Indeed. Since Water Pulse is a Pulse type move it gets powered up by Mega Launcher. This made the final attack more powerful than it's limit." Diantha says.

"All in all. We can all agree that this was quite the opening battle. If the rest of the match goes like this, then this would be the perfect opportunity to reopen the Pokemon League." Goodshow says in a pleased tone as the remaining members of the Pokemon League board look pleased as well.

"Sure that would be good. But still be very careful what you wish for." Lance says.

"What do you mean?" Goodshow says.

"It's good to pray for rain in the time of a drought when you are not getting any rain. But you should also hope that you don't get floods as bad as the drought." Lance says as the murmuring dies down.

"Let's watch the second round shall we? They are about to begin." Oak says as everyone refocuses their attention back to the match.

(In the battlefield)

A Glalie comes out of Ash's Poke-ball while an Alolan Ninetales comes out of Serena's Poke-ball.

"Interesting. Looks like this will be an Ice Pokemon one on one battle." Serena says as Ash chuckles with excitement as well.

"Battle Begin." Referee announces.

https://youtu.be/aXwmLjhWUvo

"Ninetales use Quick Attack." Serena commands.

"Intercept with Headbutt." Ash counters. Both Pokemon slide back after colliding.

(In the VIP Box)

"Looks like this time we have an Ice type showdown." Wulfric says in an interested tone.

"Indeed. Things are heating up for sure." Lorelei replies in an equally interested tone.

"Don't you mean cooling down?" Lance says.

"Ice type specialists fascinated by an Ice Type battle. So common that it borders on sociological cliche." Diantha says as all the champions hide a smile.

"Well it is interested because now Ice type moves will be useless on one another so they will have to rely on moves of other types." Oak says.

"You are quite right there Samuel." Rowan says as everyone watches the proceedings with utmost interest.

(In the Battlefield)

"Use Moonblast." Serena commands.

"Dodge it." Ash commands as Ninetales fires a Moonblast.

"After it with Iron Tail." Serena orders as Ninetales bares its fangs then darts after Glalie after it dodges the Moonblast. 

"Go up in the air." Ash commands as Glalie rises up. The moment Ninetales reaches Glalie's shadow it jump vertically and closes in on Glalie with Iron Tail at the ready.

Ash says nothing as Ninetales closes in on Glalie.

"Now use Weather Ball." Ash commands catching Serena by surprise.

"Ninetales no." Serena shouts as she sees that the sun is shining brightly. She clenches her fingers in a fist as Ninetales crashes into the ground after getting hit with the Fire type Weather Ball.

"Now that Ninetales is incapacitated." Ash says as he goes into his Mega Evolution stance.

"Ninetales Pain Split." Serena orders knowing Glalie will not be able to dodge while in the Mega evolution stance.

"Our health points may be same but I still have the evolutionary advantage." Ash commands.

"We'll see. Use Psyshock." Serena orders as a beam in the form of rings of psychic energy comes out of Ninetales' mouth.

"Dark Pulse." Ash orders which destroys the Psyshock and then lands on Ninetales.

'Even though Dark Pulse won't hurt Ninetales it will be super effective against my Ghost and Psychic type moves. You have really thought this through. But I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well.' Serena thinks to herself as the dust settles with Ninetales completely fine.

"Now Ninetales use Mist to cover the battlefield." Serena commands as the entire battlefield goes cold and hazy.

"Very clever. Now Weather Ball is useless. But what are you up to? You wouldn't just use Mist for that." Ash says as the entire surrounding becomes misty.

"Why don't you take a look. This is just the setting of the stage. Now the real performance begin. Use Double Team then Aurora Veil." Serena commands. What then happens takes everyone's breath away. Several copies of Ninetales move in random direction in and out of the mist while riding Aurora Veil like a magic carpet which emits several hues of VIBGYOR.

"Now use Ice Performance." Serena says as she snaps her fingers as Ash looks on curiously as to what is going to happen.

"What's this?" Ash says as each Ninetales flying launches a different attack on Glalie while flying in a different direction.

"Grrrrr. Use Dark Pulse to swat the fakes." Ash shouts.

"Won't work Ash." Serena says the moment the Dark Pulse appears next to Ninetales it simply moves up and the Dark Pulse is deflected by the Aurora Veil carpet.

"Glalie." Ash shouts when it is hit by a moon blast from the left.

"Those things are moving randomly just like ghosts. Not to mention the Snow Cloak ability isn't making it any easier. It's only making the mist more powerful." Ash says as this time Glalie is hit by a Confuse Ray.

"How do I break through this. Glalie take an attack then return Dark pulse from the trajectory of the received attack." Ash commands. A little while later Glalie is hit from the left by a Psybeam. Glalie fires an attack in that direction which misses. But then the next second it gets hit from behind by an attack.

"You really thought you could beat me that way? I have perfected this technique Ash. Looks like your Glalie despite being Mega Evolved will be on its last legs soon." Serena says in a taunting manner.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Ash thinks to himself when suddenly an idea comes into his mind.

"That's it. Use Rain Dance." Ash commands.

"What will that do?" Serena says As the rain falls Ash listens very closely with his eyes shut and ears open.

"The one on the left. Use Headbutt." Ash shouts as Serena gets taken aback.

"But how?" Serena says as Ninetales is sent flying after being hit by the Headbutt.

"You see the rain falls everywhere apart from the place under the real Ninetales' body. I just had to listen for the sound of the rain bouncing of your Ninetales body." Ash says to which Serena smirks.

"Of course. It slipped my mind. You used the very technique I used to figure out where Conway's Dusknoir was in my match with him. Clever but too little and might I add too late. Ninetales use Attract." Serena orders as Ninetales winks at Glalie and several hearts move towards Glalie.

"Oh no you don't. Use Gyro-ball." Ash commands as Glalie spins which destroys the hearts which come into contact.

"Don't think Gyro-ball was just for defense." Ash says as Gyro-ball speeds towards Ninetales.

"Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Counter with Iron Tail." Serena commands. A clash takes place and another tied collision occurs.

"I think it's time to wrap this up. Use Focus Energy." Ash commands as Glalie's entire body gets covered in a bluish energy which then gets concentrated on it's forehead.

"Iron head. Go." Ash shouts as Glalie gets covered with a veil of silver steel type energy as it runs towards Ninetales.

"Protect." Serena orders as Ninetales fires up a Protect shield just in time.

(In the VIP Box)

"That was some technique alright." Diantha says as Glalie destroys the Attract hearts.

"Hold on a second. The attacks that the fakes were launching. They shouldn't have been real attacks. Then why was Glalie getting damaged?" Dawn asks.

"It wasn't. If you observed the battle closely then you'll see that several of the attacks missed. They didn't miss by chance. They missed on purpose. The fakes were all firing attacks off target so that when the real Ninetales was about to launch the attack the phantom attacks would mask its position well." Diantha says.

"Yes. But it was so elegant. It was almost as it the fangs of ice had come to life." Wulfric says.

"Yes. I think the reason why it was so elegant is because of Serena's performer influence. She has become a competent powerful trainer yet she does things with more taste and style. The perfect blend of Performer grace with Trainer prowess." Oak says.

"Look at that. It seems Ash is going for a one shot win. He's increasing his chances for a critical hit with Focus Energy just like my Rampardos." Roark comments.

"Whatever happens this icy cold battle is starting to heat up." Grace says.

https://youtu.be/aXwmLjhWUvo

(In the Battlefield)

"Hold on. Ninetales." Serena encourages her Pokemon to keep the shield intact.

"Won't work." Ash says as the shield begins to crack slowly before it completely cracks and Glalie smashes into Ninetales with the force of a stampeding horde of Rhyhorn.

"Grrrrr. Use Fire Fang." Serena commands as Ninetales after getting back up on it's feet leaps onto Glalie and bites down hard while using Fire Fang catching Ash by surprise.

"I see. So you finally managed to master the only Fire Type move an Alolan Ninetales can learn according to our master. Not bad. Use Gyro-ball from that position." Ash says in an impressed tone.

"Oh no." Serena says as Ninetales also starts spinning wildly with Gyro-ball before being sent tumbling on the ground. It immediately gets up and both Pokemon ferociously stare back at each other while remaining in battle stance.

"Use Focus Energy into Iron Head." Ash commands while punching the air.

"Disable." Serena orders which stops the Focus Energy when Ninetales' eyes turn blue.

"Doesn't matter. You are still going down. Use Signal Beam." Ash commands as Glalie launches a green beam at Ninetales which catches Serena by surprise.

"Feeling clever are you. Use Moon Blast." Serena commands after Ninetales has recovered from the attack.

"Stop it with Ice beam." Ash counters as a tied explosion takes place.

"Use Secret Power." Serena commands trying to push Ash onto a back foot.

"Protect into Signal Beam." Ash counters ,not being one to be backed into a corner so easily.

"Dodge it." Serena commands as Ninetales jumps to the left to avoid the Signal Beam.

"Use Hypnosis." Serena commands as Ninetales comes to a stop.

"Dark Pulse then Iron head." Ash commands knowing Dark pulse with destroy the Hypnosis.

"Iron Tail." Serena commands as Ninetales' tail turn shiny and it jumps on to Glalie while doing a tail over head flip before slamming the Iron Tail into the Iron Head. For several moments the collision look tied with several sparks emitting from the point where the Iron Head and Iron Tail are colliding. When the collision stops an explosion takes place with both Pokemon who seem to be visibly panting.

'The sky has become clear and sunny again.' Ash thinks to himself before planning his next move.

"Use Water Pulse." Serena commands as Ninetales launches it's attack.

"Stop it with Protect." Ash commands as the Protect stops the Water Pulse.

"Use Fire Fang." Serena commands while snapping her fingers as Ninetales runs and then jumps at Glalie with it's fangs engulfed flames.

"Protect one more time." Ash commands as Ninetales bounces of the shield.

"Now use Signal Beam." Ash commands as Ninetales is blasted by Signal Beam. Suddenly the Ninetales which was flying vanishes and the real Ninetales appears behind Glalie a moment before it plunges is flaming fangs into Glalie causing a huge cry of pain to emanate from Glalie.

(In the VIP Box)

"That was a little too easy." Paul says in a suspicious tone as he sees Serena's Ninetales being blasted by Signal Beam after bouncing of Protect after being stopped by Protect twice in a row.

"A Substitute." Brock cries when Ninetales which was flying dissapears and the real Ninetales appears behind Glalie only to sink its flaming fangs into Glalie's back.

"The snapping of the finger. I forgot." Paul says while mentally scolding himself for forgetting Serena's signal for a phantom Substitute.

(Back in the Battlefield)

"Weather Ball." Ash commands upon hearing which Glalie vanishes and appears behind Ninetales to Serena's shock.

"Grrrrr. Very crafty." Serena says in a frustrated tone as Ninetales is blasted by a Fire type Weather Ball from point blank range from behind.

(In the VIP Box)

"No way. Ashy boy used a Substitute to beat Serena's Substitute." Gary exclaims as Glalie vanishes as well.

"Who would have seen that coming?" Lillie says in a shocked tone.

"It just shows how well those 2 know each other. They can read each other perfectly. From a researcher point of view compatibility wise there might not be a better couple I have ever seen before." Oak says which causes Grace and Delia to look pleasantly surprised.

"Are you saying that me and Lillie are not a good couple." Gary says in an annoyed tone.

"You two have just started dating recently in comparison to Ash and Serena who have been dating for more than 2 years now. So let's just say I don't have enough data on the the two of you to come to a sound conclusion." Oak replies.

"Typical Gramps." Gary says in a defeated tone.

"Relax Gare-bear. He isn't saying we're bad. We'll prove ourselves too." Lillie says before giving Gary a sloppy peck on the cheek to Gladion's disgust.

"Please don't call me Gare-bear as well. They are enough." Gary says while pointing to Brock and the others who are Awwwwing the whole sight.

(Back in the Battlefield)

"I know your signal Sere. That's exactly why I didn't use Substitute in the earlier battles so much. So that you couldn't figure out my signal for a phantom Substitute. Gyro-ball go." Ash commands as Glalie rams into Ninetales mercilessly and sends it flying.

"Moon Blast." Serena commands as Ninetales turn in mid air while flying and hit Glalie square in the chest with a Moon Blast before tumbling on the ground after landing.

"Looks like someone took their eyes of the ball." Serena smirks back.

"Ice Beam on the battlefield." Ash commands which confuses Serena.

'What is he up to? Ice beam will make it easier for Ninetales to move around. Plus this Ice Beam is very weak. The ice is too thin. It will melt quite quickly. What are you up to Ash?' Serena think to herself.

Suddenly both Pokemon begin to sweat profusely and pant. Both Ash and Serena realize that the battle it as it's end. Now it's time for the finale.

"Giga Impact. Finish it." Serena says as Ninetales gets covered with veil of purplish yellow energy.

"Iron Head. Do it now." Ash commands. As both Pokemon move towards each other Ash and Serena eye each other intensely. A large explosion takes place which sends shock waves into crowd causing balloons to burst and soft drinks to fly out of people's hands along with several flags to get uprooted. The bullet proof glass of the VIP Box vibrates violently for a duration longer than the previous time along with the people's nerves.

When the dust settles. Both Pokemon are staring each other back. Glalie reverts back into its original form but doesn't faint. Ninetales on the other hand gives Glalie a final weak growl before swaying from side to side before fainting.

"Ninetales is unable to battle. Glalie wins. This round goes to Ash Ketchum as well." Referee announces as both trainers recall their Pokemon.

(In the battlefield)

"Sycamore. Before the next round begin. Please have the 3 rows closest to the battlefield in the stands evacuated to other seats. Just to be safe." Diantha says while drinking a glass of water.

"A wise decision indeed." Sycamore says before typing a message in his pager.

"So it's 2-0 now. Ash definitely has the momentum going for him. That's for sure." Drew says.

"But both the matches Serena lost were due to Type Disadvantage and Lack of Mega Evolution. We'll see what happens when the tables are turned on Ash." Lucy says.

"Maybe. But why am I getting the feeling Serena has not revealed her cards yet. It's like she wants Ash to go all in then get him with a straight flush or a full house." Paul says.

"Maybe. But now the momentum is really picking up the pace." Oak says as everyone agrees.