After my first victory came followed the other battles, I also saw the familiar faces like Gladion, N, Brendan and Paul, there was also this Galar wild card named, Sonia, her team is quite predictable, she also has a mega bracelet containing key stone in it, probably for Venasaur she used back then.
All battles have been finished, as expected, the wild cards have passed the rounds. It'll be time for another round in the semi finals.
Glad the announcer made a one day rest before moving on though.
It was now nighttime, I was the one to arrive at the hotel first since I kind of needed rest, on the bed I can see Meloetta and Celebi resting themselves up, since they didn't followed us outside and also didn't want to battle for now. I motioned myself to bed without waking them up, even if it is still 7 p.m., I'm just gonna wait for them to arrive.
Few minutes later, what I expect finally happened, Leaf also arrived, but no Koharu, that made me wonder.
'Hello Ash." Leaf said as she entered the hotel room.
"Hi Leaf, where is Koharu?" I asked her.
"She's with Professor Sakuragi in a restaurant here in this place, in fact, I came to fetch you, because we're invited, I know you'll go straight here after the match." She gave me a sly look and I gave her anapologetic smiled.
"That was tiring though, considering that I also did that bond phenomenon again." I said in a matter of factly tone.
"You never cease to amaze us Ash." Leaf said with a smile.
"Thank you Leaf." I said, petting her head, much to my amusement.
"Shall we head out then?" She asked.
"Wait, Meloetta, Celebi, are you coming?" I asked the two mythical pokemons, who were awakened by our conversation.
"You can go invisible though, I assume it's a fancy restaurant so there should be people around." I quickly reminded them, they nodded and then Celebi went on my shoulder while Meloetta on Leaf's, and they activated their unique ability.
"Well then, lead the way Leaf."
...
3rd Person's POV
There in a five star restaurant in the league, we can see the person of Professor Oak, Sakuragi and her daughter, Koharu, there's also Gou who didn't joined the league, Lusamine with Lillie and Gladion and some champions like Cynthia and Diantha, accompanied by Alain, of course, they are waiting for the arrival of their invited guests.
"It is an honor for us of you joining us here, Diantha and Cynthia." Professor Oak bowed in gesture.
"No need the formalities Oak, in fact, we shall thank you for the invitation, this way, we can learn more about Lance's wild card well." Diantha said.
"I didn't even knew that boy could do such thing." Professor Oak chuckled at that.
"Koharu here in fact travelled with the siblings, so she clearly knows them better than us." Professor Sakuragi stated as she presented her daughter, much to her embarassment.
"Really? You're with him and her sister?" Cynthia was the one to ask in a disbelief tone.
"Yes Ms. Cynthia, they let me join their adventure." Koharu replied in embarassment.
"How is the adventure like?" She asked further.
"I would love to answer that, but it'll spoil the fun, I suggest we should hear them from the very person were tackling about." Koharu responded in a rather calm tone, since she's with Ash and Leaf, her confidence is rising, well, except Leaf's teasing that is.
"Very well then."
And in the cue, two familiar figures just arrived at the meeting, and the two got everyone's attention.
"Well, here they are." Said Professor Oak.
"Hello everyone, are we late?" Leaf was the one to ask in behalf of her brother, she knew Ash's still pretty tired so she acted as his voice through.
"Greetings, Leaf and Ash, I am Diantha, and that one in black is Cynthia." Diantha introduced herself, which is really unnecessary since everyone knew her.
"Oh no no no Diantha no need the formalities, we should be the one doing that." Leaf said and bowed, that made Diantha amused.
"Quite a lively young girl we have here." Cynthia smiled at the sight of humbleness in her.
Ash and Leaf also greeted everyone, he noticed some familiar faces like Gou and Gladion, and also greeted them.
"You didn't joined the league Gou, why?" Ash asked.
"Change of mind Ash, I now aim to become a professor." Gou responded.
"I see then, best wishes on your goal." He said and they both fistbumped.
Greetings have calmed down, and they all went to the serious matter.
"So Ash, that was quite a strong display of power back there." Diantha was the first one to say.
Ash just sheepishly smiled at that, much to their amusement.
"I would say, that Charizard's form is somewhat new to us." Cynthia came followed.
Ash knew this would bound to happen, and it is unavoidable, so no point in hiding his techniques, besides, he did have the advantage in the match.
"Very well then, to answer your question, I call it Bond Phenomenon, it happens when me and my pokemon are linked into one, we kind of feel a surging power throughout our body, I'm also able to see what Charizard sees, and their appearance slightly changes, but not in the mega evolution form." Ash briefly explained, but they managed to get the gist based from the explanation.
"I assume you can do it to your other pokemons?" Diantha asked.
"I do, but there are just four of them, Charizard included." Ash responded, much to the champions' amazement, and Diantha's attention switched to the girl.
"And I also heard that you beat this guy over hear in a mock battle." Diantha said while pointing out Alain's being.
"He called me a little kid, that's what he gets." Leaf huffed and pouted, they were surprised at the ridiculous reason, especially Alain.
"You had some beating back then Alain, I see." It was Lusamime, who was amused at the history they both have.
"I did, and I learned from it, I should thank her for that." Alain said and bowed slightly at the girl, much to Leaf's embarassment.
They continued the small chit chat until finally, it was now time to head out for bed.
"Thank you for having us, we appreciated this." Thanked Leaf and Ash.
"We should thank you young man, and we're looking forward for your other performances in this tournament." Diantha said.
They acknowledged themselves, Leaf, Ash, and even Koharu motioned themselves towards the hotel and got some rest, tomorrow is also a rest day, so they should be fine.
...
World is wide, and some parts of it aren't discovered yet, so mysterious creatures are still lurking everywhere.
'Screeeeeech!'
Loud, deadly screech can be heard, which in fact, came from a large beast, it's appearance is somewhat a large dark blue skeleton-like dragon with wings and some type of head armor on its head. In the middle of its ribcage is a pink crystal, which is its core, it almost looked like a skrill.
It flew through the thick skies, and bound to doom anyone who sees it.
...
"It's on his move." The wolf like pokemon with a sword in it's mouth, stated.
"We shall follow it, we couldn't let it wreck havoc." Said the other wolf like pokemon with a fancy shield as it's mane.
And with that, they ran in a fast pace, still sensing the whereabouts of the source of the intimidating aura.
Eevee, try out your Shadow Ball and aim it on the tree over there." I commanded my Shiny Eevee, which is still young but it could battle well.
Eevee cried out and fired off a flawless Shadow Ball on a tree I pointed out, I can say she'll be a great battler or performer someday.
"Nice job Eevee, your moveset is so cool. Shadow Ball, Swift, Take Down, Dig, that is so cool, you should be proud it Eevee." I praised the evolution pokemon, she cooed in delight and went to my shoulder.
We're now occupying the small battlefield right next beside the hotel, it isn't that really much of people passing by so I guess it's safe to let her out for a while.
"Breakfast is ready Ash." Said by Koharu holding up a tray containing foods and pokemon foods in it, she's also followed by Leaf with her own tray of pokemon foods and foods too.
"Thank you, you two." I said and thanked both of them.
"You should've said that you're going on early in the morning though." Leaf playfully retorted, Ash can't help it but smile nervously, Eevee hopped off my shoulder and proceeded to the pokemon food.
We also took a seat and had our breakfast.
"I still can't believe you own a Shiny Eevee though." Koharu said as she admired the sight of the rare shiny pokemon.
"Yeah, I don't know how, it came from an Eevee egg, but she hatched to be like that." I replied to her.
It was a one fine rest day during the tournament, I had checked before who I am going to battle and turns out it's Alain, I still don't know his other pokemons beside Charizard though, and I will not research for it, that'll ruin the fun.
"So Ash, who will you use next?" Leaf asked while eating.
"I think I'm gonna use Greninja for his debut, since it has been a while since we battled together, also Lucario, they're itching for some battles." I replied to her as I thought about those two, clearly they haven't had their battles since Lance. I'm pretty sure they'll be excited.
"Yeah, I also want to see them back on track again!" Leaf cheered excitedly, clearly she's the only who who knew about Greninja and Lucario, so obviously, Koharu has no idea what is going on right now.
"I'm going to assume you'll do that thing again?" Koharu interjected.
"I don't know? Maybe not or maybe so?" I responded to her and grinned.
Just by that, we heard someone walking towards us, Eevee's ears perked up and hid behind Koharu. Luckily, she wasn't found out.
"Hey Ash, Leaf and Koharu." That voice came from no other than Gary. He walked casually towards the trio, hands on pocket.
"Hi Gary." Greeted Leaf.
"Sorry to interrupt your breakfast, it's just I saw you guys eating from there and can't help but check you guys out." Gary explained.
"Don't be, we just finished eating anyways." I replied, it's true though, well, except Koharu.
"And that was one scary Charizard back there." Gary stated as he remembered his battle yesterday. Ash can't help it but laugh it out.
"Say Ash, I would want to have a mock battle with your right now, if you don't mind?" Gary asked.
"I don't mind, in fact, your arrival is perfect, because someone here is training, and I do hope you'll be the one taking her on." I replied to him, Eevee's really not having a proper training yet, so he could be a big help.
"She? I don't see a pokemon here though." Gary frowned as he looked around and no sign of pokemon.
"That's because she's right underneath here." I pointed out Koharu, Gary proceeded to check it out, and after he saw the unique Eevee, his eyed widened in surprise.
"Th-That's..." Gary was unable to get the word, Leaf and Koharu was amused at that.
"Keep it down Gary." Ash said.
Gary tensed up for a while before calming down, he gave a smirk at me.
"I should've expected it from you Ash, you got me." Gary said while smirking, Eevee popped out from Koharu's back and went on my shoulder.
"That's a fine young Eevee there, very well, if training is what you need, then I'll be glad to help."
...
Gary sent out his Blastoise and it gave a roar, Eevee is now on the battlefield, all fours.
"This is a one on one mock battle between Ash and Gary, battle begin!" Leaf refereed and gave the cue to start the battle.
"Blastoise, start things off with Rapid Spin!" Gary commanded.
"Jump up and use Take Down on his shell!"
With that being said, Blastoise spun rapidly and charged towards Eevee, but she managed to dodge that one and landed a big hit on Blastoise's shell, stopping it's tracks. Gary was in utter shock at that power. Eevee had that recoil coming and she slightly winced.
"That Eevee is powerful and can quite pack a punch." Gary murmured, Blastoise got up and stanced himself.
"Eevee, use your Shadow Ball!"
"Power up Blastoise, aim a Hydro Pump!"
Eevee first danced briefly and gracefully before firing off a Shadow Ball, Blastoise had that one coming and aimed his cannon, before firing off a stream of water towards it, the Hydro Pump managed to overwhelm the Shadow Ball and Eevee cried in pain as she was hit by the water type move.
"Eevee!" I called out worriedly, she manages to stand up, I sighed in relief.
"Let's end this, Blastoise, use Scald!"
"Deflect with Swift!"
Blastoise let out a stream of hot liquid from it's cannons and fired them towards Eevee, Eevee then manage to deflect the Scald with her own Swift.
"Now! Take Down!" I yelled in victory, and with that, Eevee took the momentum to gain speed and charged towards the surprised Blastoise, she managed to hit him square on the face, knocking it out cold.
"Blastose is unable to battle! Ash wins this match!" Leaf announced.
Eevee happily cried and tackled me, a way of greeting me, Gary just sighed but was contented, and returned back his Kanto starter, and walked towards us.
"That was a good battle Ash, that Eevee sure is strong." Gary commended the small Eevee, it gave a cry as a response.
"Thanks Gary, you're a big help." I replied to him and offered a handshake.
"You too, gramps would be surprised if he sees that Eevee himself, I doubt he had ever seen her before." Gary explained and took the handshake offer.
"We'll battle again someday after the league." I said and broke the handshake.
"You bet." He replied and smirked, before bidding his goodbye and walked off.
"Eevee's getting pretty good." Said Leaf.
"Yeah, she'll be great in the future." I said while petting her head, she reminds me of Leaf, in some way.
"What will we do now?" Koharu asked.
"Good question, let's go sightseeing, I bet you missed this place, Leaf anf Koharu." I replied to them.
They beamed up at the word sightseeing and got themselves ready back at the hotel, Ash sweatdropped at that and quickly followed them.
Tomorrow is gonna be another one long day.
Oh no you don't, Flamethrower both of you!" Tobias responded.
Determined, Greninja and Lucario both charged at the opponents with great speed and agility, Dragonite and Salamence fired off their Flamethrower but both of them passed through, Lucario did some minor damage but Greninja seemed unfazed, they successfully both hit the pseudo legendary but not enough to take them down in one hit.
"Now you're caught, Dragonite, Thunder Punch on Greninja, Salamence, Dragon Tail on Lucario!" Tobias smirked. Ash widened his eyes and couldn't do any more command because it was too late.
Seeing that they're on point blank range, Dragonite hit Greninja with a super effective Thunder Punch, he grunted in pain, same as Lucario, who was also hit with a Dragon Tail.
Both landed the ground on their backs, but not enough to knock them out.
...
The spectators were now into the battle, they were focused on it that no one dared to talk, until right now.
"Tobias seems fairing with Ash now." Steven said while analyzing the battle.
"Sure is, he manage to land two good hits on them, especially Greninja." Leon commented, his hands were crossed.
"Still can't believe Tobias had also pseudo legendary pokemons." Diantha said.
While they're talking, Lance and Cynthia were just silent, seeing on whose the one who'll be able to be worn out first.
But little did they know, someone in particular is worrying about him, especially with that type matchup going on.
"Ash, I do hope you'll be fine, if you're ever going to do that bond phenomenon on both of them, then please be fine." Leaf thought and focused back on the battle.
...
"Greninja, Lucario, are you both okay?" Ash asked worried, the two manage to stand up and gave him a reassuring look, stating that they're both fine.
"Now the're weakened, I'll be the one who'll make that double knock out, Dragon Pulse!" Tobias smirked, sensing victory.
"Block it, both of you!" Ash commented, determined to do that 'thing'
Lucario and Greninja quickly knew what's going on and they were determined to block the incoming attacks.
"What's going on here?! Ash commanded to block those deadly attacks!" The announcer yelled out.
Dragonite and Salamence unleashed their Dragon Pulses and aimed it towards the two, Lucario and Greninja are determined and blocked the attacks with their might.
Ash suddenly winced in pain but neglected it, in fact, the power that was surging throughout him is overwhelming, it was two times more powerful than before.
'It's happening again.'
Lucario and Greninja shouted as they are blocking the attack, while Ash finally hit it.
"Lucario, Greninja, it's now time to set this bar to the highest! Stronger, stronger and STRONGER!" Ash chanted.
And with that cue, Lucario and Greninja's body were now covered in swirling vortex of different types, Greninja's now covered in a watery vortex while Lucario had the aura vortex around him, it looked like an Aura Sphere with the size of it's body, they were engulfed at it and went into the familiar transformation.
The vortexes died down and new forms are completely present, Greninja's face had those red streaks on it's forehead, and it had a large watery shuriken on it's back, it's appearance had also changed, almost look liked Ash.
While for Lucario, he had himself now holding a somewhat longer bone club, two times longer than the move Bone Rush, it's appearance had drastically changed, it is now blindfolded with black cloth, and it has now three tails instead of one, it's body structure became agile, somewhat combination of blue and red streaks on it, representing Ash himself. It also had three floating Aura Spheres around him, making him look more menacing and intimidating.
Ash felt newer than before, other than he's doing a bond phenomenon on both of them, it is also Lucario's first time, their bond surely paid off, and they looked unstoppable.
Tobias was now in utter shock, and same as the audience, the whole battlefield was silent, seeing new forms in front of their eyes. Tobias never felt afraid before, until now, he's staring in horror at the two pokemons in front of him, those two emitted strong auras around them, it's not that evil, but enough to make them look scary.
Ash had never done it before, so he should have full control on them, but he's confident and determined, he should be fine and had this battle under control.
Greninja and Lucario was amazed at the forms they had right now, especially Lucario, even though he's blindfolded, he can clearly see through aura, and with Ash's help, he and Greninja will be an unstoppable duo.
And with that, Ash took the cue to finish the battle.
"Greninja, Lucario, let's both end this, Water Shuriken and Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded.
And with that cue, Greninja fired off it's large Water Shuriken on it's back and directed it towards the two, while Lucario, just by pointing his Bone Rush on the two, the three Aura Spheres that were floating behind him darted to them in great speed.
Both attacks hit their marks, Tobias didn't have the chance to command, and the two fainted on the spot.
"Salamence and Dragonite are unable to battle, a double knock out from Ash!"