Chapter 9: The Alola League Finals

Ash stood alone in the League waiting room. He'd gotten up that morning feeling determined and ready to win. And yet Gladion was nowhere to be seen. The battle was starting in less than five minutes.

"Where is he?!" Ash muttered.

"Pikachu," Pikachu grumbled, sharing his partner's impatience.

Finally, the door creaked open, and Ash found himself face to face with Gladion.

"Hello," Gladion said nonchalantly.

"Pika," Pikachu chirped."Hi," Ash replied, grinning. "Ready to go all out?"

Gladion was taken aback for a moment, then gave the smallest hint of a smile. "Yes," he stated. "I'm looking forward to seeing how strong you and your Pokémon have become."

Just then, the door to the battlefield opened. The referee poked his head through the doorway. "You're battle's starting. We need to get you in position."

Ash followed the referee, who directed him and Gladion to their platforms. As Ash stood anxiously, waiting for the platform to transport him to the battlefield, he thought about the conversation he and Latias had had the night before, and her encouraging words and expression. He smiled, a warm feeling stirring up inside him.

I'm not going to lose the League again, Ash thought. I'm going to do my very best!

Pikachu noticed Ash's determined expression and gave him a small "Chu," of support. Ash smiled at his partner.

He gave a slight start as the platform began to move upward. His heart pounded in excitement. He saw the little speck of light above him grow larger until it engulfed him entirely.

After Ash's eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, he gasped. The citizens of Alola had really gone all out for the very first Alola League. Groups of people held up signs supporting the two finalists. Banners depicting the four Island Guardians hung from the larger balconies situated in the stands. The trainers who had been eliminated from the league earlier on in the competition were sitting in the front rows of seats, each cheering for the finalist they supported most.

Ash quickly spotted his friends in the crowd, for they were each contributing to holding up a massive banner that said Go, Ash! in big, multicolored letters. It was quite clear that Bonnie had a bit more flair to the display. She and Max were both standing at either side of the banner.

"The final match of the Alola League is about to begin!" The referee announced, snapping Ash's attention back to the battlefield. "Each trainer will be allowed all six of their Pokémon," the referee continued, "and the battle will be over when all six of either trainers' Pokémon are unable to continue! Ready?" He looked at Ash and then Gladion. Both of them nodded in confirmation.

"BATTLE BEGIN!"

"Decidueye, I chose you!" Ash exclaimed, flinging its Poké Ball towards the field. It burst open, and Decidueye materialized in front of him.

Gladion stood still for a moment, then wordlessly held a Poké Ball out towards the field. Blue light flashed from it, and Type: Null appeared in front of Decidueye.

Type: Null?! Ash thought. He's starting with that? Bit he didn't use that weird white Poké Ball . . . does he have two of them?!

Ash shook his head, grinned, and leaped into action. "Decidueye, use Leaf Blade!"

Glowing green blades sprouted from the tips of Decidueyes' wings. It charged at Type: Null, who swiftly dodged the attack on Gladion's command.

How come it's so fast? Ash thought. That mask has got to weigh it down at least a little.

"Spirit Shackle!"

The tips of Decidueye's wings returned to normal, and it promptly formed a bow with its wing and one of its feathers. Then it launched a large quill glowing with purple energy in Type: Null's direction.

"Block with Grass Knot!" Gladion exclaimed.

Type: Null dug its front claws into the ground. Green shoots of grass shot upward and smashed into the quill, blocking it but causing a huge explosion.

"LEAF BLADE!"

Type: Null yelped loudly as Decidueye charged through the dust stirred up by the explosion and slashed at Type: Null with two large green blades.

Type: Null was launched backward by the attack and landed on its feet, panting.

Just then, something strange started to happened to it. Its body shimmered in an unnatural way, and it's bulky form slowly began to melt into something more agile looking. It's multicolored body shifted to a smooth black. Its mask dissolved and was replaced by long black fur. Pointed ears sprouted from its head.The next thing Ash knew, a Zoroark was standing where Type: Null was a few moments before.

"Aha!" Ash exclaimed. "I knew something was suspicious. It would be really strange for Type: Null to suddenly gain that much speed.

"Gladion smirked slightly. "Heh. I thought that Zoroark would be able to keep the Illusion up for a bit longer. But no matter. Use Grass Knot!"

"Fly up!"

Zoroark dug its front claws into the ground in front of it. Enormous green shoots shot up from the ground surrounding Decidueye. Decidueye immediately spread its wings and took off into the air, the grassy shoots grabbing at nothing.

"Hyper Voice, then follow up with Foul Play!" Gladion commanded.

Zoroark let out a loud yell. It blasted Decidueye with the force of its voice, causing it to tumble through the air. Zoroark then leaped up into the sky after it, its paw glowing purple. It raised its fist and smashed Decidueye into the ground. The grassy shoots that Zoroark had planted before promptly wrapped around Decidueye's body, pinning it down.

"Decidueye!" Ash exclaimed.

"Foul Play again!" Gladion shouted, pointing at the struggling Decidueye.

Zoroark hurtled down towards Decidueye, both paws swirling with purple energy.

"Crap!" Ash exclaimed. "Quick! Use Razor Leaf to free yourself!"

Countless razor-sharp green leaves appeared in the air around Decidueye. They streaked through the air straight at the shoots imprisoning it. The bonds fell away, and Decidueye quickly rolled to the side. Zoroark barreled down and smashed into the ground at exactly where Decidueye was a few moments before, creating a small crater in the field.

"LEAF BLADE, ONE LAST TIME!" Ash commanded.

"Deci!" Decidueye trilled in confirmation. It flung its wings backward as the tips of them extended into long blades. Zoroark had begun to rise to its feet, its eyes widening at the sight of Decidueye's Leaf Blades. Decidueye brought the blades down on Zoroark with all of its might, smashing it back into the dirt.

When the dust cleared, it was quite clear that Zoroark had been defeated.

"Zoroark is unable to battle. Decidueye wins!" The announcer proclaimed.

The crowd cheered enthusiastically. Ash saw that his friends had begun pumping their banner and down, chanting a cheesy-sounding cheer they'd probably made up on the spot. Clemont and Bonnie applauded in their own ways, raising their "bazookas" and firing off two especially large fireworks.

On the other side of the battlefield, Gladion returned the unconscious Zoroark, and immediately pulled out another Pokémon Ball.

"Porygon2, out," Gladion said.

Porygon2 materialized in front of Gladion, its strange body jerking and twisting erratically.

"I'll just stick with Decidueye," Ash said, nodding at the referee.

"Alright then," the referee replied. "Battle begin!"

"Use Tri-Attack!" Gladion commanded.

Porygon jerked its round wings to the side. Three orbs of energy formed around it. One crackled with electricity, one swirled with fire, and the last shimmered with ice.

Just as Porygon flung its arms forward, Ash shouted, "Fly up and dodge!"The orbs of energy jetted towards Decidueye a fraction of a second after began to ascend into the air, barely missing it. Decidueye flew high into the sky, flapping its wings and eyeing Porygon2 apprehensively.

"Use Ice Beam, again and again!" Gladion called out.

An icy blue ball formed in front of Porygon2's beak. A blue streak of energy shot out towards Decidueye, who dodged the attack. Streaks of energy continued to shoot towards Decidueye, some of them barely missing it as it darted and streaked about the sky.

Finally, one of the beams struck Decidueye in the wing. It cried out in pain and began to fall towards the ground, a thick crust of ice forming over its wing. It flapped its wings frantically, desperately trying to keep itself from crashing into the ground.

Gladion smirked. "Dark Pulse, now!"

Porygon2 formed an orb of dark energy and fired the attack at Decidueye. The impact shattered the ice and sent the Quill Pokémon hurtling the earth. It crashed into the ground at Ash's feet, unconscious.

"Decidueye is unable to battle. Porygon2 wins!" The voice of the announcer bellowed over countless cheers.

Ash sighed, holding Decidueye's Poké Ball in his hand. "You did great, Decidueye. Take a good rest." Decidueye returned to its Poké Ball in a flash of red light.

"Pikachu, I think it's your turn," Ash said, grinning at the small Electric Type perched on its shoulder."Pika-chu!" Pikachu chirped enthusiastically. It leaped off of Ash's shoulder and bounded onto the field, its tail wagging in excitement.

The referee looked at Gladion. Upon seeing that he was clearly not interested in substituting any Pokémon, he called out, "Battle begin!"

Gladion stood still for a moment, waiting for Ash to make the first move. After the two stared at each other for a few seconds, Gladion exclaimed, "Use Thunderbolt!"

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

Porygon2's body crackled with electricity. It fired a bolt of electricity straight in Pikachu's direction. Pikachu's body glowed slightly white and it became a yellow blur, streaking away from the Thunderbolt. Flashes of yellow could periodically be seen darting about the field.

"Now, Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash exclaimed.

Pikachu appeared behind Porygon2, its tail glowing with a metallic sheen. Before Porygon2 could react, Pikachu had slammed its tail upwards into its chin. Porygon2 was thrown backward but caught itself before it could hit the ground.

"Pori," it growled apprehensively, levitating a few inches above the ground.

"Ice Beam," Gladion commanded.

Porygon2 quickly charged up and fired the attack.

"Dodge it, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed frantically.

Pikachu leaped away. However, it wasn't quick enough. The Ice Beam hit Pikachu's backside, freezing its tail to the ground.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cried, tugging at its tail.

Crap! Pikachu's stuck, Ash thought. Then he remembered something that he'd done during his semifinal battle with Sawyer, where Pikachu was caught in a similar situation. Only, instead of being frozen to the ground, it was trapped in the enormous claws of a Clawitzer.

"Now," Gladion declared. "Use Tri-Attack."

As Porygon2 was charging up the attack, Ash leaped into action.

"Use Electro Web!" He shouted.

Pikachu, catching on, formed a ball of electricity near its tail just as Porygon2 launched its attack. The ball exploded outwards, shattering the ice trapping its tail, and forming a protective web of electricity, shielding it from Tri-Attack.

Up in the stands, Gary was marveling at the Electro Web."Incredible!" He exclaimed. "Ash and Pikachu must've transformed their Electro Ball into an Electro Web!" "They learned how to do that during a battle with Team Rocket's Mimikyu," Kukui stated.

"Now, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded, pumping his fist into the air.

Pikachu absorbed the electricity from the Electro Web, its tail in the air.

"Pika... CHUU!" Pikachu screamed, sending an enormous bolt of electricity straight in Porygon2's direction. The attack met its mark, launching Porygon2 backward into a wall. Pikachu had won.

"Porygon2 is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!" The referee declared.

Gladion returned Porygon2. "You've put up a good fight," Gladion said, smiling ever so slightly. "And I'll admit, battling you have been . . . Fun. But I'm going to win this."

Ash stared at Gladion for a moment. Finally, he smiled confidently.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

Skip to the last pokemon.

Neither was willing to lose.

Ash revealed his final Poké Ball. The Pokémon inside must have shared Ash's excitement, as the Poké Ball was vibrating with energy.

Ash looked across the field and saw Gladion holding the infamous white Poké Ball in his hands.

Neither Ash nor Gladion said a word. They just held out their final Poké Balls.

Type: Null emerged from its Poké Ball in a flash of blue light. It snarled, gouging huge claw marks in the ground in its anticipation.

As for Ash's Poké Ball, it exploded in a huge torrent of water.

"What the-?!" Gladion exclaimed.

The water concentrated into a single swirling pillar. A light flashed within the water, and as soon as it did, the water drew away, revealing Greninja, already synchronized with Ash. The water got sucked onto Greninja's back and transformed into a giant Water Shuriken.

The entire audience gasped. Ash had not used the Bond Phenomenon in the tournament up until now, so most people were completely blown away by Greninja's transformation.

Even Gladion was rendered speechless. He gaped at Greninja for a moment, then regained his composure and turned toward the referee.

The referee nodded, then brought his hand into the air.

"Battle beg-"

He was abruptly cut off. A blue light gripped his body. He screamed as he was jerked into the air and flung into the stands, causing several people to scream as well.

"What the hell?!" Ash exclaimed.

Feedback shrieked over the speakers, drawing everyone's attention to the commentator's balcony.

The commentator and Kahunas were nowhere to be seen. In their place was a tall, slender woman.

Her long blonde hair draped around her like a cape. She wore a white dress with a skirt that came just above her knees and white leggings accented with black. A turquoise crystal was fixed on her chest. Her cold green eyes scanned the stadium.

In one of her hands was the microphone, now detached from its stand. The other was gripping a handle attached to a strange black diamond-shaped box.

Floating at her side was the jellyfish-like creature from Poni Island.

Across the battlefield, Gladion's eyes widened in horror and recognition.

Up in the stands, Lillie began to hyperventilate.

"Alola! I am Lusamine, the President of the Aether Foundation. The Aether Foundation and I warmly welcome you to the Closing Ceremony of the Alola League!" Her tone of voice was anything but warm.

Confused murmurs floated up from the crowd.

"Closing Ceremony?" Ash heard a voice ask. "But the Finals aren't over yet!"

Lusamine continued. "Now, I understand that some of you are confused. After all, the Closing Ceremony is supposed to take place after the finals." She giggled in amusement. "But there's been a change of plans. I'm afraid the poor things can't bear to wait any longer."

She raised the strange black box into the air. It began to glow with a strange light. Then it began to scream.

Suddenly, it was as if Lusamine was a completely different person. She flung her other arm outward, shrieking with laughter.

"COME OUT, MY BEAUTIFUL BEASTS!"