"Here we are, with our second qualifying round!" the announcer was in the middle of the main arena once more, speaking into a microphone. Her voice was met by thunderous cheers from the sold-out crowd, the excitement buzzing through the air. "For this round we will be having tag battles, but you won't be going through based on who wins!"

The crowd murmured in excitement, wondering what she meant.

"The way to win this round is to impress our judges, with your teamwork and co-ordination skills. Each judge will rate every individual out of five points. If you win your battle you get a bonus five points and of course, the losers get no extra points! You need to score a total of 16 points to advance! That's 4 per judge! Now, lets meet the judges!"

A stage rose from the backside of the arena and the judges were sat at the table set on the stage. 

"First, we have Lance, the current champion in the Indigo League!" his name was met with a lot of cheering and whistling. Lance waved to the crowd and sat down. "Next up, Diantha, the current champion in the Kalos League! A fine competitor with her mega evolving Gardevoir! And our third judge is the champion of Unova, here he is, it's Alder!" the crowd continued to cheer, the excitement reaching its peak.

"Our final judge is the Sinnoh League champion, her she is, it's Cynthia!" the crowd sounded like they were losing control. Four league champions sat next to each other in the same stadium, it truly was a sight worth seeing. 

"Woah, our judges are four league champions..." Clemont said in amazement. 

"It's Cynthia!" Dawn gasped, with a big smile on her face. "We haven't seen her since the Unova League, right Ash?"

"Mhm," Ash nodded, looking up at the judges.

"And to add a twist to our exciting round, each partner will be chosen at random!" the announcer announced, completely shocking the remaining 216 participants. 

"What?" Almost everyone in the room around Ash said at the same time.

"You can only have one Pokemon for the battle, so choose wisely!" 

Everyone began to think about their Pokemon to use and who their partners could be. It could be anyone from the other 215 people, a complete stranger with a completely unknown Pokemon. After a few moments, there was a little bit of feedback from the announcers microphone and everyone looked back to the centre of the arena.

"Now, it is time to reveal our first match!" she said, gesturing to the large screen. The four squares began to change every so often, revealing a different name and face. On the left side, one of the squares stopped moving. "And our first participant is Parker!" 

On the other side, once the pictures stopped, everyone looked straight at Ash with concern. "His first opponent will be Ash Ketchum!" 

"Parker's partner will be Jeremy!" the picture showed Jeremy, who was also in Team Shadow.

And then the last picture shocked everyone. Out of all 216 participants, it was pure coincidence that this battle was about to commence.

"Ash's partner is Clemont! You have 2 minutes to enter the arena and prepare to battle! Kanto's prized commentator will now take to the stage and give the crowd a play by play of the proceedings. Let the games begin!"

"Come on then Clemont, we better get out there and get some revenge," Ash said, completely pumped up and ready to battle.

"Right!" Clemont nodded in determination and followed Ash, his pokeball in his hand ready.

"Ok, you know the rules, bring out your Pokemon please!" a referee had entered the stage and stepped back, to allow the participants to begin. 

Ash gave a long hard stare at the scowling Parker, who didn't have Umbreon by his side. Instead, he threw out a pokeball and caught it. "Gyarados, it's your time to shine!" Gyarados came swirling out, of its pokeball, somewhat floating in mid-air. It had a menacing look on its face as it stared across at Ash and Clemont. 

"A Gyarados? I thought they would be using dark Pokemon only" Clemont scratched his chin and turned to Jeremy, who grinned. 

"Tyranitar, I choose you!" 

"Tyranitar!" Tyranitar landed onto the ground, causing dust to rise in its wake. 

"Wow! A Gyarados and a Tyranitar, quite the powerhouse pairing!" the commentator looked on. "Who will Ash and Clemont choose as their partners?"

"Pikachu, you're up buddy" Ash nodded to Pikachu, who ran onto the field. He then turned to Clemont. "I hope you made the right choice"

"You bet I did" Clemont nodded and then threw his pokeball. "Lets win this, Luxray, I choose you!"

"Luxray!" Luxray had almost the same impact as the giant beast, Tyranitar. 

"Match, begin!" the Referee declared that the match was starting.

"Lets kick this off with a big bang! Gyarados!"

"Tyranitar!"

"MEGA EVOLVE!" Jeremy and Parker spoke in unison and the crowd exploded in a wild frenzy of cheers as Jeremy and Parker revealed their megastones. Both of their Pokemon began to change shape, Mega Gyarados looking more like a fish than its usual self, the gills hanging off of its body, but it looked even more menacing than before and was now also a water and dark type Pokemon. Tyranitar was now covered in spikes, protruding from its tail and other body parts and its chest was now red, with a little black over the front. 

"WOW! Who would have expected that two young trainers such as Parker and Jeremy would have two mega evolving Pokemon? What is Ash and Clemont's first move?"

"Luxray, use electric terrain!" Clemont instantly decided to power up all electric type moves. Luxray focused all of his electric energy and the ground became filled with sparkling electricity.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt on Gyarados!" Ash realized Gyarados was still a water type and that he could use this to his advantage, to defeat Parker and Jeremy. Pikachu leaped into the air and charged up his electric energy, his body flowing with the energy inside himself. Then, Pikachu unleashed a huge thunderbolt at Gyarados.

"PIKAAAA-CHUUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed the thunderbolt and it hit Gyarados directly. Gyarados strained and held back the thunderbolt with all of its strength. As soon as the thunderbolt faded, Gyarados was hurt but wasn't willing to show it. 

"Well, that wasn't going to last long, Gyarados, rain dance if you will" Parker was too casual and it made the whole arena sense a different vibe from him. There was a lot of uncomfortable murmurs from the crowd as it began to rain around the arena. The electric terrain disappeared and now the match was back to normal.

"Tyranitar, sunny day!" Jeremy followed on from Parker's move and Tyranitar made it really sunny over the field, meaning fire moves were now in control. "Now, lets see that fire blast of yours!"

"You too, Gyarados, fire blast now!" both Pokemon followed the command, creating a large amount of fire around their bodies. Then, they unleashed the fire and it merged, creating a fire blast twice the size as a usual one. The fire shot off in different directions, like a claw trying to grab a prize from a machine. 

"Pikachu, use quick attack and move under the fire blast!" Ash gritted his teeth and hoped Pikachu would be all right. His body became encased in a sort of white aura and he sped off just under the fire blast, the intense heat creating a bead of sweat across the mouse Pokemon's forehead. 

"Luxray, use wild charge and head straight for that fire blast!" Clemont told Luxray, who hesitated for a moment. Then, he charged forward at a rapid pace, his body becoming completely encased in electricity. Luxray let out a roar and smashed into the fire blast, trying to push it back and fight against it. Meanwhile, Pikachu was rushing underneath the fire blast, unbeknownst to Parker and Jeremy. 

"Pikachu, jump up and use iron tail, remember your training!" Pikachu leaped up, using his speed to carry himself further in the air. He jumped so high that he was level with Tyranitar, who slowly looked up in the air, realizing that Pikachu was so close. Then, Pikachu flipped down, his tail becoming encased in solid iron. Just before impact, Pikachu swung around like a baseball bat, flinging his tail at full strength into Tyranitar's face. It connected with such force, that Tyranitar stumbled back and almost stood on Jeremy. Luxray had managed to fight off the fire blast to make it weaker than before, but it still exploded around Luxray and sent him back, forcing Pikachu to retreat. 

"Well folks, it seems like we have a stalemate right now. Who will come out on top?" the commentator said as the Pokemon and their trainers went back to a stand-off. The two mega-evolved Pokemon looked slightly hurt, but it wasn't enough to keep them distracted or make their trainers worried, in fact, Parker and Jeremy looked even more confident. 

"Tyranitar, earthquake!"

"Gyarados, earthquake!"

"What's this? Another combination of the same move from Parker and Jeremy and it is a very powerful ground type move. If Pikachu and Luxray can escape this one, it will be something for the history books indeed!"

The crowd cheered as Gyarados and Tyranitar focused all of their energy on the ground. Since both were using earthquake and both were mega evolved, the power was tenfold its original. The whole stadium began to shake, bringing uneasiness to the crowd. Ash and Clemont looked worried as Pikachu and Luxray readied themselves. Then, Tyranitar stomped fiercely onto the ground while Gyarados slammed its tail down, creating rippling shock waves, smashing directly into Pikachu and Luxray. The ground still continued to shake, but the earthquake eventually faded. Some recoil damage was done to Tyranitar and Gyarados, but they didn't seem the least bit fazed by it.

Pikachu and Luxray lay face down on the floor, not moving. The referee was about to end the match, but Pikachu started to shake, putting all of his strength into getting up. Luxray started to do the same, both covered with loads of scratches and completely worn out after such power. The crowd erupted into encouraging cheers, but Jeremy and Parker still looked confident.

"Getting up just means we can use our last move on you and destroy your Pokemon" Parker shook his head in disappointment. "You should know better than to let your Pokemon do this"

"If our Pokemon get up for the fight, then it isn't over!" Ash shouted back, looking at Pikachu. "You are ready, right?"

"Pika!" Pikachu didn't look back, but Ash knew he was raring to go once more.

"Luxray, are you ok?" Clemont asked.

"Luxray!" Luxray roared, taking the same battling stance as earlier. 

"Oh my, it seems that Pikachu and Luxray are still able to continue, who would've thought it was possible?"

"Tyranitar, use stone edge!"

"Gyarados, use surf and ride along the stone edge!" 

Tyranitar stomped onto the ground, and large stone pillars began to rise from the ground, one after the other. Gyarados summoned a huge wave of water and began riding along it, using the stone edge to gain height.

"Luxray, electric terrain!" Clemont shouted while Gyarados and Tyranitar were still busy using their moves. They were a little slow, which worked in Clemont and Ash's favour. "Now, use wild charge and cut down that stone edge!"

Ash was like a mind reader as Luxray charged forward, surrounded by all of the electrical energy. His move was powered up by electric terrain and Luxray put all of his strength into this move, cutting them down one by one. This made Gyarados fall short, just before the move could connect. 

"Pikachu, use everything you have left, electro ball!" Ash shouted to Pikachu, who leapt up. At the peak of his tail, a large electric ball began to grow and grow. Then, Pikachu flipped around and let it rip.

"Pika, Cha-pi!" Pikachu fired the electro ball with such power, it flew at an amazing speed. Ash and Clemont had timed their moves perfectly, the electro ball smashing into the falling Gyarados. It had a direct hit on Gyarados, sending him flying back. The water dissipated and Gyarados had fainted.  

"Gyarados is unable to battle!" the Ref declared, leading everyone to erupt once more into loud cheers and screams.

"They managed to defeat one of the mega evolved Pokemon, even after such a powerful earthquake. It seems like Ash and Clemont may just pull this one off!"

"Tyranitar, fire blast!" Jeremy shouted out in frustration and Tyranitar shared his emotions, suddenly becoming super fast. The fire blast was in Luxray's face in a matter of seconds and Clemont couldn't do anything about it. The fire surrounded Luxray and then exploded around him, creating a large explosion. The impact left a trail of smoke around Luxray and he had fainted.

"Luxray is unable to battle!" 

"Well, it looks like it is down to Pikachu and Tyranitar. Tyranitar has only been hit by an iron tail thus far and is looking in great condition while Ash's Pikachu looks ready for a break" 

Ash gritted his teeth once more and thought carefully about what he might do. Then, a small idea formed in his head. He was going to use every single move Pikachu had in his arsenal to try and win.

"Ok, Pikachu, electro ball lets go!" 

"Pika, cha-pi!" Pikachu instantly charged up a sphere of electricity and fired it from the end of his tail at Tyranitar. Tyranitar sidestepped without a word from Jeremy, but he was very slow in doing so. 

"Pikachu, iron tail on the ground!" Ash then shouted, making Pikachu work fast before Jeremy could get a word in.

Pikachu flipped around with his iron tail, smashing down onto the ground. This had a rippling effect on the ground and the field began to shake, making Tyranitar lose its balance. While it was trying to regain its balance, Ash but his plan into fruition. 

"Pikachu, thunderbolt, quick attack, iron tail, electro ball, throw everything at Tyranitar!" Ash shouted out in desperation. Pikachu leapt into the air, using up as much electric energy as possible.

"PIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed a powerful thunderbolt, hitting Tyranitar and sending shocks through his body. While this was happening, Pikachu had landed on the floor and already began to dash forward, using quick attack. He then leapt up into the air, using his speed as momentum to carry himself further into the air than he had ever gone before in his entire life. Pikachu was above and beyond Tyranitar's head, as the ball of electricity began to grow on his tail. Then, his tail became plated in iron as he flipped around, falling down. Pikachu unleashed the electro ball, hitting Tyranitar slap bang in the face, creating a minor explosion across Tyranitar. As the smoke rose into the air, Pikachu swung himself round in a 270-degree spin, slamming his iron tail into Tyranitar's face once more. Tyranitar stumbled back and then dropped down to the floor, just in front of Pikachu, who was panting for breath. 

"Tyranitar is unable to battle, the winners are Ash and Clemont!" the Referee declared the end, the judges began conferring with one another, the crowd once more began to cheer for Ash and Clemont, but also, the incredible battle they witnessed. 

"There you have it, ladies and gentleman! An incredible display of speed and courage from Pikachu and a genius tactic from Ash of Pallet Town sees Clemont and Ash win the match. But, surely, you have to give credit where credit is due for their opponents, a great display of strength and teamwork, but they didn't come out on top"

"And now, to the judges scores and opinions!" The announcer butted in, standing next to the first champion at the table, Lance.

"That was an incredible battle, one that is certainly for the history books. There were great teamwork and tactful moves, I think we could have seen a draw if Tyranitar didn't have that burst of speed, or if Ash didn't think of a plan such as the one he used at the end. I give every participant four points!" there was a mixed opinion from the crowd, but most of them thought it was acceptable. 

The announcer said nothing but moved onto Diantha. "I have battled with Ash before and he is an expert tactician on the battlefield. You never know what to expect from him and this worked well with Clemont, who is a renowned gym leader in Kalos. They both used their electric type Pokemon really well together. On the other hand, the use of two mega evolved Pokemon, one was rock and dark, the other water and dark, worked really well. The way they dispelled the first electric terrain and then countered it with a sunny day, before using fire blast together and also earthquake showed their teamwork. It looked clear that Jeremy and Parker have been friends for a long time. For me, Ash gets five points, Clemont and the others get four!"

"For me" Alder looked at the battlefield, in which all Pokemon had already been returned and a restless Pikachu was asleep on Ash's shoulder. "This was a truly great battle. I am usually known for overpowering opponents and this is a tactic Jeremy and Parker tried to use. They seemed to over confident in doing so and paid the price. For that, Ash and Clemont get 4 four points, Parker receives four, but Jeremy is a three for me"

"That means Ash and Clemont are through to the next round, congratulations!" the crowd cheered for Ash and Clemont, but the cheers soon died down as Cynthia stood up from the table and took the microphone.

"I loved this battle too much, I was very much into the cheering with the crowd, who have been great so far.." Cynthia's words received cheers from almost every member of the crowd. "Anyway, I think Parker and Jeremy could have won if Luxray did not have electric terrain, it worked very much in Clemont and Ash's favour throughout the match, even if it was dispelled at the start. Ash and Clemont thought up plans on the spot while relaying them only through facial expressions and moves, which I thought was almost impossible, so they deserve every point thus far. Also, Parker and Jeremy have clearly put in practice with their mega evolved Pokemon and it was a good coincidence that they were paired up today because it made our first match an incredible, unforgettable match!" 

The crowd continued to feed off of Cynthia's positivity, cheering and jeering. Cynthia gestured for silence, so she could announce her scores.

"For these reasons, I give all participants five points!"

"Five points for everyone and that concludes our judging section. Ash receives a total of 23 points, Clemont receives 22 points, Parker has 17 points and Jeremy scrapes through to the next round with 16 points! So, at the end of this match, everyone still manages to advance! Lets take a look at our next match!"

The pictures began to change once more and the first one popped up.

"The first is Jake!" the picture revealed one of the twins and his partner was someone who had only just managed to get into the round, it was a weak trainer with almost no experience, which was a disadvantage for Jake. But, the third person was almost exactly the same, meaning the disadvantage was weighed out by his opponent. The last square slowly revealed a Pikachu and everyone murmured in excitement while Jake and Tristan looked dismayed as they stared at the last square.

"And his partner, is Jake's twin brother, Tristan!"