Mega Sceptile stepped in front of Ash and faced Darkrai, already having a moment of nostalgia, having beaten the legendary Pokemon in the past.

"Sceptile, agility" Ash said, with a smile on his face. Ash was getting fired up using his first mega evolved Pokemon, although Ash-Greninja shared the same capabilities. 

Sceptile focused momentarily and was encased in a purple aura, the now mega-evolved Pokemon became faster, waiting for the next move they trained. 

"Now, use quick attack!" Ash had prepared this strategy long ago, which gave him a flashback of the special training on the hill, were he was subsequently attacked by Team Shadow and then he couldn't remember anything after that, his friends had to fill in the blanks, telling him he had red eyes and seemed possessed in some way. Ash knew he was fighting to stop this kind of trouble from happening again.

Sceptile disappeared, speed unmatched and smashed into Darkrai with as much strength as it could muster up in a moment, sending Darkrai back and keeping it on the defensive side of the battle, so Ash could stay on top and win.

"Sceptile, leaf blade!" Ash continued the attacks, still testing out Mega Sceptile's strength. 

All four leaves hanging off of Sceptile's arms began to glow, encased by a green aura. Sceptile dashed forward, still affected by the previous use of agility and slashed his right arm down across Darkrai, before spinning around and dashing forward again, slashing with the left side. Each leaf blade connected swiftly, Mega Sceptile being by Ash's side again in a short moment. 

"Such power" The Boss commented with wide eyes, a wild smirk on his face. "It's a shame you won't be able to put it to good use"

Ash didn't say anything, he kept his eyes on his surroundings, being wary of any possible ambush. He wasn't putting it past Team Shadow to pull a dirty trick so they could fulfil their plans.

"Darkrai, dark pulse" The Boss's facial expression worried Ash. He was enjoying watching his Darkrai get overpowered?

"Sceptile, dodge it!" Ash warned his mega-evolved Pokemon, who dodged the dark pulse with ease, before spinning and facing Darkrai, preparing to pounce. "Leaf blade, one more time!"

Mega Sceptile did pounce, with great speed and force. As soon as its first foot lifted off the ground, Sceptile disappeared, leaving a trail of wind in his wake. This time, Sceptile swung his blades in a downward arc, uppercutting Darkrai with the first two, before jumping up and slamming the second pair into Darkrai, causing the legendary Pokemon to drop to the floor with an almighty crash.

The smoke cleared and Darkrai was still up and was trying to not show any signs of damage. 

"Darkrai, dark void" The Boss's words made Ash realize he could be in trouble as there was a shift in pace. Within seconds, Sceptile was on the floor, sleeping. "Now, use dream eater!"

No one could see what was happening. All that was noticeable was the eyes of Darkrai glowing and a look of discomfort on Sceptile's face. The move resulted in Sceptile now being hurt and Darkrai healed slightly. 

"Sceptile, you have to wake up!" Ash yelled, worried that he was going to lose his first battle with Mega Sceptile. 

Although Sceptile slept soundly due to dark void, Ash's words rang within the mega-evolved Pokemon's head, but it found itself struggling to awaken, even after being under such an immense pain.

"Darkrai, dark pulse" The Boss's voice became cold, his sadistic grin widening as Darkrai prepared to attack. 

Darkrai formed the orb of dark energy, before unleashing it at Sceptile, who was still on the ground.

"Sceptile, leaf blade, do something, anything. WAKE UP!" Ash was shouting out randomly, pleading for Sceptile to wake up.

It worked.

There was a moment of confusement, but two green blades swung in the air, cutting down the dark pulse with incredible power.

"What?!" The Boss's grin disappeared and he became perplexed. Even Ash didn't think Sceptile would feel his emotion and wake up at the last moment, but his face was full of cheer.

"Ok, Sceptile use agility" he wondered if this move would be the finishing move, but Ash wasn't sure what would be next. 

"Quick, Darkrai, keep moving and dodge everything you can!" The Boss panicked, but it still wasn't enough.

"Sceptile, quick attack!" Ash unleashed Mega Sceptile once more, Sceptile disappearing for a moment, zooming around like a heat-seeking missile, following Darkrai with every step. Eventually, Sceptile got ahead and turned, before smashing into Darkrai with lots of force. They had run in  circle and almost made it back to their trainers before the move connected, causing Ash to sprint over.

Darkrai had fainted, destruction caused by Mega Sceptile. The only move Darkrai could have been credited for was putting Sceptile to sleep, but that was insufficient nonetheless.

"It's not over!" The Boss immediately turned back to Ash, grabbing onto what seemed to a small remote on the side of his belt. As soon as he pressed it, Zekrom swooped away from the two Dragonites, landing by The Boss.

Then, everyone in Team Shadow was next to their leader in a flash, the Pokemon they currently had out by their sides. 

Ash's friends and the champions of the various regions came to Ash's side, Serena sort of holding onto Ash's arm, Sylveon by her side. 

"I guess this stand-off means no one will be giving up?" Parker spoke for Team Shadow, in his casual voice. He didn't seem the least bit worried, despite the fact that they was outnumbered. 

"Don't worry, Parker. They will be giving up soon enough" Jeremy laughed, pushing up his glasses.

Clemont stared straight at Jeremy, pushing up his glasses. "I wouldn't be so sure of that" 

Silence broke out between the two groups and their Pokemon, the tension rising ever so slightly with each ticking second, the pendulum of the clock swinging back and forth.

tick, tock.

tick, tock.

Time passed, but no one moved. They all knew that the first team to move would be the ones susceptible to losing, whether they had the numbers or not. 

By now, everyone's faces were tensing up, scowls riding along the faces of the ones that couldn't take it any longer, their Pokemon mirroring their emotions. 

"You guys should just give up yourselves, while you have the chance" Ash finally spoke, making everyone straighten up and turn to him. "I still don't get why you want to fight us. We are only trying to protect the future of this region, of my home"

"The difference between us and you Ash, is why you do not understand" Parker replied, sighing deeply. "If you understood the true concept of power, then you would be on our side"

"What is the true concept of power?" Ash wondered out loud, almost mocking Parker though, since it was obvious no one around Ash and Ash himself believed him.

"Power is something that keeps us moving. Without power, you are nothing, a weak being at the bottom of the ladder. The more power you have, the higher you are on the ladder and, well, if you surpass the greatest powers in this world, then you start to build your own, separate ladder. Metaphorically speaking, once we surpass the greatest strengths in these regions, by taking over every Pokemon and controlling the Kanto region for ourselves, we will create our ladder and then chop off the bottom end, making it impossible to climb" 

"Metaphorically speaking" Ash decided to indulge himself in a retort. "We are going to cut off the top of the ladder so there is nowhere to climb"

This made Parker grit his teeth in anger, the tension finally snapping.

"Umbreon, shadow ball!" Parker shouted, these words creating an all out war between Team Shadow and Ash and friends, the ones seeking power versus the ones seeking to keep the power balanced. 

Ash was in this until the end and so was his friends, since Team Shadow had made things personal since the start.

With a full force battle ensuing, May was still unconscious in the now ruined building.

There was a moment of stillness in the building, before May's eyes opened in an instant, completely red and devoid of life.

"It's here" She said to herself, not even moving a muscle.

------

I shouldn't really be writing at 2am, so I apologize for what I consider a 'meh' kind of chapter. 

Nevertheless I hope you enjoyed!