Ash and his friends were now on the road again. They'd left the next morning after the events in Geosenge Town. Officer Jenny had warned them about Lysandre and Alain had stayed behind to discuss the matter further with her. He planned on listening in on an interview with Malva. Mairin had been sad to leave him again, but after a few days, she'd adjusted to being with her new group of friends. Chespie and Clemont's Chespin had gotten along well and teamed up a few times to steal Serena's pokepuffs.

The group had been travelling for a couple of weeks now. Ash's Pokemon were now fully recovered after their battles against Team Flare and they'd been doing some intensive training. Houndoom was looking, by far, to be the strongest, which clearly frustrated Greninja, who'd become used to being Ash's go to Pokemon. Greninja had actually been looking down ever since the events in Geosenge Town. He clearly was unhappy with his loss to Alain's Charizard, and now being outshined by Houndoom in training sessions, he was becoming increasingly frustrated.

Currently, the group were stopped by a river, which the group was following to Vaniville Town. Ash had gladly agreed to stop there for Serena to see her mom, before finally reaching Snowbelle City. He'd noticed she seemed a little nervous about getting to Snowbelle City. He remembered that the woman, Palermo, had asked to meet her there. He supposed Serena was nervous about what the older woman was going to ask of her.

Ash was animatedly discussing his upcoming battle at the Snowbelle Gym, when all of a sudden, a voice called out in happy surprise from the trees behind them. "Ash!" Ash turned around, and he smiled, seeing his short, green haired friend, Sawyer. "I didn't expect to see you guys here." Sawyer said, glancing around at everyone. He looked at Mairin in surprise. "Hi, I'm Sawyer." He said.

Mairin smiled. "I'm Mairin." She said. "I've only been travelling with these guys for a bit." She looked at Ash. "How do you know Sawyer."

"Sawyer and I became friends in Laverre City. We've battled a few times. He's been collecting badges too." Ash answered.

Sawyer nodded. "Yeah and guess what? I've got all eight. I beat the Snowbelle Gym. I guess we're both on our way to the Kalos League now."

Serena interrupted as Ash looked down, appearing a little embarrassed. "Well, Sawyer, Ash put off his gym battle so we could go to my Masterclass showcase. He's been really patient, but he still doesn't have the eighth badge yet."

"Oh." Sawyer said, looking surprised. Then he smiled. "Well that was nice of you Ash." He said. All of a sudden his eyes widened. "Ash!" He yelled suddenly.

Ash looked surprised. "Uh...what?" He asked, unsure of what the sudden shock and surprise from Sawyer was all about.

Sawyer ran forward, holding out his notebook to Ash. "I need you to sign this!" He yelled. "It's true you beat Malva, right?" He asked, admiration in his eyes.

Ash sighed. "Well...sort of. I mean, she'd already been weakened." He looked over at Houndoom, who was watching the scene, now having finished his food.

Sawyer followed his gaze and his eyes somehow widened further. "Wow!" He yelled, really loudly so that everyone covered their ears, wincing. He ran over to Houndoom. "It's true! I heard that Malva left Houndoom and that you took him with you! Wow, your so strong now!" He said excitedly. He held out his notebook to Houndoom. "Houndoom, could you put your paw print on that empty spot right there?" Sawyer pleaded.

Houndoom looked confused, but he obliged. He pushed his paw into some dirt and then pawed the page, leaving his paw print. Ash gave him a smile when he looked over.

Sawyer's eyes were shining. He then ran back over to Ash and handed him a pen. "Please sign next to Houndoom's print!" He pleaded. Ash did as asked and then Sawyer knelt down next to Pikachu who was eating on the ground, next to Ash's seat. "And Pikachu, you too, please?" He asked. Pikachu obliged as well, dipping his hand in ketchup to leave a print. Sawyer lifted up his notebook, staring at it in amazement. "Wow!" He said, looking like he'd just won the lottery. "Thank you so much!"

Serena giggled. "Ok, Sawyer, don't let Ash get a big head."

Ash, however, didn't feel comfortable with his friend treating him like a celebrity. "Um, Sawyer, I'm the same person as before, you know?"

Sawyer stared blankly at Ash for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah...yeah sorry about that." He then got an excited look on his face. "Ok, Ash, how about a battle?" He now had an excited battle hungry look that Ash could respect. "I've been training super hard and I think I can finally beat you. I know you beat Malva, but I've trained specifically to beat you."

Ash smiled. "We'll see." He looked around at the group. "You guys mind?" Everyone shook their heads. They were just as interested to see a battle as Ash and Sawyer were to fight it. "Awesome." Ash said. He recalled his Pokemon and everyone got ready. They packed up their things from lunch and they all went to find a good place for the battle. As they searched, Ash asked Sawyer about his Pokemon. "So, you catch some new Pokemon?"

Sawyer nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not gonna tell you. It's a secret for our battle." He fiddled with his wrist and then looked at Ash with a mischievous look. "You'll be surprised about what my Pokemon can do." He said.

Ash smirked. "You'll be surprised too." He replied.

Finally, Mairin, who had rushed ahead with Bonnie, yelled in excitement. "This place is perfect!" She called back to the rest of the group.

Ash caught up and stood next to her. It was a wide open clearing next to the river. The trees surrounded it as if it was designed to be a battlefield for trainers. "Awesome!" He said, happily. He looked back at Sawyer. "Ready?"

Sawyer nodded. "And Ash," he said, "how do you feel about a six on six battle. Just like it would be if we faced in the Kalos League final?"

Ash was surprised, as was the rest of the group, but then he smiled. There was no better practice than a six on six battle. "You got it." He said, happily. He turned to Clemont. "Can you referee?"

"Sure." Clemont agreed.

Ash went to one side, while Sawyer went to the other. Clemont stood in the middle, a little in front of Serena, Bonnie and Mairin. "Alright," Clemont said, "this will be a six on six battle, between Ash and Sawyer. Substitutions will be allowed. Once all six Pokemon are unable to battle for one side, the other trainer will be declared the victor. Do you agree?" Ash and Sawyer nodded confidently. "Then let the battle begin!" Clemont yelled and he waved his flag.

XXXXX

Serena was pretty excited, as she'd never seen a full six on six Pokemon battle before. She pulled out her pokeballs and released her Pokemon, as did Mairin and Clemont. This was something everyone would be interested in seeing.

Mairin was looking particularly excited. "This is gonna be awesome!" She yelled. "We're gonna get to see Ash and Houndoom fight together for the first time."

Serena hadn't thought about that. The thought made her more excited as well. "I wonder what kinds of Pokemon Sawyer has caught." She said. "He seems pretty confident."

As Sawyer and Ash pulled out their first pokeballs, Serena noticed Sawyer look a lot more serious. Clemont seemed to notice too. "I wonder what Sawyer's got planned." He said. "Maybe Ash won't sweep him this time."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Ash has never been stronger. No matter what Sawyer's got planned, Ash is gonna win."

Serena knew Bonnie was right, but she still thought Sawyer must have a reason for his confidence. She was about to say something, but then Ash called out his first Pokemon. "Hawlucha, I choose you!"

Hawlucha came out of his pokeball and flipped through the air, before landing perfectly in front of Ash. He did a couple of poses and then stared down Sawyer. "Haw-hawlucha!" He said, putting his clawed hand out and gesturing for Sawyer to call out his Pokemon. This made everyone, even Sawyer, laugh. Hawlucha's love of battling was only matched by his trainer.

Sawyer tossed out his Pokemon. "Go, Aegislash!" He yelled. It looked like a gold sword, with an eye on the hilt, behind a gold shield with purple feathers on its sides. Serena realized it must be the evolved form of Sawyer's Honedge from his last battle with Ash.

Serena scanned the Aegislash with her Pokedex. "Aegislash, the royal sword Pokemon. The evolved form of Doublade and the final evolved form of Honedge. It is said to be able to detect the innate qualities of leadership and those who it recognizes are destined to become great leaders."

Everyone gasped as Aegislash whipped forward after Serena's Pokedex spoke. However, it didn't charge at Hawlucha. It swooped over to Ash and hovered near him, looking intently at him. Ash seemed confused, but Serena stared at her Pokedex, remembering what it had just said about Aegislash recognizing leaders. Aegislash stopped staring at Ash when Sawyer called it over and finally, the battle began.

"Aegislash, use iron head!" Sawyer ordered.

"Hawlucha, x-scissor!" Ash countered.

The sword Pokemon whipped forward, aiming its sword-hilt head at Hawlucha. Meanwhile, the flying-fighting type braced for the attack, crossing his arms in front of him. Just as Aegislash was about to hit him, Hawlucha leaped up and dodged. Aegislash stopped moving and turned around. Unfortunately for the sword Pokemon Hawlucha was quickly on it, unleashing his x-scissor attack straight on. Despite a bug-type move like x-scissor being weak against Aegislash, it appeared to do quite a lot of damage, showing Hawlucha's superior strength. Aegislash crashed to the ground hard.

"Shadow claw!" Sawyer yelled. Serena could hear a little bit of panic in his voice. He'd clearly expected more out of his Pokemon. He must have thought Aegislash was the perfect choice for facing Hawlucha.

"X-scissor, one more time." Ash said quickly.

Aegislash managed to slide up off the ground and charge towards Hawlucha. Its sword separated from the shield and its edge was covered in a purple and black glow. It whipped forward, but Hawlucha jumped and flipped over it. As he flipped, he uncrossed his arms and struck Aegislash with x-scissor, hitting it in the back. The sword Pokemon crashed to the ground again, but this time couldn't get up.

"Aegislash is unable to battle. Hawlucha wins!" Clemont yelled, holding up his arm towards Hawlucha, who was posing happily.

"Yay!" Bonnie yelled, doing a high five with Mairin.

Sawyer sighed and recalled Aegislash, as Ash recalled Hawlucha. "Wow, Ash, I didn't think Hawlucha would match up against Aegislash at all." He said.

Ash smiled. "You always need to plan for type disadvantages, Sawyer. Hawlucha's strong enough to handle those match ups." Sawyer nodded and scribbled something down in his notebook. Ash smirked and threw out his next Pokemon. "Pidgeot, go!" The powerful flying type emerged from its pokeball and landed softly in front of Ash.

Sawyer looked nervous, but then took a deep breath and threw out his Pokemon. "Slurpuff, you're up next!" His cottony, big tounged Pokemon emerged. Clemont signalled for the battle to continue and Sawyer made the first move. "Slurpuff, use electro-ball!"

"Pidgeot, blow it back with gust!" Ash yelled.

Slurpuff launched the electrical sphere of energy and it rocketed towards Pidgeot, who flapped his wings and propelled himself into the air. He flapped his wings a couple more times and a strong gust of wind launched back towards Slurpuff and its electrical attack. Just as Ash had wanted, the electro-ball was launched back and slammed into Slurpuff.

"Finish with steel wing!" Ash yelled. Pidgeot swooped down, his wing glowing in a silvery shine, and before Sawyer could register what was happening, his Slurpuff was face down in front of him, a soft groan coming from it.

"Slurpuff is unable to battle. Pidgeot wins!" Clemont called.

Mairin nudged Serena. "Sawyer's not very good, is he?" She whispered.

Serena sighed. "I thinks it's more that Ash isreally good." She said. Mairin nodded, smiling. It wasn't like it was a bad thing that Ash was dominating. They were cheering for him after all.

Ash and Sawyer recalled their Pokemon and then Ash let out his third. Everyone tensed in excitement, seeing who it was. "Alright, Houndoom, you're up!" Ash yelled.

"Pelipper!" Sawyer yelled. A pelican-like Pokemon, with a blue and white body, along with a yellow bill, emerged. Its bill and head made up most of its body.

Serena scanned it with her Pokedex. "Pelipper, the water bird Pokemon and the evolved form of Wingull. It carries small items in its mouth over long distances. When tired, it rests by floating on water."

"Going for another type disadvantage?" Ash asked. Serena could see he looked a little frustrated with how the battle was going.

"Houndoom is weak against water. Pelipper can beat him." Sawyer said, although Serena could see he didn't fully believe it.

Clemont signalled for the battle to resume and this time Ash made the first move. It was as though he just wanted to get this over with. "Houndoom, show your not at a disadvantage. Use flamethrower!"

"Hydro pump!" Sawyer countered.

Both Pokemon launched their attacks. Pelipper launched first, unleashing a large jet of water towards Houndoom. Houndoom seemed to purposefully wait and then he launched his flames just before the hydro pump hit him. It was clear that he was in no way at a disadvantage. The flames seemed to evaporate the hydro pump immediately and then they slammed into Pelipper, who immediately dropped to the ground.

"Pelipper is unable to battle. Houndoom wins!" Clemont said. He seemed kind of bored. Serena couldn't blame him. This definitely wasn't what she was hoping for from a six on six battle. She noticed Ash giving Houndoom an apologetic look, as though he was apologizing for Houndoom's first battle with him being against a weak opponent.

Both trainers recalled their Pokemon and Sawyer clenched his fists, looking frustrated. "Ok, Ash, the real battle begins now." He pulled out a pokeball. "Pyroar!" A male Pyroar emerged from his pokeball. Its fiery mane wildly blowing around.

Ash nodded to Pikachu, who jumped out in front of him. Clemont signalled for the battle to begin and Ash again made the first move. "Electro-ball!" Pikachu leaped into the air and flung an electrical sphere at Pyroar.

"Overheat!" Sawyer yelled. To Serena's amazement, Pyroar unleashed a massive blast of flames that crashed into Pikachu's electro-ball. The attacks exploded against each other. Pikachu's electro-ball was still stronger, but the overheat attack was able to deflect it.

Ash smiled. "Not bad, Sawyer." He then narrowed his eyes. "Not good enough, though. Pikachu, one more time."

Sawyer looked confused, but then shook his head. "Pyroar, overheat again!"

The two attacks blasted forward again, but this time, overheat's power seemed to be a little less. Pikachu's electro-ball seemed to be cutting through it with ease and finally it slammed into Pyroar. Pyroar stood still for a moment, blinked slowly, and then collapsed.

"Pyroar is unable to battle. Pikachu is the winner!" Clemont called out.

Sawyer recalled Pyroar and stared at his pokeball in shock. "But how did Pikachu do that? The first time overheat was able to deflect electro-ball."

Ash sighed. "Sawyer, overheat gets weaker every time you use it. I knew that Pikachu would be able to beat it the second time."

Sawyer nodded and noted it down in his notebook. He then pulled out his next pokeball. "Alright, this one is gonna be tough for you to beat, I guarantee it." He threw out his pokeball and a massive, blue dragon with red wings emerged. "Salamence, you're up!"

Serena saw Ash smile, looking excited. He called Pikachu to his side and through out his fifth Pokemon. "Noivern, come on out!" The bat-like dragon emerged and stared at Salamence with a determined expression. "Looks like it's gonna be a dragon battle." Ash said.

Sawyer nodded, smiling. Clemont signalled for the battle to continue and Sawyer called the first attack. "Dragon pulse!" He yelled.

"Boomburst!" Ash countered.

Salamence flapped his wings and leaped into the air, attempting to gain some leverage on Noivern, but Ash's work with the young Pokemon since it had hatched, had made it an excellent flier, and he manoeuvred himself well, keeping up with Salamence, not letting the blue dragon get above him. Salamence finally gave up and launched his attack from beneath Noivern, but this was clearly what Ash and Noivern wanted. The bat-like dragon unleashed his loud blasts of blue energy that shattered through the dragon pulse and slammed into Salamence. However, unlike the other Pokemon, one move wasn't able to take Salamence to the edge.

"Finally a challenge." Serena said. She looked at Ash and saw him looking pretty pleased with this turn of events.

"Acrobatics!" Ash yelled.

"Giga impact!" Sawyer countered.

The two dragons blasted towards each other. Salamence was bathed in a white glow as he flew up, while Noivern was bathed in a blue glow as he flew down. They smashed together and then rolled back in pain. Salamence, though, had not only suffered damage from Noivern's attack, but had also taken recoil damage and seemed to be panting a little more.

"Boomburst!" Ash yelled.

Sawyer's eyes suddenly widened and he sounded quite pleased as he ordered his next attack. "Giga impact! Charge through that boomburst and then use thunder fang!"

Serena gasped as Salamence did just that. He charged through the blasts of blue energy and the smashed into Noivern. She saw the blue dragon bite into Noivern and saw sparks of electricity shoot out from the bite.

"That move was an Ash type move." Serena acknowledged.

Clemont turned back and nodded. "I guess his notes on Ash have helped quite a bit." He then turned back to the battle. "Although, Noivern is still gonna win this."

Serena knew it was a fairly even battle, but she wasn't sure why Clemont still thought it was so clear. "Why do you say that?"

"Sawyer thinks that move will put Ash off his game, but Ash knows how to battle like that better than anyone. Just watch." Clemont finished.

Serena turned her attention back to the battle and saw Noivern flying above Salamence and then hovering behind him. "Acrobatincs to get in close!" Ash yelled. Noivern shot forward and slammed into Salamence. The blue dragon staggered back, trying to get some room, but Noivern stayed hot on his tail. "Now, use supersonic." Noivern shrieked out supersonic waves and they hit Salamence perfectly. Serena immediately noticed his body movements had changed.

Sawyer didn't seem to understand what had happened. "Salamence, use dragon pulse!" He yelled out. However, unfortunately for Sawyer and Salamence, the blue dragon had no clue what to do. It was completely confused by Noivern's supersonic. It charged down towards the ground and slammed into it, possibly thinking it was attacking Noivern.

Ash took advantage. "Noivern, finish this with acrobatics!" Noivern nodded from its position in the sky. He then whipped down and pulled up. He was now hovering over the ground and was aiming straight at Salamence who was still attacking the ground uselessly. Noivern then glowed in a blue light and charged straight at Salamence. He slammed into the blue dragon and sent it flying across the ground past Sawyer and into a tree.

Clemont watched Salamence for a moment and knew it wasn't going to get up. "Salamence is unable to battle. Noivern is the winner!"

Noivern looked pretty pleased and flew over to Ash. "Noivern!" He yelled out happily.

"Great job, Noivern!" Ash congratulated his dragon type. "You've gotten so strong. I'm really proud of you."

Serena smiled, seeing Noivern do a little loop in the air. He might not be as small and cute as he was as a Noibat, but he was still quite young and enjoyed the praise he got from his trainer.

Ash and Sawyer recalled their dragons and then locked eyes. Serena knew what was next, as did everyone else except for Mairin.

"Sceptile, go!" Sawyer yelled, throwing out his pokeball.

"Greninja, I choose you!" Ash called out, also throwing his pokeball.

The reptilian grass type and the frog-ninja Pokemon both emerged from their pokeballs and glared at each other. Just as Ash and Sawyer had begun a rivalry in Laverre City, these two Pokemon had as well. Their first match had been fairly close, but ultimately Greninja, then a Frogadier, had proved more experienced in battle. Their second battle was much closer and Greninja may have only won because of his mega evolution.

"Sceptile's not losing this time." Sawyer said.

"Don't be so sure." Ash answered. "Greninja's two for two and he's ready for three."

"Well we've got a secret weapon this time." Sawyer said, holding out his wrist.

Serena and the others didn't realize what he was talking about, but then she heard Mairin gasp. "No way!" She said. "But he's not even that good. How is that fair?"

Clemont gasped next. "How did he get that? Isn't it supposed to take years to get them?"

Then, Serena saw it. She couldn't believe it. She remembered Sawyer mentioning it in Laverre City. He'd said it was a dream for him and Sceptile. However, she never thought she'd see him with one only a few months later.

She looked at Ash and saw him smiling, looking at what was on Sawyer's wrist. "So...you two can mega evolve?"