It was a couple of hours after Clemont's battle, and Professor Sycamore's announcement, and the screening battles were in full swing throughout the battlefields. After Sycamore had made his announcement of the incoming arrival of Ash Ketchum, and had waited for the excited whispers to die down, he had quickly informed the students on how to register for their screening battles, and the locations of the stadiums for regular battles and performance battles. There was some initial chaos at first, as the most excited students pushed ahead, desperate to be among the first to battle, and the lineups were pretty hectic at first.

Serena and Shauna didn't mind waiting around at first, though. Instead, they hung back with Clemont, congratulating him on his victory and getting a proper introduction to his father and sister. Once again, his sister, Bonnie, knelt down in front of the two of them, but before she could speak, Clemont had pulled her back, fuming. It wasn't long after that until Meyer decided to take Bonnie home, informing Clemont that they'd return later on to help him move into his dorm room, but that it looked like he needed some time to get to know his fellow students.

After that, Serena, Shauna and Clemont had decided to go and watch some performance battles, in order to better prepare the two performers for what they were up against. Once they had made their way over to one of the stadiums where a trainer was preparing for a battle to enter the intermediate classes as a coordinator, they found some seats, and then began watching.

While Clemont's battle had set the tone for how these screening battles were going to work, Serena definitely didn't expect for the first performance battle she saw to be as intense as it was. The trainer they were watching was red-haired girl, all dressed up in a red dress which was presumably her coordinator outfit. She seemed quite motivated along with her Sandshrew, a little mouse Pokmeon with a yellow, brick patterned back. It quickly set to work, curling up and spinning in an impressive display of speed, immediately causing Clembot's points on the screen up top to decrease. Clembot had answered back with a Pidgeotto, who used a Gust attack to disrupt Sandshrew's spinning, quickly tying up their scores.

The match continued for the full five minutes, neither Pokemon actually managing to land many hits and mostly losing points when their attacks missed or the opponent performed a fancy move, such as Clembot having Pidgeotto combine Feather Dance with Gust in order to create a tornado of dust and feathers which temporarily mesmerized Sandshrew. However, the coordinator countered this quite quickly, having Sandshrew use the tornado while curled up, and it was carried up into the air before landing a powerful hit on Pidgeotto. When the match finally ended, the points were nearly identical with the coordinator and Clembot being on their last slivers of their counter. After the final check, however, it was determined that the coordinator had won, and she immediately rushed out of the room, celebrating loudly with her Sandshrew.

As the matches continued, Serena saw more and more battles that increased her nervousness. She saw performers and coordinators alike, both succeed and fail at all the levels. Some even left the field in tears because of their loss. Seeing everyone get so stressed and feeling her own stress was not making things any easier. And it wasn't like this was the only thing on her mind, particularly after Professor Sycamore's announcement.

They had just finished watching another match, when the three of them decided to go out to the lobby and have Serena and Shauna register for their battles, as the lines were starting to shorten up. Shauna was fairly enthusiastic, but Clemont picked up on Serena's nervousness.

"You know, Serena, if you lose, you don't get kicked out. You're allowed to battle as many times as you want. At worst you'll go into beginner classes, but you can still work your way up." He adjusted his glasses and chuckled nervously. "I would know. I was thinking I'd have to do that."

As they got in a line, Serena giving Clemont a nod to acknowledge his words, Shauna looked seriously at the honey-blonde performer. "Don't be silly, Clemont. Serena won't lose at all. Come on, I'm excited about this. You should be, too! What are you worried about? Ash Ketchum walking in and seeing you lose?" She smirked as she saw her friend tense up.

Serena narrowed her eyes and felt her cheeks heat up a little, but managed to stop herself from saying anything embarrassing. "Battling is just something that's really different for me. I know it's more performance-focused for the performers, but it's still going to be difficult to stay focused."

"Serena, you're probably the best performer here!" Shauna exclaimed, laughing and nudging her friend playfully. "Only Aria was able to beat you. Just because this is going to be a battle doesn't mean you have to be worried about changing your style."

"Yeah...yeah, I know. I'll figure it out, I guess," Serena answered, smiling gratefully at the two of them for their encouragement.

Shauna then smirked again and leaned forward, whispering so that Clemont, who was now distracted by something, couldn't hear. "You'll figure it out when Ash gets here, right?"

Serena just responded to that with a roll of her eyes and then stepped forward as the line moved along. She noticed that Clemont was still distracted and wasn't moving, so she turned back and looked at him, before calling to get his attention. "Hey, Clemont, are you coming?"

"Huh?" the inventor turned and stared blankly for a moment before moving forward to stand next to them. "Sorry, it's just that I saw those two guys waving over there. They seem really excited." He pointed over to another line that was near the other side of the building, as that was the side for battles, and Serena eyes followed, before resting on two familiar figures.

"It's Trevor and Tierno!" she shouted happily, getting Shauna's attention and then waving back. It seemed that the two of them had just finished their own registration and were on their way over. Trevor looked to be a little nervous, holding his camera and fiddling with it, while Tierno was doing one of his dance routines, clearly not concerned at all.

When they finally reached Serena, Shauna and Clemont, Tierno sprung forward, kneeling in front of Serena in somewhat of a similar fashion to how Bonnie had done it earlier, and he looked up at her, smiling widely. "Serena! Looking as beautiful as ever, I see!"

"Um...thanks," Serena muttered, taking a nervous step back and giving a weak smile. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Tierno. And you, too, Trevor." Fortunately, Tierno ended his little flirting act pretty quickly and got up to greet Shauna as well, before Trevor came forward as well. Serena then quickly introduced the two of them to Clemont. "Trevor and Tierno, this is Clemont. He's the Lumiose City Gym Leader...at least, some of the time he is."

"Nice to meet you, Clemont!" Tierno greeted as they shook hands. "The Lumiose Gym, huh? I remember battling the robot there, Clembot. That was a tough one, for sure. Is it true that we're battling him here for the screening battles?"

Clemont nodded, smiling proudly from the compliment for Clembot. "Yeah, I've made a lot of improvements and these models should be able to match the skill level of their opponents, depending on the accuracy of their rating. "Did you receive your rating yet?"

"Yeah, I got a four star rating," Tierno announced proudly. "I get to go for the advanced classes. I was expecting a little higher since I made it to the quarterfinals in the Kalos League, but I guess I'll just be happy with getting into the advanced classes first."

"Clemont got a four star rating as well," Serena informed the dancing trainer. She then looked over to Trevor. "How about you, Trevor?" she asked, assuming that he would likely have received a four star rating as well, considering he'd earned eight badges and a gym leader like Clemont had earned the four star rating.

Trevor didn't look too happy, though, his glancing down at the ground as soon as Serena asked the question. "I got a three and a half star rating. I only get to try out for the intermediate classes."

"What's up with that?" Tierno suddenly asked, looking insulted in place of his orange-haired friend. "If a gym leader can get a four star rating, shouldn't a trainer who competes in the Kalos League get at least that."

Serena could see that Clemont was a looking a little awkward about this whole situation, but she was curious about this as well, so she waited for his answer. "Well, it depends on the gyms you challenge. There are eight gyms in Kalos that are considered "advanced" gyms, but there are also some lower level gyms. If you're a less experienced trainer and ranked low in the Pokemon League, that would lead to you receiving a lower rating. And to receive a four and a half star or five star rating, you'd need to be more experienced, compete at the advanced gyms, and rank high in the Pokemon League."

"But Trevor ended up losing to the guy who won the whole thing," Shauna pointed out, casting a concerned look over towards Trevor, who looked uncomfortable with this conversation. "Why should he be punished for that?"

"He's not being punished," Clemont said, sounding a little exasperated now. "Besides, the ratings are only a suggestion based on your past experience and success. If you want to challenge a higher level, or even a lower level, you're free to do so."

Serena was happy to see Trevor lighten up at that, and noticed an excited look in his eyes. "Really? That's awesome!" He looked down at his camera, a confident smile coming to his face and Serena could see he was looking at the Key Stone he held within it. "Charizard and I will prove that rating wrong."

"That's the spirit, Trevs!" Tierno exclaimed, before looking back at Serena and Shauna. "So how about you two? What ratings do you think you have? There's no way you don't have five star ratings."

Before Serena could answer, there was a call from someone at a desk ahead of them, and she realized that she and Shauna were up next for registration. Shauna signalled for Serena to go ahead, and the honey-blonde performer gave a nervous smile before heading over to the desk, where a blue-haired woman with glasses was waiting. "Hello!" she greeted Serena cheerfully. "Wow, I recognize you. Serena, right?"

"Yep, that's me," Serena answered, surprised that the woman remembered her, although she remembered as well, the name Sophie sticking out to her. She recalled that they'd met briefly when she'd received Fennekin from Professor Sycamore, but that was it. I guess she must have watched the Masterclass, Serena thought to herself.

"Well, I'm glad we have you aboard, Serena," Sophie said, smiling, before holding out a hand. "Could I please see your Pokedex for a moment?" Serena nodded and then pulled the device out of her pocket and handing over. Sophie then placed it into some kind of slot, before a monitor behind her lit up, showing a picture of Serena.

"Welcome, Serena Yvonne from Vaniville Town," a monotone voice called out, sounding somewhat like the voice her Pokedex had when identifying Pokemon. "Registration status: Performer," the voice continued. "Rating: four and a half stars."

With that, the image went black and then Sophie pulled out the Pokedex and handed it back to Serena, before typing some information into a computer. "Well, it looks like your Masterclass success earned you quite a good rating," she said as she finished up and looked at Serena. "I'm sure you'll do great in the advanced classes."

"Ivysaur, use Energy Ball, and then hit it forward with Vine Whip!" Clemont watched in amazement as the green sphere of energy was fired upwards, high into the air, sparkling beautifully with the light from Ivysaur's previous Sunny Day. It hovered there a few moments, before the grass type's vines shot upwards and then struck it down, sending it rocketing towards the stunned Kirlia in front of Clembot. The psychic/fairy type tried to twirl out of the way, but the attack was too fast, and she was sent high into the air as the attack exploded against her. With a thud, she landed a few feet to the side of Clembot, just as the timer went to end the battle.

It wasn't even close, as Shauna's stunning performance moves had been heavily weighted for the contest battle, with her performer status, and Clemont, Serena, Trevor and Tierno cheered loudly while Shauna's victory was announced, the screen showing her score being nearly down to half, while Clembot only had a sliver remaining.

"Great job, Shauna!" Serena shouted happily, clapping and then jumping up from her spot. She ran over to her friend and hugged her in celebration. "You did, great!"

"Thanks, Serena," Shauna said, as Clemont, Tierno and Trevor all came over. "Wow, I wasn't expecting to do so well. A four and a half star rating got me a little nervous there."

"You deserved it," Tierno told her confidently, kneeling down and petting the proud looking Ivysaur on the head. "It was so awesome! Battling that way and being in sync with your Pokemon...that's just the way I love to battle. I wish I'd been able to try some of those dance move that Clembot's Kirlia was using during my battle." His eyes were shining and he almost seemed more excited about Shauna's battle than he had been when talking about his own, which he had won with some creative dance moves that had quickly backed Clembot into a corner. "Anyways, you and Serena were the best at the Masterclass, so it only makes sense that you'd be the best ones here, too."

Clemont noticed that Serena looked a little awkward hearing that, as she glanced over to Clembot who was recalling Kirlia to its pokeball. Shauna, however, looked pleased by the compliment, and smiled towards Serena. "Are you ready for your battle, Serena?" she asked, giving her friend a confident look and narrowing her eyes. "I bet you'll win for sure."

Serena gave what Clemont assumed to be a fake smile, and then looked at Trevor. "For now, it's your turn, right Trevor? You need to prove that rating wrong!"

"Yeah...I guess so," Trevor answered, taking a deep breath and then looking at Clemont. "Do you think it's a good idea for me to go through with it? Trying to battle the higher level, I mean?"

Clemont shrugged, honestly not really sure what to think. "Well, you had bad luck going up against Alain in the first round of the Kalos League, that's for sure," he acknowledged, trying to think of how he could give Trevor a reason to believe he could do this. "Your Charizard looked pretty strong, so there's a chance you could have gone quite a bit further if you'd had a different match-up."

"Well, why don't we go see if Trevor can prove it, then!" Shauna suggested, pulling out a pokeball and recalling Ivysaur. "Your scheduled to start soon, so let's get over to the battlefield."

The group quickly agreed, and then the five of them made their way out of the battlefield, Shauna being informed she would be able to join the advanced classes as they left. As they made their way over towards the other end of the building, passing the contest battlefields, Clemont could see Serena watching the battles, nervousness in her eyes. He was about to say something, but just then, Tierno spoke up.

"Wow, did you see that?" he exclaimed, running up to the entrance to one of the battlefields. Clemont and the others remained where they were, but they could see what he was talking about. The trainer in the battle was using Roselia, battling against Clembot's Quilava. As the fire type was charging forward with the flames shooting up off its body, the Roselia easily danced aside, just as Tierno had ordered his Blastoise to do throughout his own battle earlier. Although, that had been in a standard battle. It definitely worked well in the contest format, though, as Roselia's graceful dodge, lost Clembot just the right amount of points for the robot to be defeated. "Wow!" Tierno shouted again, turning back and walking over to his friends. "Contest battles are pretty awesome."

"You seem more interested in them than regular battles," Shauna said jokingly, getting a laugh out of Trevor, Serena and Clemont, although Tierno just shrugged, before they began walking again.

When they made it across to Trevor's specified battlefield, they arrived just in time to see Clembot defeating a trainer's Rhydon with a Dugtrio. It was a powerful Earthquake attack which forced the drill Pokemon to its knees, before Dugtrio burrowed underground and emerged below its opponent, shooting it up into the air. Rhydon landed with a hard thud and was quickly declared unable to battle. Clemont was impressed with how the trainer took it. They appeared disappointed, but assured the assistant that was noting down the victors, that he'd be back soon and ready to win.

Once that trainer had left, it was time for Trevor to make his way to the field, and Clemont lead his new group of friends over to the sidelines so they could watch. As they sat down, Clemont could see Trevor talking to the assistant, appearing to be putting on a brave face. It was clear that he was informing her that he wanted to battle at the higher skill level. She seemed to warn him about the difficulty, but then nodded, before heading over to Clembot the input the information.

Within a couple of minutes, everything seemed to be in order, and the assistant went back to the sidelines, while the referee stepped forward, raising two arms up, before informing Trevor of the rules, which were, of course, no different from the ones Clemont had battled with. Once the referee was finished, Trevor then threw out his pokeball, and his Charizard emerged, the flying and fire type landing on the ground and snarling at Clembot in front of him. The robot stood still for a few moments, and then threw out his choice. After a flash of light, Pokemon with a log-shaped body and arms that looked almost like branches, appeared in front of Clembot. A Sudowoodo.

"Wow, I thought the advanced battles would have type advantages over their opponents," Shauna whispered, sounding excited as she watched the two Pokemon prepare for battle.

"Sudowoodo is actually a pure rock type Pokemon," Clemont informed the performer, understanding why she thought it would have a type disadvantage, as it appeared like a grass type. "Charizard's at a double disadvantage here."

"Trevs will pull through!" Tierno said confidently. "Come on, Trevor, show them what you can do!" the dancer shouted to his friend.

Trevor looked over and nodded, giving his friends a thumbs up before turning his attention back to the field in front of him. Clemont was surprised to see the orange-haired trainer take the initiative, expecting him to have waited for Clembot to act first. "Charizard, start things off with Flamethrower!"

"Counter with Mimic," Clembot quickly called out in response, metallic eyes blinking as he processed what was going on in front of him.

With a roar from Charizard, and a, "Woodo!" from Sudowoodo, the powerful jets of flames rushed towards each other from the two Pokemon on the battlefield. They collided with full force, creating a large fireball as they strained against each other, before exploding in a massive cloud of smoke. Clemont winced as the heat rushed towards him, hearing his friends gasp in discomfort as well.

Trevor was quick to take advantage of the smoke between the Pokemon, ordering his next move immediately. "Charizard, fly up and then use Dragon Claw!" he shouted, sounding surprisingly confident after some of his nervousness before the match. Clemont could relate, as getting into a battle often erased his own nerves as well.

The fire-lizard responded with a loud roar and then flapped his wings hard, shooting up into the air. He hovered above the cloud of smoke for a moment, and just as it was starting to clear, he shot down, his claw glowing in a green light. Clemont could barely see it, but heard the cry from Sudowoodo quite clearly as it was struck by the attack.

"Great move, Trevs!" Tierno cheered, doing a fist pump. "Keep on movin' and groovin' to the rhythm of the battle."

Clemont didn't really know what that was supposed to mean, since Trevor seemed to be fighting with a completely different style to Tierno, but just decided to ignore it as he watched Charizard fly back up and unleash a Flamethrower which engulfed Sudowoodo completely.

"Trevor's really taken over this match," Shauna pointed out, cheering as Sudowood missed a Hammer Arm attack, and getting slammed into by a Dragon Tail immediately after.

"Yeah, it looks like he really did get some bad luck with the Kalos League," Clemont admitted, feeling bad that his rating system had underestimated the orange-haired trainer.

While Sudowoodo managed to strike Charizard with a Wood Hammer attack to the chest, Clemont watched Trevor respond with a quick counterattack, having Charizard strike with back to back Dragon Claw strikes. He wasn't perfect, and Clembot managed to get the upper hand on a couple of attacks, but overall it was clear that Trevor was winning this match.

"All of you have done so well with your battles," Serena suddenly said, voice shaking with nerves. Clemont could see her following the battle in front of her, clearly wondering how she'd be able to keep up once her own battle started. "I still don't know how I can do this."

"Just do what you do best," Shauna suggested, smiling as she watched Charizard hit Sudowoodo with another Flamethrower. "I just acted like it was a regular performance and then directed some of it towards my opponent. You'll get used to it pretty quickly."

Serena nodded, giving Shauna a grateful smile. Clemont would have said something as well, but at that moment, Trevor was just finishing off his battle. "Charizard, Dragon Claw full power!"

With another loud roar, the fire lizard rushed forward, his green claws extended out in front of him. Sudowoodo could only watch in stunned silence as the fire type's claws struck it and sent it flying back. The rock type crashed to the ground, dust shooting up around it, and didn't get up again.

As Trevor was declared the winner, Clemont and the others rushed towards him, cheering happily for his success. He looked stunned with his success, and stared at his celebrating Charizard in shock. Clemont had the feeling that the orange-haired trainer had barely noticed how he had controlled the pace of the match.

"Great job, Trevs!" Tierno shouted happily, dancing his way over to Trevor and putting his arm around his friend's shoulder. "You really had the rhythm going there."

Clemont watched as the four friends celebrated Trevor's victory, and the realization that another advanced trainer had qualified made him think. Just because he'd done well with his own screening battle, he definitely still had a lot of work to do. There were plenty of great trainers out there, and he still had a lot to prove.

"Well, I guess it's time for Serena's battle," Shauna finally said, once Trevor had recalled his Charizard and his win had been noted by the assistant. "Then we'll all be done."

"Yeah," Serena said, nodding with narrowed eyes, as though doing her best to steel herself for her upcoming match. "Yeah, it's time to do this."

Clemont smiled as the honey-blonde led the group out of the battlefield and back into the lobby. He was looking forward to the battle, and also getting to show off some more of the school afterwards. Things had been starting off pretty well, so he was excited to keep moving forward and as they made their way through the lobby and towards Serena's specified battlefield, Clemont had a strange feeling that things were about to pick up even more. He was the last to enter the battlefield, and as he was about to enter, he heard some doors open at one of the entrances to the lobby. He took a quick glance back, and noticed a girl with navy blue hair entering, staring around in interest. He could just see that someone was entering behind her, but just then, Trevor called out to him, so he turned and followed his friends into the battlefield, wondering just what was about to happen.

While the plane descended into Lumiose City, Dawn had been completely blown away by what she could see out the window. In some ways, it was like many of the large cities she had seen throughout her travels, but what set this one apart, was Prism Tower. It had immediately drawn the coordinator's attention, and Flint, who was sitting next to her, had laughed at her many surprised gasps while the plane drew closer and closer to the city.

The flight had been pretty long, and while Dawn and Flint had been able to sit together, they really didn't have much to talk about, other than their love of Pokemon and what they thought might happen at the university. Flint was very focused on battling, and while Dawn didn't mind talking about it, she'd already heard plenty about it while staying with Ash in Pallet Town.

However, when the plane finally landed and the passengers were able to disembark, now that they were at their destination, Dawn was happy to have someone to be excited with. "Lumiose City is beautiful!" she shouted, while walking down the steps out of the plane, holding up Piplup so he could see clearly as well. She could just see the top of Prism Tower past airport building in front of them. "This is already worth it."

"Maybe you won't be saying that once you get your first batch of homework," Flint told her with a laugh as he followed her. Dawn didn't really know if he was joking or not, but decided to just ignore the thought. She'd deal with that if and when it came.

As Dawn and Flint entered the airport, they could see many people and Pokemon running around, rushing to and from planes. They were on their way to collect their luggage when an excited shout was heard from behind them. Dawn turned around with a smile on her face when she heard it.

"Dawn!" And when the blue-haired trainer turned around, she wasn't surprised to see the goofy smile on the face of the raven-haired trainer heading towards her, his Pikachu also smiling from his shoulder. He was walking alongside an old woman with a walking stick, but Dawn had a strange feeling the woman was a lot more threatening than she looked. When the two finally reached Dawn and Flint, Ash raised up his hand and gave Dawn a high five, a habit they'd acquired while training in Pallet Town. "Good to see you again. Like Kalos so far?"

"Well I haven't seen too much of it, yet," Dawn told him, raising an eyebrow. She then smiled at the thought of seeing the city from the plane and nodded. "It looks pretty great from what I saw, though."

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, before looking up at Flint. "And Flint! What are you doing here?" He reached out his hand and shook hands with the Elite Four member. Dawn was shocked that Flint seemed to know who Ash was as well.

"Haha, nice to see you too, Ash," Flint said, chuckling and putting his hands on his hips. "I'm actually here for a similar reason to your friend, here." He then gestured to the old woman next to Ash, who was smirking at the interactions in front of her. "Or so I assume."

Ash then looked slightly embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head before turning to the old woman. "Oh, sorry, this is Agatha, a member of the Elite Four in Kanto. And Agatha, this is my friend Dawn. And I guess you know, Flint somehow?"

"Oh yes, us Elite Four members cross paths once in a while," Agatha answered with a chuckle, before looking to Dawn. "And it's nice to meet you, Dawn. I hope that being a coordinator won't prevent you from taking some tough battling classes."

Dawn didn't know how to respond to that. She didn't know how Agatha knew she was a coordinator, and judging from Ash's surprised look, she assumed he hadn't told the old woman. "I guess I'll probably take a couple of battle classes," she finally answered, more so out of nervousness from the old woman's stare.

"It's a little soon for that," Flint chimed in, laughing as Agatha shrugged. "Anyways, why don't we go and get our things. Then we can head on over to the university. From what I know, they're testing you guys right away to decide on your classes."

With that, the four of them headed over to the baggage claim area, Dawn and Flint receiving theirs from the Sinnoh arrivals and Ash and Agatha receiving theirs from Kanto. It was fairly busy, but luckily their bags arrived quite quickly, and within a few minutes, everyone had their belongings, and they were on their way out of the airport.

Once outside, while Ash pointed out some of the Kalos native Pokemon that were out with their trainers, Flint went ahead to find a taxi to take them all to the university. Dawn was fascinated by some of the Kalos Pokemon she was seeing. A few of them looked like they would be perfect Pokemon to use in contests if she could ever catch one of her own, and she hoped that the opportunity to do so would arise, even if she was at a school, rather than travelling.

Ash was just pointing out a small yellow and orange fox-like Pokemon named Fennekin, when Flint returned to inform them that he'd found a taxi. The two Elite Four members and the two young trainers with them, then made their way over to the taxi, and a few minutes later, with their luggage loaded in the trunk, they were on their way to the university.

Dawn couldn't help but feel a small hint of nervousness creep into her at this point. This was really something very new to her, and it was finally sinking in that she was doing something completely different from her old approach to coordinating. She glanced out the window of the taxi and watched the buildings pass by, seeing a few more strange Pokemon as they drove towards their destination.

"You ready to battle if I need you, buddy?" Dawn heard Ash say, and she turned her head to see him looking confidently at Pikachu, who was on his shoulder, looking out the window.

The electric mouse turned his head towards his trainer and nodded confidently, eyes narrowing with determination. "Pika!" he shouted out in excitement, and Dawn could tell that Ash's loyal partner was fired up and ready to battle. She looked down to Piplup in her lap, and hoped that he was going to be just as ready to go when needed.

"So you'll be using Pikachu for your test?" Agatha suddenly asked, looking over at Ash from her spot next to Dawn. "That should be interesting to see. Pikachu gave my Gengar a run for its money, so I'll be interested to see how he's improved."

"I think Pikachu had a tougher time against my Infernape," Flint said teasingly, looking back at Agatha from his spot up front. I guess fire types are just a bit more of a challenge for anyone. Especially compared to ghost types."

Agatha narrowed her eyes, and Dawn bit her lip to stop from giggling, noticing Ash was also struggling to contain himself. "We'll have to see about that, Flint," Agatha finally managed to say through gritted teeth. "Your Infernape wouldn't even be able to touch my Gengar."

Luckily, the banter wasn't able to escalate, as within a few moments, the taxi pulled up in front of a large building, which Dawn could see had many people her and Ash's age walking in and out of. As she looked closer, she could see a sign above the entrance, saying, "Welcome Students of Lumiose University!"

Ash and Dawn couldn't wait to get out of the car, and were pulling their luggage out of the trunk before Agatha and Flint had even opened their doors. Dawn was just starting to wonder what they were going to do with all of their luggage, when a woman with purple hair approached, wearing a white lab coat with the letters LU on right side and a name tag which said Cosette on the other side. "Hello, you two," she greeted with a light bow. "Are you two here for Lumiose University?"

"We sure are! Hi Cosette!" Ash answered happily, and the woman, Cosette gasped a little when she looked at him, clearly recognizing him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ash. Hello," she said quickly. "I didn't see it was you. Right...Professor Sycamore has been anxiously awaiting your arrival. Many of the students as well." She then waved over to a couple of Machoke who were standing near the building, and they approached the taxi, just as Flint was finishing paying the driver. "We'll have your things taken to your dorm rooms for you. They'll be in your rooms for when you finish your screening tests."

"Sounds great, thanks!" Ash said, handing his case over to one of the Machoke, giving it a smile as it lifted it easily up with one arm, placing it on its shoulder. The other then took Dawn's and the two began to head off, seemingly happy to show off their ability to carry the luggage. Dawn wondered if even Ash's Hawlucha would show off that much.

As two other Machoke approached to take Flint's and Agatha's luggage, Cosette looked at them and then down at a clipboard in her hands. "Hello Mr. Flint and Ms. Agatha," she greeted formally, bowing a little. "Professor Sycamore will be very glad to know you've arrived safely. If you wouldn't mind coming with me, he would like to see you." She then looked at Ash, and then Dawn. "As soon as you two enter, you'll be able to see the registration desks. On the left, is battle registration and on the right is contest and performance registration. You will be given a rating based on your experience and success in official competition, and then you will be able to participate in a screening battle, either a standard or contest battle, to determine your class level."

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing you a little later, then," Flint said to Ash and Dawn as he handed one of his bags over to a Machoke. "Hopefully we'll be able to see your battles, but if not, good luck. I'm sure you'll both do perfectly fine, though."

"Yes, good luck," Agatha said, smiling and resting on her walking stick while one of the Machoke took her case, stopping her from leaning over to pick it up as it approached. "Ash, I'm sure you'll power through no matter what your opponent is. And Dawn, just stay sharp and don't hesitate. I expect both of you to pass these tests with ease."

"Of course we will," Ash assured her with a confident smile, looking up quickly at Pikachu who nodded and gave a fist pump in reply. "We know when we can win a battle for sure, and this is one of those times. Nothing is going to hold us back. Same with you, right Dawn?" he asked, looking over towards the coordinator.

Dawn swallowed a little nervously, but managed to steel herself and glance down at Piplup who looked up at her with confidence. She then looked at Agatha, Flint and finally Ash, before nodding in agreement. "No need to worry, because we've got this test in the bag!"

"Congratulations, Ash, you're all set to go. You as well, Dawn," Sophie, one of Professor Sycamore's assistants said, smiling at the two trainers. "Dawn, your battle will begin shortly in that field right over there." She turned and pointed to a field about twenty feet away. Ash could see the lights from the entrance and could just barely hear some noises from the people inside.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed, turning and looking at Dawn. "Come on, let's go see what you'll have to do." He gave a quick wave to Sophie and then rushed ahead to the specified battlefield, Dawn trying to catch up as he ran.

"Ash, wait up!" the coordinator shouted and he slowed up while she caught up to him. "Why do you need to be in such a rush?"

Ash just shrugged and the two started approaching the entrance to the field. "I don't know...it's just gonna be neat to see some other trainers in action. This is a contest battle, anyways, right? So you'll be able to see what your up against."

Dawn nodded at that, seeing the logic behind it, and picked up her pace, making it to the entrance before Ash. "Looks like it's just about to start," she whispered, as Ash stopped next to her, looking through and seeing the field in front of him.

There was a robot on the other end of the field, that looked just like the one Ash had battled at the Lumiose City Gym. In front of the robot, which Ash remembered was named Clembot, was a big, blue tadpole Pokemon with black and white swirls under its eyes and boxing glove fists, which Ash recognized as a Poliwhirl.

In front of Ash and Dawn, was Clembot's challenger, who must not have noticed them entering, because she was staring ahead at the field in front of her. She looked to be shaking a little, and she brushed her honey-blonde hair out of her face, before pulling out a pokeball. Ash glanced up at the screen above, which actually showed the girl's face, status, rating and name, which was Serena. Apparently she was a performer, so Ash could understand why she was nervous about the battle, although with a four and a half star rating, he assumed she was probably very good.

As Serena prepared herself to call out her Pokemon, Ash and Dawn made their way over to the sidelines, getting two available spots next to four people who were staring at them in shock. Ash smiled, instantly recognizing a couple of them, a stocky guy with a black T-shirt and an orange-haired guy with a camera. "Hey," he greeted, sitting down next to a blond guy with glasses, "you guys were at the Kalos League, right? Tierno and Trevor?"

"Uh...yeah," the orange-haired one, Trevor, said, managing a nervous smile. "Hi, and we know you. You're Ash." Ash smiled awkwardly at that, not surprised he was recognized as well, but not exactly used to it. "Wow, I almost didn't believe it was true you were coming here."

It wasn't long before the others in the group introduced themselves, along with Dawn. They seemed to be stunned at Ash's arrival and were staring at him in shock the whole time. The brunette girl, Shauna, actually seemed to know who Dawn was, apparently having knowledge of contests from her research before coming to the school. They were all apparently friends of the girl who was battling, and were here to cheer her on.

"Well I'll cheer her on as well, then," Ash assured them, before cupping his hands over his mouth and preparing to yell, just as Serena's two-legged fox Pokemon, Braixen, emerged in front of her. Before he could say anything, though, Shauna, sitting next to the blond boy, Clemont, who Ash was next to, reached over and pulled his hands down.

"Stop!" she hissed quickly, putting her index finger over her lips to signal for silence. "You'll distract Serena." She looked somewhat amused as she said this, but Ash ignored that and just nodded, understanding that some people needed less cheering to remain focused on battle.

Ash just decided to watch quietly then, looking forward to seeing how this girl would do, considering she likely wasn't used to battling. The rules of the battle had just been laid out by the referee, and the screen above Clembot changed to show a timer and two score counters underneath the images of Serena and Clembot.

"So this battle will be more focused on performing, right?" Dawn asked, looking over at the group they'd joined.

"Yeah," Clemont said with a nod. "It's set up like a contest battle, but since Serena is a performer, the battling won't be weighted as heavily."

Ash narrowed his eyes as he watched Poliwhirl prepare to battle from in front of Clembot. Whether the performance was weighted heavily or not, a battle made things much different. Serena's ability to think quickly and adjust to her opponent was going to play a big role in this. However, as he looked at the girl, he saw her take a deep breath and narrow her eyes in determination, muttering something to herself. Even though she was nervous, she wasn't going to let it hold her back. Ash smiled as he watched, respecting that determination.

"Braixen, start things off with Fire Blast!" she suddenly yelled, thrusting her arm out as she made the command.

"Poliwhirl, dodge counter with Hydro Pump and then use Rain Dance!" Clembot countered quickly, surprising Ash with his quick order. The Clembot at the gym never acted so quickly.

The Poliwhirl was just as quick in its response. As soon as Braixen pointed her branch-wand forward and unleashed the five-pronged fire attack, the tadpole Pokemon fired off a massive jet of water in response. The attacks collided in the middle of the field, steam shooting up from the water and fire colliding. Then, a couple of seconds later, thick clouds appeared high above the battlefield and a heavy rain began to fall. Ash didn't mind it, but he could hear some angry muttering from the crowd, and Dawn was complaining from her spot next to him.

Serena, meanwhile, clearly knew that she was in a tough spot, and Ash followed her gaze up to the scoreboard, which showed her points quickly dropping by about ten percent. Clembot's had also dropped, but only about half as much as hers, due to the Fire Blast attack. Ash silently willed her on to make a quick move, as she was wasting valuable time in watching the scoreboard.

Luckily, she did just that, and her eyes moved back to the field and towards Braixen. "Braixen, use Hidden Power, and then send it up with Flamethrower!"

Ash narrowed his eyes in confusion as he watched Braixen tense up and nod in agreement, wondering just what Serena had in mind. "Braixen-brai!" Braixen shouted, as she fired three blue orbs up into the air, before aiming her wand up towards them. "Brai!" she shouted again, unleashing a powerful Flamethrower which shot upwards, seemingly grabbing hold of the orbs from Hidden Power and carrying them up towards the rain clouds.

It was then that Ash could see what Serena was planning. As the orbs sailed up, carried by the Flamethrower, the rain fell hard upon the attack, causing the flames to slowly lose power, making smoke billow up over the orbs. However, the blue orbs continued to go up, creating a ghostly effect as they shot up with the smoke billowing off of them. Finally, they exploded as they reached the clouds, creating what appeared like blue fire works which clashed brilliantly with the rain clouds.

"Amazing!" Ash heard Dawn gasp, while he clapped along with Serena's friends, watching as Clembot's points dropped drastically to about two thirds of his counter, Serena's attack giving her a dominant lead.

"Serena's got the rhythm going now," Tierno added, pumping his fist in excitement.

Ash nodded, smiling as he watched Serena quickly get ready with her next move. He knew, however, that Clembot wouldn't be done. He hadn't used his own Rain Dance to his advantage yet, and Ash knew he was about to. And it was as if the robot had heard Ash's thoughts, because he quickly put a metallic arm forward, calling his next attack. "Poliwhirl, use Bubblebeam!"

"Whirl!" Poliwhirl shouted in its deep voice, just before the powerful stream of bubbles began to shoot out, looking as though they picked up speed as they shot through the pouring rain. The display of speed and power from the attack seemed to impress whatever was judging the points, because Ash noticed Serena's points drop a little bit as the bubbles rushed towards Braixen.

"Braixen fight those back with Scratch!" Serena shouted, clearly ready to take those attacks head on. Ash definitely liked that style, and exchanged a smirk with Pikachu, knowing he did too.

"Brai!" Braixen shouted, as she quickly stuffed her branch into her bushy tail and then rushed forward, holding her paws up, teeth bared. The ferocity she showed seemed to even surprise Serena's friends, who gasped at the sight. However, it seemed effective at first as she began swiping at the streaming bubbles, creating blue sparkles in the air as the exploding bubbles mixed with the rain. She managed to cause Clembot's points to drop a bit more so that he was now down to halfway, before one of the bubbles struck her in the chest, making her lose concentration. Then, very quickly, the rest of the Bubblebeam attack slammed into Braixen, hitting her chest with a barrage from the supercharged and super effective attack. "Seeen!" the fox Pokemon shouted as she fell backwards, crashing hard into the now muddy ground.

Ash gritted his teeth, seeing Serena's points quickly fall to just below three quarters of her counter. She was still ahead, but Braixen had been hit pretty hard, and now Poliwhirl had the perfect opportunity to do some more damage or make a display. "Come on...don't give up," he whispered quietly to himself, watching Braixen catching her breath from the ground, looking appalled at the mud that was on her paws.

"Poliwhirl, use Psychic on the falling rain," Clembot suddenly ordered. Ash's eyes quickly moved over to the tadpole Pokemon, and he watched in frustration as its eyes glowed blue and then suddenly, the falling rain began to slow down, as each individual drop began to glow in a blue aura. "Now, combine the water and send it towards Braixen and follow it up with Bubblebeam!"

Ash couldn't help but feel frustrated by Braixen's lack of movement. If she would just stop worrying about the mud on her paws, she'd be able to act quickly enough to defend herself. Serena was already losing points from the psychically controlled Rain Dance, and was now down to the halfway point, tied with Clembot. She couldn't afford to fall behind, especially now. He didn't care that Shauna had told him to keep quiet. Serena and Braixen needed a jolt, and he didn't care if it was coming from someone she didn't know. "Hey Serena!" he shouted loudly, causing the girl to jump and look over at him in shock. She stared at Ash with wide eyes, blinking a few times as though trying to see if he was really there. He could have sworn he saw her mouth his name, but he ignored that, wanting to get her head back in the game. "You can win this. Stay focused and don't give up till it's over!"

For a moment, she stared back, and then a small smile came to her face, and Ash heard a giggle coming from Shauna's direction. Then, the honey-blonde performer turned her attention back to the field, which showed Poliwhirl's growing rain sphere was almost ready to be launched. "Braixen, don't give up," she said calmly. "Wait until the attack approaches and then use Fire Blast on the ground."

Ash's fists clenched and he watched as Poliwhirl's rain sphere was finally completed and then Clembot gave the quick order to send it towards Braixen. As the massive sphere of water hurtled towards her, Ash was sure the fox Pokemon wasn't going to react in time. Then, with incredible reflexes, Braixen plucked her branch from her tail, aimed it at the ground beneath her, and then fired the powerful fire attack downwards. Just as the rain sphere hit her location, Braixen was carried upwards, smoke, steam, water and mud shooting up from beneath her, sparks from the flames mixing within it all, actually making an interesting light effect. Ash pumped his fist as he saw Clembot's points drop quickly so that he only had a little more than a quarter left in his counter.

Clembot wasn't done yet, though, and Ash was only just remembering that he'd ordered the immediate Bubblebeam attack as soon as the other one had ended. With Braixen vulnerable in midair, Clembot and Poliwhirl had the perfect opportunity to strike. "Whirl!" Poliwhirl shouted, and after a deep breath, it fired off the powerful stream of bubbles, which blasted through the rain, which was once again falling. Serena's points dropped a little bit once again from the powerful display of Bubblebeam, but Ash was more worried about what would happen if Braixen was hit.

Serena apparently had a plan, though, and Ash was surprised to see her smiling as the attack approached. "Braixen, use Hidden Power, but hold onto it and use it as a shield." The order seemed to surprise even the fox Pokemon, but she obeyed nonetheless, and within seconds, she had formed the blue sphere and quickly grabbed onto it, holding it out in front of her and she descended to the ground with the bubbles shooting towards her. "Now run forward!" Serena shouted excitedly.

"Braixen-brai!" Braixen answered confidently, holding her blue sphere in front of her. As she ran forward, the bubbles exploded against her Hidden Power shield, but the defence held strong, and the water sprayed around Braixen as she ran, making the fox Pokemon look quite intimidating as she rushed towards her opponent. Ash noticed Clembot's points quickly drop so that he only had about an eighth remaining, and knew that if Serena could land a powerful attack and make an impressive display, she'd have the win.

Braixen was finally about to close the gap, and Ash could see Poliwhirl staring ahead at her, completely stunned and clearly Clembot didn't have a counterattack planned, because he remained silent. The only one with a plan was Serena, who held her hand out in front of her and smiled confidently with her next order, looking like she knew victory was within her reach. "Now, throw your Hidden Power attack and then use Fire Blast!"

"BraiiiXEN!" Braixen shouted, flinging the blue sphere forward and then taking aim with her branch. As the Hidden Power attack exploded against Poliwhirl's chest, the five-pronged fire attack was unleashed. Just as Poliwhirl was falling back from the initial attack, the Fire Blast exploded against it, shooting off red sparks which sizzled and popped with the falling rain. No one was surprised as a buzzer sounded with Clembot's points falling to zero.

"Yeah! We did it, Braixen!" Serena shouted, running forward towards her Pokemon, clearly not caring about the muddy field.

Ash sat back and smiled, watching the performer celebrate with her Pokemon. He may not have known the girl, but he couldn't help feeling throughout the battle that he really wanted her to win. He supposed it would have been the same for anyone, but he did notice that she seemed to care for her Pokemon and wanted to win in the same way he often did.

While Serena's friends celebrated next to him, Ash turned to Dawn, who also seemed quite excited by the battle they'd just witnessed. "Well, Dawn," Ash said, smirking a little, "no offence, but I don't know if anyone can top what Serena did."