"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
"Pika!"
A small, confident smile crossed Pikachu's face. Its four legs pushed off the ground in an instant, leaving nothing behind but a streak of white light.
"Hold your ground, then spin into Diamond Storm!"
Pikachu's body slammed into Diancie, knocking her back two steps. It sprang into the air right after, its jagged tail catching the sunlight like polished silver.
Ash's voice rang out. "Iron Tail!"
Diancie lifted both hands high, moving with the grace of a swan mid-dance. Specks of pink light drifted upward around her, each one blooming into a small pink diamond hanging in the air.
Bang!
Pikachu's Iron Tail crashed down into the rising wall of diamonds. It punched through one edge of the Diamond Storm, but the attack still caught Pikachu and sent it tumbling. Its small yellow body flipped through the air before it landed and staggered a few steps to catch its balance.
"Nice one, Pikachu!" Ash grinned and waved his arm. "Now, Discharge!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu leapt skyward, sparks gathering around its tail and building into a crackling ball of electricity. As its body spun through the air, it flung the Discharge outward.
"Moonblast!"
Diancie saw the bolt coming and answered at once, hurling a glowing pink orb to meet it. The two attacks collided midair, wrestling against each other for a moment before erupting with a deafening crack. Black smoke rolled across the field.
The instant Pikachu touched down, Ash was already calling out again.
"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"
Golden electricity wrapped around Pikachu's small frame as it charged forward, disappearing into its own light until it was little more than a blur of black and yellow streaking across the field.
"Diamond Storm, full power, wide burst!"
Diancie thrust her hands forward, and a spiraling wave of pink energy, thick with flying diamond shards, rushed to meet Pikachu head-on. Gold and pink energy crashed together, sending a shockwave rolling outward.
Steven watched Diancie's back, calm and steady. Of all her moves, Diamond Storm and Moonblast were the two he trusted most. Diamond Storm alone was often enough to shut down an opponent's entire assault. He had taught Diancie very few TM moves beyond her natural set, keeping just one in reserve for Pokémon with a Ground-type advantage.
Boom!
The two blasts of energy tore apart with a roar. Pikachu, caught in the aftershock at close range, was thrown backward and rolled hard across the dirt.
"Pikachu, are you okay?"
"Pika!" Pikachu pushed itself up on shaky legs, breathing hard as it answered Ash.
Steven studied the little Pokémon quietly. Its power seemed to rise and fall without warning; at the right moment, it could unleash startling strength, but right now, in a friendly match, it looked almost like it was putting on a show for the crowd. Steven allowed himself a small, amused thought. That was simply how this Pikachu was.
His eyes narrowed. "Diancie, Earth Power!"
Diancie clapped her small hands together, sending a pulse of energy down through the soles of her feet and into the ground, where it spread out beneath the surface. She raised her arms, and all that gathered force converged in a single spot, directly beneath Pikachu.
The ground around Pikachu split open in a rough circle, a dull yellow-brown glow rising from the crack.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack, get out of there!" Ash shouted.
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and, before the energy could burst free, used a sudden Quick Attack to dash clear of the marked ground.
Boom—
The earth erupted, yellow-brown light spraying upward like a fountain breaking through the surface.
Pikachu turned to glance at the eruption behind it, barely getting a breath in before Ash's voice cut through again.
"Pikachu, watch out, dodge now!"
"Pika?!" Pikachu spun back around in surprise, only to find Diancie standing right in front of it, hands held flat and a faint smile on her face.
"Diamond Storm!"
At Steven's word, the attack shot forward.
Pikachu leapt sideways to meet it head-on. Against a Ground-type move, most trainers would simply steer their Pokémon clear of the affected ground, and against something wide-reaching like Earthquake, they'd send their Pokémon into the air instead. Ash knew better than to jump, though. Doing so would only play into Diancie's rhythm. So instead, he'd used Pikachu's burst of speed to clear the blast radius of Earth Power entirely.
But that was exactly what Steven had been counting on.
"Pika, pika!" Pikachu reacted fast, dodging most of the Diamond Storm's shards, but a few still clipped its side. The impact sent it flying, and it hit the ground hard.
"Pikachu!" All thought of the match left Ash's mind as he ran to Pikachu's side, scooping it up and checking it over carefully. Only once he was sure it was unharmed did he finally relax.
"Ash, why don't we call the first round there?" Steven said, calling a halt to the match.
"Sure! Just like I figured, no matter what timeline we're in, you're always incredibly strong, Steven!" Ash grinned, with no trace of disappointment in his voice. It had only been a friendly match, after all, and Steven was a Champion. Losing to him wasn't anything to feel bad about.
Ash carried Pikachu back to his spot, glancing at the torn-up field left behind by Earth Power, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Guess we got a little carried away there."
"It's fine, as long as everyone had fun," Serena said with a smile.
"Battle, battle! Hehe!" Hoopa bounced in place, clearly delighted, as though remembering the days it used to cause chaos with battles of its own all over the world.
"Alright, Steven, here's who I'm sending out next!" Ash threw the Poké Ball skyward.
Bang—
A Pokémon appeared, entirely blue and standing upright on two legs, its build unmistakably ninja-like. A long red tongue hung loosely around its neck like a scarf, fluttering slightly in the breeze. Greninja crossed two fingers in front of its chest as it landed.
"Gren!"
Its closed eyes snapped open, revealing a pale red glow.
"So it's finally here," Steven said with a faint smile, reaching for a Poké Ball of his own. "Diancie, come on back. I've got someone better suited for this one."
"Okay." Diancie gave a small nod and hopped back to Steven's side.
Bang—
The ball popped open, releasing a burst of white light that shaped itself into Lucario, standing fully revealed before Ash and Greninja.
"Lucario, huh," Ash said, a faint smile crossing his face. It brought back memories of his battle against Korrina's Lucario. He noticed, though, that this one carried no Mega Stone.
"Greninja, water shu—"
"Ash!" Before he could finish the command, Steven cut him off.
Steven chuckled. "Go all out. Both of you."
Ash paused for a moment, then broke into a grin. He reached up, tugged the brim of his cap down slightly, and curled his left hand into a fist.
Greninja's eyes glowed red in that same instant, mirroring Ash's motion with uncanny precision.
"Greninja!"
"Let's show them how strong we can get!"
"Gren!"
"Let's go!"
...