DP189: Difference between revisions

Tobias recalls Darkrai into its {{i|Poké Ball}}, and, impressed with Ash, admits that he earned his spot in the semi-final rounds for accomplishing what no other Trainer could while battling him. For the first time in Sinnoh, he now has to send out a second Pokémon. However, he shows no signs of worry, and throws a Poké Ball into the air, which releases a {{p|Latios}}. This puts Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Barry in disbelief, but Ash quickly gets over it and has Sceptile use another Leaf Blade as Tobias commands Latios to counter with {{m|Giga Impact}}. The attacks collide and cause a massive explosion, but Sceptile gets the worst of it and faints.

Ash recalls Sceptile and thanks it for a stellar performance, before sending out his fifth Pokémon, {{AP|Swellow}}. After Swellow and Latios let out their battle cries, the former goes in for a Quick Attack, but Latios easily dodges. The battle then turns into an aerial chase as the Swallow and Eon Pokémon keep pursuit of one another. However, despite the former's amazing speed, it pails in comparison to that of the latter; Latios has Swellow beat both on offense and defense, being more than fast enough to not only dodge all of its offensive advances, but also stay right on its tail. This is further proven when Swellow's attempt to throw Latios off with a nosedive fails, and further still when, after Swellow flies high up in the air and quickly descends with {{m|Aerial Ace}}, Latios intercepts it with a powerful {{m|Luster Purge}}, knocking it out in a single shot.

Ash recalls Swellow and thanks it for trying its best, before bowing his head in desperation now that he only has one Pokémon left to take on his opponent's remaining five. {{AP|Pikachu}} is also upset at the seemingly hopeless situation, but Ash tells him that, no matter how bleak things may look, he has no intentions of giving up, a sentiment with which Pikachu agrees. Ash then pulls his [[Ash's hat|hat]] backwards and sends Pikachu in as his sixth and final Pokémon, both of them more than ready to give it their all. Despite having gained respect for his opponent, Tobias is certain that this will be their last bout, and gets ready to end this battle once and for all.

Pikachu starts off with a Quick Attack, and Latios tries to dodge, but Pikachu manages to land a glancing blow on him. Pikachu turns around and uses {{m|Volt Tackle}}, but Latios overpowers him with a Giga Impact. Latios prepares to use another Giga Impact, and Ash has Pikachu use {{m|Iron Tail}} to try and counter, but he ends up getting overpowered again and lands on his stomach. Latios then mimics Swellow's earlier trick and flies high up in the sky, before coming down fast while at the same time charging a Luster Purge. Ash commands Pikachu to dodge, and despite the severe damage he has taken up to this point, he narrowly does so, before jumping onto Latios' back once he flies past him. Pikachu then uses a close-range {{m|Thunderbolt}}, causing Latios considerable damage. Tobias commands Latios to shake Pikachu off, and he tries to do so by flying around erratically, but Pikachu manages to keep hold of him and use another close-range Thunderbolt, pushing Latios closer to his limit. Tobias then orders Latios to use {{m|Light Screen}}, which causes Pikachu's relentless Thunderbolts to not even faze it. Latios then flies high up in the sky again, and, as his Light Screen wears off, he finally manages to shake Pikachu off. With Pikachu in a vulnerable freefall, Tobias commands Latios to return to the ground and finish him off with Luster Purge. However, Ash commands Pikachu to use Volt Tackle, which slowly but surely cuts through the Luster Purge. Ash then yells at the top of his lungs for an Iron Tail, which, in conjunction with the Volt Tackle, completely cuts through the Luster Purge and scores a direct hit on Latios, causing an giant explosion that knocks out all of the monitors.

The battlefield is covered with smoke as everyone is desperate to see what happened. Eventually the smoke clears and reveals that Pikachu has gone down, but not without taking Latios down with him. As Ash has no Pokémon able to continue, Tobias is declared the winner by default. [[Paul]] is then shown having watched the battle on TV, and walks away in disappointment that his former rival has lost. Tobias approaches Ash and they thank each other for a spectacular battle. Dawn and Barry are upset over Ash's loss, but Brock points out that Ash was amazing and that this marks the first time he's ever made it into the Top 4.

Tobias is then shown defeating a Trainer's Magmortar with his Darkrai, winning him the Lily of the Valley Conference. Tobias is presented the Winners' Trophy by Cynthia and [[Charles Goodshow|Mr. Goodshow]] as fireworks fire off around the stadium. Later, Ash stands outside the stadium ready to get on his way when Dawn arrives and notes that although their journey together is ending soon, it feels like they've just begun. Brock then arrives and reminds them both that their journeys really are just beginning. Ash agrees, knowing he's still got a lot of work to do if he's ever going to get into the Champions League, while Dawn comments that she's got a lot to do if she's ever to become a [[Top Coordinator]]. Brock is happy to see that his friends still following their dreams, but this leaves him to wonder if he's following his own. Just then Barry turns up, telling Ash that while he might be stronger than him now, he plans to train and defeat him in their next battle. Ash laughs, and the two rivals say a final goodbye before Barry leaves, full of energy as always. And so, the gang prepare to set forth on the final leg of their journey back to [[Twinleaf Town]].