XY130: Difference between revisions

Alain begins the battle by commanding a {{m|Dark Pulse}} from his Tyranitar; Pikachu avoids the attack. Ash sees a strategy and has Pikachu use {{m|Iron Tail}} on the stream of water. The splash from the water clears away the {{weather|sandstorm}}, while soaking the Armor Pokémon, causing {{m|Thunderbolt}} to deal more damage. Pikachu follows up with {{m|Electro Ball}}, which is countered by a {{m|Stone Edge}} from Tyranitar, and Alain has his Pokémon smash the stones with its tail, sending a barrage of stone pieces at the Mouse Pokémon, only to be reflected back with Iron Tail. Tyranitar follows up with {{m|Crunch}}, but Pikachu uses Iron Tail; Tyranitar, however, grabs his tail in its mouth and swings it back. Pikachu retaliates with Electro Ball, and thus, causes the Armor Pokémon to faint. [[Ash's friends]] are excited at an early lead, and [[Diantha]] commends Ash on his fighting  skills since the semi-finals, something with {{an|Professor Sycamore}} seems to agree with. He then remembers his conversation with Alain, and wonders what feelings the latter is holding inside him. Meanwhile, {{TRT}} is still intent on their plan to steal the finalists' Pokémon after the battle, while [[Malva]] calls them out for the next shot.

Ash sends out his {{AP|Hawlucha}} to battle next, who uses {{m|Karate Chop}} to attack the Sharp Claw Pokémon, but Hawlucha misses every strike. Weavile successfully leads him in the water and uses Ice Beam at his feet, but the Wrestling Pokémon avoids the attack. However, the Ice Beam manages to freeze the stream of water, so that Hawlucha has difficulty walking over it. Weavile uses another Ice Beam, and Hawlucha takes the super-effective hit head on. Weavile follows up with another Night Slash, but Hawlucha blocks it; Clemont notes that Hawlucha is using the ice to reduce the damage from attacks. Weavile uses Night Slash again, knocking Hawlucha backwards, but Ash is unconcerned and claims that Hawlucha gets stronger by taking his opponent's attacks. Alain asks Weavile to use Night Slash again, but Hawlucha responds this time by flying towards the Sharp Claw Pokémon, and throwing it onto the battlefield. Hawlucha then uses {{m|Flying Press}} to successfully knock Weavile out, while inadvertently breaking off the ice as well. Serena, Clemont and [[Sawyer]] talk about the trust between Ash and his Pokémon, and [[Lysandre]] takes a note of the strength of Ash's Pokémon. Mairin shouts a cheer for Alain, as he sends out his {{p|Bisharp}} to battle, which uses {{m|Thunder Wave}} to {{status|Paralysis|paralyze}} the Wrestling Pokémon. Alain has Bisharp use {{m|Guillotine}}; Hawlucha retaliates with {{m|X-Scissor}}, and the two Pokémon collide head-on. Hawlucha tries to use {{m|High Jump Kick}} but misses, resulting in [[crash damage]], and Bisharp uses Guillotine to knock out Hawlucha. {{an|Tierno}} and {{an|Trevor}} note Alain's strength as Ash and Alain recall their Pokémon; an excited Alain remarks to himself how battling with Ash involves a lot of fun for him and makes him forget about time completely.

With only three Pokémon left per side, the battlefield goes down for changing. Clemont expresses his concern about the fate of the battle, and Trevor remarks that one little mistake can change the course of the battle. Clemont reveals to Tierno, Trevor, and {{an|Shauna}} that Ash has never managed to defeat Alain, leading Shaunto wonder about the latter's strength, but Serena asserts her own belief, stating that Ash's strength has increased a lot since [[XY116|the last time Ash and Alain battled]]. On the battlefield, Pikachu cheers on Ash, and the latter encourages Alain to have fun to the end. Alain smiles, and remarks to himself about Ash's sportsmanship. Mairin notices Alain smiling, revealing that she had never seen him smile before. Lysandre comments that the finals are about to reach the climax, and that every eye will be upon [[Lumiose City]].