The two Pokémon clashed: fist on claw. The large, draconic beast dug its claw into the arm of the blue canine-like Pokémon. Lucario grunted in pain as the claw cut his skin. He countered with a few well delivered punches to the gut of the Garchomp.

"You can do this, Lucario!" A young, white haired man cheered.

"Don't give in, Garchomp!" The man's opponent, a tall blonde haired woman, yelled.

Both Pokémon jumped backwards to stand with their trainers. The stadium erupted into cheers as the two powerful trainers faced off.

"Aura Sphere!" The man commanded, a stupid grin on his face.

Lucario held up a paw and a sphere of blue energy formed, growing in size and power until it was the size of a basketball. Lucario blasted Garchomp with the Aura Sphere, sending it flying into the stadium wall.

"You are as strong as ever, Hikaru," the blonde haired woman said, "but this battle isn't even close to over!"

"Thanks, Cynthia!" Hikaru grinned, "it means a lot coming from you!"

Garchomp got back up onto her feet, shaking off the rubble.

"Garchomp, use Brick Break!"

Garchomp launched forward, her claw glowing. She brought the claw down onto Lucario.

"Lucario!" Hikaru's voice echoed throughout the stadium.

Lucario grabbed onto Garchomp's claw, stopping the attack. Garchomp pushed forward making her claw inch towards Lucario's face. Sweat popped up on Lucario's face as he struggled to stop the Brick Break.

Kaitlyn grinned as she watched the battle unfold on the screen. The glow of the tv illuminated her excited face. Sitting around her were her cousins and siblings.

"I think Hikaru is going to win," Kaitlyn's older brother, Charles, commented.

"No way! Cynthia has totally got this!" Replied Kaitlyn's cousin, Lucy.

"I don't think neither will win," Kaitlyn's younger brother, Zack, piped up, "I believe they will stalemate each other until the timer goes off. It is only a mock battle after all."

"I don't care who wins. This is still an awesome battle!" Kaitlyn added.

The claw edged closer despite Lucario's effort to stop it. Even though the situation looked grim, Hikaru maintained a giant grin on his face.

"Lucario I think it's time to turn this around!"

Lucario grunted in agreement before sending a concentrated blast of aura through Garchomp's claw, snapping it like a twig. The audience roared in excitement.

"Follow up with Ice Punch!"

Lucario surrounded his fist with icy energy and slammed it into Garchomp's stomach. Garchomp coughed as all of the air was knocked out of her but she stood her ground.

"Flamethrower!"

Garchomp opened her mouth and out blasted a torrent of white-hot flames. Lucario was consumed by the inferno.

Lucario launches himself backwards to escape the flames. The Aura Pokémon's chest heaved as it tried to regain the oxygen stolen from the fire. His fur was scorched and he had sustained a lot of damage.

"Five minutes remaining for the mock battle!" The announcer announced to the crowd.

"Damn," Hikaru said, his smile fading a bit, "I was having fun. Well, Lucario, let's finish this!"

Lucario nodded in agreement to his trainer's words.

"Lucario, Max Aura!"

Intense blue energy flared up around Lucario's body. The crowd and referee cowered before the pressure coming from Lucario. Cynthia and Hikaru were the only ones unfazed.

"I should've expected this sooner or later," Cynthia smiled, "show us how strong you've gotten!"

"You asked for it! Lucario, you know what to do!"

Lucario rushed forward with blinding speed and hit Garchomp with a series of blows. Each punch landed ended in a miniature explosion of Aura.

"Counter with Brick Break!"

Garchomp met each of Lucario's blows with a Brick Break, this time using its wings because of the broken claw. The two Sinnoh Pokémon hit each other with devastating attacks but it was clear that Lucario was dealing out more damage. Garchomp went for an uppercut but Lucario used it to launch himself upwards.

"Lucario, Aura Battle-Axe!"

"Garchomp, counter with Dragon Rush!"

Aura gathered in Lucario's leg as he brought it down for a drop kick. Garchomp surrounded herself with energy shaped like a skeletal dragon as she launched herself towards Lucario. The two fearsome attacks met in a clash that shook the battlefield.

"And time is up! This mock battle is over!" The announce yelled to the audience.

The two opposing Pokémon landed on the battlefield. Lucario put most of his weight on his left foot as his right was injured. Garchomp was sporting many injuries across her body and was struggling to remain upright.

The two trainers walked across the battlefield and shook hands.

"You've gotten much much stronger, Hikaru. Despite it being a mock battle, that was the most fun I've had in awhile," Cynthia said, her eyes still twinkling with excitement from the battle.

"Thanks! I feel the same way! Let's battle again sometime!" Hikaru grinned at Cynthia, excitement and admiration glinting in his gold eyes.

"That battle was so awesome!" Kaitlyn gushed.

"It was alright," Charles said, getting up from the couch, "but now I'm going to go train with Zweilous."

"You'll still be the weakest trainer of the clans," Lucy teased.

"Shut up! I could still beat you," Charles grumbled.

"Oh yeah? Let's battle then!"

"Yeah let's so I can kick your ass!"

"Language, Charles," Kaitlyn's mom chided.

"Sorry, Ma."

Kaitlyn giggled at what had just transpired. She loved her brother and cousin but it was just so fun to watch them fight.

"I can't wait until next year so I can go out and beat the rest of the clans!" Kaitlyn said excitedly.

"Be careful. That Darius from the Garchomp Clan is very determined to beat us," Kaitlyn's mom warned.

"I can handle him!" Kaitlyn said, dismissing her mother's warning.

"He will make a formidable rival. Just don't come crying home if he beats you," Lucy chimed in.

"You may not be strong enough," Charles added.

"He'll be the one crying after I'm through with him!" Kaitlyn was beginning to get frustrated at her family for treating her like a baby. She was already twelve!

"Ah screw this I'm going to bed," Kaitlyn grumbled before stomping up the stairs to her room. Kaitlyn collapsed on her bed where her Deino was laying.

Kaitlyn stared up at her ceiling, her insecurities eating at her. Maybe Charles and Lucy were right. Maybe she was too weak to beat Darius and the rest of the clans. Deep down she knew they were just teasing her but she couldn't help wondering if what they said was true. Just thinking about it made her mad!

Deino lightly head butted her arm, snapping her out of her thoughts. She pulled Deino against her body and hugged him tight. She could tell that Deino had confidence in her.

"You're right as always Deino," Kaitlyn sighed, "I need to stop over worrying. I'll show them I can be the strongest trainer of the 8 clans... no, I'll go beyond the eight clans and be the strongest trainer in Silvcus! Just you watch me!"