Author's Note: Before I get complaints about this, yes Pikachu did use more than 4 moves in this battle. Well, according to Mightyena's Shadow, the author of Battles of the Past, he stated that they wouldn't just randomly forget a move, like that, so that's why Pikachu was using five moves in this battle.

---

After intermission was over, Ash, once again, stood in his box eyeing the opponent that stood across from him. Although Ash was behind right now, he still didn't look fazed by his current situation. It didn't shock Trevor in the slightest.

They were the best trainers, of their generation, to come from Kanto and Ash respected Trevor as both a friend and rival. However, he was here to win, not revisiting the past.

"You ready for round two?" Ash questioned the trainer across from him.

"Yeah! Show me what you got!" Trevor responded back.

Ash turned to his loyal mouse Pokémon, who was standing by its trainer and then bends down, on one knee, to meet Pikachu's eye level.

"Ready, buddy?" Ash asked Pikachu, who nodded back in response.

Ash also nodded, as he lifted himself off from the ground, before sending Pikachu into battle.

"Pikachu, I choose you!"

Pikachu gave a chirp, before leaping onto the battlefield. He crouched low, while sparks were flying in anticipation, for the upcoming battle.

Trevor grinned while looking at the mouse Pokémon that Ash started his journey with.

Pikachu seemed to really want that rematch against my Charizard. However, that won't happen! He thought as he unclipped a Pokéball from his belt.

"You're up, Empoleon!" Trevor called out as he threw his Pokéball into the air to reveal his fourth Pokémon.

When the light, from the Pokéball, vanished, a large, navy blue, penguin-like Pokémon was now standing before its trainer. It had a wide, yellow beak with three pointed horns that form a trident-shaped crest and small, blue eyes. There's a blue marking, resembling a crown, over its eyes and a white, lacy marking running down its chest. A blue, fin-like projection forms a collar, around its throat, and runs down the length of its chest and belly. On its back, there are two raised, gold bumps and a second bluefin that forms its tail. It was wide, flipper-like wings, rimmed with blue, along the tips, and three golden claws. Its yellow feet were webbed with three toes each. As soon as the emperor Pokémon appeared, it got into a battle stance.

Ash and Pikachu were surprised that they weren't facing off against his Charizard in this round.

"Huh? No Charizard?" Ash asked puzzled about why Trevor didn't send out Charizard, to continue battling.

"I'm saving Charizard, for later," Trevor responded to the masked trainer while motioning him to make the first attack.

"Alright then," Ash said, before calling out the first attack, to start the second half of the match. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Empoleon, use Steel Wing on the ground!" Trevor countered.

Both of Empoleon's wings glow white and one of them hit the ground, while the other was pointing upward to the sky. Pikachu released a powerful bolt of yellow electricity, from its body, and launched it towards the motionless water type. Despite a type advantage, Empoleon didn't seem to be taking damage from the electric attack.

Ash immediately knew why. He noticed the Steel Wing was acting as a lightning rod, similar to how Winona, Gym Leader of Fortree City's Gym, did it with her Pelipper when it went up against Pikachu during that gym battle.

"Pikachu, stop your attack! It isn't doing anything to Empoleon!" Ash commanded as the mouse Pokémon heard and immediately stopped its attack.

The emperor Pokémon, standing in front of Pikachu, smirked at the electric type, as it lifted its wing up from the ground. The mouse Pokémon didn't flinch at all towards the water and steel type.

"Good work, Empoleon!" Trevor complimented his water Pokémon, as he's about to call out the next attack. Now, Hydro Cannon!"

"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" Ash countered.

Pikachu began running at a fast speed, towards the emperor Pokémon, while a white trail is forming behind it.

Empoleon opened its beak and a blue flash of light appeared, in front of it. Then, a glowing light blue ball of water appeared, in front of Empoleon's beak, where the flash was, and then, Empoleon fired it towards the incoming mouse Pokémon. But only for it to be dodged by Pikachu, as it jumped over the blue ball of water through using the speed gathered in the Quick Attack, before continuing charging towards the defenseless water Pokémon.

"Alright, now Volt Tackle!" Ash yelled.

With that command, Pikachu continued running towards Empoleon, with the increased speed from the Quick Attack. Suddenly, the mouse Pokémon's body became surrounded by golden electricity, and it tackles the penguin Pokémon, causing it to let out a cry of pain, as it falls over and landed on its back.

"Empoleon! You alright? Can you still battle?" Trevor asked his fallen Pokémon, as it struggles to get back up from the ground.

Trevor grunted with frustration, while his thoughts began to race, as he gazed towards Pikachu. Ash's Pikachu has gotten a lot stronger than what I had originally thought.

Trevor then grinned, before continuing his thought. It should be interesting to see how it'll do against Charizard later on in the match.

Trevor escaped from his thoughts, as he noticed Empoleon getting up, but is breathing heavily. 

One more attack and Empoleon would go down. Well, better make this next attack count then! He thought as he planned out his next attack.

"Empoleon, use Rock Tomb!" Trevor shouted out.

Empoleon followed through the command, as its body became outlined in white energy. As it raises its head, multiple gray rocks, outlined in white energy, then form around its head in the shape of a ring. The glow, around the emperor Pokémon, then fades, causing the rocks to fall down upon the mouse Pokémon, who calmly stood there.

Big mistake there, Trevor. Ash thought as he knew how to counter their Rock Tomb. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail to climb that Rock Tomb!"

"What?!" Trevor said as he was shocked by Ash's move. 

He then witnessed Pikachu using its tail, as it glows white, to jump on and avoid being hit by the falling rock. This caused Trevor to suddenly remember that this countermove was the same one that Ash used in his Gym Battle against Grant, during his Kalos Journey. Empoleon was too stunned to notice Pikachu, up in the air, as Ash called out its next attack.

"Now, Pikachu! Thunder!"

Suddenly, from the sky, came a large bolt of thunder that struck down and hit the Sinnoh Pokémon. Empoleon cried out in pain, as the image of the emperor Pokémon vanished in the yellow lightning.

When the attack finally died down, the penguin Pokémon could be seen smoldering. Empoleon gave a groan, as it fell to its knees, and then, to its side. When it hit the ground, it was obvious that it wasn't getting up.

Trevor stood there, while looking at his knocked out Pokémon, shunned, yet amazed by the display of power within that Thunder attack.

"That power...I've never seen anything like it before." He stated, as he gazed towards the mouse Pokémon, who fired that electric attack that knocked out his Pokémon. He grinned at it, while he was deep in his thoughts. I should have expected 'Rock Tomb Climb', before calling out that attack. I won't make that mistake again!

---

The group heard a whistle and turned to see Drake, smiling in his seat, with his arms crossing his chest. He laughed as he turned back to Wallace. "I told you that Aaron would put on a show for us. Didn't I?"

Wallace nodded his head, before turning to the leader of the Orange Crew. "That you did Drake. It doesn't even surprise me anymore. After seeing what Aaron did to Paul yesterday, that little performance, just now, didn't seem so shocking. Still, it's bewildering to see how much power that Pikachu has stored up in its body. I've never seen such a Thunder attack, like that, before."

"What do you think could possibly make Aaron flip a switch and finally show off his Pokémon's true abilities?" Brock asked. "It was clear that just by looking at his Pikachu and noticed how strong it was. It has a healthy shine to its fur and its pouches let out small sparks, every now and then, but why show it now in the Semifinals?"

"Because he wants to put Sakaki in his place," Cynthia responded.

"What do you mean by that?" Bonnie interjected.

"Why don't you ask him? He seems to know all the answers," Cynthia said while motioning to the smirking Lance. Lance was again standing in the back, of the elite suite, with his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

He shrugged his shoulders while maintaining his smile. "If you're asking my opinion, then I think he's making a statement to his upcoming opponent, for the next round. Sakaki had clearly tried to intimidate him with his earlier performance against Tobias, and now, I think we're witnessing Aaron's response."

"Oh. Is that all?" Cynthia said, while still glaring at the Kanto and Johto champion, before sighing and turning back to the battlefield below.

The rest of the group, including the champions, shivered at the tension between the two powerful trainers. It was clear that they were both becoming aggravated with each other.