Ash's POV:

Max somehow managed to defeat Conway. The battle was INTENSE but his hard work paid off somehow. It was a proud feeling knowing that I had a small role in Max's change of attitude but at the same time, I had to be wary of him as he could be a potential threat to my victory path. No matter though, I've always liked battling.

"Any idea as to whom you're up against in the next match?", Dawn asked me in reply to which I shook my head.

"My PokeTab is out of charge", I told her sheepishly and she rolled her eyes at me.

"Typical, Ash! How can you forget something SO important? You're nothing without a PokeTab. It has your identity and a bunch of other stuff!!", she lectured. Then she began to browse through her PokeTab.

"Lemme guess! Is it......Harrison?", I asked her.

"Nope!", she replied.

"Is it Tobias otherwise?", I asked her with a minor glimmer of hope.

"Nah! It's Cameron!!", she told me with a huff. Another guy who had previously defeated me? I was making random guesses for fun but this was intense!! I had to beat Cameron this time at least.

"Hey, Ash!! Are you here or have you zoned out yet again?", Dawn asked me placing her hands on her hips.

"No! I'm just psyched for my battle. I really wanna take on Cameron, you know?", I told her rubbing the back of my head sheepishly.

Dawn's POV:

If there is something Ash can NEVER do, it's changing himself. A hundred years from now if he's alive, he'll still be the same battle crazy kid I've known.

Suddenly, a boy around our age came running towards Ash. He had dirty and spiky blonde hair and wore a red headband. He also had a Lucario beside him.

"Hey, Ash! Wait Up! It's me, CAMERON!!", he introduced. So that was his opponent, huh?

"Whu... Cameron? Hey there, Lucario! How are you two?", Ash greeted them.

"I'm doing GREAT!!"

"Raaa!!"

"Hey, Ash! Looks like we're gonna face each other in a other quarterfinal match, huh? Don't get your hopes up! The result is gonna be the same as last time, except I won't win by luck this time!!", he taunted. Ash simply rolled his eyes and smirked at him.

"You're not the only one who has improved, Cameron! We'll see the results tomorrow!!", he countered and the two of them began to catch up on old times and other stuff.

Meanwhile, Serena was showing Ash's Pokemon a bunch of photographs and by their reactions, those photos had some really good memories. It possibly contained pictures from Professor Oak's Summer Camp, but I wanted to confirm my suspicions.

Serena saw me and motioned me to sit near her, and I did.

"What are you doing?", I asked her.

"I'm showing Ash's Pokemon our pictures from Camp. I asked mom to PidgeyMail those pics to my PokeTab today morning. Wanna see?", she asked me and I nodded my head.

There were around 5 or 6 pictures in her tab. The first one was Ash chasing a wild Pidgey while Serena was playing with a Sandshrew.

"That's Ash's Pidgeot, you know?", Serena informed/asked me and Pidgeot nodded his head enthusiastically with his proud screech.

The next picture had Ash feeding a Starly and a Fletchling who were fighting for a piece of Pokemon food and a Bulbasaur was trying to pacify them while Serena was placing her straw hat on an excited Corsola while the third picture had Ash and Serena playing with a jubilant Tepig and a hyperactive Oshawott.

The next picture was of Ash chasing a Munchlax with his mouth full of noodles while Munchlax was running off with a plate full of snacks and a bowl of noodles, while Serena was giggling in the corner of the picture feeding a Caterpie.

The final picture was Ash and Serena saying their goodbyes. Ash had a grin on his face and was giving her his handkerchief while Serena had tears streaming down her face but she still smiled and was giving him her pink ribbon.

"Unforgettable moments, huh?", I asked her giving her a shoulder bump to which she just chuckled and nodded her head.

"These are some of my most prized possessions, Dawn. Ash was the first ever person other than mum of course, to accept me as a friend. He made me feel so comfortable at Pallet Town. We had just moved there and nobody was willing to talk to me and in order to help me for in, mum enrolled me in the Camp and that's where I met Ash and that was the first time my life went in the positive direction!!", she told me reminiscing her childhood memories.

"Yawn, yawn, yawn!! Why were you showing his Pokemon the photos?", I asked her.

"Ash has met MANY of his Pokemon before he caught them, you know?", she asked me in return partially answering my question.

"Careful, girl! You've got too much of stardust in your eyes!!", I mocked her and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"See you 4 hours later, at the war zone, Cameron!!", Ash came back giving Cameron a final taunt until he was ambushed by his Pokemon.

"Hey! Hey! Whaa.....Guys, I was just gone for an hour I guess!!", Ash told them groaning and dusting his clothes and he gave them a quizzical look.

Serena just stood on the side and showed him the photographs and gave him a sly smile.

"You showed them?", he asked her shocked and she simply nodded.

"I wanted to tell them about this after I won the tournament!!", he whined and Serena sweatdropped.

"Oh! Um.. I'm sorry, Ash! I didn't umm.... please?", Serena apologized nervously and he shrugged it off but he was still annoyed that he couldn't tell them himself.

Time Skip

Ash's POV:

Finally!! I get to redeem my lost pride by battling Cameron. I was waiting outside my end of the battlefield and as usual, the security guard gave me the mic and the doors of the battle ground opened and I saw Cameron on the other side with a confident grin on his face.

"Good luck, Ash!! You're gonna need it!", he taunted.

"HEY!! You stole my line!", I retorted grinning and he simply chuckled and shook his head while Lucario cracked a small smile.

"The Quarterfinal battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Cameron of Nimbasa City. It will be a six on six battle. Substitutions are allowed and when 3 of a trainer's Pokemon are unable to battle, a short 15 minute break will be awarded to the battlers. The winner of the battle advances to the Semifinals of the Lumiose Conference!!", the MC announced in her usual pumped up tone.

Then the referee repeated the rules the MC just said for some apparent reason but in respect we just listened to him.

Cameron went first this time releasing  Hydregion as expected.

"Let's start off with YOU, Hydregion!!", Cameron yelled.

"Emboar, I choose YOU!!", I yelled and threw out his Pokeball and Emboar emerged out and flexed his muscles giving his opponent a menacing look. Unlike the other members of his species, his biceps were as large as his forearms which owed due to his extreme training.

"Hydregion, start off with Dragon Rush!!"

"Protect yourself with Defense Mechanism!!", I yelled.

"Wait, what?", Cameron asked scratching his head.

Emboar bent down on one knee and turned around crossing his arms across his torso to prevent any aftershocks of the attacks. The thick skin of his back protected him as the Dragon Rush dealt no effective damage on Emboar who just slid on the ground due to the force of the attack. Hydregion however, was stunned for a second and I had to use the moment.

"Stun him again with a good dose of Double Hammer Arm!!"

"Jump!!! Do something to get out of the way!!"

Hydregion's second head recovered in time and dodged the first attack but since most of the weight of the body was maintained by the primary head, Hydregion took the second Hammer Arm head on and slid back and groaned lightly in agony but returned to its battle stance in defiance.

"Awesome, buddy!! Now it's our turn!! Knock the daylights out of him with Dragon Pulse!!"

"Counter that with Flamethrower!!"

Both of the attacks cancelled each other but Dragon Pulse made a minor contact with Emboar as it was faster.

"BOOOOAAAR!!!", he yelled enraged.

"Don't give him time to recover, Hydregion!! Finish him off with Tri Attack!!"

"Defense Mechanism!!"

Emboar defended the attack but it took a toll on his energy. I had to do something fast to gain the upper hand in this encounter.

"Emboar, engulf yourself in a Flare Blitz!!"

"Have you lost your mind, Ash? You're making this battle easy for me. Hydregion, Tri Attack again!!"

Just as I expected, Tri Attack was repelled by the raging Inferno and Emboar came out fully healed by the fire and blew a massive Flamethrower on Hydregion. It took the attack head on but still wobbled up into a defying stance. Man, this was a tough dragon.

"Don't give up, Hydregion!! Use Dragon Rage!!!"

"Emboar, counter it on my call!!"

He nodded and took a defensive stance. Hydregion used up lots of energy charging towards Emboar and began to tire. Now the battle had to end.

"Overheat!!", I yelled and Emboar roared before dousing Hydregion in a festival of flames. When the smoke cleared, Emboar appeared clearly out of steam but victorious while Hydregion was knocked out.

"Hydregion is unable to continue!! Emboar is the winner!!", the referee announced and the crowd roared in joy as the battle progressed.

"Return, Hydregion!! You did a great job! Take a good rest!! Samurott, time for revenge!!", Cameron yelled throwing Samurott's Pokeball.

"Wanna continue, Emboar?", I asked him and he nodded punching his fists together.

"Samurott!! He is out of steam. ATTRACT!!"

"Emboar, out of the way. Just move out of its trajectory!!", I yelled and Emboar managed to dodge it by a hair's length.

"Samurott, use Hydro Pump!!"

"Emboar, dodge it by using Flamethrower on the ground!!"

"Lift your head up!! Don't miss him, Samurott!!"

The Hydro Pump hit Emboar eventually but it him in his stomach when he was using Flamethrower so he began to spin and fell on top of Samurott after accidentally dousing her in a flurry of flames. When the dust cleared, both of them were knocked out. Emboar, due to exhaustion and Samurott due to his massive weight.

"Both the Pokemon are unable to continue! This match is a draw!!", the referee announced.

"STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! Return, Samurott!! You did what I wanted you to do, girl. I won't let your hard work go to waste!! Absol, let's get them!!"

When did Cameron get an Absol? He did t tell me about it!!

"Awesome job, Emboar!! You take a deserving rest while I clear out the path for the Semifinals!! Garchomp, I choose YOU!!"

"GAR!!GAR!!GAR!!", he yelled happily and bit my head as always but I got used to the pain so it felt ticklish whenever he did it, nowadays.

"Absol, use Psycho Cut!!"

"Counter that with Dragon Tail!!"

Both of the attacks cancelled each other as expected and Cameron began to slap his forehead with his headband.

"Garchomp, Draco Meteor!!"

"Absol, hit them back with Dark Pulse!!"

Most of the Draco Meteor balls combined into a single mass and came towards Absol who tried to hit them back with Dark Pulse. He was partially successful but the major ball hit him head on while another ball diverted towards the audience side and crashed somewhere.

Suddenly I heard an angry screech of a usual Pokemon.

"LUP!! PIPLUP!! PIP!! PIP!! PIPLIPLUPLUP!!!!", Piplup yelled from the stands.

"SORRY, PIPLUP!! Garchomp, don't waste time!! Use Dual Chop!!"

"Counter that with Psycho Cut!!"

Both of the attacks collided and the Pokemon began to wrestle until an idea struck me.

"Garchomp, turn around and look at me!!"

He turned around and his massive tail  swept Absol from his feet and sent him crashing into the nearby wall.

"Finish him off with Dragon Rush!!"

"Protect yourself by using a Dark Pulse? Wait, what? What am I blabbering? Dodge!!!", Cameron yelled confused but Garchomp had done his magic as Absol appeared clearly knocked out.

"Absol is unable to continue!! Garchomp is the winner!!", the referee announced.

"Since Cameron has lost 3 of his Pokemon, a short break will be awarded to the competitors. We will return shortly!", the referee announced as I left to enjoy my 15 minute break.

To be continued...

A/N: 1K reads!! Thank you so much for supporting me all this while. Hope this chapter was good enough!!