Gold had a feeling that Selene wasn't going to spend her break moping and would instead spend it on regrouping. Her Kommo-o still hadn't come out and it was a major threat, given what it had done to Red's team.

Still, his planning was paying off and some of her most devastating Pokémon had been brought down. Gold could hardly believe the ground he was gaining, so he was eager to keep pushing his advantage and wrap up the fight as soon as possible.

He returned back to the battlefield and took in the new arena they'd be fighting on. The field was made up of flat stone that was decorated with numerous cracks and holes. It can't be that simple. Gold concluded and his conclusion was proven correct when a searing hot water geyser shot into the air from a hole on the field and died down a few seconds later.

"That's right everyone! We're back! And with a brand new field! Our final battle has a simple but effective gimmick, geysers! I'm sure those will go off only when it's perfectly convenient to! Now let's get into the second half of this battle!" Andy announced.

Selene sent out her Kommo-o and Gold brought out Weavile to counter it. "Weavile run in and use Ice Shard! Now use Ice Punch!" His Pokémon dashed across the field and tossed several wads of ice into Kommo-o.

The projectiles didn't seem to have much of any effect on Kommo-o but Weavile still moved to punch her in the gut. "Use Dragon Dance!" Weavile punched Kommo-o in the chest while she channeled energy through her body. "Now it's Ice Punch time!" Selene shouted.

"Block it with Night Slash!" Weavile summoned a purple blade and blocked the mighty frozen fist from his foe. The powerful punch kept pushing until Weavile was knocked off his feet and sent back. "Use Double Team!" Gold's Pokémon created numerous copies of himself and ran back in. "Now get her with Night Slash!"

The Weavile all surrounded Kommo-o with weapons in hand. "Get rid of them! They're not real!" Selene shouted and Kommo-o started to swing its limbs into the army.

Clones started to fade away but the real Weavile was standing back. Kommo-o finished sweeping the army of fakes and then noticed its target was standing nearby. "Ice Punch!" Kommo-o jumped out to strike Weavile and at that moment, the geyser right in front of Weavile exploded and launched Kommo-o into the air.

Gold grinned, another trick in the hole. "Now use Ice Punch!" Weavile threw himself into the air and slammed his fist into Kommo-o. The dragon was flung down onto the field again. "It's time to finish this! Night Slash!" Weavile drew its blade as it began to fall.

Kommo-o was still recovering from the previous attacks as Weavile neared its head with his sword. "Sky Uppercut! GO!" Selene's Pokemon suddenly snapped into action and forcefully uppercut Weavile.

The Pokémon's attack was interrupted and he soared into the air before crashing onto the field unconscious. Gold returned his Pokémon and tried to think of a new strategy on the fly.

A geyser exploded while he ran through his team members and the hot water gave him an idea. Electabuzz appeared on the field and faced down his foe.

"Use Thunder!" Electabuzz unleashed a powerful electric blast the slammed into Kommo-o. The beastly dragon shook off the blow and Gold sighed. "Thunder Punch!" Electabuzz ran in and punched his opponent in the face.

Kommo-o shrugged off the blow and Selene smiled. "Now use Sky Uppercut!" Her Pokémon predictably uppercut Electabuzz and flung him back. "Now use Ice Punch!" The dragon jumped up and its fist started to free as it fell.

Gold's mind began racing. "Dodge it and use Brick Break! Just roll out of the way!" Electabuzz rolled across the floor and swiftly got to his feet while Kommo-o crashed its fist onto the ground.

Electabuzz then slammed his hand into the back of Kommo-o's head. The blow actually managed to move Kommo-o and Gold noticed how close they were to a geyser.

Before he could execute his plan, however, Selene counterattacked. "Clanging Scales!" Kommo-o spun around and its scales generated a sound wave that blew Electabuzz away.

Gold's Pokémon managed to stay conscious but was clearly worn down. "Ok, come on Electabuzz! Just hang in there a bit longer! Use Brick Break!" His Pokémon ran in once again and Kommo-o let them approach.

This time, it would be their downfall. Electabuzz struck Kommo-o and the attack managed to knock the beast backward and over the geyser hole.

Water erupted from it and carried Kommo-o into the sky once more. "Now use Thunder!" Clouds pooled in the sky above and flew down into the airborne dragon. The electricity was amplified by the geyser water and the blow sufficiently electrocuted Kommo-o.

Finally, the dragon had been slain and crashed onto the ground unconscious. "That was insane!" Andy screamed. "This match is nuts! Battle after battle and they both keep finding new ways to one up each other! I can't wait to see how this continues!"

Selene didn't even try to hide her smile as she returned Kommo-o. "That was quite the trick, but I've still got two Pokémon left and we aren't going to give up!" She sent out Primarina and Gold decided it was time to bring Meganium out for round two. "Use Ice Beam!"

"Jump over it with Vine Whip!" Meganium slammed her vines onto the stone floor and shot into the air as Primarina sent a blast of ice across the battlefield. "Body Slam!"

Gold's started began descending from the air in Primarina's direction. "Counter with Moonblast!" Elio's Pokémon tossed a pink ball into the approaching Pokémon which knocked her out of the air.

Meganium got back up and started to run back in. "Now use Sparkling Aria!" Primarina created a ball of water that she obliterated with a shriek.

Several large drops of water started to descend in Meganium's direction. Gold waved his arm around and his Pokémon evaded the incoming projectiles with a shocking amount of grace for a quadruped. "Now Vine Whip and then Body Slam!"

Meganium's vines lashed out and smacked Primarina and then she threw her entire body into Selene's borrowed Pokémon which knocked her back. Selene grit her teeth and noticed Primarina suddenly pause. Oh no... she's paralyzed! "Ice Beam! Now!"

"Counter with Petal Blizzard!" As Primarina unleashed another blast of ice, Meganium conjured a flurry of petals around her body and sent them into the ice. The moves met each other and created an explosion that blew into both Pokémon.

Selene winced. They needed to end things and fast. "Use Moonblast multiple times!" Primarina slowly lobbed off the powerful projectiles and Meganium tried to dodge around them.

She jumped away from one but it exploded behind her and knocked the Pokémon forward. Meganium landed face first and was briefly downed. "Ice Beam!" Finally, the powerful move hit its mark while Meganium was out of it.

Gold grit his teeth and both trainers waited with bated breath to see if Meganium would be able to get back up. She slowly rose to her feet and started to glow green. "Alright! It's Overgrow time! Petal Blizzard!" The petals consumed the entire battlefield and Primarina was stunned by her paralysis, forcing her to endure the flurry.

The attack subsided and Primarina was now the one down. She pushed herself back up and started to shine with blue energy. "You're not the only one with a powerful ability! Here we go!"

"This is awesome! Use Vine Whip!" Meganium's vines lashed out across the field to hit Primarina.

Selene paused for a moment. A Sparkling Aria would be powered up, but Primarina was going down either way. And if Meganium could be weakened enough that one attack more would bring her down, that would be huge for them.

"Sorry, Elio. Looks like Primarina won't get one on the board this time." Selene said to herself. "Hyper Voice!" Primarina sent a shriek across the field before being slammed by two vines. The attack took her Pokémon down while Meganium endured the screech.

The crowd gasped as Selene returned Primarina. "And despite Torrent being in effect, Selene goes with a normal type attack that isn't able to beat Meganium! Now she's down four to one! I suppose we'll have to see what her last Pokémon is!"

But it was no secret. Selene brought out Nihilego. "Let's do this! Ready, Nihilego? Use Power Gem!"

Gold shook his head. "Petal Blizzard!" Meganium sent out another storm of projectiles as four stones approached. The stones were obliterated and Nihilego was struck by the remaining petals. "Now use Body Slam!"

Meganium began to run in once again. "Sludge Bomb! Go!" Nihilego fired several poisonous balls at the Pokémon and she was too tired to get out of the way. Finally, Meganium was beaten by the blows.

Nihilego started to glow red for a moment and then the glow subsided. Beast Boost had activated. Gold raised an eyebrow but returned Meganium and brought in his next Pokémon.

Gold called out his Heracross and ran through what he knew about Nihilego. It was one of Selene's older Pokémon and kept the same move set all the time. "Heracross, get in and use Megahorn!"

Heracross took to the skies and flew off at Nihilego. He landed a direct hit against the Ultra Beast. "Thunderbolt!"

"Tank it and use Brick Break!" Nihilego electrocuted Heracross but he shook it off and slammed his arms onto its head.

Selene closed her hands into fists. "Sludge Bomb!" Nihilego recovered from the strike and hit Heracross in the chest with a ball of poison. Gold's Pokémon was tossed into the air and Selene brought her arm up. "Now use Psychic!" Heracross was suddenly grabbed by an invisible force and thrown down into the field.

Heracross had already fought two hard battles, so Gold wasn't sure how much more abuse he could take. "Thunderbolt! Finish this!" The trainer grinned.

"Now use Megahorn, Heracross!" He commanded. Gold's Pokémon got back up and his horn started to glow. The Heracross concentrated the electricity into his horn but the power kept coming from Nihilego.

The electricity started to overwhelm Heracross and he came to a stop. The move fully consumed him and Gold's Pokémon fainted. Nihilego briefly shone red once again.

How on earth..? Nihilego's Thunderbolt is way stronger than it should be. Come to think of it, all its moves are. What's going on here? Gold couldn't figure out why Nihilego was so powerful as he returned Heracross and sent in Electabuzz.

"Electabuzz use Light Screen!" A barrier briefly appeared around his Pokémon before fading away. "Now use Thunder!" A powerful blast of electricity raced across the field and into Selene's Pokemon.

The Nihilego shuddered as it took the damage but seemed to have stamina to spare. "Sludge Bomb!" Nihilego unleashed a barrage of poisonous projectiles onto the field.

Gold wasted no time taking advantage of this. "Run in and use Thunder Punch!" His Pokémon dashed across the field. One of the poisonous projectiles struck him but the Light Screen absorbed half of the damage.

Still, it seemed to be stronger than before. Gold brushed it off as Electabuzz closed the distance and uppercut Nihilego. "Finish this with your Brick Break!"

Electabuzz raised his arm to bring it down onto the Ultra Beast but both trainer and Pokémon were interrupted by a command from Selene. "Use Psychic! Throw them over the nearest hole!"

Electabuzz was blown back by an invisible force and over a pit on the field. Water burst from the pit and carried him up and away. "Now use Thunderbolt!" In a mirroring of Electabuzz's trap, Nihilego electrocuted the airborne and soaked Pokémon.

Electabuzz crashed on the ground unconscious and Nihilego once again shone with red energy. "What is going ON?" Gold demanded as he fished out a Poké Ball. "It's like Light Screen didn't do anything!"

Selene shook her head and sighed. "See Gold, Nihilego has a special ability called Beast Boost. This raises its strongest stat every time it brings down a Pokémon. In this case, that's its Special Attack. When you told me about your strategy yesterday, I realized there was a fundamental flaw. There are a few rare Pokémon with abilities that let them gain something with each Pokémon they bring down. And now that Nihilego is nice and powered up, we're going to beat Quagsire or Espeon or Ursaring or whatever else you throw at us. Call in Ho-Oh for all I care! You've been beaten at your own game."

Gold shook his head and looked down at his final Pokémon. "That's really awesome. I never even considered that counterplay." He looked back up and sent out Quagsire. "Still, it doesn't matter. Quagsire's been with me since the very beginning, and we have a deal to go all the way. So it's time we win this!"

Both trainers and their Pokémon stared the other side down. It was time for one last battle. "Quagsire use Surf!" Gold's Pokémon threw down a ball of water and conjured a wave.

"Knock it away with Psychic!" A giant blast of force slammed into the wave and dissipated it.

That wouldn't dissuade Gold, however. "Go in and use Iron Tail!" Quagsire leaped through the collapsing wave and spun around, slamming his tail into Nihilego's head.

Quagsire backed away and Gold prepared for a counterattack. It came in the form of a barrage of Sludge Bombs. "Use Ice Punch and send them away!" Quagsire used his frozen fists to punch all of the incoming attacks away and protect himself.

Selene narrowed her eyes. "Tricky, but you can't punch these! Power Gem!" Stones ascended all around Quagsire and slammed into him.

The blows weren't enough to stop Gold's first Pokémon, though. "Keep it up! We can take it! Ice Punch! And then use Earthquake!" Quagsire leaped up and slammed his arms into Nihilego's head as he descended.

They crashed onto the ground where Quagsire dropped one of his fists onto the earth beneath them and created a powerful shockwave. Gold was sure that they had won there but while Nihilego was blown far back by the mighty move, it was somehow still standing. "Let's wrap this up! Surf on both sides!"

Quagsire fired off two separate water balls to create waves that surrounded him on both ends as he ran in. Selene shook her head as they approached. "Thunderbolt! Get rid of it all!"

Now Gold was smiling. "Shouldn't have done that! Use Iron Tail!" The waves collapsed but Quagsire was able to channel some of the electricity into his tail and he swung it at Nihilego.

Selene's expression didn't waver and Nihilego dodged to the side at the last minute. Quagsire missed completely and landed right over a geyser.

The geyser exploded and flung him into the sky. "Now let's do this! Sludge Bomb over and over again!" Selene's Pokémon held up a purple ball that fired dozens of smaller balls into Gold's Pokémon.

Quagsire was struck numerous times midair and a massive cloud of smoke concealed him briefly. He crashed onto the ground and seemed to still have some fight left in him. "Now use Psychic!" A massive wave of force rushed from Nihilego and blew into its opponent.

Quagsire tumbled back and slowly got to his feet. "Quagsire, hang in there! They're just as tired as we are! It's time to end this!" Gold assured his Pokémon. He'd said it multiple times before but this time it was impossible that it couldn't be true.

Nihilego was entirely exhausted. The Pokémon was covered in scratches and dirt from all the fighting. The attacks it had taken had been both numerous and monumental. Both trainers were about to make their final stands.

Selene held up her arm. "Here we go! Continent Crush!" Energy flowed directly from the Z-Ring on her wrist into Nihilego and stones started to fly into the sky. They combined to form a massive meteor that was held over Quagsire.

Gold had researched the technique and even watched Professor Kukui use it in his match against Red while looking for examples. They had to take it head on. "Quagsire, give it everything you've got! Use Surf to surround yourself and then use Iron Tail! Shatter the stone!"

The crowd was going insane as Quagsire created a wave and jumped into it. The water swirled around him and he shot up at the stone as it began to fall.

Quagsire moved his body so that his tail was first and channeled all of his remaining energy into it. The Pokémon clashed with the catastrophic boulder and pushed against it with all his might.

This was it, their final test to see if Gold and his Pokémon were going to go all the way. "Incredible! Quagsire is locked in a collision with Nihilego's Z-Move! It's anyone's game folks!" Andy screamed.

Quagsire and Gold seemed to make the stand as one. Pushing and pushing, willing for the stone to crack under the pressure. Nihilego just tried to hold onto consciousness as the battlefield grew more and more intense.

Finally, cracks started to form. The point of collision began to cave in as Quagsire continued to push against it. Massive fractures decorated the meteor.

The stone gave in and broke apart. As they hit the ground, the pieces exploded and kicked up an insane amount of dust. Gold shielded his eyes as the attack collapsed around his Pokémon.

The dust cleared and the shockwaves finally came to a stop. It was hard to tell at first, but standing around dozens of broken pieces of stone, was Quagsire.

Quagsire was breathing slowly and deliberately, as was Nihilego. Somehow, they were both still standing. Selene and Gold waited with bated breath to see if either would collapse.

Quagsire suddenly faltered but caught himself. Holding on to consciousness with a burning will to win, he got back to his feet and smiled at Gold.

Gold gave his Pokémon a thumbs up. "You're completely fine, buddy! Let's do this! Ice Punch!" They had done it. Quagsire had just enough stamina left to beat Nihilego.

He ran in and held his fist back as it started to freeze. Selene said nothing as Gold's Pokémon stumbled across the field. Nihilego simply floated there and waited for the inevitable.

And then, Quagsire came to a stop. The power faded from his fist. And he collapsed. Gold waited for a moment. "Quagsire? Buddy? C'mon! Get up! We have to finish this!" But Quagsire was out cold.

"It appears... Quagsire is unable to battle." Andy paused to see if Quagsire would get up, but he didn't. "Which means that Selene is the winner." The spell was broken as it finally set in on everyone that Selene had done it.

She had won. She had beaten Gold. Gold had lost.