The wisps surrounding the Comfey were Josh knew all too well from how hard he had worked to purify Saber. The brief time the Manectric was a Shadow Pokémon was all too long for the Gym Leader's tastes. In his eyes, knowingly using a Pokémon whose door to its heart had been forcibly closed, with no intent to reopen that door and foster a truly symbiotic relationship, was plain wrong. Pokémon were not weapons of war. They were partners. Partners united by a common goal.

The goal he once pursued above all else was once to foster friendship with Raikou. It was a goal that not only nearly destroyed his life and his credibility, but that of an innocent girl he had spent the tail end of a horrible day with. It was only by the miracle of modern medicine and Pokémon healing that he could even continue the life he loved.

He was not squandering this chance. His focus was now squarely on what he could do. He wanted to show the League what he could do without Raikou's help. Pitching Nitro and Bladestorm into the open battleground, the Skarmory immediately took to the air, raining SPIKES on top of the defending Leaguer's side. Even if Greyson's team were to evade the initial drop, the pointed wing shards would force them to tread much more cautiously.

Nitro wouldn't give the Pokémon very much time, though; while Bladestorm spread his SPIKES, the Gogoat's muscles BULKED UP. With bulging legs, the hooved ride Pokémon reared and slammed his hooves in an EARTHQUAKE that rippled beneath the flying metal menace.

The Tinkaton's combination attack was crippling, Nitro bracing himself for impact rather than trying to dodge the attacks outright the only reason he remained standing. The golden-horned Gogoat, now trapped within a circle of boulders created by the Tinkaton's ROCK TOMB, had nowhere to run. Even if he had the room, he lacked the speed to make a charge effective, no thanks to the sore tendons aggravated by the freezing ICE HAMMER. Bladestorm was not immune, either; the rocks and ice shrapnel pelted and dented his metal armor, disrupting his flight surfaces and making both their movements possible for any trainer to follow.

With Nitro in poor shape after the onslaught and looking like he lacked the reaction time to land a stamina-sapping HORN LEECH, Josh had to order the Metal Menace to be less passive. "Bladestorm, the Comfey is the real threat! BRAVE BIRD!" If he couldn't use his speed advantage against the Elite Four directly, then perhaps he would need a little help from gravity! He also wouldn't let the ROCK TOMB go to waste; even if the beak bomb whiffed, the wake of the Steel-type's flight would cut STEALTH ROCK shards off what remained of the Tinkaton's attack. If all went according to plan, the heat-seeking projectiles would either cut into the so-called Sentinel's team directly, or harass them enough to level the playing field in terms of mobility.

The SPIKY SHIELD from the Comfey was perfectly timed, repelling the Gogoat first. The reflected force of his own HORN LEECH caused him to keel over. If that wasn't bad enough, Bladestorm kept going and crashed after likewise being repelled, the momentum of her BRAVE BIRD making her unable to stop. The BRUTAL SWING was insult to injury, adding to the momentum and sending her and into the stadium wall with a loud thud. He was down two entire Pokémon without having left a scratch on either of Greyson's.

Yet another reason why the League declined him for the Elite Four seat that would be filled by Michael Navidson .

As painful as it was, Josh had to make a rash move. There was only one way for him to unravel the Comfey's defenses. Hurling the Poké Balls containing Twilight and Fire Eyes into the center of the arena, the Absol and Salazzle took their places. The white, blade-horned quadruped stared into the Comfey's soul, aiming to distract the fairy-type with a TAUNTING and goading stance. If the fairy-type lost its cool, it would be met with a PSYCHO CUT from s distance.

Meanwhile, Fire Eyes kept as much distance from the Tinkaton as possible, whipping a FIRE LASH toward the hammer-wielding Pokémon. If that tip were to strike the steel-type in just the right spot, it would really sting.

The SHADOW STORM took Josh completely by surprise, even though it should not have. MATIAS SILPH had used a Shadow Pokémon before, and now Greyson did. As much as he disagreed with using weapons of war in regulation battles, the power they wielded was immense, leaving both of his Pokémon much worse for wear. That TAUNT was doing its job, the Comfey's anger perhaps breaking its focus and leaving her open to counterattacks. It was a window the squinting Absol was ready to pounce on, sharpening her blade and claws in a scary SWORDS DANCE. With them sharp as a katana, Twilight sliced up the ground before her, creating a ROCK SLIDE with edges so sharp that the threat was not blunt force, but cutting power. Perhaps that could help cut through, or at least ding, the hammer-wielder's thick armor.

The Tinkaton's dexterity was incredible, Josh gasping as the steel-type snatched the burning whip out of the air almost by its cracker. Unable to retract it, the Salazzle was at the metal foe's mercy for as long as her grip held. Being reeled in like a Magikarp at the end of a fishing rod, there was little Fire Eyes could do to avoid being flattened by her GIGATON HAMMER. All she could do was belch FLAMETHROWER all over the hammer-wielding foe in an effort to take the Tinkaton down with her.

Meanwhile, Josh's MEGA GLOVE glowed white with Infinity Energy. He was ready to Mega Evolve Twilight, but not until the right time. Timing was especially important. Too early, and Greyson would be able to react. Too late, and the Absol would collapse before getting the chance to assume her terrifying apex form. He grabbed Pinky's Poké Ball and hurled it toward the center of the stadium, the Shiny Sylveon looking ready to run interference for the dark-type.

Josh remembered the Decidueye from their Surface mission together at Dewford. Staring down such a tricky combatant would test his Pokémon's acuity and his own adaptability. The SPIRIT SHACKLE prompted -- no, forced -- the Absol's MEGA EVOLUTION, Josh at last raising his glove. Free of the ghostly prison after the transformation was complete, Twilight howled loudly, lunging toward the phantom archer. With a leap from below, she would raise her claw in a brutal NIGHT SLASH, looking to tear right through flesh and scratch the phantom's critical soul gem. Were she to land such an attack on the small target, the results would be catastrophic for the grass-type.

Seeing the Tinkaton wind up, Pinky pointed her feelers toward the nearly defeated enemy. Waves of MYSTICAL FIRE surged outward from them, piercing the wind from the fairy-type's mighty swing. Even if the Tinkaton were to go down from Pinky's attack, the wind was biting and icy, freezing the Sylveon's legs in place and causing her to shiver. While she could still fight with her feelers, her immobility disabled several of her attacks, including the potent Quick Attack the Leader relied on to close tight matches. One of the shakiest uses of LIGHT SCREEN followed, Josh unsure how helpful the energy-resisting veil would be against the rest of Greyson's squad.

The brutal blows that rocked Greyson's Pokémon were the turning point in their long battle; for the first time, Josh felt like he had momentum going for him. He was still trailing in the battle, having to get through more Pokémon than he had left. If he could hold on long enough, he could turn that string of hope into an iron grip on the match.

Even an attempt for the Decidueye to retreat into the ethereal is not fast enough; horrific-looking injuries covered the grass-type. It seemed the Decidueye barely held on, the gashes perhaps exposing but not touching the vessel letting the ghost materialize. With a PSYCHO CUT at range, the Mega-Evolved Pokémon looked to tear the foe up from the inside out. Timing was crucial; if the attack wasn't fast enough, the owl could simply SYNTHESIZE over the cuts.

The dark-type's exertion led it to be totally unaware of the POISON GAS enveloping both her and the frozen Sylveon. Pinky, in much worse shape, started coughing loudly from the corrosive cloud eating into what little exposed skin there was. Pushes to her brink, she attempted to locate the Salazzle's mind and detonate a PSYSHOCK on top of it. Hit or miss, the mental and physical strain proved to be too much for the fairy-type. She had fallen.

Reduced to a familiar Pokémon, Josh grinned at the Salazzle's sight. Clicking open his final Poké Ball, the ultrafast Zeraora zipped beneath the Trainer's Box, ready for a rematch against the Poison-type. They had a new trick or two for the fire-type lizard...