The next day arrived and Jade stepped outside with her pokemon. There was only a little less than a week left until the Grand Festival would start. By now she had done everything she could to prepare, even having some routines in mind for the appeal rounds as well as who to pair for the battle rounds.

Still, she didn't want to just spend the rest of the time just lazing around. Sure they could ease up on the training to avoid extra stress but they still had to do something the rest of the time they had left. Something to retain all the practicing they've done up until this point.

"Morning, friend."

Jade looked over her shoulder, smiling as Niko approached her. "You're up early too?"

Niko shrugged. "I mean I did come here to help you out. How am I supposed to do that if I'm not ready when you are?"

"I guess you have a point there. Got any suggestions on what we should try and do? I think we've covered most things."

"Well there are battle rounds in the grand festival so..." Niko grinned as she pulled out a pokeball. "How about a full six on six battle between the two of us?"

'A full battle against Niko.' Jade thought. 'I don't think we've ever done that before.'

She remembered the short little training sessions they would have in Hoenn, back when Jade was first starting out as a coordinator. But now that she thought about it, they never had a serious battle before.

She supposed with no other ideas, then something like this was worth a shot. Plus now that Niko voiced that suggestion, Jade was curious just how strong she and her team were compared to her friend.

Jade eventually found herself nodding. "Alright. We can battle and see how this turns out."

Niko grinned. "Alright. I'll meet you in half an hour."

..........

Jade and Niko now stood face to face, standing in the front of the lake Milotic and Umbreon had done their training session. A fairly empty and quiet place with plenty of space for them.

"Alright, think this is the first time we've done something like this." Niko said with a grin. "I'm curious to see how this plays out."

Jade nodded in agreement, a small smile of her own forming on her face. "I feel the same way."

"Then let's not waste any more time. Let's get this show on the road... Sawsbuck, you're up first!"

'It's been a while since I've seen her pokemon.' Jade thought. 'But I can't rely on just Leafeon and Delcatty for this since they know Niko's team better. I'll have to save them for later.'

"Buneary, center stage!"

Jade's youngest pokemon soon appeared before the Sawsbuck. She looked around curiously before looking over at her trainer.

"This is going to be a tough battle, Buneary." Jade warned. "But I think you can do it. Let's find a way to get through this together alright?"

"Bun!" the Rabbit Pokemon replied before looking up at her opponent, bracing herself for the battle at hand.

"Well if you two are ready then I guess we'll go ahead and get started." Niko said. "Sawbuck use Leech Seed!"

"Buneary use Bounce to dodge!"

Seeds were planted right at Buneary's feet but before the vines emerging from the ground could reach up and wrap around her, she jumped high in the air. Guess now was more than the perfect time to discover just how strong her new move was.

Buneary crashed onto Sawsbuck, causing him to stumble back. But despite taking the attack practically head on, the Season Pokemon didn't seem that panicked. Neither was his trainer.

"Use Mega Horn."

Buneary was quickly knocked away with one swing of Sawbuck head. It was a struggle to get back up on her feet when she landed on the ground.

"Now use Double Kick." Niko said.

"Buneary, counter with your own Double Kick." Jade called out.

Buneary was only able to block the first kick before she was knocked back once more by Sawsbuck second kick. She skidded across the ground, stopping right in front of Jade's feet.

She felt her trainer kneel down from behind her. Gentle arms holding her.

"Don't forget that you're smaller than Sawsbuck so you have a bit more mobility." Jade reminded her. "I think we can find a way to get around them... but only if you think you have enough energy to keep battling. What do you say?"

Buneary smiled and nodded, slowly getting to her feet once again. This time as she stood up, Buneary was suddenly enveloped in light, the little pokemon growing taller as the light grew brighter.

'So soon?' Jade thought in surprise. 'She must've been younger than I thought if this is happening already.'

Jade stood just in time to see a Lopunny appear where her little Buneary originally stood. Still a bit scratched up from the battle but still ready to go nonetheless.

Niko smiled and pulled out her Pokedex.

"Lopunny, the Rabbit Pokemon. An extremely cautious pokemon that cloaks its body with its fluffy ear fur when it senses danger."

"Well, seems that the little cutie had a bit of a power up." the performer mused. "Let's see what she's capable of now."

As if to sate her curiosity, the newly evolved Lopunny suddenly dashed forward with an increase of speed and fists raised. Her fist landed in the middle of Sawsbuck's chest, causing him to stumble back in surprise.

As Lopunny jumped back Jade couldn't help but notice that the scratches from the beginning of the battle had disappeared. 'That was Drain Punch she just did.' 

Seemed like Niko had also figured out what the new move was as well, since she only applauded in response. "A move that damages the opponent while healing yourself. That's going to be pretty handy for something as intense as the Grand Festival."

Lopunny smiled and nodded, more than ready to continue her battle with Sawsbuck.

"One way or another, this round is coming to an end and I'm sure Sawsbuck would like his energy back. Now use Leech Seed!"

"Lopunny use Drain Punch again!"

Lopunny managed to land one last hit before Leech Seed wrapped around her leg, preventing her from jumping away. It didn't take long for the two pokemon to knock themselves out.

"Well, looks like the first round ended in a draw." Niko noted. "Let's see how the rest do against this one!"

It was then that she sent out Jellicent. There were already a few options Jade had in mind, all having a type advantage. But she would still have to tread carefully.

"Umbreon, center stage!"

When Umbreon emerged from her pokeball, she looked up at the Floating Pokemon in front of her. Never before had she seen a pokemon with such a large head. She wondered for a moment if the Jellicent was even able to move around comfortably. But the Moonlight Pokemon didn't have the chance to ask before she heard her trainer's voice from behind her, signifying that this was a battle.

"Umbreon use Dark Pulse!"

"Jellicent use Bubble!" Niko countered.

The two attacks collided. There seemed to be a bit of a struggle before Umbreon's Dark Pulse broke through and landed a direct hit on Jellicent. The water and ghost type reeled back from the blow.

"Let's not give them any time to recover. Use Shadow Ball!"

Right as Jellicent was able to recover from the first attack, the Shadow Ball hit.

'That little Umbreon is pretty quick.' Niko thought. 'Guess that's a perk of being a bit flighty.'

Though already exhausted, Jellicent shook off as much as the effects of the two attacks away before preparing for the next move.

"Jellicent, use Hidden Power!"

With the wave of her arms, little orbs of light appeared and began circling around Umbreon. Almost as if it was a tornado and slowly closing in on the dark type eeveelution. Umbreon looked around her in a panic before realizing something.

This was a little like jumping through a hoop in a way. Similar to how she jump through the hoops she made using Swift that one time. All she had to do was jump and she'd be safe.

Before Hidden Power could even have the chance to graze her, Umbreon used Quick Attack to launch herself in the air. Wait, Jade didn't call out an attack for her to use. Was she supposed to do this?

Umbreon glanced over her shoulder only to see a surprised look from her trainer. But it didn't seem that she was angry. Matter of fact Umbreon could've sworn that she saw a smile forming on Jade's face.

She wasn't mad. She was impressed.

'She's pretty good at evasion.' Jade thought. 'We can use that to our advantage.'

"Use Dark Pulse!"

Umbreon couldn't help but smile back as she nodded. One final move was all it took for Jellicent to go down. The Moonlight Pokemon landed on her feet as Niko returned her exhausted pokemon.

"Hm, not bad. You're pretty good when you're not letting your fear take hold." Niko praised the eeveelution. "Let's see if we can test out that speed of yours."

It was then that Swellow was released, instantly taking flight as soon as he appeared. Umbreon looked up as the flying type began to circle high above her head.

"Swellow use Aerial Ace!"

"Umbreon use Swift!"

Swellow seemed to just barrel through the Swift as he dived towards Umbreon. It was hard to tell whether or not the attack was actually having some sort of effect. Just as quickly as Swellow approached, Umbreon was knocked back by aerial ace. She was only able to get up on her feet before she was knocked down again.

Jade tensed as she saw Umbreon repeatedly get knock off her feet by Swellow's barrage. 'There has to be something that we can do.'

But there was only one idea that came to mind. She wasn't sure if it would really help but it was better than nothing. "Umbreon use Iron Tail!"

Right as Swellow was going to ram into Umbreon once more, she swung her body as she used Iron Tail. Though it did help block some of the force of Aerial Ace, the small collision sent both pokemon flying back.

And only Swellow was the one out of the two that recovered from the collision. Jade wished her defeated pokemon a well deserved rest before coming up with an idea to deal with this round. Maybe it was a bit early to send this one out but considering all the other pokemon her friend had, doing this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

"Delcatty, center stage!"

Jade's second partner leapt into action, more confident than ever. She could easily keep all the little Taillow in line when they were still working at the DayCare. Dealing with one of its evolutions wouldn't be too hard.

Two attacks were called out almost immediately.

"Swellow use Double Team!"

"Delcatty use Blizzard!"

Swellow's dopplegangers disappeared just as quickly as they appeared. As the Swallow Pokemon danced in the air, Delcatty's Blizzard was close behind. Due to the surrounding cold, frost began to build up on the tip of Swellow's left wing, the frost then turning into ice. Before he knew it, Swellow was slowly descending to the ground against his will.

Delcatty couldn't help but smirk as the flying type began to fall. Now it was going to be a much easier target with his best skill being more of a challenge.

"Now use Hyper Voice!"

Right before Swellow landed on the ground, Delcatty took a breath and used Hyper Voice. The sound waves knocked Swellow back. When he landed, he was unable to battle.

'Should've expected something like that from one of Jade's aces.' Niko thought. 'But now who do I send out do deal with her?'

It was then that one Pokemon came to mind. In a straight battle it would be about even but there was one move that could possibly turn things in her favor.

Jade

Leafeon (Ability: Leaf Guard) Leaf Blade, Magical Leaf, Nature Power, Grass Whistle

Delcatty (Ability: Cute Charm) Attract, Shadow Ball, Blizzard, Hyper Voice

Mismagius (Ability: Levitate) Psychic, Perish Song, Hex, Confuse Ray

Umbreon (Ability: Synchronize) Dark Pulse, Swift, Shadow Ball, Iron Tail

Garchomp (Ability: Sand Veil) Dragon Claw, Power Gem, Bulldoze, Stone Edge

Lopunny (Ability: Run Away) Double Kick, Quick Attack, Bounce, Drain Punch

Rhyme

Prinplup (Ability: Torrent) Bubble Beam, Peck, Metal Claw, Pound

Plusle (Ability: Plus) Helping Hand, Nuzzle, Quick Attack, Spark

Minun (Ability: Minus) Helping Hand, Nuzzle, Quick Attack, Spark

Niko

Sylveon (Ability: Pixilate) Moonblast, Fairy Wind, Misty Terrain, Swift

Arcanine (Ability: Flash Fire) Fire Fang, Extreme Speed, Flame Wheel, Roar

Dragalge (Ability: Poison Point) Dragon Pulse, Poison Tail, Sludge Bomb, Hydro Pump

Swellow (Ability: Guts) Brave Bird, Double Team, Air Slash, Aerial Ace

Jellicent (Ability: Water Absorb) Bubble, Night Shade, Shadow Ball, Hidden Power

Sawsbuck (Ability: Chlorophyll) Megahorn, Leech Seed, Double Kick, Aromatherapy