In the first round, the two Trainers opted for Pokémon whom they had not used thus far in the Conference.
Leaf sent out her Golem, and Alain sent out his Weavile.
The girl from Pallet Town could not have asked for a more intense match-up, and she showcased the raw power of her Golem as it fought against a very fast Pokémon with a type advantage.
She was very conscious about not letting the Ice-Type get close to Golem, and her careful endeavour changed the flow of the entire battlefield.
Eventually, her Pokémon got hold of Weavile, and she ruthlessly ordered it to start rolling out with it, which shocked her opponent.
To end things, Golem took mercy and gave the poor Ice Pokémon a devastating Iron Head, which brought the round to a close.
"Weavile is unable to battle. Golem wins the first round!"
In the second round, her opponent sent out his Metagross, and not willing to lose her Golem so early, she recalled it and sent her Arcanine into the battle.
It was not even a contest, because despite being extremely well-trained and powerful, the metallic tank was simply no match for Arcanine, who had all the advantages one could ask for.
And thanks to the damage Golem had already done to the battlefield, leaving rocky boulders scattered all over the place, Arcanine easily managed to survive Earthquake by using her Extreme Speed and leaping from one rock to another.
Her opponent had not expected this result in the second round. If Leaf had to guess, he had been hoping that his Pokémon would at least survive for the full five minutes, but it fell just a few seconds shy of it.
Leaf finally started to see some hope, but then she tensed up when Alain sent his Garchomp into the battle.
Dragons were always tricky opponents.
She took her time to think carefully before deciding on her next move.
Leaf recalled Arcanine and sent her Florges into the battle, and this became the round that ultimately decided the match for them.
Garchomp endured Florges for five minutes, but not without suffering, and Alain then quickly recalled it and sent out his Empoleon.
Leaf was forced to recall her Fairy as well, and she could not send out Arcanine or Golem against this Pokémon.
So, she had to reveal another Pokémon, and she chose to send out one that surprised her friends.
It was a Raichu. Her Pikachu had evolved.
Alain frowned at her choice, having bet on her Pangoro considering he still had Garchomp in play, but he showed no expression on his face.
He had confidence in Empoleon's ability, and his Pokémon did not let him down.
Both Pokémon failed to reach a result within the five-minute mark, and the boy from Kalos recalled Empoleon and sent his Charizard into the battle.
Leaf, knowing well that her Raichu would lose against that monstrous Charizard, decided to recall it and send out her Starmie.
Alain smirked at her choice, believing he had found his breakthrough.
Charizard and Starmie battled all-out, and the Fire Pokémon struggled against the speed and the type advantage that Starmie carried.
However, to everyone's dismay, the stubborn lizard managed to grab the Water Pokémon when it got the opportunity and used a vicious Crunch.
Afterwards, it took Starmie into the sky, and Leaf panicked a little when she realised it was about to use Sky Drop.
"Power Gem!" She called out the move she had been saving, and Alain too panicked at her command.
The gem on Starmie started to glow, and then it twisted its body and shot out a colourful beam streaked with stars at Charizard.
However, the Fire Lizard still did not let go.
Both Pokémon plummeted from the sky and crashed into the battlefield, and when the dust cleared, they were both found unconscious.
Leaf and Alain were stunned at the result, but the boy still smiled.
It was her turn to choose a Pokémon now.
Gritting her teeth, she considered Garchomp and Empoleon and realised that she was in a deadlock.
If she chose Arcanine, Florges, or even Golem, Alain would certainly send out his Empoleon to deal with them. And if she chose Raichu, he would send out his Garchomp. He could even bring back his Dragon to counter Arcanine directly.
However, she needed to take a gamble here. She needed to put all her trust in one of her Pokémon.
"Go, Fiona." She called on her Starter, and just as she had feared and expected, Alain sent his Empoleon to face her.
Leaf kept her cool throughout the round, and when Florges used her Wish and Lucky Chant, the boy from Kalos finally panicked.
And to his disbelief, Florges managed to take out his Empoleon with her final Petal Blizzard.
The cheers of the crowd echoed in both their ears, their hearts raced, and since it was Alain's turn to choose, he sent out his Garchomp again.
Leaf quickly sent her Golem into the battle, who fought to its very limits against Garchomp but ultimately failed in its quest. It did, however, manage to force the Ground Dragon to expend more of its strength.
Still unwilling to reveal her last Pokémon, she sent her Arcanine into the battle, putting all her faith in it.
She was confident she could win the round, and her Pokémon did not let her down.
It managed to defeat Garchomp after using Play Rough against it, and it ended things when it entered the state of Outrage together with the Dragon and followed it up with Close Combat.
The Fire Pokémon let out a proud howl to the sky as it stood tall before the fallen Dragon, and everyone waited to see Alain's last Pokémon.
"Go, Haxorus!" He made his choice, and the Dragon fiercely glared at Arcanine as soon as it appeared.
"I only have you to count on now, my friend."
Hearing his words, Haxorus let out a roar in a promise that it would not let him down.
Leaf's instincts were screaming at her now, and she quickly recalled Arcanine to allow it some rest.
She sent out her Raichu first and did her best to harass the Dragon with its speed.
Even though the Electric attacks were not effective against Haxorus, they were better than nothing, and she focused on Iron Tail, which landed a couple of times thanks to the Disarming Voice that her Raichu used.
However, all it took Haxorus was one Dragon Claw to end the round.
Leaf thought for a good while after the battle ended, and only one name kept coming to her mind again and again, and it was Farigiraf.
In the end, she chose to go with her biggest asset. The other options she had were Tauros, Miltank, Magnezone, Exeggutor, and Nidoqueen, but she felt that Farigiraf could handle it better than all of them.
Alain grew nervous when he saw her call out her Farigiraf. He had confidence in the Pokémon's power, but Psychic Pokémon were always unpredictable, and this one was not just Psychic but Normal-Type as well, able to unleash extremely powerful Hyper Beams alongside a variety of other moves.
His fears proved right when he saw his Pokémon caught by Grass Knot and then, to his dismay, slapped into the air by a powerful Psychic.
When it landed on the ground, Farigiraf unleashed an ear-piercing Hyper Voice.
Haxorus, however, was not about to give up, and it managed to grab the Psychic Pokémon and deliver a crushing Crunch.
However, it faltered when another Hyper Voice threatened to make its ears bleed.
Their battle raged on with both Pokémon giving their all, and both Leaf and Alain showed the audience exactly why they had managed to reach this far in the Conference.
When she finally saw the Haxorus at its limits, Leaf smiled.
"Use your Wish."
Alain felt his heart thump in his chest, and he knew he could not allow it.
"Guillotine!"
He made a ruthless decision, but Leaf gave him no chance.
Farigiraf blocked Haxorus with a Psychic as she commanded and shoved Haxorus backwards.
It successfully used Wish, but before it could act, the Dragon suddenly found hidden strength and rushed at it with a speed it could not cope with.
The Guillotine landed, and Farigiraf let out one final Hyper Voice when it heard Leaf call for it.
Both Pokémon lay on the ground, to the horror of their Trainers, but only one managed to rise again.
"Haxorus wins the Ninth Round!"
Leaf was stunned when she saw Haxorus stand, and tensed even more when she noticed Farigiraf bleeding from the result of Guillotine.
It was in immediate need of medical attention.
She quickly recalled her Pokémon, sent out Arcanine, and immediately commanded it to use Extreme Speed and circle the Dragon.
"Burn Up!" She ruthlessly called the move, even though Dragons resisted it.
However, as she had expected, Haxorus failed to endure such a devastating move and collapsed.
Her Arcanine too fell to the ground, panting heavily, having used every last ounce of its power today, but somehow, it pushed itself back onto its feet and let out a triumphant howl.
"Haxorus is unable to battle. Arcanine wins the Tenth Round!"
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our first Semi-Finalist..."
Leaf did not wait for anyone or anything as she quickly recalled her Arcanine and rushed into the tunnel, straight to Nurse Joy, who was already waiting after seeing the damage her Farigiraf had suffered.
Thankfully, the Emergency Room was present inside the Stadium, and an hour later, when Nurse Joy informed her that her Pokémon was going to be fine, she was immensely relieved.
She was not even upset when Joy told her that Farigiraf would not be available to take part in the Semi-Finals tomorrow.
Leaf just asked her to make her Pokémon better, no matter how long it would take.
"You should go get some rest." Joy suggested, noticing how restless the girl was.
"Yeah..." Leaf nodded, but instead of getting rest, she hurried towards the Eastern Lounge, where only Egnar was present now.
The Silver Conference winner was intently watching Aizen's match against Jon Dickson.
"He's scary."
She was surprised to hear him say those words about Aizen, but then she brightly smiled.
"He is."
"And so are you." Egnar looked at her and smiled as well.
Leaf blushed slightly at his words and took it as a compliment.
"Thank you."
The young man laughed at her response and appreciatively nodded his head.
"You have the Winner's Mentality, and to be a Champion, it's the most important quality you must possess." He spoke lightly. "No matter what happens in tomorrow's match against him, do not lose your confidence."
"I won't." She promised. "But this match isn't over yet. How are you so sure that he is going to win?"
"He is going to win." The young man replied with quiet confidence.
Neither of them looked away from the screen again, and her heart raced as she watched Aizen's Blastoise, Gengar, Aerodactyl, Electivire, and Scizor toy with Jon Dickson's Pokémon.
She nearly forgot to breathe when the match ended and Aizen's opponent fell to his knees, trembling and sweating with a vacant look in his eyes.
He looked traumatised...
And why would he not be?
He had not even managed to win a single round against Aizen, and he was the third favourite to win the Conference.