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Reinterpretation of Pokemon White

SPECIAL INSTALLMENT:

Hey there, everyone! Ria here!

I'm sure everyone is checking out this post hoping for some exciting battles, some of my killer wisecracks, and just me and, of course, my Pokemon generally being awesome, but for this side-installment, I'm gonna be playing Pokemon Professor, and talk about what I think is one of the more complex aspects in my tale that I never really got into specifics about, and try to make it a little less complex, namely Pokemon attacks and energy.

One thing you might have noticed is that Pokemon and attack types alike are color-coded. I'm sure the regular readers have committed these colors and their corresponding types to memory, but for the rest of you, I'll try to be helpful and put it all in one place:

Normal: White
Fire: Red
Water: Blue
Grass: Green
Electric: Yellow
Ice: Light-blue
Rock: Gray
Steel: Silver
Flying: Sky-blue
Fighting: Reddish-brown
Dark: Black
Poison: Purple
Ghost: Dark-purple
Psychic: Pink
Bug: Light-green
Ground: Brown
Dragon: Dark-blue

The centers of Pokeballs take on these colors, depending on what type of Pokemon calls them home. Now, in the case of attacks, Pokemon channel energy of those colors, depending on what kind of move is being used. The point? Well, let's use the Pokemon, Dragonite, as an example:

Two of the moves Dragonite is capable of performing are Slam and Dragon Tail, now for what kind of moves those are:

Slam (normal-type): A Pokemon slams its opponent with its tail.
Dragon Tail (dragon-type): A Pokemon slams its opponent with its tail.

Notice how those two attacks are basically the same move? The difference, however, are the attack types. Since Dragon Tail has dragon-type energy backing it up, it affects certain Pokemon differently than it would if Dragonite were using Slam, and vice-versa. As such, if Dragonite were channeling normal energy dragon energy through its tail, it would be using Slam instead of Dragon Tail (Pokemon, being naturally combative, always channel certain types of energy into their attacks, unless they're essentially spent on energy and can use nothing except their desperation attack, Struggle, which is typeless. By that logic, humans, lacking the energy Pokemon use, are essentially typeless).

Attacks are not as clear-cut as just using colored energy of different types, however. For example, fire-type attacks use actual flames instead of fire-type energy and electric-type attacks use actual electricity.

In other cases, attacks differ, depending on the Pokemon using them. For example, Cinccino's version of the Bullet Seed and Rock Blast attacks are firing a bunch of shots made up of grass-type energy and rock-type energy, respectively. If the same moves were coming from a grass-type or rock-type, however, they would fire off actual high-velocity seeds or rocks, which are generally more powerful (think of it along the lines of that thing a lot of you like to call 'STAB').

Another thing to bring up as an example: most water-type attacks, with some exceptions (ie. Razor Shell), use actual water, but due to the water-type energy behind them, it affects fire-type Pokemon far more potently than water from say, a river, does. It's true that if the flame on a Charmander/Charmeleon/Charizard's tail goes out, it dies, but that's not as simply accomplished as leaving one out in the rain or even dunking one in water, despite popular opinion (though that's still a very cruel thing to do). Since those flames are a direct part of their being, as long as those Pokemon have the strength to keep going, the flames keep burning, regardless of the environment; yes, even if submerged. This means, even though Magmortar is weak to water-type attacks, if I ended up sending him out in that river to fight off those Basculin, he would have survived it, albeit being extremely uncomfortable doing so and probably being a lousy swimmer, not that I'd ever tested it.

Well, that's about all I can think to say. I hope you found my little lecture to be enlightening and that you're looking forward to what's to come!
 
I would certainly look forward to a reinterpretation, if it's going to be the same quality as this :p But, you're not obliged to do it of course. I would like to see a continuation of that other story you posted, that looked promising too.
 
With the time I've spent stalking this thread, you'd think that I should at least give some notice of how completely and utterly epic this is... This entire story has blown me away, right from the very begining. The characters are well written and have great motivations for carrying on each of their respective journeys ('specially love Cheren's motivation. Far better than what's given in the actual game). N is pulled of wonderfully too, with all his little quirks and his hesitations.

I could go on forever here, I swear. Anyway, the last chapter with Ghetsis was something I wasn't expecting at all, but it fits in so well and makes me desperate to know exactly how this is going to end.

Keep up the brilliant work!
 
The night goes by, as well as most of the morning, and the whole time, I don't get any sleep at all.

The night goes by with me tossing and turning, and I spend the morning laying spread Braviary in my bed, among nearly a hundred other beds at the top floor of the Opelucid Pokemon Center, staring at the clear dome ceiling, watching the rain pound on it and listening to the sound. It's pretty comforting, actually, though the dreary weather isn't improving my mood at all.

I guess part of my lack of sleep can be attributed to the fact that I got almost a whole day of it prior while I was being patched up from Bisharp's brutal attack on me, but on the other hand, I just can't stop thinking.

The Zekrock, Unova's only hope, is probably somewhere in that massive castle that burst out of the ground after N beat Alder. However, finding it would be like looking for a needle in a barn of haystacks, and it's Team Plasma central to top that all off, which means virtually every single member of Team Plasma's gonna try to stop me, and even with my Pokemon as strong as they are, I doubt they can handle those numbers... And that's assuming the Zekrock is even in that castle! For all I know, Ghetsis could have just flown his Hydreigon over the ocean, and dumped it into some deep and remote part of it, where it'll never be found!

Part of me is chastising myself for being so pessimistic about battling N. I mean, don't I believe in my Pokemon? Well, yeah, I do, but I'm also aware of our limits, and I seriously doubt our chances of beating a Pokemon that beat Alder without breaking a sweat.

Dammit, this is just hopeless! Well, I might as well try to get something accomplished and head to Opelucid Gym. What the heck? I dunno what else to do.

---

With my appetite still not what it should be, I grab a small brunch, then head out into the rainy city.

Overall, Opelucid City definitely looks like the historical city it is. Many of the buildings look like they'd been around for at least a hundred years, and it isn't hard to imagine this place like it would have looked back in the olden days. However, this is hardly the extent of its development, as off in the distance, there are some ultramodern skyscrapers, so even though I'm obviously in the old part of town, there's clearly a much newer part being made. It seems, overall, this city has a fairly schizophrenic layout.

Outside the Center, I wait for a bus, and from there, it's only a ten minute ride to the general area of Opelucid Gym.

The area I'm brought to is the city square, and at the far end of the area is a large stone building, which I wouldn't be surprised if it were some kinda temple once upon a time. Above the entrance, etched into the stone, are the words, 'Opelucid City Hall.' Right next to those words, clearly a much more recent addition, is the Pokemon League insignia, which clearly means it doubles up as Opelucid Gym. I'm not surprised; I do recall being told that Drayden's other job is mayor of Opelucid City.

Sure enough, on a sign next to the stairs leading up to the door, it says, 'Opelucid Gym, Leader: Drayden, The Spartan Mayor; Vice-Leader: Iris, The Girl Who Knows the Hearts of Dragons.' I dunno what 'Spartan' means, but this is definitely the place.

I walk into a massive lobby, and I notice that on the walls to my left and right, there's a list of victorious challengers carved into giant marble slabs.

To the right wall, advancing to the left, is a list under the heading, 'IRIS.' The list is very long, but out of them, only a few of the names have an '(8)' at the end. Toward the end of the list is 'Cheren (7).' Huh. I guess yesterday or so he beat Iris. He's probably in Iccirus City now, preparing to battle Brycen for his final badge. About seventy names earlier on this list is 'Bianca (3).'

On the left wall, advancing to the right, is a list under the heading, 'DRAYDEN.' Unlike Iris's massive list, however, the are only about eighty names, a hundred tops, and each one, sans some of the earliest names, has an '(8).' I'm not surprised to see that the most recent name on that list is 'N (8).'

At the back of the lobby, there's a woman at a desk, and two doorways to either side of her. I walk over, and say, “Excuse me? I'm here to challenge the Gym. Where should I go?”

The lady, too engrossed in the romance novel she's reading (written by someone named 'Shauntal,' I notice, who I know is a member of the Unova Elite Four, who makes a secondary living as a B-list author), wordlessly gestures toward the right doorway. Real professional.

I go through the door to a narrow winding passageway which progresses at a downward slant, leading further and further below ground level.

The room I eventually emerge into after two minutes is simply impressive. The setup is very similar to the battlefield at Lenora's Gym, minus the sinking bookshelves, being the size of a school gymnasium, and supported by eight pillars, though the ones here are made of granite instead of marble, and the ceiling is a bit higher. The most distinguishing aspect, however is a giant fixture hanging at the top of the room by six thin cables of two serpentine dragons, one gold and one silver.

While my gaze is still on the fixture, a high-pitched, oh-so-familiar voice yells out to me from several feet away, “Well, well! So you've arrived at last, Miss Smart-mouth! I was wondering when you'd show up!”

“Hiya, Iris!” I say, as if I'm greeting someone more pleasant, “I found out Cheren was here recently. How badly did you lose?”

Iris blushes and her eyes turn slightly away from me, “It... was a very close battle...” Somehow, I doubt she's telling the truth, “Anyway, he got lucky, that's all! It's not gonna go the same way for you! Let's battle!”

I give Iris a clear view of the badges on my vest, “As much as I'm sure my Pokemon are gonna enjoy giving yours an embarrassing beatdown, Iris, my business today is with Mr. Mayor, so be a little sweetie and get him for me.”

Predictably, Iris shoots me a dirty look, but then her expression turns into an almost malevolent smirk, “Sure thing, Miss Smart-mouth! Mr. Drayden's gonna totally destroy you, and I'm gonna love watching every second of it!”

“All the more reason to win,” I say, “Just get him.”

“Okay!” Iris pulls a Xtransceiver out of a pocket on her skirt and enters a frequency. There are two tones, and then a gruff voice on the other end, sounding pretty upset, demands, “What is it, Iris? I'm in the middle of a meeting!”

Looking and sounding pretty nervous, as opposed to her cocky attitude from a few seconds ago, Iris responds, “Um... You've got a challenger, Mr. Dray--”

Drayden cuts in loud and sharp, “How many times have I told you to stop calling me that? I'm your father, so you will address me as one, you ingrate!”

“S-sorry, daddy...”

Wow... talk about parenting. I guess I'm starting to get how Drayden can handle having a daughter like Iris...

“So, you said I have a challenger?”

“Yes... She has seven badges. Her name is Miss Smar--” Iris stops short and looks at me, “Um, what's your name?”

I roll my eyes, “Ria.”

“Ria.”

“Hmph, I see. Okay. I will be down in a couple minutes.” The transmission ends.

Wow... I wasn't talking to him... Heck, I didn't even see him and he sounded like a total hardass. I'm starting to wish I provoked Iris into battling me...

Cedric told me to talk to Drayden about Zekrom, and what I could do to awaken him. But since I don't have the Zekrock, should I? Is there a point in asking anymore?

As I consider the situation, Iris is just standing there, smirking at me, and running her thumb across her neck. I decide to ignore her, annoying and difficult as it is. Getting angry isn't gonna improve her attitude, only beating Drayden.

Three long minutes pass, and finally, a pair of double-doors on the other side of the room open and out walks a man dressed in a tailored white shirt and light purple suspenders (though he makes it look kinda cool, with the little golden spikes at the shoulders). I can only assume this official-looking dude is Drayden, and... wow.

Considering his unquestionably stressful lifestyle, I was wondering what Mayor Leader would look like. By that logic, the first thing I notice about him is that he still has a full head of white hair. I can't quite put my finger on how old he is exactly, though he's definitely well above fifty, but considering how fit he looks, with a pair of beefy forearms, I wouldn't be surprised if he manages to outlive even me. He has piercing silver eyes, and, most noticeably, a beard covering most of his face, including his mouth, which comes out to several sharp points. Since I can't see his face very well, it's hard to tell what expression he's wearing. As I was expecting before, just from hearing his voice, he's a pretty imposing sight. The man walks across the room and up to me, his large arms folded in front of him.

“Hi, I'm Ria,” I say, wanting to add a 'I come in peace,' but keep it to myself, “Um... are you Drayden?”

“That I am. So you're this 'Ria' I heard about. Professor Juniper called, telling me you were on your way. I was expecting you two days ago, so I can't say I'm impressed by your punctuality...”

Suppressing an urge to talk back, I respond, “Um, about what Cedric (or so I assume who Drayden meant when he said 'Professor Juniper') said, I'd actually run into a bit of a snag, and...”

Drayden cuts me off with a gesture, “Seeing as that N character had become the Champion, there is no point in discussing the matter further, until you beat me in battle. After all, without the Legend Badge, you aren't going to get that far.”

Iris chimes in, “What are you two talking ab--?”

Drayden cuts Iris off with another gesture, “Nothing you need to concern yourself with for now, Iris. For now, just stand back and watch our battle. Maybe if you pay attention, you'll become a better trainer, and I can safely proclaim you a full Gym Leader sooner, rather than later, and have one less duty to worry about.”

“Okay...” Iris says humbly.

“Alright,” I say, “Let's do it.”

“I have a meeting to get back to, so let's make this quick,” says Drayden, “It will be a seven-badge battle, of course. However, our battle will be split into separate matches, one-on-one each, best two out of three wins. Do you accept, challenger?”

“Okay, fine.”

“Very well, then. You wouldn't have had a choice in the matter, anyway...” Drayden walks to the far end of the room, with Iris close behind him. When he takes his place on the field, he calls over to me, “Have you made your choice?”

“Yeah,” I answer. I made my decision almost as soon as I entered the room. Dragon-types are weak to ice-type attacks, and Absol knows Ice Beam.

“Then let's begin!” Drayden roars.

“Let's do this, Absol!”

“Crush them, Dragonite!” I send out Absol while Drayden sends out a Dragonite. Okay, I know this one from when Iris was in Castelia City; It's a dragon/flying-type. I know it's not that Legendary Pokemon Professor Juniper was talking about, not that I wasn't expecting Drayden to lead with that one anyway.

Drayden commands, “Charge in and use Focus Blast! No mercy, Dragonite!”

“Dra!” Dragonite opens its mouth, and fighting-type energy starts to gather in it. It takes to the air, and dives toward Absol.

“Absol! Hold your ground and use Ice Beam!” I counter-command.

“Sol!” Likewise, Absol opens his mouth and ice-type energy starts to gather.

Both Pokemon fire their attacks at the same time, with the Ice Beam and Focus Blast colliding. However, Dragonite's attack easily overpowers Absol's, and the fighting-type energy attack slams into the Disaster Pokemon.

“Weak!” Drayden yells.

I shake my head violently. Crap! Why did I give that command? Fighting attacks are strong against ice attacks! Duh! I knew that and I also should have known there was a very real possibility that they would connect, so why did I...?

“Ab...” With steam rising from his body, Absol recovers.

“Let's try again!” I say, “Ice Beam!”

At the same time, Drayden counter-commands, “Dragon Tail!”

Dragonite swoops over Absol, and then performs a fast U-turn to come in for a second pass with its tail glowing with dragon-type energy. Absol fires another Ice Beam at Dragonite, but at the last second, the dragon/flying-type twists out of the way of the attack, and uses the momentum from that action to slam the dark-type from behind with its tail, sending him flying and crashing into one of the room's columns.

“Ah! Hang in there!”

“Ab... sol...” Thanks to the Focus Sash, Absol manages to generate one last ounce of stamina, and he gets back to his feet.

“Finish it off!” Drayden yells, “Dragon Pulse!”

I give a command of my own, “Absol, use... um... try using...” Or at least I try to give a command, but my mind's coming up blank! It's like I had an idea, but forgotten it just as fast.

Without any specific orders to go on, Absol just charges straight toward Dragonite, who counters by firing a blast of dark-blue energy, which connects head on.

“Sooool!” The force of the attack sends Absol tumbling across the tiled floor. When he stops, he's down and doesn't try to get up.

“Absol! Return!” I recall the Disaster Pokemon.

“Return.” Likewise, Drayden recalls Dragonite, and then he shouts across the room at me, “What was that? That was a sloppy performance if I'd ever saw one! Is this a joke to you?”

“No... I just...” I try to come up with an explanation, but I can't think of a good excuse. I'm usually so focused and decisive, but today, I'm just...

“Did you beg for those seven badges? If I win the next round, it's over, so get your crap together!”

“Okay...” I say dumbly.

Drayden grabs another Pokeball from his belt. I decide on Cinccino and do the same. He'd managed to successfully counter Bianca's Flygon's Draco Meteor attack, so he has something going for him against dragon-types.

Drayden and I send out our Pokemon, “Go! Cinccino!”

“Don't fail me! Garchomp!”

Cinccino appears on my end, while the Pokemon Drayden sends out, 'Garchomp,' is a blue semi-humanoid Pokemon, with a red belly and a large yellow spot on its nose. It's little over six feet tall and it has shark-like characteristics, like fins on its arms, tail, and back, and teeth that come out to razor-sharp triangular points. Besides that, it has sickle-like claws instead of hands, and spikes lined on its arms and legs. I don't even need to see it in action to tell that it's dangerous!

I wonder if Garchomp is a Legendary Pokemon, but rule it out too. I hadn't seen one before, but I'd seen another Pokemon that looks a lot like it, only shorter and lacking a few of Garchomp's highlights: Gabite. Iris used a Gabite when Bianca battled her, and I'd seen a couple other trainers use it since. Could Garchomp be its evolved form? Anyway, if I remember correctly, it's a dragon/ground-type, so unless its type changed during evolution, I'll assume this Garchomp is too.

Drayden extends his arm toward Cinccino, “Garchomp! Use Dragon Rush!”

“Gaaaaaar!” Dragon energy radiates from Garchomp's entire body, and in close to an instant, before I can even give Cinccino a command, it speeds across the arena, straight at the Scarf Pokemon. At the speed its going, it's a blue streak with a tail of dark-blue energy behind it. It's fast, probably about as fast as Cinccino, which makes this battle much harder...

“Ciiiin!” Cinccino dives out of the path of Garchomp's charge, just barely avoiding damage.

Garchomp passes me, kicks off the nearby wall, and charges at Cinccino again.

“Now! Crunch attack!” Drayden yells.

“Cinccino, counter with... er...” I start to stammer again. Not cool...

Garchomp tears into Cinccino, chomping down on him with its teeth, while dark mist pours out of its mouth. The dragon-type comes to a stop and violently shakes the normal-type.

“Cinccino... uh...” Shoot! Why am I being so indecisive?

“Ciiiiiiin!” Cinccino screams as Garchomp bites down harder and harder, finally jerking its head upward and throwing the Scarf Pokemon.

Thanks to his beard obstructing my view of his face, I can't tell Drayden's facial expression, but considering his eyebrows are together and his eyes are boring straight into me, I don't think it's a stretch to assume he's unhappy with me. At the same time, I recall that Cinccino's tail was free when he was in Garchomp's jaws and he could have taken that chance to slam away at the dragon-type's head and possibly freed himself... if that command had actually come to me when it was useful.

Cinccino collides with the fixture hanging from the ceiling, and bounces back down toward Garchomp, open to any follow-up technique Drayden orders.

“Hmph. How disappointing,” says Drayden, “Finish it, Garchomp, with another Crunch attack.”

“Gaaaaaar!” Garchomp jumps up at Cinccino, catching him in its jaws again, and then jerks its head downward, throwing the Scarf Pokemon again, this time at the floor, resulting in another hard collision, which causes a crack in the tiles.

Once again, my counter-command idea comes to me too late: Have Cinccino absorb the attacks damage by blocking it with Iron Tail, and then have him deliver a Bullet Seed attack at point-blank, possibly blinding it with a couple well-placed shots to the eyes. Not a bad tactic... if I'd actually used it...

“Cin...” Cinccino tries to get to his feet, but his strength gives out and he collapses.

“Cinccino, return...” I hold out Cinccino's Pokeball and recall him.

Dammit... Thinking about it, I hadn't lost a Gym battle since Nimbasa City, and all the times I had lost, it was because my team lacked a type or attack that's needed to overcome a Gym Leader's specialty. This time, however, it's all me...

“Return,” Drayden recalls Garchomp and turns his attention toward me, “Pathetic, simply pathetic. You should have learned long ago that indecision leads to defeat.”

“I know, I just...”

“Do you? Excuse me while I get back to my meeting. When you get serious, challenge me again. We're leaving Iris.” With those hurtful words, Drayden walks toward the doors at the back of the arena.

Before following Drayden, Iris looks back at me. Since I lost to Drayden, just like she said I would, I'm expecting her to look victorious or boastful, but instead she looks just as disappointed as Drayden, which I somehow find to be worse, “You're better than this, you know. Back in Castelia City, you were a much better trainer..” She follows Drayden through the doors and out of the room, leaving me with nothing but silence.

I spend the next minute reflecting on what just happened. My mind was elsewhere the entire time, instead of where it should have been: in the game. My mind had been preoccupied with what's been on it since last night: N, Reshiram, and Zekrom. What difference did the battle with Drayden make? In the end, I'm rushing toward an impossible battle, and after that, countless friendships will be broken, every human life in Unova will be in jeopardy, and all of it's gonna be on my conscience as the region's last hope, if I can even be called that without Zekrom's help.

Feeling both depressed and bitter, I turn to exit the Gym. I'd better get Absol and Cinccino healed and then apologize a whole bunch of times for the rotten experience they just had because of me. Pokemon rely on their trainers to pay attention and make the best calls they can, and I was too preoccupied with my own self-pity. One of Drayden's insults echos through my head: 'Pathetic!' Heh... No argument here, Mr. Mayor...

Partway through the corridor back to the ground floor, I see a man leaning against the wall and I recognize him immediately, “Alder?”

“Hey, Ria,” says Alder, “I saw your match.”

“Yeah, I totally screwed up, huh?”

“I wasn't gonna say anything about it,” says Alder, starting to walk alongside me, “I think Drayden said more than enough. The seven-badge battle is never easy, and it's wrong to give you a hard time over losing that, but something tells me you had something on your mind distracting you from the battle.”

“Pretty much.” I admit.

“This is fine, just as long as you recognize the mistake you made.”

Only part of me is paying attention to what Alder is saying, as an idea enters my mind, and I feel a tiny flicker of hope, “Um... Alder?”

“Yeah?”

As we emerge from the corridor and into the city hall's lobby, I take a deep breath, well aware that what I'm about to say is totally crazy, “Will you... battle me? Please?”

Alder raises an eyebrow, “... What?”

“I want you to battle me, and I don't mean a training match like the one we had on Route 5. I want to have a real battle with you.”

Alder takes a few second to consider this. “Hm... Normally, I'd tell you to wait for the Championship Tournament or defeat the entire Elite Four, but seeing as I'm not a Champion anymore, there's nothing to keep me from accepting. Fine then, I accept your challenge.”

“... Really?”

“ Yes. Just promise me you'll give our battle your complete focus, unlike the one you just had with Drayden. You're gonna need every last bit of it to defeat me...” He walks ahead of me and adds, “I'll wait for you at the Route 9-Opelucid City checkpoint. Be sure to drop your Cinccino and Absol by the Pokemon Center first, though. After that, we'll have a four-on-four singles battle, deal?”

“Sure thing.”

Alder walks ahead and exits the building while I think about what I just did. Challenge the Champion? Did I really just do that? Did I just lose my mind, or something? Considering that I feel like I'm going crazy with how much my mind's been on my crappy situation, I wouldn't rule it out...

Still, I know why I did what I did. If I can beat Alder somehow, emphasis on 'somehow,' then maybe, just maybe...

---

Meanwhile, on Route 8...

After a moment of facing off, Electivire charges at Gardevoir while the psychic-type holds her ground.

Electivire rears back, electrifies her fist, and throws a powerful Thunder Punch attack, while Gardevoir, using Reflect, blocks it with a psychic shield. Having been in a situation like this before, Electivire's other fist becomes enveloped with fighting-type energy, when Cheren calls out, “No, Electivire! Keep using Thunder Punch to break through!”

“Vire!” Electivire calls back in response as her other fist electrifies as well. She throws a series of punches into Gardevoir's shield, and after about seven fast and hard blows, the shield shatters. Cheren nods contently at this development. Her Thunder Punch attack has definitely gained more and more power with use.

“Garde?” Gardevoir exclaims, as her defenses are shattered, and Electivire delivers a punch which sends her staggering back several feet, eventually falling to the ground.

Not letting the opportunity go to waste, Electivire leaps into the air, poised to come down with another powerful punch. At that moment, however, Gardevoir, using Teleport, vanishes, and an instant later, reappears a foot back from where she was laying before, now back on her feet. An orb of psychic energy forms between her hands, and she throws it at a surprised Electivire, scoring a direct hit.

The Thunderbolt Pokemon is sent flying back by at least fifteen feet, but she recovers in midair. Now with a much greater distance between the Embrace Pokemon and herself, Electivire extends her hands skyward, and releases a large bolt of electricity. A second later, an electric pillar shoots down from the sky, and onto Gardevoir. However, the psychic-type just barely protects herself in time with a Light Screen, forming a dome-shaped psychic barrier around her, which absorbs the Thunder attack.

While Gardevoir and Electivire's sparring match is going on, Froslass is kneeling on the ground nearby, with Staraptor and Serperior to either side of her, conjuring a wind that swirls around all three of them, which is cold enough to instantly turn the rain in their area into sleet. With steam steadily rising from their bodies, Staraptor and Serperior endure the icy wind in an exercise to heighten their resistance to ice-type attacks.

Blaziken goes through a similar endurance exercise, sitting cross-legged on the ground with the rain pounding on her, trying to heighten her resistance to water-type attacks. As a means of participating in his Pokemon's training, Cheren sits next to her, wearing just a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, with the rest of his clothes, including his glasses, tucked into his supply bag, sharing in the fire/fighting-type's discomfort by enduring the rain and sixty-five degree weather.

Before, Cheren never thought he'd be doing anything like this, but he couldn't deny what Ria said a while ago about how unfair it would be to just stand there, while his Pokemon are trying so hard for his sake. Still, enough good came out of it. At the very least, his athleticism increased enough that he doesn't get winded from jogging only two blocks.

Despite how he is feeling from the rain and relative cold, Cheren's mind, like Ria's, has been elsewhere.

'The hero of ideals, aided by the Legendary Pokemon, Zekrom...' Seeing as the legend is about two dragons, Zekrom has to be the other, but the hero of ideals...?

Even though he doesn't have a concrete answer, Cheren has an idea of who N might be referring to: Ria. With the history she and N have had so far, it isn't a stretch to assume he led her to finding it... and for some reason, this bothers him.

Earlier, he tried contacting Ria via Xtransceiver regarding the issue, only to get empty static. He figures she's just focused on her training, or something, and turned off her communicator so she won't be disturbed. He doesn't know what Ria had been up to ever since they parted company weeks ago in Iccirus City, but maybe she'd crossed paths with Bianca at some point in that time frame, and she knows something?

Cheren fishes his Xtransceiver out of his supply bag and holds it as far away from his face as he can, so he can see the number pad through his farsightedness. He enters Bianca's frequency. After three tones, she responds to his communique and her face appears onscreen. He notices that her hair is wet as well, but unlike him, she looks refreshed. He also notices the yellow bathrobe she's wearing, so clearly she just had a bath or shower.

“Hi, Cheren!” Bianca greets.

“Hi, Bianca,” Cheren responds, trying to keep a straight face, “... I didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?”

“Oh, I'm at a resort that recently opened up in Driftveil City,” Bianca says, “I challenged Clay earlier, but the battle didn't go so well. I figured my Pokemon and I should relax for the rest of the day, before we train even harder tomorrow.”

“That sounds nice,” says Cheren.

“So, what do you need?”

“You watched the Championship battle last night, didn't you, Bianca?”

“I did.”

“It's about this 'hero of ideals' person that N mentioned. Considering their history, do you think he might be referring to Ria?”

“I know he is.”

The absolute certainty in Bianca's answer takes Cheren aback, “... Wh-what makes you say that?”

“Well...” Bianca tells Cheren about her meeting with Ria two days ago, and the Dark Stone, which supposedly has Zekrom sealed inside of it. Of course, neither of them are aware of Ria's confrontation with Ghetsis and that the Dark Stone was stolen from her.

“I see...” says Cheren.

“Do you think she'll be okay?” asks Bianca, “I mean, there's a lot riding on their battle...”

“Ria's a strong and smart trainer,” says Cheren, “Unova could be in worse hands...”

“Yeah, that's true.”

“Still, it's troubling. Reshiram is far more powerful than I imagined. The only chance Ria has of winning is for Zekrom to awaken for her, but will it?”

“I dunno. Maybe,” says Bianca, hopefully.

“We can only hope,” says Cheren, “It's funny, you know? When we were studying to be trainers, I thought Ria would always be the weakest link between the three of us...”

“I wouldn't rate her that low...” says Bianca, “... but I know what you mean...”

“Still, I never imagined she might end up being Unova's hope... I wonder how well she's handling that kind of responsibly...”

“Good point. I promised Ria I would stick by her when the time comes, but that won't happen until I get my last badge. How about you, Cheren?”

Cheren pauses for several second before answering, “I'll do what I can. For now, we have to train so we can enter the Pokemon League alongside her.”

“Very true,” says Bianca, who then changes the subject, “By the way, Cheren, did you meet with Skyla recently?”

“Yes,” Cheren answers flatly.

Ever the romantic, Bianca asks, “So... what happened?”

“Well, after I beat Iris, we...” Cheren wonders what word he should use: 'date' or 'friendly get-together.' He decides to go with date, as saying they just had a friendly meeting requires more explanation, which might cause him to let something slip about his illness. Besides, he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel at least something for Skyla, “... We went on a date.”

Bianca's face lights up, “Oh, that's great, Cheren! So, do you think there's... y'know, something?”

Cheren smiles, despite himself, “Who knows? I still think it's too early to tell. Still, she's nice, pretty, and fun to be around.”

“I'm really happy for you, Cheren! I hope I find someone someday!”

“I'm... quite sure you will, Bianca.”

“Anyway, good luck with your last Gym battle, and training, and Skyla, and... well, everything.”

“You too, Bianca... 'Skyla' part notwithstanding.” The transmission ends.

Cheren puts his communicator back in his bag. As much as he wants to think about Skyla, there's the more pressing matter of the information he just gained about Ria. He meant it when he said Unova could have a worse hope than her, but there could certainly be a better hope too. Still, for whatever reason, N is insisting on Ria being his opponent... but could that change?

Cheren considers something N said to him back at Twist Mountain: 'Interesting. It looks like you have some strong ideals of your own.' Maybe he's over-analyzing it or thinking a little too wishfully, but could that mean that N sees something in him as a potential opponent? If so, might it be possible for him to battle N instead of Ria? Either way, Zekrom is a necessary factor.

Cheren can't help but wonder what about N caused Reshiram to awaken for him, not to mention that if he thinks Zekrom might awaken for someone like Ria, could anyone meet whatever criteria the Legendary Pokemon requires?

With this thought in mind, Cheren rises to his feet and says to his Pokemon, “Okay, we're heading back to the Pokemon Center to get you back to full strength, but then we're going straight back to training. More than one very important battle awaits us!”

---

Doing as I was told, I drop Cinccino and Absol off at the Pokemon Center, and then head to the checkpoint between Opelucid City and Route 9 to meet Alder.

Since the Route 9-Opelucid City checkpoint isn't far from the Pokemon Center, I decide to walk it, and I'm quickly glad I did, since the rain and relative cold actually help wake me up from the daze I'd been in since this morning. At least I should be able to focus a little better.

During my entire walk over, one part of me argues with another:

You're crazy, Ria, you know that? Alder has been a Pokemon trainer way longer than you've been alive... and oh yeah, I almost forgot; He's the Champion... well, at least he was. What give you the idea you even stand a chance in this battle?

Look, now that Zekrom's been taken, I only have my six Pokemon to rely on to fight Reshiram. Clearly, we need to become as strong as it, and surpassing Alder is the first big step toward that!

Like that's gonna happen. You couldn't even beat Drayen.

Hey, our head just wasn't in the game, thinking about all the other crap going on. I'm sure any trainer, regardless if skill or power, would have lost like that.

Whatev. Just don't go crying to me when you get crushed.

Hey, you never know. We could pull this off... I think.

---

I arrive at the checkpoint and meet up with Alder. From there, we journey on to Route 9.

Route 9 is the second-shortest Route in Unova, next to Route 1, being a straight path that's only a half-mile long. On one side of the path, there's a wide field of tall grass, and on the other, there's a horizontally large three-story building with a sign over the entrance reading 'Shopping Mall 9.' I'd actually been there before, though I can't put my finger on when; definitely when I was a small girl, though.

Shopping Mall 9 is the single largest shopping center in Unova, and it got its name from the fact it's located on Route 9. I can't say I thoroughly researched the subject, but I think the reason it's here instead of in Opelucid City itself is because it just wouldn't fit anywhere within the city's current premises, so it was put on Route 9, which has space to spare.

However, Alder and I don't go to the mall, and instead we head into the tall grass. Like many places that have seen battle before, large sections of the grass have been scorched, upturned, and generally ruined. The former Champion and I settle for one such area to be our battlefield: a wide oval-shaped patch of mud and dead grass.

“This should be good,” says Alder. He looks straight at me, “You sure you wanna do this? You know what you're getting into?”

“Yeah,” I half-lie. I feel it's not so much a matter of wanting to battle as much as it's having to battle.

“Okay,” says Alder, taking a Pokeball from his belt, “In that case, let's begin!”

“Alright.” I choose a Pokemon of my own. I know Alder isn't a type specialist, but ever since seeing his whole team during the televised battle between him and N, I noticed that half of his team consists of bug-types. That considered, there's a fifty-fifty chance one of them will be sent out, and Magmortar is the best one to counter them.

“Go! Magmortar!”

“Scizor!” We toss our Pokeballs into the field. Magmortar appears on my end, while the Pokemon Alder chooses is his Scizor.

“Mag!”

“Scizorrr!”

Okay, Scizor is a bug/steel-type, so type-wise, I'm pretty lucky. Still, after seeing this Scizor beat N's Infernape with ease, I know I shouldn't take it lightly, just because Magmortar has the type advantage.

“We gotta take this one down fast,” I tell Magmortar, “Use Flamethrower!”

“Mortar!” Magmortar aims his cannon at Scizor and fires a stream of flames at the bug/steel-type. However, Scizor, being much more agile than it looks, dodges to the side, avoiding the attack.

“Agility!” commands Alder.

“Sciiii!” Scizor's body emits a pulse of pink energy, and suddenly, it's moving around the battlefield so fast, I can just barely follow its movements, and Magmortar doesn't seem to be having any better luck.

I frantically try to think of a countermeasure and an idea pops into my head; Just in time too, “Magmortar! Charge up a Fire Blast and wait for the chance to attack!”

“Mag!” A large fireball starts to form at the mouth of Magmortar's cannon. Okay, this Scizor may be fast, but I haven't seen a single one throughout my journey that can fight from a distance, so it's gotta come in close to attack Magmortar sooner or later, and that's when he'll blast it at point-blank!

Alder counter-commands, “Scizor! Use Bug Bite!”

“Sciz!” Scizor's claws glow light-green (and flashed white just a split-second before that. I'd seen this: it's the same ability Cinccino has, Technician) and then it suddenly appears in front of Magmortar. Just as the Blast Pokemon counterattacks, Scizor clamps one of its pincers down hard on Magmortar's arm, and yanks it sideways, away from it, causing the shot to go wide.

With both Pokemon having only one free arm each, Alder and I both give our next commands.

“Fire Punch!”

“Superpower!”

Scizor's entire body erupts with fighting-type energy, which quickly flows through its body, and concentrates itself into Scizor's free claw, glowing brightly. At the same time, Magmortar's free hand withdraws into his arm, and then comes out as an ignited fist.

Magmortar throws a flaming punch at Scizor's face. However, the bug/steel-type tilts its head to the side, dodging the attack, then counters with its own punch, which smashes Magmortar square in the face.

Magmortar staggers back and stumbles over, splashing into the mud. He tries to recover, but it seems Scizor's attack was too much for him, and he falls back down.

“Return!” I recall the Blast Pokemon.

I was hoping Scizor might get affected by Magmortar's Flame Body ability, but the two points it touched were the Blast Pokemon's forearm and face, which aren't burning. I guess mine isn't the first Magmortar this Scizor has fought...

Dang... I knew this battle was gonna be far from easy, but still, for Magmortar, my best Pokemon to counter Scizor with, to be defeated so easily...

I should just accept that I'm still not powerful enough to take on Alder and forfeit... but I can't! I have to see this battle through!

“Go! Braviary!” I send out Braviary.

“Braaav!”

Agility has made Scizor super-fast, but maybe Braviary can match it... “Use Tailwind!”

Braviary's eyes flash sky-blue and the wind picks up around him.

“Now! Brave Bird!”

Braviary takes flight, and his body starts glowing with flying-type energy. With powerful wind powering him, he charges head-on at Scizor. However, the Pincer Pokemon, not surprised at all, manages to block the attack and redirect the Valiant Pokemon skyward.

“Hm... Not a bad strategy...” says Alder, “Now for our countermeasure. Scizor, use Tailwind and pursue Braviary!”

“Scizzz!” Like Braviary, Scizor's eyes give off a sky-blue pulse and the wind around it picks up. Scizor spreads out its wings, which are otherwise only good for hovering and gliding, and with the wind powering them, it lifts off the ground. Scizor looks up at Braviary, and it suddenly vanishes with a blur, It looks like the combination of Agility and Tailwind is making it so fast, it's impossible to see. When Scizor reappears, it's mounted on Braviary's back as a passenger.

“B-Bravi?” Like me, Braviary wasn't expecting his unannounced rider.

“Now, Scizor, use Bug Bite!”

Scizor's claws glow light-green, and it starts quickly snipping away at Braviary's wings. Bug-type attacks normally wouldn't have much effect on the normal/flying-type, but in this case, it seems Scizor is so powerful, it makes little difference.

“Braaaav!” Within seconds, both of Braviary's wings look like his left one after Ghetsis's Hydreigon took a bite out of it. Scizor leaps off Braviary, while the normal/flying-type, with both of his wings incapacitated, goes plummeting toward the ground.

“Return!” With absolutely no means of flight, Braviary is done. I recall the Valiant Pokemon before he hits the ground.

Alder, with his arms folded in front of him, asks, “Do you want to continue, Ria? I don't mean to sound arrogant, but you are clearly out of your league.”

“I'm not through yet!” I growl as I grab my next Pokeball from my belt and toss it into the field, “Go! Gallade!” The Blade Pokemon appears on my end.

“Gall gallade!”

Okay, because of Agility, Scizor is faster than Gallade, but he still has a means of catching it off-guard! “Gallade! Use Shadow Sneak!”

At my command, Gallade vanishes, and a split-second later, he appears behind Scizor and leaps toward the Pincer Pokemon. Unfortunately, Scizor doesn't even need a warning from Alder to whirl around and block Gallade's attack. The two Pokemon's blades and claws deadlock.

Okay, no problem. I wasn't expecting Shadow Sneak to do much on its own, but it did accomplish the task I was intending, by getting Gallade in close quarters with Scizor.

Seeing as the Pincer Pokemon is too powerful to just wear down, we'd better come at it with full power! “Great, Gallade! Now use Close Combat!”

Gallade's blades radiate fighting-type energy, and then he proceeds to shower Scizor with slashes. However, no sooner does Gallade launch his attack that Scizor manages to grab both of his blades in its pincers. Gallade struggles to break loose of the bug/steel-type's grip, but he can't budge it.

Scizor's grip on Gallade's blades tightens and tightens, until they begin to crack, then break off the psychic/fighting-type's body.

“G-gall?” Gallade looks down at his two severed weapons in astonishment. He doesn't seem to be in a lot, if any, pain (I guess his blades are more bone than flesh), so he still has the energy to fight back, but not the means. This is just about as good as a faint.

I hold out Gallade's Pokeball toward the psychic/fighting-type, “Return!” Gallade vanishes, as well as his severed blades. He'll no doubt be in one piece again after a trip to the Pokemon Center.

“I'm ahead, four-to-one,” Alder announces, “No offense, Ria, but seeing how this battle is progressing, it's predictable who the victor will be. There is no shame in surrendering at this point.”

“No way!” I yell, pulling Marowak's Pokeball from my belt, “If I can't beat you, I'll at least try to knock out your Scizor! Go! Marowak!” I toss Marowak's Pokeball into the field, and the Bonekeeper appears.

“Maro maro!”

Marowak and Scizor face off, and I take that moment to consider what Marowak's move should be. Because of the rain, the ground is all muddy, damp, and soft, so earthly ground-type attacks like Earthquake and Bulldoze won't do a whole lot of good. We'll just have to rely on his club, then! “Marowak! Bonemerang!”

“Wak!” Marowak throws his club at Scizor.

“Tailwind!” Alder counter-commands. Wind swirls around Scizor once again, and it takes to the sky, dodging Marowak's weapon. The bug/steel-type flies around with near invisible movements, appearing at various points in the air. Marowak's club tries to chase it, only for Scizor to vanish before it finds its target. It's taunting us!

“This isn't working,” I tell Marowak, “Retrieve your club, and wait for Scizor to come to us!”

“Maro!” Marowak says in response, as the club flies back to his outstretched hand.

“Finish this, Scizor,” says Alder, “Superpower!”

“Zor!” Again, Scizor's body erupts with fighting energy, which then focuses into its right claw. From there, it dives headlong toward Marowak.

There's no way Marowak can dodge in time, so we have no choice but to counterattack, “Bone Club!”

Marowak grips his club with both hands, and rears back to strike.

When Scizor is within attacking distance, Marowak steps in and swings his club as hard as he can, but at that second, the Pincer Pokemon feints to the left, circling around to Marowak's back. With all his weight thrown into his attack, Marowak stumbles forward.

“Behind you!” I shout out. Unfortunately, Marowak is still off-balance. Scizor raises its claw, and throws downward punch that hits the Bonekeeper directly overhead. The force of the blow half-embeds Marowak into the ground.

“M-maro...” Marowak groans. He tries to recover, but like the three Pokemon before him, he's down with a single blow.

Is it over? Is this our limit? With a defeated sigh, I recall Marowak, “Return...”

“Scizor! Return!” The former Champion recalls Scizor, and then walks over to me, saying, “You're a very powerful trainer, Ria, and if you decide to dedicate your life to Pokemon training, as I have, I've no doubt that you will equal, or maybe even surpass me someday, but right now, it's far too early for you to challenge me.”

“Looks like you just proved that...” I mutter, more preoccupied with my thoughts. I knew this battle was a longshot, but still...

“What made you decide to challenge me, anyway?” asks Alder, “It's generally advised not to have a battle you doubt you'll win, as it hurts your Pokemon needlessly, so why?”

“'A battle I doubt I'll win?'” I say, “That's exactly the thing I'm preparing for, even now...”

“What do you mean?”

I tell Alder that the thing that brought me to the Nacrene City museum after our last encounter was the Zekrock, that it got stolen by Ghetsis, and now that Zekrom, our only hope, is gone, it doesn't matter how hard I try; I'm rushing toward a battle I have no hope of winning.

“So, that 'hero' N was referring to was you?” asks Alder.

“Yeah.”

“I see. Seeing as he told you about Zekrom at the Dragonspiral Tower, I had a feeling he meant you...” Alder pauses for a long while. I'm half-expecting him to say something like, 'Don't get yourself down! As long as you believe you can win, you can win,' but seeing as he was beaten by Reshiram, and I was beaten by him, that kind of reassurance is not very convincing; Outclassed doesn't even begin to describe the disadvantage I'm at...

“Before I heard about Zekrom, I thought the only hope I had of beating N was by becoming stronger than you,” I say, “Now that I don't have Zekrom anymore, that's the only thing that makes sense, but...”

Alder is silent for several more seconds. Finally, he speaks up, “Indeed, it's looking pretty bleak right now, but, all things considered, I don't think all hope is lost yet.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, interested where Alder might be going with this.

“N could have just commanded that all trainers release their Pokemon the second he defeated me, but he's waiting for you, Ria, determined to have a fair battle against you.”

“That's true, but...”

“Ria... even though N is your ultimate opponent, would you call him your enemy?”

I consider this for a moment. Well, he's Team Plasma's leader, and he (or at least part of him) is trying to separate humans and Pokemon, so he's certainly not a friend, but the fact that he had helped me by telling me about Zekrom, and giving me a lead on where it is tells me that he's not an enemy either.

“No,” I answer, “I guess he's more my archrival than anything...”

“As I thought,” says Alder, “In that case, I think it's safe to say you have an ally in an unexpected place. If he were to know the 'Zekrock' was taken from you, do you think he might try to get it back to you somehow?”

A part of me lightens as Alder gives me that angle. He may be right, still there's one fact that hasn't escaped me, “But he doesn't know Ghetsis took it... at least I don't think he does...”

“It doesn't mean he can't find out,” Alder reassures me, “Ria, before I left the Pokemon League, I saw the faces of some of Team Plasma's members. A few of them seemed... troubled. Even though they're fighting to put a stop to Pokemon training, toward that end, they are still training Pokemon, and you should know as well as anyone how the bonds between humans and Pokemon can grow. If I had to guess, N might not be the only member of Team Plasma who is questioning its ultimate goal.”

Now I see where Alder might be going with this! It's possible that even if N himself doesn't know Ghetsis took the Zekrock, another Team Plasma member that could be supporting his decision might, and then tell him about it. From there, he might try to return it to me!

Alder concludes, “If you ask me, it's still too early to abandon hope! You're not alone in this, Ria.”

I nod, “Okay!”

“Alrighty...” says Alder, “Well, try to put a little faith in N. In the meantime, the thing to focus on right now is defeating Drayden.”

“I'll take him on again,” I say, “I was just too worried before, but I think I can pull this off!”

“Let's not be too hasty,” says Alder, “Remember, N gave you a week to challenge him, so we should take advantage of that. Ria, how many of your Pokemon know ice-type attacks?”

“Just Absol,” I say, “Well, my Dewott also knows Ice Beam, but he's not with me right now.”

“I see. It sounds like dragon-types are your team's weak point right now, but with my help, your Pokemon can learn some new techniques to better counter them. Interested?”

I nod enthusiastically, “Yeah! Totally!”

“Okay. Well then, get some rest for the remainder of today, and tomorrow, meet me at the checkpoint again, and we'll begin your Pokemon's training.”

“Got it!”

With all of my Pokemon defeated, Alder escorts me back to the checkpoint, and I head back into Opelucid City.

I wonder if it's overoptimistic to believe that N might come through for me, but Alder's reasoning made sense, so, as silly as it sounds, maybe I should put some faith in my biggest rival. At least it's better than admitting defeat.

I meant to get this posted a lot sooner, but for some reason it took me forever to polish it. Anyway, despite what I said before, this installment is a relative shortie. It was originally going to be much longer, but I figured the events to follow are better off having an installment of their own.

As always, I hope you found this chapter to be decent! Thank you, everyone, for all your support thus far!
 
I like this. I am disappointed in Ria's loss to Drayden, but I suppose she just wasn't ready at the time. And to Alder, though I guess it's actually more realistic, because the Champion should be ridiculously powerful anyway. Really, it's a better contrast than in the games, is what I'm trying to say, where I've beaten Cynthia with no Pokémon higher than level 50. =/ Anyway, great post. I look forward to Ria training with Alder =) It's funny how he's suddenly not the Champion. One can imagine him wandering around without drawing attention :p
 
Team Plasma HQ...

Twirling a stiletto knife between his fingers, Ghetsis paces around his quarters, glancing at the antique human weapons he'd collected over the years: a battleaxe, a broadsword, a model of a musket, believed to have been the first in a new generation of weaponry, before Pokemon were widely used by humans, and therefore never progressed. After all, Pokemon are far more powerful than any weapon humans could produce... or at least what they were thought capable of producing at the time, if the Galactic Bomb proved anything.

Of the many subjects Ghetsis had studied, the history of human combat is one of his favorites, and he reflects on the knowledge he had so easily obtained. Frankly, it's amazing humans lasted as long as they did, with the many wars they'd had in the past, not to mention the increasing aggression of Pokemon, as they destroyed forests and other habitats in order to build and expand their settlements. Of course, the damage was done, even now, as only about half of what the world's human population used to be currently inhabits the planet.

When the secret to controlling Pokemon was first discovered, their usage was limited to only the ruling class, and because of this, kings and other such rulers were thought of as living gods. Of course, as time went on, the right to capture and train Pokemon had gradually expanded to the military class, and finally, to everyone. The cost of 'godhood' had certainly become cheaper... and that's the problem: too many insignificant people have too much power, and they had forgotten their place. Furthermore, humanity is failing to live up to its true potential by continuing to rely on Pokemon. This simply cannot continue...

… And it won't continue, Ghetsis thinks to himself gleefully, as he taps a tile on the floor with his foot, which gives off a hollow sound.

---

Four days have passed since I'd challenged Drayden and Alder, and subsequently had my biggest losing streak ever. Two days till D-day... we're sure cutting this one close.

On the plus side, my training with Alder, while very tough, is totally paying off, as my Pokemon are, of course, growing stronger, learning some new moves, and I'd been learning some neat little tactics as well, which I'm itching to put into practice against Drayden.

On the minus side, though, nothing had really come of Alder's encouraging words about N possibly coming through, and getting the Zekrock to me somehow. Any hope of that is getting less and less plausible by the day. Still, I decide to just remind myself that there's still two days to go, and a lot can happen in just one day, as I'd learned on multiple occasions, though at the same time, I can't shake those feelings of doubt that grow stronger and stronger.

With the rain having stopped three days ago, my training with Alder on Route 9 had since lasted from the early morning, far earlier than a heavy sleeper like me cares to awaken, until the sun had sunk halfway down the horizon.

With the sun now completely gone from sight, and the starry night sky gradually spreading overhead, I stagger back to the Opelucid Pokemon Center, both hungry and exhausted.

I hand in my Pokemon for recovery, afterward grabbing various morsels from the food stands for dinner, as well as chocolate, because Arceus knows I need the blood sugar, and then I head to the cafeteria. The din of voices fills the room as people discuss stuff like Team Plasma's newly found reign over Unova, the threat of Pokemon training soon to be outlawed, and, of course, the Hero of Ideals, and whether or not 'he' can defeat N and Reshiram. Even though sexism had stopped being an issue a while ago, with women proven to be every bit as competent as men in Pokemon training and other stuff, it looks like it's still there. In this case, I'm kinda thankful for it, though; I'd rather people didn't know I'm the potential savior N was talking about, mostly because I don't want that kind of attention and I already have enough indirect pressure from Unova's population of both humans and Pokemon.

With a food tray in hand, I look for a place to sit. I notice that seated at one of the tables closest to the room's entrance is a girl, faced away from me, with short blonde hair, a green cap, and orange and white clothes. Even from behind, I have a very good idea of who it is.

I circle around the table and sit across from the girl. “Hey there, Bianca,” I greet.

“Oh! Hi, Ria!” Bianca greets, “I was wondering when I might run into you!”

“What brings you...?” I stop myself short, realizing it's a stupid question. The last time I saw Bianca, she was on her way to Driftveil City to win her final badge, and now she's here in Opelucid City, the place closest to the Pokemon League. With that thought in mind, I check her lapel, and, sure enough, she has a shiny new Quake Badge to accompany her slightly worn Trio, Basic, Legend, Freeze, Insect, Jet, and Bolt Badges.

Bianca giggles, “Teehee! I won all the badges!”

I crack a slight smile, “Wow... Congratulations on making Elite Rank.” I'm a bit envious, considering our unspoken contest of which one out of Bianca, Cheren, and myself will win all the badges first.

“Thank you!” says Bianca, “But I thought you'd get all your badges before me...”

“Yeah, well, Drayden turned out being much tougher than I expected...”

“By the way, Ria, I'd been trying to get a hold of you by Xtransceiver, but all I'd been getting was static. What's going on?”

“You see...” I lower my voice so no one nearby will hear me over the din of voices, and explain to Bianca about how Ghetsis ambushed me and stole my supply bag, my Xtransceiver being among the least important of its contents.

Bianca covers her mouth with both of her hands as she gasps in alarm, “Oh no!”

“I know it's unbelievable, but that's what happened. I have the layers of bandages to prove it.”

“I should have gone with you,” says Bianca, “There's no way Ghetsis could have beaten both of us!”

“Don't sweat it,” I say, “It was an ambush. Neither of us could've predicted it.”

“So, what now?” asks Bianca, “I saw the battle between Alder and N, just like everyone else. No offense, Ria, but there's no way you can beat that white dragon-type without Zekrom.”

“I know,” I respond, annoyed by the fact that the six Pokemon I'd been training all this time are insufficient to take on Reshiram with, “Well, I'm trying to hold out hope that N will catch wind of what Ghetsis did and try to get the Zekrock back to me, but the deadline is too soon. Even then, I don't even know if it's inside that castle...”

“Um... Do you have any other ideas?” asks Bianca.

“Sure,” I say with a slight shrug, “Win the Legend Badge early tomorrow, head to the Pokemon League, storm the castle, find Ghetsis, and make him tell me where the Zekrock is.”

“I don't think that's going to work,” says Bianca, “On the TV, after that castle appeared... Did you see how many Team Plasma members there were?”

“Yeah...” I say.

“You're tough, Ria, but there's no way you can just 'storm the castle,' when you have that many enemies.”

“That was pretty surprising,” I say, “I mean, that lair in Castelia City probably had no more than forty grunts. Just how many members Team Plasma has in total?”

“About four-hundred or five-hundred,” Bianca answers like she knew off the top of her head.

I raise an eyebrow, “Okay... And you know that because...?”

Bianca explains, “Before I came here, I made a detour to Nimbasa City. As I was getting my Pokemon healed after my battle with Clay, I heard on the TV that an agent of the International Police was going to make an appearance and explain what he had learned about Team Plasma. Have you ever heard of Looker?”

“Who hasn't?” 'Looker' is the codename of an International Police agent who achieved superstar status after a part he played in bringing down the Team Galactic crime syndicate in Sinnoh a few years ago. I'd seen him on TV a few times. With his old tan jacket and messy black hair, the guy's reputation doesn't really precede him, but I guess it makes sense, seeing as he's an undercover agent.

“Anyway, since I'm thinking of trying to join the International Police after I graduate, I thought I should check it out. Besides, I was curious what an agent like Looker might have possibly found out about Team Plasma. What I learned was really interesting.”

“Do tell.”

“Well, Team Plasma should have had much fewer members. After all, even with the speeches Ghetsis made to turn people, Pokemon Liberation is still an unpopular concept.”

“Not surprising,” I say, “Humans and Pokemon have coexisted for a very long time. There's no way a few silver-tongued lectures can change that.”

“It turns out jailbreaks have happened in several other regions and Team Plasma is thought to be behind them. It's believed that the majority of Team Plasma's forces are made up of former members of Team Galactic, Team Rocket, and other criminal organizations.”

“That doesn't make sense,” I say, “I mean, I thought the members of those organizations stole people's Pokemon so they can become stronger, not to free Pokemon.”

“That's true,” says Bianca, “Looker said the main reason most of them became Pokemon trainers was to become rich, but to win more battles than you lose requires a great deal of training, which they didn't have the patience for, so they decide to steal Pokemon from honorable trainers instead in order to get ahead. Getting back on track, even though they may not agree with Team Plasma's objective, to them it's still better than going back to jail. Anyway, until just recently, Team Plasma acted like it was a small organization most likely to avoid any major attention... and it worked. They weren't taken too seriously, at least until now.”

“I have to give them credit for that,” I say, “Still, that doesn't help the current predicament...”

“What if N can't help you?” asks Bianca, “What then?”

“What else can I do?” I say, “I go and battle him anyway, even though it's probably futile. It's better than doing nothing.” I lean back in my chair, “Unfortunately, somehow getting the Zekrock back is only the beginning. Since Zekrom didn't appear for me, but Reshiram did appear for N, there's gotta be some kinda trick to it. Drayden might know, but he won't tell me anything until I beat him. I learned some cool stuff while training under Alder for the past few days, so I'm sure I can totally destroy him when we have our rematch tomorrow, but without the Zekrock, it won't mean much.”

“By the way, Ria, N called you 'The Hero of Ideals.' Any idea what that means?”

“Not really,” I say, “I mean, 'hero?' One of the big reasons I became a trainer in the first place was just for my personal protection. How can I possibly be a hero? Just what the heck does that guy see in me?”

“Maybe that was the case,” says Bianca, “but not anymore. You've gotten past that.”

“Yeah, maybe. I just hope a Legendary Pokemon finds me all the more awesome for it.”

“Don't worry, Ria,” says Bianca, “Everything will turn out fine. I know it.”

“I wish I could share that optimism...” I say.

---

That night, Bianca tries constantly to get to sleep, but has no luck. In the bed next to her, Ria is sound asleep, but judging by how often she is rolling around and the occasional incoherent mumblings, it doesn't look like she's having a good dream.

Bianca stares up at the sleeping quarters' clear dome ceiling, and the moon and stars beyond it. She can only imagine what Ria has been going through, having the weight of Unova, and possibly even the world in the long term, on her shoulders. Even though she's clearly trying to be her usual easygoing self, it's clear her stress is showing around the edges, and it makes Bianca feel bad for her, and more than that, it makes her want to help her friend, but what can she do?

Without Zekrom, the only hope she has of beating N and Reshiram, Ria's working toward fighting a battle she can't win, and her loss will spell all kinds of disaster for Unova. Even so, Ria seemed fine when she had Zekrom's stone, probably because she knows it represents a chance, and by extension, hope. Without it, everything seems futile.

She can't say she knows for a fact that Zekrom will awaken for Ria, but even so, it definitely has a balancing effect on her, so probably the best thing that can be done right now is get the stone back from Ghetsis. However, Ghetsis is that that castle that appeared at the Pokemon League, and even though it's been taken over by Team Plasma, Ria's going to need all eight Gym badges to enter...

An idea begins to dawn on Bianca. Sure, Ria needs all eight badges, but Bianca already has all the badges. Since that's the case, then maybe...

Bianca recalls what she told Ria during their previous meet-up, 'Ria... I'll do whatever I can to make sure you'll stop them.' 'I'll do whatever I can to protect you, and make sure you have that match.'

One of the things Bianca doesn't like to see is Ria despairing. After all, they first became friends when Ria stood up for her when she was being bullied, and she'd seen her as a strong person, which made it hard to bear when Ria became broken by the Pokemon attack five years ago. Even so, Ria was always there for Bianca when she needed her, and Bianca's been there for Ria. She promised as much, and now it's time to make good on it!

Bianca looks across the room at a glow-in-the-dark clock above the sleeping quarters' entrance: 11:00PM. She sits up in her bed and stands. It's clear she's not going to get any sleep at all, so there's no point in trying.

She heads down to the lobby, buys a cup of coffee, sits down at a table in the empty cafeteria, and considers what she is going to do. The answer is pretty obvious: find a way into Team Plasma's castle and find the Zekrock, or whatever it's called, or, if it's not there, find Ghetsis, make him spill the beans about where it's located in one way or another, and then return to Ria with that information. Bianca really hopes the case turns out to be the former, since she'd rather not make her Pokemon or herself carry out an interrogation of some sort. Of course, N wants Ria to challenge him, and if Ghetsis was indeed keeping him in the dark on the fact that he stole the stone, Bianca could just tell N what happened, so that's an option too.

Regardless of the options, however, Bianca will have to find a way into Team Plasma's headquarters, and that's bound to be dangerous.

Bianca chugs down the remainder of her coffee and sends out her Pokemon. It's only fair that they know what the seven of them are about to get into, “Um... I just thought the six of you should know that... I'm think of going on a mission... a really dangerous mission. If you'd rather not, we won't, but if so, I'm going to be counting on all of you.”

Emboar and Tyranitar respond enthusiastically to the news, excited by the prospect of a challenge, while Flygon, Musharna, and Glaceon give calm, soldierly nods of understanding, and Zangoose gives an indifferent shrug.

“Okay,” says Bianca, “Thank you all...” She recalls her Pokemon and heads out into Opelucid City.

---

Bianca rides a bus en route to the northern end of Opelucid City. As she watches the city change from old-fashioned to ultramodern, she thinks about something else Looker had said about Team Plasma, regarding their castle.

It was a big surprise to find out it had been hidden right under the Pokemon League. It's unknown if that structure was new, built in secret over a period of time that had to take years, or if it was converted from then-undiscovered ancient ruins, but the issue is that, with the exception of special events such as a Championship battle, which invites spectators, only Elite and Master ranked trainers are allowed to freely set foot at the Pokemon League headquarters in any given region, which leads to speculation that there was a hidden passage somewhere, leading to the castle.

Bianca considers the passage, wondering if she could use it to sneak into the castle, but quickly dismisses it, because one, she doesn't have a clue where it is; two, since the castle is now above-ground, it might not lead anywhere anymore; and three, if Team Plasma had been regularly using it to go in and out of the castle, it hardly counts as a blind spot anyway. The only way in is through the front door...

---

The bus drops Bianca off at the checkpoint separating Opelucid City from Route 10.

Unlike all the other checkpoints in Unova, which were tubular buildings with walls or thick forest at either side, the Opelucid-Route 10 checkpoint reminds Bianca of a border fortress. It is a tall and wide brick structure with a pair of heavy metal doors and walls that stretch out far in either direction. There are several trainers guarding it, with three standing in front of the door and many others standing on top of towers spread out along the wall, each with a flying Pokemon at the ready in case someone tries to sneak past from above. Every single guard has nine badges pinned to their vests or shirts, identifying them as Master Rank trainers, most likely there as a part-time job to make a little extra money.

One of the door guards says to Bianca as she approaches, “Hold it! Only trainers with eight or more badges may pass.” It's clear he'd repeated those exact words several time before, judging by how polished they sound.

“Sure! No problem!” Bianca gives the guard a clear view of her lapel and the eight badges pinned to it.

The guard pulls a handheld device out of his pocket and holds it close to Bianca's badges.

“What's that for?” asks Bianca.

“To make sure your badges are for real,” says the guard, “and if so, the sensors in the checkpoint will identify you as valid, so you can pass over the wall at will.”

“That's convenient.”

A few seconds later, the guard's scanner beeps. “Very well. You may pass.” With those words, one of the other door guards pulls a lever on the wall and the metal doors slowly screech open.

“Thank you,” says Bianca as she walks toward the doorway.

As she passes the third door guard, he says, “I can't stop you from doing so, but I suggest you just go to train at Route 10, and don't go any further than that. Victory Road is crawling with Arceus-knows-how-many Team Plasma guys, both on the mountain and in the air around it. Even an eight-badge trainer like you won't be able to beat all of them if they gang up on you.”

“Okay. I'll be careful,” Bianca reassures the guard as she passes through the door.

Beyond the checkpoint lays a road which leads to a dimly-lit mountain standing tall over it, and at the summit is the headquarters of Unova's Pokemon League and Team Plasma's base.

Route 10 may have been beautiful once, but seeing as it's a battlefield reserved for only the highest ranked of Pokemon trainers, and therefore had been the site of countless high-powered battles, the landscape had been long since ruined many times over. Now there are dead trees, either scorched or cut down, upturned earth, stiff yellow grass, and various other forms of blight, though there is also some suspiciously lush vegetation among it, no doubt the handiwork of grass-types. Bianca has mixed feeling about the sight of this place. The trainer in her is thrilled that she, in fact, has enough power to cause destruction of this magnitude, while the human in her is horrified for the same reason.

Bianca shifts her attention to the mountain. Her destination is the castle on the summit, but how will she get there? As the guard said, Victory Road, the path that leads up the mountain, is crawling with Team Plasma members, and even if she tried to bypass it by riding Flygon straight to the top, there are also some grunts guarding the air as well, not that she can see them in the night sky, at least from where she's standing. Still, that might work both ways as it make her harder to spot too, as long as she keeps her distance. Even if she did somehow get past the security outside the castle, there's bound to be even more inside, and then how will she find N or the Zekrock with Team Plasma hounding her every second?

Despite the seemingly insurmountable security surrounding the Pokemon League, Bianca actually doesn't have to think too hard on how to overcome it. The way Looker had gathered information on Team Galactic, after all, was by disguising himself as a grunt in their ranks. If Bianca can do the same, she can just walk right past them! Bianca smiles at the memory of what Ria called her the last time she disguised herself, 'Bianca, the Mistress of Disguise.'

Unfortunately, there are no grunts right nearby; as the guard said, they're at the mountain, but if Bianca approaches that place, it's possible she could get caught before she even gets that far, and there aren't a lot of places to take cover in as she approaches either. She could stay low to the ground, using the darkness to her advantage, but what if a few of Team Plasma's flying Pokemon have the Keen Eye ability, just like Ria's Braviary? She could be detected as easily as if it were broad daylight!

Regardless, she will have to confront some grunts, but it's likely the ones guarding the air will call for reinforcements before attacking her. After all, Bianca wouldn't be here if she weren't a powerful eight-badge trainer who has to be approached carefully. With that under consideration, the best place to ambush someone at the mountain area is inside one of its caverns.

Bianca takes several minutes to think about it. She can't just walk right up to the mountain, and she can't fly straight to the top either. That leaves one other route: underground. Bianca, hating to get her clothes dirty, isn't thrilled by the idea, but she can't think of another way.

Bianca pulls a Pokeball from her belt and tosses it, “Come out, Tyranitar!” With a flash, the Armor Pokemon appears.

“Tyran?”

“Tyranitar, we need to get to that mountain, inside one of its caves,” Bianca says, gesturing toward the mountain, “Unfortunately, we might be spotted and attacked by Team Plasma if we walk right up to it, so we'll have to go underground. Use Dig and take me with you.”

“Ran,” Tyranitar responds with a nod. Tyranitar squats down and picks away at the earth and rocks with his claws. Within seconds, he near-effortlessly creates a tunnel leading several feet underground and in the direction of the mountain. With a hand on the Armor Pokemon's back, Bianca is led through the pitch-black tunnel.

Something that Bianca had always found interesting about Pokemon is that when they burrow underground, they seem to have some way of sensing what's above; During battle, they seem to always know exactly where to emerge.

An unknown amount of time passes as Tyranitar leads Bianca through complete blackness, and she hopes she'll never have to do something like this again, as it almost feels like being buried alive.

Eventually they emerge inside a cavern no doubt located somewhere along Victory Road. Along the cave's ceiling, there is a row of lights illuminating the place as well as if it were daytime. Bianca and Tyranitar are in a narrow passageway about ten feet wide and fifteen feet high. About thirty feet away is an exit leading to the mountain's exterior.

“Thank you, Tyranitar,” says Bianca, relieved to see light again. She pats her clothes and ruffles her hair, trying to get as much subterranean dirt off her as she can. Finally, she recalls the Armor Pokemon.

Bianca is about to make her way forward when she hears two female voices from up ahead and outside the cavern, gradually getting louder with approach, “I just don't understand. I thought the king believed in Pokemon Liberation more than any of us; He was an inspiration to us all. Why is he risking it?”

“Don't worry so much about it. The Sages aren't worried, so we shouldn't be. I think it's safe to say they've done something about it.”

“I sure hope you're right...”

Bianca realizes that two female Team Plasma members are headed in her direction. However, she decides to take this as a good thing. She's inside a cave and therefore unlikely to be caught by any of the aerial security outside the mountain. A perfect opportunity to steal a uniform and sneak into the castle! Now to ambush them...

Bianca retreats deeper into the cave and hides around the nearest corner, listening as the voices echo through the cavern and gradually get closer.

“Huh? A hole?” says one of the grunts. Bianca can only assume she's referring to the one Tyranitar left when they entered.

“It was probably just an Excadrill or something,” says the other grunt.

“I dunno. It's looks a little big to be an Excadrill... much bigger than any wild Pokemon I'd seen on this mountain...”

Bianca takes a deep, but silent, breath and decides to make her move. What she needs to do is incapacitate both grunts before either of them can call for backup. Fortunately, one of her Pokemon may be capable of doing just that! She pulls a Pokeball from her belt and tosses it around the corner, “Go! Musharna!”

“What?” exclaim the two grunts as there's a flash and Musharna appears.

Bianca dashes from her hiding place, positioning herself behind Musharna, and looks at her opponents. One of the grunts is a smallish black-haired girl and the other is a red-haired woman. The two Team Plasma members reach down toward their belts for their own Pokeballs but not before Bianca commands, “Musharna! Use Hypnosis!”

“Muuuuush...” Musharna's eyes glow pink. The black-haired grunt immediately feels woozy and slumps to the ground, falling into a deep sleep, but the red-haired grunt, clearly the more experienced of the two, quickly averts her eyes and avoids being affected by Musharna's technique.

The red-haired grunt grabs her Pokeball and sends out her Pokemon, “Go! Zebstrika!” There's a flash and the Pokemon that appears is a zebra-like Pokemon, standing at a height of a little over five feet, with zigzagging white stripes, a line of spikes on its back, and two horns extending from its head.

“Muuuuush...” Musharna lets out a low angry growl. As Bianca wonders why, she realizes she actually knows the grunt they're fighting. She's one of those two Team Plasma members who were bullying Munna back at the Dreamyard, trying to make her release the Dream Mist! That explains why Musharna is so upset. The Zebstrika the grunt just sent out might actually be the Blitzle she used to attack her and Ria.

“Zebstrika! Wild Charge!” commands the grunt.

“Zeeeeeb!” Zebstrika's horns begin to crackle with electricity, and it charges at Musharna.

“Musharna! Use Reflect!” Bianca says.

A psychic wall appears between Musharna and Zebstrika. With the psychic-type being more powerful than the electric-type, Zebstrika slams into the barrier, and then staggers back stunned as if it just hit a steel wall.

Behind Zebstrika, Bianca sees the grunt pulling a Xtransceiver out of her uniform. There's still a chance to stop her before she call for reinforcements, though. “Musharna! Psychic attack!”

“Muu!” Musharna fires a blast of psychic energy at Zebstrika at point-blank. The force of the attack hurls the electric-type through the air and crashing into its trainer. The Team Plasma grunt loses her grip on her Xtransceiver, and both her and the Pokemon go down in a heap. Zebstrika is knocked out, pinning its trainer to the ground under its body.

As the grunt rapidly screams insults at Bianca, she commands, “Hypnosis.”

Musharna floats over the the grunt, and with her now unable to move, puts her into a deep sleep.

“Good job, Musharna!” congratulates Bianca.

“Mush mush!” Musharna replies with a trace of grim satisfaction on her face. Despite her relaxed nature, Musharna certainly has something of a vindictive streak.

“Return!” Bianca recalls Musharna and then turns her attention to the two unconscious grunts. The red-haired grunt is much bigger than Bianca, so there's no way she convincingly wear her uniform, but Bianca is only slightly smaller than the black-haired one, and they have similar builds as well.

With it decided which uniform she's going to 'borrow,' Bianca gradually strips the Team Plasma member down to her undershirt and bloomers. Even though it's nighttime, it's still very hot outside, and since Team Plasma uniforms aren't exactly light, it's only natural that their wearers have sweat a great deal in them. Bianca shutters as she puts on each damp piece of the uniform, making a mental note to take an hour-long shower once everything is said and done.

After Bianca is finished fully donning the uniform, she takes the Xtransceiver out its pocket and picks up the other one the grunt dropped. She walks outside the cave and tosses them over the side of a cliff so just in case the two grunts wake up sooner than she thinks, they won't report what happened right away.

She's about to send out Flygon and fly to the mountain's summit when a thought occurs to her: even though she's wearing a Team Plasma uniform, is that enough of a disguise? Just in case it isn't, Bianca digs through her supply bag and finds something she hadn't worn for months: the black-haired wig she wore as part of her other disguise when she was running away from home. She dons the wig and pulls the uniform's hood over her head. As an extra measure, she also puts on the brown contact lenses. Using her makeup kit's mirror, Bianca checks her reflection, and even she is surprised by how little she looks like herself. Even if the grunts wake up early or are found and woken up, they shouldn't find 'a girl with blue eyes and blonde hair.'

Bianca sends out Flygon, who reacts with alarm upon seeing an unfamiliar person instead of Bianca as she knows her, “Fly! Flyyy!”

“Don't worry, Flygon! It's me, Bianca!”

“Flyg...” Flygon calms down, recognizing her trainer's voice.

Bianca decides to take it as a good sign that not even her own Pokemon recognizes her. She hops on the ground/dragon-type's back and they fly up to the mountain's summit.

Just as Bianca was told at the checkpoint, there are several Team Plasma grunts on the backs of various flying Pokemon patrolling Victory Road's airspace, but they aren't at all suspicious of her and she flies by undetected.

On the way up, Bianca notices another possible loose end: her supply bag. None of the grunts use them, so if Bianca keeps hers around, she might look suspicious, so she needs to find a way to lose it without losing it.

Bianca and Flygon reach the summit. Most of the area is occupied by the Pokemon League's Headquarters building, and more recently, Team Plasma's castle towering over it. With lamps and various other lighting, the area is very well-lit, and Bianca notices that there are only a few grunts patrolling the area. They probably didn't think anyone would get past the mountain security.

Bianca notices a small path of woodland off the the building's right side and she directs Flygon to fly to that area. They land and Bianca slings her supply bag's strap over Flygon's shoulder.

“Gon?” Flygon reacts questioningly.

“I need you to hold on to that,” says Bianca, “I'm going to sneak into the castle, but I want you to wait for me outside.”

“Flyg!” Flygon exclaims, looking concerned.

“Don't worry,” Bianca tries to reassure Flygon, “I'll still have Emboar, Tyranitar, Musharna, Zangoose, and Glaceon with me if things go bad. If I need you, I'll call out your name as loud as I can, and I want you to come flying in as fast as you can, using Tailwind of you have to. Until then, try to stay out of sight. Can you do that for me?”

“Gon gon,” Flygon responds with an obedient nod.

“Thank you,” says Bianca, “Hopefully I won't be too long.”

Bianca leaves Flygon behind in the patch of woodland and circles around to the Pokemon League building on foot. She passes a few grunts along her way, but none of them pay her much mind. Fortunately, the female Team Plasma uniform have a long skirt to hide Bianca's legs in case she's unintentionally walking funny out of sheer nervousness. She certainly wouldn't put it past her, considering the Beautiflies she feels fluttering around in her stomach, being incognito in the middle of enemy territory.

Bianca knows she's doing this as a favor for a friend, but she wonders if this is a tad extreme, as she's putting herself in serious danger. She needs to remind herself that finding the Zekrock is not just for Ria's sake, but also for the entirety of Unova and all trainers who love and cherish their Pokemon, herself included. She knows she'll be heartbroken if she and her Pokemon have to part ways.

Bianca makes her way through the Pokemon League building, a structure with a mostly granite interior. Considering the place looks aged, almost ancient, she wonders if this might have once been a shrine or temple in ancient times.

After walking through a corridor decorated with statues and paintings of former Champions and Elite Four members, Bianca emerges from the opposite end of the building to an area she remembers from the broadcast of N's battle with Alder and the occasional Championship battles prior to that: a football field-sized battlefield with rows of seating on either side and lined with massive marble pillars holding a giant stone roof overhead. At the far end is Team Plasma's castle, which still has multiple ramps extending out of it, tearing into the ground.

Bianca takes a minute to examine the castle's exterior. It's made up of several massive buildings and it's near impossible to judge where anything might be in it. That said, there's no way she'll be able to find Ghetsis without some sort of guidance, which leaves only one choice for a destination: the throne room, or wherever N might be. Even though they have never met before, asking for his help may be the only way.

Bianca had never set foot in a castle before, and asking one of the grunts for direction might looks suspicious, but from what she had observed in video games and other sources, however reliable they are as references, the way to the throne room is usually pretty straightforward. Of all the buildings that make up the castle, the center building is the tallest, and it isn't hard to imagine that should be the first place she should explore.

She walks across the battlefield and toward the castle. There is a small group of grunts standing guard, but they don't question her as she walks past. A pretty good sign. Walking up the middle ramp, Bianca enters the castle.

Seeing as the castle looked drab on the outside, in addition to the fact that it's Team Plasma's headquarters, Bianca was expecting the interior to be a dark place lit by torches with menacing decorations, but upon entering the lobby, Bianca realizes she's dead wrong. Instead, walking into the castle is like walking into a five-star hotel. The room is electrically lit by a massive chandelier overhead made up of yellow crystals giving off golden light in all directions. Spotless red carpets line the walkways, expensive-looking suits of armor decorate the area, and the edges of the room even have shallow pools of clear water running along them.

After taking a few seconds to admire the scenery, Bianca thinks about which way would lead to the throne room. There are to doors to the sides, no doubt leading to the right and left wings of the castle and a large door straight ahead. She decides on the large door.

Behind the door is a long and wide spiraling staircase extending a dizzying height upward with occasional bridges along the way leading to other corridors.

Bianca has no idea how long it took her to climb the stairs all the way to the top, but she doesn't think it's a stretch to guess that the amount of minutes is somewhere in the double-digits, and she lost count of the amount of floors she'd risen somewhere after twenty. Not being the most athletic of people, her legs became very sore from her trek upward, but she finally reaches the top, which leads into another corridor, which extends far in either direction, but right across from where she emerges, there's a large double-doorway guarded by two Team Plasma grunts. Clearly, whatever is behind those doors must be important.

Unsure of how to react to the situation, Bianca attempts to walk toward the doors, pretending to ignore the guards. However, they step in her path with one of them saying, “Hey! You know the rules, don't you? No one is allowed to enter the audience chamber unless they're summoned.”

“The... audience chamber?” says Bianca. So this is the throne room! She takes a couple steps backward, checking both ends of the corridor. Besides her and the two guards, no one else is present.

“I-I'm so sorry! I must have...” Bianca suddenly grabs Musharna's Pokeball from her belt and sends out the Drowsing Pokemon.

“What the heck are doing?” demands one of the guards.

“Hypnosis!” Bianca commands.

“Muuuu...” Musharna's eyes glow pink and the two grunts stand like statues in a complete trance.

“Good job, Musharna. Return!” Bianca recalls the psychic-type and enters the audience chamber.

The throne room is the largest room in the castle by far, at least by what little Bianca had seen, with the ceiling at least fifty feet up. Like the lobby, it's illuminated by a massive chandelier, only this one giving off silvery light. Between the door and throne is a nine-foot-wide walkway with deep pools of shimmering water on both sides.

Sitting in the throne is N, with one of his elbows on an armrest and his seemingly sleeping head resting against his hand. Bianca had seen him before on TV, when he battled Alder, but seeing him in person, even wearing a crown and white cloak, it's hard to believe someone so young, no older than 20, could be the leader of Team Plasma.

To either side of N's throne are two women, both dressed in elegant gowns, one with braided blonde hair and the other with stringy violet hair. At the back right corner of the room, standing inconspicuously like a statue, is the legendary dragon, Reshiram.

“Who goes there?” says the violet-haired woman, “The young master has not summoned you!”

“Hm?” Upon the sound of the woman's voice, N opens his eyes.

“Um... You're N, aren't you?” Bianca asks.

“How dare you!” shouts the blonde woman, “As a member of Team Plasma, you are to address the young master as 'Your Highness,' 'Your Majesty,' or simply, 'My Lord.'”

“I'm not a member of Team Plasma!” says Bianca, approaching the throne, pulling back her hood and wig, “My name is Bianca. I'm Ria's best friend.”

“Ria?” says N, who then asks a series of questions in rapid-fire, “How is she doing? Has she acquired all of her badges yet? Has Zekrom awakened for her? How long until she comes to challenge me?”

“About that,” says Bianca, “That stone, the one that Zekrom's sleeping inside, or whatever. One of the Sages, Ghetsis, had attacked Ria and stolen it!”

N raises his eyebrows, “Ghetsis?” He shakes his head, “No! That's impossible! Sage Ghetsis wouldn't do that! It had to be someone else!”

“Ria told me,” says Bianca, “She also said that the Sages are against your decision to battle her! Would you put it past them to try to stop her? Besides, I took a big risk coming here! Why would I do that just to lie to you?”

N is taken aback, “Well... It's just...”

The blonde-haired woman speaks up, “Young master, perhaps the matter is worth investigating. I know Sage Ghetsis means a lot to you, but he does oppose your decision, just like the other Sages.”

The violet-haired woman adds, “Also, Ria had fought Team Plasma on several occasions and even defeated some of the other Sages, so she's a really powerful trainer. Sage Ghetsis is the strongest trainer in Team Plasma... next to you of course, young master. I believe he is capable of ambushing and overpowering Ria like our guest said.”

N stares at the floor contemplatively and is silent for almost two whole minutes before finally saying, “I'll summon him and ask him about it.”

“Thank you,” says Bianca.

N's two attendants glance at each other with knowing looks. The blonde-haired woman says, “Young master, with your permission, Anthea and I would like to privately speak with our guest.”

“Okay,” says N.

The violet-haired woman, 'Anthea,' as she was identified, and the blonde woman guide Bianca outside the throne room. They notice the two grunts standing by the door, but Bianca reassures them that they are under Musharna's Hypnosis, so by all rights and purposes, the three of them are alone in the corridor.

“... Anyway, what do you want to talk to me about?” asks Bianca.

The blonde-haired woman says, gesturing at her partner, “My name is Concordia, and this is my sister, Anthea. As I'm sure you figured out, we are loyal servants of the young master, and unlike most of Team Plasma, we support his decision to battle your friend and determine the fate of humans and Pokemon alike through that contest.”

“It's good to know he isn't alone,” says Bianca.

“Regarding Sage Ghetsis,” says Anthea, “We fully agree with you. We too have had our... suspicions about him. Your claims have confirmed them.”

“What suspicions?” asks Bianca.

“First of all, Ghetsis hasn't seemed as troubled as he was in the past over the prospect of Ria and Zekrom battling the young master as he has before, especially with the deadline so close,” says Concordia.

“And he's spent most of his time confined to his quarters,” Anthea picks up, “Concordia and I have had our guesses, but you have confirmed it: Ghetsis is likely hiding something in there, and he's guarding it.”

“Do you think N will make him give it up?” asks Bianca.

Anthea shakes her head, “Probably not, no. However, seeing as the young master is going to summon Ghetsis to the audience chamber, this could be the best chance to find the Dark Stone, if he is indeed hiding it in his quarters.”

“So we're basically going to turn Ghetsis's room upside-down looking for the stone while he's talking to N?” asks Bianca.

“Correct,” says Anthea, “That said, Sage Ghetsis's chamber is about a fifteen minute walk from here, so we'd best not waste time getting there.”

---

Concordia and Anthea lead Bianca down a few floors on the spiral staircase and then across a bridge into a corridor that hardly looks any different from the one that led to the audience chamber.

Deciding it a good idea to try to get along with her two sudden allies, Bianca tries to make conversation by asking, “Um... So... You're part of Team Plasma too, right? But you're still loyal to N, but don't you want all Pokemon to be released too?”

Concordia glances back at Bianca and responds, “If you wish to maintain your cover, I'd strongly advise you to refer to the young master formally. As for your question, what the young master desires, we desire. If he wishes to see the preservation or severing of the current relationship between humans and Pokemon through a battle between him and your friend, we will do whatever we can to make sure it happens.”

“Why the devotion?” asks Bianca.

“The young master is the closest thing to family we know,” says Anthea.

“As early as we can remember, we were raised as servants for Team Plasma,” says Concordia, “When the young master was born, we were assigned to see to his needs. As the three of us grew up together, he became like a younger brother to us...” Bianca notices Concordia's otherwise straight-faced expression starts to resemble a smile, “... Even though Anthea and I call him 'young master,' we'd much rather refer to him as 'little brother,' or simply, 'N.'”

“Why not just call him that?” asks Bianca, “I don't think he'd... you know, get angry if you did.”

“We'd spent our lives as servants,” says Anthea, “It's not so simple.”

“Your whole lives?” says Bianca, “That sounds... tough.”

“Perhaps from your point-of-view,” says Anthea, “As for us, we fail to comprehend any other way to live, but we know this much: The young master means more to us than anything. As of right now, he wants nothing more than to battle Ria and through that, find out whether or not humans and Pokemon are meant to be together. Toward that end, Concordia and I will do whatever it takes to make sure it happens, even if it means defying Ghetsis and the other Sages.”

“About Ghet--” Bianca stops herself upon noticing a grunt further up the hallway, “... About 'Sage Ghetsis,' 'His Majesty' sure didn't seem to want to believe he took Zekrom's stone.”

Concordia waits for the grunt to pass and then answers in a low voice, “Let's just say Sage Ghetsis is... important to the young master.”

“Important how?”

Suddenly, eighty feet ahead from around a corner at the end of the corridor appears Ghetsis. Bianca had seen him once before in Castelia City. Back then, he seemed like a kind man; one of the few decent people in Team Plasma, but since hearing how he attacked Ria, his presence feels almost malevolent. As he heads in their direction, Concordia and Anthea walk to the side of the passage and respectfully curtsy. Bianca tries to follow their example, but the female Team Plasma uniform doesn't have much to perform a convincing curtsy with, so she can only assume she's supposed to pose differently, but how?

Bianca shifts uncomfortably, and finally, in a snap decision, bows her head, hoping that's what she's supposed to do. Without breaking stride, the Sage walks past, and they wait until he is well behind them when Anthea whispers, “This could be trouble...”

“What do you mean?” asks Bianca.

“Minions are supposed to kneel, not bow,” says Concordia.

“Maybe he'll just think I'm new?” Bianca ventures hopefully.

“Doubtful,” says Anthea, “It's been over a week since Team Plasma has taken in anyone new. By now, everyone should know procedure that basic. Sage Ghetsis is a very cautious man, so I doubt this had gone unnoticed.”

“That's not all,” says Concordia, “The young master should have summoned Ghetsis well before now, but he's only just leaving his quarters, which is around that corner. It's possible he'd prepared some sort of countermeasure to cover his absence.”

“So now what?” Bianca asks.

“I hope you are a very strong trainer,” says Concordia, “because your skills might soon be put to the test.”

“Well, I have eight badges, so I guess it's safe to say I'm pretty good,” says Bianca modestly, “But what about you?”

Anthea shakes her head, “We have no Pokemon, nor have we ever been taught how to train them. Concordia and I are helpless should someone use Pokemon to attack us.”

---

True to what Anthea said, Bianca's unusual behavior for a Team Plasma peon had not gone unnoticed by Ghetsis, and it's more than possible she's an intruder, made even more evident by the fact that she's with Concordia and Anthea. He was not oblivious to their suspicious behavior toward him, as every time he'd seen them, their eyes had been on him, watching him, just waiting for something out of the ordinary to happen. Be that as it may, Ghetsis still considered those two a minor inconvenience, having no Pokemon to fight or defend themselves with, but that other girl... he wasn't prepared for her.

He thought the security he set up along Victory Road had been flawless, but that's now a moot point. Any outsider inside the castle at this point has to have at least eight badges, and it's possible this intruder could be here on Ria's behalf, or perhaps even Ria herself in disguise, and is after the Dark Stone. Regardless, something must be done about her. He left one of the other Sages to guard his room in his absence, but she'll no doubt be too much for him, so a contingency measure must be prepared!

Ghetsis pulls a Xtransceiver out of his robe and enters a series of frequencies. Soon after, the faces of Sages Giallo, Rood, and Bronius appear on the three-split screens.

“Sage Ghetsis,” says Giallo, “What do you need?”

“We have an intruder,” says Ghetsis, “She's at my quarters, she's with the king's two nosy little loyalists, Concordia and Anthea, and she's no doubt after the Dark Stone. Sage Gorm is guarding it, but I doubt he alone will be sufficient to stop her. I need the three of you to gather some troops immediately and see to it that she doesn't leave this castle!”

---

Bianca, Concordia, and Anthea enter Ghetsis's quarters: a large room, forty feet wide and fifty feet long with a twenty foot ceiling, and tiled floor. It has the expected desk, bookcase, and canopied bed and all throughout the room are decorations, mostly human weapons from an era long past, such as swords, maces, battleaxes, and even a model of a gun, a weapon that was supposed to use gunpowder to fire projectiles, believed to have rendered all weapons before it obsolete. Around the time it was invented, however, humans began capturing and training Pokemon, and as a result, such a weapon was never created, or so Bianca recalls learning in school a couple times. Besides the weapons, there is also a full suit of heavy armor and a large painting on one wall of a group of knights with their blades raised aloft.

Bianca figures that Ghetsis has a thing for pre-trainer antiques, which is not surprising, considering Team Plasma's mission.

“Hold it!” shouts a deep voice from the other side of the room. Bianca looks and sees that the voice belongs to a robed man with narrow eyes and a goatee.

“Sage Gorm...” says Anthea.

“'Gorm?'” Bianca recognizes the name. If she remembers correctly, that's the Sage Ria said she fought in Nacrene City, who was after the Zekrock.

“I just heard from Ghetsis mere seconds ago,” says Gorm, pointing at Concordia and Anthea, “He said the two of you were coming, along with an intruder.”

“I feared as much,” sighs Concordia.

Bianca, figuring her cover as officially blown, pulls back her hood and wig, “If you're guarding this room, does that mean Zekrom's stone is in here somewhere? Please tell us where it is!”

“You're naïve if you think I'd reveal something so important,” says Gorm, “Besides, as a safety measure, only Ghetsis and Ghetsis alone knows where in here it is. I'm merely here to make sure nosy people like you can't search around for it.”

“I didn't think it would be easy,” says Bianca, pulling a Pokeball from her belt, “Well, it looks like I have to beat you if we're going to search this room, so let's battle!”

“Hmph. Very well,” says Gorm, drawing a Pokeball of his own.

“Go! Emboar!”

“Aggron!”

Bianca and Gorm send out Emboar and Aggron respectively.

“Booooar!”

“Grooooon!”

Bianca had fought one Aggron before on her journey, and they are not small Pokemon, but the one Gorm just sent out is massive, far larger than the one she'd seen. She does recall Ria saying that one of the Pokemon this Sage used when they fought was a giant Aggron. Still, it's a steel/rock-type, and Emboar is Bianca's best Pokemon to counter it with.

“Aggron! Use Take Down!”

“Emboar! Use Focus Punch!”

Aggron charges across the room at Emboar, causing the floor to vibrate with every step it takes. At the same time, Emboar rears back one of his fists, and it starts to glow brightly with intense fighting-type energy.

The gap between the two Pokemon quickly closes, but just before Aggron reaches Emboar, its foot suddenly and unexpected catches on something.

“Gron? Aggrooooon!” With its arms flailing, searching for any nonexistent support it can find, Aggron stumbles forward. With the Iron Armor Pokemon unable to block nor dodge, Emboar delivers a punch to Aggron's gut so hard, the force of the attack lifts it clear off its feet and it is sent rocketing to the other side of the room, missing Gorm by just a few inches, and crashing into a bookcase. Aggron doesn't attempt to recover.

“You clumsy fool!” yells Grom as he recalls Aggron, and then turns his attention back toward Bianca, “You got lucky, but this isn't over!”

“Yes it is.”

“What?” Gorm whirls around to face the owner of a voice coming from behind him. While Emboar and Aggron were battling, Concordia sneaked around to Gorm's side of the room, grabbing one of the decorative swords from the wall along the way. She advances on the Sage almost menacingly, though still maintaining her usual stoic expression.

“Wh-what are you d-doing?” stutters Gorm, backing away from Concordia, “Y-you... you aren't seriously planning to...”

“Concordia!” shouts Bianca, “Don't you think that's going a little too far?”

“All is for the young master,” says Concordia, as she raises the sword with both hands and then slams Gorm's forehead with the hilt. The Sage falls to the ground, unconscious.

“Whew...” Bianca lets out a sigh of relief and she recalls Emboar.

Throwing the sword to the side, Concordia says, “We mustn't waste any time. Sage Gorm said that he was alerted of our coming, so I believe it's fair to say the other Sages may have been warned as well, and they may be on their way as we speak. We must find the stone quickly and leave!”

Bianca, Concordia, and Anthea start searching Ghetsis's room. Anthea starts by looking through the desk's drawers while Concordia searches under the bed. As for Bianca, she decides to start by checking behind the painting to see if there's a hidden compartment like in the movies. There isn't.

Bianca glances around the room, trying to think of where else Ghetsis may have hidden the Dark Stone. Concordia and Anthea are already searching two possible places, but overall, there aren't too many obvious hiding places in the room, which makes the search feel even more hopeless.

Bianca walks over to the suit of armor, wondering if the stone is hidden inside it somewhere, when she notices something: the floor tile that broke under Aggron's weight, which caused it to trip.

That giant Aggron was clearly a super-heavyweight Pokemon, but the floor held out very well against it, except for that one tile. It may have just been a minor construction flaw, but maybe...

Bianca kneels down and tosses the broken pieces of tile aside. Underneath, there is a small hole, and at the bottom is a black rock, roughly the size of a small bowling ball. Ria had shown it to her back in Iccirus City, so there is no mistake...

“I found it!” Bianca cheerfully calls out, pulling the Dark Stone out of the hole.

“Excellent,” says Concordia, “Now let's leave before...”

“Hold on,” says Anthea.

“What is it, Anthea?” says Concordia, “The Sages' forces could be on us at any minute!”

Anthea takes a pen and the first piece of paper she sees at Ghetsis's desk, and then asks, “Bianca, what is your Xtransceiver frequency?”

“Um... It's...” With a shrug, Bianca answers the question and Anthea writes down the numbers.

“What is the meaning of this?” asks Concordia.

“Even if the Dark Stone is taken away, Ghetsis will still stop at nothing to make sure Ria and the young master don't have their battle,” says Anthea, “It would be to both of their advantages for us to remotely provide information of his actions.”

“I get it,” says Bianca, “Like an inside source, right? But... won't you get in trouble for helping me?”

“There is no time to talk about this!” says Concordia with a edge on tension in her voice, “We need to leave this instant!”

---

Meanwhile, at the audience chamber...

Ghetsis enters the chamber and kneels before N, “You wished to see me, your majesty?”

“Y-yes,” says N, not sure how to proceed, “I... was told something...”

Ghetsis, already with a good idea of what N is getting at, says, “What is it?”

“A... guest has come to visit...” N begins.

… Or an intruder, Ghetsis thinks to himself.

“... She said that you took the Dark Stone from Ria. I'm just wondering... is that true?”

Instead of directly answering N's question, Ghetsis instead says, “Whether it's true or not, I'm afraid I'll have to say such an act would be for your own good. It was necessary for you to go out into the outside world, awaken Reshiram, and become Champion. Everything has fallen into place perfectly. However, as things currently stand, you're betraying the forces that once believed in you with all their hearts... and you're betraying our ancestors! You are the scion of the Harmonia family, after all, and they had dedicated their lives to Pokemon Liberation, and now you alone have the power to bring their dream to fruition. Instead, you are putting everything they fought for in jeopardy! Are you really going to let their lives efforts be in vain?”

N stares at the floor for several seconds, “I... I know, but... but what if they were wrong all along? What I love more than anything are Pokemon, and I want what's right for them, and if they're better off with humans, I... fully support that. I'm sorry, but I can't stop.”

“So be it, then. I just hope you can face your predecessors someday and say you did the right thing!” Ghetsis turns to leave the audience chamber. Halfway to the door, he glances back and adds, “And if those rumors you heard about the Dark Stone being stolen hold true, you would do well to consider the possibility that you'd already won and you'd be saving yourself and Team Plasma much time by simply declaring the separation of humans and Pokemon sooner, rather than later.” Ghetsis leaves the audience chamber.

As soon as the doors slam shut, Reshiram says, <I have neglected to say this before, young hero, but I admire your strength. No matter what opposes your choice, you choose to remain on the path you've chosen. Such resolve makes me proud to walk that path alongside you.>

“Thank you,” says N, feeling slightly cheered up, “Still, if it weren't for his advice, I'd never have met you, and everything I have now, I owe to him. It's... not easy to oppose him.”

<I understand your dilemma.>

“Reshiram, I... I don't want to believe that he might have been lying to me, but... could you tell whether... whether he was...?”

<Young hero... Like you, I am merely a seeker of truth. If I knew every truth and every lie, my existence would have little meaning.>

---

Bianca, Concordia, and Anthea leave Ghetsis's quarters, descend several floors, and head through another corridor, which the sisters claim leads to more stairs and another passage, which in turn leads to the castle's nearest exit. Unfortunately, just as Concordia predicted, they find themselves intercepted by a squad of eight Team Plasma grunts, led by one of the Sages. Bianca recognizes this particular Sage as one of the two at the hideout back in Castelia City.

“Sage Bronius...” says Anthea.

“You didn't actually think Sage Ghetsis would be oblivious to your actions, did you?” asks Bronius.

“Not at all,” says Concordia, “We had a feeling things might come to this. I was just hoping I was wrong.”

Bronius looks at Bianca, “Girl, you need not complicate matters. Just return the Dark Stone, and you can leave unharmed.”

Bianca passes the Dark Stone to Anthea and pulls a Pokeball from her belt, “No! Why should I believe you anyway?”

Bronius pulls a Pokeball from out of his robe, and the grunts follow suit by drawing their own capsules, “It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. The fact is, no matter how powerful a trainer you are, you are vastly outnumbered. Your chances of winning against all of us are nil!”

Bianca considers the situation. Nine opponents in total. She might be able to hold back a few of their Pokemon, but others will undoubtedly break past to attack her, Concordia, or Anthea directly. On top of that, the corridor is too narrow for them to sneak past and make a break for the exit. There is no other choice...

Bianca sends out her Pokemon, “Come out! Glaceon!” The Fresh Snow Pokemon appears.

“So be it!” Bronius and the eight grunts respond by sending out their own Pokemon, a wide variety of which appears with a series of flashes.

“Glace...” Glaceon mutters, aware of the disadvantage she's at.

“Blizzard!” Bianca commands, “Full power!”

“Ceoooooon!” Glaceon takes a deep breath, then blows a powerful blast of frost at the Team Plasma group. Fortunately, with the corridor being so narrow, there is little room for them to maneuver.

There are many screams from the humans in the group, and their Pokemon respond by shielding their trainers with their bodies. Some of the Pokemon are knocked out, but they are recalled only to be replaced by other Pokemon, and for all Bianca knows, there could be a total of fifty-four Pokemon among the nine Team Plasma members, as opposed to the five she has with her.

While the Team Plasma group is recovering from the Blizzard attack, Bianca commands Glaceon, gesturing at the floor between her and her adversaries, “Now, use Water Pulse!”

Glaceon fires a blast of water at the ground, and there's a splash, which causes it to spread across the width of the corridor, as well as onto the wall.

“Now! Wall them off with Ice Beam!”

Glaceon fires a blast of ice-type energy, tracing along the water that was produced by Water Pulse. In the beam's wake, a thick wall of ice is formed.

“Gla... gla...” Worn out by using three attacks in rapid succession, including her most powerful technique at its very strongest, a fatigued Glaceon breaths hard.

“Good job, Glaceon! Return!” Bianca recalls the Fresh Snow Pokemon. She looks at Concordia and Anthea and says, “Okay! Let's make a run for it!”

“Right!” Bianca, Concordia, and Anthea run away in the opposite direction.

From behind the ice wall, Bronius yells out, “You may get away from us, but there are other squads after you! You will not escape this castle!”

“Shoot...” mutters Bianca. She asks the sisters, “Do you know of any other way to get out of this castle?”

Concordia shakes her head, “From here, there are only a few other ways, but if what Bronius said is true, there are bound to be at least four other squads that will try to intercept us, aware of our location. The direction they blocked off was the fastest way... … ... What?”

No sooner does Concordia give her explanation when they hear the sounds of several footsteps and shouts coming from somewhere ahead of them, around two corners. Behind them, they hear the sound of Pokemon pounding away at the ice wall, and it doesn't sound like it will be long before they break through.

“We're trapped...” mutters Concordia, “I'm sorry, but I don't know of any other ways to escape...”

“Wait! I have an idea!” says Anthea, as she veers off to the left and opens the door to one of the side rooms. Bianca and Concordia follow her into it.

They find themselves in a simple storeroom, with crates filled with supplies such as food and potions. Anthea slams the door behind her and locks it, knowing that it won't slow down the Sages' Pokemon for very long. At least no one saw them enter the room, so that should buy them some time.

“What are you thinking, sister?” asks Concordia, “You only just found one more way to trap us!”

“Bianca, do you have a Pokemon that can fly and carry you?” asks Anthea.

Bianca shakes her head, “I have one waiting for me outside...”

Anthea considers this, then says, “I suppose that will have to do...” She presses her hand against the room's far wall, “If I recall correctly, there is another room at the other side of this wall and another hallway--”

“Don't be shortsighted,” Concordia interrupts, “even if we find a different passage, the Sages aren't stupid. By now, they probably stationed guards, many of them, at each of the entrances.”

“Let me finish,” says Anthea, “Beyond that other hallway should be the castle's outer wall.”

Catching on, Bianca says, “So, you're thinking of making another exit?”

“Yes... I'm sure your Pokemon are at least capable of punching holes in this castle's walls.”

“Okay, let's do that,” says Bianca, drawing a Pokeball from her belt and tossing it, “Go! Emboar!”

“Boaaar!” The Mega Fire Pig Pokemon appears.

Pointing at the room's far wall, Bianca commands, “Emboar! Blow through that wall and whatever is behind it with Blast Burn!”

“Em!” Emboar nods in response. Bianca and the sisters stand behind the fire/fighting-type as he charges up his most powerful attack.

“Em... Boooooooar!” A few seconds later, Emboar fires a large orange laser from his mouth, which pieces through the wall. The laser lasts for a few more seconds, until Emboar gets tired and slumps to one knee.

“Great job, Emboar! Return!” Bianca recalls Emboar.

A faint voice behind the door shouts, “What was that sound?”

“I think it came from over there,” says another voice.

“Let's go,” says Bianca. She and the sisters climb through the hole in the wall, roughly the circumference of an exercise ball, being careful not to touch the still-hot edges. Sure enough, on the other side, there's another storeroom like the one they were just in, with the flaming remains of what used to be a door across from them.

They exit into the hallway, which is mostly identical to the one they were in before, only there aren't any doors lining the other side. True to what Anthea said, the hole created by Emboar's Blast Burn attack leads to the outside.

Bianca widens the hole by kicking away some loose rubble. She looks out and sees the ground at least thirty stories down.

A drop of sweat runs down the side of Bianca's head, “Um...”

“You said you have a Pokemon waiting outside, didn't you?” asks Anthea, “Do you have any way of summoning it?”

“Yes,” says Bianca, “... but what about you two? I can't just leave you!”

“We had no intention of leaving the castle with you,” says Concordia, “Our place is with the young master.”

“B-but... But what about the Sages?”

“Despite everything, the young master is still Team Plasma's sovereign,” says Anthea, “I'm confident he can at least use his power to protect us. The Sages won't have us captured for long.”

“... You're sure?” asks Bianca.

Across from them, they hear the door in the first storeroom being slammed at, threatening to break at any moment.

“There's no time to argue!” yells Anthea, thrusting the Dark Stone into Bianca's arms, “Call your Pokemon, escape, and get that stone to Ria!”

Bianca pauses, and then says, “Okay...” She leans out the hole as much as she dares, and screams at the top of her lungs, so much that it hurts her throat, “Flyyyyyyyyygooooooooon~!”

Behind them, the door breaks and one of the Team Plasma grunts yells, “There they are!”

Concordia and Anthea run up the the grunts and stand in front of them, “We won't let you pass us!”

Knowing she only as a few seconds before Team Plasma and their Pokemon are on her, Bianca yells again, “Flygon! Please! Hurry!”

This time, Bianca hears a distant cry in response, “Flyyyyyyyy!”

The grunts shove Concordia and the Anthea to the side, and advance on Bianca, “There's nowhere left to run! Hand over the stone!”

Well, they're right. There is nowhere left to run. Gathering every last drop of courage she can muster, Bianca leaps out of the hole and begins her headlong plunge toward the ground far below.

With her adrenaline running and heart pumping faster than she ever thought possible, all Bianca can think as she tightly grips the Dark Stone, practically curled around it, Please! Flygon! Save me!

“Flyyyy!” Flygon screeches again, this time the sound being much closer. Bianca looks and sees the Mystic Pokemon flying toward her like a jet.

The ground/dragon-type flies under her, and Bianca lands softly on her back. Bianca takes several seconds to catch her breath, and says, hugging Flygon around the neck, “Thank you, Flygon! Thank you so much!”

“Gon!” Flygon responds.

Bianca reaches for her supply bag, which is still strapped around Flygon. She drops the Dark Stone into it and fastens it tight. No sooner does she do that, however, when she hears someone shouts, “There she is! Don't let her get away!” Bianca sees a small group of Team Plasma members, roughly twelve in number, riding toward her on the backs of their flying Pokemon, and she knows she's not in the clear yet. This was a situation she was trying to avoid before, but this time, she's headed for safety, not more danger, and besides, going down has to be easier than going up!

“Flygon! Head back to Opelucid City! Floor it... so to speak!” Bianca commands. She tightly grabs her supply bag's strap is if it were reins. It's going to be a wild ride...

Team Plasma's flying Pokemon launch a number of long range attacks in Bianca and Flygon's direction, such as Razor Wind, Confusion, Psychic, and even a couple Dragon Pulses and Hyper Beams. Flygon reacts, flying wildly, performing a number of quick dodges and barrel rolls, breaking through the barrage unscathed, and past Team Plasma.

With the lights of Opelucid City visible in the distance, Flygon heads straight in that direction. However, Team Plasma gives chase, firing more shots. Flygon moves in a haphazard pattern, not making herself a target.

Bianca figures the Team Plasma squad won't dare follow her any further than the Opelucid-Route 10 checkpoint, where a group of Masters would be ready to fend them off, but it's still going to be a few minutes before they get that far, and if Team Plasma keeps harassing them the whole way with their current numbers, they're bound to get in a lucky shot or two. Flygon can probably take a few hits, but Bianca can't, should one of their attacks manage to hit her.

Bianca tightens her grip on the supply bag's strap, and commands, “Flygon! Use Draco Meteor!”

“Fly flygon!” With Bianca holding on tightly, Flygon flies backward and upright, firing a large blast of dragon-type energy up at her pursuers, which then splinters into several smaller blasts. While four of Team Plasma's Pokemon manage to avoid or endure the attack, the rest of them take the blasts head-on and are forced to make an emergency landing.

Bianca considers commanding Flygon to take down the four remaining Team Plasma members, but taking the time to do that might give more Team Plasma troops a chance to catch up. At her trainer's command, Flygon does a quick U-turn and they resume their retreat. Team Plasma continues chasing them, but their attacks are fewer in number and less constant.

A few minutes later, Bianca and Flygon soar over the Opelucid-Route 10 checkpoint, and as Bianca predicted, Team Plasma abandons its pursuit.

As she and Flygon fly home-free over Opelucid City, Bianca finds herself laughing almost maniacally. She had never put herself in that kind of danger before, and there had been a few times she thought she was done for, but with it all said and done, it was kind of fun... in hindsight at least. Plus, considering she had performed a feat of courage she once thought she was incapable of, it's impossible not to feel a strong sense of accomplishment.

As the sun begins to peek over the horizon, signaling the start of a brand new day, Bianca returns to the Pokemon Center.

---

“... Ugghhh...” I wake up feeling the same way I've always felt when waking up lately: crappy. Looking up at the clear dome ceiling, the sky is only just starting to light up.

With everything buzzing around in my head, I'm surprised that I can get to sleep at all. I guess I have Alder's training wearing me down to thank for that.

Rather, what has me sleeping so bad are the nightmares. Like every nightmare I've been having lately, it starts with me losing badly to N, complete with Ghetsis giving me a victorious grin (man, I hate that guy.) The next thing I see is the sight of many trainers, some I know, some I don't, tearfully releasing their Pokemon. I even see myself releasing Dewott, Cinccino, Braviary, Gallade, Magmortar, Marowak, and Absol. After that sorrowful scene, the group of ex-trainers turns on me, blaming me. I run and run and run some more, chased by the angry mob along some endless road. Eventually my strength gives out and I collapse. Suddenly, the mob somehow melds together, takes the form of a giant black Gyarados, and eats me alive. That's when I wake up. As usual, my pillow is damp with sweat and my heart is thumping wildly.

“Morning, Ria!” says a pleasant-sounding voice. I turn over in my bed and see Bianca sitting on an adjacent bed, wearing a yellow bathrobe, with her hair damp, and smelling kinda nice, clearly having recently gotten out of the shower.

“Mornin', Bianca...” I mutter, “You seem awfully chipper this morning...”

“I got you a present,” says Bianca, smiling brightly.

“Is it the Zekrock?” I jest.

“As a matter of fact, it is.”

“Yeah, I didn't think... Wait! What?” I suddenly sit upright.

Bianca places her supply bag on her lap, opens it, and, sure enough, pulls the Zekrock out of it for me to see.

“... Alright,” I say, “Unless Ghetsis suddenly showed up, apologized, and gave it to you, I think you've got a story to tell.”

“Um... I do,” says Bianca, “Hm... Where should I--”

“Ugh! Could you two keep it down?” grumbles a trainer in a nearby bed, “Some of us are still trying to sleep!”

“Let's go somewhere more private,” I say.

Bianca and I take the elevator to the infirmary, where there is no one but us.

“Alright, so what happened?” I ask.

“Well... you see...” Bianca tells me all about her crazy night. How she infiltrated Castle Plasma, how she found the Zekrock with the help of a couple of maids, and finally, how she made her daring escape.

After listening to Bianca's story, I half-yell the first two words that enter my head, “You idiot!”

“Wh-what?” stutters Bianca.

I tightly clench my fists at my side, “I'm... I'm going through enough already... If something happened to you... I...”

“But it isn't fair,” says Bianca with her gaze set on the ground, “I can't even begin to imagine the pressure you're under. I promised I would do whatever I can to help you and... and I don't want you to carry all that weight by yourself. You're my best friend, Ria, and you mean more to me than you know.”

“Bianca...” I embrace Bianca tightly.

“R-Ria?”

“You did something very dangerous, and I don't want you to put yourself at that kinda risk for me again... but thank you for doing it. You're the best friend I could ever hope for, and I'll make sure what you did won't be in vain.”

“Ria... Thank you...” Bianca returns my hug and we stay that way for several seconds.

We separate and Bianca pulls the Zekrock out of her supply bag and holds it out to me, “This is yours, so you should take it.”

“Thank you,” I take the stone and put it in my supply bag.

Bianca lets out a loud yawn, “... I'm so tired... I should get some sleep...”

“Sleep well,” I say, “You earned it. The next time you see me, I'll be an eight-badge Elite Rank trainer!”


I'd been struggling with writer's block and all that, but I finally finished this installment, and I hope the wait was worth it!
I ended up doing a major revision for this chapter. I wanted to give Concordia and Anthea a much bigger role than they had in the game (just healing your Pokemon and providing some character exposition for N), and I originally planned to have just the two of them find the Zekrock and get it to Ria, but I figured having a couple characters who previously had a very minor role suddenly playing such an important part might be a tad cheap. Besides, up until now, Bianca had pretty much been just a friend and rival to Ria, and I figured she needed a big role to play at some point, so there we have it: a Bianca-centered chapter.
Also, yeah, I know that Bianca becomes Professor Juniper's assistant and Cheren becomes a Gym Leader in BW2, which kinda conflicts with their current characterization in this story, but I already thought of a way around it!
 
Yeah. Um, hehe... what am I supposed to say?
Apart from that this was well worth the wait, of course. I cannot emphasize how much I am enjoying the story, Valin - I'll leave it at that.

...On another note... do you plan, now that you've seen it, on re-interpreting B2/W2 also? After all, these are the best possible sequels to do it for, heh. Just a question.
 
Oh my, this was unexpected. I though Ria herself was going to somehow get the Zeckrock after beating Drayden in an inspiring montage, but that would be too cliche. XD
 
Hi Valin, I am absolutely loving this series. Normally I'm hesitant about fanfics, and I wasn't sure about this at first, but you had me hooked by the second paragraph. The thing I love most is Ria's character development. It makes me feel like Ria is my friend, and I don't want to share her with anybody. I never want this series to end. I will surely cry when it does, though.
 
After a quick breakfast and pacing around in the lobby for, like, an hour, waiting for the gym to open, I once again descend underneath city hall, en route for round two against Drayden.

I wonder if I possibly made a risky promise when I told Bianca for a certainty that I would win the Legend Badge today, but then I remind myself that part of the reason I lost before was because my mind was preoccupied with the hopelessness of my circumstances, and if I actually focused, I just might have won. Now with Alder's training and a renewed sense of hope, I know I can totally win this battle! In fact, I have to win this battle. The deadline is midnight tomorrow (well, technically the day after tomorrow), and before then, I must have all the badges if I'm gonna even set foot in Pokemon League territory, and I need Drayden to at least clue me in on how the heck to get Zekrom to wake up.

I enter the arena, where Iris is waiting. At the back of the room, next to the doors, she's on the floor, slumped against the wall. Cuddled in her arms is a blue snake-like Pokemon called Dratini, the least evolved form of the dragon/flying-type Pokemon, Dragonite, though the two Pokemon look nothing alike.

Iris looks up at me and flatly say, “Hello, Miss Smart-mouth...”

“Hello, Miss Iris the Virus...” I greet back, mimicking Iris's tone, “I'm here for round two against Mr. Mayor, so go fetch him for me. Chop-chop!”

I'm expecting Iris to get angry, but instead she seems melancholy, “You know, you're the first challenger who's come in the past three days, but why are you even bothering? We'll have to let all of our Pokemon go anyway, so why not just enjoy the time you have left?”

“What about the Hero of Ideals?” I ask, “Have you ever, I dunno, tried to have a little faith in m-- er, him? Y'know, counting on him to defeat N, so people won't be forced to release their Pokemon?”

“Who is this 'hero?'” asks Iris, “Where is he? Why hasn't he done anything yet? Look, Miss Smart-mouth, right now, challenging this Gym is pointless. You and your Pokemon have better things to do with the time you have left.”

I like Iris just about as much as she likes me, which is to say not a lot, but it's hard to see her depressed and defeated to the point where I'd rather she make some kinda snide remark toward me. I guess Drayden never told her about my role in Unova's current circumstances, and frankly, I want as few people as possible to know about it, but I need Iris to cooperate and get Drayden for me... and cheering her up would be a nice bonus, too.

I walk across the arena and lean against the wall near Iris, “This is something I've been wanting to keep a secret to as many people as possible, but the 'Hero of Ideals' is me.”

Without even glancing at me, Iris says, “You don't have to lie to me.”

“What would I gain from doing that?” I ask, “Look at this!” I pull the Zekrock out of my bag.

“... And that is...?”

“The Legendary Pokemon, Zekrom, is sealed inside this. I'm trying to figure out how to unseal him, so I can stand a fighting chance against N's Legendary Pokemon, Reshiram.”

Iris still looks skeptical, but she says, “I'm listening.”

“Drayden might know how I can free Zekrom from this thing, but he refuses to tell me anything until I can beat him, plus I won't be able to go to the Pokemon League without the Legend Badge anyway, so that's why I'm here to fight him. I'm not trying to make you believe me or anything, but I know you want to put your hope into something, so why not take a chance on me?”

Iris is silent for a few seconds before saying, “... Before your last battle, you and Mr. Drayden were talking about something... Something about that N guy... Was that it?”

“Yeah.”

Iris rises to her feet, “Okay, I'll get Mr. Drayden for you. Just promise me one thing, Miss Ria: I'm counting on you, so don't mess up and fight like a moron this time!”

“Heh. Don't worry; I won't...” I say with the best reassuring smile I can manage, “... Wait! Hold on! Did you just call me 'Miss Ria?'”

“Yeah...”

“I can't believe I'm saying this, but that just sounds weird coming from you...”

“Have it your way, Miss Smart-mouth. I'll call Mr. Drayden...” Iris pulls out a Xtransceiver and enters a frequency, “Mr. Dr-- I mean, daddy... Ria, that challenger from four days ago is back, and she wants a rematch.”

On the other end, Drayden responds, “Very well, I'll be right down. In the meantime, tell her that she'd better not waste my time.” The transmission ends.

“... Did you hear that?” Iris asks.

“Perfectly,” I say.

I return to the side of the arena I entered from and three minutes later, Drayden appears through the double doors.

“So, you're here for another battle?” says Drayden from across the arena, phrasing it more as a statement than a question.

“Totally,” I say, “And I'm not gonna be distracted like last time, so I hope you're ready to lose!”

“Hmph. I see you're not lacking in confidence,” says Drayden, “It makes me eager to see what kind of challenge you'll present this time. However, the rules for this match will be slightly different than last time...”

“Name 'em.”

“It will still be made up of separate battles, best two out of three wins, but this time, the matches will be doubles.”

“So, either four or all six of my Pokemon will be fighting this thing?” I say, “Fine by me; It's only right that as many of them as possible play a part in our final Gym battle.”

“Um...” Iris looks at Drayden, and then me, with a conflicted expression on her face, probably because she's so used to rooting for Drayden, but keeping her Pokemon is dependent on my victory.

“Very well then,” says Drayden, who then roars, “Let the battle begin!”

Since my training under Alder, I now have three Pokemon with me that are capable of ice-type attacks. I'd best use one for each round.

Drayden and I send out our Pokemon for round one.

“Dragonite! Salamence! Show no mercy!”

“Let's go! Braviary! Absol!”

A Dragonite and Salamence appear on Drayden's end, while Braviary and Absol appear on my end.

Drayden commands his Pokemon, “Salamence! Use Tailwind! Dragonite! Use Hyper Beam!”

Salamence's eyes glow sky-blue and wind begins swirling around it. At the same time, Dragonite hovers a few feet off the ground, opens its mouth and fires a white beam of normal-type energy at Braviary. The normal/flying-type makes a quick sideways maneuver, narrowly dodging the beam.

“Good going!” I say, “Now, get Dragonite while it's recharging!”

“Salamence! Dragon Claw!” At Drayden's counter-command, Salamence flies from one side of the arena to the other in mere seconds. With its claws radiating dragon-type energy, it makes a swift passing strike at Braviary, who is still off-balance from dodging Dragonite's attack. Salamence then makes a U-turn, and attempts to strike Absol from behind with another Dragon Claw, but the Disaster Pokemon sees it coming, and swiftly sidesteps.

However, just as Absol dodges, Dragonite fires a second Hyper Beam at the dark-type. Using the momentum from his previous dodge, Absol inelegantly rolls to the side, just barely avoiding the beam, but also ending up helpless on the floor. Salamence takes advantage of this and comes flying in his direction.

“Salamence! Dragon Pulse!” Drayden commands.

“Braviary! Use Tailwind and then intercept Salamence with Brave Bird!” I counter-command.

“Braaaav!” With wind feeding his wings and his body glowing with flying-type energy, Braviary flies toward Salamence, intending to flank it. A blast of dragon-type energy forms in Salamence's mouth just as Braviary closes in, but at the last second, Salamence turns its head and blasts Braviary at point-blank with its Dragon Pulse attack. It's not what Drayden commanded, but a Pokemon able to strategize on its own is a well-trained Pokemon, or so Alder told me.

“Braaaavi!” Braviary is sent hurdling through the air and crashing against one of the pillars. Fortunately, Braviary's counterattack gave Absol enough time to get back to his feet... or so that would be the case if not for a third Hyper Beam from Dragonite, which slams directly into the dark-type.

“Sooooool!” Absol sinks his claws into the floor, and struggles to maintain his ground against the beam. When the attack ends, Absol is still standing, but it definitely took quite a bit out of him.

It's at this moment that I notice what Drayden is playing at. He's having Dragonite stay out of the thick of things, and having it fire Hyper Beams from a distance. Meanwhile, Salamence slides in, counterattacking my Pokemon, giving Dragonite a chance to recharge. Basically, he's trying to lock us down. Time to do something about that...

“Braviary! Absol! Hang in there!” I shout.

“Brav...”

“Sol...” Braviary and Absol recover from the attacks they just received.

“Show no mercy, Salamence!” Drayden yells, “Take Braviary down with another Dragon Pulse!”

“Sala!” Salamence flies toward Braviary and prepares another blast of dragon-type energy.

“Absol! Cover Braviary with Ice Beam!”

“Absooool!” Absol fires a light-blue beam of ice-type energy at Salamence. It strikes the dragon/flying type from below and behind, connecting with its underbelly.

With the sudden and painful blow it takes, Salamence flinches and prematurely fires its Dragon Pulse, missing Braviary by inches. The Valiant Pokemon swoops under Salamence while the stunned dragon/flying-type crashes into the pillar.

“Good one, Absol!” I say, “Braviary! Use Tailwind and carry Absol!”

“Braaav!” Using Tailwind once again, Braviary swoops down toward Absol, who leaps up and lands on the normal/flying's back.

“Great!” I say, “Now, go after Dragonite!”

In response to my command, Braviary and Absol close in on Dragonite.

“Hyper Beam!” commands Drayden.

“Draaaaa!” Dragonite opens its mouth and normal-type energy starts to gather in it, but doesn't fire right away.

I can't say for sure what Drayden and Dragonite are planning, but it doesn't take much to assume Dragonite will wait until it has a clear close-range shot at Braviary and Absol, and then try to blast them both at once. Unfortunately, with Dragonite at the far end of the arena, there isn't much room for a sneak attack. It might be time to put one of the tricks Alder taught me to the test.

“Absol! Go in and use Night Slash!”

“Sol!” With his horn emitting a dark aura, Absol leaps from Braviary's back and toward Dragonite.

“Dragonite! Take down Absol with Hyper Beam now!” yells Drayden.

At the same time, I command, “Braviary! Boost Absol with Wing Attack!”

With an extra-powerful flap, Braviary catches up with the airborne Absol, and strikes him from behind with his wing. The force of the attack causes Absol to rocket forward, the sudden boost of speed throwing off Dragonite's timing, causing it to flinch.

“Dra?”

“Soool!” Absol tears into Dragonite's upper chest with his Night Slash attack. The dragon/flying-type reflexively fires its Hyper Beam as it falls backward, causing it to skim along the ceiling.

“Finish it, Absol!” I yell, “Ice Beam!”

Using his claws to cling to dragon/flying-type, Absol takes a couple steps up to Dragonite's face and fires his Ice Beam directly into it.

“Niiiite!” With light-blue flames erupting from its forehead, Dragonite plummets to the ground. Absol leaps off Dragonite's body and neatly lands, while the dragon/flying-type slams against the floor unconscious.

“Gr...” Drayden recalls Dragonite and then shouts out, “Salamence! Use Dragon Claw!”

While Braviary and Absol were busy with Dragonite, Salamence recovered. With its claws blazing with dark-blue energy, it attempts to slash Braviary from behind, but the Valiant Pokemon is not unprepared, and he pulls up just enough to avoid Salamence's attack, and then slams it from above with a Wing Attack, spiking it into the ground.

“Salamence!” Drayden yells.

“Mence...” Salamence weakly tries to recover.

“Now for the coup de grace!” I say, “Braviary! Finish Salamence with your new move! Return attack!”

“Braaaaaaav!” Braviary's body pulses with pink energy, which then turns white, and dives down at Salamence, almost looking like a shooting star, the resulting collision followed with a bright flash of light.

I recall what Alder told me about this technique: 'Ria, of all the Pokemon currently traveling with you, Braviary has been with you the longest. This technique, Return, will allow it to channel its love and respect for you, creating a powerful force of normal-type energy. By now, I imagine you two share a close bond, so its power should be immense.'

“Salaaaaaa!” Salamence lets out a pained roar, and then it collapses. It looks like that's all it can handle.

“Salamence! Return!” Drayden recalls Salamence.

“Awesome work, you guys! Take a good long rest! Return!” I dash halfway across the arena, recall Braviary and Absol, and then return to my original spot.

“Not bad...” says Drayden, “It seems when you focus, you can battle like a genius.”

“Keep them coming,” I say, “My Pokemon and I are just getting started here!”

“Oh, I will,” says Drayden, pulls another two Pokeballs from his belt, “And this next round won't be as easy as the one you just fought!”

“Bring it!” I say, drawing my next two Pokeballs from my belt.

“Iris! Open it!” Drayden says.

“Oh! Okay!” Iris runs to the back of the room and pulls a switch I didn't notice before. It looks like a fire alarm switch, but when Iris flips it, the room lightly vibrates, and a panel of tiles between the second pair of pillars from Drayden's end, about twelve tiles wide, sinks a few inches into the floor, then slides under, revealing a trench filled with water.

With the appearance of the pool, I'm immediately clued in on what kind of Pokemon one of Drayden's Pokemon is going to be: a water-borne Pokemon, so it's probably going to be a water-type, which is bad news, considering the two Pokemon I just chose for this next round: Magmortar and Marowak. However, having chosen them already, it's too late to change my mind. I guess we'll just have to work around it.

Drayden and I send out our Pokemon for round two, “Garchomp! Kingdra! Don't fail me!”

“Go! Magmortar! Marowak!”

As I send out the Bonekeeper and Blast Pokemon, Drayden tosses his two Pokeballs at different ranges. One of them, he tosses over the pool and the Pokemon that appears is a Garchomp. The other, he throws directly into the pool, and the Pokemon that appears, 'Kingdra,' is a blue seahorse-like Pokemon, almost six feet in height.

I'd never seen a Kingdra before, but I'd seen plenty of another Pokemon that looks a lot like it, called Seadra, and its preevolved form, Horsea, which are just water-types. However, if Drayden, a dragon-type specialist, is sending out what could possibly be Seadra's evolved form, I guess this means it gained a second type. I do some quick typing in my head, and determine that if Kingdra really is a water/dragon-type, it's weak to only one attack type: dragon-type, the single attack type no Pokemon on my team, sans Gallade (who learned the dragon-type technique, Dual Chop during Alder's training), has. Looks like there's no easy way to take this one down...

Drayden looks at Magmortar and Marowak for a second, and then his eyes narrow. I can't see the rest of his face, but I don't think it's a stretch to assume he's smirking behind that beard, “Heh. A fire-type and ground-type, eh? This makes things simple! We'll take those two down with a single attack!” He extends his arm authoritatively, “Garchomp! Stand down! Kingdra! Use Surf at full power!”

“Gar...” Sounding disappointed, Garchomp jumps backward over Kingdra and the pool, landing next to Drayden.

“Dra!” At the same time, Kingdra's eyes glow blue, and suddenly the water in the pool rises up as if it were a blob, the water/dragon-type riding on top of it, rising until its head practically touches the bottom of the ceiling's dragon fixture. There's a brief pause, and then the water slowly moves forward, taking on the form of a localized tsunami taking up the entire width of the arena and threatening to crash down on top of Magmortar and Marowak!

Despite how dire the situation looks, my mouth curves upward. It looks like it's time for the second trick I learned from Alder, “Magmortar! Prepare a double Fire Blast!”

“Mag!” Two intense blasts for fire form at the mouths of Magmortar's cannons, and he aims them up at Kingdra.

“Idiot!” Drayden taunts me from across the room, “It doesn't matter how many Fire Blasts your Magmortar performs! They're useless on Kingdra!”

“Who says I plan to use them on Kingdra... or even for offense?”

“What?”

I make an upward arm gesture, “Magmortar... Launch!”

“Mort!” Magmortar turns his cannons toward the floor and fires both blasts at the same time, the combined recoil of the two attacks propelling him high into the air, with him landing on top of the dragon fixture. Kingdra's Surf attack harmlessly passes below him, making the fixture's serpentine length across the arena below seem like a bridge.

“Hmph! Quite clever,” says Drayden, “But what about Marowak? Below the tiles, the ground is made up entirely of concrete! It won't be able to use Dig in time to avoid Surf!”

Well, Drayden is right. While I came up with a solution for Magmortar fairly quickly, I haven't really thought things through for Marowak.

“Water Gun!” Drayden commands Kingdra.

Kingdra fires a volley of water spurts from its snorkel down at Marowak, who practically dances to dodge them.

I mentally cycle through the new attacks Marowak learned from Alder, and come up with a suicidal, but potentially effective tactic. “Marowak! Charge in there and use Thunder Punch!”

“Maroooo!” Marowak charges head-on toward Kingdra's wave. Halfway, his club starts crackling with electricity. Without hesitation, the Bonekeeper leaps into the wave, and the electric power from his Thunder Punch attack surges through the water, shocking Kingdra, while leaving himself, a ground-type, unaffected (at least by the electricity, but not the water.)

“Draaaa!”

“Wak...” Marowak emerges from the other side of the wave. Steam is rising from his entire body, but he's still standing... barely.

Time for trick number three! “Marowak! Use Bonemerang! Magmortar! Use Thunderbolt!”

Marowak tosses his club toward the back of the wave. Partway, Magmortar fires a Thunderbolt attack from his cannon at nothing in particular, and the ground-type's Lightning Rod ability causes it to arc into the the club, electrifying it again. It passes through the water, giving Kingdra a second jolt, and then when it emerges, it pulls up and makes its return trip, this time striking Kingdra directly, knocking it off the top of the wave, just as it comes crashing down.

“Draaa!”

The wave hits the ground just a few feet shy of my position, resulting in a massive splash that completely drenches me. At the same time, around the arena's halfway point, Kingdra slams against the floor, unconscious.

With a disgruntled growl, Drayden roars, “Garchomp! Dragon Rush!”

“Gaaaaaaar!” Garchomp, who I'd practically forgotten about up 'til now, envelopes itself with dragon-type energy and charges at the weary Marowak at an incredible speed. It slams into the ground-type before he can even turn to face his new opponent. The Bonekeeper is sent flying several feet across the arena and then tumbling along the floor, his unconscious body stopping at my feet.

“Good job, Marowak! Return!” I recall Marowak. At the same time, Drayden runs up to Kingdra and recalls the water/dragon-type.

From the dragon fixture, Magmortar aims his cannon down at Garchomp.

Drayden commands, pointing up at Magmortar, “Garchomp! Take Magmortar down with Dragon Rush! Fear not! It's capable of no attack you're weak against!”

“Wanna bet?” I ask.

“What?”

“Gar!” Garchomp bends its knees, preparing to launch itself up at the Blast Pokemon.

At the same time, I shout, “Magmortar! Hidden Power! Now!”

Garchomp leaps toward up at Magmortar, its body aglow with dragon-type energy. When it's halfway to its target, Magmortar fires an energy bullet from his cannon, which flashes a rainbow of colors. Back in training, Alder told me that many Pokemon have an affinity for a certain type, despite their own, which can be brought out with the Hidden Power attack. After some trial and error, I figured out Magmortar's.

The bullet connects with Garchomp's face, and light-blue flames erupt from it, “Gaaaaaaaaar!”

Drayden gasps in alarm, “Your Magmortar's Hidden Power... It's...”

“Ice-type,” I say.

With its momentum greatly reduced and the energy of its Dragon Rush dispelled by Magmortar's Hidden Power attack, Garchomp reaches the height of its jump, just short of the Blast Pokemon, and clings to the edge of the ceiling fixture with its claws. Almost at point-blank range, Magmortar fires a Focus Blast, which scores a direct hit, sending Garchomp rocketing down to and slamming into the floor, resulting in a small crater.

“Gar...” The dragon/ground-type tries to recover, but collapses.

“Garchomp! Return!” Drayden recalls Garchomp.

Magmortar jumps down from the fixture and lands in front of me, a triumphant expression on his face, “Mag mag!”

“Awesome job,” I say holding out the fire-type's Pokeball, “Return!”

Well, that was best two of three, which means...

The water from Kingdra's Surf attack seeps into a pair of drains at the far right and left sides of the room. At the back of the room, pulling the switch to close the now-empty pool, Iris cheers, “Yay! Miss Smart-mouth won!”

“Iris...!” Drayden glares back at his adopted daughter.

“Eep!” Iris covers her mouth with both hands.

“Ahem! At any rate, you did win,” Drayden says, as he clears his throat and walks toward me with a hand in his pocket, “Despite my initial impressions, you are truly a powerful trainer, and one of the few brave enough to choose me as your final opponent for the Gym Badges. You have my respect, challenger. As such, it is only right that I present you with the Lege--”

“Hold on,” I interrupt, my open palm extended.

Drayden stops in mid-stride, “What is it?”

“I heard that you caught a lesser Legendary Pokemon, is that right? If so, I'd guess you were saving it for a tiebreaker, if it came to that.”

“You assume correctly, but the fact remains--”

“I want to see it,” I say, “I have a big battle coming up, and I wanna test my Pokemon's power against it.”

Drayden considers this for a few seconds, and then says, “Very well. Despite the fact that you won two rounds, we'll have the third as well. However, this is purely an exhibition match, and win or lose, the Legend Badge is yours.”

“Fine by me,” I say, “Let's do this!”

Drayden returns to his end of the arena and pulls two Pokeballs from his belt... or to be exact, a red and white standard Pokeball and a purple and white Master Ball, the most advanced type of Pokeball, designed to capture Pokemon too strong for any other. They're hard to come buy and very expensive.

With my anticipation building, I pull Gallade and Cinccino's Pokeballs from my belt. This is the way it should be: All six of my Pokemon participate in the battle for my final badge (even though I technically already won it, but I'm still gonna treat this battle as if it's on the line)!

Drayden and I send out our Pokemon, “Go! Gallade! Cinccino!”

“Crush them! Haxorus! Latios!”

Gallade and Cinccino appear on my end. On Drayden's side, one of the Pokemon that appears is a Haxorus, like the one Iris lent Bianca for our raid on Team Plasma's hideout in Castelia City. The other is a blue Pokemon, six and a half feet long hovering above the ground, with a sleek build, long neck, a couple of straight, stiff wings, a red triangular pattern on its white belly, and while it has a couple short arms, it has no legs.

Gesturing at the unknown Pokemon he sent out, Drayden says, “Meet Latios, the Eon Pokemon! An exclusively male psychic/dragon-type celebrated in legends throughout the world!”

“Latiiii!” Latios howls.

I've heard of a Pokemon called Latios, but know little else about it, besides what Professor Juniper told me about lesser Legendary Pokemon. Even though I'm the one who asked for this battle, I still feel nervous about fighting something that holds the title of 'Legendary Pokemon.' I have to remind myself that even though lesser Legendaries are powerful, they aren't godlike like Reshiram, and are surmountable by any old Pokemon, provided they're well-trained enough. Yes, nothing to worry about! This is the best way to gauge just how powerful Gallade and Cinccino have become!

“Gallade... Cinccino...” I say.

“Gall?”

“Cin?” Gallade and Cinccino glance back at me questioningly.

“This could be your toughest battle yet. Are you ready?”

With a confident expression on both of their faces, the Blade and Scarf Pokemon nod, and then turn their attention back to Latios and Haxorus.

“Kick her butt!” Iris cries out.

“Hey! I thought you were on my side!” I yell.

Iris smiles with mock innocence, “I was, but you already won the Legend Badge, so there's no reason for me to cheer you on anymore.”

“Dang...” I mumble, taking off my hat and running a hand through my hair, “... Just when I thought I made a new friend...”

“Let's see how your Pokemon can handle Latios's attacks!” says Drayden, “Latios! Perform a double Dragon Pulse!”

“Tiiii!” Cutting through the air like a jet, Latios darts across the arena and fires two blasts of dragon-type energy at Gallade and Cinccino in quick succession. The latter quickly dodges to the side, while the former counters with one of his new attacks, called Ice Punch (well, more like 'Ice Slash' in Gallade's case, but Ice Punch is the official name that Pokemon appear to understand); Gallade extends his blades, which start to glow with light-blue light, and then he slices through Latios's attack, dispelling it.

As Latios performs a quick U-turn and flies back to Drayden's side of the arena, the Gym Leader lets out a brief chuckle, “Hmhm. Not half-bad. It looks like your Pokemon just might stand a chance against Latios... Not that's it's going to be easy.”

“Good going, you guys,” I say to Gallade and Cinccino.

“Now, let's begin this battle for real!” Drayden extends his arm commandingly, “Latios! Haxorus! Charge!”

Latios and Haxorus advance on Gallade and Cinccino. Even though Latios is easily the swifter of the two, Haxorus proves to be surprisingly agile as well. Even if Haxorus isn't a Legendary Pokemon, the fact that Drayden had been holding onto this one for a possible tiebreaker tells me it's probably one of his more powerful Pokemon, and therefore shouldn't be taken lightly. In fact, for all I know, Haxy-axy could be stronger than Latios.

“Gallade! Attack Haxorus with Shadow Sneak! Cinccino! Attack Latios with Tail Slap!”

In response to my commands, Gallade vanishes with a blur, while Cinccino dashes in Latios's direction. Gallade reappears behind Haxorus. However, the Axe Jaw Pokemon seems to have sensed the Blade Pokemon's movements, and whirls around to face its opponent. Meanwhile, Cinccino performs a quick forward front-flip, slamming the ground with his tail, and launching himself up at Latios.

“Haxorus! Dual Chop! Latios! Dragon Pulse!” Drayden commands.

Haxorus swings its axe-shaped head at Gallade, who swiftly retreats out of range, while Latios fires a blast of dragon energy at fast-approaching Cinccino.

With his tail glowing with steel-type energy, Cinccino performs an aerial spin, and deflects Latios's Dragon Pulse, but that technique leaves the Scarf Pokemon unable to perform any follow-up moves to attack the Eon Pokemon directly. Instead, Cinccino lands on top of Latios, and then before the psychic/dragon-type can shake him off, he gains the higher ground by leaping up to the fixture. Of course, with Latios being the one able to fly, it doesn't take much for him to regain his height advantage, but he now has less room to maneuver, due to less airspace from which to attack Cinccino and the cables holding up the fixture.

“Latios! Fall back and use Psychic attack!”

“Cinccino! Use Rock Blast!”

In response to Drayden's command, Latios flies to the far left side of the arena. Cinccino opens his mouth and fires a volley of gray rock-type energy shots at the retreating Eon Pokemon, but he performs a swift sideways maneuver, avoiding the attack. I can immediately tell it's gonna be tough to score a hit on the lesser Legendary from a distance.

With his back to one of the far walls, a ball of psychic-type energy forms in front of Latios, and he fires it at the Scarf Pokemon. However, the range the psychic/dragon-type attacks from proves to be to Cinccino's advantage as well, as the normal-type dodges Latios's Psychic attack as easily as if it were shot from a mile.

Cinccino tries to counter with another Rock Blast attack, firing a second volley of rock energy blasts at Latios, but the Eon Pokemon again flies to the side, dodging it just as easily as the first.

With Cinccino and Latios currently locked in a stalemate, I turn my attention back to Gallade's front. While Drayden and I were focused on the duel up above, on the ground, the Blade Pokemon and Haxorus had been acting on their own, exchanging attacks. Gallade is well-trained enough to know, without my guidance, that his Ice Punch is effective against dragon-types. However, Haxy appears to know how to counter ice-type attacks, so each time Gallade tries to slash it with Ice Punch, the Axe Jaw Pokemon's tusks glow with reddish-brown light and, presumably using Brick Break, its swings its head to counter it, dispelling the effect.

Gallade is about to attempt another Ice Punch when I intervene, “Gallade! Retreat and use Psycho Cut!”

As Haxorus swings its head at the Blade Pokemon for another Brick Break attack, Gallade leaps backward, outside the dragon-type's range, and slashes at the air, creating a psychic blade. The Psycho Cut attack strikes Haxorus's flank, stunning it.

“Great! Now quickly take it down with Ice Punch!”

“Gallaaaade!” Gallade's blades once again shine with light-blue energy, and he dashes toward the Axe Jaw Pokemon as fast as his legs can propel him.

“Haxorus! Dragon Tail!”

As Gallade closes in on Haxorus, the dragon-type's tail glows dark-blue, and it sweeps around its body, striking the psychic/fighting's type's leg. The blow stuns Gallade just long enough for it to recover, and then it whirls around, delivering a second attack with its tail, this time striking the Blade Pokemon hard in the torso. The force of the attack sends him flying across the arena and slamming into one of the granite pillars, the impact creating a small crack. He slumps to one knee, using one of his elbow blades for support.

“Hang in there, Gallade,” I say, “It'll take more than a puny little shot like that to take you down!”

“Gall... ade...” The Blade Pokemon gets back to his feet, ready to go another round with Haxorus.

Drayden shifts his gaze back up, and I do the same, refocusing on the duel between Legendary Pokemon and former housekeeping Pokemon, and the two are still dead even. Latios has been hanging back firing a mix of Psychic attacks and Dragon Pulses Cinccino's way. The Scarf Pokemon responds by using his superior speed and reflexes to dodge the former, while performing Iron Tail to reflect the latter, just like he did when Bianca's Flygon tried using Draco Meteor on him. However, even though there's less horizontal distance between him and his opponent in this battle than there was vertical distance when he fought Flygon, Latios is proving to be much quicker, dodging every shot Cinccino sends back at him and neither side gaining a distinct advantage.

Noticing the situation, Drayden commands, “Latios! Use Fury Cutter and sever three of the cables!”

“Lat!” Latios's claws glow light-green, and he flies back toward Cinccino, circling around to the far side of the dragon fixture.

“Rock Blast!” I yell.

“Cin!” Cinccino retreats to the near side of the fixture, opens his mouth and fires another volley of rock-type energy blasts. Latios takes evasive action, flying in a zigzag, weaving between the cables holding up the fixture, slashing wildly. A few of Cinccino's shots either graze of strike Latios's face head-on, though it's not nearly enough to take the Eon Pokemon down. Before reaching Cinccino, the psychic/dragon-type performs a U-turn, retreating from the normal-type.

There are six cables holding up the fixture: two on the far end, two at the midpoint, and two at the near end. When Latios flew by, he cut both at the far end and one at the midpoint, causing it to hang lopsidedly.

“Ci-i-in!” Cinccino struggles to regain his balance after the platform shifted.

“Heh.” With a small chuckle, Drayden commands, “Latios! Dragon Pulse!”

“Laaaa!” Latios whirls around, opens his mouth and fires a dark-blue blast at Cinccino, who is unable to dodge or block, and he takes the full force of the attack.

“Ci... in...” After the attack's residue clears, Cinccino is down on his hands and knees, struggling to recover. A few second later, he collapses, and starts rolling down the slope.

I guess that's it for Cinccino. Since he's too high up for me to recall right away. I hold out his Pokeball and wait for him to fall off the platform.

Just after Cinccino rolls off, however, the tip of his tail hooks to the edge of the fixture, and he starts swinging under it.

Realizing Cinccino was just playing possum to catch Latios off-guard, I shout out, “Cinccino! Use Rock Blast!”

Cinccino emerges on the other side of the platform and before Latios can react, the Scarf Pokemon opens his mouth and fires another barrage of rock-type energy shots at close range. This time, every shot hits home.

“Laaat!” Latios staggers back, stunned.

“Great! Now use Return attack!”

Like Braviary did before, Cinccino's tail glows electric pink, then bright white. Seeing as I knew Cinccino, then Minccino, longer than I knew Braviary, his Return technique should be even more potent.

Cinccino leaps up and performs a midair backflip, trying to slam Latios from below with his tail. However, the Eon Pokemon recovers surprisingly fast, and leans back, narrowly avoiding the attack, and then retreats several feet so that he's out of the normal-type's melee attack range.

Cinccino lands, but since the fixture no longer has an even surface, he momentarily struggles to regain his footing. Latios fires a Dragon Pulse, but Cinccino recovers just in time to just barely dodge the blast, and then counters with a Rock Blast attack. The Eon Pokemon retreats further, taking only a few indirect hits.

“Latios! Use Dragon Pulse,” commands Drayden, “Without even ground, Cinccino can't dodge forever!”

Crap. Drayden is right. With the fixture now hanging at a lopsided angle, it will be much harder for Cinccino to maintain his footwork.

I glance down to check on Gallade's situation. Both he and Haxorus have cuts and bruises from their unaided scuffle. Gallade has switched tactics and is now trying to keep his distance from Haxorus, and has switched to Psycho Cut as his primary offense. While it's keeping him safe for the time being, the psychic blades aren't having much effect on Haxorus's armored hide. At least Gallade is in a decent enough situation so that I don't have to worry about him so much while I focus on Cinccino's front.

Meanwhile, Latios has backed away to a pillar, and like before, he's playing it safe by attacking from a distance. The Eon Pokemon fires a shot of dragon-type energy at Cinccino, which he deflects with Iron Tail, but the movement required to do so throws him off-balance for a couple seconds, which Latios takes advantage of by firing another shot which Cinccino narrowly dodges.

Dang! It's only a matter of time until one of Latios's Dragon Pulses connects, and there's no way Cinccino can endure a second hit!

I look at the distance between Cinccino and Latios. Even with a catapult jump from the platform, Cinccino will only make it a little more than halfway across. If only he could jump a second time in midair.

As I think that, Cinccino just barely deflects another Dragon Pulse with Iron Tail, and an idea hits me like a jolt of electricity. It could be a risky move and it might not work, but at this point, a little experimentation might not hurt.

“Cinccino!” I yell.

“Cin?” Cinccino glances down at me through the corners of his eyes.

“Jump across with Iron Tail!” I punctuate my words by drawing a lower-case 'm' in the air with my index finger.

“Cino!” Cinccino nods, appearing to understand my message.

I check on Gallade's situation. Haxorus leaps into the air and performs Dragon Tail, bringing its tail down like an axe, trying to strike Gallade from above. Just before the attack would connect, however, Gallade uses Shadow Sneak, vanishing and then reappearing behind the dragon-type, charging in to blindside his opponent.

“Haxorus! Use Outrage!” Drayden orders, “Take Gallade down!”

Just as Gallade is about to slash Haxorus from behind, the Axe Jaw Pokemon's body explodes with dragon-type energy so intense, it sends Gallade flying back several feet. Haxorus, now practically a dark-blue silhouette runs after Gallade and is on him before the Blade Pokemon can fully recover.

“Gallade! Use Ice Punch!”

Gallade steps in and rears back to slash Haxorus with ice-type energy and hopefully dispel its dragon-type energy, but with enhanced agility, Haxorus sweeps the psychic/fighting-type feet out from under him with his tail, and then using the momentum from that attack, swings its axe-like head directly into the Blade Pokemon, sending Gallade tumbling halfway across the arena.

“Damn!” I grumble, looking back up to check on Cinccino.

Dragon-type energy gathers in Latios's mouth as he prepares to fire off another Pulse while Cinccino stands at the edge of his platform, preparing to make his do-or-die move.

Latios fires his attack while Cinccino performs a small midair somersault, and launches himself off the fixture with his tail. As he and Latios's shot are about to pass in midair, Cinccino breaks into a rapid front-flip, and swings his steel energy-charged tail down hard on top of the dragon-type blast. As I was hoping, the force further propels the Scarf Pokemon through the air and he closes in on Latios.

“Great, Cinccino!” I shout out, “Now use Return att--”

BOOM!

I'm cut off by a dark-blue burst of energy from the floor level, and I instantly figure out what happened. When Cinncino struck the Dragon Pulse, he deflected the shot downward, angling it in such a way that it hit Haxorus from above! The blast mixed with the dragon energy enveloping Haxorus's body, and since dragon-type attacks are both strong and weak against each other, the result was an explosion, with the Axe Jaw Pokemon right in the middle of it!

“Haaaaaax!” Haxorus cries out, its Outrage attack dispelled and itself severely weakened.

“Here's our chance, Gallade!” I say, “Ice Punch! Full power! Take Haxorus down with a single blow!”

Gallade gets back to his feet and his blades once again glow with ice-type energy, now more intense than before. He charges at Haxorus and delivers a fierce slash, striking the dragon-type across the chest. With a sharp cry, Haxorus staggers back and then crashes to the ground. There's no way it's gonna get up after that!

I check above and see something unexpected. It seems Latios managed to get out of Cinccino's path by flying off to the right, but Cinccino, who somehow managed to defy gravity and turned ninety degrees in midair, is hot on the dragon/psychic-type's tail! I glance at where I saw Cinccino before, and see his waypoint: one of the pillars. It was behind Latios before, and Cinccino must have kicked off its side.

Once again, Cinccino's tail glows pink, then white. He breaks into a twirl, winding up to strike Latios with as much force as possible.

“Lat?” Latios glances back, only to get slammed hard across the face by Cinccino's Return attack. “Tiooooooooos!” Latios is sent spinning through the air, out of control. He clips a pillar, slams against the wall, and falls hard to the floor.

“No way!” Iris shouts in astonishment.

“Unbelievable...” mutters Drayden as he recalls Haxorus, “It seems your Cinccino is quite the acrobat!”

“Cin... cino...” Cinccino lands back on solid ground. He and Gallade waddle up to me, both of them exhausted.

“Ha! Awesome as usual, you guys!” I say. Convinced the battle is over, I grab Gallade and Cinccino's Pokeballs from my belt and am about to recall them when I hear a strained voice cry out.

“Lat... ios...”

“No freaking way!” I look and see that Latios is back in the air again. Worse, he looks good to go one more round.

“Gall...”

“Cino...”

Gallade and Cinccino, on the other hand, look somewhat worse for wear, both of them having taken attacks that took a lot out of them.

“Do you guys think you can keep battling?” I ask, “There's just one opponent now.”

Gallade checks his remaining strength by channeling fighting-type energy through his blades for a few seconds, and then he nods, letting me know he has just enough energy to keep fighting. Likewise, Cinccino's tail glows white with normal-type energy, but unlike Gallade, he staggers around dizzily, having exerted himself past his limits.

I hold out Cinccino's Pokeball, “Thank you, Cinccino. You did great.”

Cinccino nods weakly, “Cin...”

“Return!” I recall Cinccino.

Gallade takes a few steps toward Latios, awaiting my next command. Even though Gallade can keep fighting, he's just barely hanging on, and each move he performs will put more and more pressure on him. I'd better not waste them. Fortunately, Latios is in the same boat. This battle will likely be determined within the next couple of attacks.

Drayden, seeming to have reached the same conclusion, says, “Latios! Let's end this with a single attack! Draco Meteor! Full power!”

It's all I can do to maintain my poker face. I know that Draco Meteor is a very strong attack, but it also takes a lot out of the user. This could be the break Gallade and I need.

Latios takes to the air, and I notice he isn't flying nearly as fast as he was before. If Gallade could reflect the meteors with a steel-type attack, I doubt Latios would have an easy time of dodging them as he did before... that is if Gallade knew any steel-type attacks (steel and water are the only two attack types of the seventeen that Gallade is incapable of after Alder's training.)

Latios stops high above Gallade, diagonally looking down at him, hovers, and an immense amount of dragon-type energy starts building up in his mouth. Gallade's blades glow light-blue and he stands in anticipation of the upcoming attack. No doubt Gallade is gonna use Ice Punch to dispel any meteors that come his way, but I doubt that's gonna work. Latios is clearly putting more power than normal into this Draco Meteor attack, and they'll probably come down too constantly and powerfully for him to defend against all of them, and I imagine just one is enough to KO Gallade in his current state.

“Gallade!” I shout out.

“Llade?” Gallade glances toward me.

I slowly mouth a three-syllable command and hope Gallade can read lips. If Drayden or Latios knows what technique I have in mind, things might go awry.

“... Gall,” The Blade Pokemon nods, seeming to get my message.

At that moment, Latios fires a massive blast of dragon-type energy, growing to roughly four times his size. It splits into countless smaller blasts, and a torrent of meteors rains down on Gallade's location. Each meteor creates a sizable explosion upon impact, and I shield myself as the air fills with concrete dust and dragon energy residue. Even if Gallade had successfully defended against a direct hit from the meteors with Ice Punch, the explosions would have gotten him for sure!

When the air clears, almost one whole quarter of the arena is completely demolished, with nothing but small craters where there used to be tiles... but there's no unconscious Gallade laying in the middle of it.

“Lati?” Latios turns his head right and left as he scans the arena as for where Gallade went. He now looks even worse for wear than Gallade did. He clearly put a ton of his remaining energy into that attack.

Drayden also scans the arena, “How did it...?”

“Did you forget about Shadow Sneak?” I ask.

“Gr...”

I find Gallade pretty quickly. He's behind Latios, clinging to the nearest pillar with one blade sunk into the granite, holding him up, and the other glowing with ghost-type energy.

Iris, who is watching the battle from the far left corner of the arena, cries out, “Hey! Latios! He's behind you!”

“Lat?” Latios glances back, but it's too late. Gallade launches himself from the side of the pillar and straight at the Eon Pokemon.

“Follow your attack up with Night Slash!” I yell.

“Gallade!” Gallade reaches Latios and delivers a horizontal ghost-type slash, then his other blade pulses with black energy and performs a vertical dark-type slash.

“Laaaaaaa!” With steam pouring out of the two cuts Gallade inflicted, Latios goes spiraling to the ground, looking kinda like a jet that's been shot down. Drayden recalls the psychic/dragon-type before he even hits the floor.

At the same time, Gallade lands, only to slump to one knee. I rush over and say, “Way to go, Gallade! You beat a Legendary Pokemon!”

“Ga...” Gallade manages a tired grin in response.

“I'm so proud of you! You deserve a good rest. Return!” I recall the Blade Pokemon.

Drayden is silent for several seconds before saying, “Impressively fought, Ria. Unova could certainly have a worse hope. However, don't get cocky just because you defeated Latios. He fought Reshiram when N challenged my Gym and it wasn't even a contest.”

“I figured,” I say, “Latios is a lesser Legendary Pokemon and Reshiram is a greater. Speaking of greater Legendary Pokemon, by the way, I won, so will you tell me how I can awaken Zekrom?”

“Of course,” says Drayden, “but first...” Drayden walks across the arena and holds out a Legend Badge to me, “Now will you accept this?”

“Totally!” I answer. I swipe the Gym Badge out of his hand and pin it to my vest, along with the seven others. Trio... Basic... Insect... Bolt... Quake... Jet... Freeze... Legend... Eight Gym Badges... Elite Rank! It's hard to believe this is real...

Iris walks up next to Drayden, “Well, Miss Smart-mouth. I hate saying this, but you did good. Only you and N have ever beaten Latios.”

Drayden glances down at Iris, “Actually, Ria and N are the only two trainers I fought since capturing Latios.”

Iris blushes, “Well, um... You did good anyway.”

“I hope you were paying close attention to how Ria fought,” Drayden tells Iris, “If you'd pay more attention to my challengers, rather than me, and become more disciplined, you might have what it takes to become something more than just a mere Gym Leader someday.”

“B... but... When you retire...”

Drayden waves a hand dismissively, “Pah. The only thing I consider 'retirement' is resigning as mayor. I'm always going to be a Gym Leader, even if I don't have you to fight the weaker challengers for me.”

“... This is really touching and all,” I intervene, “But what about Zekrom?”

“Of course,” says Drayden. He turns back toward his side of the arena and gestures for me to follow him, “We'll talk about it in my office.”

I follow Drayden and Iris across the arena and through the double doors, which leads to a short stretch of corridor with an elevator at the end. We ride it from the lowest level, B1, up all the way to the top floor, F6, and the doors open to a room filled with natural light, due to the glass wall in its back. Looking out it, there's a view of Opelucid City's modernized district and a grassy park stretched out between the city's two halves. The side walls are lined with pictures of a boy with various dragon-type and dragon-like Pokemon, probably Drayden when he was younger. The floor is completely covered with a bright red carpet and at the center there is a large mahogany desk. On the desk, there is a white machine, about the size of an old thousand-page dictionary, on top of which, there are six round indentations. I recognize it as a Pokemon healing machine, like the kind used at Pokemon Centers, although this one is a much older model. Besides that, there is the usual office stuff throughout the room, like filing cabinets, guest chairs, and a water dispenser with the cone-shaped cups.

“Magnificent, isn't it?” asks Drayden, gesturing toward the glass wall and the cityscape beyond it, “Opelucid is the oldest city in Unova, but lately it's been overlooked in favor of newer places like Castelia and Driftveil. My primary goal as mayor has been to return this city to its former glory.” He detaches the six Pokeballs from his belt and places them in each of the indentations of the Pokemon healing machine, and then presses a button on the back, causing the six centers of the capsules to glow brightly, “You can use this after me.”

“Sure,” I say.

“Have a seat,” says Drayden as he gestures to a nearby chair. He sits down at his desk, interlocking his fingers in front of him. Iris sits in a chair on the side of the room opposite to me.

Sitting down, I ask, “So... How do I get Zekrom to wake up?”

“Here's my simple answer,” says Drayden, “I don't know.”

“What?” I half-yell, “Are you kidding? I busted my butt for the past four days, just so--”

“Calm down,” Drayden interrupts, “All I'm saying is that I have no straight answer; just speculation. I've never had to summon a Pokemon fourth from a rock before.”

“Well then, speculate away.”

“I suppose a good place to start would be the origins of Reshiram and Zekrom. An eon or two ago, when much of the world was shrouded in mystery, the ancient Unovians became divided on the true nature of the universe. One side stood by truth; the belief that Arceus had a specific path in mind for mankind, and that it's our duty to find and follow it. The other side stood by ideals; the belief that mankind should follow its own path and make its place.
In time, disagreements arose between the two sides and chaos broke out. An ancient and powerful Pokemon took an fascination in these conflicts of beliefs and a distaste for the pointless fighting between humans and split into two dragons...”

“Reshiram and Zekrom?” I guess.

“Correct. Reshiram sided with those that stood for truth and Zekrom with those for ideals and they both chose a champion, or trainer, among them, who in time came to be known as the Hero of Truth and the Hero of Ideals. The battles between humans ended and their differences started to be fought out in Pokemon battles between Reshiram and Zekrom.
The very basis for today's Pokemon battles comes from ancient contests such as this. It goes without saying that Pokeballs and Pokemon Centers didn't exist back then to restore the two Pokemon's power between conflicts, but their powers were vast... or rather, vast but ultimately finite. Each confrontation drained their powers more and more. Finally, after one last fierce clash between the two, their powers had run out entirely, and they went into a deep sleep, turning into stones.
At that point, Reshiram and Zekrom were widely beloved by the people, and they were saddened by this. Realizing what their disagreements had cost them, the conflicts between truth and ideals ended.”

I wait a few seconds to make sure Drayden has finished the story, and then say, “Um, that's a really interesting story and all, but that still doesn't answer my question. Like, what were Reshiram and Zekrom looking for in those Heroes of Truth and Ideals guys?”

“It's clear they were both looking for masters who were steadfast to their principles,” says Drayden, “Someone who believed in their respective paths with all their heart.”

“N claims to be on the side of truth, and Reshiram awoke for him as soon as he found the Light Stone.”

“And what about you, Ria?”

“Well, I know I don't agree with N's 'truth' to separate all Pokemon from their trainers. Even if that's what Arceus wants, I sure as heck don't. I know for sure that both humans and Pokemon are better off together than apart; That humans gain protection while Pokemon gain power through this relationship, and we have formed a strong bond through this. No matter what anyone says, this is what I believe in; what my 'ideal' is.”

“Did you think up that that cute speech last night?” Iris jests.

“Shut up, Iris.”

“That's enough, you two,” says Drayden, “If you truly mean what you said, Ria, I would imagine you are someone Zekrom might consider awakening for.”

“But he's still sleeping like the rock he currently is...”

“Legendary Pokemon are individuals, just like any other living thing,” says Drayden, “As such, they have their own standards for what human they are willing to follow. However, seeing as you are now an eight-badge trainer, undeniably experienced in dealing with Pokemon, surely you know the one thing Pokemon are observed to believe in and respect above all else; The thing Zekrom might be looking for besides strong ideals?”

I nod, “Yeah. Strength, right?”

“That is correct.”

“In that case, you're totally right about Legendary Pokemon having different standards. N only had seven badges when Reshiram woke up for him. I guess I now know which of the two has stricter requirements.”

“There's more to strength than having several badges,” says Drayden, “Strength also means courage, spirit, faith... The word has a far broader meaning than you seem to know. Only Zekrom knows the kind of strength you need to be worthy of him.”

“Great...”

Ping... ping... ping-ping... ping~

Drayden's archaic Pokemon healing machine lets out a scratchy and delayed jingle, indicating that his Pokemon are back at 100%.

The Mayor-slash-Gym Leader starts reattaching the Pokeballs to his belt one-by-one, but before he is about grab the pink-centered Master Ball containing Latios, something weird happens. It start shaking and rocking; it's like when a wild Pokemon is resisting capture, but that doesn't make any sense, since Latios is already caught.

“It looks like it's time,” says Drayden.

“Aww!” exclaims Iris, clearly disappointed.

“Huh? What's going on?” I ask.

The Master Ball shakes a little more. Finally, there's a flash, breaking the capsule in two, and Latios appears, hovering above Drayden's desk.

“Are you moving on?” Drayden asks Latios.

Latios nods, “Lat.”

“I see. Iris, could you lead Latios outside?”

Iris rises from her chair, “Okay. Follow me, Latios.”

Iris walks to the elevator, followed by Latios. When the double-doors slide shut, I ask, “What just happened? Captured Pokemon never break out of their own Pokeball.”

“That's normally true,” says Drayden, “But it's different in the case of Legendary Pokemon. You see, unlike most Pokemon, their companionship with a trainer is only temporary. They appear before certain trainers, giving them a chance to capture them, in the case of a lesser Legendary, or simply allowing themselves be captured, in the case of a greater Legendary. They follow that trainer, and then after a time, they release themselves. That's just the way it works. I had a feeling my time with Latios was at an end after I battled you.”

“What makes you say that?” I ask as I put my six Pokeballs into the healing machine's indentations.

“Whenever a Legendary Pokemon appears before a trainer, a challenging battle, even for them, occurs soon after. At first, this was believed to be a coincidence, but it happened every time a trainer caught a Legendary Pokemon, with no exceptions.
In one such reported incident, the greater Legendary Pokemon, Ho-oh, appeared before a trainer and allowed itself to be captured. Close to a week later, they encountered Mewtwo, a wandering Pokemon genetically enhanced from one of the lesser Legendary Pokemon, Mew, to have powers equal to that of a greater. After that battle, and Ho-oh was healed, it left the trainer and moved on.”

“Really?” I say, very interested in what I'm hearing. I knew trainers caught Legendary Pokemon from time to time, but I never understood why very few of them became Champions, despite having the potential to do so, if N proved anything about how powerful they are when he beat Alder.

“It's unknown how Legendary Pokemon foresee this, but they somehow do. At first, I thought N was that opponent, but when Latios didn't leave me after that battle, I knew there was someone else. I had my doubts after the first time we fought, but during the battle we just had, I knew.”

“Wait! Hold on!” I say with renewed optimism, “If what you're saying is true, then Zekrom has to wake up! It would mean he'd fight Reshiram, so there's a potentially challenging battle for him right there!”

Drayden shakes his head, “I'm afraid it's not that simple. You see, Reshiram and Zekrom would not be the first Legendary Pokemon to be awakened from an eons-long slumber. Others came before them, and when they first awakened, it was to fulfill a specific purpose. In this case, obviously, it's to continue and possibly conclude their clash of beliefs, albeit regarding a different subject than thousands of years before. After that mission is concluded, they move on and wander the world, looking for challenging battles and strong opponents.”

“Dang...” I murmur.

“Tell me, Ria. If you knew for a fact that Zekrom would never awaken, what would you do in that scenario?”

“Fight N anyway, even though it's probably futile,” I say, “At the very least, with all there is at stake, it's better than not battling him.”

“Good answer. That's what I wanted to hear,” says Drayden, “Your valor is admirable. If Zekrom can't respect that, I cannot fathom his requirements.”

Huh. 'Valor,' I think. It's definitely not a word I've associated with myself in the past, but I meant what I said. I guess after everything, I really have changed...

“At any rate, that's all I can think to tell you. I suggest you simply keep pressing forward and hope Zekrom will answer you in your time of need.”

“Thanks,” I say. I can't say this is what I was hoping for when when we had this meeting, but at least it's more to go on than I had previously.

Seeing that my Pokemon are still healing, I decide to change the subject of our conversation, “By the way, Drayden, I have a question about Iris.”

“What is it?”

“Why does she hate me? I mean, back when I was in Castelia City, Burgh told me she's nice to trainers she thinks have potential, hence the reason she's so nice to my friend, Bianca, but since I beat Bianca in a battle... and beat you, I'd think she'd start liking me more based on that.”

Drayden pauses and I wonder if he's smiling behind that beard. Finally, he says, “A lot of people are trying to figure her out and have their own guesses. However, I know Iris better than anyone, and here's my observation: She's a battler, through and through. She lives for Pokemon battles, and for better or worse, she tends to make every aspect of her life a confrontational experience; in this case, social interaction. I don't think it's that she hates you, I just think she pretends to dislike you because she simply likes being at odds with people; she finds it fun.”

I blink a couple times, “... Seriously? What about Bianca?”

“I understand your friend had spent some time in Opelucid City, but I never met her personally. Would you say she's the assertive type?”

“Not really,” I say, “I mean, she's surprisingly cutthroat as a battler, but she's shy, nice to everyone, and wants to use her talents as a trainer for the greater good...” I let out a sigh, “... If you ask me, I'd say she's more qualified to be a hero than I am, but N challenged me, so...”

“I see,” says Drayden, “If Bianca isn't the type who would respond to insults with insults, putting on an act of contempt toward her would be nothing more than bullying on Iris's part.”

“Makes sense.”

Ping... ping... pingpingping~

The healing machine lets out another jingle that shows its age. It looks like my Pokemon are good to go. I scoop up my Pokeballs from the machine and reattach them to my belt.

I take a few steps toward the elevator, then glance back at Drayden, “Thank you, Drayden. At least I now have a better idea about how to awaken Zekrom.”

“I wish I had more solid advice to give you, but that's the best I could do,” says Drayden.

“No problem,” I say, “It's more than I had to work with before.”

“I wish you the best of luck, Ria. I don't think I need to remind you what's riding on your upcoming battle with N.”

“Thanks,” I say, trying to sound genuine, “I remind myself of that just about every other waking minute.”

---

I ride the elevator down to the first floor, my mind going over the new knowledge I'd gained. Ghetsis's words from our confrontation on the Tubeline Bridge echos through my mind, 'Zekrom is a top-class Legendary Pokemon... and you think you're worthy of him? Don't make me laugh.'

“Oh, bite me!” I mutter aloud to the memory.

The elevator reaches the first floor and the doors open to a short corridor. I walk out and headed in the opposite direction toward me is Iris.

“Hello, Miss Smart-mouth,” greets Iris cheerily, “Are you going back to the Pokemon Center to rest up for tomorrow?”

“That's the plan,” I say.

“Well, too bad,” says Iris with a grin, “You have a special challenger waiting for you in the arena. I ran into him when I was about to go out to release Latios.”

“'A special challenger?'” I question, “Who?”

Iris's grin widens, “Like I'm going to ruin the surprise. Arena. Now. Don't keep him waiting.” Iris walks past me and into the elevator. Just before she operates the panel, she adds, “Take care, Miss Smart-mouth. If you lose to N, I swear I'll kill you. Good luck!” With that, the doors close.

“I love you too, Iris,” I murmur sarcastically.

I wind my way through the halls, following signs directing me back to the lobby, wondering who my mystery challenger is. At the lobby, I'm about to go down the passage leading to the arena again when I notice something I somehow missed the first two times I'd been in this room. Above the reception desk (where there's no receptionist. I guess it's still too early) there is a monitor showing the arena from high above, probably for spectators. At least that explains how Alder watched my first match here without me or Drayden noticing. The trainer positions on the battlefield are out of sight, but I do see a shadow extending from the leader side. I was guessing Alder to be the guy Iris mentioned, but the shadow is too broad and the head too rounded to be the ex-Champ's, so I doubt it's someone I'd met before.

I head down the passage for the third time and arrive at the arena, which looks just the way it was left: cracked pillars, a fixture hanging awkwardly from three cables, almost a quarter of the floor demolished by a localized meteor shower, and black and white tiles cracked or splattered with blood. Basically a restoration team's dream come true.

Just as I emerge from the doorway, a baritone voice says from the other side of the room, “I take it you're Ria?”

“Yeah...” I look at the voice's owner: A 6'9” Ursaring of a man with dark skin, orange hair, arms thicker than my thighs, and the largest eyebrows I've ever seen on a human. He's barefoot, wearing baggy orange pants and a light-blue vest. I instantly recognize him, not that I know him personally, but I'd seen him on TV enough times: Marshal of the Unova Elite Four.

At another place and time, I might have been squealing like the fangirl I once was. I used to admire him as Unova's greatest fighting-type expert, back when I was crazy about fighting-types... keyword being 'was.' Now, while I still like fighting-types a lot, I don't really consider them as highly as I once did as I came to appreciate all the other Pokemon types as well (heck, I used to think little of normal-types, but now I have two on my team). I guess as my exclusive admiration of fighting-types began to fade, so did my great admiration of Marshal. Even so, a challenge by a member of the Elite Four is no small deal, especially considering to Marshal is the top member of the Elite Four and Alder's longtime student.

“Welcome,” says Marshal, his face displaying his trademark stoicism, “I'm sure you are aware of this, but I am Marshal of the Elite Four.”

“Um... Hi?” I say, not sure how to respond. Even though I know he's slightly less powerful than Alder and of a lower rank in the Pokemon League (at least when Alder was Champion), Marshal's presence feels more no-nonsense and authoritative.

“According to my master, you are the one who is to battle the new Champion tomorrow. I arrived when your Gallade and Cinccino were battling Drayden's Latios and Haxorus. It was an impressive battle, but I desire to see more of your skills, hence the reason I am here right now.”

I consider this for a moment. Am I really ready to battle an Elite Four member? As strong as my Pokemon have become, I'm still nowhere near Alder's level, and Marshal is not that much weaker than the ex-Champ. Can I win?

As if he read my mind, Marshal says, “For our clash, I will not use the Pokemon I use for televised battles, but the Pokemon I use against trainers who fight me for the Pokemon League Badge.”

“Heh. Well, that's a relief,” I say.

“Seeing as you already fought a hard battle against Drayden, and that you and your Pokemon no doubt desire rest, our battle shall be quick. One-on-one. Is that acceptable to you?”

“Sounds fine,” I say, unable to conceal a grin. Sure, Marshal is stronger than Drayden, but my team has more aces against fighting-types than they do against dragon-types. Gallade all the way! Even if Marshal's Pokemon has a secondary type, the Blade Pokemon's versatility will let him work around it!

“Before we begin, I have a special condition,” says Marshal. My grin fades. Looks like this isn't gonna be as simple as it first sounded, “Both of us will pick a Pokemon at random. It's a trainer's job to adapt to any scenario. I wish to test that part of your ability.”

“Okay,” I respond. I kinda doubt Marshal is going to take 'no thanks' as an answer.

I lay my Pokeballs on the floor, close my eyes, and shuffle them around until I can no longer tell who's in what. Across the arena, Marshal does the same thing. I blindly grope around, finding my Pokeballs and reattach them to my belt one by one, intending to use the sixth as my Pokemon for the battle. All the while, I alternate between thinking 'please be Gallade or Braviary' and 'please don't be Cinccino or Absol.'

I reattach five Pokeballs to my belt and hold the sixth in my hand. With my eyes still closed, I rise and Marshal calls out, “Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let us begin!” We open our eyes and toss our Pokeballs. Marshal's lands first and the Pokemon that appears is a heavily muscled humanoid, four and a half feet tall, mostly tan in color, with prominent bright pink veins popping out throughout it's body, a large red nose, a white goatee, a wrinkled forehead, and massive hands. Held in its hands are two thick concrete rods, both a little over three feet long, that have to weigh at least a hundred pounds each, but the Pokemon holds them like they weigh a tenth that much. I recognize this Pokemon as Conkeldurr, the Muscular Pokemon, the most evolved form of Timburr, the fighting-type N fought me with back in Pinwheel Forest.

My Pokeball hits the floor, bursts open with a flash of white light... and Absol appears, letting out a deep yawn.

Hoo boy. A dark-type versus a fighting-type. This is gonna be an uphill struggle. Still, Absol does have an edge or two over fighting-types. We can do this! For some reason, I think back to what I said to encourage Oshawott when he was about to fight Cheren's Snivy, 'Meh. Advantage, schmadvantage. That doesn't mean we're gonna lose this battle. It just means we gotta work harder to win, right?'

Most people in Marshal's position would probably be smiling at their good fortune, but instead his face is as straight as ever, “Hm. Bad luck. Regardless, if you are as skilled as the master says you are, you should be able to work around it.”

“Absol...” I lower my voice so that Marshal and hopefully Conkeldurr are not within earshot, “Don't let Conkeldurr get anywhere near you. Keep your distance.” It's apparent just by looking at Conkeldurr that it's an absolute powerhouse that few Pokemon should get in close quarters with, but I doubt it has much in the way of mobility. We should use that to our advantage.

“Shall we begin?” says Marshal.

“Totally,” I say, “Let's go!”

“Sol!” Absol yells.

“Very well, then!” roars Marshal as he extends his arm in Absol's direction, “Conkeldurr! Rock Throw!”

“Durr!” Conkeldurr holds one of its concrete rods up high, rears back, and tosses it across the arena like a javelin at Absol, who easily sidesteps the attack. The rod hits the ground hard enough to cause a small vibration through the room.

Before I can issue Absol a counter-command, Marshal gives Conkeldurr its next order, “Now use Mach Punch!”

“Conkel!” Conkeldurr curls its free hand into a fist, which starts glowing reddish-brown, and charges across the arena at an impressive speed for something of its bulk, not to mention the weight of the concrete rod it's still holding. Still, it's not fast enough to surprise Absol and me.

“Absol! Use Psycho Cut!”

Absol's horn glows with psychic-type energy and he swings his head, sending a psychic blade straight at Conkeldurr. However, the fighting-type, without slowing down at all, positions its rod in the blade's path, blocking it.

Conkeldurr throws a haymaker at Absol, who sidesteps to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack and then retreats several feet to put distance between the fighting-type and himself.

Conkeldurr scoops the rod it threw off the ground and Marshal again commands, “Mach Punch!”

This time, the rod Conkeldurr is holding in its right hand is glowing with fighting-type energy and it charges again.

With less distance for Conceldurr to reach Absol, Absol has less time to dodge, but he just barely manages to, rolling out of the way to the right as the Muscular Pokemon swings its rod down at the dark-type.

“Again! Psycho Cut!” I command.

Nearly at point-blank, Absol sends another psychic blade at Conkeldurr's left flank (rhyme not intended), but with surprising agility, the fighting-type once again raises its rod, blocking it. Dang! Thanks to those things, Conkeldurr not only has a heavy offense, but a solid defense as well.

“Hammer Arm!” Marshal commands.

“Durrrrr!” Conceldurr raises both of its rods up high, which start glowing with fighting-type energy, and then swings them down at Absol, who in another amazing display of evasive ability, steps back just in time to avoid the attack. However, the sheer impact of the attack sends a shockwave through the ground, which throws the Disaster Pokemon off-balance. Conkeldurr follows up by stepping forward and delivering a rising swing (almost looks like swinging a golf club with one arm) that sends Absol flying and slamming against a nearby pillar.

“Absol!”

“Ab...” Absol falls the the ground in a heap.

Using Mach Punch once again, Conkeldurr quickly closes in on Absol. It hits me that I'm not the first trainer who fought Marshal thinking that keeping out of close quarters is the best way to fight Conkeldurr, as whenever its opponent tries to get away, the fighting-type just uses Mach Punch to close the distance again. Not a very fun tactic, but effective. Marshal has us completely pinned down!

Fortunately, Absol manages to recover before Conkeldurr reaches him, dodges to the left, and then retreats. One second later, Conkeldurr swings its rods leftward into the pillar the dark-type previously crashed into and tears away a small section of it, sending shards of granite in Absol's direction.

Absol manages to narrowly dodge a couple larger chunks of the pillar, but then a smaller piece of the shrapnel nails him square in the forehead causing an effective stun.

With Absol dazed and unable to counterattack, Conkeldurr predictably charges in again with another Mach Punch attack, delivering another left swing which sends the dark-type tumbling from one side of the arena to the other, stopping just short of my feet.

“Sol...” Absol wearily gets back to his feet. His Focus Sash is glowing, giving him one last boost of energy. One more hit and it's over, and we haven't even landed a single solid blow on Conkeldurr.

So this is the power of an Elite Four... Marshal isn't even fighting us with his full strength and he still makes Drayden feel like a featherweight by comparison!

Since this battle looks hopeless, I consider surrendering and saving Absol any needless harm, but then I think about the times I'd watched Marshal battle on TV. I'd seen him have his own share of one-sided battles, usually against Alder or fellow Elite Four member, Caitlin, but he always kept fighting until his last Pokemon fainted, no matter how bad it looked. He never gives up... and neither will I! We'll keep fighting until Absol or Conkeldurr is down! Besides, despite the situation, Absol is giving all he can to win, and just throwing in the towel would be an insult to him.

Seeing as Conkeldurr can easily block Absol's Psycho Cut attacks, we'll have to use something with a little more intensity.

“Hang in there, Absol!” I say, “Use Thunderbolt!”

“Sooooool!” Absol's fur starts crackling with electricity and then he fires a powerful blast of lightning across the arena at Conkeldurr. The fighting-type responds by placing its two rods upright on the ground, and then takes cover behind them. Fortunately, the Muscular Pokemon's bulky form cannot hide itself completely behind the two chunks of concrete and Absol's attack inflicts several burns on its exposed parts, but the rods absorb the brunt of the attack.

“Dang it!” I hiss.

“A nice try,” says Marshal, “However, it's clear that you're outclassed, so it's time to end this battle with an unavoidable attack!” The Elite Four extends his arm dramatically, “Conkeldurr! Use Earthquake at maximum power! Cover the entire arena!”

“Duuuuuuuuuurr!” Conkeldurr roars as it picks up its rods and holds them high as they begin to gleam with intense brown light.

“Absol! Run to--” I stop myself short. I was going to tell Absol to run to a pillar and hold on tight to avoid the bursting ground, but then I notice where Conkeldurr is standing: between the second pair of pillars from the Leader's side of the arena, “... On second thought, use Quick Attack.”

“Sol?” Absol spends the next nanosecond glancing back at me like I just sprouted more heads than a Dodrio, but he goes ahead and does what he's told, charging headlong at Conkeldurr.

The Muscular Pokemon slams its rods down hard, but instead of the arena shaking and breaking up, the strip of tiles Conkeldurr is standing on between the pillars cracks and then shatters as if they were made of glass instead of solid marble, sending Conkeldurr, who put all its weight forward when slamming its rods down, tumbling headfirst into the pool Drayden sent out Kingdra in, though ever since it used Surf, it's become a narrow concrete trench. A split second later, Absol is diving in after his foe.

Marshal lifts an eyebrow, probably his way of expressing shock, “Hm?”

As I run up to the trench to get a better look at the action, I shout, “Psycho Cut! Psycho Cut! This is our chance! Don't let up!”

The sounds Absol's furious yells and Conkeldurr's pained screams echo from the trench and within seconds, steam starts rising from it.

I reach the edge of the trench and look in. Eight feet below, Absol is standing on the back of a faceplanted Conkeldurr, whose rods are pinned beneath it, wildly slashing away with a psychic energy-charged horn, really putting the 'Psycho' into Psycho Cut. A steaming Spinarak web of gashes covers the Muscular Pokemon's back. Conkeldurr's stamina must be rapidly depleting, having taken this many super-effective hits in rapid succession.

Absol, probably having reached the same conclusion I have, halts his assault and jumps out of the trench to my side. On the other side, Marshal is looking in, appearing as stoic as ever. It's impossible to read this guy.

“Durr...” Conkeldurr slowly begins to recover, getting back upright. It tries to lift its concrete rods, but it looks like Absol has weakened it enough that it can no longer lift them more than a couple feet. Bare-handed, the fighting-type jumps up and grabs the ledge of the trench, slowly pulling itself up. Absol and I back up several feet to put distance between us and Conkeldurr.

The Muscular Pokemon looks totally wiped, but still good to go one last round, same as Absol. Still, with all the energy Conkeldurr lost, I doubt it can pull off a decent Mach Punch, plus it no longer has its rods to defend against attacks. The advantage is ours.

“Don't give in!” Marshal encourages Conkeldurr, “You're much tougher than this! Use Hammer Arm!”

“Durrrrr!” Conkeldurr raises its arms and its fists start glowing reddish-brown. In a stunning display of physical fortitude, it leaps almost thirty feet into the air, despite being severely weakened, poised to slam its fists down hard on Absol.

Time for a decisive finish! “Quick Attack!” I command.

“Sol!” In a split-second, Absol is off the ground (and before that, his body momentarily flashed white, signaling that Super Luck is in effect, giving his attack more power) and slamming into Conkeldurr like a missile before it can even react. The force of the blow sends the Muscular Pokemon flying backward, hanging helplessly in the air with the Disaster Pokemon clinging to it with his claws.

“Follow up with Iron Tail!”

Absol perform a quick aerial front somersault, and slams Conkeldurr hard from above with his tail, the impact and direction of the blow sending it rocketing down, back into the trench, landing with enough force to crack the concrete.

With Absol still airborne, I give one last command to complete the combo, “Now use Psycho Cut!”

Absol's horn glows pink and he swings his head, sending one last psychic blade descending on the downed fighting-type, scoring a direct hit.

“Duuuuuurr!” With a steaming gash across its chest, the Muscular Pokemon's body goes slack. It doesn't try to recover.

“Ab... sol!” Absol lands, staggering a bit before regaining his posture.

“Hm. Not bad,” After a brief pause, Marshal recalls Conkeldurr.

“Great job, Absol!” I say.

“Sol!” Too tired to jump into my arms, Absol wraps his front legs around my ankles instead.

“Take a rest,” I say, holding out the Disaster Pokemon's capsule, “You deserve it. Return!” I recall Absol.

I can't believe it! I beat Marshal! Well, I don't know how legit a victory that was, due to Conkeldurr using Earthquake in just the right place, but still...

Without even a running start, Marshal jumps over the expanse of the trench and walks toward me, “The way you suddenly changed your orders... Did you happen to know about that pit?”

“Yeah,” I answer, “You said you arrived when my Pokemon were battling Drayden's Latios and Haxorus, right? That means you didn't see my second round, when Drayden opened up the pool to send out Kingdra.”

“I see,” says Marshal, “You're clever. I suppose it's only right that I give you this...” Marshal reaches into his pocket and holds something out to me. It's a pin, slightly larger than the bottlecap-sized Gym Badges, which looks like a Pokeball with the bottom half fused with a triangle; it's Unova's Pokemon League insignia... The Pokemon League Badge!

“Dude, I can't accept this,” I say, “If it weren't for the pool, there's no way Absol and I would've won.”

Marshal closes his eyes for a few seconds, then says, “At another time in my life, I may have agreed with you. I believed strength to be everything that Pokemon training amounted to, but the master taught me differently. Even if a Pokemon lacks power or is at a distinct disadvantage in battle, a skilled trainer can turn the battle around with the right commands and timing.
A trainer is a strategist, and part of strategy is taking advantage of knowledge one's opponent lacks. You knew of the pit, and used that to turn the battle around in your favor. Your victory wasn't just because of your Absol's strength, but your ability as a trainer. Take this badge; You and your Absol earned it.”

“Well, shucks...” I say, scratching the back of my head, “If you prepared a speech about why I should take the badge, how could I say no?” I take the Pokemon League Badge and pin it to my vest, ending my one hour as an Elite Rank trainer, and moving straight to Master Rank!

Marshal turns around and takes a couple steps back to the Leader's side of the arena before glancing back at me over his shoulder, “One last thing, Ria.”

“What is it?”

“I know that it's important that Zekrom awakens for your battle with N, but remember... those that are truly strong believe in their own power.”

“Okay...”

“Do you know of the park near here? The one between the two districts?”

“Yeah,” I say, “I saw it from Drayden's office. What about it?”

“I suggest you go there.” Without any further explanation, Marshal jumps over the trench again and leaves the room.

Well, that was vague. Still, if Marshal thinks that will help me somehow, I guess I should be heading to that park...

I head out of the Gym, routinely looking down at my vest and the nine badges pinned to it, with all the challenge, hardship, patience, and determination they represent. This feels almost too unbelievable to be real. The Ria from a few months ago never would have thought in a hundred years this could be possible. The feeling of accomplishment and pride in both my Pokemon and myself is beyond my ability to describe...

---

At the lowest level of Team Plasma HQ at the bottom of a long staircase that seems to lead only to a small, dimly lit, and empty room, Ghetsis taps one of the floor tiles, slightly more elevated than the others, with his foot in the rhythm of a song he knew since he was young. A cluster of bricks on the nearby wall loosens, then lowers into the floor, revealing a hidden passage that not even N knows about.

As Ghetsis follows the passage even further into the earth, his mind wanders back to the events from the night before. He just can't believe it! That stupid friend of Ria's never would have found the Dark Stone if it weren't for an unlucky misstep by Gorm's useless Aggron! Ghetsis is even angry at himself for not considering the possibility, long as the odds were. Now the stone is back in Ria's hands. He'd have the Shadow Triad take it back from her, or maybe even take her mother hostage in exchange for the stone, but they are here at the castle. Now that the castle has risen, the secret passage Team Plasma has been using to go to and from the castle has been destroyed and the security at the checkpoint is too tight, even for them.

The Sage takes a few deep breaths and has to remind himself that pessimism is just in his nature, and it's more unlikely Zekrom won't awaken for some amateur like that meddlesome girl. After all, Reshiram awoke for the boy because he was carefully raised to be worthy of the legendary dragon-type.

Still, Ghetsis had lived by a certain credo for most of his life to view any situation like the worst case scenario is the only outcome so he can stay on top of things, plus he has a right to be paranoid. He had spent the better half of his life dedicated to his ambition, sacrificing many chances at happiness, and now it's very close to fruition, and that teenage upstart and the idiot king are the only conceivable hindrances. If Ria somehow wins, all his life's work will have been for naught. Just the thought of it makes him bitter.

He enters a chamber filled with various forms of machinery, where the only illumination is from a large green tube in the center of the room, connected to both the ceiling and floor.

Suspended inside the tube is a bipedal insectoid creature, completely coated in violet armor, with two arms, sharp claws where hands would normally be, an oval-shaped head with ruby-red eyes, and a large cannon connected to its back and extended out over its head. It was a fossil that was cloned and then technologically augmented to be an even more powerful Pokemon than it had originally been, quite possibly strong enough to rival a lesser Legendary. The name it had been given: Genesect.

Besides Ghetsis, the only other human in the room is a man in a white lab coat.

“Is Genesect finally ready?” Ghetsis asks the white coated man.

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis. As you requested, the cannon grafted to is back is connected to both its brain and energy, making it as natural a part of its body as its arms and legs, plus it has an attack in which it can type at will; Its neural implants give it knowledge of most Pokemon's weaknesses, so without even a command from you, it will know which type to use, plus its programmed to follow you and only you, and to have absolute hatred for whichever opponent it fights.”

“Excellent,” says Ghetsis.

“I should warn you, though. While it has two layers of armor, we'd only successfully melded the inner layer to its essence. The outer layer is completely foreign matter, so it can't be recalled to a Pokeball until it loses it.

“No matter,” says Ghetsis, “The outer armor is nigh indestructible anyway; It won't need to be recalled and healed. Activate and release it.”

“Very well, my lord.” The white coated man presses a button on a nearby panel and Genesect's eyes glow to life.

“Shreeeee!” A shrill voice fills the room.

---

The park at the center of Opelucid City is a long strip of finely manicured emerald-green grass, stretched out to extend from one side of the city to another and is a half-mile wide. There are the obligatory stone walkways, benches, and playgrounds. At the very center, there is a large round pond with a majestic fountain, spraying water fifteen feet into the air. Now that I think about it, with this park stretched between the old and modern districts of Opelucid City, the city as a whole might have actually looked like a Pokeball from above, if the layout were more circular.

Normally, with today being sunny with a gentle and cool breeze, this park would have been a nice, relaxing, and euphoric place to be, but right now a crushing feeling of helplessness and despair hangs in the air.

All around, there are trainers and their Pokemon and there isn't a smiling face among them. They are all trying to cherish the limited time they have remaining. There are plenty of sad faces, but there are just as many angry or frustrated faces, and I can guess why. Many of them are Elite or fellow Master Rank trainers (that still feels weird to say: 'fellow' Master Rank trainers), who despite all their training and power, are helpless before the edict of a Champion that threatens to tear them apart from their trusted friends and comrades. Sure, plenty of them might leave Unova to stay with their Pokemon, but they won't be able to come back, at least as Pokemon trainers.

I quickly figure out why Marshal told me to come here: to remind me what I'm fighting for.

The words Iris spoke earlier ring through my head: 'Who is this hero? Where is he? Why hasn't he done anything yet?' I wonder if that's what all those helpless trainers are thinking. I know that if N chose someone else to be his archrival and I were among them, I'd be desperate for a hero too. That thought makes me weak in the knees and I sit down on a nearby bench looking out at the pond.

So this is what it's like to be a hero... or at least one everybody, man and 'mon, hopes I'll be. Somehow, I thought I'd be happier with that title.

This responsibility had always been stressful, but I think it's only just hit me how important I am to everyone. Facing and overcoming my fears... gaining irreplaceable friends and allies... It was because I became a trainer that these things happened, and I wonder how becoming a trainer had affected the lives of all the people I'm looking at, and how it will affect those yet to become trainers, longing for the excitement and companionship that comes from it. If N wins, all of it will be broken. It's not a matter of whether or not I beat him; I must win!

Not just for humans either. The Pokemon I'm looking at look just as troubled and worried about the possible future as their trainers, and it's easy to tell that they are an inseparable part of each other's lives, just like my Pokemon are to mine.

I look down at my supply bag resting in my lap and whisper, “Zekrom... Just what the heck do you want from me? What should I do?”

I had to go to work soon after I posted this, so I didn't have much time for post installment commentary, but anyway...
Finally! I can't apologize enough for the wait.
Anyways, yeah, Ria goes up two whole trainer ranks in one installment. I kinda wonder if she's become too powerful, but then again, the player character has to be really tough at this point in the game.
I guess the biggest delaying factor was the battle with Haxorus and Latios (speaking of which, I hope the 'temporary Legendary companions' bit was acceptable. It doesn't seem right for a Legendary Pokemon to be bound to a single trainer as long as said trainer lives). I try to have each battle have its 'highlights,' and it just took me a little while to think of some for that particular round.
Since the terrain of the Opelucid City arena was referenced often during the battles that took place there, here's a basic visual layout:

OpelucidGymArenaLayout_zps1559cb5b.png

Yeah, it's not properly measured out, but I hope it helps.
Also, to answer an earlier question:

...On another note... do you plan, now that you've seen it, on re-interpreting B2/W2 also? After all, these are the best possible sequels to do it for, heh. Just a question.
Well, now that I've played it...
Maybe. I can't say it was quite as inspiring as the first one, but it's not like I'm drawing a blank on ideas (probably go with the male protagonist that time around). When I finish this story, I'll probably take a break and focus on some of my other projects for a little while, but I might do a retelling of B/W2.
Again, sorry for the insane wait, but I hope this was worth it.
 

Psycho Monkey

Member of the Literary Elite Four
It sure has been awhile Valin, but I'm glad to see you back. This chapter was very much worth the wait and it has me pumped for the climactic battle between Ria and N! Drayden having a Latios was a nice twist and I thought it was impressive that Ria was able to defeat it along with Haxorus with only two Pokemon. The battle was appropriately difficult while the victory seemed very natural and well earned. I also like the rules you implemented regarding Legendaries and how they chose their Trainers but the partnership is short lived based on the Pokemon's terms.

I also liked your shout-out/call forward to White2 and how Drayden never plans to retire even if that means ditching Iris! XD

Having beaten Marshal and become a Master Trainer, does this mean Ria is exempt from battling the Elite Four and can go strait to the final battle with N?

Also Genesect! ♥
 
Psycho Monkey said:
It sure has been awhile Valin, but I'm glad to see you back. This chapter was very much worth the wait and it has me pumped for the climactic battle between Ria and N! Drayden having a Latios was a nice twist and I thought it was impressive that Ria was able to defeat it along with Haxorus with only two Pokemon. The battle was appropriately difficult while the victory seemed very natural and well earned. I also like the rules you implemented regarding Legendaries and how they chose their Trainers but the partnership is short lived based on the Pokemon's terms.

I also liked your shout-out/call forward to White2 and how Drayden never plans to retire even if that means ditching Iris! XD

Having beaten Marshal and become a Master Trainer, does this mean Ria is exempt from battling the Elite Four and can go strait to the final battle with N?

Also Genesect! ♥
Once again you beat me to it Monkey, and you say it well. I have been looking forward to this for ages, it was so worth it :D
At one point, Iris called Drayden "daddy". Correct me if I'm wrong but in B/W2 she calls him her grandfather... again, could be wrong, but then I did play the game.
As to Ria's power, I'm impressed with her! Far from being overpowered, it is necessary, especially compared to N's power. Anyway, Pokémon Trainers in the main games are ridiculously overpowered anyway compared to all other characters. Look at how fast Ria reached this stage - I would say many other Trainers would have taken ten times as long. But yeah, I sure do approve.
The Legendary thing; not how I would have approached it, I would favour Legendaries following a Trainer for a few years or something,especially if they found that Trainer a good companion. After all, it's implied they are immortal (or, at least, for most of them they are unique) so a few years with one Trainer is not much to them. However, I totally see the worth of this viewpoint too, and it works better in the context I guess.
Anyway, cannot wait for more. You're the best, Valin! Woo :)
 
Cycloneblaze said:
At one point, Iris called Drayden "daddy". Correct me if I'm wrong but in B/W2 she calls him her grandfather... again, could be wrong, but then I did play the game.
No, you're totally right. It's just that their relationship wasn't confirmed in game one, and I hadn't yet gotten far enough into the game to know that they are granddaughter and granddad when I posted the latest installment.

I'll have to go back and edit that and other stuff (like we now know where Ria's Pokeflicks were actually filmed, and... wow! I really went overboard with the commas in earlier installments!) at some point or another...

Look at how fast Ria reached this stage - I would say many other Trainers would have taken ten times as long.
Not quite. While Ria's accomplishments are impressive by most standards, she's not the first of her kind, and there have been other trainers who have reached Master Rank who are no older than her (some of whom are even stronger). There's a bigger world out there, and our heroes aren't the only ones fighting in it 8)
 
Valin said:
Look at how fast Ria reached this stage - I would say many other Trainers would have taken ten times as long.
Not quite. While Ria's accomplishments are impressive by most standards, she's not the first of her kind, and there have been other trainers who have reached Master Rank who are no older than her (some of whom are even stronger). There's a bigger world out there, and our heroes aren't the only ones fighting in it 8)
I would have been comparing her to trainers within the game, where very few are said to have reached Champion-level in so short a time (if any). Realistically, there are probably several who excel over even Ria.
 
Yes! Genesect! It was mentioned that someone in Team Plasma did not like the bug type legendary because it was not pure, so I would love to see this is in the story. On another note, I think your explanation is quite good for explaining why some Gym Leaders in the anime had Legendary Pokemon and some did not. This makes me wonder if there is some sort of greater religion or mystique or something that connects all of the Legendaries and lets them know something ahead of time.
 
Team Plasma HQ...

Most people would picture a dungeon as a dark filthy place, but in the lower levels of Team Plasma's headquarters, it's actually somewhat clean, not so different from the rest of the castle, though it's much more dimly lit.

There are eight cells, four lining two walls. At the far end of the dungeon, there is a doorway with a slope of dirt coming out of it. It was once the entrance to a secret passageway that led to a forest off Route 11, located between Opelucid City and neighboring Lacunosa Town, which Team Plasma used to bypass Route 10's checkpoint. Since the castle rose, however, it cut itself off from the passageway, making the doorway useless.

Since the dungeon was rarely used for its intended purpose, supply boxes fill most of the cells, but the one nearest to the stairway had its contents emptied out to make room for two prisoners.

Concordia and Anthea have been imprisoned for nearly a day. They told Bianca that N would get them out of such a situation, but that was only so she would make her escape and not linger out of worry for them. In actuality, they knew Ghetsis would not so easily let their transgression against him slide, and he probably came up with some convincing lie to explain to N why they aren't there. With nothing but solitude, all they can do is think and reminisce...

When they were six years old, they lost their parents in a wild Pokemon attack. Not long after that, Ghetsis took them in. At first, he seemed like a kind man, but it wasn't long until he started overlooking them. Having known what the love of a parent was like, they knew they hadn't found a new father in him. They were raised to be servants, but even so, they were happy, as there were other people who treated them with kindness, and above all, they had each other to lean on.

Fifteen years ago, Ghetsis introduced a five-year-old boy to them. He was given the name Natural Harmonia Gropius, but he'd much rather go by the name he went by, according to the language he once spoke, prior to his arrival. It sounded like 'Ehn,' so it was simplified to a single letter: N.

When they were first introduced to the boy, he couldn't speak a single word of Unovian, but a language only known to him and Pokemon, and the only person... or rather, Pokemon, he spoke to was a Zorua that always accompanied him. However, he had an unusual talent for picking up on languages, and within a month, he started speaking the human language he was exposed to fluently. In that sense, it was hardly a surprise he could communicate with Pokemon.

Being around the same age, Concordia and Anthea quickly befriended N, and the three of them played together all the time. He told them that as long as he could remember, prior to his being brought to the castle by Ghetsis, he lived in a forest and the only friends he had were the Pokemon that lived there. Even though they were inherently warriors who were in a constant pursuit of strength, they were also wise and he'd learned a lot of things from them. He had seen other humans, but always from a distance. Sometimes his friends would leave the sanctity of the forest and go to attack the humans, trying to drive them away or eat them, but they sent out Pokemon from strange round capsules, and unlike his friends, these Pokemon were much stronger and seemed more disciplined. His friends were easily beaten by their much stronger opponents, and then captured inside capsules the humans threw. He wished he could hear the voices of the Pokemon following the humans, but he was always too far away and afraid to approach them. More than that, he wished he knew what became of his friends that were captured.

Unlike the sisters, Ghetsis constantly showered N with attention and love, always bringing him new toys and, more significantly, new Pokemon friends. Unlike the cheerful and carefree Pokemon N knew before, however, these Pokemon were broken and traumatized. Ghetsis claimed they were Pokemon previously captured and raised by humans. More often than not, these Pokemon withdrew at the sight of humans, but with N's relentless compassion, they warmed up to him and told him about the horrible experiences they had with their trainers. Occasionally, Concordia and Anthea caught N weeping at night, possibly for his friends from the forest that were captured, and what horrors they must be experiencing.

Having lived for six years before Ghetsis took them to his castle, the sisters had experienced enough of the outside world to know that not all humans treated their Pokemon badly (though never having been Pokemon trainers themselves, they couldn't possibly know how the Pokemon feel, so they had no grounds to disagree with N and Ghetsis on), but as close as they were, N always took the words of Pokemon and Ghetsis over theirs.

In hindsight, it's clear that Ghetsis was trying to influence N, making him believe that human trainers were terrible, cruel people, and only the trainers in the up-and-coming Team Plasma treated Pokemon with kindness. He told N that he is to become the harbinger of a glorious new era, where Pokemon would live blissfully free of humans.

Some time later, N became Team Plasma's king, and not long after that, Ghetsis sent him into the outside world on a Pokemon journey so he could become a strong, but kind, Pokemon trainer, take over as Champion of the Pokemon League, and use that authority to make all humans free their Pokemon. Originally, Ghetsis guided N, teaching him the art of battle, like Pokemon strengths and weaknesses and how Pokemon get slightly stronger with every confrontation, the more powerful the opponent, the more a Pokemon gets out of a battle.

As N would travel across Unova, Ghetsis would play a part of his own, trying to reach out to the reason and goodness within humans, and talk them into releasing their Pokemon of their own accord or interest them in joining Team Plasma's cause. Interested in seeing how the Sage would go about that business before beginning his journey alone and in earnest, N took a detour and headed to Accumula Town in southeast Unova. After watching Ghetsis give his speech, he decided he would try to blend into the Pokemon trainer world and challenge someone to a battle... and from there, everything changed.

N noticed most Pokemon trainers to be kind and caring toward their Pokemon. Some were strict, but hardly cruel. He sent Concordia and Anthea several Xtransceiver communiques, telling them about what he had learned and how confused he's becoming. The sisters wondered why Ghetsis thought sending N on a Pokemon journey was a good idea if changing his opinion of Pokemon trainers would be the result. As it turned out, he was counting on N becoming confused, so he would begin to question the truth, and hopefully pique Reshiram's interest in him... and it worked. He earned a powerful ally, which would eventually lead to his victory over the Champion.

As it turned out, however, Ghetsis underestimated N. He took a special interest in a girl named Ria, the first trainer he fought since departing on his journey and the first person who made him question his objective. At first, he was in denial and tried to expose her as the horrible trainer he wanted to believe she was, but her Pokemon proved him wrong. The sisters speculated that Ria came to represent all he began to doubt, possibly for the better.

As N spoke with Concordia and Anthea more and more, starting to refer to Pokemon trainers with something close to grudging respect, it wasn't a huge surprise that N didn't want to find the truth by defeating the Champion, but rather, by leading Ria to Reshiram's counterpart of equal power, Zekrom, and settle it with a clash between the two godly Pokemon.

Since it's been fifteen years since Ghetsis brought N to the castle, Concordia and Anthea figure that the Sage had been plotting the plan that's currently in motion for a very long time. In fact, they can't help but wonder if Ghetsis had a plan for them regarding N when he adopted them. They figure it was so N could have human friends he loved dearly to ensure that he doesn't come to completely resent humans or the fact that they knew more of human society than N did, and with their knowledge that not all humans treat Pokemon badly, they would inadvertently plant the seeds of doubt in his head, preemptively giving him the qualifications for Reshiram's aid. As much as they distrust Ghetsis, they are awed by the extent of his planning.

Of course, with Ghetsis so close to realizing his plan, after possibly decades of work and plotting, Ria is the only conceivable wrinkle, and as a result, he's afraid of the threat she could potentially become if not dealt with.

Hopefully, Bianca returned the Dark Stone to Ria, and she'll come to challenge N soon. Of course, they are concerned what countermeasure Ghetsis is planning, but they can't do anything while being locked up, without Xtransceivers to contact Bianca or anyone else...

“Jum~pluff~! Jum~pluff~!”

The sisters hear a singing voice approaching from the nearby staircase that descends into the dungeon. Its words and high pitch indicates it belongs to a Pokemon.

From around the corner, a round blue Pokemon, a little over two feet tall, with a cottonweed extending from its head and another two on its arms floats into the room. Concordia and Anthea had learned a lot about Pokemon from N introducing his friends to them. Anthea needs to search her memory, but Concordia quickly identifies it as a Jumpluff, a grass/flying-type.

The Jumpluff lands and scans the room. It looks through the bars at Concordia and Anthea, and then moves its gaze rightward and pauses. “Luuuuuuff!” The grass/flying-type opens its mouth and sprays out a stream of shimmering blue dust that passes the sisters and settles into a dark corner of their cell. Suddenly, as if he materialized from the shadows, a masked man in black with white hair appears and then falls to the ground in a deep sleep.

“Ah!”

“What?” The sisters react with surprise at the sight of the man that had been with them inside their cell without them even realizing it. It's a member of the Shadow Triad, Ghetsis's personal spies and bodyguards. Since all three members look exactly alike, and, as far as they know, don't even have names, it's impossible to tell them apart.

Jumpluff returns to scanning its surroundings. Once it's done, not finding anyone else in hiding, it shouts out, “Pluff pluff!”

The sisters hear the sound of approaching footsteps from the stairway. From around the corner appears an old man with a double-pointed beard and wearing a brown robe; one of the Seven Sages. He looks into the cell, past the sisters, and at the sleeping Shadow, “Hmph. As stealthy as the Shadow Triad is, they still cannot escape the sensory ability of a Pokemon. Excellent work, Jumpluff.”

“Luff luff!”

The sisters give the Sage a careful glance. “Sage Rood...” Concordia identifies the man.

“What do you want?” asks Anthea.

Rood is one of the people that had always treated Concordia and Anthea with kindness growing up, but he is a Sage, a follower of Ghetsis, and therefore his trustworthiness, under the circumstances, is questionable.

“I've come to lend you my aid,” says Rood, pulling a key out from inside his robe.

“Why?” asks Anthea, “You are with Ghetsis.”

“That's what I want Ghetsis to believe,” says Rood, “In truth, I support the decision of the king.”

“I want to believe you,” says Concordia, “but like Anthea, I want to hear your reasoning.”

“Very well,” says Rood, “I'm... rather suspicious of Sage Ghetsis, honestly.”

“What makes you says that?”

“It all began with the Castelia City incident.”

“Please explain,” says Anthea.

“A few months ago, Sage Bronius and I began an operation in Castelia City to steal the Pokemon from trainers in that area,” explains Rood, “We set up a secret hideout and sent disguised grunts out to ambush trainers and steal their Pokemon.”

“Stealing Pokemon...” says Concordia, “I can't imagine such a plan did much good.”

“We didn't know what else to do,” says Rood, “We knew Sage Ghetsis's speeches would never change the minds of everyone in the region, let alone the world, we never imagined His Majesty could become strong enough to defeat the Champion, and the rest of us weren't nearly powerful enough to enforce our will by force. It feels so foolish now, but back then, taking strong Pokemon form trainers and making their power our own felt like the most natural solution.”

“So what happened?” asks Anthea.

“Eventually, we were discovered. The local Gym Leader gathered a small force of strong trainers and raided our lair. We contacted Sage Ghetsis, telling him what happened. He was very upset that our actions negatively impacted Team Plasma's reputation, but he decided to take advantage of the situation. He sent Sage Bronius and I a couple of Pokemon he recently raised via Team Plasma's internal transfer system and told us to hold off the attacking trainers while he would be personally en route to the hideout so he could scold us and salvage whatever he could of Team Plasma's reputation with the populace.”

“What does any of this have to do with your suspicious of Ghetsis?” asks Anthea.

“I'm getting to that. Sage Bronius, myself, and a handful of grunts personally confronted the Leader of Castelia Gym and the Vice-Leader of Opelucid Gym, using the Pokemon Sage Ghetsis sent us. They were amazing, capable of battling on even ground with even the Gym Leaders' strongest Pokemon. After the incident, something occurred to me: while I knew that Sage Ghetsis was the most experienced trainer in Team Plasma, it wasn't until I commanded his Pokemon that I realized how strong a trainer he really was, easily on the same level as Master Ranked trainers. It made me realize the depths of his experience, and he must have been a dedicated trainer since a young age. With that under consideration, it made absolutely no sense why he'd wish for the complete liberation of all Pokemon. He clearly had no qualms about training a great deal of Pokemon to fight for him and never releasing them. Since he chose to keep the Dark Stone, rather than discard it where it could never be found, it's clear he was swayed by the power it could one day promise. That considered, I can't imagine he'd let go of the power he'd gained.”

“I see your point,” says Concordia, “However, why are you now claiming to side with the young master?”

“Because of him,” answers Rood, gesturing toward Jumpluff, “I spent most of my life questioning the ethics of the human race, and how they use Pokemon. Trainers or no, all living things have a conscience, and yet, Pokemon trainers have rarely had the moral desire to set their co-called 'partners' free. When His Majesty started changing his ways, clearly starting to understand Pokemon trainers, I wanted to understand them as well, and by extension, understand the king's new mission. To this end, I journeyed out of the castle in search of a wild Pokemon to partner with, and found a Hoppip. I took him in and secretly raised him for months. I spent almost all of my free time together with him, and have grown very fond of him... and him to me, if I believe correctly.”

Jumpluff smiles, “Jump jumpluff!”

“I realized just how heartbroken I would be if we had to go our separate ways, and perhaps Jumpluff would feel the same way. That would be how all humans and Pokemon living together would feel, or so I surmise. There are even other members of Team Plasma who have gotten attached to the Pokemon they have been assigned. I still don't know what to believe in exactly, but that's what His Majesty is trying to find out, and I will place my faith in the answer he finds.”

“I see,” says Anthea, “I'm happy to hear you support the young master. However, why are you here? I appreciate you freeing Concordia and I, but you said you wish for Sage Ghetsis to continue believing you are with him. You're clearly taking a risk by coming here to aid us after we helped that trainer in taking the Dark Stone from Sage Ghetsis.”

“That's why I've come,” says Rood, “Since you worked with her, do you happen to have any way of getting in contact with her?”

Anthea removes one of her slippers and pulls a slip of paper out from inside it, “We did get her Xtransceiver frequency written down.”

“Good,” says Rood, “In that case, I want you to find a Xtransceiver and alert her, and by extension, Ria, about something. Afterward, return to His Majesty's side, where you'll be safe.”

“What do you wish for us to tell Ria?” asks Concordia.

“Listen carefully,” says Rood, “There is a great deal that needs to be explained...”

---

I spend the rest of the morning and a little of the afternoon on that park bench, looking out at the pond, deep in thought about what it means to be a hero and what kind of strength Zekrom requires from a human master.

I return to the Pokemon Center to get Absol patched up, see if Bianca's awake, and ask her to help me with some last minute training for my fated battle with His Plasmatic Kingliness, to put it dramatically.

As soon as the sliding doors open and I enter the Center's lobby, I see a three-foot-tall blue figure dashing across the room toward me, leaping up, and wrapping it's arms around the back of my neck.

“Wott~!”

“Huh? Dewott?” I say, staggering back a couple steps and then returning the embrace, “It's good to see you, but what are you doing here?” If Dewott is here, then that means...

“Ria!” a too-familiar voice calls out from across the lobby.

“Mom?” A couple nearby trainers snicker at the scene before them: a Master being paid a surprise visit by her mommy.

Mom rushes over to me, “I heard from Professor Juniper that you came to Opelucid City, so I decided to come visit.”

“That's... great...” I say, setting down Dewott.

“I tried contacting you yesterday, but all I got was static, so I called Juniper and she told me you lost your Xtransceiver. She assured me you were okay, but I had to come and make sure.”

“I see...” It was about five days ago since I last talked to the Professor. I'm surprised she didn't inform mom sooner, “So, um, how long have you been here waiting for me?”

“A couple hours,” mom answers, “About a half-hour ago, Cheren arrived and we talked for a little while before he left for the sleeping quarters. You must have had a busy morning.”

“So Cheren's here? Anyway, yeah. I was busy earning these,” I say, gesturing toward the new Legend and League Badges pinned to my vest.

Mom's eyes widen in alarm, “Oh! You have nine badges? Oh my gosh! That's amazing, Ria! You're the second person in the Gray family to ever win all nine badges during her first summer!” (Yes, I actually do have a last name.)

“Yeah, I'm still having trouble believing it myself,” I say.

“Dewott...” Dewott grumbles. I guess he's not all that thrilled to hear that I beat the last two Gym Leaders and an Elite Four without him.

“How's Minccino doing?” mom asks, “The last time I heard from you, you were training in Iccius City.”

“Oh, he's doing better than fine,” I say, drawing Cinccino's Pokeball from my belt and sending him out.

“Cino!” Cinccino greets.

“Wott!” Dewott approaches Cinccino and the two exchange some friendly banter.

“So... Minccino evolved?” mom asks.

“Yup, he's Cinccino now,” I answer, “He's awesome. When I was battling the Opelucid Gym Leader, he managed to hold his own against a Legendary Pokemon called Latios. Not bad for a housekeeper, huh?”

“I see,” says mom, “I wonder if he'll ever want to go back to dusting the house. I've been away, so I think it could really use it...”

“You've been away?” I ask, “Doing what?”

“Winning these...” With a mischievous smile, mom pulls a small velvet-coated case out of her purse and opens it to reveal three Gym Badges pinned to its interior.

“What the heck?” I say, surprised, “Since when have you had a Trainer's License?”

“Since I was in high school,” says mom, “I had two friends who wanted to become Pokemon trainers, but a study group requires three people, so I joined to help them. I received a trainer's card, but I had no interest in becoming a Pokemon trainer myself. However, Dewott seemed bored with fighting casual battles against our neighbors, so I found the old card and the two of us went on a trip to challenge some Gyms.”

“I see...” I can't imagine mom having a whole lot of skill as a trainer, but I guess Dewott's training and experience from traveling with me, coupled with the power boost he got from his Eviolite, compensated for it.

I look at mom's three badges. I recognize the third as the Quake Badge, but I don't know about the other two; the first looks like a flame and the second looks like a tower of purple bubbles.

I hand in Absol's Pokeball at the front desk, and then mom and I sit down at one of the lobby's couches. She tells me what she had been up to since my visit home a month ago.

Mom spent a week at home, battling her girlfriends with Dewott, but the Discipline Pokemon proved too much for their moderately trained Pokemon, so like mom said, she found her trainer's card and headed out. She traveled to Kanto to pay one of her tri-annual visits to dad. While she was there, she challenged one of the Gyms, Cinnabar Gym, and won the Volcano Badge. Afterward, she returned to Unova, but didn't head straight home. Instead, she went to Aspertia City, located at Unova's southwest-most corner, to visit my aunt and cousins. Soon after, she visited nearby Virbank City and challenged a Gym there that recently opened, earning the Toxic Badge. From there, she decided to play tourist and check out the gradually urbanizing Driftveil City, and won the Quake Badge from Clay. It was then that Professor Juniper contacted her, telling her that I'm in Opelucid City, about to compete for my eighth badge.

I ask mom if the Professor told her anything else. Mom shakes her head, “No. She just suggested I pay you a surprise visit...” Mom glances over at Cinccino and Dewott, who are running around the lobby, playing tag, out of earshot of us (or at least Dewott is. Cinccino can probably hear us through his big ears), casts her eyes on the floor, and says softly, “... She didn't say, but it was probably also to let you see Dewott one more time before having to say goodbye.”

“Mom...” I hadn't told mom anything about my history with Team Plasma because I didn't want her worrying about me, but should I tell her? She's one of the last people I want to find out about what N had gotten me into, but can I really keep this a secret from her for the rest of my life...? Actually, why am I even asking myself that question when I already know the answer?

I put a hand on mom's shoulder, and say, “Mom, there's something... difficult I need to tell you. Would you mind if we went someplace more private?”

Mom stares at me, her mind probably cycling through possibilities of what I'm going to tell her. We recall Cinccino and Dewott and ride the elevator to the infirmary floor, like I did before so I could talk privately with Bianca.

The doors open to the infirmary floor. As I expected, the small corridor is empty. Because Opelucid City is the closest town to the Pokemon League, there are mostly high-ranked trainers here, and it's unlikely for someone in these parts to get injured by a wild Pokemon with their own being so strong.

We step out of the elevator, and mom asks, “So, what's wrong?”

“Before I begin, can you make me a promise?” I ask.

“What is it?”

“Don't tell anyone what I'm gonna tell you, not even dad; I'll tell him myself someday.” I hold out my pinky finger.

“Okay, I promise,” says mom, hooking her pinky around mine, “But you're making me nervous, so please tell me what's going on.”

I take a deep breath and then let out a slow sigh. “Okay... You've heard about that 'hero' that's supposed to battle the new Champion, right?” I ask, using air quotes on the word, 'hero.'

“Yes.”

“Well, that 'hero' just happens to be me.”

Predictably, mom looks baffled, “Wh-what do you mean, Ria?”

I tell mom the unabridged version of The Ria Chronicles, with every altercation I had with N and Team Plasma. She seems shocked at the sheer amount of times I'd locked horns with Team Plasma, and I reassure her that I've gotten through most of them safe and sound because my Pokemon are just that badass. I try sugarcoating the part where Ghetsis ambushed me at the Tubeline Bridge, but judging by mom's gaping mouthed reaction, I don't think I'd softened the blow as much as I'd hoped.

“... So that's what's going on,” I say, finishing my story.

Several seconds of silence passes between us. I'd been uneasy about sharing the whole thing, but it's out there now. No taking it back...

Without warning, mom embraces me tightly, “Oh Ria... How could this have happened?”

“Beats me,” I say, trying to make my situation sound like it's no big deal, “I guess I just have really cruddy luck.”

“Are you really going to do it? Go to the Pokemon League? Battle the Champion?”

“That's what I've been spending the last week preparing for.”

“Is there anything I can do to convince you not to go? It's too dangerous!”

“Sorry, but no,” I say, pulling back from mom, “Believe me, part of me wants to hightail it away, but this isn't just about me. For everyone, human and Pokemon, who lives in Unova, I have to do this.”

“Ria...” Mom's eyes well up, but she quickly wipes them, “I see. You've become a woman capable of standing on her own. You've clearly made up your mind, so there's nothing I can do to stop you.”

Unsure of whether I should be apologetic or thankful, I say, “Don't worry, I'll be careful. I'll have Bianca with me, and she's gotten pretty strong too, so I'm sure I can manage a way to get to my big battle with N in one piece.”

“Look at you,” says mom, obviously forcing a smile “So strong and confident. What happened to my little girl?” It's weird hearing mom talk like this, mostly because it makes her sound older than thirty-eight.

“I wouldn't say I'm one-hundred percent 'confident,'” I say, “I only mastered the art of putting on a strong front.”

“I'm really proud of you, Ria,” says mom, “At first, I was worried about you going on a Pokemon journey, but you've become so brave.”

“Geez, mom. You're making me blush here.”

---

Mom and I return to the lobby. Before we part ways, with mom going to explore the city, she gives me a present, which she apparently bought with the winnings she received from the three Gyms she fought: a new Xtransceiver, complete with my old frequency. That makes two things from my old supply bag that I managed to recover (now all that's left are a new Pokedex and somehow finding my notebook, not that I really used it as often as I used to when I lost it.)

Afterward, I head up to the sleeping quarters to meet up with Cheren and Bianca. During the elevator ride, I remove the Pokemon League Badge from my vest and hide it in my pocket. I really want to see the looks on their faces when they unexpectedly find out I'd won all nine badges.

In the large room, illuminated by natural light shining down from the clear dome ceiling, I see Bianca and Cheren sitting on adjacent beds, locked in conversation. Mistralton City was the last place the three of us had been together in person, and there's no doubt a lot to talk about since that chapter in our adventure.

“Hey, guys!” I call out, getting Bianca and Cheren's attention.

“Oh! Ria!” says Bianca, “How did it go?”

“Check it out,” I say, gesturing at my new Legend Badge.

“Congratulations, Ria,” says Cheren, “I won the Freeze Badge yesterday, so it seems all three of us have eight badges.”

“Alright,” I say, “Good going, Cheren.”

“Thank you,” says Cheren, “However, it seems you're the last among us to win her final badge.”

I tilt my head to the side in mock confusion, “Really? Strange, I could've sworn there were nine badges in all...” I reach into my pocket, grab the Pokemon League Badge, and hold it out for my friends to see, “After all, I also won this badge...” I pin it to my vest.

“What?” Bianca exclaims.

“That's the Pokemon League Badge!” says Cheren, wide-eyed, “But you have to battle an Elite Four member for that.”

“Yeah, well...” I tell Bianca and Cheren all about my crazy morning at Opelucid Gym.

“Let me get this staight,” Cheren says, “You fought three rounds against Drayden, considered to be Unova's strongest Gym Leader, and you won all of them, including one where he sent out a Latios, a Legendary Pokemon...”

“Lesser Legendary,” I specify.

“... Afterward, Marshal of the Elite Four paid a surprise visit, and you fought his Conkeldurr... with Absol... and won?”

“That just about sums it up,” I say.

“Wow! That's so cool, Ria!” Bianca marvels.

“Agreed,” says Cheren, “Unova could certainly be in worse hands.”

“Thanks, you g--” I stop short, “Hold on! I don't recall telling you anything about my situation, Cheren...” I glance at Bianca, “... Bianca?”

“Um... Sorry, Ria...” says Bianca, sheepishly.

“Don't blame her,” says Cheren, “Considering your history with N, I had a feeling he meant you. All Bianca did was confirm it for me.”

“It's fine,” I say, “We're a trio, right? I'm sure I would've told you myself sooner or later, Cheren.”

So Cheren now knows. Unless I'm missing anyone, those outside of Team Plasma who know, or at least caught wind, that I'm the 'Hero of Ideals' are mom, Bianca, Cheren, the Professor, Cedric, Alder, Drayden, Iris, Lenora, Hawes, and Marshal. That's a lot of people! Can I really keep this a secret from everyone in the region?

“Wait!” says Bianca, “If Ria got the League Badge, doesn't that mean she can't battle N? Doesn't it only go to people who want to compete in the Championship Tournament, not battle the Champion directly?”

My body jolts at Bianca's words, “Crap! I totally forgot about that!”

“Under the circumstances, I don't think it matters,” says Cheren, “N specifically said that he wants to battle the 'Hero of Ideals,' and League Badge or no, it's a direct challenge from the Champion.”

“Whew. Okay...” says Bianca, relieved.

Suddenly, there's a beeping sound from Bianca's supply bag. She fishes her Xtransceiver out of it and responds to the transmission, “Hello?”

“Bianca...” responds an unfamiliar female voice from the other end.

“Oh! Concordia?” Bianca exclaims.

Cheren and I circle around to Bianca's back and look over her shoulders to see the communicator's screen. 'Concordia?' That's not the name of anyone I know.

On the screen of Bianca's X-transceiver, there's the face of a woman, early-twenties I estimate, with tied-back blonde hair and brown eyes.

“Who's this?” I ask Bianca.

“Remember those two sisters I told you about, who helped me get back the Zekrock?”

“Yeah.”

“This is Concordia, one of those sisters.”

Concordia looks at me, and asks, “... Is your name Ria, perchance?”

“It is,” I say.

Concordia respectfully bows her head, “It's an honor to finally speak to you. My name is Concordia, a loyal servant of young master N.”

“Um... Hi?” I say, not sure how to respond to such a formal greeting.

Concordia turns her gaze to Cheren, “Are you another one of Bianca's friends?”

“Yes,” Cheren responds, “My name is Cheren.”

Concordia bows her head again, “Pleased to meet you, Cheren.”

“The... pleasure's all mine,” Cheren says, trying to match this strange woman's formality.

“So, you're a servant of N?” I say, “I get the feeling you're not just calling to talk to us about sports and the weather.”

Concordia tilts her head to the side, “Why would I call you to talk about that?”

“It's a figure of speech,” I sigh, not used to people not picking up on my sarcasm, “I'm just asking why you're calling us.”

Bianca laughs, “Haha! That's something you should get used to when you know Ria long enough.” She turns serious, “Is Ghetsis up to something?”

“Indeed,” says Concordia, “Ghetsis hasn't yet given up, and he's prepared a measure to prevent Ria's battle with the young master.”

“What does he have planned?” Cheren asks.

“I think it would be easier to show you...” says Concordia. She turns her Xtransceiver away from her face and holds it outward. We're shown a mostly white corridor illuminated by yellowy light with columns and shallow streams of water lining the sides. Concordia's surroundings shift sideways until she stops at a window and approaches it. She tilts her communicator downward to show us the grounds outside the castle.

Even though Bianca's Xtranscever has a small screen, the picture is in hi-def, and we see what Concordia is showing us in so much clarity, it's almost like we're there ourselves. We see the arena N and Alder fought on in their televised match, but now, a third of it is occupied by an army of Team Plasma grunts, roughly two or three-hundred if I had to estimate, standing in wait, a few of them holding up banners with Team Plasma's insignia on it, probably just trying to look cute.

“Holy Miltank!” exclaims Bianca.

Suddenly feeling the need for a little levity, I say, “So... Ghetsis put together a huge welcoming party for little old me? Wow! I didn't think he liked me that much...”

“He put together that army to stop you,” says Concordia, “I don't know how you came to the conclusion that this is a welcoming party.”

“I was being sarcastic,” I say, “All that is just to stop me? Talk about overkill!”

“It's possible the point of this army is to weaken Zekrom if he awoke for you,” says Concordia, “Has he?”

“Not yet,” I say.

“I see...”

Cheren speaks up, “Could you show us the area above the army?”

“Certainly.” Concordia pans upward. We see that the stone roof above the arena had been destroyed, eliminating any aerial blind spots that could be used. A few helicopters are buzzing around, and we also see several various flying-type and levitating Pokemon patrolling the skies. Within sight are Sigilyphs, Claydols, bronze bell-shaped Pokemon called Bronzongs, and silver saucer-shaped Pokemon called Magnezones, but they are far from the limit of what's hanging above the castle's surrounding.

“Darn...” mutters Cheren.

“What's wrong?” I ask, although I have a few ideas of my own of what's running through Cheren's head.

“I was hoping we could take the high ground and sneak past the army on the ground, but those aerial Pokemon make that an impossibility. All of them are capable of a technique called Gravity; Combined, they could create a massive gravitational field that makes flight very difficult, if not impossible. The only way of getting to the castle's entrance I can see is through that army.” Cheren turns his attention back to Concordia, “Concordia, you know of the castle's layout, don't you? Would you happen to know any other ways of getting inside, like back doors or passageways?”

Concordia turns her Xtransceiver's camera back to her face, “There used to be a passageway between the castle and Route 11 that Team Plasma's members used to bypass the Opelucid-Route 10 checkpoint,” Concordia explains, “but when the castle rose, it had caved in. As for the back of the castle, it's along the edge of a steep cliff, and more flying Pokemon are patrolling that area.”

“So, as far as you can tell, the front door is the only way in?” asks Cheren.

“I'm afraid so.”

“What about the inside?” Cheren asks, “Is there any resistance there?”

“Yes,” says Concordia, “While I'm sure the majority of Team Plasma's numbers are outside the castle, there are still plenty inside. The young master awaits Ria in the audience chamber, but the most direct route there, through the central entrance, is the most heavily guarded.”

“You mean the route I took?” Bianca asks, “Through a door on the far end of the lobby, to the top of the spiral stairs, and across the hall?”

“That is correct,” says Concordia, “However, I know of a secret passage that only the young master, Anthea, and I know about.”

“Sounds like you have at least some good news,” I say, “Do tell.”

Concordia lowers her voice, “Instead of taking the central ramp into the castle, take the ramp to the right of it. Inside, there is a lobby, no different than the one Bianca entered. Go through the door in the far back and you'll reach that sector's central staircase...”

“It sounds like the structure of the castle's sections are a lot alike,” Bianca notes.

“... Very much,” says Concordia, “Ascend the stairs and go through a door at the very top. At the other side, you'll enter a corridor. Go left from there and you'll eventually reach a bridge which connects that sector of the castle to the central one.”

“The one the audience chamber is in?” Bianca asks, trying to make sure she's following Concordia's directions correctly. It's a good thing too, since Bianca's a heck of a lot more familiar with the castle, since she'd actually been there.

“Correct. At the other side, you'll enter another corridor. Follow it, and then go through the eighth door on the right.”

“Okay. Eighth door on the right...” says Cheren, scribbling in a notebook he fished out of his supply bag, recording Concordia's instructions.

“You'll enter a... certain room. At the back, you'll see an abstract painting. Remove it, and you'll notice the bricks behind it are not cemented together. Go through the wall, and you'll enter a hidden passage. There are some paths that branch off, but keep following the main path and you'll eventually emerge into a storeroom. Exit it and at the other side of the corridor, there is a door that leads to that sector's central staircase.”

“The one I took?” Bianca asks.

“Yes. You might encounter some resistance, but by then, you'll have bypassed most of the security. From there, all you need to do is ascend one floor and you'll be at the top...”

Bianca, appearing to have a good idea of where Concordia is going at this point, finishes for her, “Go through the door, and directly across the corridor is the entrance to the throne room?”

“Correct.”

“Thanks for the tip,” I say, “but can I ask you one question?”

“What's that?”

“N is the king of Team Plasma, right? You know, the top of the totem pole, the head honcho, the guy who calls the shots?”

“Yes. The young master told Anthea and I all about his journey, and you in particular. I'm sure he made that fact very clear to you.”

“If that's the case, why do we have to put up with fighting an army of grunts and taking a roundabout route to his chamber? If he's really in charge, why isn't he just telling Ghetsis to cut the crap and leave me alone?”

“Yeah,” Bianca adds, “I was about to ask you and Anthea why N didn't want to believe that Ghetsis took the Dark Stone, but we got interrupted. All you said was that Ghetsis is 'important' to N.”

Concordia pauses for several seconds before answering, “... The young master is... conflicted.”

“What do you mean?” asks Cheren.

“Despite everything, the young master holds Sage Ghetsis in very high regard. He's grown up believing that Sage Ghetsis had never steered him wrong, but at the same time, he wants to believe in the truth he and Reshiram are searching for. He isn't sure who is in the right, so he leaves Ghetsis alone, and the two of them act separately, forming two factions within Team Plasma: those that follow the young master and those that follow Sage Ghetsis.”

“Sounds like a real mess,” says Cheren, “From the size of that army, its seems a lot of the grunts are in support of Ghetsis.”

“Your observation is correct,” says Concordia, “Some feel betrayed by the young master for not taking immediate action upon defeating the Champion, instead choosing to put everything they fought for to chance. Others are criminals from other regions who are under Ghetsis's protection; if Ria wins the battle with the young master, Team Plasma will undoubtedly be disbanded, and they will be on the run again.”

“That makes sense,” says Cheren.

“What about Bianca's question?” I ask, “What is it about Ghetsis that makes him so 'important' to N? You said he holds Ghetsis in particular in high regard, right? What on earth makes that Ekans so special, anyway?”

Again, Concordia pauses before answering, “... It's because Sage Ghetsis is the young master's father.”

“What?” exclaim Bianca and Cheren simultaneously.

As for me, I pause for a few seconds, “... Huh? Seriously?”

“You don't sound surprised,” says Concordia.

“Oh, I'm surprised,” I say, “Surprised that someone would actually want to have a kid with Ghetsis. Still, that does explain a lot, though it makes no difference to me. N's old man or not, I'll kick his butt.”

“I'm not sure how the young master will feel about that,” says Concordia, “but regardless of what you must do, he awaits your arrival. I hope my warning has proven helpful.”

“It has, thank you,” says Cheren.

“At least it's better than getting caught off-guard by a hundred-thousand guys,” I say.

Concordia bows her head, “You are perfectly welcome. Please take the time you have to figure out a way to safely bypass Sage Ghetsis's defensive line.”

“We will,” says Bianca.

“Good luck.” The transmission ends.

Bianca, Cheren, and I spend a couple seconds staring at one another.

“I know how we can get past all those guys!” Bianca announces, “We'll just do what I did before and steal some uniforms from the grunts patrolling the mountainside, then we'll walk right past them!”

“Unless Ghetsis is a complete fool, I doubt the same thing will work twice,” says Cheren, “I imagine he'd learned from that mistake and recalled the mountainside security, allocating that majority of Team Plasma's manpower to that army.”

“Darn...” mutters Bianca.

“I do have an idea of my own, though,” says Cheren, “Ria, do you have a way of getting in touch with the Champion?”

“Yeah,” I say.

“Good. I'm thinking we could do what we did in Castelia City.”

“Alright! Sounds like a plan,” I say.

I pull the new Xtransceiver mom bought me out of my supply bag and then dig deeper for a slip of paper with Alder's frequency on it. He gave it to me a couple days ago, but without a communicator, I didn't have much use for it at the time.

I punch in Alder's frequency and a couple of beeps later, the ex-Champ appears on my screen. This time, it's Bianca and Cheren who are looking over my shoulders.

“Ah, Ria!” greets Alder.

“Hey, Champ!” I greet back.

“I see your friends are with you. Long time no see, you two!”

“Hi, Alder!” Bianca greets.

“It has been a while,” says Cheren.

“I heard from Marshal that you beat Drayden and also him,” says Alder, “Congratulations on achieving Master Rank.”

“Thanks,” I say, “I take it you were behind Marshal's surprise visit?”

“Guilty as charged,” Alder admits with a grin, “I just had to know how much your Pokemon's training under me had paid off.”

“I sorta got a lucky break in my battle with Marshal,” I say, “So I'm not all that sure I deserve the League Badge...”

“No problem,” says Alder, “Luck often factors into victory.”

“Happy to hear it,” I say, “I've also got more good news: I got the Zekrock back; You have Bianca here to thank for that.”

“This I gotta hear,” says Alder, a grin across his face.

“Okay...” Bianca tells Alder a quick version of her infiltration of Castle Plasma.

Alder laughs heartily, “Hahaha! Wow! I never would've taken you for the type that would pull something like that! You're something else!”

“Teehee! Thanks...” says Bianca, blushing.

“Unfortunately, that's about all the good news I have,” I say, “Now for some very bad news...” I relay to Alder what we learned from Concordia.

With one hand rubbing at the scruff on his chin, Alder says, “Hm... That's quite a situation...”

“Burgh gathered some contacts of his when we attacked Team Plasma's hideout in Castelia City,” says Cheren, “Perhaps we can do it again... only this time we'll need a lot more people.”

“Agreed,” says Alder, “Tell you what; Meet me outside Shopping Mall 9's food court at 8:00 tonight. There, we'll have an in-depth discussion with the Gym Leaders and Elite Four members who can make it.”

“Sounds good,” I say, “Any suggestions what I should do until then? Train?”

“That's the advice I would like to give you,” says Alder, “but the fact is that you just fought not one, but two major opponents, so now is a time for resting, especially with your battle tomorrow. Take it easy until our meeting.”

“Will do,” I say.

“Oh, and your friends are invited too. They've helped you a lot, so it's only right that they join us.”

“Okay! Thank you,” says Bianca.

“Yes, thank you,” says Cheren.

“You're welcome. I'll be seeing you guys in a few hours!” Alder ends the transmission.

I return my Xtransceiver to my bag and turn to Bianca and Cheren, “He's the ex-Champ, so he knows what he's talking about, but it still feels wrong to just lay around when I've got the battle of my life tomorrow. Pokemon are completely re-energized from going through the healing machine anyway; I wonder if I should just...”

“That is true,” says Cheren, “but don't forget that battle can be mentally taxing for your Pokemon as well as physically. You need them to be fully aware and prepared.”

“Very true,” I say, somewhat embarrassed that I had to be told that, after I'd regularly acknowledged it up to this point.

“I bet you're just worried about your battle with N,” says Bianca, “I noticed you weren't sleeping very well last night, so I think you could use a nap. You need to be mentally awake too, right?”

“Yeah, might not be a bad idea,” I admit.

Bianca smiles reassuringly, “No worries, Ria. Cheren and I will train in the meantime. We'll fight by your side, and make sure that army doesn't stand in the way of your big match, won't we, Cheren?”

“... Of course.” I notice that Cheren hesitated for a few seconds before answering Bianca's question. I wonder why.

Seemingly oblivious of Cheren's pause, Bianca say, “Okay! Let's go, Cheren! Remember, Ria... deep breaths.”

I yawn, “Ahh... Okay...” I don't think I'd actually noticed how tired I was until Bianca suggested I rest.

Bianca and Cheren leave while I lay down in the bed I was sitting on the edge of, rest my head on the pillow, and close my eyes.

---

Team Plasma HQ, audience chamber...

While Concordia contacts Bianca via Xtransceiver, Anthea appears before N and Reshiram, and tells her young master what had happened since Bianca had spoken with him.

When Anthea finishes her report, N looks at the floor, deep in thought, “I see...”

“I know Sage Ghetsis is your father and that you greatly respect him,” says Anthea, “but right now, the two of you are in conflict. You are Team Plasma's king, so you can just order Ghetsis to stand down. I beseech you to do this, young master.”

“I know what you're saying,” says N, “But what if father is the one who's in the right?” He looks over at Reshiram, who had been standing in the same place in the back right corner of the audience chamber for days like a living statue, “What do you think, Reshiram?”

<It is not my place to make decisions for you, young hero,> says Reshiram, <However, if you want to believe in both your father and the truth, then I would suggest accepting his role as part of the truth's discovery... as part of destiny. If your chosen opponent fails to overcome the trials he presents, then perhaps the union of humans and Pokemon was never meant to be.>

“That makes sense,” says N, “All I should ask of him is that he doesn't interfere with our battle if Ria successfully arrives before me.”

“If that is your will, then I shall accept,” says Anthea.

---

Hours pass as I'm somewhere between dreams and reality, somewhat aware of the real world, but more preoccupied with my thoughts.

Somehow, I avoid making one of those childish 'If you help me win tomorrow, I promise I'll be a better Arceist' prayers, and instead reminisce on my journey and how I ended up where I am. It's only been a few months, but it feels like it's been years. I go step-by-step through everything that's happened after the trainer's test up to the present, and all I can do is mentally soliloquize, 'Wow... It's been quite a trip, hasn't it, Ria?”

When I open my eyes, I see that the blue afternoon sky I'd closed my eyes to is now yellow and that the clock on the wall now reads 6:30PM. An hour and a half until I have to be at Shopping Mall 9 to meet with Alder...

I grab a quick cheeseburger dinner at the Pokemon Center's cafeteria, and then buy some high-quality poffins for my Pokemon (and a pizza for Braviary) and head to a quiet corner of the Center. As I watch them chowing down, their etiquette varying from Pokemon to Pokemon (Gallade's being polite, Braviary's, Magmortar's, and Marowak's being beastly, Cinccino's and Absol's being somewhere in between), I decide now might be a good time to formally tell them what's going on.

“Hey, you guys?” I lower my voice so no bystanders will overhear me.

Everyone, except Marowak, looks in my direction, but I'm sure the Bonekeeper's ears are wide open anyway.

I take a deep breath and say, “All of you have fought really well, and I couldn't possibly be prouder. In the short time we'd known each other, you've all become an inseparable part of my life...”

“Cin!”

“Bravi!”

“Gall!”

“Mag!”

“Sol!”

Everyone one responds to my words with a smile.

“However, tomorrow will be our greatest challenge, and probably even the most important battle in all our time together. The battle that's coming will determine what will become of all the trainers and Pokemon in Unova, including us. If we win, humans and Pokemon will continue living together; if we lose, humans will be forced to release all of their Pokemon back into the wild...” I pause to let that sink in.

I pay close attention to all of my Pokemon's faces. Sure enough, all six of them look surprised and troubled by the news; even Marowak shifts uncomfortably. Maybe it's cruel on my part to put so much pressure on them, but in spite of all the stress, it would do them good to know exactly what's at stake.

“Our opponent had enlisted the aid of an extremely powerful Legendary Pokemon called Reshiram. I have a stone that contains an equally strong Pokemon called Zekrom, but I'm still unsure on how to awaken it. If it turns out I can't wake Zekrom up, then it will fall to you guys to defeat Reshiram. I guess all I'm trying to say is to just fight hard tomorrow.”

Cinccino, Braviary, Gallade, Magmortar, and Absol nod solemnly, while Marowak smirks as if to say, “Bring him on. We'll see just how 'Legendary' that Reshiram punk is once I'm through with him.”

“Thanks, you guys!”

I glace around the rest of the Center's lobby and only see about four other trainers present, much less crowded than it was a few days ago. I'm guessing most people are taking the next ferry out of Unova. If I lose tomorrow, will I end up being one of them...? No, Ria! Don't think that way!

---

It isn't long until eight o' clock rolls around, the sun partway down the horizon, and I meet up with Bianca and Cheren at Route 9 in front of Shopping Mall 9. Having visited a few times over the past four days, I know the building is shaped like a giant 'L,' with the food court being located within its inside corner. It's closed, so there aren't any other people around, which makes sense; Having the Champion and other Pokemon League members all in the same place would attract unwanted attention.

Something I noticed during the days of training with Alder on Route 9 is just how out-of-place the mall is against its surrounding area, which is a wide-open grassy field with knolls and other such variations in elevation here and there. In fact, if not for the ginormous building, this place could have made the cut as a golf course.

We reach the patio outside the food court, which is an elevated wooden platform filled with round tables with built-in parasols. At the center, there is a rectangle-shaped table with ten built-in seats, five along either side (I'm guessing it's for birthday parties or family gatherings). In a separate chair at a far end of the table is Alder and in the two seats nearest to him are Marshal and Brycen, the former as stone-faced as ever, and the latter with his eyes closed, as if in meditation.

Next to Brycen is a twenty-something man in an expensive-looking black suit, with black hair spiked in the back, a yellow scarf that really doesn't go well with the rest of his outfit, and a seemingly permanent devious smile. I recognize him as Grimsley of the Elite Four, a dark-type expert. Other than that, all I know about him is that he's just a few hundred-thousand credits short of becoming a millionaire, despite being poor when he started out, making one half of his fortune by kicking enough butt as a Pokemon trainer and the other half through gambling. Truly an inspirational success story if the ever was one...

Next to Marshal is a twenty-something bespectacled woman with short violet hair, adorned by a large black ribbon, wearing purple and black clothes, hard at work typing stuff on a laptop. She's Shauntal of the Elite Four, a ghost-type expert and a well-known author, though the success of her books have more to do with her being an Elite Four member, giving them the potential to become collector items someday, rather than them being any good... or so I've heard, since I'm not an avid reader.

Sitting next to Grimsley is Drayden and next to Shauntal is a bored-looking teenage girl in a pricy-looking pink dress and an equally pricy-looking white fur hat (which better not have been made out of Minccino fur!), with a very, very long mane of wavy light-brown hair. She's Caitlin, the fourth member of the Unova Elite Four, a psychic-type specialist. Apparently, she comes from a long line of powerful trainer-psychics. I guess she used to have quite a temper and threw massive psychokinetic tantrums if she lost a battle, causing her to go on probation in Sinnoh (… or was it Johto?) for several years, returning recently.

Next on Brycen's, Grimsley's, and Drayden's side of the table is Skyla and across from her on Marshal's, Shauntal's and Caitlin's side is Iris. Around the table, serving food and drinks are the Striaton Gym Leaders, Cilan, Cress, and Chili. Now I wish I didn't eat before coming here, because whatever food they're serving, it smells good.

Caitlin looks up at Bianca, Cheren, and me and coolly asks, “... Who are you three? Are you lost?”

“Cheren? Bianca? Ria?” questions Skyla, “Not that I'm complaining, but why are you here?”

“I'm not complaining either,” says a grinning Chili, eying me and Bianca. Ick.

“Ah! Our guests of honor have arrived!” Alder announces to the table.

“These three?” says Shauntal, looking up from her laptop.

“They're just a trio of teenagers,” says Grimsley, “What makes them our special guests?”

I raise a quizzical eyebrow at Alder, “Seriously? I would've figured you'd tell everyone before we got here.”

“Ah, it wouldn't have been fun that way,” says Alder, waving a dismissive arm, “But first, I guess some introductions are in order. You probably know the names of the Elite Four, but to be polite, let's do it anyway.”

“I'm Shauntal,” Shauntal introduces herself, “I'm a ghost-type expert and an author.”

Bianca enthusiastically introduces herself, “I'm Bianca. I just love your romance novels, Miss Shauntal!”

The rest of the Elite Four introduces themselves. “Marshal, fighting-type expert, devoted student of Master Alder.”

“Grimsley, dark-type expert. I'm unbeatable at both gambling and Pokemon battles.”

“I'm Caitlin. My family and I are famous, so there's no need to explain anything else about me.”

Cheren and I simply introduce ourselves by saying our names, “Ria.”

“Cheren.

“Thank you,” says Alder, “Now, let's get down to business. By now I'm sure all of you are aware that the new Champion is waiting for a battle with 'The Hero of Ideals' and that battle will determine whether everyone in Unova will release their Pokemon or keep them.”

Everyone at the table nods in confirmation, except Caitlin, who says in total surprise, “What? I didn't know about that!”

“Huh? Really?” asks Bianca, “I thought everyone knew.”

“I'm not surprised,” says Grimsley, smiling, “Caitlin's a complete shut-in. She only ever seems to leave her house for battles and meetings like this one. When N challenged us, he fought her first. After she lost, she just went home and we haven't heard from her until now.”

“Obviously,” says Iris, being her typical confrontational self, “She clearly doesn't go out for haircuts.”

“Neither do you,” Caitlin shoots back, “You have almost as much hair as I do!”

“At least it makes me look pretty,” says Iris, smiling malevolently.

“You... insignificant Wurmple! I'll--”

“Knock it off! Both of you!” Drayden roars. That silences the whole table.

“Anyway,” says Alder, “Now you know, Caitlin. By the way, Wurmples are Pokemon too, and they are in no way insignificant. Getting back on track, the reason these three are so special is because one of them is the 'hero' N was referring to.”

“What?” All eyes, except for Iris's, Drayden's, Marshal's, and Brycen's (who looks to be in his own world) turn toward Cheren.

“So he's the brave hero that will save Unova?” asks Shauntal, “Excellent!” She types something on her laptop, “I wasn't expecting the glasses, but he certainly looks the part!”

“I... I do?” asks Cheren, blushing.

“For real? That's so awesome!” exclaims Skyla, “Congratulations, handsome!”

Cheren's face turns even redder, “Well...”

Alder, obviously enjoying himself, throws his head back, laughing, “Hahaha! I knew you'd all look at him first. One thing N neglected to mention, however, is that our 'hero' is really a heroine.”

Upon that revelation, everyone's eyes turn toward me (I guess Bianca's appearance doesn't strike most people as 'heroic.')

“Oh,” says Shauntal, considerably less excited, “I suppose you'll work too.”

“Geez, I'm sorry I'm not some dashing dude, riding on his noble Rapidash, holding a Pokeball aloft,” I say bitterly.

“Now, now,” says Cilan, “Is her gender really such a big deal? What matters is that the hero exists and Unova has hope.”

“Thank you!” I shout, throwing my arms up.

“Is this why you called us here?” Caitlin asks Alder, “To tell us who this 'hero' is?”

“Did you really think I'd pull you out of the comfort of your bed, just for that, Caitlin?” says Alder, “No, there's much more to it than that.” He turns toward Bianca, Cheren, and me, “Have a seat, you three. Ria, since you're the star of this meeting, you may sit across from me.” He gestures toward an empty chair at the far end of the table opposite him.

I accept the ex-Champ's offer and sit down. Skyla waves at Cheren and pats the empty seat next to her. He accepts the invitation. Likewise, Iris gestures Bianca over to the seat next to her.

Cress places a plate with a large chunk of deep-fried fish on the table in front of me, “Deep-fried Basculin. Enjoy.”

“'Deep-fried Basculin,' huh?” I think of the Basculins that tried to eat me at the Tubeline Bridge, then look down at my meal, intending to devour it with extreme prejudice. As I eat, the triplet waiters serve similar meals to everyone else at the table.

Turning his head left, then right, Alder says, “It looks like only six Gym Leaders and a Vice-Leader could make it. I guess I should've expected that, calling everyone under such short notice. Well then, let's begin.”

Glancing at me, Caitlin says, “If it's as you say, Alder, this plain-looking little girl is supposed to defeat the new Champion? Is she any good as a trainer?” 'Plain-looking little girl?' She's no older than me, or at least she doesn't look it. Anyway, I already dislike the female half of the Elite Four.

“Did you seriously not notice she has nine badges?” says Iris, “And here I thought you psychics were supposed to be smart.” Predictably, Caitlin shoots her an annoyed look. I'm just feeling the love between those two...

“She just made Master Rank by defeating Marshal's Conkeldurr with an Absol,” says Alder, “I think that's a clear enough sign she has considerable skill.”

“She beat Marshal with an Absol?” says Grimsley, grinning, “Nice! You, ma'am, are an inspiration to dark-type specialists everywhere! I like you already.”

“Heh... Thanks,” I say, flattered. At least the male half of the Elite Four is pretty cool.

“She had a lucky opportunity during the battle,” says Marshal.

“What was that?” asks Grimsley, cupping an ear, “Did I just hear Marshal, the man who claims to only believe in power and skill, say the 'L' word?”

“Anyways,” Alder picks up from before, “as we've already confirmed, Ria here is the Hero of Ideals N had challenged, and it's of the utmost importance she makes it to that battle. If it were as simple as her just going to that castle and battling N, we wouldn't be having this meeting, but there is a huge problem standing between her and N.”

“What problem?” asks Skyla, “I'm guessing you gathered us here to solve it.”

“You got it, Skyla. Apparently, Team Plasma is divided in two,” Alder proceeds to relay the info we got from Concordia, “According to an inside source, most of Team Plasma is opposed to N putting their ultimate victory on the line, and instead follow the Seven Sages, with the intention of keeping Ria from her destination before the deadline...”

“An... 'inside source?'” questions Cilan, “Are you sure it's reliable?”

“It is reliable,” says Bianca, “I made some friends inside Team Plasma who are loyal to N. They helped me get the stone Zekrom is sealed inside back to Ria. Why would they do that if they were enemies?”

“I guess I'll just have to take your word for it,” says Cilan.

“Hold on,” says Shauntal, looking up from her laptop, “Zekrom is that Legendary Pokemon N mentioned that would aid the Hero of Ideals, right? You said it was sealed inside a stone. Is it still sealed?”

“Afraid so,” I say.

“Then... if it doesn't become unsealed, what happens then?”

“Good question,” I say, “If Zekrom doesn't wake up, then I guess my battle with N and Reshiram will be much harder.”

“That doesn't bode well,” says Cress, “Reshiram easily defeated all six of Alder's strongest Pokemon. No offense, Ria, but I don't think you'll be able to win without Zekrom.”

“Thanks for jinxing it,” I say, “But you just might be right, as much as I hate to admit it...”

“Be that as it may,” says Grimsley, “Zekrom or not, Ria is Unova's only chance. At least with her, our chances are better than not battling N at all and letting the deadline pass.”

“Couldn't have said it better myself,” says Alder.

“At least someone's looking on the bright side,” says Iris.

“The 'problem' standing in the way of Ria's battle with N...” says Drayden, “Would you care to specify?”

Cheren picks up, “At the Pokemon League HQ's grand arena, there is a massive army of Team Plasma members organized for the sole purpose of getting in Ria's way.”

“How is that a problem?” asks Skyla, “Just fly over or around it and enter the castle somewhere they can't see you. That's what I would do.”

“Apparently, they thought of that,” says Cheren, “Our inside source showed us the army via Xtransceiver and above the army are several Pokemon including Sigilyphs, Bronzongs, Claydols, and others. One thing they have in common is that the are capable of the technique, Gravity. If I had to guess, they're there to create a massive gravitational field that prevents flying-type and levitating Pokemon from passing over the army on the ground, and I don't know how many there are in total, so I'm uncertain that going around will work either.”

“Bronzong and Claydol are also capable of Stealth Rock,” Alder adds, “Bad news for flying-types.”

“Bummer...” says Skyla.

“What's the big deal? Just shoot 'em all down with Fire Blasts, Ice Beams, and Thunderbolts!” says Chili, “This isn't Porygon science!”

“That's easier said than done,” says Grimsley, “After all, those Pokemon are way up in the air, and potential attackers are confined to the ground. Lots of time to dodge, not to mention that the army would likely be harassing you while you try.”

“Oh...”

“With those Pokemon in place, the only way to the castle is through that army,” says Alder, “This complicates things.”

“Couldn't you and the Elite Four just charge through them and make a path for Miss Smart-mouth?” asks Iris, “The five of you are the strongest trainers in Unova, and Team Plasma is just a bunch of weaklings!”

“The same 'weaklings' that almost beat you and Burgh in Castelia City?” Cheren flatly remarks.

“Shut up, you!”

Alder laughs, “Haha! Your compliment is appreciated, Iris, but you're forgetting something important: all trainers, no matter how strong, have a common weakness; the trainers themselves. The army is bound to have hundreds of Pokemon at their command, and regardless of how strong they may be, if an enemy Pokemon gets past a trainer's Pokemon's defenses and threatens him or her directly, there is little the trainer's Pokemon can do in fear of provoking the enemy, rendering it helpless. If it were just the Elite Four and me against hundreds of Team Plasma grunts, even we would get overpowered by their superior numbers very fast. No, we need a lot more people, and that brings us to the heart of this meeting: We, the Unova Pokemon League, charged with the defense of Unova, must aid Ria. We must gather as many trainers as possible to counter the army.”

“Um... There... aren't a lot of trainers left in Unova, or at least I don't think so,” says Skyla, “Over the past week, I'd seen several trainers flying in the directions of Castelia City and Undella Town, both of which have ports with ferries out of Unova.”

“Well, that's a troubling predicament,” says Caitlin.

“Hmph. Cowards...” mutters Marshal.

“Now, now, let's not be too hard on them, Marshal,” says Alder, “After all, they're doing it for their Pokemon. Naturally, outside of Unova, they are unaffected by Unovian law.”

“If you say so, Master...”

Bianca raises her hand, “Um, question!”

“What is it?” asks Alder.

“This is a little off-topic, but I'd been wondering this for a while; If N wins, hypothetically of course, will trainers just willingly release their Pokemon? I can't imagine they would just because of some new law. People love their Pokemon too much for that.” I'd actually asked Alder the same question when I was training with him, but I leave him to answer, since he can explain it better than I could.

“Probably not right away, but it would happen eventually.”

“Huh? How so?”

“There is one crucial cornerstone to Pokemon training civilization, and taking that away would cause everything to fall apart: Pokemon Centers.”

“But... that's just to heal Pokemon after battles, isn't it?” asks Bianca, “What if we just don't have battles anymore?”

“You should know full-well that's impossible,” says Alder, “From the moment they hatch, most Pokemon are capable of combat, and it's in their nature, virtually part of their biology, to battle and test their strength by seeking stronger opponents. Even Pokemon kept as pets need to battle every now and then. Of course, they get injured as a result of battle, sometimes grievously, but Pokemon Centers can heal them back to full-strength, thus allowing them to fight unrestrained under their trainers' supervision. It's been this way for generations. Think about what it would mean if we kept doing that without the Pokemon Centers. In that sense, it's best to leave the Pokemon to their own devices.”

“Wow...” says Bianca, “I didn't know it could be so... fragile...”

“Getting back on track,” says Grimsley, “you were saying that we need to gather trainers across Unova in order to battle Team Plasma's army? Are you certain they would help?”

“I've seen trainers around Opelucid City...” says Marshal, “You have too, didn't you, Ria? They are frustrated... upset that even with all the power of their Pokemon and their experience as trainers, they can do nothing except count on a hero they know nothing of to come through for them.”

“You mean the trainers in the park?” I say, “Yeah, I know what you mean. It's probably killing them, knowing they are powerless to do anything...”

“It sounds like this would give them the power to do something,” says Shauntal, “We have almost a whole day to contact and gather up trainers to help, don't we? If we told them that they would be helping the Hero of Ideals, I'm sure most would be willing to lend their aid!”

“Exactly,” says Alder.

“Aw man...” I groan, “Does this mean everyone's gonna know I'm the hero? I've been wanting to keep this a secret...”

“Why?” asks Shauntal, “Think about what it would mean if they knew! You'd become a legend! Everyone would love you!”

Brycen, who had been completely silent up to this point, says, “Not everyone wants fame and recognition, Shauntal.”

Shauntal blinks a couple times like this a complete shock to her, “What? Really?”

“Really,” I say, “I just want to live as an ordinary trainer. I didn't ask for any of this.”

Grimsley raises a quizzical eyebrow, “Personal glory doesn't tempt you, Ria?”

“Heck no!” I say, “As I said, I just want to be a trainer that enjoys being with my Pokemon and having awesome battles. This hero business was N's idea, not mine. Still, whether or not I wanted it doesn't change what I gotta do.”

“Well said,” says Alder.

“About the army,” says Drayden, “What would you estimate their numbers at?”

“We guessed about... three-hundred, I think,” says Bianca.

“But not all of them would attack us at once,” says Cheren.

“Huh? What makes you say that?”

“During the transmission with Concordia, I noticed the army was arranged in three lines...”

“Really?” I say, “All I noticed was a bunch of guys...”

Cheren continues, “... As big as the grand arena is, it only has a finite amount of width. If everyone in Team Plasma attacks at the same time, they would only get in each other's way. With that under consideration, plus the large power difference between the majority of them and the Elite and Master-ranked trainers permitted on Pokemon League grounds, I'd say we can hold them off with about one-hundred. However, Team Plasma is not without other advantages, aside from numbers...”

“What else do they have?” asks Bianca.

“The castle is their home base,” says Cheren, “It's doubtful people just let them use Pokemon Centers when their Pokemon get injured, so they'll need someplace else to heal them. I imagine that castle is where they do it, and who knows just how many healing machines there are in a structure that size. Whenever all the Pokemon of a member of the first line faint, they can retreat to the castle to heal their Pokemon for another round, while members from the second line take over, then from the third in turn, and by then the Pokemon of members from the first line would be healed and return to battle, most likely forming a new third line. That considered, they can easily outlast us, unless we gain some means of healing for ourselves.”

“Wow, I'm impressed, Cheren,” I say, “Besides detective novels, I take it you've also read The Artistry of All-Out Pokebrawling in your spare time as well?” Here I thought I'd become a good tactician, but I guess that's just for Pokemon battles, not war strategies...

“Something like that...”

“What a strategist and... quite the looker too!” Shauntal marvels, “It's a shame you're not the hero... at least in this real-life tale! Um... Cheren, was it? Would you mind if I made you the model for the hero in a future war-romance novel?”

“Sure, just as long as 'romance' isn't just a pretext for a sleazy fantasy,” Cheren deadpans.

“Of... of course not!” Shauntal stammers.

“Heh...” I chuckle a bit and wonder if that's what most of Shauntal's romance novels are like. If so, I might have to reevaluate my sweet-and-innocent image of Bianca, being a fan of them.

“And can I be the model for the heroine?” asks Skyla.

“Ahem!” Alder cuts in, getting the discussion back on track, “We can borrow some machines from the Pokemon Centers and make the Pokemon League building our base. However, the army is only phase one of getting Ria to her battle with N. Phase two is making it through the castle. According to the insider, the central entrance to the castle is heavily defended. Fortunately, there is a another route, which should hopefully evade most of the security.”

“That's all well and good,” says Grimsley, “But there's something else to worry about: Obviously, we'll want Ria's Pokemon to be at full strength for battling N, but with all the battling preceding the event, that would be very difficult.”

“Very true, Grimsley, but the solution is fairly obvious,” says Alder, “We'll just have to make sure Ria is well-protected. As for you, Ria, my advice would be to have one Pokemon sent out to accompany you, but command it to attack purely in self-defense; Leave the offense to those who would be covering you, got it?”

“Got it...” I say, “I can't say I like the idea having to be protected by everyone else, though...”

“I understand,” says Alder, “You're part of the big leagues now, and we all have our pride. Now, we'll need a small detachment of people to cover Ria. Any volunteers?”

“Me!” immediately exclaims Bianca, raising her hand, “I promised her I would stick by her!”

“Fair enough,” says Alder, “You did infiltrate Team Plasma's headquarters, so I'm sure you have considerable skill as a trainer.”

“You did, Miss Bianca?” asks Iris, “You're too cool!”

“Um, thanks, Iris...”

“So, anyone else?” asks Alder.

“You'll help too, right Cheren?” asks Bianca, “We're a trio, after all!”

“... Certainly,” says Cheren, after a few seconds of hesitation. What the heck was that about? Does he not like the idea of helping his friend, or something? I'll have to bring it up later...

“That's two people, so it's a start,” says Alder, “I'll cover her too. I doubt a lot of those Plasma guys will be able to get through me.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I say.

“The deadline is midnight tomorrow,” says Alder, “I suggest we begin our assault at 8:00PM, almost twenty-four hours from now, giving Ria a good four hours to reach N, which is probably more than enough time, even with all the obstacles. During that time, I want all of you to contact the other Gym Leaders and any former challengers you've kept in touch with over the years and ask them to meet up at Route 10 in order to help the Hero of Ideals reach 'his' appointed battle. Please respect Ria's wishes, and don't refer to her by name, or even by her true gender.”

The Gym Leaders all give their confirmation of Alder's instructions. “Certainly,” says Brycen.

“Understood,” says Drayden.

“Yeah, okay,” says Iris.

“Sure,” says Skyla.

“You got it!” says Chili.

“Whatever you say,” says Cilan.

“Of course,” says Cress.

“Also, it goes without saying that this will not be a structured and civilized Pokemon battle, so be prepared for the worst and bring a good supply of potions and ethers along. Relay this to whoever may join us as well.”

The Gym Leaders and Elite Four nod in confirmation.

“Well then, I guess that's everything,” says Alder, “Dismissed. We've got a lot of work ahead of us.”

Everyone rises from their respective seats and prepares to go their separate ways. The Striaton Gym trio packs their dishes into large cases, send out three flying-type Pokemon, and rides them off into the evening sky. Grimsley, Caitlin, and Shauntal also send a variety of flying Pokemon and ride them away, leaving just Bianca, Cheren, Alder, Skyla, Drayden, Iris, Marshal, Brycen, and myself.

Skyla looks at Cheren and gives him the universal 'follow me' head jerk. However, Cheren doesn't notice. In fact, he looks zoned out, as if his mind were elsewhere.

Skyla speaks up, “Hey! Handsome?”

Cheren snaps out of his daze, “What is it?”

“If it's alright, I'd like to talk to you alone for a bit.”

“Oh, sure...”

“We'll leave you two alone,” says Bianca, smiling, “Take all the time you need. We'll be back at the Pokemon Center.”

“Y-yeah...” Cheren and Skyla step off the patio and walk off to some quiet corner of the surrounding field.

Watching the two of them walk away, Iris says, “What was that about? Am I missing something here?”

“They're more-or-less in a relationship,” I say.

“Mr. Cheren and Miss Birdbrain? Really?”

“What happened to 'Mr. Four-Eyes?'” I ask.

“None of your business. Do you really think things will work out between him and that flirty-flirt?”

“I hope so,” says Bianca, “I think they'd make a cute couple.”

“If you say so, Miss Bianca...”

“Come on, Iris,” says Drayden, “Let's head home and rest for the big day tomorrow.”

“Sure. Sleep well, Miss Bianca,” says Iris, who then gazes straight into my eyes, “And especially you, Miss Smart-mouth! You'd better not be at anything less than 111% tomorrow!” Drayden and Iris walk back to the front of the mall.

“We should rest up too,” says Alder, “Let's get going, Marshal, Brycen.”

“Yes, Master,” respond Marshal and Brycen in unison. They follow Drayden and Iris back to the front of the mall, though I doubt they're headed for the same destination. I guess they're just going to look for someplace to camp out.

As we watch Cheren and Skyla disappear around the far end of the mall, Bianca lowers her voice and asks, “So Ria, do you think they'll finally kiss?”

“Who knows?” I say, “Cheren seemed a bit preoccupied with his thoughts, whatever they were. I get the feeling there's gonna be more to this private chat than making out and generally having a lovey-Pidovey old time...”

---

Cheren often fancies himself as being cool and collected, but right now, he's just frustrated.

He finally gets to see Skyla again, something he had been looking forward to since they last parted ways. In his quieter moments over the last few days, he'd daydreamed about her and thought of things he could say when he next saw her; compliments, questions, attempts at humor, and so on. However, whatever he had planned in his head to say had just been deleted in favor of the occupation of other thoughts.

He'd thought of it several times during his noisier moments, how there might be a better hope than Ria, how it might be possible for him to battle N in Ria's stead, but something Shauntal said during the meeting really drove it home: 'Think about what it would mean if they knew! You'd become a legend!'

Legend... Throughout the course of his journey, Cheren's original ambition of becoming Champion seemed to become less and less important, but a legend? That title hold far more weight... more glory... And the thought of being so close to the opportunity for such a distinction, despite it being reserved for someone else...

Throughout the meeting, Cheren had mixed feelings. On one hand, a darker part of his mind was patting himself on the back for his predictions of Team Plasma's potential counterattack tactics and how worthy it made him feel. On the other hand, Ria claimed she has absolutely no interest in recognition, fame, or even becoming a legend; no interest in achieving such a degree of glory, whereas glory is what Cheren had desired for most of his life. Compared to that, he feels completely inadequate.

In fact, ever since Ria showed off her Master Rank status earlier, Cheren had felt uncomfortable. He'd studied for a long time with the intention of become a top-ranked Pokemon trainer, and Ria, through sheer talent, seemingly surpassed him! Worse, besides defeating N, she doesn't seem to have any particular goals! Do hard work and dreams really count for so little?

“Huh? Where are you going, handsome?”

“Huh?” Cheren had apparently been so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Skyla had stopped walking. He walks back and joins her on top of a small slope. Skyla sits down and Cheren sits beside her. The two of them look up at the twilight sky as the cover of night gradually overtakes it.

“You seem lost in thought,” Skyla observes, “Is something on your mind?”

Skyla asked Cheren if he could speak to her privately about something, so he guesses this might be a good time to share his thoughts with someone, “Yeah, sorry. There's just something that's been bothering me lately.”

“Do tell.”

“It's about Ria...”

Skyla leans over to look Cheren in the eye and pouts, “We finally get to see each other again and you're thinking about another girl?”

“It's not like that at all. I'm just...”

Skyla's expression changes to a smile and she laughs, “Hehe! Don't worry, I'm not that clingy. So, handsome, what's bothering you about Ria? Does it have something to do with that shocking revelation that she's the 'hero' that's supposed to battle N?”

“Yeah,” Cheren answers, “For a long time, I wanted to become a Champion, but compared to what Ria might become, it feels so insignificant by comparison...”

“So what's the big deal? Ria was the one N challenged, so there's no point in wishing you were in her place.”

“The one N challenged was the 'Hero of Ideals,'” Cheren corrects, “Something I keep thinking back to was when Ria and I encountered him in the mines of Twist Mountain. He asked us why we feel humans and Pokemon should continue to coexist. We gave him our answers and he seemed to like what we said, saying we had 'strong ideals,' the keyword being 'we,' as in both me and Ria. With that under consideration, I'm wondering if N would accept me as his opponent instead, given the choice.”

“Maybe,” says Skyla, “But the first time we met, I said you should have fun with your journey, no matter your goal, and yet here you are, obsessed with becoming some legendary hero. Why are you back to your old routine?”

“The chance to become a legend doesn't present itself to people everyday,” says Cheren.

“Point taken,” says Skyla, “I guess if I were in your position, I'd be hard-pressed to allow that opportunity to slip away. That's part of the reason I envy you: You're so goal-oriented and ambitious.”

“Honestly, Skyla, I wish I were more free-spirited like you... and have more time to just enjoy living...”

“That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” says Skyla, “I looked into it and found out that a suppressant of some sort for your virus is being made. It's not really a cure or anything, but it should add a good twenty or thirty years to someone's life if they start taking it at a fairly young age.”

“You mean I could live to be seventy?” Cheren asks, “That would be nice. It's close enough to a full life. Still, something like that is bound to be expensive...”

“Not if you find a well-paying career,” says Skyla, “Say... have you ever thought about becoming a Gym Leader?”

“I've never really thought of it. From what I've heard, it sounds like a fairly demoralizing job, having to hold back most of the time. You're a Gym Leader, so what's it like for you?”

“I've only been a Gym Leader for about a year, so maybe I'm not the best person to ask,” Skyla says, “Still, you're right about the holding back part, but we can take breaks fairly often to wander around for a little while and battle at our full power to get our spirits back up. Every once in a while, we get a seven-badge trainer, and those battles are pretty cool. Occasionally, lesser Legendary Pokemon appear before us if we have a particularly strong challenger in the near future.”

“Like Ria, when Latios came to Drayden...” mutters Cheren, again feeling somewhat inadequate compared to Ria. He didn't see any Legendary ice-types when he fought Brycen. No Articuno, no Regice, nothing.

“I might be a tad inexperienced as a Gym Leader, but I think it's a pretty cool job, overall.”

“I'll think about it,” says Cheren, “I can't say it was part of my plan, but if it can give me the help I need...”

“Well, if you decide to go for it and you need a recommendation, just remember that you have friends in high places.”

Cheren chuckles, “That's a clever choice of words. Thank you, Skyla.”

“No prob!” Skyla goes back to the original topic, “So... if you want to be the one to battle N, you'll need that Legendary Pokemon sealed in the stone. Do you think Ria would give it to you?”

“Ria and I are both Pokemon trainers,” says Cheren, “I can think of one way to convince her...”

“True enough.”

The two of them sit in silence as they watch the sky become completely dark, the stars and moon in clear sight. Even with his thoughts where they are, Cheren can't deny how romantic it feels. His heartbeat slightly quickens.

A few minutes pass when Skyla says, “Hey, Cheren?”

“What happened to 'handsome?'” Cheren asks.

“I guess my tongue slipped,” says Skyla, “Anyway, I was wondering if you were scared, you know, about tomorrow, with the army and everything? In battles like those, sometimes stray Pokemon attacks hit the trainers, so it can be dangerous.”

“I'd be lying if I said I weren't a little nervous,” says Cheren, “But I'm not backing down.”

“Another reason why I envy you,” says Skyla, “You're so brave.”

“And you're not? The girl who likes to skydive without a parachute?”

Skyla laughs, “I know... silly, huh? I just try to live out each day as much as I can because you never know what might happen in a few years or even the next few hours. I'll admit that it actually took me days to muster the courage to drop off the back of Swanna the first time. Eventually, I got used to it, but that first time... I don't think my heart ever beat that fast. Back to the present, maybe I'm just overreacting and nothing bad will happen tomorrow, but I just can't help but be a little nervous...”

Upon hearing that, an interesting thought occurs to Cheren. Perhaps Skyla's special notice of him wasn't just out of pity, but also out of compassion due to her own awareness of her mortality?

“Don't worry,” says Cheren, “I'll protect you!” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he realizes how corny they sound.

In a slightly wounded tone of voice, Skyla says, “Thanks for trying to be my knight in shining armor, but I'm a Gym Leader. I don't need protecting.”

“Then... how about saying that I've got your back?”

“Hm... Yeah, that sounds much better.”

“Well, we should get ready for tomorrow,” says Cheren, pressing his palms against the ground, about to hoist himself to his feet, “If I'm right about that gravitational field, you should bring some Pokemon that are good for ground combat, and--” Cheren is cut off by the feeling of Skyla resting her head on his shoulder, “... S-Skyla?”

“I don't know what will happen tomorrow, so I want moments like these to last. Can we stay like this a little longer? Please?”

Cheren hesitates for a few beats, then smiles, “... Sure.”

They stay that way for several minutes. Cheren, noticing Skyla's hand at his side, spends a lot of time wondering if its okay to hold it; in fact, is she waiting for him to do so? With their current intimacy, it seems like the right thing to do. With some hesitation, he lightly grabs hold of Skyla's hand. To his relief, she doesn't reject him, but instead cuddles closer to him. The feeling pushes all of his concerns to the back of his mind.

As cliché as it sounds, it is a moment that Cheren wishes could last forever; a moment where all he has to think about is the girl beside him, without worrying about what the future, near or distant, might bring or his admitted jealousy of Ria.

Of course, as much as one wishes the contrary, time must march on, and certain concerns must be addressed...

I was hoping to get this one ready by Christmas, but I guess New Years Eve will suffice.

The story has reached 671 pages, and it will probably be well over 700 by the time it ends.

I felt this story could use a good battle-free "cooldown" installment, because it's going to be one major battle after another from here on out.

Forgive me if there are more typos than usual. I seem to be making them more frequently nowadays. I did proofread, but I'm sure I still missed a few...

Anyway, I hope you found this latest installment enjoyable!
 
Late Christmas present, perhaps?
I am slightly disappointed that we didn't get to the finale here, but I do agree with you that the story could use a break. And everything that happened here makes sense to include at least.
I'm a bit disappointed that Cheren would be so shallow as to be jealous of Ria, but on the other hand, I can see where he's coming from, and it fits into his character traits. Ah, the evils of ambition...

Anyway, very much looking forward to the next instalment.

(as far as typos go, I only noticed one: at two points you said "or no", as in "Trainers or no". I know that "or no" can be correct, but here it doesn't sound right, and I think that it would be better as "or not".)
 
Soon after returning from the meeting with Alder, the Elite Four, and the Gym Leaders, leaving Cheren behind to play out whatever touching scene fate has in store for him and Skyla, Bianca and I return to the Pokemon Center and head straight to the sleeping quarters to rest up for our upcoming big day.


With my tension as high as it is, I was expecting to find falling asleep to be as challenging as my match against Marshal, but to my unconscious surprise, I zone out fairly quickly. I guess it was because of all the excitement from the day.


Despite my sleep being relatively dreamless, it doesn't feel long until I'm awoken by the feeling of a hand on my shoulder, nudging me. I wearily look up and see Cheren, illuminated by the dim green lights spread across the room's walls. The sky is completely black, meaning it had clouded overnight, and, as far as I'm concerned, it's still too early to be up. I glance at the glow-in-the-dark clock on a far wall and find out it's 5:30AM. I look back at Cheren, give him my best 'go the heck away! I'm trying to freaking sleep!' facial expression, turn over, and close my eyes... only for him to nudge me again.


“Ugh... What is it?” I groan, not trying to mask my annoyance.


“I'm sorry to wake you,” whispers Cheren, “but this can't wait. I challenge you to a battle.”


“Yes, it can wait,” I say, “Come back in, like, two hours, or something.”


“The reason I'm challenging you now is so you're Pokemon will get more than enough rest for tonight. Please, Ria. This is important.”


“... You're not going to leave me alone until I say yes, are you?”


“No, I won't.”


“Okay, fine, whatever. Just let me get ready...” I reluctantly sit up and let out a deep yawn.


Cheren turns away from me, glances back, and says, “I'll be waiting for you at Route 10. Don't take too long.”


“Yeah, yeah...”


Cheren leaves the sleeping quarters while I stretch my arms, stand up after a minute, and stretch my legs. I wonder why didn't challenge me earlier, but then realize it's a stupid question. When we were reunited yesterday, it was right after battling Drayden and Marshal, so of course he wouldn't challenge me after my Pokemon had fought such difficult battles, and as he said, he's challenging me this early so my Pokemon will have sufficient rest for later, and, let's face it, if N wins today, we may never have our rematch, so I guess now is the best possible time. It will probably also be good for me and my Pokemon to have a little preliminary battle before the real deal tonight. I let these thoughts eclipse my bitterness about being woken up early.


I sling my supply bag's strap over my shoulder, and, knowing I need to get myself mentally awake in a short period of time, head to the bathroom and splash some cold water on my face, which helps a little. Afterward, I head down to the cafeteria and buy some coffee, which I pour an unhealthy amount of cream and sugar into, and three bagels, which I slather an equally unhealthy amount of butter on, all in the name of jump-starting my brain. I also take the chance to buy some potions and ethers for later on. The combined cost of all these things: six-hundred sixty-six credits...


Wanting to conserve Braviary's strength for the upcoming battle, I hail a bus and ride it north to the Opelucid-Route 10 checkpoint, eating my breakfast along the way and admiring the lights as the bus passes into the modern district. The amount time it took the bus to go from the Pokemon Center to the checkpoint: thirteen minutes...


All the while, the sky remains clouded over, and I can't shake the feeling that it's going to rain soon. The good omens are just piling up this fine D-day morning...


I reach the checkpoint, which looks more like a fortress, and a fellow Master scans my badges with some sort of device. After confirming that they are 100% legit and warning me not to wander too close to the Pokemon League HQ, they let me pass through and I take my first steps onto Route 10.


It's almost 6:00 and the sun is starting to rise somewhere behind the thick blanket of clouds covering the sky, casting a dull light.


I glance around, taking in the sights of Route 10. Bianca told me what the place looked like and she wasn't exaggerating; What a dump! Whatever this place looked like naturally, it had long since been rendered a wasteland due to countless high-level battles that have been fought here. And here I thought my room looked like a war zone after Oshawott, Tepig, and Snivy had their little 'hello, nice to meet you' skirmish. Shows what I know...


Standing about fifteen feet ahead of me after I leave the checkpoint fortress is Cheren, “It looks like you made it, Ria. You're here sooner than I expected.”


“Yeah, well, if things go bad tonight, this might be our last chance for a rematch...”


“About that,” says Cheren, “There's a certain... condition for this battle I would like to discuss.”


“Which is...?”


“If I win, you will hand the 'Zekrock,' or whatever it's called, over to me.”


I taken aback, “Are you serious, Cheren? If I give it to you, what the heck kinda chance will I have of beating N?”


“That would be another condition,” says Cheren, “If I win, I will also be the one who will battle N.”


I shoot Cheren concerned look, “Dude, did you eat something weird for breakfast, because you're definitely not right in the head right now. N challenged me.”


“N challenged the Hero of Ideals,” Cheren corrects me, “He never, not once, mentioned you by name.”


“And I'm glad he didn't, but still...”


“Ria, do you remember our encounter with N at Twist Mountain? He seemed pleased by what both of us said to counter his argument. With that under consideration, I wonder if he might change his mind if you recommend that I battle him instead.”


I consider that for a moment. I didn't put much stock into it at the time, but what Cheren said is true, and I wonder if he may be right. It's possible the reason N singled me out was because he has a longer history with me than Cheren, but if I did ask N to battle Cheren instead, would he?


“One thing, Cheren,” I say, “I don't know what Zekrom needs from a trainer in order to awaken. Do you have any ideas?”


“None at all,” Cheren answers, “But we are different people. Perhaps I possess qualifications for Zekrom's aid that you lack.”


I consider Cheren's proposition for a moment. Part of me actually wouldn't mind handing the Zekrock, and all the trouble that goes with it, over to Cheren, but another part, a bigger part, feels reluctant to do so; It might have something to do with all my preparations for taking on N going to waste. Even so, beating N is more important than my own pride, and if Cheren actually does prove to be a stronger trainer than me, then he's probably a better hope for Unova. Win or lose, I find the outcome acceptable. Still, when I battle, I battle to win.


“... All right, I accept your terms,” I say, “Let's do this, Cheren.”


“Let's. Both of us beat Bianca, so let's determine the championship of us three! Our last battle ended in a draw, but this time, there will be a clear winner!”


“I couldn't agree more.”


Cheren and I back away from each other, spreading the space between us to about forty feet. It occurs to me that Cheren is a lower ranking trainer than myself, but that doesn't mean anything. After all, someone is Elite Rank until they become Master Rank; it's just yet to be determined whether or not he has what it takes. Of course, I have no doubt Cheren is aware that he's about to battle a Master. I won't... no, I can't accept anything other than him going all-out.


“I'll let you decide the rules for this bout,” says Cheren.


“How about the same rules as my match with Bianca?” I suggest, “Six-on-six, of course, with one switch-out for each of us?”


“Fine by me. Let us begin!”


Cheren grabs a Pokeball from his belt. I quickly consider my strategy. I'm not fighting a Gym Leader, an Elite Four, or any other kind of type specialist, so I should be ready for anything, and by that logic, I should start with something that's good for almost any kind of opponent. I decide to lead with Absol. The only wrinkle I can think of is Cheren leading with Blaziken, but there's a one-in-six chance of that, and there's also Gardevoir and Froslass, which the Disaster Pokemon has an advantage over. Overall, it's a fairly safe bet.


Cheren and I send out our Pokemon.


“Let's go, Absol!”


“Onward! Serperior!”


Absol appears on my end, while Serperior appears on Cheren's. He's leading with his starter? I wasn't expecting that, but whatever. Type-wise both of our Pokemon are dead even, except...


Thrusting my hand in Serperior's general direction, I command, “Absol! Use Ice Beam!”


Cheren, with the same gesture directed at Absol, counter-commands, “Serperior! Leaf Blade!”


Both Pokemon deliver their attacks simultaneously. Absol opens his mouth and fires a light-blue beam of ice-type energy at Serperior, while the Regal Pokemon's length extends several times over to twenty or maybe even thirty feet, the tip of her tail shooting up, arcing over her head, and with stiff, sharpened leaves, descending on Absol.


As the Ice Beam approaches the base of Serperior's neck, she leans to the side, causing it to just graze her, leaving a thin coat of ice with steam coming out from underneath it, but Serperior only winces from the pain, not even letting out a yell.


Absol leaps backward, retreating from Serperior's tail as it comes down and plunges into the earth. Figuring that Absol got the better of the exchange, hurting Serperior a little, but avoiding damage altogether, I look over at Cheren, only to see the corner of his mouth curve upward. As I wonder why he's smirking, however, something unexpected happens. Not far from where Serperior's tail is planted in the ground, three thin vines shoot out of the dirt, each with a stiff, triangular leaf at their tips, resembling spears.


What the heck? Is this some continuation of the Leaf Blade attack? Gallade is able to use the same move, but he's not capable of this! Must be a benefit of a grass-type Pokemon using a grass-type attack, or something. The fruits of Cheren's training, I guess.


With both Absol and me caught off-guard, I quickly command, “Quick, Absol! Use Flamethrower!”


“Sooool!” Absol opens his mouth and shoots out a stream of fire, which incinerates two of the vines at the last possible second, but the third goes in low, and jabs the middle of Absol's front torso.


Absol staggers back, but recovers quickly enough to reduce the third vine to ash before it can deliver a follow-up attack. Just as I think we've seen the end of this phase of Serperior's assault, however, Cheren commands, “Serperior! Use Leech Seed!”


“Perior!” Serperior pulls her tail out of the ground and gradually reverts to her original length, but her front quickly closes in on Absol.


“Again! Flamethrower!” I command.


Both Pokemon opens their mouths to perform their respective techniques, but Serperior is faster on the draw, and fires a barrage of seeds down at Absol from her mouth like bullets. A nanosecond later, the Disaster Pokemon shoots a stream of fire up at Serperior's face, engulfing her.


“Periiii!” Serperior quickly falls back, greatly widening the distance between the two combatants.


I look at Absol, and see thin vines extend from two points on his back and wrap around his torso. At least he incinerated the rest of the seeds before more could hit him. Small thorns grow out of the vines and pierce the dark-type in several place. Absol winces from the pain.


“Hang in there!” I encourage.


“Ab!” Absol glances back at me with a pained, but resolute, nod.


Serperior rapidly shakes her head back and forth, putting out any lingering flames from Absol's attack, but she clearly took a major hit. In spite of this, however, I'm worried. Cheren knew Absol is capable of Flamethrower and would be dangerous to attack up-close, and yet, he told Serperior to do so anyway. He desperately wanted to hit Absol with Leech Seed, but why? On top of that, despite the damage Serperior just received, I don't see any green glow around Absol to indicate that his energy is being drained, even though this would be a perfect time to do so. Just what are you planning, Cheren?


Not wanting to take any chances, I wait for Cheren's next order to Serperior, intending to cut in with a Sucker Punch command.


“Now, Serperior! Use Frenzy Plant!”


“SP!” I counter-command between the words 'Frenzy' and 'Plant.'


Absol vanishes with a blur and a split-second later, he's just a couple feet in front of Serperior. The Disaster Pokemon leaps up toward her face and delivers a a quick swipe with his horn, but the grass-type leans back, the attack just grazing her. This leaves Absol wide open.


At nearly point-blank range, Serperior spits a seed about half the size of my fist, which slams into Absol, knocking him back several feet to the center of the battlefield. Serperior turns her head skyward and spits out a volley of the same kind of seed, which arc into the air and fall to the ground. They instantly sink into the dirt and one second later, large vines, six in number, as thick as the Regal Pokemon's body, covered with large barbs and cone-shaped at the ends, burst out of the earth in their place and converge on the dark-type.


“Flamethrower! Ice Beam!” I frantically command Absol, “Use whatever it takes to defend yourself!”


The two closest vines approach Absol head-on. The dark-type incinerates the nearer one with Flamethrower and turns the further one to ice with Ice Beam. A third vine goes around in a wide arc, attempting to slam Absol from the left, but he leaps back, narrowly dodging it.


For a moment, I'm not terribly worried. Frenzy Plant may be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, grass-type techniques, but with the right skill set, it can be thwarted with little trouble. Better still, since it demands so much energy from its user, a Pokemon can just focus on dodging and countering, without the opponent interfering.


… Or so I think, when suddenly, Absol becomes enveloped by a green aura, and he visibly shows signs of his energy being drained. It looks like Leech Seed is taking effect. This only causes Absol to pause for a second, but that's enough time for the fourth vine, this one arcing around to hit Absol from the right, to slam into him, sending him flying. The fifth vine homes in on him from below, but the dark-type recovers just in time to counter it with Flamethrower, burning it to ash.


However, while Absol's attention was on the fifth vine, the fourth vine burrowed underground and bursts out behind Absol. This time, instead of hitting him directly, the vine coils around him several times, its thorns sinking into him, and carrying him several meters off the ground.


“Sol...” Absol groans. I see his hind legs dangling and his Focus Sash glowing. He's only hanging on by a hair. Not good.


“Er... Um...” I try to think of a way to free Absol, but the vine has him wrapped from his lower back to his neck, his front legs bound as well, not allowing him much movement, not even for his head.


The sixth vine approaches Absol, and I can't believe my eyes. Serperior is riding it, her body coiled around it. How the heck did she recover so fast?


It doesn't take me long to realize the answer: Leech Seed. Not only did it distract Absol, but the siphoned energy also shortened Serperior's recovery time! It figures... Of course Cheren, who has always been clever, has only become cleverer through his time as a trainer...


Serperior's vine circles around to Absol's left, and the Disaster Pokemon can't turn his head to attack her with Flamethrower or Ice Beam. With Absol immobilized, weakened, and at Serperior's mercy, Cheren commands, “Finish him, Serperior! Leaf Blade!”


“Sssser... perior!” The vine Serperior is riding goes around to Absol's back, and then shoots toward him, her tail extended out to the side, the grass-type clearly intending to use momentum to add power to her attack.


I come up with an idea. I'm not sure Absol has enough stamina left to use it, but it's the best I can think of, “Absol! Use Dark Pulse!”


“Sooool!” With a howl, Absol's body releases a burst of dark-type energy, which tears the vine binding him to pieces, and at the same time, Serperior gets caught in the blast, her vine getting destroyed as well, and she is sent flying back several meters. Absol lands on his feet, but then his legs wobble under him, and then he collapses, completely spent. It looks like he put the remainder of his energy into that Dark Pulse attack.


“Nice work, Absol,” I say, holding out the dark-type's Pokeball, “Take a good long break.” I recall the Disaster Pokemon.


I'm behind, five to six, but Absol nonetheless did a number on Serperior. However, the grass-type still looks good to go one more round, and I have to wonder which Pokemon Cheren would send out next.


Braviary is my first consideration, but even if he does beat Serperior, Cheren would still have five Pokemon left. Braviary is one of my few Pokemon who can see through Froslass's Hail/Snow Cloak/Double Team combo, and being part ice-type Cheren might consider sending her against Braviary, but he already knows about Braviary's Keen Eye, and might decide against it. More likely, he'd counter with Staraptor or Electivire. Blaziken is another one of Cheren's Pokemon I'm worried about, and being able to fly, Braviary is probably my best Pokemon to counter her as well. It's probably best if I keep him on standby for now.


With that thought, I consider Magmortar. All things considered, he should be able to finish Serperior with ease and has a large enough skill set that I imagine he should stand a chance against whatever Cheren sends out next. Okay, it's decided!


“You're up! Magmortar!” I send out the Blast Pokemon.


“Maaaag!”


I'd be lying if I said Cheren looked surprised at my choice, but he looks concerned nonetheless, and considering the shape Serperior is currently in, I doubt he'll use his switch-out.


“Hyper Beam!” Cheren commands, “Give it your best, Serperior!”


Hyper Beam is an attack that's just as taxing for a Pokemon as Frenzy Plant, but it seems Cheren is making an all-or-nothing move, since Leech Seed will do little good on Magmortar's flaming body.


“Sssser!” Serperior leans back, mouth agape as white energy gathers into it.


“Ready a Fire Blast,” I mutter to Magmortar, “If you can dodge the Hyper Beam, then counterattack, this round is ours.”


“Mag,” Magmortar nods his head in acknowledgment, without looking back at me, Serperior receiving his undivided focus. His right hand withdraws into his arm, and the air around the muzzle of his cannon begins to distort as immense heat starts to build up inside it.


Serperior coils her body and launches herself into the air like a spring, covering almost the entire distance of the battlefield. As she descends on Magmortar, she fires her Hyper Beam. The fire-type, being much swifter than he looks, leaps back, narrowly dodging the attack. It doesn't end there, though. With the beam continuously firing, Serperior sweeps it in the direction that Magmortar dodged, leaving a steaming swath in the ground in its wake, but this time, the Blast Pokemon sidesteps it, though his left arm gets slightly grazed.


With the Hyper Beam attack having left Serperior too exhausted to perform a follow up attack. She lands in front of Magmortar, completely open to his counterattack.


“Fire!” I command.


“Mag!” Magmortar presses his cannon against Serperior's body and shoots his Fire Blast. The fireball grows to roughly the size of an exercise ball as it pushes Serperior back in Cheren's direction. When Magmortar's attack and opponent fly into the middle of the mini-jungle Serperior's Frenzy Plant attack created, the fireball bursts into a large explosion, turning the vines to ash, and clearing the battlefield.


When the flames, smoke, and ashes clear, I see Serperior at Cheren's feet, unconscious and covered with burns.


“Return,” Cheren recalls Serperior and then turns his focus to me, “Not half bad, Ria, but I still hold the advantage!” Well, he's right. Little as it was, Magmortar did take some damage from Serperior, while Cheren still has five Pokemon at 100%.


“It's still way too early to say for sure who will win,” I say, “Bring on your next Pokemon!”


“Certainly...” Cheren plucks a Pokeball from his belt and sends out his next Pokemon, “Go! Blaziken!”


“Blaaaaz!” The Blaze Pokemon appears on Cheren's end.


I recall Cheren's battle with Bianca in Mistralton City, and Blaziken's ability, Speed Boost. If this drags on too long, Blaziken will be dang-near impossible to attack from a distance, so we gotta finish this one quickly!


“Magmortar! Psychic attack!” I command.


“Mort!” Magmortar aims his cannon at Blaziken and fires an orb of pink psychic-type energy.


Cheren, not surprised in the slightest, counter-commands, “Blaziken! Advance using Protect!”


“Blaz!” Blaziken's arms radiate psychic-type energy of their own and she takes a few steps toward Magmortar's attack. Just as the orb is about to connect, Blaziken swings her right arm outward, deflecting the projectile. All the while, I see a few blades of dead grass around the Blaze Pokemon feet start to sway more and more.


“Dang...” I mutter.


“Now, Blaziken! Charge in and use Stone Edge!”


Blaziken curls her talon-hands into fists, which glow gray and she charges toward Magmortar, accelerating rapidly.


“Magmortar! Retreat and use Psychic!” I command, doing my best to keep myself from sounding frantic.


“Mag!” Magmortar runs away from Blaziken, passing me and leaving the area of our designated arena, but compared to the pace the Blaze Pokemon is moving at, he's practically a Shuckle by comparison. Glancing back at his opponent out the corner of his eye, his cannon held out behind him, he aims and fires another Psychic blast. I was hoping that at the pace Blaziken is moving at, she would run headlong into Magmortar's attack, but the actual result is nowhere near as favorable. In a feat of reflex that would be impossible for a human, Blaziken twists around the attack, her torso just barely being grazed. She loses a little speed, but not for long, and before Magmortar can attack again, the fire/fighting type is on him, delivering a rock-type energy-powered punch square to the side of his face, which sends him flying.


“Ah!”


Through cupped hands, so Blaziken can hear him from a distance, Cheren yells, “Excellent, Blaziken! Now finish him with Hi Jump Kick!”


“Ken!” Blaziken's voice echoes back.


Under the circumstances, I feel tempted to use my switch-out and call the Blast Pokemon back, but the distance between us right now is well above twelve feet, and there's no way I'm gonna reach him before Blaziken.


Before Magmortar even hits the ground, Blaziken is right below him, and delivers a rising knee-strike that lifts him straight into the air. The Blaze Pokemon then follows it up, jumping up after the fire-type, and performing a mid-air backflip kick, which sends Magmortar sailing through the air, back toward Cheren and me, and over my head, but Blaziken's assault doesn't even end there! She chases after him in midair, appears above him, and this time, after performing a midair forward somersault to gather momentum, delivers an axe-kick, which sends Magmortar slamming into the ground in front of me with enough force that I can feel a slight vibration in the earth.


Blaziken returns to Cheren's side while Magmortar tries to recover. He tries to hoist himself up on one wobbling arm, but before he's even halfway up, his strength gives out and he collapses. Looks like that's that.


“Nice job, Magmortar,” I say, holding out his Pokeball, “Return.”


Now I'm behind, four-to-five, and Blaziken had only taken slight damage from Magmortar. Not looking good. If my next Pokemon takes down Blaziken, and then that Pokemon gets taken down by Cheren's next Pokemon, and things keep going like that, I'll lose for sure. I gotta find a way to break this pattern, but which Pokemon can I choose to do that. Cinccino is my fastest Pokemon, might he...? No, with all the speed Blaziken had built up, he won't fare any better than Magmortar had. I gotta find a way to lessen the usefulness of Blaziken's speed... and there's one Pokemon that might be able to do that. Hopefully this works. If not, we're basically screwed.


I pluck a Pokeball from my belt and send out my next Pokemon, “Go! Braviary!”


“Braaaav!” The Valiant Pokemon appears on my end.


“Let's take this one down quickly, Blaziken,” says Cheren, “Stone Edge!”


Again, Blaziken's fists glow with rock-type energy. She charges at Braviary, leaps into air, and descends on him.


It's do or die! “Braviary! Use Whirlwind!”


“Viary!” Just as Blaziken's fist is about one second away from connecting with Braviary's forehead, Braviary fiercely flaps his wings up at his opponent, unleashing a powerful blast of wind which sends Blaziken flying back by several meters.


“Great!” I say, “Now fly! Go as high as you can!” Responding to my command, Braviary takes to the air.


It takes a few seconds for Blaziken to recover from Braviary's Whirlwind attack. When she does, Cheren commands, “Blaziken! Go after him and use Stone Edge!”


“Blaz!” Blaziken squats down and then launches herself into the air, chasing after Braviary.


“Nice try, Ria,” says Cheren, “but Blaziken can clear a skyscraper in one bound! There's no escape!”


“Who said anything about trying to escape?”


“What?”


True to what Cheren said, Blaziken closes in on Braviary, but as gravity works against her, she moves slower and slower. Right below the Valiant Pokemon, Blaziken takes a desperate swipe up at him as she reaches the apex of her jump, but the normal/flying type tucks his legs back, narrowly dodging the attack.


“Ah!” Cheren gasps.


With Blaziken now hanging in midair, I command, “Now, Braviary! Sky Drop!”


With his talons, Braviary grabs Blaziken by the shoulders and dives headlong toward the ground, breaking into a rapid barrel roll for good measure. Just before he would have otherwise crashed, the normal/flying-type goes into a glide and keelhauls Blaziken across the ground, leaving a trail of upturned dirt with residual flying-type energy rising out of it.


As Braviary releases Blaziken from his grasp and returns to my side, Blaziken, badly damaged, but with some fight still in her, rises to her feet, breathing heavily, arms hanging at her sides, steam rising from most of her body, her gaze fixed on Braviary. The Valiant Pokemon rises about twenty feet into the air as he awaits Cheren's next command and Blaziken's next move.


After a few seconds of closed-eye consideration, Cheren holds out Blaziken's Pokeball, “Return.”


I feel part annoyed, part happy. We're still four-to-five, and it looks like Blaziken will be back for another round, which is not good, but at least Cheren used his switch-out for the battle, so I don't have to worry about him doing that again. Plus, we still managed to weaken Blaziken without Braviary taking any damage himself, so it looks like we're starting to gain some ground.


Cheren glances up at the sky, and as I wonder what's up, I feel it too: a raindrop. Well, it looked like there was gonna be rain, and now it's here. Cheren takes off his glasses and takes a few steps backward, probably so he can better see the battle through his farsightedness.


As a light drizzle gradually begins, Cheren sends out his next Pokemon to counter Braviary, “You're up! Staraptor!”


“Staraaa!” Staraptor appears and rises to Braviary's level.


I had a feeling that would be Cheren's choice, since the best counter for something that flies is something else that flies. Between the the Valiant Pokemon and Predator Pokemon, Braviary is bigger, stronger, heavier, and more durable, while Staraptor is faster... but that might actually be the only advantage she needs...


As the two bird Pokemon gradually ascend higher and higher into the air, Cheren and I give our commands at the same time.


“Braviary! Use Brave Bird!”


“Staraptor! Use Aerial Ace!”


Glowing with immense flying-type energy, Braviary flies straight at Staraptor. However, at the last second, Staraptor goes into a dive, narrowly dodging the attack, but then rises and performs an aerial loop, descending on Braviary's back and slamming into him beak-first.


“Braaaav!” Braviary screams.


“Hang in there!” I call out, “Try Rock Slide!”


“Viary!” In response, Braviary dives toward the ground.


Cheren counter-commands, “Don't follow Braviary, Staraptor. Hang back!”


“Stara!” Staraptor kicks off Braviary's back and ascends several meters.


I though Cheren might react that way. After all, the only place Braviary can get ammunition for Rock Slide is the ground, so the further Staraptor stays away from there, the better. Before, Braviary would scoop his wing through the ground and fling chucks of earth at his opponent, but thanks to Alder's training, he learned a new and better method of performing that attack.


Braviary's talons glow with gray rock-type energy as he lands and sinks his claws into the ground. From there, the energy surges into the earth and then Braviary takes to the sky again... carrying two large glowing chunks of earth in his talons. They have to weigh more than eighty pounds apiece, but Braviary barely seems to notice it. The Valiant Pokemon flies toward Staraptor, his legs reared back, ready to toss at my command.


“Throw number one!” I shout.


“Vi!” Braviary does a quick aerial front-flip to build up momentum, then tosses the chunk in his left talon straight at Staraptor.


“Nice trick, Ria, but it isn't gonna work!” Cheren shouts up at Staraptor, “Takes evasive action.”


“Rap!” Staraptor maneuvers to get out of the path of the earthly chunk, but suddenly, it splinters into several smaller chunks, which spread out to cover a larger area; More area than Staraptor can clear in time.


I raise an eyebrow, “You were saying?”


“Guard using Steel Wing!” Cheren commands.


Staraptor's wings glow silver as Braviary's attack approaches. She dodges a few of the rocks, and then swings her wing downward, cleaving one of them in two.


While Staraptor is busy with Braviary's first Rock Slide, I command him to use the second, “Throw number two!”


Just as Staraptor is finished fending off the first rock-type onslaught, the second approaches. The chunk splinters, but this time, instead of covering a large area, it instead focuses on the Predator Pokemon's current location.


A grimace crosses Cheren's face, “This time, use Close Combat!”


Staraptor's beak, wings, and legs start to glow reddish-brown. The normal/flying-type smashes through the rocks with pecks, kicks, and wing strikes whenever she can manage it while staying afloat. She manages to guard herself against most of the projectiles, but some get through her defenses. The attack ends, and Staraptor is left breathing heavily with a few steaming marks on her belly. However, it looks like she's not quite though yet.


“Awesome!” I say to Braviary, “Head back to the ground and get some more ammo! One more should do it!” In response, Braviary dives back toward the ground.


“Oh, no you don't!” says Cheren, “Staraptor! Intercept Braviary with Brave Bird!”


“Stara!” Staraptor becomes a sky-blue silhouette of herself, and then, moving faster than my eyes can follow, dives and lands on the ground Braviary was heading for, and then kicks off from there, shooting up like a missile and slamming right into the center of Braviary's torso. Even from the ground, I can hear the sharp exhalation of breath from the Valiant Pokemon. The force of the attack launches Braviary several feet into the air. However, while Staraptor prevented Braviary from performing another Rock Slide, the Brave Bird attack wore her down even more.


Cheren, clearly aware of Staraptor's situation, shouts, “Hang in there, Staraptor!”


Cheren and I then give our respective Pokemon the same command at the same time, “Brave...”


“Bird!”


The two birds turn into sky-blue silhouettes of themselves and fly headlong at one another. The two of them clash with a loud snapping noise. The next few seconds pass as the two struggle against one another. However, Braviary, with the advantage of being heavier, having gravity working with him, and having more energy to spare, gradually overpowers Staraptor, and forces the Predator Pokemon into the ground, with an explosion of mud and dirt.


The flying-type energy enveloping the two bird Pokemon dissipates. Braviary is still conscious and afloat, albeit weakened, while Staraptor is half-embedded into the ground and out cold.


Cheren rushes over to the Predator Pokemon and recalls her, “Return!” Even though his words probably won't reach Staraptor, he still says, “Good job,” to her Pokeball before returning it to his belt. Okay, we're now four-to-four, but I'm not sure if Braviary will make it through the next round...


Cheren walks back to his original position and glances around. While Braviary and Staraptor were battling, the drizzle had turned into a downpour. I was so invested in the battle that I'm only just now noticing this... and I'm only just now starting to feel a little chilled. Whatever, this battle isn't gonna be put on hold, just because of a little water.


While the rain just comes off as a minor annoyance to me, however, Cheren seem happy about it, a smirk spreading across his face, and I start to get why. The ground is all damp and soft... and I still have Marowak on standby, meaning his Earthquake attack's power will be greatly limited. Based on that, I have a good idea of what Cheren's next Pokemon will be...


“Go! Electivire!”


The Pokemon that appears on Cheren's end is six feet tall, semi-humanoid, heavy-set, covered in yellow fur with black stripes, has two thin black tails, large hands, a couple small antennae on its head, and is very un-effeminate in appearance, despite being one of Cheren's Pokemon. Electivire, the Thunderbolt Pokemon, an electric-type. I hadn't seen this Pokemon when Cheren battled Bianca because she wasn't yet up to fighting strength at the time, and I'd never seen Cheren battle with her, so I don't know how Cheren trained this one.


I consider whether or not I should use my switch-out now. Braviary's Keen Eye would help immensely when Cheren sends out Froslass, since I have no doubt he'll have her use the Hail/Snow Cloak/Double Team combo. However, the battle with Staraptor took quite a bit out of him, and seeing as he'd already be at a type disadvantage against Froslass, I'm not sure if that's the best move. Of course, Braviary is at a type disadvantage against Electivire too... I guess we should just see what we can do.


“Still good to go another round?” I ask Braviary.


Braviary glances back at me and nods.


“Electivire, use Thunder,” says Cheren.


“Viiiii!” Electivire's body crackles with electricity. She raises her hands skyward and shoots up a bolt of lightning.


I know that Thunder is one of the most powerful electric-type attacks, but I'm not really worried, since it's also a fairly easy attack to dodge, once you know the nature of the attack.


“Get moving,” I say to Braviary.


“Brav!” Braviary flaps his wings and starts moving as fast as possible. As long as he's on the move, he'll most likely dodge Thunder.


I'm expecting a bright yellow pillar of electricity to fall from the sky onto someplace Braviary had previously been, but instead, seven bolts of lightning come down from the sky, but instead of falling straight down, they curve and alter their course in zig-zag motions... in Braviary's general direction!


“What the heck?” I yell.


“After a Pokemon manages to better control a Thunder attack,” says Cheren, “that attack can take on an alternate form in the rain, where, using the raindrops as waypoints, multiple bolts of lightning can home in on a Pokemon's intended target.”


“Dang...” I try to think of how Braviary can get out his predicament, but nothing really good immediately comes to mind.


Flying as fast as he can, trying to distance himself from the lightning, Braviary briefly glances at me with an expression that says, 'Come on, Ria! If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!'


I could tell Braviary to use Rock Slide, and use the projectiles to intercept the bolts, but that means he'll have to stop for a few seconds to perform the attack. Those bolts are moving pretty fast and gradually gaining on the Valiant Pokemon's tail; if Braviary is forced to stop, even briefly, he'll get zapped several times over for sure, not to mention that Electivire herself isn't 'remote controlling' the lighting, and will go on the offensive while Braviary is still being pursued. Attacking Electivire herself while staying on the move is the best plan I can come up with.


“Attack Electivire with Brave Bird!” I command. I know Brave Bird won't hurt Elective much, but it's the best move Braviary can perform under his current predicament.


Once again, Braviary envelops himself with flying-type energy, though this time, the energy flickers a few times before solidifying. Between Staraptor and frantically retreating, his energy is running out very fast.


With an extra burst of speed, putting a little more distance between himself and the lightning, Braviary flies headlong toward Electivire.


“Thunder Punch!” Cheren commands.


With electrified fist, Electivire throws a punch at the approaching Braviary, but at the last second, the normal/flying-type slightly angles sideways, dodging the attack, and flying past Electivire and Cheren, over to a distant dead tree behind them. Braviary plants his feet against its trunk, and then kicks off, launching himself at Electivire's exposed back. Braviary angles again to avoid the pursuing lightning and smashes into the Thunderbolt Pokemon's back.


Even though electric-types are strong against flying-type attacks, the extra force to his movement Braviary generated by launching himself off that tree definitely had an effect. Electivire is send flying forward, hitting the ground face-first, and sliding through the mud a few feet.


However, it's pretty clear Braviary just used the last of his stamina. Soon after connecting with Electivire, the energy enveloping him dissipates, and no longer having the energy to even fly, crashes to the ground and slides through the mud straight toward me, the lightning still on his tail.


I hold out Braviary's Pokeball, “Return!” The Valiant Pokemon vanishes with a flash. The lightning bolts, no longer with a target to pursue, stop dead in their tracks and become beach ball-sized crackling white orbs, which gradually shrink and disappear.


As Electivire stands up and wipes some of the mud off her face, Cheren slowly claps his hands in a half-congratulatory, half-mocking gesture, “Not bad, Ria, not bad at all! I thought your Braviary stood no chance against Electivire at all, but you found a way. You've trained your Pokemon very well!”


“Likewise,” I say, “That was a pretty neat trick your Electivire performed with Thunder.”


Me, Cheren, and even Electivire briefly exchange smiles before we get back to business.


I'm left with Cinccino, Gallade, and Marowak, and I still have my switch-out, while Cheren has Electivire, Gardevoir, Froslass, and a weakened Blaziken, but no switch-out. Common sense dictates that I counter Electivire, an electric-type, with Marowak, a ground-type. However, since the ground is soft, due to the rain, Marowak's Earthquake won't be very strong, meaning he'll most likely have to get up close and personal with Electivire, and considering the Thunderbolt Pokemon's build, that might be dangerous, not to mention that I'd seen Electivire's previous form, Electabuzz, when I fought Elesa, and it know Ice Punch. Odds are Cheren's Electivire is capable of the same move.


Even so, Marowak is my best bet. I have a plan that involves sending out Marowak later in the battle, but I can just use my switch-out if things get hairy against Electivire. Okay, it's decided!


I toss Marowak's Pokeball, “I choose you! Marowak!”


“Maro!” The Bonekeeper materializes with a white flash.


“As I thought,” says Cheren, “Electivire! Use Ice Punch!”


“Viiii!” The Thunderbolt Pokemon charges toward Marowak with a light-blue fist reared back.


I counter-command, “Close the distance, Marowak. Cover your advance with Bonemerang!”


“Wak!” Marowak dashes toward Electivire, tossing his club ahead of him at the electric-type. At least Marowak has some ground-type attacks that don't rely on using the earth to attack.


“Too easy,” taunts Cheren.


As the club closes in on her, Electivire uses her Ice Punch to instead swat Marowak's club aside, but I was expecting that; In fact, that was part of the plan. Since Electivire just used her attack, she's now open for a counterattack.


“Again, Electivire! Ice Punch!” shouts Cheren.


“Bone Club!” I command.


As Electivire's fist starts to gather ice-type energy, however, Marowak leaps toward the electric-type's head, catching his club on its return trip partway, and delivers a leftward golf-swing, which lifts Electivire off the ground and sending her flying several meters away and landing on her back. She rubs the steaming place on the side of her head where Marowak's attack hit.


“Awesome,” I say, “This next attack should do it! Use Bone Rush!”


“Maro!” Marowak jumps toward Electivire, club raised high, poised to come down with a powerful downward swing.


“Hammer Arm!” Cheren commands.


Just before Marowak reaches Electivire, the Thunderbolt Pokemon raises a reddish-brown fist up high, and then swings it sideways, intercepting Marowak and slamming him into the ground. Electivire gets back to her feet, standing over the Bonekeeper.


“Ice Punch!” Cheren commands.


“Vire...” Electivire rears back an ice-type energy-empowered fist, poised to slam it down on Marowak.


Dang! Cheren sure trained this one well. In just one move, Electivire turned the tables completely! Now would be a good time to use the switch-out!


I hold out Marowak's Pokeball, “Return!”


Just as Electivire throws her punch, Marowak vanishes. The fist keeps going and connects with the ground, creating an icy patch in the mud.


Electivire gets back upright, looking in my direction... or at least as upright as she can get. She'd just fought two opponents, and even though she took only one attack from each of them, they were pretty big hits, and she's visibly showing exhaustion. My next Pokemon should be able to finish her off.


“Go! Cinccino!” I send out the Scarf Pokemon.


“Cino!”


Cheren and I give our commands about the same time.


“Cinccino! Tail Slap!”


“Electivire! Thunder!”


Cinccino dashes toward Electivire while the electric-type once again raises her hands skyward and sends up an electric bolt. This time, however, several bolts of lightning haphazardly rain down from the sky, instead of homing on on Cinccino, which I decide to take as a good sign.


Cinccino briefly glances skyward just before the lightning falls, but that's enough to avoid the attack. Moving in a zig-zag pattern, Cinccino weaves around the bolts and closes in on Electivire.


“Hammer Arm!”


In response to Cheren's command, Electivire raises a fist up high, preparing to bring it down on top of Cinccino like a hammer, but the normal-type attacks just before that can happen. He leaps up and smacks Electivire across the face, right where Marowak had previously struck her, causing an effective stun. Cinccino lands at Electivire's feet and then jumps up again, performing an aerial backflip, his tail catching Electivire under the chin, which lifts her off the ground by a few feet and knocks her onto her back. Still in the air, Cinccino twists and reverses the direction of his somersault, going into a rapid front-flip and descends on the Thunderbolt Pokemon, slamming his tail hard against the middle of her torso.


“Viiiii!” Electivire lets out a pained cry.


Despite their size difference, it's pretty clear that Electivire took quite a bit of damage from Cinccino's three-hit combo. The electric-type attempts to sit up, bit her strength gives out and she falls back down.


“Return!” Cheren recalls Electivire, and it doesn't take him long to decide on his next Pokemon, not that I'm surprised. If I were him, I'd have made the same decision just as quickly, “Blaziken! Go!”


With a flash, the Blaze Pokemon returns to the field, looking a little better than before, having gotten a brief respite.


I waste no time telling Cinccino to go on the offensive. For now, he's faster than Blaziken, but given the chance, she'll quickly outspeed him, and if that happens, his chances of winning are almost nil. “Cinccino! Use Aqua Tail!”


Cinccino leaps toward Blaziken, his tail glowing blue, aiming an attack at her head.


“Use Protect!” Cheren commands.


Her arms glowing with Psychic-type energy, Blaziken positions her left talon-hand to catch Cinccino's attack.


“Cin!” Cinccino exclaims.


“Now, Fire Punch!”


“Blaz!” Flames erupt from Blaziken's right wrist, and he throws a haymaker that sends Cinccino tumbling across the ground, stopping several meters away.


“Cino...” Wincing, Cinccino gets back to his feet.


Cheren and I give our respective Pokemon their next commands.


“Rock Blast!”


“Hi Jump Kick!”


Cinccino opens his mouth and fires a volley of rock-type energy shots at a charging Blaziken. However, Blaziken just moves in a dodgy pattern to avoid the attack. I was hoping the mud might have an effect on Blaziken's traction, but the claws on the bottoms of her feet seem to grip the ground tightly, and she's moving just as suddenly and swiftly as if she were standing on dry earth. Not good news...


Blaziken jumps several feet into the air, and then shoots down foot-first on Cinccino. The Scarf Pokemon dives to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.


Blaziken hits the ground, her attack creating a bust of mud around her, and I notice something. Apparently, she put all her weight into that attack, and having missed, she's down on one knee, briefly immobilized.


The main danger Blaziken presents is due to her Speed Boost ability, but if we can neutralize that somehow, then...


Unfortunately, before Cinccino has a chance to counterattack, Blaziken is back to her feet again. However, Cinccino is close enough to my position, that I'm sure he can pick up a whisper from me with his large ears.


“Hey, Cinccino,” I say in a low voice, outside of earshot from Cheren; If he finds out what I'm thinking, he'll adjust his tactics accordingly and the potential opportunity will be lost.


“Fire Punch! Full Power!” At Cheren's command, Blaziken closes in with a blazing fist, and throws it down at Cinccino, who again dives away at the last second, dodging the brunt of the attack's power, but a small burst of flames follows, which manages to just barely singe the Scarf Pokemon. While Blaziken is now faster than Cinccino, his much smaller size is working to his advantage, as it makes him harder to hit. However, it's only a matter of time until Blaziken manages to score a direct hit, and there's no way Cinccino will endure that.


While Cincinno is primarily focused on Blaziken, however, I see his ears perk up a little, indicating that he heard me.


“Keep moving as you have been,” I continue in a whisper, “but when Cheren commands another Hi Jump Kick, mind your footwork, so you can immediately counterattack. That will be our best chance.”


Cinccino gives a very slight nod in response.


Blaziken's onslaught continues with a Stone Edge attack, with the Blaze Pokemon swinging down at Cinccino with her claws. Cinccino leaps back at the last second, narrowly avoiding the attack. No sooner does that happen, however, when Blaziken is suddenly right in front of him, while he's airborne, fist reared back to throw a Fire Punch. Cinccino twists his body, avoiding another direct hit, but still took quite a bit of the punch's force, which sends him spinning through the air and rolling across the ground. Direct or not, one more hit and it's most likely over...


Finally, the anticipated moment arrives. “Finish him, Blaziken! Hi Jump Kick!” Cheren commands.


Blaziken leaps high into the air, and then extends her foot down in Cinccino's direction, and shoots down like a missile. At the same time, Cinccino, taking advantage of the momentum he received from getting hit by Blaziken's last attack, breaks out of his roll and goes into a jump, which removes himself from Blaziken's path just in time. Blaziken's kick strikes the ground with enough force to cause a vibration, and she again sinks to one knee.


“Now!” I yell, “Use Aqua Tail! Aim for her knee!”


“Cin!” Cinccino jabs his tail into the ground to stop sliding through the mud, and then flings himself toward Blaziken, breaking into a rapid midair somersault. With his tail glowing blue, he slams it down hard on top of Blaziken's raised right knee. At the same time, the force of the technique launches Cinccino into the air, avoiding a counterattack from the fire/fighting-type.


“Blaaaaaz!” Blaziken screams, clutching her damaged knee, which now has steam rising from it.


Cinccino lands behind Blaziken, while the Blaze Pokemon unsteadily rises to her feet. Favoring her left leg, Blaziken whirls around to face Cinccino, and takes a step toward him... or at least tries to, as Blaziken can now only walk in a limp.


“No!” shouts a dismayed Cheren.


The advantage is ours now! Speed Boost means nothing if Blaziken can't run, let alone walk properly.


“Let's end this!” I say, “One more Aqua Tail!”


“Cino!” Cinccino dashes straight toward Blaziken, who responds by taking a few clumsy steps and throwing down a flaming fist, which the Scarf Pokemon avoids with ease by angling his course a few degrees to the right. The normal-type runs past a stumbling Blaziken and again jabs his tail into the ground and launches himself toward the fire/fighting-type's back.


Blaziken looks over her shoulder, and then immediately gets slammed across the face with a water-powered Tail Slap. Blaziken is send twirling into the air and landing at Cheren's feet. The Blaze Pokemon doesn't try to get back up.


“Nice try, Blaziken...” sighs Cheren as he recalls the Blaze Pokemon.


“That was great, Cinccino,” I say, giving a thumbs-up.


“Cin...” Cinccino glances at me with a tired smile.


“Can you still fight?” I ask.


“Cino...” Cinccino gives a slow nod.


Okay... Now I'm the one that's ahead, three-to-two, and Cheren's remaining Pokemon are Gardevoir and Froslass. If I had to guess, Cheren will send out Froslass, an ice/ghost-type next; Cinccino is only good to go one last round, and my other two remaining Pokemon, Gallade and Marowak, are weak to ghost-type and ice-type attacks, respectively. Even so, I have a plan for taking down Froslass, so I'm actually hoping she's Cheren's next choice.


Cheren pulls a Pokeball from his belt, sends out his next Pokemon, but as it turns out... I was totally right! “You're up! Froslass!”


“Laaaass!” The Snow Land Pokemon appears on Cheren's end.


“Get ready...” I say to Cinccino.


I'm expecting Cheren's first command to Froslass is for her to use Hail, thereby activating her Snow Cloak ability, but he surprises me, “Now, use Icy Wind.”


“Fros!” Froslass moves her arms in a circular motion and suddenly, there's a blast of frigid wind, which chills me to the core, causing me to take a few steps backward and start quickly rubbing my hands together. Of course, Cinccino, being covered with fur, isn't nearly as fazed by the sudden drop in temperature.


Suddenly, the rain falling within the battlefield's area starts turning to snow, and I get why Cheren told Froslass to use Icy Wind: since it's already raining, it can be used as a substitute for Hail, which works to Froslass's advantage, since it has to take a lot of energy to completely change the weather, even within a small area, so now Froslass probably has more energy than usual to fight with!


The funny thing: the weather, which has been so handy to Cheren throughout this battle, is just a coincidence; he didn't orchestrate this at all! Is he just lucky, or is this fate? Is the weather working with him because he's meant to win this battle...? Naaaah!


“Cinccino! Use Rock Blast!” I command.


“Double Team!” Cheren counter-commands.


Cinccino shoots a volley of rock-energy bullets from his mouth at Froslass, while she splits into several illusory images of herself, which fade into the mini-snowstorm that's brewing.


“Keep firing,” I say, “Spread your shots out.”


Cinccino shoots more rock-bullets into the snowstorm, either haphazardly, or when an image of Froslass appears, but it seems to be futile. Worse, I'm probably having Cinccino do exactly what Cheren wants: to waste energy. There has to be another way than this...


I try to concentrate the best I can, despite how cold I'm starting to feel. Is there some way Cinccino can figure out Froslass's location? I recall Cinccino's capabilities, and a thought comes to mind, namely when I spoke with Cinccino privately when he was battling Blaziken.


“Hey, Cinccino,” I say in a low voice, “Do you think you can find her if you use your ears? Like... hearing a footstep, or breathing, or something?”


“Cin...” Cinccino stops attacking at random and just stands there for a couple seconds.


Finally the Scarf Pokemon turns a couple degrees to the left and fires a Rock Blast into the snowstorm. One second later, there's a pained yell, “Frooos!”


The illusory Froslasses vanish, and I can just barely make out the Snow Land Pokemon through the snow, a hand tightly gripping a steaming spot on her torso.


“Nice one!” I say. It looks like Cheren's Hail/Double Team combo isn't as fail-safe as he thought.


“Tch...” Cheren clicks his tongue in disapproval, “It looks like it's time to go on the offensive. Froslass! Use Blizzard!”


“Laaaaaass!” Froslass raises her arms, and the temperature drops even more and the snowstorm thickens to almost zero visibility. Okay... Cheren may not know it, but I'd actually been counting on this...


“Use Protect!” I counter-command Cinccino.


The white parts of Cinccino's fur start to glow pink, and he squats down, wrapping his tail around his body, covering as much of himself as possible from the attack. A split-second later, my view of the Scarf Pokemon disappears into the blizzard.


The attack lasts for about fifteen seconds, and then the snow clears up... but Cinccino isn't standing in the spot I'd last seen him. I glance around and see him around the center-left part of the battlefield, uncovering himself. It turns out the blizzard's winds swept him around around the battlefield, but aside from that, Cinccino doesn't seem the least bit hurt by the attack.


“Not bad,” says Cheren, “but it gets harder to use Protect when used in rapid succession...” He extends an arm, “Again, Froslass! Blizzard!”


Cheren is right. Protect provides absolute defense without fail when it is used the first time, but it becomes harder and harder to perform repeatedly. Still, the more Blizzard attacks Cinccino can endure, the better.


“Use Protect again!” I command.


“Ciiin...” Cinccino's white fur glows pink again, and he covers himself as much as possible, but this time the psychic-type energy is flickering as Cinccino tries to muster the energy to sustain it.


My view of the battlefield once again becomes whited out as another fifteen seconds pass. When the snow thins out, I glance around the battlefield, but don't find Cinccino right away. Finally, I notice a small mound of snow at the far back end of the arena from where I'm standing, with a couple large round ears peeking out the top. A passing gust of wind blows off the snow and I see Cinccino encased inside a block of ice. I knew I was pushing it when I asked Cinccino to use Protect twice, but still...


Covering my torso with my arms and rubbing them together to keep my body heat up, I dash into Froslass's storm until I'm within twelve feet of Cinccino, recall the cryo-frozen Scarf Pokemon, and run back to my spot outside the battlefield where, despite its proximity to the snowstorm, it's much warmer. I run an arm across the bottom of my now-runny nose.


Now, only a slightly weakened Marowak and Gallade remain... and both of them have a type disadvantage against Froslass. Cheren, most likely aware of this, gives me a look, but I surprise him when I make my decision without a moment's thought. I pluck Marowak's Pokeball from my belt and send out the Bonekeeper Pokemon.


“Wak!” Marowak appears, and aside from a slight bruise where he was previously hit by Electivire, he isn't showing any signs of having been worn down.


Cheren still looks a little surprised by my choice, not that I blame him. After all, Cheren was there when Gallade learned from Alder how to see through Double Team, so choosing him would have made more sense. Even so, he recovers quickly and predictably commands, “Froslass! Double Team!”


“Laaaass!” Once again, Froslass splits into several illusions of herself, which appear and vanish within the snowstorm.


“Maro...” Marowak glance around, trying unsuccessfully to figure out where the real Froslass is. Marowak isn't a stranger to Double Team, seeing as against Bianca's Zangoose, he thwarted it by attacking all the illusions in quick succession with Bonemerang, but this version is considerably different.


“Now, Blizzard!” At Cheren's command, the Froslasses raise their arms, their eyes start glowing light-blue, and the snowstorm once again starts to gradually thicken. Fortunately, with Blizzard's relatively slow start, there's enough time for Marowak to counterattack.


“Earthquake,” I command, “Full power!”


“What?” exclaims Cheren.


Marowak raises his club up high, it glows brown, and then he thrusts it into the earth. The ground begins to shake violently, and as Cheren and I struggle to stay on our feet, the surface of the battlefield explodes, and for the next half-minute, the snow filling the air of the battlefield is overtaken by dust and dirt.


From within the mayhem, I hear a piercing shriek, “Laaaaaass!”


When everything becomes visible again, the ground within the arena's confines is a ravaged mess, and in the middle of it is Froslass, covered with dirt, on her hands and knee, slowly hoisting herself back to her feet. Her illusions had vanished, and falling snow had turned back into rain.


Perplexed, Cheren says, “How...?” A realization dawns in his eyes, “I can't believe it...”


“I can't either,” I say, “As in, I can't believe you overlooked that detail! After all, the moisture in the ground freezes during the winter. Between Icy Wind and those two Blizzards, the ground no doubt became hard as rock, which only made Marowak's Earthquake even more potent.”


“I should have known...” sighs Cheren, “Froslass has a type advantage over your remaining two Pokemon, and I still have Gardevoir on standby... I suppose I was so confident in my advantage, that I let my guard down...”


“Dude, it's not over, 'til... well, you know how the saying goes.”


“Agreed,” says Cheren, “Froslass, can you still fight?”


“Fros...” says a weary Froslass as she gets back upright with a nod.


“Okay...” Cheren pauses for a moment, “... Froslass! Use Sha-dow Ball!”


“Lass!” A dark-purple ball of ghost-type energy forms between Froslass's hands, and she glides over the ground as if skating on ice, charging at Marowak.


I noticed something funny about the way Cheren commanded Froslass, pronouncing the 'Shadow' in 'Shadow Ball,' with a soft 'a,' like 'Shah-doh.'. I'm not given any time to ponder it though.


“Marowak! Use Bonemerang!” I counter-command.


“Wak!” Marowak tosses his club straight at Froslass. I'm expecting the Snow Land Pokemon to release her Shadow Ball, but instead, it shrinks and vanishes, followed by Froslass's entire body glowing dark-purple.


Realizing what's happening, I shout out, “Oh crap! Marowak! Change the club's...”


Too late. Marowak's club collides with Froslass's head, knocking the ice/ghost-type to the ground. At the same time, Marowak's body becomes engulfed with a dark-purple aura, and he gradually doubles over as the stamina drains out of him. By the time his club returns to him, he can't even lift his arms, and gets knocked to the ground.


At the middle of the battlefield, I see a tired, but mischievous, smile on Froslass's face as she fades out of consciousness.


Cheren and I recall our respective Pokemon. I gotta hand it to Cheren; he sure thought outside the box on that one. Froslass put on the appearance of using Shadow Ball and advancing on her opponent to invite a counterattack, but then changed her technique to Destiny Bond at the last second. 'Sha-dow' must have been a codeword or something that Cheren had Froslass memorize so he could command her to use Destiny Bond without actually saying 'Destiny Bond.'. It makes sense. After all, when he battled Bianca in Mistralton City, when he gave Froslass the command to use Destiny Bond, Bianca was alerted and commanded her Emboar to deflect his attack. Clearly he'd learned his lesson since then.


Cheren and I both have only one Pokemon remaining... and it's going to be an interesting matchup, seeing as both of them were originally Ralts, whom Cheren and I adopted the same time, back at that daycare on Route 3... that feels like it's been decades ago...


Cheren and I send out our respective final Pokemon, “Go! Gardevoir!”


“Go! Gallade!”


With simultaneous flashes of light, the Blade Pokemon appears on my end and the Embrace Pokemon appears on Cheren's.


The two Pokemon face off for several seconds. Even though they looked very different when they were together last, they still seem to recognize one another. Actually, now that I think about it, the two Ralts Cheren and I adopted came to us together. An interesting thought occurs to me, and I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. Are my Gallade and Cheren's Gardevoir... brother and sister? Still, family or not, the way they're looking at each other, this upcoming round seems personal for them.


Gallade and Gardevoir's face-off ends, and both of them assume their battle stances.


Cheren and I give our initial commands simultaneously, both starting with the same word, “Shadow...”


“Ball!”


“Sneak!”


Gardevoir extends her arms, forms, and shoots a ball of ghost-type energy at Gallade, who, at the same time, vanishes and reappears behind Gardevoir. With his blades glowing dark-purple, he rears back to deliver a slash in Gardevoir's blind spot.


However, the Embrace Pokemon, apparently experienced enough to recognize the common Shadow Sneak tactic, whirls around as if on reflex, raises an arm in front of her and forms a psychic shield (Reflect) which blocks Gallade's attack.


“Well done, Gardevoir,” says Cheren, “Now use Shadow Ball, close range.


“Voir!” With her shield still raised a dark-purple ball forms in Gardevoir's other hand, and she prepares to thrust it at Gallade.


“Defend with Night Slash!” I counter-command.


With his blades emitting black energy, Gallade positions one in the path of Gardevoir's attack, canceling out the ghost-energy and creating a small shock, which singes Gardevoir's hand.


Gallade steps in and attacks with his other blade, but Gardevoir raises her shield again, blocking the attack.


“That's not gonna work!” I say, “Gallade! Use Brick Break!”


With his blades now glowing with fighting-type energy, he thrusts his left blade into the center of the shield, which then cracks and shatters. The Blade Pokemon follows it up by performing a quick twirl and delivering a kick. With no type energy behind it, it technically doesn't count as an attack, and therefore didn't inflict any damage on Gardevoir to speak of, but it does cause her to stumble back, unbalanced.


I'm about to command Gallade to use Night Slash, but it seems he's way ahead of me, and on the same page. Gallade rears back his right blade, which starts emitting a blacks aura, and then, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it motion, dashes forward, delivering a powerful slash as he passes Gardevoir.


“Voir...” Gardevoir slumps to one knee, with an arm over the steaming gash Gallade had inflicted on her.


“Shoot...” mutters Cheren. In terms of sheer skill, it's fairly evident which Pokemon has the upper hand.


Despite the blow she just took, Gardevoir isn't down yet, and she stand back upright surprisingly quick. I can tell she really doesn't want to lose to Gallade... of course, Gallade doesn't want to lose to her either.


Before Cheren can even give his command, Gardevoir whirls around and tosses a series of baseball-sized Shadow Balls at Gallade, who either dodges them with small movements or dispels them with Night Slash.


After a brief pause, Cheren commands Gardevoir, “Use Shadow Ball: Epsilon!”


“Um... what?” I ask dumbly, raising an eyebrow. That's obviously another codeword, but I don't know what it's supposed to mean...


Gardevoir stops firing volleys of weak Shadow Balls at Gallade, and starts preparing a stronger one, which gradually grows to the size of a beach ball.


I dunno what Cheren is playing at, but since Gallade managed to easily defend against several smaller Shadow Balls, a single large one is next to nothing. Still, that codeword has me worried, so it's probably best to attack before Gardevoir can do anything. “Shadow Sneak!” I command.


“Gall!” Gallade vanishes and reappears behind Gardevoir. He rears back to deliver a slash, but at that moment, Gardevoir disappears herself with a flash of pink light, and all Gallade manages to slice through is empty air.


Gallade, having put a lot of his weight into that attack stumbles forward, and at that moment, Gardevoir reappears behind Gallade.


“Behind you!” I shout, but I know it's too late; Gallade won't regain his balance in time to dodge.


Gardevoir thrusts her attack into Gallade's back at point-blank range, and the force of the attack sends him sailing through the air and tumbling across the ground until he's a few feet short of my position. So, 'Epsilon' must have meant 'prepare a Shadow Ball, and then use Teleport to blindside the opponent.' Still, now that I know what it means, it's only going to be a one-time wonder. There was also something else I noticed: At the exact some time Gallade appeared behind Gardevoir to attack, Gardevoir instantly teleported behind Gallade like she knew where he would appear. It looks Gardevoir read his move, so I guess the usual Shadow Sneak tactic won't work anymore...


Gallade rises to one knee. Wisps of dark-purple steam rise from a burn on his back, but he seems good to keep going. Unfortunately, Gardevoir didn't just wait for Gallade to recover and no sooner had he gotten back upright when she sends another Shadow Ball his way to catch him off-guard a second time. Just when the attack is about to connect, however, Gallade instantly leaps up as a white and green blur, narrowly dodging the attack. A corner of my mouth curves up as I realize what happened: When Gardevoir blindsided and surprised him, it caused Steadfast to kick in, making Gallade much faster.


As Gallade is fifteen feet in the air, looking down at Gardevoir, I command, “Do it, Gallade! Use Night Slash!”


Cheren counter-commands, “Reflect and Shadow Ball!” I'm getting kinda tired of hearing Cheren command Gardevoir to use the same attack over and over again, but Gallade is weak against it, and Gardevoir is capable of several variations of the move, so I guess I'd command the same thing if I were in Cheren's position...


Once again, Gallade's blade emit a dark aura, and then he quickly descends on Gardevoir, who just barely blocks his Night Slash with Reflect. The Embrace Pokemon attempts to slam a small close-range Shadow Ball into the side of Gallade's head, but in a near invisible movement, he ducks under the attack. With Gardevoir's defenses now wide open, Gallade rises back upright, delivering a rising slash, which leaves a deep scar up Gardevoir's entire torso. The attack ends by catching her under the chin and lifting her several feet into the air. The Embrace Pokemon hits the ground back-first, virtually at Cheren's feet, twenty feet away from Gallade's position.


“Gardevoir!” exclaims Cheren.


“Gar... de...” Despite the horrible injury she just received, Gardevoir manages to sit back up and slowly get back on her feet. I'm surprised she can still fight, but Gallade has the clear advantage. One more good hit, and this battle's ours.


“Finish this, Gallade,” I say, “with one more Night Slash!”


At the same time, Cheren commands, “Gardevoir! Use Trick Room!”


Gallade's blades glow with dark-type energy, and he rears back to deliver a rushing slash. Meanwhile, Gardevoir extends her arms out to her side and eight pink baseball-sized orbs appear around her: two on the ground in front of her, two on the ground behind her, two in the air in front of her and two in the air behind her, positioned like the corners of a box.


Gallade dashes toward Gardevoir and within a couple seconds, he's onto her. However, just as he delivers his attack with is right blade, the spaces between the orbs surrounding Gardevoir fill up with transparent pinkish psychic walls and a ceiling, blocking the attack.


I'd seen a couple trainers use the move, Trick Room, in the past. When the walls are up, anything inside the cube is affected by some kind of spacial distortion, which which reverses the inhabitants' speed and reflexes, like anything that's normally fast starts moving in slow motion from the point-of-view of the opposing Pokemon, and vice-versa. Usually, the orbs that form the cube's corners immediately spread out to cover the entire battlefield before the walls come up, but this is the first time I'd ever seen it used as a defensive technique. Even so, I think of a way to counter it almost immediately. “Gallade! Cut through with Brick Break!”


Gallade's left blade starts to glow with fighting-type energy and he rears it back, poised to cut through, but before he can strike, the cube starts to expand, the wall smashing into him and pushing him back to my side of the battlefield. After a few seconds, the cube stops growing and Gallade falls to the ground. The cube's walls and ceiling vanish, but its boundary passes over the psychic/fighting-type, and then the barriers come back up, now with both Gallade and Gardevoir inside.


Not good... As long as they are inside the Trick Room, the speed and reflex boost Gallade gained from Steadfast is essentially Gardevoir's. He needs to get out of there. Luckily, one of the room's walls are near his position.


“Gallade! Use Brick Break on the nearby wall and bust outta there!”


“Gall!” Gallade rises to his feet and whirls around as his blades start glowing reddish-brown. He takes a swipe and the nearest wall behind him, but at that moment, the cube changes shape once again, and the wall escapes his reach.


“Dang...” I mutter through clenched teeth.


“Voir, voir,” says Gardevoir in a taunting tone of voice.


“Gardevoir,” says Cheren, “ready a Shadow Ball... a powerful one.”


“Gar!” Gardevoir's arms extend over her head and a Shadow Ball starts to form between them, small at first, but gradually growing in size.


If Gardevoir hits Gallade with that, it's gonna hurt, and thanks to the distortion, he can't run to her before the move reaches its full power. Still, as I found out through previous battles, the teleporting effect of Shadow Sneak ignores the hindering effect of Trick Room.


“Shadow Sneak!” I command.


Gallade vanishes and reappears a split-second later behind Gardevoir, poised to strike. However, the psychic-type predicted that and takes a step forward as she looks over her shoulder, narrowly dodging the Blade Pokemon's attack. Gallade steps in and takes another swipe, but Gardevoir leaps away, easily avoiding that attack as well. Gallade vanishes and reappears again, this time right in front of Gardevoir and attempts another slash, but once again, it makes no difference, as she backsteps out of the range of that attack as well. Even though Gallade can instantly cover ground, his attacks have become too slow. All the while, the Shadow Ball keeps expanding until it reaches a circumference of ten feet.


“Attack!” says Cheren.


Gallade, switching his offense to Night Slash, takes a swipe at Gardevoir with his right blade, who once again jumps a few feet back back to dodge. While he has his left blade reared back and ready to strike, however, Gardevoir positions the Shadow Ball in front of her. In reaction, Gallade leaps several feet backward to put distance between himself and the psychic-type. A split-second later, Gardevoir releases her Shadow Ball. It flies toward Gallade, looking like some sort of comet, its bottom part tearing through the ground. Fortunately, Gallade left a large enough opening to counter. He rears back his right blade, preparing to dispel the ghost-type attack with Night Slash.


However, at the moment, the shape of the Trick Room shifts once again, the side to Gallade's back pressing against his blade, keeping him from striking. At the same moment, the Shadow Ball hits, causing the Blade Pokemon to get sandwiched. Apparently, the force behind Shadow Ball is really great, because Gallade's right blade, which is still pressed against the wall, starts to bend and then breaks with a sharp snapping sound. Finally, the Shadow Ball dissipates, leaving almost the entirety of Gallade's left flank covered with steaming burns.


“Gallade!” I yell.


With his back against the wall, Gallade crumples to the ground and looks in complete astonishment and dismay as a severed part of his right blade briefly dangles from his elbow on a thin strand of green skin, before falling off.


“Ga... llade...” Gallade tries to get back to his feet, but his strength gives out and he crumples back down. Even so, despite all the burns on the front of his body, he looks like he still wants to battle. However, I don't know what to do. Gallade is basically helpless on the ground while Gardevoir is standing a safe distance away. Furthermore, Gallade's only long-range attack is Psycho Cut, but that will barely even phase Gardevoir.


A corner of Cheren's mouth curves up, “Victory is as good as ours, Gardevoir. Charge up one more Shadow Ball and bring this battle to a decisive end.”


“Voir,” says Gardevoir, glancing back at Cheren with a nod of her head. She holds out her hands in front of her and another Shadow Ball begins to form.


I have no idea what to do. Gardevoir is charging an attack which will end this battle without a doubt, and Gallade is helpless to fight back. We've los--


My thoughts are cut short when I notice something. Gallade has his left arm held out in front of him, its blade in Night Slash mode, most likely as a defensive reflex, whatever good that might do, but next to Gallade I see the severed blade from his right arm glowing black as well.


For some reason, I recall a philosophical question I heard once: If you were to clip off a fingernail or yank out a strand of hair, is that nail or hair still 'you?' Only Arceus really knows the answer to that question, but still, more often than not, people don't think so. However, it seems the case is different for Pokemon, as I'm seeing that Gallade's broken blade still has his essence in it, and that gives me an idea.


Running to the part of the room Gallade's back is against, I whisper, “Gallade! Your right blade!”


Gallade glances down at his broken appendage and sees the dark-type energy radiating from it. He glances back at me with a grin, seeming to have a guess what I'm thinking.


With Gardevoir's Shadow Ball now almost as big as her entire body, eclipsing her form, and soon to be released, I waste no time giving a somewhat vague command of my own, at least to Cheren's ears, “Gallade! Use Shadow Sneak: Throw!”


“What?” I hear Cheren say.


Gallade scoops his broken blade off the ground, channeling ghost-type energy through it, and in the same motion, he tosses it like a throwing knife. It flies, vanishes, and then reappears in front of Gardevoir, plunging into her Shadow Ball. Since ghost-type attacks are both strong and weak against each other, the result of the clashing energies is an explosion. Gardevoir's Shadow Ball distorts and ripples as it loses its stability, just before it bursts in a dark-purple blast, which completely engulfs the psychic-type.


At that moment, the Trick Room vanishes and a few seconds later, the energy clears. Gardevoir is down on the ground on her hands and knees, covered with steaming burns beyond counting.


As Gallade slowly manages to get back to his feet, Gardevoir looks up at him, saying, “Voir?” with a half-pained, half-hopeful look on her face.


In response, Gallade says “Gall,” with a nod. Smiling, the strength in Gardevoir's arms give out and she collapses. I don't think I'll ever know the subject of their exchange.


Cheren pauses a few seconds as he takes in the results of the battle, before holding out Gardevoir's Pokeball and saying, “Return,” recalling the psychic-type. At the same time, I recall Gallade.


Cheren and I are silent for several seconds, with Cheren clearly at a loss for what to say. Finally, he scratches the back of his head and says, “Well... um... I guess that's that.”


“I guess so,” I respond, not knowing what else to say.


With a sigh, Cheren walks over to and sits down on a nearby rock, looking more bummed out than I'd ever seen him.


“Hey, no need to take it so hard,” I try to console my friend since sixth grade, “It was an awesome battle! Gallade and I were just lucky at the end.”


“So it seems, but that doesn't change the results.”


Wondering why Cheren is taking his loss so hard, I take a guess, “Did you really want to be the hero who fights N so bad? Take it from me, Cheren; this role really sucks. Can you even imagine the pressure that's been put on me?”


“I don't doubt that, Ria, but...”


“But...?”


“For so long, I'd wanted to become a Champion to be remembered. Recently, it hasn't felt as important, but this was my opportunity to become something more than that; to become a legend. Not a lot of people get an opportunity like this, so I felt I had to try...”


“Cheren...” I say, not knowing how to respond that that. How can I? I'm not the one with a terminal illness, nor can I comprehend to know how it feels.


“Of course, deep down, I knew it wasn't meant to be. After all, my reasons were selfish, and even if I'd won, I'd be a hero in name only...”


“I get it,” I say, sitting down next to Cheren and looking up at the dark, rainy sky, “and to be honest, I would have been cool with handing this responsibility over to you, since unlike me, you'd actually be happy to carry this burden.”


“I thank you for the opportunity, at least. However, the chance to become a legend was not the only reason I wanted to battle you.”


“So, what's the other reason?”


Cheren leans forward, “How do I put this...? I guess... I wanted to prove I could beat you...”


“Well, you came close.”


“True, but... I suppose I felt... inadequate in comparison to you. I was so confident in my victory the first time we fought; Snivy had a type advantage over Oshawott and I'd studied Pokemon battling more extensively. Even though it was my first battle ever, as well as yours, I felt I had the edge in every way imaginable, and yet, it ended in a draw. After that, as much as I felt you'd improved, I thought I'd improved even more, but ever since Castelia City, whenever we had the same number of badges, it wasn't long until you earned one more than me and I never truly caught up. In spite of all my hard work to achieve my goal of becoming Champion, you, through sheer talent and experience, were always better... and you still are.”


I let out a breath, “Well, I feel a little condescended to...”


“I... I didn't mean to...”


“I know, and it's fine; I'm sure if I were in your situation, I'd feel the same way.” I smile slightly, “Of course, I'm not gonna apologize for that.”


“I wasn't expecting you to. Still, I think it's amazing how fast you learned from experience. You're truly gifted.”


I let out a scoff, “You think I'm gifted? You're really holding me up high, you know. You know me well enough that I'm only an average achiever in school, both academically and athletically...”


Cheren tries to get a word in, “Academically, sure, but athletically, compared to me and Bianca, at least, you're...”


I cut Cheren off, continuing, “Pokemon battles seem to be the only thing I'd ever been really good at, not that I'm complaining, but compared to you, Cheren, I'm the one who should be feeling inadequate. Sure, you lost a battle to me, but just barely. Besides that, you managed to crack a case even the police couldn't figure out in Castelia City and just last night, you were able to make a pretty good, if not correct, guess at Team Plasma's defensive strategy with nothing more than a brief glance at a tiny screen...”


“Ria...?”


“Also, that stuff you did during our battle with the codewords and stuff... I'd never seen anyone do something like that. Really, Cheren, you're incredible, and if you're looking for ways to be remembered, you've got way more going for you than just becoming a Champion or 'legend.'”


Cheren smiles, “You really think so, Ria?”


“Of course!” I say getting to my feet, “Heck, you could become something that would even make the title of Champion look lame by comparison! Like... say you refined that codeword method a bit and made it your entire battle style. From there, you could teach it to others, which would in turn be taught to more people, and eventually, everyone would start using it. What would you rather be? A Champion, which is just a trainer who just won a bunch of tough battles and got archived in a database somewhere, or being the man who revolutionized the way Pokemon battles are fought?”


Cheren is silent for several seconds as he processes my suggestion, but then he starts to slowly nod to himself approvingly, “Hm... I can't believe I'd never thought of that... but it's a nice thought. I suppose I have some things to consider.”


I chill runs through me and I stand up, “Well, let's head back to the Pokemon Center. If we stay in the rain like this any longer, I'm gonna catch a cold, and of all days, this is the last one I want to be sick on.”


“Of course,” Cheren rises to his feet, “I'm sorry about this, Ria. I felt it was going to rain, but I didn't want to miss this opportunity to battle you.”


“Whatever,” I say, “Let's go.”


I walk a few steps toward the checkpoint before Cheren calls out to me, “Hey, Ria?”


I look back at Cheren over my shoulder, “What is it?”


Cheren smiles, blushing slightly, “This may sound a little sappy, but... I'm glad I met you and I'm happy to have you as a friend and rival. Tonight, I will make absolutely sure you make it to N safely and Arceus help anyone who tries to get in your way. In return, you'd better win... partner.” Cheren holds out his fist in front of him.


“Will do, partner,” I say, approaching Cheren and lightly bumping his fist with my own.


Cheren and I walk together toward the checkpoint. Along the way, I ask, “So, um... what does Shadow Ball: Alpha do?”


“What are you talking about?”


“Well, you commanded your Gardevoir to use Shadow Ball: Epsilon, so surely there's a Shadow Ball: Alpha, a Shadow Ball: Beta, and so on.”


“Oh, that. There's only a Shadow Ball: Epsilon. I chose it just because it sounded... well, neat.”


I chuckle a little, “Huh. I can respect that.”


---


Cheren and I ride the bus back to the Pokemon Center.


Along the way, I feel the weight of the Zekrock in my bag, and now with the fated moment coming closer by the minute, my worries come flooding back. I guess I should be thankful to Cheren for getting my mind away from N and Zekrom for a good half-hour, but now that's over. Sure, I did just tell Cheren I'd win, but that doesn't change the fact that I need Zekrom to do just that, and I once again ponder what qualifications the Deep Black dragon requires and if I can meet them within the next fourteen or fifteen hours.


We arrive back at the Center, and turn in our Pokemon at the front desk. I'm about to head back to the sleeping quarters to take a warm shower, change, and catch up on my rest when Cheren and I hear some commotion from the cafeteria.


Out of curiosity, we head downstairs. There are about twenty other trainers in the cafeteria and the overhead lights are off. Instead the room is illuminated by the light from the large TV screen, and when I see what's playing, my jaw drops. It shows a Magmortar firing two Fire Blasts at the marble tiled floor it's standing on, propelling itself into the air and landing on a large, bridge-like, overhanging fixture of two intertwined dragons to avoid a giant wave of water that a Kingdra summoned. It's followed by a Marowak electrifying its club and charging headlong into the wave, causing electricity to surge through the water and shock the Kingdra riding it.


Of course, those aren't just any Magmortar and Marowak! Cheren glances at me with a questioning look. There's no need for him to verbally ask the question and I just nod in response. Yup, those are indeed my Magmortar and Marowak, and my battle with Drayden is playing on the TV screen. I'm guessing the Opelucid Gym arena had a bunch of hidden cameras.


There aren't any sound effects or voices giving the Pokemon commands. Instead, the video has a catchy half-heroic, half-adventurous tune playing. Throughout the video, there are a few camera angles that include Drayden and Iris, but to my relief, there are none that include me.


Standing next to the screen on the right is Iris, with her arms folded in front of her and a toothy grin spread across her face. Everybody's attention is so glued to the screen that they don't notice her glancing at me with an expression saying, 'What do you think, Miss Smart-mouth? I edited it myself,' or something like that. On the left side of the screen is Drayden, with the same posture as Iris, but, as usual, he's much harder to read, due to his beard.


The battle video (or 'VS Recording,' as some people call it) continues. It's part odd and part encouraging to see my battle from a third-person perspective, as it brings on a 'we did that?' kind of feeling.


There is a collective gasp from the onlookers when Drayden sends out Latios and Haxorus. No one seems surprised that I used Gallade during that round, but there's some slight commotion when they see Cinccino, not that I really blame them, since before two powerful dragon-types, he doesn't look like much. Still, a cheer goes up when the Blade and Scarf Pokemon win that battle as well. The screen goes black, and everyone seems to think it's over when suddenly, appearing in red letters and accompanied by a large exclamation point and a shrill alarm sound, are the words, 'WARNING! A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES!' Iris seems particularly proud of that little detail for some reason.


Sure enough, the next thing that appears onscreen is a closeup of Marshal, a man that needs no introduction, tossing Conkeldurr's Pokeball into the field. As expected, this triggers another collective gasp from the viewers. The video cuts to Conkeldurr appearing on Marshal's end, and then Absol appearing on my end.


“Well, that was a dumb move,” I hear a guy in the crowd say.


'Hey! It was a random selection!' I want to protest.


“The so-called 'hero' is such toast,” says some random girl.


'Oh, we'll see,' I mentally tell the non-believer.


“Excellent!” Cheren whispers out of earshot of anyone except me, “I'd been wishing I'd seen this battle!”


“Well, enjoy,” I respond.


The battle between Absol and Conkeldurr rages, and finally, there are some gasps and some cheering from the crowd when the dark-type pulls off his miraculous victory, which is when the video suddenly cuts out, and the overhead lights turn on.


“So, there you have it!” Iris announces to the crowd, “Mr. Hero in action! Any questions?”


“Um...” A girl in a pink raincoat raises her hand.


Iris points at the girl, “Speak, Miss Parasol Girl!”


“You said the challenger in those battles was that hero Team Plasma's king person mentioned when he became Champion, but how come we never see him?”


“A good question...” says Drayden in place of Iris, who takes a few seconds to consider the question and provide an answer, “I'm sure everyone is expecting the hero to be some sort of living god, but the truth is, he's a trainer, just like everyone in this room. In fact...” Drayden's gaze sweeps over everyone in the cafeteria, including me, “... for all you know, the hero might be someone amongst you, here and now.”


The crowd clamors and everyone starts glancing at every other male in the room. A few gazes fall on Cheren, but none on me, since everyone believes the hero is a guy. Just to play along, I also glance at Cheren and a few random boys and men. Iris is grinning widely at the minor state of confusion Drayden just caused as if it were funny.


“So...” says Drayden, “Does anyone here strike you as a great and mighty savior?” No one says anything, probably so they won't offend one another, but that's all the answer he needs, “Of course not. If we showed you the hero, you'd probably think of him as just some everyday challenger, and not your hope, so we thought it would be better if his appearance was a mystery, but I promise you he exists.”


“I see your point,” says 'Miss Parasol Girl.'


“Any other questions?” asks Iris.


“Yeah...” Some guy raises his hand.


“What is your question, Mr. Random Trainer?”


'Mr. Random Trainer' is silent for a few seconds, obviously not happy with the nickname Iris had just given him (join the club, buddy), but he finally asks, “Okay, you said that video showed how good a trainer the hero is, and yes, he's really good, but why did you feel you had to show us that?”


“An excellent question,” says Drayden, “That brings us to the reason we are here. As skilled as the hero is, there are a few hundred Team Plasma trainers standing between him and N. As much as I'm sure you dislike N for threatening to make everyone release their Pokemon, he is at least willing to give the hero a chance to stop him and keep things as they are, but there are others with authority within Team Plasma who would much rather see him make you abandon your longtime partners right away, and they want to make sure the hero misses the deadline. That is where you, the trainers of Unova, come in. We hope that those among you who have earned at least eight badges will be brave enough to join us at the Pokemon League tonight at 8:30. We will fight back against Team Plasma and help the hero reach N.”


Iris picks up, “You guys love your Pokemon, right? You can play a part in making sure you're together forever! N may be awaiting a hero, but by helping him out, you can be heroes too! We Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and even Mr. Alder himself will be there. So, who's gonna be joining us?” I gotta admit, coming from Iris, that was actually kind of eloquent.


Several people in the crowd raise their hands with responses like, “Me,” “I will,” or just hot-blooded yells. Naturally, Cheren and I raise our hands as well.


“Excellent,” says Drayden once the commotion dies down, “We shall see you at 8:30. Get whatever supplies you need and make sure your Pokemon are well-rested before then. And...” He pauses for a moment, “If you happen to be short a badge, I shall await challengers at the Gym for the remainder of this morning, as will the other Gym Leaders.”


People start to leave the cafeteria, some walking past Cheren and I to the lobby, and others, Iris and Drayden included, leaving through a side door leading outside. Cheren and I are about to leave as well when we hear a male voice call out to us, “Hey!”


Cheren and I glance to see who it is, and see someone vaguely familiar. It takes me a little while to place him, but finally I recall him as one of our allies during the Cold Storage Dome incident.


“Hey, long time, no see!” I greet.


“I see both of you have enough badges,” says our old comrade, “are you also gonna join the fight against Team Plasma tonight?”


“You know it,” I answer, giving a thumbs-up.


“Absolutely,” Cheren answers, glancing at our ally's vest, “but I see you only have seven badges.”


“Yeah, I still need the Trio Badge. I know that only trainers with eight or nine badges are allowed to go to the Pokemon League, but couldn't they put that rule aside, just for tonight?”


“There are reasons for that,” says Cheren, “It's bound to be dangerous, so only top-ranked trainers should be allowed to take part.”


“Point taken. Well, I'm on my way to Striaton City to get my last badge. I don't care how tough the battle is. I will win for sure! There's no way I'm gonna be left out!”


“Good luck,” I say.


“Thanks. Actually, I was gonna leave Unova today so I wouldn't have to release my Pokemon, but now that I know that the hero actually exists and needs help, I'm gonna fight! I have some friends that left the region, but I'm gonna call them and ask them to come back and help. If you have anyone like that, you should do the same.”


“Will do,” I say with a smile.


Walking past us, our old comrade says, “Well, I look forward to fighting Team Plasma alongside you guys again. See you later!” With that, he heads for the lobby.


As we leave the cafeteria ourselves, Cheren lets out a small chuckle.


“What's so funny?” I ask.


“I just never imagined you this way,” says Cheren.


“You mean a hero? Hadn't we gone over this before?”


“Not just that...” says Cheren, who then pauses as a trainer walks by us, en route to the cafeteria. As soon as we're sure he's out of earshot, Cheren continues in a lower voice, “I mean, you're a symbol of hope for the trainers of Unova.”


“I...” I'm silent for several seconds, letting that sink in.


“By the way,” says Cheren, coming to a sudden stop.


“What's up?” I ask.


Cheren reaches into his supply bag, fishes around, and pulls out his Pokedex, which he then holds out to me, “I understand you lost yours, so I'll let you borrow mine.”


“Are you sure?” I ask.


“It's only for today... and on one condition.”


“What's that?”


Cheren smiles mischievously, “When Zekrom awakens, you take a picture. It's my Pokedex, so I'll get the credit for it.”


I gaze at Cheren with mock suspicion, “You're just using me, aren't you?”


“Partially, but I really am trying to help. I can't imagine it will help much with Reshiram, but N will use other Pokemon, right?”


“True enough. Alright.” I take Cheren's Pokedex and put it in my supply bag.


“Well...” begins Cheren, walking a few steps ahead of me, “we should get cleaned up and rested for tonight.”


I nod in agreement.


---


I go back to the sleeping quarters and head to one of the adjoining bathrooms to take a warm shower. I hang my supply bag on a hook next to the shower head. Even though it gets the bag a little damp, I don't want the Zekrock leaving my sight for even a second.


While the water feels relaxing and refreshing to the body, however, my mind is anything but relaxed. 'A symbol of hope,' huh? I already had an idea of the weight of my responsibility, but this newly-revealed angle manages to put a fresh new layer of pressure on me, namely the possibility of losing and betraying that hope.


Still, I guess I should be thankful to Drayden and Iris for at least getting people to believe in me and boosting their morale. Just yesterday, in the park, I saw just how hopeless people seemed, but now they were given a reason not to despair. I'll admit, it feels a little better this way.


Also, even though I still don't know what Zekrom wants of me, or even if I'm capable of his requirements, there is still is a chance somewhere, now that I have the Zekrock. Besides, between that battle with Cheren and that video showing my battles with Drayden and Marshal, I'm reminded that I am a pretty strong trainer, and if Zekrom awakens, giving me a Pokemon that can match Reshiram's power, I have every confidence that I can defeat N.


Yeah... I should embrace this optimism. It's a heck of a lot better than the alternative, at least, especially this close to the moment of truth.


After the shower, I change into a new set of clothes identical to what I was wearing before. On my way out of the bathroom, I glance at my relection in a sink mirror and notice a gray hair among my ponytail's brown hairs. Man... I really need to chill out, or else I'm gonna look like someone's granny by the time I'm twenty-five...


I open the door to the sleeping quarters, planning to just plop down in the nearest bed and catch up on my sleep, but as soon as I step through the doorway, I hear Bianca's voice call out, “Oh! Ria!” I notice her a few feet away.


“Mornin',” I greet.


“I was wondering where you were,” says Bianca, “Could you not sleep last night? It's not often you're up before me.”


“Nah, I was sleeping like a Ursaring until Cheren...” I explain my battle with Cheren and Drayden's seminar in the cafeteria.


“Wow, you've already had a busy day,” says Bianca, “I was wondering if you wanted to go out and do something fun, but if you want to go back to bed, I understand.”


I consider Bianca's proposal for a moment. It's important that I'm well-rested, but I could also use an activity to unwind with.


“How about this,” I say, “My Pokemon are currently being healed. How about I head to bed for a little while, and when you hear the announcement that my Pokemon are good to go, wake me up.”


Bianca nods, “Okay.”


“By the way, what did you have in mind for 'something fun?'


“I received a recorded transmission from Iris just a couple minutes ago. She said a new attraction had opened up at the Shopping Mall 9 arcade, which could help us hone our skills for later on; Some sort of virtual Pokemon battling simulator.”


“Fine by me,” I say, “If it's fun and can help improve my game, then I couldn't ask for anything better.”


“It's a date, then,” says Bianca.


“Yup.” I throw myself onto the nearest empty bed and rest my eyes.

Yeah, I know it's been over a year, and honestly, I don't have a lot of good excuses for the long wait. I guess part of it had to do with a large backlog of games and another had to do with just not really feeling it when it came to writing.
Still, at long last, I finally got up a new installment, so I hope it was worth the wait. I hope my writing hadn't declined over the past year and a half, but if you think it has, please let me know.
Considering that we're well into Generation VI, I considered making Gardevoir a part-fairy-type to keep up with the times, but after asking around, it seemed it was probably best to keep this firmly in Generation V. Still if I write a sequel to this, I probably will start using fairy-types, mega-evolutions, etc., but for now...
As always, I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. I know not a lot had happened to move the plot forward, but I hope you thought the battle was pretty cool.
Up next: The beginning of the end. I know this installment left off on a fairly light-hearted note, but in the next installment, things will start getting real...
 

Psycho Monkey

Member of the Literary Elite Four
Yaaaaay! It's good to see you back Valin! :D

Your writing hasn't declined at all, at least not that I could tell. Ria's battle with Cheren was very well choreographed and played out. At first I was wondering why you were dragging out the chapter post-battle but I realized why you did it as I read and you pulled it off very well.

I hope to see the conclusion of this amazing story from you sooner than later. As long as it comes in 2014, I won't complain ;)
 
At first I was wondering why you were dragging out the chapter post-battle but I realized why you did it as I read and you pulled it off very well.

I hope to see the conclusion of this amazing story from you sooner than later. As long as it comes in 2014, I won't complain ;)
I wasn't trying to drag it out. I just thought that a resolution to the conflict between Ria and Cheren, and the impact Ria is having on the trainers of Unova, their resulting resolve, and her reaction to it were fairly important. If you don't mind my asking, though, what conclusion did you draw from it?

I can't guarantee the entire story will be finished in 2014, but at the very least, the next installment will likely come before the end of the year. Another reason this latest installment took so long was that, in addition to my aforementioned reasons, it takes a lot of work to outline and write out a full-team battle, determining the logic behind each Pokemon choice, the details of each round, and manipulating the flow so that it comes down to the wire, but for the pattern not to be too formulaic either, and that takes time. I have no major battles planned for the next installment, but the one after that...

Something I'm debating is how to play out the last two battles against N and Ghetsis. Like, do I follow the game and make both of them full-team battles, or have the battle with N be the big climactic showdown, and Ghetsis be more of a "post final battle," sort of like the AZ battle in X and Y (in the games' narrative, that's how it felt to me, despite Ghetsis being a genuine boss battle). Decisions, decisions...
 
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Psycho Monkey

Member of the Literary Elite Four
I wasn't trying to drag it out. I just thought that a resolution to the conflict between Ria and Cheren, and the impact Ria is having on the trainers of Unova, their resulting resolve, and her reaction to it were fairly important. If you don't mind my asking, though, what conclusion did you draw from it?

I meant it more along the lines of I expected the chapter to end after the battle but when you kept going I thought to myself "What's he planning?" Then when I saw Drayden and Iris rallying the other Trainers I thought it was a pretty cool idea to have an army go up against Team Plasma rather than just have Ria infiltrate the castle herself with the Gym Leaders, Cheren, and Bianca as back up. It's definitely more realistic in my opinion.
 
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