POV - Drayton

  “Happy Birthday!” A pair of six-year-old twins cried as they raced through the doorway of my house. Burgh matched my long-suffering look as his husband chased after the boys (Ren & Len). They’ve got so much energy. People said that all kids had tons of energy, but I certainly couldn’t remember being that hyped up four years ago.

  At least that’s the last of them, I thought as I closed the door. We had a large house, easily big enough for everyone my parents had invited to my birthday party. In addition to the latest arrivals, we had Lenora and Hawes and their daughter (Hailey); Clay and Lacey (who I’d met a couple of times before); and Skyla with her newborn son (Adrian). Brycen was standing stiffly in the corner, his eyes constantly tracking the kids running about while talking to my parents. He had brought his nephew (Hubert, named after some former champion), and Iris had even taken a bit of time off to attend. Being a Champion sounds like a lot of work. I like battling, but hopefully when I become Champion, I’ll just be able to focus on that and leave the rest to someone else.

  This was part of what led me to my current situation. Since they knew I was a good battler with Duraladon, they thought it might be nice to talk to the kids of former Gym Leaders and the like. Most of them aren’t even battlers yet. Possibly not ever for some. I winced just thinking about how enthusiastic Hailey had been, going on and on about archeology when I’d talked to her.

  With all the guests gathered, my Ma clapped her hands, forcing everyone to look at her. While she never became a Gym Leader or Elite Four, she was still an Ace Trainer and, more to the point, a Dragon Tamer. She had a certain presence to her that forced everyone to look and listen.

  “Glad to see that everyone is here. Now let’s get started with the games!” The other kids cheered loudly, save for Lacey, who cheered after the fact, looking a little distracted.

  We beat the pi?ata, which was fun enough (and funny when Len accidentally hit Ren while blindfolded), and we got some candy. As we were gathering up the candies, Lacey mentioned, “Did you know that in other regions they use Pokemon for the pi?atas?”

  I blinked, gazing down at Ghetsis’ broken head, pulling a Snackers bar from it. “No, I didn’t know that. Haven’t they had Evil Teams too, though?” I swear I saw a Cyrus pi?ata in the shop too.

  “Yeah, but the practice originated in Paldea, and they use Pokemon for the pinatas there. I think they use them everywhere but Unova, actually.”

  “Huh. Wonder why it’s different here?” She shrugged, just as lost as I was, and I quickly dismissed it. Eh, just as fun to break in Ghetsis’ face, and the candy probably tastes the same no matter what.

  After that we had ‘pin the tail on the Mudbray,’ which was fun, even if I thought Lacey had to be cheating somehow to pin it in the right spot so often. Everyone was kind of tired after that, so Ma and Pa suggested we have cake, a suggestion us kids eagerly leapt on.

  Ah, that hits the spot. Now if I could just take a nap… I toyed with the idea of just taking a quick nap but nixed the idea when I saw my parents hovering around. Ugh, I gotta be a ‘good host’ and all. Casting my gaze around the living room and kitchen, I saw the guests generally all settled down, slowly picking their way through the rich cake. The twins were fidgeting, the adults were chatting quietly, Lacey was hunched over in the corner, and Hailey was spinning a fidget spi-

  Hold on. “Watcha got there?” I asked, sliding up behind the pink-haired girl. Lacey shrieked, jumping in surprise.

  “N-Nothing!” She said, holding her arms out in an exaggerated ‘X’ formation. Shame she forgot about the phone in her left hand while doing so. Reaching over, I plucked the Rotom Phone from her grip, earning a shocked gasp from the girl as she scrambled to try and get it back.

  “Livestream of Nemona Glitterati’s Elite Gauntlet?” I read aloud. “What’s this ‘Gauntlet’ thing, and who’s Nemona?”

  “Nemona’s my friend! She’s from Paldea. Look, I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention at your party, but she’s doing her Elite Challenge right now.” She was pouting so hard I was tempted to taunt her a bit more, but I also saw her right hand clenched tight into a fist. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I passed her the phone back without any fuss.

  “Is she any good?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

  “Oh, she’s, like, super strong. She’s our age and will be going to Blueberry next year with me.”

  “With us,” I groaned. “Please tell me she’s not as… ‘peppy’ as you?”

  “Wha- how is someone like you going to Blueberry already?! I had to study my butt off for this, and I was still super nervous about the early entrance exam.”

  I shrugged. “It’s just answering questions on a piece of paper, not that hard.” Seeing her eyelid twitch, I took a step back, bumping into something solid. Turning around, I looked up to see the stern visage of my grandfather.

  “Don’t diminish your accomplishment; we’re all very proud of the work you put in, grandson.” His bushy beard/mustache shifted as he spoke. Despite the words of encouragement, I stuck my hands in my pockets. Yeah, but I wouldn’t have even been trying this early if you hadn’t forced me to! One didn’t say ‘no’ to Drayden easily, however, even if his days as a professional Trainer were over.

  Drayden continued. “I overheard you talking about Nemona. That’s Hassel’s prodigy, correct?”

  “Yeah, that’s right! How did you know?” Lacey asked, cocking her head to the side.

  Iris chimed in. “Hassel… he mentioned her before, didn’t he? Said he was going to ‘fight her again someday, at full strength.’ I didn’t realize this would be the day they did battle once more.” She’d probably fit in great with my family then. They’re all for dramatic rematches and showing off strength. I like training and all, but sometimes my cousins will just brush off my planning as ‘scheming,’ especially if I use people in it. But what’s wrong with that?

  “Nemona is a Dragon Tamer?” I’ve talked to Hassel a few times before whenever he’s visited; he seemed pretty cool, if a bit sobby. The various Dragon Tamers and Dragon Clans around the world might be seen as relics in the modern, League-dominated world, but their name still carried weight. More importantly, we made efforts to use that modernization and stay in touch with each other. It kept bloodlines strong and let us trade minor clan secrets and arrange mates for our Dragons.

  “Ehh, not really?” Lacey responded, shaking her hand back and forth. “She has one Dragon on her team now, but that was one of her latest captures, even if she’s had Bahamut for a few months now. And Hassel taught her more music than training, though they did a bit of that too. Her match against him is up next after Martha, which is starting in a few minutes.”

  My brow furrowed. “Wait, is she taking on multiple Elite Fours in the same day?” It was Drayden that answered.

  “That’s correct. Taking on the gauntlet involves fighting the entire Elite Four and Champion within the span of a day. When I was a lad, I saw Alder take on the gauntlet and be the first to emerge victorious from it since Oak founded the League.”

  ““Whoa…”” we said in unison before I glanced around. A few other kids were playing around with toys or sitting kinda bored. “The party is dying down; do you think we could all watch this upcoming match?” I asked, and Grandpa stroked his beard, as if considering it.

  I can see the gleam in your eye, though, old man; you wanna watch it too! Even a retired trainer like Drayden never truly forgot the thrill of battling. “Very well, let’s play it on the television then. Do we have the channels for it?”

  “Ugh, she’s got a Rotom Phone - we’ll just Rotocast it to my laptop, which is linked to the projector.” He blinked, a little perplexed by the technology but rolling with it as we gathered the others over by the couch. Lacey’s Rotom Phone connected easily, throwing up the images on the blank wall, the attached speaker systems delivering the sounds as some last-minute reports were aired by people going over Nemona’s last battle and speculating on the upcoming match. Sounds like she already won one battle.

  For a moment, as the screens changed from the analysts going over stats and other details with way too much vigor, I wondered if something was wrong with the signal. Then I realized it was simply that the room was shrouded in darkness. A haunting voice cut through the gloom. “Are you ready, young challenger?” The malicious set of giggles that followed after set me a little on edge, though I did my best not to show it. Just another Elite Four, big deal. See people like her over here all the time.

  “Martha has laid out the challenge for Nemona- oh, what’s this? Nemona’s playing her own original theme for her own entrance!” Huh? Is the sound broken? I mean, we can hear what they’re saying just fine, but there’s no music playing.

  “Aww, the sound must be broken. I’ll play you some of her songs later; they’re great! She worked really hard on that album before starting her journey,” Lacey informed me excitedly, and I turned to blink at her.

  “Seriously? Whoa, that’s pretty cool.” Being a musician and aiming to become a Champion at the same age as us? That’s crazy. Everyone said I was a ‘genius’ and could do so much if I ‘applied myself.’ Is that what I’d really be capable of? Eh, but that sounds so stressful…

  “I was born ready. Bring it,” Nemona replied, and the lights flicked on, revealing the room clearly. The room was fairly boring, honestly. Light blue tiles for the walls and floor, with a utilitarian arena in the center. I mean, I guess it works, but I can’t imagine the fans getting too excited over something so plain for the biggest battles in the region.

  On the far end of the arena was a short woman with dark skin and purple hair. The jet black dress and black frilly shawl made it pretty clear that the dark open was her trick and what her Type specialization was. To the side of the arena was some announcer with a microphone.

  Entering as the challenger was Lacey’s friend, Nemona. She was our age, wearing a hoodie that was Pokeball themed. She had a golden Dunsparce necklace, and her black hair was tied up in a ponytail, with two unruly green strands sticking out to the front and to the side. Her skin was quite tanned and looked weathered; the little hints of a Trainer just finished with a great Journey that couldn’t be hidden, no matter how much make-up or prettying up could be done for the cameras. There was a determined look on her face, her amber eyes gleaming fiercely in anticipation of the match.

  “Snrk!” I had to stifle a bit of laughter at seeing what Nemona was wearing however. It’s just so gaudy! White and gold color scheme with a diamond cape? Must be so expensive too.

  “Don’t laugh at her, it’s just not right!” Lacey demanded, crossing her arms in an ‘X’. Even she caved after a few seconds under my incredulous stare. “Yeah, it’s a bit much right now, but this is her image as a ‘Champion,’ she’ll grow into it. Or at least she hopes to; her parents were apparently really excited about it.” Lacey muttered the last part just barely hearable to me. Maybe she will, but it just looks like a kid pretending to be an adult now.

  I didn’t say anything further though, watching back as the referee, a tall woman, briskly strode over to take her place at one side of the arena. On her other side was a boombox, hovering in place beside the girl. The plasmic eyes projected in front of it gave away that it was a Rotom.

  “Fashion aside, Nemona looks… experienced,” Drayden quietly commented from behind us. Yeah, that’s one way to put it. Drayden was hardly one to mince words, but I could agree that there was a certain presence to the girl, one I usually only felt from the most experienced Gym Leaders and Elites.

  “These are two tough cookies, let me tell you folks, but only one person can win! Will age and experience trump youth and vigor? Let’s find out!” After the announcer was done with his piece, the referee spoke up.

  “Trainers, ready your Pokemon.” They both nodded, raising a Pokeball. For the smallest fraction of a second, I caught her eyes flickering over to the odd Rotom Appliance floating beside Nemona that was belting out the beats. Guess they’re a battler on her team too. I imagined that the decision to leave them out wasn’t just for the sick soundtrack they were playing but also to make the Elite wonder if Nemona was going to field them at any moment. Even a split second of hesitation could cost you in a high-level battle, but it also shows off the Pokemon she has, especially what Form the Rotom is in. Then again, I’ve never seen a Rotom in a boombox before.

  Despite myself, I was intrigued. Lacey can be a bit annoying and too energetic for me, but she’s got a good eye for battle. I’d be surprised if she didn’t, given the shared profession of our fathers, but still. Let’s see if her friend can live up to the hype.

  Once they both had their Pokeballs at the ready, Geeta told them to, “Release your Pokemon.” Nemona clicked open her Pokeball, sending a Lucario she called “Athena’ out into the fray, while Martha revealed a large skunk-like Pokemon with purple fur and his tail curled up and lying over his back.

  The moment Geeta finished the count and shouted, “Begin!” They were in motion. Nemona stomped the ground as a signal, and Athena followed right along, stomping the ground as well. Her Pokemon’s stomp was a bit more dramatic, launching up waves over dirt to envelop and batter her foe with an Earthquake.

  Skuntank skittered back, trying to ride the waves of earth crashing into him. Glaring angrily, the Poison Type spat fire - literally. A line of flames shot out from his mouth, scorching Athena’s fur.

  The Lucario rolled to the side, out of the line of fire, and Nemona called, “Beam.” Clapping her paws together, she fired a massive steel-grey beam of energy at Skuntank, knocking the skunk Pokemon into the arena wall. “Follow up, pin, and drain!”

  Her jackal-like Pokemon was panting hard and standing on wobbly legs; whatever attack that was she just used had drained her almost as hard as it hit her opponent. Nonetheless, she followed the order, rushing over to where Skuntank was falling in a blink of an eye. Then, she conjured a glowing blue paw, clearly modeled off of her own paw, and the construct only went up to the elbow before fading into indistinct sparkles. It was also the size of her own body and followed the motion of her left paw, swinging down with the real limb and pinning her enemy in place.

  The Skuntank was pinned, his head and tail forced away from her as she began striking in with a bunch of punches with her right paw, each strike creating a series of small green flashes flowing from Skuntank to Athena, rejuvenating the latter.

  I was a little overwhelmed, trying to keep track of it all. Was that first move just a really strong Flash Cannon? No, too strong and tiring for that. She jumped across the arena with Extremespeed and is using Drain Punch now, but I’ve got no clue what the other Move she’s using to keep them stuck in place is called or what all it does.

  Skuntank munched down on a yellow berry he had hidden in his fur, which helped him survive the onslaught. No matter how he thrashed, though, he couldn’t escape Athena’s grip, and after a few seconds, Martha called, “Switch!”

  Recalling her Pokemon, the Elite stared at Athena, a frown on her face. She reached for one Pokeball on her belt before shaking her head and grabbing another. Tossing that one high above the field, she released a bird with black plumage, a splash of red feathers on the underside of their wings, and at the end of their tail. They had a patch of white feathers around their breast and atop their head; the black feathers seemed stylized like a fedora.

  “Whoa, they got so many weird Pokemon,” Ren or Len said. Guess they haven’t gone outside of Unova much or seen some of the less common Pokemon here. Then again, if it wasn’t for all the studying I did, I might not have recognized that Honchkrow either. Especially one so small! They look more like a Murkrow than a Honchkrow.

  A flap of their wings brought down a massive wave of heat, and I was reminded that size wasn’t everything as the attack crashed down over the Steel Type. She gritted her teeth, firing back with a large Aura Sphere rocketing towards the bird.

  From there an artillery battle began, the Honchkrow using surprising speed and their aerial advantage to launch Heat Waves and Air Cutters down upon Athena. For her part, the Lucario fired rapid-fire Dragon Pulses, Aura Spheres, and Flash Cannons at the bird, dodging with Extremespeed to practically teleport out of the way from attacks coming down.

  “Whoa, how can they use all those Moves? Is the bird a Fire Type?” Hailey asked, and I shook my head.

  “Naw, Dark and Flying. Those are the strongest Moves they can use, but a lot of Pokemon have a pretty diverse Move set.” She nodded slowly, looking at me like I was some sage delivering ancient wisdom. It’s not that complicated, is it? Brushing it aside, I focused back on the match.

  The devastation rained down on the battlefield and arena barrier for several minutes, causing both to shake. Neither Nemona nor Martha appeared to be gaining the upper hand at first, each Pokemon getting chipped away at a steady pace, but slowly it became clear that Athena was doing better on the exchanges than Honchkrow. Even with having to use a Move to dodge the majority of Honchkrow’s attacks, Nemona’s Lucario was just fast enough to gain an edge.

  Seeking to reverse that, Martha changed tacks. “Tailwind.” As Honchkrow let up on the assault and began whipping up the wind around them, the challengers leapt into action.

  “In close, Ice Punch!” At Nemona’s command, Athena bounded up, easily leaping up to Honchkrow’s altitude, one paw pulled back and glittering with frost. Honchkrow dived down, spiralling through the air while continuing their setup Move. “Reel them in!”

  Nemona’s follow-up order saw Athena creating a thin whip out of Aura, lashing it around the Honchkrow’s leg and pulling the squawking bird back, right into an Ice Punch. The Dark Type flinched heavily at the impact but managed to complete the Tailwind.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Suddenly bolstered, Honchkrow pulled Athena back down from the Aura Whip, using it to crash her into the ground. Nemona’s Pokemon landed with a heavy thud, cracking the already torn-up arena ground. Getting up, she narrowed her eyes, tracking the Honchkrow darting this way and that through the air.

  “Switch!” The girl on the screen said, recalling her Lucario and tossing out a large Gliscor. “Nightwing, you know the drill!”

  As her Pokemon began dodging around acrobatically, I frowned. “Why did she recall Athena?” She was a good choice against a Dark Type Elite, and even with the Tailwind up, it looked like she had a fair bit of fight left in her.

  My question wasn’t really directed to anyone, but Lacey had the inside scoop. “Oh yeah, Nemona mentioned that. Something about wanting to make sure Martha doesn’t use her Tyranitar? There was some combo she had with it and a Cacturne that Nemona didn’t want to deal with.”

  And by keeping her Lucario in the back, she can threaten it if Martha uses her Tyranitar. Clever. Of course, for that to work, she needs to keep her remaining Switch in play until she’s seen all of the Pokemon Martha is using.

  On the screen, both the Honchkrow and Gliscor whirled through the sky, dancing around each other. The wind blew violently around them, both the Pokemon having set up with Tailwind by this point. Usually in battles like this, there was a bit of a delay, so the crew would splice in close-up shots and the best angles for the audience, but the cameras were having trouble keeping up with how fast they were moving about, so they just hung back to show the entire arena. From that view, I could see how the Gliscor was outpacing the Honchkrow, her bat-like wings better able to glide on the turbulent currents than Honchkrow could.

  With the advantage in her court, Nemona called out, “Fling!” Her Pokemon glided above the Honchkrow and lazily dropped an orb atop the bird’s head, barely bothering to infuse the attack with Dark Type energy. It was clear that the point of the attack wasn’t the damage but the purple noxious liquid that broke out when the orb shattered, oozing over the Honchkrow’s head and causing a purple discoloration to seep through the Honchkrow’s feathers. I noted that same discoloration on the Gliscor, who had obviously held on to the Toxic Orb too long.

  The big bird angrily squawked, pivoting mid-air and firing a sharp wave of wind with a flap of a wing. The blow was well aimed, hitting Gliscor much harder than would be expected. The flying scorpion Pokemon fired back with a powerful Acrobatic flurry driving the other Flying Type back.

  “That’s an impressive combination,” Drayden commented, and I turned to him. Grandpa doesn’t give out compliments like that easily, so what did she- A glimpse of the fight drew my attention back to the match, and I saw how Honchkrow was flapping harder, the poison draining their vitality, while Gliscor was cackling, her own wounds already starting to heal.

  Poison Heal! She gave her Gliscor a Toxic Orb to Poison her own Pokemon, then when she’s done with it, uses Fling to Poison the enemy too.

  Honchkrow gave out an odd screech that was tinged with Psychic Type energy. Whatever the Move was, it seemed to have really set off Gliscor, the other Pokemon furiously chasing after and chomping the bird with fangs crackling with electricity. Somehow she didn’t seem quite as tough as she was before.

  She was still tough enough to win, however. Even as Martha ordered Honchkrow to keep their distance and fired back with some strong Night and Air Cutters, even firing a Chilling Water from their beak and landing an insane number of critical hits, Gliscor kept up the pressure. Ice and Thunder Fangs ravaged the bird, and a final Acrobatics took Honchkrow down, the bird crying a mournful dirge as she fell.

  As Martha’s Pokemon fell, Gliscor started to slowly recover again. I couldn’t waste time wondering what had stopped the healing before as Martha released her third Pokemon. This one was obviously part Ghost Type from the swirling miasma face that rose out of an Odd Keystone on the ground.

  Hailey sucked a breath in. “Whoa, tha’s a Spiritomb! They’re made of a hundred cursed souls and are super-duper rare.”

  “Really?” I asked suspiciously, and Iris laughed.

  “That’s how the legends go, anyways. They’re quite rare and a handful to train from what I’ve heard. I think Mrs. Bitterleaf has more than one of them on her roster.” We all quieted down as the battle began in earnest, with Nemona ferociously, recklessly, ordering her Gliscor to attack the Spiritomb.

  She’s not using any Super-Effective Moves here, though. I guess Gliscor just doesn’t have any? But still, shouldn’t she be playing it safe? I winced as her Pokemon flew into a powerful Sucker Punch, the Ghost Type rearing their head back and then slamming it into Gliscor. For her part, Gliscor just viciously powered through, scraping and striking at the Spiritomb - before suddenly falling unconscious.

  “What!” Lacey shouted, jumping to her feet. “No fair! That’s not right!” She declared, her arms crossed in a big ‘X’ sign. The adults around chuckled lightly.

  “She got hit by an ol’ Perish Song from that there Honchkrow; that’s why Nemona’s Pokemon fainted.” Clay explained to his daughter. That must be why she was fighting so aggressively too; she knew she was on a timer.

  “Nemona is down her first Pokemon. Who will she bring out next?” The announcer declared, and she paused, thinking about it (or acting like she was thinking about it) for a moment. Both the Tailwinds had already died down by this point, so she didn’t need to be in a rush.

  With a lazy toss, out popped an honest-to-Arceus Legendary Pokemon. The oddly swole Diancie glittered and spun onto the field in a way that set me and the rest of my family on edge. I know theoretically that Nemona must be good to make it that far, but I’m also confident in my own Pokemon. Now, I’m wondering if I’d really be able to beat her in a fight, if it ever came to that.

  “She has a Diancie? What the-” My father cut off a curse as he remembered where he was and how many children were around. He still twitched slightly as he looked at the screen.

  “What in tarnation?” Clay muttered. “You never mentioned that your pal caught a Diancie,” he accused his daughter, who looked up from the couch at him, confused.

  “I’ve told you about Notch before, Daddy.”

  “Plenty. You went on about how cute Carbinks were; it’s why I got you one for yer birthday. But that’s no Carbink.”

  “Well, they were one. Look, they got the same notch on their ear as they had back before she transformed them.”

  Lenora cut in. “That’s impossible. I’m sorry, but we would have heard about it if-”

  “Well yer gonna once she tells y'all about it,” Lacey said, slipping into the same accent her father had. “She’s going to tell the whole world about how she did it. It’s pretty simple, honestly. Now shh! The match is getting to the good part!”

  That brought a whole new weight to the room as the adults (and myself) realized just how momentous an impact this would bring to the world. “Lacey, are you saying—” Iris began.

  “I said shhhhh!” The girl said vigorously, crossing her arms in a big X towards our Champion before spinning back to the screen, only to see that everything had gone dark. “Aww man! Now we can’t see nothin'.”

  I had been only paying half-hearted attention to the antics thus far, my eyes glued to the match. The darkness was some weird ‘signature technique’ (according to the announcer) and the latest in a long line of tricks Martha had tried against Nemona.

  Spitting toxic at the Diancie had just led to them blocking the glob of Poison with a conjured wall of diamond they then battered into Spiritomb. When the Ghost Type sent out a series of Dark Pulses, they were crushed by a Moonblast that looked like it summoned the very celestial object down (and if I hadn’t seen the Roseli Berry Martha’s Pokemon was chomping on before it hit, I would have been amazed at how they survived it). This darkness, while a really cool/annoying trick, was beaten just as handily, the field lighting up in a series of flashes as Notch’s Flash Cannon ricocheted around a bunch of diamond walls they had conjured, chasing away the darkness before striking Spiritomb.

  “Finish this, Dazzling Gleam!” Nemona cried triumphantly. As she did so, I saw the slightest smirk form on Martha’s face. Uh-oh.

  “Bond” was the simple counter, but it was one that had all the adults gasping. As the light sparkled from the Diancie, a shadow stretched out from Spiritomb, racing towards Nemona’s Pokemon, connecting the two of them.

  Lacey’s friend didn’t seem surprised, just calling for a fast “Switch!” She clicked her Pokeball, sending out a recall beam at Notch, only for a spectral chain to rise up from the shadows, wrapping around Notch. It didn’t seem to hurt or hamper the Legendary’s movements; however, when the recall beam hit, it fizzled out.

  Spiritomb was met by the full force of the Dazzling Gleam, falling unconscious, and at the same time as they did, Notch dropped to the ground too, like a puppet with their strings cut.

  “What!?”

  “Booooo!”

  “How did she do that?”

  “I see… very tricky.”

  “Maybe a variation of Spirit Shackles?”

  “But to combine it with Destiny Bond…”

  “Pah! Downright disgraceful, those kinds of tactics.”

  “Every weapon is a tool in your arsenal to be used.”

  The adults (and a few of the children) went into rampant discussion over that latest turn of events. I tried to tune them out, paying close attention to Nemona. The camera only showed the back of her head, but from the way she was clenching her fists, I could tell she was seething at the turn of events.

  Slowly, I watched as she untensed, releasing her grip and recalling her Diancie smoothly. She whispered something to the unconscious Legendary within the Pokeball as Martha led, putting her Skuntank back in the fight. Nemona tossed out another Rotom, this one in a different Form than the one floating beside her.

  The new Rotom was possessing a drone, but unlike the ones that were hovering around the arena with light, spindly bodies, Nemona’s had thick plating and a sleek design. Lacey brightened up as she saw it, clapping her hands together. “So that’s why the announcer was going on about the music!”

  I cocked my head to the side. That was kind of weird, but what does she mean by that? Deciding just to watch, Nemona led with a Hyper Voice, the Rotom darting around quickly and bombarding the already weary Elite Pokemon with soundwaves.

  “Night Slash, cut that fake open,” Martha declared airily.

  “Oho, it looks like Nemona has tried to play tricky, using her Zoroark, Phantasm, to replace Miles. But her unique Zoroark appears to be weak to Dark-type attacks, not resistant like most Zoroarks. You’ll have to get up earlier in the morning than that to fool the devilish Martha Bitterleaf!” The announcer handily explained the situation, answering the unasked questions I had on why she had chosen that strategy.

  Skuntank was surprisingly nimble, managing to close with the ‘unique Zoroark’ and slashing into it with a Dark infused swipe of his claws. They hit, but only lightly scraped into Miles’ side, before the Pokemon flew away.

  “You’ll find I’m an early riser,” Nemona quipped, snapping her fingers, the signal for Miles to release a strobing Will-O-Wisp that bewildered and Burned the Skuntank.

  “Huh?”

  Lacey eagerly explained, “See that Rotom over there?” She said, pointing at the Boombox Rotom beside Nemona. “That was Phantasm all along. It’s why they heard the songs, but we couldn’t; auditory illusions don’t travel over a recording!”

  Skuntank was slammed with another Hyper Voice as Miles floated above the Poison Type before Nemona switched tactics. “Bring the Thunder!” She lifted a hand in the air, holding a bright orb, tossing it down over her Pokemon.

  “Wow! Nemona’s going all out! She’s using her Terastalization!” The announcer described the events unfolding around us. The parents immediately launched into another quiet debate over the merits and downsides of Terastalizing here while the kids were caught up in the spectacle. I had to admit that I was too, just a little. Wow, so pretty, I thought as the Tera Orb burst into sparkling light above Miles, creating a thick lump of crystals around them, before they burst out of it, all sparkly and bright, with a crystalline lightbulb with a lightning bolt symbol attached to the top of their head.

  The thunder that followed was so bright that I had to blink the spots out of my eyes as it flashed onto the screen. The Skuntank crumpled to the ground for a moment, the top of his fur scorched from where the bolt struck down. “Belch,” Martha called out, her face twitching as she was suddenly put on the back foot.

  Skuntank spat out a long stream of corrosive liquid, melting off the paint job and some of the metal on Miles’ temporary body.

  “Roost,” Nemona countered, her Rotom hovering down and recovering. So that’s what the Drone Form does; neat.

  “Acid Spray,” Martha shot back, using likely one of the only Moves she had left to debilitate Miles. Other attacks could do more damage, but that Burn is slowly sapping Skuntank’s vitality as well as his physical strength.

  “Substitute, then Thunder.” With a ‘poof’ sound, a plush duplicate of Miles was conjured in front of them, shielding them and taking the brunt of the Acid Spray attack. They adjusted it as they flew back into the air, interposing the Substitute between themself and the Poison attack Skuntank continued to send their way.

  Marth was fast, switching her Pokemon so quickly that I wasn’t sure she had dodged until the announcer yelled, “That was a close one!” It looks like it paid off; she managed to just barely destroy the Substitute and avoid the counterattack.

  “Let’s end this; show them the might of tyrants, oh ancient queen; go, Tyranitar!” The pale green scaled beast landed so heavily the room shook for a moment. The new Pokemon looked large and grizzled, her body riddled with cuts, including a large one diagonally across the blue of her belly. I remembered a tidbit that any injuries there on a Tyranitar were ones that lingered from when they had evolved from Pupitars, but only if they were injured at the time of evolution, which, given how often that Pokemon shed their skin, was rare.

  It was hard to pick out more than that with the sandstorm that suddenly engulfed the field, obscuring vision, but I did manage to catch the life orb hanging around her neck. It glowed slightly as she raised a stubby arm up, a large pillar of stone rising up to strike Miles, the Rotom narrowly drifting out of the way.

  They struck back, conjuring another bolt of lightning down from above, but the Tyranitar dodged more nimbly than I believed to be possible. “Turn out the lights,” Martha called out, clearly unwilling to get into a slugfest when the Life Orb was draining her Ace’s health with every Move.

  As Tyranitar raised her arms, darkness descended upon the field once more. Nemona called out for another Thunder, but as the Move failed to illuminate the darkness for even a second, she used her last Switch, recalling Miles and sending Athena back out. Something we could see as the camera feeds suddenly switched to show everything in glowing green, outlining the Pokemon and people within the room.

  “We anticipated something like this might happen here, folks, which is why these cameras are all equipped with night vision, to let you fully appreciate the spectacle that is this fight!” The announcer informed us. “But the trainers are as blind as anyone here, so they don’t get that advantage.”

  Martha chuckled darkly at that while Nemona snorted derisively. “Think you’ll find we’re just fine here. Extreme Drain Punch.” The Elite Four woman gasped, trying to give another command to dodge, but was too slow. Despite being unable to see, Athena blurred across the arena, stopping on a dime to land a hanging punch right into the Tyranitar’s stomach.

  That looked like she was aiming for the crack on her belly. But how did she see that? The night vision gave us the basics, but we still missed a lot of pieces, like the sparkles of light that would accompany a Drain Punch.

  Tyranitar was pushed back, roaring in pain. With a stomp of a heavy foot, he shook the ground, but Athena was jumping away before it landed, hovering over the roiling dirt.

  “Show them what you got,” Martha’s generic command had Tyranitar shifting about in ways that I only recognized from intense familiarity.

  “Tyranitar can learn Dragon Dance?”

  Drayden nodded at my question. “That’s correct, they have a wide range of Moves they can learn.” He quieted down upon seeing Athena pushing her hands out behind her, somehow changing her trajectory mid-air and spinning to land a high jump kick down upon the Tyranitar, the blow earning a loud ‘CRACK’ as it broke some of the mighty Pokemon’s armor.

  In spite of that (and her foe), Tyranitar spun around, smacking the prone Athena with her long green tail. Whatever Move it was, it hit pretty hard, forcing Nemona’s Pokemon back a good ways. She recovered quickly, pulling herself back up. “Athena, Aura Sphere, keep ‘em back.” The Lucario followed the order, tossing their palms out repeatedly.

  The night vision couldn’t show everything clearly, but I could see how the pseudo legendary was being forced back. “Get out of there,” Martha called, lifting her hands up, and Tyranitar leapt into the air, above Athena.

  “Now’s our chance, Circle Throw!” Nemona called out gleefully. Her arms, she’s reaching out, almost as if she knew where the Tyranitar was, but not quite perfect. How are both of them doing that though? Seeing through pitch-black darkness should be impossible, and I don’t think they’re cheating. Lacey wouldn’t be friends with someone like that.

  Just before Athena could grab Tyranitar’s tail, Marth shouted, “Emergency Block!” A Protect rose up around the Tyranitar, blocking the attack. It also stopped her own attack, so Athena swiveled to the side, dancing away as her opponent landed with a heavy thud.

  “Drop it, lack of vision isn’t stopping them.” At Martha’s words, the pitch-black darkness ended, the cameras switching back to normal. Tyranitar certainly looked more winded than she had been before, while Athena looked like she was doing as well as she had been at the end of her first round. That Drain Punch must have helped a ton. It’s proportional to the damage you deal, and Tyranitar is weak to Fighting from both her types.

  As if summoned by my words, she pulled forth her own Tera Orb, tossing it above her Pokemon. The Tyranitar went through much the same process as Miles had, but the crystal jewel thingie hanging above her head was a jagged purple face, mocking yet smug, with a yellow star in the corner.

  “Oh! Martha was in a corner but out comes her own Terastalization! How will Nemona deal with this upset?” The announcer’s words had the other kids on edge, and even the adults were leaning in close. This is it, the decisive moment that decides the battle.

  Stomping forward, the Terastalized Pokemon charged towards Athena, one paw raised high. The Fighting Type ducked under the blow, landing a quick Force Palm into the side of the lumbering beast.

  She roared, stomping the ground to create a powerful earthquake, smashing into the Lucario. Off-balance, Tyranitar followed, a vicious grin on her face as she jumped over to Athena and hitting her with a powerful Knock Off, the blow smacking the shiny amulet hanging around her neck to the ground.

  Athena was staggered by the blow but managed to tough it out. “This is it, Reversal!” Baring her teeth at the Tyranitar towering above her, Athena grabbed it by the hand, tossing the Terastalized Pokemon over her shoulder in a pseudo Judo throw, the ground shaking from the impact as if one of them had used another Earthquake.

  “Dance!” Nemona called suddenly panicked, and I saw why when Tyranitar lashed out. Despite how badly she had been hurt, the green Pokemon was still fighting hard, just enraged now more than anything. Of course, my eyes were trained enough to see the real damage she’d taken, how her motions were jerkier than usual, and the way her eyes were unfocused.

  One hit, even a glancing blow might have knocked Athena out, but she spun and twirled around each strike. Her own power seemed to rise as she did so, emboldened by the near misses. “Close Combat, finish this.”

  “Assurance." Even more energetic, Tyranitar leaned into the blows, finally headbutting Athena as she punched and kicked away at her foe. The Tera boosted attack smacked Athena away where she crumpled in a heap, unmoving. On the other hand, Tyranitar fell from her own attack and tried to push herself up on shaky limbs before collapsing down again.

  “Both contestants Pokemon are unable to battle. Trainers, send out your next Pokemon,” the referee declared while the announcer was howling in excitement, exclaiming how amazing and close a battle this was.

  “Nemona’s got this,” Lacey said, her voice tinged with fear but also belief in her friend.

  “Oh yeah, easily,” I agreed watching the screen. Both of the combatants recalled their fallen Pokemon and sent out the last, already battle-weary Pokemon. However, Skuntank looked a lot worse than Miles, even before counting their Terastalization. But does she have the next match? That’s the real question at this point.

  “Trainers ready? Begin!” The instant the referee called it, a dozen bolts of lightning struck down from the sky, striking Skuntank and defeating him. It was so shocking that the referee paused for a moment, giving time to see the Aftermath of Skuntank’s defeat. Glad TV doesn’t come with smell, I thought, snickering as Miles wobbled in the air, the noxious stench released upon Skuntank’s defeat impairing them for a moment.

  Only for a brief moment though, as they managed to steady themself, hovering proudly as the referee announced, “Martha Bitterleaf is out of useable Pokemon. Nemona Glitterati is the winner!”

  Cheers rang out from everyone around, and even I could be bothered to clap a few times for the good show they just put on. That was… something else.

  “She did it, Nemona won!” Lacey screeched right beside my ear and I pushed her off (which accidentally sent her toppling off the couch, though she barely noticed).

  “Yeah, yeah, we noticed. That wasn’t a bad battle, fun to watch. Maybe we could watch the next one?” I asked. Iris spoke up as well.

  “Yeah! Can we, can we?” She asked, practically hopping up and down with excitement.

  “Control yourself!” Drayden barked out," “You’re a Champion for Kyurem's sake.” Iris, pinnacle of maturity that she was, stuck her tongue out at her former teacher.

  My Ma sighed at their antics as she considered my request for a moment.

  “The next match is in a few hours, correct? It might be better to open the presents and let the others go home first; we don’t want to keep the twins up too late. You can watch it later with us, though.” Burgh sent Ma a grateful look, but I caught the way she tapped her nose while holding her chin. Right, we’ll be rooting for Hass in the next round, not Lacey’s friend.

  Everyone seemed pretty happy, the victory of ‘our’ Trainer bringing good cheer to everyone. The parents gathered the presents on a coffee table for me to open while in the background, it switched from the announcer to other fight analysts/commentators going over ‘plays of the match’ and what the odds would be like for Nemona going forwards, other details, etc.

  As they were getting ready, I said to Lacey, “You said she’s coming to Blueberry next year?” At her nod I added, “Well, I suppose if she’s going to be at Blueberry Academy too, things can’t be too boring. Plus with her and you I won’t be the only one joining early.”

  “Kieran and Carmine are aiming for it too. Last I checked they seemed well on their way to making early entrance too. Ok, Carmine was more like ‘I will surpass all of you’ with, like, three exclamation marks in the group chat, but for Carmine that means she’s doing okay…”

  Not too boring indeed. Something I hadn’t admitted even to my folks was how worried I was about fitting in at the academy. Being younger and ‘smarter’ than most of the others I knew was likely to ostracize me, but hearing that there would be a bunch of other gifted kids there was nice. And more than nice, it makes me feel like I’ve got something to aim for. A challenge. I might not be at the ‘challenging the Elite Four level’ yet, Nemona, but you better look out; your challenges aren’t going to end in Paldea.

  - Tera Type: Normal

  - Held Item: Expert Belt

  - Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace

  - Moves known:

  - 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)

  - Tera Type: Electric

  - Held Item: Life Orb

  - Ability: Levitate

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)

  - Tera Type: Water

  - Held Item: Toxic Orb

  - Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Notch' (Diancie, Mega-Evolvable, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Light Clay

  - Ability: Clear Body

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)

  - Tera Type: Ghost

  - Held Item: Lax Incense

  - Ability: Illusion

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Athena' (Lucario, Mega-Evolveable, Female, Fighting/Steel)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Clear Amulet

  - Ability: Steadfast

  - Moves Known:

  -'Bahamut' (Haxorus, Male, Shiny, Dragon)

  - Tera Type: Dragon

  - Held Item: Dragon Fang

  - Ability: Mold Breaker

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Radiance' (Iron Moth, Genderless, Fire/Poison)

  - Tera Type: ???

  - Held Item: None

  - Ability: Quark Drive

  - Moves Known:

  *Custom Moves