“... I see,” Miguel said, taking in my explanation for what happened in our battle. The Champion gazed out at the arena room, the door open and League staffers pouring in, trying to figure out what to do with it all. The sludge was cleared up, along with the water that had flooded the room, revealing the vast damage beneath it (part of which was to the drainage systems, which was why the liquid stuck around so long).

  The arena itself was torn up, damaged beyond the ability of the material to fix itself, tears and burn marks running across it. The machinery itself had been fried and short-circuited. There was more damage beside it, but it was clear that much, if not the entirety, of the room would need replacement.

  “Guess it’s a good thing our match won’t be taking place here, will it?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  “That’s true. We’ve got a special arena to go up to for that, though you still have a while to prepare. I might need some time too; I hadn’t expected this one,” Miguel commented, glancing at Radiance.

  “That’s because I hadn’t felt they were ready for these kinds of battles,” I admitted. “I might have been hasty there.” Geeta, standing nearby, gave me a bit of side-eye but didn’t comment. Yeah, she noticed how Radiance was acting towards the end of the match and what they were thinking of doing. Even without that, I imagine Radiance’s destruction of the arena was borderline acceptable at best.

  “I’m glad you reconsidered; it was a truly thrilling match,” Turtle chimed in with his own opinion. “We’ll need to work harder in the future to match such zeal.” Despite the words being of a similar nature as he was when in costume, there were pretty much no over-the-top antics now. Juan had shucked off his turtle shell, revealing a very skinny man underneath. I wonder if he’s like this because he lost or if his behavior is more of just an ‘on-stage’ thing?

  Miguel grinned. “I’m looking forward to facing them in our match.” Yeah, don’t think I can do that. Turtle gave special permission for that since I didn’t register Radiance at the beginning. Also, they just fought a Legendary; I’m not throwing them back in the fray. Still, that does give me an idea…

  “Nemona…” he hesitated, as if wanting to say one thing before changing his mind. “Rest up well; I want to see everything you’ve got in our match.”

  ***

  That instruction was followed fairly easily; Miguel was the Trainer I had prepared the most for, Radiance’s intervention had kept the team out of a tight spot and my plans in place, so there was no need for last-minute strategizing here. I figured out a basic game plan on the way to the lounge room and took a quick two-hour nap (all after ensuring my team was fully healed, of course). Waking up, I shoved a bunch of high-energy snack bars in my mouth, getting ready for the final fight.

  My friends and family had tons of encouraging words for me, and I even got calls from Amethio and Lacey. The latter had a bunch of kind words and said how her parents had even given her an extension on her bedtime to watch the finals. I told Lacey I was glad and was going to show her and her Pokemon ‘something special.’ I explained how I transformed Notch, but I hadn’t revealed the Mega Evolution on the group chat yet. Some of them, like my sister, might have connected the dots and realized that I’ll be able to Mega Evolve Notch, but I don’t think Lacey knows yet. At the very least, she won’t have seen a Mega Diancie before.

  The former congratulated me stiffly, but with a hint of wonder in his voice. “You’ve grown even farther than I have,” Amethio admitted after a moment.

  “I’m sure you’re improving too. Maybe try seeing the world more?” I suggested. “My journey did wonders for me.” After a few seconds I got a grunt, the boy both accepting the truth of my words but still getting the hint I’d dropped. That the Explorers are stifling and controlling you. I know I can’t push too hard, but if my efforts here help him break free of that cult-like group, it would be a nice side benefit.

  “I’ve finished basic training with the Explorers. They’re considering sending me out in the field soon.”

  “Oh. That’s… good.” It is. He'll be even less likely to cause an immediate break than I’d like, but getting out in the wider world will help expose him to other points of view. “Tell me all about how your first one goes!” As he paused on the other end, I added, “I mean, as much as you’re able to-”

  “I will. Hopefully, you’ll see the good work we do.”

  If it’s so good, why all the need for secrecy? I didn’t say that, though. “Alright then, looking forward to it. I’ve got to get ready for my match now, but thanks for checking in.”

  “... of course, you’re my friend. Bye,” he said abruptly as if embarrassed by the admission and hung up. I chuckled at his antics before turning to my team. All of them were released, waiting for me to outline the final plan.

  “All of you have fought hard to help us make it here. I want you to be proud of your efforts; every rainy day where we fought through the worst of it, running up and down South Province, every time the heat was blistering, and you did one more set at my behest, it all led up to this. New and old, all of you worked hard and beat the Elite Four. It’s one of the highest achievements a Pokemon can ever reach, so I want you all to keep that in mind, no matter what happens next.”

  All of them were staring at me intently, recognizing I had more to say, but I saw them all practically glowing with pride. “This is the final stretch, and the toughest challenge we’ve had to date. A six-on-six match with three switches each. Because of that, not all of you will be able to fight here, but don’t worry; each of you were instrumental in making it this far.”

  Miles spoke up before I could continue. “I understand, bzzt. I’ll be rooting you all on, but I’m afraid I don’t have the energy to fight again.” They looked quite drained even as they gave me an encouraging grin. All of them do, honestly, but Miles is probably the tiredest out of the lot of them. Well, aside from…

  “Radiance, you’re not registered for this battle, so I can’t use you against Miguel,” I ‘explained.’ The fact that they didn’t resist or get angry, easily accepting the out, told me how tired they were after their battle with Enamorus.

  “With that, we’re settled then. Notch, Nightwing, Bahamut, Athena, Phantasm, Dun. You’ll be fighting against Miguel’s Champion team. You ready?” They all gave eager cheers; whatever stiffness that was left in their limbs that even modern medicine couldn’t fix was ignored momentarily by newfound vigor and anticipation. “Alright, let’s do this!”

  ***

  I rode up the elevator alone, my friends and family having made their way up ahead of me (both for the optics of my dramatic entrance and also due to elevator size constraints). Exiting, I was hit by a brisk wind, and around the large overhang, I could see the night sky illuminated by several bright stars. Huh, I wonder what the constellations for those are. I was hardly a huge space nerd in my past life, but I knew, like, Orion’s Belt and the Dippers. Wonder what we have here?

  On a more level view, I saw the large roof with a star shaped tile pattern atop it. A League Official directed me to walk across from the elevator on that side to take me to the elevator on the other side, leading up to the section hanging above, where the proper arena was. This roof is so fancy, yet they don’t seem to use it for anything special.

  The League Building was tall, and as I walked forward, I saw a still sizeable crowd down below in front of it, with tents and the like set up. A few Trainers sat upon flying Pokemon, stationed a good distance away but eagerly pointing and cheering at my arrival. Their cheers were drowned out by how hard my family was cheering, all of them standing near the edge. They were too large a group to join me up there, but they had Rotom Phones streaming from the drones that hovered above and would be able to hear it all, and were looking as excited as I felt.

  Radiance and Miles were there too, with Miles in their Boombox form, oddly enough. Gothorita had ventured outside as well, and I could tell that so many people and Pokemon were overwhelming for her, but she had wanted to see this moment too. This match could decide if she joins my team or not. Will decide a lot of issues.

  I realized why Miles was in that Form as they began blasting out a tune. The music wasn’t one I’d used for any of my matches before or even been in talks with the studio about. Just a tune we had recorded one day, that I admitted I felt unworthy of.

  Stopping to look at them, I saw their plasmic mouth move without making any sound to interfere with what they were playing, and I lip-read the words they were trying to say. ‘You are worthy.’ Thank you, Miles. Everyone, for all of this. For making me… me. With my mind set, I shifted course, enjoying playing for the upcoming Champion Battle.

  “Mind giving me a lift?” I asked Radiance, who nodded. They basked in all the gazes and exclamations as everyone down below watched the Paradox Pokemon lift me up to the diamond shaped top piece, where the mosaic tiled arena was.

  Around it stood four League Officials, each with a Psychic Type out to reinforce the barrier around it, in addition to Geeta and her Espathra. At the other end of the field was Miguel, pulling his gloves taut and smirking at my approach.

  As I took my place, I couldn’t help but seize the moment, pulling on my Aura. A sharp wind cut across the arena, ruffling Miguel’s suit and hair while causing my cape to swish dramatically. The diamonds shone in the starlight, earning even more ‘oohs’ and awe from the crowd.

  Kain, the announcer, was still here, off to the very edge to make room, eagerly sweeping a hand out at me as I stepped onto my spot before the arena. “Here we have it, folks, the match you’ve all been waiting for! Nemona Glitterati, the youngest challenger to ever make it this far on the Gauntlet, versus Miguel Worthington, the El Primero - Top Champion of Paldea! The League has reinforced the arena further this time to hopefully contain the sheer power that these Trainers have. This match will be one for the history books. Are you as excited as I am?!”

  With my hearing, I could catch some of the people watching the match streaming way down on the ground, cheering ‘Yes!’ In response to the announcer’s question.

  Geeta laid out the rules, making clear mention of one Enhancement Effect allowed for each of us, and I saw Miguel pout slightly at that. He probably wanted us to have two allowed to show off Mega Evolution and Terastalization. Since this is a specific method of challenging the Elite Four and Champion, it probably got shut down on the basis that it would have to be the same for everyone and many future trainers might not have Mega and Key Stones to use something other than Terastalization.

  As we were called to ready our Pokemon, I sent Notch out right away. They weren’t wearing the vest this time but held a Babiri Berry in one hand. “Oh, a bold choice from Nemona! She’s leading with her Legendary Diancie, Notch! This will be giving an advantage to her opponent, but is she simply unconcerned with anything the Champion has to throw at her?!”

  Miguel frowned, taking my choice in, thinking hard about it. Didn’t expect me to send out my strongest Pokemon first, did you? And especially not to give you a few moments to think about what to send in response. It wasn’t as easy a choice as one might think - he did know I could Mega Evolve Notch, so he might think I was baiting him to send out his Salamence, which could Mega Evolve too. Or he might think it was a bluff and that this was Phantasm in disguise.

  In the end, at Geeta’s prompting, Miguel tossed his Salamence out onto the field, the red and blue dragon giving a mighty roar that nearly hid the shiver of fear she held upon gazing at Notch for the first time. Miguel had taken a page out of Dun’s book, and his Salamence was wearing an Expert Belt this time, I noted. Hmm, thought he might have sent Aggron out first instead. A shame. As much as Salamence’s Typing made her seem like a bad choice, I actually had answers for every member of his team with Notch.

  Geeta began her countdown, and as she gave the signal to start, Miguel and I each held up our Mega Rings. ““Mega Evolve!”” We shouted simultaneously. The announcer was raving about how ‘unexpected’ this was while the energy spheres around our Pokemon shattered, revealing their new selves.

  Salamence’s wings had fused to form a large red crescent, some of the grey scales on her body hardening and shifting to form something like a flight pack. Her top head spikes were a bit longer than before, with her limbs tucked in for maximum speed.

  She wasn’t the only one that got quicker, however; Notch twirled around, showing off their new form and speed. Their white fluff ‘dress’ extended out further with a pair of veils drifting down on either side, each draped with a pair of pink diamonds on the end. There were far more of those, a vast array of large pink diamonds shooting out past their base (which itself was now one smooth, sparkling pink gem). Atop Notch’s head, the pink circular gem there had turned heart-shaped.

  I swayed a little from the lost energy triggering the transformation but stayed standing. Just a little more; can’t lose it here. I trained my Aura for years for something just like this. Taking a deep breath, I threw myself into the battle.

  “Diamond Storm/Iron Head!” Our orders had different levels of energy behind them, but our Pokemon carried them out with the same vigor. Salamence began a steep dive to smash Notch with her head, Steel energy gathering atop it. The flurry of diamonds Notch called forth cut through her, doing far more damage to our enemy than she did to my Pokemon. Can’t rely on that forever though; that berry they ate is really only good for one hit.

  “Reflect,” I called, and Notch called forth a barrier around themself before I could blink, stacking it with the diamond armor they’d already begun to call from the storm. Damn, that’s fast. I knew that they were much faster in this form, but Reflect was a Move we’d practiced to have them use quickly even as a Carbink, figuring that their low physical speed wouldn’t affect a solely thought-based Move like that. Clearly I had underestimated how much it had, and how hard it must have been to bring that speed for Reflect and Light Screen up.

  Of course, Mega Salamence was no slouch in the speed department, twisting in an agile fashion to charge at Notch once more. “Brick Break,” Miguel called out as she was almost atop Notch, the Dragon continuing through to land a hard axe-kick with a back foot, shattering the barrier Notch had created and driving them down to the dirt.

  [‘Rude!’] They thought-spoke, shooting back up to grab Salamence by the tail. The Dragon was yanked back, screeching and snapping at Notch, unable to move them. “Consecutive Serious Punches!”

  “What?” Miguel asked, baffled as Notch nailed Salamence with a Mega Punch, then let go of her tail and landed another one. They continued alternating left and right, flying after her as she retreated/was pushed back by the blows. Fair, I’d be kinda questioning it too if someone that was once a Carbink suddenly had enough physical might to hold a Mega Salamence in place and be just as fast as them. Becoming a Legendary and then Mega Evolving would do that for you.

  It wasn’t without its drawbacks, though; Mega Evolving significantly lowered their defenses, a fact I hoped he wouldn’t realize in time to take advantage of. “Diamond Storm,” I called again as Salamence slipped out of Notch’s combo. This time prepared for the speed of the storm, the Dragon managed to slip ahead, weaving around and outpacing the diamonds as she closed with Notch, rage etched across her face.

  “Iron Head.” A powerful headbutt sent Notch spiraling back through the air, cracking their body slightly even through the rock-hard armor. They aren’t a pseudo-Legendary for nothing. Miguel followed up with a cry of Bulldoze. Okay, I see the game plan there.

  “Room.” Notch tossed their hands out, focusing as Salamence pounded them into the ground. The force roughed Notch up a bit but also slowed them down… just in time for the Trick Room to snap into place. She tried to hit Notch with an Iron Head, but they easily dodged away.

  “Diamond Storm,” I called out, and Salamence was once more barraged with super sharp shards, this time unable to evade the blow. More diamonds were gathered from the attack, forming a floating shield Notch controlled to interpose between any blow that would approach them.

  “Hydro Pump.” Said shield was a bit too porous (and slow against the ranged attack) to stop Salamence’s deluge that poured over Notch, chipping away at them further. They hadn’t been hit much, but I knew I needed to put a stop to this quickly, Salamence having more stamina than my Pokemon.

  “Diamond conclave.” Conjuring a thousand thin panes in the air, Salamence jerked around trying to dodge them as Notch made even more before realizing they weren’t being used to cut the Dragon up. “Dazzling Gleam,” I announced, and the crowd gasped, watching as the bright pink light Notch emitted all around was reflected, focused in all on the Mega Salamence.

  Blinking the spots clear, I beheld the results of that combo. Reflected off the thousand surfaces, Salamence hovered in the air, but wobbly. In part, that was due to the few holes punched through his crimson wing crescent. Her scales were also burnt and flayed all over her body, revealing raw flesh beneath.

  With a howl of pain and anger, the Dragon shot ahead, heedless of the damage she took as she shattered through the diamonds in his way. Wind surrounded her as she soared, colliding heavily with Notch, who staggered back from the blow. The recoil still sent Mega Salamence collapsing to the ground, quickly finished off by a Diamond Storm from Notch.

  Despite the victory, I noticed Notch was holding one hand to their torso where the Dragon had hit them, wincing in pain. Aerilate boosts the Moves it converts, but Notch is resistant to Flying attacks. With all the diamond barriers to punch through, it shouldn’t be hurting them that hard, unless… I didn’t have a good angle for it, but could she have managed an Iron Head right at the end?

  I didn’t have time to ponder any longer as he sent his next Pokemon out, a lumbering titan of steel plates and hard edges. In addition to the exceptional steel plating atop Aggron’s head, he wore a hard hat with a few spiky bolts atop it that looked almost comical compared to the incredibly pointy twin horns sticking out from the Pokemon’s head.

  “Head Smash,” Miguel ordered, and his Pokemon lowered his head and charged wildly at Notch, zipping across the battlefield. Or at least it looks that way from my perspective, with Trick Room up.

  “Protect,” I said simply, and Notch raised a perfect barrier, absorbing all of the force of that powerful Move. The one downside to Head Smash was the vast recoil one took in turn from it, but Miguel’s Pokemon possessed both the Rock Typing to give it a STAB Boost and an Ability that absorbed all the recoil damage he would take in turn.

  Of course he has some synergies; he is the Pokemon of a Champion after all. I’m worried that the Rocky Helmet he has might boost the damage as well, somehow. I’d never heard of such synergies with ‘head’ based Moves before, but as the barrier started to fade, Miguel called for a quick, “Iron Head!” My suspicions were raised even further.

  “Block it again, however you can!” Slamming their fists together, Notch reforged the barrier, this time giving it the shape of a multifaceted diamond encasing them. Aggron bashed his skull against the barrier repeatedly but failed to break through.

  Unfortunately, he was hardly daunted in his assault, and Trick Room was still up and in his favor. Unable to risk a third Protect in a row, I made a gamble. “Metronome!” Gleefully, Notch waggled a finger back and forth. They loved using this Move, not just for the whimsy of it, but also for being something they wouldn’t have been able to use as a Carbink.

  Aggron tried to attack again, but as their head was swinging down towards Notch, a glowing part of a leg and foot manifested near the ground, sweeping the Champion Pokemon hard. Metal was dented heavily as he fell to the ground, his blow only clipping Notch (and even that was enough to shear off a few Diamonds).

  He gave a small whimper after falling, making me feel a little bad about what was going to happen next (though not enough to hesitate in giving the call). Clenching a fist and raising my hand up, I shouted, “Earth Power!”

  The distorted space around the arena flashed once before disappearing, signaling the end of Trick Room, right before the ground Aggron was lying on exploded violently. Hit with two double super effective attacks in a row, Aggron groaned, but at Miguel’s command, flipped over and shot a Flash Cannon back at Notch.

  Special attacks weren’t Aggron’s specialty, however; Notch survived the Move, and flew back to make some room, like we’d planned. “Sand Tomb,” I called, and Notch swiftly covered the fallen Steel Type in a focused sandstorm that would chip away at Aggron constantly.

  And more importantly, stop you from switching him out, I thought with a smirk, seeing Miguel let go of the Pokeball he had gripped. “You held that trick in your back pocket for a while now, haven’t you?” Miguel said, a slight grimace on his face even as he ordered another Flash Cannon with a sweep of his arm. Not caught off guard this time, Notch swiftly evaded the blow.

  I nodded. I could have shown this Move off during the fight against Daisy, but then you’d be prepared for it. We saved this one specifically for your Aggron. There were other Pokemon on his team it would be effective against too, but Notch had Stomping Tantrum for most of them - this Move was specifically picked for its effectiveness against Aggron.

  “Finish this, Earth Power!” I called, and Miguel let out a sharp grin.

  “Metal Burst, hit ‘em back twice as hard!” Don’t think the Move works exactly that way, but it’s fine. Notch raised their hand… and scattered a bunch of small, hard rocks all over the arena. Because that’s not what we’re using either. Aggron, primed to shoot out shards on metal in response to being struck, was unable to do anything to stop it.

  “Body Press,” Miguel bit out. At that command, Aggron leapt through the air, seeking to crush Notch through his sheer mass. Also takes him out of range of most of the Ground Type Moves that Notch can use, even if the Sand Tomb is following him around.

  “Protect.” Once more he hit the barrier, and once more he failed to break it. But this time was his last try, as with one great groan, the metal titan fell to the ground with a heavy thud, finally brought low by the continual sand abrasions. As the fine earth particles dissipated from the fainted Pokemon, Miguel recalled them.

  “Ha,” he let out a hollow chuckle. “I think I may have underestimated Notch there. That match against Martha made them seem far less fearsome than they actually are.” Yeah, still kinda salty about that cheap trick, honestly. Maybe I’m just mad that I still can’t figure out a way around it; even Mega Evolving wouldn’t stop such a Move.

  [‘Saint Nemona’s guidance has reforged me into something great, and by our bond, I become a ‘powerhouse,’ as her holy word would say’]. Miguel stared at them for a long second. “What?”

  “Uhh, yup, we all do great things together; match going on here,” I quickly blurted out, hoping I wouldn’t get grilled too closely about Notch’s eccentricity.

  He chuckled softly, then I heard more chuckling as his Gengar drifted out from his shadow and onto the field. “Alright, I think we’ve had enough of this shine. Get in close, and you know what to do!” Gengar slipped back into the shadows, snaking across the ground and popping up to hit Notch.

  My Pokemon swept back with a wave of diamond destruction, but Gengar slipped away, faster than Notch. She taunted them for a second by sticking her long tongue out at the Legendary before waving her arms, a subtle Psychic wave hitting Notch as she used Hypnosis.

  This rebounded completely off of Notch, and at such close range, Gengar had no way to dodge her own Move, falling asleep instantly.

  “WHAT! How could-? But you didn’t do any-! Magic Bounce? But Diancies don’t have that Ability!”

  I smirked. “Regular Diancies, sure. But you aren’t facing any random Diancie - you’re facing a Mega one!” Notch crossed their arms dramatically to match my pose.

  “Nemona’s Mega Diancie reveals a stunning new Ability! Can anything stand up to a Legendary Pokemon that’s been Mega Evolved?” The announcer boomed, and I frowned. Of course there are things that can. Primal Reversion, or even just an inordinately strong Legendary with the right Typing could challenge them. Heck, even a Pokemon that’s trained exceptionally, incredibly hard enough, could. I knew that it was Dun’s current goal to rise above Notch and reclaim the position as ‘strongest’ on my team.

  Guess I’m most annoyed by the fact that their run is coming to an end, I thought as the El Primero switched his Gengar out. They've done great, but the damage is adding up, and- yeah, that’ll be a tough one. Miguel’s next Pokemon was revealed to be a large, beige, bipedal Pokemon. He had a white mane and small tusks jutting out from his mouth.

  Upon landing on the field, the Stealth Rocks rose up to impale him lightly, and he all but ignored them as minor irritants. This Slaking, unlike most of its species, wasn’t lying down but instead stood hunched over, ready to charge.

  And charge it did. “High Horsepower!” The Slaking loped towards Notch far faster than something of his bulk should move. Not quicker than Notch, however, who at my command, flew over and landed a textbook, picture-perfect elbow drop in the form of a Body Press.

  “Counter,” Miguel called, and with Notch right there, Slaking pivoted, rolling out from under the blow and slamming the Legendary down with one meaty hand. Diamond shattered everywhere, as my first Pokemon of the match was hit so hard they broke the sound barrier, crashing into my end of the field. Despite all the precautions, the barrier stretched and broke apart, shattering as Notch flew out. It still drained them of most of their speed, however, so I was able to hop back and catch them as they fell, cradling the unconscious Legendary.

  In a low voice I told them, “Awesome performance out there, you dazzled the world.” Before I recalled Notch to their Pokeball. Then I leveled my gaze back up, staring down at Miguel, who was looking coolly at me, any fractures in his composure gone. Slaking held the arm that he’d used to shield against the Body Press awkwardly, the limb already swelling and likely broken. He glared in my general direction, panting heavily. This one never really got past that Vigoroth hyper energy stage, did he?

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  It was more than that, though; I knew well that he’d trained the Slaking out of, or to somewhat resist, his regular Ability. “Alright, Dun, let’s see whose Normal Type is stronger.” I released what appeared to be the large land snake onto the field, the image of Dun glaring up at Slaking. “I’m thinking Flamethrower will do the trick nicely.”

  “Dodge it, counter with Hammer Arm,” Miguel called out, and Slaking raced around, dodging the flames spewing out towards him, then coming from the side, clenching the fist on his unbroken arm, and bringing it down in a massive hammer blow that Dun narrowly rolled away from, having to cut off his attack in doing so. He continued to chase after Dun, my Pokemon barely escaping, putting everything he had into evasion.

  I heard Miguel click his tongue in irritation and figured the game was up. “Hyper Voice, hit him no matter what!” The piercing cry hit Slaking hard, though he tried not to show it.

  “Amnesia! Ignore Dun; they’re an illusion,” Miguel instructed his Pokemon, and Slaking immediately got a dopey look on his face. Yeah, dodging like that was too weird; Dun isn’t that quick, but he also has far more stamina and flexibility than that. Realistically, he should have turned the Flamethrower on Slaking and then gotten hit, but either of those events would have broken the illusion.

  “Crank up the volume,” I said, unconcerned by the boost Slaking had gotten to his Special Defense. All that does is equalize things with the Nasty Plot Phantasm used at the start. The sound-based attack continued to barrage him, but as I saw Slaking’s ears start to bleed a little, he ate a Sitrus Berry tucked into his mane, healing back some of the damage he’d taken so far.

  “Earthquake” was the Champion’s next command, and I hid a smirk. Phantasm knows how to dodge something that telegraphed. The earth shook violently at Slaking’s pounding of the ground, as much as Dun could manage at least, but my Ghost was hiding out, likely in a corner somewhere.

  Miguel had to shout over the sound of Hyper Voice, the attack continuing. “Cool off and look for her.” Sticking his mouth straight up, the Slaking sprayed some water straight up, then ducked his head, letting it fall down on him. Chilling Water, or at least a variant of it, since I don’t think it lowers his attack. Truant served a very important purpose for Slakings in helping them cool down, and by pushing a Slaking past that, they needed to find another way to avoid burning up internally. Panting heavily like he did helped, but the Slaking needed to periodically use something like Chilling Water as well.

  Slaking had his hands clasped over his ears but seemed unable to find her, Phantasm’s illusions too good for him to pierce. Miguel wasn’t out of ideas yet, his green eyes lighting up. “Punch the wall.” Huh? Why’s he doing that? Even if he’s guessed she’s likely in one of the corner spots to hide from another Earthquake, that’s hardly going to shake her loose.

  Slaking obeyed obediently, punching the force field hard, sending a ripple racing out across all of it… Save for one spot, two-thirds of the way up in one corner. Crapbaskets.

  “Sucker Punch now!/Get out of there!” We both called out. Slaking was once again deceptively quick, slamming a fist coated with Dark Type energy into the spot, shattering her illusion and causing her voice to die out as she whimpered in pain, falling to the ground.

  Slaking fell down nearly on top of her, and I called, “Slash!” Her claws dug in deep into the other Normal Type’s fur, but he clapped back with a Throat Chop, the blow sending her crumpling down.

  Shit, we can’t use Hyper Voice anymore; she’ll have to U-Turn to get out of there then I’ll send out… oh. My plans ground to a halt as I saw that she wasn’t rising.

  “Nemona’s Pokemon has fainted! Challenger, please recall your Pokemon and send out the next one,” Geeta directed me. On the wind, I could hear the faintest whispers of doubt about how Miguel’s Slaking had taken out two of my Pokemon, but I banished them from my mind.

  After recalling Phantasm, I paused, thinking for a second as I took in the sight of Slaking. Though he tried to hide it, the Pokemon was breathing quite heavily and wincing with each breath. He took a lot of damage; he can’t have much more left in the tank.

  It was a cold comfort after losing Phantasm so quickly, but I wasn’t going to let that advantage slip away. Picking up Nightwing’s Pokeball, I whispered to it, “Fire Fang.” While their senses were muted within the Pokeballs, all Pokemon did still have a vague idea of what was happening beyond them, and if they were listening, like right before a big match they knew about? I was sure she could hear me perfectly as I hurled the ball as hard as I could, tossing it all the way over to Miguel’s side of the arena, where it released my Gliscor right behind Slaking.

  Not missing a beat, she dropped down onto his back, sinking her burning teeth into Slaking. The Normal Type thrashed about, trying to grab her but had difficulty dislodging her, unable to easily reach the spot on his back she was latched onto. Nightwing also deflected his attacks with her pincers and tail, further hampering him.

  Seeing his Pokemon overheat before his eyes, Miguel snapped out, “Body Press, crush her!” In an attempt to dislodge her, the bipedal Pokemon leapt up, trying to land back - and Nightwing - first.

  “Protect,” I called out, unworried. She unlatched her jaw and had just enough time to form a spherical barrier around herself before Slaking would have landed on her. I noted the speed of the Move got an appraising nod from Miguel - before his eyes widened and he spotted what I had.

  As the barrier dropped, Nightwing swooped out, avoiding being crushed by Slaking’s bulk as he fell to the ground. There were no more bursts of movement from the mighty Pokemon, as he lay defeated, taken out by the Poison that had spread from the Toxic Orb Nightwing held while she grappled him. Another fun trick I picked up from all the spars we did. If she gets close enough to someone with that item, she can Poison them without having to use Fling.

  My Pokemon also Poisoned herself, which was just a bonus here. Miguel weighed his options for a second before sending an odd upside-down blue bug, holding aloft a strange purple and red orb with her feet. Rabsca, a Psychic Bug Type native mostly only to Paldea. I didn’t know a ton about this enemy, but prior matches had shown the Top Champion to use her mainly for support.

  “Fling,” I declared, seeing it as a good opportunity to get rid of the Toxic Orb with super effective damage and Poison her. Rabsca tilted the ball it held and revealed a glittering bright surface to blind Nightwing momentarily, throwing her aim off. Ah, Bright Powder. I’d considered that for Phantasm, but the visual nature of it would give away her illusions immediately over the subtler Lax Incense.

  Rabsca used the opportunity to send out a quick pulse of Psychic Energy carrying almost a wave from Rabsca to my Pokemon and then back into herself. That looks like what Shuckle did but slightly different- oh no. Suddenly the Bug Type was zipping around, nailing Nightwing with the same Move Martha had used to nullify my Pokemon’s healing earlier today, while Nightwing moved at a comparative snail’s pace.

  “Switch!” I called, returning my Pokemon. Rabsca continued to zip around the field, clearly enjoying the speed she had stolen from Nightwing. “Go, Athena. Extremespeed.” My jackal-esque Pokemon hit the field running, moving like a blur before my eyes as she smashed a paw into Rabsca’s body. The Bug bounced back, the motion odd as it flipped off the ball it carried. As she touched the ground, a line was drawn across the earth, stretching to Athena, where it erupted beneath her feet.

  She howled in pain from the super effective Earth Power, then raced towards her foe yet again. “Aerial Ace,” I called out, and Athena flipped up in the air, striking down unerringly towards Rabsca.

  Unable to dodge the attack, she raised a quick Reflect to dampen the power of the blow. Athena followed up smoothly with a chop that broke the shield but did little damage to our foe. The motion did give Rabsca the chance to skitter away, however, and she began blasting my Lucario with Psychic.

  “Extremespeed!” My words had Athena rushing ahead, but she faltered, tripping halfway through. What? Did Miguel have some trick- no, he was caught off guard as I was. He recovered quickly, ordering his Pokemon to use another Psychic, but it was clear he hadn’t been behind Athena’s exhaustion. That one is on me, or rather, the Gauntlet.

  All of my Pokemon were tired from the challenges they’d faced thus far, even with how much endurance training they had received from our long practice sessions. Athena was still fighting hard, weaving around the waves of Psychic force with nearly impossible skill, but I heard how ragged her breathing was.

  She still has plenty of power, but she needs time to rest. “Rock Tomb,” I said, and Athena switched to offense, heaving up massive stones from the arena ground and began hurling them towards Rabsca. The Bug Type attempted to use her Bright Powder to impair my Pokemon’s vision only to find Athena’s aim struck true even while blinded, her skill with Aura letting her pinpoint anyone even while unable to see.

  With Rabsca pinned by some rocks larger than she was, I shouted a quick, “Switch!” Rabsca was forced to pause as I recalled Athena, sending Bahamut out. With a roar, the shiny Dragon barreled down upon his pinned opponent before skidding to a stop as Miguel used his own switch to save Rabsca.

  I raised an eyebrow at Miguel, the champion shrugging with a smirk dancing across his face. Maybe he’s just trying to make the most of his switches? Could be, but Rabsca was pretty badly hurt; can’t see her going that long for another round. There wasn’t time to question it any longer as a sleek Jolteon entered the fray, lightning dancing off of his fur.

  They might have seemed like an odd choice against my Haxorus, but I doubted Miguel felt Jolteon would fare much better against any of my other remaining Pokemon. All of them know Earthquake too. And on that note… “Earthquake!” I called out, but before Bahamut could stomp his feet, Jolteon unleashed a barrage of pins, aided further by the pair of Loaded Dice hanging on a loop around his neck.

  Bahamut treated the strikes as merely an annoyance (though from the way his tail twitched, I knew he actually felt like they really stung) and proceeded to shake the earth. Jolteon attempted to dodge, but when the Move hit the entire arena, he still got tossed around a bit. “Keep moving,” Miguel ordered, and Jolteon attempted to do just that - and a bit more. I perceived the slight blue glow around Jolteon as his speed picked up, courtesy of the Agility he used.

  “Keep at it; he still can’t avoid it all.” Jolteon continued to get bashed about while surrounding himself in another Psychic glow, but this one didn’t seem to boost his speed at all. What is he going for? As the second Jolteon hit the field, I put the pieces together.

  “Swords Dance!” I shouted as a Baton appeared in Jolteon’s mouth, the Electric Type racing back to Miguel’s side and dropping it in front of Miguel with a satisfied look in his eyes. Miguel mirrored that, using his last Switch to recall Jolteon and send Gengar back out.

  Sleepily, the Gengar reached out, grasping a hold of the baton and having all the power Jolteon had built up flowing into her, with even the Substitute Jolteon shifting and becoming a duplicate of Gengar instead.

  Bahamut had paused the Swords Dance when the switch had happened, but he used that moment to finish the dance, demonstrating remarkable control over the energies involved. And part of why I went for Swords Dance here over Dragon Dance - the Dragon energy would be too wild to start and stop like that.

  “Earthquake,” I called once again. If it ain’t broke, don’t change it. That being said, I also indicated with a slight wave that Haxorus needed to get closer. For a moment, that goal seemed in reach, with Gengar hopping atop the Substitute to let it take the brunt of the Ground attack, the doll construct dissipating as the ground finished shaking.

  But before Bahamut could get within claw range of Gengar, she slipped away, zipping across the field and pelting him with Shadow Balls. Though ‘pelting’ didn’t quite do the attacks justice as the massive spheres of distorted power grew as they crossed the air, exploding violently against my Pokemon. “Dragon Dance,” I called out, stamping my foot when it became clear that Haxorus couldn’t get within melee range of the Gengar.

  He went through the sinuous motions for a Dragon Dance as best he could, trying to weave with them to avoid Gengar’s powerful attacks, half-succeeding on that front. Once the boost was done, Bahamut followed the hidden second part of my command and used Earthquake. The earth-shaking Move caused Gengar to stumble a little, and Haxorus chased after them, seizing his opportunity. “Shadow Claw,” I called out, though he was already gathering the ghostly energy to tear into Gengar.

  My Pokemon managed to get close and cut into the Ghost Type, but not before Gengar opened his mouth wide, spraying a mostly transparent gas in the Haxorus. “Again!” I shouted desperately. That Clear Smog took out all of his buffs, but if Bahamut could just land one more hit-

  It wasn’t to be. Gengar backed away rapidly, and a clever use of Poltergeist at Miguel’s command threw Haxorus back to make more space. I called for, “Earthquake,” again, but this time, as Bahamut attempted to stomp the ground, the Move fizzled out with no effect.

  Wha- ah right, Cursed Body. I realized before she defeated my Dragon with a barrage of Shadow Balls. Always so annoying to fight a buffed-up foe. Usually I just try and stop them before they get that far, but by giving up most of Jolteon’s strength, Gengar can go at full force. Of course that cost him a switch… and I still have one left myself.

  “Rock the house, Athena.” She hit the field once more with a literal earth-shaking effect, an Earthquake upon her entry jostling Gengar. The Ghost Type jumped after a second, letting herself get hit at least a little bit by the attack to trigger her Cursed Body. As she fired off rapid Shadow Balls, I used my last Switch.

  Recalling her, I sent out Nightwing right as Gengar was drifting back to the ground. In a flash, Miguel realized what my plan was and shouted, “Curse!” Nightwing cackled as she slapped the ground, once more churning up the arena and hitting the Poison Type hard. Waves of earth obscured my vision for a moment, and I thought we might have avoided the worst of it before I saw Nightwing shudder.

  At least Gengar was taken out. Jolteon is weakened, and Rabsca’s not looking too hot either, and I’ve got Dun in my back pocket. Yet, if things are going so well… why is Miguel smiling like that? It wasn’t the smile of someone who was losing but having the time of his life, after all, or at least I didn’t think so. At least part of it is him having fun, but the rest says he still thinks he’s got this.

  The El Primero waited the full thirty seconds he was allowed before Rabsca was sent back onto the field, taking advantage of the Curse constantly sapping Nightwing’s health (though this was somewhat mitigated by Poison Heal rejuvenating her). His first command was something new. “Revival Wish!” A beacon, like a star, too bright to look at directly, shot out from Rabsca, floating in the air as it slowly drifted down towards Miguel.

  I decided to focus on that later. “Acrobatics!” The bright reflected light was somewhat more effective on a nocturnal Pokemon like Nightwing than it would have been on other Pokemon, so she only hit the Bug Type with a few glancing blows that still did serious damage. “Track them by sound,” I told her, and she closed her eyes, swooping down upon Rabsca.

  “Reflect,” Miguel called out, tense. His eyes darted up to the star, still slowly descending towards him. He needs it to reach him before Rabsca gets knocked out!

  “Psychic Fangs, crush the barrier, then X-Scissor.” With a sound like shattering glass, Nightwing broke through the barrier, clinging to Rabsca, and then sunk her teeth into the foe. That did little damage given Rabsca’s Psychic Typing, but the follow-up X-Scissor cut into her hard.

  I saw her falter but just barely held on, and Miguel shouted, “Recover!” Glowing white, she began to heal, and I gritted my teeth. So close!

  “Crabhammer up, then follow with Acrobatics. Nightwing flicked her up with the sweep of a water-covered tail, knocking her in the air and then flying after her. Darting all around, she hit her foe from every angle, taking the Bug Type out… just as the light had reached Miguel, sinking into a Pokeball on his belt. Was that- did we catch it in time?

  No, we didn’t, I realized to my dismay as he sent out his final Pokemon. Salamance, once more, entered the field with a proud roar, looking just as strong as she had during the start of the match.

  “Get ou-” I began to say before she rocketed by, Dragon Rushing into Nightwing and pinning my Pokemon against the ground.

  “Dig out of there,” I called, and she slipped down through the well-churned earth, easily escaping his grasp. Miguel called for his Dragon to rise above any counterattacks, and Nightwing burst out of the earth, racing towards him - only to fall flat on her face. There were a few shocked gasps while I just winced. Curse and the previous battles took their toll.

  Dun was my only really fresh Pokemon here, but I wanted to drain the top champion’s revived Ace first. “Athena, Extremespeed.” My Lucario hit the ground, taking a quick short breath before charging ahead. That slight, minuscule pause made her too slow, getting buffeted back as Mega Evolution took hold of Salamence once again.

  “What’s this?! Miguel has not only brought out another Salamence but is Mega Evolving this one again! What gives?” The announcer shouted. Geeta gave a quick, clipped response, keeping her eyes on the match.

  “The Champion revived his previous Salamence with a version of Revival Blessing. This is allowed within the Paldean League. Challenger Nemona needs six knockouts to win.” Which is why his Jolteon being so roughed up doesn’t matter so long as he didn’t faint. “You can only use a single kind of Enhancement Effect on one Pokemon in your team, but there are no rules on how many times you can do so.”

  At least that’s how the wording goes here, because we don’t have Gigantamax, and Z-Moves are written under a different sub-clause compared to the other Enhancement Effects. My mind raced through my memories of all the rules I had read. Ever since Freddrick got me disqualified from my first tournament, I always made sure to read through every rule carefully before training for official battles, but even I hadn’t realized that exact wording trick.

  Clever, very clever - but also foolish. I knew he had Revival Blessing to bring back a member of his team, but his new custom Move brought his Ace back at full health, and now Mega Evolved too. However, he had clearly never fully enacted the strategy before (perhaps due to Salamence’s reluctance to Mega Evolve except when she deemed fit). Because of that, Miguel was left gasping, kneeling, and hunched over on the ground, the drain of Mega Evolving twice in a single battle far greater than he anticipated.

  “Get in close then Ice Punch!” I ordered, and Athena picked herself up off the ground, jumping towards the Dragon. Salamence, for her part, was also feeling the exhaustion from having Mega Evolved once again in such a short span and was unable to dodge the attack. The punch saw the Flying Type rearing backwards ice radiating out on her body from the point of impact.

  The super effective attack didn’t hold Salamence back, for long however, as she quickly recovered. With her newfound speed, she snapped out her head, catching Athena’s arm within her jaws. How did she- Right, they’ve been practicing Mega Evolution for years now, she must be more used to it. I know trying something like that with Athena would have left her out of commission for a while - though it looks like that might still be a problem!

  “Hang on!” I cried, and the Steel Type’s tough body held out against the Dragon’s jaws for the moment, Enduring the powerful bite even as flames licked out from our foe’s mouth. Athena growled loudly, pulling her free arm back and covering her fist in ice.

  Before she could throw it, she was flipped up in the air, and a Hurricane of wind slammed into Athena, knocking her back into the edge of the barrier, the Psychic field flickering from the impact. I thought it was over there, but Athena pushed herself forward, even as the wind continued to press against her.

  Her legs tensed hard against the barrier before she made a powerful leap, jumping against the wind. Shooting towards the Elite’s Pokemon, she readied another Ice Punch, but as she neared, the force of the wind slowed my Pokemon down, threatening to send her flying back, and out of this fight. Unable to reach physically, she used a construct of Aura, lashing from her paws to the Dragon’s wings.

  Salamence struggled and writhed, but couldn’t break the Auric grip as much as the wind howled and raged under her control. Athena couldn't get any closer either, but with a grin and a calm breath, ice spread across her Force Whip and then onto the wings, icing them over.

  With a shriek, Salamence fell, spinning and crashing down to the ground. Athena dropped to the ground, her energy spent, landing in the broken ground in front of Salamence. As my Pokemon struggled to her feet, the Dragon craned her neck around, opening her jaws and unleashing a torrent of fire. The Flamethrower washed over my Pokemon, this super effective Move knocking my weary Lucario out.

  I took a second to see Miguel waving away a few League staff and standing up, having caught his second wind. He’s ready, I’m ready; it all comes down to this. Strangely, I didn’t feel nervous or worried as I tossed Dun’s Pokeball out. Possibly because I was too busy running through the options, but still. We can do this. Dun can win.

  While I might not have been aware of what his plan was exactly, I’d saved Dun for this moment. He was under strict instructions to follow a very specific plan upon being released, which he did. As he landed upon the field, he was already triggering the Throat Spray he’d been given, helping him roar out a Boomburst that drowned out any orders Miguel gave for a second. The force and speed of the Move stunned Salamence for a second, letting me follow it up with my first command to Dun.

  “Hyper Drill!” He slithered quickly, the churned earth and wrecked field doing nothing to impede my starter after all those days training on the beach at home. He struck hard against Salamence, his tail shearing off some of her scales, her wings still too iced over to fly away. Dun has worked hard over these past few weeks to master Boomburst, but even with the Throat Spray, he has difficulty using it twice in a row. We need to break it up with other, non-sound-based Moves in between.

  With evasion off the table, Miguel went on offense. “Double-Edge!” The Aerilate boosted Move saw her charging over Dun, as well as breaking off some of the ice holding her down as she shot past.

  “Glare,” I whispered, carrying the words just to Dun. Salamence was facing away from him after her charge, and without any warning of the Move, she spun around, keen to keep an eye on him for any reprisals, running straight into his full-force Glare, her body seizing up.

  Positioning was vital in battles, and especially in a battle like this one. It’s why I was working so hard to keep her on the ground, to try and slow her down so Dun could keep up. Ice Spinner is my strongest Move, but with how far away she is from him, he won’t land it in time. “Rush in, then wreck her.” Dun took the command well, using a Dragon Rush to charge in like riding a wave through the air.

  The Move might have been super effective, but it was one they could read well. “Dragon Tail,” Miguel called in a hoarse voice, and Salamence spun around, turning her back on Dun and knocking him backwards before he could even land the rush, let alone the Ice Spinner we’d had planned after.

  That gap as Dun recovered gave Salamence time to break off the rest of the ice and take to the skies. “Toxic,” I called, Dun shooting out globules of poison up through the air. Even Paralyzed, Salamence easily dodged the attack, but I’d never expected it to hit so easily. “Ancient Power!”

  The spiky rocks drawn from the ground rose through the air, flying far faster than Toxic. Also flying on paths through the poison as it fell, coating them. Salamence twisted through the air, trying to dodge them, but three of the six spears my Pokemon had called hit, two of those piercing her scales. Not deeply, but enough to take the potent Poison and apply it straight to her bloodstream. Even with only a fraction of the amount the usual attack would have hit a Pokemon with, the vector saw his Dragon Poisoned by the attack.

  For a minute we traded ranged attacks. Flamethrowers stopped any Ice Beams we tried. Paralysis is slowing her down, but she’s pushing through her muscles locking up. Switching strategies, Dun pelts Salamence with Ancient Power, the enemy unable to block the sharp rocks, but on the other hand, her Dragon Pulses blast away at Dun further.

  Each attack they use is so strong. Dun was getting torn up by the Mega’s powerful Moves, but he kept on pushing through, despite it all. And then, I saw a faint rush of energy around him; the omni-boost gained as Ancient Power hit Salamence hard.

  This triggered a shift, the Top Champion changing tactics. “Draco Meteor!” Miguel shouted, and massive rocks rained down upon the field, hitting the ground so hard the barrier around us shook.

  Seeing my Pokemon battered by the powerful attack, I called, “Roost.” My hopes for a chance to recover were dashed as Salamence gave up the aerial advantage as Miguel chopped a hand down, diving into another Double-Edge. My smaller Pokemon was knocked aside again, so I called, “Ice Beam.”

  The frigid beam met a puff of flame from the Dragon as she continued her charge towards Dun. They’re looking to end this fast; they don’t think they can outlast us. And Miguel was right to think that. With the Paralysis and Poison and Dun’s insane endurance, we might chip away at his Mega Pokemon until we won.

  “Protect,” I called, a moment before Miguel called for Endeavour. Salamence’s wings slapped with hidden strength against Dun’s barrier, winds swirling all around from each strike. There was so much power behind her blows that I saw microfractures forming in Dun’s Protect, despite how freshly it was formed.

  “Spin… to the side, away, and Boomburst!” Salamence, following the same script from our last fight, pounced forward, ready to push through an Ice Spinner, only to hit empty air. Dun was facing away from Salamence, towards me, as the powerful sound-based Move shook the stadium, hitting all around.

  Across from me on the other end of the field, I saw Miguel shake his head slowly even as he ordered, “Facade,” again. He thinks that I blinked, that we gave a possible tie for something ‘safer’ that couldn’t defeat his Pokemon. And now we’ll lose, unable to dodge his follow-up from this close. He doesn’t know…

  “THIS IS IT! YOU CAN DO IT DUNNNNN!!!” I shouted loudly. My voice may not have reached Boomburst’s decibels, but I felt like my enthusiasm matched it. Waving my arms about, Dun’s powerful tail spun, following the motion. I’d seen Salamence’s attack twice already and predicted it perfectly this third time, letting Dun parry the Dragon’s wings with his tail.

  Tornado-force winds still shot off from the attacks, chipping away at Dun with the force of most Pokemon’s regular attacks. It wasn’t enough to take him out, Dun holding out and even scraping into the bright red crescent of his foe. More importantly, he continued his Boomburst, barraging the Mega Pokemon. As she took a break with her assault, Dun swiveled at my signal, taking a deep breath and using Boomburst again, stretching himself (literally even) past his usual limits to hit Salamence with everything he had.

  She tried to push past it, her claws and fangs reaching out towards Dun, ready to rip him to shreds. The rage in her eyes flickered to fear as Dun continued his assault. The Dragon pushed and pushed against the sound, blowing her back, inching closer and closer… until an inch away, that rage was replaced by fear. Dun’s three-segment body allowed him to carry on a Boomburst longer than most any other Pokemon could, and with the last push, blasted the Mega Pokemon away.

  Salamence crumpled, tumbling across the field, her Mega Evolution breaking, and she reverted to her base form as she collapsed in the center of the arena. Dun dropped back down, breathing heavily as silence reigned for a second. Then, Geeta raised her hand.

  “Nemona Glitterati has defeated six of Miguel’s Pokemon. She is the winner, and Paldea’s newest Champion ranked Trainer!” Cheers broke out at her words, and I was in a state of shock. We really… did it. Dun seemed to be the same, turning to blink at me, his eyes wide open.

  I ran towards him as the barrier dropped (the Psychic Types in the background grumbling at the effort it had taken) before tripping over the churned earth. Not letting that slow me down, I crawled rapidly towards him. “You did it! You’re the best! The first Champion-level Dudunsparce.” In a softer voice I added, “No doubt about it now; you’re the strongest Dudunsparce in the world.”

  “Dudun! Sparce Dun!” He cried joyously on a scratchy throat, nuzzling into me and knocking me over. Laughing, I splayed my arms out, content to just rest there for a moment and bask in our victory. And maybe pass out? Kinda woozy from how tired I am right now.

  The rest of the world wasn’t keen to wait, however, but at least the first people weren’t unwanted. My friends and family burst out of the elevator, Arven being the first to run up to me, with Cyan and the others not far behind. He was exclaiming excitedly about how I did it, how awesome it was, and just generally jumping around with glee.

  Arven lifted me up in the air, grunting heavily as he did so. “Urk! This looked so much easier in the movies,” he wheezed, Kieran and Carmen moving to help while Cyan took a picture.

  Looking away from Dun, who I was holding aloft, I nodded. “Yeah, movie magic makes everything look easy. Takes hard effort and work!” I said, more to Dun than him. After a few moments of basking, they put me down, and I hugged them and my parents, my teachers, and the Rising Volt Tacklers.

  Gothorita also clung close to me. [‘Battling like that… scary,] she mentally projected to me. Telepathic communication from a Psychic Pokemon wasn’t always clear words; in fact, it usually wasn’t. But my experiences with Athena and Notch gave me enough experience translating most of the feelings and sparse images into coherent words. [‘But you did good. Still worried for you but trust you.’]

  “You’re trusting I’ll be a good Trainer? You want to join me?” She gave the Psychic equivalent of a grumble, an image of a rocky outcropping beside a windswept plain, and a feeling of comfort alongside it. Home. She’s saying she misses home, or rather, she will miss it. Despite that, there was a sort of resignation to her words, like she was accepting leaving if it meant being alongside me.

  “Well, I’m glad to have you. And you know, you don’t have to battle if you don’t want to-”

  [‘I do. You’re a warrior; you’ll seek battles. If I didn’t fight with you, I’d be left behind. Besides, you make it seem… less scary. More fun. Want to try.’] I frowned at that, not entirely convinced by her reasoning for the first half, before shaking my head. In any case, it seems like she’s chosen her path. We can worry about all that stuff later. Smiling, I brought her in for a close hug, triggering a flash of surprise and then joy from the Pokemon.

  The moment was slightly interrupted by a commotion from outside. Peering out through the hug pile and across the night sky, I saw Geeta approaching, carrying a huge gold trophy, almost as tall as I was. My people backed away to give her room to approach.

  "It has been quite some time since we've had a new Champion-ranked Trainer ascend in Paldea," she began, her words directed at me, but carrying loudly enough for all the drones to catch. "And never before have we had one so young, or to have won an Elite Gauntlet, before today. In honor of that, a trophy was commissioned by the League in the eventuality of your success." There's a play on words there, I feel. I was too tired to parse the meaning exactly, however.

  "Congratulations Nemona Glitterati. Today, you rise to the highest rank a Trainer can hold in this nation. Congratulations, Champion." She passed the trophy over to me, and I swayed slightly before steadying myself and holding it up high.

  That action opened the floodgates, a cacophony of cheering and clapping erupted yet again on the stage from my friends and family, the staff, and Miguel and Geeta (the former of which was sitting down, looking ready to pass out as well, but grinning brightly despite that and his defeat). There was tons of exuberant cheering from down below, and the sound of it all distracted me, so I didn't notice right away when a bunch of people flying onto the roof, pushing past the League staff. Some of them just appeared to be fans, but several of them were carrying cameras as they rushed towards us.

  With a sigh, I prepared to deal with the barrage of questions being shouted by them until the Kain, the announcer, placed himself between me and them. “STOP! How dare you Houndour this girl! She's clearly exhausted from her battles.” He shrieked. That got them to stop for a moment, staring shocked and looking a little ashamed of themselves for a second.

  Kain used that opportunity to turn around sharply and shove his microphone in my face. “So, Miss Glitterati, what are your plans now that you’re the youngest Champion ranked Trainer in history?”

  Reflexively, I turned to my mom in confusion before realizing the ‘Miss Glitterati’ in this case was me. This gave the reporters enough time to start angrily shouting at the announcer, calling him out for ‘cheating’ as they tried to push ahead, but finding little progress against the rest of the League staff, who now rallied and literally walled them off with their Psychic Types.

  Despite Kain being barred from me along with the rest of them, I answered. “Uh, I guess rest up? It was a long road to get here, and we’re all pretty tired. I couldn’t be prouder of my team and all the work they put in. Oh! I’ll probably be publishing my paper on how to transform a Carbink into Diancie in a few days. Beyond that? This was a momentous occasion for us, but just the next step in our journey. I’m not stopping here.”

  Using the stunned silence that made, I chuckled and turned around to my friends and family. “Let’s go home,” I said, and we chuckled, ignoring the reporters’ frantic cries and renewed exclamations as we headed off, boarding the Brave Olivine, which had flown around the other side of the League Building.

  I gave them a slightly cheeky wave from aboard the ship, Dun doing the same with his tail, and I hugged him tight.

  - 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: Booster Energy

  - Ability: Quark Drive

  - Moves Known:

  -'Gothorita' (Gothorita, Female, Psychic)

  -Tera Type: Psychic

  - Held Item: None

  - Ability: Shadow Tag

  - Moves Known: ???

  *Custom Moves