Flipping the switch on her earpiece off, Diantha offered a handshake to the dragon, who gently accepted. “It was regrettable the pencil-pushers decided to exclude you this year. Thankfully, I have my own means of helping talented trainers.” She explained, before walking to one side of the field and clicking her microphone back on. “This will be a set-style showmatch, six versus six, until either side has no remaining usable pokemon!” She announced with flair, as her challenger made his way to the opposite side. “As a small reminder, Chad, a victory tonight will not earn you the title of Champion.” Everyone seemed to laugh, aware of the purpose of a showmatch.
Before anything further occurred, Diantha tossed a blue great ball onto the field, revealing a battle-scarred Tyrantrum. “As a handicap, I will even permit you to see my first pokemon and select accordingly.” The Champion declared, as Chad eyed the dinosaur before laughing heartily. Diantha watched as her opponent removed his belt, pulling off two pokeballs and dropping one in the box with him. As the iconic Nidoking appeared, the two had a brief conversation before Chad handed him the second ball, as the Charizard vanished in a red light.
Alexandre tossed the pokeball up and down in his hand, sliding the belt containing his teammates over his shoulder and donning his ‘crown’, as the mega bracelet gripped his horn. “Well, this is a nice surprise. Are vous ready to show her what a real Tyrantrum looks like?” The ball shook once in affirmation as the rabbit tossed him onto the field. The first reactions to Gaston were gasps and shouts regarding his size, as the massive dino was almost twice the size of his opponent. The second reaction was a mass craze of shouts as everyone realized the opener was a mirror match.
“Size isn’t everything, youngblood,” the scarred Tyrantrum commented, his old voice rumbling with the might of a mountain. His scales shone brilliantly as they smoothed out, brimming with firm rocky energy. Gaston simply raised his left hand, signaling Alexandre as both the mega ‘crown’ and Gaston’s own gorget began to light up.
The change was immediate, as Gaston’s crest inverted into a five-point crown, his mane growing out into a flowing cape along his back, his stubble-beard growing out to a singular soft body dangling from his chin. All over, his body’s rough stony features smoothed out, the orange highlights shifting to a brilliant glowing silver. As the transformation faded, the flash of cameras coincided with the audience’s raw energy. “You should show your emperor the proper respect, child.”
Several rents in the field split open, as dozens of metal longswords arose from the special platform. An especially big tear appeared near Gaston’s feet, as an oversized giant blade arose handle-first, the iconic silver decorations declaring its name for all to witness. Gripping the large blade in his mouth, Gaston gave it a test swing, as each of the smaller weapons calmly orbited his personage. The smaller dragon barely had time to get his defenses up before his counterpart was upon him.
It had been a few weeks since the incidents in Lumiose and Geosenge, and my report about Blaise and Jerome was still causing trouble for the League. Following the trail, we had been able to identify several more Team Flare collaborators, including my then-boss. It wasn’t just a few low-level people, the League was finding these infiltrators at almost every level. Things got dicey once it was found they even compromised someone responsible for psych evals, which led to another round of discoveries and arrests.
On top of that, the Royal Archives reported that the Durandal on display, the original sword of the late King Philip the Uniter, had collapsed into a pile of rust at roughly the same time I witnessed the blade emerge from the earth half a region away. There was still an ongoing debate about locating the pokemon from my recording and demanding they return it.
As Agnes and I crowded around the small screen, a familiar Tyrantrum repeated the miraculous act, summoning the fabled blade in front of the entire region. Our outpost was quiet, as we sat on-call in case anything happened in our small town during the conference. Both of us were locked into watching the broadcast, as our Champion– the strongest pokemon trainer in Kalos– had her vanguard bruiser systematically dismantled in a mirror-match by a pokemon who could be argued to be the true heir to the throne.
The battle seemed so one-sided, it was unbelievable. “I guess you’ll need to amend your report,” Agnes suggested with a smile. “You’ll need to clarify we were saved by the King.”
I didn’t need to look up to know Diantha’s Tyrantrum had fainted first; the roar of the crowd through the thick viewing glass made that abundantly clear. My grandfather had been sending me messages ever since the final, but as my Holo Caster showed his final one, I put it away to watch the match. [Bring them here!] it said, clearly wanting a chance to study the three new Mega Evolutions he had seen today.
“Mega Evolution is truly something else,” my booth partner commented, as I smiled innocently at the boy who was my age.
“Yes, but it has its drawbacks,” I added, as I looked to the field in time to watch Chad’s Tyrantrum, now in his normal form, freeze into a giant ice statue. “It’s a burst of power in exchange for long-term stamina. Great for a final push, not for the start of a fight.” The Tyrantrum’s icon on Chad’s status display greyed out as he was returned, having fallen victim to Diantha’s second wall, her Aurorus.
“Then why is he starting with it? Wouldn’t it be smarter to have saved that for the end?” Clemont queried, as I noticed a shuffle in the challenger’s trainer box, seemingly a hand-off from the pink rhino to a familiar blue frog.
“It’s a show match; Chad isn’t trying to win, he’s putting on the flashiest match he can.” Amidst my team’s cheers when a familiar Lucario took the field, I heard Luca’s growls beneath it all. A quick thought of his name caught his attention, long enough for me to motion him to sit next to me. “Luca, I know you’re still upset,” I began, as his ears flattened in shame. “But she needed a change; she stalled out at the five badge level, and I took a gamble. Now?” I motioned to the field, where a Mega Lucario was absolutely demolishing Diantha’s infamous ice wall. “If a small change helped her that much, maybe it could work for you, too.”
I could feel Clemont’s surprise, likely unaware Chad’s Lucario used to be one of mine. “Speaking of change, Wulfric sent me a request the other day. He’s looking to put together a team to help a new trainer, a special case.” I heard my team go wild, likely as their former teammate took down a Champion-level defender. “What do you say, interested in trying something new?”
“You’re certain?” I asked, the information absolutely damning if it was true. Smiling and confident, the Dragonite nodded in confirmation, as did Rousseau beside him. Feeling a headache coming on, I caressed my temples. “Rousseau, take Roigada and anyone else you might need, I want the truth from Malva before this match is over.” My starter threw me a quick salute, as he and several of my team members vanished with a teleport.
“Do you trust them?” My box companion questioned, as Grant eyed us both with skepticism. I enjoyed his company, he was always clear about his expectations and what he wanted.
“It sounds like you haven’t had a chance to read what they found at Lysandre’s; all right under our noses too.” Returning to watch the match, I caught the final exchange between Diantha’s Hawlucha and Chad’s Lucario, the latter being exhausted and barely standing. I had to give the jackal credit, as it managed to ground the bird before falling unconscious, their icon on the status board greying out.
I felt the couch tilt as the massive dragon sat next to me, holding a plate piled high with food from the buffet along the back wall. I heard Mistigrix groan, noting as the Greninja stepped forward from the trainer’s box to face the roosting Hawlucha. “A water dark type against a flying fighter? Seems like a poor choice,” Grant commented, as Dragonite nodded along with him.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Shame Rousseau’s missing this; she was one of his favorite opponents this year.” I added, smiling as the sneaky amphibian seemed to evade the fighter’s every move while slowly chipping away at them with ambush attacks.
“Admittedly, when I faced her, she was not very memorable.” Grant admitted, seemingly bored by the hit-and-run tactics.
“The first three badge levels rarely are, but that doesn’t discount their importance on the journey.” I countered, remembering the few I had supervised this season. “How has progress on your personal team been going?”
“Reliable; I should be able to start offering six and seven badge challenges next season.” The climber replied, as below on the field Hawlucha was dealt the final blow, knocking them out of the match and marking our Champion’s third faint. Diantha wasted no time, immediately sending out her Gourgeist. “Did you also receive that message from Wulfric?”
I nodded, though I would not mention I was uncertain what pokemon would be appropriate to contribute. “I am still considering it,” I admitted, watching the Greninja struggle to hit her opponent. Clearly, she hadn’t been trained on how to deal with ghost types, not utilizing her dark type at all.
“I won’t be participating. He’s far too lenient with trainers these days, especially for a gym leader of his strength.”
“You would rather he acted more like our lovely Siebold?” I teased, lightly laughing as the stoic rock specialist beside me immediately responded with a ‘yes’. Down below, Greninja finally fell, marking the match as three-all, when Chad’s fourth, the tan and green avian, took to the field. Their icon on his status bar was simply a question mark. “I rather prefer the leniency; it allows him to spot trends, to cultivate an image that anyone can come to him for advice or help. Being a gym leader isn’t just about strength, it also includes being a pillar of the community.”
A soft ‘pop’ occurred behind us, as I rose from my seat. “And sometimes, you need to be able to listen when the community says there’s trouble.” Standing between Rousseau and Roigada, the pink-haired fire specialist glances between me and our dragon guest before flaring with anger.
“Is this what all high-level matches are like? It feels similar to the battles I see daily.” I wondered aloud, as Valerie gave a dignified guffaw.
“Viola, believe me, this is not representative of a true Champion-level match. If you’ll notice, neither side is using buff or status effect abilities.” The dancer pointed out, as the cameras struggled to track the battle between the two ghosts. It was nice to see her without the fancy makeup, just being a normal person for these few hours.
“I wish I could offer higher badge level challenges,” I admitted, as my recently-evolved Scolipede rubbed their antenna against my arm in a show of support.
“You could,” the fairy specialist hinted, as the icon for Diantha’s Gourgeist greyed out. “What if you had a rotation? Where your bugs go up in badge ranking over the season? They certainly grow quickly, and it might allow you to offer a better challenge for more experienced trainers who likely don’t encounter many bug types at their level.”
The Champion threw out her second-to-last pokemon, a Goodra, and the match resumed. “I guess I could try that next season; the hardest part would be attracting higher-leveled trainers. That plan can only work if I get a steady stream of increasing-badge level challengers.”
“I believe many of us are in favor of breaking up the ‘traditional’ route, as it’s called. Let’s float the idea at the next meeting, maybe the League will support a shake-up.” I watched as the owl pokemon seemingly threw everything it had at the dragon, which only seemed to grow stronger with each grass attack sent against it.
“See, they haven’t figured it out yet, they’re just wasting their energy and making things worse for their next teammate.” I pointed out, hand firmly on the shoulder of my protige. He had wild black hair with red highlights, sky blue eyes, and a loaner outfit declaring him one of my employees. “You always need to be paying attention to your opponent in a fight, especially when it seems like your attacks do nothing.”
Ramos chuckled in amusement, aware of the hidden ability of Diantha’s Goodra which allowed her to utterly sweep his team last time they battled. My own little buddy smiled– sharp teeth– I gently closed their mouth before anyone noticed. “Teeth” I whispered, as his eyes went wide in panic before nodding in apology. Below, Chad appeared in the trainer’s box, as the Nidoking trod onto the field. “That isn’t a great plan,” I commented, as the status graphic showed those two as the only remaining pokemon on Chad’s team.
“How so?” Ramos inquired, offering me a steaming cup of his renown herbal tea. I accepted, offering a taste to the child first (who declined, thankfully).
“If Chad goes last, he won’t be able to Mega Evolve, and Diantha still has her Gardevoir.” The battle below devolved into a slug-fest, as Goodra quickly found itself on the back-foot; the buffs from the previous combatant seemingly meaningless against the pink powerhouse. “That Gardevoir practically counts as one and a half pokemon, two if you factor the power boost of Mega Evolution.”
“Hmm, did you perchance review his match against me?” Ramos asked, his gaze firmly fixed on the field below as everything turned against the powerful dragon, resulting in Diantha’s fifth knockout. “That boy has a way of overcoming rather unfair odds, I would say.”
Both of us sat in quiet contemplation, as Diantha sent out her final pokemon. The psychic type went to work immediately, shifting the battle into an endurance match as Chad’s Nidoking seemed to stand up from everything she threw at it. “Regarding your special project, I often find myself with young grass pokemon in need of a proper trainer, many of which I cannot field myself due to League rules regarding non-native species.” The old man eyed my protige with a searching gaze and knowing smile. “Young lad, how would you like to raise a Treecko of mine?”
I watched as the actor wearing the pink rabbit costume pantomimed his fainting before the light cut out and he ran off stage. The final climactic fight, and I had only just been given the new script as it began. Auspiciously, I had no lines until after it was over, but there was one line that ate at me.
(Chad Loses)
It didn’t sit right; why go through the trouble of having this whole sequence if he was just meant to lose? I watched as the orange dragon stepped forward onto the ‘battlefield’, pulling the prop blade from the cleverly hidden compartment in his wing. Their battle commenced, as it became clear to me he was meant to lose, to demonstrate the sheer might of this D-list hack of an actress who couldn’t even bother to attend the dress rehearsals. She was holding her damn copy of the script!
I heard a clunk and ‘crish’, as the remains of my fruity escape leaked all over the script on my podium, utterly ruining the page. Which is when I remembered, this was my Story to tell. Retrieving the small prop from earlier hidden in a lower compartment, I slid the black bracelet on my wrist, flicking the switch to turn on the small light within the fake jewel. As it glowed, I was relieved to see the actor’s own shoulderguard prop light up in response, thankful the stage hands hadn’t yet turned it off.
I hoisted the glowing bracelet, letting the audience know that it was I who was interfering in this Story once more. “As if any of you pompous writers could fire me anyway,” I teased, as the self-centered bitch playing the Champion swore up a storm and threatened to have me blacklisted from the industry.
It seemed everyone else wanted to play along though, as the lighting designer flipped the switch, changing our hero’s orange and tan skin to a black and vibrant blue. I needed to ensure whoever came up with that little trick got a bonus during the cast party.
“Dorothy’s going to be so upset she missed this.” I remarked as Chad Mega Evolved on his own, forcing the Champion to do the same with her Mega Gardevoir. I could feel Serena’s nervousness as she tightened her grip on my hand.
“Can you imagine if he got into the conference? I think we’d have been fighting over the second place trophy instead.” She responded, both of us still holding onto the large golden trophy, together. It hardly seemed real, that our lives could change this much in less than a year.
“On the plus side, we get to watch our parents argue over who should’ve won for the next few months, or years.” I jested, earning a giggle. It was surreal, watching a good friend practically go toe to toe with someone who we could end up battling in the future. Could we even do it?
“You know,” Serena began, as Chad’s giant flaming sword crashed against Gardevoir’s psychic barrier in an explosion of sparks and fire. “I’m not sure I’d want to be Champion. Always having to be the strongest trainer, everyone working to challenge you for your job. It sounds… stressful.”
“Yea, it does.” I agreed, right as Chad threw some odd fire attack which bypassed a barrier, detonating directly against Gardevoir’s right shoulder. “I was thinking, for the honeymoon–”
“Getting ahead of things, are we?” She teased, poking me in the cheek.
“For the honeymoon, how would you feel about just traveling? Seeing the world? I bet there’s a lot of other cool pokemon out there, and plenty of skilled trainers to meet.”
On the field, several flaming discs appeared floating in the air behind Chad, as a blazing weapon emerged from each and launched at Gardevoir in a barrage of projectiles. The fairy attempted to snatch and wield one out of the air before dropping it in pain, her hands visibly burnt black. “I think I’d like that. But we’d need to learn the laws first! I don’t want you getting arrested for poaching.”
I laughed at the thought, “Yea, I’d totally botch things and accidentally capture a pokemon I wasn’t allowed to.” Gardevoir, floating high in the air, seemingly conjured a large white moon, the sphere almost as large as the entire stage.
“Five Pokedollars says it’ll be a fire type,” she teased, as we both watched Chad simply swing his sword and parry the orbital body before slashing it into burning pieces.
“Oh, you sound absolutely certain I’ll poach a pokemon. OK, I’ll call your bet; five Pokedollars says I catch it legally.” I bump her with my shoulder lightly, to which she responds in kind.
On the battlefield, Chad raises his weapon, the flaming sword growing to almost ten times its size before crashing straight down onto the floating psychic type. “You know our parents are going to insist on an engagement ring, and a wedding ring.” I groaned, knowing where this was going.
“And do you want one? Either one?” Gardevoir’s icon went grey, as the crowd around the arena went wild. Neither of us could hear anything over the shouts and cheers. She shook her head with a smile, before mouthing two words.
‘Just you’
Inferno, ??, ???, ??!?
Stomp, Rock Tomb, Dragon Dance, Hone Claws, Rock Smash, Bulk Up, Detect, Protect, Dragon Tail, Ancient Power, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Crunch, Earthquake, ??, Arms of the Kingsguard
Focus Energy, Double Kick, Dig, Venoshock, Sludge Bomb, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Bulldoze, Protect, Flamethrower, Stone Edge, Power-Up Punch, Bulk Up, Earth Power
Detect, Protect, Extreme Speed, Aura Sphere, Close Combat, Bulk Up, Power-Up Punch, Bone Rush, Metal Claw, ??, Flash Cannon, Heal Pulse
Detect, Protect, Swift, Shadow Sneak, Nasty Plot, Phantom Force, Leaf Storm, Synthesis, Leaf Blade, Shadow Ball, Magical Leaf, Confuse Ray, Hex