Chapter 64 (Patreon)

“Oh, Wally! I’m so sorry!”

A middle aged woman with short green hair and a dark outfit ran into the lobby of the main Pokémon Center and immediately wrapped Wally up into a hug.

“Honey! Are you okay? I hope you aren’t taking your loss too hard,” she said.

Wally’s mom held him out and looked him over, causing his face to turn completely red. She started to point out extremely minor imperfections about his health here and there as he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Meanwhile, I awkwardly stood off to the side with my arms crossed as his cousin, uncle, and father walked into the Pokémon Center as well.

Right now, the main room we were in was surprisingly empty. Most side tournaments had already ended before the final rounds of the Conference, and considering that there were still a number of matches to get done today, the majority of trainers were out actively watching the battle.

Wally and I had just handed over our Pokémon to be healed when this uncomfortable situation started.

“I’m fine, mom,” Wally groaned. “I lost, but my Pokémon were incredible. I lost to a friend so it could have been worse, too.”

Wally’s mom shot me a glare, and I looked away, but her gaze almost immediately softened when she realized I was that friend Wally mentioned. Wally’s uncle, however, was glaring at me, and not stopping.

Wally’s cousin, Wanda, stepped forward and tried to “subtly” pull Wally’s mom off of him.

“Come on, enough of that, Auntie. Wally’s been out as a trainer for months at this point, he knows how to handle himself,” she said.

Wally’s mom glared at her too for a moment before pulling her son in for another long hug, then released him and took a step back to look him over once more.

“Have you lost weight? You look thin. That’s it, after this we’re going out for lunch. I don’t care if you already ate, you need to eat more,” she stated.

That caused Wanda to roll her eyes, and Wally’s dad to chuckle. Wally looked away, embarrassed, and his uncle continued to angrily stare at me.

Man, Wally's uncle really held a grudge. Not only is he upset at me for encouraging Wally to be a trainer, but now also for beating him in the Conference? I’m starting to think he just flat out doesn’t like me.

Wally ended up taking a step back himself, and looked around to see if anyone else was watching the scene his family had created.

“...My Pokémon are still being healed. Can we wait?” he asked quietly.

“Fine. But we’re going out immediately after.”

Wally’s mom went over to a nearby seating area and plopped down onto a chair, then beckoned Wally over. The rest of his family did as well, except for his father, who went over to talk to me.

“Alex, right?” he said quietly as he took me aside. “I heard what you did for Wally from Wanda, and for that I’ll always be grateful.”

I gave him a small smile.

“It wasn’t any issue. You shouldn’t be thanking me that much, anyway. I’m pretty sure Wally would have become an incredible trainer eventually. I just motivated him to start a few years early.”

Wally’s dad chuckled and ran his hand through his thinning hair.

“I’m just happy Wally is happy. I knew you’d be here, so I brought this for you as a thank-you gift.”

He reached into where he was carrying a bag at his side, and pulled out what looked to be a small case for a TM.

“This is the TM for Surf. It’s both a powerful move in battles, and it helps your Pokémon move faster in the water. I hope it helps you in your journey in the future.”

I carefully took it from him, and forced a smile. I didn’t have the heart to turn down a heartfelt gift and to say the only Pokémon on my team that could learn the move already knew it.

“Thank you, but giving this to me isn’t necessary. I didn’t do this for a reward, I did this for Wally.”

Wally’s father smiled and made sure to firmly push the TM into my hands. As soon as he was confident I was holding it, he let go and we went over to rejoin the rest of Wally’s family in the seating area while Wally and I waited for our Pokémon.

When I sat down, they were mostly just catching up with each other as Wally told stories about his journey. He kept motioning towards where Gallade would normally be and looking a bit disappointed whenever he remembered that Gallade was off being healed. His family seemed to be properly impressed by the things he said, regardless of Gallade being missing. His mom was the happiest to hear how much he’d experienced, although I did notice that Wally left out all of the moments of danger he had gone through. With how much she was fussing over his health, I couldn’t blame him.

I purposely stayed out of the discussion, not wanting to intrude on a family matter, and ended up excusing myself to stand a few feet away. I felt a bit jealous since my mother was never as affectionate as Wally’s, but considering she cut ties with me in the past, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on much. I was fine, anyway, especially since I still had my Pokémon.

Once Wally’s team was healed up and returned, he and his family got up to leave to go get the meal his mother demanded. I was invited, of course, but I politely turned them down to let them spend time together with family instead of a random stranger. Wally was a bit hesitant to leave me alone, but after I explained I needed to spend the time training, and after some encouragement from his uncle, they were off.

My team was also returned to me around the same time, and I sent Ninetales out to walk with me back to my room. She must have noticed something, because she was a bit more affectionate than usual, bumping her head into my side whenever I started zoning out. She was probably just excited to have won our match today.

When I returned to my room, I released everyone as they all stretched or flopped down after such a long battle. Whimsicott jumped into Florges’s arms, who huffed and moved over to the window to let the pair collect some of the late afternoon sun. Altaria took the moment to jump on the bed since I wasn’t using it, and promptly fell asleep. Mawile and Ponyta sat in the corner and simply relaxed next to each other, while Ninetales stuck to my side when I went to the computer to watch the recordings of the other matches today. Azumarill followed me, intent on seeing how the other teams were doing as well.

It was just a nice, quiet, relaxing time we had to ourselves to cool off after our battle. The most I would do with them would be to talk strategy to make sure we were all prepared for tomorrow, but until the announcements of the next matches happened tonight, we would just use this time to relax.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Thomas.

Why’d it have to be Thomas?

Seeing that name listed as my opponent sent such a visceral wave of shock through my body I half wanted to give up now. I knew his team far outmatched mine in both experience, strategy, and general strength, but I at least had the Type advantage. However, I know that wouldn’t mean much in the face of such a knowledgeable Type Specialist.

Well, if I lose against him, a loss like that would have happened eventually. I honestly got lucky with my matchups in this Conference, only going against beginner trainers and a single experienced trainer that my team had a significant advantage against. Anyone at this stage would be difficult, and I shouldn’t be down just because I know how extremely strong my opponent is.

...But it’s still Thomas. I don’t have a chance, do I?

I slumped back where I was on the couch in the Pokémon Center, and Ninetales hopped up next to me and put her head in my lap. I shivered from the sudden cold temperature, and started to pet her head. We would try our best to win, of course, but I didn’t have high hopes for our chance of success.

I glanced around at the few lingering trainers in the room, and didn’t see Thomas. In the prior week, Thomas was still assigned jobs across Ever Grande as part of his training as an Ace Trainer, but since he made it into the final rounds, he had been given this week off to make sure his team would be well rested and prepared for his battles. Out of the sixteen remaining trainers, there were ten of them in this room, including me, but Thomas wasn’t present.

I ended up sitting in the lobby of the Pokémon Center for the next while as Ninetales started to doze on the couch next to me. I went over everything I knew about Thomas to prepare for the battle, and found little I could use. His spoken strategies were vague, yet his Pokémon knew exactly what to do, and his Pokémon were also great at thinking on the fly. I imagined my team’s relative strength would not match up to his at all, but I still hoped that I could think of strategies to counter at least some of his individual Pokémon.

Soon enough, Thomas passed through the main doors of the Pokémon Center and glanced around the room to search for me. When we made eye contact, he headed over to where I was seated with Murkrow perched on his shoulder.

When he sat down on a chair next to me, Murkrow flew off to sit on the arm of the chair instead. He leaned back a bit and put his hands together while one of his feet rapidly tapped on the ground.

He sighed.

“I’m sorry, Alex, but I have no plans to hold back,” he said.

“...I know,” I ended up saying after a while. “That’s what I want. You may completely outclass us in everything but our chosen Type, but we’re still going to try our hardest. We might have only earned eight badges compared to your twenty-four, but that’s still only a two-region lead. I’m sure we’ll be able to pull off something.”

I feigned a smile to Thomas, and he looked away.

“Three-region lead, actually,” he said. “This is my fourth Conference overall, and my second time competing in the Ever Grande Conference specifically. My first League season was Hoenn, and I repeated that this year to take on all of the Gym Leader’s personal teams. I felt like doing that would better prepare me for my life as an Ace Trainer, since most of their teams range from between nine and eleven stars. My team is currently considered to be a nine star team, but my strategies tend to bump up their capabilities to be even higher.”

I laughed a bit as he described his team’s experience, finding how much his team outclassed mine a bit humorous.

“And you beat Wallace’s team, too?” I said. “Isn’t he strong enough to be the Champion? How did you beat him?”

Thomas gave me a funny look when I said that, but didn’t make any comments except responding to my question.

“I said I fought his personal team, but that’s technically not the case. Wallace is considered an Elite-level trainer, like Norman, so his real personal team far outclasses anything reasonable for a Gym Battle. He’s by far the strongest Gym Leader of the region, so he uses some of his ‘weaker’ personal Pokémon for those fights. He does tend to send out one or two of his closest and strongest Pokémon in those battles though, and for me that was his Milotic.” he said.

As I took that in, Thomas twiddled his thumbs, looked around the room, then leaned in conspiratorially.

“I will say, I probably shouldn’t have won. I had to plan out a strategy just for fighting him after learning about which Pokémon he’d use in advance, and even then it took me four of my team members just to wear out his Milotic enough for him to recall her without fainting. I doubt I’m anywhere at the level to actually beat him, but exceptions have to be made for the Gym Challenge. Asking challengers to beat his real personal team wouldn’t be fair.”

“You’re insane, you know that, right?” I said, shaking my head as he moved back to his normal seated position. “You still managed to beat Wallace’s personal team, and all of the other Gym Leader’s personal teams too. We may not have your experience, but I want you to know that we aren’t going to back down. I imagine that we’re probably going to lose anyway, but I refuse to enter this fight with a defeatist attitude. We have a battle tomorrow, Thomas, and I’ll make sure you remember it.”

Thomas genuinely smiled, and I did too.

“I’m looking forward to it, Alex. I rarely get to battle a friend in any official capacity, and I haven’t seen your team up close since Sea Mauville. I’ve watched the videos, but battling them in person is different than watching them on a screen.”

There was a buzzing from inside his coat, and he took out a PokéNav and frowned.

“I thought I had some time, but it seems I need to head out, actually. It was nice talking to you before our battle, and I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’ll see you then, Alex.”

Thomas and I stood up, and I stretched since I had been seated for a while. Ninetales smacked her lips as she woke up from her nap and jumped down next to me, and Murkrow flew back to Thomas’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow, too, Thomas,” I said. “Good luck with whoever you’re fighting. I imagine you’ll need it.”

Thomas laughed at my joke as we shook our hands, then he left to deal with whatever the message he received was about. I used this moment to start heading back to return to my room, where the rest of my team was still relaxing. I looked down at Ninetales, who was a little sleepy but still walking alongside me.

“Looks like we need to figure out our strategies for tomorrow, girl. Ready for our toughest battle so far?”

Ninetales blinked a few times to wake herself up, then locked eyes with me and barked once. I chuckled.

“Let’s do this.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________

“Begin!” The referee called out. My battle with Thomas, following the same rules and setting as my battle with Wally, finally started.

“Mightyena, shut down and burn,” Thomas ordered.

“Mawile, Stealth Rocks!” I yelled.

Immediately, both Pokémon were sent out onto the field and burst into action. Mawile created chunks of stone on her jaws and flicked them forward, setting up Stealth Rock, while Mightyena started to run forward, growling strangely to initiate a Taunt.

The Taunt was an issue, since that meant Mawhile didn’t have access to any utility moves to support her offensively. However, Mightyena was at least a physical attacker and would need to get in range of her bites if it wanted to bite her itself.

With her Stealth Rocks set up, and a little angry from Taunt, Mawile’s teeth flickered with embers as she readied a Fire Fang. Mightyena’s sharp teeth glowed a similar red hot as it stalked around her, not moving in to attack just yet.

As it circled Mawile, it glared at her as Mawile suddenly flinched and took a few cautious steps back. Mightyena was combining both Scary Face and its ability, Intimidate, to weaken Mawile’s will to attack. However, while that Scary Face would make her hesitate and move a bit slower, Mawile’s Hyper Cutter ability meant that no matter what, her attacks would be just as strong as normal.

Seemingly thinking this was good enough of an advantage to attack with, Mightyena moved in. Mawile responded by slamming her jaws into the ground and cracking it, creating large stone spikes that shot up underneath Mightyena with an alternate version of Stone Edge. However, it jumped off of them and used the momentum to be launched closer to her. As soon as it closed in, I realized that Mightyena’s Fire Fang meant Mawile would be completely outmatched here, and returned her before it could quickly knock her out.

I can’t afford to let my Pokémon faint too easily in this battle. Thomas’s team is especially strong so we need to be careful.

Replacing Mawile was Altaria, as I knew Thomas’s Mightyena didn’t have strong ranged options. Recordings had shown it knew both Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse, but even with its experience neither of those attacks could easily hit the mobile Altaria in the air.

Like I expected, almost immediately after Altaria was sent out, several dark purple balls of shadow-like energy formed in Mightyena’s mouth and shot off towards Altaria. Altaria simply banked and turned a few times in the air, dodging the Shadow Balls, then oriented himself to face Mightyena dead on.

“Hyper Voi-”

Despite Altaria being in the perfect position to attack, my command was interrupted by Thomas immediately recalling Mightyena and sending out Murkrow instead. Altaria flew back to better position himself against another flier, and several Stealth Rocks broke off the ground to launch themselves at the Dark Type bird. In response, Murkrow cawed loudly and sent out a burst of liquid shadow that expanded out of it in a radius, the Dark Pulse destroying the stones before they could reach it.

“Harass and weaken,” Thomas commanded.

Murkrow smirked and flew higher into the air, matching the height of and easily keeping up with Altaria. Rather than attacking, it flew circles around him, literally, as no matter what direction he tried to move towards Murkrow was there.

“Defend yourself! Cotton Guard!”

I wanted Altaria to defend himself, but he didn’t listen to that order. Instead, he screeched a few times with Hyper Voice, and Murkrow nimbly moved just behind his head each time, easily dodging each attack.

“It’s a little known fact about Murkrow, but the species doesn’t share a hidden ability with its evolved form, Honchkrow,” Thomas shouted. “Honchkrow can be trained to have Moxie, but Murkrow himself is capable of something else. Whimsicott has it, can you guess what it is?”

Putting two and two together, I realized Murkrow had subtly used Taunt with its Prankster ability to prevent Altaria from using anything other than his attacking moves. That combined with its speed meant that it didn’t need to do anything at all as Altaria began to slowly wear himself out with his angry attacks. We needed to change our strategy.

“Dazzle it, Altaria!” I yelled.

“Back off!” Thomas shouted in response.

Murkrow, who had positioned itself behind Altaria's head, tried to fly away according to Thomas’s command, but Altaria’s Dazzling Gleam came out faster than it moved. A brilliant burst of Fairy Type energy came out of Altaria’s feathers and seared into Murkrow, who withstood the attack but was forced to blink rapidly as it tried to deal with the sudden flash it had accidentally stared straight into.

“Follow up!” I yelled.

Altaria screeched a Hyper Voice at Murkrow, who flapped chaotically as the violent sound waves penetrated it, but it still did not faint. While it had taken serious damage, it currently just looked like its feathers were a bit ruffled at most.

Taking advantage of its better mobility between Altaria’s attacks, Murkrow, proving its skill as the Pokémon who taught Altaria the move, enhanced its beak with Dark Type energy and started to poke at each of his blindspots between his proceeding attacks. The Thief attacks dug into Altaria, and he winced each time they landed while he failed to damage Murkrow at all, who had grown wise to his tricks.

I decided to return Altaria here, seeing he couldn’t handle Murkrow. In that moment, Murkrow’s wings blew out large gusts of wind as it scattered the Stealth Rocks against the ground, removing them with Defog.

When I sent out Ninetales, Thomas returned Murkrow and I breathed out a slight sigh of relief. When I saw who he sent out next, I couldn’t help but to smile. We had a strategy in mind for Thomas’s Houndoom.

“Like we planned, Ninetales,” I said. “Slowly and carefully.”

Hail coated the field as Ninetales conjured her weather. Thomas didn’t give Houndoom any orders and it started to stalk forward. Ninetales had already disappeared with Snow Cloak, and the cold temperatures from the weather started to cause steam to come off of Houndoom’s Fire Type body.

As it moved through the snow, Houndoom was silent but its eyes were locked forward and focused, going over options and considerations with Nasty Plot. It would be able to land seriously damaging hits on Ninetales, but if I switched her out, Houndoom’s boost from the move wouldn’t be nearly as effective.

Ninetales stayed hidden while Houndoom continued to use Nasty Plot as it searched for her. Occasionally, it shot out a powerful Flamethrower when an Ice Beam hit the nearby ground, but she never seemed to be near where it attacked. After a while, Houndoom had planned the most it could plan, and Nasty Plot failed to give it any other ideas for it to better attack. Houndoom then looked around with a bit more effort than before, briefly glancing at Thomas as if to ask what to do.

Thomas, from what I could barely see through the hail, just shook his head sadly and looked a little confused as well. Unlike our normal strategy, Ninetales hadn’t appeared once, nor had she used Confuse Ray to layer illusions over Houndoom’s senses. Considering that Ninetales was also capable of Calm Mind, Thomas was starting to look a little worried. Unable to do much else, he gave his Pokémon a new set of orders.

“Replace the weather. Be wary of where she might be.”

Houndoom formed a flaming sphere in its mouth, then twisted its head to flick it into the air. The Sunny Day sailed upwards, then burned away the Hail as it expanded and coated the field in harsh sunlight.

However, as its vision was restored, Ninetales was still nowhere to be seen.

Around the field were a few spots of ice where Ninetales had created smooth surfaces with Ice Beam, but they were all already melting under the sunlight and were becoming effectively useless. Thomas looked even more confused, until there was a moment of realization a little too late, and when he called out, Houndoom had no time to move.

“Below you!”

Using a move we hadn’t yet revealed in the tournament, Ninetales jumped out of the ground with Dig, fully focused and enhanced with Calm Mind. She caught Houndoom off guard by revealing herself directly underneath it, where it wasn’t looking, and despite everything it had planned with Nasty Plot, it wasn’t able to react to the massive pink Moonblast that slammed into its stomach.

Houndoom was launched into the air from the raw power of that move, but just barely managed to stay up despite the chaotic Fairy Type energies running rampant in its Dark Type body. It landed on its feet a short distance away, then quickly turned around to unleash a Flamethrower, but Ninetales had already moved to its side when it was landing, and she exploded with a powerful Dazzling Gleam, finishing it off.

The audience cheered as Houndoom fainted, and my shoulders sagged in extreme relief.

Ninetales just got the first knockout of the battle. If every strategy goes this well, we might have a chance.

Thomas shook his head, amused, and he returned Houndoom.

“That was a good plan, Alex, and I’m glad to see that you’re living up to all of those strategy training sessions we went through. However, that’s the last time you’re going to catch my team off guard.”

Once more, Murkrow was sent out and immediately, Thomas gave it a single order. More of a statement than anything, as he told his Pokémon one thing and expected it to act on its own.

“She’s boosted.”

Murkrow’s brow furrowed and the hat-shaped feathers on its head dipped. Ninetales sent a powerful Ice Beam at it as she used her ability to set the Hail back up, and Murkrow managed to narrowly dodge that attack as it flew around the field. As it did so, a thin fog emanated out of its wings and fell towards the ground underneath it. Ninetales tried to jump back to avoid it, but the fog soon encompassed the entire battlefield and caught Ninetales inside.

As Murkrow’s Haze took effect, Ninetales’s eyes drooped, becoming less focused as the move drained the energy she had put in place with Calm Mind to enhance her focus. Unfortunately, that now meant that all of her boosts were now removed.

“Good, finish it off,” Thomas said.

Finish it- What? Ninetales hasn’t taken any damage yet!

Murkrow pulled up where it was flying and entered into a large loop to build up speed. Ninetales, no longer benefiting from Calm Mind, sent out a wide-ranged Icy Wind towards Murkrow with the intent of slowing it down. Unfortunately, whenever it seemed that frost was forming on its feathers and slowing it down, Murkrow pulsed its Haze move to cause the frost to break off and it returned to its normal speed.

Murkrow’s attack went completely unhindered.

Reaching the peak of the loop, Murkrow dived and used the force of gravity to move at insanely fast speeds. Its body glowed with Flying Type energy and even started to show visible wind-lines thanks to its Brave Bird attack coming into effect. Ninetales tried to dodge, but Murkrow managed to slam into an unusually vulnerable spot and dealt critical damage, causing Ninetales to be knocked unconscious with that one move.

That had to be Murkrow manipulating the situation for its Super Luck to come into effect. There’s no way Ninetales would normally leave such a large opening.

With Ninetales fainted, Murkrow simply used its new position close to the ground to land and use Roost, beginning to heal from both the attacks it took earlier and the recoil damage from Brave Bird. It was clearly panting heavily though, incredibly wounded.

That’s Mightyena, Murkrow, and Houndoom revealed. I already know Altaria can’t handle Murkrow, so I need to send out a Pokémon that can better deal with its aerial movements. Most of my team would be at a disadvantage, which means the best choice is my team member who’s specifically trained to fight fliers.

I unclipped the Heal Ball from my belt and threw it forward, sending Florges out onto the field. I pointed out Murkrow to her, who was just starting to take off again after Roost, and she immediately puffed out a series of Fairy Winds from her flowers. The hail from Ninetales combined with the sparkling mist lingering in the air forced Murkrow to fly strangely to avoid damage, and Florges used this to her advantage to try to launch a Moonblast right into its path.

However, Thomas simply said “Clear it,” and Murkrow once more used Defog, this time with the move clearing out the Fairy Wind clouds. I hadn’t known it could be used like that, and Florges paid for my lack of knowledge. Murkrow moved out of the way of the incoming sphere, too agile for the move to properly follow it, and closed in on Florges. She desperately tried to float away, but while she could move around mid-air, she couldn’t move around as well as a Flying Type, and I was forced to return her before she took serious damage.

With that, I had used three of my six switches already, and I was now unsure who I could send out to face Murkrow. It may have healed with Roost, but it was still decently damaged. Unfortunately for me, Thomas had trained it too well for it to be getting tired at this point, so the only outcome I could see was to defeat it with moves rather than through exhaustion. I glanced over to Thomas, who looked focused, determined, and unworried about who I planned to send out next. I frowned.

We might be tied for remaining Pokémon, but Ninetales only fainted Houndoom due to the specific strategy we planned out beforehand. The rest of his Pokémon clearly outmatch mine, and I’m unsure who can handle Murkrow.

Going with what I considered to be a mildly unusual option, I sent out Whimsicott this time, who was also able to fly and whose Prankster ability would hopefully match Murkrow’s. He started by spinning and sending out a large puff of Fairy Wind all around him, disguising a Stun Spore, but Murkrow simply smirked and changed its course to avoid the move entirely.

Damn. I know Dark Types are immune to Prankster moves in the games, but I was hoping that might not be the case here.

Murkrow proceeded to avoid the hidden follow up Leech Seed, and even seemed unbothered as Whimsicott tried to infuriate it with purposely-timed giggles for a Taunt. Frustratingly, Whimsicott’s strategy was then completely shut down with Murkrow’s own Taunt, and I used my fourth switch to return him.

With two switches left, I steeled my heart and sent out Altaria, who immediately cleared out the last vestiges of Ninetales’s Hail with Cloud Nine. While Murkrow could outmaneuver him, I hoped he could deal decent damage with one final move of his.

I called out to Altaria for Cotton Guard, but once more, Murkrow’s Prankster showed its worth as a quick Taunt prevented him from using his single best utility move. Murkrow flew in, staying to the side and avoiding his Dazzling Gleam, then snuck in another use of Thief after that attack. Considering how this was going, I realized Altaria only had one solution left.

“Altaria, chase it and Uproar!” I yelled.

Altaria gained a sudden mad glint in his eye, and for the briefest moment I could have sworn Murkrow almost looked panicked.

Maybe it’s remembering its time in Sea Mauville.

He rushed forward at it as fast as he could as Murkrow desperately tried to keep its distance, only barely managing to outpace him. Soon, Altaria began to scream at an incredible volume and Murkrow could not fly fast enough to avoid the damage of the move.

Murkrow must have been more injured than I thought, because it turned around and began to desperately attack Altaria through his Uproar. At this point, its numerous weak Thief attacks were starting to add up, and he was barely still in the air. However, he did not stop his Uproar and Murkrow was looking worse and worse thanks to the sound waves.

As the long-use move neared its end, it seemed that Altaria was going to faint himself without taking Murkrow out with him. However, rather than concluding Uproar normally, he breathed in an unusually deep breath, then screamed as loud as he could.

The psychic barriers surrounding the field flared to protect us from the volume and Murkrow froze midair. The sharp sounds tore into the poor bird and its feathers stood on end. Quickly, it began to drop like a stone as the final Uproar actually managed to faint it, and Thomas returned it, looking rather impressed.

He didn’t say anything since Altaria was continuing his final scream longer than anticipated, and this time, he sent out a Pokémon I had never personally seen in action: his Umbreon.

Umbreon smiled, revealing its sharp teeth. Altaria finally completed his Uproar and started to pant from exhaustion and his wounds. Meanwhile, Umbreon began to slowly move in underneath him, flexing its claws with each step. It looked anxious to begin the fight.

At this point, Altaria calmed down and his Taunt wore off. I wanted to call out for Altaria to land and use Roost, but something about the look on Umbreon’s face told me that landing would be a bad idea.

“Stay at a distance and try to wear it down with Moonblast. If it gets close, use either Dazzling Gleam or Hyper Voice,” I instructed.

Altaria didn’t bother to acknowledge my commands, and formed a Fairy Type sphere to send forward at his foe. Umbreon saw the attack coming, stared at Altaria, and Snarled, sending out its own sound waves, infused with Dark Type energy. The move struck Altaria and tore through his body. He didn’t fall unconscious, but was obviously shaken.

The Moonblast failed to be properly created, and the attack came out much weaker than normal. Umbreon easily dodged.

At this point, I already considered it testament to Altaria’s determination that he hadn’t fainted. Considering he did know a healing move, I decided it was better to try to use it than just to accept defeat.

“Roost, Altaria. Be careful.”

Altaria eyed Umbreon warily as he glided down to land. The announcers practically freaked out at this, complimenting Altaria’s bravery for willingly getting close to Umbreon. Their shocked noises didn’t make me feel any better about this decision.

Umbreon, seeing its opponent purposely getting close, smiled in a way that was not unlike Azumarill’s own cruel smiles, and Thomas quickly called out to it.

“Remember, this is an official battle. Stick to official moves,” he shouted.

Umbreon, on its side of the field, sent out a quick Dark Pulse that didn’t quite reach Altaria. Instead, the move created a large, circular shadow around it that seemed to almost rest separate from the ground, and the shadows stretched up over Umbreon and turned it completely black.

It was difficult to tell exactly where it was at this point, and the entire mass of shadows suddenly rushed at Altaria. He squawked and stopped using Roost, intent on taking off back into the air, but he was too slow and was suddenly engulfed by Umbreon’s assault. Altaria looked nothing more than a three dimensional silhouette as a result.

The blackened form of Umbreon lunged at similarly blackened Altaria. They were briefly illuminated by a defensive Dazzling Gleam, but Umbreon was undeterred. It Crunched down on Altaria and he screeched, only for a close ranged Dark Pulse to finish him off.

With its prey defeated, all of the shadows around Umbreon were sucked back up into its body.

Altaria lay fainted on the ground and Umbreon prowled around him, looking simultaneously satisfied and desperate for more. I returned Altaria to his Love Ball, and considering how Umbreon preferred to fight at close range, I sent out Azumarill, hoping he could outmatch it.

However, Thomas returned Umbreon instead of leaving it out.

“I’ve been waiting for this, Alex,” Thomas said. “I’m still training him up, but he’s been desperate for a rematch. Since we’re battling here anyway, I feel this would be as good a time as any.”

Thomas tossed forward an Ultra Ball, and appearing on the field was the battle-worn Crawdaunt that I had helped him catch in Sea Mauville. It looked furious, and when it saw Azumarill, it clacked its claws threateningly.

Azumarill, in response, merely smirked, and the two Pokémon launched toward each other with Aqua Jet.

Both Pokémon raised up an arm, reading their attacks. Azumarill’s fist glowed pink for Play Rough, and Crawdaunt’s claw glowed white with an unknown attack. Rather than slamming into each other, they zoomed past one another, Azumarill slamming her hand into Crawdaunt’s hard armor while Crawdaunt sliced at Azumarill’s neck.

Crawdaunt ended its Aqua Jet on my side of the field, and Azumarill ended hers on Thomas’s. Crawdaunt looked mostly undamaged save for a small dent on its chest, and Azumarill stood stock still, facing away from me.

Out of nowhere, a sudden burst of white light came out of where Crawdaunt had hit Azumarill in the neck, and she slumped to the ground, completely unconscious.

My eyes went wide as I returned her, and I had only one thought in my mind.

What the heck just happened?!

Thankfully, the announcers described what just happened for the uninformed in the audience, so Thomas didn’t need to explain.

“Impressively, Thomas’s Crawdaunt manages to land a powerful Guillotine attack, hitting Azumarill’s throat hard enough to instantly faint her, the one-hit-KO move showing its power in this battle.”

I cursed under my breath as I whispered an apology to the unconscious Azumarill in her Dive Ball. I hadn’t expected Crawdaunt to know nor use the move, and honestly neither did Thomas, who looked just as shocked as I did.

He didn’t say anything to me, though, opting to give a new command to Crawdaunt instead.

“Refrain from using Guillotine. Focus on your other moves instead, like we practiced.”

Crawdaunt “tch”’d like Azumarill, but she was too unconscious to call it out for that.

However, despite Crawdaunt fainting Azumarill in one move, using that powerful attack looked to have tired it out. Without the proper practice, one-hit-KO moves required the user to expend a lot of energy, and while it had fainted Azumarill, it had paid the price.

Right now, half of my team had fainted, and Thomas only had two of his team members fainted, with one member fully rested in reserve. I knew I was at a disadvantage, especially since I knew all of his Pokémon were stronger than mine, but we weren’t completely out of the battle just yet.

Whimsicott reappeared on the field, and Thomas immediately returned the tired Crawdaunt. In its place was Mightyena, who Whimsicott attempted to sneak in a Taunt by insulting it from a distance. Unfortunately, just like Murkrow before it, the Dark Type brushed off the effect.

We’re going to need to try something else if we want this to work.

Following a short order from Thomas, Mightyena ran forward and launched a few Shadow Balls towards Whimsicott. He maneuvered around in the air to avoid most of them, but two of them took out decent chunks of his fluff. As he dodged, I gave him a new set of instructions to hopefully allow him to return to his normal strategies.

“Try Taunt again, but use it slowly and carefully. Don’t think of it like a prank, think of it like an attack.”

Whimsicott looked both unhappy and unsure about what I was telling him to do, but he went through with it regardless. Slowly and carefully, he insulted Mightyena with all the ways he could think of. While Mightyena initially shrugged off the Taunt, it slowly grew angrier and angrier and eventually, finally fell under the effects of the move.

I breathed out a sigh of relief.

Looks like Whimsicott can still use his utility moves if he doesn’t use Prankster to quicken them.

I briefly told him to maintain this strategy for the future, and Whimsicott visibly slowed down. He sent forward a trio of Leech Seeds, which Mightyena had to use its Shadow Balls to destroy to defend itself. Whimsicott used this brief moment without needing to dodge to float over Mightyena and puff out a Stun Spore below.

Unfortunately, Mightyena quickly ran out of the way, and bent its knees to jump. Whimsicott was high off the floor, but apparently not high enough as Mightyena soared at least a dozen feet into the air. It bit Whimsicott, dragged him to the floor, then began to shake its head with Whimsicott still in its mouth like a dog with a toy.

Whimsicott tried to eliminate the damage with Protect, but Mightyena enhanced its bite with Fire Fang and the energy he expended to maintain his defense skyrocketed. Soon, he was forced to cancel his defense or face complete exhaustion, and the super effective bite attack ended up fainting him in no time at all.

I returned Whimsicott and considered my options. I had Florges and Mawile left, but Florges wasn’t strong in melee and Mawile was weak to Mightyena’s Fire Type moves. However, Mightyena was under the effects of Whimsicott’s Taunt, and while Mawile was weak to its Fire Fang, it couldn’t shut down her utility moves so she would be better off in battle against the Dark Type.

Mawile appeared on the field, and I ordered her to preemptively enhance her jaws with Iron Defense. Mightyena was quickly on her, and bit down on her large jaws themselves while its teeth burned them with Fire Fang. With Mightyena’s bite closed down around her large mouth, she tried to open her jaws up to try to force her way out, but quickly found she was unable to do so.

Thomas called out while Mawile desperately tried to escape.

“A biological quirk shared by Pokémon with large jaws like Mawile is how hard it is for them to open their mouths,” he said. “Mawile might be able to bite hard, but it doesn’t take much effort to hold her jaws closed.”

Mawile flailed under Mightyena’s Fire Fang as it tightened its bite and even lifted her into the air. She tried her best to kick, swing, and punch to try to free herself, but eventually, she just began to cry.

The Dark Type was completely unphased by Mawile’s Fake Tears, which meant she was out of options to try to free herself. She couldn’t even use Sucker Punch since her short arms couldn’t reach Mightyena’s body.

Eventually, the fire heated her up a bit too much, and her Steel Type body was unable to cool down. Mawile fainted from both the pain of the Fire Fang as well as heat exhaustion.

I returned her, disappointed in myself for not being aware of such a massive biological weakness. Thomas’s strategies and plans continued to prove to be clever, and as it stood, he had four Pokémon left, whereas I only had one. It was clear he was going to win this battle, but I didn’t want to lose without fainting one more member of his team.

Plus, there was a strategy Florges hadn’t used yet.

Sending her out, Florges appeared on the field and quickly began to float higher into the air. However, my next command stopped that before she got too high up.

“We need to take out Mightyena. Go full Fairy Type.”

Florges quickly glanced over her shoulder to see how serious I was being, and gained a look of absolute determination on her face. Mightyena ran at her from where fainted Mawile on my side of the field, but briefly slowed from caution as a pulse of Fairy Type energy washed over it and Misty Terrain came into effect.

Florges was on the ground level with Mightyena, and the Dark Type’s sharp teeth started to drip with Poison Fang. However, right when it was on her, before it could bite down, Florges disappeared and the attack missed.

She had blended into the mist with Camouflage.

While Florges’s Type hadn’t changed, she had managed to change her colors to disguise herself within Misty Terrain. Mightyena was briefly disoriented as its target was nowhere to be found, and Thomas called out for it to use a strategy to find her.

“Dark Pulse, sweep the field.”

Mightyena sent out a pulse of shadows around it, but Florges had moved far enough away for the attack to miss. It took a step forward to move to a different spot to check, but a sudden braid of grass shot out of the floor and wrapped around its legs, tripping it with Grass Knot.

Now prone, a Moonblast came out of nowhere and slammed into the side of Mightyena. The super effective Fairy Type energy surged through its body, and as it stood up, I noticed its legs were shaking.

Good. The energies from Moonblast should mess with the energy in its body and weaken its special moves.

Mightyena tried to use Dark Pulse again, but the move was slightly slower and covered a smaller amount of area. Mightyena then jumped out of the way of a Moonblast sent its way from within the fog, but when it ran towards where the attack came from, another Grass Knot tripped it again.

It continued to move around, looking for the Camouflaged Florges, getting tripped by Grass Knots occasionally, and I thought that we would actually manage to faint one more of Thomas’s Pokémon.

However, my heart dropped as he returned Mightyena. I regained that hope when Thomas sent out Pupitar, a Pokémon extremely weak to Florges’s Grass Type moves.

“Hidden enemy tactics, rush down and overwhelm,” Thomas ordered.

Pupitar looked a little wary of its misty surroundings, but ignored those feelings and created a Sandstorm that blew over the field. Florges’s form stuck out within the dense sands, and Pupitar charged at her. Realizing that Grass Knot wouldn’t work against a hovering Pokémon, I called out to her to change her strategies.

“Petal Dance, as best you can!”

Recognizing she didn’t have much time before Pupitar reached her, Florges began the graceful movements of Petal Dance as a storm of pink and red was sent towards Pupitar. The Grass Type move tore into Pupitar, dealing an incredible amount of damage thanks to the four times effectiveness of the move, but credit to Thomas, it was still looking strong when it reached Florges.

Pupitar leaned forward and pushed air out of its body to slam into her with Thrash. It spun wildly and violently stabbed its spikes into her body. However, Florges did not relent. Her Petal Dance continued as both Pokémon’s multi-turn moves went uninterrupted. Each side of the battle was starting to look more than rough.

Thankfully, out of all the Pokémon on Thomas’s team, Pupitar was the newest. Despite its experience with a previous trainer, it just couldn’t stand up in the face of such a powerful Grass Type move. In the middle of its Thrash, Pupitar suddenly fell to the ground, fainted.

Thomas looked a little sad when he returned Pupitar.

“I thought he could handle fainting Florges quickly, but clearly I underestimated the power behind Florges’s Petal Dance. I should have known she'd improved it so much after all of these months. You did a great job training your Pokémon, Alex, but unfortunately this battle ends here,” he said.

Thomas sent out his Umbreon, and Florges was too slow to lift off the ground and escape it. Umbreon jumped up and used its entire weight to bring her to the floor, and soon, a series of close ranged Snarls, Dark Pulses, and Paybacks fainted Florges. Not even a super effective Moonblast managed to get it off of Florges’s body.

I shook my head sadly as I returned Florges, and the referee called the match in Thomas’s favor. Umbreon coated itself in shadow and skipped over to Thomas, where it rubbed against his leg affectionately while he descended the staircase onto the field.

I was a little sad when we met in the center to shake hands, but we smiled at each other, acknowledging each other’s strength. We didn’t need to say anything else.

The anime and games always talked about how Pokémon battles helped you get to know someone, and while it was hard to explain, that was the truth here, too. Pokémon battles helped trainers see just how experienced their opponents were, and provided insights into exactly how much they had gone through.

Thomas was skilled. Far more skilled than I realized. Even with his experience, not just anyone could become an Ace Trainer. The three Pokémon my team had fainted had all fainted due to a single strategy overwhelming them, or because their species was at a disadvantage over the others. I doubted that my team would have an easy time handling any of the other Pokémon of his team.

The match had gone well, and I had to be satisfied that I took out half of Thomas’s team. At this point, all competing trainers were far above my level and I was honestly a little out of my league, but I was more than happy to reach this far. I was a bit disappointed that I only got into the top sixteen, but at the same time, I got into the top sixteen in my first tournament. That was incredibly impressive in its own right.

Thomas and I moved off the field, and despite losing, it could have been much worse. There was a strange feeling of acceptance as I left the arena, and while I might not have reached the finals in this Conference, there would always be the chance to perform better next time.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

In the end, Thomas managed to win the next match, lose once, then win again. He reached the top four only to lose against his opponent, but managed to beat the other top four losing trainer to secure his placement of third overall. It was impressive to get that high, as he honestly had some pretty tough competition.

Thomas was the highest ranking specialist, with the first and second place trainers both being generalists who had competed in multiple Conferences before. The second place trainer took on the Hoenn League each year, while the first place trainer had visited four other regions and competed in six different Conferences before this one. She would have the chance to challenge members of the Elite Four, then eventually the Champion over the next few months, while second and third place would have the right to a single battle with a member of the Elite Four. I imagined that Thomas would want to battle Sydney, the Hoenn League’s Dark Type specialist, but I couldn’t say for sure.

That Saturday, the ending ceremony took place on the main field. The battlefield had been removed and cleared out for the 256 competing trainers to stand in mostly even rows and columns, arranged so the trainers who placed higher up were standing near the victor’s platforms. While the majority of the competing trainers hadn’t battled in over a week, practically everyone showed up, with less than a handful of the lowest ranking trainers having already left.

Presenting at the stand was both the Pokémon League President, Charles Goodshow, and the current Hoenn League Champion, Steven Stone. They presented medals to the second and third place winners, as well as a large gold trophy to the first place trainer. Each of the top three would also receive a cash reward and a few secret rewards that went unmentioned.

Charles Goodshow gave a nice speech to end it, talking about the potential all competing trainers showed, and called for union in the times after all of the troubles this season had. He mentioned Mega Evolution real briefly, just to say it’ll be more prevalent in the upcoming year, and also called Steven up for a surprise announcement, which Charles looked unhappy about.

“This year, the champion of the Conference will not be able to challenge me to a battle if she so chooses,” Steven began.

Murmurs started to break out among the audience, and I stood up a bit straighter as I started to pay closer attention.

“As you all know,” he continued, “at the start of this year there was a horrific attack on Mossdeep by the remnants of Team Magma. While the perpetrators have been captured and punished, we suffered great losses, and while I understand most of you have already obtained closure, I understand some of you are still unsatisfied. To make up for my failure to protect this region of ours, there is still one thing I must do.”

Steven took a dramatic step forward, then suddenly leaned forward into an impossibly deep bow.

“I deeply apologize for my lack of presence against Kyogre, and for allowing the attack to occur in the first place. To reflect on my actions, I will step down as Hoenn League Champion as I focus on improving myself and my team to better serve all of you in the future.”

A series of gasps, cheers, and boos rang out from the audience, and I froze at his words. He stopped talking to let the audience properly react to the shocking news, and as they did so, I pressed my lips together and tried my hardest not to scowl.

I knew people were upset with Steven for not showing up for the attack, but this reaction is far too harsh. Really? He’s stepping down? Neither Wally nor I were allowed to speak about Rayquaza, but they really chose to share nothing about that at all?! Steven risked his life to get Rayquaza to show up, and now he’s being punished for it just because of public opinion. What a joke.

Wally’s position was a little ways away from me, and we locked eyes. He was much worse at hiding his emotions on his face, and looked just as mad as I felt. Some members of the audience were either booing Steven for not being present at Mossdeep, or cheering at the fact he was stepping down. It was hard to tell what exactly they were expressing, but one thing was clear: people weren’t happy with him.

Once the noises of the audience quieted down, Steven straightened back up and continued to speak.

“In my interim absence, I will be replaced by a crowd favorite and elite trainer that had been considered for the role in the past. He has proven time and time again to be a reliable member of the Pokémon League, and his protection of Sootopolis will now extend to be a protection for the entire region. May I present Wallace, the new Hoenn League Champion.”

Before anyone could even clap once, a wave of water burst out of one of the entrances to the field. Wallace, riding his Milotic, was carried by the momentum into the air, where the light from the still burning brazier of Moltres’s flame above him illuminated the water droplets that had been flung into the air.

As a result, he literally sparkled.

There was a brief “Ah-ha!” as he demonstrated he was already hooked up to a microphone, and Milotic gracefully landed on the ground.

Wallace then dismounted his Pokémon, took a place next to Steven, smiled brightly, and began to speak.

“People of Hoenn, I begin my tenure as Champion by saying do not blame Steven,” Wallace said. “The position of Champion is heavy, and while you may be upset at his lack of presence in Mossdeep, my first act of authority as your Champion will be to announce that Steven did work to help keep Mossdeep safe.”

Steven briefly broke his calm persona to shoot Wallace a look, and the diminutive form of Charles Goodshow next to them simply smiled.

“There are some things the Champion must do to keep the public safe. Some things are best left secret, but you have my word and honor that Steven’s direct efforts prevented the situation from becoming worse. While I will serve to the best of my ability, I do not intend to make my reign as League Champion last, as I know in my heart Steven will soon return stronger than ever.”

Wallace waited for the crowd to stop cheering, and when it did, he purposely waited to create the proper dramatic pause.

“And of course, while it wasn’t televised, I wasn’t just handed the position. The recording of my battle with Steven is already on the League’s archives, and you can watch that at your leisure.” He smirked. “Just wait until you see how my Ludicolo handled Steven’s Skarmory.”

The audience suddenly broke out into an uproar, cheering far louder than they had cheered for anything previously, and I felt myself relax a bit.

At least Wallace had the sense to make sure people at least got the hint of what Steven had done. Steven doesn’t deserve to be hated after fighting Rayquaza.

With that, the ceremony ended, and Charles Goodshow, Steven Stone, and Wallace all shook the hands of the three placing trainers. I left the arena with all the other trainers while Thomas and the other two were sent to a different location to collect their less publicized rewards. There were rumors of what those entailed, but nothing was ever confirmed. I doubted Thomas would tell me even if I asked.

Right now, with the Conference ending, my time in Hoenn was nearing its end. I had caught a team of amazing Pokémon, met a number of wonderful people, and experienced things I had never thought I would experience before. Even with all of the trouble and dangers I went through, I could confidently say I seriously enjoyed myself.

Now all I had to do was deal with what would come next.

====================================================
Author Note:

I had intended to finish both the Conference and Hoenn here, but this chapter is already far longer than I planned. Next chapter is the true end of the region, and onto Kalos after that.

Thomas’s fight details:

Specific battle details are going to be far rarer from here on out, as game stats really don’t apply. I might include them when they make sense, or if I really want to hammer home something about the power of a move or the resistance of a Pokémon, but it’ll mostly be vague overviews.

Thomas’s strategy as a trainer is to specifically weaken or disable his foes. His team is kitted out with moves that limit what move options an opponent has, or to just lower their stats in general. Strangely enough, he’s better at fighting trainers that are stronger than him rather than trainers at his level or below, since he specializes in bringing people down to his level rather than punching down. Alex’s team was weaker than Thomas’s, so a lot of his usual strategies weren’t necessary. I hope I wrote his team to be properly powerful.

Anyway, onto a few of the Pokémon.

Ninetales had to use Ice Beam to cover up the first hole she made with Dig, and used it several more times to prevent that initial spot of ice from standing out too much. The strategy was literally just to use Dig to stall underground while she enhanced herself with Calm Mind, which is simple but worked.

Murkrow’s Haze doesn’t necessarily prevent all stat changes, but instead immediately removes any slowing effect Icy Wind has on it. Murkrow is one of the Pokémon on Thomas’s team that puts in the most effort in training, since it doesn’t want to evolve and has to work to keep up with everyone else. Its role on the team is that of a “nullifier,” if that makes sense, eliminating both field effects and stat changes if someone sets up against him.

Umbreon’s shadow control isn’t a move, just something it can do. Culturally, Umbreon has a lot of stories about it, and when people mention “scary Dark Types,” Umbreon is towards the top of the list. Eevee that evolve into Umbreon tend to become a bit crueler than usual, which has been demonstrated in this story in the past.  Also, normally, Umbreon have their rings glow when they attack, but Thomas’s skill set as a Ace Trainer in training (now full Ace Trainer after this Conference) required him to specifically train Umbreon to hide that change to better suit his job.

Finally, Crawdaunt’s Guillotine doesn’t chop off its foe's heads. It could, if Thomas allowed it, but instead, the move entails a singular strong attack to the neck, sending an absolutely massive amount of raw energy into its target’s body at that weak point. You can imagine the damage that would do, but I didn’t want to go into the details of possibly bruising the throat, breaking the spine, etc. etc., even if current medical technology can fix those kinds of things. It's a brutal move that fits Dark Types, and it was unfortunately how Azumarill ended her role in the Conference. (She totally would have won otherwise, however.)

Pokémon mentioned in this chapter:
Crawdaunt
Gallade
Houndoom
Mightyena
Milotic
Murkrow
Pupitar
Umbreon

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter