Chapter 129 (Patreon)

“Protect!” I yelled.

Whimsicott immediately reinforced his body with protective energies as a burst of magma washed over him. He came out lightly seared, but he was otherwise fine.

Heatran’s eyes twitched as it found itself unable to move as the reactions to Whimsicott’s Stun Spore finally came into effect. It had taken ages to finally slip in that status condition without Heatran burning away the spores on its own. As it was stunned from paralysis, Whimsicott finally had the time to switch from defense to offense.

“Move back and Nature Power,” I said.

When it came to Heatran and my team, Heatran was actually an exceptionally great training partner. Its dual Fire and Steel Type meant it had quadruple resistance to any Fairy Type moves my team used. That forced us to practice working at a disadvantage while also forcing us to think outside of the box, two things that would be incredibly beneficial to actually learn.

Whimsicott landed on the floor, but no terrain was up. Beneath his feet was dry, rocky terrain, the only part of this biome that lacked either lava or plants. As a result, Nature Power didn’t take the form of any of his sphere shaped attacks but one that actually used Heatran’s Type against it.

“Earth Power,” I whispered.

The ground glowed and rumbled before the rocks under Heatran’s feet shook. It lifted up a leg to stomp down and cancel the attack, but paralysis acted up once more. It stilled.

A burst of dirt and stone exploded outwards from underneath it. Heatran roared in pain, as, while the attack itself might not have been that strong, Heatran was especially vulnerable to Ground Type moves, taking roughly four times the damage from the attack as other moves.

Unfortunately, at this point, it finally pushed through its paralysis to use its signature move, Magma Storm, in a rush towards Whimsicott. Recognizing that the churning wave of magma coming his way was not good for his health, I quickly returned him.

Heatran let the move drop when it saw Whimsicott was gone. The magma hardened into stone then crumpled to the ground as a result.

“That was our best result yet,” I commented.

Heatran grunted its name then let itself sink into the floor. It had been standing over a few stones drifting on the lava’s surface, but it controlled them to melt like every other bit of rock around it as it sank downwards as if it were entering a hot tub. Its eyes closed as the lava warmed its wounds.

“That was your last attempt, too,” another voice commented behind me.

I surprised myself by not jumping, and, somehow, I kept my cool enough to glance to see who had spoken. Byron was there in all his rugged, Gym-Leader-ness, staring towards where Heatran was sitting in the lava.

“You said you were leaving today, right?” Byron asked.

I sighed, almost in disappointment, since these last few weeks had been highly productive. Not only was I able to have my Pokémon fight a Legendary Pokémon near daily, but a handful of other experienced trainers were here as well. One of them, a Water Type specialist, was actually using the relatively dry space to push his team through tough training conditions. My team and I were frequently able to challenge his team, and, outside of him, the other powerful trainers also occasionally matched up with us as well.

However, with my show battle soon coming up, I really needed to head out. It’d been just under a full month at this point, bringing us to early January and resulting in me spending practically a third of my allotted time for the nine-month League season in Iron Island in total.

I couldn’t help it. It was an incredible place to train.

“We were,” I replied. “I’m happy that we were able to at least put up a good fight, this time. Everyone’s been doing such a good job. You saw that I left a gift for Heatran in the Pokémon Center, right? I can’t really approach him while he’s in the lava right now.”

Byron nodded.

“The satchel of berries. He’ll enjoy it. Although I have to wonder—”

“Oh, Gardevoir teleported me to Canalave to let me buy them yesterday,” I said.

He laughed at my comment.

“Ah, yes. That would do it! I will make sure to give Heatran your present.”

“And one last thing...”

I turned over to the lava fields to shout out where Heatran was resting.

“THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!” I yelled at Heatran. “I HOPE THESE BATTLES WERE JUST AS FUN FOR YOU AS THEY WERE FOR US!”

The Legendary Pokémon opened its eyes briefly before responding with a pleased gurgle. It then sank lower into the molten stone, enjoying the heat that came with its current position even more.

“With my upcoming schedule, I probably won’t be back here any time soon.” I said. “Thanks again for setting this up, Byron,” I said.

He clasped my offered hand.

“No problem. Say, are you—”

“No, yeah, I am still kind of annoyed with you about last time.”

“Ah,” he replied.

One last goodbye, and Gardevoir released himself from his Nest Ball to teleport us as close as he could to our next destination.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Snow, snow, and more snow. Ninetales was in heaven. I rode on Rapidash’s back as he charged over the freezing cold terrain of Route 217. His long legs let him “cheat” the terrain since his added height meant he didn’t get stuck in the snow pits that littered the route’s plains. Ninetales had the opposite reaction to the environment, actually running on top of the pure white snow, not sinking even an inch.

Even with the multiple layers my Valerie-designed outfit could provide me, I still found myself shivering. Thankfully, there had been a few smaller towns here and there off to the side where I was able to secure some earmuffs, a wool hat, and thicker gloves. I wasn’t able to find any thicker jackets, however. My clothes were much higher quality than what was available.

Similarly, Rapidash had his own “snow outfit,” but it really just consisted of a thick blanket thrown over his back. His Green Scarf we had bought in Lake Valor helped keep his neck warm, and to help us even further, he’d occasionally use Mystical Fire to bring warmth to us as we ran.

We couldn’t just have Gardevoir teleport us the whole way, however. His Teleport could only bring him to places he could picture in his mind, which meant places he had been to. His presence meant we could potentially return to any of the small towns on the side of the route if necessary but not Snowpoint itself.

It didn’t matter much. With Rapidash’s speed and his innate Pokémon-granted stamina, the journey northwards had been cut down to a matter of days. Everyone with me had already got their fair share of fun in the cold, now we just wanted to reach our target as fast as possible.

It was good that I was now starting to make it out in the distance.

“Almost there! I can see it now!" I yelled.

Ninetales let out a sad whine as she ran alongside us, using Agility to keep up. This snowy area was truly her home in one way or another. I was genuinely having trouble believing her species was native to the tropical Alola region.

Usually, Rapidash would have slowed to a trot by now, but with the promise of a warm place to stay, he picked up the pace and we arrived in the city within the hour.

To me, Snowpoint was the definition of cozy. Even though we were outside, I already felt warmer in the city than when we were outside. The roads only had a thin layer of white powder on them, and the buildings were all nestled together with none too tall.

Rapidash practically locked onto a Pokémon Center located only a few blocks in. When we got outside, I hopped off his back, and he pressed his nose to his Dream Ball on his belt to be immediately returned. I almost moved inside right there and then, but Ninetales gave me the most pitiful whine and looked up at me with a set of large eyes.

“Alright, you can stay outside,” I relented. Ninetales hopped around in victory. “Just give me time to reserve a room, then we can go out and explore the town.”

She nodded furiously then plopped down right outside of the door. I walked in, expecting to be able to follow through with what I said, but a sight caused me to immediately change my mind.

This time, I was prepared for this. The pattern was clear, his presence was obvious. I wasn’t going to let him sneak up on me.

“Hey, Ash!” I called out.

Ash, Brock, Dawn, Pikachu, and Piplup all turned their heads my way. I gave them a big smile and walked over, satisfied to be the one who called out to them for once.

“How’s it going?” I asked as I approached.

“Great! I got my seventh Gym Badge, Paul and I agreed to battle in ten days, and we helped protect Regigigas!”

Pikachu cheered on Ash’s shoulder.

“Huh,” I said.

“No need to worry! Everything worked out just fine in the end!” Dawn said.

“And, uh...”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak any words with him about that. Now that he shared it, I definitely remembered such a thing happening in the anime. Actually, the more I thought about it, Snowpoint City was where a lot of recurring side characters met up, for some reason. Somehow, I just missed all the exciting stuff. I was extremely thankful for such a thing.

“Wait, Brandon is here,” I suddenly realized.

“Oh yeah! He beat Paul, then helped fight against the people going after Regigigas! He’s up at the temple, trying to help restore it,” Ash cheerfully replied.

I locked my vision on him.

“Do you think he’s willing to battle?”

“Of course!”

“Hold on there, Ash,” Brock interrupted. “He and his Pokémon just went through a harrowing experience, plus they need to dedicate their time to rebuild. He might be busy.”

“Oh,” Ash said.

“I’m going to challenge him, anyway,” I declared.

He might be preoccupied, but with such a powerful team, he might be down to battle, regardless. I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to battle a trainer that had Legendary Pokémon on his team.

“And are you going to stick around for the show battle?” I asked.

“Yeah!” Ash exclaimed.

“Actually, he has a battle scheduled with Paul the same day,” Brock supplied, looking a bit exasperated at the comment. Ash’s expression fell as he scratched the side of his face awkwardly.

“Oh. Yeah,” he said.

There wasn’t really anything left to discuss, really, outside of that brief bit of catching up. As we parted, Dawn whispered a quiet “Good luck in the Contest!” to me. Honestly, after hearing about Brandon being here, the thought of the local Contest scene hadn’t even crossed my mind. Maybe my team could earn our fifth and final ribbon here, too.

For now, we’d focus on our upcoming battles.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Who was Brandon, exactly?

Just calling him an elite would be an understatement. The Battle Frontier was a non-region specific challenge filled with seven different powerful trainers known as Frontier Brains. Each one vastly surpassed the power of a Gym Leader, meaning only the toughest of the tough could beat and collect all seven symbols from them.

Pyramid King Brandon stood a head above the rest. He had not one, not two, but three Legendary Pokémon on his team, owning all three of the original Regi trio Pokémon.

It took Ash three tries to beat him.

I fulfilled my promise to explore the town with Ninetales before heading out northwards the next day. I desperately wanted to treat this potential battle as seriously as possible, so I swapped my team out to support that.

Ninetales to hypnotize and manipulate her opponents.

Gardevoir to better his expertise against Legendary Pokémon.

Whimsicott to trick and stall whoever he fought.

Florges to pair with Whimsicott and serve as a wall.

Carbink to withstand even the most brutal of attacks.

And finally, Azumarill, because these kinds of fights were what she lived for.

Snowpoint Temple was built into a cliffside just to the north of town, and it was the primary reason for this place's existence. I knew that Regigigas slept within, and it seemed that after whatever happened with Hunter J, a lot of other people would probably know now, too.

I didn't meet with a sight I expected when I arrived. The area was swarming with Ace Trainers and reporters, and a crowd of people stood on the edge to watch.

I had to duck behind a tree to put on a pair of dark sunglasses to hide my identity. I also took out a spare scarf to wrap around Ninetales's head to hide hers as well.

Somehow, we managed to squeeze through the crowd to get to the front and approach a woman in a red vest that signified her as a member of the League's forces.

"Excuse me? What happened here?" I asked.

"Cleaning up a mess," she scowled. "You'll get an official report soon enough."

I frowned before heading to the back of the crowd. Someone joined me to my right.

"Crazy, huh?" the mysterious man asked.

"I guess. I've had my share of crazy."

"So I've heard," he laughed. "Cynthia wants to talk to you."

My head snapped towards him. He gave me a smile and offered me his hand. I took off my glasses to squint my eyes at him, trying my best to recognize who he was.

Purple hair. Thin rimmed glasses. A burgundy suit.

"Lucian? Of the elite four?"

"Yes, that's me. Now come along. I don't want anyone recognizing us."

I quickly returned Ninetales and grabbed his hand. Two flashes signified an Alakazam being released then teleporting us away.

"Alex? Good. You're here. Everyone, leave the room," Steven hurriedly said.

I blinked as I looked around as about a dozen Ace Trainers left the room. After Steven and Cynthia exchanged a glance, two more trainers left as well: both Lucian and Brandon.

Steven then turned to me.

"Hunter J. Where does she go next after her ship was destroyed?"

"What? Her ship was never destroyed," I said.

Steven cursed. I did a genuine double take as he leaned forward to rest against a map on the table.

"Yesterday, Ash and his friends encountered Hunter J trying to capture Regigigas," Steven explained. "In the fight, her airship was destroyed. We have teams searching for her on the ground. Where does she go next?"

I briefly glanced over to Cynthia as he said that, curious as to how much Cynthia had figured out on her own after that extremely in depth questionnaire. However, I could tell that this wasn’t the time to question it. I pushed on instead.

"I don’t know. This never happened in my world," I said, grimacing.

Both Steven and Cynthia grimaced as well.

"My memory is fuzzy," I started. "It's been years. I could have sworn she died when her airship crashed into a lake."

"Well, that didn't happen," Steven said.

"I assume she was at a lake to capture a different Legendary?" Cynthia asked.

"Probably on the behalf of Team Galactic, who aren't around anymore," I replied.

Steven sighed then leaned back from the map. He looked it over and shook his head.

"No, unfortunately not. With Hunter J's airship destroyed, she's stuck on foot, as we're watching the skies too intently for her to escape on her Salamence. Snowpoint's Port is going to be locked down in the meantime, and any travel to and from this city is going to be heavily restricted. If we catch even the slightest wind of her..."

He frowned, staring at the map.

I stared at the map, too. It marked out a dense perimeter around the city as well as areas assigned to countless scouts trying to track her down. With practically all of the League's forces assembled here, she'd have an incredibly low chance to escape, but she'd still have a chance.

"So, your Togepi—"

"Not now, Cynthia," Steven hissed. He looked deadly serious. "Let's get everyone back in."

As he said that, he waved his arm, somehow sending a signal to the people outside. Ace Trainers funneled back into the room, and Lucian approached me to bring me outside with a Teleport.

I felt bad. There wasn't anything I could do. Even more, this was my fault, in one way or another. My actions might have led to Hunter J remaining a threat for much longer than she was supposed to.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

As was unfortunately expected, the barricade came down only a few days later when Hunter J failed to show. This week's Snowpoint Contest was canceled, meaning that I'd likely face an increased competition for the one I competed in down the line. My show battle was coming up, but with the reduced number of people, I decided to make my way back to where Snowpoint Temple was.

It was located in a small canyon, with a few tents set up with remnant Ace Trainers. I was allowed in, though a few pieces of lingering scrap from Hunter J’s supposedly destroyed airship were still on the ground. Each one was cordoned off and protected by their own Ace Pokémon.

I didn't have to enter Snowpoint Temple to meet him, as Brandon was waiting outside, talking to a woman in white robes. When I approached, she bowed her head and walked off.

"Excuse me!" I called out.

Pyramid King Brandon was a middle aged man with dark, graying hair and a green jacket. He stood with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. His thick eyebrows pointed downwards and made it seem he was constantly angry.

"Yes?" he asked.

His voice was surprisingly deep.

"I wanted to challenge you to a battle, if you have the time."

He looked me up and down. One of those thick eyebrows was raised in curiosity.

"Not the most determined challenge I've received."

"Alright, then." I cleared my throat. "Pyramid King Brandon! I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

I even went as far as to point forward right at him. Seeing that, his face gained a small smile.

"Good," he stated. "Name your terms."

"Full team, six on six, using what Pokémon you have available."

He stared at me, unblinking, as I stood there awkwardly. There was genuine uncomfortable silence as he did nothing but stare. I shifted back and forth between my feet.

"Okay!" he yelled.

He shouted so loudly and so unexpectedly, I flinched from the exclamation.

"We shall fight inside the temple! My Pokémon need the practice!"

The temple wasn't like the games, it was just a single, vast interior. A wide stage-like structure sat in the back, where a glass orb sat on a plinth.

Brandon stopped in front of that, then turned to face me.

"You have come at a good time. I have promised my Pokémon to serve as the new pillars that protect Regigigas. They need practice against strong foes if they are to stay in shape. I trust you will pose a solid challenge."

Brandon closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath, then snapped them open with a "Hmph!"

He casually tossed forward a Pokéball he took from his pocket.

"Registeel," he commented.

A large, almost spherical metal golem appeared on the field. Its arms were like cables that hung off its sides while its face was nothing more than a series of seven red dots arranged in an almost diamond pattern.

It beeped its name in a series of very alien beeping noises.

"So he's starting with Registeel, huh?"

I could have eyed the towering golem, but I already knew my decision. Gardevoir was sent out to the field. I called out to him.

"Gardevoir! Consider this a practice run. I don't need to give you any orders. Remember what you worked on with Carbink."

He nodded.

Without a referee, there was no one to give us a proper start to the battle. However, that just meant we needed to decide to do that on our own. Brandon yelled out to start.

Following the basics of our planned strategy, Gardevoir started out by creating illusory duplicates. Under its protection, he began to use Calm Mind, as well. Registeel stayed immobile until Brandon gave his first order.

"Lock-On," he ordered calmly.

Registeel's fingers stretched out to form a triangle shape over its mass of light-up eyes. It scanned the field before facing a single duplicate, then it began to rapidly shift around to track Gardevoir's constant teleporting.

"Zap Cannon," Brandon ordered.

From that same triangle in its hands, Registeel sent out a massive sphere of electricity that homed in on Gardevoir's position. I could see him panic and try to avoid it, but every time he teleported, the attack switched directions without losing a beat.

"Come on," I whispered. "Time it right..."

The Zap Cannon impacted Gardevoir, and he let out a cry of pain. The sound of shattering glass rang out as well, signaling to me that his Light Screen failed to stop the blow. However, his use of Calm Mind combined with the shattered screen helped minimize the damage. His other duplicates faded as Gardevoir now stared down the Legendary Pokémon.

"Full offense," I ordered.

Gardevoir glanced back at me for a moment, and I got the sense he was disappointed he wasn't able to handle it on his own. However, I was no fool. He had timed that Light Screen well, he just needed more practice. If his screen had stopped the attack, he could have made it seem an illusory double was actually him and teleport away safely.

It failed now, but it wouldn’t fail in the future.

From here, he unleashed a Psychic at Registeel, but all he managed to do was cause its metal to creak and bend. Overall, its form stayed practically entirely the same as it lumbered forward and used Lock-On for a second time.

Gardevoir tried his best to dodge while continuing to hurt his foe, but the Registeel then released a flurry of Flash Cannons. Shot after shot of brilliantly glowing Steel Type energy slammed into Gardevoir as he desperately tried to avoid and turn each hit into a glancing blow.

The issue was Gardevoir was facing a Pokémon with Legendary power. Each attack was incredibly strong on its own, and Registeel did not let up. Ultimately, the barrage knocked him out.

I quickly returned him. Brandon made no comment.

It was unfortunate that Brandon had used his Steel Type first as its Type gave it a distinct advantage. Even though they were especially weak to Steel, I sent out Carbink, thinking they might have a chance to deal decent damage.

"Defensive Body Press," I ordered.

I wanted Carbink to focus on defense while keeping an eye out for openings to attack. They started by setting up a pair of defensive screens and began to build defensive buffs with Iron Defense.

Registeel lumbered forward.

"Iron Head," Brandon commanded.

Before Registeel attacked, Carbink managed to launch themselves forward to slam their body right into the Steel Type. I cheered when I saw the Registeel tilt back from the impact.

Too bad it used that new angle to its advantage.

With one leg in the air from being knocked off balance, Registeel suddenly slammed its head forward. I winced as the attack landed, but Carbink's Reflect did serve to minimize the damage. Due to the force of the impact, Carbink bounced off the ground like a basketball then used that momentum to slam right back into Registeel a second time.

"Again," Brandon ordered.

This time, Registeel grabbed Carbink to prevent such a bounce and smashed the poor Fairy Type into its head like a drunk man crushing a beer can. Credit to Carbink's innate sturdiness, they didn't faint, but the sheer force of the attack caused them to flinch. They were unable to use a move before a third and final Iron Head finished them off.

I frowned, seeing just how quickly the most defensive Pokémon on my team fainted.

“You did great, Carbink,” I whispered to them in their Great Ball. I really meant it, too, since each Body Press had actually left a decent dent in Registeel’s body, thanks to the move dealing super effective damage. In fact, Registeel didn’t look to be in good shape at all right now. Alongside those dents, its body's surface was now wrinkled like aluminum foil thanks to Gardevoir's Psychic. Likely, it was incredibly injured despite still being up. This meant one more team member, and—

Brandon returned Registeel to send out his next Pokémon. I would have frowned if I didn't see which of his two remaining Regi’s it was.

Smiling at this perfect opportunity, I sent out Azumarill.

"You—"

She was off. She didn't even wait for my orders, and I was proud of her for that. An Aqua Jet slammed into the Regirock's chest and sent it stumbling backwards.

She used the reactive force to bounce on her tail and rush forward again with Splash, immediately raising a fist for Liquidation.

She was met with a fist of Regirock's own. The two colliding arms meant Regirock was pushed back a few feet while Azumarill was launched half the battlefield away.

"Impressive," Brandon commented. "Now, Stone Edge."

I gave Azumarill the order, and she resumed the fight with Aqua Jet. I knew brute force wouldn't win this, so I was waiting until the right moment to call out a specific move.

However, Regirock proved its strength then and there, just like how Registeel had proved its own with its Flash Cannon barrage. The Legendary Pokémon raised its arms, and in a large circle around Azumarill, spiked rocks erupted from the ground.

Azumarill was stabbed, battered, and impacted by the stone. It sent her Aqua Jet hurtling off to the side, where Regirock moved to try to target her for a Lock-On. Worried, I called out for the move I wanted.

"Swagger!"

Azumarill, injured but still ready to continue, hopped to her feet and entered a challenging stance and gesture at Regirock aggressively. Its eyes flashed erratically, but thanks to Lock-On, it didn't look away.

"Oh no," I whispered.

"Hyper Beam," Brandon ordered.

Azumarill didn't get a chance to dodge due to the perfect accuracy that came with a use of Lock-On. All seven of its eyes lit up pure white, and a Hyper Beam burst out of its body to completely encompass Azumarill. I yelled her name, hoping for the best.

When the light finally faded, I saw the charred Azumarill right there.

Azumarill smirked. She was wobbling on her feet, but she was still standing. Out of all my Pokémon here, she was the only one to directly approach Heatran when we were training under Iron Island. She was used to attacks of similar power.

"Liquidation!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

While Regirock wasn't completely immobile, its actions slowed as it recharged, letting her easily move in. A Water Type-imbued fist slammed into its face. I heard rock crumble under the force of the attack.

Its eyes turned to a solid gray. I held up a fist to cheer. Then, every single one of its H-patterned eyes turned red.

Regirock burst with an Electric Type Shock Wave, hitting Azumarill. She grit her teeth, trying her best to stay conscious and claim the title of the only Pokémon on my team to knock out a Legendary Pokémon, but she fell unconscious.

Credit to her, the Legendary Pokémon only looked barely better than her. Its body was swaying and its arms were drooping to its sides. At several points, the stone on its body was chipped and broken, but it was still up. Rather than keeping it out, Brandon returned his Pokémon as I returned Azumarill.

Regirock might not have fainted, but I chose to consider this a victory in my book.

With both Registeel and Regirock hitting the field before being switched out, that left only a single Regi left to be used. As expected, a freezing creature of crystalline ice hit the field. Its solid circle eyes were arranged in a t-shaped pattern, and its spiked arms swung back and forth. With Regice on the field, I sent out Ninetales, knowing she would want to test herself against this chilling foe.

I hated to say it, but Regice was the perfect counter to the rest of my team. The rest of the battle went by quickly.

Regice was a Pokémon built to easily withstand any special attack, and all I had left were special attackers. Ninetales's moves slid right off its surface, and the one time she got a direct hit with Moonblast, it simply used a quick Rest to have the damage freeze over and be repaired.

Ninetales was taken out by a surprisingly accurate, four times effective Flash Cannon before she could properly confuse it. Similarly, Florges was rendered helpless when she was frozen solid by a Blizzard, and Whimsicott's Grass Type couldn't withstand a Legendary Ice Type, even with his numerous defensive moves.

Having my last three Pokémon fainted so easily did not make me feel confident after the battle. That in part was exacerbated by the fact we barely landed any solid attacks. If this Regice didn’t know Rest...

Still, I was no fool. I knew that Brandon was an incredibly tough trainer, one that was likely even tougher than Tobias. The Regi Trio didn't have quite the same power as a Darkrai, but my team put up a solid attempt in the face of such overwhelming power.

The issue with Regice was that it benefitted from a series of bad matchups on my part. The experience was worth it, however.

"Great battle," Brandon said afterwards.

"I agree."

He crossed his arms once more and eyed me carefully as I moved closer to him now that the battle was over. He had already returned his Regice, but just passing through the space it once occupied caused me to shiver.

"Why do you fight?" Brandon suddenly asked.

"To be the best Fairy Type trainer."

He closed his eyes and nodded.

"Good!" he shouted loudly, briefly surprising me for a second time. "Your Pokémon fought with a fervor I rarely see in a challenger. Both Registeel and Regirock were pushed to their limits. If I had not switched them out when I did, two of my Pokémon would now be unconscious."

I couldn't help it. I grinned. Him admitting that proved my team was getting stronger. There was still over a month before when the Sinnoh Conference was set to begin in March. We were approaching the state of power we needed to beat Tobias. A bit more training, and we could pull off a win.

"Thank you," I said genuinely.

Tobias was strong, but he was no Brandon. We had two more Gym badges, one last Contest, and the Grand Festival still to get through. All of those posed challenges my team needed to grow to get through. We had a chance.

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

To explain why Regice was so glossed over compared to the other two, I want to point out that Regice has an incredible base 200 Special Defense. That, combined with it being a Legendary Pokémon, meant Alex's team could barely put a dent in it, and its Rest quickly healed up any of the damage they'd done while also removing status conditions inflicted on it by Whimsicott.

The best Pokémon on Alex’s team to fight it would have been either Rapidash or Azumarill, as they both have strong physical moves, and Rapidash especially has access to a Fire Type move in the form of Mystical Fire.

(Also, Regice may have received a slight buff because it's one of my favorite Pokémon. I can't help it! Its design is so cool!)

Pokémon (and people) mentioned in this chapter:
Alakazam
Heatran
Pikachu
Piplup
Regice / Regirock / Registeel / Regigigas

Hunter J
Lucian
Pyramid King Brandon / Battle Frontier

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