"One look at you tells me many things about you."
The words, spoken so nonchalantly, echoed in the large, brightly lit room. That square room she had heard so many rumors about, that room where she would face her strongest opponent yet.
The spinning, green circles in the floor were almost hypnotizing to watch, but she forcefully distracted herself. She should be paying attention to the woman before her.
Dawn felt her insides seething with excitement. Those years spent traveling around, training her Pokémon, helping people out, and challenging gym leaders around the world. Those years of making friends and enemies, of defeating rivals and companions alike in all kinds of battles.
Everything she had learned on her journey was swirling around in her head. All her tactics and experience, muddling together. She was nervous, of course. Everyone was nervous before facing the Champion.
Dawn knew a few people who had lost to the Champion. They had told her what it was like to stand in that room, listening to that voice. Standing there, she realized how different it felt in real life. She had a pricking sensation in her fingertips. Her heart was pounding.
Now, when she looked at the famed person, that person she already knew, she was hit by a wave of strong emotion. Rivaling feelings. An eternity of gratitude towards the blonde woman. A bitter lust for battle, for challenge.
More challenge.
Her Pokémon were too powerful now. The average trainers she met along the way didn't challenge her the way they used to. The battles seemed forced. Boring. Repetitive.
The Elite Four had been a better challenge, but it still wasn't enough. Though the battles were hard, it was nothing she couldn't handle.
Dawn wanted more.
Though she had been confident in herself and her Pokémon until this point, her will suddenly seemed to waver. She wanted this. It was everything she had ever wanted. If she pulled through here, she would become the Champion herself, and face powerful trainers every day. She would be respected and feared.
But she was afraid.
Those cool, gray eyes looking at her. That mouth, curling upwards in a confident smirk.
The Champion was assertive, standing with her legs slightly apart and her hands loosely resting on her hips. Her presence dominated the room utterly. She was too comfortable. Too used to it.
Dawn listened to the woman's cold, smooth voice, trying to prepare for the upcoming ordeal.
This is what you wanted, she reminded herself. This is what you've been fighting for.
"That's enough talking," the Champion said, interrupting both herself and Dawn's thoughts. "I, Cynthia, accept you challenge as the Pokémon League Champion!"
Just then, everything was gone. As the glow of Pokémon being called forth filled the room, as the cries of the creatures resounded between the four white walls, everything in Dawn's mind seemed to disappear.
What was she doing?
She wasn't ready to fight the champion yet.
Dawn met the gaze of her slightly bewildered Empoleon. He seemed uncertain of what to do, as Dawn had given him no orders or directions.
She had to pull herself together. This was what she wanted. This was what she had been seeking all along.
Yes…This battle was the culmination of all her efforts. The climax of her journey. Should she lose, she would come back at a later time to try again. Definite determination pumped through Dawn's body and she tossed Empoleon a reassuring smile.
Redirecting her stare, Dawn was surprised to find that same encouraging grin on the Champion's face. Her large Garchomp was sitting peacefully in front of her, assessing the opponents.
Cynthia had wanted this battle as well. It was in her eyes. She was as hungry for challenge as Dawn was.
These battles. What did they turn young trainers into?
They all wanted more.
More battles, more victories. More challenge.
Dawn murmured an order, and the battle had begun. Her insides yearned for that rush once more. She was addicted to victory. That rush of joy she had felt in the beginning for each win. Each bumbling schoolboy or hiker or camper she had defeated. That adrenaline rush, followed by that amazing feeling.
She hadn't felt it very strongly in a while. She did feel elevated and gleeful after defeating the Elite Four, but not as powerfully as before.
Dawn was convinced that if she won this battle, she would certainly experience that rush once more. The rush of battle. The rush of defeating another trainer.
Empoleon's ice beam attack missed the defending Pokémon by a mile as the opponent swiftly moved out of the way. Garchomp rushed in for a counterattack, using the momentum of its airborne evasive maneuver to attain a superior speed to Empoleon.
Dawn hadn't heard the Champion's order and didn't know what was coming, but she shouted for Empoleon to defend himself. The upcoming attack turned out to be a hefty strike with the blades on Garchomp's arms, and was blocked by Empoleon's large flippers. The metal edges screeched in contact with the hard blades of the other Pokémon, and sparks flew from the contact area as the surfaces grinded against one another.
"Garchomp, earthquake," the Champion commanded almost boredly, though her eyes gleamed of heated excitement, and Garchomp planted those large feet into the floor. With a roar the Pokémon created a large-scale earthquake within the room, shaking Empoleon thoroughly. The penguin-like creature swayed, dizzy and disoriented.
Dawn fell to her knees, unable to keep her balance in the violent earthquake. She looked up, determination in her previously scared eyes, and she commanded Empoleon to use his mist. A thick, icy cold fog filled the room quickly, hindering all the participants' eyesight considerably.
"Come on, Empoleon," she shouted in a thrilled voice. "Use your ice beam again!"
She could almost hear the vigorous ray of ice shooting out of her Pokémon's gaping mouth. Though she couldn't see him, she knew very well what Empoleon's attack looked like.
Garchomp is weak against ice, she mused to herself. It was a tactic she had used many times before.
She had been ready for this battle.
"Empoleon, use blizzard!"
The cold gathering in the room was immense. Wisps of white smoke floated from Dawn's mouth with every breath she took, and the hairs on her arms stood on end. She looked down at her hands, to find that they were trembling.
They weren't trembling from the cold, however. The adrenaline pumping through her veins made her shake with anticipation, made her realize once again why she was a Pokémon trainer.
"Garchomp, evade it! Evade it!"
The Champion sounded a little exasperated, Dawn realized with a gleeful grin. She heard Garchomp's cry and assumed it had been hit.
"Blizzard! Blizzard, for the love of God, use blizzard!"
Though she knew that blizzard wasn't a move that Empoleon could use indefinitely, she couldn't help it. She had lost control.
The powerful bursts of ice hit Garchomp again and again, each time chipping off a good bit of the Pokémon's stamina. As the thick mist cleared, Dawn could see the two Pokémon clearly. The Champion's Pokémon was swaying, its body covered in small ice crystals. Its eyes were glazed over. Empoleon let out a victorious cry as his opponent staggered and fell.
Cynthia called back her Pokémon with an acknowledging nod, before sobering again. She reached towards a new Pokéball, sending out her new fighter.
Dawn nodded at Empoleon, and he turned around once more to fight another foe. He was still strong. He could go on.
She was immensely proud of him.
That pride, that bond which tied her to all her Pokémon, was what had led her here. That hunger to have them fight for her. To feel their loyalty.
To see them in elated joy when she praised them for winning.
They thought she was worth something. They thought she was worth fighting for.
Dawn raised her hands slowly, ordering Empoleon to use his hydro pump.
They didn't think she was useless.
From that moment on, Dawn cast away everything she had been mulling over. She was going to win. She wanted to win. She wouldn't stop until she had won this battle.
Empoleon lasted a while, but eventually she had to call him back. She sent out other Pokémon, watching them struggle and fight and eventually going down. Though she had lost a lot of Pokémon and was running out of healing items, Dawn was confident in her victory. She had one Pokémon left in her belt when Azumarill passed out.
"I can't remember the last time I was put in a corner like this," the Champion exclaimed with a half-grin. She had used up her potions and revives, and was on the edge of defeat.
The Champion had a half-conscious Gastrodon out, her expression changing from anxiety to confidence to approval. Down to her last Pokémon, Cynthia was experiencing a different kind of emotion: the knowledge and satisfaction that she would lose. It was a sort of relief to finally admit defeat and resign her position. She would be free again.
Dawn slowly regained herself and ordered her Pokémon to attack the Champion's Gastrodon. The slug Pokémon wailed, trying its hardest to withstand the assault, but soon gave in to Dawn's highly motivated, rested Pokémon.
As the Champion called back the unconscious creature, a surge of emotions clogged up Dawn's throat. Had she really done it? Had she won the battle?
She had been prepared for this throughout the fight, but when her dream became a fact it was almost too good to believe. When the dust settled and the room became quiet, after she had called back her final Pokémon after praising it well…it was over, wasn't it.
Her chest felt like it was going to burst with uncontrollable happiness. She had defeated the Champion. All by herself, she of all people had won the final battle. It was like capturing her first Pokémon, a Bidoof, and seeing its happy expression when she used it in battle. It was like defeating her first trainer, and it was like reaching the end of a deep cave. It was all of those things combined.
It was the greatest thing she had felt, yet she couldn't quite enjoy it – what had it cost her? What did that same dream cost so many young trainers? Training, battling, winning, losing, losing again and losing some more, training until you fell over in exhaustion, battling every day. The dream took its toll.
But it was fun.
Dawn couldn't deny the fact that though she had lost a lot, and though she had had some difficulties along the way, her journey had been fun.
Fun…
She was brought back into the present by a silky voice.
"Congratulations," the Champion said, walking closer with graceful steps. Her coat swayed subtly with each step, and this small motion caught Dawn's eye. She found herself watching the furry end of the garment closely, for reasons she did not know. Back and forth.
When the Champion finally stopped walking, just half a meter away from the young girl, Dawn's eyes finally snapped away from the coat. Instead, she looked up into the Champion's smiling face.
"Congratulations," she repeated. "You…You have trained hard for this moment, and just now, you became our new Champion."
Dawn didn't know how to respond. She was happy, she was solemn and she was proud. She was overwhelmed, to say the least, and tired.
Quite tired.
"I, I…Thank you," she managed, looking down into the green circle on the floor. She heard Cynthia's chuckle and the quiet footfalls as the previous Champion began walking.
"Come with me," Cynthia said, motioning for the girl to follow.
With a small, proud smile Dawn began walking, past the room where the floor had been broken and the walls shaken, and into a dark and dusty room. She had heard stories of this place before.
Her Pokémon would be healed. Their efforts would be recorded. It would go down in history, as it had so many times before.
Then, she would be the Champion, and she would accept challenges from trainers. Young trainers like herself. And she would battle every day, and perhaps her craving for battle would still.
And maybe she could battle Cynthia again.
Lucas would probably come to the Pokémon League as well. Eventually. She would battle him as well, and show him how good she had gotten.
Battle.
It was her life now. It was what she did. Forgotten was everything she had been doing before receiving her first Pokémon and with it the right to battle. Forgotten was her existence without fighting.
It was her life now, and she savored every minute of it.
Dawn stared at her six Pokéballs silently. The machine had already healed the Pokémon inside. Their names had been recorded in the hall of fame.
Reaching out, she grasped the closest ball and pressed down the white button. The ball opened and in a flash, Empoleon stood there with her. He gave a satisfied hum and she smiled at him, showing the Pokémon her gratitude.
Cynthia had been watching the girl in silence. She wondered if Dawn knew what she had gotten herself into. She was so young. The now-retired Champion was saddened by the thought of what awaited Dawn now. Constant battles, the face of a young trainer whose dream was just crushed, the sight of them lamenting their loss. Their Pokémon fainting and falling over with the trainers uselessly shouting for them to get up again. Day in and day out.
Dawn was too young. It wasn't fair. But still, Cynthia shared the girl's elevated feeling, but for a different reason.
She was free.
"I'm sorry," she said, patting Dawn's shoulder lightly while turning on her heel. "And thank you. Let's meet again."
With that, the blonde woman left the room. Empoleon looked after her solemnly before returning his attention to his trainer.
Dawn stood there in silence for a while, just staring at her Pokéballs. Her friends. Her companions.
Those loyal beasts who would gladly give their life for their beloved master.
As the motion sensor-controlled lights dimmed and shut themselves off one by one, she stood there, wondering. How far had she gotten? How much was left? How many hours, days, and years did she have ahead of herself?
How many exhilarating battles would she experience?
Empoleon softly nudged her shoulder with his nose, uttering a small noise. She pet him on the head absentmindedly, reaching out towards the Pokéballs. Her friends. Her only friends.
Her loyal, bloodthirsty beasts.