Prologue: Divided Quartet
Alex's Point of View
"What a tough match that was!" I thought to myself as I leave the stadium with the others. Once alone, I take the Pokéballs out of my bag. "Aegislash, Bronzong, come out! You did amazingly today!". I pat them both affectionately to let them know my appreciation for their hard work. Footsteps from around the corner. I freeze, and slowly turn to see who is approaching. I see a flash of purple hair covering brown eyes. Killian. He accelerates towards me, making his intent clear. "Alex! Why do you care about that pretty boy so much? This is the second year in a row you teamed with him. It's the second year you've won! You two can't keep eachother to yourselves forever you know?" Ugh, here we go again. Everyone knows Joshua is the best of the 4 of us, just no one dares say it out loud for fear that his ego grows thrice its size. I recite how the match ended mere moments ago in my head.
"Alexandria is backed into a corner! With both of her partner Joshua's Pokémon unable to battle and just Aegislash left, how will she claw her way out of this one?" The MC's voice booms across the stadium. Cheers and roars all over the stadium at the play Killian and Marcus just made to take Joshua out of the match. It made sense for them to gang up on him since he's the strongest of us 4, but I failed to defend his team appropriately. The loss was all my fault. Just as I was getting ready to surrender, Killian and Marcus decided to save me the trouble. "Aegislash, attack her Aegislash with Shadow Claw, now!" Killian yelled loudly. "Machamp, Fire punch!" Marcus followed up. 2 super effective hits in a row would do it and I'd be done for.
...If they hadn't just made that fatal error. "Aegislash, quick, King's shield now!" I cry desperately. Right on cue, Aegislash takes defensive position with his shield in front. Killian and Marcus turn to look at eachother, realising the error in having both Pokémon attack me from the front. Killian's Aegislash bounces straight off the shield, crashing into Machamps fire punch. Killian's Aegislash falls to the ground. "Incredible. Alexandria just forced her opponents into eachother, Leaving Killian's Aegislash unable to battle. It's now a 1 on 1 between Machamp and Aegislash". Killian's jaw dropped. They both have to learn to leave their complacency behind when they're ahead. "Machamp, quick, fire punch again! She's assumed defensive position but the shield won't block all the damage!". As stated, Aegislash was hit super effectively, thankfully his high defense kept him in the fight. "Prepare yourself, Swords Dance now!" Aegislash performs the dance, strengthening his offensive power.
Me and Marcus gaze at eachothers' eyes. Based on all logic, my next move should be to use King's shield to lower Machamp's strength and win a war of attrition. However...
Me and Marcus both issue commands at the same time. "Machamp, Bulk Up now!" "Aegislash, use Swords Dance again!" Nailed it. This match was now in the bag. "Aegislash, finish it with Shadow Sneak!" No matter how well built Machamp is, there is no way he can take the hit. The crowd roars as Machamp falls to the floor. "Machamp is unable to battle, the winner is Aegislash. Which means the winner of the Elite 4 exhibition doubles is... Alex and Joshua!" Joshua looked at me with his arrogant smirk. "I could kiss you right now, you know that?" He winks. The reality of that match is that Joshua did a lot of the hard work, and he knows it! Still, he has to acknowledge that I won it despite Bronzong being forced asleep while Joshua was left to fight 1 vs 2. We both walk up to the pedestal, raising held hands triumphantly into the air!
Back in the real world, I look at Killian and answer him. "Keep eachother to ourselves? What are you talking about? He's-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Help, somebody come quick, they got us!" Joshua! And from the sounds of it, Marcus too! Killian and I instantly drop our quarrel, sprinting through the door behind us. Joshua and Marcus were both bagged and being dragged into a van. Marcus manages to get 1 foot free and kick Joshua out. Killian dashed forwards, not even stopping to evaluate the surroundings.
This would be the last I saw of these 3.
The explosive set outside the stadium back doors went off, blowing me back. I fall to the floor, my head aches harder than ever before. Screams can be heard from inside the stadium, so presumably the assailants were elsewhere. None of that mattered though. When the smoke cleared both Killian and Joshua had disappeared, and Marcus' captors had escaped with him. I sat in disbelief at the situation, clasping my pendant. "Marcus? Joshua? Killian!?" I'd failed to protect any of them. The sigil of the warden was worthless. Bleeding from the side of my head, I find I have no energy. So sleepy! Both Aegislash and Bronzong look at me with great concern. I would assure them I am fine, but alas I am too tired.
Adrian's Point of View
At last! We finally arrived at our new home in the Kumia region!
If only I could be that excited.
I'm Adrian, and I've just moved here from the Kanto region. My dad used to work for Silph Co in Saffron City, but his work required him to move to a distant office here in the Kumia region. We moved to Cardiflower City, where I am told I can get a Pokémon on my next Birthday in just 2 days! Fennekin, Froakie and Chespin are my choices, and they're all so cute that I can't decide!
That's the only good thing. I left all my friends behind, and everything here is different. I don't know if I could ever get used to this.