Right, I know, I have stories to work on. But this actually happened to me, and I found it so funny I couldn't resist imagining Lucian's reaction when he saw my Machop...
Lucian stared incredulously at the small Pokemon glaring defiantly at his Alakazam. He turned his wide eyes on the challenger. "You're not serious, right?"
The girl pressed her lips together. "Um, yes, I am. Machochopo's my last Pokemon, so I don't really have a choice..."
Lucian stepped onto the battlefield to peer closely at the Machop. The little Fighting-type stepped back nervously.
"He can't be more than level five," Lucian muttered. He turned on the challenger, feeling indignant fury rise up inside of him. "What were you thinking, bringing a baby into the Pokemon League!?"
The girl stepped back, holding her hands up. "It wasn't on purpose!"
"So you just conveniently forgot there was a level five Machop on your very strong team?" Lucian mentally flashed through the rest of the girl's team: Infernape, Staraptor, Roserade, Floatzel, and Luxray. Five powerful fully-evolved Pokemon - it was clear they had been through a lot together. It was also clear that the whole team, Trainer included, had pinned their hopes on the Luxray, who had the team's only Dark-type attack: Crunch. Lucian frowned thoughtfully. Now that he really considered it, her team seemed rather unprepared for the Elite Four challenge, despite their physical resilience. And the utter trust they had all put in the Luxray and their Trainer's orders... Lucian's frown deepened. Could a heartless Trainer who led innocent baby Pokemon to their deaths inspire that kind of faith? The girl's response snapped him out of his thoughts.
"I didn't forget. I wasn't sure whether I would need his help or not," she said, beckoning Machochopo to her side. The Machop trotted over without hesitation. "You see, Lucian, Machochopo showed a particular aptitude for hidden moves. Without his help, I wouldn't have gotten through Victory Road."
The little Pokemon puffed its chest with pride and showed off its (admittedly non-existent) muscles. Lucian crossed his arms. "That doesn't explain why you brought him in here. He could have gotten seriously hurt."
A sheepish smile spread across her face. "About that... That was an accident. I didn't know that I would be entering the Pokemon League by going through that door. By the time I realized, I had been locked in."
"Huh?" Lucian blinked. That was unexpected. "You mean... this entire challenge was accidental?"
"I wasn't intending to challenge you guys until we had trained a little more," she confirmed. "My team is strong, but not at the Elite Four level yet." She pulled out a Pokedex - so she's sponsored by Professor Rowan - and pointed it at Alakazam.
"Level 60," she read off the screen. "My Pokemon have just passed the level 50 mark." She snapped the cover closed. "You really should get a better doorman. He confirmed my badges and then was just like 'Go forth! The Pokemon League awaits!' or something, and my map showed a little strip of land past that building, so I assumed I would have to travel a little farther to get to the Elite Four. That's why I brought Machochopo along. If I had known Aaron was right behind the door, I would have switched him out for a different Pokemon."
Ah. That made more sense. Lucian glanced at the Machop and sighed. "Well, I'm not going to attack a baby. Follow me."
He led the girl to a door set into the wall. "You can take this hallway back to the entrance building."
The girl looked at him in surprise. "You're letting me leave?"
"Like I said, I'm not going to attack a level five Machop." Lucian glanced at Machochopo, who was now curiously tugging on Alakazam's mustache. The Psychic Pokemon sent him a pleading look and begged telepathically, Please get him off, Trainer. This is worse than that Luxray's Crunch attack.
Fortunately, the girl seemed to sense Alakazam's distress and called, "Machochopo, leave Alakazam alone, okay? We have to go."
The Machop gave one last yank on the mustache (Lucian winced in sympathy - that must have hurt) and jogged to his Trainer's side. The two disappeared into the hallway, the girl giving a grateful wave before closing the door. Lucian shook his head in wonder. That girl accidentally walked into Aaron's room, beat the stuffing out of his Pokemon with only two of her own, then used just three against Gertha and four against Flint, and still defeated them both. And she says the whole thing was accidental. Lucian huffed, and headed for the door in the back of his room. He needed to talk to Cynthia about possibly firing a doorman.
He couldn't help but feel a little curious about her sixth Pokemon though, the one Machochopo was replacing. Then he shrugged. He'd find out next time. Right?
~.~+~.~
Lucian stared in shock as his Medicham toppled over, unconscious from Staraptor's powerful Brave Bird attack. The 'Accidental Challenger' had defeated his team... using only four of her now-much-stronger Pokemon. He had seen neither hide nor petal of the Roserade or the mysterious sixth Pokemon. The girl stroked Staraptor's crest proudly before recalling the regal bird. Numbly Lucian did the same with Medicham, then stepped forward to congratulate her.
"That was impressive," he admitted. And it was. She had been rather impressive overall: first defeating three of the Elite Four members with an under-leveled team, then in their first battle almost taking down Lucian's Bronzong with an Ember attack of all things (he noticed she had replaced it with Fire Blast this time around), and now using only four Pokemon to take out his Psychic Pokemon with relative ease. "That was quite impressive."
"Thanks," the girl said with a relieved grin as she tended to her injured Pokemon. "So I get to challenge Cynthia now?"
Lucian nodded. "And I wish you luck. Cynthia is the Champion, and the toughest of all of us."
"I hear she has a powerful Garchomp," she replied, packing her remaining Potions away. "But we've got that covered. Right, Lorcan?" The Floatzel nodded from inside its ball.
As she started for the door in the back of the room, Lucian's curiosity rose in him, begging him to ask. So he did. "What's your sixth Pokemon?"
The girl paused, then gave him a sly grin. "Are you sure you want to know?"
Something inside him begged him to say no, but the scholar's curiosity was piqued, and he would not stop until he knew. It was how he was. "Yes."
She sighed theatrically, reaching for the Pokeball. "You asked for it."
The light exploded from the ball. A roar shook the room. Lucian's jaw dropped, and he backed up as fast as possible. Staring down at him with glowing red eyes was the Lord of Time, Dialga.
"You..." For once, Lucian's words failed him. The girl popped out from behind of the legendary dragon's legs.
"He challenged me at Spear Pillar, after my rival and I defeated Team Galactic," she explained. "I battled him and captured him. I guess he was impressed enough to stay with me."
Dialga rumbled its agreement.
Lucian continued to stare at the dragon. He was in a room with the legendary dragon of time. The thought did not compute.
"I bet you're wondering why I didn't just ask him to beat up your team," she said. "But this is my challenge. Mine and my team's. Dialga isn't part of my normal team, so I won't use him in battle unless absolutely necessary. So you could say he's my backup."
Lucian's inner scholar broke through in protest, its question still unanswered. "Then what's your normal sixth Pokemon?"
The girl grinned again. "I don't have one."
Surprise flooded into Lucian's mind. In all his years as an Elite Four member, never had he encountered a Trainer without a full team of six Pokemon.
"Not yet," she amended. "I met my partners early in my journey, but I haven't yet found a Pokemon who just feels right, like they belong in the sixth spot. So for now, I only have a five-Pokemon team. But that's enough, isn't it?" She held up her Pokeballs, smiling at the Pokemon inside. Dialga rumbled again and nudged its master.
Lucian cleared his throat, the shock having worn off enough for him to speak normally again. "I believe it's trying to tell you to keep going."
She nodded and patted Dialga's enormous claw. "Alright, I'm coming." She recalled the dragon - into a normal Pokeball, Lucian noticed in astonishment - and waved as she left. He stared after her, before pulling out a Revive for his Alakazam. He should do Cynthia a favor and tell her about Dialga.
Or maybe not. Lucian smiled, pocketing the Revive instead and heading for the exit hallway. Let her be impressed.
Lucian certainly was.
By the way, Machochopo was caught in Oreburgh Mine, where one of the worker Machop says "Machochopo!" if you talk to it, so that's where my Machop's name comes from. And he's an HM slave in reality, but honestly, who would openly admit that to an Elite Four member?
It's also my personal headcanon that all legendaries have genders, but can't breed in the gameverse. So yeah. Dialga's male.