The Long Road
Chapter 7
Pokemon Trainer's Handbook pg. 10: After claiming his or her eighth badge, any Champion-hopeful trainers should travel to Ever Grande City to undertake the final test of their pokemon journey…
In a world full of legends and mythos, only one thing had long since been considered the pokemon world's best kept secret: Victory Road. Sure, all trainers knew it stood as the last hurdle before they could challenge the master trainers of the Pokemon League. But no one knew what exactly Victory Road was.
Any media coverage of the challenge was strictly forbidden, and trainers who conquered it stayed mum about their experiences, either because it was too stressful to recall, or because it was seen as a rite of passage and any descriptions or accounts of their own trials might ruin the experience for future trainers.
So without any concrete descriptions, rumors constantly swirled about the League's penultimate challenge. Some speculated it was a vicious gauntlet of seemingly endless battles against the strongest trainers in the region. Others claimed to have heard it was a punishing obstacle course for both trainer and pokemon alike. One tale even speculated it was actually a week-long exam full of written theory and unique battle scenarios.
Steven had heard all of these theories and more, and as he dismounted from Skarmory's back and walked into the badge check office at the southern end of Ever Grande City, he still wasn't sure which rumors he was inclined to believe. But he felt he could believe the one thing that all the rumors shared in common, reinforced by the emergency rescue beacon handed to him by the Rangers manning their post at the office. Victory Road was a grueling test designed with one thing in mind: to whittle down the crop of hopefuls to only a handful of top trainers that were deemed worthy to take on the Elite Four for the title of League Champion.
No matter the reason, for Steven, Victory Road remained shrouded in mystery until he and Skarmory passed through the cramped badge check office and out into the part of Ever Grande City that few ever set eyes on. As the view unfolded before him, he felt his knees go weak and he found it necessary to place a hand on Skarmory's back for support.
Steven never considered himself a betting man, but right at that moment he would have been willing to put money on the fact that tears of joy had never been shed on the entry side of Victory Road. But that's exactly what he felt like doing when he first set eyes on the League's final benchmark.
In his wildest dreams he never would have imagined the final obstacle in his way was a massive network of caves that bored their way through the very island of Ever Grande itself. To any other person, this was a punishment of the worst degree. To him, it was a dream come true.
Skamory cocked its head to the side inquisitively at the laugher that burst from his trainer.
"And here I was so worried it would have been something awful!"
Clacking its beak, Skarmory gave its best disdainful look. Steven backpedaled with a nervous smile.
"It's not overconfidence, I promise. It's just I'm probably a bit more excited than most when it comes to cave exploration. Although," Steven fidgeted with the cuffs of his jacket, "now I feel a bit silly wearing this if we're going to be spelunking and not battling."
With a flip of its wings and a short screech, Skarmory blew a gust of air in Steven's direction, sending dirt and dust swirling.
Coughing through the dust cloud, Steven shot a look at his pokemon as he brushed off his sleeves.
"What, now I don't have to worry about getting the suit dirty while we're in there? Thanks, Skarmory."
His flying pokemon eyed his attire with a satisfied caw before giving a nod toward its teammates at Steven's hip.
"I'm sure we'll have to battle at some point before we make it to the end. There are plenty of trainers within Victory Road who will be looking to test their skills."
Skarmory ruffled its feathers as Steven's expression grew serious.
"There's a reason that only a fraction of trainers with eight badges ever get to challenge the League. As much as I want this to be an enjoyable excursion, we can't forget the reason we're here."
As he strode up to the entrance of Victory Road, he gave Skarmory one last rub on its crest before returning it to its ball. Placing it with the other five at his hip, he let his hand linger, a gesture noticed by his pokemon who rattled a reply that made him smile.
"We're ready."
It only took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light of the cave's interior, but Steven didn't need long to realize what a monumental cave system this actually was. No matter which direction he looked, countless pathways snaked in and out of the bedrock, some climbing, some plummeting, but all of them quickly vanishing into the darkness that hung thick at the edges of the chamber.
Steven frowned. Given the maze-like complexity of the cave, he had to wonder if the challenge of Victory Road wasn't in the trainer battles or the sizeable wild Golbat population that he saw flitting among the stalactites, but the capability to navigate ones way through in an efficient enough manner to not fall victim to an exhausted team or a depleted supply stock. Now the emergency beacon made much more sense…
Silently he thanked his odd habit of always carrying enough supplies to sustain an unplanned cave excursion. This was a big cave, no, a giant cave, but if he was smart, he should have little trouble in making his supplies last to the end. And if he was able to stick to the road less traveled, he could avoid having too many tedious battles, leaving his team fresh and capable all the way through to the other side of Ever Grande.
With his plan laid out in his mind, he drew out his PokeNav, flicking over to the note taking feature, unwilling to leave his navigation up to chance. Sure, his sense of direction underground was better than most, but mapping as he went would ensure that the sheer size of this cave would be manageable as he moved forward. And move forward he did, as there was no sense in lingering around at the entrance, where there'd surely be the potential for a bottle neck of trainers and unnecessary battles.
"Left, right, or straight ahead?" he mused aloud, not really expecting an answer in return. But when a startled human shout and a loud pokemon cry issued from the pathway on the left, Steven grimaced and glanced toward the opening leading off to the right.
"Well, it certainly sounds more peaceful this way," he muttered, and a slight movement at his hip told him his team was in agreement.
"…To the right we go."
Whatever apprehension Steven held at the start of Victory Road disappeared as quickly as his chosen pathway wound down deep into the cave. Calling on Claydol to provide some gentle illumination as the darkness took hold, it became apparent from the quiet stillness that most trainers sought to avoid the very depths of the cave that he enjoyed so much. Without having to be on constant lookout for trainer battles, Steven found it easy to settle in and actually explore Victory Road, as opposed to simply trying to traverse it in a hurry.
As the makeshift map on his PokeNav began to bloom into a flowing diagram of the cave's winding paths, Steven smiled whenever he and his team came upon a dead end. Not only could he eliminate the path from the potential exit route, but it afforded him a chance to do some collecting as well. Deploying Aggron, or Cradily, or Armaldo to keep watch for any wild pokemon he may disturb, he gleefully brought out the hammer and chisel he always carried with him whenever the urge to do some digging struck. By the end of his first full day in Victory Road, he hadn't come across any rare treasures, but he did have a few small geological samples to bring with him as a souvenir, like always.
After another full day of winding through similarly dark and narrow passageways, the third day in Victory Road brought a change of scenery. The branching pathways began to open up into a series of moderately sized caverns, each one progressively larger than the last. But it wasn't the new cave structure that caught Steven's attention. It was the fact that his pokemon were getting increasingly restless. At first he chalked it up to having to be on alert for wild pokemon encounters coming from more directions in the wide open spaces, but when even the normally unflappable Claydol began to cast nervous glances about, Steven felt his own unease rising to the forefront once more.
Senses on high alert as they walked, he began to pick up on strange sounds coming from just beyond Claydol's light. Steven frowned as he realized these weren't sounds he had come to recognize as belonging to the native pokemon. Whatever was scuffling about in the darkness wasn't something he'd encountered before, and to make matters worse, it seemed as if the sound was keeping constant even as he crossed the chamber.
With a silent signal, he bade Claydol to stay close as he put his back up against the closest stone pillar and waited. The scuffling continued for only a moment longer, and then it stilled. That settled it; the source of the sound was following them.
Grimacing at the implication, Steven hefted a pokeball in his hand. Hostile pokemon or trainer using cheap scare tactics, he wasn't going to be intimidated. Meeting Claydol's gaze, he nodded. Time to go on the offensive.
"Flash!"
As his pokemon let loose a blinding burst of light, Steven shielded his eyes and threw the pokeball.
"Aggron, take care of our visitor."
Aggron let loose a deafening roar as it scanned the brightly lit cavern for any sign of the source of the mysterious noise. But when Steven didn't hear Aggron charge after anything, his brow furrowed in confusion. He waited tensely at his pokemon's side until the light from Claydol's flash faded from view behind his eyelids. Blinking his eyes open against the darkness, he caught Aggron's expression mirroring his own. The cavern was empty.
The encounter left him rattled, and as he recalled Aggron to its ball Steven couldn't decide if they should proceed through these caverns with the utmost caution until they uncovered the whereabouts of the mysterious presence or if they should throw caution to the wind and try to rush through to get away from whatever was lurking in the shadows.
Claydol whistled a low note at its trainer's unease, and Steven gave a nervous smile.
"Let's keep moving. It's probably for the best if we can get out of these caverns and back into the tunnels before we have to make camp for the night."
Unfortunately for Steven, the stretch of caverns continued for longer than he hoped, and with a resigned glance at his watch, he informed Claydol that they would be stopping for the night just as they entered the largest cavern yet. Even though the scuffling sounds had not made a return since the initial incident, there was no telling if they had outpaced the unknown visitor or not. Regardless, Steven knew this was the right call. He had long since learned that pushing yourself and your team to exhaustion in the depths of a cave was not the smartest decision.
Choosing a small ring of boulders as their shelter, Steven swung his pack from his shoulder with a groan. The long hike today was especially taxing given how little they stopped through this section of the cave. After starting a small fire for some heat, he found a seat on top of one of the smaller rocks and pulled out his PokeNav.
He made note of the caverns they covered, and was thumbing through the rest of his map when Claydol's hollow cry rang out in alarm. Quickly pocketing the device, Steven looked up to find his partner staring across the fire. Whatever had Claydol's attention was just out of view, and he cautiously peered into the darkness to try to see what his pokemon already spotted.
Suddenly, two yellow eyes snapped into view, gleaming in the flickering light. A vicious snarl echoed around the space, and Claydol hovered close to its trainer protectively, fixated on the new threat. Steven shifted to rise to his feet, but a voice from behind sent a chill down his spine.
"Ah ah, don't move, pretty boy."
The voice was close and practically oozing with the same dark aura as the Mightyena that bristled just across the campfire. A thin, sharp object pressed against the side of his neck.
"Just do what we say, and no one gets hurt." A second voice melted out from the shadows along with its owner, and Steven finally caught a glimpse of the intruders.
A ragtag group of trainers stepped into view. Some were young, some were older, and they seemed to run the gamut when it came to style and pokemon choice. The only thing they shared in common was the dirty and disheveled state of their clothes that told him they had spent far more time in these caves than he.
Any thought that this might be some sort of elaborate scheme plotted by the League as part of the challenge melted away when he saw the bloodthirsty smiles they wore beneath weary eyes. These trainers clearly had their own plans, namely a self-organized ambush intended to catch rival trainers unaware.
Keenly aware of the real danger of the situation, Steven slowly raised his hands, palms outward, in a show of compliance.
"What would you have me do?"
"You're gonna recall that Claydol, and if you try anything funny, Cacturne here is gonna sink its needle through your jugular."
Emphasizing its trainer's point, the pressure at Steven's collar shifted ever so slightly as the scarecrow pokemon cackled with a soft, raspy tone.
Steven caught Claydol's concerned gaze out of the corner of his eye as he calmly reached to his belt for its ball. He could feel Cacturne's form tense with a low hiss as he stood and clicked the pokeball free, but he had no intention of disobeying. He knew there was no way he'd win a battle of speed against the powerful dark type from this kind of range.
"Sorry, Claydol," he muttered as the recall beam cut off its hollow whine of protest.
The Cacturne snickered again as its trainer stepped forward and the glow of the fire made his red mohawk stand out even more against his black leather jacket.
"Now set your pokeballs on the ground and back up real slow."
At this, Steven hesitated. He certainly had no desire to have his pokemon stolen, but Cacturne hissed impatiently, and he felt compelled to continue to follow orders. He could feel the scarecrow pokemon bristling behind him as he placed six pokeballs on the rock where he was previously sitting. When he had backed off several paces, Cacturne quickly slid around to face him, placing itself between him and his team. He stiffened at the confrontation, staring down the rogue trainer with a glare that only caused the young man to laugh and shake his head.
"I'm not gonna take your pokemon. We just don't want you thinkin' you'll get to play the hero when we take all your stuff."
Steven remained silent, but held his glare until the mohawk trainer let loose a short whistle. A much younger trainer scampered out of the group and scooped up Steven's pack in his arms and he frowned.
"If all you wanted were supplies, I would have happily shared some of mine if you had asked."
Laughter rippled through the crowd, and the mohawked trainer's grin widened.
"Why do that when we can just take them all for ourselves instead?"
Opening his mouth to protest, Steven barely said a word before a female voice cut him off.
"Fufufu, seems like we've caught ourselves a bold one this time."
Steven's eyes darted toward where the new voice had come from, and he saw the circle of trainers had parted as another individual stepped forward into the firelight. The piercings in her nose and ears glinted wickedly as she reached down to accept his pack from the young trainer. Giving the contents only a cursory glance, she tossed the bag back to the trainer who then disappeared into the crowd with his prize.
As Steven watched his supplies slip away, he felt his jaw clench as he worked to keep his growing displeasure in check.
Not bothering to acknowledge the mohawk trainer as she brushed by, the new pierced trainer sneered when she came to a halt in front of her troupe's most recent victim.
"It's been a while since we've come across a trainer we couldn't scare into dropping their bag and running back to their mommy. You look older than most of the wimps we find in here."
"I could say the same about you."
Sputtering sounded from his side, and the mohawked trainer piped up in exasperation.
"How dare you comment on a lady's age like that!"
But the woman only cackled with amusement, clearly not offended by Steven's rebuttal.
"Relax, Sidney," she wheezed between laughs. "He's harmless."
Steven frowned at her casual dismissal as she continued, "I've decided. Since I like you, I'll give you your beacon back. That way after we blindfold you and drop you off in some random part of the cave the Rangers will be able to find you." She finished with a snap of her fingers.
At her command, Sidney began to move, producing a strip of cloth from his jacket.
"Wait!" Steven threw up a hand as he backed away. He needed to buy time to figure a way out of this mess. "How do you know I won't be able to find my way out from where you leave me?"
The female trainer laughed as Sidney's advance was joined by the menacing Cacturne.
"There's no chance of that happening. We've been down here so long we know these caves like the back of our hands."
By now, Cacturne had closed the distance and roughly seized Steven by the arm. He wasn't able to hide the growing panic in his voice.
"Then let me make one final request, please!"
Steven could see her face over Cacturne's shoulder, and he made sure to hold her gaze even as he felt Sidney brush past him, blindfold at the ready. He was hoping her silence meant she was considering his plea, although his heart sunk when Cacturne grabbed ahold of both his arms, pinning them to his side.
"Sidney, wait."
All eyes turned to their leader.
"Sheila, you can't be serious!"
At Sidney's outburst, the Mightyena that had padded up to her side gave a ferocious bark, and he immediately clammed up. Cacturne released its grip and stepped back, eyeing Steven with disdain.
"Well, trainer. I'm listening."
Steven took a deep breath as he straightened his jacket after Cacturne's rough treatment. He hoped the gesture was successful in hiding the adrenaline-fueled shaking of his hands. However, his voice held steady.
"If you know these caves so well, can you at least tell me how close I made it to the end?"
Sheila blinked, clearly not expecting such a benign question as a last request, but she nodded before she replied.
"These caverns are just shy of the halfway point of Victory Road. Not too shabby for a pretty boy like you."
Steven ignored her snarky comment, he was too relieved after hearing her answer. If he made it halfway already, then his hastily made plan might just work…
"If I may continue to be so bold, I would like to propose an alternate resolution to this situation."
A murmur rose from the gathered trainers, and Steven hoped against hope that he had not overstepped the already tenuous bounds given to him. He wasn't thrilled with the sour look Sheila was giving him now.
"What makes you think you're in a position to bargain with us?"
"Truthfully, I'm not –" he was interrupted by a snort from Sidney, but quickly continued, "I'm simply asking for you to consider my proposal and at the worst I've taken up only a minute more of your time."
Sheila stared at him for a breath before she rolled her eyes and bade him to continue with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Steeling his gaze, Steven made his move.
"There's an unspoken agreement when two trainers lock eyes… I propose we have a battle to determine my fate. If I win, I get to take a quarter of my supplies with me when I leave, and you keep the rest. If I lose, you get to keep my supplies –" he held up a hand to cut off Sidney's protest, "— and my pokemon."
As he finished speaking, Steven noticed Sheila's expression had morphed into a vicious grin, but her eyes never left his own.
"Clever and pretty, I knew I liked you for a reason," she said as she sauntered up to where he stood. Looking him over once more, she swiftly grabbed him by the arm and guided them both to sit by the fire.
"Let me tell you a little story before I give you my answer. I used to be a trainer just like you. All bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to take on the Pokemon League. Except I got stuck here. I was running low on supplies, but my ego kept me from hitting that emergency beacon.
"While I was trapped down in these caves, contemplating my slow and eventual death, I had a realization. Not just anyone can become the next Champion. Realistically, that's not you, or me, or any of us," she swept an arm out towards the gathered trainers. "When we got out of here, we'd probably just get crushed by the Elite Four and have to slink home with our tails between our legs. Then what? Life as a trainer doesn't prepare you for what happens after your dreams get smashed into little pieces.
"So that's when I decided, if I couldn't go forward, and I couldn't go back, I'd just stay right here. So I started battling trainers for their supplies instead of money.
"And that's how I met this lot. Other trainers just like me that came to the same realization that in the end, our journeys would amount to nothing. So they joined me. We don't want to go back to our former lives, so instead we've formed our own family right here."
As Sheila spoke, Steven felt a weight gather in his chest. He was no stranger to the bitter taste of failure. There was no doubt that feeling was what drove him to where he was today. But if he had become resentful and jaded like Sheila, what would his pokemon have thought of him? The heaviness in his chest flared into anger.
"But why prey on other trainers who don't share your way of thinking?"
Sheila laughed. It was a hollow one.
"We're doing them a favor. If they can't get through us, then there's no way they'll beat the League. Think of it as an act of mercy."
Steven's glare was as sharp as his tone.
"Then let me battle you for the right to move forward."
Sheila sighed.
"Look, I like you. Don't put me in the awkward position of having to crush your dreams too."
"You sound awfully sure you'll be able to defeat me."
"I've seen your kind come through here before," Sheila ran her eyes up and down Steven's frame. "Pampered and prissy and all too eager to show off the flashy pokemon their parents bought them. Except they don't know a thing about battling. It's a miracle they even got eight badges. Heck, some of them probably bought their way through the badge check. Then once we show them how unforgiving it is to be a trainer, they're all too happy to run back to the cushy job they've had waiting for them the whole time."
At that, Steven's temper finally reached its breaking point.
"You're not the first person to assume I've had everything in life handed to me, and you certainly won't be the last. Battle me so we can really see how much you know about who I am."
By now both trainers were on their feet, voices raised. The majority of the rogue trainer's troupe began exchanging nervous glances with one another. Their leader never lost her cool like this, especially not with some no-name trainer that should have been an easy mark.
"I've had enough of you, pretty boy. If it's a battle you want, then fine, pick up your pokeballs. I'll give you your battle so I can teach you a lesson." She grabbed a single pokeball from her jacket pocket and she brandished it with a wicked smile. "One on one."
Steven met her heated gesture with a cold stare. It was an uncommon battle format, and as much as he wanted to let Metagross save its strength for what lie after Victory Road, this was not the time to hold back. Hefting its pokeball in his hand, Steven accepted the challenge.
"Fine, one on one."
Sheila cackled. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
With a heave, her pokeball arced through the air before spilling her pokemon onto the cavern floor. A strong stench immediately filled the air and Steven would have covered his nose in disgust if he wasn't so pleased to see the Muk slosh into its solid form.
"A supply thief that specializes in poison types? Now I know why you wanted a one on one match. Too bad it won't work on me."
"You're pretty confident for a trainer who has no way to heal. Now throw out your pokemon so I can see the look on your face when I drown it in a pile of sludge."
"With pleasure."
Metagross's roar rattled through Steven's bones, and the sensation had never felt better than when it was punctuated by Sheila's confused shout.
"What the heck is that thing?"
Steven grinned. "You're about to find out. Metagross, meteor mash!"
In one powerful push, Metagross tore across the battlefield and drove its foreleg through Muk's body practically exploding the poison type's entire left side in a shower of purple goo. Sheila's eyes went wide at the vicious attack, and several gasps came from the onlookers as a horrific garbled cry issued forth from the quivering misshapen mass that was all that remained of Muk's form.
Steven flinched, startled, as even he didn't expect this kind of gruesome injury from his pokemon's attack. He had assumed that Muk's level would have closely matched that of his team, and yet Metagross sliced through its defenses as if they were nothing.
Recovering from the initial shock, Sheila's face returned to her usual smug look. The remnants of Muk's slime still coated Metagross's foreleg.
"Big mistake. Muk's ability lets it poison anything it touches. Better take the last part of this battle to say goodbye to your pokemon."
Clearly hearing the triumph in her voice, Metagross grated a rumbling laugh and turned to lock eyes with the rogue trainer. As she looked down at the remnants of its handiwork, Metagross flicked its leg and easily shed the murky slime from its hide.
Sheila sputtered in dismay, "Having a steel type only proves you're lucky, not good. Don't think you've won just because of an immunity."
Suddenly, the one-armed pile of slime that had slumped over from its wounds gave a shuddering jolt. Muk gurgled another roar, and the parts that had been splattered to the cave floor began to twitch, slowly coalescing into puddles and then into mounds, before slowly crawling their way back to the main body.
Frowning, Steven beckoned his partner to return cautiously to his side of the battlefield.
"We've learned a long time ago that taking your opponent for granted is a quick way to be handed a loss. Although, it does feel pretty good knowing that your favorite strategy won't work against us, and we don't plan on finding out what your backup plan is… End it quick, Metagross, zen headbutt!"
"Too late," Sheila practically crowed. "Minimize!"
Steven frowned as Metagross shot through the empty air that formerly was Muk's regenerated center mass.
Sheila's voice rang out, bolstered by the miss, "I don't care how strong your Metagross is, it doesn't mean anything if it can't land a hit."
Already fed up from their shouting match earlier, Steven rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he muttered, "Yes, but Muk can't lay a hand on Metagross either."
"Who said I was going after Metagross? Muk, sludge wave, aim for the pretty boy in the suit!"
"What? You can't attack a trainer, that's against League rules!"
"Does it look like I care about following the rules? Muk, bury him!"
The compressed poison type began to rapidly swell to nearly double its normal size as it filled with excess poison. Steven grit his teeth as the realization struck. Metagross was fast, but its bullet punch wouldn't be strong enough to stop Muk from launching its attack. In an instant, Muk shrunk back down to its minimized form, unleashing a massive wave of poisonous sludge.
Steven could feel the rush of air pushing past him as the wave poured forth. The attack was so large there would be nowhere to escape its impact. Metagross would weather the blow just fine, but he wouldn't, not to mention the rest of the trainers behind him who were undoubtedly scrambling in a futile effort to get out of the range of their leader's bloodlust. Running was out of the question, and if the rules were too...
Steven ripped a second pokeball from his belt. "Claydol! We need your help!"
Wasting no time, Steven broke into a sprint as he shouted his commands, "We need to stop that attack! Metagross, shatter the ground with meteor mash to break up that wave! Claydol, set up your light screen and shield those trainers!"
Both pokemon spared their trainer a momentary glance, and Steven caught their meaning.
"Don't worry about me," his expression was firm as another pokeball enlarged in his hand, "Now get going!"
Needing no further reassurance, Metagross and Claydol rushed into action as the wave closed in around the trio.
The ground lurched beneath his feet as Metagross landed its blow, but Steven couldn't spare a glance to see if it had worked. Instead, he heaved his third pokeball as far ahead of him as he could throw.
"Skarmory!"
His lungs burned as he shouted over the roaring din.
"Up! Take me up!"
Skarmory barely had enough time to blink off the confusion of being thrust into the chaos before Steven practically flung himself at his loyal flyer.
Craning to eye its frantic trainer, Skarmory needed no further urging as it caught sight of the poisonous deluge that surged toward them. The churning and hissing of the wave boiled in from all sides as Skarmory clawed at the ground for a running takeoff.
With a wild squawk, it pumped its wings as Steven ducked his head low to hazard a glance behind them. He looked back just in time to see the sludge wave crest through a field of rocky debris swept up from Metagross's attempt to slow its momentum.
As the ground rushed away, Steven held on tight as a spray of sludge and stone rained down. He only exhaled in relief as he saw the wave breaking against Claydol's barrier that stood strong in front of the huddled group of trainers.
Metagross's roar echoed across the cave and Skarmory banked toward the sound. Steven's eyes darted around the battlefield as Skarmory circled the residual sludge-filled crater. Scanning diligently, he only gestured when he caught sight of movement toward the back of the cavern.
"There! Skarmory, take us down!"
Sheila had almost made it to the cave exit before a silver gleam darted overhead. By the time she looked up to see what it was, Skarmory had already pinned her exhausted Muk beneath one gleaming talon.
Steven's eyes were alight with anger as he dismounted.
"How could you do that to your own people?"
"Do what? Try to defeat an intruder that threatened our way of life? They knew the risks," Sheila practically bristled at the accusation.
"Are you crazy? You'd willingly sacrifice these trainers just for a single victory?"
Skarmory leaned in with a screech to punctuate his trainer's outburst.
Sheila shied back from the glowering steel type, but her expression remained defiant.
"Every time!" she cried. "You can't show any weakness if you want to survive in this world!"
Steven opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but his eyes flicked to something over the rogue leader's shoulder, and held his tongue instead.
"You… you didn't care? You didn't care that you could've killed us?"
The meek voice caused Sheila's head to wheel around. Her jaw fell slack as she saw that the very trainers she had condemned were now assembled behind her. The young trainer from earlier stared at her with wide, terrified eyes. Others wore tight expressions, and even Sidney had a frown on his face as he stood next to Cacturne, arms crossed.
"What? No, no, this isn't over! I have more pokemon! I'll fight –"
"Stop, Sheila. Just stop."
Sidney stepped forward, shaking his head.
"I think I speak for the rest of the group when I say this… Life down here isn't easy, we know that. But that's why we're down here, to live. We need a leader that is going to look out for everyone. If it's so easy for you to discard the lives of your followers over one trainer, I'd hate to see what you will do when a real threat to our group comes along. Sheila, you are hereby stripped of your leadership position and are banished from the colony."
Steven watched in silence as the rest of the trainers stepped up behind Sidney, voicing their support.
But the former leader was incensed, and she continued to shriek wildly.
"You can't throw me out! I saved you! I won't let you take my home away from me! Muk, kill them all!"
At Sheila's commands, Muk churned to life beneath Skarmory's claw. Squawking in surprise, Skarmory jumped back in a flurry of wings as Muk threatened to engulf its legs as it swelled back to full size. In the commotion, Sheila lunged toward the cave exit in a desperate bid to save herself.
But just as quickly as trainer and pokemon surged into action, two voices rang out in unison.
"Claydol, extrasensory."
"Cacturne, sucker punch."
Muk was immediately toppled with a piercing strike of psychic energy, and so too was Sheila at the hands of Cacturne's swift strike. Steven and Sidney exchanged glances as Cacturne returned to its trainer's side, cradling the unconscious woman in its arms.
Sidney broke the silence, running a hand nervously along the side of his shaved head.
"Look, I'm sorry about this mess. We don't have much down here, so it's nowhere near enough to make up for it, but the least I can do is give you back your stuff."
The young trainer already had run off and returned with Steven's bag, holding it up apologetically. Hefting his pack back to his shoulder, Steven slung it around to the front and rummaged around inside.
"If what Sheila said is true, and I'm nearly halfway done, I can spare some of what I packed."
Sidney looked at him as if he had grown a second head, and Steven shrugged as he dropped the offered supplies in his hands.
"Hopefully this can spare the next few trainers that come through."
Sidney shook his head in disbelief.
"I'd be lying if I promised we'd never pull this sort of thing again."
But Steven only smiled in return.
"I'm not asking you to promise anything. Just allow me to make one of my own."
Sidney looked on questioningly, but nodded.
"If I go on to become Champion, I'll do everything in my power to see that anyone here who wants to still take on the League challenge gets their fair shot. And anyone that wants to stay here will get the supplies they need without having to steal."
Again, Sidney searched Steven's face for any sign of deceit, and Steven couldn't hide his amusement.
"Of course, this is all dependent on actually becoming Champion in the first place. But you have my word."
Still not really believing what he was hearing, Sidney finally relented and gave a cocky smile.
"I can't say I'm going to be holding my breath, but part of me really wants you to win."
Steven smiled before he turned toward the exit, pokemon in tow.
"Take care, Sidney. Until we meet again."
…Only upon completion of the Victory Road challenge will trainers be allowed to enter the Pokemon League headquarters to face the top trainers in the region: The Elite Four. Defeat these four masters in battle, and earn the right to have one final battle for the title of Champion.