Okay, you people want action? Here it is.

Chapter 7:Championship Bout

"Ladies and gentlemen! It's the moment you've all been waiting for!"

The crowd started cheering wildly, though whether it was for us or our opponent, I would never know.

"After defeating the elite four, the challenger has reached the Champion of Sinnoh! Give it up for Ken Woods from Twinleaf Town!"

That's right. We had finally gotten to the Sinnoh League. After all this time, we were now facing down Cynthia, the Champion. After beating Volkner, ZC had found and downloaded another strange disc in Sunyshore, and had evolved into Porygon-Z. Then we had headed north and reached the Sinnoh Pokemon League.

"This will be a six-on-six pokemon battle between the challenger, Ken Woods, and the Champion, Cynthia,"the referee said, who we'll call Bob."The first team to knock out all the pokemon on the opposing team wins. Are the trainers ready?"

"We didn't come all this way just to wimp out now,"I said calmly, snapping my goggles over my eyes.

"I like that composure,"Cynthia told me, holding up a pokeball."But can you keep it up in this battle?"

"I can try,"I said, shrugging.

"Alright then,"Bob said."The champion will choose her pokemon first."

"Spiritomb, let's go!"Cynthia shouted, throwing a pokeball forward, releasing her Spiritomb. I stroked my chin.

"Hmm,"I looked over my shoulder, seeing my team behind me."Anubis, you're up."The Lucario grinned and ran past me, standing at his spot on the stage. Abruptly, the crowd started laughing.

"What's this? The challenger has sent out a fighting type against Spiritomb! Does he have a fever or something?"The crowd laughed louder. I rolled my eyes, ignoring them. They'd shut up soon enough.

"Interesting choice,"Cynthia commented."You must have a trick up your sleeve to send out a Lucario against a ghost type."I nodded, then looked at Bob, who was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You gonna stare at me all day or can we start already?"I asked rhetorically. He looked away, shrugging.

"Begin!"he shouted, raising his flags.

"Spiritomb, Will-O-Wisp!"Cynthia shouted. Wisps of eerie, blue flames appeared around Spiritomb for a moment before shooting towards Anubis.

"Dodge it with Extreme Speed!"I shouted. He immediately shot to the left, dodging the attack with ease."Now run in a circle around Spiritomb!"He proceeded to do just that, turning into a blue blur around the Spiritomb.

"That won't work on us,"Cynthia said."Spiritomb, Dark Pulse!"A black ring of energy formed around Spiritomb, then shot in all directions.

"Jump as high as you can!"I shouted. Anubis stopped for a fraction of a second before leaping into the air at least 10 feet as the Dark Pulse flew by."Force Palm!"Anubis' fist glowed as he reached the peak of his jump. Cynthia said nothing as he began to descend, probably figuring Anubis wouldn't be able to do anything.

Big mistake.

"Use foresight!"I shouted.

"What!?"Cynthia asked as Anubis' eyes glowed."Spiritomb--!"Too late. Anubis smashed his paw into her Spiritomb at full force, creating a small explosion that shielded them from everyone's view but my own. Arceus, I loved these goggles. Everyone gasped when the explosion died down, seeing that Spiritomb was on the ground, knocked out, while Anubis was standing without a scratch. Panting a little bit, but unharmed. The crowd was silent, and I couldn't help but smile smugly, glad to have shut them up. I glanced at Bob, who also looked stunned.

"I don't think Spiritomb can battle anymore,"I said with a chuckle, snapping him out of it.

"Uh...Spiritomb is unable to battle!"he said, then raised my flag."Anubis wins this round!"The crowd began to cheer hesitantly, but eventually started roaring with applause.

"Incredible!"the announcer exclaimed."When Anubis used foresight, it had exposed Spiritomb's dark typing, allowing him to take Spiritomb out in a single shot!"

"Great job!"Cynthia told me as she recalled her Spiritomb."I figured you would use foresight, but I never expected you to use it after calling an attack."

"I think you'll find that I'm more cunning than most challengers,"I said calmly.

"It's been a while since I've faced a tough opponent,"she said."But that's no excuse for letting my guard down. It won't happen again. Go!"She threw out another pokeball, letting out a Roserade.

"Anubis, come back here and rest,"I said. He looked back at me with a frown.

"Aw, do I have to? I can take her!"he said, pointing a paw at the Roserade.

"I don't want you to tire yourself out,"I told him, motioning for him to come back with my hand. He groaned and walked back to the other, giving me an annoyed look as he passed by. I just shook my head, chuckling. I looked at the others."Your turn, Psyche."

"Excellent,"he said with a smile, walking past me and standing where Anubis was not too long ago.

"Be careful though,"I warned him."She's not the Champion for no reason. I'm sure that Roserade has something to cover it's psychic type weakness."He nodded.

"Agreed. l will not let my guard down,"he said calmly. He then bowed to the Roserade."Good luck to you, madam."Roserade giggled.

"Why, thank you, sir,"she said with a curtsy."Good luck to you, too."I noticed Cynthia smile.

"It seems that our pokemon are showing quite a bit of politeness,"she remarked.

"I hope that doesn't mean we have to hold back,"I joked.

"Not a chance,"Cynthia said, smirking. Bob raised his flags.

"Begin!"

"Roserade, shadow ball!"Cynthia shouted. Roserade held her 'hands' together, forming a black ball of energy and firing at Psyche.

"Whoa, light screen!"I shouted. Psyche quickly crossed his spoons, forming a yellow shield just in time to block the attack. Psyche let his spoons down as the smoke started to clear."Okay, didn't expect you to do that right off the bat."When the smoke cleared, I saw that Roserade was gone."What--where'd she go!?"

"Solar beam!"Cynthia shouted. Psyche must have sensed where she was, because he looked up in time to see a massive yellow-white beam crash into him from above. He screamed in pain as the beam engulfed him.

"What the--!?"I quickly looked up as the attack ended, seeing Roserade fall to the ground, gracefully landing on her feet. Psyche grunted as he tried to stay steady."How did she charge that up so fast!?"

"Roserade has trained enough to the point where she can fire a solar beam almost instantly,"Cynthia explained.

"I guess that's why you're the Champion,"I muttered, then looked at Psyche, who was sagging in his posture."You okay?"

"That was a very powerful attack,"Psyche muttered, then straightened up."But I refuse to go down that easily."

"You're Alakazam is pretty strong to be standing after a direct hit from Solar Beam,"Cynthia said."But it won't be standing for long. Use shadow ball!"Roserade quickly fired off another black ball of energy.

"If that hits, you're done for! Teleport!"I shouted. Psyche nodded, then disappeared in a flash, the projectile passing by harmlessly. Roserade looked around quickly, but didn't notice Psyche reappearing just two feet behind her."Psychic!"

"Behind you!"Cynthia shouted. Roserade turned just in time to see Psyche's eyes glow as he utilized psychic, picking the grass type up off the ground.

"Forgive me for this, madam,"he said, throwing his arm sideways and hurling Roserade towards the wall at high speed.

"Shadow ball!"Cynthia shouted. Roserade fired off another shadow ball at Psyche, who was too weak to get out of the way, and was blasted at the same time Roserade hit the wall. They were both knocked out in unison.

"Whoa,"I muttered, stunned at this turn of events. Bob raised both flags.

"Both pokemon are unable to battle!"he said."This round is a draw."The crowd cheered with excitement.

"Wow! That certainly doesn't happen often!"the announcer remarked.

"That was intense,"I said with a grin, pulling out Psyche's pokeball. Fortunately, he actually enjoyed being in it, saying that it was nice and quiet."Return, Psyche!"The red beam shot out of it, connecting with the Alakazam before pulling him into it."Take a good long rest. You deserve it."I watched as Cynthia returned her Roserade, a large smile on her face.

"That was a good battle,"she said."I hope you can keep that up. This is getting fun!"She threw out another pokeball, releasing a Lucario, to my surprise. I looked over my shoulder.

"I'm probably a nut for doing this, but Anubis, you think you can handle this one?"I asked. He nodded and stood up, smiling as he walked into position. He and Cynthia's Lucario stared each other down.

"I got a lot of experience, kid,"Lucario said."You really think you can take me on?"

"Only one way to find out,"Anubis remarked, standing in a fighting pose. Lucario did the same.

"Begin!"

The two charged without me or Cynthia saying a word, punching and dodging each other at high speed, neither side letting up an inch.

"Okay, that's interesting,"I muttered as Anubis ducked under a force palm.

"What do you say we let them handle themselves?"Cynthia suggested as her Lucario jumped to dodge a sweep kick. I nodded in reply.

"Just what I was thinking,"I agreed. We watched as the two continued to fight, every blow being either dodged or deflected. After a while of this, it started to look more like they were dancing rather than fighting. Eventually, they jumped away from each other, readying aura spheres. They both flung their projectiles forward, the two orbs colliding in a powerful explosion. The two ran forward as the explosion died down. Anubis threw a force palm forward, but Lucario ducked under it and nailed Anubis in the chin with a Sky Uppercut, sending him straight up into the air. Lucario jumped up to land another attack. But then, Anubis' foot ignited in flames and he spun in midair as Lucario reached him, his foot colliding with Lucario's head, and sending him spiraling back down, body smoking slightly as he crash-landed. Anubis landed a few feet away as Lucario got up into a kneeling position, his fur singed. Anubis kneeled as well.

"Your Lucario knows Blaze Kick?"Cynthia asked, sounding impressed.

"Apparently,"I said with an awkward shrug. How was it that after all this time, he would use a move like that for the championship? Would've been nice if he had done it earlier, but I guess it's better late than never.

"Kid, you're not half-bad,"Lucario said as he stood up. Anubis did the same.

"Same to you,"he said with a grin.

"What do you say we finish this?"

"Let's."They're fists glowed as they readied force palm. They ran forward with Extreme Speed, so the two shot past each other before anyone could even blink.

For a few moments, the stadium was completely silent. But finally, they turned to face each other, sagging.

"We missed, didn't we?"Lucario asked sourly.

"I think so,"Anubis muttered mareepishly. I stared blankly. Another moment of silence, then Cynthia blinked.

"Did they miss?"she asked, eyes wide.

"Yes, yes they did,"I said flatly. Everyone in the stadium facefaulted. I heard Zapperton, Fang, Zephyr, and even Wrath laughing hysterically behind me.

"Wanna just pass out in unison?"Anubis asked.

"Sure,"Lucario said. They both did just that, hitting the ground at the same time.

"Err...I'm not sure what to say about this..."Bob muttered. He shrugged."Ah, what the hell? Both pokemon are unable to battle! This round is a draw as well!"No one cheered. No one said anything as we recalled our pokemon.

"Well...that was anti-climactic,"the announcer muttered. Cynthia shook her head.

"That was very strange,"she said, pulling out another pokeball."Let's just put it behind us, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's do that,"I muttered. She tossed the sphere, revealing a Milotic. I turned to look at the remainder of my team.

"Zaps, it's showtime,"I said. He grinned and ran past me, twin tails crackling as he faced the Milotic down.

"Nothing personal, lady,"Zaps told her."But the boss needs me to take you down so we can become champions, see?"She nodded.

"Yes, I know that,"she said calmly."But don't you dare underestimate me just because I'm a female. Am I understood?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, ma'am,"Zaps said, cracking his knuckles.

"Begin!"

"Milotic, Hydro Pump!"Cynthia yelled. The serpent then fired a HUGE stream of water from her mouth.

"Dodge it!"I shouted.

"Time to am-scray!"Zaps yelled, running to the side at full speed. I noticed Cynthia's eyes widened. I guess she didn't expect something of Zaps' bulk to move that fast.

"Follow him, Milotic!"she shouted, regaining her composure immediately. Milotic began to turn her head, the stream chasing Zapperton as he ran around the field like a maniac, trying not to get slammed by the intense jet. Or maybe he didn't want to get his fur soaked. After a few more seconds, Cynthia had Milotic cut off the attack, much to Zaps' and my relief."Ice Beam!"

Crud.

"YAAAAAAAAAHH!!"Zap's shouted, immediately taking off again as the beam of icy energy chase after him, obviously wanting not to get frozen. But then I noticed something. Milotic's aim seemed a bit off. She seemed to be aiming low, as if trying to hit his feet. But then I noticed something that made my eyes widened in horror.

The water on the ground from Hydro Pump was starting to freeze.

"Oh, crap!"I shouted."Zap's, you have to counterattack before--!"Too late. The ground was now frozen in a layer of ice. Zapperton looked around, realizing that he was in trouble. We had this same problem in Snowpoint Gym. Even with all the agility he had, Zaps was hopeless on ice.

"Uhh, boss?"he asked, looking at me for an answer. I scratched my head, trying to think of something.

"Just as I thought,"Cynthia said, gaining my attention."Your Electivire is fast, I'll give you that. But even the fastest pokemon can't do well if they don't have enough traction to move. Milotic, use Hydro Pump!"

"Brace yourself!"I shouted. Zaps quickly crossed his arms just before the jet stream slammed into him, shoving him into the wall.

"I'M OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS, BOSS!"Zaps shouted over the rushing water. I looked back and forth a few times, an idea forming in my head.

"Put your tails in the stream and use discharge!"I yelled.

"You got it!"he said, holding his tails in front of him and releasing a massive current of electricity through the jet.

"Milotic, stop!"Cynthia shouted. Unfortunately for her, the Tender pokemon couldn't cut the attack off fast enough to keep from getting shocked. Zaps sighed, glad to be relieved of the intense pressure. But now his fur was completely soaked, which would probably hinder his speed. Not that it mattered at the moment, since the field was still covered in ice."Milotic, finish this with Ice Beam!"My mind raced for a solution as she said this, then I noticed that water from the previous Hydro Pump was still in a line between Zaps and Milotic.

"Use Thunder Punch on the ground in front of you!"

"If you say so!"Zaps said, electrifying his fist before punching the ground. The electricity travelled along the stream as Milotic fired her attack."Now get down and use your tails to push away from the wall!"He did just that, sliding right under the beam as Milotic was shocked again."Cross Chop!"Zaps' arms glowed as he crossed them in front of his face, still sliding towards Milotic.

"Brace yourself, Milotic,"Cynthia said calmly. Both of us knew Milotic wouldn't be able to dodge; or stay conscious, for that matter. Zaps swung his arms as he slammed into Milotic, knocking her out in an instant.

"Milotic is unable to battle! Electivire wins this round!"Bob shouted, raising my flag. The crowd went nuts again as Milotic was recalled.

"I really need to teach you how to skate, Zaps,"I said as he slipped back over to me rather clumsily.

"I wouldn't mind that, boss,"Zaps muttered as he thankfully left the ice."That was embarrassing, see?"

"That was a great move you pulled off,"Cynthia said, taking out yet another pokeball."A good trainer always need to know how to adapt to any situation. Go!"She hurled the sphere, releasing a Togekiss. I raised an eyebrow.

"Using a flyer, huh?"I asked, looking over my shoulder."Then so will we. Fang, you're up."

"Sweet!"he shouted, flying over my head. The size difference between them was comical, Fang's huge, almost menacing appearance dwarfed the Togekiss, who was barely half his size.

"You're Gliscor is incredible,"Cynthia remarked."I've never seen one so big! Looks healthy, too!"

"What can I say? He's a healthy eater,"I said with a shrug.

"Begin!"

"Start this off with Stealth Rock, Fang,"I said. Large boulders erupted from the ground, shattering the ice and forming in a cicle around Togekiss. I saw Cynthia raise an eyebrow.

"Good strategy,"she said."You used that attack to break the ice as well as set up for my next pokemon. Even it won't do too much. Togekiss, Air Slash!"The angellic pokemon then shot blades of air at Fang, who quickly sheilded himself with his wings.

"Stone Edge!"I shouted. The ground below them rumbled for a moment before sharp stones erupted from the ground below Togekiss, catching them both by surprise as the rocks slashed through her. I knew using that tm we found would come in handy.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that,"Cynthia remarked."Get as close as you can, Togekiss!"Recovering quickly, Togekiss flew swiftly towards Fang.

"What's she doing?"I asked quietly."Maybe we can use this to our advantage. Guillotine!"

"Eat this!"Fang shouted as he swung his glowing claw down for a one hit Ko.

Cynthia wouldn't have it."Stop and use ice beam!"Togekiss stopped just in time to avoid it, firing an ice beam at nearly point blank range, blasting him back and covering his wings with ice, grounding him. Fang quickly looked back and forth at his wings, eyes wide.

"Problem!"he said frantically.

"Aerial Ace!"Cynthia yelled. Togekiss then performed a loop before shooting straight towards Fang, wings glowing.

"Quick, use Fire Fang on your right wing!"I shouted. Mouth aflame, he bit into the ice on his right wing, melting the ice almost instantly. Unfortunately, he was unable to move it in time to block the attack. Though it didn't do much, it was enough to make him grunt in pain. He quickly bit down on his other wing, melting the ice on it as well. He flapped his wings a few times to gain altitude as Togekiss floated back.

"I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"she asked worriedly.

"Eh, I'll live,"Fang grunted.

"Togekiss, fly around as fast you can!"Cynthia said. Togekiss then began to move around at blinding speeds, causing Fang to look around frantically, having no idea where she was.

"What do I do now?"he asked, looking at me.

"Just brace yourself, that's all you can do,"I said with a frown. He nodded, landing on the ground, and sheilding himself. Neither of us expected what happened next though.

"Sweet Kiss!"

"Say what?!"I asked as Togekiss appeared right in front of Fang and kissed him on the cheek. A pause, then Fang's wings dropped to his sides, a dopey grin on his face and hearts appearing in his eyes."Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..."

"So, your name's Fang?"Togekiss asked innocently. He nodded drunkenly.

"Duh-huh,"he mumbled, dazed.

"I honestly don't want to fight you anymore,"she said. I could sense that she really didn't want to fight, but that didn't mean I wasn't pissed at what was happening."Do you mind just knocking yourself out?"

"Anything for you,"he mumbled, raising his claw above his head as it glowed. My eyes widened.

"Fang, don't!"I shouted. He didn't even pause as he dropped his claw, knocking himself out. My jaw dropped as my eye twitched. I was stupefied.

"Gliscor is unable to battle!"Bob said, raising Cynthia's flag."Togekiss wins this round!"The crowd erupted with a mix of laughter and cheering. I smacked my forehead as I recalled Fang to his pokeball.

"Talk about being a victim of love,"I muttered humorously, looking over my shoulder."Let's make sure that doesn't happen twice. ZC, get in there."

"YAAAAY!"Zephyr screamed, shooting past me.

"Man, I wish you'd stop doing that,"I muttered. Zephyr stared the Togekiss down, eyes narrowed, as if in anger.

"Begin!"

"HIII!!"Zephyr screamed excitedly, flying at Togekiss before glomping her as if meeting an old friend for the first time in years. I groaned, putting my face in my hands, looking through my fingers to see Zephyr continuing to hug her.

"Zephyr, this is not the time,"I growled. His head spun around to meet me.

"Really? When will it be?"he asked curiously, causing me to groan again, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Your Porygon-Z is rather...affectionate,"Cynthia said with a giggle.

"No, he's just nuts,"I said with a sigh."Zephyr, now is the time to fight, not hug."

"But I like hugs!"Zephyr whined. Suddenly, he straightened out and backed away from the now confused Togekiss.

"Sorry about that,"COREM said calmly."Perhaps I should battle now."

"Finally,"I muttered, rolling my eyes. I looked at Cynthia."Okay, I think we're ready."She chuckled.

"Good to hear,"she said."Togekiss, use air slash."

"Double team,"I said calmly. COREM quickly split into many different images of himself in a circle around Togekiss, dodging the attack with ease."Now, let's mix it up a little. Fire Psybeam and Ice Beam into the air at an arc."The COREM illusions then reared their heads back, firing alternating beams into the air, where they collided in a beautiful and colorful explosion of energy that caught everyone's attention in an instant, including Cynthia and Togekiss.

Perfect.

"Now use Ice Beam on Togekiss!"I said quickly. Our opponents looked down just in time to see the real COREM right in front of Togekiss. Before either of them could react, COREM blasted her with an ice beam attack, knocking her out. The crowd was silent as Cynthia recalled her Togekiss with a shake of her head, though she smiled nonetheless.

"Umm, Togekiss unable to battle,"Bob muttered hesitantly, then raised my flag."Porygon-Z is the winner..."The crowd began to boo us, obviously very pissed off by our trick.

"Cheater!"

"He should be disqualified!"

"Whoever let that kid become a trainer is an idiot!"

My eyes widened. That moron had no idea what he just said. I looked up to the sky, wondering if Arceus was listening in right now. I started dodging around calmly as they threw things at me. I didn't care, I was used to this kind of thing. But when I noticed ZC was having to dodge things as well, I started to get angry. Nobody treated my friends that way and got away with it. Fortunately, before I could snap and cause a scene, Cynthia spoke up.

"All of you stop that this instant!"she shouted angrily, causing everyone to freeze. I watched her with a raised eyebrow."Attacking him and his pokemon simply because you don't approve of their methods is completely unreasonable! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!"They all seemed to shrink back. Wow. She had that big of an effect on them?"It's my fault that I fell for his trick. I should have paid better attention to him."She looked back at me with a small smile."Besides, it's good payback for that Sweet Kiss attack we pulled."Damn. Just damn. I was starting admire her knowledge. Finally, another human who wasn't a complete friggin' idiot. She pulled out another pokeball."It's time for my last pokemon. Are you ready?"I nodded, and she threw out the ball, releasing...a Garchomp.

Oh, snap.

ZC looked back at me.

"Please tell us you're going to switch us out,"COREM said. I nodded, and he quickly flew back over to the others, who I looked through.

"Wrath, you haven't had a chance to fight yet,"I told the Spiritomb."Wanna give it a try?"

"We will probably regret this, but we will fight to the best of our ability,"they said, floating past me and facing the massive dragon.

"Heh, this should be fun,"Garchomp growled with a smirk.

"Begin!"

Without warning, the Stealth Rocks slammed into Garchomp, taking everyone by surprise, including myself. I had forgotten those were there.

"Bit of a delayed reaction, but that should help a little,"I said as the rocks pulled away, revealing that Garchomp only had a few scratches. Damn, if that thing was tough to take those without even flinching, this was not going to be easy.

"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"Cynthia shouted. The dragon roared as it charged forward menacingly.

"Dark Pulse!"I yelled, hoping it would be enough to weaken him. The attack managed to slow him down only marginally before he smashed into Wrath, sending them flying through the air before they managed to right themselves, wobbling as they floated back down.

"That...hurt,"they moaned out.

"Ouch,"I muttered."Let's see if we can weaken him, use Will-O-Wisp!"Blue wisps of flame appeared around Wrath just like with Cynthia's Spiritomb. They shot the flames torwards the dragon, who didn't move out of the way, probably from using Dragon Rush, so he was pelted with the small fire balls, leaving multiple burns across his body.

"Use Dragon Claw!"Cynthia shouted. Grunting, the dragon charged forward again, claw glowing with energy.

"Dodge it, Wrath!"I shouted. They started to float up, but were too slow too avoid the attack, and they were knocked out as the dragon passed by, swinging his massive claw.

"Spiritomb is unable to battle!"Bob said, holding up Cynthia's flag."Garchomp wins this round!"I sighed, recalling them. Looks like I was right about this not being easy. I looked back at Zapperton and ZC.

"Hey, Zaps, you feeling better?"I asked. He nodded and walked on to the field.

"Heh, my fur's still a little damp, see?"he said, cracking his knuckles."But I'm just glad the ice is gone."

"So now the challenger is using an Electivire against a ground type?"the announcer asked."He must have something planned, just like before."

"Someone developed a brain stem,"I mumbled lowly, rolling my eyes.

"Begin!"

"Use Earthquake!"Cynthia yelled. Roaring, Garchomp stomped the ground with incredible power, shaking the entire arena and causing Zaps to stumble around. Too bad we hadn't found that Volt Ring before now...

"Use your tails to keep steady!"I told Zaps. He planted his tails against the ground before stiffening his posture as the field continued to shake. After another moment, it stopped, and he let his tails back up."Time for some hit and run tactics, Zaps!"

"You got it, boss!"Zaps said. He began dashing around at high speed, but surprisingly, neither Cynthia nor her Garchomp seemed the slightest bit worried.

"Two can play that game!"Cynthia said with a grin."Garchomp, get moving!"To my surprise, Garchomp began to move around at high speed as well."Those burns have slowed him down considerably, but Garchomp is just as fast as your Electivire."I looked around. I was able to keep up with both of them easily as they dashed around the field. They were observing each other, keeping their distance. I looked back at Cynthia.

"Can you see where they are?"I asked, making sure she thought I couldn't see them either. She shook her head in response.

"Not at all,"she said calmly."Wanna just let them duke it out?"I crossed my legs and fell on my rear, figuring it was a good enough answer. She laughed and sat down as well, though not the way I did. I watched as they attacked every time they came close, claw striking fist. That was probably all everyone else could see. After another minute, they stopped and faced each other down. Zaps was in front of Cynthia and Garchomp had his back to me. Zaps was covered in bruises and cuts while Garchomp looked even worse than before. Damn, he could take a beating.

"Alright, pal,"Garchomp growled, his claw glowing."One last shot is all you get. Better make it count."

"You asked for it,"Zaps said, preparing an Ice Punch attack.

"Anyone else getting a feeling of Deja Vu?"I asked as I stood up. Cynthia stood up as well, watching them intently. They charged forward, swinging their limbs and shooting past each other. The wind blew through the stadium as they stood there. Then Zaps' eye twitched.

"Boss,"he said.

"Hmm?"

"He didn't miss,"he grunted, then fell to his knees. He managed to smirk."But I didn't either."He collapsed as Garchomp fell to one knee. The crowd gasped.

"Electivire is unable to battle!"he said, raising Cynthia's flag again."Garchomp wins this round!"I sighed, returning Zaps to his pokeball. I looked at ZC.

"It's all up to you now,"I told them."Think you can do it?"

"Considering his current condition, I believe we can defeat him,"COREM said, floating past me as Garchomp stood up."Though it looks like he may pass out at any given moment."

"Don't count me out, kid,"he grunted, though he sounded like he was in a lot of pain. Cynthia looked at him with a frown.

"Begin!"

"Wait!"Cynthia shouted, holding a hand out.

"Huh?"I asked. She looked at me with a smile.

"I give up. This battle is over,"she said, causing everyone to gasp. Garchomp spun his head to look at her."Garchomp, you've done enough. There's no need for you to continue."He grunted, but didn't argue. She held out his pokeball."Take a good, long rest, old friend."She recalled the dragon, then put the pokeball away. She started walking towards us."A real pokemon champion isn't one defeats all their enemies."She patted ZC's head. Zephyr squeaked happily and nuzzled her."A real trainer treats all pokemon they come across fairly and equally."I felt a smile come across my face. No wonder everyone respected her. She motioned her arm towards me."Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new champion! Ken Woods from Twinleaf Town!"The crowd roared louder than ever before. I blinked as I processed this information. After all this time, after everything my team and I had been through, we were the Champions of the Sinnoh region!

And to think, this adventure was just getting started.

XXXX

End of Chapter.

The team has destroyed the Chrome bases of Sinnoh, and had become champions. Next up, the Hoenn region. And this time there won't be nearly as many time skips. But first, a quick trip back to Mount Coronet.

See, when I get reveiws like the ones Redherring has given so far, I start pumping out chapters like a frickin' machine.