Episode 21
Somewhere in Sunnyshore City, a pink portal appeared, unable to be seen by anyone except the two trainers who just fell through it. Matt and Tyler landed on their backs.
"Ow…where are we?" Matt said, sitting up.
"I don't know, but we landed pretty hard." Tyler said, rubbing his back. They looked around, noticing they were in a long and narrow hallway. "What did Palkia do…?"
"Yeah, you should've seen how easily that kid was beaten. Boss took him out no problem." Matt and Tyler's heads darted to their left, where two Team Revenant Grunts were walking, one of which was present when Matt met Donald. They must have been in their base! Matt's head looked around for a place to hide, but there was none. But the guards walked right past Matt and Tyler without a second thought.
"I wonder…" Tyler said. "Hey, you two! Why don't you turn around so we can kick your asses?" He shouted loudly down the hallway. Matt shut him up before he could say more, but the guards still didn't notice them. "We can't be seen here…Palkia must have brought us here to show us what Team Revenant is doing!" With that, Tyler scribbled in his journal.
"There must be something we need to find," Matt suggested. The two began to wander the hallways, scanning them for a clue of what Palkia wanted them to find. Matt stopped suddenly. "Do you hear that?"
Tyler stopped too, listening hard. "I think it's coming from over there." He pointed to another corridor, where light was coming through a doorway. "Let's go." The cousins started down the hallway, entering the room. Inside was something neither of them was prepared to see.
Donald and a couple scientists were standing in front of a large panel, which faced three large cages. Inside the cages were Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, all sleeping, and all hooked up to wires, which the scientists seemed to be analyzing. "What are they doing to them?" Even though Matt knew he couldn't be seen, but he felt the need to talk quietly anyways.
"We need more energy from Giratina," Donald was saying to the scientists.
"Yes sir," the one on his left replied. After typing things into the panel, the wires attached to Giratina started to glow. It roared in pain, still asleep. Suddenly, a metal ring near where Donald was standing began to glow purple on the inside, creating a swirling portal. "We did it, sir!"
"Yes, Rogers, I did." Donald faced the portal, staring into it. "Who knows what's beyond there? What powers await me just on the other side…?"
As Team Revenant was turned away, Matt noticed Palkia's eye open, looking straight at him. Matt yelled to Palkia, "Is this what you wanted us to see?"
Palkia roared in reply, gaining the attention of the scientists. "He's awake," Rogers yelled, running back to the panel. Donald was still staring into the vortex. The scientists ran a couple shocks into Palkia, causing it to roar even more.
"Leave him alone!" Tyler yelled, right in the scientist's face. "What are you doing to these magnificent creatures? What gain could you have with them?" Tyler's face was flushed with anger. He knew they couldn't hear him, but he couldn't help but yelling. As Palkia let out another roar, this one louder than before, the world around Matt and Tyler began to fade away. "No, we can't leave yet; we need to see more, Palkia!"
"I don't think it has the strength to keep us here, Tyler," Matt said. "It wanted to show us where they all were. It needed to tell us that they needed help." The world was fading into white, and soon Matt and Tyler had a hard time seeing each other. "Let's just get back. There's nothing we can do."
Tyler sighed. "You're right, Matt. I just can't stand seeing Legendary Pokémon, or any Pokémon at all, get treated this way. All sight and sound was gone until the two fell out of a pink portal into Tyler's room. The cousins helped each other up. "I have a lot to write down," Tyler said.
Matt looked at the clock. "I have to sleep for the final round tomorrow," he said, although after seeing that, he knew he wasn't going to get much sleep.
Sure enough, he lay in bed, thoughts ablaze with Team Revenant. Oddly, his thoughts were very similar to Donald's. What was on the other side of that portal? Was the reason his Spiritomb couldn't be damaged by anything over there? It had to be. That was the only way, Matt concluded. Worse of all, Palkia and the others were trapped there. Matt knew he couldn't do anything about it yet. But to save those Pokémon and to stop Team Revenant, he would have to get stronger. Eventually, the young trainer's body couldn't handle it anymore, and he drifted into sleep.
"Welcome to the final round of the Hearthome Tournament! My name is Roland Kingsley, and for the final time, I shall be your host for today's event. Today, our match will consist of two battlers who have both made full use of their Pokémon's speed throughout the entire tournament. Please welcome on my left, Matt from Oreburgh City!" Matt entered through the side gate as the audience erupted in applause. Alex was the loudest one up there. He took his spot, waving to everyone. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, but the energy from the crowd seemed to transfer to him. "And now, on my right, please welcome Gage from Blackthorn City!" Matt's opponent entered just as he did, but didn't seem to acknowledge the crowd's applause. Instead, he just faced Matt with a bit of animosity.
"Congratulations to you both for coming this far. However, only one of you can be victorious this afternoon. Please, send out your Pokémon."
"Raina, Let's Battle!" Matt called.
The orange Water-Type emerged from her Pokéball, landing with grace. She turned her attention to Gage. "Bui Bui!" She shouted.
"Go, Sneasel!" Gage sent out his Ice/Dark-Type, who stared down Raina. Both Pokémon were eager to battle, just to take the other down.
"Battlers ready?" The ref asked. "Begin!"
"Rain Dance!" Matt called. Usually, he waited until the battle had gotten further in before he would have Raina use it, but knowing Gage's Sneasel, he'd had to out speed it as best as he could.
With the rain falling on them, Gage called out, "Quick Attack!" The small Ice-Type collided with Raina, knocking her back.
Sneasel's really fast, Matt thought, but then smiled. But in this weather, Raina's the queen. "Use Aqua Jet!"
Covered in water, Raina slammed into Sneasel. The speed of the two was matched, the power as well.
"Sneasel, use Faint Attack!" Matt watched as his opponent disappeared into the shadows. He knew Raina was getting hit by it, but he had another idea.
As soon as Sneasel popped in front of Raina, Matt shouted, "Water Gun!" The second Sneasel collided with the Buizel, a fast stream of water collided with Sneasel's face, knocking him back.
"Nice hit," Gage said. "Use Fury Swipes, Sneasel."
"Dodge it!" Matt called. Raina dove out of the way at the last moment, but Sneasel's claw still scraped her. "Now use Aqua Jet!"
"Quick Attack!"
The two speedy Pokémon collided in mid-air, halting each other. Raina looked into the Sneasel's eyes, both of them full of sparks. "Bui!" the Water-Type yelled, summoning enough strength to knock the Sneasel onto the ground.
"I've been thinking about what you said yesterday, Gage," Matt started. "How you can't always rely on the same strategy to win. But you seem to be doing the same things as ever. You rely on your Sneasel's speed to win."
"Sneasel and I have been through more than you know about, Matt. He and I have grown strong together, and we're not about to be beaten by someone like you! Sneasel, Faint Attack!"
"Raina, use Aqua Jet, but don't move!"
Tyler was taking a sip of his drink in the stands when Matt said this. He took a spit take. "What is he thinking?"
"He knows what he's doing, Tyler. Give him a chance!" Alex yelled, on the edge of his seat.
The Dark-Type appeared right in front of Raina, ready to strike, but when he did, the torrent of water surrounding Raina caused him to falter.
"Now, use Water Gun!" The quick stream of water slammed into Sneasel, knocking him onto the ground on the other side of the battlefield.
"Get up, Sneasel! I know you can do it!" Gage yelled. He bent down to see if his Sneasel was ok, and he was. Sneasel stood up, the desire to fight still burning in him. "Great. Use Quick Attack!"
"Aqua Jet!" Matt knew that this would be the deciding blow. Raina had won last time, but both Pokémon had taken a lot of damage. Just as before, they collided in air. The rain had cleared, meaning Raina was back to her normal speed.
"You can do it!" Matt and Gage both yelled at the same time. Eventually, the water rushing against him became too much for Sneasel, and Raina came through victorious once more. Sneasel landed on the ground in front of Gage.
"Sneasel is unable to battle, Raina the Buizel wins, meaning the Hearthome Tournament Champion is Matt Cordia from Oreburgh City!"
Matt stood there, motionless. He couldn't believe that he had one! "I…I did it…I did it!"
"Bui Bui!" Raina yelled, and the two ran towards each other, embracing. Matt couldn't have been prouder of Raina. As the crowd cheered, his eyes wandered over to Gage, who was holding Sneasel in his arms. Matt and his Buizel walked over to him.
"Is he ok?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, he's fine," Gage said. "I was worried for a little bit. Then again, I always am when I lose. Not because of losing, but because of my Pokémon. They're my only friends, and I hate to see them get hurt." Gage returned Sneasel and stood up. "I'd do anything for them. I guess that just means that we have to get stronger, doesn't it?" He turned to leave.
"Gage, wait." Matt said, extending his hand. Gage turned around, and with a shrug, shook Matt's hand.
"You took my advice. You earned it, Matt," he said, before leaving. Gage may have been a tad arrogant, but he cared about his Pokémon. Matt knew he was a good guy.
Kingsley asked Matt to come up onto the podium with him. "Matt, it is with great honor that I present you and your Buizel with the Hearthome Medal. You two earned every bit of it, especially with that great of a last battle."
"Thank you, Sir," Matt said, putting one medal around his neck, another around Raina's. It seemed to fit her.
"And with an amazing battle to end an amazing tournament, I am Roland Kingsley of the Pokémon Battle Association singing off! I'd love to see you all out at Snowpoint City, where the next PBA Official Tournament will be held. I'll see you all then!"
"There he is!" Matt turned to see Gold, Ricky, Tyler and Alex running towards him right outside the tournament hall. "I knew you could do it, Matt!" Alex yelled, the first one reaching him. "That was amazing!"
Matt laughed. "Thanks buddy."
"Good job pulling it off, man," Ricky said, shaking Matt's hand. "You and Raina were the closest pair out there for sure."
Matt didn't really think about that. He and Raina had been distant for the longest time. But that longest time now seems so long ago. "Yeah," Matt said. "She's pretty great. So where are you guys headed off to now?"
"I think I'm gonna head back to Canalave," Ricky said. "I know I can beat Byron, I just have to keep trying."
"That's the spirit."
"And I'm gonna go to Veilstone," Gold said. "There's lots of stuff to do there."
"Are you sure you're not just going for the gambling?" Tyler asked with a small laugh.
"That's only one of the perks." They all shared a laugh before gathering at the gates. Matt would remain in Hearthome to battle the Gym Leader, but as for now, this is where the rivals parted. They all looked at each other, the spark between them still ignited.
At the same time, they all said, "Until next time."