A/N: The next few chapters will break the usual pattern, as I've decided to write a chapter for each Elite Four battle. They feel too important to gloss over. I hope you guys are okay with this.

r. crunch

At the end of her Pokemon League Challenge, May was asked to sum up the experience in a few sentences and was struck speechless by the question. There was no way for her describe such a vast journey, particularly because she seemed to have blacked most of it out. It wouldn't be until a month later, when she was able to sit in the silence of her new life and understand all that she had gained and lost, that it all came rushing back, but from the moments before her first match against the Elite Four to the last round with her standing victorious, May was hardly capable of even remembering her own name.

The month spent in Victory Road, the dark tunnel leading to the Elite Four, was just a hazy blur of shadows where she was made to confront the pain and doubts that had emerged below the sea. What did she hope to find? What were they fighting for? Battle after battle in the darkness whittled away at them until there was nothing left to be understood or found between her and her pokemon. There they were and there they would continue together, and as they emerged in the bright light at the end of the tunnel, May knew that it was not just their faces and bodies that had changed.

Maybe it started in the sea. In the open mouth of Kyogre, May had seen death. In the clear skies over Sootopolis, she had seen hope. In the shadows of Victory Road, she fought through the pain of loss, and as she and her pokemon stepped forward into the light to declare their Challenge, May felt life flow into her once again.

There were no reporters, no phone calls. As soon as she had stepped into the realm of the Elite Four there was nothing but her pokemon. Unbeknownst to her, the world outside raged with questions of who this new Challenger was, but inside, there were no distractions. Even now as she prepared to enter her first match, there was only a white room, a single door. Beyond it was Sidney, the Dark-type master. There was nothing to turn back to.

There was a flash, and then another, and another until all of her pokemon stood around her. Kohaku, Ginko, Aen, Tsuki, Akagane, Suigan - looking around at their odd faces, their many colors, May wondered how such a strange group could be gathered together to walk the same path. They, too, had brushed up against death and had lost and gained something deep in the ocean. They each smiled, and though May knew there were no words left to say, she asked, "Are you ready?"

They answered in a unified cry. Color filled the room. A smile emerged from her heart as their voices echoed through her.

"I said, 'Are you ready?'"

She imagined their voices were so loud that they could be heard from space. She laughed. It felt like the first time she had laughed in years.

"I believe in you," she said. "Let's go."

They all retreated back to her side as she opened the door.

May breathed in and found that the air was surprisingly warm and humid. Darkness thicker than anything she'd experienced enveloped her as the door behind her shut. Panic rose up for a moment until a series of flames ignited around her, lining a massive room. At the center was a single man. His head shined in the firelight, a single tuft of red hair atop his bald head. She took a deep breath and stepped forward as a sinister grin pulled across his lips.

"So you're the one that's got the League in such a fuss, huh?" he said. His voice was a bit nasally, a little sour, but still he smiled. May wasn't expecting conversation and had to cough slightly to find her voice.

"A fuss?" she managed to choke out.

"That's right. 'Never seen the Leaders get so riled up. They're talking like you're the god damn messiah." He looked her up and down. "I thought Norman's kid would look a little more intimidating." She scowled.

"Leave my dad out of it."

"Oho! Daddy's a touchy subject, huh? Fine by me. He can't help you here anyway."

"Are we going to battle or are you just going to talk the entire time?" she said, losing her patience. This guy was more like a back alley thug than a Trainer.

"Damn, testy, testy. I just wanted to see what kind of Trainer I was dealing with before diving in," he said. His eyes narrowed, glinting with excitement. "But I like that look you're giving me. I guess you'll give me a good match. That's good! Looking real good!"

He reached for his belt, and May instinctively mirrored him. There was no whistle, no referee, just an echoing laugh as he threw out his first pokemon. May leapt back as Kohaku jumped out to deflect. It was an absol. They both jumped away from each other, and the man howled excitedly. May stared, dumbstruck. He was clearly out of his mind.

The absol leapt forward again, and a wave of darkness as thick as syrup whipped out. A ring of fire ignited around Kohaku, breaking the darkness, and he used the absol's momentary surprise to strike it hard in the chest. It let out a gasp as it flew back.

But it didn't wait. With a screech, it came flying at Kohaku again. Light and shadows danced as they flipped and lashed over each other. Kohaku cried out with pain as the absol's claw came down hard against his arm.

"Woo! That's my girl! Go for blood!" howled Sidney. May couldn't see him through the shadows. His voice was his entire existence, echoing through May's chest.

There was no time to assess, for the absol attacked once more. May remembered watching the Elite Four with her father and recalled Sidney's all-out strategy, but she could not remember his team being so relentless, almost vicious. There was a strange glint in the man's eyes, a fire in the absol's eyes. This was no exhibition match. This was the face only Challengers saw.

They parried back and forth again. Kohaku rarely met an opponent as fast as he, but the absol kept up and showed no sign of slowing. The blaziken let out a small burst of fire, just enough to make the absol flinch, and swung hard.

But he missed, and the absol brought its claw back down again. May let out a gasp as she saw the blood spray. Kohaku dipped low and brought his arm up again. The absol leaned back, expecting a strike, but Kohaku's reach was surprisingly short. Instead, he flicked his arm hard, splashing the absol in the face just slightly with his blood. The absol winced with disgust, allowing Kohaku to swing his foot around, placing a hard, cracking kick against the absol's shoulder. He did not land on his feet this time.

"Fuck!" hissed Sidney. "We forfeit the round." The absol disappeared in a flash as Sidney cursed a bit more.

"Good job, Kohaku. Return!"

They threw out another round. As May expected, the next Pokémon came hurtling out without missing a breath. Aen clashed with the largest mightyena May had ever seen, easily twice as large as the mawile. Its howl echoed through the room, as thick as the shadows.

Aen's large jaws clashed against the mightyena's, a cluster of snapping teeth and flying drool. The mass of her auxiliary jaw slammed hard into her opponent, only enough to knock it off balance for a moment before it came leaping back with snarling teeth.

May and her Pokémon were unused to such an all-out assault-style opponent. For every attack, the mightyena came back with an even harsher rebuttal until Aen found herself on the defense - a situation the mawile detested. As strong as she had become, May had never been able to rid the battered juvenile she had found in the mountains that still lie in Aen's subconscious, and as the mightyena landed a harsh bite down on her shoulder, May could see the fear creep into Aen's eyes.

"Aen!" she shouted. "Aen, kame tactics!" The mawile briskly threw herself out the line of fire and rolled into the shadows, wrapping herself with her hardening jaws.

The mightyena needed no prompting from Sidney to dive into the shadows after her. There was the sound of slapping appendages, a few helps of pain. The mightyena leapt back out of the shadows, followed by a swiftly rolling mass of teeth and muscle as Aen came hurtling out after him, allowing the strength of her jaws propel her into the air. She unfurled mid-spin and brought her jaw slamming down hard onto the mightyena's back.

But Aen did not wait for the mightyena to struggle to his feet. She swiveled up and brought her jaw back down again like a hammer. May winced as she heard a crack. Still, the mightyena tried to stand, and Sidney did not forfeit. Aen brought her jaw down again, and finally, Sidney threw up his hand.

"Okay, okay!" The mightyena disappeared, limp. May hated the way Aen's jaws pulled into a sadistic smile but knew the mightyena would have done the same if given the opportunity. She withdrew.

Best out of four meant that May needed to win this one to end the match quickly. Losing momentum here would give Sidney the upper hand, and May just wanted to get out of the dark room as soon as she could. They threw in their balls. There was the flash. Two shrieks echoed, and as the pokemon solidified, May was able to exhale just slightly. Tsuki the altaria was matched against a shiftry, and a type advantage was a bigger blessing than she had hoped for.

The retreat into the air was a great boon for the altaria, for she was able to put space between her and her opponent, and though the shiftry's special attacks were able to reach her even at a distance, May felt the last round of her first Battle come to an anticlimactic close. Sidney seemed to realize this quickly as well, and just as the difference became too apparent, he lifted his hand to concede.

It was much quieter than she had expected - the entire ordeal. After having the entire city of Sootopolis watch her fight, the dark chamber felt strangely humble as both pokemon retreated, leaving the Trainers in silence. The lights came flickering on, leaving May standing in a room with Sidney, who was much paler, much more mundane in the light. He seemed to recognize this as he slid his hands in his pockets and stepped forward to meet her in the center of the arena. He scowled as she approached him.

"Man, you're just a kid," he whined. May's scowl matched his.

"That's the first thing you say to me?" she said in disbelief.

"From the way the Leaders were all talking, I thought you were gonna be some superhero type, but you're barely out of diapers."

"What the hell's your problem?"

"My problem is that I just lost to a twelve year-old."*

"I'm almost twenty, thank you!" she snapped. "Wait, why am I arguing with you? I just won!"

"You got lucky."

"You wanna go again?" snarled May.

They glared each other down for a moment, and then Sidney began to chuckle to himself. May relaxed a bit, eyeing him warily.

"Man, you're sure a hard-ass for a twenty year-old," he said, grinning.

"How old are you?"

"None of your business." She scowled again.

"Is everyone in the Elite Four a complete psychopath, or is it just you?" she asked.

"Woo, so it's like that, huh?" he howled. He laughed, head thrown back, and May wondered when she had last laughed as freely. She couldn't help but also smile a bit as she decided she quite liked him, despite his oddities. "You're an interesting one. Good. Gotta be a little nuts to survive around here, you know?"

"I'm starting to get that."

"Good. Better keep up that momentum. I'll look bad if you lose in the next round."

"What happens if I do?"

"Then we have a rematch to decide which of us stays, and I'll tell you now: I won't lose a second time," he said, grinning. May snorted.

"You're awfully confident for someone who just lost." He folded his hands behind his head, grinning.

"There's a reason I've been in the Elite Four for so long." He reached out a hand, and she looked down at it with surprise before shaking it with her own. "Anyway, it was a fun one, kid. I'm looking forward to seeing how far you go." She grinned crookedly.

"I thought you said you were confident about sticking around."

"I am. You'll just have to knock out some of the others so that we're all forced to scramble and battle for who gets to stay."

He said it in a jovial way, but it made May frown. She hadn't given much thought about what would happen after she won. Now that she had a real person to the face she had known from television, she almost regretted winning.

"Don't sweat it right now, kid. You still gotta win four more times before thinking about what comes after." May nodded. That was true. The reminder brought a bit of energy back to her legs.

"Is there anything left for me to do now?" she asked.

"Nah. Go rest up. Your pokemon will need their energy for the next one."

He waved her off, and May found that her feet moved willingly on their own. Everything happened so quickly that she barely registered the deep sigh from the Dark master as she closed the door.

The room was quiet now. Sidney stared up at the lights thoughtfully as he considered his loss. He wanted more time to think about his next steps but was interrupted by the presence behind him. A small woman with brown skin and a fluttering skirt stood there, tapping her bare foot against the floor. The flowers in her hair were nearly as big as her face, which wore a grin that made Sidney want to punch himself in the teeth.

"Come to rub it in?" he asked.

"I'll admit I was kind of hoping to catch you crying," she said, still grinning. "But no, I was mostly interested in seeing the Challenger."

"What'd you think?"

"I'm surprised she managed to keep up with your pace. It's fast, even for me." Sidney nodded in agreement, shoving his hands into his pockets. Now that the Challenger was gone, the sourness of loss filled his mouth a bit.

"She's tough. I can see what the hype is about." The woman nodded.

"Wallace says she's the one who went down into the cave."

"No kidding? Well, I don't feel so bad about losing then," said Sidney with a bit of a smile. "Has What's-His-Name come back yet?"

"Early yesterday. He didn't stop by?" she said. He snorted.

"Like he'd come see me. How's he looking?"

"Hmm, I don't know. He seemed nervous."

"How could you tell?"

"Puolo felt it."

"Well, I'm sure even he gets nervous sometimes," shrugged Sidney. She arched a brow.

"Have you ever seen him nervous?"

"I've barely seen him, period."

"Well, that makes sense. I'd avoid you too if I had a choice." Sid glared and shoved her, earning a little yelp.

"Did you come here just to taunt me? Don't you have some preparation to do for your match?"

"Just wanted to come down here to make sure you weren't crying."

"Har, har, so funny." He waved her off. "Get out of here before your ugly face makes me start really crying."

She laughed and headed for the door. As she closed it behind her and made her way to the Elite Four quarters, Puolo the banette popped out of her ball, grinning up at her trainer.

"Excited?" Phoebe said. The banette cackled, eyes glowing in the dimly lit corridor. Phoebe laughed. "Me too, me too. She seems like she'll put up a good fight, this Challenger May."

A/N: *The joke here is that in the games, the character is supposed to be a twelve year-old, which is objectively ludicrous.