After about three long weeks, I've finally completed this massive chapter.

I didn't intend on it being so long, but things just kept coming to me, and it ended up being the size of almost two chapters. I'm sorry once again, for the fiftieth time, for taking so long to update, but please remember I do have a life outside of fanfiction. I had a blast writing this one, regardless of how long it took, and I hope you all enjoy!

Sincerely,

Eon11

Chapter 4

The Championship

Crisp cool air, with a faint salty taste to it, filled Rowan's lungs as he took a deep and relaxing breath. He stood near the edge of the steep cliff just outside of the base, between a sea of deep blue and bright orange and red, standing in the narrow dark green stretch of land dividing them. He gazed out into the sunrise, equally beautiful streaks of orange breaking the icy sky. He smiled. Autumn was his favorite season.

It was quiet, Rowan embraced the silence, his ears indulging on a break from the uproar that they had been exposed to the past few days. Out here it was just the slight wind, the vast view, and his thoughts. He felt alive, almost as if he could fly. He sat alone, his partner, Zav, nowhere to be found. He didn't mind though, a break from everything was just what the Umbreon, regardless whether he knew it or not, needed.

The pristine sound of the waves crashing far below him onto the shore was interrupted by an interesting sound. Rowan couldn't identify what it was, and glanced around for the source. It was relatively quiet, and sounded highly in the strangest, but Rowan simply shrugged and fixed his gaze back onto the sky.

He blinked, thinking his eyes had deceived him. A streak of eerie red had pierced into the sky, and looked oddly out of place. He heard the sound again, this time slightly different, and the streak faded, the pale orange from the sunrise filling its gap. Rowan's eyes shot to another, this one a dark purple, and had crashed through the blue and orange. He heard numerous sounds again, different from the ones he had heard before, but with the same eeriness. Again, he looked around, but all he saw was a quiet forest, and distant sea.

He whirled his gaze back at the sky, anxiety slowly ebbing him. What were these sounds? Where were they coming from? Suddenly a silver streak cut in, but was quickly vanquished by its surrounding sky. More sounds echoed around him, same, but again, slightly different from the ones before. Rowan now was glancing in all directions, almost terrified of what was happening. To his horror he found he couldn't move his legs, and was anchored to the spot. He desperately tugged at them, but they stood their ground, cementing him to his place.

Then it stopped. The sky remained its color, and the calming quiet took over again. Rowan's mind relaxed, and he was once again gazing numbly into the sunrise, which was just about over now. He slumped to the ground, a drowsiness taking over, and slowly shut his heavy eyes.

When he awoke, he was highly confused. He blinked around his dark room, everything seeming normal. He slowly eased back into his comfortable bed, and his breathing slowed one he understood. Of course, it was a dream. He had been sleeping.

Rowan got up and slowly stretched, his pleasant yet strange dream a nice change from the ones he'd been having about the Tournament. He was silently grateful he had no matches today, finally getting a day to relax and watch the matches without worries. Excitement replaced tranquility when he remembered the matchups for today, specifically Aves vs. Zav. The Jolteon had beaten him in an extremely close match, and he was excited to see how he matched up with the seemingly invincible Absol. Aves himself even told Rowan how anxious he was for this match, and Rowan knew, just as well as everybody else by now, how the Jolteon always seemed to surprise, no matter the circumstance.

Speaking of which, the Jolteon was nowhere to be found. Rowan searched their whole dorm, and sure enough, he wasn't anywhere. After checking the cafeteria, which was also surprisingly empty, he nearly choked on his food once he realized why. He scrambled out the doors, his mind so conveniently forgetting the route to the coliseum.

Breathless by the time he got there, Rowan scanned the crowd for Zav and the Absol, until a roar from the crowd drew his attention to the battleground. There, an Absol was making his way back to his side of the arena, an unwavering look. Opposite of him, a Jolteon was walking back to his, a look of deep thought on him. Rowan spotted the Smeargle paint a tally, which accompanied another. Two to zero, as there were none of another color marked.

Rowan quickly found a seat next to Jaresk and Risen. The Wartortle still had a smug look, and was not so subtly showcasing the power band he had won from Jaresk on his arm. The Quilava had was slightly annoyed, but he seemed to be over his loss, and had more of a look of excitement on his face rather than annoyance.

"Wonder where you were. Didn't think you'd want to miss this match." Risen commented as he took his seat.

"Yeah, well I guess Zav didn't want to wake me, let me sleep in a little. Odd, he usually finds enjoyment in electrifying me each morning." Rowan remarked, remembering his odd dream.

"Well, Aves is up two to zero, doesn't seem to be holding back for Zav. He's only been landed two hits this whole time." Jaresk filled Rowan in, in a sort of judgy tone.

"Better than you could. You'd probably just forfeit the match in fright." Risen told him, and Jaresk frowned.

"You can't say you wouldn't." Jaresk countered, and Risen opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, realizing the Quilava was correct.

"You can forfeit a match?" Rowan asked, debating about if he had known that just to let Claws win instead of playing her. He had felt so nervous, he honestly thought he would've.

"Well, yeah, but you need a reason to. Like one time, this Pidgeot had to forfeit because his wings had broken badly the day before in a mission. Couldn't even move them, took months to recover." Jaresk said.

"Oh." Was all Rowan replied with, picturing himself breaking his own legs purposely to avoid playing. He was glad he hadn't known of this info before, as he was almost positive he'd be in the hospital right now.

A loud roar was heard, and Rowan snapped his attention to the match. As he watched the Absol and Jolteon race towards each other, he remembered the score, and knew Zav needed to win this match, or it would be another three zero victory for his mentor.

Zav feinted left, then rolled right, which Aves read, and slammed his glowing white hoof down. Zav, blocked the attack, and spun around, attempting to hook the Absol with his legs. Aves leapt back, and cautiously moved back slowly, not blinking as he kept his eyes on the Jolteon.

Zav fired a bolt as Aves, who redirected it back at Zav. He hit it back, and this continued going back and forth for four or more hits until Zav finally dodged, and fired three more at the Absol, whom was now cornered into a wall, and seemed hopeless to evade all three.

Yet somehow, the Absol dodged two, fired another back, and leapt off the wall into the air towards Zav, all in a mere second. He swung his head, and a powerful white arc flew from his horn, which Zav leapt back after rolling away from his own redirected bolt. Aves landed feet from the Jolteon, and the two engaged in close combat.

Aves swept his legs under, but Zav jumped, not too high as to give the Absol a free target, and jabbed his paw filled with lightning at Aves multiple times. The Absol evaded all of them, before diving beneath the Jolteon, and springing his body up, sending Zav flailing into the air. He was hopeless to evade the arc that flew at him, and crashed to the ground from the smoke cloud that had been emitted. One to zero.

Zav rushed at the Absol once again, this time his whole body engulfed in electricity, and was bounding from wide to side in a zig-zag pattern on his way to the Absol. Rowan had no clue how on Aves was going to be able to counter this, as even Rowan himself knew this dreaded move the Jolteon would do. It took a lot of energy to do, but almost always, it was a sure hit, the unpredictable movements of seemed Zav uncounterable.

But Aves stomped hard onto the ground, rearing back onto his hind legs first, two hooves of dark power crashing into the ground. Zav skidded to a sudden stop from his dash, just as a barricade of darkness sprung from the ground between him and the Absol. Zav himself was shocked, staring wide eyed at the dark wall, and barely rolled to the side as Aves crashed through suddenly, narrowly missing the Jolteon with his glowing white horn.

Zav fled back and around the wall, firing bolts as he zipped around the corner. He peered through the darkness for a moment, and spotted the Absol, crashing through the wall once again, and sidestepped his attack, then swept his legs beneath the Absol. Aves, jumped just in time, but leapt too high, and hadn't seen the electricity powering through Zav's paw, and was struck with it, sending him back a couple feet, his hooves making an impression in the ground. The crowd erupted in cheer, and Rowan saw a small smile creep onto his friend's face. One to one.

The wall had disapparated, and Aves attacked first. He ran directly at Zav, who froze for a moment, until shooting a bolt of his own at the Absol. Aves flipped over it impressively, and fired another white arc at Zav. The Jolteon blocked it, but hadn't seen the beam of dark Aves had fired as well, and was unpleasantly surprised, a large smoke cloud signalling that he had been hit. Aves backed off, the smoke cloud growing ever so larger. Two to one.

Rowan was actually starting to worry the Absol had hit the Jolteon a bit too hard until thunderbolts began to surge through the smoke cloud. The smoke suddenly stopped, petrified in a way, and Aves was backing away from it cautiously, and had a nervous look on his face, something you didn't see often from the Absol. Stray bolts began firing from the cloud, slowly, at first, but ever so increasing in speed. Soon, streams of white were soaring through the air, and Aves, regardless of evasiveness, was unable to dodge them all. Two to two.

The smoke finally cleared, and a breathless Jolteon appeared, trying to catch his breath. Aves dashed forward, and sent an arc of white at Zav. The Jolteon jumped, but just barely saw the second arc that followed, and blasted it with a bolt. It exploded, and Zav was sent soaring through the air, Aves aiming a dark ball of energy at him.

It seemed hopeless for the Jolteon when Aves fired the ball at him. He was helpless, and had no chance in dodging it. The game was as good as over. Another three to zero victory for Aves, Zav putting up as much a fight as he could. But just as everything seemed hopeless, Zav did something even more remarkable than his father's famed move.

As the ball approached him, Zav blindly aimed a bolt, and it connected with the ball. Now swirling with electricity, it looped around Zav once as the Jolteon sped to the ground. It zoomed around him, then sped at Aves with incredible speed, as if Zav didn't even need to aim it, it's target already locked. Aves, gaping in utter shock, rolled to the side, but the orb jerked to the side as well, and struck him with incredible force. A large cloud of smoke blasted, and the crowd went silent suddenly. When the smoke cleared, Aves was coughing, but regained his breath soon, and cast an amazed look at Zav, his eyes blinking, jaw held open.

The crowd boomed. Zav was blinking in just as much an amount of disbelief as Aves was, apparently not knowing any more than everybody else did on how in Arceus' name he just did that.

The next round went to Aves, the Absol clearly now determined as ever to win. Zav, though had done stunning and remarkable things, was bound to lose to the Absol, his unmatchable speed and power leading him to take the round three to one. Zav had hit him once with his father's move early, but it had drained him so much, he had little chance of recovering, Aves taking full advantage of this, and ending the round quickly. Regardless, the crowd still cheered, ecstatic about the match, most proven wrong when they thought they had certainly seen everything there was to be seen. Zav and Aves spoke to each other for a while in the center, the crowd way too loud for Rowan to even try to make out what they were talking about.

"Seriously, do you ever not put on a show?" Jaresk said in bewilderment as Zav returned, a broad smile on his face.

"Yeah, seriously, how did you do that? I don't even think Glade can do that!" Risen exclaimed, but Zav gave an honest shrug.

"I'm… not sure exactly. It was just this sensation that overtook me. I've never felt it before a-and it was一"

"一amazing." Rowan said abruptly, his eyes staring into space.

"Yeah, it was amazing. Certainly never something I've seen before, redirecting something like that while flying through the air." Jaresk commented, still shaking his head in disbelief. Once again, Zav shrugged in reply, a grin on his face, not noticing Rowan's wide, blinking eyes in thought.

He was shook to his senses a moment later when Aves bumped into him, the Absol wearing a wide grin as well.

"That was fun! Still seems I've got you outgunned, Sparky." Aves told them, they laughed.

"But seriously Zav, you have to tell us how in Arceus' name you were able to pull off that move. That's the kind of thing you hear in stories." Risen said, reverting back to the move. Zav was chuckling now, and shook his head in reply.

"For the fifteenth time, I've got no clue how I did it. It just happened." Zav replied, and Jaresk and Risen had disappointed looks on their faces.

Rowan watched the next match, which was the start of the semifinals. It was Glade paired against a Samurott. Rowan hadn't paid much attention to it, as his mind was away, trying to remember something he wanted to tell Zav and Aves. Regardless, the Gallade won three to one, the Samurott, that Risen had pointed out was named Hydresk, had put up quite a fight against the untouchable Gallade, and had even taken a round. Needless to say, Glade's skills were again showcased as nearly impeccable as he advanced to the championship. Rowan was knocked to his senses again when Aves brushed him to stand.

"Like I had guessed. Did anybody really doubt High Order's own deputy making it to the finals?" Jaresk remarked rather knowingly. Risen gave him a doubtful look.

"Well, it would appear so. You didn't even think he'd make it to the quarterfinals. Guess you're just unlucky, I suppose." Risen countered, faking a yawn as he stretched his arm bearing the power band right in front of Jaresk's irritated face. Rowan half expected the Quilava to point-blank a scorching flame thrower at the Wartortle right now, the steam rising from his nostrils in irritation a clear indication.

"At least I can win a battle…" Jaresk grumbled so lowly that no one heard him except for Rowan, probably for the best, as the Umbreon didn't think Risen would think of the Quilava's remark about him beating the Wartortle in the Professional bracket too fondly.

There was a brief break, and Aves left to prepare for his match. Rowan asked Zav how Aves could recover his strength fast enough to play another fierce match, and Zav gave him a look Rowan was all too familiar with. His dreaded lecture look.

"Ergim berries. There really cool, and pretty rare, as the ferns they grow on only produce fruit every ten years, so they're only utilized for high importance missions and special occasions. We've got a bunch of the ferns growing a couple miles from the base, and it takes expertise to cultivate them. I know an Ivysaur whose father…" Rowan drifted from Zav's words, marveling at first how Zav could be so excited and energetic about a the knowledge of a berry. He then remembered suddenly what he wanted to ask Zav, and shook quickly to his senses. He stifled a laugh, noticing how the Jolteon hadn't even noticed Rowan's oblivion.

"...and then through your muscles. I've heard the waves in your brain amplify to一" Rowan interrupted Zav's lecture, which Jaresk and Risen had been timing how long in secret next to the two.

"Zav, can I talk to you in private?" Rowan asked in a low tone, glancing at Jaresk and Risen, who were laughing amongst themselves.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Why?" Zav said.

"I'll tell you一" Zav cut Rowan off, his face bright with realization.

"This is something about you being the Astr一" Zav began, oblivious to his hearable tone, regardless of how loud the clamor of the surrounding audience was, and Rowan stopped him with a paw on his mouth. He looked to both sides of him, hoping Zav would get the message, and his eyes grew wide.

"Oh, right…" Zav trailed off, but Rowan rolled his eyes and took him by his front leg.

"Where's a place we can talk in private around here?" Rowan asked, and Zav lead him down a staircase and into another hallway, which was completely deserted, and only half illuminated by lights.

"Okay, what is it? You were acting kind of weird when I got back, staring off into space and all一" Zav babbled until Rowan silenced him after glancing to make sure they were out of ear's reach.

"When you did that… move. You felt lightless, right? Almost as if your body just… took over?" Rowan said cautiously, Zav's face growing ever more confused.

"Yeah… like I said, I don't know, it just happened so一"

"Naturally?" Rowan finished, his gaze unbreaking. Zav screwed up his face in startled confusion.

"Okay, what? I did some sort of move, I was lucky. You're acting like一" He began with a pinch of anger in his tone, but Rowan paid him no attention.

"Zav, do you remember when I nearly killed you?" Rowan asked. Zav looked taken back.

"What does that have to do一"

"Zav." Rowan said, in a serious tone.

"Well, yeah. You and I were training, a one on one, and you hit me with some weird attack. Everything went black, until I woke up in the medical center. Obviously you didn't know your strength, as we had no clue you were the Astren." Zav recalled, "Beats me how that has anything to do with this."

Rowan didn't reply right away, his eyes staring in thought until he finally spoke.

"Zav, did you feel as if you were levitating?" He asked, and Zav opened his mouth to speak, but caught himself at the last moment.

"...yes." Zav replied, anger faded, now replaced with wary confusion. Rowan's eyes lit up.

"So did I. Zav, I have no clue how I almost killed you either. All of a sudden, I was just overtaken with一" Rowan started.

"一power. Strong power." Zav finished, amazed by his own words.

"Exactly."

The two stood there, speechless. Is this just something that came with being the Astren and their guardian? And if so, why did it happen without warning, and without their control? Could this just be some random ability they could both have?

A roar came from outside, and Aves' next match had begun. Rowan and Zav met eyes.

"Let's ask Aves about it. After his game, he'll know what's going on." Zav said, and Rowan quickly nodded. They made their way back to their seats, Aves already have taken the first round.

"Where did you two run off two? You just missed Aves completely dominate the first round." Jaresk asked.

"Nowhere, just talking." Rowan made up in an embarrassing attempt to act casual. Luckily, both Risen and Jaresk were occupied with the match, and all he got was a jab in the ribs by Zav, who shot him a look.

The problem slipped from their minds as they were drawn into the game. Rysto had taken the second round with his efficient trapping techniques, but Aves was able to find a way to counter it, cinching the third round and easily taking the last one, the Ariados being drained of his energy, unable to keep up with the Absol's stunning endurance. The crowd cheered, and after a short break, the championship game would commence.

Aves hadn't even returned to the stands before the game, likely clearing his mind to play the equally unbeatable Glade. The Gallade had only lost one round the entire tournament, and it was nothing less than a dire stroke of luck by his opponent. Aves knew what he was up against, and determined he was, to win.

The crowd was clamoring in anticipation until finally Glade entered the arena, and they roared louder than anything Rowan had ever heard. He didn't even attempt to save his eardrums, and cheered along with them, his ears ringing once the crowd had finally died down, which took a while. Zav pointed out two medals hoisted onto two stands near the Loudred, one beaming gold, and one silver. They both were glowing with energy, as if they were itching to get to their respective owners.

Aves stepped into the arena, and the crowd once again bursted in cheers. It took a while to calm them down, and the Loudred didn't even try to hush them. Silence fell over the crowd, and Aves faced Glade, both at their respective ends, the match everyone had anticipated about to commence. There was a roar, and the two were off, both determined to own the shining gold medal staring down at them from the stands.

Aves made the first move, not breaking stride as he fired an arc at the Gallade. Glade didn't even halt his approach as the arc seemingly veered off into the wall, Glade blocking it easily. Glade spun in the air, sending various purple slices of energy around him. Aves blocked two of them, and redirected one back at the Gallade.

Glade dodged, and leapt over a beam fired at him. Everything was moving so fast, at times Glade and Aves appeared just as two blurs, their attacks thrashing against one another. Aves swung his horn around himself, and three arcs of white flew at the Gallade, who shielded himself from all three.

Aves took advantage of this and got in close, and the two engaged in cutting and swiping at each other. They both were so evasive, neither could land a hit, until Aves swung his legs under Glade, and the Gallade leapt in the air, only to be kicked hard in the chest by Aves, sending him staggering back. The crowd roared, and they both retreated to formulate their strategies.

Glade became a blur when he rushed at Aves, who stood his ground. Aves fainted left, then leapt back as Glade lunged for him. The Gallade shot another two arcs at Aves, who ducked under one and rolled to the side of the other. Glade was relentless, and eventually fought his way closer to Aves, who couldn't keep up with the Gallade's lightning quick strikes in close combat, and was struck in the side, the crowd roaring, and the score tying up at one.

After taking a short break to catch their breath, the two raced directly at each other. Aves leapt into the air, soaring at the Gallade, whereas Glade remained grounded. When they met, Aves brought his horn down, which had a bright white glow, directly onto Glade, who held both his arms up, a haze of purple over him. The two met, and their was a loud clang, like two steel pipes had just clanged together, and black smoke burst from the collision.

Everyone strained to get a look at what was going on inside the cloud, as various arcs and beams flying from it proved the two were still brawling. Only until moments after, when both soared from the smoke cloud, staggering, was the score determined to be tied at two.

This time neither made the first move, and instead crept on the outer rim of the arena, awaiting the other's move. It wasn't until Aves broke into a run to the middle that Glade fired a series of thin purple beams at the Absol, who fluidly evaded all them.

Glade met Aves in the middle, his arms glowing bright purple, and began to slash at the Absol. Aves was patient, and unpredictable in his movements, throwing off Glade just enough to spin around him and mule-kick him, his back hooves glowing white. Glade fell forward, but caught himself, and pushed himself back onto his feet. The crowd screamed, Rowan and Zav joining in, and the two retreated back to their respective sides after the Loudred's bellowing voice signaled the end of an exciting first round, Glade and Aves having the same unreadable, determined look on their face.

"Glade can't use his best weapon: mind control. Aves appears to be countering it well, and it's proven to be very effective." Rowan overheard Risen say to Jaresk, and couldn't help but smile. So they had caught on.

Of course Zav and Rowan knew very well that Aves was immune to any sort of mind reading, mind control, even brainwashing, and had been proven right that it'd be a challenge for Glade to overcome this. So far, it looked like an even match, the margin for error so small one wrong move could cost either of them the whole round.

The crowd silenced when the Lourdred's call was heard again, and the two were off again. Glade immediately fired a purple ball of energy that went zooming across at Aves, who redirected it. Unfortunately he hadn't seen Glade's full plan, and the weak purple arc trailing the ball closely hit the orb right back at an unsuspecting Absol, who flew back a couple feet, his hooved digging into the ground. The crowd cheered, and Glade cracked a satisfied grin. One to zero.

Aves stood back, standing still, his eyes closed, focusing. Everyone, including Glade, had no idea what he was doing exactly, but as Zav had told him before, Aves always had a plan.

Glade apparently knew this too, as he rushed the Absol immediately. Two arcs soared at him, but they stopped a couple feet before, crashing into some sort of invisible barrier. Glade froze for a moment, and Rowan guessed he was wishing he had his mind reading powers right now.

Aves' eyes shot open, now glowing dark purple, and Glade stood still, unsure. Rowan almost laughed, it was the first time he'd ever seen the Gallade like that.

Aves started forward, until he reached Glade, dodging a flurry of beams, and lunged at the Gallade. Glade stood, ready to fight the Absol in close quarters, something which the Gallade nine times out of ten would win.

It was if Rowan's eyes were deceiving him. Everyone in the arena gasped in shock as a dark figure leapt out of Aves, and began to slash and fight with Glade as well. Rowan took a closer look, and could make out the hazy resemblance of an Absol in the hazy figure.

Glade himself was beside himself, suddenly overtaken with attacks coming from both sides, and between blocking and dodging, he certainly was struggling. He tried to dash away, but either Aves or the shadow Absol would block his way, usually with a couple slashes.

The shadow figure was in sync almost completely with Aves. When Aves moved left, it moved left. When Aves attacked, it attacked, even with the same move. And though no one could see it, as the battle weared on, Aves began to pant heavily, controlling both himself and his copy draining him. Finally Glade couldn't do it, and was struck in the side from the shadow Absol, and staggered back before retreating back to his side. The crowd roared. One to one.

The hazy figure now vanished, Aves was completely out of breath. No matter how hard he tried to control it, he was gasping for air, and Glade suspected it. He rushed the Absol ,barraging him with a series of beams and arcs, Aves sloppily blocking them, vulnerable to Glade, who was rushing in close behind his attacks to deal a finishing blow. He was struck hard by Glade's glowing white arm, and flew back, crashing against the wall with a deafening thud. Everyone gasped, and Glade's eyes widened suddenly. Zav and Rowan held their breath, even with the brace, the hit was a hard one. Two to one.

Aves laid there for a moment, Glade standing his ground, the crowd onlooking with worry. It wasn't until half a minute until Aves shot up, a grin on his face. Glade's face went from surprise, to annoyance in a second, and it took Rowan a bit of time to understand what the Absol had done. Zav was shaking his head, laughing.

"Always got trick up your sleeve, don't you, Aves?" He muttered to himself. Of course. Aves had used the time to catch his breath, tricking Glade along with everybody else in the stadium. Now, he was energized, and fully recovered from his energy draining move.

Glade surged energy through both his arms, and started toward Aves. Instead of racing to the Gallade as well, Aves backed off, retreating slowly.

"He's backing himself into a wall!" Jaresk exclaimed, and Rowan couldn't help but agree with him. How could this turn out good for Aves?

Glade didn't hesitate, and struck out for Aves, the Absol now with his back against the wall. He dodged the first attack, then leapt into the air after the second. He twisted, and pushed himself off the wall hard, flying over Glade. Rowan realized now, it was one of Aves' favorite maneuvers, and Glade had just fallen for it.

Or so everyone thought. At astonishing speed, he struck right up with his arm, catching the split second Aves was vulnerable, and hit Aves squarely from underneath him. The Absol had the breath knocked from him, and landed awkwardly, the crowd roaring. The Loudred's call ended the round, the score now tied at one one.

The next two rounds took nearly an hour. Both Aves and Glade had become so cautious, that any attack was blocked, and risks were minimal. It was only after pure exhaustion that either one of them took the round. It was a couple minutes until the final round started, both of them thoroughly catching their breath.

The last round of the year, after anxious wait, began from a call from the Loudred. Four marks, two of them black as coal, two deep purple, were painted on the grey concrete by an excited looking Smeargle.

They both took off at a sprint towards the middle, meeting in a matter of seconds. Aves shot left at the last moment, striking behind him his glowing purple hoof, and Glade narrowly stopped himself from colliding with the wall of purple energy sprung from the ground. Glade hesitated, until slashing the wall powerfully with his arm, and it crumbled in an instant.

Luckily, Aves had hoped this would happen, and struck Glade with his glowing white horn just as the wall collapsed, the Gallade completely unexpectant. Glade flew back, and the crowd bellowed a deafening roar. One to zero.

Glade sprung to his feet quickly, and fired two massive arcs at Aves. They moved slowly, and Glade was able to fire a beam as well, purple eminence coming from it. Aves was able to dodge both the arcs, and redirected the beam.

Glade, arm outstretched, it glowing brightly purple, zoomed the beam back at Aves, who rolled to the side in alarm. The beam swooped high, the dove back at Aves, who had a hoof full of black energy ready. He struck the beam, and it wavered, until bursting into black smoke. Unfortunately for Aves, he had failed to notice another purple beam streaking through the air at him, and was struck hard in the side by it, crowd cheering, the score now tied at two.

Aves leapt out of the smoke cloud, and swung his head around, a wide arc of white shooting from him. Glade stepped back, but was pushed into the air from the magnitude of the arc crashing into the ground, and was flailing blindly as he flew up above the ground. Aves leapt up to him, both hooves glowing black, Glade completely hopeless to block the attack.

But just as they met, Glade swung his arm around, suddenly finding his balance, and struck Aves hard with his arm, the same time Aves had slammed his hoof into him. The both soared back, and landed squarely onto the ground, the crowd silent in astonishment, until roaring. Two to two. One attack was all that was needed to win the title all the Elites had been fighting for.

Aves instantly ran at Glade, who stood in the center, unmoving, his gaze locked on the Absol. He began to glow purple as Aves approached him, and it seemed the Gallade was leaving an open shot for Aves to win.

But as Aves was a mere steps away, he froze in place. Rowan could see his teeth were clenched, as well as Glade had an intent stare on the Absol, the Gallade now glowing brightly. Neither of them appeared to be able to move, both locked in focus. The crowd held their breath.

As if bracing for a hit, Aves struggled onward, slowly, step by step. Glade still stood, outstretching his arm towards Aves. It slowed Aves even more, and the Absol was now stepping at a painfully slow rate.

When he finally was only a foot away from Glade, who was concentrating with all of his might to stop Aves, the Absol raise his hoof with great effort. It was glowing bright white, and he swung it down hard onto Glade.

Contrarily, Glade swung his arm, which was barely visible with the blinding purple glow from it, into Aves. There was a surprising deafening boom, followed by a ginormous burst of smoke, and Aves and Glade both flew from the smoke at indistinguishably the same time, crashing into opposite walls.

The crowd was silent, no one knowing how to react. Obviously, Glade had attempted to control Aves with his psychic abilities, and had nearly succeeded. Aves had fought through it, and, unless Rowan's mind was playing tricks on him, they hit each other at the exact same time. He turned to Zav in confusion, who had just a befuddled look on his face as everyone else.

A loud call sounded from the Loudred, signalling the round's end. Both Aves and Glade nearly collapsed in exhaustion, and slumped against the arena's walls, panting for breath. The crowd instantaneously burst into commotion.

"So... who won?"

"They hit each other at the exact same time!"

"I've never seen that before, especially not in the championship game!"

"What happens now?"

Voices all around them clamored, no one understanding what was to happen. A loud roar echoed around the coliseum, and everyone, startled, turned their heads towards the Loudred. Rowan now noticed an Abra was next to him, its eyes tightly shut, and was levitating in mid-air.

"THERE HAS BEEN A TIE, THE FIRST EVER TO HAPPEN IN HISTORY." He bellowed, and everybody shouted in protest.

"What? This can't possibly end in a tie! Not the championship game!"

"Someone had to have landed the hit first!"

"What happens in a tie?"

There was an uproar, and it took a few moments for the Loudred to silence everyone.

"SILENCE!" He roared, and the voices died quickly, "THERE WILL BE A VICTOR, AS THERE HAS TO BE, AND WILL BE DECIDED IN THE FIRST EVER OVERTIME TO OCCUR." He sounded, and there were murmurs sounding around them.

"Overtime?"

"Ooh, we get to see an overtime! Which is what, exactly?"

"This'll be the first one ever to happen? Like in all of the Order's history?"

Rowan was silent, until his eyes drifted towards to Abra floating next to the Loudred. It was saying something to the Loudred, it's eyes remaining tightly shut.

"Hey Zav, who's that?" Rowan asked pointing to the Abra.

"Who?"

"That. Standing next to the Loudred一 er一 floating next to him." Rowan pointed out. Zav's eyes landed on it, but didn't seem to know who it was either. Luckily, a much younger pokemon, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, spoke up.

"Oh, that's Zyll. She's really smart. The only Abra in the whole base." A Squirtle behind them butted in cheerfully. Zav and Rowan both looked back at him, slightly startled.

"Zyll? I've never heard of her before." Zav said, and the Squirtle nodded.

"Zyn preferred to keep her away from most in the Order. It was only this year that I knew of her too. She's pretty quiet, and doesn't like opening her eyes much. But she's really smart and nice." The Squirtle said childishly.

"She's Zyn's daughter? Wonder what she's doing up there." Zav mused.

"And you are?" Rowan asked, and the Squirtle's face brightened, as though Rowan was a celebrity.

"Oh! I'm一"

"My idiot little brother, that's who." Risen retorted, shooting a look at the Squirtle. It seemed kind of harsh, but Zav paid the remark little attention.

"Rowan asked me a question!" The Squirtle countered, frowning, and Risen rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure Rowan would rather not be bothered by you right now." Risen finished, until turning to Rowan and grinning.

"But一"

"Sorry about that, Clisen can be annoying sometimes." Risen apologized to Rowan, speaking purposely louder than his little brother.

"Oh, that's fine, I actually一" Rowan began, but Clisen had turned away and was now glaring at Clisen, who gave him an unfair look.

"Seems Risen's pretty harsh on his little brother, huh?" Rowan asked, turning to Zav after watching Risen and Clisen's quarrel growing ever more loud.

"Huh? Oh, nah, that's just how brothers are. Always getting on each other's nerves." Zav replied simply.

"Zyn was an Order member, a Kadabra. Would've been the first Alakazam the Order had, but he disappeared on a mission last year somewhere in the south. Found him a couple days later, unfortunately too late. A shame too, he was really good. Must've took fifty of them to take him down. Worked alongside with Glade." Zav said to Rowan suddenly, switching the conversation.

"Must have kept Zyll isolated from everybody else, for the most part. Once he died, Glade probably oversaw her." Zav added.

"Why'd he isolate her from everybody?" Rowan asked. It seemed like a pretty cruel thing to do. But Zav had a pretty neutral look on his face, so Rowan had a feeling he was wrong.

"It's what they do. Prefer to keep to themselves, and don't say much. The few friends they have are usually psychic types as well, and they mostly communicate through telepathy." Zav explained.

"When it comes to fighting, they're really good, and I mean really good, with their psychic powers. Their rare, but a full fledged Alakazam could've probably moved half this base without even physically touching it."

"They're extremely smart too. IQ is said to be 5000." Zav remarked.

"So they're invincible?" Rowan said, slightly sarcastic.

"Oh no. They're about as weak as a Magikarp when it comes to physical attacks. If you find a way to get past their psychic, they can take one or two hits before fainting. It's their biggest weakness." Zav told him.

"Ya, but if their psychic is so strong, how一" Rowan nearly jumped when the booming voice was heard over the crowd. The Loudred was speaking again, everyone, including Aves and Glade, with their full attention on him.

"OVERTIME WILL CONSIST OF ONLY ONE ROUND, THAT WILL BE WON BY THE FIRST CONTENDER TO LAND A HIT WITH AT LEAST 80 FORCE. ALL OTHER RULES APPLY." The Loudred called out, everyone breaking into murmurs shortly after.

"A hit of 80 or more?!" Zav exclaimed.

"Can't be much harder than 60, can it?" Rowan asked doubtfully. Zav shook his head.

"No, Rowan, you don't understand. A hit of 90 would break through four feet of solid stone." Zav said, wide-eyed.

"They'll be fine, they've got that brace on them." Rowan dismissed, but Zav persisted.

"No, Rowan, this is serious power. Even with the brace, I'll be surprised if one of them doesn't break two or three bones." Zav told him, bewildered. In the arena, a familiar Dewott, along with a Gabite, hurriedly attached something small to both Glade and Aves. They rushed back, and Rowan caught a look of pure excitement and exhilaration on the Dewott's face. This certainly was shaping up to be more than just interesting.

The crowd was dead silent, and Rowan could swear he could hear Aves' breathing, which despite the Absol usually being calm in every situation, was quavering slightly. Everyone's unblinking eyes were locked in focus on the two sole contenders, whose fight to win it all had boiled down, after all they had done, to a single well-placed hit.

The roar was deafening, and frankly scared Rowan into nearly toppling over in his seat, as the two contenders stood their ground. The crowd watched in the killing silent anxiety that had swept over all of them, their eyes glueing to either Aves or Glade, who slowly crept along the outskirts of the arena, unwavering eyes failing to stray off the opponent.

Each of them fired weak, quick shots at each other, obviously not an attempt to win, but to get their opponent into a desirable area. Neither of them bought it, and after ten easily blocked attacks, Glade finally broke off, streaking towards Aves at blinding speed.

He swooped in with a slash of his bright purple arm, Aves dodging to the side, and attempting to sweep his leg under the Gallade, tripping him up. Aves leapt back, not engaging just yet, and dashed around the perimeter to the other side of the arena, Glade close on him.

Glancing over his shoulder to dodge to flurry of beams shot by Glade, Aves fired a wide, white arc directly in front of him. It connected quickly with the wall, and jet black smoke quickly engulfed him. Glade, skidded to a halt, slowly backstepping away from the smoke, muttering something to himself. He kept scanning the top of the cloud, thinking Aves would surely try one of his famous quick aerial attacks from above, taking full advantage of the unexpected, but instead the Absol dashed from the ground, his bright white horn clashing with Glade's purple arm. They collided, and swung at each other feverishly, Aves blocking any slash from Glade with his horn, and Glade shielding himself from any swing of Aves' horn with his sharp, glowing purple arms.

Glade finally rolled away, and used his longer legs to evade Aves' pursue, which the Absol halted soon realizing Glade would beat him surely. They both backed away, calculating the best strategy for beating the other, the crowd near fainted from holding their breath.

Glade began to glow purple again, and Aves stood still. Glade suddenly shot his eyes open, jabbing an arm at Aves, who had no chance of dodging to instant purple bolt which struck him. It didn't knock him back, and the crowd's gasps turned into murmurs of confusion as Aves stood there, having not even staggered from the blow.

"Was it possibly that weak?" Rowan muttered to Zav, who hushed him, intently staring at the two. It was an impossibly fast attack, and Aves hadn't even moved, so it hadn't been anywhere close to the eighty force required. So then why did Glade bother?

Aves blinked twice, and Glade started off immediately, his gaze now instead of on Aves, on the opposite side of the arena that he was dashing on. Aves, instead of racing to meet the Gallade, intently stared at the area Gade had his gaze fixed on. Rowan was utterly confused, but apparently Jaresk wasn't.

"No way. Glade can even do that?!" He said quietly to himself, baffled. Rowan wasn't sure what he was talking about, but when he glanced at Zav, he sensed the Jolteon knew what was happening as well.

"Zav, what's he一"

"The impostor." He muttered, mostly to himself, but Rowan could hear it too.

"What?" Rowan replied, but Zav merely blinked in utter disbelief, an intent look on his face.

As Glade approached, he kept his gaze on the opposite side. Rowan saw his eyes were glowing slightly brighter than the rest of his radiant self. Aves seemed completely unaware of Glade quickly approaching from behind him, as the Absol had turned to face the area Glade was staring at.

When the Gallade was near on top of Aves, the Absol didn't even tense. His gaze was locked, and soon Glade would come swooping in with his powerful, energy-charged arm, most likely breaking a rib or two of Aves' (according to Zav), and soon after hoisting the gold medal he had rightfully claimed.

Fortunately for the Absol, his deceptive powers had fooled everyone this time, and when Glade came crashing down, he swung his body around, missing Glade's crashing overhead swing of his arm, it thudding into the ground, cracking the hard soil. Completely caught off guard, Aves rammed up into the Gallade, who gasped and flailed helplessly through the air, wildly trying to regain any balance. Aves aimed a massive beam of energy at Glade, who was now a sitting duck to the Absol's attack. Aves fired, and Glade helplessly plummeted down to the ground, the match surely lost for him.

But if this match had proven anything, it's that you can never truly think you've outsmarted the other. It seemed like Aves had the match perfectly, tricking Glade and sending him skyward into the air, helpless to dodge the final, powerful attack. He was right, in a sense, that Glade had no chance in dodging, even blocking the beam, not in his current, flailing state. But Glade didn't intend to block or dodge this attack, in fact, it almost seemed as if he wanted it to be unavoidable, or at least seem unavoidable. For instead of the beam colliding with the deceptively helpless Gallade, it did something else.

It redirected.

Almost instantly, Glade miraculously regained his balance, and struck his glowing white arm into the beam. Within a quarter of a second, Glade had twisted his body around, and, now in full control of the radiant, overpowering beam, fluidly zipped it right back at the Absol, who hadn't even a moment to think about avoiding it. It all happened to fast, it was barely more than a blur of white zipping through the air, returning to its sender, and blasting him to the far wall, where he landed with a thud, silence rippling through the crowd after a series of disbelieving gasps.

There was a hesitation, and Glade landed perfectly onto the ground, his unreadable expression on the dust cloud that had arose from Aves' collision with the wall. Suddenly a loud boom sounded through the coliseum, and it was shortly followed by earsplitting cheers of triumph. Rowan looked over at Zav, whom's face was frozen in bafflement.

Glade's expression changed from serious to unmeasurable excitement as a wide, triumphant grin spread across his face. Aves stirred, and slowly got up, no visible damage seen done to the Absol, a purely shocked look on his face. Rowan had never seen the Absol so utterly shocked and amazed, and his expression didn't waver as he went over to the Gallade to congratulate him on the first ever overtime win in history, the deafening roar of the crowd filling the air. The match of endless amazement had finally ceased, its rightful victor ready to claim his prize.

"I Glade can do that then." Jaresk said, though no one heard him through the hollering crowd.

It took about ten roars from the Loudred to silence everyone, who were ecstatic with energy after the match.

"Hey, where's High Order?" Rowan heard Risen ask.

"Are you telling me they missed that whole match?!" Jaresk exclaimed.

"Certainly any work could wait, right?" Rowan heard someone say from behind him.

"Why's everyone asking about High Order?" Rowan asked Zav, his eyes glancing at the perch where the Fearow, Mightyena, and Blaziken would usually be perched up on. How come they had missed this match? Of all ones, it seemed by far the most important.

"They're the ones who give the medals to the victors after the game." Zav explained, "They must've been swamped with work, probably because of the anarchy that broke out in Gyta City yesterday. Those stupid Shadows caused it, typical of them to ruin the best part of the year for High Order. That city is huge, and they're most likely scrambling to organize the plan to reclaim it." Zav spat rather aggressively, his hatred for the Shadows showing.

"So they couldn't even skip the work to watch this match? I mean, come on, two hours isn't gonna kill ya." Rowan said, thinking of how terrible it would be desperately trying to formulate a plan, missing out on this.

"Yeah, must've been of dire importance. They've never missed before. Then again, a city as big as Gyta has never turned to complete anarchy overnight before…" Zav trailed off. There were murmurs all around, most of them repeating what Zav had said, until a voice called out amongst the voices.

"I'll go get them. Surely they could set aside ten minutes for the ceremony." Aves offered, but Glade stopped him. The crowd was silent now, and Rowan could pick out the what they were saying from the stands.

"No, I'll do it. I know the way quicker, plus I wasn't just hit with a 94 force hyper beam." Glade said, cracking a grin. Aves smiled back slightly, opening his mouth to argue, until shutting it, realizing Glade's logic. He nodded, and Glade took off, vanishing into the arena exit.

Clamor broke out, most about the match, as they patiently awaited High Order's arrival. A couple minutes after Glade had left, Aves took a seat next to Rowan and Zav, the usual grin on his face.

Before anyone could speak, a high pitched voice sounded from behind them in confusion, "Wait, aren't you mad cuz you lost?"

Rowan looked back to see the Squirtle from before. Rowan saw a dark blur had come back and smack the Squirtle across the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for!"

"To shut you up!" Risen said in anger. The Wartortle was glaring at the Squirtle, who was looking back at him with an unfairly.

"What? I only asked a question!" Clisen exclaimed.

"Yeah, a really dumb one." Risen remarked.

Rowan, Aves and Zav drowned out their argument in conversation, luckily not being bothered as Risen and his brother's argument quickly escalated to Clisen tackling his brother, catching the attention of anybody nearby.

"What was that? I mean, first Glade played the impostor, and then you tricked him completely! I thought you had the game for sure, but then Glade somehow in Arceus' name redirected that beam while spinning in the air and hit you in a matter of一" Zav burst out until stopping as Aves was chuckling to himself.

"Yes, I've never seen anything like it before, one of the few times I had ever been completely caught off guard." The Absol smiled, "Very rarely am I out-deceived. He deserved the win." He said, speaking the last sentence a bit louder on purpose, the Squirtle who was now in a headlock by Risen's question answered, as if he was listening.

"Hey Aves, did you see that Abra next to Loudred?" Rowan asked suddenly, switching the subject. Aves nodded casually.

"Why d'you think she was up there?" Rowan asked, realizing how much he wanted the question answered. He hated not knowing things, as many unknown questions still plagued the back of his mind.

In response Aves gave him a dumbed look, then quickly changed it, "Right, human and all," He apologized.

"Well, Abra's are extremely smart, and I doubt Loudred knows all the rules perfectly, where as Zyll probably knows the rulebook front to back." Aves explained, "Lucky too, I don't think Loudred would've had a clue on how an overtime would work, and we would've wasted and hour at the least searching through the whole book to find the tiny segment on overtime." Aves finished.

For the next couple minutes, they discussed the match even more, getting immersed in each tiny detail, Aves infallibly explaining it in the most exciting way possible. In the back of his mind, Rowan was lazily trying to grasp something, but he forgot it soon, and carried on enjoying their conversation quickly. It wasn't until everyone silenced that they stopped, looking around to see the reason why.

"Glade's back!"

"Where's High Order?"

"Probably just behind him. Prying them from their work must've been quite the challenge if they hadn't even showed up to the match in the first place."

"Why… why does he look so weird though?"

Rowan noted that last comment he heard, as he didn't understand the Gallade's expression. It was unmoving, sad and in disbelief. High Order not being able to complete the ceremony right now could be that disheartening, could it?

The crowd was still now, Glade not having moved in a few moments, his eyes staring into space. Aves got up and walked over to him, which seemed an eternity in the usually roaring coliseum.

"Glade, what's wrong?" Aves asked warily, Glade not responding immediately. Everyone kept silent as the Gallade looked at Aves, a terrible look in his eyes.

Even though it was almost a whisper, Rowan could seemingly hear it loud and clear, "It's all my f-fault…" He muttered, unblinking.

"What? What's your一" Aves started but Glade cut him off silently with a disturbing look.

"They… they're dead, Aves. All… all three of them…" Glade's voice quavered, and the crowd glanced at eachother in nervousness. What was Glade saying?

"Glade, you can't possibly be saying一" Aves tried again, but Glade cut him off.

"No… no, NO!" Glade suddenly shouted, and Rowan jumped, "How could I let this happen!?" He cried out, tears coming to his eyes. Aves had a completely dumbfounded look on his face.

"Glade… Glade! What happened?" Aves commanded, shaking the Gallade. Glade blinked, meeting Aves' desperate gaze, until shaking his head.

"No… no, no…" He muttered, shaking his head weakly.

"Glade. What. Happened." Aves repeated sternly. "Surely this is all一" Aves stopped suddenly.

"They're dead. All three, slaughtered in their office. I had been too… too god damn excited to meet with them this morning… it's all my fault…" Glade murmured to Aves, who looked back at him, wide-eyed in shock.

"No… no, they can't be一"

But Glade had gotten back to his feet, and was now facing the large crowd, their disbelieving stares piercing through him. Certainly… certainly this couldn't be true?

But then Glade spoke, loud, his voice shaking, the crowd still holding on to the fact that this was some sick joke, or something, anything but it really being the horrors Glade spoke of.

"High Order's been murdered!"