Be Afraid of the Dark

The three days between Brendan's victory in the tournament and the battles with the Elite Four seemed to pass all too quickly. All of Brendan's team had been healed, and they were all eager for a battle, or five if they were lucky. In the hopes of preparing for the matches, Brendan had tried to research the teams of the Elite Four based on videos of their battles. Unfortunately, he had been largely unsuccessful other than some speculation videos made by PokéTube personalities who really had no business conducting an analysis of Pokémon trainers. In other words, there was nothing of value to be found about his upcoming opponents. Despite his lack of preparation, it was now time for Brendan to face the music, as the saying goes. All they were waiting for now was the announcer to call them out of the tunnel.

The roar of the crowd was louder than anything Brendan had ever heard in a Pokémon-related event, and he could understand why. This was the one time of the year that the Elite Four and Champion would have official battles outside of their own ranks. Otherwise, the only time that they fought was for dominance within their own ranks, and those battles were rarely televised or ticketed.

You're nervous? Gwen asked.

You need to ask? Brendan said. I'm about to face the five strongest trainers in the region, and I hardly get any rest between each battle.

I know, but we wouldn't be here if we weren't on par with the Elite Four, Gwen said.

Yeah, I suppose you're right, Brendan said.


Up in the stands, May was sitting with Lisia, Wally, and Sam next to her in Steven's box seats. Next to their box, the Elite Four and Champion's booth was empty, all of them in their own separate tunnels of the stadium. The screen above the battlefield was displaying only Brendan's face and a cookie-cutter silhouette over where the Elite Four member's picture would go for each battle.

"So, Wally and Sam, are you doing any better since your battle with Gwen?" Lisia asked, having seen the match live on television, getting a good laugh from Gwen's tactics.

Sam gave his best thumbs up and a goofy grin that told May and Lisia that he was still pretty drunk on his happiness. "Oh, we're just fine," Wally said, sounding a bit bitter. "But, who knows. It might have been for the better." Lisia gave a slight nod, respecting how Wally looked at life. They had met last night when she arrived to watch Brendan's battles with the Elite Four and possibly the champion, and they had become fast friends while spending time with Brendan and Gwen.

"Who knows, maybe you can try to battle the Elite Four for next year's league tournament," Lisia said encouragingly. Wally smiled, liking the idea, and Lisia's cheerful attitude.

"Well, I think that'd be a very good goal, but good luck," Norman said politely as he walked up from behind them. "I actually challenged them when I was interviewed for the Petalburg Gym Leader position."

May looked shocked. "You did? Why?" she asked.

"To be honest, they were, and still are, looking for a new member, since Drake is getting ready to retire," Norman said. "So, they battled me to determine whether I would be able to take a position, and allow him to retire sooner."

"How did you do against them?" Wally asked.

Norman looked at both of the teenagers and laughed like a man who had seen Hell, and miraculously survived. "I got beaten badly by Sidney. I have to be blunt, that level of power is absolutely not normal among trainers. It makes me worried about how Brendan will fare against them," he said.

"They're that strong?" May asked rhetorically. Brendan, please be careful out there.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, the time has now come for today's main event. This is something that only happens once a year, and, I won't lie, there's no telling how far our challenger will go. Will we see the rise of a new Champion for the Hoenn League? Or will we keep our current Champion? Let's find out together," the announcer said, getting a lot of cheers. "Now, please help me welcome the challenger. Since his family moved to Littleroot Town from Goldenrod City in Johto, this trainer has taken the Hoenn League by storm, along with his powerful Pokémon. He's the son of the new Petalburg Gym Leader, though many people now believe that he's surpassed his father. Please help me in welcoming Brendan Maple, and his Gardevoir, Gwen!"

May stood up and cheered with the crowd as Brendan and Gwen entered the stadium. Gwen gave a few waves like a princess waving to a crowd. When they got to their place in the stadium, a referee stepped forward. "The rules for this battle are very simple. The challenger will be facing the Elite Four in order and without stopping. Since these battles will all be full six-on-six battles, should the challenger defeat one member of the Elite Four, he will be given access to a healing machine. There will be no substitutions for either side at any point in the battle. If a Pokémon is recalled, it will be counted the same as that Pokémon being knocked. Once the challenger is ready after his previous battle, the next Elite Four member shall come out and battle. For the protection of the spectators, there are teams of Pokémon stationed all around the stadium putting up a Protect field around the walls of the battlefield." May's eyes went wide. This was the first time she'd ever heard of a Pokémon battle needing to have shielding around the field for the sake of spectators. If they were taking these kinds of safety measures, how strong were the Pokémon who would be battling?

"Alright folks, it seems the battles are about to get underway. It's now time for the first of the Elite Four to start us off. He's a man of mystery, and he absolutely hates a boring battle. Please welcome Sidney!" As the announcer said that, the man with the red hair styled in a metro, Kalosian swoop with shaved sideburns. Today, he wore a black collared shirt with gold lapels and cuffs. His pants were red and his belt was very dark brown with a golden buckle. His shoes were completely black.


Down on the battlefield, Brendan could see Sidney much more clearly. He was ready to battle, and his red eyes showed deep-seated confidence. This man was clearly not one to fool around. "So, you're Brendan Maple? I battled your old man about a year ago when he was interviewing for a position. He didn't do too well, but he was definitely Gym Leader material," Sidney said. Brendan was about to speak, but Sidney held up his hand to stop him. "No, no words are needed. I know you're not your father, and you're quite the skillful battler. I just want to let you know that, regardless of their skill, I absolutely do not tolerate opponents who don't battle with their all. The battles you're about to engage in will be of the highest effort for both the trainers and their Pokémon, and, unlike gym leaders who are testing their challengers at an appropriate skill level, an Elite Four member never holds back against any opponent." Sidney then pulled a Pokéball from his belt. "Now, let's have fun with this battle…one that can only happen here, in the Pokémon League Headquarters."

Brendan smiled. He already liked this guy. He was serious about his profession without being so uptight that he couldn't enjoy himself. Brendan picked his first Pokémon for this battle, Avery.

"Let's go, Peter!" Sidney said as he sent out his first Pokémon, a Scrafty. It was an orange, lizard-like Pokémon with a black underbelly, yellow shed skin that looked like baggy sweatpants and a baggy hoodie. It had a red crest that looked like a mohawk.

"Avery, you're up!" Brendan said as he sent out his Latias. He had listened to Wally's comment during their battle regarding the order of his Pokémon. And, if he were to have any hope of winning against the Elite Four, he needed to be unpredictable. Latias flew around the field for a little bit before coming to Brendan's side and nuzzling him to get attention. The crowd loved it a lot as they snapped pictures, and some even recorded their own videos. "Hey Avery, are you ready to battle?" The Latias cooed happily and nodded before nudging Gwen as well. Gwen smiled and gave her a hug as well.

You've got this, Avery, Gwen said reassuringly. Avery nodded to Gwen with confidence before turning and flying onto the battlefield.

"Begin the match!" the official said. The screens around the stadium all lit up with the health bars of Avery and Peter along with their pictures next to them. Behind the pictures of the Pokémon were those of their trainers.

Neither Brendan nor Sidney gave any commands, but both of their Pokémon attacked regardless. Scrafty moved unbelievably fast, his hands glowing with the purple fire of a Dragon Claw as he began to swing at Avery, and he clearly had a lot power behind his attack. Avery rolled sideways to dodge, not even making it seem like the fun and lighthearted dodge as she typically did during battles. This time, she was serious, and showed strong determination. She then fired a Dragon Pulse at Peter, at nearly point-blank range, only for it to be met with a green shield between the two Pokémon. Since he was in mid-air when the attack hit, Peter was launched back like a pinball being shot into play. Once he was close to the ground, Peter righted himself and took a stable stance to withstand the rest of the onslaught.

Avery stopped her attack by cutting off the stream, then flew at the fastest pace she could. As soon as the shield dropped, she struck with an Aerial Ace. It wasn't as strong as it would've been ideally, since neither of the Eon Pokemon were exactly physical-attackers. Peter responded by leaping at Avery, his hand covered in the bright flame of a Dragon Claw, but it seemed to have a higher intensity than before.

Avery saw the attack on its way, so she fired a Dragon Pulse just as the Scrafty leapt at her. This time, her attack was too fast for Peter to use protect. Peter was hit hard with the attack, and his health bar on the screen dropped to a third of his maximum health. Peter, however, just flew straight through the beam, slashing Avery across her face, dropping her health by a third as well. Brendan swore under his breath. He knew this would be a tough battle, but this was grueling already, and it was only the first round of the battle. Avery, however, was ready for the battle to keep going.

Avery gathered electricity in front of herself before firing it at Peter. The attack hit hard, and caused electricity to course through Peter's body. Even after the attack ended, the electricity continued to course through him, leaving the Scrafty paralyzed. "Great job Avery! Now, finish this!" Avery turned and nodded to Brendan confidently before gathering a ball of energy and launching it into the air. It then split into multiple parts: a perfect Draco Meteor. The smaller orbs of energy that showered the battlefield, a few were making multiple craters in the ground. That alone would make moving on the ground difficult. However, that wasn't all the attack did. Four separate orbs flew at Peter from all sides. The Pokémon had been slowed down by his status condition, so he couldn't dodge, but he was able to launch a stream of interwoven black rings at Avery. The attack was short, but it was fast and very strong, both of which were shown when it hit its mark. Avery cried out as the attack dropped her health to below a quarter of the maximum. Those two attacks together were enough to bring Peter's health to zero and knock him out. The buzzers sounded and the round was finished.

"Well, isn't that something," Sidney said as he recalled Peter. "You just beat the one Pokémon on my team Norman couldn't beat, and you did it with some real strategy and coordination." The elite four member spoke to both Brendan and his Pokémon. "You've got quite a strong bond with your Pokémon. That's good, you'll need it with this next opponent. GO, CYRUS" He threw out a Pokéball, sending out a Pokémon that looked like a walking nutcracker with three green leaves on each hand. The Pokémon's feet looked like Johtonese stilted sandals, but rather than having two stilts per foot, each had only one stilt. Brendan pulled out his PokéDex, which quickly identified it as a Shiftry.

Avery knew she would be in trouble if she didn't act fast, so she began to gather icy energy for an Ice Beam. Cyrus saw her and immediately leapt at her, using a quick Fake Out to make her flinch and lose her Ice Beam's energy. With that, Cyrus's right hand began to glow black before he slapped Avery with all his might, knocking Avery into the ground with a vicious Knock Off attack. The buzzer sounded as Avery's health hit zero.

"Avery!" Brendan called as he ran to the Eon Pokémon. Luckily, she was only about three feet from his trainer's box. "Are you alright?" Avery looked at him sadly, feeling like she failed him. "You did great out there," Brendan said to soothe her. "And I know you gave it everything you had." He held her forehead close to his own. "I promise you, we will win this battle." Avery cooed happily and nuzzled her trainer at his reassurance. He then recalled her and went back to the trainer's box. He then pulled out Jack's Pokéball. "Go, Jack!"
The Camerupt appeared with a long grunt. "You know what to do!" Brendan said. "Let's use your Scorched Earth combo!" Jack immediately used an Eruption, launching multiple boulders covered in lava. Cyrus, however, was a very fast Pokémon. He made it look almost easy to weave between the falling rocks, dodging all of them without even a look of worry. Jack, however, had been counting on that, as he fired a massive Fire Blast directly where Eruption had forced him to dodge. Cyrus, with wide eyes, couldn't dodge in time. The flames hit perfectly, but despite the power behind that attack, Cyrus's health stopped right before it hit zero. Before Jack could do anything, Cyrus ran and grabbed Jack, his body glowing.

"Well, Brendan," Sidney said. "Your Pokémon is strong, but I think it's time you saw the true meaning of 'Scorched Earth.' EXPLOSION!" The Shiftry looked confident as his body gathered just a little more energy before unleashing it. His own health bar dropped to zero, but that only started the ensuing explosion. A blinding white light flooded the stadium before the explosion formed a massive mushroom cloud. Thankfully for the spectators, the Protect around the field held and kept the crowd safe. Brendan and Sidney both stood strong until the light faded. On the field, both Pokémon looked charred, but Jack was miraculously standing.

"By Arceus! It seems that Jack has, through sheer might of will, withstood the power of an Explosion at point blank range," the announcer said in shock. "This is a phenomenal display of determination."

Sidney recalled Cyrus, his smirk showing that Jack's determination would change nothing. "Go, Bruce!" he said as he sent out his next Pokémon. As it materialized, the battlefield floor opened to reveal a pool underneath as a Sharpedo came out and splashed into the water. Once again, without a word spoken, the shark Pokémon launched himself from the pool, surrounded in a pillar of water. The Aqua Jet hit fast, and with Jack being exhausted, there was nothing he could do in response except for launching small, pointed stones around the battlefield, making a Stealth Rock entry hazard.

Brendan recalled Jack, thanking him for being so strong. He looked up at the board and saw that Bruce had barely lost any health from the flamethrower, but it was a start. I need a fast Pokémon to win this, Brendan thought as his hand then moving to the second Pokéball on his belt. "Clint, I need you out here!" he called as he threw the Pokéball onto the field. The Sceptile appeared on the field, standing and calmly placing a twig in his mouth, looking calm and collected.

For what felt like an eternity, neither Pokémon did anything. The tension built quickly in the stadium as the standoff continued. Finally, Clint broke the stalemate with Sunny Day, sending a ball of white light and energy into the air, intensifying the heat on the field. It was a very smart move, and Sidney knew it. It would weaken Bruce's water attacks, and make things like leech seed more effective…but it was nothing they hadn't beaten before. As soon as Sunny Day was in the air, Bruce took an opportunity to jump out of the water, his teeth covered in icy energy. Clint just rolled to the side, using his tail in a Slam attack to knock Bruce back into the water.

The Sharpedo dove deep into the water as his health bar dropped by less than a quarter. Brendan grimaced, but Clint and Gwen both gave him looks that told him to calm down and let the battle develop. Brendan nodded in understanding, and seemingly on cue, Bruce leapt from the water in another Aqua Jet, but his fangs were coated in a purplish-brown sludge as he flew at Clint. Brendan could tell that he was going for a combo of Aqua Jet and Poison Fang, and Clint knew exactly how to respond. Just before Bruce was about to get a hit, Clint dodged to the left and quickly fired a Solar Beam, the gold beam of energy moving at frightening speeds. Bruce saw the beam, managing to change the course of his Aqua Jet and fly toward Clint with speed characteristic of the shark Pokémon's species. He easily returned to his Aqua Jet's normal rhythm of flying around the field, and, without much warning, Bruce turned back and bit down on Clint's chest, using his Poison Fang perfectly. Clint's health dropped to its half-point, which seemed to piss Clint off. The Sceptile pried open Bruce's jaws before throwing the shark into the air. He then fired a powerful Solar Beam, hitting Bruce perfectly. To ensure that the beam kept hitting its target, Clint adjusted his aim until Bruce was forced back into the pool. When the dark-type hit the water, the buzzer sounded to indicate that the Sharpedo's health had hit zero.

"Well, kid, you're a lot stronger than I expected," Sidney said with tone somewhere between cheerful and competitive as he recalled. "I can tell that you've trained exceptionally hard to get here. Let's see how far that can carry you in these battles." He then pulled out and threw a Dusk Ball. "Particularly, against Loki!"

The Pokémon that appeared was covered in white fur except for his face, part of his forehead, his claws, his sword-like tail, and a scythe-like horn on one side of his face. His fur was incredibly sleek, until it got to his chest, where it tufted. On his head, the fur looked almost like a "yang" symbol.

"An Absol?" Brendan said under his breath. "Interesting."

As quickly as the Pokémon took form, he winced, losing about ten percent of his health from the Stealth Rocks. Despite that, Loki leapt forward like it was no problem whatsoever. His horn glowed black with energy as he prepared a Night Slash. He closed the distance with Clint quickly, and swung hard. Clint rolled to the side, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid taking damage, as Loki's horn slashed his side. Clint grunted with the impact, his health plummeting quickly, before he spun in the air, using his tail for a Slam attack. When his tail landed, however, Loki's body shimmered and changed.

"Wait, what?" Brendan asked as a different Pokémon appeared where the Absol used to be. This one was a wolf-like Pokémon with black fur on most of his slim body. The exception was the mane of dark red hair on his back. His claws were all the same shade of red as the fur on his back.

"For those fans who aren't sure what just happened, you've just witnessed the unique ability of the Zoroark evolutionary line. Loki used Illusion to conceal himself as another of Sidney's Pokémon," the announcer said excitedly.

For Brendan, that information made little difference, as Clint's health bar hit zero, the buzzer sounding again. "Clint, you fought well, now return and get some rest," he said while pulling out and throwing his next Pokéball. "Turk, come on out!"

His Crawdaunt punched his claws into the ground in an attempt to intimidate Loki. The fox, however, was completely unaffected, even going so far as to pick his ear to show disinterest. Turk glared as he powered up a Brick Break and raced forward. He was about to strike when Loki simply moved sideways casually. The Brick Break attack hit the ground, making a crack in the ground, but Loki then decided to huff confidently, annoying Turk immensely, and making his attack rise, all while he became disoriented. It was a perfectly executed Swagger attack.

Turk flew into the air with an Aqua Jet, flying around the field until he got an angle he thought would be a blind-spot for Loki. The fox turned and glared, huffing again, before side-stepping casually. Turk crashed into the ground with more force, his attacking strength increasing again. That power boost came with a trade-off, as Turk's health bar dropped to nearly zero with that one crash into the ground. Brendan cursed under his breath. This Zoroark was powerful, and it was incredibly smart. The strategy he was employing was brilliant to nearly the point of perfection. The flaw was revealed when Turk shook himself out of his stupor, but his attacking power remained high. Loki stood behind Turk, seeming to gloat with his apparent victory as his arms began to glow black as tendrils of energy arced from Turk's body. It wasn't draining Turk's energy, but it was increasing the strength of Loki's Punishment attack. Turk, however, gathered a bluish energy around his claw, powering up a Crab Hammer. At the exact same time, both Pokémon swung at each other. The attacks both hit simultaneously doing severe damage, making their health bars drop rapidly. The buzzer sounded twice within the span of a few seconds, indicating that both Pokémon had been knocked out at the same time.

Sidney recalled Loki, smirking confidently. "Well, we have two Pokémon left. Let's see how you like this next one. Go, Anne!"

An avian Pokémon with dark brown feathers and an almost vulture-like appearance came out. The feathers on her body were all brown, but in varying shades, with a tan-colored tuft around her neck. In the dark tuft on her head was a single bone, and she had a jaw-like belt made of bone, with extremely sharp spikes on her belly. Her skin was nearly pink in color, which starkly contrasted with her plumage. Immediately after she appeared, a cluster of the Stealth Rock flew at her, dropping her health bar by a quarter.

It's a Mandibuzz. She's a Dark and Flying type, Gwen said.

Brendan nodded, pulling out his last Pokéball. "Come on out Nikki!" he called. The sloth ape beat her chest in a show of dominance and strength. In that moment, Nikki slammed her fists into the ground, sending a concentrated shockwave in Anne's direction. The Mandibuzz rolled to the side in a casual, aerial barrel-roll as a cluster of incredibly sharp rocks. As Anne dodged the attack, she let a cluster of feathers fly into the air, she was then surrounded by a green aura, and her health bar returned to its maximum.

Nikki snorted aggressively and punched the ground in frustration. Anne smirked and flew high into the sky before diving quickly. Just as she was about to crash, she pulled up sharply, flying parallel with the ground, becoming covered in a fiery blue energy as she broke the sound barrier. Nikki squared up as the Mandibuzz came closer. She put her hands out and caught Anne by the wings, stopping her in her flight path. Despite stopping the attack from doing major damage, Nikki still lost at least another quarter of her health from the impact. With her right hand, Nikki grabbed Anne by the neck. With her left hand, she powered up a Brick Break and punched straight forward, letting go of Anne at the last moment before punching the vulture. Anne's eyes bugged out as she flew across the field and tumbled along the ground. Her health bar dropped below one quarter left, but it wasn't quite enough to put her out of the fight. Anne fluttered back into the air, another cluster of feathers flying out before she's surrounded by another green aura. Her injuries healed mostly, making her health bar go up to about a quarter of the maximum. Nikki just snorted angrily again as she punched the ground, sending another concentrated shockwave toward Anne. The ground beneath the Mandibuzz shot up as spikes, moving fast enough that Anne couldn't dodge in time. The stone spikes hit with such immense force that, when the buzzer sounded, Brendan was a bit worried that Nikki had overdone it. Anne looked very battered, and it looked like her right wing was broken in multiple places.

Sidney sighed, and recalled Anne. "You're the first trainer in a long time to reach this Pokémon," he said. "He's my strongest and first Pokémon," Sidney says as he pulls out his next Pokéball. "Let me introduce you to Apophis!" He threw the Pokéball, releasing an Absol, this one Brendan knew was the real one. "Just so you know, Apophis to me is the same as Gwen is to you," Sidney said as he pulled a pendant necklace with a sparkling keystone. "I'll demonstrate that bond now."

With that, Sidney touched the keystone and initiated the Mega evolution with a blinding light. When it faded, the Absol had grown wings like an angel from his shoulders. The horn on his right had grown longer, while he had also grown a new horn on his left. The fur on his forehead had also lengthened to cover his right eye. His tail had also gotten longer, gaining what looked like a serrated edge on the underside. Finally, there were tufts of fur now growing on each of his ankles under sharp dewclaws. While looks conveyed beauty, the aura that this Absol seemed to be radiating made a chill run down the spines of both Brendan and Gwen. It was rightly deserved, as Apophis leapt forward and, with his twin horns glowing black, delivered a brutal Night Slash across Nikki's chest before kicking her in the chest, and jumping back to his side of the field. It all happened so fast that Nikki just stood there, not realizing what had happened for a few seconds before she suddenly staggered back ten feet and fell to the ground at the exact time that the buzzer sounded.

Brendan was speechless. He had seen Nikki take hits that would have crippled a semitruck, but this Absol had just taken her out when she still had about half her health. Brendan recalled Nikki wordlessly, before turning to Gwen. She nodded to him, then stepped out onto the battlefield, trying to radiate poise and grace. Unfortunately, after what she had just witnessed, she was extremely nervous. She knew deep down that she was strong, but was she on the same level as Apophis…or any of the other Pokémon they had yet to face?

As she was about to get to the starting position for Brendan's Pokémon, she felt an immense sense of ease washing over her out of nowhere, as well as a presence she hadn't felt in years. No, don't let yourself get sentimental now, she thought as she refocused on the battle.

Ready, Gwen? Brendan asked.

Time to go Super Saiyan! she said in a joking, confident tone as Brendan touched his Keystone. Another blinding light filled the arena as Gwen turned into her Mega form, her long white dress flowing in the slight wind she created to add dramatic effect.

Apophis seemed unimpressed by her appearance, something that Gwen did not take well. She immediately started off the final round of this battle with one of the techniques she had almost perfected over the journey through Hoenn: Teleport, Double Team, and Calm Mind together to power up. Apophis rolled his eyes, apparently having seen this strategy before. His eyes glowed red and he huffed loudly, and just as Gwen's clones began to disappear and glow green, she was stopped in her tracks and couldn't use any of those three moves. Apophis smiled, knowing that his Taunt had been perfectly timed.

Cursing silently, Gwen knew her dodge and power up strategy was off the table, which meant she would need to move faster than ever before without her ability to teleport around the field like she wanted. Plus, this battle would not be able to be won with a kiss the way she beat Sammy in Victory Road. Now she needed real strategy based on power of her attacks. As her mind was reeling, she only barely noticed that Apophis was surrounded by illusory swords as he used a Swords Dance to power up. When she realized what had happened, however, Apophis was already starting to gather black energy on his horn. Just as it finished charging up, Apophis leapt forward at Gwen, moving at incredible speeds that neither Brendan nor Gwen thought possible.

She barely had time to move to the side, narrowly avoiding the full impact of the attack. Despite avoiding the devastating hit, Gwen was still thrown back across the field as the shockwave of wind slammed into her. Augh, damn it! she cried out as she tumbled along ground a short distance. Just as she was about to hit the edge of the battlefield, Gwen stopped herself. Alright, I can't take a hit like that head-on, and the sheer force of the wind will probably take me out of this fight if I get hit three more times, Gwen thought. Apophis smirked at her, as if he was reading her mind, and shrouded his claws in what looked like shadow energy. Gwen knew from the look of it that he was preparing a Shadow Claw. With a deep crouch, the Absol leapt at her, moving quickly. She knew that dodging would only put her in the same position she was in now, so Gwen did the one thing she could do. She screamed, using the strongest Hyper Voice she could muster. The sheer volume of her shout was deafening, to the point that even May, Lisia, and Wally had to cover their ears for protection. Brendan just stood confidently, but he knew he'd have tinnitus for a while now.

Apophis couldn't resist the force of Gwen's attack, and, since he was already in the air from his jump, it was strong enough to throw him clear across the battlefield, where he landed hard. The impact dropped his health by slightly over half, and Apophis clearly knew he needed to avoid direct lines like he had just tried. Otherwise, this would be a very short battle. But, he and Sidney had been in tougher corners than this before and come out on top. In order to buy himself more time, the Absol began to make an irritating chattering noise, grating on Gwen's senses. In response, she tried to use another Hyper Voice, but she felt some force blocking it.

Shit, that was just Torment. Now I need to be more creative and use multiple attacks, Gwen thought as she got a silent command from Brendan. She held her hands up to the sky silently gathering energy high above the stadium, hoping that her opponents wouldn't notice it. Okay, just gotta make like Goku did against Freeza!

Apophis gave her an odd look that seemed to ask "What are you doing?" Gwen just ignored his look and just kept charging her attack. Apophis took this time to leap at her. Gwen jumped to the side, and forward past him, rolling quickly to avoid his Night Slash. The resulting shockwave went forward, breaking the ground up, but Gwen didn't pay it any heed. She just put her hands back into the air. Apophis gave her another look as if asking "Seriously, what is that all about?"

Oh, don't mind me, just doing some stretches, Gwen said coyly. In response, Apophis launched a massive Dark Pulse, timed perfectly with his Taunt losing its effect. Gwen silently thanked Arceus as she teleported out of the way of the attack, which exploded against the protective barrier around the field. When Gwen reappeared, her hands were still in the air.

Apophis looked at her suspiciously, wondering why she was throwing her hands in the air like she just didn't care. It made him angry, and his expression changed in such a way that Gwen could hear him thinking "CARE DAMN IT!" as he powered up another Night Slash and leapt forward, swinging at her with all the power he could muster. Gwen only managed to throw up a Reflect before Apophis's horn hit her across her stomach, sending her flying across the ground again. When she came to a stop, her health bar was at less than an eighth of its maximum. She was laying on her back when Apophis casually walked over and stood over her with a smug look of superiority. Gwen started laughing as she felt her Moonblast finish charging, and she lifted her hand toward it, pulling the attack down and toward Apophis, putting a protect around her body as she did.

Apophis barely noticed the attack coming in as a gleam in Gwen's eyes, and he turned his head to see what was creating the light. When he did, the Moonblast hit him squarely in the face, and it exploded on impact. The ensuing explosion filled the entirety of the shielded battlefield, and the light was utterly blinding for everyone in the stadium. During the chaos, the buzzer sounded, but everyone was silent until the dust settled, revealing that Apophis was knocked out, and had reverted to his normal form.

Sidney sighed in slight disappointment, but it was mixed with appreciation as he recalled Apophis. "Would you look at that, I lost," he said with a chuckle. "Eh, it was fun, so I guess it doesn't make much of a difference." He walked across the field to Brendan, who was just helping Gwen to her feet. "Well, Brendan, listen to what this loser has to say: you've got what it takes to got far, so don't you dare let your guard down, or think the others will go any easier on you. They'll pummel you if you let up even a little."

Brendan nodded. "I would expect nothing less of the Elite Four," he said with an extended hand. "That was a great battle."

Sidney gave Brendan a firm handshake. "Hopefully we can have another one like that in the near future. Maybe when I challenge you for your seat in the league's ranks," he says. "Now that you've beaten me, you've qualified to be in the Elite Four, but I've got a feeling that you aren't content with just that."

Brendan and Gwen both smiled. "We will become the strongest team in the Hoenn region," they both said simultaneously. Sidney just chuckled as he walked back into the Elite Four's locker room. This challenger had to be the most interesting in a long time.

Hey all, I took a lot longer to get this chapter done than I would've liked. Oh well, I was going for battle quality over quickness of completion. But damn, I was secretly hoping to get two elite four battles per chapter, and it turns out that these battles need as much detail as physically possible, or they turn out to be crap.

Some of you may have recognized the half-dialogue I paired with Apophis's expressions, but regardless of whether you did, I want to admit that I was referencing TFS's DBZ Abridged, and I'm sort of citing them here.

I'd also like to use this author's note to announce that I am in the process of working on a collaboration/crossover chapter with BraviaryScout (he's in the reviews of this story for those of you who haven't seen his writing), and his story A Hui Hou Kakou. It's a great story centered on Sun/Moon, and is absolutely worth the read.