Episode 54: The eye of the Tornado
Niko looked down at the tunnel. It was mid-afternoon, and his match was in minutes. He stood at the entrance to the tunnel that would take him to the stadium with Charlotte, Warren, Sydney, and his mother.
"How're you feeling?" Warren asked.
"Fine." Niko said. He was nervous, to be sure, but he didn't feel pressured anymore. If he won, then he won. If he lost, then at least he made it to the finals. He's never made it this far before, and he never thought he would actually make it this far. Niko liked to talk about it, especially to fire up his Pokémon in a tight pinch, but he never imagines getting this far, particularly during this particular tournament.
"Are you?" Charlotte asked, walking up to Niko. "You seem calm, oddly enough."
"That's because I am." Niko said, looking down at her and smiling. "It's just not something I know how to deal with yet."
"Well…" Charlotte said, leaning in to hug him. "I think you're going to do great."
"Thanks, Charlotte." Niko said, returning the hug.
"Come here." Warren said, hugging Niko as well. Soon enough everyone else did. "Good luck."
"Thanks." Niko said, just as he heard Colton Goodshow's voice through the microphone.
"We started with 128 trainers, and now we're down to only two! Welcome to the finals match for the Vertress City Pokémon League Tournament!" Colton Goodshow announced to the crowd. "And now, let's announce our two finalists!
"On one end, we have a trainer all the way from Kanto. He has competed in four other Pokémon Leagues, and had granted us some impressive matches in this tournament and in the past. Please, give a round of applause for Niko from Pallet Town!" The crowd roared as Niko entered the battlefield, which was a grassy field like his battle with Hunter. "And on the other end, a trainer equally unique. Hasn't even used her sixth Pokémon in any matches throughout this tournament. Hailing from Black City, here in Unova, please welcome Harmony!"
The crowd roared across the stadium as Harmony appeared on the end of the field opposite Niko. She smiled and lightly waved at him, to which he responded with a wave of his own. The referee, like always, explained the rules of the match before allowing the two finalists to begin their match.
"Archeops, I choose you!" Harmony said in her ordinary melodic tone.
"Luxray, let's go!" Niko shouted.
"So…" Niko said to his Pokémon. "We made it to the finals, thanks to these six." He said, turning to the team that managed to defeat Elliot. His Pokémon began to cheer and hoot in celebration. "We have one more match before we win the tournament. Who would like to step up?" He asked. Luxray was the first to step forward this time. It had been a while since Niko had seen his Gleam Eyes Pokémon. "Great, anyone else…?"
"Charge!" Niko shouted. Sparks flew along Luxray's black and teal fur, allowing him to store electricity for when he really needed it. "Now, wild charge!"
"Archeops, ancientpower!" Harmony commanded. The First Bird Pokémon—a pterodactyl-like Pokémon with yellow feathers covering its body and long, blue feathers covering its wings and tail—conjured rocks from the ground and launched them at Luxray, who managed to dodge all of them with wild charge before leaping into the air and tackling Archeops, bringing them both down into the grass. "Dragon claw!"
"Thunder fang!" Niko commanded. Luxray opened his mouth, electricity surging through it, as he bit down on Archeops' wing. The First Bird Pokémon tried to shake Luxray off, but was unsuccessful. As soon as Luxray got off, Archeops turned to its trainer with a defeated look on its face.
"Archeops, you can do this…" Harmony said softly. "Let's keep going. If you can't continue, that's alright." She said, looking up at Niko. Archeops nodded before flapping its wings and getting back into the air. "Alright! Use rock slide!"
"Luxray, discharge!" Niko shouted. Using the electricity he charged up earlier, Luxray unleashed a wave of sparks that hit anything on the field, primarily Archeops. The First Bird Pokémon fell back to the ground, slowly trying to get back up. "Wild charge!" Niko shouted. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon charged forward, slamming into his opponent and releasing electricity in the process. Archeops cried out from the electricity surging through it before falling backwards onto the grass, unable to move any further.
"Archeops is unable to battle, Luxray is the winner!" The referee declared. "Harmony will send out her next Pokémon!"
"Archeops, return. Well done. I'm proud of you." She said in her usual melodic tone. "Slaking, dear, let's go!" She said, throwing out a second pokéball from her bag that contained the Lazy Pokémon, a familiar one to Niko. "Use amnesia!"
Slaking looked lazily around, as if trying to understand where exactly it was. Meanwhile, Niko commanded Luxray to use charge once more before attacking with thunder fang. The entire time, Slaking didn't move an inch, instead preferring to watch Luxray bit down onto its furry body.
"Hammer arm, dear." Harmony said plainly. Slaking then slowly got up, as if burdened, and slammed down a fist onto Luxray's head, knocking it to the ground. Slaking then laid back down on its side and watched Luxray try to get back up from the powerful attack to his head.
"Luxray, are you alright?" Niko wondered. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon turned to him and nodded, albeit dizzily. "Alright, use discharge now!"
Luxray unleashed another wave of stored electricity, successfully hitting Slaking, who hardly seemed affected by the move. Slaking then got up again and, on Harmony's command, used hammer arm a second time, this time hitting Luxray in the side and launching it across the grassy field. Luxray crumbled onto the ground like a ragdoll just as Slaking laid back on the ground.
"Wild charge!" Niko shouted, realizing that this Slaking was going to be tough. He just had to find a way around it. Luxray got back up and, reluctantly, charged towards his opponent, who took the hit once more, but stood up and repeated its hammer arm, this time launching Luxray high into the air, which meant that the Gleam Eyes Pokémon crashed into the ground below, and hard enough from the force of the attack that he struggled to get back up, eventually falling in defeat.
"Luxray is unable to battle, Slaking is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will use his second Pokémon!"
"Druddigon, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Cave Pokémon. "Use dragon claw!"
Druddigon charged at his opponent wildly, ready to fight whatever came in front of him. He slashed as Slaking, who got up once more and laid down a hammer arm on its opponent. Druddigon, walking away dizzily from the attack, turned to look at Niko, who seemed unsure of how to proceed with this. He then turned back to Slaking, who was staring him down.
"Night slash!" Niko shouted, and Druddigon obliged, charging at his opponent and slashing at the Lazy Pokémon's stomach. As expected, Slaking got back up, and instead tried to use a move called chip away. Druddigon dodged the move and instead spun around Slaking to use dragon tail, hitting Slaking in the back and knocking it forward onto its face. "Great job! Now, dragon claw!"
Druddigon's claws burst into a light purple aura as he rose into the air and slashed downwards at Slaking's back. The Lazy Pokémon quickly spun onto its back and launch a punch at Druddigon, who took the hit and fell to the ground, but also got back to his feet fast enough to continue fighting.
"Dragon claw!" Niko shouted. Druddigon landed the attack on Slaking before getting knocked back by hammer arm. "C'mon, you got this buddy! Use dragon tail!" Druddigon slapped at Slaking's stomach, knocking the Lazy Pokémon back before it could get into its lazy, resting state. "Now, follow up with dragon claw!"
"Faint attack!" Harmony shouted, an odd tone of panic in her voice. Slaking briefly disappeared before reappearing and slamming into Druddigon from the side, inadvertently scratching itself on the Cave Pokémon's rough skin. Druddigon then slashed at his opponent with dragon tail, knocking Slaking to the ground. This time, Niko wasn't sure if Slaking was just being lazy or if it was truly unable to battle anymore. He didn't have to wait long to hear the truth.
"Slaking is unable to battle, Druddigon is the winner!" The referee announced. "Harmony will now use her third Pokémon!"
"Slaking, return. Well done, Niko. I honestly didn't expect you to do as well against my Slaking. My apologies. Klefki, I choose you!"
"Klefki…?" Warren and Charlotte said aloud. The latter pulled out her pokédex to look, and found nothing. "What is that?"
"Druddigon, be careful…" Niko said, carefully eying his opponent. Klefki was a small, grayish-white Pokémon that resembled a key ring with four keys on it. It had a spherical head with a white face and a small, pink oval on its forehead. Two black circles and a keyhole formed its eyes and mouth. Below its head was its pink, teardrop-shaped body with a white marking in the middle. Extending from the top of its head is an appendage, which resembles an old-fashioned key with two wide, blunt teeth. A thin loop surrounds Klefki, and connects at either side of the "key".
"Klefki, play rough!" Harmony shouted. The Key Ring Pokémon charged at its opponent, slapping Druddigon across the face with each of its keys multiple times before knocking it over. Niko was stunned by this, curious as to why this small collection of keys was so powerful, and could defeat a dragon type so quickly.
"Druddigon, dragon claw!" Niko shouted. The Cave Pokémon charged at Klefki and slashed at it, but the Key Ring Pokémon didn't seem to move. "Huh…?"
Harmony laughed. "Ah, I see you don't know what a fairy type is…Klefki, use draining kiss!" She said.
"Fairy…type…?" Niko asked, just as Klefki rushed up to Druddigon and kissed it on the top of the head. Druddigon collapsed to the ground, his energy drained from his body. "Druddigon!"
"Druddigon is unable to battle, Klefki is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will now send out his next Pokémon!"
"Fairy type…okay then…what beats a fairy type?" Niko asked himself, muttering as he returned Druddigon. "Hm. Kadabra, let's give it a shot!" He shouted, summoning the Psi Pokémon. "It's been a while, buddy. Let's go with psycho cut!"
Kadabra moved his spoon in a slashing motion, launching blades of psychic energy across the field towards Klefki, who blocked them with a move called mirror shot. The Psi Pokémon then unleashed a psybeam towards the Key Ring Pokémon, who swiftly evaded it and rushed forward to use play rough (Niko later learned that this was a fairy-type move). Kadabra fled the attack with teleport and reappeared behind Klefki to use psybeam, which ultimately hit.
"Well done, Kadabra!" Niko shouted.
"Klefki, use mirror shot!" Harmony commanded. The fairy type Pokémon spun around and unleashed a flash of light that forced Kadabra to close his eyes. "Now, play rough!"
Klefki charged at Kadabra, swinging its keys wildly to more effectively land its attack. Meanwhile, Kadabra attempted to retaliate with psycho cut, using his spoon as his weapon of choice. After a few strikes at Klefki, Kadabra was able to escape and use psychic to throw the Key Ring Pokémon across the field.
"Kadabra, return." Niko eventually said, before Harmony and Klefki could retaliate. He noticed his opponent raise her eyebrow. Niko then remembered what Harmony told him the night before. "I never caught a steel type until my recent journey to the Kalos region." "Steel type…Lampent, I choose you!" He shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing the Lamp Pokémon. "This is the finals, buddy! Let's show your parents in heaven what you're made of! Use inferno!"
"Klefki, mirror shot!" Harmony shouted. Klefki attempted to flash a blinding light towards Lampent and launch the light beam towards it, but the Lamp Pokémon tilted her head downwards and unleashed a powerful jet of blue fire, charring the grass in the space between and engulfing Klefki in it. Niko noticed Harmony's eyes widen, either indicating she was impressed or frightened. Either way, it didn't matter, since Klefki collapsed onto the ground with a light clang.
"Klefki is unable to battle, Lampent is the winner!" The referee declared. "Harmony will send out her fourth Pokémon!"
"Well done, Niko." Harmony said, smiling warmly at her opponent. "You know nothing about the fairy type, but it seemed like you remembered what I mentioned to you last evening." She pulled off a fourth pokéball, and tossed it out. "Cradily, let's go!"
"Lampent, think you can take this one on, too?" Niko asked. It then occurred to him that maybe Lampent could have handled Elliot's Scizor, even if briefly. The way she used the inferno to defeat Klefki was nothing short of impressive. Lampent turned to her trainer and gave him an expression that asked if he was stupid. "Alright, alright…let's keep going then. Lampent, use will-o-wisp!"
"Cradily, ancientpower, dear." Harmony said softly. The Barnacle Pokémon conjured old rocks from the ground and threw them at Lampent, who blocked them with the tiny will-o-wisps and then proceeded to use flame burst, which Cradily wasn't able to block this time. "Stone edge!"
"Lampent, move around the stone edge, just like you've practiced with Boldore, and use will-o-wisp!" Niko shouted. That morning he had some of his Pokémon practice battling others, just like he did during his journey. Lampent, fortuitously, ended up with Boldore. Just like in practice, she successfully dodged the moves and burned Cradily on the side of its slimy green body. "Hex!" Niko commanded.
Lampent successfully landed a hex on the Barnacle Pokémon, rocking it to the side slightly. Cradily shot its massive head to the side where Lampent was and spit out acid, temporarily blinding the Lamp Pokémon while she was pummeled with rocks from ancientpower. She collapsed onto the grass, only getting back up when Cradily struck her with stone edge, which forced her into the air.
"Lampent, flame burst!" Niko shouted. She whipped the acid from the glass over her eyes and spit out a light purple flame at Cradily, angering it in the process.
"Cradily, calm yourself." Harmony said to her clearly enraged Pokémon. "Use stone edge, please."
"Lampent, weave through it and use hex!" Niko shouted. His Pokémon quickly moved in and out of the pointed stones bursting from under the ground before spinning through the air and launching out a purple and black sphere at Cradily's burn, which caused the Barnacle Pokémon to roar out a second time.
"Cradily, stone edge!" Harmony commanded.
"Lampent, inferno!" Niko shouted, noticing both Pokémon wearing down a little. This particular match would end sooner rather than later, with either Cradily or Lampent fainting. Pointed stones jutted out from the ground in succession as Lampent unleashed a stream of blue fire at her opponent. Fortunately—and unfortunately—both attacks hit simultaneously, launching Lampent into the air and Cradily onto its back. Both collapsed onto the ground, both unable to move any further.
"Lampent and Cradily are unable to battle!" The referee declared.
"Return, Lampent. Well done." Niko said, looking up at Harmony as she also returned her Pokémon. "Torterra, let's go!" He shouted, unsure of what Harmony would use next, although he realized it as soon as he sent out his Torterra. Oh...I'm screwed. He thought to himself.
"Infernape, dear, let's go!" Harmony shouted proudly, summoning a familiar primate-like Pokémon to face off against Niko's Continent Pokémon. "Use flare blitz!"
"Torterra, earthquake!" Niko commanded.
"Leap into the air, Infernape!" Harmony shouted, even jumping a little herself. Infernape leapt into the air, much like Niko's Pokémon often do, and somersaulted before crashing down onto Torterra's head. The Continent Pokémon gave an audible grunt as he felt the impact of the attack. "Now, flamethrower!"
"Razor leaf!" Niko shouted. Torterra's tree shook violently as it summoned leaves at Infernape, all of which were quickly burnt up by the ensuing flamethrower. Niko grit his teeth—this wasn't going to be an easy win. He still had Kadabra and Venusaur, but Harmony had some unknown sixth Pokémon (which had become her "thing" during the Vertress Conference) that Niko knew nothing about. Torterra needed to do a significant amount of damage if he had any hope to winning this. "Earthquake!"
The Continent Pokémon once more shook the battlefield and, once more, Infernape leapt off and through the air. However, it got caught on the tail end of the second earthquake, and winced a little from the attack before waiting for Harmony's next attack.
"Close combat!" Harmony shouted. Infernape rushed once more at Torterra, running through the vortex of sharp leaves before kicking and punching the Continent Pokémon. "And…flamethrower!" She shouted, and Infernape leapt off of Torterra and spit out a jet of orange fire in the growing space between. Torterra, exhausted from the onslaught of fire attacks, angrily shook the earth once more, and caught Infernape on the landing a second time. Harmony smirked, and placed her finger up to her lip, as if thinking.
"Torterra, energy ball!" Niko shouted.
"Infernape, flare blitz." Harmony said softly. The Flame Pokémon lit itself on fire and charged at Torterra, essentially ignoring the energy ball and crashing into the Continent Pokémon. Torterra roared out as the flames burnt his front side. Eventually, he collapsed onto the ground.
"Torterra is unable to battle, Infernape is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will send out his next Pokémon!"
"Kadabra, I choose you!" Niko shouted, throwing out his psychic type.
"Hmm…Infernape, return." Harmony said pleasantly before looking up at Niko with a smile. "Fitting end to this battle, I think. I have put off using my sixth Pokémon in every match, and I developed this odd reputation for doing so. And for good reason, too. Niko, you've proven to me that you should get a chance to witness it. In the final round of the Vertress Conference, no less." She then held out a small purple pokéball. "This, Niko, is a Pokémon I am quite proud of owning. I hope you can deliver for me a battle worthy of its appearance.
"Tornadus, I choose you!" She shouted, throwing the purple pokéball into the air. Out of it erupted a green, muscular humanoid Pokémon that resembled a genie. On its forehead were two, purple, long and sharp horns. It had white, wavy, and billowy styled hair, a spiky white mustache and two pointed green ears on either side of its head. Its eyes were yellow with beady white irises and no visible pupils. The front of its body as covered in various, irregularly shaped purple spots. Its lower body consisted of a tailing cloud, with a purple long, curling tail, tipped with a whirl. Several whorled structures spanned the length of its tail.
"Tornadus!?" Charlotte shouted. "I—I read that in m-my book! It's a legendary Pokémon!" She shouted, whipping out her pokédex:
"Tornadus, the Cyclone Pokémon. Flying type. In every direction it flies, creating winds so powerful, they blow everything away."
"Oh man…Niko's in trouble, then." Warren muttered.
Niko, for his part, was awestruck by the Pokémon standing before him, floating up in the air. This is one of the last Pokémon he would have expected to see, having never known of its existence. He looked at Kadabra, who also looked slightly terrified. But they had to keep a straight face. They had to keep going.
"Kadabra, psycho cut!" Niko shouted.
"Dark pulse." Harmony commanded. Tornadus lifted his hand out and unleashed a dark nexus of energy at his opponent. Kadabra barely dodged the move before thrusting psychic blades through the air, to which Tornadus also evaded. "Now, hurricane!"
Tornadus whipped up a heavy wind around it and sent it directly at Kadabra, quickly picking him up and throwing him high into the air. Niko commanded the Psi Pokémon to use teleport to escape the fall from the attack. Kadabra successfully did so, but made the mistake of landing directly in front of Tornadus again. The Cyclone Pokémon conjured a dark pulse that hit Kadabra directly in the chest, launching the psychic type backwards.
"Kadabra is unable to battle, Tornadus is the winner! Niko will now send out his final Pokémon!"
Well, just Venusaur left against her Infernape and Tornadus. Niko thought to himself. "Venusaur, it's just you and me, buddy!" Niko shouted, summoning his final Pokémon. "You ready for this?" Venusaur nodded, staring only at Tornadus. "Alright, use solarbeam!"
"Tornadus, hurricane!" Harmony commanded. Niko noticed a different tone in her voice—she was fired up now. As in, truly immersed into the battle. The Cyclone Pokémon whipped up a second hurricane, this time even picking up the far heavier Venusaur and throwing it high into the air before dropping the Seed Pokémon to the ground, just as the solarbeam launched out, hitting Tornadus unexpectedly. "Ah, well done! Tornadus, air slash!"
"Venusaur, razor leaf!" Niko shouted. The two attack impacted in the middle of the field, drawing to a stalemate. "Now, frenzy plant!" Niko commanded. "Give it everything you've got, Venusaur! Don't hold back!"
"Tornadus, dark pulse!" Harmony shouted. Tornadus unleashed dark pulses from both hands to block the spiky roots erupting out of the ground at him. Eventually, a couple roots hit Tornadus, knocking him from side-to-side but ultimately did little to harm the Cyclone Pokémon. "Hurricane!"
"Razor leaf!" Niko shouted, but was too late. Venusaur had already gotten picked up by the hurricane and thrown around a second time by the high-speed winds. Venusaur collapsed onto his side, struggling to get back up. He eventually righted himself, getting back on his four feet, but collapsed soon after. Tornadus was simply too powerful.
"Venusaur is unable to battle, Tornadus is the winner! And the victory goes to Harmony from Black City!"
"And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen!" Colton Goodshow announced. "The winner of the Vertress Conference is Harmony from Black City!"
Amid the cheers from the stadium, Niko walked over to Venusaur, and sat down in front of him, rubbing his face. "You still did great, buddy." He said with a smile. "Like I said, we wouldn't have gotten this far without you. Without you, and Feraligatr, and Prinplup, and Magneton, and Eelektross, and Lampent, and everyone else that participated. I'm just as proud of you today as I was when I first caught you, and when you evolved to defeat Sabrina, all those years ago. Every battle I've been proud of you, wins and losses. Next time, wherever we are, we'll win it. That's my promise to you."
Venusaur locked eyes with his trainer and faintly nodded, smirking a little before fainting. Niko then felt a hand lightly touch his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Harmony and Tornadus looking at him.
"Well done." She said calmly. Niko stood up to face his opponents. "That was an exceptional battle. I can see why this is your fifth Pokémon League. You showed it to be today."
"I can see why you don't use your sixth Pokémon very often." Niko replied, turning to Tornadus. "You have quite the trainer." Tornadus nodded proudly, folding his arms.
"This is what I caught him in." Harmony said, pulling out the purple pokéball. "I'm sure you've seen one of these before. It's a Master Ball. Catches any Pokémon, no exceptions."
"I see why you're proud of him, then. Must've been a hard catch."
"Oh certainly. And he isn't with me all the time. Sometimes he must be with his other friends—Thundurus and Landorus. They're known as the Forces of Nature. They also have a second form, but I am lacking in the item right now that makes it so."
"Either way, Harmony…thanks for the battle. I enjoyed it."
"Well, isn't that all that matters?" She said, closing her eyes and smiling. She then leaned over and pecked Niko on the cheek, forcing him to blush. "That's for trying."
Niko rubbed his cheek, embarrassed. "Uh…alright? Thanks. And congrats, by the way."
"Thanks. I'm quite proud of it." She said, still smiling.
Niko and Harmony waited on the field for the award ceremony, where she was given a golden trophy with a pokéball resting in the center. A small, detail-less figure with wings and two pointed horns on the top, made of silver. Below the trophy was her name and city engraved on it. Next to her, Niko stood as the runner-up. He received a smaller, silver trophy with only a pokéball sitting on it. Next to him was Venusaur, who enjoyed staring at the small trophy. He also couldn't help but eye the bigger, golden trophy as well.
"So…what's next for you?" Harmony asked as she waved to the audience. Fireworks were exploding high above them.
"I don't know yet. I'm probably headed back to Pallet Town, that's for sure." Niko said. "I have some unfinished business there."
"I see. Well, if you're ever back in Unova, let me know." Harmony said with a smile. "It'd be nice to have a friend around here."
"For sure." Niko said, also waving.
"Hey, Niko!" Warren said, waving his hand over to his friend. Charlotte and Sydney flanked him on both sides, with Niko's mother on Sydney's left. "Great job!"
"Thanks. I'm actually proud of myself." He replied.
"As you should be!" Sydney said. "You've improved!"
"And beyond my wildest imaginations."
"We're very proud of you." Charlotte added.
"And so is your brother and father." Niko's mother said.
"I hope so. Hey, Mom, I think I'll go back to Pallet Town with you." Niko finally said. "I have some people I should talk to. And some people I need to talk to."
"Oh, of course! I leave tomorrow. Will that be enough time for you?"
"Yeah, I think so." Niko said, turning to his friends. "Charlotte, Warren, want to go for a walk?"
"Sure, what about?" Warren asked as the trio began to walk out of the lobby and onto the grass fields that they had spent the past several days inhabiting. For Niko, it seemed like all important conversations happened here, on the front lawn of the Pokémon League.
"What's next for us? As a group?" Niko wondered.
"Well, you're going home, and so are we…you don't live in Unova anymore." Warren said, looking down at the ground.
"Okay…what's next for you?" Niko asked, prying further into his friend.
"Don't know. I think I'll visit you in Kanto over this coming summer. But that's it." He said. Both boys then turned to Charlotte.
"I'd like to join you when you visit Pallet Town." She replied quietly. "I've never been, and it'd be cool to see the place you grew up."
"I'd appreciate that from both of you." Niko said. "I just…have to go back immediately. I need to speak with my brother, and a couple of friends, and apologize."
"Fair enough. That's what you have to do, and we understand that." Warren said with a smile. He then stopped Niko. "And we'll always be here for you, regardless."
"Yeah, we will." Charlotte said, leaning in to grab both of them, bringing them into a hug.
The following morning, Niko and his mother were waiting at the airport. Warren, Charlotte, and Sydney were also there, waiting for a separate flight to Castelia City. The five of them made casual conversation before it was time to go. Niko's flight was first, in the early afternoon.
Standing up, he turned to his friends. "I can't thank you three enough for what you've done for me. Housed me, gotten me back on this journey, encouraged me to keep moving forward. I don't know how to repay you."
"Your success is our success." Warren said, leaning in to tightly embrace his friend. "Safe travels, Niko. I'll see you soon."
"Niko!" Sydney said, running up to hug her friend. "Thanks for making the Vertress Conference interesting to watch! You did so well!"
"Heh, thanks Sydney. I'm glad I could help." He then turned to Charlotte.
"Thanks…for everything." She muttered. "I've learned a lot by being with you. I hope we can do it again someday."
"You mean travel? Of course we can." He then hugged her this time. "I've learned a lot from you, too. Keep up the training. I think your Pokémon enjoy it." He said, winking at her as he let go from the hug.
"I'll keep that in mind." Charlotte said. Niko might have been imagining it, but he could have sworn he saw a spark light up in her eye. A spark of ambition.
"Niko, we have to go!" His mother called to him. "Bye everyone! See you soon!"
"Bye, guys!" Niko shouted as he ran off to catch up to his mother. His friends called and waved as well before disappearing behind a corner.
Niko was on his way back home.
Author's note: OOOH! Niko was the runner-up! And now he's going home after his long journey in Unova? How will some of his old friends and family react? What's next for him? Find out in the season finale!
