~ Chapter 42 ~

The Hearthome Battle Tournament Begins!

"The Hearthome City Battle Tournament was the talk of the town. It was the biggest thing in the capital. People from all over the Sinnoh Region came to participate or watch it. Thousands more came to be part of the festival. Everyone dressed in traditional robes. There were performers and dancers from the Johto Region, and all the other regions. Kimono girls, Geisha girls, fried squid on a stick, and other deep-fried foods—anyway, that's not quite the point. I competed in the tournament...boy was I in for a surprise. I never thought I'd go down so fast; at least I didn't go down easy. These were the best Trainers in the known world, mainly from Sinnoh. I didn't stand a chance…but I sure learned a lot, and I had a lot of good teachers helping me learn even more."

"I must admit, you look pretty good in a yukata," laughed Niya as she looked over Jeremy.

He and Pikachu were both dressed in yukata, just like everyone else going to the festival. The girls were dolled up in fancy red kimono with their hair all done up with pins, combs, and flowers in it.

Their faces were even painted white, their cheeks blushed, their lips dolled up and fans tucked into their obi.

"I like how Sam completes the look with his haori," said Alyssandra as she looked over her friend, "He looks almost like a samurai."

"Samurai wore hakama as well, plus I lack the wakizashi and the katana," smirked Sam.

Niya rolled her eyes as the group walked out of their room and down the hallway to the elevator. "Oh, I forgot, you like history," she groaned, "I remember when you used to go off to the library as a kid and spend hours reading history books. You'd come home thinking you were a samurai."

Alyssandra giggled, and even Pikachu let out a laugh.

Sam looked away, blushing a bit as he remembered that and other embarrassing things he did as a child.

"Well, he used to protect us with that wooden sword of us," added Alyssandra, trying to support Sam.

"Yeah, with that bokken at his side all the time, no one ever wanted to come near us and 'the weird kid with a stick'," retorted Niya, holding back laughter as she remembered.

Sam rolled his eyes and the group headed down the elevator and into the lobby.

Valentina wasn't going to be able to meet them until much later today. As League Champion she needed to host the tournament, as well keep an eye on the festival as a whole. Even with Cynthia's help, it was a big job.

Fantina too was preoccupied with ensuring everything went smoothly. She was the Gym Leader of Hearthome City, and it was her job to take care of the entire city, if anything went wrong it would be partly her fault.

Drasna had also left, preparing to return to the Johto Region to continue her mentorship under Claire. Which left the group alone, once more, just the five of them. Sam, Jeremy, Niya, Alyssandra and Pikachu.

"We can't even call home," sighed Jeremy, "I mean, I could call my family. But Palmer, Professor Rowan and Sam's grandmother are still away on their trip to the Hoenn Region."

"We've gone without calling them before. Remember the trip from Floaroma to Eterna?" said Niya.

It was one of the longest trips they'd ever made. Then again, with all the delays, it was no surprise. Sam was unconscious half the time, Alyssandra was dragged off to Eterna Forest and left alone for quite a while, and Niya and Jeremy weren't able to move on or look for her without Sam at least mostly recovered.

"Do you want to call your mom?" asked Sam, more than willing to let Jeremy have the time to do so, but Jeremy shrugged.

"I spoke to her last night. It's fine," he said simply.

"Pikaaaaa," said Pikachu softly as he dashed from Jeremy's shoulder and looked out the window like a child watching candy be made. Pikachu was absorbed with the sights of the festival; it was truly amazing.

The streets were packed with people in traditional clothes of the Tohjo and Hoenn Regions. Booths draped in lanterns were set up everywhere, selling wares, food and showing the loudest and most colourful of carnival games.

"I don't get why we wear the traditional clothes of the Tohjo and Hoenn Regions," wondered Jeremy, "Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Tokugawa only got as far western Sinnoh, stopping at Mount Coronet and not even bothering to go as far as Floaroma or Eterna. And Tokugawa didn't hold that land for long, once the peoples of eastern Sinnoh crossed over the mountain and took the land for themselves."

"It's a sign of good faith. The unifiers of the Four Region Area placed a lot of settlers in ancient Jubilife, Canalave, Sandgem and Twinleaf," explained Sam, "Those settlers mixed with the native peoples, and the cultures mixed. Even after the unifiers pulled out, the fusion of two cultures held on to semblances of both and an entirely new culture was born by mixing the two. It's quite interesting really."

"You've got him started again, congratulations," groaned Niya with an eye roll, not wanting another history lesson.

Sam stuck his tongue out at her, and the group stepped out into the bustling street and entered the world of the Hearthome Summer Festival.

They had two hours until the start of the Tournament, which was located in the Hearthome Battle Arena, with opening and closing ceremonies daily in front of the Hearthome Cathedral. The Cathedral was a massive bastion dedicated to the Legendary Pokémon that created the Sinnoh Region, and supposedly most of the world and universe.

But for now, the group was going to enjoy the sights and sounds, as well as the food and the games.

They used to have a small matsuri several times a year in Twinleaf Town at key points in the year, around summer and fall, often accompanied by fireworks. These festivals were the talk of the town for many days prior to and after the festival, especially amongst the kids.

They were nowhere near as big as the Hearthome Summer Festival, with nowhere near as many attendees, causing the group to be even more drawn into the event.

"Where should we start?" asked Alyssandra, looking around at all the attractions, "We've got the whole day until four, when the entrance rounds begin."

"I say we go look for all the food," exclaimed Sam with excitement. His favourite part of the matsuri was always the food, usually fried; though not always.

His personal favourite was the konpeitō.

"You're just going to run off and grab some takoyaki and ikayaki aren't you?" said Niya, her eyebrow raised.

"Don't forget the yakisoba, yakiniku, okonomiyaki, jyagabata, grilled corn, banana on a stick and dango. Mmmm, and the konpeitō, I love konpeitō!" added Sam, near drooling.

"You got him started this time," joked Jeremy, his attention going towards some of the carnival games. "Goldfish scooping, huh?" Jeremy continued, his attention now fully gone.

"Oh, come on, Niya, like you don't want to go out and find some mochi, you love the stuff!" Sam pointed out to which Niya couldn't deny; only responding with a sly smile.

"I say we just split up and go do whatever we want until the Hearthome Battle Contest begins," suggested Sam, "We should meet up every three hours in front of this Pokémon Centre here, just in case."

"Just don't end up in a gambling house, all right Jeremy?" said Niya, strictly but in a friendly tone, "Same goes for you Sam. Most of all don't end up in one together."

Sam sighed, as did Jeremy, but the two agreed and nodded compliantly. Everyone agreed, and within moments, they had all gone off their own ways.

Except for Alyssandra, who stayed beside Sam, insisting the two travelled through the city together; and so, they did.

Together, Sam and Alyssandra went from booth to booth, playing games that ranged from scooping goldfish or floating plastic balls from tanks of water, to shooting targets with elastics and pellet guns to win prizes.

Sam managed to win Alyssandra a stuffed Mew doll, and the two even enjoyed several of the festival foods, with Sam happily getting copious amounts of konpeitō. All within the span of a few hours.

"There's so much to do!" said Alyssandra over some street performers and taiko drummers a street over.

"I know, it's so much different from the matsuri we used to go to in Sandgem and Twinleaf as kids," agreed Sam.

"It's even bigger than the one we went to a few years ago in Veilstone City," added Alyssandra, remembering the vacation well.

"So, what do you want to do next?" asked Sam, his eyes going towards the mask salesman a few stalls down.

"Shall we go see the masks?" smiled Alyssandra, noticing Sam's attention wavering.

Sam nodded, and the two ran off down the street towards the stall.

It was a strange looking stall, with walls of masks on three of the four sides. Masks of Pokémon, of historical figures, yōkai, and things Sam had never seen before.

There were blue fish-looking creature, with fins at the side of its head, and a pointy nose.

There were orange human-like creatures, with white beards and tufts of hair, and large rocky teeth.

There were even small plant creatures with a three-leafed twig on its head, and a small circular mouth.

But one mask in particular drew Sam's attention. As soon as he locked eyes with it he couldn't look away. It was heart-shaped, with no mouth, and four spikes on each side and two sticking out of the top like horns. Its eyes were large, orange, and circular with black dots for pupils. The masked was painted in hues of purple, blue, red, and orange.

Its stare was crippling and mesmerizing, making Sam want to reach out and grab it, but it was hanging high above all the other masks, farthest from the crowd.

"Can I help you?" said a high, yet cheery voice.

Sam looked up and almost jumped in shock as he saw an ever-smiling face, with neatly kempt and parted hair, yellowish skin, pointed features and small teeth—and the weirdest thing of all were his pointed ears.

The man also wore a blue shirt, and blue pants and pointed blue shoes, over that entire outfit he wore a long, blue cloak with a gold mantle around his neck and shoulders.

"W-who are you?" asked Sam, a little weirded out by this guy who seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Me? My name is not important," chuckled the man, his hands clasped tightly together in front of him, his head and upper body bobbing up and down slightly as he looked at Sam, "You may call me the Happy Mask Salesman, and this is my Happy Mask Shop!"

"Happy Mask Salesman?" asked Alyssandra, sceptical of this man.

The man stood up right, or more, he seemed to become upright, as it did not appear that he moved at all between the two stances; it was quite unnerving.

"Yes, the Happy Mask Salesman!" exclaimed the man, "My job is to travel the globe and bring everyone happiness by selling them masks!"

"That's funny, I've never seen you at any of the other matsuri," stated Sam, "They may not be as big, but surely you could bring some happiness to a smaller town no?"

The Happy Mask Salesman only paused, still smiling, and bobbing away, only now he became hunched over the table of his wares once more. Looking with more attention, Sam could see a notoriously large backpack on his back, decorated with a variety of masks Sam had never seen before.

"I only come to the Hearthome matsuri," explained the Mask Salesman, "It is such a large world after all, and if I am to travel to the most places and bring the most joy to the most people, I must go to the largest of the matsuri! I cannot be everywhere at once…can I?"

"He's got a point. All the other matsuri happen in the fall," stated Alyssandra, "And there are much larger ones in the Tohjo Region. More people attending means more people to make happy."

"Ah, the girl seems to understand me!" he cried, "With a world this large, I must cater to the largest audiences in order to make the most people happy."

"How big can this world be?" wondered Sam, "Five Regions? Six if you count Orre. Maybe a few other countries scattered here and there in between. But even if there were more we'd probably have found them by now anyway."

The Happy Mask Salesman paused, and froze, a frown covering his face. "My child, you are young, and so I cannot expect you to understand how large this world is," he said simply, before returning to his usually happy composure.

This man confused Sam, but he felt that if he pressed the manner further, the man would only complicate things further, or worse, maybe open his ever-smiling eyes, and so Sam remained quiet.

"Well, as long as you're here making people happy," said Alyssandra, changing the topic tactfully, "I'd like to buy a mask for my friend here."

"What? Lyss, you don't have to," protested Sam, though Lyss would hear none of it.

She silenced him with the raising of her hand. "Now, now. You won me this Mew doll. So now I'll get you a mask; then we're even," she stated dutifully.

Turning back to the Mask Salesman, the man, now smiling even wider, asked her which mask she wanted, moving his hands over all of his wares in an inviting way.

"I want that one, please," said Alyssandra, pointing to the one on the back wall, in the middle column of the highest row, the one that Sam had been fixated on as they approached.

The Happy Mask Salesman turned to see the mask she meant, and gasped as he realized. He turned around to Alyssandra, frantically and in a panic. "You do not want that mask! No, what I meant is, you CANNOT have that mask!" he proclaimed fervently and fiercely.

"Is it money? It's probably really expensive," stated Alyssandra, "Sam could I borrow a bit? I'm sorry to do this to you, but I know it would go so well with your oni mask collection!"

"Sure," said Sam reached inside of his robes for his wallet.

The Happy Mask Salesman leaned over the table, bobbing like a ball in a rough ocean.

Alyssandra hadn't seen him bob this much since they arrived.

"You cannot HAVE that mask!" he seethed; his eyes had opened, becoming diamond shaped openings that seemed to look into your soul.

Sam and Alyssandra jumped back as they opened, like some sort of beam had been shot at them. Those eyes, that angry look, coupled with the fact that he just became poses, not moving, only appearing in them, like frames of a movie were cut out; terrified them.

"If the mask isn't for sale, why is it on display?" asked Alyssandra, frowning a bit in disappointment.

"Because…it is a collector's item. I have it on display for the benefit of the public," explained the Happy Mask Salesman, returning to his pleasant disposition, "I went through great lengths to get that mask, and a young man went through greater to get it back from a thief for me. I dare not let it out of my hands again."

"Are you sure we can't change your mind?" asked Alyssandra, trying one more time to strike a deal.

"No, not at all! This mask has caused enough trouble in people's lives," said the Mask Salesman fiercely, "I implore you, beg for any other mask and I shall give it to you for free! You are such nice children, and I would love to make you happy; but you cannot have that mask up there!"

"Well, all right I guess. Sorry we didn't know about the mask," said Alyssandra, finally giving into the Happy Mask Salesman's eccentricities, mostly because she was afraid he would open his eyes again.

"So, Sam, what'll it be? The crow tengu or the iwami-hannya with all that hair?" asked Alyssandra as she pointed to the two masks.

"Take them both, children!" exclaimed the Happy Mask Salesman, suddenly appearing with both masks in hand, not moving or reaching or turning to get them, "If that's what makes you happy!"

"Uh, thanks," said Sam, a little creeped out by the man, but thankful for him, "How much?"

"Nothing!" exclaimed the merchant happily, "I am not here to make a profit—I am here to make people happy."

He beamed so wide Sam thought his face was going to rip apart under stress. "But, I mean, I saw someone paying before we got here," stated Sam, going for his wallet, much to the protest for Alyssandra, "I must owe you something."

"It's nothing! Really, I am here to make you happy, now take the masks and go!" cried the mask salesman.

Sam and Alyssandra couldn't resist at this point, they had no choice but to accept the mask salesman's kind offer. If anything, due to the fear they had he would open his eyes again.

The Happy Mask Salesman's swiftly wrapped the masks, with the care and gentility one would use to handle an infant before finally handing them to Alyssandra.

"Take care of them," he said, with full seriousness.

Sam and Alyssandra nodded, not entirely sure of what the mask salesman meant, though more than willing to say whatever it took to leave sooner than later.

Alyssandra slipped the masks into her shoulder bag, which she brought with her just in case, and the two continued off down the street of stalls and jubilation.

"What an odd man," said Alyssandra as soon as they turned the corner.

Sam nodded. "I've never heard of him before," he stated, "And someone with a collection of masks like his? You think he'd be all over the news or in newspapers that talk about different matsuri everywhere."

"What bugs me is what he said about the world, about how big it is," said Alyssandra, looking up into the sky, "What do you think he meant? Do you think there's stuff out there we don't know about?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't know, but I doubt it," he said with certainty, "We'd have found it by now, wouldn't we? I mean, we found the Orre and Unova Regions, and that's a far way away from the Four Region area. There's the country that Niya and her family comes from too, but that's a small little country out in the middle of the ocean. We would have found other lands on the way, or by satellites, or other stuff…wouldn't we?"

Neither of them said another word after that. They just continued walking down the streets, stopping a few times for food.

"What time is it?" asked Alyssandra, biting into her dango.

Sam looked at his Pokétch after popping a konpeitō in his mouth and sucked on it a bit before responding.

"We need to meet up with the others soon for the first check in," stated Sam as he went for another konpeitō.

Alyssandra nodded, and the two walked off down the streets back towards their designated meeting place in front of the Pokémon Centre.

Much to their surprise, they were the last ones to arrive, with Jeremy and Niya standing there, waiting for them. "Where'd you two run off to?" smirked Niya as she saw her friends arrive.

"We went to food stalls and played games," explained Sam, popping yet another konpeitō in his mouth, "And I found konpeitō. We also grabbed some oni masks to add to my collection."

"Do you really need more of those?" frowned Jeremy, "Your entire wall is covered with them."

Niya nodded. "And you're a bit too old to scare us to death with them," she added, "Though, the masks do a pretty good job of freaking people out on their own."

"Baby," joked Sam with a chuckle, "They're not so bad. Besides it was my grandfather's collection first, he just passed it on to me when I was younger."

"Your grandmother thought they were creepy too, remember? Even when your grandfather was alive," pointed out Niya, "She would never let them in her room, or your room. She made him keep them in the basement until you started collecting them."

Sam just shrugged, though Alyssandra still felt the need to come to his defence. "I don't think it's so bad. We all need our hobbies, right?" she smirked, giving Sam a sideways look and a smile.

"Well, should we split up again?" asked Jeremy, trying to change the topic.

Everyone nodded, now that they were sure everyone else was okay.

"I'm going off to go see the stage performers," said Niya, "Want to come Lyss? I think you would enjoy the dancing Kimono Girls; they're all the way from the Johto Region, and there are ten of them this year!"

"Ten? Why so many?"" wondered Alyssandra allowed, "There's always been five in the group."

"Well apparently there's always been ten," explained Niya as the two walked off down the street, engaged in conversation, "But they've only ever shown five at a time. There are five girls in one performance at a time, and they're divided into two groups. One set of five girls is known as the Silver Troupe, and they have much more silver in their hair ornaments and in the colours of their robes, while the other group, the Golden Troupe, has much more gold decoration."

The rest of their conversation was lost in the crowd as the two girls disappeared down a nearby alleyway never to be seen again—or for the next few hours at least.

"Well they're gone," said Jeremy blatantly, "Want to go challenge each other in some friendly competitions?"

"You mean see who's better at each carnival game?" smirked Sam, knowing exactly where Jeremy was going with this.

Jeremy shrugged, though he gave a sly smile, and pointed to the nearest game stall, which was shooting targets with elastic bands.

"What's the score up till now?" asked Sam as the two approached the stall.

"One hundred for me, ninety-nine for you," said Jeremy.

"Time for me to regain my honour then," responded Sam, as the two picked up their elastic band guns and aimed at the targets. There was nothing better than a friendly competition with Jeremy; they were brothers, best friends, but they were also eternal rivals—somebody had to challenge the other to be the best, right?

"You two have been competing again, haven't you?" said Niya, hands on her hips as she saw Sam and Jeremy with bags of prizes and pleasantly fed looks on their faces.

Even Pikachu looked like it had eaten too much, and was lying lethargically in Jeremy's robes, causing a bulge where Jeremy's stomach was, his tail poking out of the folds.

"By the looks of it, once you got bored of games, you went on to eating contests, huh?" smirked Niya further.

Sam hiccupped. "I won!" he cheered, "I ate the most of everything, and I beat Jeremy at more games than he beat me at!" "I'll get you next time, just you wait," laughed Jeremy, to which Sam also laughed.

Alyssandra and Niya just sighed, glad that the two boys hadn't ended up fighting again because of their competitions.

"You know this is why we don't let you guys near gambling houses or Game Corners, right?" said Niya, making mention to that one time at the Veilstone Game Corner, "You're just too competitive."

"Hey, we never went near one of those today," said Jeremy defensively, "We learned our lesson. Besides, I've got not money to gamble with. Sam would win by default."

"Well, you better stay focused, because the opening ceremony is about to start, and after that it's the preliminary rounds," said Alyssandra with warning.

After Jeremy and Sam placed their winnings back in their rooms at the Pokémon Centre, the four of them gathered around by the stage, getting there just in time, as thousands more people appeared around them, crowding around the stage in order to see Valentina and Cynthia open up the ceremony.

It was another five or ten minutes before the microphones buzzed through massive speakers on either side of the stage. The stage was set up on the dais in front the great oak doors of the Hearthome Cathedral.

Valentina and Cynthia stepped out of the magnificently ornate building to the roaring cheers of the crowd. Their presence was enough to shake the entire city; Sam couldn't wait to get the same kind of treatment when he became Champion.

"Good afternoon Hearthome City!" yelled Valentina, getting the crowed even more worked up.

Cynthia was quiet, but she smiled nonetheless, and her presence was still as magnificent.

"So, as you've guessed by now, we're here to open up the preliminary rounds of the Hearthome City Battle Tournament," continued Valentina.

"That's right, Valentina, and we can't wait to get started," added Cynthia, "Because this year we've got the largest turn out ever. We've got at least one hundred twenty participants in the preliminary rounds this year."

There was another roar from the crowd, but the girls continued once they'd settled down.

"With this many people, it will be hard to hold all the matches in a single arena," said Cynthia, "So we've decided to come up with a solution to that."

Valentina pointed to the back, and everyone could see, from there, a whole bunch of bleachers raised up above what could only be battlefields.

"We've decided to set up four battlefields right behind the Cathedral," revealed Valentina, "Four matches will occur simultaneously, three on three, and hopefully we can cut the participants in half by the end of the day! Because, as you all know, only the best of the best can move on."

Sam looked at Jeremy, Niya and Alyssandra, a smile came to his face. He knew they were guaranteed a way through. They were good, him and his friends, nothing could stop them.

"Now in order to assure that we get the most battling out of today, I would like all competitors to please follow me out back, so we can bring you to the underground waiting room," explained Cynthia gently, "We'll take your names, give you a number, and we'll start the matches."

"As for you excited, wonderful spectators, we'll get you up into the stands once all of the competitors are down below," continued Valentina, "Cynthia if you'll please."

And with that, the large crowd of competitors followed Cynthia down towards the back of the Cathedral.

It was a long and magnificent building, and its stained-glass windows and stone work were a marvel to behold. Sam thought it was unfortunate that they didn't have the proper time to visit and admire it.

The massive crowd was led below the massive stadium set up behind the church, down a metal ramp into a dug-out area. It was large, held up with pillars, with a high ceiling and several benches and tables set up across the area.

Sam hugged the nearest wall and waited for his friends to return as they had been separated by the throngs of people on the way down here.

"This used to be a food and weapons store hundreds of years ago," explained Niya, appearing out of nowhere, "I remember when my aunt took me on a tour of the Cathedral and its grounds. The lord of this city kept this cache in case his city was besieged. He also had a network of tunnels set up that stretched to all other cities in Eastern Sinnoh. That way, no matter which city he was allied with, he had a way of getting his citizens to safety in times of emergency and a way of feeding them and supplying his soldiers in prolonged sieges."

"He seems like a man who covered all of his bases," said Sam, amazed at how well thought out this lord's contingency plans were, "I guess that's why he was able to unify all of Sinnoh."

"Yup," said Niya, "And that's another reason he made the capital of Sinnoh Hearthome City. It was best fortified and was in the middle of the whole region. It was guarded by Mt. Coronet to the west, and hundreds of kilometres of forest all around. The nearest port town was far enough away that he would be able to give his soldiers enough time to prepare for siege, battle and anything else."

"Smart man," noted Sam, remembering all the history lessons he took in Pokémon School. Sinnoh history had interested him, but not as much as Tohjo history.

"The lord's summer palace eventually became headquarters of the Sinnoh League and home to the Champion and Elite Four," stated Sam, remembering a bit more from his past, "And that's how the government ended up moving there."

"Very good. You know your history well," said a smooth, silky voice from behind Sam and Niya.

The two of them turned around to see Cynthia standing with Jeremy and Alyssandra, and their jaws dropped.

"I-I uh," stammered Sam, "Hi."

Niya couldn't say anything.

Jeremy laughed at his two friends, patting them on the backs. "Don't worry, it wears off," he smiled.

"So, you're Sam huh?" said Cynthia, one hand on her hip, but a smile on her face. She looked over Sam, examining him like she was looking at his whole life. "Valentina mentioned you'd be here," she continued, "It's nice to meet you."

Cynthia extended her hand, and Sam shook his gratefully. "Though I must say I've heard a lot about you from my former teacher and my old friend," said Cynthia, sitting on a nearby bench, folding one leg over the other and reclining back, leaning on her arms, "I hope you're as good as they say—I mean, Valentina went as far to vouch for your entry in this tournament."

"I can assure you Sam is good," said Niya, "I trained him myself. He's cunning, strategic, and inventive when it comes to strategy."

"I've heard. Rowan and Palmer said the same," noted Cynthia.

"You know Professor Rowan and Palmer?" asked Jeremy in amazement.

"Of course, I do," chuckled Cynthia gently, "Who do you think my teacher and old friend are?"

Everyone except Sam—who already knew most of the story—waited with baited breath, fearing questions might hinder an explanation. Something in learning about the pasts of Palmer and Professor Rowan and how they knew Cynthia intrigued them.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning," said Cynthia, giving a kind smile to Sam and his friends, "Sit down, this might take a while—don't worry about getting your numbers, you're down towards the bottom of the list because of your last-minute signup."

Everyone took a seat on the bench, sitting on either side of the ex-League Champion.

"It all started when we were children, you see," explained Cynthia as she looked up the ceiling, remembering her life, "We grew up in Twinleaf Town, and were life-long friends, Palmer and I. Once we had both turned ten, we travelled to Sandgem Town to meet Professor Rowan and get our first Pokémon. On the way there, we stopped by Lake Verity, just to see the lake where we had met one last time. While we were there, we saw none other than Aurelio and Professor Rowan battling each other by the lakeside."

Sam had heard that part of the story from his grandparents, Professor Rowan himself and even from Palmer. That fight was legendary for so many people, even though it wasn't the last serious battle Aurelio and Rowan had had.

"I remember that battle," smiled Aurelio, appearing behind the bench where everyone sat, "Rowan would have won that battle if he hadn't sent his Luxray out in the second round."

It took every fibre of Sam's being not to jump or scream from being startled, and even more not to put his head in his hands and sigh loudly.

"Palmer and I were mesmerized by how well these two men fought, and so we begged them to train us," continued Cynthia.

"Ah yes, I remember that too. Young, bright-eyed kids, wandering up to perfect strangers and asking us to teach them," stated Aurelio, a smile on his face and a nostalgic look in his eye, "They certainly had guts and initiative."

"At first, they were reluctant; or at least Rowan was, but Aurelio managed to convince him and soon Palmer and I had our mentors," continued Cynthia a big smile on her face, the biggest the group had seen yet, "Professor Rowan taught me, and Palmer got Aurelio.

"We travelled throughout the Sinnoh Region, and Aurelio and Rowan would show up when we needed them, and Palmer and I were taught everything our teachers could think of. It all accumulated at the Sinnoh League, where Palmer and I battled our hearts out in hopes we could defeat the League Champion…it didn't happen, and we lost halfway through," Cynthia paused, as if lost in thought.

Everyone waited for her to continue, but the weight of her pause told everyone to respect it. "Palmer became a hermit for much of his life afterwards," continued Cynthia slowly, "He spent years training in what's now the Battle Zone and spent years training with Aurelio in Aurelio's home region. Every once and a while, in between his travels, he'd pop into my life for a bit. I almost thought he was going to stay once…but he left and travelled across the world for six years, trying to get stronger."

Aurelio looked sadly down at Cynthia from behind. "Ah yes," he said simply, "Palmer always was the restless type…and many of the people he loved suffered for it."

"When he came back he opened the Battle Frontier Franchise, purchasing the Battle Zone for almost nothing, and building the first location there," explained Cynthia, her upbeat and gentle tone returning, "While he was gone, I became the Sinnoh League Champion. I don't know why I returned to challenge the League, but I suppose Palmer…inspired me. It was then I met, and defeated, Adelaida De Oliveira; a life-long friend of mine ever since."

"My grandmother!" exclaimed Jeremy as he recognized the name, his jump almost knocked Pikachu off of its comfortable perch on Jeremy's shoulder, "That's right, she used to be the League Champion before you."

Cynthia nodded. "She was. After I defeated her she moved to the Battle Zone, somewhere near Stark Mountain," explained Cynthia, "Where she enjoys a long and happy retirement."

"She was a scary old woman," noted Aurelio with a seriousness that almost made Sam snort with laughter, "I remember when she used to simply be a member of the Elite Four, back when I was young. Even then no one wanted to cross her, and she was our age! I thought me and Rowan's run at the Elite Four was going to be ended by her."

"Well, after that I was Champion, and I stayed that way for many years until Valentina came and dethroned me," smiled Cynthia as she remembered the moment she lost the fated battle; her arms crossed, "As for Palmer, he'd drop by every so often, when he wasn't in the Johto Region and come try and win my affection—still does, actually. But I keep turning him down. I'm surprised he's not here this year, he usually takes this festival as a chance to come visit me."

"Palmer seems dedicated to loving you," noted Sam, drawing a raised eyebrow from the former Champion.

"You would know him better than I," she smirked, though not unkindly, "To be honest, usually he is."

"He's with my grandmother and Professor Rowan this year," replied Sam, "They went to the Hoenn Region. My grandfather's cousin died, and they've all gone to the funeral."

"Is that so?" wondered Cynthia aloud, a bit confused, but not overly suspicious, "Well, I suppose that's a good a reason as any. I don't blame him."

Sam looked over at Aurelio, now standing beside Cynthia. He too, looked confused, and was muttering something to himself, but whatever it is that was on the minds of these two, Sam was sure he would never find out.

Though if he had any chance, he would have to grill his grandfather for information later, not that Sam expected to find much.

Secrets seemed to be normal amongst adults in his life. It was something Sam had grown accustomed to.

"Did he send you as a messenger?" chuckled Cynthia who was now playing with Pikachu, scratching the Pokémon between his ears.

Sam shook his head, and Cynthia gave a partial frown. Sam could only guess she enjoyed her back and forth with Palmer, even if she was destined to always turn him down.

"Well, I suppose I had best leave you four to your preparing," smiled Cynthia, "You four are numbers one hundred sixteen through to one hundred twenty."

And with that, Cynthia was gone, leaving the group up to deciding who got which number.

Once that was settled, the four teens sat down on the bench, quietly waiting for their time to battle.

Sam, however, was not content with sitting for very long, and gave the excuse that he wanted to poke around the historical storehouse. Though in truth, Sam wanted to speak with his grandfather.

Once Sam was sure that he was out of earshot of anyone he ducked around a corner that led down a dark hallway that went who knows where.

"Grandfather, you there?" asked Sam, not seeing him, hoping calling out to him would bring his grandfather forward from wherever he was in between bugging Sam and being dead.

"I'm here, my boy," smiled Aurelio, appeared beside Sam in the blink of an eye, "You came to find out more about Palmer and Cynthia, didn't you?"

Sam nodded silently, and Aurelio scratched his beard. "Well, I'm afraid I'll have to let you down," he said solemnly, "It's not really my place to talk about it. You'll have to ask Palmer or Cynthia; I wouldn't feel right about it."

Sam sighed. "Well, I suppose I should have seen that coming," he replied with a shrug, "I guess I better get back to my friends then. I've got a battle coming up soon."

"Ah yes, you're in the Hearthome Battle Tournament," smiled Aurelio, "You're going to have a tough fight ahead of you. Some of the strongest Trainers in all the five regions come to compete in this tournament."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me," said Sam, "But I'm determined to win this. I'm good; anyone can tell you that. I've got skill…no matter how tough the opponent, I'm going to bring them down."

Aurelio gave a laugh. "You sound just like I did when I was your age. Always ready to fight and prove yourself, feeling invincible; like you couldn't lose," he said nostalgically, "It's a long fall from the top of that pedestal, and it's a painful one too. Don't take it too hard if you don't make it past your first fight. You're just starting out and these other competitors have got many more years under their belt than you."

Sam waved his hand through the air dismissively. "I'll be fine," he said, trying to reassure himself and his grandfather.

Aurelio let out another laugh before disappearing again, leaving Sam to return to his friends.

His only choice now was to wait until his number was called…he didn't know who he was fighting, but he knew which Pokémon he was going to fight with. No matter what came his way, he was prepared.

Sam stood in the archway with several other competitors, waiting for the current matches to end. His heart was beating, and he was sweating lightly.

Sam was nervous all of a sudden, he wasn't going to lie.

"Don't worry, Sam. Just keep calm, remember what Fantina and Niya taught you," said Aurelio, standing behind Sam, "I overhear conversations, don't act so surprised. Just remain calm, or you'll spook your Pokémon."

Sam didn't respond, for fear people may think he was crazy, talking to himself, but he acknowledged his grandfather's words with a nod, taking slow, deep breaths in order to calm himself.

Then the moment came that Sam had been waiting for, the announcer called them forth and assigned them to their fields.

"Michael Moran and Isabelle Del Rio far left field. Kiyoko Hyakuya and Tristan Rhodes, centre left field," started the announcer, causing two people who stood with Sam, a man and a woman to walk towards their respective places.

Sam figured their opponents were on the other side of the arena, exiting a similar waiting area.

"Atsuki Shinjuku and Duke Hayford, centre right field. Finally, Sam Accardi and our Champion for the last four years, Luxray Girl!"

The crowd erupted in a massive roar as Sam approached his battlefield. They weren't cheering for Sam though, they were cheering for Luxray Girl.

As Sam took his position, he saw his opponent.

She was average height, and was dressed in a lot of blue, black, and gold. Straps covered her blue and black jeans—even tying them off at the hem—and her black tank top. Gold coloured straps were wrapped around her blue forearm wraps, which ended at the finger joints.

Her nails were black and pointed like claws, and Sam could see yellow eyes behind her black eye mask.

Her hair was long and tied back into two short pony tails, and a blue clip held her bangs out of her face.

On her head she wore a headband with two circular, blue Luxray ears, and tied onto her belt was a blue tail with a star on the end, just like a Luxray.

No wonder they called her Luxray Girl.

"Three guesses as to who her three Pokémon are," said Aurelio in a sarcastic tone.

He stood beside Sam in the small box that was marked off with white chalk meant for Trainers. "Are you going to coach me through this?" asked Sam as the judge stepped up into his raised platform above the field Sam was battling. The other battles had started, and Sam's judge was about to start his.

"No, I can't do that. That would be cheating," said Aurelio, "But I'll be here to keep you calm, so you don't freak out. As for winning; that you'll have to do on your own."

Sam nodded. It meant a lot to Sam that his grandfather was going to be standing there, watching over him, and helping Sam to keep calm. Sam then focused himself fully on his opponent while the judge explained the rules.

"The rules are simple, you're each allowed three Pokémon. You can only switch out once your Pokémon are defeated. You have as long as it takes until either of you can no longer use your three chosen Pokémon or one of you forfeits. If you wish to forfeit, you need simply step back out of the Trainer's Box and onto the edge of the ring and proclaim your resignation from the match. Do you understand?" asked the judge finally.

Sam and Luxray Girl nodded, and the judge raised both the red and green flags,

"Then let's have a clean fight. Begin!"

With that, Sam, and Luxray Girl both grabbed a Poké Ball from their belt and tossed them in the air.

"Go Cranidos!" cried Sam, while Luxray Girl cried out to her Luxray.

"What a surprise," said Aurelio with raised eyebrows, "As if we didn't see that coming. What was your original choice?"

"Staravia," muttered Sam to his grandfather.

Aurelio smiled, and the battle began.

"Cranidos, use Flamethrower!" cried Sam.

Aurelio looked shocked, expecting Sam to use Cranidos to charge at the opponent.

"I'm not completely thick," laughed Sam, "I know not to charge head on all the time."

Luxray was fast though, and without its Trainer's command it dodged the Flamethrower. As if by some psychic connection the Luxray dashed towards Cranidos, but Sam was ready once more.

"Cranidos use Ice Beam!" he called, and the Pokémon powered up an almost white lightning looking ball in front of its mouth, shooting the lightning like substance towards Luxray, but the catlike Pokémon pounced to the side, and kept up its assault.

Cranidos tried again, and again and again, but none of the attacks hit.

Sam gritted his teeth, but his mood brightened as an idea came to mind. "Cranidos, hit the field with an Ice Beam!" he called.

Cranidos did as commanded, and just in time created a small sheet of ice on the stadium ground in front of her. The Luxray slipped, falling flat on its side and Sam used this as a time to strike.

"Cranidos, slam into Luxray with a Headbutt!" called Sam, to which his Cranidos happily replied.

The Pokémon jumped up and slammed its hard head into the Luxray, causing the ice and ground beneath it to crack and depress into a miniature crater.

"An interesting move. Though your opponent doesn't seem too fazed," said Aurelio, pointing towards Luxray Girl.

Sam noticed that his opponent was smiling. Sam never had a chance to figure it out, because before he could think of what was wrong, he was confronted with the sight of the enemy Luxray slamming an Iron Tail into Cranidos' skull.

Sam was aghast, and unable to react as his Pokémon's eyes went white and it hit the ground cold, unconscious, and unable to battle.

Sam recalled Cranidos into her Poké Ball before any more damage could befall it.

Sam took a second to regain his composure; even his grandfather was surprised, at what had just happened.

"That Luxray is on a whole other level. To withstand a blow like that, and get up like nothing happened," said Aurelio examining the situation, "It faked injury in order to get close to Cranidos…the charge was a diversion. Your opponent is skilled to use tactics like that. And to take out Cranidos in one hit."

"Well, I guess I'll use Gible next," said Sam, determination back in his voice, "I know what to expect this time. An Iron Tail, definitely some Electric attacks. I need find a way to immobilize Luxray and keep it from Gible."

Sam sent his Pokémon out, a plan already formulating in his head. Within minutes, he knew exactly what he was going to do.

"Gible," said Sam gently, a wry smile curling his lip.

Gible responded with a quick, "Gible?"

"Gible, use Sandstorm," said Sam calmly, it was almost a whisper, but Gible knew what he was saying, obeying Sam to a fault.

Slowly, sand and dust from all around the battlefield was whipped up into a blinding sandstorm that raged on around Sam, the judge, his grandfather, Gible, Luxray and Luxray Girl.

"Now Gible, I want you to use Sand Tomb on Luxray, use the sand from the Sandstorm to make it stronger," commanded Sam.

Aurelio gave a cheer, realizing what Sam was doing. "You're a genius!" said Aurelio to his grandson, clapping him on the back again, "This is your chance!"

Sam knew it too, and commanded his Gible to dive underground, with another quick, "Gible!" and tunnel towards Luxray.

Now that Sand Tomb immobilized the Pokémon, and the Sandstorm was blinding it, Sam was going to take the opportunity to get in close and strike.

He waited, and waited, almost feeling his Gible underground getting closer to Luxray.

When Sam felt Gible was close enough to Luxray, he called out, nice and loud for the world to hear.

"Gible! Dragon Rage!" called Sam.

With that, Gible jumped out of the ground, in front of Luxray, and unleashed a powerful blast of fuchsia flames and static at his opponent.

Luxray took the hit, and skidded backwards, toppling into Luxray Girl sending them both into the railings of the stairs that led to the battlefield.

The Sandstorm began to subside, but just as it was dying down, and Gible thought it had landed a decisive blow, Luxray launched an attack on Gible.

Gathering a red aura around its body, it pounced, slamming its body into the ground, causing a large crater and a small quake to pulsate across the battlefield Sam and Luxray Girl were on.

Gible went flying back, bouncing a few times before skidding to a stop, though landing on his feet.

"That was Superpower, my boy," said Aurelio, "You'd best be careful of that. Gible seems to be hanging on somehow…but I don't think it will hang on like this after another one. I suggest you forfeit, Sam. You've barely managed to make a dent into her first Pokémon, and you're almost down to your last. Admit defeat. If anything, it makes you a stronger Trainer for knowing when to quit."

Sam ignored his grandfather; he was determined not to give up. Even Gible seemed ready to fight.

In his own scrappy tone, Gible jumped, up and down, giving off small growls as he chanted, "Gi! Gib! Gible Gible!"

Sam went to call another attack, but he froze, as he noticed his Pokémon begin to glow. Even Luxray Girl and the judge looked shocked, as Gible showed signs of evolving. A white light cloaked the Pokémon, and it began to shape and morph, growing into a taller figure, until finally the light burst and faded into sparkles, leaving behind a Gabite where a Gible once stood.

The Pokémon looked like he wanted to go another round, and like Sam, he wasn't going to take stop for an answer.

Sam was prepared to let it, even despite Luxray preparing another Superpower, it's body glowing a malicious red, with its fangs bared and eyes glaring for the kill.

But, then Sam looked at his opponent, and he noticed something in her eyes. Sam gave her a sly smile and hung his head a bit.

With a sigh, he took a step back, then another one, slowly shimmying towards the edge of the arena.

"I forfeit," said Sam gently, "I give up. This fight is over."

There was a long pause of silence, and the judge, now snapping out of the awe he had for the match.

"Luxray Girl is the winner by default, Sam Accardi resigns," he announced to the entire stadium before stepping down and leaving the arena.

Sam walked over to his Gabite, who was more exhausted than he was letting on, and pet him gently on the snout. "You did a good job out there," said Sam scratching the Pokémon under the chin and giving it a quick hug, "No need to push it. You'll be all right. Just rest, a lot, you've earned it; you and Cranidos. I'm sorry to push you so hard."

"Gabite," cooed the Pokémon, nuzzling Sam's cheek and returning the affection. Sam smiled and returned Gabite to his Poké Ball, leaving the stadium in defeat, but not ashamed.

"You did a good thing, my boy," said Aurelio, trying to cheer up his grandson, "It's not a shameful thing to lose!"

"I know. Plus, I also know I never would have won that fight…not yet," said Sam, his smile returning, "Luxray Girl was trying to tell me that. I need to work a lot harder to beat her; maybe once I've beat the Elite Four, I can take her on again, and that time I'll win."

Sam poked at his dinner, slowly spooning it into his mouth. It was a silent dinner for the four friends, all of them having lost their battles in the Hearthome Battle Tournament. No matter how hard of a fight they put up, none of them made it past their first fight.

Even Pikachu was resting on seat of the bench beside Jeremy.

Despite their losses, they were in good spirits, but the day had taken its toll on them and they were tired.

"You know, despite our relatively quick losses, I think we all did well," said Niya as she spooned some soup into her mouth.

"How do you figure?" asked Jeremy, scratching the snoring Pikachu's ear.

"We did our best, we tried our very hardest," said Niya, "No matter what our opponents threw at us. Look at Sam, for example, his perseverance caused his Gible to evolve, and his strategies were even better developed than usual. And out of all of us he knew when to call it quits; that says something about not only his skill as a Trainer, but his maturity."

Sam shrugged, though gave his sly smile again. He appreciated the compliment, but he knew that he had quit for an entirely different reason. Otherwise he may have kept going despite the outcome. But for now, Sam needn't give that reason to his friends, so he remained silent.

As the group continued to eat, Valentina appeared in the dining hall, hands on her hips, walking towards her sister and her friends.

"Hey, Valentina, I didn't think I'd see you here this late," said Alyssandra happily, "Finished up early?"

"No," she laughed, "But I wanted to see my sister and her friends off before you guys left in the morning."

"Well that was nice of you," said Jeremy, "I wish we could stay longer, but we all agreed we're falling behind schedule. We need to get to Solaceon Town for Alyssandra's next contest; but we promise to come enjoy the festival next year."

Valentina nodded in agreement, slipping into the booth quickly. She grabbed a bun from the basket in the middle of the table and broke it in half, biting into it with a ravenous hunger.

"Forgive me. I haven't eaten all day," she explained as she finished the first half of the bun and began the second, while reaching for a whole other one entirely, "I also wanted to come here and tell you that you guys did great today. You put on a great show, and a great fight. Especially you Sam, you learned a valuable lesson about your own limits and about defeat. I wasn't sure if you were going to keep going or not, but you really surprised me by stepping down. It was a noble thing."

"Yeah that's what everyone keeps telling me," said Sam stoically, "But to be honest, I stopped for another reason."

Valentina and Sam locked eyes and exchanged a world of information without a single word between them.

In the end, they both smiled knowingly at each other, and Valentina leaned back and conceded defeat in a way.

"That wasn't exactly what I expected, I must say," she smirked with a shake of her head, "You, my friend, are a strange one. You're clever."

"What's going on?" asked Niya, her mood suddenly picking up as she grew curious in the nuances, "What is it?"

"Yeah tell us," protested Jeremy, who also noticed what wasn't being said.

"Hey, you're my sister and you're my best friend, I want to know too," complained Alyssandra, feeling left out.

Valentina just laughed and stood up, grabbing another roll. "I'll tell you guys next time," she said, "Later!" And with that, she briskly walked from the dining hall and left the Pokémon Centre.

"That was weird," said Jeremy simply before going back to his soup, too tired to press further.

At that moment, Sam stood up from the table, excusing himself and walking out to the lobby.

His grandfather was there waiting. "So, what is this big secret you've got with Valentina?" he asked, looking flustered for trying to figure it out but not succeeding.

"You still don't get it huh?" asked Sam, laughing that it wasn't as obvious to his grandfather of all people, who stood there with Sam on the battlefield, "Grandfather, Valentina is Luxray Girl. I don't know why…but she's Luxray Girl. She was testing me, to see if I was ready to fight her."

"I don't know if that's what she was trying to teach you, if anything," said Aurelio pensively.

"Well, either way, I know that I'm not ready to face Valentina yet," said Sam, a sense of destiny in his voice, "So, I'm going to get stronger, and I'm going to prove to Valentina that I'm ready. In a few months' time…I'll be the Champion."

"Well I certainly hope you know what you're doing," said Aurelio, arms crossed with a sarcastic tone, "But…I'll be there for you every step of the way. I'm proud you've learnt something from this experience at least. Now get back to your friends."

Sam nodded and bid goodbye to his ghostly grandfather, running back into the dining hall, and sitting back down in the booth.

Tomorrow was a new day, and the first day of Sam's new training regimen. To get stronger and beat Valentina, that was his goal for the rest of his journey.

Sam wasn't giving in until he achieved it.