Conquering The Johto Battle Frontier

by Team Cap

Emerald has five days to defeat the Johto Battle Frontier until it moves to Sinnoh. [A COLLAB FIC WITH SPEPOKE FROM INSTAGRAM.]

First of all, a BIG THANK YOU to Vex and Xad for beta reading 12k one-shot. I didn't expect it would even reach the 10k mark but here we are. :' )

~THIS IS A COLLAB FIC!~

My collab partner is spepoke from Instagram and he doesn't have an FFN/AO3 account so sdjfskd

He actually suggested how this fic turned out to be and he's such a genius. I love this man. ;;;

Anyway, I better get my head off the clouds and take your time to read this VERY long fic.

This is set right after ORAS ended which means it's years BEFORE DP and the rest of the arcs after ORAS.

A character will curse here but that's only like, once?

Vex, this is for you. You're the biggest Emerald stan I know. uwu

---

The world was saved from the dreaded meteorite.

Emerald was glad that he was able to spend another day with his friends. His days were the same as usual. He often went to Johto then Hoenn and vice-versa, but he was starting to feel bored recently.

He enjoyed spending time with his friends and his Pokemon, but he felt like he could be doing something more...productive. He kind of admitted that he missed challenging the Battle Frontier. He knew he only did that as an excuse to do his mission of saving his senior Pokedex Holders, but he did learn so many things from that experience and ended up appreciating the Battle Frontier even more.

And that got him thinking so he asked Crystal for help.

"Research?" Crystal blinked while Emerald nodded.

"Yeah," he answered. "I feel like I'm not being productive enough these past weeks."

"What makes you say that?" Crystal asked, grabbing her cup of tea on the table.

Emerald crossed his legs and placed a hand under his chin. He could tell he was being 'unproductive' recently. Ruby was busy with his contests and performing them (with Sapphire sometimes) like there was no tomorrow while Sapphire, on the other hand, was training and helping her father with his research. He remembered Ruby mentioning that Sapphire wanted to challenge the Pokemon League in Hoenn one day which explained why she was working extra hard recently. He sighed. Crystal probably knew this information already, too. Besides Ruby and Sapphire, she too was also busy with the orphanage and helping Professor Oak.

"You all seemed busy while I'm just slacking off," he admitted, making Crystal stop drinking her tea.

"You deserved a break, Emerald. You did save the wor—"

"I know," Emerald shrugged it off as if it was nothing. "But I could be doing some important stuff like you guys."

"Hmm," Crystal tapped her chin. "Well, I heard about this Battle Frontier in Johto."

The words made Emerald's eyes glimmer like a gem. He honestly had no idea there was a Battle Frontier here in Johto.

"But they'll be moving to Sinnoh soon, so—"

Emerald slammed his palms on the table. "Where?" he demanded. Crystal couldn't help but giggle at how enthusiastic he looked.

"North of Route 40."

Route 40

Battle Frontier

Emerald was surprised that this place could fit into Route 40. It honestly felt like an amusement park as he walked around, observing everyone and everything in it. This was a familiar experience and he wished he could share it with his friends if they weren't so busy. He stopped when he saw people gathering around in the corner as five trainers were walking towards him.

Just by observing those people, he could tell that they were the Frontier Brains. Taking a deep breath, Emerald quickly ran to them, making them stop in the process.

"Hey, hello!" he called, stopping in front of them. He placed his hands on both sides of his waist and grinned like a Mightyena. "I came here to challenge the Battle Frontier!"

There was a mild gust of wind and everyone just stared and blinked at the boy.

Darach, one of the Frontier Brains, chuckled. "That's cute, kid, but we only allow legal Pokemon Trainers to challenge us."

Emerald raised his left hand. "About that—"

"Maybe you can challenge us when you're older," Palmer added with a smile.

Emerald couldn't help but be annoyed at the fact that he called him a child. That was close to insulting his height and he despised it. He grumbled. "I am a legal Pokemon Trainer!"

Darach just laughed at his tantrum. "Nice try, kid, but—"

"In fact," Emerald grabbed something in his bag. "I'm the first person who completed the Battle Frontier in Hoenn!" He showed them his gold frontier symbols from Hoenn. "See?"

Everyone was astounded to see it. Their jaws dropped and they all stared at the Frontier Symbols, examining each and every single one of them.

Emerald was wondering if they were alright but also found himself smirking based on their dumbstruck expressions. That's what they get for underestimating him. "So?" he called, breaking the ice.

Thorton was the first one to recover. He coughed. "Fine, if you insist, we accept your challenge. Is everyone with me?"

Palmer shook his head then held it. He was still trying to recover from the shock. So this was the kid Brandon was talking about, huh? "Fine by me. Anyone else?"

Everyone but Darach recovered from the shock. They all agreed, making Palmer nod his head. "Alright, kid. We accept your challenge."

"That's what I sa—" Thorton said but was interrupted.

"Since you already defeated the Battle Frontier in Hoenn, I'm pretty sure you know the rules," Palmer continued while Emerald nodded. "Good."

"But don't underestimate us," Thorton added. "You may have defeated the Hoenn Battle Frontier but remember that we're stronger than them."

Emerald found himself twitching in annoyance. "Yeah, bring it on."

It was Thorton's turn to be irked. "Oh yeah? Then bring it! We have five days before this Battle Frontier closes. My calculation says you have a 99% chance of losing this challenge."

"Five days is all I need. I bet I can take you down first!" Emerald proudly declared, glaring at Thorton while Thorton did the same.

"Battle Factory. 11:00 pm sharp. Make sure to eat lunch first before you lose," Thorton responded with a smug appearance.

"Yeah, sure; enjoy your lunch because you'll be losing to me," Emerald retorted, making Thorton drop his smug expression.

Palmer and the rest of the Battle Frontier just sighed, as they watched the boys argue. It didn't last long, thankfully, for Thorton left in a huff but his conceited aura still lingered. Once he left, Emerald headed straight to the Pokemon Center without saying a word to the other Frontier Brains.

"Crystal," Emerald called using the PC provided in the Pokemon Center.

"What is it, Emerald?" Crystal asked. Behind her was Professor Oak sweating at the amount of paperwork on his desk.

"I'm gonna start the Battle Frontier challenge. I'll do the Battle Factory first, so can you look after my Pokemon while I'm gone?"

Crystal smiled and nodded. "Of course. Just send them over. They'll be in good hands."

Emerald grinned, placing the Poke Balls in the machine. "Thanks," he replied as the machine sent the Poke Balls to Crystal's PC. "I'll see you guys later once I defeated the Battle Factory. Wish me luck."

"Good luck!" Crystal replied, making Emerald smile.

"Thanks," he replied and headed straight to the cafeteria to have his lunch.

Battle Factory

11:30 PM

Emerald had his lunch. It was good. He was satisfied and now he was ready to face his first challenge, which was that nerdy douche.

Once he stepped into the Battle Factory, the receptionists greeted him with a smile.

"You must be the challenger Factory Head Thorton was talking about," she commented while Emerald nodded.

"Yeah, which way?" the blond asked. "And what are the rules?"

"Just follow me," the receptionist responded. "The rules are simple: defeat all of these 48 random trainers with the available Rental Pokemon. You can swap Pokemon after each battle." The receptionist stopped at the entrance and grabbed a tray with six Poke Balls placed on it. "You can now choose your Rental Pokemon."

Emerald nodded and looked at the Poke Balls. There were so many different Pokemon; some he didn't even see before. It was a good thing he had his Pokedex to help him decide. "Alright," He grabbed three Poke Balls from the tray. One contained a Raichu, one contained a Snorlax, and one contained a Chansey. "I'm ready."

The receptionist smiled. "Good luck, challenger."

Emerald didn't waste a second and dashed towards the entrance. His first battle immediately started after taking a few steps in the arena.

"Let's go, Crobat!" the opponent shouted, throwing a Poke Ball in the air.

Emerald drew his left leg backward. "Let's do this, Raichu!"

The battle started but it didn't take a while, for Emerald defeated the challenger with ease. His second battle came in sooner than expected, but it, too, was finished quickly.

Two down, forty-four more trainers to go.

Every battle was quick. An opponent released their Pokemon while Emerald did the same. They attacked each other but Emerald got the upper hand, making him win in the process. He continued moving forward, defeating every trainer he'd encounter while swapping some Pokemon along the way. Though, he had to admit that some of the trainers proved to be a challenge. He tried to remind himself that he conquered something worse than this, so it should be nothing.

It didn't take a while until he reached the final battle. He clenched his fists.

This was his 49th battle and, looking at the clock on the wall, it only said one in the afternoon. He had plenty of time to challenge another Battle Frontier Brain if his battle with the nerdy douche ended quickly.

"Well, well," Thorton chuckled, stepping into the arena. "You surprisingly made it here."

Emerald groaned. He hated hearing that voice for some reason. "What do you mean 'surprisingly'?"

Thorton smirked, taking out his data analyzing machine from his pocket. "My calculations said you have an 89% chance of losing to the trainers here at the Battle Factory. You got lucky that the 11% chance of winning was on your side."

Emerald could feel his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. "Again with your wrong calculations."

It was now Thorton's turn to be pissed. "My calculations are always correct. Besides, I said 89%, not 100%."

"Whatever, let's just get this over with," Emerald replied, giving up. He knew he would just waste his time if they continued bickering about the calculations. Even if he had five days to finish this challenge, he shouldn't waste a single second of it.

"Fine." Thorton grabbed a Poke Ball from his pocket and looked at Emerald, observing him.

Emerald felt uneasy at that, however. "What are you doing?"

Thorton chuckled. "I'm analyzing every possible chance and the results show that you have a 93.27% chance of losing this match."

Emerald rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Those are just numbers! Let's judge how this battle will end up in an actual battle!"

The judge noticed both trainers were ready and raised his hands. "The battle between Factory Head Thorton and challenger—uh...what's your name?"

"Emerald!"

The judge nodded. "The battle between Factory Head Thorton and Challenger Emerald will now begin!"

"Infernape!" Emerald called, sending out the Fire-Fighting type. "Use Mach Punch!"

"Espeon!" Thorton sent out the Psychic type while it let out a cry in response. "Dodge it, quick!"

Espeon let out another cry and moved to the left, dodging the attack.

"Now, use Future Sight!"

The gem on Espeon's eyes glowed for a few moments, blinding Emerald's and Infernape's vision a bit. Once it stopped glowing, the Espeon glared at the Infernape. Thorton smirked. Now all he needed was to wait for the move to make its effect.

"Alright," Thorton placed his data analyzing machine back in his pocket. "Use Psybeam!"

Emerald pointed his finger at his opponent. "Counter it with a Flamethrower!"

Infernape opened its mouth and scorching hot flames came out of it while glowing beams came out of Espeon's forehead and headed straight to the flames. The attacks clashed, causing clouds of smoke to come out from it. The battlefield was now covered with smoke and everyone couldn't see what was going on.

But this was Emerald's chance.

"Infernape, use dig!" he announced; the Infernape didn't hesitate and dug a hole in the ground.

Thorton, however, couldn't see anything and didn't even notice that Emerald already ordered his Pokemon to attack. He gritted his teeth. "Espeon!" he called. "Be care—"

The Infernape, who was under the Espeon, came out from the ground and launched a strong punch at the Psychic type. They stayed in the air for a moment until the Infernape landed safely on the ground while the Espeon crashed, knocked out.

The smoke finally cleared revealing Infernape standing victoriously in front of its opponent. Emerald smiled at that. "Good jo—"

Before Emerald could finish, however, the Infernape's eyes dilated and lost its balance. It, too, was knocked on the ground unconscious, surprising Emerald.

"How?" Emerald asked with a gaping mouth.

Thorton laughed. "The future sight did its job."

Emerald glared at him and gritted his teeth. He didn't expect that that move would attack sooner than expected. Well, at least they were both knocked out so he didn't have to worry about that move.

Thorton sent out his Gliscor. The Gliscor roared and levitated midair. It gave its signature grin. "Well? I'm waiting."

"Let's go!" Emerald sent out a Vespiquen. The queen bee Pokemon just glared at its opponent. "Let's wear it down with a toxic!"

The Vespiquen let out a cry and immediately shot its toxic goo at the Gliscor. The Gliscor didn't have a chance to dodge and it was hit. The poison started moving fast in its immune system like a virus mutating from one person to another. It closed its eyes and tried to balance itself.

"Perfect!" Emerald cheered. "Now, stall the battle! Defend Order!"

The Bug-Flying type grumbled as energy started surrounding it, raising its defense, but it didn't surprise Thorton a bit. Instead, he went back to smirking.

"Heh," he chuckled. "Your strategy won't work on me. I've already come up with nine different solutions on this!" He grabbed his data analyzing machine. "Night Slash!"

Emerald moved his hand to the right. "Attack Order!"

Once the attacks clashed, the Pokemon immediately backed off. Emerald could feel himself sweating. "That's weird," he muttered. Instead of getting tired, the Gliscor looks like it was getting more lively. But how was that possible?

Thorton had a smug face. "Are you lost, kid?" he asked with a conceited tone, irking Emerald but the blond tried to ignore it. Thorton could see how clueless the boy was, however. "Shouldn't be surprised since you don't know about Gliscor's Hidden Ability."

Emerald furrowed his eyebrows. "Hidden Ability?"

Thorton snapped his fingers. "Correct. The ability is known as Poison Heal. Instead of slowly losing health, it regains it."

Emerald gulped. He was in big trouble.

"Now," Thorton yelled. "Fire Fang!"

Gliscor was faster than before. Emerald didn't notice it attacked his Vespiquen until the Bug-Flying type was knocked out.

Thorton's smug expression returned. His plan worked. "You're down to one Pokemon left while I still have two. Your chances of winning have now dropped to 4.9502%."

Emerald released an exasperated breath. "Enough with the numbers already!" He grabbed a Poke Ball and sent out a Quagsire. The Water-Ground type came out of the ball and greeted its opponent with a dopey face.

Thorton laughed. "You can't disregard the numbers. They provide proof!" He placed his data analyzing machine back in his pocket. "Let's end this quickly with a Poison Jab!"

"Ice Beam!"

Quagsire opened its mouth and a beam of ice quickly started moving towards the Gliscor and hit it, knocking it down. Thorton was speechless.

"How on earth did a slow Pokemon hit mine?" the Factory Head asked, still shocked.

It was now Emerald's turn to smirk. "Simple," he said as if he were reciting a piece of trivia. "It's holding a Quick Claw."

Thorton grumbled. "So you got lucky. Hmm, your chances of winning just went up 2%, but that won't change a thing!" He grabbed a Poke Ball and threw it in the air. "Go, Porygon- Z!" He pointed his left index finger at Emerald. "Use Agility!"

The Porgon-Z let out a cry and started moving around the Quagsire.

"Now, Tri-Attack!"

Quagsire just blinked and yawned while Porygon-Z was preparing to attack. Once the move hit it, it released a cloud of smoke that was cleared immediately. Thorton was expecting it to be unconscious by now but he was confused that the dopey Pokemon was still standing there as if the attack didn't cause any damage. He blinked.

"It...It didn't get fazed..."

"Amnesia!" Emerald commanded and the Quagsire started glowing, raising its defense in the process.

"Tch," Thorton growled. "Guess we'll have to go with something else then. Use Hyper Beam!" he commanded but the Porygon-Z didn't follow it. He blinked once again. "What's going?! Porygon-Z!" His eyes widened when he saw it snoozing while levitating. He started freaking out. "Since when did you fall asleep?!"

Something inside Thorton snapped. Oh no, don't tell him—

Emerald chuckled, loud enough for Thorton to hear. "That was thanks to the yawn Quagsire let out. They do say yawns are contagious, after all." He punched his fist in the air. "Now, Focus Punch!"

Quagsire clenched its fists and prepared to attack. Thorton tried to wake up his Pokemon but before he managed to say its name, Quagsire's punch hit the Porygon-Z.

It flew past Throton and hit a nearby wall, knocking it out.

Thorton tried to process everything that had happened. He tried to think of the numbers, the statistics, the results, and the percentages he calculated but it all became blurry when reality hit him.

Emerald won. His challenger defeated him fair and square. He lost the battle.

"T-That's impossible...!" Thorton tried to get his head together. "My analyses...they're all wrong?!"

Emerald approached the Quagsire and patted its head. The Water-Ground type appreciated it and smiled. "You did a great job," he complimented, making the Quagsire blush from embarrassment. It let out a cry. "Here," the blond gave it a soda and both started drinking it while Thorton was trying to find anything wrong with his calculations.

After what seemed like forever and a few more cans of soda, Thorton gave up and sighed.

"Fine, I admit defeat," Thorton said, folding his arms across his chest. "My analysis was wrong. I guess I can't always rely on numbers."

Emerald grinned. Finally, he learned his lesson. "See? Told ya!"

Thorton dropped his arms and chuckled, this time, from how happy he was. He hated losing but he somehow found himself slightly elated that he lost. He did learn something from it. "Yeah," he grabbed something from his pocket. "As proof of your victory, I—"

"Thanks," Emerald quickly grabbed the symbol and shoved it in his pocket. He then started holding his groin. "Sorry but I gotta go. Nature is calling me."

Thorton blinked. Well, he did not expect that but if he had to go then who was he to stop him? "Sure. I'll be waiting."

Emerald immediately dashed off and headed to the balcony. He unzipped his shorts and started doing his business.

Darach finally recovered from the shock and decided to visit the Battle Factory to see how Thorton and the challenger were doing. After a few more steps, however, he felt water soaking his head and it somehow smelled too. Curious, he looked at the source and quickly backed off.

He couldn't believe that challenger just pissed on him. How dare he?! "You!" he stated angrily, pointing at the blond. Emerald didn't notice it, however, and just zipped his shorts back. "YOU BETTER GO TO THE BATTLE CASTLE NEXT OR YOU'LL REGRET IT, YOU TWERP!" he called loudly this time and Emerald heard it. He saw him all wet and infuriated.

"Yeah, sure," Emerald replied and went back to the Battle Factory.

Darach tried to shake the liquid off of him but it wasn't working. He immediately went to the Battle Castle to prepare.

Pokemon Center

2:00 PM

Emerald went to the PC and immediately called Crystal. Crystal was able to answer the call quickly and greeted him with a smile.

"Well, hello, Emerald. How did it go?" she asked, but she already knew he won his first symbol judging by his happy expression.

"Guess what?" Emerald asked, getting his gold symbol in the case and showed it to Crystal. "I defeated the Battle Factory and got this!"

Crystal's smile widened. "I'm so happy for you!" She clasped her hands. "So I'm guessing you need your Pokemon now to continue challenging the Battle Frontier?"

Emerald bobbed his head. "Yeah, can you send them over?"

"Sure, give me a moment. Oh, and also,"

"Hmm?" Emerald hummed, looking at the Poke Balls Crystal was carrying.

"Blue came here earlier. She told me to let your Dusclops hold an item so it can evolve when I send it to you. I'm sure she meant by trading it but let's see if it works."

"Yeah, sure." Emerald waited for the Poke Balls to transfer and one appeared on his side. He grabbed them all and looked at them. He smiled. "Nice to have you back, everyone."

The Pokemon in the Poke Balls smiled and greeted their trainer. Emerald noticed his Dusclops appearance somewhat changed, and when he opened his Pokedex to look at its data, he realized that it evolved through transferring. He only knew some evolutions could be possible through trading but he guessed that the transfer kinda counted as trading? He wasn't certain but he was glad to discover his Pokemon evolved.

"Oh, Dusclops evolved into a Dusknoir," he mumbled.

"Ah," Crystal smiled once again. "So Blue was right. She's definitely an expert when it comes to Pokemon Evolution, alright."

Emerald chuckled at that. His senior Blue may be sneaky from what Crystal had told him, but he still respected her, nonetheless. "Yeah, send her my thanks. I'll be going now."

"Sure, good luck on your next challenge."

"Thanks!" Emerald ended the call and grinned at his newly-evolved Dusknoir. "What do you say we test your new strength in the Battle Castle?"

Dusknoir looked at its trainer and nodded. Emerald didn't waste a second and headed to the Battle Castle for his next challenge.

Battle Castle.

2:10 PM

The Battle Castle was exactly what it said on the tin: a castle in the middle of a theme park-like area. It was huge, elegant, and somewhat sparkly. Emerald guessed the royalty liked it if their buildings also sparkled. He looked around for the receptionist and saw two of them next to the door. He immediately approached them.

"Hey, ma'am!" he called, stopping in front of them while catching his breath. "I'm here to challenge the Battle Castle."

The receptionist smiled. "Of course, young man. Are you the challenger Castle Valet Darach was talking about?"

Emerald shrugged. He didn't get the head's name but he guessed that was it. "I guess so."

The receptionist opened the door. "Alright, noted. He already wants to challenge you. If you step into this door then your challenge will start."

Emerald was surprised that he didn't need to challenge some trainers right away, but he guessed the guy was too excited to challenge him. On the bright side, though, he didn't need to waste time battling some random trainers to get the symbol which made everything easier.

Once he stepped inside, he was surprised to see a bathtub on the other side of the battlefield with Castle Valet Darach bathing in it. His jaw dropped.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered.

Darach stopped scrubbing himself and looked at his challenger. "Well, look who finally showed up."

There was an elegant woman on the platform. Emerald didn't know who she was but she caught his attention. It was his first time seeing a very regal woman with a poised aura and he wasn't going to lie that she looked pretty.

"Hey!" Darach called. "I'm right here! Did I give you permission to look at Lady Caitlin?"

Emerald rolled his eyes. He'd rather challenge her than this annoying dude. "Why do you have a bathtub in the middle of the battlefield?"

This caused a vein to pop on Darach's forehead. Flashbacks played in his head. "That's because you pissed on me, you little twerp! What else should I do after someone peed on my head?!"

"Geez, sorry, old man. You should've been careful, though," Emerald retorted, irking Darach even further.

"You should've been more careful! The toilet is there for a reason!"

Emerald didn't have time to argue with him. He had enough bickering with Thorton already. Plus, his attitude kind of reminds him of Ruby, which he greatly disliked; one Ruby was more than enough to deal with. "Are we gonna start the battle or not?"

"Oh," Darach grabbed a towel on the table next to him. He stood up and covered himself with it. "We definitely are." He then started dressing behind a curtain. "If you defeat me, you will receive a symbol. All held items are forbidden as well and your Pokemon's levels are reduced to 50."

Emerald chuckled and pumped himself up. "Yeah, whatever."

Darach buttoned his tuxedo and bowed at his opponent gracefully. "Lady Caitlin, watch carefully. I will teach this boy some proper manners."

Darach sent out his Empoleon while Emerald sent out his Sceptile. The Sceptile started glaring at the Empoleon while the Water-Steel type had a blank expression.

"I got the advantage right away!" Emerald proclaimed. "Leaf Blade!"

The Sceptile let out a cry as the leaves on his arms began shaping into blades. A green glow also appeared in the leaf-like blades and it jumped, heading towards the Empoleon.

Darach chuckled. "Aren't you in such a hurry to lose," he said in an arrogant tone. "Use Blizzard!"

The command caught Sceptile and Emerald off guard and it landed directly at the Grass type. Sceptile screamed in pain and landed on the ground.

"Shoot!" Emerald cursed. "Sceptile, are you okay?"

Sceptile took a deep breath and tried to stand up. It let out a cry to reply to its trainer.

"Foolish boy. If you truly defeated the Battle Frontier in Hoenn you should've known by now to never underestimate your opponent even if they seem to be at a disadvantage," Darach informed, performing another charming bow before moving his hand towards his opponent. "Use Blizzard once again!"

"Sceptile, return!" Emerald commanded and brought back the Pokemon in its Poke Ball before the attack managed to hit it. "We already got a rough start," he mumbled, gripping Sceptile's Poke Ball. He returned it back in his pocket and threw another Poke Ball in the air. "Let's go, Snorlax!"

Darach couldn't help but laugh. "Swapping Pokemon, are we?"

Emerald's eye twitched at that. "So what?"

"It doesn't matter," He brushed off the brat's reply. "Use Flash Cannon!"

Emerald pointed at his opponent with his finger. "Use Focus Blast!"

The attacks collided, causing smoke to come out of it. The ground shook a bit from the impact but it didn't affect the trainers.

"Drill Peck, let's go!"

The Empoleon screeched as its beak became unrealistically long and started spinning like blades of an electric fan.

"Oh no, you don't! Not this time!" Emerald yelled. "Catch it, quick!"

The Empoleon moved towards the Snorlax but the Normal type was able to catch it before it landed its attack.

"Now, use all the strength you have to toss it away!"

Darach was alarmed and before he could command his Pokemon, the Snorlax roared and spun, tossing the Empoleon towards the wall. It hit the wall next to Caitlin but she didn't flinch. She just continued drinking her tea as if nothing happened while the wall was left cracked and had the Empoleon's shape carved on it.

"Empoleon!" Darach called but the Empoleon fell on the ground with a loud thud.

It was knocked out.

Darach sighed. "Well played," he admitted, returning the Empoleon back in its Poke Ball and throwing another one. "Go, Houndoom!"

The Houndoom came out from the Poke Ball and roared. It bent its body in a pouncing position and glared at its opponent.

"Thunder Fang!"

The Fire-Dark type barked and jumped, moving at the speed of sound and biting the Snorlax's arm. The Normal type winced in pain but shook the Houndoom off of its arm. The canine-like creature bit harder, making Snorlax increase the force he was providing and manage to throw it in the air. The Fire-Dark type yelped.

"Snorlax, use Focus Blast!" Emerald commanded and the Snorlax nodded. It tried to move its hands closer to each other but it couldn't move. The blond gritted his teeth. "Dangit, paralyzed," He grabbed Snorlax's Poke Ball and returned it. "Return!"

Darach snickered. The Houndoom managed to land on the ground safely once the Snorlax returned. "Returning so soon, are we? What will your next Pokemon be?"

"Dusknoir, go!" Emerald threw a Poke Ball in the air and revealed the Ghost type Pokemon. It let out a cry and moved its hands around.

Darach's snigger grew louder. "Oh? You're choosing a Ghost type over a Dark type? How foolish," He placed a hand on his chest and bowed. "This will be my final bow since it all ends here," He had a smug expression. "Watch carefully, Lady Caitlin," he muttered, glancing at her before moving his hand gracefully in a forward motion. "Use Crunch!"

The Houndoom couldn't move, however. It was frozen, literally, surprising Darach.

"What the?!"

"Focus Punch, let's go!"

Dusknoir cranked its right knuckle as energy started surrounding it. It moved towards the Houndoom and punched it, breaking the ice and knocking it down in the process.

Emerald smiled. "Remember how you told me to not underestimate my opponents? Looks like you didn't take your own advice."

Darach snickered. "Tch, looks like I have no choice," He returned the Houndoom back in its Poke Ball and threw another Poke Ball out. "Go, Gallade and use Psycho Cut!"

The Gallade moved its arms sideways and slashed it in the air. There wasn't any glow coming from it, which made Emerald anxious. He tried observing where the blades would hit his Pokemon but it was invisible to the naked eye. Just as he was about to tell his Dusknoir to be vigilant, a pair of invisible purplish-pink-like blades hit the Ghost type on both sides.

"No!" Emerald screamed but Dusknoir didn't seem that hurt, making him sigh in relief. "Quick, use Shadow Punch and then Fire Punch!"

The Dusknoir moved as quickly as it could to reach the Psychic-Fighting type. It punched its gut with a Shadow Punch and its cheek with a Fire Punch. It wasn't enough to throw Gallade towards the wall, however. The Pokemon only moved a few inches from its original position.

Emerald gritted his teeth. That was one tough Gallade, alright. He knew its weaknesses since Sapphire herself had a Gallade, but he guessed that's because every Pokemon was different, just like humans.

"We're not done yet," Darach announced. "Use Night Slash!"

The Gallade quickly responded and a dark aura surrounded its blade-like arms. It hit the Dusknoir, before Emerald could tell it to evade it, and knocked it out.

Emerald gulped. He lost again. This wasn't looking good. With his Snorlax paralyzed, he had to be extra careful and patient with his next moves. "You did well, Dusknoir!" He returned the Ghost type back in its Poke Ball and sent out his Snorlax. There were electric charges around the Snorlax once it got out, reminding the boy that it was still paralyzed.

"We're both down to our final Pokemon," Darach stated. "However..." He paused, taking another look at the lady behind him. "I will not allow you to win in front of my fair lady. Gallade, use X-Scissor!"

"Snorlax, catch it with Strength!"

Snorlax tried as hard as it could, but the paralyzation was too much for it to bear. Moving was already hurting it and seeing this gave Gallade a chance to land a hit on it.

"Oh no!"

"And now, for the finishing! Close Combat!"

"It's all or nothing!" Emerald screamed. He was worried and anxious but he had to try. "Giga Impact!"

Snorlax roared and Gallade prepared its fists. They both attacked at the same time.

There was a short pause. Hearts were beating. Sweats were falling. Heavy panting could be heard until the Snorlax fell on the ground with a thud.

Darach's smug expression returned. "It's over, boy. I won this match," he said and turned around, walking away from him.

Emerald, however, eyed Darach with a smirk. "You're wrong."

Darach stopped and his eyes widened. He turned around. "What?"

Emerald pointed his thumb at his chest. "I won this match."

Darach was disoriented. He looked at his Gallade and saw it falling on the ground. Its eyes were spinning, signaling it was unconscious. His mouth hung open. "How is that possible?"

"Burn," Caitlin stood up from her seat and approached them.

Darach was more baffled. "B...Burn?"

Caitlin stopped to look at her butler and tilted her head. She smiled. "Dusknoir's Fire Punch may not have caused a lot of damage but it left the Gallade burned."

"I...I see," Darach now understood why, but he was still perplexed with one issue. "But it didn't explain how Snorlax managed to survive Gallade's Close Combat."

Emerald grinned at this and placed his arms behind his head. "Well, that's easy," Darach and Caitlin looked at the boy. "I saved up a lot of points and got that."

The two looked at the item placed around the Snorlax's belt. Caitlin smiled at this.

"A focus sash. A great pick from all the points you saved."

Emerald chuckled. "Yep. It was difficult to find the right size for Snorlax but thankfully it fit him."

"Very interesting," Caitlin approached the boy and grabbed something in her pocket. She gave him the symbol he won with poise. "As your reward, I present to you this symbol."

Emerald laughed. "Thanks, ma'am!"

"That's Lady Caitlin to you, boy," Darach corrected and coughed. He bowed at the boy like how a prince bows to a princess. "Congratulations, though. You defeated me fair and square."

Emerald smiled and nodded. "Thanks. It was a lot of fun."

Darach found himself smiling. He didn't know why, but he wasn't disappointed that he lost. In fact, he was glad that a strong, formidable opponent was able to defeat him. "It was."

...

...

"I still got time," Emerald muttered after receiving his Pokemon from the nurse. They were fully healed and while he should be resting, he thought he still had time to defeat the Battle Arcade. He tried to run as fast as he could but his Pokegear suddenly rang. He stopped to wonder who it was but when he looked at the contact details, it didn't have any name on it so he decided to not answer the call.

He didn't know that person anyway so why would he waste his time?

When he reached the Battle Arcade, he was too late. He saw the head trainer of the Battle Arcade already locking up the place.

"Ah, so you're here to challenge me?" Dahlia asked while Emerald nodded.

"Do you have time? It's still early."

Dahlia bit her lip and placed a finger under her chin. "How about we do it tomorrow? Even though you healed your Pokemon, they did battle a lot of opponents."

Emerald stopped to think about it. She was right. He didn't think about that and he felt bad about it. "You're right," he conceded.

Dahlia smiled. "See you tomorrow. How does 9 am sound?"

Emerald bobbed his head. "You bet!"

The Next Day.

Battle Arcade

8:30 AM

Emerald made it to the Battle Arcade before the mentioned time. Then again, he had to battle a bunch of trainers before he reached the head so he guessed it was okay to be early.

He took a deep breath and opened the door. He went inside and the receptionist greeted him with a smile.

"Why, hello there! You must be the challenger Arcade Star Dahlia was talking about!"

"Yes, ma'am," the blond replied. "What're the rules?"

The receptionist's smile widened. "I'm glad you asked," She pressed a button on the remote and it showed a game board roulette with Pokemon sprites on the side. "The roulette will determine the battlefield's weather condition or your team's status. Items are not allowed. Defeat 21 trainers you'll get the silver symbol but I'm assuming you're going for the gold symbol. And if so, you have to defeat 49 trainers to earn it. Any questions?"

Emerald entered his team for this challenge. He smiled, determination burning in his eyes. "Everything's clear."

The receptionist entered his details before opening the door. "Good luck," she said as Emerald entered the battlefield.

The roulette showed his team and his opponent's. It spun for a few seconds and revealed his Pokemon's speed was lowered. The battle started immediately after that.

Emerald won every battle that was thrown at him. The status and weather conditions didn't affect him that much; he'd experienced fare worse than this. Once he finished his 48th battle, he gulped.

It ended more quickly than expected, but that meant he had time to challenge the Battle Hall after this. He knew he had three days left to conquer it but he wanted to see if he could finish all of this in three days.

Arcade Star Dahlia entered the battlefield. She did a pose for the audience while they cheered. Emerald didn't mind it; it was the Frontier Head's job to please her fans. It didn't take a moment for her to stop and look at him with a smile. "Well, hello there. You made it."

Emerald grinned, wiping his sweat off his brow. "Yeah, but I have to admit: the stat and weather changes were difficult to deal with."

"But you still made it. I'm impressed," she chuckled, grabbing a Poke Ball. She sent out her Ludicolo while Emerald sent out Sudowoodo. "Let's see what condition will our roulette bring."

The roulette started doing its magic. Emerald and Dahlia waited for it to finish and when it did, the battlefield's condition was extreme heat. In this case, sunny weather.

Emerald gritted his teeth. Ludicolo was both grass and water type; he has a disadvantage. The sunny weather may weaken Ludicolo's Water type moves but it would strengthen its Grass type moves. He was in serious trouble.

"The battle between Arcade Star Dahlia and Challenger Emerald will now begin!" the judge announced, making Dahlia smirk.

"Let's begin with a Razor Leaf!"

"Dodge it, quick!"

The Rock type screamed as it ran away from the sharp leaves aiming at it. The leaves hit the ground and it almost reached the Sudowoodo, but its anxiety caused it to move quickly than normal. Emerald wiped the sweat off his forehead.

He didn't have any moves against Ludicolo, but he had to try. "Use Sucker Punch!"

Sudowoodo dodged another Razor Leaf and turned around. It cranked its maracas-like knuckles and headed straight to the Ludicolo but the Grass-Water type dodged it.

"Good," Dahlia complimented. "Use Drain Punch!"

That caught Emerald and Sudowoodo off guard. The Ludicolo screamed and punched the Sudowoodo's face; it was sucking its opponent's energy while the tree-like creature started crying and freaking out, giving Emerald an idea.

"Fake Tears!"

Sudowoodo cried louder and harder as if it was the end of the world. It was enough to lower Ludicolo's special defense.

"Now, use Mimic!"

Sudowoodoo shrieked and mimicked Ludicolo's move, punching it in the face. Ludicolo screamed as its energy started draining as well.

The trainers watched their Pokemon suck energy from each other and when Dahlia was about to tell her Pokemon to move away, it fell on the ground unconscious along with the Sudowoodo.

It was a double knock out.

Dahlia laughed, returning her Pokemon back in its Poke Ball. "Not bad, kid. Not bad."

Emerald released a breath. He was relieved that Ludicolo was knocked out, yet he was also worried that his Sudowoodo was as well.

Well, he couldn't do anything about it now. He just had to do this second battle and win.

Both Dahlia and Emerald released their next Pokemon. A Mr. Mime for Emerald and a Togekiss for Dahlia. It was a battle with no type advantages or disadvantages.

Well, they were both Fairy types, but still.

Dahlia fixed her hair, making it jump behind her. "Let's start with an Air Slash!"

Emerald reacted quickly. "Oh no, you don't! Use Protect!"

The attack was fast as the speed of light, but Mr. Mime was able to deflect the attack on time. The slashes of air moved past the barrier and were diverted towards the wall. It hit it and left a crack, causing a piece of the wall to crumble and fall to the ground emerald took a deep breath. "Now, use Teeter Dance!"

Dahlia gritted her teeth. "Close your eyes, hurry!"

The Psychic-Fairy Type danced like there was no tomorrow, but it didn't affect the Togekiss, for it closed its eyes on time. Once the dance was over, Dahlia didn't waste any time to command her Pokemon.

"Psychic!"

"Evade it!"

The Mr. Mime countered the psychic energy surrounding it with its own. Both Pokemon struggled to see which had better control of their psychic powers.

The Togekiss growled and raised its power to its maximum potential.

Mr. Mime, which was standing with ease during this whole psychic battle, was losing its balance. Its left leg was starting to crouch down and its arms were also getting heavier.

"Hyper Beam!" Dahlia ordered, making the Fairy-Flying type smirk. Energy started gathering around its mouth while it was having a psychic battle with Mr. Mime.

Emerald wondered how it was able to do that but he snapped out of his thoughts when a blast of energy hit his Pokemon. His eyes widened in shock.

He had one Pokemon left while she had two.

This was bad and he needed to turn this around.

Taking a deep breath, the Calmer was able to calm himself and send his final Pokemon—A Mantine.

Dahlia rose an eyebrow. "A Mantine? An interesting choice, but it doesn't change the fact that I have everything under my command."

Emerald knew she had a point, but he wouldn't know if he didn't have a chance unless he tried. He stitched his eyebrows together. "Quick, while it's recovering, use Wing Attack!"

Dahlia swore she saw an ocean's wave when the Mantine started moving closer. She chuckled. "You'll have to do more than that to defeat me, hon."

Mantine's powerful rings hit the Togekiss but it didn't do much; it didn't even move from its spot!

Dahlia placed a hand on her mouth at this to control her laughter. "I told you,"

"Aqua Ring!"

The Water-Flying type screeched as a ring of water started surrounding it. Its health and energy started recovering little by little.

Dahlia saw her Togekiss shook its head. She smiled. It could finally move from the effects of its attack. But she had to apologize to her teammate later for doing this next move. "Let's end this. Hyper Beam!"

"Dodge it and use a full power Psybeam!"

The Mantine managed to move to its right, avoiding the attack on time. It didn't waste a second and charged its attack towards its opponent, hitting it straight on the face.

The Togekiss yelped in pain; the move was strong enough to move from its position and hit a nearby wall.

"Togekiss!" Dahlia called, hoping her partner could stand up but there were spirals on its eyes, telling the trainer that it couldn't fight any further. She sighed. Her Togekiss' defense was the sturdiest out of all her Pokemon. It was a surprise that a single Psybeam was able to defeat it. "You did well, darling," She returned the Fairy-Flying type and sent out her final Pokemon.

It was a Blaziken.

Emerald smiled. "Sweet! We have an advantage!'" he cheered. "Use Water Pulse!"

It was weird; Dahlia didn't command her Pokemon to evade the attack. Instead, it just stood there and waited for the blasts of water to hit it.

And Emerald now understood why.

Dahlia giggled. "Did you forget our battle's condition, hon?"

He could feel the sun's heat was getting stronger every second, and it was more than enough to make him sweat even further. "Shoot," he cussed. He definitely forgot the intense sunlight.

"Now it's our turn to attack," Dahlia said with a smug expression. "Thunderpunch!"

The Blaziken was fast; it managed to move before Emerald could command her Pokemon. The punch hit the Mantine's gut; it was a direct hit and that meant trouble.

"Dammit," he cursed once again. "You okay?"

The Mantine cried. The ring of water surrounding its body sparkled, signaling that it was helping the Pokemon regain its health and energy. He was thankful that he taught his Pokemon that move. He would've been in big trouble if he didn't.

"Let's finish this battle once and for all," Dahlia announced, pointing at her foe. "Flare Blitz!"

The Fire-Fighting type grumbled. The flames in its wrists started igniting, releasing more heat into the battlefield, and just as it started cloaking itself with flames, it hit himself.

It was music to Emerald's ears and bad news for Dahlia.

"Oh no," she commented. She wasn't expecting her Pokemon to get confused. If this keeps up, this battle wouldn't be in her control.

"Quick while it's confused! Use Wing Attack!"

The sea creature roared and toughened its wings. It moved straight to the confused Blaziken and smacked its powerful wings on it. The ground shook and crumbled from the weight. There was smoke covering the arena due to the clouds of dust and when it cleared, it showed Blaziken and Mantine glaring at each other.

With a final breath, the flames on the Blaziken's wrists were puffed out and it fell on the ground, defeated.

Dahlia smiled. This boy wasn't joking when he said he defeated the Hoenn Battle Frontier, and their battle today proved it. He was in a rough spot but he was able to turn the tides and control it. She had a lot of fun battling him if she was going to be honest. "You did well. I'm impressed."

Emerald fell and his Mantine just went straight to him, hugging its trainer. He won. He actually won.

He thought he wasn't going to make it but he did.

...

...

Emerald sat in the lobby of the Pokemon Center. He looked at his three gold frontier symbols with a smile. He couldn't believe that he actually did it. He got three out of five symbols and he couldn't wait to get the rest.

"Is Emerald here?" the nurse called, making Emerald stood up from his seat.

"Right here," He approached the nurse and grabbed the Poke Balls on the tray.

"Your Pokemon are fully healed, but I suggest they should take the rest of the day off," she advised and Emerald pondered about it.

He wanted to end this quickly but at the same time, he was worried about overworking his Pokemon. He tried to get his mind off of it and took his phone out. He received a text message from an unknown number. Curious, he read the message and it turned out to be Crystal using Gold's number. Why was she using his phone? Was this the unknown number yesterday? He shook his head and just replied to her message. He breathed deeply, looking at the clock.

It was almost four in the afternoon. Should he head to the Battle Hall now?

He looked at the Poke Balls that contained his Pokemon. They were all sleeping soundly. Maybe he should do the rest tomorrow. Besides, he had three days left before they moved to Sinnoh. He supposed a half a day off wouldn't hurt.

The Next Day.

Battle Hall.

8:00 AM

Emerald was ready. His Pokemon were fully healed and rested and so was he. He had his big breakfast and the clothes he was wearing were comfortable. He was all prepared to earn his next frontier symbol.

He opened the door and was surprised to see the place packed. It wasn't like this in the other facilities. He wondered what made this so different.

"Hey, ma'am," he called the receptionist.

The receptionist stopped looking at the monitor screen and tried to find the source of the voice. This was weird. She could've sworn she heard someone call her.

"Down here."

She stood up from her seat and saw a small, blond boy standing in front of her. She recognized the boy's face immediately; this was the same boy who defeated Thorton, Darach, and Dahlia the past days. The other receptionists were right when they said the boy looked like a five-year-old child. "Oh, sorry, I didn't notice you there."

"I get that a lot," Emerald folded his arms across his chest and gave her an 'I'm used to this crap' face. "Anyway, I'm here to challenge the Battle Hall. What are the rules?"

The receptionist smiled. "The rules are simple: you only get to use one pokemon but you're free to choose what type you'll challenge. You'll have to finish 10 consecutive battles to move on to the next and finish 170 battles to get the gold symbol."

Emerald's eyes widened in shock. 170 battles? He wouldn't have time to challenge the Battle Tower because of that. It looked like he had to do that tomorrow.

"Any questions?" she asked.

Emerald bit his lip and nodded. "All clear."

She smiled. "Good luck, challenger."

Emerald entered the necessary details that he needed in order to start the challenge. He chose his Sceptile for this facility, and when he entered the battlefield, it was bustling with applause and whistles. He guessed that was the reason why this place was packed: it looked like a traditional fashion show but with Pokemon Battles.

The receptionist now told him to choose which type he would battle against; he chose Water type. His opponent entered the stage and sent out a Tentacool.

He sort of had the advantage, but he had to be careful with its Poison type moves.

The battle started and Emerald won despite that condition. He was able to clear 169 battles which made him feel nice. He felt like he could defeat Argenta easily with this newfound confidence he had. He shook his head, breathing deeply. He shouldn't be overconfident about this. He didn't want to lose.

At last, he was able to do his final battle before all of this was over.

The lights were dim and everyone was quiet. The Calmer guessed that this was the head's entrance.

The lights were focused on the center of the runway. Everyone started cheering when Hall Matron Argenta entered. She waved at the audience, sending flying kisses along the way, and walked fabulously. The audience's applause and whistles grew louder.

She stopped when she reached the battlefield. She smiled. "Well, you made it."

Emerald stood straight. "Let's get this over with."

Argenta shrugged. "As you wish."

"The battle between Hall Matron Argenta and Challenger Emerald will now begin!" the judge announced and a round of applause resonated across the stage.

Argenta kissed the Poke Ball she was holding before throwing it while Emerald gripped his and threw it as well. A Lucario and a Sceptile came out from the balls respectively. Emerald gulped.

"Shoot, a Steel-Fighting type."

Argenta giggled. "You're correct."

And we don't have any moves effective against it, dammit. The blond cursed internally, trying not to show his worry at his opponent. Argenta noticed it, however.

"Careful now," she advised. "Your Pokemon can sense your uneasiness and it might perform poorly because of that. I'm expecting a lot from you since you defeated Thorton, Darach, and Dahlia."

The Calmer took a deep breath. He knew that. He shouldn't be surprised that she had high expectations from him.

But he had to stay calm. He wasn't called the Calmer for nothing and he was about to prove why he deserved that title. "I'm ready," he replied, his will on fire.

Sceptile growled, smirking. It was confident it could win this battle.

Argenta smiled. "Good," she commented. "Let's start with an Aura Sphere!"

"Dodge it!"

Sceptile was able to judge it just in time. It ran around the battlefield while Lucario launched one Aura Sphere after another, making Argenta laugh.

"You can't defeat me just by dodging, and we're definitely not going to fall to your tricks."

"Now stop!" Emerald called and the Sceptile stopped immediately. "Slice it with a Leaf Blade!"

Sceptile roared and the leaves attached on its arms started glowing and forming into a blade-like shape. It slashed the move in half, missing the Pokemon and hitting the nearby wall. The audience gasped at that but clapped afterwards.

Emerald grinned. "Now, Thunderpunch!"

Sceptile jumped from its position and cranked its left knuckle. Electric currents appeared on its fists and it was able to punch Lucario's cheek. When it did, it jumped off to give itself some space.

Emerald's and Sceptile's jaws dropped.

It wasn't hurt.

Lucario wiped off its cheek and spit off some saliva. Argenta laughed. "Foolish boy. My Lucario's defense is topnotch. A simple punch can't hurt it."

He hated to admit it but she was right. Sceptile was one of his most powerful Pokemon and if a strong move like Thunderpunch weren't able to leave serious damage to the Lucario, then he could only conclude it was tough as a tank.

"Now, use Flash Cannon!"

"Shoot, dod—"

The move was too quick and it was able to smack the Grass type's belly. The force from the move was too powerful that it threw Sceptile on an adjacent wall.

"Sceptile!" Emerald screamed. "You okay?"

Sceptile coughed. It was struggling to stand up, but the broken wall was able to help it get back on its feet. It shook its head and let out a cry, signaling its trainer that it was alright.

"Good," the blond released a relieved breath. "Let's hit it with a Leaf Blade!"

"Let's counter it with a Bone Rush!"

The Steel-Fighting type smacked its paws together and immediately moved them at least an inch away from each other. It focused his energy on it and a bone-like shape began appearing between his paws along with a light brown glow. Sceptile was moving fast and it made a close call when it used its sharp blades on the Lucario. The Steel-Fighting type was able to counter it with its gigantic bone on time. The attacks clashed and were evenly powered.

"Now, Flash Cannon!"

"Use the bone and jump off from it!"

Argenta chuckled. "Dodging again, are we now?"

Sceptile roared and used all of its strength to push the bone down. With one, last scream, it managed to do its goal and used that to jump from the ground.

Argenta was impressed. She didn't know his Sceptile had enough strength to do that.

"Now, let gravity do its work and use Thunderpunch!"

"Use Bone Rush to stop the move!"

Lucario swung the bone it was holding and deflected the punch. Sceptile lost its control and crashed onto the ceiling.

"Good," Argenta smiled. This battle was under her control now. "Finish it off with a Flash Cannon!"

Lucario screeched and prepared its move. It paused and Argenta waited patiently.

It didn't move for a few moments, making Argenta worry. She looked at her Pokemon.

It was paralyzed.

She gritted her teeth. This boy sure was something.

"Quick, while it's paralyzed," Emerald stated. "Thunderpunch!"

Sceptile let itself fall from the ceiling and punched the Lucario.

"Follow it with a Leaf Blade!"

"No!"

Sceptile yelped and struck it with the blades on its arms. Lucario wailed in pain and was sent flying from its position. It hit the wall and fell on the ground unconscious.

Argenta was still startled. She looked at her blacked-out Lucario then at her opponent. "How? My Lucario's defense is impenetrable!"

Emerald grinned, standing next to his Sceptile. "My Sceptile's holding a Miracle Seed. His Grass type moves were stronger than usual."

Argenta now understood. She closed her eyes as a smile crept on her face. "I see," she muttered. "I admit defeat. You won this round, boy."

The Calmer's grin grew wider. He chuckled. "Thanks!"

...

...

Emerald was right about earlier; it was too late to start the Battle Tower for it was already four in the afternoon. He didn't have any choice but to go home and come back here tomorrow.

The Next day.

Battle Tower

9:00 AM

"You must be the challenger Tower Tycoon Palmer was talking about," the receptionist observed with a smile. "Are you ready to challenge the Battle Tower?"

Emerald bobbed his head with a smile. Two days. He had two days left to get his last gold symbol and if he defeated Palmer today then this would all be over. It would be a new record, too. "Yes, ma'am. What are the rules?"

"You must defeat 49 trainers in order to earn the gold print. Only 3 pokemon are allowed. You earn battle points after defeating each trainer."

Emerald nibbled his bottom lip. It was very similar to the Hoenn Battle Tower. He got this.

"Any questions?" she asked.

"All clear," he responded.

The receptionist smiled cheerfully. "Good luck, challenger."

Emerald didn't waste a second and went to the battlefield. He was able to defeat 48 trainers with ease.

"Congratulations!" the receptionist declared. "You performed so well that even Tower Tycoon Palmer wants to challenge you."

Emerald smiled. Perfect. It was just what he needed to hear.

The receptionist bowed and Palmer entered the room. He had a smile on his face, as he folded his arms across his chest. "I'm not surprised that you made it. You did defeat every Frontier Brain except me."

Emerald clenched his fists. "And that's about to change."

Palmer let out a hearty laugh. "I like your determination, kid, but I'm not gonna let you win that easy."

"The battle between Tower Tycoon Palmer and Challenger Emerald will now begin!" the judge announced and both trainers sent out their Pokemon. Palmer sent out a Regigigas while Emerald sent out a Dusknoir.

Emerald was stupefied at the sight of the enormous Pokemon. He quickly grabbed his Pokedex to look at its data. He was more dumbfounded at the result. "A legendary Pokemon? Are you kidding me?!"

Palmer laughed. "Are you scared, boy?"

Emerald looked at Palmer then at the Pokedex, carefully analyzing and reading the Pokemon's data. "Not one bit." He was lying; he had no idea how he could defeat this Pokemon. Even though its Normal and Fighting type moves would not do anything against his Dusknoir, he still had to be careful at whatever move that rare creature had in store. "Let's start with an Ice Punch!"

"Stone Edge!"

Rocks of all shapes and sizes started appearing out of nowhere and floated in the air. The Regigigas moved its hand towards the Ghost type, signaling the levitating stones to strike its opponent.

Emerald saw this and clenched his fists. "Look out!"

Dusknoir stopped in its tracks and saw the rocks aiming towards it. It went right through each stone, avoiding any damage in the process. When it thought it avoided everything, a medium-sized rock hit its face, sending it to the ground.

Dusknoir quickly recovered and shook its head.

"Use Stone Edge again!"

Emerald was confused; why did he repeat the same attack? "Quick," he gathered his Pokemon's attention. "Use your ghost powers to hide in the ground!"

Dusknoir became invisible and phased through the ground. Palmer's eyes wandered everywhere, trying to find any trace of his opponent but couldn't detect any.

"Now use Focus Punch!"

With that command, Palmer knew his foe was underneath him. "Stone Edge from the ground!"

Both attacks collided and were enough to knock each other out. Palmer laughed.

"I'm surprised you know Regigigas' weakness."

"It's a lucky guess," Emerald admitted. "But why did you use the same move three times?"

Palmer closed his eyes, returning his Pokemon back in its Poke Ball. "'Cause that's the only move that could hit your Dusknoir. You chose your first Pokemon wisely. I'm impressed."

Emerald shrugged. Was he? "I got lucky," he responded, shrugging it off.

Palmer brought a new Poke Ball in his hand. He looked at it with a smile. "Well, too bad. Your luck is about to run out." He threw the Poke Ball and heat started emanating on the battlefield.

Palmer sent out another rare Pokemon—A Heatran. "My son is most likely watching our battle so I have to win to make myself look cool. Don't take your loss too personal."

Emerald gulped, wiping off the sweat dripping from his forehead. He sent out his Sudowoodo and grabbed his Pokedex once again to analyze its data. "Another legendary. Dammit."

"Flash Cannon!"

"Dodge it, run!"

The Rock type screamed once again, as it panicked. It was able to elude the attack's on time.

"Use Fake Tears while running!"

Sudowoodo cried as if it was the end of the world. The Heatran noticed this and its special defense started decreasing tremendously.

"Make it stop with an Earth Power!"

Emerald and Sudowodoo were shocked. The ground started trembling, scaring the Sudowoodo even further and when it stopped, it wiped off the sweat on its forehead. However, the ground suddenly exploded underneath the Sudowoodo with a stunning blow. It later landed on the ground but its back was hurt.

"Finish it with a Flash Cannon!"

"Rock Tomb!"

Sudowoodo tried to stand up but the pain in its back was preventing it from doing so. Both the Rock type and its trainer panicked at that. Emerald tried to calm himself to grab his e-shooter but it was too late; the move hit his Pokemon and knocked it out. He dropped his arm.

He had a bad feeling about this.

His arm started shaking but he sent out his Sceptile to prevent that. He was down to his last Pokemon and he had a huge disadvantage.

Palmer laughed. He could smell his victory was right around the corner. "It's over. You have one Pokemon left while I have two. Let's end this with a Magma Storm!"

"Use your tail to jump then hit it with a Thunderpunch!"

Sceptile jumped and was able to evade each magma striking towards it. He saw an opening and punched the Heatran's cheek.

It did nothing.

It didn't flinch nor move from its spot. He was in big trouble.

"It's over," Palmer observed, his tone and expression were serious. "Explosion."

Emerald's eyes went wide. "No!"

The Pokemon exploded and both were defeated. The only difference, however, was the fact that Palmer won.

And he lost.

He was so close to earning that gold print, too.

Palmer returned his Pokemon back in its Poke Ball. He smiled. "Tomorrow's the last day the Johto Battle Frontier will open. I'm free tomorrow if you want to challenge me again."

Emerald was speechless. He couldn't move or talk. He was too stunned by his loss. He didn't expect that move if he was going to be honest, and he couldn't believe he fell for that trap. If only he knew then he would've done something to stop his opponent from performing that move and turn the tides.

"You'll get him next time, short stuff."

He blinked, recognizing that voice. He turned around and saw the Johto Pokedex Holders Gold, Silver, and Crystal standing with the receptionist. How did they get in here?

"You still have a chance tomorrow, Emerald. What do you say we go to a cafeteria? You and your team must be hungry," Crystal suggested with a smile. Silver was silent, but he could tell that the redhead agreed with Crystal.

Looking back at his opponent, he saw him talking on the phone while smiling. He took a deep breath and looked back at his friends.

"I guess the cafeteria is a good idea."

...

...

"I swear, are legendaries even legal in the Battle Frontier? How did he even have two legendaries with him?" Gold asked, shoving the piece of chocolate cake in his mouth.

Silver was beside him, reading a comic book while Crystal was busy eating the slice of mixed berry pie on her plate. Emerald, on the other hand, was eating slowly. He wasn't really in the mood to eat. He was hungry earlier but he lost his appetite when he found out that he lost. Although, that didn't stop him from listening to his friends and Gold did have a point.

Why did Palmer have two legendary Pokemon with him? He could only conclude that Palmer was a really strong trainer.

"Make that three," Silver responded, making Gold drop his fork.

"That's bullshit," Gold replied, grabbing another fork. "You're not serious, right, Silv?"

"Language, Gold," Crystal scolded while glaring at him.

Gold laughed. "Whoops. Sorry, super serious gal."

"Blue said that he has three legendary Pokemon, according to rumors," Silver added, returning to read his Proteam Omega comic book.

Crystal sighed. "Well, if it came from Blue then there's a possibility that it's true."

Emerald bit his lip. He had to be prepared if the rumors were true. He stood up from his seat, making the Johto trio stop whatever they were doing to look at him.

"Whoa, don't tell me you're about to give up," Gold remarked, pointing his fork at the Calmer. Emerald shook his head.

"Just gonna mentally prepare myself. I was reckless but now, I know exactly what I should do."

The three understood what he meant. They knew it must be rough for the Calmer to experience all of this, especially that he was so close in winning too.

"We'll be cheering for you, Emerald. We'll be watching your match tomorrow," Crystal said with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I tried contacting Ruby and Sapphire earlier but they were busy. Though they did say they will also cheer for you."

"We got your back, short stuff!" Gold added with a smug grin.

Their words were enough to make tears appear in the blond's eyes. He sniffed, trying to hide it. "Thanks, guys."

Gold noticed it and decided to mess with him. He laughed. "Yo, don't cry on me right now!"

Emerald closed his eyes. "I'm not crying!"

"Yeah, right!" Gold laughed harder. "I can see your eyes—" He felt someone's feet kicking his groin. He winced at that while holding it. "Crys?! What the f—"

She kicked him again, making him shut up this time. "Language!"

Emerald laughed while Silver was smirking at the two's antics. The Calmer had to admit: these three made him feel better after that fiasco.

The Next Day.

Battle Tower

9:00 AM

Emerald was surprised to see Palmer talking to the receptionist. He was expecting he would see the Tower Tycoon later but he guessed that saved him the time to let him know that he was here for another challenge.

Palmer noticed the boy and smiled at him. "I knew you were coming. You ready to battle me again?"

Emerald bobbed his head. "See you later, then?"

Palmer shook his head. "My son is here and he's an impatient one," He pointed at the little blond boy running around the lobby. He was wearing an orange-striped shirt and he looked like he was on the peak of sugar high. Emerald couldn't imagine that hyperactive kid was Palmer's son but it wasn't his business to meddle into. "Let's just start our battle immediately."

Emerald nodded. Well, at least that also saved him time and energy.

"Pearl," Palmer called his son and the boy stopped running around the lobby. "Let's go."

The boy immediately approached his dad and jumped up and down. "You're gonna start your battle already?"

Palmer placed his hand on his son's head, ruffling his hair. He smiled. "Yes, now, be a good boy and sit with your mom, okay?"

Pearl's eyes glimmered with excitement. "Alright, let's go!"

...

...

...

The judge raised his hand. He looked at the audience who were just the receptionists, Palmer's family, and Emerald's friends. He opened his mouth. "The rematch between Tower Tycoon Palmer and Challenger Emerald will now begin!"

Both trainers sent out the same Pokemon from yesterday. Palmer laughed. "The same strategy won't be effective like last time, boy."

"We'll see," Emerald replied calmly. "Fire Punch! Full power!"

"Dodge and use Stone Edge!"

The Regigigas was able to stay away from the fiery punch. When it moved its hand to let the floating rock hit the Ghost type, however, it phased through it. Palmer gritted his teeth at that.

"Now, Ice Punch!"

Palmer's eyes widened. "What the?!"

The Dusknoir's body became visible again and it was able to punch the Regigigas with its icy fist. It was strong enough to freeze the Normal type, immobilizing it.

Palmer either had to switch out or let his opponent win.

"Regigigas! Use—"

"Hit it with a Focus Punch!"

Dusknoir yelled and focused its energy on its fist. When it was ready, it punched the frozen Regigigas. It was strong enough to destroy the ice surrounding its opponent and knocked it out at the same time, shocking Palmer.

"Impressive," he commented, returning his Pokemon back in its Poke Ball. He sent out his Heatran. "You're more careful than you were yesterday but it doesn't change the fact that I will win this battle."

"I won't lose this time!" Emerald countered.

Palmer smirked. "We'll see, kid."

"You got this short stuff!" Gold cheered from the sidelines. "Come on, Silv, say something!"

Silver was quiet. His arms were folded across his chest, as he observed the battle carefully.

"You got this, Emerald!" Crystal shouted, making Gold smile.

"See? Even Crys is doing it! Just say something, Silv!"

Silver was quiet and when Gold started to open his mouth once again, he shoved a Tamato Berry in his mouth.

The berry was spicy enough to ignite Gold's lips. He spat it out and glared at the Exchanger. "BRUH! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

"Just shut up, you two!" Emerald snapped, focusing his attention back at the battlefield.

"Magma Storm!"

"Now, let's use the same strategy yesterday!" Emerald announced and Palmer furrowed his eyebrows. "Evade it by phasing through the ground but don't go under it! Use Focus Punch!"

Palmer was now puzzled. He blinked. How was he going to attack him, then? "C-Continue using Magma Storm! Make sure it won't hit you!"

The Heatran shrieked and continued using its move. An invisible fist, however, was able to punch it but the magma was able to hit its source as well.

Dusknoir fell on the ground and was defeated.

Palmer sighed in relief. "That was close, but I still won."

Emerald gritted his teeth, returning his Dusknoir back in its ball. "It's not over yet!" He sent out his Sudowoodo.

Palmer chuckled. "Finish it with Earth Power!"

"Rock Tomb!"

Both Pokemon attacked its opponent and were defeated with a single strike. Emerald gulped.

Now he would find out if Palmer's last Pokemon was a legendary like the rumors said it was.

Palmer threw a Poke Ball in the air and it revealed a Cresselia while Emerald sent out his Sceptile. He quickly grabbed his Pokedex to look at the Pokemon's data and just like what the rumors stated: it was another legendary. He took a deep breath. He got this. They got this.

"It all ends here," Palmer announced. "Signal Beam!"

"Use your tail to jump!"

Sceptile did as it was told and it managed to avoid the attack on time.

"Now, use the gravity to attack it with an X-Scissor!"

Palmer blinked. "Use—"

Sceptile landed a hit before Palmer was able to command his Pokemon. He gritted his teeth.

"Don't let it get away! Ice Beam!"

"No!"

A freezing ray of ice hit the Scepile and threw it across the battlefield.

"You okay?"

The Grass type tried to stand up despite the pain. It managed to do so and cried as a reply.

"Now, Moonlight!"

Cresselia let out a cry as it glowed like a gem. Its health and energy started to recover slowly but surely.

"Can you move?" Emerald asked and the Sceptile nodded. "Good. Now, hit it with a full power Leaf Blade! I believe in you!"

"End it with a Signal Beam!"

"Slice through it!"

Sceptile yelled and the leaf-like blades attached to its arms sliced through the attack. It was powerful but it was still able to hold it. Both Pokemon gave it their all with their attacks which caused a pillar of smoke to burst between them. Once it cleared, it showed a fainted Cresselia.

Emerald's eyes widened.

He...won?

"WAHOO!" Gold screamed and applauded. "Yeah, boy, you did it!"

"Aww," Pearl pouted, his shoulders drooping. "Dad lost."

Pearl's mother just patted her son's shoulder. "But daddy did put up a good fight. Right, honey?"

Pearl took a deep breath. "Yeah, it was good. Now, can I practice my comedy routines with Dia peacefully when we return to Sinnoh?"

Pearl's mother giggled. "Alright, alright."

...

Sceptile stood victoriously and turned around, smiling at its trainer.

"You did it, short stuff!" Gold approached his younger friend and ruffled his hair.

"Congrats, Emerald!" Crystal commented and hugged him, lifting him up. Silver stood beside her and smiled.

Emerald was still stunned but their actions were enough to make him snap out from his trance and let everything sink in.

He couldn't believe he did it. He actually defeated all of Palmer's legendary Pokemon!

...

...

...

"Congratulations, Emerald," Palmer greeted with a smile.

Emerald stopped looking at his Johto Frontier Symbols and looked at Palmer. He smiled as well. "I still can't believe I did it.," he muttered, making Palmer laugh.

"Be proud. You actually defeated both the Johto and Hoenn Battle Frontiers. I hope you'll challenge us again when we move to Sinnoh."

Emerald thought about it. Maybe the rules would be different in Sinnoh. He could give it a try.

"Dude, seriously? You're reading that comic again? We got you out of the house! Just enjoy the outdoors for once in a while!"

Emerald turned to look at his older friends. He smiled. He did achieve what he had planned and he was glad he was able to do something productive, but a part of him wanted to spend more time with his friends now that he just finished the Johto Battle Frontier.

He closed his eyes, letting the cool breeze ran through his skin.

"Soon," he responded. "Maybe not now, but soon."

Palmer understood and nodded. "We'll be waiting for you."

Emerald nodded back. "Thanks. See ya soon!" He turned around and ran to his friends. They congratulated him once again and they walked out of the Battle Frontier with a smile on their faces.

Emerald wondered what Ruby and Sapphire were doing with their own challenges.

---

Thank you, Bulbapedia, for giving us all the information we need since my boyfriend and I hardly did the Johto/Sinnoh Battle Frontier. sdfjhdskf

The Frontier Brains' pokemon all came from the information Bulbapedia provided. The only things we changed are Thorton's (since they're rental), Dahlia's legendary with a Ludicolo, and we feel like giving an Argenta a Lucario so there we go.

I hope you all enjoyed this as much as we enjoyed writing this!