So between this chapter and the one proceeding it, there was a huge break, in which I did some minor behind the scenes stuff, specifically renaming the Vullaby I caught in the raid back in the very first chapter, and renaming the Sizzlepede I got back in Kabu's gym challenge. I renamed the Vullaby Carri (short for Carrion, which refers to Carrion Vulture. And no, I'm not sorry) and the Sizzlepede Remorhaz (A D&D monster that looks like a giant centipede with fire-based powers) before continuing where I left off: in front of Wyndon Stadium.
Upon entering the building and registering (along with finding out Bede was still absent), I was sent down to the locker room, and immediately went onto the pitch. My first battle was against Marnie, who, after promising to win, we began to fight. The first round went between Octoling and Liepard. Right off the bat was a Slash attack, taking out Liepard, and then Scrafty joined in. Looking for a bit of a challenge in this, I switched out to Diana Prince to give her the upper hand. First came the Hone Claws, while Brick break took about 76 HP. Another Brick break, and Diana Prince took Scrafty out with Counter. Toxicroak came out next, to which I switched to Haircut. Power-Up Punch didn't do much, but Toxicroak's Swagger would help with our next attack. Haircut threw another Power-Up Punch, landing a critical hit and taking out Toxicroak. I decided to take the easy route with Morpeko and keep in Haircut, but went for Play Rough. It hit, to my somewhat surprise, and Morpeko went down. Then came Marnie's Grimmsnarl, who I decided to counter with Glumbreon. Again, not a smart choice, but I wanted a challenge. So out came Glumbreon and out came her Gigantamaxing Grimmsnarl, and, deciding not to Dynamax unless necessary, I went for Bite, which did even less damage than the first Power-Up Punch on Toxicroak. Max Starfall took out 80 HP, so Glumbreon was still in for turn two. I decided to step things up with Dark Pulse, which did even less damage, and the second Max Starfall took 90 more HP. At this point I decided to Dynamax, and, using Last Resort as a base, went for Max Strike. Marine's Grimmsnarl went down, and she was defeated. Piece of cake.
With Marnie defeated, my next opponent was Hop, so I went back to the pitch to fight him. Again, this was a piece of cake, so here's how I crushed Hop's dreams. First round was Octoling against Dubwool, which, surprisingly, didn't end in one turn. Guess that's what I get for using Foul Play, though. However, Dubwool couldn't stand up to two foul plays, and, as such, he was replaced with Snorlax. Octoling stayed in, despite taking 19 HP from a body slam beforehand, and Slash took Snorlax to the red. Another Foul Play was all that was needed, and Pincurchin entered the stadium. It wasn't the only one, though, as at this point, I switched out to Slit & Slice. Iron Head took Pincurchin out in one hit, surprisingly, and Corviknight came out. Slit & Slice stayed in, and, with another two Iron Heads, took out Corviknight. Finally came Rillaboom, who I decided, like all times in the past, would fight Killer Frost. Again, I tried to make things as challenging as possible, and started off with Metal Claw on the Dynamaxed Rillaboom. It didn't do a lot, but did more than Bite and Dark Pulse in the last battle. With Max Overgrowth, grassy terrain was set in place, and both Rillaboom and Killer Frost were able to heal. Turn two went pretty similar, except for Hop going for Max Quake instead. Then the win with turn three, and the final Metal Claw.
With the semi-finals behind me, I got dressed back in my style and went upstairs, where Hop and I met Leon. After congratulating us on the epic battle, he offered to take us out to eat. So we went back to the hotel to meet him, where I was bombarded with questions. Hop chased them off, and we began to wait. And wait. And wait. In-game hours passed, before Hop finally figured something was wrong. Then Piers arrived and told us that he had seen Leon headed towards Rose Tower. With confusion amist, Hop asked Piers to take us to the tower, and, despite his complaints, he agreed. We went outside and, upon doing so, we were met with Marnie and Team Yell, and, soon after, Oleana, who told us that Chairman Rose was in an important meeting with Leon, and that we would not be allowed to interfere. She presented us with a challenge, though, and we were faced with finding an employee with a key card. He ran off and, quickly, we were able to track him down to the city center, where he was standing, staring at a wall. After telling him that Ms. Oleana was here, he turned around, and we fought. The first round was between Meowth and Octoling, which, with Foul Play, was an easy win. Round two went between Durant and Glumbreon. With Dark Pulse, we won, and Eric (the employee's name) ran off. This time, we found him next to two other people (whom he later referred to as a crowd), and another battle ensued. Mawile against Octoling was easy with a critical hit Psycho Cut, and when Excadrill took the field, two Metal Claws from Killer Frost took it out. Finally, we found him in a phone booth, and the third fight ensued. First came Malamar verses Ferroseed, which ended with one pair of Slashes. Next came Steelix, who went down to Night Slash in a single hit. Eric was beaten for the third time, but, unfortunately, he got to the monorail before any of us could catch him. After Eric had camouflaged himself with a trio of other employees, Piers stepped up and began to sing to attract attention. After Marnie grabbed the key, Piers told us (while presumably still singing) to go on without him. We finally got to Rose tower, where we began to formulate a plan, and, before we could enter, Piers showed up again. Then the trek began.
