"Umbreon!?", Weston called out in confusion. "No data I collected made any mention of an Umbreon!"

"Hey, Marcus", Hop asked, "isn't that…?"

Marcus nodded in affirmation.

Umbreon made a slight wince as the poison from Toxic Spikes streamed upward into her body before quickly shaking off any sign of weakness, standing proud and fearless before her insectoid opponent. Her red eyes focused intently on her foe, boasting a crimson leer that seemed to glow with unflinching fearlessness - certainly a far cry from the once-timid Umbreon who hid in fear behind Marcus's leg at the sight of a Yamper.

"Whoa", Hop remarked, "I don't think I've ever seen Umbreon look like that before."

"Well, you know", Marcus replied with a smirk, "she's always been very protective over her trainer."

This is unexpected, Weston thought to himself. I have no intel on this Umbreon or the strategies Marnie will employ with her…

He shot a fierce look forward. "We'll just have to shut her down before she can even have a chance. Volcarona, Fire Spin!"

Volcarona let in a deep inhale, releasing it from its mouth as a stream of flame aimed at Umbreon's feet. The flame set the ground around her ablaze in a perfect circle before pluming upward into a tall inferno vortex.

Marnie grit her teeth. Not yet.

Weston chuckled. "Perfectly immobilized! Volcarona, follow suit with Leech Life!"

Volcarona began to fly towards the trapped Umbreon with his fangs bared, preparing to strike.

Now, Marnie thought to herself. "Umbreon, Dig!"

Without missing a beat, Umbreon dove into the dirt beneath her feet, escaping both the entrapment of Fire Spin and Volcarona's charge. The flaming vortex dissipated with no sign of Umbreon anywhere.

Weston tensed up. "Stay sharp, Volcarona! Umbreon could come out from anywhere!"

Almost as if on cue, Umbreon emerged swiftly from directly beneath Volcarona, striking him head-first in the abdomen with the force of a cannonball. Volcarona launched backwards into a series of backwards somersaults in the air before narrowly managing to regain control over his momentum.

Weston cringed - he was being kept on his toes now. "Counter with Hurricane!", he shouted.

As Volcarona recovered in the air, it quickly began beating its wings as quickly and as heavily as possible, stirring up a massive vortex of air that shot forward at a rapid speed. Umbreon found herself unable to escape the oncoming funnel as it engulfed her, spinning her round and round as it sent her higher and higher into the sky.

Marnie remained intently focused. "Hang tough, use Shadow Ball", she shouted without hesitation.

Umbreon was thrown violently to the top of the Hurricane by the ascending air current, but refused to let any damage she might have taken slow her reaction down. She quickly found her balance in the air as she concentrated a dense amount of ghostly energy into an orb at her mouth before firing it with remarkable speed and accuracy. The Shadow Ball slammed hard into Volcarona, the ensuing explosion knocking him backward once again as he struggled to maintain his control in the air. As the attack struck its target, Umbreon performed a front flip in the air before safely landing on her feet with confidence, grace, and style. Whatever damage she'd taken so far didn't seem to phase her.

Weston grit his teeth, beginning to lose his patience. "This has gone on long enough", he said with a scowl. "Volcarona, Fire Blast!"

"This is it, Umbreon", Marnie called out. "Get in close!"

The heat began to pick up around Volcarona as it let forth an intense blast of all-consuming flame that scorched the earth and melted boulders as it barreled towards Umbreon, who continued to dash straight towards the blazing inferno without fear or hesitation.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the battle continued to ensue.

"What is she doing!?", Hop exclaimed in a nervous sweat.

Just as it appeared as though Volcarona's attack would hit its mark…

"Close in, Umbreon", Marnie shouted. "Use Detect!"

Umbreon's ruby-red eyes glimmered swiftly as Marnie's command reached her ears. As she and the volatile Fire Blast rapidly approached one another, she became hyper-aware of everything about it - its movement speed, its shape, its trajectory, etc. It was almost as if time was moving in slow motion, giving Umbreon more than enough leeway to react. At the last possible moment, she pushed herself off her feet into the air, performing an elegant barrel roll to her left. Fire Blast had missed its mark, and Umbreon now had a clear shot at her target.

Weston's eyes widened in surprise. "What the..!? No way!"

Marnie gave a confident smirk. "Bring it home with Crunch!"

Umbreon continued to close in rapidly with her fangs bared.

"Volcarona, quickly", Weston yelled. "Use Leech Life!"

Volcarona opened his mouth exposing its own fangs, preparing to charge in and meet Umbreon's attack head on. However, he couldn't react quick enough - before it could move, Umbreon clamped down on Volcarona's thorax with her fangs, tight as a vice grip. Volcarona cried out in pain as he desperately tried to shake Umbreon off as they floated in the air. Umbreon was crafty, however, and used the momentum of Volcarona's shaking to her advantage. When Volcarona tried shaking her off to the left, she jerked her head to the right, and the sudden shift in momentum was enough to throw his entire body to the side. Umbreon released her grip, sending Volcarona sailing head-first into a nearby boulder with enough force to kick up a cloud of dirt and dust.

"Wah!", Weston cried out in shock. "Volcarona!"

"Volcarona is unable to battle! The winner is Umbreon!"

The audience hadn't cheered louder during any single moment of the entire battle up until that point as they did in that moment, during the beginning of Marnie's comeback. Evidently, her fans were many, and the relentless high-octane display they had just witnessed pleased them greatly.

"Yooooooooooo!", Hop cheered with excitement, "That was insane!"

"Oh yeah!", Marcus shouted with equal excitement and exuberance. "Crush him, Marnie! Crush him, Umbreon!"

Hop chuckled. "Wow, mate, you know, I'm not used to seeing you this wild."

It was true - Marcus was practically defined by his modesty and timid nature. On any normal day, he'd never behave in such a manner. Needless to say, however, this was not a normal day. Today, he was a member of Team Yell, proudly supporting one of his best friends during one of the most crucial matches of her life. He was going to give it everything he had, and he was going to have a riot while doing it.

"Let me have this, Hop", Marcus replied. "I'm having fun."

"Well now, there's the Marn we all know n' love", Piers commented. "She didn't lose sync with Umbreon, not even for a second. Not a single move went to waste." He gave a smirk to Marcus. "Whatever training you did with that Umbreon beforehand must've been pretty intense, eh, Marcus?"

Marcus grinned. "Truth is, I didn't do any training with Umbreon before sending her over to Marnie."

Piers looked at Marcus in awe. "Y-you're kiddin', right?"

"Not at all", Marcus answered, shaking his head.

"Wait, then how…?"

"See", Marcus began, "I rescued Umbreon from the Wild Area during a sandstorm. When I found her, she was in the middle of a battle against a group of Zweilous, and despite her injuries, she was actually managing to hold her own. She must've had incredible potential, and she certainly got a lot stronger as she worked to survive in the wilds by herself. Of course, everything we're seeing from Umbreon today is a result of her and Marnie's hard work together", he continued. "Umbreon had been so shaken up after I'd brought her home with me, that I didn't think she'd ever be in a proper headspace to battle competitively. But as soon as she heard about what Marnie was dealing with and that she needed a sixth Pokemon for her team today, Umbreon didn't hesitate to step up and volunteer." He smiled proudly as he looked down at Marnie and Umbreon. "It really is a testament to Marnie as a trainer that she has as strong of a bond as she does with a Pokemon like Umbreon, and that she's been able to bring out so much of Umbreon's battle potential."

Hop nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Marnie's amazing!"

Weston silently returned Volcarona to his Pokeball before grabbing another from his pocket.

"Do you feel that?", Marnie taunted. "That's what payback feels like - hurts, don't it?"

Weston glared at Marnie, finding no amusement in her remark. Then, a cocky smirk. "Take your own advice", he fired back, "and save your gabbing until after you've lost this battle."

The roar of the crowd died down as tension began to build on the pitch.

Weston through his Pokeball into the air. "Scolipede, prepare for combat!"

Scolipede - the Pokemon that had caused so much trouble for Marnie and her team during the first half of the match - had now made his imminent return to the field, and was looking as fierce as ever.

Marcus furrowed his brow. "Scolipede's back already, huh?"

"He must be tryin' to halt Marn's momentum by using Scolipede to intimidate her", Piers suggested.

Marcus jumped out of his seat. "Take him down, Marnie!", he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Marnie extended her arm, Pokeball in-hand. "Umbreon, return", she called as Umbreon was sent back into her Pokeball.

"Huh?", Weston cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Why change out now?", he asked himself.

Marnie looked at the Pokeball and smiled. "You were just amazin' out there", she said with a smile. "Rest up, now. I'm gonna need you again later."

She returned her focus to the pitch, a steely-eyed gaze looking Scolipede up and down intently. This one's a toughie, alright, she thought to herself. But I oughtta know his battling style by now, and the only one that can turn the tide against him is…

She threw her next Pokeball forward with all her might. "Grimmsnarl, let's go!"

Grimmsnarl took to the field, adamant and menacing. The poison of Toxic Spikes quickly entered his body, causing him to wince in pain and sickness, but he quickly shook it off.

"Wha-?", Hop exclaimed. "Isn't Grimmsnarl at a huge type-disadvantage against Scolipede? What does Marnie think she's doing?"

"Bulk Up, quick", Marnie called.

Grimmsnarl tensed the thick muscle-like hairs covering its body.

"Heheh", Weston sneered, "if you're in such a hurry for another embarrassing defeat at the hands of my Scolipede, I'll be happy to oblige! Scolipede, use Megahorn!"

Scolipede broke into a full gallop as he charged head-first towards Grimmsnarl.

"Grab 'em by the horns 'n hold firm", Marnie commanded.

Grimmsnarl planted his feet firmly on the ground and poised himself to intercept Scolipede's charge.

Scolipede came forth with no less force than he did during any of his previous battles. However, Grimmsnarl managed to grab hold of Scolipede's horns, stopping his forward momentum almost immediately.

Weston grit his teeth.

"Yes!", Marnie cheered to herself.

"Alright!", Hop shouted. "Grimmsnarl's got him now!"

"Yeah, but don't count Scolipede out just yet", Piers commented. "This isn't the first time Marnie's tried this on Scolipede, I'm sure Weston's got a plan in mind for this."

Weston grinned. "Scolipede, Venoshock now!"

A poisonous purple energy began building between Scolipede's horns, condensing into liquid as it continued to grow in strength.

"Not good", Hop cried, "if that lands, it's over for Grimmsnarl!"

Marnie smirked. "Not this time", she said. "Grimmsnarl, Play Rough!"

Grimmsnarl's ears flicked slightly as he heard the command. Without warning, he released the grip he had on one of Scolipede's horns and wound back with all his might before launching his fist hard into Scolipede's gut. Scolipede flinched at the attack, the Venoshock building between his horns quickly dissipating. Grimmsnarl noticed this and took it as an opportunity, grabbing back onto Scolipede's other horn. With both hands now holding firm to both of Scolipede's horns, Grimmsnarl positioned himself so that Scolipede was behind him, and, with all of his might, brought his upper body forward, throwing Scolipede by the horns over his head and into a pile of boulders and other earthly debris.

Weston's jaw fell open so wide in shock and disbelief at what he had just witnessed, it looked as if it was about to hit the floor. "Scolipede! Get up, get up!"

Scolipede stood up from the attack, shaking his head as he tried to relieve himself of the daze he was feeling.

"Bulk Up, again", Marnie called, wasting no time.

Once more, Grimmsnarl's muscular hair began to tense up.

"Don't hesitate, Scolipede", Weston growled. "Earthquake, now!"

Scolipede hopped onto his hind legs before slamming hard onto the ground with his front legs, causing a massive tremor in the earth which rocked the pitch. The force of the tremor was enough to bring Grimmsnarl to his knees.

"Make haste while Grimmsnarl is down", Weston shouted. "Use Megahorn!"

Scolipede began to charge forward with the force of a train, horns extended outwards.

Unable to move out of the way in time due to the damage he had sustained from Scolipede's Earthquake, Grimmsnarl took the full brunt of Megahorn straight to the chest, being rocketed off of his feet backwards past a large boulder.

Marnie grit her teeth hard, then noticed the boulder. Gotta act fast.

"Grimmsnarl", she shouted, "grab hold of the boulder 'n spin back around!"

Even amid the pain of the last two attacks and being careened through the air, Grimmsnarl managed to hear his trainer's words. He extended the hair of his left arm, latching his hand firmly onto the boulder he sailed past, using it to redirect his momentum a full 360-degrees. By the time he let go, he was rapidly spinning in clockwise motion back towards Scolipede.

"Now", Marnie shouted, "Darkest Lariat!"

Using his redirected momentum, Grimmsnarl approached Scolipede at rapid speed as he spun, focusing tension in the muscles of his left arm as he prepared to use it as his weapon for the attack.

"Ah-!", Weston exclaimed. "But how…!?"

Scolipede felt a thick bicep strike him in the throat with what felt like the force of a sledgehammer as Grimmsnarl proceeded to unleash the power of his momentum unto his target by clotheslining Scolipede in the crease of his left arm, sending the giant insect rocketing into a pile of rocks and rubble.

"Scolipede is unable to battle! The winner is Grimmsnarl!"

The electrical energy of the crowd exploded as Team Yell seemed to collectively lift off of their seats and into the air, jumping up and down as they caused as much commotion as possible in praise of their all-star.

"Yeah!", Hop cheered at the top of his lungs. "Let's go!"

Marcus felt his phone vibrate, alerting him of a notification. He pulled it out of his pants pocket to check it. "Hey, guys", he chuckled, "apparently, Raihan's here today and he's live-streaming the battle on his social media. He just posted that last match-up and captioned it ''POGs in the chat.''"

Hop began cackling like an animal. "Alright!", he shouted, still laughing. "Yeah, POG!"

Piers looked perplexed. "Uh… I don't get it, POG? What is that, what's that s'posed to mean?"

"POG is an acronym", Marcus explained. "P-O-G, it stands for ''Play of the Game.''"

"Oooohhh…", Piers nodded in understanding. He snapped around and faced the members of Team Yell. "Yeah, Play of the Game!", he shouted exuberantly. "Let's hear some POGs!"

Team Yell cheered unanimously and began chanting POG as loud as they could.

Marcus and Hop smiled wide as they joined in through fits of uncontrollable laughter.

Marnie grinned as she facepalmed herself, her pale cheeks tinted rose with embarrassment. Those knuckleheads… sounds like they're havin' fun.

Weston returned Scolipede to his respective Pokeball, then glanced up towards Marnie with a sneer. "Well, this is unexpected, I have to admit", he began, his tone remaining as confident and cocky as ever. "But I suppose miracles and happy-accidents do happen to everyone every so often… I assure you, it's nothing to build an empire out of."

Marnie didn't say a word as she met Weston's stare with a blank expression that was focused, calm, and strong.

Weston began to notice an unnerving feeling building within himself as the two made eye-contact. He'd seen those eyes before - eyes that condescend him. "Well, what's the matter?", he shouted, "Liepard got your tongue? No more words to fail!?" His voice sounded as if it were on the verge of breaking at any moment. "You think that just because you managed a few lucky wins that now you're my superior!?"

Marnie shook her head before looking back to him. "I got no more words for you", she answered bluntly. "I'm in it to win it, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

Weston's blood ran cold as ice at the nonchalant delivery of those words. This guttersnipe… she's not even looking at me anymore, she's looking through me, he thought to himself as he grit his teeth. Does she honestly believe that she's so far beyond me that she doesn't even need to acknowledge that I'm right in front of her!?

That was when he noticed it - what seemed like the entire stadium, an ocean of people stacked on top of one another, continued to chant her name without relent. It seemed as if they hadn't stopped since the second half of the match began.

Weston scowled. They're all laughing at me… just like they did before…

Memories began to circulate through his mind. Memories of he and his young Pokemon being picked on and laughed at and ostracized. Ostracized for being small, for being frail…

...For being weak.

His jaw clenched tightly as he continued to deny his encroaching fear, his fear of everything he'd so-long believed he'd risen above. He gripped the Pokeball in his hand so tightly that his knuckles paled.

Never again… I will never be made a fool of ever again!

He hurled his Pokeball into the air in a fit of rage. "Vespiquen, prepare for combat!"

Marnie's eyes widened slightly as she took in the sudden shift in tone from her opponent. His confident and cocky demeanor had begun to crumble before her as he hurled his Pokeball into the sky.

Vespiquen appeared from a flash of light, hovering overhead with a dominating presence.

"I will not be ignored", Weston shouted with a glare. "I will make you see, I will make all of Galar see!"

Marnie reset her focus. I think… I think I get you, now, she thought to herself, almost even managing to empathize with her opponent. But I can't back down. I won't.

"Cower now in awe", Weston continued, "as you bear witness to the true power of Ectobius Rex and my army of insects!"

AN: Yup, Umbreon's back! When I originally wrote Umbra, I didn't really have any plans to reuse Umbreon outside of that story. However, as I continued to meditate on how I wanted Marcus and Marnie's relationship to evolve over the course of the series, I began to see potential in the Moonlight Pokemon to act as a sort of focal point for their bond with one another. It was through Umbreon - her presence, her story, her personality - that the two trainers began growing as close as they are now in the first place, and I foresee that this will only continue to be the case as this series progresses.