Advice and discussion is all well and good for making decisions in life. But it's really hard to be successful when you don't know the rules. Without further ado, here are the rules of Pokémon League-regulated battles:
First: At no point, can any of the pokémon involved use moves on or attack trainers or audience members. This rule may seem obvious, but it may be surprising to hear of even ace-level trainers trying to have their pokémon use moves like charm or scary face – and occasionally damaging moves like extrasensory or confusion – on their opposing trainer.
Second: Trainers may not make contact with their opponent or their opponent's pokémon. Nor may they use any equipment or supernatural abilities to interfere with the battle or their opponent in any way. Psychics, mediums, and aura users are often pokémon battlers too, and there were cheaters among them like any other group. It's worth noting that any way of gathering information short of reading the opponent's mind is still legal, as is psychically communicating with your own pokémon during battle, since neither of these actually interact with the opponent.
Third: A pokémon must be recalled if it is unable to battle. This could be due to battle damage, because of emotional breakdown, or because it has no moves it can use to fight. If your last pokémon is recalled because of this, you forfeit the battle. If your pokémon is struggling to stay in the fight, you are disqualified.
Fourth: A pokémon may not use more than four different moves per battle. Nor may a trainer use more than six pokémon in any given battle. For challenges such as the elite four, the moves used may change between battles, but the pokémon must be registered beforehand and the same set of six must be used the whole time.
Five: You must give the opposing trainer the opportunity to tend to their Pokémon before battle. In the case of challenges, this is between battles. This tending includes manipulating held items, using TMs, applying curatives or other medicine, and discussing battle strategy.
Six: Should a pokémon be in a condition outlined in rule three, any and all effects preventing recall must be revoked. You cannot legally keep an opponent's pokémon in battle if it is in no state to continue. Similarly, unless you use one of the moves that specifically lock an opponent in – or pursuit – you cannot interfere with an opponent's attempts to substitute pokémon. The actual number of substitutions allowed depends on the battle, and of course doing more without moves like volt switch, teleport, or similar is grounds for disqualification.
And Seven: one-hit kill moves are banned. Strong moves – hyper beam, giga impact, etc. – are allowed, but moves like guillotine or fissure are grounds for disqualification unless otherwise stated beforehand. Some high-stakes tournaments allow ohko moves, and certain gyms permit them, but in most league battles they are banned. The risk of killing a pokémon is far, far too high.
Unless otherwise stated, these rules apply to every League pokémon battle. They exist to protect trainers and pokémon. The smallest punishment for violation is disqualification. The highest is suspension of one's trainer license and imprisonment.
Know the rules before you engage.
Finn stood before the rime-crusted door, his breath collecting in clouds as he looked up at the massive metal gate. The tubes on the outside of the door had hot air running through them, not that it helped. Frost spread across the door from the edges, keeping just away from the tubes. The center of the doors had a light blue disk with a snowy mountain design upon it. Finn took a single step forwards, and the massive doors slowly swung away from him. A gust of freezing wind hit Finn, but he didn't feel cold. His jacket shielded him from the worst of it.
He brushed the flecks of snow off of the leather jacket and walked into the room beyond the door. He could feel his finger start to get cold, but his torso was as warm as ever thanks to that jacket. The room was filled with ice and snow, probably formed from previous battles. Combined with the bright lights set into the ceiling, it made looking anywhere nearly blinding. Finn stepped in, stopping on a circle clear of ice.
In the room, already waiting for him, was a fair-skinned man. He looked to be middle-aged, though his face was free of any signs of age. His piercing blue eyes twinkled as Finn entered the room, and he ran a hand through his shoulder-length blond hair. His attire was not exactly fitting for the temperature, consisting of a white sweater with a blue vest over top and a pair of sweatpants. His feet were protected by a pair of heavy-duty boots. Tyson, the elite four ice-type specialist, grinned as Finn entered the room.
"Heya Finn. It's been a while," The elite said. His pristine white teeth reflected the almost painful white light of the snow in the room. "You've come quite a long way from the kid running from bees, huh?"
"You have no idea." Finn shook his head. "It's been crazy."
"I imagine. I've heard quite a bit about your adventures from your mom." Tyson shook his head. "Team Plasma, genetic hybrids, crazy lunatics with super powers. It's all insane. If it had come from any other source I'd call it fake, but Athena Ferris doesn't lie." Tyson chuckled. "How'd you get yourself tied up in all this?"
"That's a long story, honestly…" Finn trailed off. He shivered. "More pressing question: why is it so cold and how are you not frostbitten?"
"For your first question…" Tyson spread his arms wide. "I'm an ice specialist! Cold is what I do! For your second question, I'm so used to it that I barely notice the chill. Plus, you know." Tyson tugged the collar of his shirt down, showing another layer of clothing. "Warm underwear. Layers are your friend, Finn. They'll keep the heat in better than almost anything else. Although that jacket of yours looks top-of-the-line. I don't think they make those anymore."
"Mom got it for me. She didn't say much about it when she gave it to me, but apparently it's temperature-proof and indestructible." Finn tugged at one sleeve. "It basically saved my life."
"Yeah, that figures. I always figured she had some kind of artifact or something, just didn't want to share it." Tyson shrugged, smiling all the while. "Never figured it'd be a piece of advanced armor disguised as a leather jacket."
"At least it looks good," Finn said with a smirk.
"Hah!" Tyler reached down to his belt, unclipping a pokéball with an intricate snowflake design on the top. He tossed it into the air, then caught it. "Since I'm elite number one, I'll be laying out the rules for your challenge. Unlimited substitutions, held items permitted, six 'mons. You'll have up to half an hour between battles to prep for the next battle. These terms apply to all five battles, should you get that far. Understood?"
"Understood." Finn unclipped one of his own pokéballs.
"Good." Tyson whistled, and a pile of snow behind him shifted and slid away to reveal a blue reptile with shimmering frills running down its neck. It trilled loudly, ice appearing on its breath. "You remember Aquilon, right? He'll be here to make sure the room remains the right temperature, although should the time come he's my sixth fighter. And this-," Tyson tossed the pokéball into the middle of the room, a floating pokémon made of ice and snow emerging. It looked like a pair of ice-cream cones with a frozen tube emerging from one of its heads. The vanilluxe giggled as it floated upwards, an icy rock dangling from a chain wrapped around it. "Is Cream. She's going to start us off today."
The ground beneath Finn hummed, and a shimmering barrier rose from the circle around Finn. The same thing happened under Tyson. The trainers were shielded from all moves. Considering how frozen the room was, it would probably be necessary.
"When you win." Tyson pointed his thumb at the frost-encrusted door behind him. "You get to go through there. My goal is to give you one hell of a challenge." Tyson took a deep breath, his face becoming serious. "You face the first of the elite four, a master of ice. Ice is the calm in the center of the mind, no matter how chaotic the world around you may be. Ice can be calm and gentle, the most motionless thing in the universe. But it can also be harsh and chaotic. Cutting and bashing.
Cream the vanilluxe puffed out its cheeks, a cloud of ice erupting from the tube in its head. The cloud floated up to the ceiling and coalesced, raining ice shards down on the entire room. Its ability had activated. The only reason Finn hasn't being hailed on was the barrier.
Finn hurled his first pokéball through the barrier.
"Bastion, you're in first!"
The toxapex was clearly unused to the chill bite in the air, but he stood resolute.
A loudspeaker crackled to life, and the voice of a referee emitted into the room.
"Let the battle begin!"
O-O-O
The hallway past the frozen room was significantly warmer, even more so than the room before Tyson's. Given that the door ahead was scorched around the edges, that was understandable. Someone had attempted to heatproof the room by putting refrigerated tubes along the outside, but several of them had busted and were spewing steam into the air. The center of the doors had a large orange disk with the emblem of an exploded firework on them.
The doors opened away from Finn, letting a blazing heat billow out from the room beyond. Once again his jacket shielded him from the brunt of the heat. He could see now that the room became something of a runway, with flames licking at the sides and pyrotechnics firing at the midpoint. As soon as Finn stepped inside a curtain of sparks shot up from the exact midpoint of the runway, obscuring all vision of the other side. Rock music began to play from speakers set into the walls, and Finn knew that he was about to meet the second member of the elite four.
When the flames died, there was a man on the opposite side of the room. He stood tall and lanky, his skin a tanned shade. His face was unmarred by any signs of worry or time, but there was just enough of a difference from the rest of his skin tone to make it clear that he was wearing make-up. He wore mirrored sunglasses, probably to protect his eyes from all the pyrotechnics. The man's hair was an ashy gray with crimson streaks, swept back and tied into a loose ponytail. The man was wearing a pair of bell-bottomed pants with flame patterns on the ankles, along with a pair of black tap shoes on his feet. The jacket the man wore was similarly loose-sleeved with flame patterns, the front open to reveal a skin-tight black bodysuit. A cape fluttered behind him, once again keeping the flame motif. A pair of fingerless gloves adorned his hands. The man spun on one toe as the sparks died, pumping his right fist up and down as he came to a stop with his right hand up and his stance open.
Only then did the fire-type specialist wince and rub his back, his pose breaking. Finn heard him quietly complaining about his back before the elite finally addressed him.
"You've come a long way." The man's voice was a pleasant baritone, as smooth as butter. "I remember when you were about as tall as my knee."
"Hello Aelius." Finn smiled.
"Finnegan, it's great to see you." The smooth quality to Aelius' voice faded, leaving behind the worn voice of a man who'd seen more than half a century. He spoke with a tenderness that few people used with Finn. "You wouldn't believe how worried I was when I heard that you'd gotten into tussles with Team Plasma."
"I'm fine," Finn said. "I had Athena with me every time."
"Your honedge." Aelius smiled. "Well, aegislash now, right? Your first pokémon has a bond with you that will never fade. Speaking of…"
Aelius turned towards the flames that filled one side of the room and whistled.
From within the blazing heat of the fire something moved, rushing towards the runway. A reptilian creature leaped from the inferno to land on the runway, sliding to a stop as it rose from all fours. Most of its body was covered in black scales, with the underbelly a dark purple color with pink flame patterns. Its whiplike tail had two ribbons growing on either side of it, and as it sat back on its haunches purple flames flared around those ribbons. Its body was covered in scars and scratches from a lifetime of battle, with patches of missing scales and loose skin from age. It stood at almost four feet of height, which was just right for Aelius to reach over and pat the salazzle on the head.
"This is Loretta. I met her on a trip to Alola some fifty years back. I wasn't even a trainer then, and she hadn't evolved." Aelius gave a nostalgic smile as he looked down at his pokémon, getting a similar look back. "It was pure coincidence, but my life hasn't been the same since. You understand."
"I do." Finn nodded.
"Loretta here's not my strongest pokémon anymore. Age can take quite a lot from you." He returned his attention to Finn. "But that doesn't mean this will be easy for you, Finn. I like you a lot kiddo, but favoritism isn't something I can abide by. Ready yourself."
Aelius took a couple of steps back as his salazzle stepped forwards. The fire/poison type dropped to all fours.
"You face the second of the elite four, and my specialty is fire." Aelius's show voice returned as he put one hand in the air above his head, clenching it into a fist. "Fire, my young friend, is passion. Passion to do what you love, to fight for what you believe in, and to stand up to even the most overwhelming of odds. And in order to show your passion, you must brave the flames! Loretta, to battle!"
Barriers sprang up, immediately alleviating the bulk of the heat. Finn wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as he considered his options. Bastion would do poorly in the heat, and water-type moves would probably be weaker too. He didn't think any of his team would be able to outspeed the salazzle though, so Bastion it was.
"Bastion, once again!"
The two poison types faced each other down, the air taking on a foul smell as they channeled their energies. The loudspeakers crackled to life.
"Let the battle begin!"
O-O-O
After the harrowing experience that was Bastion being badly poisoned, Finn was relieved the get out of the heat. Aelius was pleasant, but the battle was anything but. He hadn't realized that salazzle could inflict poison on poison types. Quite the wake-up call. Once Bastion was too out of it to fight, Finn's hopes all fell on Nyx, and she had performed wonderfully.
Now he stood before the next door, the usually steel barrier covered in a thick layer of black rubber. The center of the doors held another insignia, this time in yellow. The image of two mechanical arms holding the two halves of a pokéball was displayed. Even out here Finn could feel his hair standing on end, static electricity in the air. As Finn stepped forwards and the doors opened, the sensation only intensified. The room beyond was made almost entirely out of metal, with the floor composed of square panels. Towering tesla coils stood in each corner of the room, electricity arcing off of them and grounding in the walls. Against the wall next to the exit door was a massive computer, somehow insulated against the electricity in the air.
Standing at the computer was a figure in a heavy-duty yellow rubber suit, pokéballs on a belt around their torso. They tapped away at the keyboard, oblivious to Finn's arrival. Hovering next to them was a large bug-type pokémon with mandibles at least as long as its body. Its wings fluttered almost invisibly, although it didn't need them. Its elytra were a blue color, as was its face and parts of its mandibles. The outer edges of its massive mandibles were yellow, and they flashed as the electricity in the air fluctuated. The vikavolt buzzed loudly as Finn entered the room, nudging the suited figure.
"Hmm?" The individual in the suit looked up at the bug type. Their voice was heavily muffled and distorted by the protective suit. "It can't be time yet, can it Gauss? Calculations state that the challenger should not arrive for at least ten more minutes."
Gauss the vikavolt buzzed again, pushing at its trainer. This time, the trainer turned around to look. The front of their rubber helmet was darkened glass, hiding everything.
The elite dressed in the rubber suit stood stock still for a few moments before speaking. "Started with the incorrect basis. That would be it. Calculations are correct, but the basis they were built upon was not. How unfortunate." The helmet shook from side to side before its inhabitant continued. "Greetings challenger Finnegan. Welcome to the third of the elite four."
"You would be Nik, right?" Finn asked.
"Ah, forgive me. Social interactions are not my strong suit." The elite reached up and removed their helmet, revealing first a head of extremely frizzy black hair. When they brushed the hair away to reveal their angular dark-skinned face, they continued. "I am Nik, electric type specialist of the elite four. Although you most certainly knew that. Are you aware of what electricity stands for within the context of the Pokémon League, or shall I give you the standard greeting?"
"I think I'd like to hear it," Finn said, shrugging.
Nik nodded, then began to recite a clearly well-practiced speech. "I am the third elite of four, and my specialty is electricity. Electricity is invention. The spark of creation that can lead to the most amazing things in our world. It is electricity that powers the human brain. It is electricity that powers our creations. It is thanks to electricity that we have access to pokéballs, and computers, and all of the things that have made humanity what it is today." Nik nodded again, then unclipped a strange pokéball from the outside of their uniform. It was blue, with a strange wireframe pattern and four golden ridges spaced evenly around the outside.
"Alter, I require your assistance."
From the strange pokéball emerged an even stranger pokémon. It was huge, towering high into the room. Its head seemed to be some kind of spiked shape, glowing brilliant white as it writhed. The rest of its body was composed of wire-like tentacles that were bound in bundles of three. Most of those tentacles ended in exposed copper, but the bundle at its back ended in what looked like a three-pronged plug. It stood in a facsimile of humanity, its alien cry echoing through the room. As soon as it appeared, the tesla coils began to fire more rapidly, with some arcs of electricity screaming through the air towards the creature. Just looking at the thing gave Finn goosebumps.
"What is that?!" Finn said, taking a step back.
"Alter?" Nik seemed confused for a moment, then their face settle back into their neutral expression. "Of course. Most people wouldn't know. Alola had a couple incidents in recent years where spatial anomalies manifested. I – like many specialists - was called in to assist. Alter had come through one such anomaly, and that is where I caught it."
"It's an interdimensional invader?" Finn asked incredulously.
"Invader is a strong word. It would be more apt to say that Alter - and the other creatures to come from those anomalies - are lost. They are in a world they don't recognize, that is not their own, without wanting to be here. The best we can do is accommodate them." Nik looked up at the towering extraterrestrial. "Alter has been given the codename of UB-03: Lighting by the international police. But for those of us more familiar with pokémon – like the League – it has a different name. Xurkitree."
"Is this… a secret?" Finn blinked a couple of times in surprise. "Like, is it classified information?"
"There are many disagreements between the government and the League. The classified nature of ultra beasts like Alter is one of them. The government does not think that the public should know about them. The League disagrees." Nik shrugged. "It's politics. I'm not very good at it. You should ask Champion Tanner."
"Right." Finn nodded. "I suppose I will."
"Now then." The barriers appeared around both trainers. "Send out your pokémon."
It might be an alien, but it had to be an electric type. "Nyx, you're in first."
The gliscor appeared, landing on her tail. She seemed shocked at the thing in front of her, but steeled herself regardless.
The alien – the xurkitree – screamed its strange cry as its arms and tail slammed into the ground. The lightning arcing around the room now would only be the start of the chaos to come. The loudspeaker activated, crackling more than usual.
"Let the battle begin!"
O-O-O
Despite encountering an alien lifeform with a frankly terrifying amount of electrical power at its disposal, Finn managed to beat Nik's team without a single one of his pokémon fainting. That was a very fortuitous circumstance, given that he was starting to run low on revives. He had brought a ton of potions and status heals, but for some reason didn't have a comparable amount of revives. He had replaced Nyx's flying gem for the fourth time today, only to realize that he had made a critical error. One gem for practice, one for each of the elite four and champion. Except that he had used one against Anthony. That meant he didn't have a gem for the champion.
Regardless of mistakes made, he stood before the door of the final elite. Unlike the other doors this one was not covered in any kind of protective covering. But one door was dented and bent, with pieces welded back on and patched together. The other door was brand new, but Finn had the feeling it wouldn't stay that way long. The center of the doors held a deep red disk with an upraised fist depicted in the center.
Once again, the door opened as Finn stepped forwards. There was no rush of intense temperature or an increase in the static in the air. Just the faint smell of sweat and the sound of someone rapidly beating on a punching bag. The room was simplistic, with a padded mat on the floor and training dummies of all sorts scattered around the edges of the room. To the right was the source of the sounds, an extremely fit man with his dark hair in a bowl cut. He was wearing only a simple pair of loose pants, leaving his muscular torso unclothed. He had three pokéballs on each side, held in triangular holsters. He turned around as Finn entered, his eastern features clear as he let out a heavy breath.
The elite slowly walked to his position on the middle of the room, and began to speak.
"The fighting type is characterized not by raw strength, but by the ability to channel one's energy through intense training and focus. This energy is called by many names: Chi, mana, aura, spirit. This is one's life energy, and it is life that it fights for. Every day your aura, your life energy, fights against entropy. Each breath is a battle against death, and it is a battle you train for by living." The man crossed his arms, closing his eyes. "Fighting is the energy of life itself. Of vitality. I have trained for life until my body has reached the peak of its power, and I have trained my pokémon likewise." The man's eyes opened into a wrathful glare. "You, challenger, have done something to poison your vitality. It is unnatural. Disgustingly dark. I have only seen two others with similar life energies and one of them is now dead. Ordinarily that would be grounds for me to beat you down and throw you in prison, but given that you have come this far I believe that there is a chance – however miniscule – that you might not have earned that darkness. Am I understood?"
Finn blinked, swallowing. The man towered over him, all muscle and sinew. There wasn't an ounce of wasted mass on the man's body. "Understood."
"Good." The elite snatched a pokéball from the holster on his left and released a humanoid pokémon. Its limbs were comprised of springs and it had no neck or head to speak of. The hitmonlee settled into a battle stance immediately. "I am Lee. Fourth elite and the last gate before the champion. I do not use gimmicks or handicaps. There will be no tricks, no solutions, only battle. Send out your pokémon."
The shields shimmered into place, and Finn assessed his options. Fighting types were at a huge inherent disadvantage against his team, but Lee almost certainly had counters to fighting type's greatest weaknesses. Lee said that he hated gimmicks, so…
"Jitters, you're in first."
He would start by forcing the fighting specialist to deal with a gimmick.
The hitmonlee readied itself, its spring-like limbs stretching as it did. Jitters made a chittering noise and hunkered down, ready to move at a moment's notice. The loudspeaker activated.
"Let the battle begin!"
O-O-O
Despite stating outright that he didn't use gimmicks, Lee was a liar. The mat gave most pokémon no benefit or downside one way or another, but Lee's pokémon used it to land safely after using high jump kick. Four of Lee's pokémon had known that move. Normally it was limited by the long wind-up and the painful consequences of missing, but when those consequences didn't exist it made for a devastating move. It was fortunate for Finn that so many of his pokemon resisted or were immune to fighting type moves. Finn wasn't entirely certain, but he had the feeling that he had made Lee very angry when he swapped Athena in to punish that hitmonlee.
Another oddity was that, despite his talk of aura, Lee didn't have a lucario. He had a medicham – which were known to read and use auras – but not the aura pokémon. It was kind of weird.
Nyx's acrobatics completely obliterated one of Lee's pokémon in one go, which was both amazing and very fortunate given the raw power those fighting types brought to bear. But it meant that there were no flying gems in Finn's bag. He gave her the focus sash Anthony had gifted him instead.
Now he stood before the final set of metal doors. Each door was adorned with six disks, each one a different color. The door on the left had cream, lavender, purple, and pink arranged in a semicircle, with light blue and orange closer to the center. The door on the right had light brown, yellow-green, silver, and black forming the other half of the circle started on the other door, and yellow and red closer to the middle. In the center was a clear disk. When Finn approached, the disks began to move. Starting with cream and moving counter-clockwise around the circle, the disks slid across the door and entered the clear disk, adding a color. Once the eighth disk had combined, the four disks closer to the middle slid into the center. The result was an opalescent disk that shone brightly, then disappeared. The doors swung silently inwards.
The room beyond was simple, without a theme. It was a standard battle arena with a metal flooring. The trainer boxes at either end of the arena were outlined by blue lights on the floor. And, standing in the center of the arena, was Champion Tanner.
"Welcome, challenger!" The champion greeted with a wide smile. "You're the first to get this far in a very, very long time!"
"I'm sure I am." Finn nodded as he approached, stopping only a few feet away. "The last time someone challenged you – at least publicly – was, what, three years ago? When Mom swept the elite four and then fought you. I always wondered why she lost, but I realized today that it was probably to avoid interacting with Lee on a regular basis."
Champion Tanner suppressed a snort at that. "Okay, Lee may be a bit… harsh. But he's a loyal friend and a valuable asset to the League."
"That's what people say when they don't want to call someone an asshole," Finn said.
The champion burst out into full on laughter. "If there was ever any doubt you were your mother's son, there is no more."
Finn smiled. "Hi Dad. It's been a long time."
At that, the champion froze, his smile disappearing. "You're not even going to entertain it for a little bit? I put a lot of effort into being Champion Tanner."
"But is it really necessary to wear a mask and use your bachelor's name?" Finn asked, raising one brow.
"Yes, because the Ferris clan is actually insane." Zane Ferris, Champion of Toreta, sighed and took off his mask. His face bore the lines of laughter and worry, but not the marks of ill health. His hazel eyes twinkled as he gave Finn a weary smile. "Do you know that when I defeated the previous champion your mother's parents arrived to congratulate her? When she said that she hadn't even challenged the League and had no plans to, they got so angry. They told me that, if I found out what bastard had 'stolen their legacy', I should tell them so they could reclaim their birthright. There's a reason you didn't visit Gran Gran very often." Finn's father turned the mask over in his hands, looking down at it. "Plus, well, I don't like the publicity much. It's hard enough being a world famous pokémon breeder. The mask makes it much easier to walk out and talk to the crowd. Champion Tanner is much better at speeches than Zane Ferris, you know?" Zane gave a weak grin.
"I… think I can understand." Finn nodded slowly. "Sometimes you just have to… be someone else."
"Yeah." Champion Zane Ferris sighed. "You know, they say that if you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life, but the politics involved are very un-enjoyable."
"I imagine," Finn said. "How many others know about the whole alter ego thing?"
Zane puffed out his cheeks as he let out a breath. "Let's see… the elite four, of course. Your mother and Daniel – they're both still my closest friends. Lorenzo, Terrance, and Carsen all know. I didn't even tell Carsen, he figured it out on his own with that Sherlock Holmes thing he does."
"I thought it was an act when he did it on me, since he already had my information in front of him." Finn furrowed his brow. "Are you saying it wasn't?"
"Well, it is sometimes. He really can tell you what job you work by the wear on your hands." Zane shook his head. "That's it, I think. The other champions all know, but that's for diplomatic reasons. I never really got to know Heather or Ada, and Trinity and Mono are – or were - far too new at their positions for me to have trusted them. That turned out to be for the best, honestly. Although it may not matter because of those ninjas."
"Ninjas?" Finn's eyebrows went up in surprise. "What ninjas?"
"You haven't run into the Plasma ninjas? The shadow triad?" When Finn shook his head, Zane shrugged. "Well, probably for the best. They've been causing troubles for us over the past year. But we can talk about that after our battle."
Zane turned and walked towards one end of the arena, snapping his fingers. A podium raised out of the ground in his trainer box, holding six pokéballs atop it. The champion came to a stop, hesitating.
"Finn. I know you've come a long way, and I have a lot of faith in your ability," Zane said. "You know my whole team already, so you're at just a bit of an advantage on that front. I also don't want to be accused of going easy on you. That's why I'm offering you a little bit more of a challenge."
Champion Zane tapped a few buttons on the podium, and the center raised up to reveal a master ball.
"I will substitute one member of my team with the pokémon within this ball. The most powerful pokémon I have ever caught," Zane said, tossing his mask into the air and catching it.
"Is there… anything extra for taking on this challenge?" Finn asked, narrowing his eyes.
"A more difficult battle. One that will challenge you for real. I watched your battles with the elites, and you obliterated them," Zane replied. He grinned. "Plus, you'll get to see something that I've only shown to maybe ten people."
Finn had to admit to himself that he was very tempted. A challenge greater than a normal battle with the champion? That sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime. But on the other hand, if he accepted there was a chance he wouldn't be able to win. As tempted as he was, if he lost his shot at the title of champion because he accepted an optional challenge, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. But then, if he turned down the challenge and lost, was it a real victory? He wouldn't have battled the champion at his strongest. The title might as well not have been earned at that point.
"Alright." Finn nodded. "But I want something extra out of it. An actual reward for adding to the challenge."
"I'll put something together," Zane said with a shrug.
"Fine. I'll accept your challenge." Finn turned and walked to his end of the arena. He unclipped a pokéball from his belt.
"Wonderful." Zane Ferris smiled widely. He pressed a couple of buttons on the podium, and protective barriers appeared around the trainers. The champion selected a pokeball from the podium in front of him. "Ready?"
"Ready."
Another push of a button, and the trainer boxes slid out of the ground and hovered up into the air. Finn hadn't been expecting it, but regained his balance quickly.
"Then let the battle begin," Zane said. "Fezzick, you're in."
"Crai, you're up first!"
Two psychic types appeared in the arena, staring each other down. One was his Father's faithful alakazam, the other was Craitarot. Both of them were holding on to lumps of yellowish clay. As they brought their psychic powers to bear, both trainers gave the same order.
"Screens!"
Both pokemon went to work immediately, erecting first a light screen, then a reflect. Those screens would last for a long time if allowed to.
Finn looked across the arena at his father. That secret pokémon would be saved for last. That much he was sure of. Which meant that his father would switch in something Finn knew. Screens could reduce the damage of incoming attacks by a substantial amount, which meant that the sooner they were removed, the better. His father surely knew that as well as he did. So what would he switch in? It wasn't a huge stretch to figure out that Zane Ferris would want them gone. Therefore….
"Crai, return. Athena, you're up!"
"Fezzick, come back! Cookie, your turn!"
The psychic types disappeared from the battlefield, and two more pokémon were sent in. On Finn's side was Athena. Finn's father sent in a reptilian humanoid with orange scales and a mohawk of red crests atop its head. It was wearing a white claw on a string around its neck. Finn recognized the scrafty, and smiled to himself as it appeared on the battlefield.
"Cookie, use knock off."
Finn waited just a moment then gave his counter command. "Athena, brick break."
The scrafty leaped forwards, rearing back to slam its head into Athena's shield. Dark energy pooled in the center of its forehead. It hit, slowed and dampened by the reflect, but managed to get through to Athena. Finn grinned to himself. Even as the weakness policy was sent skidding across the floor of the arena, the energy discharge had managed to infuse Athena. Then Athena unsheathed herself, blade taking on a white sheen and a flat edge as she slammed it into the scrafty to counterattack.
The force of the blow sent Cookie flying, only to flip and land on its feet. The scrafty shook its head, seeming confused.
"A good move, swapping in to a pokémon that I can't use brick break on." Zane nodded appreciatively as his scrafty stood solid. "And a weakness policy, too. I've seen it a few times, but I can never remember if it activates before or after knock off forces you to drop it. Before, apparently. Very good. I don't think we'll be able to get dragon dances in, Cookie. Return."
The scrafty disappeared into red light, returning to its pokéball. The champion selected a different pokéball. "I wasn't thinking we'd need to do this so early. Darling, you're in."
The replacement was a tall, brown-furred Pokémon with lop-ears. Finn recognized the Lopunny, too – it was the champion's ace. It wore a scarlet bow at the base of its left ear with a shimmering spherical gemstone in the fabric. The mega stone glinted in the light of the arena as Darling took a fighting stance.
Finn wouldn't be able to keep Athena in against that. It was normal type, and far faster than Athena. If it mega evolved, it would only be even more threatening. He needed to swap, and fast.
"Athena, return. Bastion, your turn."
As soon as the toxapex appeared, Zane gave his own order. "Darling, U-turn."
Darling bounded forwards and slammed one of its powerful legs down on Bastion's dome. The force allowed it to bounce backwards, disappearing into red light as it did. The red vanished backwards into a pokéball, and Zane sent out his next pokémon.
The blue-furred canid that appeared made a lump form in Finn's throat. Its regal form tensed immediately, and it readied itself for battle. It wore a necklace with a shimmering pink orb held close to its throat. It was a lucario, but not just any lucario. Finn recognized this one. Upon looking up at Finn, it did a double-take. The pokémon turned to look up at its trainer with a questioning expression.
"Yes, Sparks. That's Finnegan," Zane said softly. "You'll have all the time you need to talk to him after this, okay?"
Sparks nodded, swallowing. He returned to his combat stance.
"I didn't realize that you were using Sparks for league battles," Finn said.
"He's quite strong, more so than his parents. And he's got such a fighting spirit that it would be wrong of me to deprive him of combat," Zane replied.
"But why did you have to take him from me?" Finn's voice was quiet and strained, but still carried across the room.
"Finn…" Zane sighed. "There is a reason that your mother hasn't had a lucario on her team in fifteen years. It's not a coincidence. Giving Sparks to you was… an experiment, I suppose. One that I'm not proud of. I'll tell you everything once we're done here."
"Okay." Finn nodded. "You'd better."
"On my honor as champion." Zane placed one hand over his heart. "Even though I may not be when this is over."
"Alright then." Finn took a deep breath. "Let's go."
"Very well. Sparks, swords dance."
"Bastion, toxic spikes. Two layers."
Sparks closed his eyes, conjuring forth spectral blades that spun and danced around him as he focused. The swords collapsed into the lucario's body, empowering his attacks. Meanwhile Bastion began to spray his toxic spikes all over the other side of the field, laying down a thick layer of poisonous caltrops.
"Brick break, then thunder punch."
The lucario was across the field in an instant, first with a chop that shattered the translucent psychic barriers around Bastion, then with a thunderous blow that crackled with electricity. The first hit didn't faze Bastion, and he managed to get off the second layer of spikes without issue. But the second cause the toxapex to fly backwards, slamming hard into the metal door Finn had entered through. He was still able to battle, but significantly worse for wear.
"Bastion, return. Jitters, you're up!"
Jitters appeared in a flash of light, ready for battle. Finn gave his next command. "Sticky web, then volt switch back."
"Sparks, fire punch."
Jitters managed to lay down a thick layer of spider webs before Sparks slammed a flaming fist into the side of his head. The arachnid skidded across the arena, but managed to stand up to fire a pair of interlocking discs of energy at the fighting type. Sparks took the hit without faltering, but his foe was gone by the time he arrived with the follow-up strike.
"Nyx, start things off with an earthquake!"
"Sparks, fire punch! Fire punch now!"
As soon as the light faded Nyx was in the air. She rose up higher than Sparks could reach, then descended like a meteor. She slammed into the ground with enough force to cause a shockwave to ripple outwards from the point of impact. The shockwave hit the barrier around Finn, causing it to crackle from the sheer power of the attack. Dust shot up from the new cracks between the steel paneling of the floor.
When the dust cleared, Sparks was out cold on the ground. Nyx balanced atop her tail, the arena wrecked around her.
Zane sighed. "Well, not much you can do against superior speed like that. Sparks, return. Miles, you're in."
The next pokémon was a beautiful serpentine creature, coiling around itself. The milotic had a feeding bag around its neck, holding some kind of berry no doubt. It landed on the toxic spikes and in the webs and winced, moaning pitifully at the sight of spider silk all over its body. This was his father's famous milotic, the one whose scales made up a not insignificant source of income for the Ferris family.
"Nyx, thunder fang."
"Miles, ice beam."
Finn's eyes widened as Nyx swooped in, latching her jaws around the milotic's cream-colored midsection. The water type barely noticed, instead rearing back its head to collect a ball of blinding light blue energy. Miles released the attack at point-blank range, firing a beam of ice energy into Nyx's torso with unrelenting force. Ice rapidly collected over Nyx's body, coating her torso and wings in an instant.
"Nyx, return!" Finn quickly recalled the gliscor, not entirely sure whether or not she was still conscious. It looked like that attack had collected enough ice on her body to prevent her from moving fast enough to attack. He had foolishly believed that Nyx could do much to the milotic. He knew that milotic had the ability marvel scale, which made it more physically durable when afflicted with conditions like poison or burns. He would have to be more careful than that. So he changed tactics a bit. "Jitters, you're in!"
Jitters returned to the battlefield and eyed up his opponent. The milotic had dipped its head into the bag and chewed on something, which implied that it had some kind of leftovers to snack on and recover health. Not that it would help much with the toxic spikes in play.
"Jitters, thunder!"
"Hydro pump!"
As Miles reared back to fire one of the strongest water-type moves, Jitters returned fire with one of the strongest electric-type moves. The hydro pump went wide, thrown off-course by the violent thrashing that the milotic experienced when it was hit by the massive blast of lightning. A second thunder was enough to take down the water type pokémon, its immense defenses overwhelmed by the sheer power Jitters could muster.
"Miles, return. Cookie, you're back out."
The scrafty reappeared, scowling at Jitters. It looked down at the webbing around its feet and the toxic spikes it had stepped on and stuck out its tongue in disgust.
"Cookie, head smash."
Finn's eyes widened at the command. Head smash was definitely going to be enough.
"Jitters, dodge it-,"
Before he could complete his order, the claw hanging from Cookie's neck flashed, and the scrafty was across the field in the blink of an eye. Crystalling structures formed on the reptile's head, forming a bludgeoning surface with which to attack, and Cookie slammed its head down onto Jitters' cranium with enough force to create a crater in the floor. The super effective attack knocked Jitters out instantly, and left the scrafty with just enough energy to stay standing. Cookie let out a fearsome roar as its energy surged, its ability activating to make it stronger.
"Jitters, return. Crai, back in."
Crai appeared in a flash of light, and the scrafty immediately tried another knock off attack. Crai quickly used protect, blocking the attack before it could do anything. The scrafty slammed into the translucent barrier a few times, eventually shattering it. Then it reared back for the next blow.
The scrafty leaned back further, and further, rock type power once again crystallizing on his forehead. Just when it seemed like it was about to slam its skull into Crai, it stopped.
Then the scrafty fell backwards, knocked out by the poison in its system. Crai used it as a chance to use a reflect.
"Cookie, return." Zane Ferris shook his head. "Always a bit too overzealous, that one. Oh well. Darling, you're back up."
The lopunny returned, scowling at the webs all over the ground. She shook them off, then readied herself.
"U-turn, put everything you have into it!"
The lopunny blitzed forwards at speeds unexpected due to the webbing on her legs. She jumped up, spun, and planted both of her feet on Crai's face. Her attack landed with far more force than it had against Bastion, possibly a fabled critical hit, and the normal type was gone into her pokéball before Crai hit the ground in an unconscious heap.
Finn recalled Crai and sent out Athena as Zane sent out Fezzick the alakazam.
Athena immediately disappeared into her shadow, unable to outspeed the alakazam otherwise and afraid of what might happen if she didn't. She emerged behind Fezzick as it tried to channel another reflect, and with a single strike sent it sprawling on its front.
"Fezzick return." Zane winced. "Poor thing is getting a bit too old for this. He might have to retire soon. Regardless, he was never able to take a physical blow. No surprise that you knocked him out like that. Darling, one last time!"
"Athena, return. Belle, your time to shine!"
Lopunny and machamp stood opposed. Belle winced as her flame orb left a burn on her chest, but she didn't falter.
"Ready Darling?" Zane smiled, putting his mask back on his face. He reached up and placed two fingers on the stone set into the mask's forehead. "Let's show them what we can do!"
A brilliant flash of light erupted from the gemstone in the mask, arcing outwards towards Darling. The streams of rainbow energy flooded into the lopunny, and her form became encased by a shimmering veil of energy. The veil cracked, shook, and erupted with a shining double-helix crystal. Darling emerged with less fluffy fur, but far more toned musculature. The mega lopunny dropped into a battle stance, ready for whatever Finn might throw at her.
Despite her preparation, she wasn't ready.
"Belle, fling."
Belle grabbed the flame orb and ripped it from the harness on her chest. She flung it overhand, the blazing orb hurtling through the air towards the lopunny. It hit and erupted into a fireball, covering the lobunny's front in crisscrossing burns. It didn't do much damage at base, but the burn would make it painful and difficult to attack.
"That's a rude trick, Finn." Zane scowled. "Poison and burns?"
"It's legal." Finn shrugged.
"Yes, it is." Zane sighed. "I'll compensate you for the flame orb when this is over."
"Thanks."
"Darling, bounce."
The lopunny hopped once, then used her momentum to hurtle herself high into the air. Darling descended quickly, aiming right for Belle.
Belle, for her part, saw it coming. She waited for the last moment, then jumped out of the way. As soon as Darling landed, Belle launched a cross chop in a bid to disable the rabbit in one go. Darling likewise dodged, slipping just out of reach.
The two traded blows rapidly, with Darling relying on heavy kicks and flying blows to try and land a good hit on Belle. Belle did the same, though with cross chops instead. Any time Belle missed by a hair, Darling would swing her momentum into a kick that was blocked at the last second. Neither of them could keep this up long, but Belle could keep it up longer. Finn just had to wait for the right moment to give the command.
"Darling, high jump kick."
That was it.
"Belle, hold…"
Belle braced herself, putting all four arms in front of her. The lopunny leaped high into the air, then descended with absurd speed. Her foot struck Belle's blocking arms, a shockwave erupting outwards and knocking away the dust around the two. Belle didn't even seem to notice that she had been struck. She just grinned.
"Vital throw!"
The machamp's hands snapped out, grabbing Darling's outstretched leg. Belle spun, dragging the lopunny through the air. After a couple of revolutions, she slammed the normal type into the ground with all of her might, leaving a crater in the floor.
When the dust cleared, Darling was unconscious.
"Darling, return." Zane looked down at the pokéball that held his ace and removed his mask. "You know, that's the first time she's lost in years. Normally she downs her foes in one hit. That burn was ingenious." Zane shook his head. "But it's not over yet. Recall your machamp for now. She deserves a bit of a rest."
Finn obliged, recalling Belle. "So you swapped out Napoleon? I love that grumpig."
"I did. He's the weakest link of the team. I believe he could have finished your machamp, at the very least, but that wouldn't have secured the win. Your aegislash is terrifyingly efficient." Zane shrugged. He placed Darling's pokéball on the podium and picked up the master ball. "But this… I found this Pokémon a little less than twenty years ago. You're familiar with the criminal organizations that used to run rampant in Toreta, yes?"
"I am." Finn nodded.
"Well, your mother, Daniel, and I were the ones to bring down one of the most recent ones. A nasty group of individuals who wanted to delve into the History Caverns and use the relics within to establish a hold over Bluebell City. Arceus only knows why they wanted that, but it was their goal." Zane rolled the pokéball over in his hands. "They had managed to create a device that could hack into ancient automatons, which was… terrifying. To say the least. I was fortunate enough to have been gifted this master ball for helping kick these criminals out of the Inducity factories. I could talk for days about how the three of us battled criminals – not just with our pokémon, it seems to be a family tradition – but we don't have time for that. The criminals had attached their control device to an ancient machine that was responsible for clearing out most of the rooms the ancient ruins are built in. A powerful replica of a divine golem."
Zane released his pokémon, and the first thing that Finn noticed about it was its sheer bulk. The thing stood at over six feet tall, and about that wide. It was comprised entirely of metal, both silvery and a darker alloy. Its hands ended in three long flexible fingers. Its body had no head, but instead seven crimson lights set into the front of its torso, arranged in a circle with one in the center. Its stumpy legs crushed the toxic caltrops beneath its feet with ease. The ancient golem looked almost alien in make, but Finn knew that it was a part of the world's history that was almost older than humanity. The Pokémon made a mechanical warbling sound, its seven lights flickering at random.
"This registeel – and I say this one because there are most certainly more down in the caves – was under the control of the criminal gang at the time. Not caught, they could never manage to catch it, but controlled. The only way to free it from their control was to catch it, using the master ball I currently hold." Zane took a deep breath. "It does not learn. It does not feel. It simply does as its master commands. And right now, I am that master. I have yet to see anything actually injure this creature, and that includes your mother's pokémon. If you can find a way to beat this registeel, you will have earned your title as champion without any doubt. Are you ready?"
Finn swallowed, steeling himself. He had not expected this. A dragon was closer to what he was thinking, or perhaps a tyranitar. Not a pokémon of legendary power. Even if it was a replica of a legendary and not the genuine article. But… he wasn't going to give up here.
"I'm ready."
"Then send out your machamp."
"Belle." Finn swallowed again, his mouth dry. "I'm relying on you."
Belle returned to the battlefield and her eyes widened. She hadn't been expecting this either.
"Belle, close combat."
And despite her surprise, she was ready. She dashed forwards to strike the golem, all four arms upraised to pummel the registeel with all of her might.
"Registeel, protect."
The lights in the golem's eyes flashed in a clockwise pattern, and it lifted its hands to form a translucent green barrier. Belle's assault struck the barrier with a flurry of attacks, each one carrying enough might to shatter steel and obliterate rock.
"I thought you said you hadn't seen anything that could hurt it?" Finn asked.
"I don't want your machamp to launch it through the wall. Enough force could cause serious structural damage." Zane shrugged. "Registeel, lock-on."
Registeel's lights flashed, the outer ring first, then the inner one.
"Zap cannon."
A massive blast of energy erupted from all seven of the golem's lights, firing a massive blast of electricity that enveloped Belle and everything around her. When the energy faded, Belle was on one knee, her body spasming wildly. She tried to stand up, only to fall to her side.
"Belle, return." Finn looked down at her pokéball. This was the only time after Trinity that Belle had failed to defeat her opponent. That was worrying. He took a deep breath. "Bastion, you're up!"
Bastion landed on the battlefield. He had already healed all of the damage from earlier. But Finn had the feeling it wouldn't help that much. He also had the benefit of Crai's last reflect, which was fading quickly and was already useless to defend against zap cannon.
"Bastion, scald!" Finn commanded. If it managed to burn the steel behemoth, then at the very least there was a chance.
"Lock-on. Zap cannon."
The spray of superheated water splashed off of the registeel without doing much. The returning fire washed electricity over Bastion, paralyzing him instantly. Finn gave the order to use recover immediately, which gave the registeel enough time to lock-on again. When the zap cannon came, Bastion was unable to recover again due to the paralysis caused by the first zap cannon. Once again, electricity washed over him. He wasn't out quite yet, but it was a close thing.
"Lock-on."
"Bastion, spite!"
The toxapex spewed a cloud of spectral energy at the golem, the energy sapping cloud draining the energy used for lock-on. A zap cannon shot out of the cloud shortly afterwards, blasting it away and slamming into Bastion. The electricity filled the water type, and when his spasms stopped he fell limp.
"Bastion, return. Athena, it's up to you!"
The aegislash appeared, ready for what was coming. Registeel locked on, stepping closer to Athena and making a low warbling noise that made Finn's bones rumble. Its face erupted with electricity, sending dust into the air from the impact. When the dust cleared, Athena was visible. Her king's shield was up, having saved her from the devastating force of the zap cannon.
"Lock-on." Zane ordered.
In response, the golem made a harsh sound, reminiscent of a computer's error message.
"Hmm. Fine. Protect."
"Athena, swords dance!"
"Protect again."
The golem erected a greenish barrier as Athena increased her offensive power. Finn was confused when Zane gave the order to protect again. Surely it would only fail from repeated use?
"Protect again."
At the third order, the green barrier rippled, then shattered into a thousand pieces. The golem was left standing and helpless, its hands upraised.
"Athena, brick break!"
Athena rushed forwards, her blade coated in blinding white energy. She slammed into the golem hard enough to send dust flying away from both steel types. And yet the golem was unmoved. Unharmed.
"Registeel, stomping tantrum."
Finn's eyes widened. That was why he had intentionally failed the protect. Stomping tantrum got stronger if the pokémon using it had failed to use its last move. The golem let out a piercing metallic scream, then began to stomp towards Athena. It tramped over her, slamming her into the floor with its heavy footsteps. The ground type attack was super effective, and more than enough to leave her unconscious on the ground.
"Athena, return." Finn took a deep breath. That was four moves from the registeel. It couldn't legally do anything else.
"I'm sorry Finn." Zane sighed. "I guess that's it. You can challenge again-,"
"No, that's not it." Finn shook his head. "I win."
"You… didn't manage to damage the registeel…" Zane looked down at the golem, frowning. "What? Did I miss something? You don't have any pokémon left, do you?"
"I think so." Finn grabbed a pokéball. "Nyx, come on out."
The gliscor emerged, shivering and ice-coated, but still conscious. Wrapped around her tail was a sash that had once been a gradient of red and orange, but was currently bleached white. She looked at the registeel and shuffled backwards away from it.
"Nyx is immune to both electric and ground type moves. She was holding a focus sash, which let her remain conscious when she was hit with that ice beam. Registeel's four legal moves are zap cannon, lock-on, protect, and stomping tantrum. Your choices. Of those, you can only deal any damage with zap cannon and stomping tantrum, neither of which hurt Nyx." Finn stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I win."
"That- Huh." Zane scratched his chin. "Hah. Haha. Ha ha ha!"
Zane laughed to himself for several minutes before he calmed down enough to talk. "Oh, wow. I wasn't expecting a loss by rules lawyer, but that's just how you do things isn't it? I think – I think that makes you the first person to win against registeel. Ever. Wow."
The former champion tapped a few buttons on the podium and his platform lowered back into the floor, an island of smooth floor amidst the destruction. Finn's platform lowered soon after. Zane recalled the registeel and gestured at Finn.
"Come with me. Bring your gliscor."
Finn reached out and steadied Nyx, grabbing an ice heal from his bag to defrost her. Even though she was still shivering, she was fine now. He set off after his father, Nyx beside him.
Zane Ferris led Finn through a long hallway lined with monitors. People and pokémon of all sorts were depicted, and the monitors changed to new subjects every few seconds. Finn saw his own father a couple of times, posing with the team that Finn had just defeated – although the registeel was replaced by a grumpig. Finn continued on to the console at the end of the hallway, which his father gestured towards. It had a hexagonal receptacle in the center, with slots for pokéballs and in the center a pokédex. Finn placed each item in one by one, and one by one images of his pokemon appeared on the screen above the console. The machine pulsed, healing his pokémon. Finn picked up the pokéballs hesitantly, turning towards his father.
"Go ahead. Let them out." Zane reached past Finn to pick up a camera.
"Come on out, team," Finn said quietly.
His team appeared one by one. Athena, Jitters, Belle, Bastion, and lastly Crai. He got a lot of questioning looks from them, but shook his head in response.
"If you could pose, please?" Zane asked.
Athena floated in front of Finn, pressing herself back against his right arm. He placed his hand on her hilt. She had been with him since the start.
Nyx stood at Finn's left, and he put his hand on her shoulder. He was proud of her. She had secured his victory against impossible odds.
Jitters stood at his right leg, nuzzling his ankle. He had set up the trap that had slowed the champion's whole team.
Belle stood behind and to Finn's right, and put her arm around his shoulders. She was his strongest pokémon, and had single-handedly defeated the champion's ace.
Bastion stood at Finn's left leg, just far enough away to avoid contact. He may be prickly and afraid of contact, but he had walled out the golem long enough to force it to use something other than zap cannon.
Crai was behind Finn's left shoulder, wrapping his arm around Finn's shoulders. His screens were invaluable, and had neutered the champion's strategy.
Finn looked straight into the camera and smiled.
There was a brilliant white flash, and Zane Ferris smiled from behind the camera.
"You have completed the hardest challenge the Toreta Pokémon League can bring to bear. You have gone all across the region and learned the life lessons that every gym leader and elite can teach. You have earned all eight badges, and you have trained a team of six powerful and loyal pokémon. And now you hold the highest office you can hold in the Toreta league.
"Congratulations, Champion Finnegan Ferris. Welcome to the Hall of Fame."
A/N:
We've made it. The highest office any trainer can hold.
It's been four years in the making, but we're here.
Of the pokémon introduced in this chapter, only three have any real meaning behind their names. There's Cream, the vanilluxe. That one should be self explanatory. Alter the xurkitree is named after alternating current, which is Nikola Tesla's most noteworthy creation. Gauss the vikavolt is named after a famous mathematician.
I confess, I wish I could go back and foreshadow who the champion really is. I might just do that, once I finish the story.
This chapter contains the last full-on pokémon battle in the story. That's not to say there's no more combat, just that it won't be traditional pokémon battles
The story's not over yet. We still have the end of the world to worry about.