From the Champion's Box, the four spectators all smiled happily for the applause Mark had gotten after his departure from Arcana was announced. Addison, despite her joys that Ryan was advancing, couldn't help but feel sorry for Mark, who had given his all to Arcana and never got his chance to be the Arcana Pokemon League Champion. Despite this, she looked down towards Ryan and blew him a kiss when she thought he was looking their way. Piper also looked proudly on Ryan, who was now one of the four finalists with the chance to square off against Michael in the Title Match. His opponent would be the winner of the match between Chris and Giselle. Whoever won would be a ferocious challenge to Ryan, regardless of who it turned out to be, but the Queen of Arcana was confident he would give either of them his best effort.

Julia couldn't help but shed a tear for her friend. "It's a shame. I never got a chance to thank him."

"For what?" Michael asked.

"For helping you in those years in exile" she said, wrapping her arm around him. "He helped keep you out of some dark places. And if it weren't for him, I might never have gotten to see you again.

Michael looked at her, completely confused by her actions. "What are you talking about? Mark's not leaving yet."

"He's not?" Julia asked.

"Of course not" Michael laughed. "He's coming up here to watch the rest of the matches." As Michael finished his sentence, Mark walked through the door and waved to the group.

"HEY!" he called to them. "Hope I didn't miss anything."

"Mark!" Piper waved eagerly. "Come on in, we've got a great view from here!"

Mark nodded and made himself a plate of food and sat in one of the vacant chairs they had for the Champion's Box. "Sometimes, it pays to lose. Now, I get to have some of these delicacies. Mmmm. Oh wow, is this Scalloped Potatoes?" He made himself comfortable and started to gorge himself with food. "Hey, looks like Chris and Giselle couldn't wait to get their fight underway." The group looked down and saw that Chris's Garchomp was already battling against Giselle's Eelektross.

Michael made his way over to his friend's side. "Time to see if Chris is ready to be the Pokémon Champion or not."

"You think he has what it takes?" Addison asked.

"Oh, Chris has always had what it takes" Michael told her. "But he's never been one to take things too seriously."

"Yeah, that's why he's only ever been in the Title Match once as far as I remember" Julia recalled.

"And he didn't last too long there, either" Michael remembered. "I swept him out of the Title Match." Michael looked towards the corner of their window and was surprised to find one of Chris's most vocal critics watching the match with baited breath. While the others were mingling as if nothing was wrong, Piper's gaze was entirely fixed on the match. Michael looked at her reflection in the mirror and chuckled. She was showing genuine concern for his cousin. That's something I didn't expect to see in my lifetime. He gestured for Julia to come to his side.

"What's up?" she asked.

Michael pointed at Piper. "Take a look at that."

Julia gasped and whispered in her husband's ear. "Is she really..."

Michael nodded. "Piper might have moved on from Tanner after all." He made his way over to Piper's side. "I didn't think you were this into Pokémon Battling."

Piper, her eyes still locked on the match taking place below them, shrugged. "I just want to make sure that Giselle doesn't get to rule as Champion again. that's all. If Chris is going to be the one who wins, so be it." She glanced back at the wry smile Michael had on his face and she rolled her eyes. "That's all. Nothing more."

"You have a terrible poker face, Piper" Michael told her. "You always have."

She ignored him as she kept her eyes locked on the match. Chris seemed to have the edge, with his Garchomp still in there facing Giselle's Tentacruel. But she couldn't be too sure. The Tentacruel wrapped it's tentacles around the Garchomp and began to rain Ice Beams on the Garchomp like it was nothing. She held her breath as the Garchomp managed to fling the Tentacruel off of him, but was panting heavily.

"If you want an outsider's opinion" Michael continued, "Chris is about as dense as it gets. He won't figure it out unless you talk to him."

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Piper insisted, her cheeks reddening as she realized both her cousin and brotherly figure were on to her.

Julia giggled. "I'm sure you don't." She leaned back towards her husband and giggled. "You think it would work out between them?"

Michael shrugged. "Stranger things have happened." He then went back to observing the showdown between his cousin and former arch nemesis, which appeared to be much closer than anyone had previously anticipated.

{Some Time Later...}

Chris found himself being pushed to his very limit in this showdown with Giselle. His Garchomp and his Dusknoir had already fallen at the hands of the Giselle's Pokémon. Though he had managed to make her Eelektross and Tentacruel faint, he found himself in a tight spot, with his Charizard up against her Aerodactyl. Despite both of them being Flying Types, her Aerodactyl had once gone toe to toe with Rhaegar and was only beaten because Michael used the power of the Crimson Fury to overwhelm her. But now, on even footing, she had the decided advantage.

"Spyro! Use Dragon Pulse!" Chris ordered.

"Aerodactyl! Use Double Team!" The Prehistoric Pokémon simply made duplicates of itself to easily bypass Chris's most powerful attacks. Giselle grinned at Chris. "You really should be training yourself, Chris. Otherwise, how are you going to learn how to protect the people you care about?"

"Mind your own business" Chris retorted. "I am perfectly able to protect the people I care about."

"You couldn't follow in Michael's footsteps even if you wanted to" Giselle mocked him. "You need to find that someone to cherish like your cousin has."

"Crush her, Chris!" Cameron called.

Giselle looked over towards the remaining contestants, where Cameron was glaring at her. "Spare me your sisterly protections, Speck. I'll beat you into submission in no time as soon as I've taken down your brother and your little cousin."

Chris laughed. "You couldn't beat me if you wanted to, Giselle." He called to his Charizard. "Dragon Pulse!" The Charizard fired a powerful wave of energy, but the Aerodactyl swirled past the attack and let out a horrific screech that caused his Charizard to fall back in pain.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Giselle laughed. "You're not strong enough to defeat me."

"We'll see about that" Chris countered.

"No, we won't. Aerodactyl! Use Thunder Fang!" All five of the Aerodactyl's swarmed around Spyro and took vicious bites packed with Electrical Energy into Spyro, zapping the Charizard into submission. Spyro looked back towards his trainer and growled sadly, before collapsing to the ground, unconscious and losing Chris the match.

"Charizard is unable to battle" the Referee declared. "The Winner is Giselle Odelia!"

The crowds were stunned into silence. Giselle recalled her Aerodactyl and looked towards her opponent. "You have talent, Chris. But until you find out what helps make your cousins as strong as they are, you'll constantly be upset in these tournament settings."

Chris lowered his head. "I lost..." He recalled his fainted Charizard.

"With this shocking victory, Giselle Odelia will advance to the Semi-Finals against Ryan Kingston" the announcer proclaimed. On the scoreboard, Chris's name is erased and the bracket is updated to show that only Ryan and Giselle remained in the Eastern Bracket. "And with that, there are only two Trainers left in the Eastern Bracket. Now, we will proceed to the Western Bracket matches after a 20 minute hiatus. Will Cameron Kingston and Madeline Kingston prepare themselves for their upcoming match! For in 20 minutes, we will see which of you will advance to the Semi-Finals."

Chris walked off the arena floor and down into the Tunnel, despite the cheers and applause from fans in the stands. He sighed to himself as he realized that he had once again underachieved in an Arcana Pokémon League tournament, but this time it was in the last tournament his best friend and cousin would be hosting. He would never be able to test himself against Michael in a tournament setting ever again. He punched the wall angrily in frustration.

"Is that all that turns you into a whelping mess?" a voice called over to him.

Chris didn't even need to look behind him to know who was mocking him. "Could you not, Piper? I'm not in the mood."

Piper made her way over to him. "You put in your best effort, Chris. You can't really be that down because of that."

"I lost outright" Chris replied. "I'll be down if I want to, especially that now I can't even take on Mike in the title match."

Piper sighed and put her hand on his shoulder. "There's no need to feel down. You've still got Cam and Ryan to root for."

Chris laughed. "Yeah, let me root for my sister who's gonna chew me out for losing again."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm not letting you feel sorry for yourself. Come on. We've got tons of great food in the Champion's Box." When Chris was reluctant to move, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down the tunnel and up towards the Champion's Box. When the two finally arrived, Piper realized how bad this looked with her rushing out of the Box to check on Chris. But she rolled her eyes and pushed the door open. Luckily for them, the four in the Champion's Box were already focused on the showdown between Cameron and Madeline in the Quarter-Finals, with Addison and Mark practically leaning on the glass and Michael and Julia arm in arm on the side of the window.

Chris sighed. "Well, at least they won't be mocking me this whole time."

Piper flicked him in the nose. "I'll take care of that for you. Until Cam loses, that is."

Chris grunted. "Oh well. I can't win 'em all, I guess. Thanks for cheering me up, Pipe." He then leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before making his way to get himself some food. He glanced behind him to find her stunned by his actions and her face flushing with color.

{Some Time Later}

Ryan and Giselle watched as the remaining two matches went on in front of them. Though these two had already advanced to the Semi-Finals, they were eager to find out who was standing opposite them for the start of the next round of the playoffs. Cameron and Madeline were in the middle of an intense battle, with Madeline's Grimmsnarl overpowering Cameron's Salamence and her own Kingdra, but her Slaking that had helped Ryan overpower Claude on Mt. Heatmor rebounded by devastating the Grimmsnarl very quickly, prompting Madeline to have to rethink her strategy.

Giselle scoffed at Cameron's abilities. "I have to hand it to little Speck. She has certainly improved a bit."

Ryan looked back at her. "Cameron is the only person here who can beat Mike."

"Oh, I know that" Giselle admitted. "Michael has taken her under his wings, clearly. She has no fear or qualms of failure and worry. She's been dreaming for the day to take over for him this entire time." She folded her arms. "She'll be a lot tougher than I thought. But, not the toughest opponent for me to beat before Michael."

Ryan was surprised by her revelation. "I didn't know you thought so highly of me."

Giselle didn't look at him as she continued. "Don't get me wrong, I still think you're a naïve runt. But if there was anyone in this tournament who reminded me of the days before I threw my lot in with the Syndicate, it was you."

"Why me?" Ryan asked.

"I cared about more than being a strong trainer" the former Champion explained. "I started out in Unova a long time ago. Made some friends, saw a bunch of the world and even helped stop some bad guys from Team Plasma. But when I lost to the new Champion, I lost my way. I went from being someone who wanted to raise Pokémon to being someone who just wanted to be strong. I turned away my friends and my family in pursuit of power, which led me to Elezar. After your Grandfather died, he told me that Arcana was going to be in need of a strong trainer leading it."

"You didn't think something was fishy with Elezar?"

"Why would I care what his plans were?" Giselle asked him rhetorically. "So long as I got to be the best in the world, I didn't care. He could do whatever he wanted so long as I was able to rule Arcana as the Champion." She laughed bitterly. "Little did I think that someone was already on the rise to challenge me." She looked back up towards the Champion's Box. "Michael reminded me of the life I could have led if I wasn't so obsessed with power. It hurt to see some kid already up to my level so quickly, so I was relieved when Elezar told me he had a plan for him, so long as I brought him to him and Cassius. Which, of course, I did." She then turned back onto watching Cameron's Slaking squaring off with Madeline's Togekiss. "I put Michael through an absolute nightmare, and I didn't regret it because of how black my heart had become."

Ryan was surprised that Giselle was being so remorseful of her callous and wicked deeds. "What made you change your mind?"

"I was petrified when Michael returned to Arcana" Giselle continued. "Elezar had warned me of what they planned to do with him, but never in my mind did I fathom he would be able to harness those powers against me. When those two pigmies abandoned me and left me to hold our plans together, I battled Michael with everything I had and he still swamped me. But when he had the chance to end my life, something changed inside of him. He chose to spare me. I'd have to spend the rest of my life in prison, but I'd be able to reflect on the mistakes I made. He showed me that there was a path beyond my own hatred and anger. And he even commuted my sentence just to stop Elezar and Cassius."

"With all your freedom, why did you stay?"

"I owe Michael an unpayable debt" she concluded. "The only way I can possibly make up to him for sparing my life and setting me free is by battling him. But not just any battle. An true and honorable battle."

"Are you sure being the Champion has nothing to do with it?" he pointed out slyly.

"If I get the chance to face Michael" she revealed, "I won't be accepting the crown if I win."

"WHAT?!" Ryan cried out.

"Clam up!" Giselle snapped, when Lizzie and Annette looked over towards them, before she continued. "Maybe some day I'll be worthy of being a real Champion. But for now, I'd accept getting to match up against him in a truly honorable battle." She looked back up towards the Champion's Box. "I could have ended up like Cassius or Elezar. But Michael spared me. And I have to repay that debt to him." She glanced back down at Ryan sitting beside her. "But to get there, I'm gonna have to tear through you and likely Speck over there." She gestured as the Slaking slammed Madeline's Togekiss into the ground, causing the Fairy Pokémon to faint.

Ryan watched as Madeline was forced to call out her Mr. Mime to face off against the Slaking. "Cameron seems ready for anything we can throw at her." He looked back towards the former Syndicate Admin. "If you do win, what would happen to you?"

Giselle folded her arms. "Probably head back to Unova for a bit. I have some friends I have to find. Why do you ask?"

"Because if I become the new Champion" Ryan grinned, "I'd need someone to take up a position on the Elite Four with Mark retiring."

Giselle eyed him curiously. "You couldn't stand being near me before this, so why did you change your mind?"

"I want someone who's genuinely a good person fighting by my side" Ryan explained. "And if you really have changed like you said, I want to give you a shot. Especially if Mewtwo ever comes back." He looked back at her with a confident smile on his face. "Oh, unless you're angry at losing to me, of course."

Giselle snickered. "Maybe you're more Chris than Michael, after all."

{Some Time Later}

Cameron advances to the Semi-Finals after overwhelming her cousin's powerful Fairy Pokémon, which eliminates Madeline, who seemed content to know that Cameron was truly ready to lead the family in the rest of the way. As she departs and Cameron makes her way over to the sofas to sit alongside Ryan and Giselle, Lizzie and Annette rise up to to take on one another for the Semi-Finals. The trio of Finalists watched as Lizzie and her Pokémon took on the young Annette in their battle. The battle went about as wildly as the trio expected.

Annette proved to those who had doubted her that she certainly belonged in this tournament. The shy redheaded girl jumped to an early lead when her powerful Tyranitar devastated Lizzie's Alolan Raticate, Skullz, who Ryan recalled had overwhelmed Sparks in a battle while he and Addison made their way to Alchemiburg. But a Tyranitar was far more powerful than his Jolteon, and the Tyranitar's power proved too much for Lizzie's hand raised team early on. However, Lizzie's Ludicolo, nicknamed Amigo, countered the Tyranitar and overwhelmed it with a devastating Surf attack. However, to the amazement of many there, Annette used her Keystone to Mega Evolve her Tyranitar, which again devastated Lizzie's Pokémon. The Mega Tyranitar seemed to be invincible, but Lizzie's last Pokémon, the Mythical Pokémon Jirachi, used a powerful Meteor Mash which ended the Tyranitar's reign of chaos. She then sent out her Houndoom to battle next, but despite his type advantages, the Jirachi proved to be too powerful for the Houndoom and it fell quickly.

With Lizzie having evened the odds between them, Annette is forced to rely on her ace Pokémon: her Urshifu. Her powerful Galarian Pokémon proves to be quite an even match with Jirachi as the two exchanged vicious blows from one another, until Lizzie's Mythical Pokémon friend finally overcomes the powerful Fighting Pokémon of Annette's and advance herself to the Semi-Finals against Cameron. Ryan watches as she thanks Annette for a great match, before she realized that she would be up against Cameron in the Semi-Finals. Cameron grinned at the nerves that shot through Lizzie and the four finally sat down together as the Arena Groundskeepers cleaned up from the wicked showdowns that had just transpired. With Chris, Mark, Annette and Madeline eliminated, the four who sat on the sofas in exhaustion realized they were the only ones left.

Ryan, being the only male left in the contest, had no problem with these terms, seeing as how his remaining three potential Finalist Opponents were the finest Pokémon Trainers in the region not named Michael. Giselle was his next opponent, and he couldn't be sure how strong she would be, but he knew that if she was intent on matching up with Michael, he would have to be on his guard. Beyond Giselle, should he prevail over her, would be waiting either Lizzie or Cameron, both of whom Michael had depended on to help defeat The Syndicate and save Arcana. Lizzie, like Mark, probably wanted to return home to the Hoenn Region and enjoy a life of retirement. He didn't mind. As far as he was concerned, she had earned it. Cameron, however, terrified him. She was the only person in the region he knew little about in terms of her training skills. She was all but guaranteed to make it to the Title Match by everyone who knew what was up ahead of them, and perhaps the only person left in the title match who could perhaps defeat Michael. And she wasn't as giddy or excited as he thought she might be. She was simply calm and collective, only showing emotion when she absolutely had to.

{Meanwhile}

In the Champion's Box, everyone inside was bracing themselves for the beginning of the Semi-Finals. Michael, Julia, Addison, Mark, Piper and Chris all enjoy some refreshments as they anticipate the beginning of the next round of the Arcana Pokémon League Championships. With only four contestants left, the luxurious times they were enjoying in the Champion's Box was decreasing with every second.

Mark and Addison remained seated by the wide windows, watching as the grounds crew cleaned up the wreckage from the Quarter Finals bouts. The two seemed to be the only ones in the Champion's Box still completely interested in what was transpiring below them. For Mark, he was intrigued to see just how powerful Giselle had gotten in these last few weeks before the Tournament. She had easily crushed a lesser opponent in the first round before bouncing Daniel out of the second round and overpowering Chris in the third. She could perhaps be lined up to advance to the Title Match, if she could make it past Ryan and the winner of Lizzie/Cameron's match. While Mark liked to believe that Giselle had given up on her wicked ways, he couldn't be too sure, so he would be observant as long as he had to be.

Addison's faith in Ryan was unwavering. He had overcome Holly after a bumpy start and proved that he was already stronger than his father. And after a difficult match with Mark, he had advanced to the Semi-Finals. These next three matches would be the hardest in her dearest friend's life. Giselle, Lizzie/Cameron and ultimately Michael if he should prevail over the other two. She had the utmost faith in him, but she did admit that these last few challenges were going to be even harder than what he's already gone through. With his match with Giselle coming forth, she could only stand there and await the intense showdown that was no doubt going to happen.

While Chris chowed down on foods, having gotten over his defeat with relative ease, he failed to notice the burgeoning crush that Piper Pines was developing for him. She had been surprised when Chris took her advice and chose not to fully regrow his beard he had worn prior to the Taghwan Hall tragedy and while he still had some maturity issues to go through, she was surprised with how much he was growing up. He wasn't as good natured and kind as Michael was, but he was certainly honorable and a sincere man. Considering her strained love life with Tanner and her confused feelings for Michael, she could use someone like Chris to cheer her up. But how could she possibly approach someone who, like Michael, had always been something of a brother to her? She would just have to find out when she tested the waters of her feelings.

Michael and Julia sat together, with Michael on the Champion's Throne and her seated beside him, with the two discussing their future as parents and what lied in store for them. Julia showed him one of the chateaus she had been eyeing in Kalos for them to live in, while Michael simply happily nodded being beside his wife and the soon to be mother of his child. When he gave her his consent, Julia decided to contact the owner of the Chateau so that they could purchase it. Thanks to Michael's personal fortune, money wouldn't be a problem for them, so all they would really have to do is head over to Kalos to see the chateau for themselves. As Julia ran off to speak to the owner of the chateau, Michael returned his attention to the upcoming matches.

"Giselle and Ryan" he remarked aloud. "This match is going to be very interesting."

"I'm hoping Ryan avenges me" Chris tells his cousin. "I don't think I'd appreciate another regime of Giselle Odelia."

"Ryan will win" Addison affirms to the group. "I have faith in him."

"We wouldn't need to worry about a Giselle Regime" Mark mentioned, "if you had been able to beat her, Chris."

Piper looked from Mark to Chris, expecting the Elite Four member to get into an argument, but to her surprise, Chris shrugs off the comment. "Yeah, probably. But it didn't happen, so I can't be too mad."

"Wow, I didn't expect that from you, Chris" Piper remarked.

"I'm a guy who's full of surprises" Chris explained, still oblivious to Piper's growing crush on him.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Well, we'll just have to wait and see." He sat back and watched as Giselle and Ryan made their way up to the Arena below them. Time to see which of these two is truly destined to face me in the Title Match. Ryan. Giselle. Good luck to the both of you.

{Meanwhile}

Ryan stepped up to the floor of the Arena to set up the commencement of the Semi-Finals. He watched as Giselle made her way over to the opposite side of the arena and stared him down. He shrugged off her confidence as he proceeded to look over his three Pokémon for this matchup with Giselle. Achilles, Sparks and Simba were his three Pokémon he could use in this matchup, as Cora, Marahute and Terra had already been used in the previous round.

The Referee walked in-between the two. "The Semi-Finals are about to begin. Ryan Kingston and Giselle Odelia. The Winner of the Eastern Bracket will be decided with this matchup. Keep it clean, you two." As he stepped back to watch over the match, Giselle looked up to her opponent and grinned.

"Hey, Ryan!"

"Huh?" Ryan called back to her.

"Let's show Michael that we're ready to face him" she insisted.

Ryan nodded. "You know it!"

"Let the Semi-Finals, BEGIN!" the announcer proclaimed.

Giselle reached for her first Pokémon. "Go! Liepard!" From out of her first Poké Ball appeared her purple spotted feline Pokémon, who stretched herself out in front of her trainer. Her eyes flashed when she noticed their opponent and she growled at the opponent.

Ryan looked to his team. "If you're bringing out a feline, I should bring out the King of them! Go! Simba!" His Pyroar emerged from the Poké Ball and let out a magnificent roar. The King of Beasts growled at the sight of the Liepard, who simply growled back at him before seemingly poising herself for an attack.

"Liepard! Use Fake Out!" The Liepard moved with surprising speed and slapped her tail in the face of Simba and forced him backwards, causing a minor bit of damage and flinching the Pyroar.

"Come on, Simba!" Ryan called to his friend. "Pull yourself together."

The Pyroar shook himself back to normal and nodded back at his trainer, before poising himself for an attack. But the Liepard was seemingly ready for her next attack. "Liepard! Use Charm!" The Liepard raced up towards Simba and began to nuzzle him with her body like a cat, which prompted Simba's Attack Power to decrease harshly. But before the Liepard could make it back to Giselle's side of the field, Simba let out a ferocious Hyper Voice, which sent the Liepard flinging backwards onto the ground. The Liepard shook her head and leaped back to her feet, growling at the Pyroar.

"You'll have to do better than that" Ryan told Giselle. "Especially when Simba is more of a Special Attacker than a Physical one."

Giselle sighed. "I figured that would happen."

"I would ordinarily give you a shot to rebound" Ryan continued, "but I have no intention of showing you any weaknesses, Giselle. Simba! Use Heat Wave!" The Pyroar let out another roar that sent a powerful scorching wind that ripped through the Liepard's defenses. The Liepard growled in pain before she fell over onto her side because of the immense heat. She was still capable of attacking, but she was clearly drained by the deadly fire attack.

"Well, it looks like my Liepard is running low on steam" Giselle remarked. "I guess I should plan for the future, then. Oh, Liepard? Use Encore for me, please?" The Liepard let out a meow towards Simba, who proudly growled at her and sent out another Heat Wave without Ryan's approval. The attack eliminated the Liepard, but Ryan knew that there was more of a strategy to the Heat Wave attack instead of having her own Pokémon knocked out. "Thanks to the substitute I made to my team, your Simba is just gonna power my new baby up."

"New baby?" Ryan asked.

"Let's just say I'm going illuminate your situation" Giselle grinned. "Go! Chandelure!" From out of Giselle's next Pokémon appeared a ghostly Chandelier that glowed in an ominous light. "And thanks to my Liepard's encore, my Chandelure is about to be powered up."

Before Ryan could call on Simba to attack, Simba lunged forward and let out a third Heat Wave. The fire attack did nothing to the Chandelure, but only caused it to glow in an even more dangerous light.

"You can't scorch my Chandelure when she can absorb the Fire attacks you put out" she explained. "I appreciate you powering up my Pokémon."

Ryan sighed. "Looks like I walked right into this one."

"And good luck protecting yourself from this one, Ryan" she mocked. "Chandelure! Use Dark Pulse!" The Chandelure let out an ominous energy toward Simba who took the wicked blow before collapsing to the ground.

Ryan recalled Simba and looked towards the powered up Chandelure. I really wish I had Cora for this one. Ryan then looked at his remaining two teammates and wondered which of them would be the best choice for him to battle with. Achilles or Simba? This is going to be a really tough choice. But, I don't think I have a choice in this one. I need to save Achilles for her final Pokémon. He grabbed his oldest friend's Poké Ball and sent him out for the fight. "Go! Sparks!" His Jolteon emerged from the Poké Ball and growled at the Chandelure, his built up electricity sparking around he entire arena.

Giselle shrugged. "I don't mind. Electricity and Fire clashing sounds like a lot of fun, especially when I have the edge here." She looked towards her Chandelure. "Okay, Chandelure. How about we light this Colosseum up with a Flamethrower?" The Ghost Pokémon sent out a stream of fire down on the Jolteon, but Sparks leaped out of the way and watched as the flames scorched the arena floor.

"Sparks! Use Thunderbolt!" Sparks let out a devastating Thunderbolt at the Chandelure, who simply phased out of existence as the Electric attack missed and struck the wall behind Giselle.

"I think this battle is getting really interesting" Giselle remarked. "Let's see where this goes. How about another Flamethrower?" The Chandelure spat out more flames from the haunted candles on her head, but Sparks continually dodged the blows by leaping out of the way, before Sparks sent out a Thunder Wave at the Chandelure. This strike happened to hit the Ghost Pokémon and paralyze her.

"Let's try this again, Sparks! Use Thunderbolt!" The Jolteon struck a vicious blow with a Thunderbolt and caused the Chandelure to spin about backwards, before she let out a low moan and glared down at the Jolteon. Ryan and Sparks looked towards one another and smiled at their success. "Looks like we've got you on the ropes."

Giselle grinned. "Oh well. Looks like I have to crank things up." She looked to her Chandelure. "Use Payback!" The Chandelure smashed itself into the Jolteon and sent it tumbling backwards, having dealt an immeasurable amount of pain towards the Electric Pokémon. But to both Giselle and her Pokémon's surprise, Sparks stood up from the blast and defiantly looked at his attackers. Though his legs wobbled beneath him, the Jolteon remained proud as he barked at the two.

"Let's finish this" Ryan declared. "Use Thunderbolt!" A bolt of lightning struck at the Chandelure and caused it to faint. giving Ryan a 2-1 edge in the battle. But he knew this lead wouldn't last long, with his Jolteon barely able to stand after that powerful Payback attack.

Giselle nodded. "This is what I expected from you. Not holding back and pushing yourself and your Pokémon as far as you can. You, Ryan Kingston, have earned my respect." She reached for her last Poké Ball after recalling her fainted Chandelure. "That doesn't mean that I'm ready to concede, though. And I have a friend here who is eager to punch my ticket to the Finals. Go! Haxorus!" Her vicious wingless Dragon emerged from her last Poké Ball and let out a vicious snarl. "This may be a bit overkill, but I need to let my Haxorus stretch himself, so how bout an Earthquake?" The Haxorus caused the entire arena to shake and sent Sparks soaring into the air like popcorn before collapsing onto the ground, fainted.

Ryan recalled his faithful Jolteon and looked towards the last Poké Ball on his team. "Achilles. Looks like it's your time to shine." He took off the Poké Ball and looked towards Giselle. "Let's end this match, then. Go! Achilles!" His Gallade appeared in full force, eager to square off with the mighty dragon Giselle had at her disposal.

"Haxorus! Use Dragon Claw!"

"Achilles! Use Psycho Cut!"

The two Pokémon lunged at each other and exchanged colossal blows with one another, with neither willing to give the other an edge. When the Haxorus would land a vicious claw swiped on him, Achilles would deal back double the damage in a Psycho Cut to the Dragon Pokémon's midsection. Both landed two fiercely contested blows before tumbling backwards as if they had been in a boxing match. Achilles leaped to his feet first, but the Haxorus was not far behind. The two glared at each other as if they waited for an imaginary bell to toll the second round of their clash.

"Are these two just sizing each other up?" the announcer speculated.

Ryan decided it was time to end this. "Achilles! Use Swords Dance!"

Giselle seemed to agree with him, but from her end. "Haxorus! Use Swords Dance too!"

Both Pokémon jacked up their Physical Strength and once more glared solely at their opponent.

"Achilles! Use Close Combat!"

"Use Outrage!"

The two Pokémon lunged for one another and entered a vicious exchange of blows with one another. But the last hit was to be the winner and neither seemed willing to let the other get the final blow in. But the speed of Achilles proved to be the difference as he countered one fierce Dragon Attack from the Haxorus and struck him hard in the head with a tremendous kick that sent the Haxorus onto it's back.

"Haxorus is unable to battle" the Referee declared. "The winner is Ryan Kingston and his Gallade!"

The Colosseum erupted in applause for Ryan, who was beginning to get used to the praise that he was getting from the fans, though he was sure he would never be used to the cheering girls in the sections behind him.

"WOO HOOO!"

"We love you Ryan!"

"You're my hero, Ryan!"

Ryan beamed as he heard all of the girls cheering for him, but shook himself out of it when he saw Giselle coming his way after she recalled her fainted Haxorus. She stood in front of him and folded her arms. "You're definitely cut from the same cloth as Michael" she admitted. "And I know you're going to give him everything you've got. Congratulations." She offered her hand to him.

Ryan looked at his opponent. "I'll only shake if you agree to stay on in my Elite Four if I win."

She rolled her eyes. "Stubborn ox." She then grabbed his hand and shook it, much to the joy of those in the arena.

"Our hero Ryan Kingston has defeated Giselle Odelia and will advance to the Arcana Pokémon League Finals!" the referee announced.

"GO RYAN!" voices cheered down from the audience. Ryan waved to all of them as he made his way back towards the Sofa. while Giselle made her way back over towards the tunnel towards the Locker Room. Ryan then awaited which of the Elite Four would be his opponent in the Finals as Cameron and Lizzie made their way to the arena floor.

{Some Time Later}

The match began more quickly than Ryan could have imagined. Cameron's Victini came out first and overwhelmed Lizzie's Furret with only one powerful Searing Shot attack, but Lizzie's Umbreon Jazz managed to hold her own against the Victini and even best the Mythical Pokémon with some solid strategies such as using Confuse Rays and Double Teams. Cameron tried to regain the edge by sending out her Venusaur to take on the Umbreon, even using it's mighty Petal Blizzard attack to overwhelm and knock out the Umbreon, but Lizzie took the initiative by calling out her Salamence, Mega Evolving it and having it use one vicious Facade to knock out Cameron's favorite Pokémon. It ultimately came down to Lucario vs Salamence. Cameron turned the tide against Lizzie by Mega Evolving her Lucario and using it's immeasurable speed to outwit the Dragon Pokémon and take quick jabs and shots at the Dragon Pokémon before using a wickedly strong attack to knock out the Salamence and win Cameron the match. Lizzie was saddened, but unsurprised by her defeat.

To her surprise, like it had been with Mark, Lizzie received a warm reception from the crowds who wished her luck when it came to her departing for the Hoenn Region after this. She shyly waved to the crowds. Ryan could only watch as she shed an endless stream of tears and took herself off of the Arena Floor. Ryan was saddened to see her go alongside Mark, but his attention was diverted when he watched Cameron staring him down.

"Cameron" Ryan called to his cousin.

"Looks like it's down to you and me" she declared. "I've been looking forward to this for a very long time."

Ryan nodded. "Me too, Cam."

Cameron came over to him and pulled him off of the sofa and onto the Arena Floor. "Let's make this a battle everyone will talk about for generations." She then raised her cousin's hand towards the crowds to psych them up for the Finals Match which would begin the third and final day of the Arcana Pokémon League Championship. Ryan raised his other hand as his fans cheered his and Cameron's name. Tomorrow would be a day they would never forget.