Arcana Colosseum was already shaking with anticipation of the final two matches of the Arcana Pokémon League Championships. Without a single empty seat in the massive arena, even more than 10,000 additional tickets had been sold for Standing Room spots throughout the Colosseum. They knew that today was probably the last day they would be able to see Arcana's fabled Champion, Michael Kingston, take part in a battle and there was not a single spot for anyone to sit in. Even the Private Boxes were sold out and filled.
High above the raucous crowd, in the Champion's Box, Michael had gathered his friends and loved ones for what they were sure would be an exciting bout between the two greatest trainers in Arcana besides him. He sat on the edge of his personal throne, with his beloved wife Julia Pines sitting by his side lovingly. The second row of chairs was filled with the Queen of Arcana, Piper Pines, as well as the eliminated member of the Elite Four, Christopher Kingston, with a seat reserved for whomever was the loser of this match. The third row was set for the other two eliminated members of The Elite Four, Mark Lionel and Lizzie West, as well as Queen of Arcana contender and the Hero of Arcana's girlfriend, Addison Tenton. The group watched as far below them, the last two remaining contenders of the Arcana Pokemon League squared off with one another.
"Who do you think has the edge?" Mark asked the group.
"Ryan's going to win!" Addison affirmed.
"Cameron has looked absolutely unstoppable so far" Chris remarked. "I don't think anyone can beat her at this rate."
Michael looked down on his two cousins as they made their way to the center of the arena to measure the other up. "I wouldn't be surprised by any outcome. Ryan's faced the best the League has to offer and shut them all down. Holly, his Father, Giselle, even you Mark."
"Don't remind me" Mark laughed.
"Is there one you would prefer to win, Mike?" Lizzie asked.
Michael shook his head. "Let me put it this way, Liz. If Cameron wins, then my last match in Arcana will be against the person I've always wanted to succeed me as Champion one day. And she's more than proven that she's capable of making it to this point in the past." He looked down towards Ryan and smiled. "But if Ryan wins, then he's proven that there isn't a trainer in Arcana stronger than him after we leave. He's already proven he's a hero. But if he wins this tournament and the opportunity to challenge me for the Title, he may become Arcana's next biggest thing."
"I hope Ryan doesn't cave into the pressure" Piper said worriedly.
"When Ryan battles" Lizzie assured the Queen, "he battles with veins of ice. I don't think he could get intimidated by anything Cameron can throw at him."
"I have this feeling in my heart" Addison confessed to the others. "Ryan's bound to win, I just know it."
"Cameron is the most powerful trainer in our family after Mike" Chris told Addison. "If Ryan's going to dethrone her, it has to be here."
"This battle is going to be insane" Julia remarked. "No matter who ends up on top."
Michael nodded. "And I'm ready for whichever of them comes out here. They're both Champions as far as I'm concerned." The group quieted down as the Referee came in between Ryan and Cameron to explain the rules of the Final Round and Title Matches. Michael folded his hands and awaited who would be facing him for the Title of League Champion.
{Meanwhile}
Ryan and Cameron stared each other down as the realization that they had both advanced into the Arcana Pokémon League Finals dawned on them. There was no one but Michael and each other standing between them and the title of Champion. Though both tried to intimidate the other in this stare off, there was certainly no animosity towards one another. They were family first and opponents second, which was what mattered.
Becoming the Champion had been Cameron's dream since she watched from a distance as Michael defeated Giselle and ousted her wicked regime. Michael reigned successfully after their Grandfather's passing and did his best over the next ten years to clean up the forces of wickedness and evil, no matter how much of a toll it took on his body and his life. Protecting others was what mattered the most to him. She had always aspired to be just like him, jealous of the time Michael and Chris always spent together. But his words to her in Orre after bringing Holly to Professor Krane to be operated on shot a boost of adrenaline into her that she had been coasting on ever since. Michael wanted her to succeed him, because she was the one who he had been grooming all this time. She was the one who had always listened to him, questioned his more controversial choices and helped him find the correct answer, even when he didn't want to admit it. He and Chris may be best friends, but Michael knew that her brother was not the leadership type. She had proven it to him, time and time again, and Michael had certainly noticed it. And here was her perfect opportunity to prove it. Here, in this battle with Arcana's fastest growing legend, she would prove that she was the one destined to succeed Michael as the League Champion and rule over Arcana justly and fairly as he and their Grandfather had always done.
Just being in this moment was enough to make Ryan as giddy as a little boy meeting his sports hero. Several months ago, he had left home with a timid little Eevee and wondered what the future had in store for him. Now, after having thwarted an immeasurable evil, rescued thousands from it's wrath and won the heart of the girl of his dreams, the only task left for him to complete his legacy was to win the Pokémon League and become the youngest Pokémon League Champion to ever reign in Arcana. He had fought hard to keep the legacy of Michael going after he thought he and the Elite Four had perished in The Taghwan Hall Tragedy, but now he had his opportunity to prove his worth to the two greatest trainers in Arcana's recent memory. His cousin Cameron was an absolutely terrifying opponent on any ordinary situation, but Ryan was not afraid of her. He had supported her in facing off against the wicked Claude Jacques and now they were opposing one another. He had seen much of her tricks. But he hadn't shown her all of his. He only hoped that Cameron wasn't as observant of his matches with Mark and Giselle as he had been of her matches with Madeline and Lizzie. And after Cameron, should he prevail, would be the match he had been dreaming of since meeting Michael all of those years ago as a toddler. And he was determined to make Michael's last Pokémon Battle in Arcana one to remember.
Cameron was the first to say something between the two of them. "Hey, Ryan?"
"What's up, Cam?" Ryan responded innocently.
Cameron nodded. "No matter what happens, you deserve to be here. Don't let anyone else kid you. You've proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are one of the finest trainers in the world. And I expect you to be at your best during this battle."
Ryan grinned. "Thank you, Cam. And I'll be sure not to let you down."
She smirked. "I should hope not. Otherwise, facing off against Mike won't mean as much."
"Just don't hold anything back against me, either."
"I wouldn't insult you like that."
The Referee walked in between the two. "The Rules of the Finals and the Title Match are different than the previous few rounds. All six of your Pokémon on your team will be used in these battles, however, you will not be able to control which Pokémon are sent out. Each of your Pokémon will be randomly assigned a number and the audience will list their preferred numbers and set up which match ups we will be undergoing. There will be no switching of Pokémon and after one of your Pokémon faints, the winning Pokémon will be rewarded with the winning round. Whoever has the most round victories by the end of the battle will advance to the Title Match with Michael Kingston. If after the six rounds, you two are tied with the same score, the panel of judges will make the decision on who wins."
Ryan nodded in approval. "I understand."
Cameron echoed his words, but remained fixated on her cousin. "I understand."
"Very well" the referee declared. "Then proceed to your designated spot and prepare for battle." He handed each of them a tablet with which to call out their next Pokémon. The duo made their way over to their designated spot and once more stared each other down as the Announcer prepared to hype up the audience for the Final Match of the Tournament.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages! Welcome to the Final Day of the Arcana Pokémon League Championships!" The audience erupted in cheers and applause. "Of the thirty two contestants who took part in this tournament, only two remain to be able to challenge Michael Kingston in his final Title Match before he retires for the Kalos Region. Let's give it up for our matchup!"
The camera on the board first displayed Cameron. "She's been one of Arcana's greatest heroes since being brought on board of Arcana's Elite Four by Michael Kingston. She has participated in 7 of the 9 Title Matches since the coronation of Michael Kingston and is hoping to succeed her cousin right here and now. Please, put your hands together for Cameron Kingston!" The crowds let out a yelp of approval, while Cameron lowered her head and grinned at the response.
The camera then flashed over towards Ryan and the cheering suddenly became explosive. "We all know this one. The conqueror of Mewtwo! The Hero of Arcana! He who will take up the mantle of Arcana's Finest after his cousin departs. Give it up for Ryan Kingston!" Ryan waved to everyone in the crowds and even spotted the girls who had been cheering for him the last few days, wailing on his behalf. Ryan nodded to the girls, who collectively fainted into their chairs. After a minute of soaking in how far he had come, Ryan turned his attention back towards Cameron.
"Let's settle this, Cam" Ryan told his cousin.
Cameron nodded. "With nothing held back."
The Referee waved his hand and blew his whistle. "Let the Finals of the Arcana Pokémon League Tournament begin! Number Selector! Please choose the number determined for the first round!" A wheel of numbers from 1 to 6 began to spin around on the scoreboard before it came to stop on Number 5. "Let the Number 5 Pokémon in your slot get chosen!"
Ryan watched as Cameron effortlessly accepted and reached onto her belt for the Pokémon the number had demanded she use. Ryan looked down at his randomly selected Pokémon and found that he would be getting started with one of his aces: Cora the Kingdra. He was about to send out his powerful Dragon Pokémon, when Cameron stepped up to send out her Pokémon first.
"GO! Triton!" From her Pokémon Ball appeared her own Kingdra, shocking everyone in the stadium, including Ryan.
"Go! Cora!" Ryan responded, with his own Kingdra emerging from the Pokémon Ball and spitting water happily in Ryan's face. When she saw the Kingdra that opposed her, she puffed out her cheeks angrily.
"Looks like the first round of the match will be two Kingdras matching against one another" the announcer declared.
"Cora!" Ryan declared, taking the initiative. "Use Dragon Dance!"
"Triton! Use Attract!" Her own Male Kingdra rushed forward and gave a flirtatious look to Cora, who suddenly fell under Cameron's Dragon's spell.
"Oh come on, Cora!" Ryan called to his powerful Pokémon. "I can't have you falling in love now!"
"I don't think you have a choice in the matter" Cameron warned him. Cora tried to listen to her trainer, but she was immobilized by her feelings and found herself incapable of moving. Cameron decided to take the initiative. "Alright, Triton. Let's get to work. Dragon Dance!" Her Kingdra flailed about rapidly, dramatically increasing the power and speed of it's moves.
Ryan looked to Cora. "Would you care to move this turn?" His Kingdra shook herself out of her emotional connection and looked back to her trainer and nodded. Ryan sighed in relief. "Then let's get to work ourselves. Use Double Team!" His Kingdra created illusory copies of itself to increase it's evasiveness. The two Kingdras simply stared each other down, wondering which of them would make the first move.
Cameron's patience lasted the least. "Triton! Use Outrage!" Her Kingdra charged at Cora, but only struck at one of the copies and as a result, the attack missed and left her own Kingdra open for an attack. But Cora was too enamored with Triton to take advantage of it and as a result, Triton was able to retreat back into his side of the field to attack with another Outrage in a moment. Without Cameron's consent, Triton lunged for Cora and struck again, but hit another of her copies and his rampage came to an end and Cora became confused.
"Come on Cora!" Ryan called to his Kingdra. "Use Dragon Dance!" Cora nodded back towards Ryan and began to beef up her own power.
Before Triton could potentially succumb to it's own confusion, her Pokémon devoured a Lum Berry and healed itself. Triton then looked towards his opponent once more and puffed out his own cheeks in frustration. Neither side had damaged the other and the match was already deep into it's first round. The Kingdra looked to his trainer for an order, but Cameron was lost in thought as she tried to wonder what Ryan's strategy would be for her. Triton took it into his own prerogative and used another Dragon Dance to make himself stronger.
"Cora!" Ryan looked to his Kingdra, who was desperately trying to fight off her primal urges to battle her opponent. She shook herself free temporarily from her infatuation and puffed out her cheeks at Triton. "Use Double Team!" Cora created more copies of herself, much to Cameron's frustration.
"Oh goodie" Cameron remarked. "Triton! Use Outrage!" Her Kingdra thrust itself forward and rammed hard into Cora herself, knocking the Kingdra to the ground, taking massive damage. But Cora recovered and spat a geyser of water into the skies above her in frustration.
"Put that anger into an Outrage, Cora!" Ryan declared. Cora's eyes flashed red and she charged towards Triton and smashed herself into the Kingdra she was bewitched by and Triton was sent spiraling back towards Cameron, who had to leap out of the way as he crashed into the wall. Ryan knew he had to make a decisive move to defeat Triton and take the first round from Cameron. "Alright, Cora! Let's finish this!"
Cameron seemed to have the same idea. "Triton! Use Dragon Pulse!" Cameron's Kingdra reared back his head and spat out a pulse of powerful energy.
Ryan gasped. We have to counterattack! "Cora! Use Hydro Pump!" Cora spat out a stream of water at the incoming Dragon Pulse and the two beams collided with tremendous force. The blows were quite even, with neither Kingdra pulling a punch for the other. No matter how much either wanted to finish the job, neither was superior to the other and as a result, their clash would end with whichever wore out first. Because of how much energy was expensed by Triton in his own attack, he cracked first and was forced to absorb both his own attack as well as the Hydro Pump. The damage the Dragon Pulse did to Triton was colossal and he thus fainted in front of Cameron.
The Referee raised his left hand towards Ryan. "The First Round goes to Ryan Kingston!"
Ryan and Cameron both recalled their exhausted Kingdras and looked to the Scoreboard as the 1st Round was rewarded to Ryan. Ryan's growing fanbase exploded in excitement as their hero was one step closer towards his goal to ascend to the rank of Champion. Ryan, however, wasn't going to let it get to him. He needed to keep on his toes, because the type advantages could swing out of his favor as quickly as they would be in his grasp. Addison had always taught him to keep his faith in his Pokémon and to not let loose until the battle was completed.
Cameron shrugged. "I have to concede that round to you, Ryan" she told him honestly. "You earned it. But I hope you realize that it's only going to get harder from here, yes?"
Ryan nodded. "I'm ready for you!"
The Referee called on the Number Randomizer to select the next Pokémon for the second round. The Number Wheel stopped on the Number 2. Ryan looked to the Pokémon that had been selected at Number 2 and smiled. Marahute! Brilliant! She'll take out any challenge Cam can throw at me. He looked over towards Cameron and was caught off guard by the fierce look in his face. Confidence had taken over her face and Ryan was intimidated by the fierceness she had. She's certainly learned a lot from Mike. That look is unnerving!
"Both Number 2 Selections are in place! Begin Round 2!"
"Go! Marahute!" Ryan declared as his Pidgeot soared high into the air. She eyed Cameron with her own defiant stare, but his cousin seemed unmoved by the show of force.
"Go! Victini!" From out of Cameron's Poké Ball came her personal Mythological Pokémon ally: Victini, the Victory Star Pokémon. Victini was a golden furred creature with two scarlet-colored ears and two complimentary eyes the same color as sapphires. The rabbit-like creature had a fierce smile on its face and shined with the power of a Supernova.
Upon realizing that he was up against another Mythical Pokémon as he had been against Mew with Mark, Ryan gulped. "This isn't good." He looked to his Key Stone on his wrist and decided his only shot at competing with Victini is to Mega Evolve his Pidgeot. He activated the Key Stone and transformed Marahute to face off against Cameron's secret weapon. Marahute landed in front of Victini and let out a shrieking squawk toward Victini, who seemed to only be enjoying the challenge as if it only wanted to have some fun.
"Go! Victini! Use Searing Shot!" The Victini began to charge up a colossal fireball before she sent it hurtling towards Marahute, who swerved out of the way of the attack and began to flap her wings wildly to call out the power of a Hurricane, but a bolt of lightning fell from the skies and struck Marahute in the head. As Marahute tried to recover, Victini smiled and began to glow like a shining star in the skies.
"That doesn't look good" Ryan remarked.
"It's not" Cameron warned him. "For you, at least. When Victini shines like this, my good friend is providing the rest of my team with a serious power boost. When each of them come out from now on, they'll be slightly faster and stronger than usual. Even the rest of my ruthlessly powerful team."
Ryan looked towards Marahute, who was caught off guard by the attack from Victini, but still managed to recover and caw loudly at the Mythical Pokémon. He pondered the idea of having to rethink his strategy here, but he knew that with the stat buffs Victini had awarded the rest of his cousin's team, his odds of winning would decrease with every second this battle kept going. "Marahute! Use Air Slash!" Marahute flapped her wings and sent winds that sliced through the air and struck hard at the Victini, who floated about before warping right back in front of Cameron and wearing an even brighter smile.
"Searing Shot!" Cameron ordered. Another fireball was sent hurtling towards Marahute, who used the windstorms of her Whirlwind to protect herself from the blow, but once again, Cameron used the Fire Attack to distract Marahute from a Thunderbolt that fell from the skies and struck Marahute in the head. "HA! Critical hit!" Marahute fell from the skies and fainted right in front of Ryan. In a flash, Cameron had just evened the score.
"The Second Round is awarded to Cameron!" the referee declared, giving Cameron a point. The audiences were still cheering despite Ryan's misfortunes in the second round. Cameron and Ryan both recalled their fainted Pokémon and looked towards one another. They were evenly matched in terms of points, but Cameron had the decided advantage, with her own Mega Evolution waiting in the wings and Ryan's best Pokémon having been spent already. While the Colosseum cheered and went wild for them, the two could do little but stare each other down, with both of them having been pushed to their limits, with another four rounds still inbound.
{Meanwhile}
In the Champion's Box, the eliminated Elite Four Members watched on as Ryan and Cameron continued their battle. Though there had been a clearly even split between who supported Ryan and who supported Cameron, the Victory Star ability kicking in for Victini all but swayed most from Ryan's camp.
"I hate to say it" Chris admitted, "but Ryan really doesn't stand a chance now."
"How do you know that?" Piper asked defiantly. "He might be able to turn things around."
"Victory Star is a very dangerous ability to deal with" Michael cautioned her. "If Victini ever manages to get that off for her during a match, Cameron has never lost."
"Now, all of her Pokémon will get buffs to their abilities" Lizzie explained. "With that, combined with the fact that Cameron's best Pokémon haven't even seen the match yet, I really can't see how Ryan can pull this through. It was a noble run, though."
"Come on, you guys" Addison called on them, hurt that they would abandon Ryan's cause so easily. "Ryan's counting on us!"
"Addy" Mark told the girl, "it's not that we don't have faith that Ryan can win. It's just that Cameron has the decided advantage here."
"That's something no one can deny" Julia affirmed. "But at the same time, Ryan's proven capable of beating the odds."
"He'll just have to show that he can win it with the odds this deep against him" Michael agreed. "We haven't given up on him, Addy. It's just going to get much harder."
"Who's going to have the advantage in the Third Round?" Chris asked his cousin.
Michael paused for a moment. "It depends on how the rounds shape up. The randomness of this proves that no one really has a definitive edge, despite Cam's stat buffs. I mean, if Cameron's Venusaur get's matched up with Ryan's Pyroar, that could easily take away the Victory Star buffs. Or, if her Lucario gets matched up with his Pyroar, it may prove to be the defining point of his career. This next matchup could be what decides it."
"Please, Ryan" Addison prayed. "Hang in there. You can do this."
Chris folded his arms. "You see, that's the kind of girl I'd like to have by my side. Always cheering for me despite the odds against me."
Michael made a move to sneeze, but as he did, he definitely made a noise that sounded like "Piper!" Julia giggled as she sat beside her husband. Piper's face went white when she realized what Michael was doing, but heaved a sigh of relief when the complete lack of subtlety of Michael's move went unnoticed by Chris. Michael laughed. "Who knows, Chris. Maybe you'll find her someday."
"Maybe you should let him figure things out on his own" Piper winked, her eyes flaring at Michael.
"Okay, I'll let you figure it out" Michael said, once more with the subtlety of a freight train.
Julia laughed. "Yup. We'll just let you two figure it out."
Piper's face went from white to beat red as she looked from her cousin and close friend to her burgeoning crush. Luckily for her, Chris's denseness seemed to be oblivious to the completely unsubtle talk of setting the two of them up. She once more took a deep breath and went back to looking down below them at the matchup between Ryan and Cameron.
{Meanwhile}
"Let the Number Randomizer select our next matchup!" The wheel of numbers went around for a few seconds until it came to a stop at the number 4. "The Number Four!"
Ryan looked towards his next randomly selected Pokémon with only one eye open. He exhaled when he saw that his next Pokémon was Terra the Sandslash. He knew he could rely on Terra to take on pretty much any Pokémon that Cameron could throw at him. "Come on out! Terra!" His Sandslash appeared out of his Poké Ball and scratched his stomach with his vicious claws.
Cameron laughed to herself. "Looks like the advantage is mine! Go! Azure!" From out of Cameron's Poké Ball appeared her mighty Salamence, a huge blue dragon with a steel silver belly and red wings and separate sets of three fins on the side of the dragon's face. The Dragon let out a thunderous roar and slammed it's front legs into the ground as if to intimidate Terra.
But it was Ryan who was the most unhappy about this matchup. "Figures. When it rains, it pours." He shook his head. "No matter. Terra! Time to go to work!" The Sandslash looked back towards his trainer and nodded.
Cameron was unmoved by Ryan's lack of fear of her mighty dragon. "I guess I'll have to demonstrate the power of Dragons the hard way. After all, if you can't beat Azure here, how can you expect to contend with Rhaegar?" She looked towards her Salamence. "Hey, Azure! Why don't you we show this little ground shrew just how terrifying you can be? Use Dragon Claw!" The Salamence flapped his wings and flew into the air before darting towards Terra, who instinctively burrowed underground to avoid the attack.
"Nice move, Terra" Ryan called to his Sandslash.
"Dodging and evading will only get you so far" Cameron cautioned him. "But, if your Sandslash likes to burrow underground, I can always smoke him out." She looked towards her Dragon. "Use Flamethrower!" The Salamence, while still flying in the air to avoid a counter attack, blew a stream of fire into the burrow that Terra had crawled into. But to everyone's surprise, the fires came out of a hole in the ground nearby, but Terra could not be found. The Salamence looked around for where the Pokémon could have hidden, but was struck without knowing as the Sandslash leaped high out of a separate hole and landing on his back.
"Use Crush Claw!" Ryan called to Terra. His Sandslash responded by bashing his claws into the Salamence's head.
"Azure!" Cameron shouted. "If this little shrew wants to take things personally, then let's take things into the skies!" The Salamence flew into the air despite the Sandslash on his back harassing him. When the Salamence was high enough, Cameron decided to go for the win. "Azure! Use Sky Drop!" The Salamence then fell like a bomb out of the sky, prompting Terra to cling to his neck for dear life until being flung from the Dragon's back and falling on his own towards the ground. Sensing that the Sandslash had been removed from his back, Azure flipped in the air, grabbed at the falling Sandslash with his claws and fell into the ground while still clinging to the Sandslash. The two colliding with the ground left a huge impact on the ground, with dust rising up from their blast. Cameron was about to fold her arms and accept the victory, but a howl from her Salamence made her realize the battle wasn't over yet. As the dust cleared, she saw that her Salamence's head was now stuck in a burrow that the Sandslash had burrowed.
"What an impressive move by Terra the Sandslash!" the announcer proclaimed. "Where has the rambunctious critter fled to?"
Ryan looked around for his Pokémon. "I'm wondering the same thing." Where are you, Terra?
The Salamence ripped his head out of the burrow and climbed out of the crater he had created, failing to realize that he had a hitchhiker on his lower body. Cameron, however, did see the Sandslash preparing to latch onto her prized Salamence like a leech. "Azure!" But as she cried his name, Terra drove his claws into the undercarriage of the Dragon, causing it to scream and roar. The Dragon Pokémon flailed about in the air before Terra was flung down, prompting the Salamence to eye him in fury and prepare another vicious attack.
"Finish this, now!" Cameron demanded. The Salamence let out an endless stream of fire on the Sandslash, who was barely able to muster a defense by stomping into the ground and creating a strong physical barrier of stone. But the rocks collapsed under the intense heat and so too did Terra, who finally collapsed in sheer exhaustion.
"The Third Round goes to Cameron Kingston" the Referee declared. The audience as now decisively more quiet as Cameron was seeming to edge Ryan out.
Ryan looked over towards Cameron after he recalled Terra, only to see her face as white as a ghost. She clearly had not expected Terra to be so resourceful in his attacks. His Pokémon might have just negated any stat buffs her Pokémon might have gotten from her Victini's Victory Star. And she did not know how to handle it despite being up 2-1. With a match with Michael up in the air for both of them, they knew that the next fight would be one of the most important. Round Four was likely to determine which of them advanced to the Title Match and got to send off the Champion properly.
"Let the Number Randomizer select the matchup for Round Four!" After a moment of rapid spinning, the wheel landed on Number 1.
Ryan looked on his device and saw that he would be sending out Sparks, his Jolteon. "Alright! Let's even this match, Sparks!" His Jolteon eagerly emerged from the Pokémon Ball, determined to avenge his fallen teammates Marahute and Terra.
Yet Cameron seemed to believe she had just won herself the match. "Let's make this lead decisive, Trops!" From out of Cameron's Poké Ball appeared her trusted companion: her Venusaur. The massive Grass Pokémon let out a bellow as it stomped it's thick paws on the ground.
Ryan sighed. I can't catch a break, can I? Oh well. Looks like we're going to have to improvise here. The Hero of Arcana looked to his Jolteon, knowing all too well that he was at a severe disadvantage here. "Let's get this party started! Sparks! Use Pin Missile!" The Jolteon rushed forward and let out a series of sharp quills that slashed across the face of the Venusaur, but the Pokémon wasn't as harmed by the blows as he had initially thought.
"Trops! Use Sunny Day!" The Venusaur let out a low moan as the sunlight began to harshly fall upon the battlefield. The plants growing atop the Venusaur's head began to dance as they took in the sunlight. Ryan knew all too well that the power of his cousin's Pokémon was now increasing by the second, more than just with the aid of Victini's special powers.
Ryan knew he needed to jump onto the defensive. "Sparks! Use Double Team!" Sparks created illusory copies of himself to avoid being hit by whatever Trops could throw at them. But even he couldn't fathom the absolute power of Cameron's Venusaur.
"Trops! Use Solarbeam!" The Venusaur spat out an immeasurably powerful beam of sunlight directly at one of the Jolteon facsimiles, which ripped right through the façade and piercing the wall behind Ryan and causing a few dozen people to panic and run off in the stands above the Colosseum floor. But because the immense attack had just missed, Ryan was able to continue his strategy.
Ryan knew he needed to somehow lasso in the Venusaur's power. Sparks could not exactly dominate over Venusaur in power, as Electric attacks weren't strong against Grass Pokemon. But if he could weaken and whittle down the Venusaur, he might be able to overcome these vast odds mounting against him. He knew that if he could neutralize the Venusaur, he could begin to continue his work. But to do that, he would need to stop the Venusaur's onslaught. The only way to do that would be to put down a vicious status ailment on it. But he did not have a Pokémon on his team to sleep and he could not possibly poison Venusaur thanks to it's subtype. But there was a chance he could paralyze Trops, but it was a little dangerous to waste the time on it, especially if it failed. But he didn't seem to have much of a choice. It was do or die.
"Sparks! Use Thunder Wave!" His Jolteon let out a weak electrical shock that zapped the Venusaur and paralyzed it, drastically draining it's mobility and possibly preventing it from moving at all.
Cameron, though, seemed unimpressed. "Come on, Ryan. Make my day!" She looked to her Venusaur to declare an attack, but the fierce Grass Pokémon seemed unable to move and thus remained still. Cameron folded her arms and looked back over to her cousin. "Show me what you've got!"
Ryan nodded. "I plan to! Use Pin Missile!" Sparks showered the Venusaur in it's spiky quills, this time causing a bit of pain to Cameron's ace Pokemon, but even those seemed to do very little to Trops.
"It seems you're going to be a much bigger thorn in my side than I thought you would" Cameron remarked. "Impressive, but I'm not going to lose this chance to get the advantages I need." She reached for the Key Stone on her wrist. "If you can Mega Evolve, so can I!" She triggers it and causes her Venusaur to increase it's power dramatically and become Mega Venusaur. Though not much different, the Venusaur had increased dramatically in size and he now towered over Sparks. Her confidence unyielding, Cameron turned towards her mighty Venusaur. "Let's finish this! Venusaur! Use Solarbeam!" The Venusaur spat out another immense beam of Solar Energy that ripped right through Sparks. Battered, but still standing, Sparks jumped back to his feet and barked at the Venusaur.
"We're not done yet!" Ryan declared.
"I think you are" Cameron countered. "Even when my Venusaur is paralyzed, it's still too powerful for you."
Ryan looked towards his exhausted Jolteon, who simply looked back at him and barked happily. Ryan nodded and then made a defiant look back towards his opponent. "So long as I still have a chance, I won't be giving up. But I do thank you for giving me this warmup I've needed."
Cameron laughed, though without smarm. "Well, well. The confidence. I like it. I want to see everything you can do!"
"Sparks! Use Pin Missile!" Sparks let out another monumental amount of Spikes from it's spiny and painful fur that ripped at the face of the Venusaur. This time, the Venusaur took the pain poorly and fell over on his side, growling in pain as he rolled onto his side, moaning from one of the quills sticking into his nose. Ryan clapped happily for Sparks actions. "Way to go, Sparks! Nice one!"
Cameron worriedly looked to her Venusaur. "Come on, Trops! Get up!" Her Venusaur rolled back to his feet and let out a cranky growl. Cameron sighed. "Trops. I need you to pull through here. Show me one more Solar Beam!" The Venusaur spat one last colossal Solar Beam at Sparks, slamming him in the head and causing him to faint, securing Cameron her third consecutive round.
"The Fourth Round is rewarded to Cameron" the referee declared.
As they recalled their Pokémon, both Cameron and Ryan's faces paled, but for different reasons. Ryan was on the verge of being eliminated. He knew Cameron was a strong trainer, but to see how quickly she had gained the initiative and dominated over him was concerning. He had thought he would be able to think on his feet like he had with Mark and Giselle, but Cameron's sheer power was unnerving. Despite the best efforts of Terra, Sparks and Marahute, he was down to Achilles and Simba for the next two rounds, knowing that Cameron's Ace, her Lucario, was still looming in one of the next few rounds. But for Cameron, she was petrified. Ryan battled like no one she had ever faced before. He was strategizing, to be sure, but the unyielding faith he had in his Pokémon was making his quick-thinking methods all the more terrifying to her. Despite being up 3-1, she could not feel like she was in the lead. She needed to end this, or else she was alarmed that her cousin was going to regain momentum and leave this match in the hands of the judges.
"Let the Number Randomizer select the Pokémon taking part in the the fifth round!" The wheel stopped on the Number 6. "Very well, let the Pokémon assigned with Number 6 come on out!"
Ryan took a deep breath. "Come on, guys. I need some strength here!" Choosing not to look, Ryan simply allowed the Poké Ball to roll out on it's own. When his Pokémon let out a magnificent roar, he knew that Simba was standing before him. Sure enough, his Pyroar shook his mane and basked in the warm sunlight from Trop's Sunny Day, which was still dominating the field.
But Ryan's hopes were quickly dashed when Cameron's Lucario appeared on the field to face him. Lucario's Fighting Type against Simba's Normal subtype was going to be a nightmare for him to face. Before he could panic, however, a thought occurred to him. He had faced Billy's Lucario before, which meant that Lucario wasn't just a Fighting Type. It was also a Steel Type. And Steel melts in the wake of Fire. He looked up towards the intense sunshine above him and nearly let out a cry. He had finally regained the momentum, provided he could take advantage of it.
Cameron took a deep breath, seemingly unaware of Ryan's revelation. "Let's finish this. Lucario! Use Force Palm!" The Lucario rushed forward to attack Simba, but because of the immense heat that was still covering the field, her ace's attacks were coming in slow and predictably, prompting Simba to easily leap out of the way. Cameron was slow to the uptake, but when she realized what had just transpired, she gulped. "Uh oh. Sunny Day!"
Ryan looked to Simba. "Use Heat Wave!" Simba stood his ground and let out a massive roar, which caused the sun's rays to intensify even more and rip through the defenses of the Lucario, who was flung backwards and landed hard in front of Cameron. The Lucario staggered back to his feet and tried to regain the advantage, but the intense heat of the sun and Simba's incredible attack had made it all but impossible. Then, to add insult to injury, her Pokémon's fur was also singed by the Heat Wave, revealing a burn. With it's attacks drained and Ryan's advantage all but assured, Cameron sighed to herself.
"This can't be..."
"Simba! Use Heat Wave again!" Ryan called, taking advantage of Cameron's hesitation. Simba let out another roar to increase the heat of the the Sunny Days well as to finish off the Lucario. As quickly as the odds had swung in favor of Cameron, they were back on Ryan's side as he took out her supreme Pokémon. Cameron recalled her Lucario, shaken by this unexpected turn of events.
"The Fifth Round goes to Ryan!" the referee declared. The audience let out a scream of applause in Ryan's favor as he recalled his Pyroar. He took a deep breath as he let the moment soak in. He had overcome Cameron's fierce Lucario and now, if he managed to overcome Cameron's sixth and final Pokémon with Achilles by his side, he would be able to bring the match up to the judges. Then, if they chose him as the victor, he would get his match with Michael. He nodded to the last Pokémon on his belt. We got this, Achilles. It's just you and me, now! After this, we might get to advance to the Finals!
"The Final Pokémon for this last Round will be Selection Three" the Referee continued.
Cameron reached onto her belt for her last Pokémon. "Looks like this is your time, Slaking!"
"Come on, Achilles!"
From both of their Poké Balls appeared their last Pokémon and the muscles of both their teams: Cameron's Slaking and Ryan's Gallade. While her immense beast of a Normal Pokémon scratched behind it's ears and laid on his side, Gallade stepped back into a battle ready stance, with both of his arms raised for battle. The two titans squared off against one another as the Sixth and Final round of their matchup loomed.
"Achilles! Use Swords Dance!"
"Slaking! Use Bulk Up!"
Both Pokémon took their turns to make themselves stronger, with the Slaking showing off his immense build and Achilles doing a dance to make his own attacks increase in immense stature. Ryan was bracing himself for an onslaught from Cameron's most terrifyingly strong Pokémon, but stopped when he saw the Slaking snoozing on the field. Even Achilles was caught off guard by this.
"Uh, Cam?" Ryan asked.
"He does that" Cameron laughed. "Just let him slack off a bit and you'll be fine."
"Um...okay?" Ryan was beyond confused. This was the first lackadaisical Pokémon he had seen in his life. He'd seen timid Pokémon. He'd seen cowardly Pokémon. But never in his life did he think he would live to see a Pokémon quite literally nap in front of him, as if the battle they were in meant as much to him as a gentle spring breeze. Achilles seemed unfazed by it and was eager to strike. "Alright. Achilles! Use another Swords Dance!" Achilles once more gathered his own inner power and increased his power tenfold.
After a quick snooze, the Slaking was back in fighting form. Cameron didn't seem to be willing to take another chance at her Pokémon slacking off again. "Slaking! Use Play Rough!" The Slaking rushed forward with surprising speed and crashed into Achilles with such force that it nearly knocked Ryan's stalwart knight out in a single blow, but he was barely able to hold on. Just like that, her Slaking rolled onto his back and decided to snooze again.
"Are you alright, Achilles?" Ryan asked. His Pokémon stumbled back to his feet, but looked towards Ryan as if he could keep fighting forever. Ryan nodded to his Pokémon. "Then let's end this right here and now. Go! Close Combat!" Achilles rushed forward and unleashed a devastating combo of kicks and punches onto the slacking off Pokémon and jumped backwards. The Slaking seemed to not notice how much damage Achilles had done to it, acting as if he was still sleeping. As he rolled onto his side to ignore his attacker once again, Ryan knew he had to finish this. "Alright. Use Psycho Cut and finish this!"
Achilles rushed forward to deliver a crushing blow onto the Slaking and sliced through the powerful Pokémon. When Ryan awaited a retaliatory strike, the Slaking simply slumped onto the ground and fainted.
"Slaking is unable to battle. The Sixth Round goes to Ryan. We have a 3-3 Tie!"
The audience exploded into applause as Ryan and Cameron recalled their Pokémon. Ryan was about to rush off to heal his team, when Cameron stopped him. "Hold it. If you leave now, you forfeit. Wait until the Judges name their winner."
Ryan stopped himself and nodded, looking up towards five light up scores that appeared on each of their sides. Like Pokémon Contests, these two competitors would be judged based on how they performed altogether and it would be based on five categories on a scale of one to ten. These scores would be: skill, strength, speed, cleverness and honor.
"And now, we await the judge's decision" the announcer proclaimed. "We await with baited breath."
Cameron's scores went blinking onto the scoreboard. She scored as follows:
Skill: 10/10, Strength: 10/10, Speed: 9/10, Cleverness: 8/10 and Honor: 8/10, with a final average score of 9/10
Ryan's scores were then blinking on the other side of the scoreboard. His went like this:
Skill: 10/10, Strength: 8/10, Speed: 10/10, Cleverness: 10/10 and Honor: 9/10, with a final average score of 9.4/10
"We have a winner!" the Referee declared. "The Judges rule in favor of Ryan Kingston!"
"AND RYAN KINGSTON HAS WON THIS YEAR'S ARCANA POKEMON LEAGUE!" the announcer cheered. The audience exploded into cheers for Ryan's name. Ryan could barely contain himself as he watched the entire Colosseum calling for his name. It was like a dream come true for him. He had just achieved his dream in his first year of being a Pokémon Trainer. Now, after all of the trials and tribulations he had endured during this journey, he had just earned his opportunity for the match he had been dreaming of since the day his parents brought him and his brother to meet the Champion when they were three. He was going to face Michael for the Title Match.
Cameron lowered her head for a minute, as if trying to accept defeat for herself, before she herself applauded her cousin's valiant effort. "Well done, Ryan. Well done. You've earned it." She and Ryan walked over towards one another. Cameron was smiling happily. "You've earned this chance, Ryan. After everything you've done for all of us in Arcana, you get to prove your stuff against Michael."
Ryan nodded. "Thanks, Cameron." When his cousin offered him her hand, Ryan shook it happily.
Cameron ruffled his head for a moment before whispering to the boy: "Give em hell!" With that, Cameron departed for the Locker Rooms.
The Referee approached Ryan. "The Title Match will begin in approximately 10 minutes. If you'd like, Ryan, you may head to the Locker Rooms to heal your Pokémon."
Ryan nodded and turned to follow his cousin out into the tunnels, giving a wave out to all of the adoring fans that cheered his name. The icing on the cake was yet to come.