I clapped in excitement for a second. "Who are your opponents? Riley went to Oreburgh City to see if Roark or Byron could fix the corrupted Poké Ball." Before Ace could reply, I gasped. "Am I your opponent? Along with Kenny?" I clapped again. I'd battled Aaron in a one-on-one battle due to a misunderstanding, and now Piplup and I would have a chance to redeem ourselves. Besides, it's the ultimate power couple move for a girl and her boyfriend to tag team against a Gym Leader and a member of the Elite Four who were also dating.

Ace smiled apologetically. Aaron swung an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders and grinned. "Nope! Cynthia and Steven, Ace and I challenge you to a battle!"

I squirmed with embarrassment. Kenny nudged me. "What did I tell you? They're the power couple."

The discomfort didn't last long. The largest, flattest mountaintop took up center stage, making it the perfect starting position for the four high-ranking trainers. A Gothorita maid quickly drew white lines to form the main battlefield, but any of the surrounding cliffs, ridges, and flat-topped mountains were also fair game. Cynthia and Steven stood on one side of the main mountain, their black coats blowing in the high-altitude wind. On the other side, Ace and Aaron held hands, facing the Champions together. Someday, that would be me and Kenny.

I remembered the tag team battle in the first round of the Wallace Cup in Sootopolis City. Zoey beat Kenny in asking me to team up, and we battled him and Nando. Ultimately, the tag team format was meant to whittle down coordinators, and I had to battle Zoey right after.

In my first Grand Festival, Zoey and Nando had battled each other in the semi-finals. Watching their marvelous double battle, I knew that they'd make excellent tag team partners, too. I hope Kenny and I could battle the two of them—or maybe Wallace and Fantina, the two most legendary coordinators.

Steven had brought more Devon Corp drones to record the battle from various angles, while Officer Jenny flew a helicopter to patrol the area. Behind her, a Drifblim-designed hot-air balloon floated up in the sky; Electivire cried out when he saw me and waved. Paul adjusted his mic and headpiece. "Hey, Sinnoh. The name's Paul. If you're a Pokémon Trainer with any standing, then you'll know who I am."

I stuck out my tongue. "Rude."

"But for those of you who don't know," Paul continued, "I'm the Path Master of the Race Tracks in the Battle Frontier. If you and your Pokémon think you work together well, I'll be accepting challenges in the near future. Here and now, I'm the referee of the exhibition rematch."

More Drifblim hot-air balloons rose into the air, some of the riders recording on their own phones. Kenny pulled me toward another hot-air balloon that Empoleon and Piplup had secured. I was about to unhook the ropes to raise us up when I saw Nerissa. She was trying in vain to convince people of how dangerous all of this was, but everyone ignored her. Also, Paul was introducing Cheryl as a field nurse with Chansey as her assistant.

Kenny glanced at me. "Dawn? You ready?"

I kissed his cheek. "Sorry if I'm ruining our date." I turned to call out to the lonely manager of Amity Square. "Nerissa! We have room in our balloon if you want to join us."

Nerissa hesitated. "I'm scared," she admitted.

I thought of Kenny's story. He had been terrified in the strange part of the Distortion World – as if the rest of the void wasn't strange – and especially in Arceus's presence in the illusion of the Hall of Origin. But his fear hadn't stopped him from rejecting Arceus's offer to transport him right to Sendoff Spring; he went through the Distortion World like the rest of us, swooping in on Staraptor in the most awesome way possible to help us battle Primal Giratina.

"It's okay to feel scared," I told her. "Do you want to join us or not?"

Nerissa jogged toward us. "Are we safe?"

I unhooked the last rope, and we began to rise up. "Nope."

Nerissa kneeled and clutched onto me. Piplup patted her fluffy hair, and I grinned. "The best adventures are, by nature, dangerous. But it's okay. These are good trainers who wouldn't hurt anyone, and Kenny and I are here, too."

Nerissa nodded, though she stayed kneeling. In his own balloon with Electivire, Paul continued, "This will be a six-on-six double battle. On one side, we have Cynthia, Champion of Sinnoh, and Steven Stone, Champion of Hoenn. On the other side, we have Ace, Gym Leader of Hearthome City, and Aaron of the Sinnoh Elite Four. The battle will end when all six of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. All trainers are free to make substitutions at any point in the battle. Any questions?"

Nerissa raised her hand. "I have a question."

Even from a distance, I could tell that Paul wanted to roll his eyes. "What do you want, Nerissa?"

"How will you ensure everyone's safety?"

"I won't."

Officer Jenny's helicopter hovered near us. "I'll be patrolling the mountains to make sure no foul play is involved, but your attendance is presumed consent that you're okay with a bit of risk. Give me a holler if you need anything." With that, the helicopter swerved away.

Nerissa whimpered.

Paul continued, "The Devon Corp has generously sent six drones to help monitor the battle—one drone for each Pokémon, plus two more for a plane view and a bird's eye view. However, as the referee, I'll be the one who makes the final call. This event will be streamed live... and there's like a dozen more people recording. The Sinnoh League won't tolerate any accusations of falsehood, and Officer Jenny will arrest anyone who makes a fuss about it."

I whispered to Kenny, "Conway and the rest of Debunking Deoxys Denials will have a field day with this."

Kenny snickered.

"But seriously," I said, "Paul has this under control. He actually grew up since being Ash's rival."

"He's fourteen. I'm turning fourteen soon, too." Kenny's lips brushed my ear. "We all grew up, Dawn."

I shivered.

"All four trainers will send out their Pokémon at the same time!" Paul declared. "In three!"

Piplup hopped onto my shoulder to get a better look.

"Two!"

Ace's fingers hovered over his Ultra Ball.

"One!"

Cynthia's eyes narrowed.

"Battle begin!"

"Go, Skarmory!"

"Get 'em, Crobat!"

"Let's do this, Galvantula!"

"I choose you!" Cynthia commanded. "Tyranitar!"

Skarmory and Crobat circled the main mountaintop. Tyranitar loomed over Aaron's Galvantula, whose many blue eyes blinked asynchronously. Sand streamed out of Tyranitar's back, blowing our balloons off course; only Paul managed to keep perfect control of his balloon, using Electivire's electric power. The sand obscured everyone's vision, and I doubted even Devon Corp's drones could see through the storm.