Me: Hi there; did you miss us?
Jack: Some of you might have noticed that the last few chapters have been lacking author's notes. Let me tell you, this was not simply an oversight on our part; as much as I'd like to say it was…
Me: Oh don't be like that. Anyway, we haven't been doing author's notes for… well, I guess for two reasons; the first being that we didn't have time to record them. We've been really, really busy lately and we just didn't have time to get everything set up; much less edited. The second reason…
Jack: QUICK, CUT TO THE CHAPTER!
Jack watched grimly as Ash's Pikachu fell; taking Tobias's second Pokémon, Latios, down with Iron Tail but being knocked out in turn by Latios's Luster Purge. The battle hadn't gone well for Ash; with Darkrai taking out half of his team single-handedly.
Ash's Sceptile did eventually bring down Darkrai, to the astonishment of nearly everyone present, but then Tobias had sent out a Latios; yet another Legendary Pokémon. Latios had made short work of the rest of Ash's team, except for Pikachu; who took Luster Purge head on with Iron Tail, scoring one last hit. When the dust cleared, both Latios and Pikachu were unconscious.
Jack watched the entire battle with bated breath, and a keen eye; he could feel immense power emanating from the battlefield, but he wasn't entirely convinced that Tobias's Darkrai was the real deal. It was powerful, to be sure, but not Legendarily powerful. But if that was true, then that meant there was more than one Darkrai; and if so, then were there multiple Dialgas or Gratinas running around?
For the sake of his sanity, and his hopes of a good night's sleep, Jack decided not to think about the possibility of duplicate Legendaries; he'd had enough trouble with one set…
Jack's head snapped up as he had a 'eureka' moment.
"If that's the real Darkrai," he muttered to himself, "Then why haven't I been having nightmares? And Nicholas hasn't been complaining about nightmares either. I guess Tobias might just keep it in its Pokéball at night, but still… And speaking of nightmares…"
Jack hadn't had any nightmares since he freed the Legendary Birds back in Pastoria three months ago; but thinking back, he remembered that they didn't seem like normal dreams at all.
"Maybe Darkrai had something to do with it…" Jack muttered.
Once again however, he realized that no amount of speculation would magically cause an answer to appear; it was all one big puzzle, but Jack was pretty sure he didn't have all the pieces. And until he found them, all he could do was keep his eyes peeled.
His own semi-final match, which had gone before Ash and Tobias's, had been almost depressingly easy; mostly because Jack had switched up his team order almost completely by sending Cap out first. Cap had barely fought at all in the tournament before that, and his fluid, and unexpected, transitions from defence to offence and back again caught the other trainer completely by surprise almost every time. Cap knocked out four of their opponent's Pokémon before they could wear down his stamina, and Katana made short work of their remaining two after that.
After the semi-finals were finished, Jack paid Ash a visit at his trainer suite. Unlike Paul, Ash intended to see the Sinnoh League to the end.
"I don't think I have to tell you this," The black-haired trainer told Jack. "But be careful when you fight Tobias tomorrow; he's unbelievably strong. He took down all six of my Pokémon with just two of his own."
Jack nodded solemnly. "I saw. He's certainly a whole lot more powerful than I originally thought; out of all the people in the League, I've been anticipating my fight with him the most. No offence."
Ash shook his head with a rueful chuckle. "None taken; you probably could've beaten me almost as decisively as Tobias did."
"Not quite, I don't think," Jack replied with a shrug. "And that's what worries me. If Tobias took you down that easily, then it'll be a close match; to put it lightly. We know he's got Darkrai and Latios, I think it's safe to say he's got at least a few more legendaries on his team as well."
Ash snapped his fingers. "That reminds me; Tobias said something to me while we were fighting. He said that Gible's Draco Meteor would've instantly knocked out any of his Pokémon except for Darkrai. That could mean that the rest of his team aren't as strong, or maybe the rest of his team is all Dragon-types like Latios."
Jack furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "Maybe, but I'd be hesitant to plan my entire strategy around that assumption; what if he switches up his team to throw me off? On the other hand, it is something to consider; thanks."
"No problem," Ash replied with a grin. "I'm happy to help. Just promise me one thing; beat him for me, okay?"
Jack returned the younger trainer's grin. "No problem; Tobias won't know what hit him."
Jack spent the rest of that day in a giant strategy session with Solomon, Jason, and Thomas; everyone else spent most of the day with Nicholas, who was also sticking around for the end of the tournament.
The four of them agreed that Tobias was probably going to send out Darkrai first; to test Jack's strength. They also all agreed that sending in Jason first was probably their best bet; but after that things started to get fuzzy. Solomon wanted to have at least a rudimentary plan for every possible outcome, while Thomas argued that it was a waste of valuable time to plan for anything other than what he calculated was by far the most likely outcome.
They eventually decided to reach a compromise; Thomas would calculate the three or four most likely scenarios, and they would plan for each of those. However, as soon as they got past Darkrai they ran into trouble; aside from Latios, Tobias's other Pokémon were a complete mystery. Thomas agreed that the probability of Tobias sending out Latios second again were decidedly slim; so there simply wasn't much more planning they could do.
At the end of the day, they had half a dozen ways to defeat Darkrai with only one Pokémon; and not much else. Still, if they could accomplish even that it would give them a bit of an edge; allowing them to alternate between Pokémon at will, giving the ones who had already fought a chance to recover. They also agreed that, if it turned out that most of Tobias's other Pokémon were Dragon-types after all, Wendy would make a perfect striker with her new Moonblast technique; or Aura with Extremespeed.
Jack slept uneasily that night. He had no doubt that he'd defeat Tobias somehow, he was the protagonist after all, but there was still something nagging at the back of his mind; a strange feeling that he was missing something…
Despite Jack's unease, he managed to get what equated to a good night's sleep; and a new day dawned bright and clear. A perfect day for a battle; and a perfect day for the stalls and booths outside the stadium to haul in some extra cash from excited tourists on what would be the last day of the tournament. Jack and Tobias would have their battle, the closing ceremonies would be held, and that was it; the Lily of the Valley Conference would be over until next year.
After he'd gotten dressed and cleaned up, Jack went out with Jason for a pre-sunrise jog as they had been doing for the last few days as a substitute for meditation; which was next to impossible with so many people in close proximity to them.
"Jack," Jason asked as they jogged around the colosseum. "Why do you care so much about winning the Sinnoh league?"
Jack pondered the question for a second. "Well it's not for the prize money, that's for sure; or the 'prestigious' title of Pokémon Master…"
If Jason had eyebrows, he would've raised them. "Then why?"
Jack gave the question a little more thought before replying, "For the sake of winning, I guess. I mean, the whole reason we even started beating the Sinnoh gyms was for the adventure. This tournament is the end of that adventure, and I really want to see it through; and," he continued with a grin, "I want to end it with a bang."
Jason didn't doubt that; he knew Jack had quite a competitive streak. But he also knew that Jack wasn't telling him the whole story. They might not have been brothers by birth, but they knew each other inside and out.
"Or at least," Jason thought ruefully to himself, "We used to."
Jason was right of course; Jack had more reason to win the Sinnoh League than he cared to admit, even to Jason. Especially to Jason in fact, because Jack knew all too well that the Lucario disapproved of his fixation with their mysterious stalker.
"Does Jason just want me to forgive and forget," Jack wondered, "While all of us are in danger? I don't see why he isn't more worried about this, considering someone mind-controlled the Legendary birds themselves into attacking us!"
Neither of them were willing to start what they both thought would be an awkward conversation, so they jogged on in silence. Once the sun was officially above the horizon, they headed back to the suite; making it there just in time to see Ivy unceremoniously wake Lucy up by tickling the poor Absol with her leafy tail. Suffice it to say Lucy wasn't the only one laughing hysterically.
After everyone was properly awake and groomed, Jack teleported them to Lily of the Valley Town for a hearty breakfast, and another brief visit to the beach. The match between Jack and Tobias was scheduled for early afternoon, so they made the most of the morning. They even ran into Maylene again, who was thinking along the same lines and joined them for lunch. It would almost certainly be their last day at Lily of the Valley Island, so the fun they had came with slight bitter-sweet undertones, but that didn't stop them from enjoying it.
"What are you going to do after the Sinnoh League is over?" Maylene asked Jack as they ate lunch at the same diner they'd visited last time.
Jack had to think about it for a second. "To be honest, I'm not sure. I suppose I might visit other regions, but I'm not sure if my funds would hold out; I'm getting a little short on cash. Although if I do win the League, that shouldn't be an issue…"
"What about your family?" Maylene asked. "Don't you want to go home and see them, and tell them all about your journey? Especially if you win the tournament?"
Jack kept his expression neutral, but on the inside he was scowling.
"I guess so…" Jack said, staring off into space. "What about you? What're you going to do after this is over?"
Maylene sighed and studied the table dejectedly.
"I don't really know either," she finally replied. "I was going to go back to Veilstone and keep on being the Gym Leader, but now I've got these new abilities… I'm not even sure if they'll let me be the Gym Leader any more when people find out."
"I'm sure it'll work out," Jack comforted her almost reflexively. "From what I hear, you're the best Gym Leader they've had at Veilstone in a long time; they wouldn't dare get rid of you over something like this."
"You're probably right," Maylene said gratefully. "Although if I am going to be continuing as Gym leader, I'm going to have to train a new team for gym battles," she chuckled at Jack's confusion. "The ones I used while you were training at the dojo with us are too strong now; especially Lucario. If I keep on using them, no one's going to be able to defeat us and get the Cobble Badge."
"That makes a certain amount of sense," Jack admitted. "It must be hard being a gym leader; it's practically your job to lose to trainers."
Maylene huffed in mock-indignation. "I'll have you know there's a lot more to a Gym Leader's job than just loosing. We're supposed to gauge challengers' strengths and weaknesses, and their relationship with their Pokémon; we're supposed to help them get stronger by giving them a goal to work towards, in preparation for competing in the Sinnoh League. And that's why I really don't want to have to give it up."
Jack scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, when you put it that way… Then again, if being a Gym Leader doesn't work out, I'm sure you'd be a cinch for the Elite Four; or maybe even the Sinnoh Champion."
Maylene chuckled. "Well that's awfully sweet of you to say, but I don't think so."
"What?" Jack protested. "I think you'd make a great Champion."
"You know what the Champion has to put up with on a daily basis?" Maylene asked. "You think a gym leader's job is demanding, the Champion has it even worse. I know Cynthia, the current Champion, personally; and she says that when she inherited the title, the previous Champion couldn't have been happier to let her have it. Everywhere she goes she always has at least a dozen cameras trained on her at once, and trainers lining up for miles just to have their Pokémon knocked out in one hit by her Garchomp."
"She's really that strong?" Jack asked.
Maylene nodded. "Yeah, every bit; she's been challenged dozens of times, but no one's even come close to defeating her. Anyone else would've let someone win by now, but Cynthia's too stubborn; she says that 'one day a worthy opponent will beat her in honourable combat, and only then will she happily relinquish up the title of champion.' She's such a romantic..."
Jack chuckled. "Sounds like you know her pretty well."
"Well enough to know that she doesn't enjoy being Champion," Maylene agreed. "She'd much rather go on a journey of her own; she always talks about travelling across Sinnoh again like she did in her trainer days. But like I said, she's too stubborn to give it up until she's found her 'trainer in shining armour'."
"How'd you meet her anyway?" Jack asked, wanting to hear more about Cynthia; she seemed like an interesting person.
"She's visited my Gym a few times," Maylene replied, "Mostly on business, making sure I had things well in hand; but she made a few social calls too, and we got to know each other pretty well. I still run into her every once in a while and we chat."
"She certainly seems like a nice person," Jack commented.
Maylene nodded. "She really is. She's way too nice to be saddled with a job like Champion, but I'm still not planning on taking it off her hands any time soon. If it came to that, I'd rather leave the region and travel with you."
"I'm not sure whether to be insulted or not…" Jack said with a chuckle.
"Sorry," Maylene apologised hastily. "That came out wrong…"
"It kinda did, yeah."
Jack and Maylene talked for a while longer before paying for their food and leaving; visiting the beach one more time, and having one last game of volleyball, before it was time to head back to the colosseum. When they got back, they parted ways; Maylene going to nab a front row seat, and Jack and his team going to spruce up before the battle.
And so, far sooner than any of them would have preferred, Jack and his team readied themselves for the last battle of the Sinnoh League. Little did they know of it's true significance; it was the last battle they would face together, before everything changed.
Jack: This cliffhanger brought to you by Francis.
Me: What's the big deal with cutting me off like that? You didn't let me tell them about...
Jack: This is your last chance to stop you know. Once you do this, there's no turning back. I just want to make sure you realize the implications of your actions here today, and their potential consequences.
Me: What's the worst that could happen?
Jack: *sighs* You just had to say it, didn't you.
Me: So, like I was going to say at the beginning of this chapter, before I was so rudely interrupted, we are introducing a new section to the Author's Corner at the beginning and/or end of each chapter. And that section is, drumroll please… Q&A's.
Jack: *Groans* This is not going to end well…
Me: Quiet, you. Anyway, from now on Jack and I are going to be personally answering any and all questions put to us in reviews or pm's; within moderation. You can ask us anything, anything at all, and we'll give you the closest thing we can to a straight answer. Spoilers are allowed, but not guaranteed.
Jack: And no, this is totally not a desperate cash-grab for reviews. *sarcasm*
Me: You really do enjoy divulging all my secrets, don't you. You should really remember who's the author here; I can make it so you wake up tomorrow wearing a frilly pink tu-tu.
Jack: I may be a lesser being, but I know your mother.
Me: Welp, see you guys in the next chapter. And remember, leave your questions and comments in the reviews, or send them to me in a PM; we'll even answer anonymous questions, so no login required. Now then; if you'll excuse me, I've got a few dimensional barriers to reinforce.
