Spoilers up to Ch 13

Canon

"OH SHIT! HERE COMES THE AUDITAKER WITH A STEEL CHAIR!" Loudred's commentary echoed around the stadium, accompanied by the roar of spectators cheering on their favorite battler.

Down at the arena, an Audino was taking swipe after swipe at an ice-blue Sandslash, trying to bash the Pokemon's head in with a folding chair made of solid iron.

After several failed attempts, the Audino managed to line up horizontal bash in a way that would be impossible for the Sandslash to dodge.

Despite this, the Sandslash grinned. When the chair made contact with his face, it let out a shrill DING that could be heard throughout the stadium. His head was glowing a brilliant gray, and the next thing that the Audino knew there was an iron head flying directly at him.

"OH! AND RANDY SANDSLASH TAKES THE HIT, THEN NAILS THE AUDITAKER WITH AN IRON HEAD! THAT'S SOME SUPER-EFFECTIVE DAMAGE RIGHT THERE!"

A second, slightly more calm voice rang out alongside Loudred's. "You know Loudred, some Pokemon are questioning if the Auditaker is even part fairy, and if that's just a myth spun up by his PR team. After all, Audinos are usually only normal type."

"WELL I THINK WE'RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT, NOCTOWL!"

Back at the stadium floor, the fight was only intensifying.

"YOU WOULD DISRESPECT THE FAIRY?" The Auditaker yelled out, casting his chair to the side. "YOU'LL REGRET THIS!"

The crowd began yelling, knowing what would come next. Up in the rafters above the arena, various techs were running around. One made it directly above the Auditaker, and dropped an Empowerment Seed down.

The Auditaker reached up, grabbing the seed while not breaking eye contact with Randy Sandslash. He crushed it in his hand, causing his entire body to glow a brilliant white.

To the sound of thousands of Pokemon screaming, the Auditaker completed his mega evolution. "I'LL SHOW YOU THE POWER OF THE FAIRY!"

"YOU'RE JUST A WASHED UP GIMMICK!" Randy Sandslash countered, crouching down. "MACHO MON RANDY SANDSLASH WILL NEVER FALL!"

With renewed determination, the battle pressed on, the combatant trading blows one after another. The Auditaker had a much stronger ranged arsenal than Randy Sandslash, but even mega evolved, couldn't match the ice-type's agility. Meanwhile Randy was able to keep the pressure up, dealing massive amounts of super-effective damage with Iron Head.

"YOUR DOOM AND GLOOM ENDS HERE AUDITAKER!" Sandslash rolled under a Hyper Voice, rushing towards the Audino with a Metal Claw. "NO ONE MESSES WITH MACHO MON RANDY SANDSLASH!"

"DEATH IS INEVITABLE SANDSLASH!" The Auditaker's first lit up in flame as he prepared to counter with Fire Punch. "NOTHING YOU CAN DO WILL STOP IT!"

The crowd was practically jumping out of their seats as the two moves clashed. Sparks were flying as the combatants locked themselves into a battle of wills.

"HERE IT IS FOLKS, THE DECIDING BLOW!" Loudred shouted. "WHO WILL WIN? WILL THE AUDITAKER LOSE HIS THRONE?"

"DEATH MAY BE INEVITABLE FOR YOU, BUT I'M BUILT DIFFERENT!" Sandslash shouted back. "YOU SEE, I'M A GENETIC FREAK-"

Mid-attack, the Auditaker whispered to Sandslash. "You're supposed to use that line after the battle."

"Shit, you're right." He cleared his throat, trying to play off the abrupt stop in his monologue. "YOU SEE, I'M BUILT DIFFERENT! I REJECT DEATH!"

In a final burst of strength, Randy Sandslash's Metal Claw managed to overpower the Fire Punch. He raked his claw across the Auditaker, knocking him out.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! MACHO MON RANDY SANDSLASH HAS DEFEATED THE AUDITAKER! THAT MAKES HIM THE CHAMPION OF BATTLEMANIA!"

The crowd let out one final roar of excitement, watching Randy Sandslash stand victoriously over his defeated opponent. "LET THIS BE A LESSON TO EVERYONE OUT THERE! NOTHING IS INEVITABLE! IF YOU FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN, YOU CAN EVEN OVERCOME DEATH ITSELF! YEAAAHHHH!"

Several hours after the duel came to an end, Chansey was looking over the two battlers.

"Alright Mr. Auditaker, you have some mild cuts and bruises, but you should be clear to fight within a week."

"Oh it doesn't matter too much." He smiled at the Chansey, using Heal Pulse on himself. "The season's over so we can take it easy now, right Randy?"

The Sandslash looked over, still somewhat dazed. "Huh? Oh, yeah... Guess we're done for a few months..."

"Congratulations on your championship by the way," the Auditaker joked. "Never could've seen that coming."

Randy Sandslash just sighed. "...Yeah..."

Seeing that his opponent wasn't quite himself, the Auditaker turned back to Chansey. "Do you think you can leave us alone for a while? I think we need to talk in private."

Chansey nodded. "Absolutely. Just don't let him put any weight on his right claw." She gestured to the cast wrapped around his arm.

"Yes ma'am."

Chansey left and shut the door behind him, leaving the two battlers alone in their room.

"So what's going on man?" the Auditaker asked, walking up to his friend.

"...Why do all the fights have to be so fake? Why can't we do real battling?"

The Auditaker looked down, sighing. "I was wondering when you'd ask about this... Come with me." He slipped a cloak over himself, concealing most details of who he is.

Randy Sandslash looked confused but obliged, following the Auditaker outside. Under the cover of moonlight the two snuck away from the arena, stepping into a nearby park. The Auditaker led them to a clearing concealed by bushes and trees, one where they would be out of sight to most Pokemon.

The Auditaker let a comfortable silence slip over them for a while, the two simply sitting there and admiring the moon. Once he felt like enough time had passed, he resumed the conversation. "So where is this coming from?"

"...I respect you a ton," Randy began. "When I was growing up, I wanted to be just like the Auditaker. It's why I evolved, why I joined the guild, and why I quit as soon as Battlemania offered me a position. And now I'm supposed to have beaten you? That fight was... It looked cool, but that was all it was. It felt so... wrong. To beat your idol because the big shots think it'd boost ratings."

The Auditaker nodded. "That's fair. It's... professional battling isn't about the battles. We may be strong, but we're not the strongest, and everything is so scripted it doesn't matter anyways. Just about everyone knows that..."

"But why not join a guild, where we can actually help Pokemon? Just duking it out in an arena so we can line the pockets of our sponsors… It feels so wrong…"

The Auditaker let another silence pass as he looked up to the moon. "There's more to Battlemania than the fighting, you know."

"…What do you mean?"

The Auditaker smiled. "You should know better than me. That speech you gave after I got 'knocked out'?" He put air quotes around the "knocked out."

"...That was just reading off a script the boss gave me."

"Maybe it was to you, but what do you think all your adoring fans thought when they heard it?"

Sandslash looked back to the Auditaker, a confused look on his face.

"Sure, this wasn't a real fight. We both knew who would win and how, but we also know how much effort both of us put in. And our fans saw that too. You said it yourself, you joined a guild because seeing me fight inspired you, right?"

Sandslash nodded, slowly.

"How many others are like that? How many kids do we fill with determination, with the drive to become the best they can possibly be? Our fight isn't the same as the guildies. We're not arresting outlaws, or rescuing Pokemon from dangerous mystery dungeons. But think of how many rescues, how many arrests happened because we inspired someone to join a guild, or even just be a little more confident in themselves."

Sandslash considered the words, but shook his head. "Maybe there were a few, but... can we really claim that we're the reason for it? It feels really self-serving to take responsibility for what they've done."

"Maybe it is a bit, but there's a reason why the Exploration Federation cares so much about Battlemania." The Auditaker pulled out a clear white CD from his cloak. "Take a guess what battle this is."

Sandslash looked at the disk he was holding. "...Your first championship, right? 1891, Tenea City Stadium?"

The Auditaker shook his head, grinning. "Nope, it's much more important to me."

Sandslash gave his counterpart another confused stare. "I... Don't know."

"Auditaker versus John Seedot. Nova Town, 1893."

"...Didn't you lose that fight though?"

"Yep." He tapped the center of the CD, projecting a holographic display over it. The voice of a much younger Loudred rang out, distorted by the speaker attached to the CD.

"HERE WE ARE AT NOVA TOWN ARENA, AND LET ME TELL YOU, WE'RE IN FOR A REAL TREAT TONIGHT FOLKS!"

Sandslash idly watched the recording. "Why is this fight so important to you?"

"You said you were a fan of mine, right? You remember what happened here?"

"...You were on a major win streak, I think. John Seedot wasn't supposed to stand a chance."

"Yep. And yet the little underdog completely beat me."

"But it's all bullshit anyways, boss said you needed to lose."

The Auditaker nodded slowly. "…That's true. But take a look in the crowd, you see anything important?" He paused the recording on a shot that panned over the spectators.

Sandslash's gaze shifted downwards. In seats right up against the arena was a group of four Pokemon that just about any explorer could recognize.

Riolu, Scyther, Zweilous, and Absol.

"That's... Team Breaker?"

The Auditaker nodded. "The most famous explorers in the continent. Well, this was before anyone knew them. They weren't even evolved back then."

"...Huh..."

The Auditaker fast-forwarded the recording, skipping past the majority of the fight and stopping right before the final strike. "Listen to the crowd."

John Seedot was struggling to get back to his feet as the digital Audino laughed maniacally.

"I won't lose... to you!"

Sandslash listened to his friend's advice, paying attention to the shouting coming from the spectators.

"GET THE FUCK BACK UP SEEDOT! ARE YOU GONNA LET THAT SON OF A BITCH KEEP YOU DOWN!?"

"...That was Lucario, right? Err, Riolu back then?"

The Auditaker nodded, but gestured back to the video feed.

In the recording, the Auditaker turned back to face the audience, acting like he thought the fight was over. John Seedot didn't give up yet though. He forced himself back to his feet, and fired an Energy Ball over the Audino's head.

"WE'RE NOT DONE YET!"

The crowd roared back to life as the Auditaker turned around, snarling.

"You should have tried to hit me there, then you might have been able to win."

"And be like you? Hell no! I represent all the dreams of everyone you've defeated on your way to the top! We don't need to stoop to your level to win!"

In the crowds, the Riolu jumped out of his seat, rushing up to the side of the arena, despite the best efforts of security or his friends. "BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM JOHN!"

John Seedot gave the Riolu a nod of acknowledgement, which only served to excite him even more.

Turning his focus back to the Audino, he began charging up a Solar Beam. In response, the Auditaker used Hyper Beam. The two attacks clashed in the center of the arena, lighting the entire stadium up a spectacular yellow.

The Riolu, despite being carried by a Machoke back to his seat, continued to yell. "YOU HAVE TO BEAT HIM! FOR ALL OF US!"

With that added boost of motivation, Seedot redoubled his attack, slowly managing to gain on the Hyper Beam as it approached the Auditaker.

At last, Seedot won out. The attack nailed the Audino, causing an explosion. When the dust settled, the Auditaker was unconscious.

The real-life Auditaker stopped the recording, putting the disk back in his cloak. "According to Seedot, the kids ran up to him after the fight. Promised him that they would do the best they could, and reach the top of the world someday like he just did. And now any of those four could stomp every battler we know."

Sandslash nodded, considering what he saw.

Sensing his doubt, the Auditaker put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "They grew up to be the guildmasters of Varin's two top guilds, and they thought Pokemon like us were inspirations. Like I said, we don't help Pokemon the same way that guildies do. But we do help, and you shouldn't forget that."

Sandslash looked back up at the night sky. "…Yeah… I guess you're right."

The Auditaker smiled. "Now that the season's up we get a few months where we can do whatever we want… Well, minus the press conferences, of course. How would you like to see what the guildies do?"

That caught Sandslash off guard. "What do you mean?"

"You said you were worried you weren't helping enough. You still have your old guild badge?"

He nodded, taking it out. "I take it with me everywhere."

"Then let's go do a few rescues, or bring in a few outlaws. I don't think we have much else going on for a while."

Some brightness seemed to return to Sandslash's eyes. "…That sounds nice. Oh, do you think John would want to come too?"

The Auditaker let out a chuckle. "I'll make sure to ask him." He rose to his feet, tightening his cloak. "Now let's head back, don't want the boss to be looking for us too long."

"Right…" Sandslash rose to his feet as well. "Still gotta do the post battle interviews."

"Oh, don't worry about it, we've both done more than enough by now. No way we mess it up now."

"Yeah…"

Back under the cover of moonlight, the two battlers returned to their dressing room, both filled with a renewed determination.