Louis tapped his foot nervously. It had been a few days since the events at Suzuki's training field, and today heralded the beginning of the Battle Royale. The academy buzzed with excitement as many students couldn't contain their anticipation.

"I can't believe it's finally here," one student cheered.

"Been looking forward to this," another exclaimed.

The young adult couldn't help but feel very unprepared for this event. The feeling was the same amongst the other members of Team Venus.

"Hard to believe that the Battle Royale is today," said Braixen.

"Feels like yesterday when we decided to compete," added Marowak.

The young adult exhaled, trying to ease his anxiousness.

"Hey guys," someone called.

The group turned to the source and saw Roy approaching, carrying his guitar.

"So, you guys ready?" the musician asked.

Louis scratched the back of his head.

"Eh...we don't know," he said. "We can't help but feel a bit..."

"Unprepared?" finished Roy.

"Y-yes."

Roy sat alongside Louis and held up his guitar.

"I had a feeling you guys would be nervous," he said. "So, how about I play something to help calm yourselves."

Roy brandished his guitar pick and began to strum away on his instrument. The melody was soft, relaxing, and overall, calm. As they listened, Louis and his team of Pokémon slowly closed their eyes, as the music sent them to their happy place.

Louis remembered all of the great times he had when he was younger. From the time he met Taki and Feraligatr and where he talked to Venusaur, to the moment where he and Team Venus won the tournament years ago. It had been just some of the happiest times in Louis' life.

As Roy finished finger-picking a few extra notes, Louis commented;

"I like the way you play, your technique is amazing."

"Heh, thanks a lot," Roy replied.

When the melody ended, all other party members gently opened their eyes, smiling and relaxed.

"How do you guys feel?" asked Roy.

"Better," smiled Louis. "What was that song?"

"It's called Oracion."

"Oracion?"

"Uh-huh. Apparently, it's a tune that was created somewhere in the Sinnoh region."

The young adult grew curious about the knowledge of this music.

"Where'd you learn to play it?" questioned Louis.

"Your mother taught me," answered Roy.

The answer took Louis by surprise.

"M-my Mom?!" he shrieked.

The young adult from Johto tried to remember his mother playing the song. He searched his memory...but couldn't recall an event where she performed the music.

"When did she teach you?" asked Louis.

"Six years ago," answered Roy. "You remember how I was in the Pokémon Centre and you and your mother came by to check on me?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, after you left for your match, she helped teach me this song."

The pupils in Louis' eyes shrunk in surprise.

"...seriously?" he muttered.

He snapped out of his trance when he caught a glimpse of Taki, Feraligatr and Cinderace moving closer toward the group. Roy could see that Taki had a concerned expression on her face.

"Something wrong?" asked Roy.

"Um...have you guys seen Tracey?" responded Taki.

"No," answered Louis.

Just then, Roy spotted a familiar-looking set of colours near the steps leading to the docks. It was Tracey, and he sat down near the staircase.

"There he is," said Roy.

The party of humans and Pokémon jogged over the stone steps. The sketch artist immediately spotted his friends approaching and waved to them.

"Hey guys," he greeted.

"Yo. We weren't sure where you were," said Louis.

Tracey rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm heading back to Professor Oak's lab today," he explained.

This response surprised Louis and Taki. Then, Taki recalled their conversation not long ago where Tracey said that he'd be at the academy for a few days.

"I completely forgot," said Taki.

The sound of a ship's horn signalled the approach of The Lapras Express, now nearing the waterways leading to the academy's docks. Soon, upon arrival, the crew carefully trotted down the stone steps, not wanting to slip and fall down like a boulder.

Eventually, they reached the bottom of the staircase and stepped onto the wooden docks, where the Lapras Express gently rocked on the ocean surface.

"Sorry I can't watch your match today," apologised Tracey.

"Don't worry about it, man," replied Louis.

"This isn't goodbye," he hoped.

"This is just a farewell," clarified Taki.

The trio shared a group hug, bringing Feraligatr into the mix as well.

"Be safe, okay Tracey?" said Louis.

"I will," the sketch artist replied.

When the circle of friends relinquished their grip of one another, Roy approached Tracey and shared a handshake with him.

"Good to meet ya', Tracey," said Roy.

"You too," replied Tracey.

The sketch artist stepped onto the vessel. The horn sounded off as it departed. The party waved to Tracey, where he returned the favour. They continued to farewell each other until the Lapras Express was no longer visible.

"He's a good kid," said Roy.

"Now come on, we've got a battle royale to go to," he added.

While Roy was speaking, Louis began to wonder which of his Pokémon he would use for the Battle Royale. Not long after, the gang arrived at an outdoor field, where a large arena, shaped like a wrestling ring displayed before the students and staff.

Roy whistled in amazement.

"It looks like a full house," he said.

Nearby, Coach and Miguel inspected the area, making sure there were no late students turning up. Then, the pair caught sight of the party nearby. Both adults walked toward the group.

"There you guys are," said Coach.

"We're starting soon, are you all ready?" Miguel asked.

They weren't. Or rather...Louis wasn't ready.

Miguel immediately noticed the worry displayed on his son's face, as Coach too caught sight of Louis' expression. Miguel knew that face.

"Louis, maybe you should take five minutes and pick which Pokémon you want to use," he said.

Louis nodded. The young adult gathered his Pokémon in a quiet part of the field, figuring out who Louis was gonna use.

"So...anybody want to volunteer to compete?" asked Louis.

"Lucario? ...Staraptor? ...Marowak?" he listed.

Incineroar pondered for a moment. He imagined himself competing in the battle royale, using Darkest Lariat on his opponents. But then, he thought back to the training that his friends did years ago and believed that one of them would be better suited to battle. And he knew exactly who that Pokémon should be.

"I think Braixen should do it," he said.

The human and group of Pokémon stared at the fire-wrestling cat, amazed by his response.

"...me?" questioned Braixen. "Why?"

"Are you kidding? We all saw how big that Flamethrower you used days ago was," Incineroar answered.

"And honestly, I'm kinda jealous," he added.

Braixen smiled, thankful for Incineroar's complimenting words.

"Just make sure the next one is even bigger!"

"You bet I will," said Braixen.

Suddenly, the sound of a bell ringing emitted around the field signalling that the Battle Royale matches were about to commence. The party joined their friends in the stands.

"So, who are you going with?" asked Feraligatr.

"We chose Braixen," answered Marowak.

The head principal stepped into the ring and switched on his microphone.

"Thank you all for coming," he began.

"Are you all ready for our first of many Battle Royales?" he said.

The students in the stands cheered in excitement.

For a while, Louis and his friends watched on as many trainers competed against one another in the ring. Louis had forgotten the excitement he got from watching Pokémon battles. Once a number of matches had finished, the head professor stepped into the ring again.

"Our next competitors are Sasha Thompson, Louis Serrano, Daryl Orton, and Zack Sanders," he announced.

The party turned their attention to Zack stepping toward the ring, who had a determined smile on his face.

"This should be fun," muttered Louis.

"Good luck, Louis," said Taki.

"Yeah, it's gonna be great seeing you compete again," grinned Roy.

Braixen followed her trainer as they made their way into the ring. Louis stood in one corner, while Zack, Sasha and Daryl were in the other three, respectively.

"Let's do this, Louis," said Braixen.

"Yeah," responded Louis.

Braixen readied herself for battle. Sasha brought out a Corviknight, Daryl sent out a Leafeon, and Zack called...Azul to battle.

Braixen was shocked seeing Azul in Zack's corner.

"Azul?!" she shrieked.

"Goddammit," grumbled Louis.

Uh-oh, spaghetti-O's. This is going to be a bit awkward.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Is there something you enjoyed? Can you guess what happens next? Or...what do you hope to see in future chapters? If so, go ahead and leave a review explaining any of these reasons. (Please don't leave hurtful reviews)

If you have just begun reading this story and like what you've read so far, feel free to follow/favourite this story so you will be notified when a new chapter is released. Heck, you're welcome to share this story with your friends.

Thanks again. See you next time