Pokemon: The Champions Revenge
Chapter 1 Part 2
A Few Hours Before the Opening Ceremony
Dawn Berlitz lay awake in bed.
'Only a few more hours till the opening ceremony,' Dawn thought.
It had been a long road to get here. Sure, she wasn't an actual battling trainer. But as one of Sinnoh's top coordinators, she had been invited to partake in the Master's Tournament. It was a huge accomplishment to be one of the top 15 coordinators who got invited to the tournament. Eight years of journeying. Eight years of training. Eight years of grueling work with her pokemon. Eight years of ups and downs, highs and lows. It took her eight years to get to where she was now.
But it had also been five years since her world was flipped on its head. Her first mentor, first companion, one of her best friends. It had been five years since Ash Ketchum had died in the accident. Since then, everything was different. Her friends seemed to grow distant. Dawn retreated into the shell of coordination, closing herself off from others. She worked for days on end nonstop. It was unhealthy. But Dawn didn't care. She didn't know what she would do if she started talking to people again. Making friends again. She was scared. Scared that they would die too. That there wouldn't be anything she could do to stop it.
On that depressing thought, Dawn picked herself up off the bed. Getting up and stretching, Dawn checked the clock.
"Four-thirty," Dawn muttered aloud. "A bit over 2 hours left."
Dawn glanced over at her roommate, Serena, to find her still sleeping in her bed. Seeing that she would have the shower to herself, Dawn wasted no time in taking a quick shower and changing out of her pajamas into casual clothes. Stepping out of the bathroom, she once again looked at the clock.
"Four forty-five," Dawn said.
There was still a lot of time left.
"Serena, if you're up, I'm going to grab a coffee. I'll be back soon," Dawn called walking toward the door. "Get yourself up, get showered, and get changed soon."
Dawn exited their hotel room and walked into the hallway. As she walked towards the elevator, she glanced at the nametags on the rooms she passed.
"Misty, May, Brock, Clemont, Cilan, Trip, Iris, Bonnie, Max, Barry, Drew" Dawn read out loud.
More importantly than winning the tournament, Dawn wanted to rekindle the strong friendship she had with the group before Ash had died.
Dawn stepped into the hotel elevator and pressed the button signaling the first floor. Dawn watched as the elevator descended from floor thirty-two all the way down to one, humming along to the song being played in the elevator. It was an old song that she used to like but didn't remember too much. Some Katy Perry song. It reminded her of the good old days. She used to listen to it on her first journey with Ash and Brock.
As the elevator dinged, signaling that it had reached the hotel's ground floor, Dawn got out of it and started making her way across the huge floor. With the Master's Tournament opening being around two hours away and most people getting ready for it, the expansive reception area was empty save a few employees. Dawn reached the bar area of the coffee shop located in front of the hotel reception area and sat down on a stool. Dawn glanced at the barista, who was on his phone.
"What would you like to have ma'am," The barista said to Dawn without sparing her a glance.
He was a teenager maybe a bit younger than her.
'Probably working part-time,' Dawn thought.
"One decaf coffee please," Dawn said.
"Coming right up," The barista said.
"Is this seat taken?" She heard a voice from behind her.
"No," Dawn said. That was weird. She had checked while she walked through the area but no one else was present.
"Alright."
Dawn glanced over to see a man slide into the seat next to her. He had a hoodie, sweatpants, and a mask on, leaving pretty much everything about his appearance to the imagination as she could only see.
"What can I get you, sir?" The barista asked from a coffee machine.
"Iced green tea," The man said. His voice was plain, expressionless. He seemed rather ... robotic. However, a sort of authority was emitted from his words. If he asked Dawn to take up arms against all garbage cans in the world, Dawn had a feeling that she would.
"Coming right up," the bartender replied.
"So," the man said, turning to Dawn. "Why are you here?"
"In Tandor?" Dawn asked.
The man simply nodded in affirmation.
"To compete in the Master's Tournament," Dawn said. "I'm not much of a battler; as a top coordinator, I'm more there for show. In a regular Pokemon League, I might get far, but not here. So don't expect too much out of me!" Dawn said with a cheeky grin, trying to lighten up the mood.
The man, however, gave no reaction.
"Why?" He asked.
"Excuse me?" Dawn asked.
"Why," the man reiterated. "Why join this tournament if you don't intend to go far? What's the point of you coming here?"
Dawn paused.
"Well," She said. Dawn didn't really like talking about it. Especially to strangers. But, to be honest, she was kind of nervous. Maybe it would help her if she could talk to someone. "Something bad happened five years ago. It split me apart from my friends. I came here to reconcile with them."
"Friends, huh?" The man asked.
"Yeah," Dawn said.
"What are friends?" The man asks.
"Friends?" Dawn said. "Friends are people who you're really close to. They'll help you whenever you need to and always make you happy. They'll never turn their backs on you."
Dawn paused, thinking about Ash. "If needed, they'll even risk their lives for you."
The man didn't respond. Dawn looked over. The man looked ... mad.
"Uhm..." Dawn started. "I'm sorry, did I say anything to offend you?"
The man stayed silent. Dawn looked at him. Even without being able to make out anything about him, Dawn realized how scary he could be if he wanted to. He looked as if he could kill her in an instant without trying.
"One decaf coffee and iced tea," the barista said, breaking the tension.
Dawn noticed that she had unconsciously gotten stiff. She loosened herself up and grabbed her coffee from the barista.
"Thanks," she said.
The man next to Dawn didn't reach for his tea and simply stayed still. Showing no patience, the barista slid the man his drink across the counter. With a glance to check for new customers, the barista turned and disappeared behind the door to the employee room.
Dawn took a sip of her drink, waiting for the man to say something.
It never happened. Getting tired of the silence, Dawn decided to take a risk and probe the man.
"Why did you ask?" Dawn asked.
The man turned and looked at Dawn. Dawn caught a glimpse of his blood-red eyes. They were cold, emotionless. They bore into her as if they were scrutinizing her every move. They probably were.
"In this world, ninety-nine percent of the people you meet aren't real people," The man told her.
"What?" Dawn said confused.
"They aren't people," The man said. "They're scum."
Dawn frowned. Sure, there were some bad people in the world, but there were a lot more good people. Deciding not to argue with the man, Dawn tried to redirect his point slowly.
"Then, at least, the other one percent are..."
Dawn stopped talking as she looked at the man's face. It changed. He seemed to show any emotion other than anger for the first time in this conversation. There was a glint in his eyes. Almost as if he was smiling...
"Monsters," the man said. "The rest are monsters."
"How do you know?" Dawn asked, but, deep down, she already knew the answer to her question.
At this point, his expression was unmistakable even with a mask on.
"Because I am one," the man said with a calm smile.
Dawn took a second to comprehend what she had just heard. And then decided that she needed a lot longer to fully digest the character of the man sitting next to her. But luckily, she would get all the time she wanted.
Dawn turned to see a professionally dressed woman in a pencil skirt walk up to the bar.
"It is time to go, Mr. Red," The woman said.
So Red was his name. It seemed awfully familiar, but Dawn couldn't pinpoint where she had heard it before.
"Alright," The man, Red, said. His voice had returned to its plain state. "Thank you, Macy."
The man stood up, grabbing his drink and handing it to the woman. He pushed in his stool and turned to leave before stopping.
"Thank you for the talk, Ms. Berlitz," The man said.
'How did he...' Dawn thought.
"Think on what I said," The man continued. "Distance yourself from scum, unless you too want to turn into a monster."
Without another word, the man left, the woman on his tail.
"Wha..." Dawn said to herself.
Dawn's phone suddenly blared, scaring Dawn much more than it usually would have.
Dawn pulled out her phone and glanced at it. It read 5:30.
"Shoot," Dawn cursed. She had to get back and help the others get ready. Serena was probably still in bed too. Dawn quickly snatched up her coffee, set five Pokedollars on the bar counter, and proceeded to scramble back to her room.
Just before she reached the elevator, an epiphany hit her.
'Red,' Dawn thought. 'How did I not recognize that name? Moreover, how did the champion know me?'
Deciding to shake all her questions off for now, Dawn entered the elevator and hit the 'up' button.
The elevator seemed to go up faster than it had down.
Dawn marched out into the hallway as the doors opened, passing all of her friends' rooms hurriedly. She got to her room and wrestled the door open.
The sight of her messy, wet, and naked roommate nearly gave her a stroke.
"Serena?!"
Whap
"Too slow."
Whap
"Put your guard up."
Whap
"In a real fight, you would've been dead twenty times over."
Whap
"So this is why Ash died. You were and are way too weak to protect anyone including yourself"
Whap
The man felt something break inside him.
"SHUT THE HELL UP OLD MAN!" The man said knocking away a blow and landing a palm into his opponent's chest, sending him flying backward.
The man looked forward. He had used too much force. He jogged over to his opponent and helped him up.
"Sorry I lost control," He said.
"Nonsense," His opponent hollered. "The only way I could make you give me a serious fight was through provocation. To think that I used to kick you around. It has only been five years, but you have grown, Gary."
Gary gave him a smile. "It's all thanks to you, Hala. And Samson."
Hala looked at Gary. "Nothing comes without work put in and dedication. You and your pokemon have earned your strength. Along with all the others."
Gary looked around to see his Pokemon all engaged in serious spars. Further out he saw his new friends and their Pokemon doing the same.
"Alright everyone," A voice blared.
Gary turned around to see Samson Oak standing near the entrance of the vacation house they had all rented in the outskirts of Legen City.
"Wrap up your training and come in," Samson said. "It's almost time for the Opening Ceremony."
"Alright Gary," Hala said. "I will go in and help Samson with his preparations."
"Alright. Thanks"
The old Kahuna smiled at him and walked back towards their house.
Gary sighed as he recalled his Pokemon. He felt a hand grab his shoulder.
"Calm your nerves."
Gary turned around. "Kiawe."
"We're more than ready," Another voice called.
"Gladion."
"I know," Gary said. "They won't see what hit them."
"Of course," Another voice.
"Sophocles."
"And we'll all be beside you."
Gary turned to see Lana, Mallow, Lillie, and Hau.
"Right," Gary said. "For Ash."
"For Ash," They all repeated.
"Keep on taking your time," Samson called. "We don't have an opening ceremony to get to. We have all day."
xxx
Gary's mind was only half present as he donned his cloak. It was necessary. As much as he wanted to reveal his identity out of the gate and expose the vermin, he couldn't. It wasn't guaranteed that anyone would believe him. And... that would be too easy for them. Gary wanted more. For all that they had done. As he finished dressing, he felt a presence enter his room.
"Paul?" Gary asked.
"Yeah," Paul said behind him. "Are you ready to go Gary? Or should I say Ray?"
Gary turned around. "Let's fuck them up."
Ash dashed out the back doors of the PLT.
"Nucleon," He cried. "Where are we going?"
Nucleon seemed to ignore Ash and kept speeding away from the PLT into a forest. Knowing it was something important, Ash stopped trying to ask questions and continued to follow Nucleon.
Nucleon slowed down as it approached a clearing in the forest.
'That's weird,' Ash thought. 'There shouldn't be a clearing here.'
Nucleon disappeared into a patch of tall grass only to momentarily reappear in the barren middle of the clearing. It seemed on edge, glancing back and forth at the grass surrounding it.
Not wasting a moment, Ash followed suit ducking into the brush. That was his big mistake.
One that Red wouldn't have made. Ash, however, was too distracted by the emotions that he had thought long dead flaring up again. He didn't know how he felt. He had spent five years preparing for his meeting with his mother's murderers. But now, he didn't know how to feel. The influx of emotions made his reflexes a split second slower.
Before he knew it, a Psycho cut was right next to his neck. Inches from decapitating him.
Clang
Ash whirled around to see an Oblivicorn with its horn glowing growling at a Gallade. Ash could recognize that Oblivicorn anywhere after five years.
"Why the hell did you run off alone you idiot?" Green chided.
Ash turned around to face her.
"If it weren't for me, the invincible Champion Red would be dead before the Masters' Tournament even began. Think about how bad that would look for the host region. And about me. I actually care about you. Know that?"
"Sorry," Ash said.
"Save it," Green said. "Tonight we're not letting you hear the end of this. But for now, it seems we have more pressing matters."
"Not anymore," Ash said. In a flash, he whipped out a Pokeball and released it.
The poor Gallade never knew what hit it. It crumpled to the ground, defeated as Navighast appeared out of the shadows behind it.
"Tandor's unstoppable champion strikes again." A sarcastic voice called.
"Oh please, you're still salty that Navighast took out your entire team in your last title challenge."
Ash turned to see Alex slink into the clearing followed by Vanessa.
"Sorry to interrupt your love-fest, but it would be a terrible look for the region if both the champion and head elite were missing from the opening ceremony," Alex said, choosing to ignore Vanessa's remark.
"So you came too?" Green asked.
"Well... yeah," Alex said rubbing the back of his head.
"And you?" Green asked Vanessa.
"He would've gotten lost without me," Vanessa stated.
"Hey!" Alex protested.
As Green continued scolding the two, Ash turned around to see his Nucleon prodding at an uneven section of dirt on the ground.
"Ness give me Espeon for a sec," Ash said.
Ash sensed a Pokeball flying over his shoulder and reached up and caught it without moving an inch from his position observing the spot. Ash let out Vanessa's Espeon as his Nucleon trotted over and seemingly explained the situation to Espeon. Espeon used its psychic powers to remove the dirt and a bit of the earth below it.
As Ash peered into the newly created hole, his suspicions had been confirmed. A large green glow emanated from the hole with many different containers filled with hazardous materials.
"Guys," he said, interrupting the rest of the elites' bickering. "Come here."
The three elites peered into the hole and were speechless for a second.
"How?" Green asked. "The whole situation was taken care of four years ago. There shouldn't be anymore..."
"Espeon says that Nucleon sensed that it is leaking dangerous amounts into the air," Vanessa said leaning next to her partner. "Like it's ready to blow any second now."
"Almost forgot about your whole telepathy schpeal as a psychic trainer," Alex commented. "So what should we do now? Evacuate?"
"Not unless necessary," Vanessa said. "Bad PR for our region. Especially as a relatively 'new' nation. we need to avoid controversy as much as we can."
"Then what?" Green asked, biting on a nail.
"You all go back," Ash said, coming out of thought.
"Red," Green said. "You can't be seriously saying that we let the whole place blow."
"No," Ash said. "Leave it to me. Go reinforce Melissa. The ceremonial opening battle should be beginning soon."
The three present elites shared a look.
"Fine," Alex said. "We've trusted you with our lives more times than I could count over the past five years. One more time won't hurt."
"Just cuz I'm leaving you for now doesn't mean that this is over," Green said. "We're going to have a serious talk about this after the ceremony is over."
Vanessa simply made eye contact with Ash and turned to leave. The two other elites turned and followed stead right after.
Ash waited until they were gone and well out of sight. As he pulled his chains out of his shirt, Ash noticed Nucleon approach him.
"I think this much energy is too much for you to swallow buddy," Ash said sheepishly. "We don't want you killing anyone in the tournament. Just make sure that no one is near us when I release it. I haven't fed it a good snack in a while after all."
Nucleon put on what Ash could only assume was a pout and pranced away to check the perimeter of the clearing.
Ash touched both chains as well as the two mini Pokeballs decorating the center of each chain. Ash first felt the silver Pokeball before moving on to the green one. With a sigh, he tore the green Pokeball off its chain and heaved it in the air.
"Come out!" Ash called.
A bright flash filled the clearing as the Pokemon was released into the clearing.
Alex yawned as he lounged in the elite box filled with the elites and champions from all 8 regions in attendance. The opening ceremony had started off with minimal hitches save for most of the Tandor elites arriving late. Melissa had handled the crowd well in their absence just as she was handling the eager crowd currently. It was 8:30 which meant that the exhibition matches would begin. He knew that the first match would include an elite so he wasn't really interested in watching. His mind was still back at the bomb that Red had found. He hasn't heard anything burn up yet which was a good thing, but Red still hadn't returned either.
"Attention, please," Melissa said into a microphone.
The huge crowd who had settled into the main stadium in the PLT grew silent. The elites from the other regions who were scattered throughout the box also fell silent. Alex looked over as even Green and Vanessa next to him started to focus on Melissa at the center of the battlefield.
"I will now choose the two competitors in this exhibition battle," Melissa said. "For the first trainer being chosen, we are choosing from a pool of gym leaders, elites, and champions."
The jumbotron started whirring before a name popped onto the screen.
"It looks like our first competitor is Miss Misty Waterflower," Melissa said. "The Cerulean City Gym Leader."
The crowd erupted into cheers as the girl named Misty took the stage.
"Alright," Melissa started. "Now for our next..."
Melissa was cut off as the crowd kept on cheering.
The cheers were deafening. Alex found himself wondering who this girl was and what she had done to gain such adulation from the audience. He turned to the elite next to him who he quickly identified as Aaron from Sinnoh and asked "So what's the deal about this Misty girl?"
"She's a pretty popular Pokemon personality in the seven original regions," Aaron responded. "She was one of Ash Ketchum's first companions."
"Ash Ketchum?"
Alex turned. Green's face was one of absolute shock and alarm.
"Yeah," Aaron said, not noticing Green's knee-jerk reaction. "You know of him?"
"N.. no," Green stuttered.
"I can't really blame you," Aaron continued. "He never went to Tandor after all. He was a trainer who placed high in numerous Pokemon Leagues and even won the Alola League at the age of 13. However, most people know him as a hero. He had saved the world countless times from many crises."
"He sounds like a cool dude," Alex said. "Is he competing here?"
"Err..." Aaron started, clearly not knowing how to word his sentence, "He can't. He was murdered five years ago. People are supportive of Misty and the rest of Ash's friends in order to indirectly support and appreciate Ash for saving their lives countless times."
"Oh," Alex said, deciding not to pry further. Ash Ketchum was clearly a touchy subject.
As the crowd's roar slowed, the jumbotron had already selected the second competitor.
"Ray Koga," Alex read off the screen. A man with a cape, hood, and mask appeared across from Misty.
The door opened and Red walked into the elite box behind Alex.
"Took you long enough," Green said. "Make sure to go introduce yourself to the rest of the elites and champions."
Red grunted in agreement and walked forward to check on the competitors in the first exhibition match. Alex looked over and watched Red stiffen as he glanced at Misty. Alex did remember that Red mentioned coming from Kanto.
"Do you know who Ash Ketchum was, Red?" Alex asked.
Red took a second before responding. His expression was unreadable to Alex.
"Not at all."
Gary's blood boiled as Misty waved to the cheering crowd.
It was quite ironic. Ash's biggest legacy was carried on through the traitors that had ended his life in the first place.
A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts.
"Looks like you can start your revenge earlier."
Gary glanced at Kiawe who had a finger extended, pointing at the jumbotron screen.
"Ray Koga," Gary read.
"You really should have picked another name," Gladion said. "You just rearranged your name."
"I believe that's called an anagram," Lillie tagged on.
"I didn't join you guys in Samson's viewing box just to get ripped apart," Gary said.
"You had better hurry to your battle now, Gary," Samson Oak said.
"Shit," Gary said as he started to dash out of the box.
"Don't forget your mask," Paul said from behind Gary as he threw a white mask towards Gary.
"Thanks," Gary said catching the mask.
"Can't have a wanted criminal competing in the exhibition match," Paul shrugged.
Gary gave him a grin before dashing towards the battlefield. He took a left which brought him into the stands and donned his mask. Another left took him into the staircase which he looped twice to get down to the arena floor. As he approached the clearing he slowed down to a strut and pulled his hood over his hair.
The first thing he expected to feel once he entered the battlefield was rage. He was only partially correct. While half of him was filled with rage and thoughts of revenge, the other half of him was filled with awe. Not for his opponent, of course, but for the elite standing in front of him. Gary had been confident that he could beat almost any trainer in this tournament, save maybe the champions of each region after his intense training for the past five years. A strong sense of purpose drove him and his team to become stronger. However, the elite before him gave off a strong aura. It was beyond the auras of the champions that he had met before. She was strong for an elite. Maybe on the level of many champions. With Tandor being a new region, people had expected their elites and champion to be relatively weak like Alola had been a couple of years prior. However, from what Gary had seen of Elite Melissa, it seemed that the contrary was true.
"Gym Leader Misty Waterflower and Trainer Ray Koga," Elite Melissa started. "You have both been chosen for this exhibition match. This battle will be a standard single battle with both sides using a single Pokemon. The battle will end once one side cannot continue and the other will win. Are there any questions?"
"None from me!" Misty said, clearly loving the attention she was getting.
Gary said nothing and simply shook his head. He wasn't scared of talking but was afraid that if he started, he wouldn't be able to stop himself and that Misty Waterflower would not walk out of the stadium in one piece.
"Then, as the Pokemon League representative, Gym Leader Misty, please send out your Pokemon first," Elite Melissa said.
Gary was fine without talking, however, as he was perfectly content with letting his Pokemon deliver the message for him for now. Gary briefly heard Misty call out her Starmie and saw the starfish Pokemon appear before her. As soon as Gary saw her signature Starmie, Gary couldn't hold back anymore. Elite Melissa said something. It went over his head. He was simply focused on one thing right now: embarrassing Misty as much as he possibly could. Though his Electivire could finish off the Starmie in one hit, Gary decided to opt for a strategy that was more... cruel. Gary tossed out his Umbreon.
"Hydro Pump to stun Umbreon then Rapid Spin to close in on it," Misty commanded.
Gary tried to control his breathing and voice as much as he could as the Starmie fired off the Hydro Pump. The announcer said something. The crowd cheered. Umbreon instinctively dodged the attack.
Gary made eye contact with his Umbreon as the rapid spin started to close in on it.
"Jump," Gary said.
"I won't let you," Misty said. "Starmie go over Umbreon and land on it. Follow through and pin it into the ground. It won't be able to avoid that midair!"
Gary put up a hint of a smirk under his mask. "Dodge."
As Starmie was about to hit and pin Umbreon into the ground, Umbreon maneuvered unnaturally in midair, avoiding the attack.
As Starmie crashed into the ground kicking up dust where Umbreon had been a moment ago, Misty let out a gasp.
"How did his Umbreon jump midair?" Misty screamed at Melissa. "He must be using a second Pokemon to help his pathetic Umbreon."
"Trainer Ray is not using any extra Pokemon, Leader Misty," Melissa said.
"What?" Misty exclaimed. She turned to Gary. "How?!"
Gary had no intention to respond to, let alone even talk to a traitor currently, and ignored Misty, further infuriating her. As Umbreon touched the ground, Gary wasted no time in issuing his next command.
"Sand Attack."
As Starmie slowly came out of the dust, it was assaulted by a wave of dirt kicked up by Umbreon.
"Hey!" Misty screamed. "That's dirty, assaulting my Pokemon with sand like that."
Though Sand Attack was a perfectly legal move, Gary chose to ignore her.
"Sand Attack again," Gary said.
"Starmie, don't let him," Misty said. "Use Psycho Cut to cut through the Sand Attack."
Umbreon kicked up another round of sand while Starmie readied a Psycho Cut. Though Starmie managed to carry out its owner's orders, it was a bit slow following the first sand attack and only managed to cut through half of the sand attack.
"Don't let up, Starmie," Misty said. "Use Psycho Cut on Umbreon"
Gary could see that the Psycho Cut would be a bit off its mark due to the sand affecting Starmie, so he didn't issue any commands.
Just like Gary had predicted, the Psycho Cut was a bit to the left. Umbreon stepped out of the way of Starmie's attack and stuck a foot out, tripping Starmie.
"Sand Attack again."
As Starmie got up it was met by another Sand Attack.
Gary could see Misty visibly grit her teeth.
"Let's change it up, Starmie," Misty said. "If physical attacks don't work, let's use a ranged attack. Thunderbolt!"
"Roll to dodge and follow with another Sand Attack."
Starmie fired off a thunderbolt that Umbreon rolled past before hitting Starmie with another Sand Attack.
"Starmie don't let it rest, Hydro Pump," Misty called.
"Jump over it," Gary commanded.
Starmie fired off an errant Hydro Pump that Umbreon easily leaped over.
"Sand Attack midair."
"Use Psycho Cut to swipe it out of the air!"
Umbreon fired off a Sand Attack that made direct contact with Starmie. With nothing left to go on, but the direction the Sand Attack hit it from, Starmie launched a Psycho Cut under Umbreon.
"Land on it," Gary said.
Umbreon landed on top of Starmie and pushed off it with its hind legs immediately after, kicking Starmie into the dirt.
Gary looked across at Misty. She knew she would lose. She would have to pull a desperation move now. Gary only prayed that it succeded.
"Rapid Spin and hit it!" Misty called.
This was the desperation move that Gary was waiting for. Luckily Starmie managed to guess to guess exactly where Umbreon was and collided with it, creating a cloud of dust.
"I did it!" Misty cheered. "I won!"
The crowd that was so silent when Gary had the upper hand now roared. To them, it wouldn't look pretty, but Misty would have pulled off the win. As the dust left and Starmie stood up, Umbreon was nowhere to be seen."
"Did you recall your Umbreon in embarrassment?" Misty taunted Gary.
Gary stayed silent as his plan was prepared. After a couple of seconds, Gary screamed "Now Umbreon, Dig!"
Umbreon appeared from the ground and knocked Starmie straight into the air.
"How?" Misty said. "We all saw Starmie hit Umbreon with Rapid Spin."
"Double Team," Gary said responding to his opponent for the first time in the match. "You were fighting a fake Umbreon the whole time."
Misty's jaw dropped and the audience went silent. Gary wasn't done yet, though.
"Double Team into Shadow Ball to keep Starmie in the air!" Gary called.
Umbreon split into many clones that simultaneously started charging Shadow Balls before releasing them one after the other.
A brutal scene unfolded as Starmie was carried farther and farther into the air as the Shadow Balls kept on hitting it.
As the volley of Shadow Balls ended and Starmie began to fall back to the ground, Gary issued his last command. "Last Resort."
As Starmie's acceleration toward the ground reached its terminal velocity, Umbreon flew into the air and met it with a powered up Last Resort.
Starmie was launched back upward in a flash and, with a crash, was embedded into the ceiling.
Though Starmie's condition was unable to be verified by the referee, everyone in the arena knew that the battle was already over.
"Starmie is unable to battle, leaving Trainer Ray as the winner!" Melissa shouted.
The crowd's silence didn't break at all. Gary didn't care. He came for revenge, not recognition. But a surprising event then occurred. A pair of hands started to clap. Gary looked around confused. One glance at Samson's box eliminated his companions as they were as surprised as he was. Then where...
Gary's eyes snapped up to the elite box. There he was. Champion Red of Tandor stood in all of his glory staring down at and clapping for Gary's win. Slowly, the Tandor elites followed the Champion in clapping. Soon, little by little, more and more people started clapping until a majority of the crowd was clapping and cheering for Gary's win. Gary caught glimpses of the crowd cheering for him, his friends in his box clapping for him, the elites and Champions of many regions looking down on him approvingly, Misty looking like she was about to try and fight Gary for stealing her stardom and more. But the final glimpse he got before returning to his box stuck with him the most and would drastically change the path of his future.
Gary looked at Champion Red who looked right back at Gary. No one but Gary would ever know the three words that the Champion mouthed to him at that moment, but they were unmistakable to Gary.
'Meet me later.'
AN:
Hey guys. It's been like a year now I guess. I hadn't touched this series for months and managed to finish a new chapter in less than a week once I got back to writing. Funny how writer's block works. Anyways, I wasn't dead, just had a mega load of work to do. I'll probably have another two months of work then hopefully I'll be able to upload more. Even if I go radio-silent for a while again I haven't abandoned the series. I'll be back with more chapters soon so don't worry about the series getting dropped.
So anyways we got a bit of Dawn, Alex, Ash, and a lot of Gary in this chapter. I haven't decided how big Gary's ultimate role will be yet, but expect it to be pretty big as he's the only one of Ash's friends who was there with Ash and is striving for his own revenge. Just like Ash, he has gotten quite a bit stronger than when he was 13.
I wanted to put at least 8000 words in this chapter, but this felt like a good place to wrap the chapter, and it's been too long since I've gotten a chapter out to y'all so it'll be only around 6000 words for now.
It's been a really long time so I feel kinda detached from the series rn and am trying to remember the character and worldbuilding that I had planned about a year ago. For the above reasons, this AN is relatively short and won't be responding to any reviews yet. I will have an update out in a month or two responding to reviews that I got on this chapter and the last chapter. So until next time, please follow this story if you liked it and want to be notified when I update it as it will be hard to find or remember sometimes, favorite if you are enjoying the story up to now, and review if you have any questions, comments, or want to make me speed up writing :)
Thanks so much to everyone for keeping with my story and coming back after my long absence and see you guys soon.
- AtomicRush