A/N: Time to finish this gym challenge! But first...some exposition (you thought you were done after 61 chapters? get real). Enjoy the chapter!

"That's a…er, that's quite a lot," Marnie exhaled. The five of us had all gathered around a corner table of the Pokémon Center nearest Raihan's gym, far as we could hope to be from prying eyes. Still, we caught a fair amount of stares from trainers and passersby alike. Fortunately, Marnie had come with a small group of Team Yell, who were more than happy to help keep the more unruly fans far away from us as we talked about all we had seen and done on our journey.

"I know. And I swear, we aren't making it up," I said I could feel my heart racing, pushing itself up through my throat.

Marnie shrugged. "We live in weird times. If the Darkest Day ended up being real, who's to say talking legendary Pokémon ain't?" she asked. "Almost seems weird to still be focusin' on the gym challenge at this point."

"Worried I'll take your number one spot?" I taunted with a grin.

"Don't push it," Marnie shot back, rolling her eyes.

"At any rate, Lee said Raihan wanted to battle us specifically, whatever that means," Hop interjected. "And besides, if Eternatus is truly under control at the moment, we can at least have a little fun with this challenge, right?"

"Ever the pragmatist," Victor scoffed, his nose buried in Sonia's book of legends.

"Victor, you have a literal legendary Pokémon yourself, and you're telling me you don't want to battle in the gym challenge?" Hop retorted with a snicker.

"I never said that," Victor grumbled. "But I do think there are more pressing matters at hand."

"Okay, so we battle Raihan and ask him if he knows anything about the Sword and Shield," I said. "Best of both worlds."

Victor sighed. "You two are impossible," he groaned.

"Honestly, it's a pretty solid plan," Sonia piped up. "Raihan knows all sorts of the right people at the archives; one of them might know."

"So, shall we go find Raihan?" I asked.

"I'll get him right now," Hop grinned, pulling out his phone and sifting through contacts. "He's been taunting me in my DMs all week, I say we put his money where his mouth is already."

Raihan had already tentatively set aside times for our battles the moment Leon had told him we were headed back to Hammerlocke. All Hop had to do was say hello and Raihan took it from there, scheduling our battles one after another, three days in a row. Hop would be first, then Victor, and finally me, organized by our rankings. Hop and Victor were holding steady at 9 and 8, respectively, and I was still stuck right behind Marnie, though Sonia seemed convinced that this battle would finally be that kick to put me into first. Marnie rolled her eyes at the prospect, but I did catch her checking league stats the second Sonia had left the room.

The next two and a half days were a blur, punctuated by our gym battles. After a quick stop at a TM/TR store, I elected to train one-on-one with Marnie for both days, specifically focusing on a strategy for Rapidash and Sneasel, who I knew would be my best bets in the battle. I got a handful of techniques, one for Ice Beam, Dig, Draining Kiss, anything that looked like it could give any of my Pokémon an edge, and Marnie and I spent our time trying out combinations on my Pokémon. Victor and Sonia elected to spend most of their time in the archives, combing everything for information on The Darkest Day, Zacian and Zamazenta, and Victor's new companion Urshifu. Hop disappeared the first day, saying he had his own training to attend to, and after his gym battle, he would help me train as well.

And speaking of gym battles, both Hop's and Victor's were fierce, and beyond anything I had ever seen before in the challenge. I had been told that the eighth badge would be the hardest to get because the gym leaders got to choose the stakes, and Raihan certainly got to choose his; this time around, we would be participating in a double battle. Both he and his challenger had to command two of our Pokémon at the same time, and the first to knock out four would win. As for Raihan's strategy, it was simple, but brilliantly effective and devastatingly powerful. He would control the weather.

The first night, he tried to catch Hop up in a Hurricane. As if he knew about Hop's pinball Wooloo strategy, he had sent out Pelipper, a chunky looking bird with a massive beak, who managed to whip up a veritable monsoon of winds and water. Wooloo, with no way of gaining momentum, quickly fell to Raihan's other Pokémon, his Goodra, but Hop quickly found a way to bounce back. Using Corviknight to ride and redirect the winds, and Rillaboom's incredible speed on the grassy terrain, he quickly managed to turn the tide of the battle, knocking out Pelipper with a well-placed Drill Peck and Goodra with a powerful combination of attacks. Without the benefit of the rains, Hop Dynamaxed his Corviknight, giving him full control of the wind and managing to take out Raihan's two other Pokémon and netting him his final badge.

Victor's battle was a little rockier, however. Raihan immediately set the stage by throwing out Torkoal and Turtonator, two incredibly bizarre Pokémon I had never seen before. The second that Torkoal, an ancient-looking tortoise who looked like he was on loan from Kabu, landed with a heavy thud on the ground, the lights at the top of the stadium grew brighter, hotter, and harsher, as if the sun had not yet set and had come close enough to touch the ground the battle raged on. But Victor had plenty of experience dealing with heavy sunlight in battles. Shiftry, using the power of the heat and light zipped around and landed a powerful attack to weaken Torkoal and steal Turtonator's focus, and immediately after, Victor Dynamaxed Intelleon and created a deluge of water so strong that finished Torkoal off. Intelleon kept the rain up as Nuzleaf and eventually Slowking pelted away at the Turtonator, a strange spiky dragon, from afar, completely safe from whatever tricks and tracks Raihan could have pulled. But Raihan seemed to expect it, as his second Pokémon was that dreaded Goodra, who managed to blast Intelleon out of its Dynamax form and Dynamax on its own, quickly derailing Victor's momentum. But it wasn't quite enough. Victor still had Slowking, and alongside Urshifu, the two slowly wore the rest of Raihan's team down to nothing. Urshifu and Goodra exchanged one final blow, knocking each other out, and Slowking, the only Pokémon left standing, got to experience the roar of victory for the first time. And the crowd was absolutely electric, even more excitable than they were for Hop. "Don't let 'em down, Gloria," Marnie said dryly, squeezing my hand as we went to meet Victor after the battle. My heart fluttered, but it was more from the mounting nerves of my upcoming battle than Marnie's touch this time.

I sat on the bench of the locker room anxiously, rolling a pair of Pokéballs in my hand and wondering how I would be able to make it out of this battle intact when there was a loud burst at the doors in front of me.

"Oh, you're here," came an all-too familiar, sniveling voice.

"You've got to—what the hell are you doing here?" I gasped as Bede strolled into the room. His violet trench coat had been replaced by a gym uniform the colors of which could only be described as "cotton candy." In his hand he held a single Pokéball, and his other hand was balled into a fist, which shook as he glared at me.

"I'm here as your opening act, I guess," he sneered. "That's all I've been relegated to, now."

"You're still in the challenge? I thought your endorsement was revo—"

"You really think that would slow me down?" he scoffed. "A temporary setback. Mark my words, I will still win this league, even if I still have a couple more badges to win."

"You are exhausting, you know that?" I sighed. "At any rate, I don't have time for you; I've got a badge to win." I stood up and stalked toward the door, but he held up his free hand, catching me on the shoulder and stopping me in my tracks. In his hand I saw a glint of gold; he must have gotten his badge from Raihan. I growled. "What is your dysfunction this time—"

"Shut it," he hissed. "You saw Eternatus. You saw what Rose was doing. I know you did."

I blinked. "He told you, didn't he?" I asked.

He looked down, seething. "He has not said a word to me since that night at the murals. I stopped…I stopped being useful to him then, so he threw me back into the rubbish he picked me out of."

"I don't feel sorry for you," I spat.

"I'm not asking for your pity, Dixon," he sneered. "Your sympathy means nothing to me."

"Then what's the reason for this, then?" I jabbed, shrugging his hand off my shoulder. "You trying to spark some sort of rivalry with me now? I'm out of your league. I've been out of your league. Get out of here, you creep."

Bede scrunched up his hands again, and then took a deep breath. "Miss Opal has been teaching me how to better hold my tongue, Dixon," he said shakily. "She's given me a new endorsement on the condition that I train under her after this challenge is over."

"Yet another in a long line of baffling decisions from her," I muttered.

"As I was saying," he said through gritted teeth, "She's been teaching me many things. And she's taught me that…you are not really my enemy."

I folded my arms and leaned on to my right hip. "I'm willing to play that part, to use her weird theatre-speak—"

"I am trying to apologize, you twit!" He roared. "So. Sorry. I was actually wrong. I was led astray by Rose and got jealous that he seemed to show you the interest that I deserved…that I thought I deserved." He took a deep breath and looked back to me, waiting for a response.

My eyes narrowed. "Good to know, then," I replied stiffly.

"That's it? Good to know?" He spat.

"Yeah," I replied, shifting my weight. "You should be sorry. You're an arse. What, you want forgiveness? Earn it. You don't get a free pass for saying nice words to me." Bede blinked in response, speechless, and I could see his anger rising again. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I understand," I groaned. "You got dealt a shite hand and you've played it badly. And who knows? Opal's a psycho, but she may turn you into an actual person with some amount of emotional maturity. You got a long road to walk if you think you'll get to my forgiveness, let alone my friendship, but you think you deserve it, let's see it."

Bede hung his head and nodded. "Right," he muttered, in a way where I couldn't tell if he had taken my words to heart or if he were about to fist fight me here in the locker room. We stood there in silence for a long moment until the door opened behind me.

"Miss Dixon? We're ready for you," a young league official, a red-haired woman who looked almost a decade younger than any other league official I had ever seen, said in bright affect and words much sunnier than the icy ones traded between Bede and me.

"Well, goodbye," I said. I gave Bede one more look that he didn't return and walked off after her. The door clicked shut behind us and we began to walk down a long, dark hallway.

"Wait!" came a shout from behind me. The league official and I turned to see that Bede had opened the door and was looking at me intensely.

"What?" I asked.

"Rose isn't your biggest fear right now," he said. "It's—"

"Eternatus?" I said, eyes rolling. "Yeah, it's a massive bloody dragon hell-bent on destruction. I'm kind of aware."

"It's not Eternatus, either. Rose thinks he's got this foolproof plan but—"

"Bede, it's all under control—"

"Not as much as you'd think—"

"Blimey, you are somehow even more annoying when you're trying to be helpful. Look, I have a gym battle to win, go be an arse somewhere else!" I waved at him with a the most sarcastic smile I could muster, turned back and jogged forward, hearing only a roar of annoyance coming from the door to the locker room as Bede retreated into it again.

"Sorry about him, Miss Dixon," the official said, quickening her pace to catch up with me. "I can't believe Opal pushed to get him back in the league after all he did." I didn't respond. I was already in battle mode, and I wasn't going to waste my energy on him. Not when I had to deal with whatever Raihan had planned for me. The two of us walked in silence until we reached the end of the tunnel and the opening into the stadium floor.

Raihan was waiting for me already, standing in the center of a dirt pitch. I stepped into the bright lights and felt the audience roar – somehow both deafening and a thousand miles away. The stadium was packed – far more than any other stadium I had battled at. Flashes of white light came from all directions, and individual chants and cheers all faded into a roar of energy that was almost as strong as the Dynamax energy I could feel swirling about my feet. I wondered for a second how much of that was the usual synthetic energy of the gyms and how much of it was powered by Eternamax, but I shook my head clear of that thought, another time. I stepped onto the pitch proper with a crunch, as my shoe hit earth. The field felt similar to Kabu's gym and with a quick glance, I saw how it could be used to assist in any team that operated in extreme weather. I wondered what weather Raihan had planned for me; clearly, he was adept at all sorts, and the way I could see his glinting white teeth from my spot at the edge of the pitch, I could tell he had something really strong in store for me.

"Well hasn't this been a long time coming?" Raihan roared as I came within reach of him. "Little Gloria Dixon, hoping to do what only three trainers could this year; take me on at my full strength. Think you can handle it?"

"I can weather whatever you throw at me," I said with a grin.

Raihan frowned. "I hope you spent more time on your strategy than your jokes."

"Sorry, I'll try not to get too long-winded when I beat you," I snapped, my smirk growing.

"Gloria…"

"Don't rain on my parade like this, Raihan, you know I'm funny as hail," I snickered.

Raihan scrunched his face up. "Now I'm really gonna let loose on you, mate," he growled, turning around and stalking to his spot at the end of the pitch.

"Don't get your knickers in a twister!" I cried, jogging back to mine.

"Challenger Gloria and Leader Raihan!" the official called, taking her spot at the center of the pitch. "This will be a 2-on-2 battle. You are only allowed four Pokémon each. First to knock out all four of their opponent's Pokémon will be declared the winner. Have your balls at the ready!

"Alright, time for a little fire and ice," I muttered to myself, grabbing Cinderace's and Sneasel's Pokéballs, holding them aloft in one hand. On the other end of the pitch, Raihan held two balls, small in his massive dark hand.

"Begin!"

Raihan and I threw our Pokéballs out, and the crowd roared even louder. Cinderace was the first to materialize, with Sneasel just behind him. He held up a paw to her and Sneasel hopped up and swiped. They were starting to grow closer, and it was warming my heart.

On the other end of the field, I saw a familiar face; Raihan's Flygon. I felt my heart sink immediately. Flygon was a ground type, so Cinderace would be nearly useless. And knowing Raihan's tendency to put the weather to his own advantage, there would be a lot of sand around to snuff out whatever fire Cinderace could put out. And as if to prove my point even further, Raihan's second Pokémon appeared in a flash of light, and before the sandstorm immediately kicked up, I could see a conglomeration of blue and red boulders and crystals – a Gigalith, one of the few Pokémon who could create the power of a sandstorm just being around.

"Alright, Gigalith is the target!" I called to my Pokémon. "Sneasel, ice shard! Cinderace! Double Kick!"

"One at a time, Flygon! Breaking Swipe on Cinderace! Gigalith – Stealth Rock!" Raihan had barely finished a word before Sneasel had disappeared into the dust spilling in every direction, and Cinderace was not far behind. It was hard to make out the shapes of our Pokémon in the fray, but they both quickly converged on Gigalith's spot and let them have it all. There was a flash of white as Sneasel launched her ice shard, and Cinderace hopped up and crashed against the giant rock Pokémon twice, before hopping up into the air, leaning into a backflip out of Gigalith's range. But as the two hopped away from Gigalith, Raihan's Flygon appeared out of the shadows, as if it were forming from the very sand itself, lashing its tail out viciously, crashing into the two and sending them skidding back to me. Cinderace and Sneasel both looked shaky but fine, and they looked back at me for another order. Meanwhile, Gigalith, still in great condition despite both attacks landing, let out a haunting roar as rocks split off its body and began to whip around the pitch, blending in with the smaller particles of sand. The rocks, large and small, whipped left and right, and I could see that they were slowly wearing my Pokémon down even further.

"Damn," I muttered, but I didn't let it affect me. I knew that my only chance was to get that Gigalith out of the way. "Cinderace! Once more should do the trick!" I ordered. "Sneasel, keep an eye on Flygon, make sure he doesn't hit you both again! Ice shard!"

"Crunch on Cinderace! Rock Slide on Sneasel!" Raihan ordered confidently as my Pokémon rushed into the sandy chaos again. Flygon sped right towards Cinderace, but a sharp ice spike to the face threw it off just long enough for Cinderace to deliver two more powerful kicks to Gigalith, who was so preoccupied on Sneasel that it didn't even clock him. Still, Gigalith stood, and fired four rocks at Sneasel, who deftly dodged out of the way as if they were nothing.

"Yes!" I cried, pumping my fist. "Now Cinderace, finish it—"

But I had spoken too soon. Flygon appeared out of nowhere again and caught Cinderace's torso in its mouth and whipped its head back, sending Cinderace flying back, where he landed hard on the dirt. A moment passed, and Cinderace slowly started to struggle to get up.

"Finish with Crunch!" Raihan yelled.

"No!" I screamed as I pulled out a Pokéball and aiming at Cinderace. In a single second, Flygon had appeared where Cinderace had been, only to find itself biting into a furry black arm. Bewear roared in surprise and annoyance, but he didn't seem very impressed with the power of Flygon's jaws. But I didn't focus on that.

"Now Sneasel! Hone your claws and go in for another Ice Shard! Bewear, Hammer Arm on Gigalith, don't give in!"

Gigalith, meanwhile had shot another bunch of rocks at Sneasel, and while two hit, Sneasel dodged out of the third, and sliced her claws against the fourth and fifth like they were knives on a whetstone before disappearing back into the cloud of sand, which was now whipping at a horrible pace. Bewear twitched in pain but swung out at Gigalith with everything he had. He brought his giant paw down on top of Gigalith's head with a sickening crack.

"Flygon, use—what?!"

I was too focused on Bewear's attack, so when I turned back, I saw Flygon's body reeling from another crash of ice. It was still up, somehow, but it looked like it needed a few minutes to catch its breath. Sneasel stood in front of him, looking just as weary from the sand whipping around, but just as it looked like it would be too much for her to take, the sand slowly whirred to a halt. Raihan and I both turned just in time to see Bewear standing atop the crumpled pile of rocks that Gigalith had become.

"Gigalith is unable to battle!" the official called to the screaming of the crowd around us.

Raihan growled, fumbling for his Pokéball. Seeing my chance, I pulled out Sneasel's Pokéball. "Sneasel, come back!" I cried. Sneasel looked at me, a little annoyed that I would call her back when she was so close to taking down Flygon, but she still came back to her Pokéball willingly. "I know I'm gonna need you in a bit," I whispered to her. "Rest up, best as you can. Now! Rapidash!"

Raihan, meanwhile, was already tossing out his next Pokéball. Out popped a large brown snake – was it a Silicobra? No, it was much bigger than a Silicobra. "Alright, Sandaconda! Protect!" Raihan roared. "And Flygon, use Thunder Punch on Bewear!"

"Dazzling Gleam! Bewear, Hammer Arm on Sandaconda!" I ordered. Flygon zipped straight at Bewear with reckless abandon, but Rapidash was just barely faster, stepping between the two with her mane flashing its yellow and blue, and with a chilling neigh, her horn radiated white, sending a massive pulse of energy out in all directions as Bewear shielded his eyes. Flygon reeled from the attack and crashed into the dirt, skidding and sending dust flying in every direction. As the light faded, I saw Rapidash get battered by an invisible force.

"Damn," I grunted to myself. Stealth Rocks, of course. The sandstorm might have been done with, but I could still see the mirror-like reflection of the stones Gigalith had expelled from its body floating around the field, barely visible. I turned my head just in time to see Bewear launch his attack on Sandaconda, but it had coiled up completely, taking no damage whatsoever from Bewear's attack.

"Flygon is unable to battle!" the official called out, as the crowd roared again. Raihan frowned, a thin line appearing on each side of his face, as he returned Flygon to its Pokéball.

"I gotta sand it to you, Raihan, I was expecting better from you!" I yelled out.

Raihan's frown slowly twisted into a manic grin. "Oh, don't you worry about a thing, Gloria, I've got plenty more where that came from. "Sandaconda! Fire Fang on Bewear! And let's see how well your Fairy type attacks work on this dragon! Go! Duraludon!"

In a flash of light, the metallic dragon appeared and roared angrily. I froze, immediately brought back to that night in Hammerlocke in the first storm. This couldn't have been… I shook my head. No. Eyes on the prize, I told myself.

Raihan wasted no time. "Oh good, I was wondering if you'd recognize him. Iron Head!"

"Er, right, Bewear! Hammer Arm on Duraludon, keep it away from Rapidash! Rapidash! Steer clear and stomp on Sandaconda!"

Our four Pokémon rushed at each other, but from the moment they took their first movement, I could tell it wasn't going to work in my favor. Bewear, weary from his constant Hammer Arms, was moving very slowly, leaving Rapidash completely open from all angles. Rapidash, however, was still moving like lightning, and she reared up and brought her hooves down hard on Sandaconda, who hissed violently and squirmed underneath her. As it squirmed, dirt began to kick up again, first from the snake Pokémon, but then from around Rapidash, and the dust quickly spread throughout the arena again. My jaw dropped. Somehow, Silicobra was able to restart the sandstorm. This was bad, and to make matters worse, Bewear was still not close enough to keep Duraludon from speeding towards Rapidash and smashing into her, knocking her sideways and freeing Sandaconda from underneath. Rapidash crashed onto the ground, and with its newfound freedom, Sandaconda circled around and ignite and then sink its teeth into Bewear's ankle. Bewear roared but fought through the pain and delivered a hearty smack to Duraludon's side. Duraludon stumbled, but quickly recovered, readying itself for a next attack as the sandstorm bounced harmlessly off its metal hide. Bewear winced, and I could see a throbbing burn forming on that ankle. I swore – he wouldn't be able to fight for much longer. And speaking of not being able to fight…

"Rapidash is unable to battle!" the official called. I groaned and held up her Pokéball, returning her. Things were starting to get dicey – Raihan had his sandstorm back, and though I had three of my four Pokémon for this battle remaining, Cinderace and Sneasel were both heavily injured and Bewear was nursing a burn, which meant he was fighting with less power on borrowed time as well. I felt the twinge of energy at my wrist – Dynamaxing someone was my only chance here – I just hoped Raihan wouldn't—

But he did. Before I could even figure out which Pokémon, I would send out to join Bewear, Raihan had recalled Duraludon, clearly ready to Gigantamax it. I gulped; I was not ready to fight this guy at full size a second time, but I knew I had no choice. I grabbed Cinderace's Pokéball. It was time to fight fire with fire. I tapped Cinderace's ball on my wrist and felt the Dynamax energy swirling around me, filling it up and expanding the size of the Pokéball. I grabbed it with both hands and threw it out as hard as I could. Raihan, still holding his Dynamaxed Pokéball in one of his massive hands, paused and winked at a Rotom Camera whirring around him, and did the same. Cinderace roared to life, and though I could see he was getting battered by the Stealth rocks, he did manage to kick a few into a crumbly ball, which he immediately ignited and hopped on, rolling around on it quick as he could in the sandstorm. Meanwhile, Duraludon shot straight up the sky, a skyscraper in his own right, taller even than Bewear when he had last Dynamaxed.

"Cinderace!" I roared. "Light it up! Bewear, hit it with everything you've got! Forget about Sandaconda!"

"Max Rockfall!" Raihan yelled. "Sandaconda! Another Fire Fang!"

Cinderace immediately launched the fireball at Duraludon, which exploded in a fiery inferno at its base while Bewear charged at it. Sandaconda interrupted with another Fire Fang, but Bewear forced his way through the pain so he could deliver one massive blow as well, but he was moving even slower still, and before he could get to Duraludon, the giant Pokémon had lifted a massive amount of rocks both from the ground and sky and held them telepathically in the air so it was a solid sheet of stone, and hurled it at Cinderace. Cinderace, who had just landed on the ground with no fireball underneath him, could only watch as the oppressive force crashed into him. The massive attack, paired with the sustained damage from earlier in the battle, was far too much, and in a massive explosion of Dynamax energy, he quickly shrank, falling to his knees and then backwards to the ground. I returned him to his Pokéball before he hit the ground. I knew he wouldn't be able to fight any more today. "You did your best," I whispered into his Pokéball, holding it tightly against my chest. I could feel a vibration from inside, Cinderace's own way of thanking me for the kind words.

Meanwhile, Bewear, somehow still running despite all the damage he had taken, was about to hit Duraludon for all it was worth. There was a gnarly scorch mark where Cinderace's fireball had crashed into Duraludon's gut, and Bewear had honed in on it. He reached back, and with a brilliant orange hue, brought his paw with all its force down onto the scorch mark. Duraludon buckled over in shock and pain and for a brief moment, I thought Bewear had managed to finish it off, but despite the combined power of a Gigantamax attack and a super effective hammer arm, Duraludon pulled itself back up to full height. Bewear stumbled a bit but also stood tall as he could, though I could tell he had maybe one move left in him. I took a deep breath and tossed Sneasel's Pokéball out again. She appeared next to me and looked up expectantly. She was in rough shape, but she still had a hell of a lot of fight in those shrewd eyes of hers.

"Bit of an uphill battle, but I believe in us," I assured her. "Ice Shard on Sandaconda. Keep the pressure on. I'll keep you off Duraludon's radar." She nodded and sped into the pitch. "Bewear!" I yelled. "Use Revenge on whoever hits you harder! Stay in there!"

"Sandaconda! Fire Fa—what?!" Raihan yelled. I looked over just in time to see Sneasel crash into Sandaconda, sending it flying, and then with precision, tossed a spike of ice at the wriggling snake in the air. There was a crack as the ice hit its target, and Sandaconda fell limp on the ground.

"Sandaconda is unable to battle!" the official cried, but Raihan had already returned it to its Pokéball."

"Max Depletion on Bewear!" he screamed, and Duraludon released a massive wave of blueish-violet energy, the same sort of energy of Flygon's dragon breath, which lay into Bewear with one, two, three, waves. Bewear didn't stand a chance. He wobbled, and then sank to one knee, and then with a weak grunt, he collapsed to the ground, succumbing to the effects of the sandstorm.

"Bewear is unable to battle!" the official yelled, and the audience's cheers fell to silence as I returned Bewear to his ball. The sandstorm still whipped around the pitch, but I could barely hear that either.

"You were amazing, Bewear. Let's hope you did enough," I said, giving Bewear's Pokéball a quick kiss.

"You think a little ice is enough to bring this tower down?" Raihan taunted manically. "Duraludon! Max Depletion!"

As Duraludon twisted itself to face its opponent and prepared its attack, I looked at Sneasel, who brought her claws down to the ground and grinned, scraping them against the dirt. I grinned widely. "Brilliant idea, girl! Dig!" I cried, and in less than a second, Sneasel had burrowed into the ground, just in time to completely avoid the explosion of draconic energy that smashed into where she had only just been.

"Ha!" Raihan roared with laughter. "Let's see you…huh?"

The wind stopped, and the sand slowly began to settle. As it did, Duraludon let out a mighty roar and began to shrink down to its normal size. Quickly, it and the crowd realized Sneasel was nowhere to be found. Duraludon looked left and right frantically but could not figure it out at all. Not a single word was said in the entire stadium, and all we could hear was Duraludon wearily twisting from side to side, looking for Sneasel in vain.

"Easy, Duraludon," Raihan warned. "Let her come to you and then use—"

He had hardly gotten the word out when a black and pink blur burst out of the ground behind Duraludon. Duraludon whipped around, just in time to see Sneasel slash it across the face with all her might, and it stumbled back and fell over, but quickly recovered and rushed at Sneasel.

"Body Press!" Raihan roared, and Duraludon leapt into the sky, ready to crush Sneasel under its own weight.

"Ice shard!" I cried. I knew I only had one shot at this. A thin but sturdy javelin of ice appeared in Sneasel's claws and she hurled it to Duraludon. It snagged the Pokémon right under the neck, and with just enough force to alter its course, causing it to crash down a foot away from her. Sneasel took a step back, breathing heavily, waiting for Duraludon to move, but despite its best efforts, it could no longer pick itself up on its own.

"Duraludon is unable to battle! Challenger Gloria wins!"

The audience exploded into rabid cheers. Raihan first looked at Duraludon incredulously, shocked that it could have fallen, and then laughed heartily, recalling it. Sneasel wavered and then fell to one knee, clearly about to pass out herself, but she looked back to me and smiled again. I sped over to her and scooped her up, bringing her into a tight embrace. "You did it!" I cried jubilantly. "You were so incredible, Sneasel! You're one in a million, thank you so much!" Sneasel squirmed a bit, surprised by the affection, but started to purr happily and nuzzled her head against my chin.

"I can't believe you made it through my sandstorm," Raihan said, walking up to me. "Leon's the only other one who could endure my sandstorm. I'm impressed, but I can't say I'm surprised. Good one, Gloria."

"I told you I'd win," I smirked, but held out my hand for a handshake. Sneasel jumped out of my hands and smacked the button on her Pokéball, disappearing inside. "But you almost made me think I wouldn't. That Duraludon really is no joke."

"Well, it's not the first time you've taken it down," he laughed. He grabbed my hand but then pulled me into a tight embrace. "You're a hell of a battler. You might even be better than Leon. Don't tell him I said that."

"I plan to," I snorted.

I tried to pull out of the embrace, but Raihan held firm. "Listen," he said. "I can't talk much about it here, but I'll tell you what I told Hop and Victor. Rose may think he has Eternatus under control, but he does not. That man doesn't know how to train a Pokémon to save his life. The only reason Eternatus isn't causing havoc is because of Leon, me, and that Master Ball it's stuck in. Me and Leon are working overtime trying to figure out a way to appease it, but we need you and your friends to keep this challenge and league alive, so Rose stays distracted. Sonia also seems to think you and Hop may be able to do something? She's been annoyingly vague about it." He relinquished his grip on me and held me at arm's length while looked me over, and then smiled warmly at me. "You know, Leon really wasn't kidding when he told me about you and Hop joining the challenge this year. You're bloody unshakeable."

"You could say I can really…weather the storm?"

Raihan's smile instantly vanished. "Take your bloody dragon badge and get out," he sighed, tossing the badge to me. "Bad enough I lose to all of your little group on the first go but these puns are miserable." Still, he couldn't hide his smile forever, and before he shooed me away for good, he posed with me for one last selfie. "See you in the championship cup, Gloria," he called out as I was walking back to the locker room. "You won't get so lucky next time, I promise you!"

A/N: Holy shit, Gloria's finally got all eight badges now. WE'RE IN THE ENDGAME, BABY. Next couple chapters are probably going to be light and easy before the shit really hits the fan, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Here we gooooooooooo

NEXT WEEK: WYNDON