The arcing beam of Fairy energy slammed straight into the blazing form of Serena's Delphox, eclipsing Delphox's light with its own. Dimly, Medicham could see Delphox fall, her unconscious form silhouetted in the light of the Florges's attack. Tight-lipped, Serena recalled Delphox, shoulders slumped in defeat.
"And Contestant Emma wins in convincing fashion!" April announced as the stadium exploded with cheers, though Medicham could hear a few boos sprinkled in.
That was understandable. A high margin of victory in the early rounds was understandable, especially as rookie Trainers got matched up against Trainers of higher level. But by the Top 32, such matches were quite uncommon. Not only did the matches involve six Pokemon a side instead of three, meaning Trainers could not just bring their three strongest and sweep, but by then the weak Trainers had been weeded out; only the stronger Trainers made it to the Top 32, barring extremely lucky cases.
So a 6-2 victory was almost unheard of. Yet that was exactly what Emma had obtained, ripping her way through Serena's team with ease with only Mimi and her Aromatisse falling. It was almost ridiculous how obvious the difference in power level was.
Medicham was distracted from the applause and announcements by Marcus letting out a long, low groan.
"What is it?" Trevor asked from beside him.
Marcus wordlessly pointed at his Pokedex, which Medicham couldn't see but knew was showing the bracket.
Trevor winced. "You have to fight her next?"
"Ooh," Tierno added. "Tough luck."
Medicham reached into her telepathic skills. Marcus. Do you mean to tell me that our next matchup is against Emma?
Yeah, looks that way, was Marcus's response.
This is going to suck, isn't it?
Yes, it is definitely going to suck.
"Guys," said Marcus to the gathered team, "I'm not going to lie to you. Next round we're up against a Trainer that just bulldozed Serena six to two. Our chances are…almost nonexistent."
Nods came from all around. Slow nods, nods of reluctant acceptance of their Trainer's words.
Medicham delved into her telepathic abilities. Marcus, she said. It's okay. We got to the Top 16, and we beat Calem. You said it yourself. Anything beyond the Top 32 is a pipe dream. We knew this was going to happen sooner or later.
More nods as Medicham's words settled into everyone's mind.
"So is that it?" Drapion asked. "We're just givin' up?"
Kriesh shook her head. "Of course not. That's not how this works. We're going to go into that stadium tomorrow and do everything we can to win. If we can't, we can't. But there's no point in not trying."
"Hey, look," said Trevenant, pointing with one snaggly claw. "I think someone's coming."
The team followed his eyes. Marcus saw them looking and turned as well.
"Marcus, right?" Emma asked, striding up unhurriedly. "Aren't you the other Trainer I met in Santalune?"
"Yeah," was Marcus's answer.
Emma smiled. "Small world, I guess."
"Your team's really strong," Marcus complimented. "Serena's a strong Trainer, and you kinda crushed her."
"Thank you," said Emma. "I've spent years with them. They, and Looker…they've helped me out a lot. From what I've seen, your team's not half bad either."
Marcus chuckled. "Thanks. But…you're almost certainly gonna destroy me tomorrow."
A slight frown crossed Emma's face. "I hope this doesn't mean you're forfeiting."
"No!" Marcus protested. "Of course not!"
The smile returned to Emma's face. "That's what I like to hear. I'll look forward to our battle!"
"So will I," Marcus responded. At that, Emma turned and stepped away, leaving Marcus and his team alone in the small grass patch they were standing in.
Marcus heaved a sigh. "All right," he said. "Our goal is to do better than Serena did. We're going to lose, sure. But let's see if we can't take out half of her team in the process, okay?"
"All right," Medicham responded telepathically. Murmurs of similar agreement came from all around.
"Let's take a rest," said Marcus. "In the morning, we'll go into that stadium, and we'll give Emma a battle she won't forget."
"And now, for the third round of the Top 16, we have a favorite to win the Tournament, Emma Matiere, the Fairy-type Trainer who also has an Espurr!" April chuckled at her own line, a chuckle that was echoed around the stadium. "In the last round, she defeated a rookie Trainer endorsed by Professor Sycamore himself! But, keep in mind, so did her opponent, Marcus Grayson, so perhaps this might be a close match!"
Medicham had to give April credit for hyping up the match. She looked up from her Luxury Ball at Marcus, seeing the tension on his face. For obvious reasons, she'd requested to be sent out first. Ironically, on a team with two Dark-types, she was the only one of Marcus's Pokemon actually weak to Fairy.
Hopefully, her strength would be enough that she'd be able to establish her opponent's capabilities.
"Emma will release first!" Dan called after a quick examination of the coin he'd tossed.
The dark-haired girl smiled. "Good luck!" she cried, waving at Marcus. "Aromatisse, you're up!"
On the field emerged a small fluffy pink and purple Pokemon with stubby arms and legs, large eyes, and flaring black eyelashes. Medicham knew better than to underestimate the tiny Pokemon; she'd watched yesterday as Aromatisse manhandled the admittedly weakened Seeker-Of-Endings and beat her way through Serena's Sylveon and Jolteon before finally falling to Delphox.
So Medicham knew Aromatisse's moves, which she was grateful for. Her fighting style relied on, oddly enough, gas, boosted by her Ability, which she referred to as Aroma Veil.
As promised, Marcus clicked the release button on Medicham's Pokeball, and she landed on the field with fists clenched in readiness.
"Marcus leads with his Ace," Steven observed. "Considering what we've seen of his team, it might actually be his weakest Pokemon in this matchup."
Emma nodded to her Aromatisse, who set her own stance. At Dan's signal, she let out a quick breath. "Aroma Veil: Aromatic Mist," she murmured. "Halothane Vapor."
"Stay clear of that," Marcus warned as a pink mist began to float towards Medicham from Aromatisse.
"I know," Medicham responded telepathically. She'd seen Seeker-Of-Endings enter a cloud of that mist and instantly relax, collapsing to the ground, practically unconscious until Aromatisse had struck him with a blast of Fairy energy twice his size. She'd seen Jolteon, Flame Orb flaring to prevent such sleep, dive straight through that mist and instantly collapse, choking and coughing, unable to defend herself.
From what she remembered, Halothane Vapor was the first of those two.
"Pure Power: Aura Blast!" she cried, recognizing that she couldn't get in close just yet. It was a probative attack, nothing more. Aromatisse raised her hand. "Aroma Veil: Atmospheric Manipulation." A burst of Fairy energy flew from her outstretched palm like a spurt of visible pink wind, looking frail in comparison to the flaring blue sphere it was meant to contest, but as it collided with the Aura Blast, Medicham's attack dissipated in a heartbeat, blown into nothingness by the gust of Fairy-type wind.
Medicham saw the pink mist of Halothane Vapor shifting slowly towards her. Quickly, she moved sideways, volleying another Aura Blast at Aromatisse that the Fairy-type Pokemon blocked in a similar fashion, and then lunged forwards. "Psychic Blast!" she cried, leaning into her Psychic abilities in the hope that it could not be dissipated like her Aura Blasts. But Aromatisse squeezed her eyes shut in concentration, and a wave of Psychic energy flew from Aromatisse, intercepting Medicham's Psychic Blast in midair and easily winning out.
Medicham felt the remnants of Aromatisse's Psychic abilities sting at her mind, but she managed to shake her head, clearing it, and hurled herself at Aromatisse. "Bullet Strike!" she cried, focusing Steel energy onto her fists as she pounded across the arena.
"Aroma Veil: Atmospheric Manipulation." Again Aromatisse raised her hand. Abruptly a gust of wind blew in from the side, and the Halothane Vapor to Medicham's right shifted in the wind, flowing in Medicham's direction. Medicham again focused her Psychic energy, sending a Psychic Blast into the oncoming gas, pushing against the wind.
But Aromatisse simply flicked her hand, and the wind began to blow stronger and stronger. Medicham strained, pouring more Psychic power into her Psychic Blast even as it slowly lost ground.
"99.04% of the air within the world's atmosphere is made up of a combination of Nitrogen and Oxygen gas," Aromatisse informed as another flick of her wrist set the wind to blowing even stronger. "You cannot stand against the full might of the air itself."
"Fine," Medicham growled, releasing her Psychic Blast. "Aura Dodge!"
Free of contest, the Halothane Vapor rushed towards fMedicham. Medicham leaped into the air, over the gas, and landed on the other side. At once the wind caught her and she had to strain to avoid being blown backwards by the sheer amount of wind.
"Aroma Veil: Aromatic Mist. Nitrous Oxide."
Medicham twisted just in time to get a faceful of pink gas. Instantly she tensed, fearing sleep or choking, but aside from smelling something slightly sweet she felt nothing. Grinning, she leaped at Aromatisse, Bullet Strike flaring on her fists. Aromatisse took the super effective hit straight to the chest and skidded backwards, paws tearing a furrow in the arena.
Medicham felt her head begin to pound with pain and frowned. She hadn't suffered that for a long time, especially after she'd gotten a better handle on her Psychic abilities. Had the strain of holding the wind back for so long been that much?
"Medicham! Bullet Punch again!"
Marcus's cry echoed faintly in Medicham's ears. She turned towards Aromatisse again, but her head was beginning to spin. Aromatisse began to blur in her eyes, the same way Marcus's voice was beginning to blur in her ears. Heh - wasn't that a funny coincidence?
Medicham giggled slightly at the comparison even as she planted her feet and lunged once more. "Bullet Strike!" she cried again, her own voice echoing oddly in her ears.
"Aroma Veil: Atmospheric Manipulation." Aromatisse's voice sounded as if it was coming from a long way off. Pink wind flowed from Aromatisse, and when it hit Medicham the force felt like she was being pressed upon by one of Drapion's massive arms. Medicham slowed and slowed, her body unable to weather the storm.
Her head swam, dizziness overcoming her, and she felt herself leave the ground as the wind flung her back across the arena.
Medicham landed on her back. She lay there, watching the pretty lights above, listening to the cries of the crowd and what might have been her Trainer blend together in her ears. It was all so odd. But so pretty. Medicham reached out to touch the lights, but her hand fell short.
"-dicham!" One voice, Marcus's voice, rose above the rest. "Detect!"
Medicham closed her eyes, though the lights still came through her shut eyelids, and allowed Aura to flow across her. Instantly her entire body screamed at her to dodge, and Medicham felt the Aura jerk her out of the way as something landed where she had been a second ago.
Medicham opened her eyes. The lights were gone, the blurring had faded, and the dizziness had subsided somewhat. She twisted to glare at Aromatisse, who actually looked surprised that Medicham had managed to escape.
"Right," Aromatisse grumbled. "Aura. Just like that Lucario in the Fighting Gym…"
"What was that?" Medicham asked furiously.
"Nitrous Oxide," Aromatisse answered. "Mild hallucinogenic gas. Probably would have fared better with a stronger gas, but I like to mix things up, makes things a little more fun. Now, speaking of mixing things up…Aroma Veil: Aromatic Mist. Hydrogen."
"Aura Avoidance!" Medicham twisted out of the way of the blast of pink gas that Aromatisse hurled at her, landing in a crouch once more. "And that is?"
Aromatisse smirked as electricity flared in her paw. "Watch this," she said, firing a thin stream of Electric energy directly at the still-floating Hydrogen.
The stream of gas erupted in a colossal pink explosion, a blast that Medicham was completely unprepared for. The blast sent her flying; thankfully, it appeared that the Halothane Vapor had dissipated, or else she might have been tossed directly into it. Aromatisse twisted, a blast of Fairy energy forming in her other paw, and flung that blast at Medicham.
Medicham landed on her feet and fired back with a quickly-manifested Aura Blast that exploded against Aromatisse's attack, dissipating them both. "Aroma Veil: Aromatic Mist!" Aromatisse cried. "Chlorine!"
A wave of yellow-green gas erupted from Aromatisse, spearing through the explosion. Medicham had to use another Aura Avoidance to dodge the blast, her nose picking up a disgusting pungent odor. This attack she remembered as the one that had felled Serena's Jolteon. Quickly, she returned fire with another Aura Blast, one which Aromatisse dispelled with another Atmospheric Manipulation, and then charged again.
It had worked last time, hadn't it?
"Aroma Veil: Aromatic Mist. Halothane Vapor."
This time, the pink gas flew forth in a wave, expanding as it flowed towards Medicham. Medicham was forced to break off her attack, leaping to the side in order to avoid the wave. Aromatisse was quick to react; even as Medicham lunged, barely getting clear of the Halothane Vapor, a simple blast of Fairy energy rammed into her side and sent her flying backwards once again.
Pain rippled through Medicham's body as, for the second time this fight, she landed hard on her back. Aromatisse did not wait for her to get up. "Aroma Veil: Aromatic Mist. Hydrogen."
This time she coalesced the hydrogen into a trio of spheres, keeping two beside her as she sent one streaking at Medicham. She closely followed it with another beam of Electric energy; Medicham saw it coming and poured more Aura into her body. Again, though, the explosion of hydrogen slammed into her back and she nearly fell, but managed to keep her feet.
Medicham lunged for Aromatisse. Aromatisse sent another sphere of hydrogen at her, following that with a blast of Electric energy as well. Medicham lunged to the side, tucking and rolling as the second ball of hydrogen exploded, setting her ears to ringing. But she rolled to her feet and lunged straight for Aromatisse.
"Medicham!" Marcus cried. "This is going to hurt, so brace yourself!"
Aromatisse threw the third sphere.
"Thunder Punch!" Marcus ordered. "And Bide!"
Emma's eyes widened and, for the first time in the entire match, she gave her Pokemon an order. "Protect!"
Aromatisse's crackling electricity faded and she snapped her fingers, springing a Protect barrier up just as Medicham's fist slammed straight into the third sphere of hydrogen.
BOOM.
"Psychic Endurance!" Medicham cried as the shockwave hit her, shortly followed by the unbearable heat as she was sent flying uncontrollably. A white glow sprang into being around her, instantly shining as brightly as it ever had. Medicham landed hard, knowing as she did so that were it not for Psychic Endurance she would already have fallen.
Aromatisse was undamaged by that attack. Emma raised her voice again. "Protect, once more! You can do it!"
Aromatisse squeezed her eyes shut in concentration, and to Medicham's surprise a second Protect flickered into existence just as the first one went down.
"Psychic Retribution," Medicham said dully.
An impossibly bright beam of energy blasted out from her body as the full force of the explosion, multiplied by two, flew from Medicham and slammed into Aromatisse's second Protect.
"And Aromatisse pulls off a rare Double Protect!" April announced, just to rub it in. "That there is a sign of experience, not to mention a strong bond between Trainer and Pokemon!"
"Pure Power: Aura Blast!" Medicham cried just as the light of the Psychic Retribution began to fade, showing that Aromatisse was still unscathed save for the Bullet Strike Medicham had landed earlier. But she was clearly sagging, the Double Protect having taken a lot of power even for such an experienced Fairy-type.
As such, Medicham's Aura Blast slammed straight into Aromatisse before she even really saw it coming.
Medicham felt a flash of satisfaction at the sight of Aromatisse being knocked to the ground, but it was short-lived as Aromatisse rolled with the blast and skidded to her feet. The Fairy-type Pokemon raised both hands, forming a sphere of Fairy energy in each, and sent both spheres, one after the other, at Medicham.
Medicham managed to dodge the first one with a quick Aura Avoidance, but then the second one slammed into her and the resulting explosion of pain was the last thing she knew.
"Completely unsafe…throwing around hydrogen and chlorine in a Pokemon battle…"
The muttering of a somewhat familiar female voice, combined with the smell of medicine and the bright light that Medicham could see even from inside her Luxury Ball, let her know that she'd woken up in a Pokemon Center.
"…and that's on top of normal battle-strain, thank goodness he's out of the Tournament or else many of these Pokemon might actually miss the next round…"
Medicham sighed. She'd known it was coming. There was practically no way they could defeat Emma. But it still hurt to have it confirmed. Somewhere, deep inside, she'd hoped that somehow Marcus and the rest of the team might be able to pull off a victory.
Even if the rest of her had known it was impossible.
"How are they?"
She almost jumped at Marcus's voice.
"Well," said the female voice who was definitely the Pokemon Center nurse, "your Medicham, Fearow, and Cloyster are all suffering from inhalation of dangerous gasses, your Houndoom's so drained of energy that I doubt he'll wake up for another several hours, and both your Drapion and Trevenant look like they went six rounds with Xerneas…though I guess that was last match, wasn't it?"
Marcus's chuckle was mostly devoid of humor.
"So anyway, I think they'll have to stay overnight," said the nurse. "For a Fairy-type Trainer, your opponent is vicious. Then again, she has spent a good few years working for the International Police…vicious is just a baseline strategy for them."
"Fair enough," said Marcus. "Are you sure you can't release any of them? It kinda feels weird not having a Pokemon with me…"
The nurse sighed. "I think your Trevenant and Drapion will be fine enough to release, as long as they don't undertake any strenuous battling for a few days."
"Don't worry, I'm out of the tournament," said Marcus. "It's not like they're going to be battling for the next few days."
"Then I'll release those two," said the nurse. "The rest of your team, though, are non-negotiable."
"That's fine," Marcus responded. "Thank you."
"Just doing my job," said the nurse as Marcus grasped Drapion and Trevenant's Pokeballs and withdrew with them. The door slammed shut behind him.
Medicham sighed and curled back up. There was really no point in staying awake if she'd be spending several more hours in the Pokemon Center. She closed her eyes, but it took half an hour before she finally managed to fall asleep again.
Drapion, Trevenant, and Marcus. Those three were all that remained of the team. The rest were, apparently, still recuperating in the Pokemon Center. Drapion had heard the nurse talk all about the gas inhalation and the life draining. It hadn't been pleasant, especially since he'd seen it all happen himself.
They'd lost 6-2, taking Aromatisse and Whimsicott down with them. Aromatisse in particular had absolutely barreled through Medicham, Kriesh, and Cloyster. She'd been weak enough that Emma had forfeited her during her fight with Houndoom, but by that point everybody knew Marcus's chances had gone from negligible to zero.
At least they'd put up a better fight than Serena, with Trevenant remaining completely fresh by the time Drapion had felled Whimsicott. Unfortunately, Mawile's total immunity to Drapion's poison had made that battle quick, and while Drapion didn't know exactly what had gone down in Trevenant's fight with Mawile, he could reasonably infer judging by the 6-2 result.
Despite the fact that Drapion had known winning was nigh-impossible, it still hurt that they hadn't even managed to bring down three of Emma's Pokemon with them.
Marcus looked from Drapion to Trevenant and back, then sighed and cracked a thin smile. "Good work, both of you," he said. "We got Top 16."
"Yeah," said Trevenant. "I guess we did. Y'know, it's kinda funny - I'm happy, of course, and sad, but it feels like some kind of weight has just lifted off me?"
"There's somethin' about a battle endin' that makes ya glad that it's over," Drapion replied. "Even if ya lose. An' this entire tournament, ah guess, has just been one long battle. Now it's over…an' ah guess ah feel the same way."
"Look, you two," said Marcus, "I know what you're probably thinking. That…it's done. That we're done. But-"
"Of course we're not done," Drapion growled.
"No!" Trevenant was quick to back Drapion up.
Marcus clearly understood the general gist of their protests, for he chuckled. "All right, so you weren't thinking that. I'm glad. Because you're right. We are sure as Distortion not done. Whatever Valerie wants us to meet her for at the end of the Tournament, we're going to do that. And then we're…well, I don't know what we're going to do. But I'm thinking maybe we could head to Galar. Take Connie up on her offer. Drapion, you and Houndoom could certainly learn a thing or two from a Dark-type Gym Leader. And I've heard Galar's got a Fighting Gym, a Water Gym, and a Grass Gym. No Flying Gyms, though, but aside from that we could probably get some good training and tactical advice there, and I'm sure we can find a way to get Kriesh some training as well. Not to mention they've got their own Gym Challenge which we might be able to compete in next year."
Drapion nodded. "Sounds good ta me. Gettin' away from Kalos sounds like a good time."
"And I'd love to actually use and strengthen Forest's Curse," said Trevenant. "We never did end up fighting on a Grass field…"
A loud crack came from Marcus.
"What was that?" Trevenant asked.
"No idea," Drapion growled, crouching in a battle stance as Marcus looked around nervously.
Another crack.
Slowly, Marcus reached inside his backpack and withdrew what was unmistakably the Pokemon Egg he'd gotten from Victory Road. An egg that cracked again as he set it down.
Marcus grinned, looking around at Drapion and Trevenant; his grin faded slightly as he realized they were probably his two most terrifying Pokemon. "All right, don't scare it," he said. "Whatever it is, it's going to be small, and easily frightened, so we don't want to startle it."
The egg cracked again. Now Drapion and Trevenant could both see a hole start to break in it. All three of them stared with bated breath as the cracking increased in both volume and speed, the hole widened, and a single black-and-white eye became visible in the hole, peering out straight at the two of them.
Evidently it liked what it saw, because a pair of tiny bone-white claws attached to a similarly tiny brown arm reached out and began tearing away the rest of the eggshell. The arm, oddly enough, seemed barely as large as the eye peering out. Another arm reached out and both arms pressed against the shell as the eye disappeared. It was replaced with a large, toothy mouth as the Pokemon inside the egg pushed, forcing a massive head through the comparatively small gap in the shell.
The last of the eggshell collapsed in on itself as the Pokemon withdrew fully. It was a Pokemon that, from the look of surprise, Trevenant didn't recognize at all. But Drapion recognized it completely, although it seemed a lot smaller - then again, last time he'd seen it he'd still been a Skorupi. In fact, he remembered fighting this exact type of Pokemon in Grant's Rock Gym.
The Tyrunt peered around inquisitively, looking from Drapion to Trevenant to the very surprised-looking Marcus. Then it spoke in a male, deep but surprisingly faint, and oddly-accented voice. "Who among you is Pack-Leader?" he asked.
"Well," said Drapion, pointing at Marcus, "technically he's the leader, because we follow his orders, but if you go by Pokemon then our leader's currently recovering in the Pokemon Center."
Tyrunt looked confused, but swiveled his gaze to Marcus. "Greetings, Pack-Leader. I am Kamado. I hope to follow in the footsteps of my namesake, one of the ancient heroes of Hisui. I swear, by the oath of the Pack, that I will follow you through best and worst of times, through endless battles, and obey your every command. If I am compelled to turn on my Pack, then you have my permission to kill me. And know that if you turn on the pack, then I will not hesitate to kill you. Do you accept me as Pack-Member?"
Drapion, Trevenant, and Marcus all stared at Kamado. The former out of shock, the latter out of lack of understanding.
"Do you accept me as Pack-Member?" Kamado asked again.
"Kamado?" Drapion interjected, finally finding his voice. "He doesn't understand you."
"Oh." Kamado looked dejected. "Then how can I communicate my oath to him?"
"You'll, ah, have to wait until the rest of the team is out of the Pokemon Center," said Trevenant.
"That is twice now you have used that term," said Kamado. "My mother told me many things, but she never told of a Pokemon Center. What is it?"
"It's a place for healing," said Trevenant.
"Ah, interesting," Kamado responded. "Were they injured in battle?"
"Yeah, pretty big one, too," Drapion responded.
"Then I will be glad to wait for them," said Kamado. "I am hungry. Does the Pack-Leader provide sustenance, or shall I go out and find some myself?"
"Marcus has food," said Drapion. As he said that, he looked up at Marcus, who was watching the exchange, and nodded. Then he cast his gaze back at Kamado, raising his tail and gesturing to his mouth as he did so, then pointing it at Kamado.
Thankfully, Marcus understood, for he swiftly reached into his backpack and pulled out the Sitrus Berry he'd taken from Victory Road. Kamado's eyes gleamed at the sight. Marcus dropped it on the ground in front of Kamado. The Tyrunt quickly bent down, grasped the Sitrus Berry in his large mouth, and quickly swallowed it whole.
Kamado smiled, showing his teeth. "Thank you, Pack-Leader." He turned to Drapion. "So, I have heard of things known as Pokeballs. Do I require a Pokeball?"
"Yeah," said Drapion. He looked at Marcus once more, raised one arm, and sketched a circle in the grass, then another smaller circle inside it. It felt silly, but it seemed Marcus understood, for he began rooting in his backpack once more.
"…no Luxury Balls, but I've got a Pokeball right here," said Marcus. "Tyrunt, hold still, please."
Kamado obediently went still. Marcus tossed a Pokeball at the Tyrunt, sucking him in. The Pokeball did not shake, and it only took about five seconds before it lit up, signaling a successful capture.
Marcus grasped the Pokeball in his hand and sent Kamado back out. The Tyrunt continued to stand stiffly, not moving a muscle.
"You can relax now," said Marcus, and Kamado did so. Marcus grinned. "Welcome to the team, Tyrunt."
"My name is Kamado," said Kamado.
"Marcus doesn't know that yet," Trevenant pointed out. "We'll tell Medicham once she gets out; she can communicate with him because she's telepathic or something, and she'll get everything straightened out."
"Very well," said Kamado.
"Ah, Marcus!" The three Pokemon and their Trainer turned to see Professor Sycamore running up the path, his lab coat billowing loosely in the wind. "I'm glad I could meet you, actually. I was just about to head out - all my sponsored Trainers are out of the tournament, and I need to get back to the whole Lysandre Labs situation before Rowan has a heart attack, bless him - but I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done."
"Thanks, Professor Sycamore," said Marcus.
Professor Sycamore smiled. "And I'm glad you and Calem are friends now," he said. "I won't deny, rivalries are nice to keep your skills sharp, but if they grow too heated they can be rather detrimental."
"We're not friends," said Marcus. "Not…not yet. We've just worked things out. Somewhat. We're not at each other's throats anymore."
Sycamore chuckled, his eyes traveling to Kamado as he did so, then to Kamado's still not-cleaned-up egg. "Oh, congratulations!" he said. "Serena and Calem's hatched earlier today - she got an Inkay, and he got an Eevee of his own. Fossils are always nice and strong Pokemon. You could do a lot worse."
"Where are Calem and Serena going after this?" Marcus asked. "You know, in case I want to talk to them again?"
Professor Sycamore chuckled again. "Serena's going with Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor to Alola," he said. "Trevor's gotten a fantastic opportunity there, and the other three decided to send him off and get in some training themselves. Calem's going back to Vaniville - his hometown - to train some of his less-used Pokemon, and also he's helping me with my continuing study of Mega Evolution. Where, may I ask, are you going?"
"I've got an appointment to talk to Gym Leader Valerie," said Marcus. "After that, it depends, but I think Galar. I met a couple people at the Tournament that I think can help me out a lot with my Pokemon."
"If you want my advice," said Professor Sycamore, "take that Tyrunt to Raihan. He's a Dragon-type Gym Leader who utilizes Sandstorm in his battles; I think he might even have a Tyrantrum of his own, and anyway it's certainly right up his alley. That is, if you don't want to just stick with Grant, because of course he knows all about Tyrunts - in fact, I think that's one of his."
"Really?" Marcus asked.
"Yes, he actually owns a couple of Tyrantrum," said Professor Sycamore. "And they laid a clutch of eggs fairly recently; I'm willing to bet that egg came from him."
"I'll have to thank him," said Marcus.
"I'm sure he'd appreciate it," said Professor Sycamore. "Well, I have to go. Good luck in Galar, Marcus!"
"Thanks, Professor Sycamore!" said Marcus as the Professor turned and ran back down the path, disappearing from sight in several seconds.
Marcus chuckled himself. "Well, how about that?" he said, turning to Kamado. "I should have known you were one of Grant's; it makes a lot of sense, actually."
"I do remember hearing his name," said Kamado. "My mother seemed quite fond of him. Yes, it does make sense. Perhaps we could visit my parents sometime?"
"Perhaps we could," said Drapion, somewhat wistfully. "Perhaps we could.".
"Do you have parents?"
Drapion stiffened, unwanted memories running through his mind.
"…no," he said.
"I do, but I have no idea where they are," said Trevenant. "I lost track of them some time ago. But it's all right. I'm fine by myself."
Drapion sighed. "Kamado," he growled, trying to find a way to change the subject. "Let's figure out what moves ya can use."
Kamado accepted this with a nod. Drapion looked at Marcus as he and Kamado stepped some distance away. Understanding their intent, Marcus nodded.
Drapion turned back to Kamado. "Yer move," he growled.
Kamado crouched. A sheen of Rock energy rose up around him, encasing his form in a light brown light. "Speed Enhancement," he growled. "Head Attack."
The Tyrunt lunged forwards, head lowered, moving at a much faster pace than Drapion had expected. Drapion barely managed to snap up a Protect in front of him. Kamado slammed headfirst into the chitin barrier and stumbled backwards, growling in pain.
But he recovered and lunged again. This time Drapion raised an arm. "Battle Armor!" he growled, forming a shield of chitin around his arm as Kamado hurled himself forwards.
With a crack, Kamado tumbled to the ground. Drapion winced at the ache that rushed through his arm - it still hurt from where Emma's Mawile had rammed her Steel Energy-covered head into it - and he stumbled slightly as Kamado rose to his feet once again.
Marcus's eyes widened. "Drapion, stop!"
Kamado skidded to a halt.
"Sorry," said Marcus. "I forgot the nurse said no battling. But…that was definitely Tackle, and I think he also used Rock Polish…I'll have to just scan him with the Pokedex."
A quick scan confirmed Kamado had just those two moves plus Tail Whip, which was apparently an intimidation display more than an actually useful move. Marcus sat back. "Looks like we'll have to work on your moveset," he said.
"Is that bad?" Kamado asked.
"No," said Drapion. "Yer fresh outta the shell, Kamado. We've been trainin' fer more than a month. An' ah'll freely admit that Head Attack hurt a little bit."
"Thank you," said Kamado. His head shifted to Trevenant. "What are your names?"
"Ah'm Drapion, an' this is Trevenant," said Drapion.
"It is good to meet you both, fellow Pack-Members," said Kamado. "I hope to be of service to the Pack."
"Ah'm sure ya will be," said Drapion.
Marcus sighed. "So," he said. "What say we get back to the stadium? Let's show Tyrunt what a Pokemon battle is really like."
"You mean that was not a Pokemon battle?" Kamado asked.
"That was a sparring match," said Trevenant. "What you're about to see will make what you and Drapion were doing look like a baby throwing themselves at a wall over and over again!"
"That's exactly what we were just doin'," Drapion growled.
"I know, I know, that was what I was trying to-" Trevenant sighed. "Oh, never mind. Kamado, you'll see: this is going to be really fun."
So, that's it.
Almost.
That's the end of the final arc of Part 1 of this story. However, there is still an epilogue, which will go up in two days. At that point, I will explain the future of this fic. Don't worry, the fic isn't ending with Part 1.
I will freely admit that choosing to limit the fight with Emma to mostly offscreen was a difficult decision. I had the fight planned out, but in my opinion, the climax of this arc was the battle with Calem, and I knew that if I detailed the entire fight with Emma, it would have to be a two-parter. Unfortunately, the outcome was so obvious that it felt like dedicating an entire two-parter to that fight would be a waste of time. So I cut most of it, though I left a little bit in just to emphasize how badly Emma's team outclasses Marcus's.
Anyway, please drop a review and let me know how this arc turned out! I always love reading them. And I'll see you all in two days for the epilogue of Part 1!