We quickly coming up to the Pokemon League, things are quickly about to get intense but for now, enjoy the journey through Victory Road.


"I know this is kind of a cliché, but it honestly does feel like yesterday since we left Viridian for the first time." Reneé said. The four of them stared into the entrance of Victory Road, they could see torches inside lighting up the rough and rugged path inside.

"I get what you mean, and now we're here. We have all eight of the badges we need and the only thing standing in our way now is this cave." Diego added.

"I think that's a nice feeling to be honest. You get to look back on the good times and in a way that motivates you to look forward to the future." Julia said.

"And our future is at the end of Victory Road." Jack stated. The four stayed quiet for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"Oh man, that was so cheesy!" Reneé laughed.

"Come on, lets do this." Diego said. The four of them walked into the cave. Taking their first step into Victory Road immediately gave the group a sort of awareness to how the aura and overall feeling of power emanating from it was completely different than outside. The wild pokemon in the cave were aggressive and very tough.

The group arrived at a sort of stone gate with a red gem in the center. The gem began to glow, shining a red light onto the group. A voice spoke out to them...

"Holders of the Boulder Badge, carve out your future and aim for success!"

The gem retracted into gate, which slowly opened and revealed the next path. Torches lit up once the gate opened.

"Wow, I'm getting goosebumps, this is so exciting!" Julia said in glee. The four continued through the gate...

CRASH!

The four trainers looked behind them and saw a wild Pupitar casting a menacing glare at them.

"Finally some action!" Diego said in excitement. The four sent out a pokemon that would dispatch of a Rock and Ground type like Pupitar, but the wild pokemon took the super effective attacks surprisingly well, despite having a heavy disadvantage.

"This is taking too long!" Diego groaned.

"We need to work as a team, follow my lead and hit it with the strongest attack you have!" Jack replied.

"Right!" "I'm with you!" The twins answered.

"Venusaur, Petal Blizzard!" Jack ordered.

"Golduck, use Water Pulse!"

"Use Aurora Beam, Walrein!"

"Larvitar, Sonic Sand!"

Venusaur shook the flower on its back, causing a flurry of leaves amd flower petals to rain down on Pupitar, Golduck's Water Pulse coated some of the petals in water while other drops were hit by Walrein's Aurora Beam, causing the beam to reflect light through the droplets, amplifyong them to a certain degree, leaving Larvitar's Sonic Sand to surround the attack and make it look like a sort of hurricane on a tropical island.

Even after the powerful combination attack, Pupitar still stood, though it looked like it knew it couldn't win and so it backed off.

"It... Took the attack..." Diego said in awe. "We put everything into that and it didn't go down. I mean it ran off but it didn't faint."

"If the wild Pokemon here are that strong, we're going to have to train like we've never trained before if we want to have a good chance in the Pokemon League." Jack replied.

"We should keep moving before more of them come." Reneé noted.

The group soon arrived at another gate, it looked identical to the first one. It scanned them, just as before.

"Holders of the Rainbow Badge, go forth and bloom like a flower!"

The four continued, reflecting on some of the events and encounters they had on their journey. Inevitably, the topic of Team Dark Star came up.

"Whatever they plan to do, they need to be put down!" Jack hissed, a scowl formed on his face.

"Experimentation on pokemon, creating two... Monsters? What even were those things?!" Reneé thought out loud.

"Don't forget about that robot Mightyena they made!" Julia added.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it a robot. It looks like it has fur so they must have turned it into some kind of android." Jack answered.

"What do you think they're really after though?" Reneé pondered.

"Money or power, probably." Diego replied. "That's usually what all bad guys want."

"You're probably right, but if they're planning to do it with those two artificial pokemon and the android then they might not be as tough as we might think." Reneé replied.

"You're forgetting the fact that their boss can use more than one mega evolution." Jack said. "If they can use two in one battle then whats stoping them from having an entire team of mega evolved pokemon."

"Yeah, they used a gauntlet that had more than one key stone, right? But they only had one." Julia noted.

"They can probably make more." Jack responded blankly, still with an enraged look on his face.

"Pandora, Simon, and Ryan are all members of Team Dark Star too. Or rather, they use to be." Diego added.

"But that's what's important, right? They're not part of those group of crazies anymore." Julia replied.

The group arrived at the next gate and were promptly scanned for their badge.

"Holders of the Cascade Badge, strike down anything standing in your way like a tsunami!"

Torches no longer lined the walls, light from the outside crept in through holes in the walls.

"How do you think everyone else is doing by the way?" Reneé thought. "Luna did say she battled at least some of them."

"I'm sure everyone who is taking the league challenge is already waiting at the Indigo Plateau in the trainer hotel they have there waiting for us and training to win." Diego replied, a hint of envy in his voice.

"I imagine Yuki, Simon, and Gareth are all getting ready for the Grand Festival, its supposed to he coming up in two days!" Julia added.

"Two days?! Aww man, I would've like to be there for them, you know?" Diego responded.

"I suppose that's just how life can be sometimes..." Jack stated, the group soon arrived at the jext gate.

"Holders of the Amity Badge, show the world your fighting spirit!"

The path slowly became an incline, any wild pokemon the group encountered slowly became less of a problem for them when they worked as a team.

"Hey sis." Julia said.

"Hm?

"You think Aunt Cynthia will watch us during the tournament?"

"Of course! She and mom will definitely be watching, either at the colosseum or at home but I know for sure they'll be watching." Reneé replied.

"What about you two, is someone going to watch the tournament hoping one of you will win?" Julia asked the boys.

"Of course! My mom is gonna wish me all the luck in the world and you know my sister wants to battle me when I win the tournament!" Diego answered.

"If you win the tournament." Jack stated.

"Yeah, yeah." Diego retorted, generating a laugh out of the group.

"What about you Jack?" Reneé asked.

"Well I'm hoping my parents and grandparents are going to watch. I haven't had too many chances to call them since we started from Pallet Town. I'm hoping to call them when we get out of here. I know that most of my family is always super busy though." Jack explained. Julia was about to say something but the group had arrived at the next gate.

"Holders of the Shadow Badge, show that in even the darkest of times, the fires in your hearts can bring forth the brightest of lights."

'The Shadow Badge, that's from the Saffron City gym. I wonder how Martha is doing." Jack said.

"Wait... Is that Martha the same one we use to play with back in Hoenn when we were little kids?" Diego asked.

"You knew the Saffron Gym Leader?" Reneé asked.

"Yup, we use to live in Littleroot Town together. She lived with her dad since her mom use to be the leader there before she became an actor. So Martha took over as the gym leader. She's also good friends with the owner of a café that's close to the gym." Jack explained.

"Yeah, the Rocket Café, she brought us there when we challenged her so we had our battles there. We also met with the owner and their other friends." Reneé stated.

"You mean Ms. Mistral, Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Sundowner, and Sam, right?" Jack asked, which garnered a positive nod from Reneé. "I honestly wish I had the chance to talk with them more. They seemed like interesting people, and I sas that they had pokemon with them, I wonder how strong they are."

"We actually saw this Sam guy when we were in Fuchsia, he told us you were heading to Team Dark Star's base. Speaking of Fuchsia by the way, I wonder if Muffet still has pastries to sell. The ones we got were amazing!" Diego replied.

"Oh you met him? Sam trained me before I went back there, we had one battle before I left and he wiped the floor with me. I wonder if he'll be watching the league tournament." Jack thought. "Speaking of Muffet by the way, back when I made it to Fuchsia, she and I caught a boy trying to steal some of her pastries."

"That's awful!" Julia noted.

"It is, but the boy who tried taking them was actually homeless, the only thing he had at his side was his Furret. His name is Danny and after Muffet and I caught up with him he told us of how he got to that point in the first place. He was found with an old letter that was damaged to the point where most of it couldn't be read, but I did make out the word Edath."

"Like the region?" Diego asked.

"Exactly, so his family might he from there. Anyway, Muffet and I helped him get some new clothes and even get into the Safari Zone to catch more pokemon. The last I saw of him was him leaving to go on his own journey to discover his past. Even now he's still in the back of my mind."

"That's awesome!" Diego said, wondering if he would ever meet Danny one day.

The four of them were so caught up in their conversation that they failed to notice the next gate.

"Holders of the Thunder Badge, strike your oponents down like a bolt of lightning!"

"What do you guys think ever happened to those three trainers that were working with Professor Willow, the ones who caught the legendary bird pokemon?" Julia asked.

"You mean Candela, Blanche, and Spark? I'd imagine they're still continuing their research, Blanche and Candela seemed kind of assertive and serious but I doubt they would abuse them, especially with Spark, he seemd like a nice guy." Her sister answered.

"If we ever do see them again I'll try to challenge one of them to a battle with one of the birds. It's not every day we get to see a legendary pokemon, let alone battle it!" Diego noted.

"You want them to be one of your new rivals?" Julia giggled.

"If we're going to bring up rivals then there is a trainer I haven't forgotten about. Remember when we went to Celadon City for the first time, we met a trainer named Ronan and he was there when we battled Erika too." Reneé mentioned.

"Oh yeah, he told us about what pokemon she uses." Jack said, remembering the boy and how he had helped him rescue his pokemon from Team Dark Star.

As the group continued they came across several yellow Spiser Webs strewn on the walls. Seeing them made Reneé feel upset, which her sister noticed.

"Sis... You still miss Galvantula don't you..."

"Yeah, I know that he's probably happy where he is and I'm happy with Porygon 2 by my side but I just can't help but miss him." Reneé admitted.

"It's ok to miss him, but remember what I said before. It's never really a goodbye so much as it's a 'until we meet again'!"

"I wonder if that's how Bella felt when she gave you Jigglypuff." Jack said.

"Who?" Diego asked.

"Bella, the girl we met after we got our first badge. She was a really good singer." Julia answered. It took Diego a moment but he did eventually remember her.

"Oh yeah I remember her now. Not sure why but I feel like she could be a good model or basis for one of those princess movies."

Their conversation was interrupted by the penultimate badge gate.

"Holders of the Chemical Badge, use all that you have learned on your journey and the power you have obtained to cause a reaction and leave one result: Victory!"

The light of the cave soon began to glow a bright orange. Thinking that they were close to the end of Victory Road, the group hurried to the source of the light which was a large hole in the side of the cave revealing the castle belonging to the Royal Family of the Kanto region and Mt. Silver in the distance behind it.

Looking at the mountain, the twins thought of their family and the thought of talking to them excited the girls. Diego felt frustration when he saw it and looked at the castle to get the thought out if his mind.

"What's with the castle?" He asked.

"That's the castle of the Royal family. That family was in control of Kanto for centuries until the the cities and government we know today grew. Now the Royal family and political leaders of Kanto govern the region together. I'm certain that the royal family has a child that was supposed to be corronated but it never happened; I wonder why that is?" Reneé explained.

"Guys, the sun is going down. We better get out of here fast. If the wild pokemon here are tough for us to beat together then fighting them at night when there are sure to be more will be much worse." Jack stated.

"Right!" The others said as they hurried lver to the final gate of Victory Road. The gem on this door was gold unlike the other red ones. They were scanned for the last time...

"Holders of the Sylph badge, show grace in battle just as a Fairy would and show the world your beauty and strength. Your courage, strength, and determination has brought you this far; go forth and continue fighting with all of your might. This will bring you success in your future and success in the Pokemon League!"

The gate opened, revealing a stairway out of Victory Road. The group eagerly climbed the steps and were surprised to meet up with Yuki, Gareth, Simon, and Dwayne! The eight of them were ecstatic to reunite with one another, each giving each other hugs, handshakes and brofists.

"We knew you guys would come eventually!" Dwayne said with pride.

"Not to sound rude but everyone else from our class already got here first but we wanted to stay here and wait for you." Yuki explained.

"You guys must be tired, Victory Road takes a lot out of you, come on, let's get you guys registered so we can get some dinner." Gareth said.

"Right behind you!" Diego chimed. As the group headed inside, Simon stopped Jack.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize for everything with Team Dark Star..." He said.

"No need. It wasn't really your fault." Jack replied.

"I should tell you that while we were working for them though, Pandora, Ryan and I did some snooping to see what they're planning. We didn't get too much information until it was too late." Simon explained.

'Yeah, we saw firsthand that the monsters they created are tough." Jack scowled.

"That's not all, there were three other projects that I know nothing about: Project Dark Mirror, Excelcus, and MD."

"So even now they could still be planning something big?" Jack asked.

"Very big."

Jack clenched his fists, a look of hate cascaded over him.

"Hey, are you guys coming?"

The two buys saw Yuki smiling at them from the door to the large building that was the hotel meant just for trainers participating in the league or in the nearby Grand Festival.

"Right, sorry." Simon said as the two followed Yuki inside.

Everyone gathered around the receptionist to register...

"Hello, the four of us would like to register for the League Tournament." Reneé said to the receptionist, a blonde woman who looked to be in her 20's, a mug depicting a Smoochum sat beside her.

"Of course, sign here please." She replied, handing them an application asking for the group's names, home towns, and Trainer Cards.

"Man I'm so pumped for the League to start, in gonna get up bright and early for my match! I wonder what type of field I'll be battling in, or what time my match is! Am I gonna have time to think of a good battle strategy?!" Diego commented enthusiastically.

"Oh, I'm sorry but the tournament doesn't start tomorrow." The receptionist said.

"WHAT?!" Diego and the others said in shock.

"The tournament doesn't start for another ten days, however you're free to stay here until then and use our facilities to train or make contest appeals for as long as you wish."

"Ten days... Sounds like something I read in one of my shonen mangas once." Diego said.

"I guess we can do some serious training until then." Jack said.

"Ten days. We have ten days to train as much as possible, to think of the best strategies we can!" Julia announced.


Ten days remain until the Pokemon League Tournament begins. What will the gang and their friends experience before then?