It's been quite some time since I was able to write for this story but I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and I also wish a happy new year for everyone. But despite the time that's passed this story will continue and I hope you all will continue to enjoy it.


"We've run through everyone we faced this far, you got this!" Diego assured. The group of friends stood in the locker room of the arena as Jack finished up his preparations for his upcoming battle.

"I appreciate the reassurance, but this is where the tournament gets serious." Jack replied. "Typically the only trainers left in the tournament are the most elite in the region. Only the Elite Four and the Champion are considered higher ranked. So everyone we go up against from here on out is going to be brutally tough."

"And we'll still roll right over them!" Diego proclaimed confidently. "When we get to facing each other though, don't feel bad when I win."

"We're not going to have this whole discussion again..." Renée sighed. "Look, why don't we head to our seats before the battle starts."

"Fine, fine, but don't be surprised when Jack wins." Diego said finally as he and the twins headed to the exit.

"Good luck!" Julia called out before she followed the others. With one last deep breath, Jack stepped out into the arena's battlefield and looked around at what kind of field his battle would be in.

The arena looked as though it was some sort of cave though there was a river of lava slowly streaming through a quarter of the field, the heat it was giving off causing the field to glow red. Various statues with dragon heads lined the field, their eyes empty and a light cloud of smoke steaming out of all of their mouths.

"Woah... intense!"

Jack looked over to his opponent, who was also admiring the appearance of the field. It was a boy about the same age as Jack wearing what looked like a black high school uniform. Along with the uniform he wore black dress shoes and his hair was styled in a pompadour that shone with hair gel. Despite the boy looking like a stereotypical delinquent, his eyes were full of wonder. Once the eyes of the two met, those eyes the boy had changed into that of a fighter as they sharpened dramatically and a confident smirk grew on his face.

"Hey! So we're finally facing off!" The boy said, confusing Jack a bit.

"Uh, sorry, have we met?" Jack asked.

"Nah, not until now. But I've seen some of the battles you were in before this, so I know you're tough. The name's Jobin, and I'm gonna make sure your winning streak ends!"

"I doubt it." Jack responded before reaching for one of his pokeballs. "But you can definitely try!"

From the press box, Dallas and Juanita were beginning the commentary for the battle.

"And we're back with another exciting round!" Juanita began.

"This time we've got two spectacular up and comers that have given us some great showings thus far! On one side we have Jobin; the upstart from Hau'oli City in Alola with a classic hairdo. In the other corner, we have Jack; the big fish from Littleroot Town over in the Hoenn region." Dallas announced.

"Are... are you trying to be funny?" Juanita asked, her brows furrowed and the look she gave her partner infused with a mix of shock, anger and disgust.

"And take a look at this field! Pretty intense, right?! Why don't you tell them more about it, Juanita? Hehe..." Dallas laughed nervously, tugging at his collar a bit. After a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head, Juanita obliged.

"For their battle, our trainers will be battling on the mysterious Dragon's Den field!" She began. "As you would expect, this field powers up Dragon type attacks and that lava affects both Fire and Water moves. It's basically what you'd expect from one of those old fairy tales that mom and dad would read to you before bed! But I'll let our trainers figure out this field for themselves. Let this battle begin!"

With an excited grin from both boys, they sent out their first two pokemon with Jack using his Banette against Jobin's Gogoat.

"Let's start off strong! Gogoat, use Rock Slide!"

"Too slow!" Jack replied. Banette suddenly appeared behind Gogoat, the grass pokemon turning around to face its foe in shock before receiving a swift raking to the face by Banette.

"H-how did you-?!" Jobin began to ask before Jack cut him off.

"Shadow Sneak. Think you can try catching my Banette?"

"We definitely can!"

"Then show me! Will-O-Wisp!" Jack called out.

"Earthquake!"

The Mount pokemon slammed its front hooves on the ground, rattling the battlefield completely and causing rocks and other debris to break into the air and slam into Banette. Despite this, Banette was able to launch the phantom flames with a sly grin and a wicked snicker before getting hit with one last stone. The flames burst onto Gogoat, covering it's Grass Pelt with flames.

"And we're off to a chaotic start as we see some sneaky tactics from Jack and his Banette!" Dallas exclaimed.

"And Jobin's really trying to make sure those moves won't work by trying to overpower his opponent. A strategy that I like, but with what we've seen from Jack so far, not so sure it'll work too well." Juanita added.

"So what if you burned us, we still have a plan!" Jobin assured. "Gogoat, Bulk Up!"

Raising its front hooves, the grass pokemon proceeded to slam them back down onto the ground, its leg muscles tensing and swelling up as the beast made a cry of both rage and pain from the burns on it's pelt.

"Now use Horn Leech!"

The Mount pokemon charged forward, its horns now glowing green with its eyes set on Banette. Jack watched the attack with eyes full of focus.

"Let it hit you Banette..."

"Huh? You're going to let the attack land?" Jobin asked.

"Oooh, Jack has a strategy up his sleeve!" Juanita cooed, her voice getting higher in anticipation as she leaned forward.

Gogoat rammed into the Marionette pokemon, though the burns weakened the power of the attack, even with the Bulk Up boosting Gogoat's power.

"Now rally with Shadow Claw!"

Banette drifted back several feet before charging forward and slashing Gogoat with a harsh uppercut from its claw, leaving a trail of smoke in the wake of the strike.

"Follow up with Shadow Sneak!" Jack ordered.

As Gogoat was launched upwards, Banette sped after it and delivered a swift kick right to the top of Gogoat's head, sending it crashing down to the ground in a heap. The ghost pokemon cackled over Gogoat's body before giving Jobin a 'bring it' hand gesture.

"And with a brutal combo, Jack gets the first knockout!" Dallas announced.

"I knew he was planning something!" Juanita added.

"Um, Juanita, I hope you're not being partial to Jack here."

"No, no, I'm not like those two schmucks commentating on the other side of the bracket." The woman assured, the two announcers laughed for a moment before regaining their composure. "I'm kidding, those two boys are great, we'll be hearing from them on this channel towards the end of the tournament!"

"Your pokemon seems just as confident as you are." Jobin said, openly grinning.

"In fairness we did make it all the way here." Jack replied.

"Yeah, but so have we!" Jobin proclaimed, sending out a Togekiss. "Togekiss, Thunder Wave!"

"Shadow Sneak!"

With a soft hymn, Togekiss unleashed a set of electric rings from the horns on its head at a surprisingly swift speed. However, Banette simply sank into the ground and slipped over to the Jubilee pokemon, delivering a hard smack as it revealed itself from the darkness.

"Metronome!" Jobin called out.

"Metronome? In a match like this?!" Dallas called out.

"Oh, now this match is just full of surprises!" Juanita added.

As the Jubilee pokemon raised it's left wing and waved it back and forth, both Jack and his Banette gulped in anticipation as the random move was being used. Once Togekiss stopped waving its wing, it let out a battle cry and swamped the field in a wave of water with Banette quickly getting swept up. However, as the attack was unleashed, the eyes of the dragon statues around the field began to glow blue as their forms began to crack and erode. The water began to heat up and evaporate a bit, not even leaving steam behind as Banette was able to stand up after taking the attack, albeit with some heavy breaths out of it's slightly open zipper mouth.

"Hmm, what did you think of that move, Juanita?" Dallas asked, rubbing his chin inquisitively.

"Well, that Surf did get some distance between the two pokemon, but this field weakens water moves like Surf so it definitely didn't do as much damage as it could have."

"Alright, now that it's weak, finish it off with Air Slash!" Jobin commanded.

"Not so fast!" Jack responded. "Banette, use Destiny Bond!"

"Wait-wait-wait WHAT?!"

Jobin was too late to call off his attack as Banette had already summoned two purple orbs around it's body. The orbs circled the ghost pokemon for a few moments before stopping in front of it and shaping themselves into Togekiss, who had flapped its wings mightily and created a blade of air that sliced right into Banette, sending it crashing into a stalagmite and knocking it out. However, the ghostly energy that had taken the shape of Togekiss zipped right into the pokemon it resembled and completely drained it as well, causing it to collapse.

"And we've got a double knockout!" Dallas exclaimed. "But Jack still has the advantage. Can he keep it up, or will Jobin mount a comeback?!"

"Alright, I'll give you that one!" Jobin said, barely able to hold back a laugh directed at both Jack and himself. Jack also found himself smiling as the two boys sent out their next pokemon; with Jack's Fearow going against Jobin's Audino.

"An Audino?" Juanita asked. "I always figured they were more for supporting teammates rather than direct combat."

"Well we've seen stranger things happen!"

"Alright, let's do things a bit smarter this time!" Jobin began.

"Drill Peck!" Jack quickly commanded, trying to stop any plans before they started.

"Wish!" Jobin responded. The Beak pokemon dove towards Audino, who clasped it's hands together and to chant to itself, with the body of the Hearing pokemon glowing a pale white. As Fearow struck the Unovan pokemon, both the bird and its trainer found themselves surprised when they saw that Audino took the attack rather well as it glared back at the two with a huff.

"Surprised?" Jobin asked. "I trained my Audino specifically to take hits so then it could do stuff like this: Calm Mind!"

Clasping its hands again, Audino instead took a deep breath and closed its eyes as it began to focus itself.

"A bulky pokemon that can boost it's power? I think Jack's in trouble!" Juanita sang in excitement.

"This might just be what Jobin needs to take the advantage, but can Jack stop him in his tracks?"

'Ergh... it's risky, but there is one thing I can do...' Jack thought to himself. "Fearow, Double-Edge!"

Diving at the Hearing pokemon again, Fearow slammed it's body into it with as much force as it could muster, the two skidding along the ground before Fearow flutter back into the air slightly dazed. Unfortunately, Audino also rose back to it's feet, battered and bruised but still willing to fight.

"Thanks for getting in close! Audino, use Thunderbolt!"

Putting just one of its hands in front of it, Audino sent out a sharp bolt of lightning at Fearow, zapping it right out of the air and knocking it out on the hot stone ground. As Jack recalled his fainted pokemon, the pale white glow Audino emanated earlier returned, cleaning off the dust and dirt it had accumulated as its injuries began to heal.

"Yeesh, up against an opponent that has a Calm Mind boost and just got healed by a Wish? Things are looking pretty rough for Jack right now!" Dallas announced.

"Well I did risk a Double-Edge, so I kinda deserve that. But this'll make up for it! Gallade, it's up to you!"

The Blade pokemon stretched and extended its arm blades as it readied itself for a fight, glancing back at Jack with a grin.

"Go for it, Gallade!" Jack called out, his pokemon charging forward.

"You won't get in close! Use Dazzling Gleam!"

"Protect!"

With another wave of Audino's hands, a blast of light flashed throughout the arena for a brief instant, though Gallade continued undeterred as a sphere of energy blocked the attack as the gallant pokemon continued onward.

"U-use Wish!"

"Psycho Cut!"

Audino managed to initiate the healing move, but with one swift lunge, Gallade slashed it with its now glowing arm blade, stunning the normal type for just long enough for Jack to make his next move.

"Now finish it off with Close Combat!"

Gallade planted both of his feet firmly on the ground and let out a battle cry as it proceeded to completely batter Audino with a flurry of fast and hard hitting blows all over its body. With one last punch to the abdomen, Audino was sent flying into one of the statues, which broke it and left the now fainted Audino lying on top of the rubble.

"Ah! That was so brutal! I love it!" Juanita squealed.

"And with that destructive finish, Jobin now finds himself left with just two pokemon left! But it's far from over folks, and if this battle continues to heat up the way it has been, you won't want to miss any of it!" Dallas announced, appearing just as excited as his partner. Their excitement became mixed with confusion when Jobin began laughing.

"Ahahaha, ah man, I knew this would be fun! My heart's totally racing at like an Arcanine kicking it into high gear!" The fancy haired trainer exclaimed. "You're gonna be going up against my best now so I hope you're ready!"

Jack furrowed his brow a bit at Jobin's response, sensing genuine excitement from his opponent but also feeling as though something was missing.

"Hold on." Jack said flatly, getting a raised eyebrow of confusion from his opponent. "You're holding back, aren't you?"

"Huh? No I'm not." Jobin replied.

"You're not, and even though you're excited, there's something missing from your battle style. If your last two pokemon are really your best, then I want you to be at your best too."

"Oh?" Dallas asked in intrigue. "Is Jack trying to rile up Jobin?"

"Maybe Jack just doesn't think Jobin has what it takes." Juanita replied in a mocking tone. Jobin's eyes went wide in shock before the young man shut his eyes tightly in frustration.

"Uh, Juanita, you really shouldn't be saying those kinds of things, we're supposed to be professional here..."

"I mean, after all, Jobin is just a boy who worries more about that gaudy hairstyle of his more than being strong, and Jack certainly feels that way too!"

"WHAT DID YOU TWO SAY ABOUT MY HAIR?!" Jobin shouted, his voice booming loudly enough to rock the entire arena and nearly bring it to a stunned silence, even Juanita was quieted from the trainer's change in attitude. The boy's pompadour even seemed to spike upwards from his fury! "You want me to stop holding back?! Well you asked for it, Bastard!"

Jobin angrily launched his pokeball, sending out a Lucario that looked just as furious as its trainer. Jack's eyes were also wide in shock before shifting to a more confident and focused look.

"There's that fire I knew you had!" Jack said, his foe growled as the two locked eyes.

"Close Combat!" They called simultaneously. Gallade and Lucario rushed at each other in a speed that was almost akin to a Quick Attack before both Fighting type pokemon landed a punch on each others faces. Gallade's eyes sharpened just as its arm blades did while Lucario's eyes turned red with a rage equal to its trainer, its aura also flaring to a point where it was almost visible by human eyes in a soft blue hue.

Not missing a single beat, the two pokemon continued to launch an array of punches and kicks that clashed with each other, each hit creating a shockwave from the sheer power and force behind each blow. With every burst of energy, the sweat of the two pokemon began to splash off of them as their attacks grew in ferocity, their defenses dropped and their stamina diminished.

With one last punch to each others faces, the two pokemon jumped away from each other. Just watching the entire exchange made the two trainers breathe as heavily as their pokemon, the heat coming from the arena was also a major reason.

"Now that..." Jack began. "That is what I want to see! Gallade, Psycho Cut!"

"Shut up!" Jobin snapped. "Use Flash Cannon, Lucario!"

Gallade ran towards the Aura pokemon, its arm blades extending again, but the Steel pokemon brought its paws to its sides as it began charging up a pale grey sphere of energy. The eyes of the dragon head statues around the arena began to glow the same color, causing the energy sphere to double in size before Lucario launched it forward. The attack exploded forward at a speed that neither Jack nor Gallade was not at all prepared for as it's exhausted, yet confident look changed to horror as the attack burst upon impact, leaving Gallade as an unconscious heap on the arena floor.

"Wow... just... WOW!" Dallas exclaimed. "I don't think I can properly describe how intense all of that was!"

"You're welcome." Juanita added. "This is what happens when someone is given the proper motivation."

"Well your methods are certainly... unorthodox... But if it means we get action like this, then I love it!"

Jack couldn't help but smirk as he sent out his Kingdra. From across the field he could see Jobin, a death glare still plastered on his face, but this time it lacked the initial blind fury it had before. He looked around the arena a bit, giving special attention to the statues and the lava.

'I heard that announcer woman say this field is called the Dragon's Den, like the cave in Johto. The lava's heat might weaken some water type moves, so I should try to avoid using them and the same probably goes for ice moves. Those statues reacted when Lucario used Flash Cannon though. I'd assume they'd react to dragon moves and power them up but why did they glow for a steel move? Is it because knights used iron swords to fight dragons in fairy tales?' Jack thought.

"Flash Cannon!" Jobin called out, taking Jack by surprise. The attack sped towards Kingdra before Jack was able to react just in time.

"Muddy Water!" He called out. Kingdra aimed its snout towards the ground and exhaled a stream of brown water with enough force to float off the ground long enough for the Flash Cannon to miss its mark. Just as Jack predicted however, the intense heat from the lava evaporated a bit of the water, creating a cloud of steam that was cleared fairly quickly.

As the steam was clearing, both trainers noticed that all of the statues looked cracked and the lava was flowing much more slowly, though neither could really give a proper reaction to the change as they didn't want to give the other an advantage.

"Dragon Pulse!" They both called out. The statues' eyes all began to glow an intense purple color as the two launched their attacks. The boost the two received from the field made the two look akin to a pair of Hyper Beams as they clashed with each other. The light emanating from the clash was bright enough to where it was almost blinding, streaks of white light shout out in nearly every direction as a result of the clash that lasted for just a moment before fading away. Up in the press box, Dallas tired using his hand to block out the bright light just to see what was happening while Juanita put on a pair of sunglasses and watched the clash in awe with a wide grin on her face.

The resulting explosion from the clash blew both pokemon to the ground and both boys off their feet. As the dust and smoke blew around the field, Juanita cackled like a madwoman while Dallas tried to collect himself.

"YES! YES, I LOVE IT!" Juanita exclaimed.

"Well, that was certainly an exciting sight." Dallas added, unsure of how to react to his partner.

As the field cleared out, both pokemon were revealed to be fine though exhausted as both breathing heavily and Lucario appeared to be struggling to even stand. As the two trainers got back up to their feet, Jack did not hesitate to make his next move.

"Use Muddy Water!"

Kingdra aimed it's attack at a downward angle in order to create a wave of tainted water at the Aura pokemon. The lava once again weakened the power of the attack, but the heat appeared to completely die out as the water came into contact with the lava, the statues were also caught up in the wave and completely broke apart as the wave washed towards Lucario.

"Extreme Speed!" Jobin ordered.

Using the statues as platforms, Lucario leaped and ran towards the Dragon pokemon, the strain on its body from the long battle lowered its overall speed ever so slightly.

"Now, Hydro Pump!" Jack commanded. Just as Lucario drew in close to Kingdra, the Dragon pokemon aimed directly at Lucario and blasted it with a wave of water one would expect to see from an overly-excited Octillery. The attack blasted Lucario into the wave of Muddy Water, which slowly cleared away and revealed that the field no longer had a red glow from the lava and the dragon statues were all destroyed. Lucario also lay flat on its back, no longer able to continue as it coughed up a little bit of water.

"Wow!" Dallas commented. "For a second I thought we went for a swim in Virbank City! But with Jobin's Lucario getting knocked out, he's down to his last pokemon! This is his last chance to make a comeback, can he do it?"

"Doubt it!" Juanita answered. "Though I will say it's interesting to see the Dragon's Den reduced to a simple Cave field."

From his side of the field, Jobin grumbled to himself before looking at his last pokeball. His face had a look of doubt for a moment before he shifting his attention over to Jack with his eyes now giving a resolve that felt firm and resolute. With one last deep breath, Jobin sent out his last pokemon; Sableye.

"I'm not letting it end like this!" Jobin said. "We've trained too much for us to go down this early!"

"So have we!" Jack retorted. "Kingdra, Flip Turn!"

Jobin raised his left wrist, revealing a Mega Z-Ring with a yellow Z-Crystal locked in with a Key Stone next to it.

"Sableye, use Toxic!" Jobin ordered, activating the Key Stone. A cocoon that matched the color of Sableye's eyes enveloped the Darkness pokemon as Kingdra coated itself in a thin coat of water. The Dragon pokemon rushed forwards as Sableye finished Mega Evolving, the ghost giving Kingdra a wicked grin from behind its giant gem shield, moving it slightly to aim its left hand similarly to an Inteleon to fire its venomous move. Kingdra smacked Sableye with its tail before the Darkness pokemon shot out a poison bullet, after landing its parting blow, Kingdra was sent back to its pokeball. Jack did not hesitate for a moment in sending out his Venusaur.

Sableye's Toxic splattered onto Venusaur, the Grass type pokemon shook off the venom harmlessly or simply absorbed whatever remained.

"And with some very quick thinking from Jack, not only has he completely avoided some brutal poison damage, but he's also managed to preserve his Kingdra and get a hit in all at once!"

"But he might have also made a bad call." Juanita interjected. "Sableye can learn Psychic and Fairy type moves, so Jack has to play carefully here."

'I can't use my own Toxic or Leech Seed either, Mega Sableye has Magic Bounce as its ability so moves like that won't work. I'm not sure if this will work but it's worth a try...' Jack thought to himself.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Venusaur, use Spring Buds!" Jack called out, activating his own Key Stone.

Sableye formed its attack behind its gem before tossing it at Venusaur like a baseball, the Seed pokemon completed its own mega evolution and leaned forward and sprayed a barrage of tiny seeds out of the flower on its back. The Shadow Ball landed directly on its mark, however the Spring Buds were also landing on Sableye, who tried to block the seeds with its gem...

"Sableye, watch out!" Jobin called out, Sableye looked around and saw that the seed began to sprout already, with its roots growing all over the Mega Ghost. Sableye yelped in pain as its strength was sapped from it and went to Venusaur.

'It worked! I wish I could poison it with Sludge Bomb though, too bad I switched up Venusaur's moves before the battle...'

"One more time, Shadow Ball!"

"Venusaur, Earth Power!"

The Seed pokemon focused its energy for a moment as Sableye charged up another Shadow Ball, once the Ball was tossed, Venusaur reared up and raised its front legs before slamming them down on the ground, creating cracks in the ground that emanated a strange light. The cracks quickly sped towards Sableye, as they reached the feet of the Ghost, the cracks erupted, sending steam and stones upwards which burned Sableye as the Shadow Ball crashed into Venusaur again.

"Now follow it up with Giga Drain!"

"Sableye, avoid it and use Dark Pulse!"

As Sableye prepared itself to roll to its right, the seeds that sprouted on it sapped more of its energy, stunning it long enough for Venusaur to grab it with its vines. Sableye's body began to glow green as its energy was drained. Sableye tried to raise its arm and launch its attack, but the pain became too much for it to bear as it gave one last quiet shriek before Venusaur released it, and the Darkness pokemon collapsed onto the ground in a heap, no longer able to continue.

"And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen!" Dallas announced. "Jack has handily won this battle and advances to the Top 32!"

Jobin recalled his Sableye and looked down in disappointment.

"Hey."

The young man looked up and saw Jack staring back at him.

"You fought well." Jack said. "I knew you were holding back a bit, but I didn't think someone insulting your hair was enough to bring that out of you."

"Yeah... Sorry for flipping out like that too, I don't take too kindly to people insulting my hair." Jobin replied.

"I can tell, but I also wanted to apologize for getting you angry like that in the first place."

"You didn't really say anything, but apology accepted. If anything, I should be apologizing since I took my anger out on you."

"Why do you get upset about people talking about your hair?" Jack asked.

"It was back when I was a little kid back in Heahea City." Jobin began. "My mom and I went out to the beach and I tried out Mantine Surfing thinking it would be fun. It was great for a while, but then the Mantine I was riding was suddenly tackled by a wild Sharpedo. At the time I didn't know how to swim and I was pretty far away from shore, I thought it was the end for me, but another surfer came by managed to get me back onto dry land. I wasn't able to get a good look at his face, but I saw that he had a pompadour. Since then I've styled my hair just like his, and insulting my hair feels like insulting the man who saved my life!"

"So that man is your hero." Jack noted. Jobin nodded affirmatively, the two shared a fist bump before Jack headed to the locker room.

"Hey, Jack." Jobin called out, Jack turned to face the trainer and was met with a confident smile. "Win or lose, I want to battle you again someday!"

Jack returned the smile and nodded as the two went their separate ways.


From the hotel, Max watched the end of the battle play out and smiled to himself.

'Oh how I knew you would be able to win!' He thought to himself. 'I'm sure my next opponent will be more than easy to defeat. But you, you've proven yourself time and time again to be more than capable in battle, but I don't intend to lose to you. My strategy for you may not be complete yet, but it will be soon!'

As he left the arena, Max found his mind wandering to a different thought.

'Still, Sandra is set to battle that friend of Jack's; Diego. Both are rather hot-headed and... uncontrollable when sufficiently motivated. If i were to defeat Jack I would run the risk of having to battle one of those two which would be... problematic. Either way, their battle is certainly going to be an interesting one that I must watch!'

Max approached the arena but looked in every direction from the corner of his eyes.

'I've also been feeling as though I'm being watched, Team Dark Star has most definitely not surrendered after their defeat in Celadon. With everything that they've been working on and the sheer numbers they have currently and could be gathering, it's likely that they're keeping a close eye on this very tournament... I suppose for the time being I shouldn't worry too much about it. After all...'

Max stopped in front of the trainer's entrance of the arena.

'I have a battle to win!'


As Jack exited the arena, he found his friends waiting for him.

"See, I told you he'd win!" Diego announced.

"I'm sure we all figured he would." Renée replied. "Still, I wasn't expecting him to get so upset about someone insulting his hair, or the reason why it got him so upset."

"But it was a really sweet story!" Julia added.

"There you are, so we finally meet again!" A boy's voice called out to them. The four trainers turned to see a young teen with auburn colored hair wearing a blue t-shirt with a Voltorb about to explode on it, blue jeans and brown sneakers. Diego and Julia looked at him in complete confusion while Jack and Renée looked like they were trying to remember his name.

"Who are you?" Diego asked flatly.

"He competed in the Grand Festival." Jack answered. "I know your name but it's just escaping me at the moment..."

"I think his name is Harold?" Renée guessed.

"Well you're technically right..." The boy sighed. "But my name is Harry, and yes, I was in the Grand Festival. But that didn't go so well for me, but I'm not just a coordinator, I'm a trainer too! And you're my next opponent!" Harry pointed right at Julia with a confident smirk, her confused look turned into an excited one as she returned Harry smirk right back at him.

"Then I hope you're ready for a tough fight!" Julia stated.

"Hehe, save it for the arena, you two!" Renée giggled.


"Mom, c'mon, Julia's battle is starting soon!"

"Sorry!" Cynthia laughed as she and Verity made their way over the arena where the battle would be held. The older woman wore what looked like a modified summer dress that somewhat resembled her usual outfit and a large black hat that obscured her face. Suddenly, the sound of ringing came from Cynthia's pocket, which she found was the Match Call feature of her Poketch. Her face became serious when she saw that the Caller ID was that of the Pokemon International Police.

"Ms. Cynthia, we've got an update from the recon team sent out to gain intel on Team Dark Star."

"What's the update?" Cynthia asked.

"Unfortunately we've lost sight of them, but they were last seen with the Draco Plate and the Spooky Plate."

Upon hearing that the Sinnoh Champion felt her blood run cold.

"Follow the direction in which you last saw them, we need to get those plates back! Keep me updated!" Cynthia said sternly.

"Understood! Out." The officer said as he ended the call.

"Mommy..." Verity said in concern.

"Oh! I'm sorry about that! Why don't we hurry along to watch your cousin's battle!"

The two entered the arena and found Renée's group sitting among the middle rows.

"Aunt Cyn-!" Renée almost called out before remembering that her aunt was trying to avoid any unwanted attention. "I mean, Auntie! Over here!"

"Renée, Sweetie, hi!" Cynthia greeted, hugging her niece and greeting Jack and Diego respectfully. "I hope I'm not late!"

"Nope, you two are right on time!" Diego said. "By the way, what's with the outfit?"

"Well, you know I have to avoid any unwanted attention." Cynthia removed her hat, revealing that she had redone her hair to a very large bun and she had makeup done to look a bit older. "Believe it or not, I actually tried to make myself look like my ancestor named Cogita.

"You mean from ages ago when Sinnoh was called Hisui?" Renée asked.

"Exactly! I'm very glad to hear that you know about the Hisui region!"

"Well we did study a bit about it before we graduated." Jack said. "I hope I can see some of those pokemon someday, I hear there's a region where they still exist. But right now I just want to see Julia!"

Renée and Jack smirked at Jack, who blushed as red as a tamato berry.

"Battle! I can't wait to see Julia battle! Hehehe..."

"He's crushing on her hard!" Renée whispered to her aunt and cousin. Cynthia couldn't help but laugh, but part of her was thankful that her nieces had such good friends and even had a boy like Jack infatuated with one of them.

"Hey, uh..." Diego said, trying to address Cynthia by something other than her name. "Cyn-, C. Hey, C, do you think we can battle again someday?"

"Of course." Cynthia answered. "Perhaps if you can successfully win the league and become Champion, we can battle as true equals!"

"Yeah! And that day is coming soon, so get ready!"

"Look, the battle's starting!" Verity called out.

Julia and Harry took their places on the field, which was a sandy field.

"Alright, it's time to show off my mad skills!" Harry boasted.

"I hope you and your pokemon can battle as well as you all can perform!"

The two sent out their first pokemon, with Julia using her Wigglytuff against Harry's Galvantula.


"Sir, we've brought the plates as per the Boss' request!"

Two TDS grunts placed the Draco Plate and Spooky Plate down onto an examination table carefully.

"Good." Typhoon replied. "Personally I think that guy is doing way too much all at once, but we're able to get most of it done. I'll let the big guy know."

Like clockwork, Singularity entered the room and saw the two Ancient Plates.

"Excellent! Two down and sixteen more to go."

"Uh, Boss, are we actually going to go all over the world to gather every single Plate?" Typhoon asked.

"Yes. These are necessary for the final phase of Team Dark Star's goal!"

"S-Sir." One of the grunts asked hesitantly. "If I may ask... what exactly is our goal?"

"That is none of your concern. For now you are to continue tracking down the rest of the Ancient Plates. Report any progress to the admins, you are dismissed."

"R-right! Yes sir!" The grunts said as they left.

"As for you, Typhoon." Singularity said, the admin felt a bead of cold sweat run down his back as his codename was called.

"Sir?" Typhoon asked, trying not to stutter.

"Is the prototype of the Mass-produced RM's ready.

"Yes, sir... That is correct."

"We will be sending it out for a field test later tonight. I ask that you keep me updated its progress."

"Of course sir!" Typhoon saluted, Singularity walked over to leave but his underling had one more question for him.

"Um, boss? When are we going to make our move on the tournament?" That question felt like the most difficult thing Typhoon had ever done, he knew well enough that pestering his boss could result in a very bad time for him.

"Patience." Singularity replied. "There is a reason why we are delaying the attack. You and the other admins all joined because you all want or are looking for something. I promised you all that I would help you get what you all wanted. But I'm not able to do it all at once, the reason we're waiting is so that I can help fulfill the wishes of one of your associates."

Without saying any more, Singularity left his disciple alone. Typhoon hated when the Boss was cryptic like that, but it did make him think. He's doing this at least partially for one of the other admins. He figured it was to get rid of those traitors since most of them were in the tournament itself, but now he wanted to know why Sirius or Meridia joined the team and what they wanted.

But he didn't have much time to really ponder the thought though, he had to work on those MPRM's. Maybe that would be a good name for them, he should probably think of a better name for them too...


"And that clinches it, folks, Julia moves on to the next round!" Dallas exclaimed.

"Yes! Yes! YES! I did it!" Julia squealed in joy. The field was littered in what looked like a barbed Sticky Web, Stealth Rocks, and several small fires in some spots. A knocked out Mega Heracross was recalled on Harry's side of the field while Julia's Gardevoir knelt on her side, barely able to stay up as it was out of breath.

"Ah man!" Harry groaned before he let out a sigh. "At least I got a chance to show off my skills..."

The two headed back to their locker rooms where the group along with Verity and Cynthia congratulated Julia on her victory.

"You did it, Cousin!" Verity cheered as she hugged her cousin.

"From one member of the squad winning to another, I. Knew. It. Would. Happen!" Diego said, clapping his hands for emphasis at his statement.

The group headed outside where they found Harry waiting for them again.

"Hey, I didn't get a chance to really say congrats for your win." He said.

"Thanks! You really made me work for it to!" Julia admitted.

"Hehe, yup, my Bug pokemon really are some of the best!" Harry said pridefully before he turned to Cynthia, looking at her closely. The Sinnoh Champ's eyes went wide as she wondered if her disguise failed.

"You." Harry began. "Are you a cosplayer?"

Cynthia sighed in relief, at least somewhat as another part of her was just confused.

"You're cosplaying the old Hisuian scholar, Cogita. Are you a fan of her?"

"I... suppose you could say I am?" Cynthia replied, a bit embarrassed but giving the trainer a polite smile.

As Harry told Cynthia about the exploits of Cogita and the other major figures of that era, leaving the girls embarrassed and hoping he would stop soon, Diego and Jack checked the current bracket.

"Oh man, my battle's coming up next, I'm supposed to be going up against that Sandra girl too." Diego said.

"Nervous?" Jack asked.

"Pfft! Heck no!"

Jack looked over at the next battle, which sounded like it had already begun as he could hear the announcers, beginning their commentating. What caught Jack's eyes however, were the names of the people that were battling: Alan vs. Minh.

"Don't worry about him." Diego said. "I may not remember everyone that was in the Grand Festival but I do know that Minh lady won it and she's tougher than she looks too. I think Alan's gonna have a hard time beating her, if he does at all!"

Jack kept his eyes on the bracket as he replied.

"Yeah... I guess so."

Harry eventually stopped talking about Hisuian history as they all made their way back to the hotel. It took around four minutes for them to make it halfway there when they heard a nearby television announcing the match.

"WOW!" Dallas said in shock. "In less than five minutes, Alan has completely decimated Minh's team of pokemon with only two of his own! That has got to be some kind of record!"

Everyone turned to see the results of the battle, Minh's Umbreon was unconscious as Minh recalled it, a mix of shock and disappointment plastered on her face as Alan had a Garchomp that roared tremendously as he recalled it and walked away without saying a word.

"Um, J-Julia." Verity asked. "Isn't that the guy you have to battle next?"

Everyone turned to Julia, her face going pale as she gulped in fear, her eyes locked onto the screen...


I was not planning on having this chapter go up so late into the year but I hope you all enjoy it and what's to come.

I plan to have Julia vs. Alan be a very intense battle, but coming up next is one that I hope will be one that is super fun to read as I will try to put 110% into making it an insane one that I hope will be on par with that of the anime.

Until then, thank you all for your patience.