PWT Arc: Confetti Shower and Congratulations
"Gardevoir, start with Shadow Ball!" Gardevoir formed a dark ball in front of it and hurled it at Tyranitar.
"Block it with Stone Edge!" Pointed rocks shot out of the ground and the dark orb smashed against them.
"Focus Blast!" Gardevoir sent a second attack after it, destroying the rocks and making its way forward to Tyranitar.
"Dark Pulse." Tyranitar smashed the attack with its shadows. Gardevoir teleported and appeared next to it. It fired a Moon Blast at the colossal beast that was its opponent. Tyranitar was hit and whirled around. Its next Dark Pulse hit Gardevoir in the stomach area and the fairy crashed backwards into the wall. It landed awkwardly on its feet and braced itself against the wall. It gasped. "Focus Blast, aim for its legs!" Mari commanded. Gardevoir extended its arm and a ball of energy hit Tyranitar's knee. The rock Pokémon buckled for a moment, growling.
"Stone Edge!" Chris shouted. Tyranitar sent rocks shooting up into the air. One rammed into Gardevoir's stomach, flinging it into the air before it hit the ground and rolled across the floor. It squinted tightly, holding the spot where it had just been hit as it gathered the last of its strength and staggered back onto its feet. It teleported and smashed a Focus Blast into Tyranitar's flank. The dark-type monster roared out. As it shot a Dark Pulse at Gardevoir, the latter began to teleport again and again, attacking from different directions. Shadow Balls came from all sides, but Tyranitar managed to destroy them all with vicious Ice Punches. "Finish it, Tyranitar! Earthquake!" The ground began to shake and Gardevoir almost collapsed as it had grown so weak it could barely stay on its feet. "Now!"
A Dark Pulse hit it head-on and flung Gardevoir back, making it hit the ground. Unconscious, it remained lying there, not moving. "G-Gardevoir!" The entire arena fell silent. That haunting silence... it was almost crushing. "You did well, Gardevoir." Mari withdrew her starter.
"Skarmory, now it's up to you!" Skarmory appeared on the field. "Do your best! Start with Agility!" Skarmory's body glowed briefly.
"Stone Edge!" Rocks shot out of the ground. "Up!" Mari shouted. Skarmory swung higher into the air, avoiding the rocks that way. "Use Brave Bird! Make use of your Steel Wings while doing so!" Skarmory narrowed its eyes as its wings shimmered like deathly daggers and it swooped down on Tyranitar at a hell of a pace. It threw itself against it and its steel wings mercilessly cut into its armor like super sharp swords. Tyranitar roared in rage and retaliated with a brutal Ice Punch right against its chest. Skarmory backed off and rose higher into the air again.
"Dark Pulse!" Chris commanded. Tyranitar sent shadows at Skarmory. "Agility! Dodge!" Skarmory accelerated again and dodged the attack. "Now let's do it again! Brave Bird and Steel Wing! Go, Skarmory!" Skarmory screeched and flew higher into the air, dodging more shadow attacks from Tyranitar before folding its wings and dropping down. Just before it hit the ground, it spread them again as they shimmered brightly and it attacked Tyranitar. With the last of its strength, it hit Tyranitar and its opponent reared back before its legs gave way and it hit the ground. Skarmory landed on the ground and almost fell over itself, but it managed to hold on. "Tyranitar can't keep fighting! Skarmory has won!" The referee shouted. "Thus, the victory goes to Mari!"
In disbelief, Mari stared at the defeated Tyranitar. "Wha... I've... won...?",
"You have." Chris nodded and withdrew Tyranitar. "You fought well.",
"YASSSSSSSSSS!" Mari's cheers echoed throughout the arena and the audience went wild along with her. "You were great, Skarmory! You were fabulous!" The fell around her Pokémon's neck with joy and Skarmory pressed its head against her shoulder. Chris came up to her and held out his hand. Mari looked at it and then accepted it. "Congratulations on your victory." Chris smiled.
"Thank you." Mari smiled as well. She was overjoyed.
"I told you you shouldn't be so quick on assuming how a battle will end before it has even begun. You never know what's going to happen.",
"I never imagined I'd be winning this...!",
"Well, I was open to the possibility." He smiled.
"UNBELIEVABLE!" the stadium announcer shouted. "Mari Sentaku has defeated Chris Edwards to win the tournament!" Everyone shrieked and cheered, and Mari's name was yelled from all corners. Chris nodded at her. "Well done. You can be proud of yourself and your Pokémon. Let this day be worth celebrating for you.",
"Thanks! I owe you for the experience! You're a great guy!",
"Heh... What's with all the compliments today? This moment is supposed to be about you, you know." He chuckled and waved off. "Oh well... Anyway, I'll be admitting my Pokémon to treatment. See you around, virtuous warrior!",
"Virtuous... ...seriously?",
"Haha... Just kidding!" He waved and then walked out of the stadium. "MARI! MARI! MARI!" many spectators shouted and the applause just wouldn't end. Jacky cheered loudly along with the audience. Confetti rained down on Mari and Skarmory, golden and glittering. Mari raised both fists in the air and Skarmory shrieked triumphantly. "KYAAAAAAH!" The stadium announcer came running onto the field and extended his hand to Mari. "Congratulations on this terrific victory!",
"Thank you." The two shook hands before the host handed the black-haired girl her trophy with a grand gesture- a golden cup on a stone pedestral. Engraved on it was the sign of the PWT, surrounded by laurel branches. He then handed her an envelope containing 10.000 Pokédollars in prize money before applauding her along with the crowd.
As Mari left the stadium, she encountered an enthusiastic Soleil and Kattlea on the way, both offering their congratulations. Soleil did so in her usual effusive manner and Mari had trouble understanding what the girl was trying to say until Kattlea helped her and translated. Then, Mari was almost knocked over by Jacky, who hugged her so tightly she was afraid her ribs would break several times. "Congratulations! You won and you were freaking amazing! And the victory was more than deserved, well done!"
Mari laughed. "Thank you. I'm really overwhelmed."
Jacky let go of her. "I've been crossing all the fingers and toes I had for you!",
"That means a lot." Mari gave her a big smile before dropping her Pokémon off at the Pokémon Center, where they were refreshed and healed. A little while later, messages from her parents reached Mari, which included their congratulations on the win and a lot of emojis. This was definitely the best damn day of her life. She hadn't felt this much joy in a long time. She had shown the world who she was and what she could do. She was no longer the girl who had shut herself off from the class and shyly hid behind books. No, she was Mari Sentaku and none of that mattered anymore. Nothing of what used to be in the past defined her anymore. Absolutely nothing.
When she went outside with Jacky to recover from the commotion, even the people on the streets of Driftveil greeted them both like heroines. It was unbelievable. Then, suddenly they encountered a person they knew. Yuna, the girl who Mari had defeated in the qualifiers, waved at them. "Hey!" she smiled broadly. "I caught that. You won the tournament, congratulations." She joined them.
"I guess it's hard not to catch that..." Mari assumed. "Everyone seems to be talking about that now...",
"It's gonna be the topic of the day for sure." Yuna smiled. "I was hoping you'd get the win.",
"Really?",
"Yeah." The ninja girl nodded. "Indeed.",
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm surprised you're still here."
Yuna giggled. "Well... I definitely didn't want to miss out on how the tournament was going. I'm admidst society so rarely, there was no way I was going to miss it. But I'll be going back home soon.",
"Where do you live?",
"In a little village in a forest, to the south of Lacunosa.",
"In the forest...? Oh that's right, you're a ninja."
Yuna nodded again. "Indeed. I'm not going to make the long journey alone either. Don't worry, Kaze won't scare you.",
"Kaze?" Mari asked. Yuna pointed to a tree by the river, where they could make out a figure upon closer inspection. "He accompanied me here in case something happened. The ninja usually never leave the forest, I'm the only exception. I wanted to see the big world. Kaze, say hello to these two!" The shadow disappeared from the tree and a muscular, quite tall guy with dark clothes came to them. "Hello", he said curtly as he stopped in front of them.
"Hello," Mari and Jacky replied at the same time and had to giggle when they noticed it. "Yuna, we really should go," the ninja noted. "Staying here in the open doesn't sit well with me."
Yuna rolled her eyes. "Are you scared?",
"Don't be ridiculous." Kaze crossed his arms. Yuna laughed. "Okay, okay. Take care, you two! I'm sure we'll see each other again!" She waved at them, and Mari and Jacky waved back before she and Kaze disappeared. "The whole town knows you now, Mari," Jacky remarked with a smile. Mari hunched her shoulders. "Uh... could be. Haha..."
Exhausted, the two dropped into their beds in their room a little later. The host of the PWT had given them until the next day before they had to vacate the room. That was perfectly okay and enough. The two were so terribly knocked out that they couldn't stay awake much longer either. They had decided to continue on to Mistralton City the next day. For that, they had to cross Chargestone Cave. That was going to be the most annoying part of the whole trip, and as tired as they were now, they really needed sleep, which was not long in coming. After a short time, they were fast asleep.