~ Chapter 31 ~
Eterna's Gym Leader
"Having all of my close friends watching me at my second Gym Battle…made it possibly even more nerve racking than the first one. I could feel the pressure of having to live up to their expectations, and I understood that if I messed up, lost my cool, or lost the match I'd disappoint them—or so I thought. Despite my fears, there was this part of me that knew they would be there to support me no matter what. They were friends, practically family, and they would be there to support me no matter what, that's why they had come there to watch my Gym Battle, and for that I was and still am, truly grateful."
Sam stood in front of the Gym door. His friends were behind him, silently watching him as he prepared to take his first steps into the second Gym Battle of his life.
Sam could feel the pressure mounting; even Pikachu—whom Jeremy had brought out on the way to the Gym—seemed to add more weight to the situation.
Sam breathed heavily, and then, with all the strength he could muster, he walked through the sliding glass door, and everyone else filed in behind him.
Sam and Gardenia locked eyes as Sam walked out onto the field. It was different from the rock and dirt field that he battled Roark on, this field was covered in grass and shrubbery, and a tree or two lay littered across the edge of the field. It appeared that Gym Leader's based their battlefields upon the element that they specialized in.
Sam knew this would get interesting.
Gardenia looked away from Sam long enough to watch his friends file in to the stands that were raised on either side of the field. "I see you've brought some spectators with you," she said, "Even my uncle Rort is on your side too…impressive."
"How so?" asked Sam, noticing how the talk with Gardenia seemed to calm him.
"Well, to think that you have this many people who believe in you," she smiled kindly, "And these are some big names too. Professor Rowan, Palmer the Tower Tycoon. But you also have your friends, that woman, my uncle Rort, and that child there. I'm sure my cousin Roark would even be here if he could. That's quite the accomplishment; congratulations."
Sam smiled and placed his hand on his ball belt. "Thank you," he said, drawing a Poké Ball, tapping the button in the middle that caused it to grow in his hand, "Shall we get things started then?"
"Pushy, are we?" asked Gardenia, drawing her first Poké Ball as well, "Very well, I suppose you did come for a Gym Battle after all. Judge read him the rules."
The judge stepped out onto the field, standing at the Centre of the field on the left side, out of the harm's way of the upcoming battle.
"The battle between Gardenia, the Leader of the Eterna Gym and Sam Accardi of Twinleaf Town is about to begin," he announced grandly, "Remember, this is a three on three Pokémon battle, and only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. The battle is over when one person has defeated all three of the other's Pokémon. Are both participants ready?"
"I was born ready!" called Sam with determination.
"Let's do this then," said Gardenia, her girlish smile being replaced by a sudden look of concentration.
"Very well then," said the judge, "Begin!"
Sam and Gardenia tossed their Poké Balls into the air, releasing their Pokémon.
Gardenia's Pokémon landed on the field; a small Turtwig, similar to how Jeremy's had once been. This one seemed as fierce as Gardenia had become at the start of the battle, but Sam was prepared.
From his Poké Ball came Sam's Staravia; one of the proudest Pokémon Sam had ever met, and definitely one of his most prized so far, along with the others in his team.
Sam had been working especially hard with Staravia whenever he could lately, trying to test its limits and increase them. It was with Staravia that Sam had battled and captured the Honchkrow in Eterna Forest. The battle was matched until Staravia managed to gather enough strength to use another Steel Wing before collapsing again.
Sam was ready to face Gardenia; everything was riding on Staravia for victory.
"Staravia use Wing Attack on Turtwig!" shouted Sam, trying to strike his opponent first.
Gardenia, calm and collected, countered quickly. "Turtwig use Razor Leaf on Staravia! Take it out of the sky!"
"Dodge Staravia and use Tackle to get in close and bring Turtwig down!" cried Sam, a smile turning on his face.
Gardenia, prepared for anything it seemed, commanded Turtwig to jump in the air and dodge Staravia, but Sam was ready for even that.
After having battled Jupiter's Skuntank the other day, Sam was prepared for Pokémon that could jump.
"Staravia! Pull up and use Wing Attack on Turtwig! Take it out of the air!" called Sam.
Staravia did as commanded, and gently pulled up, spinning in a half loop, and slamming its wings into Turtwig, which sent the Pokémon flying across the stadium.
Sam took this opportunity to strike at Turtwig while it was down, but Gardenia was, again, prepared to strike back.
"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!" cried the green-haired Gym Leader.
"Staravia! Quickly, use Double Team and unleash and Aerial Ace when you get close!" reacted Sam quickly, not allowing Staravia to take the hit. He needed Staravia to last three rounds; damage now would mean it would be weaker later.
Staravia flew through the air, multiplying itself into several copies that confused Gardenia's Turtwig. Its leaves flew through the air, striking the several copies of Staravia. However, none of them were the real one and they disappeared as they were struck.
Gardenia's face looked shocked for the first time in the battle, as Staravia seemed to disappear from the battle. That was until it appeared again, briefly, behind Turtwig and dashed towards it in a glowing streak of light that was Aerial Ace.
Turtwig flew towards the other side of the field and hit the wall, bouncing on the ground before finally passing out.
Staravia returned to Sam's side as its opponent hit the ground and stood flapping its wings gently in the air as it hovered, waiting for the next Pokémon to be called out.
The judge raised his red flag towards Sam's direction, calling the match in his favor. "Turtwig is unable to battle, Sam is the victor of this round!" he called.
In the balconies, the spectators stared awestruck at Sam, though of them all, it was Alyssandra, Niya and Jeremy who seemed least impressed. Mostly because they had seen these tactics before while Sam trained to battle Gardenia.
Professor Rowan stroked his moustache, with Palmer sitting on his right looking impressed at Sam's battle skills.
"So that was his plan, huh?" asked Palmer aloud, "Get Turtwig off the ground and into the air and it'd be at the mercy of Staravia's quick flying."
"Yes, a very wise strategy indeed. Sam's good," said the Professor, staring hard between Sam, Staravia and Gardenia, "He's not quite our level; but if Aurelio were here he'd be impressed…perhaps even a bit jealous that his grandson's catching on so fast."
Palmer laughed. "This is only his second Gym battle and his strategies are this good. Can you imagine how he'll be when he's finally ready to fight us?" Palmer grinned widely as he imagined it.
Professor Rowan smiled as he began to bounce his now fussy granddaughter on his knee, still watching Sam as he did. "I know," he said softly and nostalgically, "Keeping our promise to Aurelio is going to be…interesting—there's no doubt about that."
Palmer nodded. "Agreed. I just hope I don't lose…that's going to be embarrassing. It was hard enough being trumped by the old man repeatedly."
Rowan chuckled heartily. "I lived through sixty years of it," he smiled, "You'll get used to it…besides Sam is supposed to win—and we're supposed to make sure he does."
"Still, it's not like we're supposed to make it easy for him. He needs to work hard if he wants to beat us." said Palmer, his arms crossed, "Well…regardless, it is nice to see how much he's grown."
"Yes, yes it certainly has," said Rowan, serious once again, "Nancy will be happy to hear about this."
Rort, sitting in the front row beside Jeremy and his mother, called out to Sam. "Come on, boy!" he cried, "That's it, show her how to battle! You can win this!"
Niya and Linda were the next to cheer him on. "Come on Sam!" they cried together.
Alyssandra and Jeremy whooped, trying to pump Sam up and get him going for the second round.
Sam smiled as he watched his friends cheer him on, their cries—even those of young Sakura—were encouraging, and it allowed him to get back into the battling mindset for the next round.
Gardenia stared at Sam, recalling her Turtwig, as she—no doubt—ran over a new strategy in her head. "You're good," said Gardenia, "Just as good as Roark said you were—in fact, I'm surprised I underestimated you like this…then again I've always been stubborn. And besides, I'm not done yet. In fact, I'm just getting started!"
Gardenia drew her next Poké Ball and tossed it into the air. From the Poké Ball, burst a dancing Cherrim, in its Sunshine Form.
Sam smiled, he knew exactly how to deal with one from battling and watching Alyssandra's.
Still, Sam wasn't going to take any chances, and take nothing for granted. If he underestimated Gardenia now she'd get the upper hand; and Sam had been instructed better than that.
"All right Staravia, how are you?" asked Sam.
Staravia nodded with determination. "Staraaaaavia!" his Pokémon cried.
"All right then, hang in there a little longer," said Sam, "We'll be done soon."
"I wouldn't bet on it," said Gardenia, "Now that I have a sense of what you're all about, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop you."
"You can try," said Sam, "Staravia! Wing Attack!"
Staravia shot off like a bullet, the time spent on its speed flying paid off. It hurtled through the air in a blur of black and white and aimed its wings for Cherrim, still dancing blissfully on its side of the field.
But as Staravia neared its opponent its attack simply bounced off an instantly appearing orange sphere, while the small Pokémon just danced and spun. Staravia stood there, hovering in front of Cherrim while Sam was trying to figure what was going on.
"Was that Protect, or Reflect?" asked Sam, "Is it deflecting my attack?"
Sam didn't have much time to think though, as the green orb went down a Gardenia called for Cherrim to unleash a Magical Leaf.
Sam called on Staravia, but the Pokémon just barely managed to dodge.
The leaves grazed Staravia's wing, causing it to plummet slightly before regaining control of its flight once more.
Sam knew that getting too close to Cherrim meant coming face to face with its defense and offence. He was in a tough position, and he only had a few ways of getting around it, very few of which were possible at this time. The only way Sam could see working was if he wore down the reflective attack.
"I know that attack," said Alyssandra, "That's Safeguard."
"What do you mean?" asked Jeremy, "How can you tell?"
"I had considered teaching that move to my Cherrim, but I changed my mind. Sam be careful!" Sam turned his attention to Alyssandra. "That move is Safeguard! It'll defend against all attacks!" she cried, "You'll need to find another way around it!"
Sam's strategy changed in an instant and he knew what he had to do, he needed to wear out the Cherrim, not the barrier, so he could land a strike. It could only use Safeguard so often before it tired out, and Sam was determined to throw everything he and Staravia had at the barrier.
"Staravia use Steel Wing on Cherrim's Safeguard!" called Sam.
Staravia flew into the air to put some distance between it and its opponent, then it flew straight down with its wings glowing white. As it landed the strike, its wings clanged against the hard barrier that prevented Cherrim from being damaged.
"You're not going to be able to get through the barrier by using stronger attacks," said Gardenia, "This battle isn't that easy. I'm not just some kid you find travelling the Sinnoh Region, I'm a Gym Leader."
Sam smiled. "I never thought a stronger attack would work," he called back, "But many stronger attacks might just work. Keep going Staravia, don't stop until you break through!"
Staravia spun in the air and flew back towards Cherrim at top speeds, slamming its wings into the Safeguard again. Staravia didn't quit, and kept up its attacks, smashing them into the protective barrier while bouncing off each time.
"What's he trying to do?" asked Jeremy's mother, "His Pokémon's going to get tired if he keeps this up."
"He doesn't have much other choice," said Rort, "But the way I see it is, Cherrim can only use Safeguard so often before Staravia finally wears it down and breaks through. By then both Pokémon will be exhausted, but Sam's hoping he'll at least be able to strike another time with Staravia before it goes down as well."
"He can't do that. He'll be down his only Flying type Pokémon," protested Jeremy, "Gardenia still has one more Pokémon left, and Sam only has his Cranidos and Empoleon, and neither of them are the right type to battle a Grass type Pokémon."
"Staravia and Luxray weren't the right type to battle against Roark's Pokémon either, remember?" asked Niya, who was sitting in the second row beside Professor Rowan and his granddaughter, "And somehow he still managed to beat them."
"Yeah but they knew moves that had the type advantage," continued Jeremy, "Cranidos has never battled with Sam before and Empoleon doesn't know anything that can take down a Grass type Pokémon."
"Don't worry, Sam knows what he's doing," said Palmer suddenly, "He's Aurelio's grandson and he's an Accardi. It's in his blood—he'll make it out all right. If anything, he's more stubborn than strategic when it comes down to it, and his Pokémon seem to reflect that part of him as well. I've been with my Pokémon for years, and they seem to have taken on a few of my characteristics. It would seem Sam's Pokémon have taken on his determination and stubbornness."
"Great, I thought one Sam was bad enough," laughed Alyssandra as she turned to face the others.
"I thought one was all you needed?" returned Niya with a raised eyebrow and a small smile.
Alyssandra's face turned red and she quickly turned back to the battle.
Niya and Jeremy chuckled, knowing it was only in good fun, but Linda turned to Jeremy and tapped him on the arm with a stern look.
"You shouldn't make fun of her," she hissed, "You know how shy she is about that topic."
Palmer watched the exchange while Rowan took care of his granddaughter, and then looked over at the Professor. "Do you think she…?" asked Palmer.
Rowan nodded. "Nancy and Aurelio seemed to think so. Of course, it's not like they ever had the chance to prove it—for either of them. However, should she turn out to be…well it'll save us the trouble."
Palmer nodded. "He better not be as nervous about it as his grandfather was," laughed Palmer, "Took him three months too long from what I heard."
"Well, I did do a lot of the mediating between research, so I suppose that didn't help," laughed Professor Rowan.
With that everyone's focus returned to the match.
Staravia had continued to strike at Cherrim, and Sam could see the opponent was tiring, but so was Staravia. On the plus side, the Safeguard was wearing down with each successive strike, and Sam knew that this last strike would be the one that ended it…so he hoped.
"Let's try one more time, shall we Staravia?" asked Sam.
He noticed that Cherrim had stopped dancing, and it no longer had the energy to jump around as happily as before. This Safeguard would hopefully be the last.
Staravia dashed towards Cherrim, fully ready for whatever the outcome, and as its wings collided with the barrier, it came down and Staravia proceeded to strike Cherrim, who went flying from the impact of Staravia's Steel Wing. Cherrim wasn't done however, and at the instant call of its Trainer, it was up and launching a storm of Magical Leaf towards Staravia.
Before long, it was all Staravia could do to fly and avoid being struck by the leaves, but all of the exhaustion it had built up from trying to bring down the Safeguard started to catch up to the Pokémon. Soon it was sitting on the ground, out of breath and scratched up from the attacks.
Gardenia had used Sam's strategy against him.
A single Magical Leaf might not affect Staravia as badly because it was at a type disadvantage, but not even Staravia could withstand multiple Magical Leaf attacks and not take some damage from it.
Gardenia was good, Sam had to admit, but he was far from giving up.
"This may be your last battle for the day, Staravia, do you think you could try just a bit longer?" asked Sam, hoping his Pokémon wasn't too injured from being pushed this far.
Staravia nodded, not saying anything, and at that Sam called for an attack. "Wing Attack, Staravia!" cried Sam, "Put everything you have left into it and take down Cherrim!"
Staravia nodded again and shot off towards Cherrim.
Gardenia was ready however and called to her Pokémon. "Leech Seed!" she called to her Cherrim. The two Pokémon faced off, with Cherrim shooting a seed at Staravia that began to constrict it and suck away its energy, while Staravia managed through all of this to stay in flight and land the attack.
Sam saw both Pokémon weakening as they drew closer together, and finally Staravia, beyond all doubts, slammed its wings into Cherrim before collapsing into the grassy field, exhausted and drained of its energy.
Cherrim flew back as well, skidded across the field and hitting the back wall with a light thud.
Within seconds the two Pokémon were declared unable to battle and fell unconscious.
It had been a battle of wills and both Pokémon refused to give in, and as a result they had won out against each other…to no avail unfortunately. Professor Rowan continued to stroke his moustache as he watched the battle.
"Not a bad strategy, but it does put his best Pokémon for this battle out of commission," he said, "I'm not sure what Sam's planning but I'm sure he'll think of something."
"He better or he's putting his ancestry to shame," laughed Palmer.
Rowan gave Palmer a look, but he wasn't paying attention, and was too fixated on the match to even notice.
Jeremy had turned to Alyssandra and began talking strategy with her. "Sam's going to have a hard time in this last round," he said worriedly, "Will his remaining Pokémon be able to hold off Gardenia's? They're pretty strong, and Sam's Pokémon are at the type disadvantage as well."
"I told you he'll do fine," said Alyssandra, though uncertainty showed through her otherwise confident tone, "He's pushed through before."
Niya sat on her bench, silent and watching the match with intent. She had nothing to say about the situation, not like everyone else did. But she knew this next round was going to be close, and it would definitely be instrumental in determining the fate of the battle.
If Sam lost his Empoleon or Cranidos to Gardenia's final Pokémon, he would lose.
But if he could somehow manage to take down Gardenia's Pokémon, even if both Pokémon collapse, he'll still have won the match.
As Sam's mentor, she could feel his pressure, as she hoped by some luck that Sam would remember and utilize everything she had taught him while they travelled. She had done her best to try and make sure he'd be prepared for any situation with a Gym Leader after all, and it was only natural that she wanted her work to pay off.
Sam bit his lip as he thought through his next moves.
Gardenia had already chosen her final Poké Ball. He didn't know what Pokémon to expect, but he knew it was going to be her strongest yet, and definitely a Grass type.
Sam exhaled, and regained his composure. He knew what he had to do. "I guess you leave me no choice," sighed Sam going for a Poké Ball at his belt.
"He's picked!" exclaimed Sakura.
Everyone in the stands looked at her, not even noticing that she was paying attention.
"She's just as observant as you when she wants to be," laughed Palmer finally, but Professor Rowan only rolled his eyes, and with that everyone's attention turned back to the battle.
All Alyssandra could find herself thinking was, "Which Pokémon did he choose?"
She knew either of his choices were going to mean a tough battle…but had Sam chosen the lesser of two evils? Only time would tell.
Gardenia smiled as she watched Sam grab his next Poké Ball. "Have you decided to finally give up?" she asked, "I understand you're down to your last two Pokémon, neither of whom have a good advantage against my Pokémon."
Sam only smiled and gently tossed his Poké Ball up into the air and caught it again, doing this repeatedly as he spoke. "You should have noticed by now, I'm not giving up for anything," said Sam defiantly, "I'm going to defeat you, and then I'm going to get all of my badges, and when that happens, I'm going for the Championships."
"Get by me and we'll see where you go from there," smiled Gardenia before throwing her Poké Ball into the air. "Go, Roserade!" she cried.
Sam threw his own Poké Ball. "Go, Empoleon!" he called, smiling widely as he laid his eyes on his opponent.
Niya, Alyssandra and Jeremy lit up as they saw Gardenia's Roserade land on the field. Sam had picked the right Pokémon to fight, and it couldn't have been a better match.
"Empoleon, Metal Claw!" cried Sam.
But Gardenia didn't let Empoleon move far before calling out an attack of her own. "Poison Sting," she said calmly.
Roserade lowered its hands parallel with the ground and shot thousands of glowing needles at Empoleon.
Sam said nothing and let Empoleon defend from Poison Sting as it had in the past. Empoleon raised his glowing metal fins and allowed the Metal Claw attack to block the poisoned darts.
"Charge in with a Peck Empoleon!" cried Sam, hoping to get Empoleon closer to Roserade. But Gardenia was not about to let that happen, and commanded Roserade to use Grass Knot.
Several blades of grass that rested at Empoleon's feet sprang to life and twisted themselves into a sinister knot that trapped the Pokémon's foot, and tripped it. As Empoleon hit the ground, Roserade jumped into the air and launched a Magical Leaf attack that sent Empoleon flying back towards Sam, skidding to a halt at his feet.
Sam knelt-down and placed his hand on Empoleon. "Empoleon are you okay?!" asked Sam frantically. He had not expected the Grass Knot attack, but he had expected a Magical Leaf.
Sam was hoping to avoid that problem, because he knew even a single strike from a Grass type attack could put Sam in a bad position for the rest of the battle.
Empoleon stirred though, and stood up, ready to continue fighting. "Empooooooleon!" roared the Pokémon in a deep and strong voice.
Sam was thankful that it could continue to fight, but he knew he needed to end this battle soon. Empoleon couldn't take too many more Magical Leaf attacks.
"All right Empoleon, I think it's time we mix things up a bit," said Sam, "Charge in at Roserade!"
Gardenia prepared a reaction. "Roserade, Stun Spore!" she commanded.
Sam was quick to react as well. "Dodge it Empoleon and jump into the air!"
Empoleon jumped high into the air as the cloud of orange dust erupted from the flowery hands of Roserade and flew towards it. If even a small bit of that dust touched Empoleon it would be unable to move for the rest of the battle. And then the hopes would fall on an untrained, previously unused Cranidos. A Pokémon that Sam didn't yet feel like betting on yet.
"Empoleon, you know what to do!" cried Sam.
Empoleon nodded. "Poleon!" it cried quickly before pulling into a swan dive towards Roserade, spinning as it prepared a Peck attack.
"Dodge it Roserade!" commanded Gardenia, knowing that an attack like that might damage Roserade worse than she'd care to admit.
Roserade dodged, jumping back slightly, causing Empoleon to land in the field with a loud, exploding thud. The collision caused a small crater to explode itself into existence, while dust flew into the air and covered the battlefield.
Empoleon shot from the dust with a loud. "Empoleon!", then swung a Metal Claw attack at Roserade that landed and sent the Pokémon flying back.
Empoleon wasn't finished yet, however, and continued by jumping into the air and spinning towards Roserade with another Peck like a drill. Empoleon's attack connected and sent the Pokémon flying back even further, causing Roserade to hit the wall and slid to the ground.
As Empoleon landed from its attack, it jumped backwards, standing beside Sam.
Sam smiled. "I told you I wasn't giving in yet," said Sam, "I thought Roark would have warned you better."
Gardenia gritted her teeth as she looked between Sam and his Empoleon.
Truthfully, she thought half of what Roark had said about Sam was over exaggerated, but now she knew he was telling the truth. The boy was skilled, and his Pokémon were just as skilled. Empoleon, still a Prinplup when Roark battled it, acted on its own, but it was like it knew exactly what Sam was thinking.
"Can a tame Pokémon do that?" asked Linda, "Act without its Trainer giving it commands?"
Professor Rowan stroked his moustache as he thought of an answer. Most of the spectators were out of their seats with disbelief and awe while they watched Empoleon attack Roserade, and now they looked towards Professor Rowan for an explanation.
"I've never seen anything like it, to be honest," said Rowan slowly, "I've heard stories from my cousin in Kanto, Professor Oak, that when some Pokémon are closely bonded to a Trainer, they seem to be able to understand the Trainer better, even to the point where they seem able to read a Trainer's mind. I've never witnessed anything like that before though…I thought it was just myth until now."
"Well, it just goes to show that there are things even science can't explain in this world," said Palmer.
With that everyone returned to their seats and continued to watch where the match would go next.
"This boy's got skill," said Rort as he kept watching, "I knew his Pokémon were good when I saw his Luxray battle that Ambipom…but I never imagined he was this good. I don't think I've seen Gardenia pushed to her limits like this before."
Sam was preparing his next move, while Gardenia was still fretting over Roserade. But when Roserade stood up, still ready to attack, Sam knew the battle was going on.
"All right Empoleon, this is probably going to be the last move, are you ready?" asked Sam.
Sam was right, Empoleon took some damage from that failed dive, and even if it had recovered nicely, the Magical Leaf earlier had done its bit, not to mention it was exhausted.
Roserade itself was in bad shape, having been hit pretty hard by Peck and Metal Claw, and then hitting the wall. Whoever struck harder in this battle would win; there was no doubt about that.
Silence settled over the stadium as the two Pokémon and their Trainers prepared for the final assault.
Empoleon didn't have it in him to strike again in a fancy way like before…no, something simple was going to be the only possibility. But that would require either getting close to Roserade or using a long-range attack, neither of which would work well without proper planning.
There was only one other alternative.
Gardenia struck first, calling her command to Roserade. "Magical Leaf, Roserade!" she shouted.
"Empoleon, use Bide!" said Sam.
Empoleon began to glow with a ring of white light, and several glowing leaves flew towards Empoleon. Each leaf struck, and when Gardenia realized Empoleon wasn't going to move, she increased the length of the attack, having Roserade hold the attack as long as possible.
Leaf after leaf struck Empoleon, doing more damage each time.
Finally, Roserade ceased the attack, and Gardenia stood there smiling,
"This battle is over," she said simply, "Your Empoleon could not have withstood that."
Sam looked over at Empoleon, it was swaying side to side, it was weakened, and it wasn't going to last much longer he knew, but he had one last trick up his sleeve.
"Now Empoleon! Unleash it!" called Sam.
Empoleon opened its eyes and its beak and in a large flash of green whirlwinds, returned a torrential Magical Leaf towards Roserade.
The leaves struck Roserade and sent it flying back against the wall again, pinning it there as the move continued.
Finally, as it died down, Roserade hit the ground unconscious, while Empoleon fell to one knee, out of breath and exhausted.
"Roserade is unable to battle, Sam is the winner of this match!" cried the judge.
Everyone in the stands shouted in celebration, with Niya, Jeremy and Alyssandra running out into the field hugging Sam and celebrating with him.
Sam knelt down before his friends reached him, and gently patted Empoleon on the back, thanking it and returning to its Poké Ball before standing up and group hugging his friends.
Meanwhile, Gardenia stared hard at Sam, and looked at her Roserade, which she now cradled in her arms.
"You did a good job, Roserade, I'm sorry you lost," she said, "Have a good long rest."
After Gardenia returned Roserade to its Poké Ball, she walked over to Sam and his friends.
There was a pause in the cheering as Sam watched Gardenia warily.
With a sigh Gardenia held out her hand, revealing the Forest Badge. "You earned it, Sam," she said with a sense of defeat, "I'll be honest I never took Roark seriously when he said you were good. I also didn't expect Empoleon to act on its own—it's not something you see all the time you know? Anyway, I'm indebted to you for saving this city from Team Galactic, and for giving me a good idea of my strengths and weaknesses."
Sam took the Forest Badge and smiled at Gardenia. "Are you kidding?" he asked, "I've never had more fun battling in my life, and you pushed me and my Pokémon to our limits and helped make us even stronger. Thank you."
Gardenia smiled back. "You'd better get going," she said, "I have to clean up here and—"
Sam shook his head. "Why don't you join us for the celebration dinner? My treat."
"I…well, I suppose I can clean up later," said Gardenia, her eyes twinkling with joy, "Just give me a sec to get my Pokémon strapped into the healing machines and I'll come with, all right?"
Sam nodded. "We'll meet you outside."
With that, Gardenia ran towards a doorway at the far end of the Gym and disappeared while Sam, Niya, Jeremy and Alyssandra walked out into the street; the adults staying behind, locked in conversation.
"I must admit that was quite an amazing battle to witness," said Rort to Jeremy's mother as he and Linda walked towards the door but stopped just in front of it to continue their conversation.
"I've never seen him battle before," admitted Linda, "But he truly is good, he's tactical and he's smart. He's always been that way though, I guess its naturally translated into his battling skills."
Rort laughed heartily. "Aye, he'll do well in the Sinnoh League, I can see him becoming Champion," he smiled, "He'll make a great Champion—he'll definitely be hard to beat, that's for sure."
As Linda and Rort continued their conversation, Professor Rowan was locked in a deep and quieted conversation that started shortly after Rowan sent his granddaughter out with Sam and the others.
"Aurelio would have been shocked by today," said Rowan, "He also would have been pleased and proud."
"Nancy would have been too," smiled Palmer, "The boy is good; you know, I'm proud myself? The boys never had a father and I've never had any kids…I sort of feel like a stand in father for him and vice versa…especially after Aurelio died."
"Well you know why," said Rowan solemnly, "But I do understand how you feel, I'm proud of him myself. Alyssandra said that we're all like a family…she's not wrong." Rowan chuckled, but Palmer's face soon grew serious.
"So, what do we do?" he asked, "Wait?"
"That's what Nancy and Aurelio told us to do," said Rowan as he and Palmer stood up, "I don't see what else we could do. Except give him this." Professor Rowan flashed something to Palmer, and then put it back in his waistcoat pocket.
"He's ready for it?" asked Palmer, "I didn't think he'd grown so much."
"If Aurelio was right, then he was ready for it a long time ago," sighed Rowan, "But what kind of grandfather shoves that much responsibility on to a boy's shoulders? Besides, after the incident not too long-ago, Nancy thought it was best he wore it. The boy may not know it but he's safer with this on."
"That's true," said Palmer, "So, in the mean time?"
"We do what we can to help him without revealing the truth," said Rowan softly, stopping before the two got any closer to Linda and Rort, "That and follow Nancy's orders. I'm sure she'll tell the boy soon, and as long as nothing happens that can't be explained then we don't have to worry about spoiling anything."
"What if he comes into contact with a Dragon Pokémon?" asked Palmer, "You don't think something will show itself then?"
Rowan shook his head, but doubt filled his mind slowly. "What about it?" he asked gruffly, "It can be explained…just—no, it'll be fine. Come on, let's get going before the kids start wondering where we are."
Palmer nodded and followed the old Professor towards the door.
Meanwhile outside, the group was still celebrating, cheering Sam on, and clapping him on the back. Every win was a win for everyone, and another stepping-stone towards everyone reaching their dreams.
"When she pulled out that Roserade I knew that you had this match in the bag," exclaimed Alyssandra.
"Well it's not like she knew that I battle Niya's Roserade on a regular basis," explained Sam, "And I couldn't count on any of the moves being the same—besides, I was only really expecting the Magical Leaf."
"That reminds me," added Niya, "You took a big chance on that last move. If Empoleon had fainted before it was able to return the attack you would have been done for. I told you don't take chances like that."
"If Sam didn't take chances the world wouldn't spin the right way," laughed Jeremy, "It's what he does."
Niya looked at Jeremy, but a smile broke across her face and she simply sighed. "Still, be careful in the future," she said to Sam, "You be mindful of your Pokémon. But congratulations on winning, I'm really proud of you."
"I had a great teacher," smiled Sam, causing Niya to roll her eyes but regardless, she hugged him.
The group's celebration was cut short as Sakura tugged at Sam's jacket. "Excuse me, Sammy?" asked the little girl, "Where are we going for dinner? Can I have pizza?"
Sam smiled down at Sakura and patted her on the head. "You guys okay with it?" he asked the others, to which they nodded yes, "All right Sakura, pizza it is." Sam smiled.
Sakura jumped up cheerfully. "Yay!" she cheered.
Within a few minutes, Gardenia had exited the Gym, ready to go eat, while Professor Rowan, Palmer and the other adults came out to join the group a few moments later.
"So, Sam, since you're paying where are we going?" asked Palmer.
"Pizza," said Sam simply, "Sakura here wants some, and I'm more than happy to oblige."
"Sakura, you know you can't just go demanding—" started Professor Rowan, but Sam raised his hand to silence the old man.
"Don't worry about it," he said gently, "I'll eat anything and everyone else was okay with it, if you guys are as well we'll get going."
Rort and Linda nodded. "I've got no problems with it," said Rort.
"Neither do I," smiled Linda, "I think it's cute that Sakura's not shy to speak her mind."
"I'm good with anything! I'm starved after that battle," said Gardenia.
Palmer shrugged. "Food is food," he smirked.
"Then it's settled," said Sam, "Pizza it is. Let's go!"
The group walked down the street, Sakura held Sam's hand the entire time and refused to leave his side the entire night, even persuading Alyssandra to let her sit next to him at dinner.
Sam only laughed at the young girl's tenacity, though Professor Rowan only sighed and apologized.
The whole while the people going about their lives inside of the restaurant kept looking at them as if they were odd. They were laughing and talking and even at one-point singing.
Sam knew that in a few hours they'd have to go their separate ways again, and it would just be him and his friends once more, but Sam didn't mind. He wanted to enjoy the time they had together while it lasted, and Sam couldn't remember a better night in his life before that day. He was contented.
