~ Chapter 101 ~

Enzo Returns, The Sibling Rematch

"Lyss's last fight with her brother didn't go the best. She ended up losing, but fought hard against her brother's Pokémon. Since then, Lyss never forgot her defeat, and was working hard, preparing to fight her brother again in the future. Little did we know, their next showdown would be a quick one on one match before the gates of the Pokémon League."

The Pokémon League sat atop an island, raised high above the ocean with sheer cliff faces on all sides.

It sat atop a mountain on the island that had an interwoven and confusing tunnel system known as Victory Road, where the strongest trainers in Sinnoh trained and practiced to battle the Pokémon League.

To reach the entrance to Victory Road, one had to scale a waterfall—the Pokémon League provided a rickety basket-and-pulley operated elevator.

Niya wasn't pleased by that, she hated heights on a good day, but the rickety elevator of doom was worse.

To reach the height of the mountain, there was an outdoor trail or Victory Road.

The Pokémon League itself sat on an island in the middle of a lake atop Mount Victory—the mountain where Victory Road was located—and from the lake, which came from a spring in the mountain, waterfalls cascaded down the side of the mountain, crashing into smaller pools or sides of the mountain before pouring down the mountain in rivers and streams into the oceans.

Waterfalls, mountaineous terrain and danger—that's what this island was made of.

The first King of Sinnoh, who had been the Duke of Hearthome, settled his capital here after conquering the region, and built his massive palace—now the Pokémon League Headquarters and home of the Champion and Elite Four—here, in the centre of the lake.

It was a grandiose place for trainers to hold their final battles in their Sinnoh League careers

Alyssandra looked at her brother Enzo.

"Are you sure about this, sis?" he asked.

Alyssandra nodded defiantly. "A rematch; a quick one while we wait for Sam to be called."

Enzo sighed. "If you say so. But we'll keep it short, all right? We don't have long."

Alyssandra nodded in agreement. "Piplup versus Machoke again?"

The two agreed and released their Pokémon.

Alyssandra didn't let Piplup waste a single second.

Alyssandra sent Piplup in for a Peck attack, hoping to exploit the type advantage against Machoke.

But Machoke didn't let Piplup get in close, swinging its arm to grab Piplup and tossing the Pokémon across the grass field they were battling.

Vital Throw, a powerful move, and well timed too. Alyssadra needed to be careful.

The two battled in the courtyard of what was once the palace, now the Pokémon League.

Alyssandra called on Piplup, making sure the Pokémon was okay.

To her credit, Piplup stood up and was ready to keep battling.

Alyssandra needed focus on distance; getting too close to a Fighting type Pokémon meant getting within range of all of their attacks.

"Piplup, Ice Beam!" cried Alyssandra.

Enzo called for a Cross Chop, and using its glowing hands, to not only block the Ice Beam, but also shoot it back at Piplup.

The Ice Beam shot back at Piplup and caught the Pokémon straight in the face.

Alyssandra cried out to Piplup.

The Pokémon didn't take too much damage from the reflected attack, but it was definitely getting tired.

Piplup couldn't take much more damage.

"Piplup, use Brine!" cried Alyssandra.

A burst of salty water shot from Piplup's mouth at Machoke.

Enzo had the Pokémon block the water with it's four hands, trying to reduce the damage to Machoke's main body.

But right as the water splashed over Machoke, Alyssandra had Piplup swap to Ice Beam, and froze Machoke's arms and part of its upper body in a block of ice.

Machoke struggled to break free, but Alyssandra had Piplup slam its shining beak into Machoke for a Peck attack while it was stuck.

Machoke fell over with a cry and the ice shattered.

Piplup stood triumphantly on her opponent's chest.

Alyssandra near strutted like a peacock…but was horrified to see the look on Piplup's face as it looked straight into Machoke's.

Piplup looked horrified, and collapse, fainting in fear.

"Scary Face," laughed Enzo, "It's a life saver some days. People never do understand why I keep it."

"I'm guessing that's why?" mumbled Alyssandra as she slumped over, defeated, "I thought I had you this time!"

Enzo walked over, returning his Machoke to its Poké Ball with a few thankful words. "You almost did," reassured Enzo, "Honestly, if you hadn't stopped to gloat at the end, you might have. Remember, your opponent's Pokémon isn't down until it's down and out."

"I was so close!" hissed Alyssandra, mostly at herself, "So close!"

"You were, and you'll get close next time," smiled Enzo, "You battle well; very smart, and unorthodox. You've learned a lot from Sam and Niya…but if I could give you some advice?"

Alyssandra nodded.

"You'd do better evolving your Pokémon," stated Enzo, "Your Pokémon can be unevolved and be strong…but they get stronger, have more stamina, and can learn stronger moves once you evolve them."

"I…I asked my Pokémon if they wanted to evolve, I gave them a choice and Piplup and Shinx chose not to," explained Alyssandra, "I assumed, for Contests, keeping the Pokémon small and cute in some cases would work better."

Enzo smiled. "A Pokémon can be evolved, strong and cute all at the same time. I understand you wanting to give your Pokémon a choice but…perhaps they did not full comprehend their choice and what they were giving up by touching that Everstone?"

Alyssandra shrugged. "I…maybe. I don't know."

"It's just some advice," smiled Enzo, "But I recommend you think it over. Cuteness is subjective, and really…all Pokémon are cute. Everyone Pokémon is the favourite of someone after all, right?"

Alyssandra nodded.

"It would be unfair to exclude certain Pokémon for the sake of an experience, or for your own selfish desires, but conversely, it's selfish to ignore what people might like, or choose to do—even if that means not evolving certain Pokémon, for example" continued Enzo, "And on the other side of that note, it would be wrong to assume just because a Pokémon who is strong and fully evolved isn't cute, and vice versa. But, usually, Pokémon who are fully evolved have an advantage, and that isn't negligible."

"How are you the younger brother and you're giving me advice?" sighed Alyssandra.

Enzo shrugged. "I've seen more of the world, learned more about myself, and just been out here longer," smiled Enzo, "Doesn't mean you know nothing, or that you don't have wisdom…but even I have to learn new things sometimes. Never stop learning! That's important on a Pokémon Journey."

Alyssandra smiled and hugged her brother, then pulled back and touseled his hair. "Thanks, Enzo."

Enzo merely shrugged and fixed his hair.

"Come one, we'd better get going," continued Alyssandra, "I think I just heard them call Sam's name. He'll be stepping into the challenger's box soon, and we'll need to get seats."

Enzo nodded. "We'll want good seats to see my future brother-in-law kick my sister's ass," he laughed.

Alyssandra shoved Enzo playfully. "We only just started dating!"

Enzo shrugged again. "You two should do a League Challenge together one day. It's possible you know? To do a Doubles League Challenge?"

Alyssandra shrugged. "I don't know…one day. We'll see! Let me win a Grand Festival first!"

Though she brushed her brother's words off at first, Alyssandra never did forget what he had suggested.

Something in her heart skipped a beat and fluttered like a Beautifly as she thought about her and Sam, standing side by side on the Pokémon battlefield, taking down a Pokémon League; together.

Perhaps one day…

Perhaps…