I opened the door and found myself in the last room. There were pillars of gold, and I passed by on dark red carpeted floor, golden statues of Dratini surrounding me. I know that Dratini were fantastic creatures because I had one, but this lunatic design was too fucking much. When I raised my head to the platform ahead of me, I realized I wasn't going to beat Lance. He didn't even bother to show up for work today.

Instead, I inexplicably found Proton eating donuts.

"Proton?"

"Hello, Lyra," he drawled.

Er...okay then.

He was wearing a white shirt with beige slacks instead of his typical Team Rocket clothes. He wasn't even wearing his hat anymore, and I paused, not sure how to take this in. For once, I was lost for words. I might've thought this was a prank planned for me by Lance, except Lance didn't have such an attractive face and couldn't disguise himself enough to have one. I was also shocked at seeing Proton's hair, since it was sexier than I imagined.

"What's going on?" I finally said once a few moments passed. "Aren't I supposed to defeat Lance?"

He wiped at the chocolate sprinkles from his face though some of it remained. "Not anymore. I made good use of the Ultra Balls I got from you, Lyra. I made sure Lance knew of your generosity."

Only one thing could've happened. "You killed Lance."

He must've taken the Ultra Balls and somehow sliced up Lance with them, which was savage and vicious but this was a former gang leader that was being discussed here. One known for chopping off Pokémon tails for profit.

"Not that simple. I defeated him in a Pokémon battle."

This was getting more and more shocking. "That...that can't happen. You're horrible at battling."

He put down his chocolate sprinkled donuts. "Over the past few weeks, while you've been aimlessly...doing something else, I've amassed a powerful collection of legendaries, starting from Arceus, which I managed to find at an abandoned movie theater. I didn't even have to catch it; it came to me willingly. I'm sure it must comfort you to know that from there on, I captured Dialga with the help of your own special Ultra Balls, then proceeded to defeat as many trainers in Kanto as I possibly could. Money was easy to come by from there, if you can imagine. You were right, Lyra. There are better and easier ways to make money.

"I looked at you, so proud and self-sufficient. And you weren't strong on your own. You were just strong because of your Pokémon. Because they fought battles for you, and made you look powerful by extension."

Oh my God, he found me out: I'm a Pokémon trainer who is useless in a fight in every other way. On the other hand, I couldn't believe what I had done. I had created a monster. I didn't even do anything besides what was encouraged in society, which was to win as many Pokémon battles as I could. My blood ran cold. I had replaced Lance with this. Lance was a terrible person anyway, but still.

"I still doubt you can defeat me," I said. "A few weeks ago? I doubt you've tried your 'team of legendaries' enough, especially considering the fact legendaries are harder to train."

"You underestimate me, Lyra. I suppose you do that to people a lot. I have spent my entire life battling with Pokémon, several times over with a brand new team that reflected my subordinates. I already have plenty of experience training Pokémon, and much patience to spare. And after I finished off every Gym Leader in Kanto, flying to each town to speed things up, I took to the Pokémon League's leaders themselves. I crushed Lance like a bug. You must at least have the presence of mind to realize Lance was stronger than you, even if his choice of Pokémon wasn't so diverse."

Oh my God.

"I knew you would be here," Proton said. "It wasn't a question of if, but when. Unfortunately, you kept me waiting longer than you had to, but regardless. I recently came into this role myself."

"Lance is going to beat you," I said. "He's probably making a strategy right now at the Dragon's Den, cheat cartridges and all."

"I don't dare doubt the latter. But whenever he thinks he's ready to beat me, I'm ready to destroy him again," he said pleasantly. His voice throughout this entire monologue was calm, measured.

He didn't think he was going to lose. At that point, I sort of felt the same. I didn't know any of his Pokémon besides Arceus and Dialga, but I was already well intimidated by those names alone. Even I've heard of those Pokémon prior to my journey, and people from Sinnoh have associated them with godhood. Lance probably couldn't get out of this situation, either. Proton may remain Champion up until the day he gets bored of the job or dies.

"Don't look so scared. You can't be that interested in becoming Champion yourself. I'll be exceptionally merciful on you and battle with some freebie Pokémon I randomly got on the way. I promised to never forget the people who brought me this far. One of those people happen to be you, Lyra."

"I—"

"I think it's time we begin." Proton made an underhanded throw and in a clash of light so bright it seared my eyes, a large Pokémon with two sturdy blue wings emerged in front of me.

"Latias, zen headbutt!"

"Hamako...ice beam..."

I thought I had never been more intensely miserable in my life.

I've never been in a battle like this, ever. It was so unpredictable. I never knew what to fucking do. I barely knew what types I was being confronted by and everything I did felt like a guess. For God's sake, his Champion music was a pop song with lyrics like "shake, shake, shake!"

Nobody prepared me for this bullshit. I suppose Silver tried by blasting rock music at inopportune moments, but he didn't unleash legendary Pokémon on me like a pro.

I used Hamako against the Latias enough that Latias eventually felled, causing another Dragon-type legendary to manifest. Proton didn't give me a full team of legendaries to work with, only a group of four, but it was hell enough. Hamako was so exhausted from repeating her moves I had to give her a Max Elixir to keep her going. Eventually, we made it through. Eventually. And I defeated Proton with one Full Restore left to spare.

"Let it never be said that I am not merciful to you," Proton said, withdrawing his last Pokémon.

Throughout the entire battle, he hadn't taken out the Dialga or Arceus, so I guess he was right about that. I was still out of breath from the constant anticipation at the end of it. Karen was a much harder match, but Proton was exhausting too.

"You are a good trainer," Proton said. "I think you would've defeated Lance with his own level appropriate Pokémon for you, had you went against him now. Your Lapras is a great tank." He paused. "It's almost satisfying to see this. Do you remember your first battle with me, at the Slowpoke Well? It feels like such a long time ago."

"You had a Zubat and a Koffing," I said blankly.

"Well, you had a Hoppip." True that.

Without any signal from either of us, the door behind us creaked and opened. Proton glanced towards it, and so did I, though I personally couldn't see anything but darkness.

It was then a pink-haired woman with glasses randomly ran into the room from the opposite direction—the one I came from. It wasn't Whitney, so I had no idea who this individual was until she spoke in a familiar voice.

"The battle's over. Professor Oak, you were so slow!"

I never expected to meet Mary in person. Her jokes on the radio, as we all recall, were terrible. I have criticized her many times in this record for her awful sense of humor so I admit I felt awkward.

Professor Oak himself came by with his slow pace. I was too confused to say anything at all. First of all, how did they know I was fighting with the Champion? And was I so important to watch? Second, I hoped that Oak wouldn't ask to check my Pokédex, of which I have done a terrible job of maintaining. Third, why did the guard at the beginning, and all the Elite Four members, let them in? I guess it's because they're rich and well-known, but still.

Oak blinked as he saw me. "Lyra, it's been a long while."

"Yeah," I said. "That could...summarize it up."

I couldn't believe I was standing next to Proton and talking to Oak at the same time. One was a criminal that should've gotten arrested a long time ago, the other an eminent professor. Then again, maybe it wasn't so odd as I thought. Koga, after all, could still show his face in public even after the controversy, and it seems like the person responsible for background checks really was laid off a long time ago, if they were ever present to begin with. After all, they must've let people with horrible temperaments like Clair and such to stay in the League after all the shit they've done over the years.

"Well, you look more impressive," Oak said in approval, nodding. "It's amazing how you've done so much with your Pokémon. Both of you and your Pokémon have been outstanding. Because they believed in you as a trainer, they persevered."

"Oh...thank you." I felt Miranda perk up behind me.

"Congratulations," Oak said. He didn't even look at Proton, so I figured that he was tossed under the bus.

Mary grinned wildly. "We should interview you!"

Proton's mouth set into a straight line.

"First off, Lyra," Mary started, "how are you today?"

"Um...good."

"All right, that's enough," Proton said, cutting into the interview. "I need to do something with Lyra. Everyone wait here."

He grabbed my arm and dragged me (myself willing) to the succeeding room. I heard Mary exclaim protests behind me but I found myself being okay with it as he took me into the next room. It felt older than the last, and the sturdy warm brown pillars surrounding me didn't have a single memento of Lance's dragon-crazy personality around. Miranda quietly entered my Poké Ball at Proton's gesture.

There was a short silence as I looked around the room. I turned towards the front, where stood a small platform. On the said platform was what looked like a healing station of some kind, the sort of thing you would find at a Pokémon Center. He let go of my arm, and as I looked down, I noticed how the marble floor reflected both him and I. It was kind of weird, like many things on this journey.

"So this is where people go when they win against the champion." I wondered how old the room actually was. Hundreds of winners must have came here at one point.

"Last time I came in here, it was after I defeated Lance." Proton smirked. "He cursed at me."

"I didn't expect him to be graceful after defeat."

"He hated the thought of losing for good," Proton said cheerfully. "Letting everyone from his family down. Doing the best he could against me, and nothing seemed to work. His perfect IV Dragonite fell so gracefully under my own Pokémon. It was truly a sight, to see the devastation on his face. I admit, I wondered what it would be like to win against you. I would have savored it, if defeating you would've brought the same result. It was only at the end that my better nature won out."

My stomach twisted.

"Well...you haven't been here since you defeated Lance, you said." (That was my evident and strangled effort to make the conversation something more I could swallow.)

"You're the first person to have defeated me—although, I did go easy on you," Proton added as an afterthought.

"Right..."

"We have to commemorate the fact that you defeated me. You're technically a 'League Champion' now. We also have to record your Pokémon."

"That makes sense."

I don't understand how I found myself in this situation. How the Pokémon League has failed all of us. A former Team Rocket executive comes in with a team full of legendaries, and the standard champion, with all his power, can't hold him off? Did Lance have no legendary Pokémon to speak of? No Ice-type that could throw Proton off? This was absurd.

I approached the healing station and popped my Pokémon in. It was actually the first time I've ever done anything like this before—the Pokémon nurses usually did it for me. On a screen next to it, I saw the details of my Pokémon flicker.

First showed Hamako, then Kitty, Lorcan, Cinder, Miranda, Lugia. I knew where I met all of them, and they were all my Pokémon. I felt a lump in my throat as the slideshow carried on and showed all of them together (all right, so Cinder was covering Lugia's head, but that was beyond the point). We really did go through all that together, as strange as it was to say. So I did it. I defeated the Pokémon League, albeit with questionable measures towards the end, but Proton claimed that I would've been able to defeat Lance anyway with Hamako so I tried not to stress the details. Most trainers don't get to this step, including the vast majority of the kids who start at like, age ten who quit after one week. I have accomplished something.

I turned away from the healing station, my breath caught.

I don't know what will happen now, to be honest. It's strange to think of everything all finished. I know what I said earlier about my summer break getting conquered by my Pokémon journey, but it doesn't feel right to end it now.

"So, where will you go now, Lyra?" Proton asked.

I shrugged. "That's a professional question."


It was the first time in my room in a long time. Yesterday was overwhelming on so many levels. Proton can't stay League Champion. He'd done so many things wrong. He's literally just there to collect money from unlucky challengers who, if they're ambitious enough for the title, have to face Dialga and Arceus. On the other hand, Lance force evolved his Pokémon so it's not like he's perfect. Why is the champion never ideal in Johto/Kanto?

I headed downstairs. My mother had messed up the house while I was gone with constant parties. When I came back home unexpectedly in the middle of night, I low-key wished I never came. There was about forty adults in a home that can barely support two people at a time, and I know that for a fact because I've lived through it. The amount of alcohol was rampant. My mother was drunk and making out with some random guy I've never saw, and I didn't even know what to say. I know it's been a while since my father died but I still wasn't quite expecting that. I stood at the doorstep, stricken for a few minutes because of all the shit going on until finally one person noticed me and asked why a ten year old was present.

Anyway, that was certainly something to deal with.

My mother noticed me as I came down this morning. She was in the kitchen, making God knows what. The entire house was clean and tidy now after the rampage last night, and I guess this is my mother's idea of showing humility the best way she could. I'm sorry I partied hard last night but everything's cleaned up now, and it's like it never happened.

"Hello, Lyra," my mother said. "Professor Elm told me that he has something to give you."

She eyed my clothes, satisfied. I was wearing those clothes she tells me to wear.

"Okay," I said. "I'll head there."

Hopefully he wasn't going to give me another Pokémon for another errand. That would've been ridiculous, but also plausible. I helped him one time, after all.

I walked outside, where it was windy. It was evening at this point, and so, the breezes gave a sense of coldness. So I guess I was back here again to New Bark. It was odd to be here after all this time, but I had to deal with it until school started again.

I headed inside the lab, which as always, had holiday music eternally playing. "Lyra! There you are!"

I smiled at him wearily, not sure where this was headed as I walked towards him. "Hello."

"I called because I have something to give you," he said. He searched my face. "Do you remember what you said to me before?"

"Er—" The last time I saw him, I believe he gave me the Master Ball and I criticized it for having bad colors. Other than that, I couldn't think of anything. "No."

"You said that you wanted to go somewhere cool, like Kanto. So I got you..." He took out a piece of paper. "This! It's an S.S. Ticket. Now you can go catch Pokémon in Kanto."

I was speechless as I took the ticket from his hands.

He continued on, "The ticket will let you take the ship that departs from Olivine City." He winked at me. "But you've been there on your adventure with your Pokémon. You already knew that, Lyra."

I nodded. "Thank you so much, Professor Elm."

He smiled and nodded. "Remember to give my regards to Professor Oak in Kanto!"

"I will."


It's been some years since I last visited Kanto. I was born there, actually, and while my father was originally from Unova, my mother is from Kanto. I was excited to go there. I planned to leave right away, but before doing so, when I headed back to my mother's house, I informed her about it.

"I'm glad that you're able to go there, if that's what you really want to do," my mother said, smiling in a way that looked painful.

"Well...all right." I faltered. "I just thought you'll be more excited."

"I am excited," my mother said. "I know you've really wanted to go there for a long time, and I'm happy for you. Personally, myself I would rather head to Sinnoh, because of the nice places to explore there, and Kanto just feels so old to me, but you should go."

"Oh, okay," I said. I started for the door.

"By the way, Lyra," she said. "I ordered some nice item for you while you were out."

I spun around. "What? I was out for ten minutes."

"I know, but it's a really nice item," my mother insisted. "You can pick up at Cherrygrove City before you leave."

That's where I ended up. That's why I was walking to Cherrygrove City's local Poké Mart, which also happened to be the closest to my mother's house. So I walked into the Poké Mart, super causal, and I found Lance as a clerk at the Poké Mart's desk, and when I was there, he glared at me.