I stared down at the arena, only to see Kage knock Vero the Zoroark unconscious, ending the battle between the two. It looked like Kage would be up against Sylph the Charizard in his next battle, and I'll be up against Cole the Honchkrow, still a bit unsure of how exactly I was going to counter his speed and flight. Chances are, I'm not going to have an opportunity to activate my synchronize in order to cancel out his flight like I did in my first battle, so I just need to find a way to counter it altogether. That rose a question in my head though.

How exactly can I do that..?

My thinking was cut short when I saw the Zoroark get carried to the infirmary, and then I heard an announcement.

"Okay! Now that we're moving to the semi-final round, we will change the arena once more, but this time, we'll keep it the same when going into the final round, so the rest of the applicants' tournament will be battled here!" The Bisharp announced, and I turned my eyes to the turning blocks of the arena.

At first, I couldn't tell what was on the other side of the turning blocks, but as they continued to finish their transformation, I realized how exactly we'd be battling for these last two rounds.

The arena was dyed a deep brown, with a light shade of red. The floor of the arena was made of solid rock, and there were also small and large rocks alike being placed all over the arena, but these rocks were of gray color, not the same as the floor. The arena had become something like a mountainous region, and we will be battling on an extremely hard and solid ground, similar to how the arena was in the first round, but now with rocks scattered around to change things up a bit.

I wonder how this will affect our next battles… I wondered.

"Now, can I have the contestants for the next battle come to the prep rooms?" The Bisharp announced, prompting me to stand up.

"Good luck Kuro!" I heard Naru cheerily call from behind me. "I believe in you! Go win this!"

I suppressed the raising warmth in my body and just turned my head back and gave her a smile and a nod.

"Right, thanks Naru!" I thanked her, and then walked off to the prep room.

After arriving, I placed my bag in the familiar locker and waiting for the light's color to shift. While I was waiting, I thought more about what exactly I could do against Cole, but besides one very improbable idea, I came up blank. It never really occurred to me how difficult it could be to battle fliers when you aren't one yourself.

I should really learn ways to counter flight… Ways that don't injure me in the process… I thought.

I looked up at the now green light and I tightened my teal scarf around my neck. I then walked out of the room, feeling the cool rock flooring of the arena on my paws as soon as I did. As I thought, the the floor was completely solid with no chance of cracking. I looked over to the other gray rocks scattered around the arena, only to notice again that they seemed loose, unlike the floor. Heavy, but loose nonetheless. I finally looked to the other side of the arena, seeing Cole already poised to take to the skies as soon as the battle starts. I crouched down into position, and motioned that I was ready for the battle to start right before Cole did the same.

"Okay! Then let's get started! Three! Two!"

I wonder how heavy those rocks really are…

"One! Battle Begin!"

Immediately, just as I thought, Cole took to the skies, flying high above the arena, and immediately split off into multiple Honchkrows, eyeing me down. Despite the discomfort I felt at the sight, I focused on each one of them, looking for some kind of sign of which one is actually Cole. Sadly, I didn't have much time, as most of the clones started to rush me down, all of their wings glowing with a dark energy. The first one passed through me, as did the second and third. Sadly, the fourth one to attack was the real one, hitting me directly with a night slash that hurt a lot more than it should have. I briefly wondered why it was so painful, but then I thought he probably hit a sensitive part of my body or something, remembering his ability, it was a probable possibility. However, after I got hit, I came to a realization. When being approached, the fake versions of Cole feel a lot different from the real one. The fake ones almost feel like a breeze on a warm day while approaching you, it was a strange feeling to be sure, but it gave me some insight as to how to dodge his attacks in the future. I looked at Cole flying high in the sky, seemingly figuring out how to attack me next. I couldn't really do much while he was up there, if I launched any projectile that I had, it would be very easily dodgeable, so I didn't see much point. After some time of him circling me passed, he flew at me extremely quickly, an aerial ace ready to send me flying. Soon after though, I was struck with a possibility.

One that would end the battle with one well timed attack.

Cole was still quickly approaching, not stopping for anything. I crouched down close to the ground, making my tail glow a bright white. I began to back up a bit, getting as close to the edge of the arena as I could before Cole made contact. He was only a few feet away, and closing in fast. As soon as he was about to strike me, I jumped in the air and adjusted my position while jumping, rolling around so my body was faced away from Cole and towards the wall. I was extremely close to Cole, so I decided it was my time to strike. I shot out a dark pulse towards the wall to propel me back slightly, sending me almost directly above Cole. My first instinct in this situation was to slam Cole to the rocky ground, but I was able to do one better than that. I slammed my tail on Cole's glowing beak, enough to change his course, while also further increasing his velocity, making him lose control. He managed to stop himself inches before the wall, but it was too late, as I had already prepared a dark pulse to finish the battle. I hit Cole in the back, pushing him into the wooden wall.

"And the battle is over! The winner is Kuro the Umbreon, heading to the finals!" The Bisharp announced.

The crowd was screaming with excitement, seemingly looking forward to whatever the rest of the tournament had in store, even know over ninety percent of them had lost in said tournament. I couldn't help but smile slightly as the crowd cheered, filling me with a large amount of joy.

Didn't think I'd make it as far as the finals… I thought.

With that, I turned to the prep room, grabbed my brown bag, and then headed back up to the stands.

I was greeted by a very happy Naru, excited that I was in the finals. While I was happy about the development, I don't think my glee reached Naru's as she could barely stand still.

"Who do you think you'll be up against in the final battle?" She asked me as Kage and Sylph entered the rocky arena in front of us.

"I'm not sure, I know that both Kage and Sylph are are strong pokemon, so I don't think I can predict the end of the battle before something big happens, like one of them getting in a disabling hit." I responded.

"I kind of feel the same way, but Kage does have the type advantage. Then again… There have been a lot of victors today that were at a disadvantage." Naru stated.

"That's true, but the type advantage still puts Kage in favor, at least, at the beginning."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see…" I told Naru, watching as Kage launched multiple bolts of electricity, only for them to be dodged by Sylph.

I think that Kage's most worrying ability is his range of attack. He can do a lot of damage when he gets in close, but can also land plenty of strong hits at range. I think his physical hits are more dangerous, but the ranged ones definitely hurt, and they added up quickly.

I scavenged my thoughts for ways I may be able to beat him, as I was almost certain he would be my final opponent. He has been running in circles around Sylph, not even giving her a chance to land a solid hit. I tried my absolute hardest to find a weakness, or even one part of his battling style that was not as strong as another, but I found nothing. It was like he didn't even have a weakness, like every type of attack or defensive maneuver was perfected to the point of no openings. Even against a flying opponent like Sylph, he showed no signs of slowing down, no signs of weakness. The closest thing I saw to him getting caught off guard was when Naru used her ability and also when she blinded him, but other than that, nothing has even shaken him.

My thoughts were cut short after I saw Kage directly connect a thunderbolt to the chest of Sylph, causing her to plummet to the ground without her consciousness. Kage was announced as the winner, and I watched as Sylph was being carried to the infirmary. Kage was barely hurt, only being hit with a few stray flames that were launched by Sylph. After he was quickly healed, he didn't even move from the arena, as he knew he was about to have to battle again anyway, and the arena was keeping its solid rock environment and wasn't going to be changing for the final.

"Okay everyone! It's finally time for the final battle!" The Bisharp announced, prompting a loud cheer. "Can I have the other contestant for the finals come to the prep room please? You should be able to go straight into the arena without waiting if you don't need to prep." He finished.

I took in a large breath and got up from my seat. I felt my anxiety quickly rise, and I began to believe that I may not be ready for this battle. It was then when Naru stood and turned to me.

"Good luck Kuro! Show our recruiters why you should be a Raven!" Naru encouraged, prompting a familiar warm and admittedly pleasant feeling inside of me again. I honestly didn't fully know what this emotion was, but I knew that Naru seemed to get it out of me with little to no effort.

I gave her a smile, then nodded my head firmly. I moved my legs to the prep room, only to put my bag in the familiar locker. I then immediately walked out of the door and into the arena, thinking that waiting would only worsen my anxiety. I set my paws onto the rocky arena, and looked across to see Kage, looking at me with a curious gaze.

"Now here are our finalists! Kuro the Umbreon and Kage the Luxray! Are both contestants ready?" The Bisharp asked, and I could tell he had some excitement in his voice. I nodded my head in sync with Kage, and we were both crouched down, ready to battle.

"Okay, then let's get started! Three!"

I took in a deep breath, readying myself to react to anything.

"Two!"

I steadied the shaking in my paws and legs, only focusing on the Luxray across from me.

"One!"

I was ready to give it my all.

"Battle Begin!"

Immediately, Kage dashed to the center of the arena, and shot off a discharge of electricity in multiple directions. I quickly found a spot that the electricity wouldn't make contact with and dodged between the bolts. Sadly, this was exactly what Kage wanted me to do, and he focused a thunderbolt on the spot that I dodged towards. It made contact, instantly lighting my body up with a painful heat and shock that quickly spread. I shook off the attack as best as I could and began to get within close range with Kage. Although I knew his close attacks were more dangerous, I was sadly the same way, and I relied a lot more on my close range combat as opposed to farther range. If I was going to land any decent hits, I would need to battle risky, and a bit stupidly. Kage had an electric charge in his maw, ready to clamp it down on me whenever he could. As soon as I knew I was close enough for him to do so, I waited for him to make his move. We were within inches of each other, waiting for a proper opportunity to make a move. I saw Kage slightly tense, and then he lunged at me, admittedly quicker than I expected. I barely avoided his thunder fang, and as Kage was trying to recover from his miss, I sunk my fangs into his back. He let out a small groan in pain before I felt electricity build up in his fur, prompting me to let go before I took irreversible damage. I shot off a dark pulse at Kage, but it was easily dodged by him, and he began to charge a large amount of electricity in his fur. There was an abnormally large charge, to the point where making contact would be a bad idea.

As long as he charges his fur like that… I can't make contact without paralyzing myself. I can't use my claws or fangs anymore…

I thought about the different ways I could hit Kage without making contact, and I did have plenty of options, but he was hindering my abilities to attack him, meaning he was trying to put himself at an advantage. Not to mention, when he did actually launch off that electricity, it was going to be intense. However, after I thought about Kage's plan, I realized something.

He can't use any electric attacks without releasing his charge...

He must have realized that he was better at close range, because without his electricity, he can't do anything at range. As if to confirm my thoughts, Kage rushed at me, baring his claws. He took a few swipes at me very quickly, and I did manage to dodge the first few, but them he got two deep slashes into the side of my body. I winced at the pain of the claws cutting through my fur and skin, but I didn't let it get to me and shot a shadow ball directly at Kage, hitting him in the face. Kage flew back, skidding across the ground. Before he could regain his balance, I launched a dark pulse at him. He was able to recover and dodge the dark pulse, but not without tripping himself up a little bit. Seeing this, I jumped a bit closer to him and shot another dark pulse at him, connecting with the side of his body. He grunted in pain, but managed to stand his ground, and began to rush me again. Before he could get to me, I shot off a small flurry of shadow balls at him. He saw my pattern of attacks however, and strafed in between the attacks, then headbutting me into the air. I found myself unable to prevent Kage from slamming me into the ground with an iron tail. As soon as my body made contact with the rocky ground, I felt the wind get completely knocked out of me. I also felt the extreme ache that then found its way through my body. I took in a few deep breaths quickly, and then stood on my paws once more. I saw Kage pushing towards me again, although not quite as fast, he was still at a large advantage.

He knows how to dodge my projectiles now… How can I stop him?

My mind went to one last possibility that may stop Kage's rush, something that might be able to give me an upper hand. I bolted to a part of the arena that was somewhat close to the edge, and Kage turned his path to intercept me. Once I got to the point I wanted, I encased my tail with a light glow, and waited for Kage to get closer. Once he was within range, I smashed my tail into a large rock beside me, causing many small pieces of it flying at Kage. A few of them made contact, but didn't really do any damage. However, I didn't need it to do damage, as I had already pushed right next to Kage, and hit him with a dark pulse at point blank range. He flew back a few feet, his unsheathed claws digging into the rock ground below us. Once he properly recovered, he started to rush at me again, still running slower than his initial speed. I tried to dodge out of the way, but as soon as he got close to me, he jumped into the air, preparing an iron tail. I was ready to dodge it and counter, but then he did something that I wasn't expecting, even know I probably should have. He slammed his tail into the rocky ground, kicking up many small pebbles and rocks to hit me square in the face, and spread across my body. He then bit into one of my back legs, putting a lot of force into it. I had to suppress a small scream as Kage sunk his fangs deep into my leg, drawing more blood than the slashes he landed earlier. In order to get him off of me, I shot a shadow ball directly at the ground below me, kicking up more small rocks. Worried that I would follow up with an attack, Kage released my leg and jumped back. I just limped back a few feet, taking in breaths unsteadily as I did. As soon as all of the debris cleared, I saw Kage standing a decent distance away from me, also panting from near exhaustion. However, I noticed that this time, he was keeping his distance, not rushing me for a physical attack, which greatly confused me for a few moments, before I finally realized something.

He's trying to end this soon.

I saw Kage crouch down, all of the electricity he had built up in his fur sparking off of his body, ready to fire. Before he did however, he gave me a competitive grin.

"You...Know…" He said in between breaths. "This is… A great… Battle... I… Honestly didn't think you… Would put up this… Much of a fight…" He finished.

His remark caught me off guard, as I don't think any of the other contestants talked to one another during their battle, but it's not like it bothered me. If anything, I welcomed it, because it further proved that this wasn't a battle of malice, this wasn't hostile, this was a challenge to get accepted into the organization and become a Raven.

With that thought in mind, I returned the same grin he gave me.

"I… Agree... But… I'm not… Done yet…" I said in between breaths.

With that, our talking was over, and Kage launched an incredible amount of concentrated electricity directly at me.

In the short time it was taking for the electricity to travel to me, time seemed to slow down. I thought of a last ditch attack that, if I can get it off in the first place, might make me able to win. However the plan was risky… And pretty stupid… Thinking about it more I thought it was incredibly stupid of me to do something like this, but my adrenaline made the decision for me. With that, I crouched down quickly, and even with an injured back leg, I lept at directly at the electricity, all while building energy in my maw. I was going to put everything I had left in my body into this next hit. As soon as I made contact, I felt an extreme burning sensation spread throughout my entire body, and also intense shocking spark all around my fur and inside of me. More than half of my body was numb at this point, but I had made it about halfway through the distance of the bolt. From that place, I fired the strongest hyper beam I could build up, and it traveled straight through the bolt, overpowering it, and hit the center of Kage's body. He flew back quite a distance, and let out a small shriek of pain, as well as smashed through one of the rocks standing in the arena, but he didn't quite reach the wall. He slammed against the rocky ground of the arena, and flipped onto his stomach. I was now standing a far distance away from him, still not feeling more than half of my body. Kage then very shakily stood up on all fours, before limping down on one of his front legs. He was heavily panting, as was I, but he looked up at me and gave me the same competitive smile he had before. I returned the smile, and told myself I had to say one more thing.

"That…. Was…. Great…. But…. Sorry I…. Ended it like…. This…" I managed to quietly get out that last sentence, but I soon succumbed to my numbness and let my body hit the ground while my eyes closed.

Naru

I looked down upon the arena with a look of surprise, awe, and worry on my face. I was absolutely amazed by the battle that I just watched, there wasn't one point in which I knew who would come out on top between the two of them. Even when Kuro had injuries on his back leg and Kage looked like he was about to release a massive attack, I knew Kuro had some kind of way to try and turn the tables, although the method he chose definitely caused me a lot more concern than I wish it had. I saw Kuro get carried away by an Audino to the infirmary, and Kage needed help walking out of the arena via another Audino. I don't think he needed to go to the infirmary, as he never lost consciousness, but he definitely needed to rest, he could barely stand after walking for about a minute.

I was a bit bummed out by the fact that Kuro lost, but I had very little doubt in my mind that he would be chosen to become a Raven. He demonstrated strategy, resilience, as well as amazing battling prowess overall since the beginning of this tournament, I couldn't think of a reason why they wouldn't want him, well, maybe other than his tendency to get himself hurt. If I had any more worries regarding the tournament at this point, they were all about me getting accepted. I've been trying not to think about it since my loss, but I couldn't deny that I got eliminated semi-early.

Hopefully I showed enough promise in two battles…. I thought as I walked to the infirmary.

I entered the metallic door that I was beginning to become familiar with. Once I entered the room, I didn't see anyone who wasn't a familiar Umbreon sleeping in the bed in the center of the room. Dismissing the unsettling feeling in the back of my mind that I couldn't quite place, I looked over Kuro. His chest was slowly rising and lowering, suggesting that he was peacefully asleep. I saw his scarf and bag next to him on the bed, but I also noticed that Kuro fur was actually singed in some areas. I gently placed one of my paws on the burnt part of Kuro's fur. Despite being like that, it was still very soft. Kage's lightning strike at the end must have been hotter than I could comprehend, as Kuro got lit on fire without his fur being singed afterwards thanks to the healing from the Audino, but if this couldn't be healed the same way, then the blast of electricity that Kuro was hit with must have been a lot stronger than I initially thought. I found myself slowly bringing my paw down Kuro's body, feeling his extremely soft fur. I began to stroke my paw up and down Kuro's back, until I saw him start to stir in his sleep.

I very quickly drew my paw back with a blush quite evident on my face, and waited for Kuro to open his eyes. As soon as he did, I could see the pure exhaustion in them. His eyelids were still hanging low, despite him waking up. He lifted his body up very slowly in the bed, but I could tell it was hurting him when he almost immediately fell back down. He let out a slight groan in frustration, which made me suppress a small chuckle.

"Welcome back Kuro." I told him. "That battle was amazing! You and Kage both held your grounds, not budging an inch for who knows how long, and even then, you both went back in forth so quickly that the entire thing had me on edge!" I exclaimed to him.

He looked at me with a gaze of minor surprise, and then gave me a slightly embarrassed smile.

"It certainly was exhilarating, although, I can't say I got out of it unscathed." He said, looking down at his burnt fur. "I didn't think these burns would last, but I guess I misjudged how much damage that I took." He then put down his paws and looked at me. "When are they announcing who got picked for the organization?"

"Oh! Right! They're going to take some time to talk it over and then put it on a screen in the room we were in when they put up the tournament bracket." I told him. "I wouldn't worry about you getting accepted, you put on an amazing performance, even in a match you didn't win, you showed a lot of skill!" I exclaimed to him.

Kuro smiled awkwardly while his ears twitched and he averted his eyes. I could tell I was embarrassing him with my praise, and I would stop… But I found it endlessly entertaining, especially when I noticed a slight habit he has when he gets embarrassed.

Also… slightly adorable.

"I don't think it was that amazing, I just went up against pokemon that I was close to in skill, making for good matches to watch." He tried to dismiss my praise. "Back to the topic of getting accepted, I think you'll definitely get in, even if you lost early on, you showed a lot of creative ways to battle, and winning against an opponent with a type advantage doesn't hurt your case at all. Also… The one you lost to also won the whole tournament, and I would think that gets taken into consideration as well." Kuro encouraged me, and gave me a smile.

I found myself at a loss. I hadn't even told Kuro about the worry that I might not get accepted, and yet here he is, assuring me that I will. It was like he knew. He knew that the one worry that I had about this was getting accepted. He somehow knew this, and he acted on it before I can even tell him that I was worried. Knowing this, I smiled at him warmly.

"Thanks Kuro! You just really eased my mind. To be honest, that has been bothering me since my lost battle, but now, I feel a lot more confident!" I exclaimed to him.

"Yeah, I could kind of tell that something was bothering you, but I didn't know what exactly until I thought about it more." He told me, with a smile on his face. "And just so you know, I meant every word I said, I honestly think you are going to be accepted, you demonstrated something that I didn't see anyone else do. You showed creative battling, and I think that's something that this place is looking for." Kuro finished, attempting to get up again.

I noticed he was struggling to keep his body upwards, so I pressed a paw to his back, helping him up. I felt his soft fur again, instantly reminding me of what I was doing while he was asleep, and I immediately turned my thoughts away from it before my face changed color. I kept holding a paw to his back, making sure that he didn't collapse on himself.

"Thank you for helping me… I feel like I won't be able to walk for a while…" Kuro told me with slight dismay in his voice. "The electric attacks from Kage really did a lot more to me than I expected them to…"

"Well, jumping into a super-charged final attack from him probably didn't help… You really seem to have a tendency to hurt yourself in battles…" I told Kuro with a concerned look. "You should probably think your actions in battle through a little more if it gets you this hurt."

"Yeah… I get these strange ideas while I'm battling to do something incredibly stupid and risky, and I need to learn to not listen to these thoughts… Otherwise I'll just keep getting myself hurt." Kuro said with a slight sigh.

We let some time pass in silence, my paw still pressed to Kuro's back, which he didn't entirely seem to need anymore, but I really didn't want to remove my paw from his fur, and he didn't seem to be complaining, so I didn't see a reason to stop. After some more time had passed, the Audino that had carried Kuro to the infirmary came in with a small screen. The screen was just a small metal border with a black glass in the center. It reminded me of what certain doctors used when they examined patients, and I hoped this pokemon wasn't here just to tell us that Kuro is permanently injured or something...

"Hello, Kuro." The Audino calmly said. "Because of your injuries, we thought it would be better if we brought you the results of who got accepted, as opposed to you standing in a crowded room when you have trouble even sitting up." The Audino explained, handing me the screen.

It had a rectangular shape, sporting a blue outline around its metallic body. There was already a list on the screen, but it hadn't displayed any names yet, meaning they probably haven't shown anyone the members yet. I passed the screen to Kuro and he looked at with the same expression I had, observing the soon to be acceptance list. I took a deep breath, ready to accept any results that come out of the list.

Soon after, the screen lit up, showing me a numbered, ranked list, showing who got in and who didn't. I didn't know what to think, my anxiety was bubbling up, I dismissed it and looked at the list with Kuro.

Kage/Luxray

Kuro/Umbreon

Cole/Honchkrow

J/Frogadier

Naru/Glaceon

Sylph/Charizard

Lucas/Gabite

Eric/Electrode

Mace/Metang

Vero/Zoroark

Scythe/Scizor

Force/Dusknoir

Mara/Seiviper

Shell/Shuckle

Aria/Altaria

Blitz/Manectric

I looked at this list with amaze. I didn't even recognize a bunch of the pokemon, and I didn't know we were also getting ranked, but I didn't care about that at the moment. What I was really focused on, was that I was actually picked, and ranked fifth no less! I had an unexplainable amount of excitement coursing through my veins, and I could barley contain a shriek. I almost moved my paw from Kuro's back to cover my mouth, but I remembered that I was helping him sit up before that happened.

Kuro looked very surprised at the list as well, although he said he knew I would make it, it looks like he didn't think he was going to make second. But after he got over his surprise, he looked at me and smiled, to which I quickly returned.

"See Naru? I told you, the ones who picked the members were amazed with you, even if you lost early on. You just needed some confidence." He told me, keeping his smile.

I gave him a firm nod and tried my best to calm down my excitement, I didn't want to accidently break Kuro's back. I took in a few deep breaths and contained myself.

Kuro and I were going to be Ravens.

Hello Readers!

Me from the future again, announcing that I have indeed made some minor edits to this chapter, mainly trying to describe action scenes a bit better, as they're something I'm still not really used to writing. Hopefully it came out okay!

See you in nine chapters!