"I'll do it! Aaron, I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" Prim steps forward.
"All right! Lets get this going!" He laughs, bounding to his side.
"Two pokemon!" Prim calls, and he nods, taking out two pokeballs.
"Alright guys, while they do their thing, let us keep moving." Gardenia stations Fantina and Crasher to wait with her, and ushers us away.
"But, wait! I want to watch!" Rayna groans, and Volkner laughs.
"You can, but we wont have enough time for you to battle then." She sighs, but smiles and heads on.
"Next up here, is the beautiful Miss Bertha!" Maylene waves us in.
The room is very dry, and there is lots of sand everywhere. A high built wooden path/bridge leads us to the middle of the room, containing the battle field.
"Hello dears!" A small voice calls out, and I have to turn around to try to find the source.
"Oh dear, I'm down here!" It says, and I look down, to see Bertha.
She is quite... petite, just under about half my height, with thick locks of silver hair and a thick white coat.
I kneel down.
"I apologize, Miss Bertha. How are you today?" I ask, shaking her hand.
"I am doing swell, now that I have visitors! Volkie, what brings you to my fine establishment?" I watch as Volkner recoils at the nickname, and the other leaders giggle behind their hands.
He explains who we are and why we are here, but before anyone has the chance to volunteer, Rayna jumps forward.
"May I battle you, Bertha? It would be an honour!" Everyone recoils in shock at the sudden outburst, but Bertha chuckles and nods, stepping onto a pokemon I hadn't noticed before and whisking away to the other side of the field.
Gardenia and Maylene stay with her, as we head on.
I can feel the heat emanating from the door ahead of us, and I know what type this member is.
The door opens, and the heat hits us.
There is lava coming out of spouts on the walls, and flowing like a rive below us, in a ravine type area. We are standing on a large metal bridge that spans the entirety of the room, and there is a man about halfway through, sitting on a chair talking to... a Rapidash?
His hair is bright red, in a large afro, and he is wearing jeans and a yellow shirt, that perfectly showcases his build.
"Yo! Whats up, dudes & dudettes?" He asks, standing.
Him and Volkner embrace quickly.
Roark explains everything quickly.
"Ah! So, who is brave enough to battle me, the amazing Flint!" He pounds his chest, laughing.
"I will." Nareen steps forward before me and Matt can say anything.
"Sounds good, sweetheart. Let us begin!" They head off, as we head into the final Elite 4 room, leaving Byron and Roark.
We step in, but nothing is too exciting in this room, just a lot of floating objects and a man, who is currently floating around playing cards with a pokemon... an Alakazam.
"Visitors!" He laughs, landing beside us.
He is wearing a gorgeous red/pink suit, and his hair is a light purple, covering most of his face.
"I'll do it!" Matthew leaps forward, shaking the mans hand, and we all laugh.
After explaining our situation, Lucian very quickly agrees to battle, and Candice stays with Matthew.
Volkner waves as he leads me to the champions room, and my heart is racing.
"I'm not battling... the champion... am I?" I stutter, trying to catch my breath.
"Hey, hey! Kid, calm down! Your'e having a panic attack." He sits me down on the stairs up to the Champions room, and hands me a bottle of water.
I take it, but can't hold it steady to my mouth, I'm shaking so bad.
I've never had this kind of anxiety before, so this is quite scary.
"Listen kid, I heard about your grandmother, and I want you to know that none of us would fault you if you needed to take a break." Volkner says quietly, rubbing my arm.
"I'm... f-fine. L-lets go." I stand, a new determination flowing through me.
What would Grandma Tottie say if I gave up right now? I have the opportunity of a lifetime staring me in the face, there is no way I could ever turn it down.
We enter the final room, and my heart calms.
The room is black, with billowing lace curtains that reveal huge windows that reach from the floor to the roof.
There is a gentle breeze carrying through the room, and the distinct smell of lavender soothes my emotions, calming me right down as we head up to the main platform.
We make it up the stairs, and I see her.
Her floor-length platinum blonde hair is tied up in a ponytail, with four black hair accessories fanned out up top. She has a black jacket tied around her waist, and her shirt is a teal colour, with black shorts cropped to above her knees.
"Cynthia!" Volkner laughs, hugging her.
"Oh, Volkner! What a pleasant surprise! I was just tending to the gardens!" She dusts her hands off on her shorts, before hugging me as well.
"H-hi C-c-cynthia..." I mumble, my anxiety back full force.
"Aren't you adorable! So, what brings you to my quarters?" She asks, and Volkner explains.
"The TeamRace, eh? That's some pretty hardcore stuff." She whistles, leading us to a sitting area.
"Tea? Coffee?" She asks, and we respectfully decline.
"So, um... Miss Cynthia... I was hoping... that I could... battle you? Five on five?" I ask, and she nods, deep in thought.
"Yes... yes! That would be most delightful!" She laughs, standing and placing her jacket on the chair behind her.
"Oh! Okay!" I laugh, standing up and grabbing my first pokemon in excitement.
She leads me to my area, and heads to hers. Volkner pulls up a chair.
"Five on five?" She asks, confirming, and I nod.
She sends out her first pokemon.
Out of her pokeball, comes a long, slender pokemon with a beautiful tail and wonderful markings on its face.
"Milo!" It sings, causing my heart to jump.
"Go, Belle!" I release her, and she hops happily into place.
Cynthia gestures for me to go first.
"Belle, use Thunder!"
"Milotic, Hydro Pump!"
Belle summons a dark cloud above the opposing Milotic, calling forth a devastating bolt of electricity upon it.
But before it strikes, Milotic is able to get a Hydro Pump out, and both attacks hit at the same time.
Belle stands, the attack not having had much effect, but Milotic is a bit worse for wear.
"Miloooo!" It moans, looking weak.
"Belle, Thunder Shock!"
"Milotic, Aqua Ring and Rain Dance!"
Milotic summons a ring of water around it, and I watch as it slowly heals itself.
Belle throws a thick bolt of lightning right into the ring, disrupting it and hurting Milotic, but not quite enough to knock it out.
Milotic summons forth a handful of dark clouds, making the entire field slick with rain.
Milotic starts sliding around, as if it's on ice.
"Now, Milotic! Use Aqua Tail!"
"Belle, Thunder!"
Milotic takes off with breakneck speed towards Belle, as Belle uses the clouds from the Rain Dance to summon her attack.
I watch in slow motion as Milotic's tail slams into Belle, as Belle's attack slams Milotic to the ground, and all of a sudden there is a bright, white, light.
"No way..." I gasp, as Belle evolves.
"Amp! Ampharos!" She calls out, as the light fades, revealing her new form.
Milotic raises as well, the Aqua Ring working faster due to the rain.
"Alright, Belle! Let's finish it off with Thunder Bolt!"
"Milotic, Water Pulse!"
Belle summons a large sphere of electricity, and I realize instantly that this is her new move, Electro Ball.
The ball flies swiftly into Milotic, throwing it off the platform and into the wall.
Chuckling, Cynthia returns Milotic, grabbing another pokeball.
"Roserade, I require assistance!" She releases another pokemon I do not recognize.
"Rose." It cooe's, and I notice its voice is quite deep.
He laughs, offering a flower to Belle.
Belle giggles, leaning in to grab it.
"Belle, NO!"
"Roserade, Magical Leaf!"
From the flower that he offered to Belle, pink petals shoot out, slicing Belle as she shouts, stepping back and tripping.
I watch in horror as the petals persist until she passes out.
I return her.
"You did amazing, baby girl. I love you, and I'll see you soon." I pick out my next pokeball.
"Harriot, go!"
Harriot lands gracefully, her flames reminding me of a sunset, with hues of orange, red, and pink.
"Rapi!" She whinnies, stomping, and Roserade's eyes go wide at the new opponent.
"Harriot, Flame Charge!"
"Roserade, Acid Drench!"
Harriot wills her flames to cover every square inch of her body, making her form flit like a flame, as she charges Roserade.
He, meanwhile, spouts a large layer of acid onto Harriot.
I watch as her flames start to go out, when suddenly, they burst back ten times stronger than before, and are now blue with heat.
"DASH!" She screams, slamming full force into the unsuspecting rose pokemon.
Roserade screams as he burns from the impact, and finally succumbs to the pain, falling over.
Harriot trots back, but I notice her sides heaving. That took a lot of energy out of her.
"Garchomp!" Cynthia releases her next pokemon, a large dragon pokemon.
"Harriot, Flamethrower!"
"Garchomp, Dig!"
As Harriot throw's a huge wall of flame at the opposing dragon type pokemon, it digs a hole, disappearing, as the flames work their way over the hole.
I have an idea.
"Harriot, use flamethrower in the hole!"
"GARCHOMP GET OUT!" But its to late.
Harriot positions herself over the hole, breathing breath after breath of blue hot flames into it, and there is a wailing from somewhere in the ground.
Garchomp flies out of the first hole, slamming into Harriot, and throwing her off the platform.
I return her before she can hit the ground.
"Apo! Your turn!" I release him, and he smiles as he lands.
"WHOO! YOU GOT THIS!" I hear a cheering behind me, and turn to see Prim, Fantina, Crasher, and Aaron, all watching.
I chuckle, looking back at the battle.
I watch as Gatchomp slams into Apo. I must have missed her attack order.
Apo flies up into the air, and I have another plan.
"Dragon Rage!" I call.
"Dragon Rage as well!" Cynthia shouts.
But instead of the usual beam of draconic energy, Apo sends out a shock wave of purple energy, effectively negating Garchomp's attack, and doing massive damage.
Dragon Pulse.
I whoop, as he lands.
"Garchomp, no more games! Dragon Claw!"
"Apophis, use Dragon Pulse again!"
Garchomp shoots forward with blinding speed, but as it goes to swing, Apo does the unnexpected.
Apo chomps onto Garchomps leg.
"GAR?" Garchomp screams as he flings Apo around, but Apo is sending wave after wave of Dragon Pulse directly into Garchomps body.
Finally, is a stroke of genius, Garchomp is able to smash a Dragon Tail into Apo, but by that point they both are too tired to continue.
As Apo releases, he sends one more devastating wave of energy, rendering Garchomp unconscious, but Apo soon topples as well, the battle proving too much.
We both return our pokemon, already grabbing our second-last pokeball's.
"Togekiss!"
"Cleo!"
Cleo lands gently, purring happily to be back in battles, as Togekiss floats gingerly to the ground, bowing respectfully.
"Dazzling Gleam!" Cynthia orders, and Togekiss jumps into action.
"Night Slash!"
Cleo leaps, narrowly avoiding the beam of fairy infused energy emerging from Togekiss's mouth, and lands on top of the unsuspecting fairy type, slamming the airborne bird into the ground.
Cleo proceeds to savagely tear into Togekiss's back, before it can shake her off.
"Fairy Wind!"
"Assurance!"
Cleo jumps out of the way, but the wave of energized wind slams her into the grund, holding her down.
Out of nowhere, Cleo sends a sickening aura towards Togekiss, throwing it back.
"Dark Pulse!" I hear Matthew laugh behind me.
"Night Slash!"
"Finish her with Fleur Cannon!"
As Cleo sinks her claws into Togekiss's back, Togekiss releases a devastating shot of energy, hitting her head on.
As the dust settles, both pokemon are gasping to catch their breath, and barely able to stand.
"Cleo, return!"
"Togekiss, come back to me!"
"Effie!"
"Lucario!"
Lucario lands gracefully, stepping into a defensive position, as Effie swims quickly through the air.
"You got this!" I call, and Effie smiles back at me.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
As Lucario sends a sphere of pure aural energy careening towards Effie, I feel the ring on my finger warm up.
Everything slows down as my hand stretches out in front of me of it's own volition, and my voice isn't mine as I call out.
"EFFIE, MEGA EVOLUTION!"