Part 2, Chapter 9: Know
As the summer air began to gradually transition to the cool breezes of fall, Julia stood in front of a table and set her Trainer Tech on an electronic scanner, pressing a green button once her four Pokémon appeared on the screen.
"Thank you for registering. You're free to head inside the arena. Next!" the administrator in front of her cried out, adjusting his crimson tie while he spoke.
Julia nodded and reattached her device, walking forward to see the full view of a modern concrete arena covered with glass in the front to separate the upper levels from the outside. The words "Panicium Arena" exuded above the front entrance, though she had a sense of Déjà vu that the stadium appeared identical in construction to Bichon Arena as if the design was thoughtlessly replicated.
Her thoughts began to dissipate, however, as she approached her new friends that were past the registration process already. "You feel ready?" Kanu asked her.
Julia ruffled through her dark brown hair. "As ready as I'll ever be." The three of them turned to enter Panicium Arena, noting another eerily identical interior. She looked back to Kanu again. "You said you and Alexis won your first battles?"
Before Kanu could answer, Alexis intervened. "In spectacularly dramatic fashion. Kanu here didn't have as much flair, but he got the job done."
Kanu felt a bit slighted by the interruption. "Just hope I don't face you next, else I may have to up the dramatic tension," he smirked up at Alexis. Kanu then had a thought and turned to face the blond boy. "Oh, by the way, Ivan, did you win your first battle?"
"Naturally. It was against some nobody. Julia, what about the previous opponent that beat you? Should we be afraid of them?"
Julia stopped walking, short of the podium, slumping her shoulders. "It was Gabriel."
The three stopped and turned back to face her. "You mean, you knew him when we found him at the golf course?" Alexis asked.
Julia spoke up, somewhat ashamed. "Sorry, I didn't want to bring it up since it didn't seem relevant. Besides, I'm sure he forgot about me already. No sense worrying about those you defeated."
Kanu disregarded her moping and stuck his right hand out. "Then let's all take home a victory, so they have no choice but to remember you."
Julia was taken aback, then smiled. "You know flattery far too well. Alright, let's do it," she said before placing her hand on top of his.
"The Champion's here!" Everyone began to hear echoed chatter as they turned forward again to see Ryuta ascending the podium. Other trainers began to crowd around the podium as Ryuta adjusted his beige gloves and navy-blue coat with red streaks.
"Good morning, all the Master Trials contestants!" he loudly announced as the chatter amongst the trainers turned to silence. "I hope the journey here has been pleasant so far. It'll be a good warm-up as your true challenges lie ahead."
"You could say that again," Ivan muttered under his breath, putting his hands into his pockets.
"You all have a record of your battles that will be tallied as you continue past Round 1. Though those that lost no longer have the right to receive special admission to Victory Road by the first six keys, do not be discouraged. Continue to rack up as many wins as you can."
A few people over from Kanu's group, a focused Marcus stared at Ryuta, pondering his potential opponent. Maybe that's a good thing, he thought.
"Since the tournament is a round-robin structure, you all will be appropriately seeded after the results of each round. Your seeding will be determined by your win-loss record, and if there is a tie, as will be the case a lot today, the highest level of your registered Pokémon will determine the tiebreaker."
Kanu took notice of this clause. But that still leaves a lot of ties remaining since we're all at relatively the same skill level. I wonder if the matchup process is then determined randomly if the tiebreaker fails.
"And with that, all trainers with a 1-0 record will be matched together, and those with an 0-1 record will be matched together. Your prize for victory today is the coveted Meadow Key!" Ryuta held up a similar Victory Key to the previous one, but this time, the key appeared coated in a green fuzz resembling grass.
As the other trainer stared in awe at their potential prize, Julia only had one pure conviction plaguing her mind. I must win that key. I must.
"And with that, here are today's exciting matchups! Good luck to all of you!" Ryuta motioned to the leaderboard, watching an animatic of all the trainer's faces rearranged into two separate rows: one for those with a 1-0 record, and those with an 0-1 record.
"No way," Kanu exclaimed as he determined his 1-0 opponent: Ivan. He turned to the blond swordsman, who was surprised for an instant, but then turned back to stretching.
"Well, unfortunately for you, I'm getting familiar with your Pokémon and their moves. I would not expect me to go easy on you."
Kanu chuckled nervously at the prospect of dealing with a steely-eyed opponent. "I could say the same about you."
Alexis looked around the board before finding her 1-0 opponent, one she was familiar with. "Alright, I got Gabriel! I'll be sure to dedicate an attack for you, Julia!"
She turned to Julia, seeing her squinting at her matchup as if it was hard to read. "I can't tell who my opponent is. But he sure doesn't look too friendly."
Kanu browsed the leaderboard on the row of 0-1 opponents before he found Julia. Her opponent appeared to have cold blue eyes with platinum blonde hair, combined with an expression like he was about to run his head into a brick wall. Kanu's heart sank as he easily identified him. "My hometown rival."
"What?" Julia looked at him, surprised he never mentioned having a rival.
"I assure you, I'm not friendly on the battlefield."
Kanu and Julia looked back to see Marcus approaching them, a similar sharp expression covering his face. He felt sick having to encounter Kanu again after his loss but was determined to claw his way back up the leaderboard.
"Marcus? I'm surprised you didn't run back to Kanto with that fragile ego of yours," Alexis snarked at him.
He turned to both her and Kanu. "And I'm surprised you managed to gain quite a friend group together. Needing other's useless advice so soon?"
Alexis grits her teeth, but before she could speak, Julia walked forward and held her hand out to him. "Apologies for the awkwardness. I'm Julia. A pleasure to meet you."
"Don't bother, Julia. It's not a pleasure for him at all," Kanu warned her from behind.
Marcus smirked and briefly shook her hand, much to Kanu and Alexis' surprise. "At least you have a little respect. Unfortunately for you, I don't take it easy on anyone, even scared little girls."
Alexis' anger was getting quick to boil over, but Julia paid the comment no mind. Instead, she painted her face with a sarcastic yet somewhat nervous smile. "An accurate read. Though, I don't appreciate being lectured by scared little boys who wound up in the loser's bracket like me."
Marcus frowned, flabbergasted at someone easily turning his insult back to him, something that Kanu never had a talent for. "I'll remember that" was all he could say before starting to turn away. Then, he stopped for a moment and turned back to Kanu, remembering something. "By the way, Kanu, if you're smart, you'll watch Element's match today."
"Who's that?" he asked.
Marcus pointed to the board. "The one girl in the upper right in the winner's bracket." She appeared as Deon's opponent. She was a seemingly ordinary trainer with caramel blond high pigtails, piercing burgundy eyes, and a smile that radiated confidence. "I unintentionally ran into her on Route 2. I can't believe I'm telling you this, but she gives me a dangerous feeling."
Kanu quickly dug in to match Julia's comeback. "Scared she'll knock you out of the tournament?"
Marcus raised his voice, feeling as if he was not being listened to. "I don't know how, but she's at a skill level far beyond what we could dream of, despite her Pokémon not exceeding the level cap. Trust me, I sensed her strength. If we ignore her, she'll knock us BOTH out of the tournament." He walked away as Kanu stared back at the board.
"Element…" he muttered aloud, wondering if Marcus was trying to psyche him out, telling the whole truth, or somewhere in between.
Alexis paid no mind to Marcus' warning; instead, she gleefully walked forward and casually laid an arm on Julia's shoulder. "Way to go! Keep telling those idiot boys off."
Julia blushed slightly. "Well, Dad always said I was good at reading people. Maybe they can get a little venom out of my tongue now and then."
"No, no, do it all the time! Trust me, the power trip is worth every Poké."
Kanu smiled at the two conversing as he looked back at Ivan tightening his Trainer Tech, also seemingly ignoring Marcus' warning. Stay focused. One battle at a time, Kanu thought as he slapped his cheeks to snap him out of his trance.
In a few short hours, the quiet, clean stadium became swarmed with thousands of spectators awaiting an announcement. "Live from Arena 3 at Panicium Arena, this is the second round of the 2018 Sigma Master Trials! Here are your hosts, myself, Straight, and my partner, Ballin'!"
The two commentators settle in as their voices echoed throughout the quarter of the stadium, overlooking a rocky battlefield with several small explosive steam vents.
"Man, Straight, there are so many rounds we've been through already, I can't even keep track!" Ballin' announced in his usual spastic excitement.
"It's been one, buddy," Straight quietly and embarrassedly corrected him.
"This is why I let you be the statistics guy. Now, on our fiery steam vent stage, we have two contestants from the winner's bracket: the Cyllage City tutee, Deon, and the mysterious newcomer, Element!"
On opposite ends of the field, the tall, strong-willed Deon ran onto the field, his sporty tank flowing with his movements, while the much more subjugated Element walked forward, hands in her pockets and smiling seeing a confident opponent.
"I remember you," Deon said as he stepped onto his square on the battlefield. "You lectured me about my grudge against the rich boy. Well, if you were trying to de-motivate me, I assure you, it won't work today."
Element folded her arms, instantly becoming annoyed with his proclamation. "I'm already sick of you trainers talking about motivation, grudges, and all these other external factors that drive your journey. There's only one rule to be a great Pokémon trainer: do what you can to make your Pokémon the best."
Deon scoffed as the two competitors appeared on the scoreboard above. He noted only two Poké Ball slots available on Element's team, while Deon had his expected three. "You only have two Pokémon?"
"Correction. I only registered two," she answered bluntly.
Deon took a deep breath to calm his brewing anger at her seemingly mocking him. "That confidence is getting pretty irritating. I think me and my Pokémon should teach you a lesson in humility," he said as he tightened the strap on his Trainer Tech.
Element stayed silent for a few moments, but deep beneath her uncaring exterior, a brewing sense of overwhelming excitement to prove her superiority was occurring. "I'm looking forward to it," she said with a sudden change in tone.
As she prepared her Trainer Tech, Marcus watched in one of the middle rows of the stands, eyes squared on her. No one from Kanu's group appeared to be present, much to his disappointment. "Alright, now what will you do against an actual opponent, Element? Show me."
"Battle!" Deon and Element shouted.
"Let's give her our best. Go get 'em, Heracross!" He threw out a familiar blue insectoid Pokémon, swinging her horn around to declare immediate dominance on the field.
Element lifted a Poké Ball out casually. "Fennekin should do." She sent out a small foxlike Pokémon with pale yellow fur and tufts of dark orange fur protruding from his large ears.
"Oh ho! Element's starter Pokémon finally makes an appearance!" Ballin' commentated after quickly flipping through his notes on the two trainers.
Seeing her starter, Marcus stared at Froakie's Poké Ball. "A Fire type? Good," he said, seeing his immediate advantage if it came down to battling her.
Deon, however, was not happy at his current matchup. Bad news for Heracross, he thought."Return," he said as he recalled Heracross immediately back to his Poké Ball. "I'll send out my starter as well. Tepig!" He threw out his fire starter: an orange piglike Pokémon with black ears and a red snout. He felt comfortable on the hot, rocky battlefield, as did Fennekin.
Element was well aware of his expected switch. "Too easy. Psyshock." Fennekin glowed purple and protruded an odd yet shockingly strong wave of psychic energy that flooded the top of the battlefield. Little psychic bolts rained down on the battlefield as Tepig quickly began to run around between the rocks but was quickly trapped by falling bolts as one finally struck him, followed by a rain of the remaining ones before a steam vent erupted and concealed them. The psychic attack felt like an electric scrambling of his mind.
"Tepig!" Deon cried out as Tepig appeared significantly damaged. He stared back at Element. "Lucky break. At least he can use his Oran Berry to heal." Tepig munched on a held Oran Berry as the smoke cleared.
"Since you're already predictable, let me help you out a little," Element confidently spoke. "Fennekin is equipped with Choice Scarf. Once activated, its speed is boosted immensely at the cost of only using one move while on the field. You could say that Fennekin is now "locked" into using Psyshock."
Deon looked at the glowing blue scarf around Fennekin but couldn't logically take her word for it. "Like I have any obligation to believe you. Tackle!"
Tepig rushed Fennekin by jumping behind rock after rock as the firefox shot up another burst of psychic energy. However, as Tepig closed the distance, it only left the fire pig wide open for another shocking psychic attack, this time at close range. Despite this, Tepig lunged for a full-force tackle at Fennekin, landing the hit but barely able to retreat under cover in the rocks, exhausted and about to collapse.
Element was unimpressed, seeing Fennekin at a loss of only 6 HP. "Try again."
Deon quickly pulled out two Poké Balls before Fennekin could attack again. "Return, Tepig!" he recalled his fire Pokémon with one of his Poké Balls. "Next up is Spearow!" he threw out his other one.
This time, a flying Pokémon appeared. Rough, brown plumage covered its head as it took to the air. However, the proud bird Pokémon only had a second to breathe air before another psychic attack came firing around him from all directions. Spearow managed to recover from a long fall and ate his held Oran Berry, but quickly devolved into a weak and exhausted agitated demeanor.
"Wow. Even with Spearow's Oran Berry to heal, Fennekin's relentless Psychock attacks can knock out Deon's Pokémon in two hits maximum," Straight calculated.
Deon felt completely minuscule, facing what seemed like a giant running him over at full steam. However, it seemed the giant was losing interest quickly. "If this is how you're going to be, I've misjudged you as potential competition. Let me get my Pokémon's experience and wrap this up. Return, Fennekin," she said as she held out a Poké Ball.
"Pursuit, Spearow!" Deon commanded quickly.
As Element began the process of recalling Fennekin, Spearow pursued the fleeing Fennekin and pecked the firefox Pokémon from behind, feeling a modicum of damage before being successfully recalled.
"Spearow lands a successful Pursuit on his fleeing foe, leading to double damage!" Ballin' clarified for the crowd.
However, Element seemed completely unfazed; if anything, she was getting more annoyed. "As I was saying. Espurr." She sent out another Pokémon, this time a pale gray feline Pokémon with tousled tufts of fur on its sides and pale purple eyes, staring blankly at her opponent. Deon also noticed her holding a purple orb.
"One last lesson before I finish this battle. Espurr is equipped with a Life Orb. This item, at the cost of 10% of the holder's HP each turn, increases their attack power significantly. Maybe you might get lucky and knock out Espurr with a flurry of weak attacks."
Deon's strong will was breaking into all-out frustration. "Enough! Use Peck!"
"Charge Beam," Element responded.
Spearow flew back into Element's territory to peck Espurr, but before the attack could land, Espurr charged a yellow bolt of electricity with her psychic power, then launched it with straight precision at the diving Spearow. The flying Pokémon fell hard to the rocks, knocked out.
"Spearow!" Deon cried out.
Espurr appeared to gain energy and power after the attack, just before her purple orb began to glow and sap life force from Espurr. "Oh, one more thing, Espurr's special attacking power increases with each successive use of Charge Beam," Element educated Deon, becoming more and more disassociated from the battle.
Deon silently recalled Spearow then threw out another Poké Ball. This time, a weakened Tepig returned for a repeat performance. "Use Ember!"
"Psyshock," Element sighed her command.
The orb glowed again as Espurr concentrated a similar shocking psychic attack that Fennekin used, but seemingly more potent. Tepig couldn't even get to Element's territory before the psychic shocks rained down with great accuracy, giving the weak Tepig no chance to dodge. He was knocked out in an instant as another steam vent erupted.
Element looked at her Trainer Tech, assessing the damage. "Oh, look at that. Espurr lost 6 HP purely by itself. Maybe you have a sliver of a chance," she condescendingly shouted at Deon.
As the dust settled, Deon recalled Tepig. "Shut up! You're up again, Heracross!" He threw out the blue bug Pokémon again, who dwarfed the small Espurr. "Aerial Ace!" was his first command.
Heracross opened her wings and flew towards Espurr at blinding speed. However, in the blink of an eye, Espurr identified Heracross' aerial position through the blurring speed, focused another psychic shock, and directed everything right at Heracross, scrambling the mind of the fighting bug Pokémon into dust. When the crowd was able to get a glimpse of what happened, Heracross lay fainted in front of Espurr.
Straight took a moment to collect what happened. "A-And that's it, ladies and gentlemen! Our victor in a second consecutive sweep: Element!"
Deon recalled Heracross and knelt in defeat, looking at his three Poké Balls. "Heracross, everyone, I'm so sorry. I let you all down."
Element recalled Espurr and walked up to Deon. "Oh, and one more thing if it makes you feel any better: I never came close to battling seriously."
She took the Meadow Key that the facilitator presented her and left the battlefield as Deon stared in shock and horror at how easily his great team was defeated.
Likewise, Marcus stared in shock at Element's offensive capabilities. Choice Scarf? Life Orb? Those movesets at those levels? She really is a monster.
About an hour later, Element walked over to the adjacent arena. From the high seats, she noticed the masked Tyrian battling Amber. Unfortunately for her, she seemed to have caught the end of it, as Beldum hit Pikachu with a destructive Take Down attack, knocking the yellow mouse Pokémon out.
"Pikachu, no!" Amber cried out.
"And that's all she wrote, folks! The winner is the great masked figure: Tyrian!" Ballin' declared.
Element smiled ear-to-ear, becoming more and more desperate for an actual challenge. Now we're both 2-0. Good. I can't wait to humiliate you in an official capacity down the road. Just don't embarrass yourself and lose until then.
As the battles continued into the early afternoon, Alexis and Kanu stood outside the entrance to the locker room, preparing for Kanu's battle.
"I'm surprised you're going through with this. You seem to take somewhat of a liking to Ivan," Alexis questioned.
"And you don't?"
"Of course not. Our relationship is professional. I just want to convince him that the UPRA has the compassion to fix their land dispute."
Kanu smirked. "Right, right. Just like your relationship with Julia is professional and not emotionally motivated."
Alexis quickly blushed and her words began to stammer. "W-what are you insinuating?"
Kanu opened the door to the locker room. "Hey, she's the people person. Maybe you should ask her if you think you have a chance with her."
Alexis stiffened up and blushed further. "That's not funny!"
"Yes, it is!" he shouted back before closing the door and taking a deep breath. He started to wash his face as he looked in the mirror.
"Ivan, your journey towards peace is a noble one, but your aggression on the matter won't convince them to change their minds. If it was that easy, they would've changed their ways years ago."
Ivan sat alone in the opposite locker room, sharpening Honedge with a rock in his bag that he pulled from the beach over the last week. "I probably know what you're thinking, Kanu. You think that by beating me and the Master Trials, you can change the UPRA from the inside. But you can't drain a swamp to find gold."
"The only path to change is through becoming Champion," Kanu continued.
"You have to uproot everything to find peace," Ivan continued.
"And that's exactly what I'm going to do," the two simultaneously declared without the other realizing.
A short while later, Arena 4 with a grass battlefield was packed with spectators, including Alexis and Julia.
Straight took the microphone to address the eager crowd. "We've seen some intense battles already, so let's keep the momentum going! First off is the hometown hero of Pallet from Kanto: Kanu!"
Kanu walked onto the battlefield, nervous enough to see the large crowd but also realizing he never directly fought Ivan and his sword-wielding style.
Ballin' took the mic next. "And his opponent, a man that seemingly does not have an address on his profile, the lawless hermit: Ivan!"
Ivan walked onto the battlefield, slightly perturbed at the description. Lawless hermit may be a bit of a stretch…
The two of them reached their squares at their respective ends of the battlefield. "I'm intrigued, Ivan. If you're so aware of all my moves and strategies, do you have the plan to counter all of them?" Kanu asked him.
"I do. Of course, I know you also have plans to counter me. We can continue this endless circling all we want, but at the end of the day, only one of us is getting that key."
Kanu appreciated his sportsmanship. "Then may the best man win."
Julia started to unconsciously shake her legs, her feet lightly stamping the ground in anxiety. "Man, it's so hard to cheer for someone here. Who should I favor?"
"Simple. You cheer for Kanu," Alexis responded, sitting next to her among the crowds.
"Oh, so you'll cheer for Ivan?"
Alexis stood up, indirectly answering her. "Kick butt out there, Kanu!"
Julia smiled sheepishly. "I think I just had my question answered."
The two teenagers prepared their Trainer Techs, holding a lot of respect for each other. "Battle!" they declared.
"I'll lead off with Starly!" Kanu started.
"And I choose Seedot!" Ivan responded.
The familiar Pokémon were sent out, as Starly flew up and set up aerial supremacy, while Seedot remained on the ground like a sitting duck. Good. His usual lead, Kanu took a mental note.
"Use Bide!" Ivan declared.
"Starly, Wing Attack!"
As Seedot bided herself with energy, Starly dive-bombed the still acorn Pokémon with a strong swipe of his wings, greatly damaging the biding Seedot.
"Yeah! That hit hard!" Alexis cheered on Starly.
Seedot drank her equipped Berry Juice, sucking on the sweet nectar. "Seedot drinks her Berry Juice to recover," Ivan told Kanu, though he appeared slightly worried about Starly's immense damage output.
Kanu was pleased with the outcome after the first turn. "Bide is always a good strategy to use to dish your damage out. But in Starly's case, it leaves Seedot as a sitting duck for consecutive super-effective attacks. Wing Attack again!"
Starly swooped down again for a consecutive attack, knocking Seedot straight with her wings. Seedot couldn't withstand a second flying attack and fell, the gathered energy dispersing into the air. Ivan recalled Seedot, accepting Starly as superior. "Impressive counter. Then, how will you deal with this?"
Ivan threw out a second Poké Ball, revealing it to be the sheathed Honedge that landed straight into the ground. Ivan pulled the sword out and wielded it with both arms, the sheath wrapping around his waist.
"There it is! Ivan's signature Honedge-wielding style!" Ballin' excitedly declared.
Kanu pulled out a Poké Ball. "I'll recall Starly and send out Charmander!" In an instant, the flying bird Pokémon was replaced with his burning fire lizard Pokémon, quietly staring down his new foe.
Given the free attack, Ivan bided his time and chose preparation. "Then I'll use Swords Dance!" Ivan danced with Honedge in his familiar sword-swinging ritual, doubling the Pokémon's attack power.
Julia tightened her grip on her thighs. "Kanu. If he takes an attack from Honedge like this…"
"Don't worry, he'll be alright. See that look in his eyes?" She pointed to Kanu staring down Ivn, intently. "I've only known him four weeks, and even I know that those mean he isn't backing down."
"Don't expect your fire attack to knock out Honedge easily." Ivan pointed Honedge at Kanu. "My dad's soul will burn brighter in this sword so neither you nor Alexis will be able to hurt me."
Kanu smiled respectfully. "Then why don't you both show me what you got, peacemaker of the plains?"
The two stared at each other for only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity for them both. Feelings of squandered potential, hatred toward a seemingly corrupt system, and mutual respect for their self-betterment all gradually melted away as they stared at each other with a simple conviction: to be the better trainer than their opponent. And they knew that this next attack would decide that course.
"Ember!"
"Tackle!"
Charmander shot a flurry of embers at a charging Ivan, many landing and singing the metal blade, greatly hurting Honedge. However, he was successful in the downswing of the sword to tackle Charmander to the ground. Ivan stared at the down Pokémon before the fire lizard jumped up and over Ivan by using Honedge as a springboard. Charmander only took about half his total health in damage, while Honedge lost significantly more. Ivan saw Charmander staring at him in the air, firmly dedicated to fighting for his trainer.
All he could do was accept the eventual outcome. I know now. "I return Honedge and replace it with Rowlet!"
In mere seconds, Ivan sheathed Honedge around his waist and sent out Rowlet, who took a subsequent Ember attack falling from the sky. Ivan ran back to his starting position as Charmander landed on the ground, while Rowlet struggled to get airborne after the super-effective attack.
"Charmander, let's keep going with Ember!" Kanu followed up.
"Use Tackle!" Ivan responded, still believing in Rowlet. However, before Rowlet could reach Charmander, he flew straight into another strong flurry of embers, knocking the grass owl Pokémon back to Ivan's territory, knocked out as the meadows began to singe.
"Thanks, Rowlet. Return," Ivan recalled Rowlet and unsheathed Honedge yet again.
Alexis stood up and fist-pumped herself. "Charmander is already proven to be faster than Honedge. Kanu has this in the bag!"
Julia stared back at Ivan, feeling bad for his situation yet pleased with Kanu's definitive performance. All she could do was watch the end and hope there would not be any hard feelings between the two.
"Kanu?" Ivan asked him as he gripped Honedge tightly.
"Yes?"
Ivan smiled in acceptance. "Let's make this world a better place."
Kanu nodded. "Ember!"
Ivan charged Charmander but was quickly overwhelmed by another flurry of embers. He attempted to guard with the sword edge, but the force of the embers knocked him and his Pokémon down to the ground before their swing could connect. Ivan felt he could barely lift the sword Pokémon before looking and seeing it knocked out.
"And that's the end! After an unexpected sword-wielding technique, Ivan is overwhelmed by Kanu, who takes home his second victory!" Ballin' declared.
Ivan took a breath of defeat as he stared at the sky. Kanu walked over to help him up by grabbing his hands. Shaymin, I think I fully understand what you wanted to show me. There is infinite potential in this world, even to change the hearts and minds of tyrants. Trust me, Dad, I won't fully rest until I finish your work and bring everlasting peace for us. And I'll claw out from the depths to win this tournament.
Ivan shook Kanu's hand in gratitude as the facilitator gave Kanu his Meadow Key. The intelligent boy had a hard time balancing his gratitude for Ivan battling him while basking in the glory of a second consecutive victory. He held the key high in the air as Ivan, Alexis, and Julia all clapped for him.