That night after the commotion of cleaning until the house was utterly spotless, Touko and Touya quickly tucked themselves in and turned off the lights, but neither of them could feign sleep, even long after the hour of midnight. They lay still in their respective beds and mindlessly stared at the dark ceiling with thoughts buzzing around of their future Pokemon. However, their minds still kept drifting about their grandfather who recently passed and the great times they shared as a family, but they vividly replayed the video of his last match against Ghetsis just months before now.

It was a fate-defying close call—both were down to their remaining Pokemon out of six. The landscape was torn and both Pokemon were exhausted almost to the point where they faced with the fate of dropping dead. But Alder was stuck with the shorter stick; Ghetsis's Cofagrigus, Majora, had poisoned Alder's ambitious Quilava, Ike—who evolved into his final form just a week before his Trainer's death. With one final Shadow Ball from Majora, Ike was almost knocked unconscious. It was the most brutal battle Alder had ever participated in. It was too horrific for his old yet kind heart to suffer through. Before the finishing blow fired from Majora's ghost-like hands, Alder quickly grabbed the towel hanging from his shoulder and tossed it into the ring, stunning every spectator in the stadium, city, and at home. The crowd gasped and chattered viciously with each other; the announcer stuttered with his report; the viewers cried out their disbeliefs; time stood still.

Alder had never lost a battle this extreme for several decades, but he felt no regret for his actions. He rushed blindly into the battlefield, despite the match not officially ending, and caught the trembling Quilava in his arms before he faltered to the ground. Ike was near unconscious by the poison and other injuries that made Alder curse himself for being so reckless. He would never forgive himself if another of his precious partners died because of his prideful foolishness. To keep his beloved Pokemon awake, he repeatedly called out his name until he was on the brink of tears, screaming for the nurses who quickly arrived on the scene. However, he had difficulty in letting Ike go. The poor beast closed his hurt sapphire eyes and lay still in his Trainer's arms, coaxing Alder's tears to fall. Nurse Joy carefully intervened; she took Ike from his arms and gingerly placed him on a stretcher.

Within minutes, panic spread throughout the stadium, the city, and the homes, and through the hearts of all who watched the scene unfold before their eyes. Alder had no time to waste—he had to stand by his Pokemon's side. He left the scene alongside the nurses, but he could not contain his flow of tears upon seeing Ike's battered body.

Ghetsis, on the other hand, smirked upon seeing that he was the victor of his long awaited match with Alder. He recalled Majora and accepted the coveted Champion Cup of Unova and title of Unova Champion.

That image still haunted the grandchildren's mind. They felt angry and frustrated with the result, yet they felt horribly concerned for Ike, whom they never saw after that match or heard of again. They assumed that another one of their grandfather's beloved Pokémon perished and their grandfather now living peacefully in Heaven with both his Pokemon at his side once more.

Touko turned on her side to stare out of the window. Sleep was out of the question. The image of that small body bloody, bruised, and broken—but the poor thing still kept going—was too much to bear. She felt a tear leak out of her eye and dive into the pillow. She knew Touya was awake and watching her, but she refused to look at him in fear of breaking down into tears.

"Hey, Touko, are you still awake?" He whispered very softly in a calm voice that she wished she had. It always quelled her emotions no matter how frazzled or upset she became, but it was something only Touya possessed as replacement of her impatience. "Touko?" She took deep breaths and wiped her eyes upon the blankets before turning over fully and facing her brother. Through the darkness, she was sure he could tell she was crying—there was usually this glossy sparkle in her blue eyes that always gave that away. She regretted seeing that video, but she knew if she told her mom, she would never hear the end of her mistake. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" Her voice smoothed out, to her surprise, as she brushed her brunette bangs from her dampened eyes and held back more tears.

"Because usually you hit me if I ever try to talk to you while you're sleeping. So, what's up?" Touko remained silent and quickly closed her eyes to block out that image, but it kept replaying in an endless stream in her mind. This caused Touya some alarm, especially when he heard her quiet sobs and saw sparkling trails of liquid upon her cheeks. "Touko?" He quickly sat up to get a better look, but he found himself climbing out of bed and kneeling on the floor right in front of her. "Touko, what's wrong? What's up with you? Was it that video? I told you it would be too scary for you. Maybe you aren't cut out to be a Trainer after all."

"Shut up! Shut up, you idiot! Shut up!" She snatched her dampened pillow and quickly struck him multiple times until he retreated to a safe distance. She dropped the weapon and hugged her knees while sitting up then cried into them at full force. Touya regained his courage and wind to approach Touko and sat next to her on the bed.

"Seriously, was it that video? I bet that Pokemon's fine."

"How do you know that? You saw how bad it looked! Grandpop never talked about that Pokemon! We don't know if it's okay. What's going to happen to them, anyway? They don't have a Trainer anymore."

"Maybe they'll be released into the wild? They're strong enough to survive, right?"

"That's horrible!" She began to wipe her eyes on the sheets and smacked him on his shoulder, causing him to flinch. "How can you say that? They grew up with a human. I don't think they'll be able to survive by themselves."

"Then where will they go?" He quickly rubbed his shoulder to alleviate the pain while she stretched her legs out and stared down to her feet.

"I don't know! Maybe some Pokemon Daycare thing somewhere? They'll take good care of them."

"But they're battling Pokemon. They need Trainers. I'm sure they'll end up fine, even that Quilava. It's rare for a Pokemon to die after a battle, right?"

"I guess. Why didn't Grandpop tell us what happened? He told Mom he gave up battling for good."

"I don't know. It's kind of bad, too. He was a great Trainer. I guess he called it quits after Quilava got hurt. I don't blame him. He lost one of his Pokemon before. Loosing another is way too much. I bet that Quilava became the death of him—uh-oh!" She readied another pillow to pulverize him but he slipped away after one blow to the head.

"Touya, you idiot! Shut up!" She threw the weapon at him once he retreated to his own bed then gathered the two lost pillows.

"Ouch! Why do you keep hitting me all the time? What did I ever do to you?"

"Nothing. It's just fun to hit you. But I don't want to talk about that Quilava anymore. Or any other of his Pokemon either." She turned over and stared at the clock. It was about two in the morning and neither had gone to sleep. "Let's just sleep. It's way past midnight."

"You know, when I get my first Pokemon, I'm going to take my first step to becoming Champion someday." Touko snickered loudly, causing Touya to glare venomously at the back of her head. "What's so funny?"

"You are." She turned to face him. "You seriously think that you're champion material?"

"Yeah, so? It's in my blood."

"And what about me? We have the same blood."

"But I'm a guy." It was Touko's turn to glare at her brother until he dived under the covers to protect himself. "And guys are Champions."

"Girls can be Champions, too." Touya laughed loudly, enough to make Touko swat him again with a pillow. "It's true!"

"Fat chance! I'll become Champion even before you can get eight badges! I'll be just like Grandpop."

"Yeah, right! I have more of a chance because I learned more than you at school. I know what I'm doing when it comes to Pokemon."

"We'll just see who's better."

"Fine, but let's see who can wake up earlier. Good Trainers always get up early and hit the road at dawn."