Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!

Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga

Chapter Fifty Three

The Final Frontier

"You know, after all we talked about last night, not once did anyone bring up what we're going to do next." Ashley said to the group. It was the next morning and they had gathered in the hotel restaurant for a quick breakfast while they decided on what to do next.

"Right. We established that the...'hunters', as you and Rina call them, aren't actually making any major movements in the Battle Frontier." Melany said, sitting back in her seat and sipping her tea. She had already finished the bagel she ordered. "Still, even so..." She began to say, setting the cup back down on the table again. "We know they're here, capturing pokemon, so there's no point leaving right away."

"So I guess getting this really was pointless." May tossed her Spirits Symbol into the middle of the table. She picked up her glass of orange juice, which she had along with a bowl of cereal, then quickly downed the rest and sighed. "I didn't even plan to challenge any facilities when I got here..."

"I guess that makes two of us then." Rina said, putting down her spoon and reaching into her pocket to pull out her Brave Symbol, received from the Battle Pyramid. She tossed it onto the table next to May's. "I thought the Battle Pyramid seemed like the best place to hide a base or something and ended up challenging the leader so I could keep one of the wild pokemon I found there..."

"I didn't know you even challenged any facilities after we split up." May said to Rina.

"I tried challenging a second facility but..." Rina glanced toward Melany and blushed slightly.

"-That metal pokemon of her's was a terrifying monster to face...-" Pippi said to herself, sitting in Rina's lap as usual. She shivered, recalling her defeat at Metagross' hands. Melany's first pokemon of the match almost took out each of Rina's pokemon on its own before finally being stopped by Flareon.

"What can I say? I was already familiar with that particular battle format." Melany said, grinning sheepishly. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out two symbols of her own, then tossed them onto the table. "Actually, I managed to get symbols from two facilities that used similar rules to Battle Tents I had entered before. I don't think we have any actual use for them."

"Bragging rights seems to be about all they're good for. Its not like the leagues where you beat the gyms and then challenge the Elite Four." Ashley reached into her pocket and took out two more symbols. "Anyway, I've got two myself." She said, tossing the two into the pile with the others. Six gold Battle Frontier symbols were now gathered in the center of the table.

"With those six symbols, that means there's only one facility left unchallenged. That would be the Battle Dome." Melany said.

"Of course, since you've already established that the Battle Frontier has been a waste of time, you're not going to bother with it, right?" Aisha said to them.

"It's still about all we've got." Ashley said with a shrug, ignoring Aisha. "We don't have any other leads at this point other than the fact that they've been showing up at the Battle Frontier. It might be best if we wait to see if they show up again and challenge the remaining facility in the meantime."

"So, the Battle Dome, whats it like anyway?" May asked, looking at Melany expectantly.

"What makes you think I know?" Melany asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you know everything, Mr. Know-it-all." May replied with a smirk.

"Know-it-all? Her?" Haruka laughed. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Only pokemon, and even then pretty much Hoenn only. Pretty sure I said that before." Melany muttered in response. "Anyway, I have no idea. Never really looked into it."

"I think its just a typical tournament-style arena, except you go in with three pokemon and only use two in each match." Ashley explained. "I checked out the different facilities for myself. There's not a whole lot to it really." She shrugged then glanced over at Melany. "So do you really know a lot about pokemon in Hoenn then?"

Melany chuckled and shook her head. "She's exaggerating a bit. I mostly familiarized myself with them and got a general idea of their capabilities so I wouldn't ever be at a disadvantage because my opponent has a pokemon I'm unfamiliar with."

"I guess you didn't have that advantage against me then, huh?"

"True enough, but turns out you can guess a pokemon's type easily enough just by looking at it." Melany replied with a shrug. "Though, anyone who has a pokedex doesn't even need to do that much..."

"I think I'm the only one here without a pokedex." Rina said, breathing a heavy sigh.

"On that note..." May took her pokedex from her belt and opened it up. She quickly scrolled through the list of pokemon, selecting the page of the unknown pokemon in Rina's possession, then showed it to Melany. "I don't suppose thats on the list of pokemon you've memorized?"

"Hmm?" Melany examined the picture briefly then shook her head. "It isn't, but it does look somewhat familiar. I think it was in a report once and believed to be a pokemon that crashed into our planet from space. No one really knows anything about it, but the pokemon has been called Deoxys." Melany blinked and looked back at May. "Don't tell me you've caught a pokemon that looks like that!"

"I didn't. She did." May replied, pointing at Rina.

Melany blinked in disbelief. "Oh..." She raised her hand to her mouth and coughed to clear her throat. "In any case...you'd be better off going to the space center in Mossdeep if you want to find out more about Deoxys."

"Ah, ok! That sounds like a good idea!" Rina replied, nodding in agreement.

"I'll go too then." Ashley said, smiling at Rina. "Its been a while since we've done anything together anyway, and its not like all four of us are needed to enter the Battle Dome anyway."

"So I guess that leaves just me and May." Melany said. Looking back at May, she noticed a malevolent glint in the girl's eye.

"Just as planned!" May thought.

"Wait, what part of that was planned exactly?" Haruka asked her.

"That's a really uncomfortable look she's giving me..." Melany thought, shivering.


After deciding what to do for the day, the girls quickly cleaned up and left the restaurant. They stopped in the middle of the Battle Frontier before parting ways.

"Ashley, you have a cellphone right?" Melany asked her.

"Yeah, I don't really use it though." Ashley replied, taking the cellphone out of her bag.

"Hmm...but I guess it probably can't register pokenav numbers. Even in Hoenn not all cellphones can do that." Melany thought for a moment. "May, why don't you give her your pokenav just incase we have to get in touch?"

"EHHH?! Better yet, why don't you give her your's?!" May shot back.

"Mine has a pokemon in it, remember?" Melany replied. "Anyway, its not like you ever use your's. Does it still have my number registered?"

"It does, not that it makes much difference." May replied bitterly. "You never answer in the first place!"

Melany sighed. "That's hardly the point..."

"Fine! Whatever!" May took out her pokenav and shoved it into Ashley's hands.

"Thanks. We'll call you if anything comes up." Ashley opened her travel bag again and put the cellphone and pokenav inside. "Ok, later then."

"Good luck at the Battle Dome, you two!" Rina said to them, then left the Battle Frontier with Ashley.

"Later, hope you manage to find what you're looking for." Melany called back after them. "Not like we really need luck anyway." She added, once they were out of earshot, then turned to May. A shiver went down Melany's spine when she the unnaturally sweet-looking smile on May's face. "Wh-what are you smiling about?"

"The last time we battled, and the only time I beat you, you were yourself!" May said to her.

"I...what?" Melany blinked. "What does that...I don't even..." She blinked again. "Ok, wanna explain what you mean by that?"

"You were yourself, rather than Alex. Which means I still never technically beat Alex!"

"But I'm Alex, whether in disguise or not I'm still me." Melany replied.

"But I want everyone to recognize that I'm better than you, whether you're Alex or Melany!" May declared, pointing a finger at Melany. "And now I'll beat you in a crowded arena to prove it!"

"I want to object, because I find that objectionable, but its hard not to see at least some merit to that argument." Melany thought. "As Alex, the record stands with one tie and one win against her for me. She probably realizes there won't likely be another chance for her to settle that score."

"Well, if we're both entering, it can't be helped." Melany replied with a shrug. "Alright! As my last time as Alex, let's settle this in one battle!"

"Excellent!" May thought, hiding a grin. "She won't stand a chance, because I won't hold anything back! Melany, this time you'll face a powerful pokemon that you've never had the chance to study before!"

"You're getting way too into this..." Haruka said to her.

"May's definitely not going to hold back in this case." Melany thought. "So no need for me to hold back either." Melany smiled to herself. "Latias, looks like this will be your chance to get in on a battle!"

Melany and May turned and headed toward the Battle Dome, each eagerly anticipating their inevitable match against each other.


"So what were you and May talking about last night anyway?" Rina asked Ashley as they were exiting the Battle Frontier through the main gates. "We could hear May yelling something about wearing something..."

"Oh, that?" Ashley smiled mischeviously. "I was going to wear a certain outfit to tease Melany."

"A certain outfit?" Rina blinked and then gasped when she realized what Ashley was talking about. "Y-you were going to wear THAT?! In front of HER?! But you know she's..."

"Exactly!" Ashley said, winking. "She'd be struggling with her self control and be so flustered she'd probably faint!"

"Ehhh?! What did she say to make you want to do something like that?!"

"She said Latias looked better than me in her human form." Ashley replied, giggling quietly. "Of course, I know that was her attempt to get back at me, but I wasn't just going to sit and take that."

"-Ashley can be scary when she wants to be.-" Pippi noted to Rina. Rina nodded timidly in agreement.

"Other than that we just talked about what we've been through as trainers more or less. What about you? What did you talk about with Melany?"

"Umm...well..." Rina thought back to the night before, blushing slightly as she recalled the conversation and shaking her head. "I can't tell Ashley about that! She'd definitely take it the wrong way!"

Unfortunately for Rina, Ashley noticed the blushing and assumed something entirely different. "Hmm...you know, just because you couldn't break through to Red, doesn't mean you should give up on boys completely." Ashley shrugged. "But I guess if you've already made your decision there's no turning back now..."

"Wh-what?! It's nothing like that at all!" Rina shot back defensively, flailing her arms and accidentally dropping Pippi onto the ground.

"-Ow...-" Pippi muttered, sitting up and rubbing her head.

"Of course not..." Ashley smiled and placed a hand on Rina's shoulder. "Rina, I just want you to know that as your closest friend I will support you in whatever you decide to do."

"B-but I'm not doing anything!"

"But anyway, enough about your love life." Ashley said, waving her hand. "We need to get moving already and get to Mossdeep." She then reached down and plucked a pokeball from her belt.

"Waaa...she's not listening to me at all..." Rina whimpered.

"-I think she's doing it on purpose.-" Pippi said, nodding sagely.


Meanwhile, at the Battle Dome, May and Melany had made their preparations and signed up for the next tournament. With only minutes before the first match, they checked over the match listing to find their names.

"Looks like we're in different divisions." Melany noted, then looked over at May. "So it'll be the final round again..."

"Of course. It wouldn't be right for us to battle before then." May said, grinning to herself.

"Looks like you're in the first match too, against some guy named Tucker." Melany shrugged. "Well, good luck then, not that either of us really need it. Most of the competition here has been pretty lame."

"Well, I'm sure this won't take long then." May said, then turned and started off toward the arena. "See you in the finals!" She called back.

"But, you know, come to think of it..." Melany thought, looking back at the matches. "Where does the leader fit in here? Do they challenge the winner or are they in the tournament themselves?" Melany thought it over for a moment and shrugged. Deciding not to dwell on it, she headed toward a waiting room for the trainers. Out on the field, meanwhile, May took up her position on the battlefield but found her opponent had yet to arrive.

"Well I made it here on time, where's my opponent?" May wondered. Suddenly, the arena's lights dimmed, but then another set of lights around the arena came on to illuminate the trainers and the battlefield.

"I wonder if this would answer your question." Haruka said to her.

An announcement blared out through the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, its the moment you've all been waiting for! Introducing the star of the Battle Dome, the Dome Ace Tucker!" Applause and cheering sounded throughout the arena and a spotlight focused on a purple haired man wearing what looked like a purple and white fairy costume.

May's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Wh-what?! Who the hell is this joker?!" She wondered. "He can't seriously be the leader here!"

The strange man, Tucker, danced around the arena, jumping and spinning while the audience chanted his name. Eventually he made it to his side of the arena and finally stopped. He turned several times, bowing to the audience, before finally turning to address May.

"Do you hear it? This crowd! They're all itching to see our match!"

"I don't know why someone like you is even so popular!" May thought.

"And Tucker's first challenger is..." The announcer went silent for a moment and whispering could be heard, the tone of which suggested the announcer himself wasn't prepared for what he was about to say.

"The first challenger is none other than May Maple!" The announcer finally said over the speakers. "Regional champion of Hoenn and recent victor in the Devon Grand Prix, going so far as to face an ancient and legendary pokemon in the final round! Yes, this girl's achievements are nothing short of incredible!"

"Wh-what?!" Tucker stuttered. The announcement caught him completely off guard, to reveal such strong competition in only the first round. "W-well still! I always make it to the final round! That's why I'm the Dome Ace!"

"Dome Ace, huh?" May repeated with a sly smirk. "But I wonder which title holds more weight, mister Ace? Dome Ace...or Regional Champion?"

"Well we'll just have to find that out!" Tucker reached back, taking a pokeball from under the tail of his outfit. "Let us make this a battle for the audience to remember! Swampert, go!" Tucker held out the pokeball and released Swampert, a five foot tall water and ground pokemon, onto the battlefield.

"I was thinking the same thing!" May called back, likewise grabbing a pokeball. "Roselia, go!" She then called out, releasing a tiny grass pokemon with flowers for hands. At only a foot high, Roselia was hard for some members of the audience to even make out.

"This would seem to give you the type advantage, but can you even win then?" Tucker said to May. "Swampert, attack her Roselia with Ice Beam!" Swampert opened its mouth and fired a blue beam at the diminuitive grass pokemon. The beam fell short of its target, but the ice that spread out from the point of impact still froze over her. The ice then shattered, causing Roselia to drop to the ground in pain.

"Sorry, but the advantage is still mine!" May called back. "Roselia, attack Swampert with Giga Drain!" Roselia stood up and pointed both of her flowers at Swampert. The water pokemon suddenly cried out sharply and several large, green orbs shot out from its body and flowed into Roselia. Swampert dropped to the ground while a blue glow surrounded it, having had a large amount of its lifeforce drained from it, while the energy restored Roselia to full health.

"I see! So your pokemon are every bit as powerful as one would expect from the champion!" Tucker said to May.

"Of course! Why wouldn't they be?" May replied with a smirk. "Ok, Roselia, finish this with Magical Leaf!" With Swampert still struggling to get back on its feet, it was open to attack. Roselia took advantage of this, jumping into the air and spinning around to send several sharp leaves flying toward Swampert. The leaves homed in on Swampert, making the attack unavoidable, and slashed across the water pokemon's body. Swampert cried out in pain and then collapsed again, losing consciousness completely.

"Ha! You are indeed talented!" Tucker said while he recalled Swampert. He struggled to maintain his composure under the pressure mounting on him and was already starting to sweat. "Well, as one might expect, I have saved the best performance for last!" Tucker reached back under his 'tail' and returned Swampert's pokeball, then took another one in his hand. "Metagross, come on!" He then called out, releasing the steel pokemon Metagross onto the field. The fierce looking steel pokemon let out a metallic-sounding roar in an attempt to intimidate its opponent.

"-DESTROY ALL OPPOSITION!-" Tucker's Metagross declared.

"-This won't take too long.-" Roselia said to herself, then smirked. "-Let's see if you can even hit me, big boy!-"

"We'll take on this one too! Roselia, Leech Seed!" Roselia pointed her flowers at Metagross and fired, launching a seed at it. The seed landed on the x-shaped bars on Metagross face and then sprouted vines to latch onto it. The seed immediately began draining away Metagross' health and siphoned it back to Roselia.

"Metagross, Meteor Mash!" Metagross raised its right forelimb back and then shot across the battlefield with a burning aura surrounding it, looking like a meteor falling through Earth's atmosphere. Roselia quickly jumped to the side, taking a glancing blow from the attack that knocked her to the ground. She quickly shook it off and got back up.

"Ok, now use Grasswhistle!" May called out. Roselia turned toward Metagross again and put her hands to her mouth, then whistled. A strange sound filled the air and Metagross suddenly collapsed, falling fast asleep.

With Metagross at a clear disadvantage, Tucker began to fear his impending defeat. "No! If this keeps up I won't just lose, I'll lose without even beating one of her pokemon!" He thought nervously.

"Now that I think of it, Roselia's grass attacks won't do much damage to Metagross at all, so I'll be relying on Leech Seed entirely like this won't I?" May thought, taking Roselia's pokeball in her hand. "Ok, Roselia, thats enough for now then." May said, recalling her pokemon and placing the pokeball back on her belt. She then quickly took another pokeball in her hand.

"Entei, go!" May held out the pokeball and released the legendary pokemon, Entei, onto the field in front of the sleeping Metagross. Entei stood proudly over the steel pokemon.

"Huh? What pokemon is that?" Tucker wondered aloud.

"Entei, attack Metagross with Fire Blast!" Entei turned its head down toward Metagross and opened its mouth. A small fireball formed in Entei's mouth, which it then spat at Metagross. The fireball struck Metagross in the face and began to expand while pushing the steel pokemon across the field. Eventually, after taking the shape of a stick figure, the fireball exploded and knocked Metagross onto its back. The steel pokemon remained unmoving, downed in only one attack from Entei.

"Wh-what?! I lost already? But that isn't fair!" Tucker whined, now sweating bullets. "I'm the Dome Ace but I didn't harm either of her pokemon in the end..."

"Looks like we settled that debate then." May said, sounding rather smug.

"For someone that was supposed to be a top trainer, that was rather pathetic." Haruka said, though to May she didn't sound like she particularly cared.

"But even so, you don't get your symbol yet!" Tucker said to May.

"I don't? But I won fair and square!"

"But beating me isn't enough!" Tucker replied, waving a finger at her. "You need to win the tournament as well."

"Oh, is that all." May said with a shrug, causing Tucker to nearly fall over. "In any case, I guess this battle's over then. Good job, Entei." May held out Entei's pokeball and recalled her pokemon, then turned to leave the arena.

"What a shocking turn of events, folks! Dome Ace Tucker is now out of the tournament after only a single round! Let's hear it for May Maple, who showed off her incredible battle skills here today!" The audience was silent for a moment, but then suddenly burst out into cheering as May finally left the arena.

With the audience having forgotten about him, Tucker fell to his knees. "But...but what about me?!"


May went on to win the rest of her matches, using Roselia and Entei as her only two pokemon despite having a third pokemon with her. Her matches still went over easily, however, and she eventually made it to the final round.

Likewise, Melany only used two pokemon, choosing to use Magneton and Latias in every match. The two pokemon covered each other's weakpoints well and in particular Magneton handled enemy steel pokemon easily. Latias, however, was able to handle much of the competition on her own due to the power boost from the Soul Dew. As such, Melany had no problem getting to the final round to face May.

"This is it folks, the final match! For the first time ever, our Dome Ace won't be taking part in this match!" The announcer said over the arena's speakers, announcing the next match. "In this round May Maple, the girl who defeated our Ace, will be going up against a relatively unknown trainer by the name of Alex!" With that announcement, the audience cheered and started chanting May's name.

"Unknown? You'd think at least someone would have heard of 'him'." Melany thought, frowning. "And what's with this crowd? The minute he lost to her, they forget about their 'Dome Ace' and start worshipping May? I mean, geez!"

"You better not hold anything back, 'Alex'!" May called out from across the arena. "Or else you won't last even five minutes!"

"Like I'd even think about it." Melany shot back, taking a pokeball in her hand. "I bet she'll finally use Lugia now. She's been holding that one back for the entire tournament, so she must have been waiting to reveal it in this match." She thought.

After each match, a trainer could see the three pokemon their opponent would be using. May had entered Roselia, Entei, and Lugia, but had only used Roselia and Entei in her previous matches. Knowing Lugia was a legendary pokemon, Melany had assumed May would be saving it just for this match. Melany herself had taken Skarmory along as well but was able to make due using the same two pokemon in each match.

"Good!" May drew a pokeball from her belt. "Today, I'll finally settle the score with you Alex! Entei, go!" May held out the pokeball and released Entei onto the battlefield.

"Latias, go!" Melany called out, releasing her first pokemon onto the field as well.

"Alright! We're finally battling May! This will be fun!" Latias said telepathically.

"Just don't get too carried away." Melany said to her. Latias nodded and tried her best to put on a determined expression. "Ok! So start off with Psychic!"

"Entei, use Calm Mind!" Entei closed its eyes and focused, maintaining its concentration even as a psychic force surrounded its body. Latias was focusing as well, concentrating her psychic powers to close in around Entei. Entei showed little reaction at first as Latias' power was crushing its body, only grunting in pain when she stopped and attempted to throw Entei back. Entei braced itself against the push but still skidded a foot across the field.

"That was a pretty powerful attack." May thought, then smirked to herself. "Well, that's to be expected. Latias is a legendary pokemon afterall. I wonder how she ranks compared to Entei then?"

"Ok, Entei, lets try attacking with Bite now!" Entei nodded and opened its eyes. It charged across the battlefield, baring its fangs.

"Latias, Mist Ball!" Latias gathered a ball of light and fired it at Entei as it charged toward her. Entei stopped in its tracks when it was struck by Latias' Mist Ball attack, but quickly shook it off and kept going. Entei lunged toward Latias and managed to bite into her shoulder as she tried to pull away. The two grappled briefly before Latias managed to pull herself out of Entei's grip.

"Uwaa...it bit me..." Latias whined telepathically, broadcasting her thoughts as if she had muttered it out loud.

"What is this creature? I don't recall Latias being such a...crybaby in our last encounter." Entei thought, recalling when, in ancient times, it had encountered Latias and Odari.

"I wonder if she's really cut out for battle. She likes to complain a lot." Melany thought. Latias had complained whenever she got hit in the previous matches as well. "Well, that just means we'll need extra training to get her over it."

"Even though that attack was powered up, it didn't seem to affect Latias much at all!" May thought in disbelief. "Its a psychic type, right? Or maybe not? Can Entei do anything to it at all? Hmm..." May thought for a moment and came up with a new plan of attack. "I've got it! I'll just leave everything to Lugia and use Entei for the set-up! Melany won't see a plan like that coming at all!"

"Entei, attack Latias with Leer!" May called out, her enthusiasm evident in her tone of voice. Entei turned its gaze on Latias and leered at her.

"Th-that look...its really unnerving..." Latias whimpered, shuddering.

"Did she just seriously use Leer?" Melany thought in disbelief, ignoring Latias' whining. "I didn't think anyone ever used that attack before, but if thats what she's doing then we better be careful. Even if its a pretty poor technique, its still lowering Latias' defense slightly."

"Latias, Recover!" Melany called out, deciding to be cautious. Latias focused briefly and her body shimmered. Energy flowed through her, restoring the damage inflicted by Entei's only attempt to attack her.

"Entei, keep it up! Another Leer attack!" Entei nodded and continued to leer at Latias, causing her to become very uncomfortable.

"It's still doing it..." Latias whined.

"Again with the whining!" Melany thought, clenching her fist. "Latias, just focus on the battle, ok? Attack Entei with Psychic." Melany ordered her, sounding unusually harsh.

"Y-yes mam!" Latias' eyes flashed blue as she focused her psychic powers on Entei again. A telekinetic force surrounded Entei and began to crush it, resulting in a blue glow surrounding its body. Entei growled in pain and was unable to resist the attack nearly as well as it had the first time, due to the damage it had endured since then. Latias ended the attack by sending a strong psychic push at Entei, throwing it backwards. Entei landed hard on its side but was still conscious.

"Looks like thats the best Entei will do." May thought. "Ok! So one more attack, and then I'll finally show you my ace in the hole!" She grinned to herself. "I might not have been able to get Ho-Oh because of that Duke guy, but I'll show you the power of the legendary pokemon I DID get!"

"Ok, Entei, give it everything you've got now! Fire Spin!" Entei weakly raised its head and turned toward Latias, then breathed out a cone of flames. The flames formed around Latias like a twister, trapping her inside.

"KYA! ITS TOO HOT IN HERE!" Latias shrieked.

"When I get some free time, Latias, I will definitely be conditioning you not to complain everytime you get attacked." Melany thought. Already she was considering the tough training regimen she would be putting Latias through. "Latias, one more attack! Mist Ball!" Latias swallowed hard and focused on her attack, gathering a ball of light and firing it through the flames. The light struck Entei while it was attempting to get back on its feet, knocking it over again and rendering it unconscious.

"So it seems the first match goes to you, Alex, but thats fine." May said confidently as she recalled Entei. "Afterall, that's just how I planned it!"

"D-did I just hear May say she had a plan?" Melany wondered, then shook her head. "No, that can't be right, May never comes up with a plan on her own. I'm sure I misheard her over the sound of the flames..."

"Ok, Lugia!" May grabbed a pokeball from her belt and held it out. "Your turn now! Go!" The pokeball opened up and fired a red beam into the air. The beam materialized into a huge bird pokemon that stood at over 17 feet tall from head to foot. The pokemon, Lugia, let out a loud shriek as it appeared, causing the usually noisy crowd to suddenly go completely silent as they cowered in fear.

"You...you've got to be kidding..." Melany murmured, stunned by Lugia's appearance. "That bird pokemon is...huge! How can it even fly?!"

"What's happening?! I can't even see what's going on past these flames!" Latias cried out telepathically.

"-I don't get whats going on here but...-" Lugia turned its head toward May. "-Without the yellow haired one, I suppose I can't really voice my complaints. She can't understand me like she would be able to understand Ho-Oh.-"

"Ok, Lugia, attack now with Aeroblast!" May called out.

"-I'm assuming she means the pokemon in the flames there.-" Lugia said to itself, turning toward Latias. Lugia opened its mouth and fired a beam-like twister down onto Latias. The flames around her were completely dispersed and Latias herself was pounded into the ground by the attack while the fierce winds tore at her body. She cried out sharply in pain and struggled to get back to her feet after the attack.

"What?! It was able to attack with that much power?!" Melany thought in disbelief. "I already know Lugia is a more defensively oriented pokemon, I would have thought Latias would be able to endure an attack like that even with the lowered defenses! Is the difference in power between the two just that great? Either way, looks like Latias won't endure another attack like that even if she used Recover. Guess we'll have to try a different approach..."

"Latias, try weakening that pokemon with a Charm attack!" Melany called out.

"I...I'll try..." Latias replied timidly. She clasped her hands together and winked at Lugia. "Please be gentle with me, ok?"

May blinked. "What kind of technique..." She quickly shook her head. "Nevermind! Lugia, finish this with another Aeroblast!" Lugia opened its mouth and blasted Latias with another concentrated tornado attack. Though weaker than the previous attack, thanks to Latias' Charm attack, it still carried enough power when used on Latias to pound her into the ground and knock her out. Melany let out a sigh and recalled her.

"I may have lost the match, but at least I don't have to listen to her whine anymore." Melany thought. She placed Latias' pokeball back on her belt. "Well, I guess this makes this battle the reverse of the grand prix. My electric pokemon, against her legendary pokemon. But with Magneton's typing and Lugia being weakened by Latias, I might just have the advantage here anyway."

Melany smirked and took Magneton's pokeball in her hand. "Alright! Magneton, come on out!" She held out the pokeball and released Magneton onto the field. "Magneton, let's hit this one hard from the start! Attack with Thunderbolt!" Sparks of electricity gathered around the magnets on Magneton's body, then fired out and combined into a single bolt. The bolt of electricity struck Lugia in the chest, causing it to growl in pain. Lugia withstood the attack easily, however, as its body was incredibly durable.

"Attack all you want, you won't make any significant ground against Lugia." May thought with a smirk. "Lugia, Rain Dance!" Lugia spread its wings and let out a loud cry, summoning a rain storm over the battlefield. Though the clouds formed near the ceiling, Lugia's head was still only a few feet away from it.

"Ok, now this is really bearing an eerie resemblance. Why does that pokemon know Rain Dance?" Melany thought, then shook her head. "Whatever. May left herself open with that one."

"Magneton, now's your chance to strike with a stronger attack! Use Thunder!" Magneton called down a bolt of lightning out of the clouds, directing it toward Lugia with subtle movements of its body. The bolt shot straight down but then made a ninety degree turn to blast Lugia in the chest. Lugia cried out in pain and took a step back from the force of the attack, but again managed to shake it off.

"You still won't be able to harm Lugia with those attacks!" May said to Melany. "Now, Lugia, attack Magneton with Hydro Pump!"

"Hydro Pump?!" Melany repeated in disbelief. Sure enough, Lugia opened its mouth and sprayed out a high pressure blast of water at Magneton. With the rain boosting its power, the water struck Magneton hard. Magneton tried to resist the attack, but was still being slowly pushed back until Lugia could no longer keep up the attack and stopped.

"What kind of pokemon is that?!" Melany wondered, gritting her teeth while she frantically tried to figure it out. "Its definitely a flying type, right? But it can't be a water type too, or else even as a legendary and durable pokemon it would be at least in pretty bad shape by now. Its still going strong though and can naturally use Rain Dance and Hydro Pump. Is it some kind of storm pokemon?"

"Ok, now Recover to heal off the damage inflicted by Magneton!" May ordered Lugia. Lugia focused briefly, forcing energy to flow through its body and restore it. Almost all of the damage inflicted by Magneton was quickly healed.

"Recover too?! This is too much!" Melany thought. "Magneton, don't let up! Attack with Thunder again!" Magneton reached out to the thunderclouds raining down on the battlefield again, drawing a lightning bolt down from the clouds and directing it toward Lugia. As expected, with the bolt striking Lugia dead in the chest, there was little noticeable effect from it.

"Lugia, use Hydro Pump again!" Lugia opened its mouth and fired another powerful stream of water at Magneton. Magneton fought to resist the water putting pressure on its body, but eventually could endure no more and fainted. Magneton dropped to the ground and Lugia's attack pushed it along until it came to a stop at Melany's feet.

"THERE YOU HAVE IT! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS TOURNAMENT'S WINNER IS MAY MAPLE!" The announcer's voice rang out excitedly once Melany's final pokemon had dropped. "Showcasing an amazing pokemon in the final round, the likes of which has never been witnessed in the Battle Frontier, the trainer that beat the Dome Ace has gone on to win the entire tournament! Congratulations, May!"

The audience burst into applause and cheering, and an attendant arrived on the field to award May with the Tactics Symbol. With Lugia still standing on the field, May raised her hands and waved to the audience that was congratulating her for winning.

"Well, so much for that final match being in my favor..." Melany said with a sigh as she recalled Magneton. "Well, May finally settled the score with 'Alex', so I hope she's happy with that at least." Melany turned and left the field while May was still contending with her newly acquired fans.


When May was finally able to leave the arena she met up with Melany outside the Battle Dome.

"Well, looks like that's finally settled! I, May Maple, am the better trainer without question!" May said smugly.

"I suppose there's no debating that." Melany replied with a shrug. "Though I maintain that it'd come down to the pokemon we used in battle making the difference in the end."

"Whatever! You lost, and thats that!" May said, pointing a finger at her. "Now, as the loser, you have to treat me to lunch!" May's words were left hanging in the air for several moments while Melany remained silent.

"...I don't recall agreeing to that." She eventually replied.

"Well you have to anyway!" May asserted.

"Fine...I suppose the prices here aren't too bad anyway..." Melany muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "You do realize there isn't anywhere on this island you can get pasta though, right?"

"There...there isn't?" May mumbled. Melany shook her head. "What?! This place sucks!"

"Well, I'm sure you'll find something you like anyway." Melany replied. The two then headed off to find a place to eat, not knowing that two individuals had arrived back on the island and would soon be interrupting them...


Author's Notes: Originally, 'Alex' was going to use Latias and Registeel in the Battle Dome. However, I realized at the last second that Alex using Registeel didn't make much sense since that was a pokemon known to solely belong to Melany. So, to keep up the facade, Melany wouldn't use that pokemon. Latias, on the other hand, is a pokemon no one's ever seen with Melany before so it was still fair game.

Interesting fact about that pair, though. In my opinion, they make a very good tagteam in the Battle Dome. I actually entered a level 100 Registeel and Latias in the Battle Dome on a whim once and managed to get the silver symbol without any trouble at all. They weren't EV trained and didn't even have proper natures. They just complemented each other that well alongside the AI's refusal to switch. I stopped after getting Silver, though, because I didn't want to test my luck any further than that.

By the way, did you know Lugia is the 7th largest pokemon? And five of the remaining pokemon larger than Lugia aren't actually legendary pokemon. The only legendary pokemon larger than Lugia is Rayquaza, and that's mostly because its a serpent and thus has a long body. Lugia is just that damn big. Ho-Oh, by comparison, isn't even in the top 10.