"I think we're live?" Hau tapped the camera. "You all able to hear me?"
"Loud and clear," Gladion responded through the speaker, his screen appearing next to Hau's on the screen.
"-by! Get your head out of the bag!" Lillie's screen came online, showing her desperately trying to tug Nebby's moon shaped head out of the bag. "Sorry guys, I'll be there in a sec-AHH!" Nebby shook herself and jostled the camera, making it fall and mute her.
"Well, that was entertaining," a new voice drawled. "You Alolans are something." A fourth screen appeared, loading for a second before showing a black haired girl with hoop earrings reclining in her chair, pitch darkness surrounding her. "'Sup."
"Glad you could join us, Clara!" Hau greeted her.
"Salutations, and all that crap," Gladion offered a half-hearted wave. "Who else are we waiting on?"
"Preston?" Hau directed his question to Clara.
"On business," she shrugged. "He sends his love. I think."
"Has the stream started yet!?" Emma asked frantically the moment she came online.
"Girl, chill," Renée said, popping on at the same time. "As I said, we're a few minutes early. Oh, did you invite S-, I mean, Delta?"
"I did, but he didn't seem that inter-er-er-er-ested." Emma's screen went fuzzy before it leveled out as she smacked it. "Great, the Wi-Fi is acting up again." Her voice was a bit choppy now. "This is what I get for never upgrading my current plan. Looker always did like keeping it cheap."
Another screen appeared, but this one remained blank. A message popped up, reading "Give me a sec Emma and I'll have it working better than ever before."
"Huh?" The girl in question blinked at the message. "Who's-" Her screen went dark before it came back even crisper than before. "Woah, thank you, whoever you are!"
"Oh shoot it's Robert!" Hau exclaimed, having checked the list of people in the call. "Hey man!"
A waving icon appeared just as Lillie's camera moved back up and she sat down, her hair disheveled. She started speaking, but no sound came through.
"You're muted," Gladion pointed out.
Lillie flushed and hid her face as she unmuted herself. "Sorry!" She squeaked.
"Don't worry about it," Hau reassured her. "You look great by the way!"
"Hau," Gladion said, his tone darkening.
"Uh, I think it's starting," Renée said as the livestream in the corner of everyone's screen began to load.
"Oh crap," Clara sat up straight, rubbing her hands in glee. "Time to see just how strong Zeno really has gotten since Kalos."
"Make your bets now boys and girls," Hau grinned madly. "It's go time."
Stew bubbled in a pot held over a campfire, Silver slowly stirring its contents. He briefly glanced up at the portable TV he'd set up. "That time again, eh? You lost in the last tournament. Do you have what it takes to win?"
Feraligatr stirred from his nap beside him, sniffing the air. His predatory gaze settled on the spoon stirring the pot.
"Keep yourself in check," Silver told him dryly. "No funny ideas."
"Oh yeah, best seat in the house!" Meowth yowled, hanging halfway over the basket as the hot air balloon hovered high above the stadium. "We can see all the action from here!"
"Gotta love this new cloaking tech of Radiance's," James patted the small machine humming gently in the corner. "No one even knows we're up here."
"Go beat her, Zeno!" Jesse called, waving frantically. "Win for us!"
"And no one's listening, why am I not surprised?" James shrugged before leaning over the side with them. "Give 'em hell, Zeno!"
"Come on, there's a spot open right here," Marilynn ushered the last of the kids into a seat. The orphanage's living room was packed full now and she was only just able to squeeze in between two kids, the large television set showing the Unova League Tournament Finals live.
"I believe in you," she whispered, holding a fist to her heart as she saw the boy who'd saved her walk out onto the field. "You can win this."
A white haired girl with crimson eyes wiped her blade clean as she strolled through a secret underground compound. Ghost materialized next to her, her blades dripping blood that was not her own.
You deal with Team Plasma your way, Zeno, the former Executioner thought, knowing that the final round was due to start around this time, lamenting only slightly that she could not watch. And I'll clean up what remains of Clarity. And maybe one day I can tell you the truth. But not yet. You don't need that sort of distraction right now.
So win, she thought as she came to a stop outside a closed door, katana at the ready. Win and show N and Team Plasma who they're messing with.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked, glancing over at Robert, who was messing around on his gadget.
"Nothing," he said, pocketing it. "Odds?" He nodded towards the battlefield where Zeno and Iris were walking to their positions as the audience cheered loudly for them.
"He'll win, no question," Alex told him firmly. "It's not like before. There's too much at stake this time for him to lose."
Robert nodded in understanding. "When the chips are down, he always comes through."
"That he does," Alex held her hands together as she watched Zeno walk his way onto the battlefield. I believe in you, Zeno. Always.
"It's the moment you've all been waiting for!" Alder announced over the loud cheering. "The final battle of this year's Unova League Tournament! On one side we have Dragon Master and Opelucid Gym Leader, Iris! And on the other we have Zeno, who has made it to the final rounds in both the Alolan and Kalos League Tournaments prior to this! We have two very skilled trainers here! Who do you think is going to win, N!?"
"Whoever has the stronger will," N said cryptically. I could practically feel his eyes boring into me. "And the most belief in their ideals."
"Yeah, cause that's not subtle at all," I muttered.
"Zeno!" Iris called to me, tossing an Ultra Ball up and down in her hand. "That battle you had with Zinnia was amazing! I expect the same fierceness you showed then!"
"That won't be a problem!" I shouted back. I reached for my belt, indecisive. Arcaneis, Decidueye, Gyarados, Mahina, Greninja, and Lucario. I wasn't going to hold anything back in this battle. I couldn't afford to lose. Not now.
In the end I made my pick, the pokeball enlarging in my grasp as Iris sent out Hydreigon. "Let's do this! Gyarados!"
"BATTLE START!"
Twin beams of draconic energy erupted from both Pokemons' mouths, colliding in the middle of the battlefield. The energy pulses against one another, the ground below being torn up from the powerful force being radiated. Finally the clash of power ended in a massive explosion, from which Gyarados flew straight through, mouth brimming with ice as he slammed into Hydreigon, chomping down on her midsection.
Hydreigon responded by biting down on different parts of Gyarados' body with all three heads as she unleashed a sonic attack. Gyarados bit down harder, but the sound waves grew more intense as they pulses through his body. Finally Gyarados let go with a roar of pain as Hydreigon's heads roared, huge stones jutting out from the ground below. The first one slammed into the underside of Gyarados' jaw, launching him up only for the second rock to punch him in the middle, launching him further into the air.
As Hydreigon flew in to pursue, Gyarados' eyes flashed and he began spinning in the air, hurricane force winds erupting into existence. They slammed into Hydreigon, forcing her back as the storm grew bigger. With a mighty roar, Gyarados flew straight for the Dark/Dragon type with the hurricane surrounding him. The winds slammed into Hydreigon, slamming her back down to earth as Gyarados' mouth began to glow. As the last of the storm battered Hydreigon, Gyarados unleashed a blast of draconic energy, further driving his opponent into the ground.
As she struggled, her two side heads reached to either side, ripping chunks of rock out of the ground and hurling them upwards. Gyarados swung left to avoid one rock, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the second one chipping the side of his head. Hydreigon surged upwards, body slamming him and biting down with electrified fangs. Gyarados spazzed out as the electric shock coursed through him and he went limp and fell back down to earth.
"Ooo, Zeno took the first loss," Hau groaned, palming his forehead. "Not a good sign."
"You're worrying too much," Gladion smirked. "This is when he'll really let loose."
"He's got this!" Emma said fiercely, hands clenched in fists.
"Oh **** yeah!" Clara shouted, staring at the screen with a widening grin. "He's bringing out- Oi, why was I censored!?"
"Naughty naughty," Hau wagged a finger at her. "No swearing in this household thank you very much."
"You ****-!"
Mega Lucario twisted midair, hurling Hydreigon over his shoulder and slamming her down to the ground with a heavy slam. He landed beside her, slamming his fists together as a wind of aura rushed around him. Within the span of a few seconds, the fallen Pokemon was returned and a Druddigon was sent out, her claws glowing a draconic blue. Lucario huffed as he brandished his fists, a metallic light engulfing them. He rushed forwards, slamming them into Druddigon's middle, his power amplified by his aura.
Druddigon powered through the attack, slashing at Lucario's chest before rocketing the Fighting/Steel type up with a fiery fist. She then fired an orb of pure fighting energy that sent Lucario flying backwards. He twisted, landing on all fours, his right foot immediately bursting into flames as he slid it back. His gaze sharpened and he rocketed forwards, fire trailing behind him. He leaped, spinning in the air before bringing his foot crashing down on Druddigon's raised arms. She roared as she struggled to hold off his attack, but Lucario roared right back, his aura blasting around him, adding to the pressure of his attack. The flames flickered before sharpening into a blue hue. With one last force of strength, Lucario broke through Druddigon's protection, his blazing foot slamming into her head with a mighty explosion. Lucario rose a few seconds later as the smoke curled around him, Druddigon's unconscious form revealed to be laying at his feet.
"Told you," Gladion looked smug. "He's out for blood."
"Doesn't he seem a little too determined to you?" Lillie asked, worried lines etched across her face.
"Huh, now that you mention it," Clara frowned, leaning in close as the stream panned to Zeno. "That look is definitely not what he looked like during the Kalos Tournament."
"Huh?" Renée glanced between them all. "Does he not normally look fierce like that during battles?"
"No," everyone else answered in unison.
"Only when he's got something to lose," Hau propped his chin up on his fist. "Something more than just a tournament win. What is it, Zeno? What's going on here?"
Lucario leaped to one side as the torrent of water tore up the ground as it passed by. He growled, forming a long bone as he tumbled into a crouching position. He lunged forward, hurling the bone towards Lapras, who simply blasted it into pieces with an Ice Beam. Lucario growled low, breaking into an all out run. He was running out of time. He had to finish this fast, before-
"Lapras, return!" Iris called out as Lucario fist passed through empty air as Lapras was sucked back into her pokeball. Lucario leaped back as Archeops was sent out, but before he could go on the offensive the singing that had been playing on repeat in his head suddenly came to a stop. Lucario fell forwards, fainted. Perish Song had done its work.
"Aaaaand she's got him on the ropes again," Renée whistled. "That was a really strong Pokemon though. That had to be his strongest, right?"
Silence. Then, "You've much to learn," Clara said, shaking her head. "Just keep watching-"
"Oh!" Gladion jerked forward this time, eyes widening. "He really isn't holding back!"
Archeops let out a cry of pain as he flew back, Mahina in hot pursuit. Stone broke through the ground in front of her, but she broke through each one with almost no effort as she slashed her claws, fairy energy trailing along her claws.
Archeops screeched in fear as he tried flinging up a sandstorm. It was quickly dispelled when Mahina unleashed the winds she had gathered around herself. She lunged forward, chomping down on Archeops' tail and dragged him down, slamming his back into the dirt. He stared up with wide eyes as Mahina's claws came down onto his head, crushing him as she slammed him into the dirt. She shook her fur, stepping away from the fainted Pokemon as she let out a mechanical growl.
"I'm sorry, but WHAT!?" Renée was blown away. "What the heck even is that Pokemon!? Is that even real!?"
"Well, it is two of a kind," Gladion shrugged.
"Don't you mean one of a kind?" Emma gave him a weird look.
"I know what I said," Gladion smirked.
"He's using the Fairy Drive," Hau observed. "Good choice against an opponent like a Dragon Master-"
"Think again," Clara laughed. "This Iris chick has a contingency for that."
"So much for being a Dragon Master," Lillie looked affronted. "That's three of her Pokemon so far that aren't Dragon types."
"Mahina's tough, so there's nothing to worry about-" Gladion started before he broke off, cringing. "Never mind."
Aggron burst from the earth, her hand grasping Mahina's head as she surged upwards. She swung her around, slamming the full of her tail against her while coated with iron. With a cry of pain she went tumbling as Aggron slammed her fists on the ground, waves of earth slamming into her opponent.
As Mahina got back to her feet, her body began to glow orange. Growling low, she charged. Aggron spun on her feet, her iron coated tail swinging around and met Mahina as she leaped at her. Both attacks slammed into one another and for a second they were held there midair before Mahina was thrown back while Aggron stumbled forward, her tail bent awkwardly.
Mahina tried getting back to her feet, but fell in the attempt, fainted.
"Augh!" Gladion sat back heavily. "So much for that."
"Bad match-up," Lillie shook her head. "What's the score now?"
"3-3," Hau responded.
"Not quite evenly matched though," Clara pointed out. "Lapras took her fair share of damage. Zeno's got the upper hand here-OHO! HERE WE ******* GO!"
"That's-!" Emma sucked in a sharp breath.
"What?" Renée looked around at all of them. "What's happening here?"
"Hold on, Robert just added a music file," Hau said, playing it and turning up the volume for everyone to hear. His face broke out into a wide grin. "That madlad gave them their own theme music!"
"Boss music time," Gladion gave a thumbs up. "I approve."
The torrent of water receded, leaving a wide crater in the center of the arena and revealing a soaking wet, and fainted, Aggron lying at the bottom. Standing at the edge of the newly formed crater in a straight up pose with a hand situated in front of his face, fingers up, was a sleek black Greninja with a cloak wrapped around him.
I took in a deep breath, feeling Greninja's thoughts and feelings wash over me. His concern was what reigned in my emotions. I've been getting too invested in winning this fight, huh? He could feel Greninja agree as we watched Iris return her Pokemon. Sorry, I... I've been a bit stressed. We have to win though. Show N that the strength of our ideals surpasses his view of truth. You with me, Greninja? A croak of agreement. I grinned. Alright then. Let's finish her!
"Oh, there's that familiar look!" Hau cheered.
"She's in for it now," Clara cackled.
Storm clouds gathered overhead as lightning shot down towards a sprinting Greninja. He swung his cloak off in one fluid movement, letting the expanding bubbles absorb the electricity before he launched the volatile object towards Lapras. Eyes widening, she tried to dodge by surfing away, but the bubbles exploded with a gigaton of force, the electricity shooting outwards and shocking Lapras when it made contact with her water. She flopped to a halt as the water splashed around her.
Greninja was on her a second later, dark winds surrounding him before slashing against the downed Pokemon. Lapras let out a final cry before going silent, head slumping.
Greninja leapt back as his fallen opponent was returned and replaced with Haxorus, Iris' final Pokemon. She roared and slammed one foot foot forward as she brandished her razor sharp tusks. They began to glow pure white, elongating until they were several feet long. She charged, the battlefield shaking with each footstep. Greninja unhooked two water blades and ran for her. He leapt while tucking his arms in, passing just beneath the swiping of her tusks. As soon as he cleared her blades, he spun around midair, slashing at her head.
As she spun around with a roar, Greninja had already bounced off her and landed a dozen feet away, dozens of copies of himself forming. Each one ran for her, half of them leaping into the air while the other half kept low to the ground. Powerful draconic energy spilled out of Haxorus' maw as she fired a massive beam. She swung her head low, annihilating the ground Greninjas before arcing upwards, taking out the ones coming at her from above. Each one destroyed triggered a small explosion. She then ducked her head as the real Greninja tried to slam a fist into her head before she jerked upwards, headbutting Greninja's middle. She spun around, her tail slamming into him and sending him clear across the arena.
Energy swirled into Haxorus mouth as she aimed towards the sky, launching a fiery ball of energy sky high where it burst into dozens of meteors that rained down upon the battlefield. Greninja ran, dodging each one as they came down, but there was one heading straight for him. In an instant I jerked out my hands, miming something I could picture in my head, and Greninja followed my lead. He took a blade of water and willed it to lose its rigidness, forming a sort of whip. He snapped it towards the falling projectile, wrapping it around it. He stopped his sprint, skidding along the ground as he angled his feet to spin him around before launching the fiery meteor. It crashed into Haxorus' head, knocking her off balance.
The water whip dissolved, our mental hold on it having weakened, so Greninja grabbed two larger shurikens and crashed them together in his palms, a larger shuriken forming. He zoomed past Haxorus, slashing along her middle before leaping and turning around to bring the water weapon crashing down on her head. Suddenly Haxorus' eyes flashed red as she roared in outrage, leaping up into the air and slamming her tail into Greninja, driving him into the ground where she landed on him and began bashing him for all she was worth.
Dazed, Greninja was just barely able to sink into the shadows and dash away before popping back out again, breathing heavily. Her sudden rampage unfinished, Haxorus charged him, roaring. Concentrating with all our might, Greninja and I forced one of his blades to become flexible as he leaped up, landing on the back of Haxorus' neck. He lassoed her head, holding on for dear life as she tried shaking him off, bucking and stomping on the ground, all the while her short arms couldn't reach him. Finally, she became dazed, unsteady on her feet.
Greninja kicked off the back of her head, landing and leaping back further. He formed another large shuriken from two smaller ones before blasting it with an ice beam. It froze solid in an instance, the edges having become sharpened. Just as Haxorus was shaking off her confusion, Greninja swung it around before hurling it towards her. Too late she tried to shatter it with a Dragon Pulse, but the beam barely made it out of her mouth before the Ice Shuriken shattered against her with a mighty crash. She stumbled back before falling with a heavy thump.
"Augh!" I fell to one knee, holding my pounding head as Greninja's form dissolved off him like water. That had been something completely new we had been wanting to try, but it took a lot more out of us than I had thought it would. Still, I thought, blinking through the pain. It worked. We... We won. My victory suddenly became clear to me. I had won the Unova League Tournament.
"Heh." A stupid grin found its way to my face as I suddenly became aware of the tremendous noise that was the audience cheering. "We won. We freakin' won!" On the battlefield Greninja had collapsed into a sitting position as well. He raised his gaze to me and gave a weak croak, but gave a thumbs up.
"HELL YEAH!" Alex screamed from the top of her lungs, nearly bursting Robert's eardrums. But he couldn't stop grinning either.
"Well, would you look at that?" Silver finished his soup, setting it down in his lap. "Good job, brother."
The white haired former Executioner leaned against the wall of the enemy base, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. Her blade rested beside her, caked in blood. She was staring at the large screen the Clarity grunts had installed in the base, having caught the last fight the moment she'd finished taking care of the trash.
"Impressive job," she said. "It's no wonder you've gotten as far as you have from being Giovanni's puppet."
Ghost materialized next to her, a warning glint in her gaze. She sighed, lifting herself off the wall while grabbing her katana. "Looks like they caught up again. Let's go give them a warm welcome."
"YAHOOOOOOO!" Hau whooped for joy as he bounced around his room, the camera on his computer shaking with every leap.
"I taught him all he knew," Gladion nodded sagely.
"Sure you did," Clara rolled her eyes as she grinned madly. "Man, he did one helluva job. Looks like he's improving on how far he and that Greninja can take their bond. I wonder what else they'll become capable of."
"It's official," Renée said, staring as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "Pokemon battling has reached new levels of insaneness. I am never going down that route. Nuh-uh."
"He won!" Emma cheered wildly. "I knew he could pull it off!"
"Hau, calm down, you're going to break something!" Lillie fretted, but Hau was having none of it.
"We need to battle Zeno!" Hau shook the camera wildly. "WE NEED TO BATTLE RIGHT NOW! RIGHT NOW I SAY!"
Marilynn didn't cheer alongside the rest of the kids. She just stared at the screen, focusing on Zeno as he sat there grinning on the field. She felt immense admiration for the person who had saved her that day in the cave.
I want to be just like him, she realized, feeling something stir in her soul. I want to become an amazing and strong trainer just like him one day!
I stood atop a small stage as the crowd cheered wildly for me. Alder stood to one side, clapping and congratulating me. But my attention was focused on the person stepping forward to hand me my trophy.
"Congratulations on winning the Vertress Conference," N told me, handing me the trophy. "You have now earned the privilege of challenging the Elite 4 of Unova." He leaned in close, whispering, "I will await you there, Hero of Ideals."
He stepped back, putting on a smile and clapping alongside Alder. I shrugged mentally and put on a smile as well. It wasn't fake, but the genuine article. Despite what I knew would come next, I couldn't help but feel elated. I had accomplished something I had failed to do twice before. And now I would face one of the toughest challenges a trainer would ever encounter; the Elite 4. And after that, the Champion. But for the moment I allowed myself the rare privilege of soaking in the victory my Pokemon and I had achieved.
It felt good.