Chapter 63 - vs. Joshua

Khrista stood with her arms crossed across her chest on one side of the battlefield, her eyes on her cousin as he walked out. Ruby and May had explained both of their parts in the "Battle of the Citadel," as the plan had been called. The Hoenn Trainers had also mentioned Khrista's abilities as she had chosen her side of the field, and now they were waiting for Joshua to appear.

"And here's Joshua!" Ruby called as the Trainer finally appeared on the stadium floor. "This Avatar, despite what abilities his cousin has, is one of the few humans without Pokemon-like abilities in any shape or form, the others being Matthew, the twins Kira and Alia, and a random number of the rest."

Khrista frowned. It didn't seem that anyone knew of his telepathic abilities...or that he seemed to have known the weaknesses of the Legendaries without even facing them himself.

Noticing that Joshua already had a PokeBall in his hand, she reached down to her belt with her right hand, hovering over the first PokeBall on her belt.

As Joshua stopped, he nodded to Forrest. "Whenever you're ready."

Forrest nodded. "Battle Begin!"

Khrista snatched a PokeBall off her belt, maximized it, then tossed it at the same time Joshua did. After the flashes had faded, Raze the Blazikan stood on one side, and Raichu stood on the other.

"All Hoenns," Joshua stated.

"And no Legendaries," Khrista promised, grinning. "Raichu, it's time to rock and roll! Use Surf!"

"Jump and use Blaze Kick!" Joshua barked in response.

Raichu jumped on her tail as a wave of water was summoned from out of nowhere. The Electric-Type surfed towards the Blazikan, a large grin on her face.

Raze watched with a smirk until the wave was almost on top of him. Then he jumped up while his legs blazed with fire. The Fire/Fighting-Type spun in the air, knocking Raichu off her perch in front of the wave.

However, Raichu quickly spun and regained her position on a different section of the wave, which still crashed into Raze and sent him sprawling.

Raze let out a growl. "No fair, letting a Raichu from Yellow Forest run rampant around here."

Raichu jumped back to a place in front of Khrista. She stuck out her tongue in a cocky manner. "Like you're any better. I heard that professor from Kalos found about some sort of new form you guys can take to completely cream Pokemon. You're lucky your Trainer hasn't gotten there yet!"

Raze's stance got more offensive. Joshua, seeing this, called out, "Close Combat!"

The Blazikan let out a roar, and charged at the Raichu with his clawed fists clenched tightly.

"Electric Bind!" Knrista barked in response.

Raichu's tail went up, sparked, and she swung. Five rings of electricity went flying and honed in on Raze like heat-seeking missiles. Three managed to slide down over Raze and bind his arms to his sides and wrap around his legs, but the other two missed and bounced into the sides of the boundary walls and exploded into sparks.

Those near them yelped in surprise and moved back when some of the electricity flew up into their faces.

Raze growled again as he tried to break loose.

"Since when was that a move?" Joshua demanded.

"Since Stark Mountain!" Khrista called back. "Raichu, let's finish this off! Thunder!"

"Dodge it and use Fire Blast!"

Raze started hopping while Raichu's tail went straight up in the air and started to gather electricity together. The Blazikan's beak opened up and a small ball of fire started to form there.

Not but seconds later, a large lightningbolt slammed down on Raze, causing him to scream and fire the ball of flames up at the stands. When the Thunder attack faded, the Blazikan collapsed, fainted.

But it wasn't him that they were watching - it was what was going on in the stands.

As the fireball had careened upwards towards the people in the lowest section of seats, another figure ran down the stairs towards the fireball, strange red, orange, and gray armor catching the sunlight.

A gloved hand shot out just seconds before it hit a blue-haired girl in the face...and absorbed the fireball.

"Try to be more careful!" the figure called out in female tones. Blue eyes looked down at the battlefield with recognition, amusement, and seriousness. "Someone could get majorly hurt from an attack like that, and I'm not exactly able to run around the stadium at subsonic speeds."

Khrista blinked in shock upon seeing who it was that had spoken. Blue eyes...the brown hair that fell down around her armored shoulders...it wasn't possible.

"Maria?" Khrista asked softly.

The girl paused and looked over at the Avatar who had spoken. A sad smile flitted over her face, and she gave a nod before turning and starting back up the stairs towards the top of the stands.

"...Blazikan is unable to battle!" Forrest called out after a moment, looking a little lost for words. "The winner is Raichu!"

The crowd let out a roar upon hearing the result, but it sounded like it was only at half-strength from the shock.

"Whoa," came Ruby's voice. "Was that...White?"

"Let's get a closer look with the Stadium Cam," May suggested.

While Joshua returned Raze to his PokeBall, the screen that had been showing the two Avatars and their Pokemon so far changed to a camera moving up a section of the stands. It only took seconds to catch sight of the red, orange, and gray-armored girl standing near a brown-haired, blue-eyed boy who appeared to be older.

"It is White!" Ruby exclaimed. "I'd know that mop of hair anywhere! She never wanted to do anything other than make a ponytail out of it!"

The girl on the screen looked up and put her hands on her hips. It looked like she was yelling something, but no one could hear what was being said.

"This is keeping us from our battle," Joshua called out. Khrista turned to look back at her cousin, who was now holding another PokeBall in his hand. "Come on - let's move on." He tossed the red and white sphere, releasing a Swampert was colored purple rather than the usual dark blue.

Raichu let out a growl of annoyance. "Great. No Electric attacks."

"That doesn't take you completely out of the running," Khrista replied. "Use Surf!"

"Earthquake," Joshua said in a voice that Khrista could barely hear.

Raichu's tail went under her as she jumped up as water materialized, but she wasn't able to get far.

All the Swampert had to do was raise its front paws and slam them into the ground in order to cause the entire battlefield to shake. The water disappeared into cracks in the ground that snaked their way towards the Electric-Type. It wasn't long before Raichu was stumbling around trying to regain her balance, only to fall into a crevice and get stuck tail around her at a strange angle.

"I...give..." Raichu collapsed and instantly retreated into her PokeBall without Khrista so much as moving to grab it.

"Raichu is unable to battle! The victor is Swampert!"

There was a other roar from the crowd as the battle came back into action - and with knocking out one of Khrista's Pokemon to boot.

Khrista's fingers ran over the two remaining PokeBalls she had a choice between. Considering who Joshua had used so far and who he might have and left...

Khrista quickly grabbed a PokeBall and threw it out, releasing the Pokemon that she had chosen.

A familiar, white dog-like Pokemon with a brown stripe running from nose to tail came flying out of the ball and landed on its feet just as the ground shifted; the trademark battlefield grew grass as trees suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grew up in random locations. They did not obstruct the view of the spectators, however.

Linoone wagged his tail excitedly. "Oh, boy! Hi, Marsh! Long time no see!"

"Long time is right," the Shiny Swampert replied in female tones. "But I'm going to be fighting you for the real deal this time - no sparring or anything."

"Right." Linoone's usually playful tone suddenly became serious. He started to paw at the ground, like he was ready to charge like a bull.

"Let's kick this off with a Headbutt!" Khrista called out, pointing at the Swampert.

"Use -"

Joshua didn't get to finish his command, because Linoone rammed into Marsh's stomach and promptly backed up to his original position. As a result of the ramming, Marsh was left rubbing her stomach with a grimace on her face.

"Ooh, that's going to leave a mark," Ruby remarked. "That's a definite flinch if I've ever seen one."

Khrista grinned. "Definitely faster. Ok, let's try to finish this off quickly. Use Strength!"

Linoone seemed to coil himself up like a spring before shooting forward and ramming into Marsh a second time - this time in the side, causing the Swampert to teeter for only a moment before regaining her balance.

"Now!" Joshua called. "Focus Punch!"

"Use your speed to get out of the way!" Khrista shouted in response.

Linoone saw Marsh's glowing fist and instantly backed away from his previous position. He only just managed to get out of the way before Marsh's punch landed in the tree the Normal-Type had been standing in front of.

"Hey! No fair!" Marsh scowled.

"All's fair in love and war," Linoone replied giddily. "That's what Professor Birch told me once."

"Quotes are all fine and dandy, but let's keep track of what our opponents are doing, please?" Khrista replied, looking over at Joshua cautiously.

"Right, right. Sorry." Linoone pranced around eagerly. "What do you want me to do next?"

"Go for another Headbutt. I don't want any more Focus Punch fiascos!"

"You got it!" Linoone ran forward, towards Marsh.

"Mud Shot!" Joshua shouted.

Marsh reared back, but Linoone rammed unto her gut again. Mud was shot out of her mouth and onto the Normal-Type before he could even back up. A moment later, the two collapsed, fainted.

"It's a draw!" Forrest announced.

The crowd roared.

Khrista gave a sly smile as she and Joshua returned their fainted Pokemon to their respective PokeBalls. "One on one. This is it. No going back."

"No going back," Joshua repeated thoughtfully. "There was no going back the minute Cyrus found out how to get us to this world."

Khrista's eyes narrowed slightly, her face turning into a scowl as she grabbed her last PokeBall. "We'll find a way home. I know it." She threw out her last PokeBall, releasing Swamp from its confines. "Just as I'm sure that I'm going to beat you!"

"I doubt it." Joshua smirked, then threw out his own PokeBall, releasing a Sceptile with a scar over one eye. "Leaf Blade, Cedar!"

"Earthquake to trip up his feet!"

Swamp slammed his front paws down onto the ground, causing the grass to upheave itself very much like when Marsh had used the attack before. Cedar stumbled a little and ended up tripping right in front of Swamp's front paws.

"Hammer Arm!" Khrista directed, raising her right fist up and bringing it down.

Swamp raised his front paws again and slammed down on Cedar's back, causing the Sceptile to cry out in pain.

"Leaf Blade!" Joshua repeated.

Cedar's leafy blades glowed, and he thrust them up into Swamp's chin. The Water/Ground-Type drew back sharply as a result and muttered something that sounded a lot like a curse of some sort.

"Keep your head on straight," Khrista muttered - whether it was meant for Swamp of herself, she wasn't exactly sure. "Come on - let's take this guy out, Type advantage or no. Hammer Arm!"

"Dig!"

Swamp raised his arms again, but he was hit in the face by a flurry of dirt brought on by Cedar as he disappeared underground.

"Pbth!" Swamp spat out some dirt that made its way into his mouth and glared down the hole.

"Earthquake!" Khrista called.

Swamp's front paws were already slamming down as Khrista gave the order. Once again, the battlefield shook as the ground was upheaved even further.

To Swamp's left, Cedar suddenly burst out of the ground, gasping for breath.

"Hammer Arm!"

"Leaf Blade!"

The two Pokemon charged at each other, one with glowing blades, and the other with clenched fists. The two punched each other, Swamp getting a slash from Cedar and Cedar getting a nasty bruise on his cheek. Then their fighting started to become more violent, raising a cloud of dust that obscured the view of the spectators.

As they fought, the trees shrank away and the grass disappeared, turning back into the basic battlefield. Khrista couldn't help but wonder if it was an attempt at getting the amount of dust to decrease so that people could actually see what was going on.

Slowly, the dust started to clear, revealing Swamp and Cedar with their arms locked together, swaying forwards and backwards - either because they were pushing each other or they were trying to keep the other up.

Cedar, who appeared to be panting heavily, looked from Swamp's face to Khrista's and back, a curious look in his eyes. A determined look soon replaced this, however, and with a nod, Cedar pulled out of Swamp's grip.

The two Pokemon and their Trainers stared at each other for what seemed like minutes, the crowd around them falling into a quiet whisper that carried throughout the stadium.

Swamp's form seemed to waver for a moment, almost as though he was about to collapse, but the Pokemon quickly steadied himself.

Cedar suddenly leaned forward, then pinwheeled his arms in order to keep himself balanced. Both of the Pokemon then start to fall, but only one of them managed to gather enough energy to stay upright.

As soon as the exhausted Pokemon hit the ground, Forrest exclaimed, "Sceptile is unable to battle! Khrista and Swampert win!"

The crowd instantly exploded into cheers and loud whistles as the two Trainers returned their Pokemon to their PokeBalls. A large grin had plastered itself on Khrista's face - this wasn't the first time that she had actually managed to defeat her cousin in battle, but it was still one of the few times she had. Joshua had a slight smile on, as well, but not as big a one as what Khrista had.

"Congratulations Khrista!" May called out. "That's it for this year's Verity Tournament, guys! Hope you can all come by next year!"

Khrista let out a short laugh. "Will I ever!" She turned and walked away from the battlefield, watching the crowd as the people seemed to move as one towards the exits.

Catching sight of a family of three near the front row, her grin shrunk, and a sad look came into her eyes. "I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing..."

Time Break

Despite the crowds, Khrista managed to reach the Pokemon Center in the stadium easily. Handing Nurse Joy her team, she turned and leaned back on the counter, watching as the spectators filed out of the stadium through the exits. Most of the kids were carrying small plush dolls, a few of which were lookalikes of Pokemon that had been in the Tournament (Jessie's and James' work, no doubt), as well as Vs. Recorders, which had probably been used to record the kids' favorite battles in the Tournament.

The teen could hear some of the younger generation near her arguing about who was a better Trainer - Red or Ash - and who was a better Coordinator - May or Platinum or Ruby. A few kids claimed that Khrista was probably a Mew in human form, according to what they had heard, and wanted to try to catch the Avatar after they had started out on their journeys. Khrista couldn't help but feel amused at the idea of her being catchable. She was human first and foremost, after all.

"Hey."

Khrista turned her head as Nurse Joy placed her PokeBalls on the counter, but it hadn't been the nurse who had spoken. Instead, it was the girl in red, orange, and gray armor.

Khrista stiffened as her blue eyes locked with the other's. "Maria?"

"You asked that before," the brown-haired girl in front of her replied. "Yeah, it's me."

"What happened to you?" Khrista reached over and grabbed the three PokeBalls and put them on her belt. "I mean, I didn't think that you wore armor like that before."

Maria offered a sad smile. "Kinda happened as soon as I got to the Capcom Kingdom." She looked around the crowded lobby. "I came here when I heard from a couple friends what was going on, but I found that you guys had already taken care of the problem. Looks like Liz and I weren't able to help each other with our quests."

Khrista blinked in confusion. "Wait - what?"

Maria let out a sigh. "Look, I've heard a lot about what's happened to you guys - including the fact that Cyrus' Warp Ring was destroyed."

"Warp Ring?" Khrista repeated. "Is that what he used to drag us here?"

"Yeah, from what it sounds like. But the thing is, you don't technically need it in order to get home." Maria gave a wide grin. "Which kind of makes me glad that I'm here to help."

"What do you mean by that?" Khrista wasn't exactly sure as to what Maria was getting to. "I mean, we're kinda stuck here. I don't know how you got here, but -"

"I'll explain over by Lien's cave," Maria replied. She grabbed Knrista's arm and led her towards the mentioned cave in the middle of the small pond that had been placed there as much for decoration as it was as a home for a certain Being of Emotion.

"Is it true that you're White?" Khrista burst out as the approached the pond. There was a small crowd of Pokemon and humans standing nearby, with Liz standing there with a curved sword in her right hand. It looked like the blade had been dunked in blue paint.

Maria paused and looked back then gave a nod. "Yeah, that's right. I'm the one who represents you guys from Kanto to Unova." She turned and looked back at the group. "Hey, guys! I'm Maria, but most people around here just call me White. Yes, that means that I've been in the area before and creamed Cyrus personally on Mt. Coronet." Maria slammed a fist into an open palm, grinning.

"How'd you get here, then?" Alia asked, cocking her head. Her black and pink-striped hair shifted around her shoulders.

"Same way Liz did." Maria nodded to Liz, who gave a smirk. "I made a portal and came straight here after taking care of something on MegaMan's world in Capcom."

"Capcom?" Joshua repeated. "You went to Capcom?"

"Yeah." Maria tapped her chest, producing a metallic clang. "I had a bit of an accident, so I'm not exactly human anymore as a result. But that doesn't mean I can't help you guys get home." She held her arms wide. "So, who wants to go home?"

The crowd of kids and Pokemon didn't move towards Maria. Most of them exchanged glances, but some of them just looked at her with blank expressions.

Maria let out a sigh and dropped her arms. "Look, if you guys don't want to go home, you can just say so and I won't send you back. But think about what exactly you're missing at home - your real home. There's a reason that I went back home the other two times I've gone home - my mom and dad needed to know what I was doing."

Maria snapped the fingers of her right hand, and a blue swirl suddenly appeared next to her.

Khrista jumped back in surprise and looked at the portal in shock and looked between it and Maria.

"So, do you want to go home or not?" Maria asked, motioning to the portal.

"I'll go."

Maria and Khrista turned their heads, and the two looked down at the sky-blue, cloud-collared Eeveelution that stepped out of the crowd.

"I want to go home and see Mom and Dad again," Grace stated boldly as Eliza moved out and stood next to her.

"Go ahead," Maria replied, motioning to the portal.

Grace grinned, then bounded forward and disappeared into the portal. Her Espeon older sister followed after her.

The rest of the group looked at each other, considering the actions of the two former-humans. Eventually, the rest of the small crowd of humans and Pokemon filed after them - starting with Rick the Riolu and Lucas the Torchic. Eventually, only Khrista, Liz, Matthew, Collin, and Joshua were left.

"You guys want to go home or not?" Maria asked, motioning to the portal. "Because I'm starting to lose energy through this."

Joshua looked over at Khrista, who had been watching the people disappear into the portal.

Khrista caught sight of her cousin's gaze, and looked over at him. After a moment, she looked over at Maria.

"Let's go home," she stated with a nod.

Everybody is going home, and we've just got a chapter and an epilogue left! Which means I'm posting the last two chapters in the next two days.

Here's a quick listing of Khrista's and Joshua's teams for the battle, by the way.

Khrista:

Swamp (Swampert) - Hydro Cannon, Hammer Arm, Muddy Water, Earthquake (vs. Cedar)

Linoone - Strength, Rock Smash, Cut, Headbutt (vs. Marsh)

Raichu - Thunder, Surf, Electric Bind, Volt Tackle (vs. Raze)

Joshua:

Raze - Blaze Kick, Close Combat, Flamethrower, Fire Blast

Cedar - Dig, Leaf Blade, Frenzy Plant, Solar Beam

Marsh - Earthquake, Mud Shot, Muddy Water, Hydro Cannon