The lights to the stadium were on and shining on us. There were at least 50 people in here and more were coming in. Word was getting out about this battle. Big deal since it's the new champion against the son of a former great champion.

I had to control my anger and turn into thinking power for this battle. I have complete confidence in my ability to win but I want him to know. I want him to feel that I know I'm in control and that I know what I'm doing.

My first Pokemon is easy. It's Muk. His Pokemon is Absol. I was a little surprised that he would use Absol as his first Pokemon but it mattered not. Nothing Absol can do for what I had planned.

"That is one ugly Pokemon. I think you have a thing for ugly," Astor cracked. He looked over at Caleb and laughed. I didn't look over at Caleb, I just stared at Astor.

"I'm glad you have comedy to fall back on when you are done crying when you lose to me," I respond back.

Astor raised his brow and then chuckled. "Damn, you got some jokes. Absol, Quick Attack!"

Cheap. Trying to attack when my guard is down.

"Muk, sludge bomb." I know the attack will miss. I'm not trying to hit Absol. As predicted Absol dodged the attack and hit Muk. Muk isn't affected much by an attack like that.

"Absol use Night Slash." I tell Muk to use sludge bomb again. My attack misses while Absol's connects.

A large portion of the field on Astor's side was already covered in sludge. My side was clean except for where Muk was standing. Absol was directly in front of me where I wanted him.

"Muk go back and hide in the sludge." This was a similar tactic that I used against Caleb back in Alola.

Astor was unsure what to do. Muk was in the sludge and couldn't be seen.

"Sludge Wave!" Muk rises from the sludge and send a wall of it towards Absol.

"Jump straight into the air and use Razor Wind directly below you." The sludge wave fills my side of the field with sludge, however Absol's attack clears an area where it lands.

Wasn't quite expecting that to happen but it works in my favor. "Muk, go hide again."

Astor was getting furious. "Are you just going to keep hiding!? You damn coward."

I snickered. "Hey, you are the Champion here. You should be able to tell where Muk is and beat it. Unless you are a fraud."

He yelled profanity at me and ordered his Absol to use Razor Wind right in front of him. It missed.

"Body Slam, Muk."

Astor panicked and ordered another Razor Wing attack. It missed too. That's when Muk came up from the side and slammed into Absol. Absol was knocked into the sludge.

"Muk, use Gunk Shot!" The Gunk shot attack devastated Absol as it struggled to get out of the sludge. Absol didn't faint right away, but as it tried to get out of the sludge it fainted due to exhaustion.

A loud round of applause rang out in the stadium. There had to be a couple hundred people here. There was even a camera crew here. One of us here was going to be humiliated.

"What's wrong Astor? You seem a little rattled."

"Shut up."

"What? You can dish it but can't handle it?" I'm watching the cogs turn in his head. He is extremely rattled, not used to this. He likes to trash talk way too much. People like that usually can't dish it. I was willing to bet he couldn't. I was right.

"How about this Astor? Neither of us will say another damn word to each other. We'll just focus on ourselves and our Pokemon."

"Fine," he said reluctantly.

With the match felt like it had restarted. However, it was far from that. The field was still filled with sludge and gunk.

He had the perfect Pokemon to deal with the sludge and Muk. Crawdaunt. With a myriad of water attacks he clear up the field and knocked out Muk. I had seen this Crawdaunt in the battle against Josiah. It is a fierce Pokemon with no quit in it.

Normally I would prefer to go with Mudsdale as my 2nd to last Pokemon, but it would be a bad idea to do that now. Oricorio might work but I don't know. Toxapex isn't trustworthy in a battle like this. It ignores me too much. That leaves me Passimian and Decidueye. I would love to give Passimian a shot to train but this battle is too important. I have to go with Decidueye but I have to be careful of the dark attacks.

I send Decidueye out to battle Crawdaunt. Astor immediately attacks with Vice Grip. Decidueye struggles to get its wing out of the grip. I decide not to tell Decidueye to do anything, rather let it get angry and do it's thing. Decidueye pecks away at Crawdaunt at a furious pace. Decidueye then jumps into the air and tries to fly. When it can't it begins to fall with Crawdaunt still holding on.

"Turn to your side!" I yell. Decidueye turns in the air so when he falls to the ground Crawdaunt hits first. The contact with the ground and Decidueye into Crawdaunt causes Crawdaunt's grip to let go.

Decidueye jumps away from Crawdaunt but then charges and claps it hard.

"Crawdaunt, use Night Slash." The close proximity of the two Pokemon gives Decidueye no chance to get out of the way so it has to eat the hit.

Crawdaunt then continues with a second attack that Astor didn't give it. Crabhammer. The attack hits Decidueye in the face sending him flying in the air.

"Brave Bird!" Decidueye quickly readjusts in the air and descends down at a rapid pace.

"Night Slash, Crawdaunt."

Both attacks hit. Both Pokemon tumble on the ground and stop next to each other. I know Decidueye is done so I recall it declaring it unable to battle in the mean time.

However, Astor heckles at his Pokemon.

"Get up Crawdaunt. You are not finished!"

"Astor, stop. He's done. Recall him."

"Shut up, Cameron. This is my Pokemon. He is not weak like yours."

I look at the judge who looks at Crawdaunt who fidgets on the ground. The judge was about to declare him finished but is now hesitating in doing so.

"This is cruel, Astor. Crawdaunt is hurt badly."

"But he is not finished!"

Astor was furious. His eyes were locked on Crawdaunt as it staggered to it's feet. It's right leg was severely bruised. It struggled to put weight on it.

This was wrong.

It was so wrong. I looked down at the Pokeball I had in my hand. Decidueye was in there. Next to my leg was Skitty. He wasn't sleeping. He was up on all 4 looking at Crawdaunt.

"I can't do this," I say to myself. I can't continue this battle.

I look up and see Crawdaunt finally standing. It looks is bad shape, only standing because it's owner commands it. I look around the stadium at the couple hundred people that have now gathered. Silence.

I shake my head, turn and begin to walk away.

"Where are you going!? We have a battle to finish."

"I will not battle your Crawdaunt. I will not hurt it any more than I already have."

"Coward!" He yells.

I don't say anything. I nod and continue to walk.

"Cameron Alistar has forf-" a loud thud occurs interrupting the official.

A couple gasps fill the arena as Carl yells, "Cameron!"

I turn around and see a large green Pokemon standing in the middle of the battlefield. My eyes fail to recognize the Pokemon until I see the tail sway from side to side. Then I notice the red armband on it.

Sceptile.

It stares down Astor and Crawdaunt and roars. A moment after the roar Crawdaunt falls to the ground.

The official looks at Crawdaunt and then me. "Uh. Um Crawdaunt is unable to battle."

I walk towards the trainer's box where Skitty still stood. I watch as Astor breathes heavily in anger. He recalls his Pokemon and I hear him mutter, "Weak."

"Go Sceptile!"

Astor's Sceptile stands tall in front of my dad's Sceptile.

Astor then yells, "Are we still battling or are you running like the coward you are?"

"We're still battling," I respond.

"Then send our your final Pokemon!"

I reach into my bag and grab a Pokeball and say, "It's standing right in front of you Astor."

Astor shakes his head. "No. That's your dad's. He isn't your Pokemon!"

"What do you mean Astor? I have his Pokeball right here."

Sceptile looks back slightly and stares at me as I hold the ball up. It nods and then stares at Astor. Astor mutters to himself and spits on the ground.

"Fine! I'll beat you and his wretched Sceptile! I'm the new Champion. Now Sceptile use Quick Attack."

His Sceptile moves fast and hits mine. Then he orders his to use Agility. I watch as Sceptile looks around calmly.

"Quick Attack!" I order. Sceptile bolts off the ground and hits Astor's Pokemon. Sceptile then grabs it and throws it towards Astor.

Astor tells his Pokemon to use Double Team. Sceptile again looks around as if it knows where his opponent is. I must trust his foresight to give us the advantage. Astor orders his Sceptile to use Slam. I tell mine to do nothing. It takes the hit and is pushed several feet away from Astor's Sceptile. I tell him to back up a few more feet and it does.

"Tackle!" I order.

Astor yells, "Slam!"

Fool.

"Halt! Now use Iron Tail," I exclaim.

Astor tries to get his Pokemon to stop but it is too late. Sceptile levels an Iron Tail attack into his.

"Slam!" I order him to do next.

"Sceptile jumps into the air, grabs his opponent and throws him down. Then he lands on the ground and slams into Astor's Sceptile as it tries to stand."

"You are outmatched, Astor." I say defiantly.

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" Astor yells at his Pokemon.

I shake my head. I was done with this battle. It was time to end and I knew the move that would do it. It was a move I remember my dad teaching Sceptile with the help of some fighting Guru.

Also it was nice to be able to use this move instead of it being used on me and my Pokemon. "Focus Blast!"

Sceptile takes a deep breath and waits for Astor's Sceptile to get closer. Then at the right moment it lets lose a massive Focus Blast that causes debris to spin up off the ground. I cover my eyes from the dirt and when the dirt recedes I see Astor's Sceptile on the ground not moving. My Scep-my dad's Sceptile is standing above it unaffected.

"Sceptile is unable to battle. Uh, Sceptile and Cameron Alistar are the winners!" The judge declares this to the roar of the couple hundred people here.

I walked up to Sceptile and thanked it. It nodded and left. I watched as it jumped up the stadium seats till it disappeared over the stadium wall. Then I looked over to Astor who stared at his Sceptile as it lied on the ground.

I bent down and reached into my pocket and grabbed a Pokebean out of the small brown bag I had. I held to the Sceptile's mouth and fed it to him. I looked up at Astor and told him to recall his Pokemon.

He looked lost.

I got up and walked towards him.

"Astor?"

"I lost," he whispered.

"Astor, it's okay," I said gently trying to forget all of the shitty things he has said.

"No it's not. I friggin lost. I'm a failure."

I go to place my hand on his shoulder and he shoves me away. "Get away. I don't need nor want your pity."

"I don't pity you, Astor," I say calmly.

"Screw you." He turns and goes to leave but his Sceptile is still lying on the ground. It looks at Astor and tries to make a noise but couldn't.

"Your Pokemon is still here. You can't leave it."

Astor stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath. He reached towards his belt and grabbed his Pokeball. He tossed the Pokeball back over his shoulder. I watched as the Pokeball fell to the ground and rolled towards my feet.

"It's not mine anymore," Astor said coldly. He didn't turn around, he just kept walking away.

I didn't know what to do. This cruelty defies my ability to comprehend. I just stare at the now empty doorway Astor has disappeared to. I thought he would come back but he didn't. He didn't want his Pokemon anymore.

How can someone be so heartless?

I look down and see the Pokeball had disappeared. I turn around and see Skitty rolling the Pokeball towards Sceptile. That's when I notice Caleb tending to Sceptile with the potion and elixirs we brought the other day.

"Caleb?" I say in an empty voice.

Steven and Carl descend from the stadium seats to the ground and approach us.

"What do I do?" I ask him.

"You, no, we do what's right. We take him home with us."

I continue to stare at Caleb's gaze when I feel something wet stroll down my cheek. I wipe it away and drop to my knees in front of Sceptile. I grab the Pokeball and look at it. Then I look at Sceptile and ask, "Do you want to come with us? I will not activate this ball and force you. If you want to come you activate it."

Caleb then adds, "We'll love to bring you home with us." He rubs Sceptile on it's forehead and smiles.

I place the Pokeball in front of Sceptile face and get up.

Steven places his hand on my shoulder and says, "Your dad would be proud."

I lost it. I felt as if all of this pressure that was building up in my head began to flow out. It came out of nowhere until I started battling with Sceptile. And now...now it's unbearable.

Steven patted my back and then transferred me over to Caleb. We didn't say a word to each other, I just cried and he just comforted me. After a few moments I took a couple deep breaths and felt more relaxed. I stopped crying and wiped away the wet streak as I detached from Caleb's shoulder.

I looked down and saw that Sceptile was no longer on the ground. Steven then bent down and picked up the Pokeball. He held it out in front of me and said, "Every Pokemon deserves to be loved. This is a fundamental belief your dad had. A belief you have too. Take this ball and this Pokemon and do what we all know you'll do."

I took another deep breath and grabbed the Pokeball. I didn't put it in my bag, rather I went to place it on my belt. That's when I remembered something Caleb told me once.

I looked at him and he asked me what was wrong. I held the Pokeball in front of him and placed it in his hand.

"Now you have Sceptile to go along with Kommo-o. For Zach."

I looked down and gripped the Pokeball. He took it and placed it on his belt and looked up at me.

"Thanks," he said with a smile.