Episode 51: Hunter
Brittany turned the television on in her room in Nimbasa City. The Grand Festival was a few more days away, and so she could afford to take a break to watch the Unova League. She had known that the Top 16 would begin in the late afternoon, and so as soon as she could, she laid down and watched it, her team of Pokémon sitting around the room, all eyes on the screen.
"And now we've got our second match of the fourth round! On one end is Niko from Pallet Town. On the other—Hunter from Castelia City!"
"Woah!" Brittany quickly sat upright, eyes glued to the screen. There, the announcer did not lie—Niko was indeed battling Hunter. "Oh, no…" She looked at her Pokémon, all of whom seemed to have worried looks with the exception of Dewott, who hardly knew Niko. Brittany then reached for her bag and grabbed her phone to quickly dial a number. "Hi…may I speak with the Frontier Brain…? Thanks." Brittany sat there for a few moments, waiting for her friend to pick up.
"Hello?" Lauren said in an uncharacteristically professional tone.
"Hi, Lauren. It's Brittany."
"Brittany! Hi!" She said excitedly. "What's up?"
"Are you near a TV?"
"Yes, why?"
"Turn it on." Brittany then gave her the channel for the Unova League, and waited. She then heard an audible gasp. "Yep, figured."
"I'll—I'll call you back, alright?" Lauren hung up. Brittany then dialed another number before continuing to watch the match.
"Staraptor, let's go!" Niko called out. "Aerial ace!"
"Mandibuzz, dark pulse!" Hunter commanded. His Pokémon—a large, vulture-like creature with a bone acting as a hair tie in the back of her head, conjured a powerful nexus of dark energy at her opponent. Staraptor, still as capable of a flier as he was when Niko left, agilely dodged the move and slammed into Mandibuzz, dragging her down to the ground. "Air slash!"
"Double team!" Niko shouted. Staraptor duplicated himself, making it more difficult for Mandibuzz to use a close-range air slash. Ultimately, she missed, and gave Staraptor an opportunity to get back into the air and create distance between the two of them. "Now, aerial ace again!"
"Dark pulse again." Hunter said, plainly this time. He seemed more comfortable, even. This didn't concern Niko—if all went well, he wouldn't for long. Once more, Staraptor missed and hit Mandibuzz, dragging the Bone Vulture Pokémon across the field, which in the case of this battle was a grassy one. All of the full battles in the Vertress Conference would take place on a different type of field. This one happened to be a grassland. Mandibuzz, to get Staraptor off of her, knocked the Predator Pokémon backwards with a third dark pulse before following up with an air slash, cutting through the air with her wings to hit her opponent.
"Double team!" Niko shouted just as the air slash hit, knowing Hunter would go in for another attack. He did, commanding Mandibuzz to use another dark pulse that missed. "Pfft. Staraptor, finish it off with brave bird!"
"Finish it off? Niko, please…" Hunter shouted back. "You won't defeat me. Not this time. Mandibuzz, brave bird as well!"
A blue aura burst around both Pokémon as they rushed towards one another, eventually crashing in the middle of the grassy field and repelling one another. Staraptor rolled across the grass before using the momentum from rolling to help himself back onto his feet. Mandibuzz, on the other hand, couldn't get back up.
"Mandibuzz is unable to battle, Staraptor is the winner! Hunter will second out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.
"Niko's not doing so bad!" Warren said.
"This happened last time, I think." Niko's mother said. "So…I wouldn't be celebrating quite yet." This soured the mood a little.
"Fine, Niko. You want to play hard ball? Let's play. Haxorus, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the Axe Jaw Pokémon that now characterized his team in Unova.
"Staraptor, return." Niko said plainly, exchanging pokéballs. "Serperior, let's go!" He shouted.
"Oh, pfft. You're going to try that again? Do you not remember the World Tournament?"
"Do you not remember being a disrespectful jerk? Because I do. Serperior, coil!"
The Regal Pokémon wrapped herself, emitting a light, transparent aura. Meanwhile, Haxorus used dragon dance, with a red and purple aura surrounding it as well. Niko and Serperior both watched their opponents, waiting for the right time to strike.
"Now! Leaf blade!" Niko shouted.
"Dragon claw!" Hunter commanded. Haxorus rushed across the grass, claws bursting with red and white energy. Serperior slithered along the field, her tail glowing a bright green. They met in the middle, evenly matched in speed. Serperior flung herself forward, tail-first, into a somersault to meet Haxorus' dragon claw. The two attacks collided magnificently. Serperior repeated the attack, now sitting down on the grass with her tail sticking out, whacking and parrying Haxorus' blows. She eventually found a weak spot, and stabbed the Axe Jaw Pokémon in the side, knocking it back before lunging forward.
"Coil!" Niko shouted, and Serperior wrapped herself around Haxorus. "Now, giga drain!"
A green aura enveloped both Serperior and Haxorus as the former drained energy from the latter. Haxorus was unable to move—Serperior had wrapped herself in a way that prevented its small hands from moving anywhere.
"Dragon dance!" Hunter shouted, which confused Niko. If Haxorus couldn't use an attack, why would it use dragon dance?
For when it's not wrapped up…right. Niko said. "Serperior, be careful!" He then commanded her to let go and use leaf blade, which resulted in her smacking Haxorus upside the head and landing back on the ground before using a second leaf blade across the side of the Axe Jaw, who managed to grab her tail this time.
"Throw Serperior!" Hunter shouted. Haxorus, with its increased strength courtesy of dragon dance, spun around and slammed Serperior onto the ground. "And dragon pulse!"
"Leaf tornado!" Niko shouted, and Serperior quickly summoned a vortex of leaves from the tip of her tail at Haxorus, forcing it to let her go. "Now, coil around Haxorus again!"
"Not this time, Niko! Dragon claw!" Hunter shouted angrily. However, Serperior still managed to outpace her opponent, quickly wrapping herself around, constricting the Axe Jaw Pokémon's movements.
"Now, throw Haxorus!" Niko shouted. Serperior tilted herself backwards and spun through the air, landing Haxorus on its head and letting go. "Leaf blade!" Serperior's tail began to glow again and slashed at the Axe Jaw Pokémon, who was now struggling to get back up.
"Oh…man." Warren said. "Serperior is kicking ass now."
"She always has." Charlotte said with a smirk. "But she has more of a reason to this time."
Haxorus, after attempting to get back up, crumbled on its stomach.
"Haxorus is unable to battle, Serperior is the winner! Hunter will now send out his third Pokémon!"
Niko noticed Hunter looking visibly frustrated now, and could faintly hear him uttering a series of choice words. He then pulled out a third pokéball, this time sending out Bisharp. "Serperior, return." Niko repeated.
"What?" Hunter said with surprise—a new intonation from Niko's perspective.
"Feraligatr, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Let's start off with whirlpool!"
The Big Jaw Pokémon raised his arms and conjured a powerful swirling twister of water before throwing it across the field at Bisharp. The Sword Blade Pokémon dodged the attack and dashed towards Feraligatr, eventually landing a slash attack on him. Feraligatr groaned from the attack, but quickly retaliated with a less effective ice punch and knocking Bisharp to the ground.
"Hydro pump!"
"X-scissor!" Hunter snapped. Bisharp managed to block the strong gush of water, but it was ephemeral at best, since Feraligatr used a second ice punch, this time past its arm-blades and aimed at the metal ribcage lining Bisharp's torso, launching Bisharp off of the field and into the side of the stadium, right under some spectators.
"Feraligatr, return." Niko said, again plainly. Ignoring Hunter's confusion, he sent out his next Pokémon. "Numel, you're up buddy!"
"So that's his first fire type?" Warren said with wonder, and Niko's mother nodded.
"Numel has a special connection with Niko in that regard. They went through a bit in their early days as trainer-and-Pokémon." She mentioned.
"Numel, flamethrower!" Niko shouted. Expectedly, Bisharp evaded the move and charged at the Numb Pokémon. "Now, magnitude!"
Numel, sensing the raw energy within Niko, cried out as he aggressively shook the ground around him. Bisharp struggled to maintain balance, eventually regaining it, but losing momentum in the process. Now's our chance. Niko thought to himself.
"Numel, earth power!" He called out. Numel jumped a few inches into the air before landing back down, creating shockwaves under the grassy battlefield. The vibrations hit Bisharp in a powerful burst of energy sent upwards, launching the Sword Blade Pokémon into the air. "Now, flamethrower!"
"X-scissor!" Hunter commanded. Bisharp shot downwards, spinning through the air and through the fire before landing on Numel and slashing hard at his face. Unfortunately for it, Bisharp hit Numel on the forehead.
"Oh…Hunter that was a bad idea." Niko said, and watched as Numel spit out a jet of blue fire at Bisharp, sending it flying across the now-charred grass, nearly hitting Hunter straight-on. Bisharp collapsed onto the ground behind its trainer.
"Bisharp is unable to battle, Numel is the winner!" The referee declared. "Hunter will now use his fourth Pokémon!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Hunter shouted, returning Bisharp.
"And now we are halfway through the battle!" Colton Goodshow announced. "So far, Hunter from Castelia City has lost three Pokémon, while Niko from Pallet Town, having used four of his six Pokémon, hasn't lost a single one!"
"This is incredible." Warren said. "Makes you wonder why Niko lost the first time."
"They weren't as fired up as they were then." Niko's mother said. "And…they were very fired up last year, if that gives you any indication of anything."
Warren nodded in response.
"Drapion! Go!" Hunter shouted, angrily throwing his fourth pokéball out. "Use cross poison!" The Ogre Scorpion Pokémon conjured a white and purple "x" mark in between its crossed claws and launched it at the Numb Pokémon, who wasn't quick enough to dodge it first. "Hone claws, and cross poison again!" He snapped. Niko had never seen Hunter this mad before—it was almost maniacal in fact.
"Numel, earth power!" Niko shouted, but he saw Numel wince. Poisoned…He thought. "Numel, we have to keep going buddy. You can win this!" He said calmly. He noticed a nod, and then Numel leapt into the air. As he did, he was struck with the cross poison, which knocked him back to the ground and disrupted the attack. "Dammit…" Niko muttered. Numel has difficulty getting back up…
"Venoshock!" Hunter shouted, and the Ogre Scorpion Pokémon spit out liquid poison from its mouth, across the field and at Numel in an archlike motion. "Now, night slash!"
Drapion scuttled across the grass towards the poisoned Numel and slashed at him mercilessly. Niko realized that Drapion's power was coming solely from Hunter's rage—there was a connection between them that Niko now understood better. He then realized Toxicroak had that same connection, and likely a stronger one due to it being Hunter's "ace" Pokémon.
"Numel, flamethrower!" Niko shouted. While Drapion slashed and cut at Numel, who was still unable to get back onto his feet, the Numb Pokémon turned his head towards Drapion and belted out a jet of flame before feeling the poison surge through him one more time. Numel's head then fell to the ground, and he didn't get back up.
"Numel is unable to battle, Drapion is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will now use his next Pokémon!"
"Numel, return. Well done, buddy. I'm very proud of you, still." He said, eying Hunter as he did so. His rival looked incredibly pleased with himself, especially considering Drapion was at a disadvantage.
"If that's your best, Niko, then I'm sorry for you." Hunter spat out.
"Dude, you've seen some of my best already—they beat yours." Niko replied. "Here's one of them again—Feraligatr, I choose you!" He shouted proudly, throwing a pokéball high into the air. "Feraligatr, hydro pump!"
"Venoshock!" Hunter snapped. Drapion spit out another round of liquid poison, which was quickly repelled by the jet of water emanating from Feraligatr's mouth. "Cross poison!"
"Block with whirlpool!" Niko shouted. Once more, Feraligatr held his opponent at a draw. "Now, ice punch!"
"Cross poison!" Hunter commanded. Feraligatr punched the purple and white "x" in the middle of the field, ending in a third stalemate. "Night slash!" Hunter shouted. It was clear he had no strategy anymore. To be fair, Niko was also trying to pelt Drapion with attacks, but it was part of a larger strategy.
"Ice punch!" Niko shouted. "And again!" He called out after Feraligatr blocked the night slash with his frozen fist. Feraligatr kept this up before finally slamming an ice punch across Drapion's face, hitting the white fangs curving outside of its mouth. The Ogre Scorpion Pokémon stumbled to the side a little before Feraligatr used hydro pump at close range, knocking Drapion to the ground. "Whirlpool!"
"FERA!" Feraligatr shouted, conjuring a swirling torrent of water and landing it on Drapion, engulfing it in the vortex that eventually spit Drapion out to the side.
"Now, ice punch again!" Niko shouted, noticing that Drapion was wet from the two consecutive water moves. Feraligatr ran towards Drapion and slammed his fist into the other side of its face, knocking it to the ground a second time.
"Drapion, night slash!" Hunter said, but his Pokémon wasn't moving. "Drapion! I said use—!" He paused, noticing that Drapion was frozen. "WHAT!?"
"Feraligatr, use crunch!" Niko shouted. The Big Jaw Pokémon shot down towards Drapion, sinking his teeth into the Ogre Scorpion's hard exterior. Niko could audibly hear the crunch. "Now, hydro pump!" He called out, noticing how Feraligatr shot backwards from the force of the attack, ultimately coming to a halt at the midpoint of the field. Hunter's jaw dropped when he realized Drapion couldn't get back up.
"Drapion is unable to battle, Feraligatr is the winner!" The referee declared. "Hunter will now use his fifth Pokémon!"
"Drapion is one of his strongest, isn't it?" Warren asked. Niko's mother nodded, looking in disbelief.
Niko smiled, realizing that his Feraligatr had defeated one of Hunter's most powerful Pokémon with relative ease. "You guys practiced while I was gone, didn't you?" He asked, surprised that it didn't cross his mind before this battle began. Feraligatr turned and nodded with a smirk. They knew…they always knew.
Meanwhile, Hunter stood still, only moving to return Drapion to its pokéball. Niko could faintly see the rage welling up inside him.
"Volcarona, go." He finally said, just as it looked like the referee was about to call a forfeit. Out of Hunter's fifth pokéball was the same Pokémon Niko, Warren, and Charlotte had seen in the Relic Castle; or, at least, the same species. It was massive white moth with six red and orange-colored wings. It floated in the air a foot above the ground.
"Feraligatr, return." Niko said. This seemed to piss off Hunter, who lightly stomped on the ground. "Oh, chill out, man." Niko shouted. "Rampardos, let's go!"
Now, Niko heard a laugh from Hunter. "Heh. I can see it's still alive, isn't it?" He said with a villainous smirk. "No matter—Volcarona and Toxicroak can handle it, just like last time."
"No no…not like last time." Niko replied. "Rampardos, let's show Hunter what you've learned since then." He said.
"Volcarona, hurricane!" Hunter shouted.
"Rampardos, HEAD SMASH!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward. The Head Butt Pokémon lowered his shiny red head and was suddenly surrounded by a whitish-red aura, making it seem almost black and white. Rampardos then shot towards Volcarona, head pointing forward. "That's right buddy, let's go!" He called out.
The hurricane whipped up by Volcarona attempted to carry Rampardos into the air—at least, that was the intent. However, Rampardos did everything he could to resist it. Eventually, he found himself rising up a few feet, but he was now close enough to Volcarona that it inadvertently gave him a boost that rocketed him back down towards the Sun Pokémon. Volcarona crashed into the ground behind it with Rampardos on top. A cloud of dust erupted from underneath the two.
Once it dissipated, Niko saw Rampardos dizzily walk backwards from the impact. In the ground, Volcarona lay, unable to move.
Niko's jaw dropped this time. Rampardos defeated Volcarona in a single shot. "Geez…overpowered much, Rampardos?"
"Volcarona is unable to battle, Rampardos is the winner!" The referee declared. The crowd cheered as Niko and Rampardos exchanged looks.
"Only one left…" Warren said in disbelief. "Was this how it was when Hunter beat Niko?"
"It was the opposite, actually. Niko only defeated two of Hunter's Pokémon, if I recall correctly." Niko's mother said.
"That Toxicroak will be tough to beat." Charlotte said, a genuine look of concern on her face. "Niko's never gotten close to beating it before. I don't think anyone has."
Hunter stood silent, clearly now deep in thought. He had now seen five of Niko's six Pokémon. He had only one left, and he had to made it count, or else he's obviously lose.
"Toxicroak, win this." He finally said. The Toxic Mouth Pokémon leapt out of its pokéball and immediately rushed at Rampardos with no instructions, claws glowing purple.
"Rampardos, slow it with flamethrower!" Niko shouted. The Head Butt Pokémon belted out a jet of fire that hit Toxicroak and indeed slowing it down, but only a little. "Now, zen headbutt!"
Rampardos' head lit up in a light red aura, sparking with energy, as he charged to meet Toxicroak. The two collided powerfully, sending shock waves across the field, even ripping up blades of grass close to them. Rampardos dug deep into the ground, hoping to press against Toxicroak with as much force as he could. Eventually, he did, dragging the Toxic Mouth Pokémon across the field and knocking it over.
"Return, Rampardos." Niko said. "Feraligatr, go!" He shouted, summoning the Big Jaw Pokémon. "Use hydro pump!"
Feraligatr unleashed a jet of water at Toxicroak, who was in the process of getting back up. The hydro pump knocked him back down, angering Hunter.
"Feraligatr, return." Niko said again, and calmly. "Staraptor, I choose you!"
"What's Niko doing…?" Warren asked.
"No idea." Charlotte replied.
"Staraptor, aerial ace!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand into the air. The Predator Pokémon rose high up and dove down at Toxicroak, who retaliated with a poison jab before falling to the ground alongside his opponent. "Close combat!"
Staraptor spun on his body and kicked at Toxicroak before slapping him with his wings. Toxicroak, in turn, stabbed at Staraptor with poison jab once before getting knocked back down with another kick from close combat. Staraptor then rose back into the air, when Niko promptly returned him.
"Staraptor, come back." Niko said calmly. It was clear now what he was doing. It was, by all measures, an odd strategy, and he in particular felt odd about doing it. But he figured he was going to win now—he had too many Pokémon that were healthy enough to defeat Toxicroak. "Serperior, let's go!"
"Toxicroak, we can win this!" Hunter snapped. "WIN THIS NOW!"
Toxicroak got up and rushed at Serperior, both claws glowing bright purple. Serperior retaliated by swatting at the Toxic Mouth Pokémon in the side with leaf blade, launching him to the left and into the grass. Serperior then used leaf tornado that emitted from her tail and struck Toxicroak head-on.
"Now, coil!" Niko shouted as he saw Toxicroak getting back up. Serperior rushed forward and quickly wrapped herself around the amphibious Pokémon. "And…throw it!" Serperior spun around and unfurled her tail, launching Toxicroak across the field in an archlike motion. "Serperior, return." Niko finally said, staring Hunter down. "How does it feel?"
"HOW DOES WHAT FEEL?" He spat out.
"Losing. It's clear you can't take it well." Niko said. "This is for my friends that you've insulted. For JJ and Lauren and Charlotte. And for my Pokémon: Rampardos, and now Prinplup. I choose you!" Niko shouted decisively, summoning the Penguin Pokémon. "You're last, buddy—make it count. Prinplup, drill peck!"
"That's the one that Hunter used to own?" Warren asked. Once more, Niko's mother nodded. "Wow. Impressive."
Prinplup charged at Toxicroak, running faster than Niko had ever seen him run. His beak was elongated further out than it normally was. Prinplup stabbed Toxicroak in the shoulder, causing it to stumble. Niko then commanded him to use hydro pump, which successfully knocked Toxicroak off of his feet and onto the ground.
"WATER PULSE!" Niko shouted, as loud as he could. Prinplup conjured a pulsating blue orb of water that he forcefully brought down on Toxicroak. The orb burst upon contact, spraying water everywhere. Prinplup stood over Toxicroak, staring it down aggressively.
Toxicroak looked up at Prinplup and, before laying his head back on the grass, smirked.
"Toxicroak is unable to battle, Prinplup is the winner. The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared, throwing up a white flag in Niko's direction.
"YES!" Warren shouted as he stood up with Sydney and Charlotte, all three of them cheering wildly.
"HE DID IT!" Brittany screamed, hugging each of her Pokémon in her hotel room.
"He did it…" Lauren said as she stood and watched the TV from her office in her frontier facility. "He really did it." She smirked. "Good job, Niko."
Niko, meanwhile, only looked at Prinplup, who turned and walked towards Niko as Toxicroak disappeared behind him. Moments later, the two broke into a run, where Niko slide across the charred grass and, on his knees, hugged Prinplup.
"I'm so proud of you, buddy." He said. "You and all of your teammates. I could not be prouder of you than I am right now." He could feel the back of his shoulder dampening a little—Prinplup was crying. "And…I really am sorry for leaving you and everyone else. I meant it when I first said it, and I mean it now." He let go of Prinplup and looked directly at him. "And sometimes I don't think I deserve to be your trainer, but I definitely want you all in my life. I know that much."
Prinplup nodded in return.
Upon seeing his friends on the other end of the tunnel, Niko was taking in by a full-body tackle that nearly knocked him over. He looked to see Warren squeezing him tightly.
"You did it!" He shouted. "You beat Hunter!"
"I did. We…we did." He said, looking down at Prinplup next to him.
"Oh, right. Hi!" Warren said, reaching his hand down to the Penguin. "You kicked ass out there, buddy!"
Prinplup returned it with a slap on Warren's palm. Niko then turned to Sydney, who gave him a tight hug as well, and then his mother.
"You did amazing out there, son." She said. When she let go, Niko saw Charlotte there, who went in for a hug as well.
"I told you." She muttered. "I told you you'd win."
"And I did, didn't I?" Niko said, laying his chin on her head. "Somehow, you're always right."
The group watched the remaining battles to decide the Top 8. Niko ended up catching Elliot's match against a trainer from Virbank City. He also noticed the woman with the Infernape—Harmony. Both trainers won their matches by only losing a few Pokémon—Elliot lost three, Harmony two, and both were proceeding with Niko to the quarterfinals.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! What a day of battling! We are now down to the final eight trainers. Beginning tomorrow, these eight will compete in the next round to determine our final four, who will compete in the semifinals tomorrow evening. And so, by the end of tomorrow, we will have decided the final two trainers!" Colton Goodshow excitedly announced over the microphone. "Without further ado, let's see who's up against whom!"
Niko watched as the eight profiles flipped, randomly shifted around on the monitor, and then flipped back again, revealing four pairs. Surprisingly, Niko didn't recognize his opponent.
"That's the guy that battled before you, Niko." Warren said. "His name is Dan. He looked pretty tough, but I think you could beat him."
"If I do, then I've improved. I've never made it past the quarterfinals." Niko said.
"And you will." Sydney said. "We believe you will."
"Yup." Charlotte said, patting Niko on the back.
"Thanks, Charlotte, everyone." Niko said, looking back at Dan's profile.
Niko was walking with his mother and friends to go to dinner when he saw Hunter walking towards downtown Vertress City. "Hey, guys, go on without me." He said.
"Niko…why?" Warren asked.
"Just go!" Niko shouted as he ran off across the grassy field separating the stadium's land from the city proper. "Hunter!" He said, calling out for his rival. The man in all black turned to see Niko, and promptly ignored him. "HUNTER!"
"What. Do. You. Want?" Hunter said as Niko stopped several feet away from him.
"I just wanted to say…good battle." Niko admitted.
"Of course you'd say that. You won it."
"No. I mean it. At first, it looked like you were really enjoying it. Then what happened?"
He noticed Hunter sigh heavily, closing his eyes and tilting his head downwards. "I've only lost one official—or unofficial—match before today. That was to Cynthia in the Sinnoh Region."
"That's right, you won the Lily of the—"
"I know I did. You don't have to tell me." Hunter paused, sighed again, and continued. "I was raised to believe that winning is all that matters. Power is all that matters. That's why I got rid of my Piplup—your Piplup. It wasn't strong enough for my standards. Only the Pokémon I own are. To lose to you hurt…a lot. I still think you're weak, and pathetic. You care too much."
"Why's that an issue?"
"Because when you let your emotions into a battle, everything hurts more, and you're more likely to make errors."
"That's not true at all. I won against you because the bond I have with my Pokémon—the emotional one—is strong. And I think that's why you lost."
"Then why have you never been able to beat me before now?"
"Because raw power does matter, but not always. That's why you lost. You relied on raw power. I relied on some strategy, but mostly on my Pokémon. Notice who I used—Serperior, who has wanted to win against a Haxorus since she first lost to yours; Rampardos, because you nearly killed him; and Prinplup, for obvious reasons. I used the others because I thought they were the best match against you. They also volunteered to fight."
"I don't understand you, Niko."
"What's not to understand? It's common decency!"
"Pokémon are used for battling. They are fighters, not just friends."
"They can be both, though." Niko said. "I think your Pokémon see you as their friend—their mentor. They look up to you. I noticed it in Toxicroak, and in Drapion. They do care a lot about you, and it would do them good to see you reciprocate those feelings. Who knows, maybe you'll beat me next time because of it."
"I disagree—that's not going to change." Hunter then turned towards Vertress City. "But I have noticed that your Pokémon have an unusual amount of determination, Niko. It's not hard to see that they've inherited that trait from you." He then turned to look at Niko, and their eyes locked. "It's clear that they too look up to you, even if you've abandoned them before. I might not agree with it, but I'd be a real dumbass if even I couldn't see that they…err…love you."
"I bet that's the first time you've ever said 'love.'" Niko said with a light chuckle.
"It's not, but nice try at a joke." Hunter said. He was still scowling, but Niko could see a small hint of a smirk etched on Hunter's face. There were a few moments of awkward tension between the two, before Hunter looked at Niko again. "Good luck."
And then he turned and left towards the city proper, leaving Niko alone with the sun setting to his right.
Author's Note: Welp. Niko finally won. And now he had a new, unknown opponent up next! Can he overcome this, and finally make it past the quarterfinals? Hopefully, but we'll just have to wait and see!