Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Chilling Champion. Enjoy the 1200-word chapter. I don't own Pokémon, Nintendo and a few others.

Mabrey could only think about how Cynthia was eager for this battle. He was quite interested how this battle would end. Mabrey crossed his arms and started to smirk, letting Mismagius float onto the battlefield.

"Are you SURE you want this battle to start?" Mabrey asked, drumming his fingers on his arms. "I don't want to fight unless you're ok with it," Mabrey added, closing his eyes.

He began to think of the next move he employed in battle. Cynthia was smart, she was cunning… It was part of the reason why he under

"Indeed." Cynthia said looking at Garchomp, patting the Pokémon on the snout once more. "I'm curious about the next battle, our last one was quite cinematic… Don't you think?" Cynthia questioned to which Mabrey wanted to think how this battle would go.

"Indeed, but I'm not in the mood to win." Mabrey said and turned to look at Mismagius. "Maggy? You ready for this? You remember Garchomp?" Mabrey asked, a small smirk spreading over his features.

This battle was far more enjoyable than he thought. Mismagius rose up, eager to fight. She was eager to trounce someone who she had clashed with before.

"You go first, it's only fitting since you came all this way." Mabrey said, Mismagius lowering her head towards her enemy with interest.

"Garchomp, stone edge!" Cynthia yelled as the Pokémon surged forward, grabbing a rock as it did so.

"Mismagius? Dodge and use psychic!" Mabrey responded, tucking his hands into his pockets as he did so.

"Mismagius!" Mismagius yelled as her eyes flashed with energy, sending the Pokémon skidding backwards. "Mismagius! Mismagius!" Mismagius shouted with happiness washing over her features with a smile slashing across her face.

Garchomp dug his claws into the ground, stopping himself from being flung backwards, cutting groves into the ground. He could only marvel how strong the Pokémon was to resist Mismagius on such a level. But then again? She had been this powerful last time they had clashed.

"Didn't want to go with Shadow Ball like last time?" Cynthia asked to which Mabrey chuckled, more amused than anything at the moment.

"No, not really when it comes down to it." Mabrey responded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Makes it unpredictable. The entire region knows about your Garchomp and how powerful it is. I've been honest and I'll be honest now, Maggy's been eager to fight, maybe it's something about fighting back against you to begin with or something. She's been thinking about a rematch since we last fought, maybe she just likes fighting or maybe it's about fighting someone more dangerous than her?" Mabrey questioned with a shrug.

"Both of you sound like a match made in heaven." Cynthia stated with a smirk and turned to Garchomp. "Garchomp? Use flame blast." Cynthia ordered as she crossed her arms.

"See, it's better to mix it up…." Mabrey said and turned to his Pokémon as well. "Maggy? Use protect." Mabrey said to which the Pokémon nodded, gathering its energy to subvert the attack.

The massive blast of flames belched from the Pokémon's mouth. Mismagius summoned a plane of energy, vanishing a majority of the energy, the rest, however? Forced Mismagius to float backwards, it's energy faltering if but for a moment. Mismagius panted with slight exertions as she looked up.

"Maggy, you, ok?" Mabrey questioned, his arms uncrossing as he looked at his Pokémon in concern.

Mismagius turned and nodded, assuring her owner that she was ok and fine with continuing to fight once more. She smirked at Garchomp who seemed to pause a second, letting its foe catch its breath. Both trainers and owner seemed to respect the other for their skill and such. Cynthia paused a second more, wanting Mismagius to be ok to continue before they started their battle anew.

"Pretty strong attack, your Garchomp is pretty tough, you know." Mabrey stated as he dusted off his coat. "I remember just how strong they are, it's going to be pretty fun fighting against her to the bitter end." Mabrey added, nodding in respect to his enemy, interested about how she'd respond.

Cynthia let out a hum. Mabrey enjoyed the rush of battle. It was something that assured her of his words. If she won? Mabrey would just train harder for their rematch, savoring the idea of fighting her.

"Hey, Cynthia?" Mabrey asked with mirth lining his voice. "How did Garchomp grow? It's a lot of work raising a Pokémon. It's honestly the greatest part of this. I love watching them grow," Mabey added with a shrug.

"Yes, her growth was beautiful," Cynthia responded. "She's had to grow majorly. I suppose somewhere along the way? It just became natural rather than a hobby." Cynthia added before humming.

"Yes, but sometimes? Battle ends up becoming harder." Mabrey added in response. "I had to train Maggy every day. I didn't want to push her, though. She and me had been through too much to just give up." Mabrey stated with a sigh.

"Mismagius? Shadow ball," Mabrey ordered, his voice softer than before. "Garchomp was your first Pokémon, wasn't she? I know what a main Pokémon is. It's a hard bond to form with other Pokémon." Mabrey added as his Pokémon loosed the projectile.

Garchomp instinctively brought up her arms in a x shape. The shadow crashed headlong into the creature. Mabrey knew that even with a type advantage? Garchomp was strong enough to fight through it. That was a special type of dedication to training. Cynthia had trained the Pokémon well if she was that powerful at the moment.

"How long did you consider another battle with me?" Cynthia heard which caused her to look at her friend with interest. "A few hours, a few days? it's rather touching, but I don't know what I did to really deserve it." Mabrey said before he paused to brush off his shirt.

"Consider it a gift for causing me to rediscover everything I loved about Pokémon battles." Cynthia responded, shrugging as he did so. "It's not every single day you face someone who pushed you to become more then you are today, you know? Sometimes? I question if the title is worth fighting for it day in and day, everyone seems to think all that matters is the title, but it isn't. I just can't seem to think on it." Cynthia said to which Mabrey shrugged, unsure of what to say or do currently.

All he did know, however? Was that this fight seemed more emotional than he considered it could or would turn out to be.

'This is going to be a LOT more intense than I thought.' Mabrey thought to himself.

Author Notes

Phew. Another chapter done! I want to point out that next chapter is going to be longer and such. Next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show the rest of the battle and such. Until then? Lighting Wolf out!

P.S: Next chapter will be 900-2500 words and such at the moment. it will also sadly be delayed at the moment and such. Until then? Lighting Wolf out!

P.S: Next chapter will end up being a bit delayed after the next one.