Track 50 - Boys
Incineroar breathed heavily. He was Enoka's last Pokémon, Enoka's last chance to win the Manalo Conference. Across the field was a quadruped Pokémon with white fur and a single ax-shaped black horn protruding from the side of its head. Incineroar knew that if he could take it down, he'd have one more Pokémon to defeat to claim the victory.
But he just couldn't do it. He had already used his Z-Move. His vision had begun to blur, and he had lost most of the feeling in his legs. His right knee buckled, and he collapsed. He tried to keep himself up with his arms, but his muscles were weak and he couldn't give them any energy. He fell forward, and his vision went from a blur to pure darkness.
"Incineroar is unable to battle! Absol is the winner! Naomi Morgan is the victor!"
"The winner of the Manalo Conference has been decided! Everyone, give it up for Naomi Morgan! Enoka and his Pokémon put up a great fight, but today was just not their day!"
"Incineroar, you okay?"
Incineroar could feel the warmth of his trainer's hand on his shoulder, but he didn't have the where-with-al to respond. The next thing he knew, his body was engulfed in the red light of his Poké Ball, and he was taken off the field.
Leinani stood up from her seat and clapped. She had noticed that Enoka's Pokémon were exhausted during the final battle, which was a byproduct of their semi-final bout. She felt bad that she left Enoka's Pokémon in no condition to battle, but she knew that it was just how conferences went. It was a lesson for both trainers to learn from moving forward.
Enoka didn't appear to be too hurt by his loss. He was more concerned for his Pokémon's health than anything else. Leinani could see that he was uncomfortable waiting around during the closing ceremony.
Naomi Morgan, a girl aged fourteen years, was the trainer that defeated him. She had black hair in an asymmetrical bob cut and an oval face with almond-shaped grey eyes. She wore a purple tank top, short blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. She was a simple trainer from Galar with experience in a few other regions. Supposedly, she had made the effort to earn all of the gym badges and complete the island challenge, something that was rarely done. She received her trophy from Professor Kukui with an almost deadpan expression, but she was still delighted to win.
As soon as the ceremony finished and the crowd started to clear out of the stands, Enoka dashed to the Pokémon Center. Leinani, Ulani, Kaiko, and Charlotte rushed to meet with him. They had to work their way through a crowd of people who consistently stopped them for pictures. Leinani was more aggressive with fans while Ulani was too shy to turn anyone down. Charlotte just enjoyed taking pictures.
"You okay?" Leinani said as soon as they could get into the Pokémon Center's lobby. Enoka stood by the counter with an almost blank expression on his face.
Enoka sighed and then shrugged. "This sucks. I'm sorry if I let you down."
"You didn't let us down!" Kaiko said while he ran forward and gave his sister's rival a hug. "You were awesome, cousin!"
"Thanks," Enoka said. He let go of Kaiko and then eyed the others. "Well, it's all over. What do we do now?"
Leinani shook her head. "Your Pokémon need to get healed first. They've been going through intense battles for almost five days straight. DJ still hasn't recovered from our battle yesterday. I'm not even sure how your Incineroar managed to stand up today. Let's relax today and then figure out everything else tomorrow."
Enoka ran his tongue through the inside of his cheek and then looked back through the window where Nurse Joy was checking on his Pokémon with a machine. "Yeah. I shouldn't have pushed them."
"For your next conference, make sure that you have more Pokémon," Charlotte said.
"Naomi had a few Pokémon in reserve, so most of her team was fresh today," Ulani added. "I'm not sure if any of us could have won in your position."
"I could have!" Charlotte said with a wide grin. "Well, maybe not. It's a lot of pressure."
"Let's go get dinner!" Kaiko exclaimed.
"Yeah, there's no use in hanging around here right now. Our Pokémon will be okay," Leinani said. She grabbed Enoka by the arm and slightly tugged on him. He looked at Nurse Joy once more and then turned to follow his rivals.
"We're so proud of you all!" Leinani's mother exclaimed excitedly. She held up a glass of red wine that sloshed around while she bobbed back and forth. "Let's celebrate losing in style!"
Leinani's shoulders went into a slump. "This is incredibly embarrassing."
Enoka's mother, a woman with dark skin and short black hair stood up, holding the same glass of wine. "It was a well-fought conference! I don't remember having these kinds of intense battles when we were kids!"
"We didn't have the Manalo Conference when we were kids!" Leinani's mother said before bursting out into a peal of drunken laughter. She and Enoka's mother fell over one another.
"This has been fantastic! My mother never gets like this in front of me! You two are lucky!" Charlotte exclaimed.
Leinani and Enoka exchanged looks.
"Where are you going next?" Kaiko asked, trying to remove everyone's focus away from his mother.
Charlotte put her hand to her chin and thought momentarily. "I have not thought about it too much. I have traveled in Kalos, Galar, and Alola. All of my adventures have been full of new experiences, and I've enjoyed learning about different cultures. But, I think it's my time to win a conference! Watching Enoka today inspired me, and watching his battle yesterday with Leinani moved my heart in a special kind of way. It was fantastic!"
"What do you mean?" Enoka asked.
"Did you not hear?" Charlotte said with a quizzical expression.
"Hear what?"
"The crowd! Today, the crowd was cheering for you with everything that they had! You're the hometown hero, and everybody wanted you to win!" Charlotte explained.
Leinani nodded. "It was very exciting to be in the crowd and cheer for you."
"Yeah, but the battle yesterday was even louder," Ulani said. She slightly recoiled when everyone looked at her. "I mean, when Enoka and Leinani fought, it was unbelievably loud in the audience."
"I couldn't even hear the announcer's voice!" Kaiko exclaimed.
Charlotte nodded, put her hands on the table, and then stood up. "It was fantastic! I want to feel that energy! I want to go home, battle the gyms one more time, and win as the hometown hero! I know that I can do it!"
Neither Leinani or Enoka had realized that the crowd was that loud. At the time, it only felt like the two of them and their Pokémon. They paid no attention to the referee or the announcers. However, they knew that a lot of the intensity and adrenaline of the match probably came from the energy of the crowd.
"And for you? What will you do next?" Charlotte asked the group. This caught the attention of the drunken parents.
Enoka balled his fist and glared at his salad. "I want to grow stronger. I don't know how or where, but I can't let my Pokémon go through this kind of defeat ever again."
"It's okay to be determined, but don't beat yourself up about this loss. Everyone goes through an intense loss like this," Ulani said.
Enoka didn't respond. He continued to look at his salad with contempt.
"I-I think I want to try contests!" Ulani exclaimed, trying to force the conversation along. "There are many regions in the east that I could go to. I've also heard that they do something similar in Kalos, so maybe I'll go there. Who knows?"
"If you come to Kalos, give me a call! I will show you some delicious restaurants!" Charlotte exclaimed. Leinani gave her a shifty-eyed look and then slowly shook her head. She had some of Charlotte's cooking, and if it was any indication of what Kalos food was like, then there wasn't a single delicious restaurant in the region.
"What about you, Leinani?" Ulani asked.
Leinani crossed her arms and sat back. "The world is my oyster. I can try so many new things. I want to keep Pokémon battling, but if I'm not gonna be the champion of Alola, then I'm not sure if being a champion is right for me. I want to focus on making music and being a good trainer."
Leinani's father, who didn't drink, nodded and smiled. "You can learn a lot about yourself by just going out into the world. If you go to another region, then you'll experience so many new things, and your way of thinking will be challenged."
If anyone knew about coming to a different region, it'd be Leinani's father. He had moved to Alola from Unova after meeting her mother.
"I have some thinking to do, but as long as wherever I go has good music, then I'll be happy!" Leinani exclaimed.
"None of us have a solid answer," Enoka muttered. "I guess the thought of losing and continuing our journeys somewhere else never even came to mind."
Ulani slightly recoiled. "Well, I'm not sure if I ever thought I'd even get this far. Don't tell Guzma that though! He'll be very angry with my lack of confidence."
The next day, it was time for everyone to leave. They were all up early, Leinani and Enoka's moms with hangovers, and they all ate the hotel's breakfast.
Leinani, Enoka, Ulani, and their families were all set to ride a ferry back to Ula'ula Island while Charlotte needed to return to Melemele Island to go to the airport.
Charlotte's blue eyes were red and puffy. She tried to wipe away the tears from her cheeks, but the floodgates had been opened.
"It-it was-was f-fantastic!" she exclaimed.
Leinani wasn't as emotional as her, but she wanted to comfort her friend. She took one step forward, but then Charlotte violently pulled her into a hug. Kaiko quickly joined the hug. He also broke down into tears.
"I will miss you!" Charlotte said as she rocked back and forth. "You were a great tour guide but an even better friend!"
"Thank you for being an awesome rival!" Leinani exclaimed once she managed to pull away. "I'll cherish Rexillius forever!"
"I will battle with Moshpit when I win the Lumiose Conference!"
"Your ferry is here," Enoka told them. He tapped on Charlotte's shoulder, seemingly pushing a button that caused only more tears.
Charlotte threw her hands up and pulled Enoka, Ulani, Leinani, and Kaiko into yet another violent hug. Even with their combined strength, it felt impossible to pull away.
But eventually, she let go. She boarded her ferry, and it set sail. They waved goodbye until they couldn't see her anymore. And within ten minutes, only the Ula'ula trainers and their families remained.
They boarded their own ferry, making sure to stay away from the mothers just in case they lost their breakfast. They sat down near the front where they could get a good look at the ocean.
"We should all stay in touch," Enoka said. "It'd be wasteful if we all went our separate ways and then stopped talking."
"Of course!" Ulani exclaimed.
"Even if we're in different parts of the world, we'll always be connected," Leinani said.
Kaiko sat up, almost putting his face against the glass. "Seeing you three compete with each other excites me for my own journey! I can't wait to meet my rivals!"
The three looked at one another. Sure enough, they had become rivals.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
And Ascending Alola is… NOT FINISHED!
I have a few more chapters, because there's a certain thread that I started a few years ago in Awakening Alola, continued in Ascending Alola, and will now finish in Ascending. Buckle up! There are four more chapters!