"So you have no idea who she is?"
"No," I shook my head as Alex and I walked towards the stadium shoulder-to-shoulder to try and stave off the early morning chill. "I only know she's an Executioner. Or was. You sure she meant what she said?"
"As sure as I can be," Alex shrugged. "I mean, didn't feel like she was lying. Wouldn't have had a reason to I think. But that's just my judgement."
"I trust your judgement," I assured her, clenching my hand around hers tighter. "So hopefully that means all we have left to deal with is N and Team Plasma."
"I wonder what he's planning?" Alex murmured.
"You and me both," I shook my head as we entered the side entrance for trainers. We were the first there, which was to be expected for being nearly an hour early. "Mary though. I mean, I didn't think that was her name, but..." I moved my mouth silently, frowning. "I dunno, there is something that seems familiar about it. I just can't place it."
"No use worrying about it now," Alex pecked me on the cheek. "After all, you have to have your entire mind be on me soon. I don't wanna kick your butt just because you were distracted."
I laughed. "You're on. But, at least if one of us loses, there's a good chance that the other will win the League. And that's all we need if we're going to go after N."
"Imagine if Robert won," Alex snorted in amusement.
"He did before," I reminded her. "Honestly, he could be our best chance since he has taken down the Elite 4 that time."
"Fair," Alex shrugged. "But I would forever tease you if you lost to him."
"Feeling's mutual if you lost to him."
"...That's fair."
"It's a beautiful October morning, perfect to kick off the Quarterfinals!" Alder's voice boomed over the loudspeakers. "Already we have been witnesses to some amazing battles. No trainer here has held back and each had something unique to show. But now we enter full six-on-six battles, so expect these upcoming battles to blow all the others out of the water!"
"I have heard quite a bit from the participating Pokemon. Some have indeed had voices that have me concerned, but I will admit that many have cried out in joy. However, that makes me wonder just how much of battling they've had to endure in order to come to enjoy-"
"Our first Quarterfinalists have entered the stadium!" Alder's voice cut N off as Alex and I strode out into the sunlight. "On one end we have Zeno, the runner-up for both the Alola and Kalos leagues! One might wonder if he has what it takes to win this one!? And facing him is Alex, the girl with a fiery drive that is matched by the many fire types she holds in her arsenal!"
"I don't appreciate how you just compared her Pokemon to being weapons in an arsenal."
"This will be a full six-on-six battle!" The ref raised her hand. "Substitutions are allowed, and the winner will be the one with the last Pokemon standing! Trainers, send out your first Pokemon!"
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Alex called out to me.
I smirked. "Always!"
Our pokeballs were tosses, releasing our Pokemon. Arcaneis shook himself as he stood, huffing as he stared across the battlefield at his opponent. Ninetales fluffed out her tails before settling a cool red gaze on Arcaneis.
Just like Alola, I realized. Back then Alex and I had faced off in the Quarterfinals as well. I had won then, and I didn't plan on losing now. Not to Alex. My closest ally. My girlfriend. My rival.
"BEGIN!"
Arcaneis took off as Ninetales howled, a brilliant light wreathing around her nine tails before blasting outwards. Unable to see, Arcaneis took the brunt of the Fairy attack as he charged where Ninetales should have been, only for the other Fire type to come in from the side and slamming into him. Arcaneis twisted, chomping down on her side with electrified fangs.
Flames burst to life on each tip of her tails and spread along the length of her body before surging up around her in an explosion of fire. Arcaneis let go, backing off as smoke poured from his mouth before fire and electricity began to gather around him. Dark storm clouds formed around him, giving him an ethereal look as his energy built up. Then Ninetales' eyes flashed red and Burning Tempest was instantly disabled. Confused, Arcaneis just barely sped away in time as Ninetales hurled herself at him.
Both Pokemon sped around the arena, Ninetales just barely keeping up with Arcaneis' extreme speeds before slamming herself into him, causing the two to tumble around. Both nipped at one another and pummeled each other with their paws before Ninetales blasted her opponent full in the face with flames. Arcaneis surged up, clamping his jaws around her neck this time, crunching down.
Ninetales' tails suddenly swept along the ground, blasting scorching sand into Arcaneis and making him howl out in pain as he was temporarily blinded. Ninetales spun, her tails gaining a coat of iron before slamming into Arcaneis and knocking him across the field. She opened her maw wide, green energy gathering into a sphere.
Arcaneis rolled along the ground before digging in his paws and standing up. He growled as blue draconic energy gathered in his maw. He let it loose just as Ninetales blasted her Solar Beam. The two energy beams collided with an explosion. Arcaneis burst from the resulting smoke, but Ninetales was ready. A pink glow covered her eyes as she caught Arcaneis with psychic energy and slammed him into the ground with a earth shaking crash. With a final howl, Ninetales slammed her front paws on the ground, an explosion of sand colliding with Arcaneis' downed form.
Arcaneis tried pulling himself to his feet, only to faint. Lycanroc was sent out next and immediately moved in a blur, smashing his head across Ninetales' flank before leaping back and shaking his pelt. Stone shards were flung from his body and floated around the battlefield.
The Fire type's tails glowed green before firing an orb of energy that Lycanroc dodged while speeding towards her. Sand was thrown in his direction, but he put on a burst of speed, disappearing for a quick moment before reappearing in front of Ninetales as he headbutted her. She was flung back and lay in a heap, unmoving.
Lycanroc was recalled before Mawile was sent out at the same time as Alakazam was sent out by Alex. Immediately the hovering stones targeted the Psychic type and bombarded him. Having moved in close during the attack, Mawile swung her back jaw up as it took on a metallic sheen. However, she was caught midair by Alakazam's psychic energy and propelled across the arena.
Before hitting the ground, a dark pulse of energy erupted from Mawile, cancelling out the psychic attack and allowing Mawile to land neatly on the ground before rushing back in. As Alakazam prepared another attack, dark energy surrounded her fists as she was yanked forwards. She slammed a fist into her opponent's middle before uppercutting with her other fist. Her back jaw clamped down on his arm, bending it back as Mawile used her momentum to swing Alakazam up and slam him into the ground.
With a pop, Alakazam teleported away and appeared on the other side of the arena. His eyes glowed and the battlefield began to tear up as waves of psychic energy tore through it. Mawile was thrown off balance and Alakazam teleported behind her, a fiery fist raised. Mawile's body once again jerked as she flew up, her back jaw sucker punching him in the head before she twisted and brought her back jaw around for another smash across the face. The Fire Punch still collided with her stomach and sent her skidding across the ground.
As Mawile leaped back to her feet, Alakazam raised a hand, a fiery orb forming. She surged forward, her back jaw's teeth glowing with dark energy. The orb fired into the sky as Mawile leaped and clamped her jaw around Alakazam, crunching down with as much force as she could muster. She swung the fainted Psychic type away and glared at the fake sun now hovering over the arena.
With a heavy slam, Darmanitan landed on the battlefield and pounded his chest as his flaming eyebrows surged with power before they wreathed around him, ignoring the pain of Stealth Rock. He leaped, the ground shattering behind him as he zoomed for Mawile as a blaze surrounded him. He slammed into her with a fiery explosion that sent the smaller Pokemon flying backwards, trailing smoke. She landed just at the edge of the battlefield, her entire body singed.
Once returned, Kabutops was brought out. The two Pokemon collided in a mix of water and fire with Kabutops zooming out in a jet of water before sharply turning and slamming back down on Darmanitan's head. A meaty paw grabbed one of Kabutops' legs and slammed him down to the ground before hammering down with his other fist. The earth cracked beneath Kabutops as the Shellfish Pokemon cried out in pain. He slammed his scythes together, a metallic ringing noise assaulting Darmanitan's eardrums. He roared, backing up as he tried to block out the sound.
Kabutops shot forward as he fired a barrage of fossil stones that shattered against the Fire type's front. Another fist shot out but Kabutops surged up in a jet of water as the fist destroyed the spot where he'd just been. He flew back down and slammed into Darmanitan's back before leaping backwards to avoid the large superpowered swipe from the Fire type.
Energy suddenly enveloped the Fire type and condensed before dispersing to reveal he had changed to his Zen Form. Psychic energy expanded outwards in a dome, catching Kabutops and blasting him backwards. Several orbs of fire appeared around him and fired towards the Rock/Water type, merging together into a gigantic mystic ball of fire that caused a major explosion.
Smoke filled half of the arena, obscuring Kabutops from view. Then pillars of stones came jutting out from the gloom towards Darmanitan, one catapulting him into the air. A jet of water carrying Kabutops burst from the smoke and collided with him midair before turning. He came out of the water, dark winds brandishing his scythes. Green energy gathered around Darmanitan, absorbing the remainder of the Sunny Day just as Kabutops slashed downwards. The moves triggered another explosion with Kabutops soaring over the battlefield and slamming into a wall as Darmanitan crashed down to earth, reverting back to his normal form.
And with that, the battle had reached equal. Both Alex and I were down to our last three, with Lycanroc already having expended some energy. I toyed with the idea of bringing him back out before deciding against it, grabbing instead Corviknight's pokeball. The battle would reach its fever pitch soon and I couldn't wait. Battling Alex always brought out my competitive streak and even thoughts of N and Team Plasma were far from being on the forefront of my mind. All that mattered was the here and now, battling out to our heart's content.
Across the field, Alex took a steady breath as she recalled Darmanitan. As usual Zeno was one of her toughest opponents, and she wouldn't want it any other way. He always pushed her to the brink of the impossible. She lamented that they never got to battle in the Kalos League. Sure they battled from time to time during their journey, but it always felt more real when being watched by hundreds of spectators and thousands more on national television. She enlarged Beartic's pokeball and she only had one thought in that moment, a single thought that was shared with Zeno.
May we continue to be rivals, now and forever!
"Corviknight!" "Beartic!"
Beartic slammed his heavy fists on the ground upon appearing as he took Stealth Rock damage, several large icicles shooting from the ground towards Corviknight who spun into a drill attack. He crashed through one of the icicles and spun into Beartic. Roaring, Beartic slammed both paws into Corviknight, managing to stop his drilling with pure strength alone before he grabbed his opponent's head and swung him up. Orange energy blew up around Beartic as he bellowed, smashing Corviknight down into the ground.
With a loud caw, Corviknight's wings glowed as he flapped them, a mighty wind blasting up around him, whipping back Beartic's fur as it turned into a full on hurricane. He was thrown up into the sky and whipped around the current as Corviknight took off and rode the currents. He flew faster and faster, a blue glow surrounding him. He crashed into Beartic and sent him flying out of the hurricane and crashing into the ground.
Leaping back onto all fours, Beartic let out a large breath of ice cold air that descended over himself and formed a protective coating of ice. Corviknight flew out of the hurricane as the winds died away, his wings glowing metallic. He soared for Beartic who leaned aside at the last second, just barely dodging his right wing. The glow surrounding his fist reached a crescendo as energy blasted around it. With a roar, he swung, bashing one of Corviknight's wings, bending it out of shape. The Flying/Steel type went down with a cry, kicking up dirt as he tumbled along the ground.
As Beartic leapt towards his downed opponent, an orange glow once again surrounding his body, Corviknight turned his head. Light began gathering in his beak for a Flash Cannon before the attack began to warp, turning to a silvery color before a gigantic beam of metallic energy blasted forth, colliding with Beartic as he brought down his fist. Beartic flew back, breaking up the ground before coming to a stop, huffing as he stood. He glared at his opponent, who didn't get back up.
Once returned, Lycanroc replaced his fallen comrade, shaking his pelt as he lowered into a fighting stance. Beartic shifted his feet wider, paws outstretched and eyes narrowed. With a howl and a roar, both charged. Lycanroc reached him quicker, dodging underneath the Ice type's large swiped and slashing his glowing head upwards. He ran to dodge Beartic's second attack. Growling, Beartic slammed both fists on the ground, a cold wind blasting up from the contact. A full on blizzard formed around him, expanding outwards.
Eyes narrowing, Lycanroc burst into an Accelerock, zipping across the battlefield as the harsh winds battered at his rocky pelt. His claws began to glow as he leapt at Beartic and dug his claws into the bigger Pokemon's shoulders. He held on as Beartic thrashed around, managing to pry Lycanroc off and was about to slam him to the ground like he had done to Corviknight, only for Lycanroc's hind legs to smash the side of his face and kick off. Stone shards swirled around him before pelting Beartic, pushing him back. The last shard struck him straight in the forehead and like David felling Goliath, Beartic fell backwards, out cold.
Frosmoth replaced Beartic, letting out a cry as she too, like her comrades before her, was hurt by the Stealth Rocks still littering the battlefield. Lycanroc collided with her with the sound of breaking rocks and was blasted backwards for his trouble by the intense buzzing sounds that erupted from Frosmoth's wings. She flapped her wings harder, this time a full on blizzard blown into existence. Lycanroc moved to attack, but once the cold winds hit him ice began to form along his flank until he was frozen in place.
Given an opportunity, Frosmoth fluttered her wings and twirled around in a dance, her stats being boosted before she blasted another blizzard into Lycanroc. The frozen Wolf Pokemon was lifted up and sent skidding along the battlefield as Frosmoth flew after him. Her wings began to buzz, but before she could initiate her Bug Buzz, Lycanroc surged upwards upon shattering the ice covering him, crunching down on one of her wings and interrupting the attack. He slammed her down on the ground as dozens of stone shards erupted from the ground and began circling him. One by one they shot down into the Ice/Bug type in rapid succession, kicking up a dust cloud. Once it cleared, Frosmoth lay fainted.
Once Frosmoth was returned, Alex switched her out for her last Pokemon. Incineroar slammed down onto the field. As the Stealth Rocks homed in on him, he leapt into the air, feet glowing as he spun and shattered each and every rock. Lycanroc hurled himself at the Fire/Dark type, only for the Heel Pokemon to catch him by the head and blasted a huge jet of flames from his belt. Once the flames died, Lycanroc dropped to the ground, fainted and burnt to a crisp.
"This last matchup isn't going to favor us," I said as I returned Lycanroc and pulled out my last pokeball, opening it and letting the red light hit the arena. "It's all down to you, Decidueye. Give it your all, and don't let there be any regrets."
Decidueye cooed, brushing his feathers as he nodded to me before turning to face his opponents, who smirked as fire licked his feline mouth. Both moved at the same time, Incineroar roaring as dark energy enveloped his paws and began running for Decidueye, who in turn nocked three arrows brimming with ghostly energy. The arrows were let loose and struck Incineroar in the chest. He ignored the attacks and leapt for Decidueye, bringing a fist crashing down, which the Grass/Ghost type dodged by throwing himself back, his wings beginning to glow green.
Ducking beneath Incineroar's next swipe, he lunged forward, slashing his wings along the Fire/Dark type's chest before flying backwards as Incineroar's belt formed a giant jaw made of flames. It clamped down on empty air, but Incineroar was already in the process of moving, flames enveloping his fists. He threw out the punches almost too fast for Decidueye to dodge, the fire singing his wings as he went on the defensive. A jet of flames erupted from Incineroar's belt as one of his punches managed to knock Decidueye off kilter when he dodged. The Arrow Quill Pokemon cried out in pain as he was engulfed in the flames as Incineroar lunged forwards, the full length of his arm enveloped in darkness as he attempted to perform a lariat on Decidueye, only for his opponent to have disappeared.
Just behind him, Decidueye fell out of a portal of shadows, his wings glowing sky blue as he slashed downwards on Incineroar's back before disappearing back into the shadows before Incineroar could counter. Decidueye then landed atop him, bringing both wings crashing down on his opponent's shoulders before leaping backwards and firing multiple arrows. Before they could hit him, Incineroar's entire body became ablaze with fire, burning the arrows as the Fire/Dark type backflipped into Decidueye, blasting him backwards with an explosion of flames.
Decidueye skidded along the ground, body singed and his feathers smoking. As Incineroar leapt at him, still on fire, Decidueye slammed an arrow in the ground, huge, thick vines erupting from the earth and slamming into his opponent's middle. As he was thrown across the entire battlefield, he flipped onto all fours, already back on the move as more of the vines shot towards him. Growling low, he leapt onto one of them, digging in his claws and propelling himself along the side. Another vine shot by overhead, carrying with it Decidueye who pelted Incineroar with arrow after arrow as he passed by. Yowling in pain, Incineroar changed direction as the vines quickly began to wither and deteriorate and pushed off as hard as he could towards Decidueye, his belt blazing to life as a giant jaw of flames snapped open into existence.
Decidueye pushed off his vine just in time before it disintegrated, energy enveloping him as he soared straight into the jaws of hell. As they closed around him, Decidueye pulled up, slashing his wings around him, unleashing a burst of air that swept away the flames and slammed into Incineroar's chest. As the Fire type landed on the ground and gazed up, dozens of Decidueyes now flew down towards him surrounded. Fire sprung to life on each paw as his eyes burned, unleashing a wave of fire that scorched its way through all the copies.
Behind him, Decidueye slammed into his back before dropping low and swinging out a glowing leg, tripping his opponent. Incineroar dropped and brought his legs up, grabbing Decidueye's head in-between them and spinning, savagely slamming him to the ground. Letting out a loud bird cry, Decidueye's body dropped into a pool of shadows, dragging Incineroar with him. He tried digging in his claws, but was pulled in regardless. They reappeared high above the battlefield out of another portal of darkness, trading blows as they fell.
Green energy slashed across ones face while a flaming fist crashed into the other's side before Decidueye looped the string on his wing around Incineroar's head and aimed his other wing towards the sky. A torrent of leaves blasted upwards, propelling them down at astonishing speeds as Incineroar tried quickly to envelop himself in flames. They crashed down to earth with a resounding boom as a dust cloud was blown up around them.
Amidst the dust, the flames from Incineroar could be seen flickering before dying out completely. Once the dust settled, Decidueye stood with one clawed foot resting on Incineroar's chest, his entire body singed and battered. He let out a weak cry, stumbled, but kept his footing as Incineroar continued to lay on the ground.
"Incineroar is unable to battle, which means Zeno and Decidueye have won! Zeno will now advance onto the semifinals!"
I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I grinned, Alex matching my expression from the other side of the arena. "Only you," I breathed, unable to stop grinning. "Only you Alex."
N closed his eyes in thought. Their Pokemons' voices... they are so clear and full of passion. Maybe... maybe your ideals hold merit, Zeno. His eyes narrowed as he stared down at the boy in question, who turned to stare up at him, as if sensing his gaze. However, if your ideals cannot hold a candle to the truth, then I will know that I am right. So fight. Fight your way to me, Zeno. I look forward to our battle of truth and ideals.
