"HUGH!"

Robert stopped, gasping for breath as he bent forwards, hands clasping his knees. He'd been running around, desperately trying to find his longtime friend. He just barely caught him fifteen minutes before their match was due to start, tugging his gloves on in his prep room.

"Hey." Hugh gave him a curt nod before continuing his hard stare at the TV on the wall, where the ongoing battle was being shown live.

"Hey?!" Robert gasped out before taking another couple of seconds to compose himself. "That's it? Really? Actually, let me start over. Hey Hugh, how have you been? It's been a while since we last saw each other. Oh, you became a Pokemon trainer? Cool cool. Wowzers, you managed to beat all the gym leaders in record time. Mind telling me what all that is about?"

Nothing. Stone cold silence.

Robert sighed, crossing his arms. "Look man, I think I understand what's going on. Purloin is still missing-"

"STOLEN!" Hugh leaped to his feet, facial expressions taught with barely contained fury as he finally faced his friend. "My sister's precious Pokemon was STOLEN from her! By those so-called Pokemon saviors, Team Plasma!"

"I know," Robert held out his hands. "Look, I get trying to become stronger. You want to get her back. I do too. But this-" he gestured at Hugh and the anger he was radiating. "Isn't going to help. Rage will only get you so far. You need to take a step back and calm-"

"Don't you tell me to calm down, Robert!" Hugh snapped, jabbing a finger at his chest. "I saw that N became the freakin' Champion! Team Plasma is untouchable right now! And unless I have a shitload of money or a recommendation, I have to fight my way through this tournament in order to face that bastard! I'm going to win! I have to!"

"You're not the only one who wants to stop him," Robert said calmly.

"You don't understand," Hugh growled. "If I can win here, I'll be strong enough to not only get Purloin back, but every other Pokemon that was stolen. It doesn't matter if you're also aiming to win, because I'm going to beat you!"

Robert studied his expression. "Okay."

"Huh?" Hugh blinked.

"I said okay," Robert turned towards the door, opening it. Before he left, he glanced back. "Me and my Pokemon won't be holding back. So come at me with everything you have, Hugh." He shut the door behind him as he began heading towards his prep room. If Hugh wouldn't listen to reason, he'd have to beat it into his head in a way only a trainer could to another trainer; with a Pokemon battle.


"After that last battle, it's time for our final match-up of the day!" Alder announced enthusiastically. "Coming out onto the field is newcomer Hugh, whose furious battling style has so far gone unmatched! And his opponent is last year's Unova League winner and who nearly beat me, Robert Aspen! What kind of battle will these two give us today!?"

"Hugh's Pokemons' voices are quite loud," N commented, his tone harsh. "They do not think very highly of their trainer."

Robert saw Hugh snarl in N's direction as he yanked a pokeball from his bag. Robert took a deep breath before grabbing one of his off his belt. He believed N was telling the truth. So far Hugh's battles had been quite ferocious in terms of battling style. If he'd been battling like that up until now, it was no wonder his Pokemon weren't happy.

Please let me get through to you, Robert silently pleaded as he stared at his friend.

"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!"

"Stoutland, let's roll!" Robert shouted as he sent out the Big-Hearted Pokemon.

"Let's crush him, Bouffalant!" Hugh roared as the Bash Buffalo struck the ground, pawing his hooves.

"BEGIN!"

"HEAD CHARGE!" Hugh roared as he thrust his hand. Bouffalant pawed the ground before charging, the very air bending around his skull as it lit up with power.

"Hold!" Robert commanded his Pokemon. Stoutland, crouched low to the ground, waited as his opponent charged recklessly towards him. Robert bent his own knees in preparation. As Bouffalant was nearly upon them, he shouted, "DODGE!" He leapt to the right with his Pokemon, Bouffalant charging straight past, colliding with the stadium wall with an earthshaking crash.

"Thunder Fang!"

Stoutland charged in as Bouffalant wobbled away from the wall, unable to react as Stoutland bit down on his side, electricity arcing around his fangs. Stoutland retreated then as Bouffalant fell to one knee, small charges of electricity paralyzing his muscles.

"What are you doing!?" Hugh shouted. "Take him down! Head Charge!"

"Really?!" Robert's gaze snapped towards him in indignation. He wasn't thinking. Hugh had become blinded by his rage. Well, he'd just have to snap him out of it then. Hopefully he realized it before all his Pokemon took a beating.

"Fine then." Robert smashed his fist into an open palm. "Stoutland, bear with me here! Take that attack head on and be ready to retaliate!"

Bouffalant shook himself and charged again. He slammed into Stoutland with an impressive display of force, Stoutland biting back a growl as he took the full brunt of the attack. He then crunched his mouth around one of Bouffalant's horns and jerked him to the side. He pulled the other Normal type along with him as he spun before hurtling him across the arena, landing with a heavy thump. He raised his head before slumping, fainted.

"That's-!" Hugh bared his teeth. "Robert!"

"I told you we wouldn't hold back!" He shouted at his friend. "Either shape up or lose one-sidedly!"

"Don't get in my damn way!" Hugh returned his fallen Pokemon before hurtling out a Simisage. "Focus Blast!"

"Time to switch!" Robert quickly recalled Stoutland. "Arm Thrust!" He bellowed as Hariyama entered the field. His arms quickly shot forward in quick, powerful thrusts, completely annihilating the sphere of pure energy.

"Get in close and use Acrobatics!"

Simisage ran, his body speeding up as he shot towards Hariyama, kicking and punching him at high speeds.

He's powerful, Robert noted as Hariyama flinched in pain at every strike. "Grab him and use Seismic Toss!"

One of Hariyama's meaty hands shot out, wrapping around the entirety of the Grass type's right leg. The Fighting type leaped into the air, spinning as he launched Simisage back down towards the ground. He hit the ground hard, large cracks spreading around him.

"Now Heavy Slam him!"

"LEAF STORM!" Hugh shouted and a blizzard of leaves swirled around Simisage before hurtling upwards as metallic colored energy blasted around Hariyama. He hurtled back down to earth, cleaving through the storm of leaves before colliding with Simisage full force.

As Hariyama began lifting himself from Simisage, a knot of grass burst from the ground, slamming into the Fighting type and knocking him across the arena. Simisage leaped to his feet, rushing for him as his hands glowed brightly, sharp claws growing from his fingertips.

"Detect!"

Hariyama's eyes flashed and he seemed to disappear and reappear as Simisage went to slash at him, his claws carving through empty air.

"Let's finish him!" Robert shouted. "Hariyama, Heavy Slam the ground!" His Pokemon obeyed, leaping up and crashing back down on the earth, the shock wave knocking Simisage off balance. "Now tighten your focus!"

Hariyama drew back a palm, closing it into a fist as energy began to gather around it.

"GET HIM!" Hugh ordered. "ACROBATICS!"

Simisage righted himself, shooting for the Fighting type, but he was one second too slow. Hariyama's eyes flashed as the energy around his fist reached a crescendo, a brilliant blue light having engulfed it. He swung, the fist crashing into the Grass type's middle with so much force that it launched Simisage like a missile. He zoomed out of the arena and hit the far wall so hard he formed a crater.

When Simisage didn't get back up, Hugh clutched at his chest in anger. "What the hell is wrong with you!? You couldn't even beat him!?"

"HUGH!"

Hugh started at the tone in Robert's voice. His blond friend's expression was calm, a contained fury in his eyes. "Don't ever blame your Pokemon for your own shortcomings. You claimed you'd beat me. Not like that you won't. If you treat your own Pokemon like this, do you have any right to try and stop them?"

"I-" Hugh couldn't find the words.

"Now come on," Robert returned Hariyama and switching it out with a different pokeball. "I want to see how far you've really come in such a short amount of time, Hugh."

Hugh's gaze dropped. Robert was never like that. That tone, that expression of his. He'd always been easy going and never angry. So to have all that suddenly targeted at him... it had been alarming. A wake-up call even.

"What have I been doing?" Hugh whispered to himself. He took a deep breath as he tucked away Simisage's pokeball. Robert was right. If he was a poor excuse for a trainer, all he was doing was showing the world Team Plasma was right all along.

"Dammit!" He ran a hand down his face in frustration. He set his gaze on his friend, enlarging his third pokeball. "Get ready, Robert! I'm coming at you with all I have now!"

A grin grew on the blonde's features. "Now that's what I like to hear! Chesnaught, let's go!"

"Escavalier!"

Chesnaught bellowed, his spikes glowing harshly before firing a dozen missiles. Escavalier's lances began to glow as he stayed right where he was, slashing at each missile, trigging small explosions from each contact. Chesnaught suddenly came crashing down from above, both fists connected and the image of a green hammer surrounding them. He brought it down on Escavalier's head with a mighty boom, only to be blasted backwards by an explosion of metal shards.

Escavalier shouted and suddenly began rotating at high speeds. He slammed into the Grass/Fighting type lances first before breaking off and jabbing downwards with a lance now dripping in poison. Chesnaught grabbed the lance as it impacted against his chest, yanking the Bug/Steel type close as he leaped up and slammed them both down to the ground.

Suddenly Chesnaught was thrown airborne, Escavalier's lances glowing a sky blue. He darted upwards, continuing the assault and keeping his opponent in the air. In response, Chesnaught's leg took upon the same hue as he moved with incredible speeds, slamming his leg into Escavalier and propelling him across the arena, skidding and bouncing along the earth.

Escavalier slowed his momentum by digging his lances into the ground before jetting forwards, an orange fighting aura enveloping him. Chesnaught stood his ground before whirling around, his back spikes glowing a harsh green as dozens of spikes sprouted in a shield formation. The Cavalry Pokemon slammed right into it, crying out in pain as he was repelled. Chesnaught spun back around and slammed a foot down on the ground, bulldozing the earth and knocking Escavalier several feet into the air. With a mighty roar, Chesnaught brought down his fist like a hammer, cracking the earth with Escavalier's impact.

I guess I'm just not as strong as I had thought, Hugh realized sadly as Escavalier was announced defeated by the ref. Robert, if you win, please. He gripped a fist. Please defeat Team Plasma and save my sister's Purrloin!


"Scolipede is unable to battle!"

Robert wiped his forehead as he returned his Pokemon. It felt too soon after his win with Hugh, but now he was facing possibly his toughest opponent to date; Zeno.

"It doesn't which of us wins," Zeno had told him before they'd left for the stadium. "Either you or me needs to beat the tournament and move on to the Elite 4. Then, we can finally take N and Team Plasma down."

"Just don't go easy on me because of that," Robert had replied. "I'm planning on winning."

The grin on Zeno's face had been slightly worrying. "So am I."

What Robert hadn't told him at the time was that this was what he felt was his last chance. His last shot at proving he could become a strong Pokemon trainer, to fulfill one of his oldest dreams. He has several dreams, but he no idea as to which one was the right path for him.

With the outcome of this battle, I'll decide, Robert promised himself as he returned Scolipede and flung out Carracosta. If this path is the correct one. "Alright, we have him on the ropes!" Robert shouted aloud, Zeno's Mega Lucario breathing hard as he held a long glowing bone in one paw. "Just a little more and we'll have him right where we want him!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Zeno snarked as Lucario twirled the bone around, settling into a battle stance as his aura blazed around him. "Lucario! Bone Rush!"

Baring his fangs in a growl, Lucario blasted forwards, swinging the bone wide. Carracosta closed in on himself before flinging out his flippers, his shell cracking audibly, the force of it knocking Lucario back. He landed and went on the move again, swinging the bone in a wide arc, which Carracosta dodged with unusual speed. He ducked low and blasted forwards in a jet of water, crashing into Lucario's middle.

Lucario's knee drove upwards into Carracosta's gut right as his fists pounded onto the cracked shell before grabbing onto his opponent's head and twisting. His course redirected, Carracosta shot towards the ground. Lucario freed himself moments before impact, leaping into the air. Metallic energy shone from his right fist as he shot back down, only to get hit back several fossils that shot upwards, one clipping the side of his head.

Carracosta shot upwards in another water jet stream before blasting an incredible torrent of water at Lucario. Right before impact with the ground, Lucario's aura surged and he managed to part the water before landing on all fours. Carracosta fell back to the ground and immediately began charging energy, streams of what looked to be space coursing into a sphere in front of him.

Lucario moved at astonishing speeds, clocking the Prototurtle in the head, driving a foot into his knees, and assaulting his chest with fists, but it wasn't enough to stop the flow of energy. Lucario's eyes widened as the attack finished charging and a beam of rock and space energy hit Lucario full-on. He went flying across the arena and crashed into the stadium wall. His mega form dissipated and he fell forward, fainted. After a few seconds, Carracosta groaned and slumped, having fainted as well.

No words were exchanged between the two trainers as they recalled their Pokemon. Both knew that the outcome of this battle didn't matter in the end. Yet, they knew that gave them all the more reason to put everything they had in this fight. For Zeno, to prove to N that his truth was wrong. For Robert, the need to understand if this was the path he was meant to walk.

"ARCANEIS!"

"SWAMPERT!"

Both Pokemon stared one another down. This was to be their fated rematch since their duel back in Nuvema Town. Arcaneis had lost then, and the way he was snarling, he remembered it well. Swampert glanced back at her trainer with a fond look before her serious face settled into place, hitting the ground with a fist. Both moved at the same time, Swampert riding upon a wave of muddy water while Arcaneis rocketed forwards, arcs of electricity singing the ground as he ran. He spun into a wheel of blazing blue fire and shot straight into the waves, triggering an explosion of steam. Swampert spun around midair, hurling globs of mud.

Arcaneis weaved in-between each shot of mud, picking up speed until he became a blur. He zoomed to the other side of the arena, whirling around and charging straight for Swampert who was about to land back on the ground. When she did, she landed with a ton of force, the very earth cracking and shaking as an earthquake rippled throughout the battlefield. As Arcaneis sped across the battlefield avoiding getting hit by the uneven chunks of ground rupturing from the earth, Swampert slammed both webbed palms on the broken surface, gushing water through the cracks. Within seconds, the entire arena exploded, water shooting from the cracks and tearing up the ground. Arcaneis went flying and landed in a pile of rubble, his fur soaked.

With a grunt of effort, Swampert dug her large fingers into the ground, tearing up two boulders. She heaved them and they rolled towards Arcaneis, who was just getting back up. His eyes blazed as his maw became lined with fire. He planted his paws as storm clouds began to gather around him, electricity crackling along his flank as flames wreathed their way around him. When the energy reached its peak, he blasted forwards with a small explosion, crashing straight through the huge boulders and slamming into Swampert.

They went tumbling, Swampert bashing her glowing fist into his side repeatedly as he chomped down fiery fangs on her other shoulder, digging in as hard as he could. Crying out in pain as her shoulder began to burn, Swampert formed a sphere of water in her open palm, slamming it into the side of Arcaneis' head. He shrugged off the blow, lifting Swampert up into the air before slamming her back down with a burst of flames boosting his speed. The already cracked ground gave way to a small crater as Swampert's breath was taken away. As Arcaneis crunched down into her already damaged shoulder, Swampert finally managed to flip them over, water blasting from her mouth. Arcaneis matched it with his own jet of flames, the two moved colliding mere inches from each other's faces and the resulting explosion sent Swampert soaring out of the crater, trailing smoke.

Arcaneis shook himself as he hauled himself out of the hole, his fur singed black. Swampert rose unsteadily to her feet, roaring in anger. She slammed the ground with a powerful fist, another Earthquake triggering. Arcaneis sped forwards, several chunks of earth slamming into him as he went, but he kept his pace. He bodied Swampert before she grabbed him by the head, her fist alit with orange energy. She brought the hammer down, rocketing his head into the ground with a mighty crash.

For a few seconds, Arcaneis lay there, but then his eyes shot open as a fighting aura washed over him with blazing energy. He flipped upwards faster than Swampert could react, Reversal's power coursing through him. Roaring, he slammed his entire body against her, the force of impact sending her flying clear across the arena. She came to a stop in a heap of limbs, unmoving.

"Swampert is unable to battle, which means Zeno wins and will be moving onto the final round tonight!"

That's that, Robert thought, breathing hard as he grinned like an idiot. I may have lost, but... it really does feel like a weight has been lifted. Go, Zeno. Win this. He turned to stare into the top box where N sat. Then we can finally finish this.

This chapter probably feels a bit off, and that's mainly because I'm somewhat rushing through the battles at this point. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing epic Pokemon battles, but the plot also needs to move forward, and we've already gone through two League Tournaments in the previous two books, so fast forwarding a bit for the third time around feels acceptable to me. And I'm much closer to finishing this story than ever before, which I plan to do before summer is out. No promises of course, but it's definitely doable if I keep this pace going. Next chapter will wrap up the league with the final round; The Queen of Dragons. Until then. Toodles~