Chapter 16: The Quest Continues – Part 2

It was finally close to the final stretch of Karthaniel's journey to becoming the new Galar champion. After what seemed like forever since the shipwreck and many, many long days dealing with his inner demon, it was all calm and back to normal for everyone. But, of course, it was without finally getting the chance to pay respects to Hatterene's late Mother along with the anthro Silent Pokémon herself realizing that Wallace did indeed raise her and saved her life at the same time after all those years since she was an egg. It gave her a brand new outlook on life and vows to spend every moment of it with Karthaniel and the rest of his pokémon team, especially Urshifu. They were officially proclaimed as siblings and their bond is already at its highest.

As for the rest of the Galar region, everyone was in high anticipation for these last two epic battles for Sir Davis. In fact, Hammerlocke's Gym stadium was already filled to the maximum capacity of 200,000 spectators, including all of the other Gym leaders, including Allister, as well as Sonia, Lawrence, Jennifer, Wallace, Behemoth, Extonia, Hop, Master Mustard, and Klara all sitting at the very front of the rest at the left side of the stadium. They waited patiently for one of the most ambitious battles Raihan will ever have in his life and career as a dragon-type Gym leader. Speaking of him, he was in the waiting area outside the stadium and just looked at the TV screen to see how massive the crowd was with his trusty Flygon levitating next to him with a tranquil gleam in his eyes. Despite everything that Leon explained to him about Karthaniel's journey and the fact that Hatterene and Urshifu have the powerful Pokérus X2 infection, the young dragon expert will not hold back for anything. He promised to go all out, just like with his previous challengers, and no matter what happens, he'll always have the honor of battling Sir Davis.

With that thought in mind, he pulled off a smile that would make every woman around him swoon, if he wasn't the only one in the room. That was the case for a brief moment until Leon casually walked inside and, without making any eye contact, Raihan scoffed with expectancy as he closed his eyes in the same manner.

"Checking up on me, eh, Leon?" He started in his handsome British voice with his usual smart wit. The Galar Champion chuckled at how humorous that sounded before he spoke.

"Just making sure you didn't go back to being nervous again." Leon replied with just as smart of a tone in his voice. "That's not the case, is it?"

"No, sir! I've been waiting for this patiently and my pokémon and I are not the least bit nervous." Raihan then turned towards the champ with confidence in his blue eyes. "I also know that this'll be the first time since Ballonlea that he's battled without that damn demon getting in his way. Ya think it'll be a flawless victory for him?"

"Not with your powerful team and the assistance of your usual sandstorm. It'll be all about strategy here. No cutting corners."

"Gotcha! I'm only hoping that Hatterene and Urshifu doesn't dynamax. Sonia might have said that they have that Pokérus X2 stuff in 'em and they may not need to, but I know better. I'd rather be safe than sorry, ya know."

"Indeed." Immediately after that last word from the champion, the sound of the waiting room double doors opening up made both men turn towards the source and it was all smiles as they saw Karthaniel and Hatterene walk in as casually as possible, even while they were holding hands. "Ah, Karthaniel! Hatterene! You finally made it! How was the trek here?"

"Pretty relaxing." Karthaniel replied as the two came to a stop at just two feet before them. "I had to be absolutely sure that Urshifu was in tip top shape since he was raised by Wallace and it really showed. With his five moves, he was practically unstoppable."

"What about Hatterene here?" Raihan dared to ask as he stood alongside Leon on his right and his Flygon on the opposite side, making him face the anthro Silent Pokémon with a regal glare of bravery. She returned it as the dragon expert continued. "Do you have five moves as well?"

"I sure do, Sir Raihan." Hatterene replied in her most dulcet tone since her escape from the facility. "But I won't tell you what I have."

"Oh, I know what you have so far: Moonblast, Mystical Fire, Psychic, and Shadow Ball. I want to know what your fifth and final move is."

"Oh, I knew that you knew that I have those moves. I meant that I won't tell you what my newest move is and I still won't. You'll have to find out in battle."

"Humph! I see! Well, good luck to you. I will not hold back. See you inside." That's when Flygon went back inside his pokéball before Raihan made a salutations gesture and then made his way towards the arena. When he was gone, Leon, Karthaniel, and Hatterene saw how wild the crowd got instantly upon seeing him waving out to them as usual. Karthaniel was the only one that scoffed at this display with a confident smile.

"They're ready for anything at this rate." The young formerly depressed trainer quoted professionally. Hearing that statement in that tone made Leon bow his head in agreement.

"And so am I." The champ agreed before he placed a hand on Karthaniel's left shoulder. "I'll be sitting next to Hop. Give Raihan everything you've got. We'll all be rooting for you both." The two men then shook hands before Leon left in the opposite direction, leaving Hatterene and Karthaniel alone for a few more minutes. During that time, the anthro Silent Pokémon had just one more thing to verbally add to all of this:

"Our game plan should work, Sir Davis. Raihan won't see it coming."

Karthaniel's response: "Ya bloody right, love."

Seconds later, inside the arena…

The crowd was loud enough when Raihan walked in before, but when Karthaniel and Hatterene finally arrived hand-in-hand, the crowd roared even louder than ten jet engines up close, including his parents and all the support in the front row. Only Master Mustard and Wallace remained silent with honorable smiles as they applauded. All in all, this was due to be the most historical battle Raihan has ever endured. By the time the two stood before Raihan at six feet apart, that's when the crowd went silent by the sight of the dragon type expert's hand being raised with confidence.

"Welcome to your second most important battle in your journey, Karthaniel Davis!" He started with the authority of your typical gym leader, even with a little of that youngster tone in the voice. "Before you face Leon, you must first challenge me, the greatest dragon expert in all of Galar! Seeing your Hatterene before me doesn't scare me one bit! How about you?"

"Same here towards you." Karthaniel replied. "We may be at about the same generation, but our expertise is far beyond our years. We promise not to hold back and neither should you. We're ready!"

"That's what I like to hear! Let's see if you're truly worthy of Leon's presence." After that last word, Karthaniel didn't even shy away as he gave his beloved Hatterene a quick, tender kiss on her lips before he took a good ten paces backwards, leaving the anthro Forest Witch to stand alone for only a brief moment. Seconds later, and without making any eye contact along the way, Urshifu walked up and stopped right next to her on her right side with his most regal determined glare to date! Raihan saw this and scoffed before he held up two pokéballs and, without a word, tossed them up into the air. That's when Flygon and Gigalith came out first. The crowd's volume was turned back up to 100 once more before the referee within the PA system spoke.

"In this Double Battle, the last pokémon standing wins, no matter what the circumstances!" He started. "The pokémon can choose to fight at their own free will, upon command, or both. It's no holds barred! You may begin!"

"Let's not waste any time, Gigalith! Use Sandstorm! Flygon, boost up with Dragon Dance!" Raihan commanded before the two obeyed without a struggle, having the Compressed Pokémon roar with fury as his Sandstorm activated. That never bothered Hatterene and Urshifu as the two got into their battle stances simultaneously and the two nodded once in agreement with their secret telepathic message while they waited patiently for their next moves. "Now, let's do this! Flygon, take it to the skies! Use Fly on Urshifu and Gigalith, use Iron Head on Hatterene! Give it all you've got!"

As for Karthaniel, he's decided to remain silent with a smile of bravery and confidence and he even crossed his arms to prove that he knew what was brewing in his two most powerful pokémon's minds. He had Corviknight and Duraludon standing like obedient pokémon on his left and right side respectively, patiently waiting for the opportunity.

Back out in the middle of the arena, Flygon was just on his way down to make a devastating blow towards the Wushu Pokémon, but it was like Urshifu saw it coming and made a graceful leap towards him mid-dive and performed his famous Surging Strikes upon the Mystic Pokémon at the exact same time Hatterene used her hat claw to successfully block Gigalith's Iron Head before the unexpected happened:

Her eyes glowed that famous Grass type green with her pupils still as white as snow while the Compressed Pokémon's head was still within the hat claw's kung fu grip and she performed Giga Drain with her most intimidating glare she's ever shown in her life! This made Raihan wide eyed, but certainly not speechless.

"GIGALITH! What the hell's going on?!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as he saw that his beloved rock type pokémon's life was slowly being drained away by Hatterene. "Don't let her take away your strength! Get through somehow!" Gigalith didn't even hesitate as he used all of his strength to push Hatterene back, but not with enough force to knock her to the floor. Her eyes had turned back to normal at that moment before Gigalith just stood there and, with his eyes glowing red, summoned a Rock Slide right above her! This made the crowd gasp with horror before Urshifu saw this after sending the now slightly weakened Flygon down towards the arena floor and made a dash down towards the rain of rocks and continued his Surging Strikes against every rock and boulder. Hatterene saw this with hope in her eyes as she helped him out by shooting a few Shadow Balls at a few of the rocks as well. Again, the dragon type expert was stunned beyond belief!

"Unbelievable!" He screamed. "This Sandstorm isn't even bothering them either!" He then saw how severely damaged Flygon was and grew furious. "Damn! Looks like I've really got go all out here! Flygon, can you move?!" The Mystic Pokémon nodded twice as he got back up to his levitating position and didn't even think before he used Boomburst with his massive wings and that's when Urshifu and Hatterene received a decent amount of damage and stopping everything, except the seemingly endless Sandstorm, in its tracks. While they were still on the ground, trying to regain their composure, Flygon didn't waste a second as his wings shimmered a titanium silver before he made another dash for Hatterene with his Steel Wing attack! She saw this and quickly got back to her feet before she pulled off her most regal determined glare in her life and used her hat claw to shoot out her Moonblast, but then again, Flygon saw that coming and he made a graceful loop around it, completely missing him, as he continued onward towards her. This made her panic and was frozen stiff with fear, but Urshifu stepped in at the very last millisecond and used his bare hands to hold on to the silver wings, stopping the Mystic Pokémon in his tracks, before the Wushu Pokémon did the inconceivable:

"OOHHHHHHHHHH!" The crowd gasped with horror as they all saw Urshifu use that supernatural strength from the Pokérus X2 infection to literally rip Flygon's famous wings off of his back!

The now wingless dragon roared at the very top of his lungs with excruciating pain before Urshifu used his Surging Strikes on him one more time, making the final set of three swift strikes the most powerful critical hit and the impact caused the Mystic Pokémon to be severely flung all the way past the shocked Raihan and Gigalith. The unconscious dragon's body tumbled for a full ten seconds before he landed on his side. Seeing this made the crowd go wild for a moment while Hatterene and Urshifu pulled themselves together and inspected each other as well. Karthaniel remained silent with his arms crossed, despite the frenzied crowd. He kept his smile of confidence as well. Corviknight and Duraludon nodded twice in agreement with smiles of their own.

As for Raihan, he desperately ran over to his prized Flygon, kneeled down towards him, and saw that he was indeed down and out with those famous faint swirls in his eyes. He sighed with relief that he was dubbed as unconscious and not dead after getting those wings ripped off. With that in mind, he summoned the Mystic Pokémon back into his pokéball before he turned back around towards the battle at hand with Gigalith still standing tall and walked up until he was next to the Compressed Pokémon's left side with an expectant glare in his blue eyes.

"Damn! Leon was right!" He started in realization as he too crossed his arms with a nod of honor. "You two really got it made with that Pokérus X2 stuff. That's the first time I've ever seen such a stunt pulled on any of my pokémon. I guess I really gotta go all the way here. Sandaconda, come on out, buddy! Let's double this up! Both of you, use Earthquake at the same time!"

"We don't think so!" Hatterene and Urshifu both said in perfect unison before they both dashed for them simultaneously, having Hatterene going towards Sandaconda and Urshifu towards Gigalith. Miraculously, they were both somehow levitating just millimeters off of the ground along the way, having the Earthquake continue to rumble beneath them without giving them any damage, before the anthro Silent Pokémon's famous hat claw made a clean grasp for the Sand Snake Pokémon's face and used all of her power with Giga Drain sucking all the life out of him while the Wushu Pokémon's one single Drain Punch increased to maximum strength and actually got his fist to go through the Compressed Pokémon's chest, creating a gaping hole at the side of a bowling ball. He then grasped him from inside that hole and made his head shimmer that famous steel silver before he forcefully used an Iron Head-butt onto his head, causing it to shatter to pieces!

Once again, Raihan was left stunned and speechless as he now saw that Hatterene tossed the lifeless Sandaconda towards her adopted brother and he used Surging Strikes on his body before the impact, causing him to be disintegrated into dust. This actually caused the Sandstorm to continue on for approximately five silent seconds before it finally cleared, making the crowd cheer at their loudest once more. They did know that the battle wasn't over yet, however. The dragon expert still had one more pokémon left. He was even more flabbergasted when he saw how casual Hatterene was when she took off her hat claw to dust it off for a moment. Urshifu was dusting himself off in the same manner, making their trainer behind them softly chuckle with a handsome smile of humor.

"Had enough, Sir Raihan?" Hatterene taunted in a valiant tone, making the dragon expert steaming mad. "I sense one more pokémon on your belt. Send him out and let's get it over with, shall we?"

"Grrr!" He growled as he pulled out his final pokéball. "I honestly don't know what's in that stuff ya got, but it's finally gonna fail here! Duraludon, let's not waste any time! GIGANTAMAX! LET'S GO!" After that last word, Raihan tossed up his pokéball and used his Dynamax bracelet while it was in midair behind him and his Duraludon came out as a 100 foot tall glowing silver tower, having his yellow eyes look down upon Urshifu and Hatterene with authority. Those two never cowered. Everyone in the crowd went even more insane to see this for the next thirty seconds before the tall Alloy Pokémon didn't waste a moment using Max Steelspike towards Hatterene and it came at her at blinding speed and she watched this unfold with horror in her eyes since she's never seen this move before in her life! Urshifu was familiar with it, however, and made the sacrifice that he'd never thought he had to do:

He dove towards Hatterene with his hands out before him with the intent to shove her out of the way of the steel spikes. He did so, but he ended up taking the hit in the process, having one sharp spike make a small, but lethal bloody slice on his right side! This made the audience gasp with absolute shock while Karthaniel called out the Wushu Pokémon's name with terror at the same time! Then, he ran towards the two with Corviknight and his own Duraludon on the far left of the arena, giving the row of his parents, all of the gym leaders, Leon, Hop, Wallace, Lawrence, Master Mustard, Klara, Jennifer, and Sonia a front row view of the aftermath with wide eyes of apprehension.

"URSHIFU!" Karthaniel repeated as he just kneeled down towards Hatterene first, who shook out the dizziness, before she grabbed her famous hat and never placed it back on her beautiful head. Instead, she held on to it with respect as Karthaniel saw how bloody Urshifu was on his right side. He tried to hard to keep the red blood from oozing out of him with the opposite hand, but it was to no avail. "Hang in there! You both fought well up to this point!"

"Ugh…" Urshifu groaned as he tried to sit up with his left hand still holding on to the bloody wound. He leaned up against the wall in agony, which made the others look down at them instead. "…I really… took one for the… the… team… didn't I?"

"You didn't have to do that, Urshifu." Hatterene reassured sweetly as she reached out a slender hand to his face, which made her well up in tears, allowing one to escape as she felt how cold he was getting.

"It's what… siblings do. We… look out for… each other. Agh!"

"Shhh! Don't speak anymore. I'm here for you, big brother." At that last word, she placed her hat back on and, without a second thought, the famous claw upon it went towards the wound after it gently moved his hand out of the way and with her eyes closed with hopeful tears oozing out of them, it started to shine bright pink for the next ten seconds, astonishing all who saw it. After it was over, Hatterene opened her eyes, removed the claw, and it revealed that the wound and the blood that came with it was completely gone, as if it never happened! She then looked up at the row of her friends and family with her sweetest smile, preferably Wallace, who returned it with a smile of his own. "Call this payback for taking care of me all these years, Sir Wallace."

"May Arceus bless you, young Hatterene." Wallace replied softly with his own tears of joy. The two then made a single bow towards each other with honor before Urshifu and Karthaniel stood up simultaneously with Hatterene following suit just second later. "Keep up the good work, Sir Karthaniel Davis. You're not done yet."

"My sentiments exactly." The young trainer agreed. "Hatterene-love, you still wanna continue against that Gigantamaxed Duraludon?"

"I told you to show Raihan your steel-type prowess and that's exactly what I want from you now." Hatterene said with no remorse in her heavenly British-accented voice as she gave her beloved trainer compassionate strokes upon his bare tattooed abs and pecs. "Show him that you're worthy for me."

"Will do." The two then never hesitated to show most of the crowd their strong love towards each other by performing one their most passionate, steamy kisses they've ever shared since their relationship started. Urshifu had the most up close and personal view of it and he was wide eyed with astonishment for just a few seconds before he calmed down with his usual relaxed crossed muscular arms and a handsome appreciative smile to match. As for the others in the very front row, only Leon tried to hard to cover his younger brother's golden curious eyes, but Hop kept those hands away with humor. This scene went on for the next two minutes before the two parted very slowly and Hatterene showed her darkest seductive smile as she said this with her telepathy towards Karthaniel:

Besides, you owe me a much desired tasting session between my legs later.

Karthaniel's physical response: A sensual wink that was oblivious towards the crowd of support behind him.

Seconds later, back at the center of the arena…

A fully healed Urshifu still remained standing before the 100 foot tall Duraludon and Raihan, who never turned off his brave face. This time, Sir Davis' very own Duraludon stepped up next to the Wushu Pokémon. Raihan saw this and made a small chuckle.

"Heh, heh… even after all that, I'm not surprised to see this substitution." He quoted with comicality. "Giving up, Karthaniel?"

"Not even in the slightest." The said trainer replied with utmost confidence, having Hatterene hold him in her slender arms with her famously cute smile. "Let's just get my win over with, so I can finally work on claiming the title of Galar Champion."

"Humph! You're a little too overconfident. I won't make it that easy for ya! Duraludon, are you ready to end this?!" A rumbling roar of thunder emitted from the giant Alloy Pokémon in response and he was prepared for anything. "Awesome! Let's cripple 'em! Use G-Max Depletion on them both!"

Before the move was executed, Karthaniel's Dynamax bracelet activated and it Gigantamaxed his Duraludon just in time for him to use Max Guard on both him and Urshifu and was able to block it completely, which shocked everyone within the stadium, except Karthaniel and Hatterene. Then, without a single command, Duraludon performed Max Knuckle on Raihan's identical Alloy Pokémon, making a direct super effective hit that also raised their attack stat. Urshifu's attack was triple charged, thanks to Pokérus X2, but nobody noticed for now. Raihan still wasn't giving up as he commanded his Duraludon to perform Max Steelspike towards the Wushu Pokémon in no time since he had a hunch about the drastic increase, but once again, Urshifu seemed like he had a third Psychic typing within his soul and saw it coming. With that being the case, he made epic leaps and bounds upon the fast approaching giant metal spikes at the exact same time his partner Duraludon used Max Quake on the opposing metal dragon, stunning him before Urshifu made the final and highest leap of faith towards the center of the neck with a fist charged up for his Drain Punch. It was so powerful that, upon impact, he went through the dragon rather than just leave a gaping hole. The excruciating pain caused Raihan's Duraludon to roar at his loudest in agony before he fell like a tree being chopped down, shrinking back down to his normal size along the way. By the time he landed, he was revealed to have still have that gaping hole and his eyes were closed rather than have the swirls.

In other words, Raihan's Duraludon was actually pronounced dead. The crowd went insane!

"Ladies and gentlemen! The winner of the Hammerlocke Gym is Karthaniel Harrison Davis!" The referee announced from his headset on the PA system. "CONGRATULATIONS!"

Everyone celebrated in their own way, including having Wallace silently nod twice with a proud smile and he saw Karthaniel and Hatterene celebrate by means of their wildest and most compassionate kiss since they met. That's when he looked over at Master Mustard from around Klara, who was cheering her loudest with leaps of joy. Both of them nodded once towards each other as if they exchanged telepathic messages before they both walked up the stairs between the frenzied bleachers and were on their way to a mysterious secret location together. Nobody noticed them at all.

Back down at the arena…

Raihan showed a look of both disappointment and forgiveness all at once with his deceased Duraludon within his arms as he approached the now calm Karthaniel and Hatterene with Urshifu just approaching them as well, stopping at the opposite side of the Silent Pokémon away from Sir Davis.

"Karthaniel, that was, without a doubt, the most exhilarating and epic battle I've ever had since becoming a dragon leader." Raihan started in an apologetic tone. "Even after Leon told me everything that happened, including telling me that Hatterene and Urshifu both have that Pokérus X2 infection, I still went all out as best as I could and so did you. Battling Leon will be even better for ya when the time comes. You've definitely earned that opportunity, my friend. Congratulations!" Since his hands were full, all the young leader could do was just bow his head towards the three before him.

Hatterene saw how solemn Raihan was as he was carrying his dead Alloy Pokémon and she slowly approached him before using her hat claw to heal once more. It made its way towards the fatal hole in his Duraludon's neck and, just like with her adopted brother, the wound was healed within seconds after another bright pink glow. Seconds later, the very same Alloy Pokémon took in a huge breath of life and was back on his feet milliseconds after, making Raihan cheer as he embraced his trusty partner. Hatterene stepped back towards Karthaniel to give them both more space for this small celebration that only lasted for the next twenty seconds.

"I felt an extremely strong magnetic bond between you two." Hatterene professionally stated with sympathy, making Urshifu and Karthaniel nod twice in agreement with smiles of honor. "I'd hate for you to live without him. We all fought very well and, even though we won, you still deserve the title of dragon type leader and your Duraludon shall be your mascot to represent that. That's why I healed him."

"Wow… you really are quite the serene hatterene like Leon said. You're unlike all the other wild ones around Galar and it really shows here." Raihan replied as he just approached the anthro Silent Pokémon with his trusty partner beside him on his left. "Also, I wanna point out one thing: Your fifth move. Giga Drain, eh? Didn't know a hatterene could learn that move. You sure did catch my Gigalith and Sandaconda off guard with it."

"It's a move I've been wanting for a long time, but since I didn't know I had a fifth move available at the time, I thought I had lost all hope for it. Now that I do have it, I'll be sure to use it wisely just like I did just now."

"There ya go! Well, I guess I should finally get down to business then." Raihan paused he pulled out the Dragon Badge for Karthaniel and he didn't waste a moment retrieving it before placing it in his badge chamber upon his backpack. Seeing this made him cry silent tears of joy, which made Hatterene follow suit and Urshifu just pulled off an honorable smile with watery eyes, but no tears. "Once again, congrats to ya, Sir Davis! You now have all of the Galar Badges and can officially battle Leon for the title of Galar Champion. Take all of the time you need to train before you face him. No rush."

"Thank you so much, Raihan!" Karthaniel replied before the two men then shared a man hug that was heartwarming to all who saw it…

…except Wallace and Master Mustard.

They were in a secluded location hidden within the entire Hammerlocke Stadium and it was slightly bright on their end, but they were facing a mysterious being within the shadows. Both elderly men faced it with honorable smiles, having Wallace show glossy brown eyes of exultation as he spoke in a benevolent tone:

"As you just heard, Sir Karthaniel Harrison Davis is just one battle away from being crowned Galar Champion alongside Hatterene. After all these years, she's proud of me for taking good care of her in my own way. I saved her as an egg and just allowed her to live her life without me for her own safety. Her previous caretaker who abandoned her had passed on already, but I'm so glad that you didn't. We both are and we managed to find you just in time for this momentous occasion. It's all for one very crucial reason:

Hatterene has been missing you and wishes to see you."

The shadows then revealed a pair of glowing blue eyes with white pupils that looked vaguely familiar before a deep female echoing voice replied:

"I miss her as well. I will be tremendously exultant when I finally reunite with my daughter."

To be continued…