The room was massive and luxurious, bright white with similarly-colored pillars holding up a ceiling at least 40 feet high. Plush red chairs and couches covered the floor, arrayed around tables that had, from the shine, been polished to within an inch of their lives. The top of the room was engulfed by a massive, brightly glowing chandelier. On the right side of the room was the wine bar for the adults; on the left, the food bar for everyone else. The back wall of the room was made partially of glass, and through it Medicham could see a large play area for Pokemon, complete with a small food bar of their own.

At least a hundred people were in here, maybe even a hundred and fifty, along with a few Pokemon that either were too large for the play area or, most likely, didn't want to be consigned to said play area. Some were clustered around the various bars, others sitting on the chairs and couches and digging into their brunch, still others simply huddled in small groups off to the sides or even in the center of the room. Medicham knew Sarah and James would arrive soon; Marcus's parents had told him to go on ahead, and that they just needed to finish getting ready. She did see Serena sitting at one of the tables, tucking into her meal. Much to her relief, she didn't see Calem anywhere.

As for the Pokemon outside the play area, Medicham could see a pair of Audino speaking in one of the corners, a Jellicent floating serenely above the head of a female Trainer towards the right of the room, a Marill being squealed at by a group of teenage girls, and, dominating another corner of the room, a massive Metagross, standing alongside a well-groomed male Trainer with silver hair, a very nice-looking black suit, and a red tie dangling from his white upturned collar.

"Is that Steven?"

The voice came from behind Marcus. Medicham twisted and could just see another pair of teenagers, these ones male, staring at the silver-haired Trainer.

"Yeah!" said one of the male teenagers.

"Dude, we have to go talk to him!" the other male teenager said. "It's Steven Stone! How often do you get the chance to meet a former Champion?"

The two boys moved off, brainstorming how best to get close to him.

So that was Steven Stone, the announcer and former Hoenn Champion. He indeed exuded a rather commanding aura, and his Metagross certainly looked powerful - then again, it was a Metagross, they all looked powerful. Steven was already surrounded by a few Trainers, and as Marcus stepped over to the food bar, Medicham cast her hearing out, trying to listen to what they were saying.

"…you stay in Meteor Falls?" one of the Trainers was asking.

"Normally, I do," Steven answered in the same calm voice he used for announcing. "Either that, or travel the world to expand my stone collection. But being the former Hoenn Champion, I am a high-ranking Trainer in the Hoenn-Kalos collaborative Training facility known as the Battle Maison. Diantha wanted Battle Maison representation for the announcers, and when she dangled a fairly large sum of Pokedollars as compensation I was more than pleased to step up."

"Can you show us your Mega Evolution?" another Trainer asked.

Steven smiled. "Maybe later, outside. Mega Metagross is heavy enough that he might accidentally damage the floor, and Mega Aerodactyl doesn't take too kindly to crowds."

"That is an understatement," Metagross intoned. Steven chuckled.

"How many times have you fought Brendan?" a third Trainer asked.

This brought an even wider smile from Steven. "Twice. The first time was when he fought me for the title of Champion. In that match, I came out on top. The second was a few years later, after Wallace assumed my position. Brendan defeated him, but he never really considered himself a true Champion until our second battle, when he finally overcame me."

"Wow." The boys that Medicham had seen earlier had finally worked up the courage to approach. "How'd he beat Metagross?"

Steven chuckled. "A combination of an incredibly determined Crawdaunt and his own Mega, his Sceptile. And even then, if we hadn't been fighting in a thunderstorm it might have gone the other way entirely."

"Marcus?"

With a jolt, Medicham realized she'd gotten so entranced by Steven's stories that she'd forgotten entirely about Serena. She jerked her attention back to her surroundings as Marcus sat down near Serena with a plate full of food.

"So who's your Top 32 match?" Marcus asked.

"That Fairy-type Trainer, Emma," said Serena. "Honestly…not looking forward to it. My team doesn't do that well against Fairies, remember, and from what I've heard she's absolutely stomped her way through the three-on-three rounds. You?"

"Calem."

"Ah." Serena sighed. "Good luck."

"Thanks," said Marcus. "I've got a strategy in mind, but it'll be difficult…and honestly, I'm not sure it'll be enough."

"At least we got into the Top 32, right?" Serena asked.

"At least there's that," said Marcus. He raised his eyes. "Oh, look. Guess who just walked in?"

Indeed, Calem had just stepped into the room. He was casting his gaze around, shifting from the food bar to Steven to Serena to Marcus. His eyes settled on Marcus and remained there. Marcus stared back, one fist clenching tightly.

"Oh, Calem! Pardon me!"

Then the tension was broken as Professor Sycamore stepped into the room behind Calem. He raised a hand and beckoned for Steven to come. Steven quickly recalled Metagross and excused himself from his growing crowd of fans, and he and Professor Sycamore quickly moved over towards the wine bar.

Calem walked over towards the food bar, pointedly not looking at Marcus. As he came closer, Medicham felt a presence, something she hadn't felt since before the Tournament. That powerful Fairy-type of Calem's was most definitely in one of the Ultra Balls on his belt.

Serena sighed. "Honestly. Why do you two have it out for each other so much?"

"You said it yourself, Serena," Marcus responded. "He's going to keep using his unfair tactics until someone beats him. And…you saw our battle. You know how heated it got."

"Yeah, but it was one battle," Serena groaned. "Marcus, there's a difference between rivals and enemies. Like Blue and Red. You've heard of them."

"Of course," Marcus responded.

"All Blue did was snipe at Red, mock him for losing and gloat when he won," said Serena. "But when Red fought Team Rocket, Blue was right there by his side. And when Red became Champion, Blue was…well, after getting over his anger at being Champion for all of a day, he was one of the first to congratulate him. You and Calem…it's not like that. You two are constantly at each other's throats whenever you meet."

There was an oomph as Calem sat down heavily on a chair opposite Marcus, clutching his own plate of food.

"You know, Serena," said Calem, "there's a reason for that. Because he never admits fault. It's always my fault, or his Pokemon's fault, or something else equally inane."

"When have I ever said it's my Pokemon's fault?" Marcus asked.

Calem ignored him. "The truth is, Marcus…you can keep up that facade, but I know who you really are underneath. And that's why I'm going to beat you this afternoon. I'm gonna show the world exactly who you are."

"And what am I?" Marcus asked.

"You know what," said Calem. "A jerk. A sore loser. A crybaby who can't even take a loss without whining about how unfair it was. And above all, you're a terrible Trainer."

Marcus stood quickly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Marcus, don't…" Serena tried.

"First off," said Calem, not standing at all, "I beat you 4-1 back in Coumarine. Second off, you let your Phantump nearly die back near Laverre because…why? You hoped it could do something to that Weavile? Maybe pull some 'power of friendship' crap and evolve or something? All you had to do was recall it! And thirdly, you send them into battles where you don't even come yourself! What kind of Trainer does that?"

Medicham felt her heart leap into her throat. Oh, crap.

"When have I ever done that?" Marcus asked furiously.

"Don't give me that," Calem spat. "I was at the Power Plant. You ever wonder how your Skorupi evolved? Or do you just not pay attention to them, either? Is that it? Do you even care about your Pokemon? Are they just living weapons to you?"

"No!" Marcus retorted. "Do you think I don't care about my Pokemon? Look - when I first started my journey, I…did some things I regret to my Pokemon, but I've left that behind! And as for the Power Plant, I didn't know what was going on with my Pokemon, because I was laid up in the hospital because an Absol tried to murder me!"

"Marcus!" Serena snapped.

It was then that Medicham noticed that the entire room had fallen completely silent. Marcus looked around uneasily, and then the last voice Medicham wanted to hear right now spoke up.

"I'm sorry," said Sarah, who apparently had just walked into the room along with James, "what was that last part?"

Steven, from across the room, cleared his throat. "Ah…maybe it would be best if you all took this outside?"

"Marcus," said Sarah, "I…I can't help but be disappointed. Not only did you cause enough of a scene that Steven Stone, the former Champion of Hoenn, had to ask you to leave the room, but…you nearly died and you didn't tell us?"

Marcus let out a sigh, clearly trying to hold his emotions in. "It was…near Coumarine," he said. "A wild Absol jumped out at me and…it all happened so fast. And…after I recovered, I just…I guess I didn't want you to worry."

"Look," said James, "we get that. But first Geosenge, and now this…what else have you not been telling us, Marcus?"

"And I don't want any more lies," Sarah added.

Marcus hesitated. "I guess…when I encountered my Fearow…she tried to kill me as well," he said. "And…I got caught in the middle of a couple fights with Team Flare…"

"Marcus!" Sarah snapped, before taking a deep breath. "Marcus, why can't you just tell us these things? We…we could have helped!"

"We're your parents," said James. "Helping you is…kind of what we're supposed to do."

"I know a Pokemon journey is important," said Sarah, "but if you fought Team Flare multiple times, that…you're not Red, Marcus."

"I'm not trying to be Red!" Marcus protested. "I didn't want to fight Team Flare! I just…kept getting caught up in things!"

"Marcus," said James, "we're not happy about you fighting Team Flare. But we're even more unhappy that you lied to us about it. After this Tournament, you're coming back home. And you're going to stay there for another year."

"A…a year?" Marcus asked.

"Yes, a year," said James. "It's obvious you can't be trusted to go out on your own yet. You'll still have your existing Pokemon. It's your team, we're not going to take that away from you. But clearly you need to get a little older before you set out on your Pokemon journey again."

Medicham felt her heart drop back from her throat to the very bottom of her stomach. She wasn't going to lie; she had been looking forward to life after the Tournament. She could focus on training, with Team Flare nothing more than a memory. Even Betrayer-Of-Kin and the Heralds had seemed distant, almost forgotten in the heat of the Tournament and the anticipation of what was to come.

"But-" Marcus began.

"Don't," Sarah ordered. "Just…don't. Your Pokemon journey will be put on hiatus for a year, and that's final."

"Mr. and Mrs. Grayson." A new voice broke in from the side. "I do not believe that will be necessary."

Medicham twisted, her eyes following Marcus, Sarah, and James's to see the Fairy-type Gym Leader Valerie standing a little ways down the path in full Fairy regalia, complete with her signature pink-and-yellow wings.

"Gym Leader Valerie." Sarah's words were lacking in warmth. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean," said Valerie, "that the fault is all mine. I am the one who got him mixed up in affairs with Team Flare. He happened to be in Laverre to challenge me, and when I received a message that a group of Team Flare members were fleeing the nearby Pokemon factory, I requested that he come with me. I believed that a five-badge Trainer would be able to at least deal with a couple of Grunts. And he did with aplomb. He even helped fight an Executive; it was actually quite impressive."

Medicham had to stop her jaw from dropping. Valerie was telling the truth at least partially, but clearly she was leaving quite a few things out. Was…was the Fairy-type Gym Leader seriously lying to Marcus's parents?

"Thank you for the endorsement," said James, "but that's not why we're doing this. We're doing this because he lied to us about it."

"Oh, I know about that," said Valerie. "I told him to, after all. I didn't feel like giving him media attention before he even got his first eight badges. Of course, after Geosenge that was a bit of a moot point."

Now that was a flat-out lie. Medicham again had to work to keep her mouth closed.

"With all due respect, Gym Leader Valerie," said Sarah, "that wasn't the only time. There was also the Absol-"

"Yes, the one that put him in the hospital," said Valerie. "Lumiose General, in fact. Whose first priority upon receiving a patient is to contact the patient's next-of-kin. Most likely, Marcus knew that, which would explain why he didn't tell you about it. You must have thought they already knew, didn't you, Marcus?"

"Yes." There was only a hint of a tremor in Marcus's voice.

"We didn't…receive a communication from Lumiose General," said Sarah haltingly.

"Then perhaps it must have been lost in transmission," said Valerie.

"Why do you care?" James asked.

"Because," said Valerie, "Marcus is a naturally talented boy with a fantastic understanding of Pokemon. And I do not wish such talent to be wasted. Did you know he defeated three of my Fairy-type Pokemon with a pair of Dark-types? And I've heard quite a few good things from others; Korrina in particular had nothing but glowing praise for him, and Siebold outright commended him for his conduct in Geosenge. The point I'm trying to make is that, in my opinion, it would be a complete waste of Marcus's spectacular talents to have his journey delayed for a year."

Valerie smiled. "Please understand, Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, that I am not trying to parent your child for you. I am merely giving some advice. You need not follow it, but at least think about it."

Sarah and James looked at Valerie. Then at Marcus. Then at each other. Marcus did not look at anyone, but from her Pokeball Medicham could see the faintest vestiges of hope adorning his face.

"Marcus," James began, "we're still disappointed. And…you still did cause quite a scene at the party."

Marcus gulped.

"But…" Sarah sighed. "Let me put it this way. For the next year, we want weekly updates. No exceptions. And no lies. If we find out you've kept one thing from us, it's back home immediately."

"But for now," finished James, "you can keep going."

Marcus was completely unable to hide his sigh of relief. As was Medicham, but no one heard hers. "Thank you," Marcus said.

"Thank Valerie," said Sarah. "Anyway, Marcus, we're…going back to the hotel. You get ready for your next battle. We'll be watching."

"Definitely," James added. "And…I don't think you should go back into that party. Steven looked quite upset."

Marcus's parents turned and began walking down the path, leaving Marcus and Valerie alone.

Marcus's mouth had scarcely begun to open when Valerie put a finger to her lips and gestured for Marcus to walk with her. Then she began stepping towards the stadium. Marcus followed, with Medicham watching closely from her Luxury Ball.

They walked in silence until they reached the stadium entrance. Valerie stepped through, guiding Marcus into the stadium's main lobby. Then, and only then, did she turn to face Marcus. "You may speak now," she said.

"Valerie," said Marcus, completely forgetting about her title in the process, "thank you. Thank you so much. But…why?"

"I already answered that," said Valerie. "I may have…amended the truth on a few things. But I do feel you are a talented Trainer, Marcus, a talented Trainer who has made a few mistakes. Not many in your position could have taken on a member of the Elite Four, even weakened, and held on as well as you did. From what Siebold told me, your Pokemon had beaten her Chandelure, forced her Houndoom into using its Mega Evolution, and held off her Torkoal for multiple minutes by the time he arrived."

"Thank you," Marcus said again.

Valerie chuckled lightly. "That said…lying is not a good thing to do, Marcus. One should avoid lies whenever possible. It only complicates things when people inevitably find out the truth."

"But you-"

"Shh…" Valerie put her finger to her lips again. Her expression hardened. "I do have to ask, though. Lumiose General Hospital is supposed to contact every patient's next-of-kin upon that patient's arrival. Do you know anything about why your situation somehow did not get through?"

"No," Marcus answered truthfully. Medicham pursed her lips, wondering the same thing. Come to think of it, she remembered a worker saying that Marcus's parents hadn't been able to come. But now it was apparent that they hadn't gotten the message at all.

Which meant that somehow, either the worker had been lied to, or the worker was lying.

And Medicham could not help but suspect the Heralds. Had they not been around the city on that day? And it would make very little sense for anyone else to mess with a hospital contact protocol.

It had to be the Heralds. Medicham didn't know why, or how they'd done it, but there was no one else she could think of who could or would arrange for that.

"All right," said Valerie. "Maybe it just got lost in transmission or something. Marcus…do me a favor. At the closing ceremony, meet me at this exact spot. Is that something you can do?"

"Of course," said Marcus.

Valerie smiled again. "Good. Now, you'd best prepare for your next match. And try not to get knocked out in the next round, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good luck." The Fairy-type Gym Leader turned and walked back out of the stadium, leaving Marcus standing alone.

"That was a really nice thing you did."

"Thank you, Mr. Mime," Valerie whispered.

"But that wasn't the full story, was it?"

Valerie sighed, still walking. "No. No, it wasn't."

"Then why did you help him?"

Valerie ceased her walk. "I was there," she said. "I directed him to go against Team Flare. I sent him into battle with me. I should have helped to protect his Pokemon. If his Phantump had died there, it would have been my fault."

"I understand." Mr. Mime hesitated. "But why did you lie? Why not just tell him that?"

"Firstly, I do believe he has talent," said Valerie. "So I did not lie. Secondly, I don't want to make it seem like I am taking pity on him. You remember Harry, right?"

Mr. Mime shuddered. "Of course."

"Teenagers don't want pity," said Valerie. "They want reinforcement. Now, why don't we head to the party? I feel like a glass of wine right about now…"

As soon as she was released onto the grass, Medicham knew what Marcus was going to ask.

"Medicham," he said. "What was Calem talking about? Regarding the Power Plant?"

Medicham looked straight up into Marcus's eyes. "Team Flare took control of the Power Plant," she said telepathically. "You were on life support…and without power, you would have died. We felt like we had to do something, so we…we volunteered. It was my idea, you don't have to-"

"I don't care whose idea it was," said Marcus. "I just…wow, I'm really being a hypocrite right now, but I just wish you'd told me earlier."

The corners of Medicham's mouth curled upwards.

Marcus sighed. "Well, since we've been kicked out of the party and the next round of the Tournament doesn't start for another hour or two…want to get back to training? If we want to beat Calem, we'll need all the preparation we can get."

"Marcus?" Medicham said.

"Yeah?"

"I've been meaning to tell you…Calem has a really powerful Fairy-type," said Medicham. "I don't know what it is, but it was strong enough that I could feel its power from inside my ball."

"Sounds strong," said Marcus. "But at least we know it's not a Poison-type. As far as I know, the only Poison/Fairy-type in existence is a unique form of Weezing from Galar, and I highly doubt Calem's got that."

"You never know," Medicham warned.

"Regardless, the hazards should still work," said Marcus. "All right, Medicham, thanks for the heads-up. And if that really powerful Fairy-type is on his team come our battle, then we know, basically, what six Pokemon he's using, which makes our job a lot easier."

Marcus let out a satisfied sigh. "Well, then. Let's get down to it."

"Welcome to the fifth match of the Kalos Pokemon League Tournament Top 32!" April cried. "And it's certainly a big one. We've got two of the strongest-performing rookies in the field up against one another!"

"Indeed," said Steven. "And I know from…personal experience that these two have a fairly strong rivalry. Let's see how they stack up."

"Calem may very well have a power advantage," said April. "He's already beaten two other rookies, and in the Top 64 took down a third-year Trainer, whereas Marcus has had to work to win both his battles - he's got a B- and a B+ on his KPLT Grades record, whereas Calem's never dipped below an A-!"

"Marcus certainly has an uphill battle ahead of him," said Steven.

Xerneas watched the brown-eyed, dark-haired Trainer standing on the field opposite Calem closely. The unique Fields had been retired for the six-on-six rounds; now it was just an arena, open to the world, emblazoned with the symbol of a Pokeball in the middle. Two white circles indicated where the Trainers should stand; Calem was standing on one, Marcus on the other.

Marcus was certainly an oddity. He and Calem clearly despised each other. And yet Xerneas remembered Marcus, the Trainer whose Medicham Xerneas had brought back to life. He had truly cared for his Pokemon, cared enough to raise his voice at Xerneas for draining his Medicham's life.

And yet Calem clearly believed Marcus to be a terrible Trainer.

Why was that? Xerneas privately hoped he would find out, and yet at the same time hoped he would not.

"Marcus will release first!" Dan, the referee, called.

Marcus hesitated for a few moments. "Kriesh, you're up first."

Calem smirked, his hand going to Aurorus. Then it shifted to Lapras. Then to Blastoise, upon which it finally closed. "Blastoise. You know what to do."

The Shellfish Pokemon was released onto the battlefield. He looked down, then up at Marcus and the Fearow he had just released. Clearly he recognized the Trainer, for his eyes narrowed. Kriesh glared right back.

"Hyper Beam!"

"Protect," Calem retorted.

"Beam Impact!" Kriesh cried, opening fire with a massive beam of energy from her beak.

"Wave Barrier!" Blastoise retorted, raising a hand. A barrier in the form of a crashing wave rose up in front of him, deflecting Kriesh's Hyper Beam.

"Torrent: Wave Blast!" Blastoise unleashed another wave, this one formed of Water energy and surging towards Kriesh. The Fearow quickly fired a Flurry Impact into, dissipating it before it could strike her.

Kriesh flew into the air, beating her wings as she rose far above Lapras. "Frozen Wave Blast!" Blastoise yelled, letting fly with a beam of Ice energy. This Kriesh simply dodged with a Sky Impact.

Calem pursed his lips as Kriesh began to arc downwards, lunging towards Lapras. "Steel Impact!" she cried, her wings glinting silver.

"Mist," Calem ordered.

"Wave Spray!" Blastoise cried as he unleashed a wave of mist from his mouth, enshrouding him in the cloud. Kriesh hesitated, halting her descent, but though she could not see into the mist, it appeared Blastoise could see out just fine, for another Frozen Water Blast lanced out from the mist. Kriesh couldn't get out of the way in time, even with Sky Impact, and the blast clipped her wing, sending the Fearow spiraling to the ground with a grunt of pain.

"Use ranged attacks!" Marcus ordered. "And Sniper!"

Calem raised his Pokeball and returned Blastoise from inside the mist.

But at the same time, Kriesh fired off another Flurry Impact into the cloud. The seeking Dark-type rays went right through, and the cry of pain from Blastoise was audible across the arena.

"He's switching!" Marcus cried. "Get back!"

Calem tapped Aurorus's Pokeball, a scowl on his face.

"And Marcus's Fearow brilliantly - if a little accidentally - counters Calem's switch completely!" April cried. "That Mist provided plenty of cover for that switch, but Pursuit not only ignores cover outright, it also follows a switching-out opponent into their Pokeball and deals extra damage! Calem's switch-based strategy has played a major role in his previous battles, but it seems that Marcus is well prepared for it!"

"Round!" Calem snapped.

Aurorus's voice came from within the mist. "Refrigerate. Frost Voice."

In the next second, Blastoise's Mist was blown away by a blast of Ice energy as Aurorus shouted, a shout that sent that blast flying towards Kriesh. "Up!" Marcus shouted, and Kriesh lunged up into the air, barely avoiding the Icy Voice.

"Beam Impact!" Kriesh shrieked, sending another Hyper Beam down at Aurorus.

"Refrigerate."

This time Xerneas saw Aurorus's Ability actually being utilized. She did not bother to deflect the incoming Hyper Beam; rather, she focused, and before Xerneas's eyes the energy of Kriesh's attack turned into the telltale light blue of Ice energy. The attack hit, but Aurorus took it with ease, barely flinching.

"Frost Wave." Aurorus's retaliation was a massive cone of Ice energy centered on Kriesh. There was no way the Fearow could dodge, at least not without taking some damage.

"Mirror Move!" Marcus ordered.

Kriesh gulped, wincing in anticipation of the hit. Calem smiled grimly as Aurorus's Frost Wave struck Kriesh head-on. The Fearow screeched in pain, transfixed by the Frost Wave. Her body began to glow with Mirror Move.

In one smooth motion, Calem withdrew Aurorus and sent out Lapras. Caught up in Mirror Move, Kriesh could not punish the switch with Flurry Impact. All she could do was fire her own blast of energy of the same strength as Aurorus's Frost Wave.

A blast that Lapras easily deflected with Protect.

"Is that even allowed?" April wondered from the commentators' box.

"Technically," said Steven. "The rules state that when an attack is fired, a Pokemon has to be there to take it, or else the Trainer whose Pokemon the attack is aimed at must forfeit a Pokemon. Nothing says that the Pokemon to take the attack has to be the same Pokemon as was on the field when the attack began to charge."

"In that case, an inspired move from Calem to block a potentially very dangerous attack from Marcus's Fearow!" April cried.

"See?" Calem called across the arena. "It's like I said! My moves are all perfectly legal! Now, Lapras, finish that Fearow off! Hydro Pump!"

Lapras inhaled. "Song of Water," she crooned, opening fire on Kriesh with a massive surge of Water energy. Kriesh's retaliation was a Beam Impact that met the Song of Water in the middle of the arena, contesting it perfectly.

Again Kriesh leaped into the air. "Steel Impact!" she cried, lunging at Lapras with wings glowing silver again.

"Mist," Calem ordered.

"Hyper Beam, now!" Marcus cried.

Even as Lapras began to sing a Song of Clouding, filling the air with a Mist similarly to Blastoise, Kriesh abandoned her descent. "Beam Impact!" she cried, firing the Hyper Beam straight at the occupied Lapras.

"Shell Armor!" Calem ordered.

Lapras had just enough time to create a barrier of gray armor, the same armor on her back, before the Beam Impact slammed straight into her. Even then it shoved her back, forcing her to abandon the Song of Clouding. Kriesh at once resumed her descent, her wings glowing silver yet again.

Lapras retracted her Shell Armor, looking not that much worse off but still appearing to have suffered decent damage. "Song of Freezing."

A blast of Ice energy flew straight at Kriesh even as she dove. Kriesh twisted, aiming her Steel energy-covered wing at the oncoming blast.

She looked absolutely shocked when the attacks collided and a wave of ice froze her entire right wing.

"What the-?" Kriesh's cry was cut off as, bereft of flight, the Fearow slammed into the arena floor.

"Nice Sheer Cold," Calem complimented with a grin. "Again."

"Song of Freezing." This time the blast streaked straight towards Kriesh's face.

But Kriesh, with a grunt of effort, twisted to the right, shifting her still silver left wing into the path of the Sheer Cold. "Sniper: Beam Impact," she growled.

As her other wing was frozen in place by the Song of Freezing, yet another Beam Impact shot off towards the right of Lapras. Then it curved, twisting around until it was streaking straight at Lapras's side.

"Protect!" Calem snapped, but Lapras was completely unprepared for the seemingly missed attack to actually be coming at her. Before the Transport Pokemon could do anything more than slightly shift so that her shell was between her and the incoming blast, the Beam Impact slammed straight into her.

Again, her Shell Armor helped, but even with Shell Armor, Xerneas knew that taking two Hyper Beams was painful even for a more defensive Pokemon like Lapras. Lapras brought her head up, eyes narrowed, and let fly with a third Song of Freezing.

Stuck with two frozen wings, Kriesh had no way to avoid it.

Lapras let out a pained moan as Marcus recalled the completely frozen Kriesh. Xerneas looked at Calem warily to see him clenching his fist around Lapras's Pokeball.

Calem's words during the fight had been odd, to say the least. Xerneas didn't recall Marcus ever saying that Calem's strategies were illegal. He must have said that before Xerneas came to Calem's team.

Was that why they were such bitter rivals? It would explain why Calem had called Marcus a sore loser back at the brunch social. But why would that have set Calem off so badly?

Clearly, Calem's anger was hindering him. He should have seen that misdirection with Steel Impact coming. But he'd done the exact same thing he did to defend last time, and in doing so left himself open.

"Trevenant, your turn," said Marcus.

Medicham winced as the frozen Kriesh was recalled from the battlefield. Calem was as bad as ever, but the preparation had showed. His Lapras had taken heavy damage, and his Blastoise, the main target for Marcus's strategy, had been hit by a Pursuit. All in all, Kriesh had given a good account of herself.

As Trevenant emerged onto the battlefield, Medicham could only hope they were up to the task of achieving similar feats.

Calem had not yet revealed his powerful Fairy-type, but Medicham knew it was here. She could feel its Life even from all the way over here. She had made sure to let Marcus know telepathically as soon as she'd detected it, before the battle's beginning.

And from the looks of it, Calem was bringing the exact team they'd planned for.

"And Marcus reveals a new Pokemon, and finally one that actually originated in Kalos!" April seemed quite excited to see a Trevenant. "For a Kalosian Trainer, he certainly has a lot of non-Kalos Pokemon, doesn't he, Steven?"

"To each their own," was Steven's reply.

"Ice Beam." Calem's voice sounded.

"Ingrain!" Marcus ordered.

"Song of Ice," Lapras intoned, unleashing a blast of Ice energy at Trevenant.

"Ingrain!" Trevenant cackled, echoing their Trainer as vines shot out from their body, anchoring it to the arena floor. A burst of vines rose from the ground between Trevenant and the Song of Ice, wilting to uselessness under the blast but dissipating it in return.

"Will-O-Wisp!" Trevenant's follow up was a wave of Ghostly fire that flew from their body at Lapras. A quick Song of Water managed to quench the flames. A follow-up Shadow Ball streaked at Lapras, but Lapras crooned "Song of Protection" and managed to raise a barrier to deflect the Shadow Ball.

"Grass Knot!" Trevenant pointed a snaggly finger at Lapras. The not-very-mobile Transport Pokemon could not get out of the way of the vines that leaped up from the ground around her, pinning her to the ground. Lapras squalled in pain under the vines' powerful grip. Trevenant cackled gleefully at the sight.

Then Calem recalled Lapras.

"Oh, come on!" Marcus growled.

"Hmm…technically, he didn't recall Lapras out of an incoming attack," said Steven. "That's a bit of a…creative interpretation of the rules, but it doesn't technically violate anything…so a nice more, I suppose."

Calem grinned as he released his Chesnaught onto the field. Marcus's fists clenched and he breathed in and out heavily, trying to restrain himself.

"It's all right," Medicham reassured. "We'll beat him anyway."

And at least Lapras had taken even more damage from the Grass Knot.

Trevenant scowled at the failure of their technique. Chesnaught lowered into a fighting stance, raising one arm. "Overgrow: Spike Barrage!" A blast of Grass energy-formed spikes flew from his upraised arm. Trevenant raised another burst of vines in its way.

"You won't beat it at range," Calem warned. "Get in close and use Payback and Bite."

Chesnaught lunged forwards. "Spike Wheel!" he bellowed as his foot touched the ground, and then he flipped, curling up as he did so and continuing forwards as essentially a ball of spikes. "Will-O-Wisp!" Trevenant cried, but at his speed, a single order from Calem was enough for Chesnaught to jerk right, evading the blast of Ghostly flames easily.

"Grass Knot!" Trevenant tried, but the vines they raised were just not enough to stop Chesnaught's charge. A howl of pain came from the Elder Tree Pokemon as Chesnaught cannoned into him with a burst of, oddly, Rock energy.

But Trevenant did not fall, though they buckled and their vines creaked under the strain. But even as they buckled, one arm swept upwards. "Curse!" they cried, touching their ghostly finger to Chesnaught even as the Grass/Fighting-type Pokemon uncurled.

Chesnaught howled in pain as Ghost energy played across his body, but infuriatingly he still remained conscious enough to swat at Trevenant with an arm wreathed in Dark energy. Trevenant flew sideways, their vines finally tearing completely, and slammed into the arena wall as Chesnaught collapsed to all fours, snarling in agony from the Curse.

Calem quickly recalled Chesnaught and sent Aurorus back in. "Blizzard," he ordered instantly.

"Frost Wave," Aurorus growled, unleashing the cone of Ice energy that had so wounded Kriesh upon the still-downed Trevenant.

Without Ingrain or any defensive measures, and still suffering from the one-two punch from Chesnaught, the not-very-hardy Trevenant stood no chance.

"Houndoom, you're up." As Marcus sent in his Houndoom, Xerneas eyed Calem once again. Winning two to nothing and with the commentators speaking in his favor, he seemed to have regained some confidence. But now Chesnaught had joined the ranks of Blastoise and Lapras in the 'wounded' category, and Lapras in particular would likely not be good for any more switches unless Calem wanted to lose her.

Aurorus and Lucario, Calem's two remaining undamaged Pokemon, were weak to Fire. So was Chesnaught, and that Curse had definitely not done him any favors. Lapras would not be able to last long even with its part-Water typing.

Blastoise would be Calem's best option, but Xerneas and Calem both knew that Marcus's Houndoom had that Solar Beam-Power Herb combo that he was just dying to use on any Water-type that switched in against him.

"Ancient Power!" Calem ordered.

Xerneas, much to his embarrassment, had forgotten in the heat of the moment that Aurorus was also a Rock-type.

"Stone Manipulation." Aurorus summoned a cluster of Rock energy-formed spheres and hurled them at Houndoom, who retaliated with a quick Dark Surge to blast them out of the sky, then returned fire with a Flame Tongue. With an utterance of "Stone Wave", Aurorus summoned more Rock energy in response, this time firing it in a wave to intercept and deflect the Flame Surge.

"Flame Storm!" Houndoom barked.

"Stone Toss." Aurorus sent a barrage of small blasts of Rock energy at the incoming fireballs, intercepting them as well.

"Mist," Calem ordered.

Xerneas was surprised. Did every single member of Calem's team have Mist? Was that some kind of theme? He'd known Lapras had it - it was a vital component of her defensive strategy - but he hadn't expected both Blastoise and Aurorus to also be able to utilize it.

Then again, it was good for covering Calem's switches.

He did not, however, switch this time. "Hail," he called.

"Frost Rain," Aurorus intoned, sending a streak of Ice energy into the air. It exploded above the battlefield, expanding into a hailstorm that rapidly engulfed the arena.

"Inferno!" Marcus ordered.

"Flame Surge!" Houndoom snarled, releasing a massive wave of Fire energy at the cloud of mist.

"Refrigerate," Aurorus retorted.

The flames lashed out towards the mist, crackling hungrily, but just as they reached the mist the Fire energy transformed into Ice energy. A quiet grunt of pain informed Xerneas that Aurorus hadn't come away completely unscathed - she'd still been hit by a blast of energy similar to a Hyper Beam, after all - but with her natural resistance to Ice it hurt a lot less than it would have if it had hit her normally.

The blast of energy did disperse the Mist, though, leaving Aurorus exposed. The Ice/Rock-type Pokemon glared at Houndoom.

"With my Refrigerate Ability," Aurorus informed Houndoom, "I can transform any energy I desire into Ice energy. Both your attacks and my own. And with my natural resistance to Ice, that Inferno did almost nothing to me. Whereas this will hurt quite a bit. Earth Slam."

Aurorus unleashed a powerful Earthquake across the arena. Houndoom leaped to the side, barely avoiding it, but his retaliatory Flame Tongue was handled with a quick Stone Wave, and then another Earthquake forced him to leap away again.

Aurorus continued firing off Earth Slam after Earth Slam, easily defending against Houndoom's small retaliations with blasts of Rock and Ice energy. Houndoom tried another Flame Surge, but the effort involved in firing it off caused him to mistime his leap away from yet another Earth Slam and he tumbled to the ground, whereas Aurorus simply used Refrigerate, taking the not-very-effective Inferno.

And all the while, the Hail continued to beat down on Houndoom. Aurorus was unaffected, but Xerneas could see the hail striking Houndoom, even drawing some blood.

"Aurorus seems to have figured out a winning strategy!" April announced. "Can Houndoom recover? Or maybe Marcus is planning to switch?"

Houndoom rose to his feet, baring his teeth. "Get in close," Marcus ordered, and Houndoom leaped forwards, teeth flaring with Fire energy.

An Earth Slam was dodged. Houndoom let fly with a Flame Tongue, forcing Aurorus to block with a Stone Wave as Houndoom lunged for Aurorus's long neck. Aurorus accepted the challenge. "Refrigerate: Frost Slam," she uttered, lunging forwards with Ice energy glistening across her body.

It seemed Aurorus's plan was to overwhelm Houndoom's charge with brute force. But Houndoom unexpectedly dove to the side. Aurorus stumbled, and Houndoom, with a snarl of "Flame Jaws", clamped his teeth down on Aurorus's back left ankle.

Aurorus roared in agony. "Earth Slam!" she bellowed, blasting Houndoom away with an omnidirectional burst of Ground energy.

As Houndoom rose to his feet, Calem recalled Aurorus and raised Blastoise's Pokeball. But Marcus had seen Calem's movement, and clearly guessed his intent. The two Trainers' voices rang out at the exact same time.

"Solar Beam!"

"Hydro Pump!"

Blastoise appeared on the field; at the exact same time, Houndoom's Power Herb flashed and a surge of Grass energy leaped into his jaws. Blastoise raised one of his arm cannons as it glowed blue with Water energy. Calem's eyes widened. "No! Protect!"

If Calem had called that order first instead of Hydro Pump, Blastoise would have had time to react. But he hadn't, and so Blastoise, already halfway through his Hydro Pump, spent just a second too long trying to adjust to the new order.

"Solar Surge," Houndoom growled, and the massive blast of Grass energy slammed into Blastoise and sent him flying across the arena.

Blastoise slammed into the wall and flopped onto his front, completely winded. "Again!" Marcus ordered. Houndoom began to charge another Solar Beam, this time bereft of his Power Herb.

Looking furious, Calem recalled Blastoise and sent Lapras back in to replace him. "Protect," he ordered. "Then Hydro Pump."

"Solar Surge!" Houndoom snarled, but this time the blast of Grass energy bounced off a Protect. "Song of Water," Lapras intoned.

Houndoom had no defense ready, and was not prepared to leap out of the way. A Dark Surge was all he could muster as a defense, but against the sheer power of Lapras's Hydro Pump, it just wasn't enough.

Marcus recalled him before the Song of Water hit. "I forfeit Houndoom," he said.

Calem took a deep breath to try and calm himself. Xerneas could see Calem sweating even as the hailstorm summoned by Aurorus finally faded. Still none of his Pokemon had been knocked out, but everyone but Lucario had sustained damage. Aurorus and Chesnaught had both taken decent damage but remained fully capable of battling, Lapras was pretty badly off from the Hyper Beams and the Grass Knot, and from the look of it, between Pursuit and that immensely powerful Solar Surge, Blastoise was practically on his last legs.

Lapras had picked up another knockout, which was surprising considering her state. What was unsurprising was that Calem recalled Lapras as soon as Marcus recalled Houndoom.

Marcus sighed. "Drapion, your turn."

"Lucario," said Calem, "it's time."

They were losing, 3-0. And yet Medicham knew there was still a shot. Blastoise, the Rapid Spinner, was immensely weakened. Calem was down to Lucario, whom he'd just sent out, and his Fairy-type, and then it was nothing but injured Pokemon.

Cloyster was in prime position to set up his hazards. But, understandably, Marcus wanted to weaken Lucario, who was immune to the poison from the Toxic Spikes which were such a vital component of the strategy. Unfortunately, all his Pokemon that would be good in this situation had already fallen. He couldn't send out Cloyster against a completely fresh Lucario, or else he might not even get time to set up. And if he'd sent out Medicham, Calem would have just sent in his Fairy-type and taken the good type matchup.

Drapion had been the only option. With the rest of his Pokemon injured, weak to Drapion's type, or both, Lucario was the easy switch-in for Calem. It wasn't a good matchup by any means, but Medicham was confident that Drapion could weaken Lucario.

Now…it was all a matter of if he could follow up on that confidence. If Lucario wasn't weakened enough, he could come in once the hazards were up and mop the floor with the rest of the team without having to deal with the poison, giving Calem an easy win. If he was, Cloyster could come in, finish Lucario off, plant his hazards, and hopefully between him and Medicham, they could last long enough for Calem's team to fall to the poison.

Most of that depended on how strong his Fairy-type actually was. But even with that, it could not be denied that the outcome of this battle basically hinged on how well Drapion did against Lucario.

No pressure, Medicham thought wryly.