Just a couple more chapters left to go. I do have news about what exactly will come next, as well as future plans for this character, but I'll be saving them for the end of the epilogue. Because the epilogue is highly unlikely to be all that long, it is entirely possible that I'll have both this chapter, and the epilogue uploaded in the same day. Having said that, if you want to wait until they've both been uploaded to read this chapter, go right ahead.

Title Match

Rowan's suggestion floated around Chris's head all night, and a thousand questions he asked himself only allowed Chris to get four hours in total. Would using something so otherworldly powerful make him universally respected, or ridiculed? Was it even morally right to use something practically as powerful as a god, for something as trivial as a Pokémon battle? Even if he wanted to, all of his Pokémon were eagerly awaiting what was to come. Could he live with himself if he snubbed a member of his team? Things got so bad, that at one point a cigarette at four in the morning was the only way Chris could get some actual peace for his mind.

Once he came back to bed, Chris finally laid back down with a settled mind. Even so, he could only manage to squeeze out one more hour of sleep before he was awake once again. While the thought did cross his mind to pay Dawn a visit, even if she was receptive it would only add to the time he would be awake. So instead, he decided to make do with less as he got ready for the day. Awake before even Professor Rowan, Chris sat with his headphones in while listening to Iron Maiden, and sipping on a cup of coffee while continuing to wrestle with his thoughts.

Then finally, one single thought crossed his mind that made the decision for him. "I've come too far to leave things to chance." At nine o'clock in the morning, while no one was looking, he went over to the console beside the Nurse Joy's station. The call was patched through in less than fifteen seconds, and one of Rowan's assistants from back at the lab answered in his stead. "Hello Chris." The assistant greets him. "Professor Rowan said you might call. Is this about Giratina?"

Chris sighs. "It is." He pauses for a moment, and slowly reaches back for Jetfire's Poké Ball. He takes a long second to look at the ball after activating it. "I'm sorry, Jetfire." He says softly. "I hope you can forgive me, one day." He then looks back at the assistant on the computer's screen. "I'm sending you my Togekiss. Be careful with Giratina's Master Ball."

"I will. Truth be told, the ball has been sitting by this console since the Professor left." Chris tilts his head up, as he places the Poké Ball in his hand onto the transfer pad. Both the Poké Ball, and the Master Ball have their places electronically switched, and suddenly Giratina is basically sitting right in front of Chris. "By the way Chris, I know we haven't met, but I'm actually Lucas's father."

Chris looks back at the man with a surprised expression on his face. Now that the man mentions this little fact, Chris does begin to see the resemblance. "Are you? So like father, like son then?"

"Indeed. Before we disconnect the call, I'd like to ask how my boy is doing?"

"He's good." Chris nods. "He feels like Barry, Dawn and I have all surpassed him as trainers, but at the same time he seems to be happy about it. Happy for us."

"That's good to hear. He has always shown maturity beyond his years, even as far back as middle school. I'm glad to hear you haven't hurt any ego by going as far as you have." Lucas's father then nods to Chris, with just one last thought to impose upon him. "I would say good luck Chris, but with Giratina I don't believe that you'll really need luck."

Keeping his mouth closed, Chris licks at his teeth as he nods. "Maybe. Have a nice day, sir." He says, before disconnecting the call.

Once he had retrieved Giratina from the transfer system, Chris spent most of the rest of his time listening to music and staring at the Master Ball in his hands. Time seemed to go by slowly as he sat in the chair with the ball in his hands, practically holding a truly unknown power right in his palms. With Rowan and his rivals sitting close by to him, and with only half an hour remaining until his challenge was to begin, Chris couldn't just let this unknown fester in the back of his mind. He stood up out of his chair, as everyone stopped their conversations to look at him. "You guys do me a favor and stay here, please. I need a moment."

As Rowan looked at the ball in his hands, not realizing that Chris had made the call to retrieve Giratina until that moment, he gave Chris a nod. "We will. Take as much time as you need, Chris."

Chris nodded back at the Professor with a smile, giving him a silent thanks. Stepping outside the facility to find no one outside, Chris was thankful to not have to go very far for seclusion. Any recordings of his battle would be taken by the employees of the League facility. He looked at the waterfall Hawke had scaled with Chris on his back to bring them to this final stop, and knew it was the perfect spot. Giratina would very easily be able to stand up in the pond that served as the waterfall's source. Taking a deep breath before sending out a legendary Pokémon was proving to be a bit difficult for Chris, as it took him a minute to stop himself from panting. But he got his faculties under control, and took that deep breath. "Alright then. Giratina, let's talk." He said calmly, before sending out his massive Dragon/Ghost-type legendary.

Giratina emerged from the Master Ball in the same form Chris had first seen it in at Spear Pillar. The tendrils he had seen it sport in the Distortion World had merged together to form rather menacing black wings, and six legs lined the long snail-like body. The mask-like yellow growth that covered the sides of its heads had changed shape as well, and they parted from its mouth to allow it to shake the ground with its epic roar. Once it settles down, Giratina looks down at Chris, currently a nearly nine foot size advantage on the human male.

"I..." Chris starts to say, naturally not being able to control the nervous feeling at looking at such a massive being. "I've taken you a long way from home, haven't I?" Giratina seemed to emanate a growl in response to Chris's question. "Easy." He says in response, holding out his hands to show Giratina that he means no harm. "Your appearance might've saved the world, even if the aftermath could've just as easily destroyed it. I had to calm you down. I should have defeated you, in hindsight. Maybe it was selfish of me to capture you, in some kind of effort to prove myself. But what's done is done."

Giratina looks away from Chris, and the direction it looks towards makes Chris guess that it is looking towards Sendoff Springs. "You're thinking about home, aren't you?" Giratina doesn't have to make a sound. Chris knows that his guess was correct. "If you want to return home, I won't stop you. But I've got one hell of a task ahead of me today. And if you trust me, if you'll work with me, then you and I can do something truly special here today." Chris pauses for a moment, to reactivate the Master Ball. He doesn't use it to force Giratina back in, even though he could very easily do so. "The choice is yours. I will bring you back home, and find a way for you to come and go as you please if you decide to stay with me. Whatever decision you make, I'll understand and accept your decision."

There is nothing more Chris can say. Giratina looks back down at Chris now, still in contemplative silence. Not moving its head, its eyes look over towards the direction of Sendoff Spring, before looking back down at Chris. It takes a long moment to observe the human holding the device it had been contained in for a week now, then stretches out its body even further. Then it takes a look at the world around it, something that Chris suspected it had seen precious little of in quite some time. Chris watches Giratina raise up one of its massive legs, and slowly move it to the button on the Master Ball. It taps the ball, and it opens up to absorb Giratina within. And at last, Chris exhales the breath he had been holding in since Giratina began looking around.

The timing ended up being perfect as well. Once Chris stepped back inside the facility, an attendant was looking right at him. "Mr. Harper. It's time for your challenge." Chris steadies his breathing, confident that it was his time.

The challenge ahead wasn't meant to be an easy one, from a financial standpoint as much as from the battles themselves. In between each match, Chris could pay out of pocket for his Pokémon to be fully healed should they have been knocked out in battle. And yet the payments came in for each member of the Elite Four Chris defeated. Still, it wasn't a cheap challenge. But despite the hardships, Chris's Pokémon pushed through for him, because they wanted this just as much as he did.

If anyone had asked Chris, he'd tell them that he didn't really remember the battles he had leading up to Cynthia. Maybe he had blacked out during those matches, and his body and voice simply functioned on the instincts he had built over the past year. But the reality was he might've been a bit too prepared for most of it. Aaron's Bug Pokémon stood no chance against the blazing hot fire of Caesar's newly learned Flare Blitz, even outlasting the recoil damage. Even his ace Drapion was outclassed, and unable to significantly damage his Hippowdon once he sent her out to handle the Poison/Dark-type. Aaron had mentioned before the battle that he was considering challenging Cynthia herself, but after the battle he was now rethinking his decision.

Up next was the wise Bertha, a Ground-type specialist. Not a single member of her team wasn't a tough one to take down, her Whiscash had Chris wishing he could carry seven Pokémon on a team, so he could have Zyra handle that one. Her Hippowdon was better than his own, as much as he wished that wasn't the case. But even so, once his Swampert had taken her Hippowdon down, the remaining Rhyperior and Golem stood no chance of winning her the match.

Then it was time to come face-to-face with Flint again, who was very pleased with the results Chris gave him with the Volkner situation. Now that they were opponents however, Flint certainly gave Chris everything he could give. As Chris had done against Bertha's Hippowdon, he had his own Infernape go head-to-head against Flint's. This time however, there wasn't a decisive winner, as both of the two Flame Pokémon knocked each other out cold. This draw however was what led to Flint's defeat, as his Infernape was his final Pokémon, whilst Chris still had three left. Truth be told, this was Chris's Hippowdon's finest hour. She took down over half of Flint's team, before his Infernape finally did her in.

All that stood between Chris and Cynthia after he finally battled Flint, was a Psychic-type specialist named Lucian. In battling Chris, it made perfect sense why this studious man was the last of the Elite Four. Chris's initial strategy was to lead with his Weavile, and hope that the partial Dark-type could prove to be far too much for the all Psychic-type team. But that plan did not survive a perfectly placed Focus Blast from Lucian's Alakazam. And while that same Alakazam didn't survive the blazing fast and hard hitting Caesar, the rest of Lucian's team more than made up for it. As much as Chris was hoping to save Giratina for Cynthia, his first time using a legendary Pokémon did come against the fresh ace of Lucian, his Bronzong. The signature move Giratina had used against Chris in the Distortion World was called "Shadow Force," and it took only one to take down Lucian's final team Pokémon.

To best the Elite Four in any region was an achievement in and of itself, but Chris had no intentions of stopping there. It wasn't cheap to have his entire team, except for Giratina, healed up after the battle with Lucian. But it had to be done. After all, Chris had managed to weaken Giratina with half of his team, so Cynthia could certainly defeat it with her entire team. He would need his to defeat her, he would need to go all out to defeat her, and he would do exactly that. He genuinely liked Cynthia, he was undoubtedly attracted to her, but he had every intention of putting her down.

Chris steps onto a platform that raised him up, with only dimly lit lights with about ten feet of distance between them illuminating his body as he ascends up to the final battlefield in the facility. There she was. All decked out in the same outfit she had worn in the Distortion World. That all-black attire certainly did fit a situation like that, and it did the same for this battle on their hands. "So," She starts, as she steps onto her side of the battlefield. "The day has come."

Chris steps into his place on the battlefield, and gives Cynthia a respectful nod. "It has."

"Have you been keeping well?"

"I have."

She nods to him, then smiles. "Thank you for what you did, both at Mt. Coronet, and the Distortion World. I'm truly grateful." She seems to stand up a little straighter as she continues. "Together, you and your Pokémon overcame all the challenges you face, however difficult. It is plain to see that you have triumphed over any personal weaknesses, too. The power you've learned, I can feel it emanating from you. And now that you've come this far," She pauses again, and activates a Poké Ball. "it's my duty as Sinnoh League Champion to test that power!" As she concludes her speech, the outline of where Chris stands begins to light up, then goes out as the same happens on Cynthia's side of the field. It continues to alternate between his side and her side, and Chris realizes that where it lands is who must send out their lead Pokémon first.

The light goes solid on Cynthia's side of the field, and she just smiles a half-smile in response. "Spiritomb, battle dance!" A stone emerges from her first Poké Ball, a strange marking on it. That same marking lights up a bright purple, and out pops an amalgamation of souls from within. If this was what some of the stories Chris had heard as a child, then he knew his best bet for a lead was something that could take hits better than Spiritomb, and could hit it back harder.

And that described Sandra to a T. "Sandra," Chris starts, as he activates his Hippowdon's Poké Ball. "Post up!" Chris sends his mighty sand hippo out to the battlefield, and she doesn't show even a hint of intimidation to the haunting Spiritomb. The holes on Sandra's back brew up a sandstorm in short order, as the two Pokémon glare at each other. "Sandra, use Crunch!" Knowing that the attack could potentially compromise Spiritomb's defenses, Chris goes for the dark-type Crunch attack. Sandra closes in on Spiritomb, chomping down on the Ghost/Dark-type with full force.

"Spiritomb, use Silver Wind!" Somewhere from within its ghostly form, Spiritomb summons forth powdery scales to blow Sandra off of it. From what Chris can observe, his attack has not had the desired effect on Spiritomb. In fact, there's a surge of power surrounding Spiritomb's entire body, one that is raising every attribute Spiritomb has. The rise in Spiritomb's abilities immediately takes hold, as the next attack goes a lot faster, hitting harder as well. "Dark Pulse!" Releasing a horrible dark aura, Spritiomb sends a special attack at Sandra. She can take the pain, but even as the sandstorm starts to ware Spiritomb down, Chris knows he has to do something about the strengthened Spiritomb.

For now, the plan had to stay the same. If Chris could get Spiritomb's attack back down, an Earthquake might be able to finish the job. "Sandra, use Crunch again!" There she was once again, chomping down on Cynthia's Spiritomb as hard as she could with her massive fangs. And yet it still didn't take the defenses down.

What happened next would've surely taken down a lesser Hippowdon, however. "Spiritomb, Psychic!" A blue aura surrounds Spiritomb before it then surrounds Sandra. Using telekinetic energy, Spiritomb not only gets Sandra off of itself, but then violently slams her into the ground. Something seems highly off about Sandra after that, as the special defenses of Sandra had now been compromised. Cynthia realized as much, due to her focus on Sandra, but Chris's focus on Spiritomb caused him to overlook it.

But then, Chris got what he was looking for. "Sandra, Crunch one more time!" The sandstorm damaging Spiritomb created the window of opportunity Sandra needed to get in for the attack. A critical-hit finds its mark, and finally Chris sees Spiritombs defenses become compromised.

Any celebration he may have had to the development was short-lived, however. "Spiritomb, Shadow Ball!" From point-blank range, Spiritomb creates a shadowy blob of its own ghostly essence, and blasts it into the weakened Sandra. The damage dealt is overwhelming, and she lands on her back as she gets blasted backwards. It has never happened before, but one of the mightiest Pokémon Chris has ever trained has not taken down a member of his opponent's team before going down. Cynthia being the champion makes perfect sense now; she was the real deal.

Chris recalled his fallen Hippowdon, lightly blowing out through his mouth. "Shit." He said quietly to himself.

"You're Pokémon are well trained, Chris. But luck doesn't seem to be on your side at the moment."

Chris smirks, knowing that Sandra did the setup work for another of his hard hitters. He activates his next Poké Ball. "Frostclaw, you're in!" He says, as he sends his Weavile onto the battlefield. The sandstorm Sandra produced wasn't doing Weavile any favors, but it was also starting to die out now that she was gone. Even with the raise in its stats, Spiritomb didn't have a prayer to be faster than a Weavile. "Use Feint Attack!" Knowing that Cynthia could launch a counter attack before Frostclaw got to Spiritomb if he used a move like Ice Punch, Chris instead had his Weavile temporarily vanish.

"Spiritomb, Silver Wind!" With the aid of the sandstorm helping to obstruct its view, Cynthia's counter attack ended in failure. Frostclaw reemerged in front of Spiritomb, and then strikes it for a clean shot.

Still right in Spiritomb's face, Chris stays on it. "Ice Punch!" Frostclaw curls its claws inward, and an icy energy drips from them as it swipes at Spiritomb. Down goes Spiritomb, as its spectre withdraws back within the stone, and then the stone itself gets withdrawn back to its Poké Ball.

Cynthia laughs softly. "It's good to see you don't get discouraged easily." She says, as Frostclaw pushes through the last bit of damage from the sandstorm before it dies down. "But I don't either. Togekiss, battle dance!" So many months later, it now made sense why Cynthia had a Togepi egg, as Chris gazes at her very own Togekiss. A bit of a regretful feeling colors his thoughts for a moment, before he quickly refocuses. He had a Championship to win.

"Frostclaw, use Ice Punch!" Frostclaw curled its claw within once again, as the ice was dripping from said curled claw.

"Togekiss, Air Slash!" Cynthia's Togekiss violently beats its wings forward to create a blade out of the air. The air goes careening towards Frostclaw as he runs, but he takes advantage of it by jumping up onto the blade's edge to propel himself to Togekiss faster. Frostclaw's punch lands right on the cheek, and yet her Togekiss is quick to recover.

"Impressive, Chris. But it won't be enough. Togekiss, Shock Wave!" An electric discharge circulates around Togekiss's body, as it expels a wave of electricity out of its entire body. That wave hits Frostclaw point blank, to send him crashing to the ground. The electricity is now surging through his own body in a completely negative way, as he finds himself paralyzed. "Now, Aura Sphere!" Togekiss focuses its aura power at the tip of one of its wings, and sends that sphere right down on the highly vulnerable Frostclaw. The frail Ice/Dark-type has no chance of taking the attack, and never gets back to his feet. As quickly as Frostclaw had evened things up, now Cynthia had the advantage once again.

Even so, Chris knew that this war of attrition was still in his favor at the moment. He knew just how powerful of a dragon he had to unleash as he saw fit. But that moment was not now. This battle belong to his Electivire, and his Electivire alone. He reached to the Poké Ball resting on the front-left part of his belt, and activated it. "Zapsquatch, it's your time!" Chris's primal Thunderbolt Pokémon took to the field, unburdened by the sight of another Togekiss in the air. If it was facing Chris, the battle hardened Zapsquatch knew it was not a friend.

"Togekiss, Air Slash!" Cynthia commands, as her Togekiss then beats its wings into the air to launch another attack. Neither Zapsquatch nor Chris move quickly, with Zapsquatch instead holding his meaty arms in an x formation. The blade hits clean, but the ensuing smoke cloud disperses once Zapsquatch's red eyes glare through the cloud.

"Zapsquatch, Plasma Fists!" Forcefully uncrossing his arms from the x formation, those arms quickly seem to turn into lightning bolts from the intense electricity they exude. Zapsquatch roars at Togekiss as he prepares to launch himself at it.

"Togekiss, Water Pulse!" Cynthia calls out, aiming to slow Zapsquatch down. Togekiss forms a pulsing blast of water, and sends it hurdling towards Zapsquatch. But the effort ends up being in vain, as Zapsquatch powers through the Water Pulse attack with ease. If anything, the way that he bursts through the watery attack sped him up even further. Up in the air, Zapsquatch sends Togekiss down to the ground hard, with two absolutely ferocious strikes to the dome of its head. It wasn't even accurate to say that Togekiss fell out of the sky, as it was more like a sudden crash to the ground in how much damage the entire situation had caused.

Cynthia had seen just how hard Chris could fight another human in the Distortion World, and it seemed like his Pokémon were mirror images to him in that regard. Yet there was definitely something deeper to him as well, as he recalled his fully healthy Electivire at the same time she recalled her Togekiss. No time to question it however, as she activated her next Poké Ball. "Porygon-Z, battle dance!"

Porygon-Z was unlike anything Chris had ever seen before. There's always been rumors about mad scientists creating their own Pokémon, but this was certainly quite the design, resembling a digitalized origami duck. Still not wanting to go down the Giratina well at the moment, Chris instead reaches for his gift from Professor Rowan. "Caesar, you're in!" He calls out, as he sends his Infernape back out for battle. Whether or not sending out one Fighting-type after the other was a smart choice would be something he would soon find out.

"Caesar, Close Combat!" Caesar charged right in at Porygon-Z, to its detriment.

Right before Caesar reaches the oddity of a Pokémon, Cynthia issues a command of her own. "Psychic!" There she went again, as the Virtual Pokémon under her command pulsated with a blue aura that then surrounded Caesar. The Fire/Fighting-type was telekinetically put down to the ground, only just able to survive.

As Caesar pushed himself off the ground with an angry expression on his face, Chris shared that anger. "Thunder Punch!" Electrical energy surged through Caesar's fist, as he stood up and gave Porygon-Z a hard uppercut with that fist. Electricity was now surging through Porygon-Z's body, as it found itself suffering from paralysis. It was a good measure of revenge for when Cynthia's Togekiss had paralyzed Chris's Weavile earlier.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Pushing through the paralysis, Porygon-Z managed to zap Caesar with a powerful electric surge before he could reach Chris. Growling in anger through the pain, Caesar turned around to give Porygon-Z a death stare.

As the fire burning atop his head seemed to burn hotter, Chris knew exactly which move to use. It was risky, because when that fire burned hotter, it meant Caesar was on the verge of defeat. But they didn't call it high risk, high reward for no reason. "Caesar, Flare Blitz!" The flame on his head turning blue, before engulfing his body, Caesar launched itself at Porygon-Z in a last ditch effort to take it down. His body hits the anomaly of a Pokémon head-on, and then he fades through it. Once Caesar reappears, a fiery explosion overtakes Porygon-Z, and then takes it down entirely.

As hard and fast as the majority of Chris's Pokémon were able to strike, the term reckless abandon was the perfect description for their overall battling style. Cynthia recalled her fallen Porygon-Z, and she realized that it may come down to her needing to overpower Chris and his team. But there was a big concern for her, as she had seen his battle with Lucian. Even so, it was a situation where she'd cross that bridge when she got to it. The solution to her current Infernape problem was a rather simple one, although it would cause some significant damage to her next Pokémon. "No matter how things play out, I want you to know that no one will ever doubt you after today Chris Harper." She says with a wink towards the rookie trainer that makes him blush. She laughs softly, then activates her fifth Poké Ball. "Milotic, battle dance!"

In prior times, Chris had seen Milotic used by a gym leader from the Hoenn Region, Wallace. Cynthia's was just as gorgeous as his, and yet that beauty didn't mask the power. Chris correctly believed that his Infernape was in fact faster, but a critical-hit would be needed if he wanted to take it down in one shot. Still, he had no choice but to go for it. "Caesar, Thunder Punch!" Caesar generated electrical energy around his fist once again, leaping into the air, to hit Cynthia's Milotic right in the mouth.

Being up in the air however left it completely vulnerable to the counter attack. "Milotic, Aqua Tail!" Milotic concentrates its watery essences around its own tail, circling around to nail Caesar with a vicious tail swipe while he's still up in the air. It was obvious with the damage Caesar had sustained that it couldn't survive another shot whatsoever, but the super effective strike sends the Flame Pokémon crashing to the ground violently. But Milotic had quickly sustained heavy damage due to Caesar's efforts.

Chris recalled only the third fallen member of his team, and his confidence only rose as he realized that he would soon have Cynthia down to her final Pokémon. It was a mystery to him what it was, as the foster family he had lived with in Veilstone was the only one he ever lived with in Sinnoh. All he knew was that Cynthia was champion, and this whole time he could only form his strategies around what she sent out next. And the strategy for closing out Milotic didn't take a genius to figure out. Reactivating the last Poké Ball on his left hip, he called it out. "Zapsquatch, you're back in!" Still raring to go, Chris's Electivire returns to the battlefield.

Yet, the unpredictable was what happened next. "Milotic, use Ice Beam!" Milotic blasts Zapsquatch with a beam of frozen energy. The damage was one thing, the partial encasing of Zapsquatch's body in ice was another matter entirely.

"Shit, he can't move now! Break out of it, Zapsquatch!" Zapsquatch begins to struggle against the ice, doing his best to free himself.

Cynthia has a window of opportunity now. "Milotic, Surf!" Creating a massive wave, Milotic rides that wave at the top as it prepares to attack. But the window ends up being an illusion.

Because of the fact that he's only partially frozen, Chris takes advantage of the fact that Zapsquatch can still hear him. "Thunderbolt!" The electric energy that begins to surge through his body, until it breaks the ice. Zapsquatch then expels that energy right at the epicenter of the wave approaching him. The attack finds Milotic, and knocks it out cold. With the controller of the wave being unconscious, it begins to lose its size, until it eventually is the equivalent of hitting Zapsquatch with Water Gun in terms of damage. A bit worn down, Zapsquatch nonetheless remains at the ready for Cynthia's final Pokémon.

Cynthia has her eyes closed as she recalls her Milotic. She's smiling again as she opens them back up, her final Poké Ball active in her hand as she looks into Chris's eyes across the battlefield. "You've been truly special Chris, you really have. I can't remember the last time I was put in a corner like this. But this is where everything turns around."

"We'll see." Chris says, his confidence now rock solid.

"Garchomp, battle dance!" Chris expression perfectly reflected his laser focus. He himself had a Garchomp, but he was the definition of inconsistent in battle. One glance at Cynthia's was all that was needed to know this wasn't the case here. The terrifying appearance of a Garchomp was just an addition to the obvious battle-hardened state of Cynthia's. This was Cynthia's very first Pokémon. As someone who was as close with his own first Pokémon as he knew Cynthia was with hers, he had no doubt in his mind that he was correct in his assumption.

And yet, his familiarity with the Garchomp species made the next attack an obvious one to decide on. "Zapsquatch, use Ice Punch!" Now an icy energy was surging through Zapsquatch's dominant fist, and he began to charge at Cynthia's Garchomp. Little did either trainer or Pokémon know just how much this played into Cynthia's hands.

"Garchomp, Earthquake!" Bending its knees a bit, Cynthia's Garchomp raised its head in the air, before headbutting the ground at full force. A tremor was created at the center of the battlefield, right as Zapsquatch ran over the Poké Ball symbol in that part of the field. The damage sustained was nothing short of catastrophic for Zapsquatch, as he slowly fell to his knees on the ground, and then face first. It was a stunning development, as ever since evolving into Electivire, Chris had never seen Zapsquatch be defeated. And yet, here we were.

Staring into the eyes of such a terrifying dragon like Garchomp, Chris knew there was only one solidified option to back it down. Even if Cynthia's Garchomp could manage to do the unthinkable, Hawke could pick at its bones afterwards for the win. Chris grabbed the inactive Master Ball from his belt, and readied himself for his second time commanding a legendary Pokémon. "Giratina, you're in!" He throws the Master Ball up into the air, and the massive Giratina takes to this final battlefield. Its roar shakes the walls of the entire facility, with even Rowan and Chris's rivals able to feel it from where they watch the battle.

Cynthia smiles. "I envy you, Chris. A part of me wanted this battle myself, back in the Distortion World."

Chris tilts his head up. "At least you get it here."

"So it seems. Let's see what your legend can do. Garchomp, use Dragon Rush!" Garchomp surrounds itself with pure draconic energy, that somehow seems to grant it wings for a time. It leaps up into the air, and flies head first at Giratina.

"Giratina, Shadow Force!" As Giratina vanishes in an instant, Garchomp misses its target because of circumstance. It lands saftly on the ground, unintentionally getting a little too close to comfort to Chris. As battle hardened as it was, Cynthia's Garchomp certainly cared for humans, as it seemed to check if Chris was okay, before backing away from him. Garchomp searched the area for Giratina, but didn't see it coming until it was too late. Giratina appeared behind Garchomp, and struck it hard. Garchomp teetered back towards Cynthia, who remained steadfast as she prepared her next move. But the next move would in fact go to Chris. "Use Aura Sphere!" Concentrating its power over Aura, Giratina formed its attack from its mouth, and then launched it at Garchomp.

"Garchomp, Brick Break through it!" Garchomp's claw flashed as it brought it right through the unusually powerful Aura Sphere. Despite the difficulty it had in blocking the attack, Garchomp remained undamaged from the attack. And now that its bearings were back under control, the speed advantage returned to Cynthia. "Use Earthquake!" Garchomp brought its rather hard dome crashing down into the ground once again, and the ground at Giratina's feet began to tremor. It lost its balance for a moment, giving up a second opening to Garchomp as it fought to regain its balance. "Now, Dragon Rush again!" The draconic energy once again turned to wings, as Garchomp leapt up off the ground once again.

"Giratina, Dragon Claw!" Chris commands, more than willing to watch the mighty Garchomp clash against a legend. And clash they did. Both Pokémon had taken to the sky, repeatedly flying into each other at full force. Neither was giving an inch, as each encircled each other to prepare for another clash every time. Finally, a stalemate took place in the sky, until Garchomp was the one to break it. While it couldn't send Giratina crashing to the ground, to Chris's surprise, it was wearing Giratina down. "Shadow Force!" Giratina vanished in an instant once again, as Garchomp began to search once again.

It was due to the experience of its trainer, that Garchomp was able to do what it did next. "Garchomp, go to the other side!" Garchomp obeyed Cynthia's command, a bemused Chris observing her every move. The air behind Garchomp began to become distorted, and slowly but surely morphed into a purplish oval. That was the visual clue Cynthia needed. "Earthquake!" Bringing its head slamming into the ground at full force, the massive feet Giratina had on the ground knocked it off balance once the tremor hit. With the ability to escape now, Garchomp avoided Giratina's attack, and returned to Cynthia's side of the battlefield. And the speed advantage was once again all hers. "Now, Dragon Rush!" Garchomp leapt up into the sky one more time, and the wings brough it crashing right into Giratina. Susceptible to the damage dealt by its own typing, an already beaten down Giratina was defeated, to Chris's utter shock. And despite its own ware and tare, it seemed Cynthia's Garchomp still had plenty left in the tank.

"You still have a lot to learn, Chris." Cynthia says, as Chris almost dejectedly recalls his legendary Pokémon. She was definitely right, but she didn't know Hawke. She didn't know just how great of a pure battler he was, and she didn't know what they both had in store for her.

"You may be right about that," Chris starts, having shaken off any feelings of dejection he may have felt. "But I can learn it all, after I win. Hawke!" He activates the final Poké Ball on his belt. "Let's close this one out!" Chris throws his final Poké Ball into the air, and out comes the fully rested and fresh Hawke, Chris's ace Pokémon Swampert. Hawke slams his fists into the ground, and lets out a mighty roar as it stares down the opposing Garchomp. Unlike anything Chris, and possibly Cynthia had seen before, her Garchomp and Hawke locked eyes with each other, and the respect is almost instant. And so is the rivalry. Both were true alpha Pokémon, and only one of them could be left standing. Both eagerly awaited their trainer's orders.

One glimpse at Hawke told Cynthia everything she needed to know about how much potential he truly had. Today, he would either live up to that potential for Chris, or both would return home in defeat. None of these thoughts did she voice out loud, instead simply looking up at Chris to give him a nod. "May the best trainer win, Mr. Harper." Was all she said.

Chris simply nodded back, then issued his first command to his closest friend. "Hawke, use Hydro Pump!" Chris's Swampert unleashes a pressurized blast of water towards Garchomp.

"Dodge, and use Brick Break Garchomp!" Garchomp's claws shine as it leaps up past Hawke's Hyrdo Pump. It is quickly closing the distance between itself and Hawke, but not quick enough for its attack to go unanswered.

"Hawke, Ice Punch!" An icy energy drips from Hawke's fist, as his fist meets Garchomp's claw for a stalemate. Once Garchomp has its feet set on the ground, the two ace Pokémon of their respective trainers begin to trade blows. Despite seeming to be lacking in muscle at a first glance, Cynthia's Garchomp is just as capable of blocking the shots Hawke throws as Hawke is of doing the same. It is a wild flurry of strikes thrown by both Pokémon, but it's Garchomp that manages to break through the stalemate. It fakes a body blow, before bringing a Brick Break attack coming down onto the top of Hawke's head. But Hawke doesn't remain pliable for long. "Hawke, use Hydro Pump!" With Garchomp in point blank range, Hawke blasts the Mach Pokémon right in the face with its ferocious attack.

Both Pokémon dropped to a knee, struggling to fight through the damage both had sustained to this point. "Garchomp, Earthquake!" The massive hammer head of Garchomp slammed down to the ground once again, and the ground beneath Hawke's feet began to tremor as he was knocked off balance. Just barely surviving the pain, Cynthia's onslaught was not even close to over. "Now, use Dragon Rush!" The draconic energy granted her Garchomp wings once again, as it leapt up into the air, and the air could practically be felt shaking as it quickly descended right at Hawke.

"Hawke, Strength!" Hawke rose back up to his feet, his muscles flexing as he caught Garchomp head on. His feet dug into the ground until they were pushing through the metallic surface of the facility's final battlefield. Hawke was giving this last ditch effort everything he could give, until the effort had it growling steadily louder and louder. Eventually, that growl turned into a scream of pain. Garchomp was just too relentless. And the power of its very dragon-type essence was now adding to the damage that Hawke was withstanding. There was only one way to turn around the battle, from Chris's perspective. "Hawke, Ice Punch!" The icy energy began to form from Hawke's fist, and he did his very best to bring that fist onto Garchomp's cheek. But it was in vain.

Garchomp felt the chill from Hawke's fist, and immediately responded by ramping up the aggression. Focusing all of its power, Garchomp drove Hawke down to the ground. The full impact was just too much for him, and Hawke laid on the ground unable to move. Cynthia's Garchomp landed in front of the tough as nails Water/Ground-type, looking down at Hawke with respect in its eyes. A rivalry has formed between these two powerful Pokémon, which had been solidified as the two strongest in the Sinnoh Region after this highly competitive battle. But round one went to Garchomp. And Cynthia became the first trainer to defeat Chris Harper.

As defeated as he was, concern was at the forefront of his mind. Chris rushed by his fallen partner, who was now just getting back to a seated position. "Hawke!" He says, as he kneels down besides his pained partner. "Are you okay?" He asks, as Hawke looks at him with sadness in his eyes. Without saying another word, Chris pushes his forehead against the side of his Pokémon's head, consoling him after a brutal battle.

Cynthia steps up to the middle of the battlefield, her hand resting on her Garchomp's shoulder as Chris looks up at her. "Chris, you might be the best challenger I've seen since becoming Champion. What you've done today... you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Sure I do." Chris says, looking down at the ground. "To come so far, and get this close... Its a pill that isn't easy to swallow."

"Maybe not. But a time will come when you'll be ready to challenge me again. I know it." Cynthia takes a moment to recall her Garchomp, then pulls up the map of Sinnoh on her phone. She steps up to Chris, and then kneels down beside him. "First off, the cameras aren't recording anymore. So let me do this first." She gives Chris a kiss on his forehead. "I'm proud of you, Chris. With everything you've had to overcome in your life, to make it this far is an accomplishment that deserves to be praised." Chris had never been able to hide any reaction to Cynthia in the time he's known her, so the moment she looked back down to her phone was when he allowed himself to blush at her kiss. Cynthia scrolled through a map of the Sinnoh Region, zooming in on an island to the east of Snowpoint City. "Do you see this island here?"

Chris took a look at her phone screen, and looked at the islands. He had seen them on the map plenty of times, but never knew what exactly was there. "Yeah." He says as he looks at the map. "I don't think I've ever been there, though."

"It's called the Battle Zone. It isn't easy to get there. Or cheap for that matter. But I'm going to secure you passage there, and I want you to come here." She zooms in more on the map. "This is called the Resort Area. I have a gift for you there. Spend some time exploring the island before you come here though, I promise it'll be worth it." She and Chris rose back up to their feet afterwards, with Chris taking a second to recall Hawke. "When your heart and your head are ready, give me a call. I'll set up your transportation. I'll accompany you to the outside."

Chris nods at her, and the Champion and challenger make their way back to the entrance of the facility. The other members of the Elite Four join them on the way, and as they're walking, Chris realizes that he never did get around to asking her if she knew what he was looking for. "Cynthia... I want to ask you about something."

She looks into his eyes. "Go ahead Chris, I'm listening."

"You've traveled the world, been to many Regions in the past, haven't you?"

"I have."

"Do you know anything about a Pokémon, possibly legendary like Giratina, massive, long and green with yellow flashes on its body?"

"I might... how high up was it capable of flying?"

"The atmosphere at least, possibly even outside of the planet."

"Rayquaza." She says, and her matter-of-fact tone almost makes Chris completely certain that she was right.

"Rayquaza, that's what it was called."

"What's the fascination, Chris?"

"When my parents died in the North Pole, it was because Rayquaza had a battle with some other lifeform, maybe another Pokémon, and the battle destroyed most of the equipment needed for long term survival in the harsh weather. I've wanted to hunt it down ever since."

"I see. Rayquaza is a hard Pokémon to track down. But all data known about it points to it frequently visiting the Hoenn Region."

"Then that's where I need to go."

"Will you head there instead of the Battle Zone?"

"In the future, I'll get a ticket to sail for Hoenn. I think I need to clear my head first. I'll probably head for the Battle Zone first, for sure."

Cynthia smiles. "Okay. I look forward to your call." Arriving back at the entrance to the Elite Four's halls, Chris takes a moment to shake each member's hand. He holds his hand out for Cynthia as well, but she shakes her head at him with a smile on her face. Then she gives him a hug instead. "Take care, Chris."

A bit flustered, Chris hugs her back before he speaks. "I will. See you soon, Cynthia." They give each other a smile as they part, and Chris walks back out into the halls, so much on his mind at this point. It takes him several hours to decide that its time to leave, during which he changes up the wording of one of the goals written in his small journal. "Find Rayquaza" it now reads.