Milo and the Big Six

by NanobotEX

Eight long years have passed since Milo and Amaya's breakout Rookie season. Now one of them is a Champion, while the other is the biggest Pokémon battling celebrity on the planet. The winds of life blow much more harshly at the top of the world, though. New foes with old faces, friendships built and broken, and impossible choices...It's time for the World Challenge.

6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Writing on the Wall

"Tell me."

"It's a gold mine of information. This drive was the crew's connection to the main body of Team Rocket."

Milo was sitting on the cushy sofa of the hotel suite he and Kara would be sharing after the sudden and jarring attack on their home. After the day's events, Milo couldn't believe he had any adrenaline left in his body. Yet now, sitting on the soft velvet sofa as Kara unpacked their overnight bag in the other room, he was laser focused, hanging on every word from Damion Parr's mouth.

"We're still sorting through it," said Damion, "but there's two big developments I wanted you to hear directly."

"Thanks. I could use some good news."

"Sure thing, so - wait, huh? You good, Milo?"

"I, uh… Not particularly, but you go first."

Damion frowned, his brow furrowed with concern, but couldn't keep his news to himself for long;

"O-okay. Well then, here it is. First, we officially have enough evidence for full support from law enforcement. What we had initially from Violet City only warranted an investigation, but now we have irrefutable evidence of Team Rocket's reemergence. That gets us access to basically any warrant we want as well as funding and resources from multiple government agencies."

"That's a relief. We're still talking about Johto though, are they willing to cooperate with Team Lookout? It's been a rough go there in the past."

Here Milo's former rival rolled his eyes, leaning back in his office chair.

"Tell me about it. I mean, I literally dated the region's Champion and they still fight me on everything. Luckily though, something as big as a Rocket comeback has them scrambling. They'll take all the help they can get, including and especially from us."

"Thank goodness. Someone in that region has some common sense then, at least. What's the other big development?"

A savage grin broke out across Damion's face as he leaned forward;

"We've got a location on their base of operations. I don't think it's the actual Rocket HQ, but there's certainly something going on at the Olivine lighthouse."

It was almost too good to be true - so soon after Team Rocket's unexpected resurgence, they had a solid lead on a significant base of operations. The wheels of Milo's brain began turning, squeezing as much inference as possible out of this simple fact. Surely, a base in the Olivine lighthouse would be home to some key players. If executed properly a raid there could turn up the location of the ever-elusive Giovanni himself.

To make matters even murkier, both Milo and Damion noted that by some small miracle, nobody had noticed or talked about an organized crime attack on a public Pokemon Center. It made their job easier, of course, but how had every news outlet in the world completely missed this? It smelled like a coverup. This, of course, had its own implications…

"Good stuff, right? With this we can blow them wide open."

Damion rubbed his hands together, "Now hey, what's up with you? You made it sound like something happened."

"Eh? Oh, yeah, that."

Milo's excitement at the Rocket news deflated quickly as he relived the harrowing events of the last few hours. Damion was, of course, outraged on his behalf, and offered any and all protection measures from Team Lookout.

"Thanks, but I'm covered on the protection front. I'm told I'll have people covertly surveilling round the clock until this 'Vengeful Dark' is history."

"Shit man. I'm glad you've got help, but that's so damn scary. I'm sorry for you both. If I hear anything at all about this group you're my first call."

"Appreciate it, Damion. Once you figure out the next steps on hitting the Olivine base, let me know. I want in on that."

"Wouldn't want anyone else on it. Check in soon, yeah Milo?"

"You got it."

-o-

Four weeks remained until the much-anticipated Sinnoh Finals. In that time, Milo and Kara oversaw the repairs to their home, which thankfully took less than a week. From there, unfortunately, their 'vacation' came to an end, far from the relaxing getaway they had hoped for. Kara had a couple minor showcases and social events here and there, and Milo was politely reminded by Cynthia that with his time not taken up completely by the World Challenge he still had responsibilities as a Sinnoh Ambassador.

Just because Milo and Kara had already qualified, however, did not mean that the rest of the region lost any of its World Challenge fervor. On the contrary, things only heated up as time ticked down to the climactic Sinnoh Finals. Several key cities still had their final tournaments left to complete in order to determine their representatives at the regional level.

One such location was Hearthome City, where both Marcus and Myrian had yet to secure their passage forward. The actual qualification, as it turned out, proved quite simple for them both. Myrian's burgeoning battle experience shone through as she breezed easily through one opponent after another. Marcus of course, had even fewer problems, using several of his reserve and Gym level Pokemon to sweep the local competition aside. So, having both secured qualification, Milo's two siblings met in the final of the Hearthome City Challenge.

On a warm, breezy evening at the Hearthome Grand Arena, with the whole city either screaming in the stands or glued to the nearest screen, Marcus and Myrian stepped forward to shake hands in the middle of the pristine red dirt battlefield.

"Myrian", said the older sibling, "I'm so excited for this. Let's make it a good one, huh?"

"Y-yeah", the young teen girl's face was a mask of intense focus, "Let's do it. I'm bringing my best, Marcus!"

"I expect nothing less, sis. You'll need it, after all."

With that, the two turned and strode to their Trainer boxes. Watching from yet another hotel room, this time in Nimbasa City for an exhibition battle against Elesa, Milo took an extra second to appraise his younger sister. This would be one of her first high profile competitive battles. The emerging 14 year old talent had opted for a flowing black long-sleeved shirt draped over one shoulder. Her close-fitting black pants tucked into big combat-looking boots. With her dark hair shaved on one side of her head and cut in a neat bob on the other, Myrian looked rather like she was leaning (quite stylishly) into her recently acquired nickname - The Witch.

At last, the announcer and referee were ready;

"Battle…Begin!"

"Houndoom", called the older brother, "Get it started!"

"Let's go, Bisharp!"

Milo chuckled ruefully in his hotel suite. Marcus had the advantage from the opening call. Still, perhaps Myrian could give him one or two surprises. For a few seconds, neither side made a move, as Bisharp and Houndoom began to circle one another.

Both Trainers had the same instincts. Draw out an attack to launch a brutal counter. In the end, it was Marcus who took the first action;

"Houndoom, lead with Flamethrower."

"Protect, Bisharp! Then get in for a Low Kick!"

"Easy, Houndoom. Sucker Punch."

The play from Myrian was good, in concept, but as Bisharp shielded itself comfortably from the dangers of Flamethrower, the crowd gave a sharp cry. Marcus' Fire type ended its Flamethrower attack and sidestepped the Low Kick to land a solid Sucker Punch on the Sword Blade Pokemon.

"Now Incinerate."

Helpless to respond, Myrian's eyes widened as her first battler cried out in pain at the brutal fire type hit.

"Keep after it with that Low Kick!"

Thanks to Myrian's quick recovery, Bisharp scrambled to its feet and came flying in from Houndoom's flank with the tough fighting move.

Suddenly it was Marcus who was helpless to respond. As the Fire type tumbled to the dirt, Myrian sprang on the brief opening in her brother's defenses.

"Punish, Bisharp!"

The already prone Houndoom gave a yelp as Bisharp's Aerial Ace slammed into him. Not waiting on Marcus' call, the Dark Pokemon scrambled sideways, looking for an escape.

"Protect", called Marcus, his eyes narrowed in focus.

In full rhythm, Bisharp was not ready for a second Aerial Ace to bounce harmlessly off a blue Protect shield. Myrian, however, had seen this before, and refused to let her brother break her stride so easily;

"Another Low Kick Bisharp, he's still recovering!"

From his hotel suite in Unova, Milo grimaced, seeing the outcome one crucial second before the rapt audience in Hearthome;

"Sucker Punch, Houndoom. Then blitz."

Houndoom's Sucker Punch did little damage, but it sent Myrian's first fighter stumbling backwards, unable to catch its momentum to prevent a barrage of Fire moves.

Flamethrower started it off, and gave Houndoom time to close the gap for a point blank Inferno that ended the first round.

"Bisharp is unable to continue - Myrian, your next Pokemon!"

Myrian had put up a fair fight, and Houndoom certainly felt the effects of the bout, but so far nobody was surprised to see Marcus with an early lead in the battle.

Myrian felt already like her brain was firing on cylinders she never knew she had as she reached for her second Pokemon;

"Okay, okay", she told herself, "Need a quick response. I'm still in this."

Taking one breath to settle her nerves, the teenager made her call;

"Absol, get in there!"

An appreciative round of applause rang around the stadium - the irony of seeing an Absol used against Marcus was not lost.

Wasting no time, 'The Witch' kicked off the second round;

"Play Rough, Absol, right away!"

Like a flash, the girl's Disaster Pokemon launched a vicious Fairy move that forced Marcus to evade;

"Houndoom, clear left, then Sludge Bomb!"

"Now Sucker Punch, then Play Rough again!"

Milo, at the same time as the crowd, held his breath at the quick play. Myrian caught her oldest brother out with the same play that he'd just used against her. It worked perfectly, and the referee took action for the second time;

"Houndoom is unable to continue! Marcus, your second Pokemon!"

The Gym Leader blinked, his mouth hanging open;

"...Wow, Myrian. I - I admit I wasn't ready for that at all."

"I don't need your approval", she shot back, "Come on."

Giving his head a small shake, Marcus obliged;

"Don't get ahead of yourself, there's a long way to go yet. Weavile, time to pick up the pace!"

Milo, who had shot incredulously out of his seat at Myrian's instinctive brilliance to take out Houndoom, rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"I cannot believe I let Cynthia sucker me into missing this battle", he told himself, settling back onto the edge of his heavily cushioned seat. Two rounds in, this fight already had the makings of a classic.

"Absol, lead with a Stone Edge!"

"Answer with Ice Punch."

"Now MOVE, and then Play Rough!"

Wary of her brother's speed, Myrian hoped to pull off a passable hit and run style to keep Weavile swinging at shadows.

"Hmph, Pursuit, then Poison Jab."

Marcus had battled against hit and run enough to counter it easily. By altering the rhythm slightly, Weavile could land Pursuit while Absol was still getting set for the devastating Fairy move.

Myrian's Disaster Pokemon was walloped from behind, and Poison Jab offered insult to injury.

"Damn", Myrian clenched her fist, "Uh, okay, Absol, another Stone Edge!"

"Too easy. Weavile, around and Low Kick!"

"Detect! Play Rough!"

The ensuing flurry of action was too quick for most of the crowd to follow, but they all shot out of their overpriced seats when Weavile was the one to cry out in pain, flying across the field to land in a cloud of dust on the dirt.

"Holy crap!" Milo was duly impressed, "Myrian is actually holding this thing level! Come on, sis, close it out!"

Still, Marcus had a very deep bag of tricks at his disposal;

"Counter, Weavile."

With a gleam of anger in its eye, Marcus' Sharp Claw Pokemon rocketed across the field, landing a massive Fighting type Counter attack. An ear splitting roar rose from the fans lucky enough to be watching live. Absol, from almost nothing, was knocked out by a single savage blow.

The TV broadcasters could hardly contain themselves;

"What an insane back-and-forth we have here, folks, a real treat to bring this to you live from Hearthome! Against all expectations, young Myrian is holding her oldest brother almost even through the first three rounds!"

An injured and angry Weavile glared daggers at Myrian, daring her to bring it down somehow. A slight shift in his young trainee's stance told Marcus what she had planned, and before long Myrian made the call;

"Fantasia, it's time!"

Fantasia, Myrian's only nicknamed Pokemon, emerged with a flash of color. The elegant Mismagius fluttered ethereally down to field level and those in the crowd who knew anything about Myrian's battling leaned forward in their seats.

'The Witch', according to popular opinion, was not at the elite level of the very best battlers, but if any Pokemon on her team came close to that level, it was Fantasia. The Ghost type had been a gift from the legendary Fantina as a Misdreavus when she first began her training at the Hearthome Gym, and had quickly become the cornerstone of Myrian's team and by far her biggest threat.

From the comfort of his sofa, Milo commented to himself;

"This is like when Marcus and I fought back in the Hype Circuit. Trade some rounds and then the ace comes out. Let's see it, Myrian, show me what you've got!"

"Alright girl", Myrian kicked off the fourth round, "Get him moving, Power Gem!"

"Nothing fancy, Weavile, shift and use Ice Shard."

Milo was so focused on the TV he almost didn't notice Ferra walk up beside him until she spoke;

Marcus is afraid to use Pursuit.

"Yep", agreed the Sinnoh Ambassador as the round fell into a cagey pattern of ranged moves that were mostly evaded without effect, "She's proven she can answer his usual tricks, he's trying to pull her out. He really isn't going easy on her."

Still, Myrian and her Fantasia were not an easy partnership to overcome, and the young girl at last picked her moment to make a move;

"Another Power Gem!"

"Stay cool, shift again Weavile."

"Confuse Ray, on the left!"

As Weavile dodged instinctively to its right around the Power Gem, right into the path of the follow-up Confuse Ray, Marcus acted on his own instinct;

"No! Pursuit!"

"Turn, Draining Kiss! Then Thunder Wave!"

A gasp from the crowd turned into cheers and applause as the vaunted Gym Leader played right into his own apprentice's trap. Weavile emerged from its Pursuit attack only to take another Fairy move head on. Unable to escape fast enough, it was then left paralyzed as Fantasia's Thunder Wave took effect.

"Finish it, girl", Myrian took no chances, "Mystical Fire!"

The sizable Fire move left no doubt about the result. Myrian had evened the score once again at 4 Pokemon apiece.

"Weavile is unable to continue. Marcus, your next Pokemon!"

"No time to cool off, let's keep rolling Honchkrow!"

"Thunder Wave!"

Myrian came very close to gaining the advantage from the start as Honchkrow emerged with the Electric move already in its face. On instinct, the Big Boss Pokemon gave one mighty wing flap to power itself into the air only just in time.

"Great, Honchkrow, let's use that momentum. Dark Pulse, then come around."

"Tank and Power Gem!"

Marcus' Flying type fired its attack and shot off to flank its opponent, but Fantasia hardly blinked as the Dark Pulse landed, firing a Power Gem perfectly into Honchkrow's chest.

As his brother's third Pokemon tumbled awkwardly to the dirt field, Milo's eyes narrowed in focus;

"No way was Marcus expecting to be pushed like this. She's giving him a run for his money!"

Myrian looked completely locked in, totally unaware of the largest crowd she'd ever had at one of her fights. Inwardly, she could all but feel her brain overheating;

"Another Thunder Wave, Fantasia!"

If I can paralyze Honchkrow, maybe I get a second to take a breath. Come on.

No dice. Honchkrow was too disciplined, scrambling up and to its left without instruction to avoid the dangerous status move.

"Keep pushing", Marcus urged, "let's go with Aerial Ace."

"It'll be close, Fantasia - use Draining Kiss!"

Once again, Myrian allowed her ace to take a hit in order to respond. Still, she had earned a reputation for winning these sorts of fights, gritting through tough bouts against skilled opponents.

Marcus' Honchkrow gave a pained squawk as its health was sapped by the super effective Fairy move, unable to escape after landing Aerial Ace.

Perfect, thought Myrian, That should buy us enough energy to win this one. One round at a time.

Still, her attempts to slow her brother down had thus far failed, meaning she had to stay on her toes or risk losing control of the fight. Against Marcus, that would be an unrecoverable mistake.

"Keep your distance", ordered Marcus, "Give her a Confuse Ray to chew on."

"Bust that up, Fantasia - Power Gem. Then shift!"

"Focus up, Honchkrow, you can - no!"

Myrian had done just enough - the prospect of another Power Gem hit threw off the Big Boss Pokemon. Confuse Ray was inaccurate, and too slow. Fantasia had vanished. The crowd were on their seats now, delirious. There was no reason for a 14 year old Gym assistant to give a known powerhouse like Marcus this much trouble. What would it take for Marcus to claim what should have been a free win?

It's working! Holy crap I'm actually in this fight.

Myrian could hardly believe it herself. The girl tried as hard as she could to shut out the crowd, the pressure, the unrelenting noise of a battle like this… Not to mention the pace. She was sweating from exertion, desperately pushing herself to think fast enough to stay one step ahead of her unrelenting oldest brother.

On the field, the brief pause was enough for a smirk to spread across Marcus' stoic features.

"Honchkrow, Thunder Wave!"

"That can't happen, Fantasia! Power Gem again!"

"Hold it, Honchkrow - Sucker Punch!"

"Now change to Thunder Wave!"

With no time to think, Myrian heard the words fall from her mouth almost unbidden. And yet - the smirk on her brother's face disappeared as quickly as it had come. She'd made a mistake, giving Marcus that extra second to plan one of his 'miracle plays', but somehow her purely instinctive reaction worked perfectly.

Fantasia made to counter her foe's Thunder Wave with the more direct Power Gem, but when the battered Flying type broke off to use Sucker Punch, Myrian's Ghost fired her own Thunder Wave that at last struck home.

Honchkrow tumbled down, its body spasming with the effects of paralysis.

Across the field, Marcus' eyes narrowed.

"Go for broke, Hochkrow. Brave Bird!"

"Draining Kiss!"

Fighting off the electricity in its feathers for a crucial few seconds, Marcus' third Pokemon landed a huge Flying type hit. Between the recoil from Brave Bird, and Fantasia's second Draining Kiss attack, the Big Boss Pokemon at last hit the dirt, knocked out.

Somehow, after 5 rounds, Myrian was ahead by 4 Pokemon to 3. Here, experience began to shine through from Marcus.

She's just realizing what position she's in, he knew. If I wait just a second before I make a move, she'll cool off. She doesn't have the nerves to keep this going if I change the pace on her. She also has no counter for my next move. This is where I make my difference.

From Nimbasa, Milo caught his brother's gamesmanship tactics and leaned back with a frown, his arms crossed;

"Boo! Come on, Marcus, there's no need to play on her nerves like this. Just put in Absol and let her ride the momentum if she can."

It was only a small pause, no more than 3 seconds, but Marcus knew his craft well and his timing was perfect. Across the field, he could see Myrian take one shuddering breath;

Hooooly… I'm 4-3 up! I'm actually winning! Damn, that's a lot of noise.

The crowd were indeed losing their minds at the scoreline. Hearthome had rarely seen their beloved leader pushed like this, by his little sister no less. Was the student about to surpass the master? This was the question on every pair of lips, so much that it almost drowned out Marcus' next call. Almost.

"Absol. It's time, old friend."

With those simple words, the Hearthome Grand Arena hit an unparalleled level of screaming cacophony. Myrian had proven her legitimate talent, but this would be a test of her prowess against her oldest brother at his absolute peak. What could her team do against one of Sinnoh's strongest Trainer-Pokemon duos?

Myrian's mouth hung open in response. She had gotten carried away in her excitement. Of course she still had to contend with Absol. Running through the battle in her head, her spirit and momentum came crumbling down in a hurry. Only Fantasia could even have put a dent in this fearsome opponent, and all the world could tell that her Magical Pokemon was feeling the effects of her two tough victories thus far.

Her momentary advantage vanished like a wisp of smoke.

"Fantasia", she had to yell to make herself heard over the delirious spectators, "Start with Thunder Wave!"

"Pursuit, follow once, then hold for a counter."

With practiced ease, Absol tucked into a Dark fold in the air as the electrical wave washed over the field.

"Get away, Fantasia! Turn around and-"

Too slow. Absol's Pursuit attack walloped the Magical Pokemon harder than any hit she'd taken thus far.

"Ugh. Okay, up quick and use Power Gem!"

"Do it."

Absol, at Marcus' veiled instruction, had remained close by for one reason. As Fantasia righted herself quickly to regain a foothold in the fight, a quick Sucker Punch stopped her Rock attack in its tracks.

Less than ten seconds after entering the battle, Absol prowled back to his spot in front of Marcus as the referee confirmed the result;

"Mismagius is unable to continue! Absol takes the round - Myrian, call your next Pokemon!"

Myrian felt her brain reeling from the fatigue of an extended battle at this level on top of the shock of losing Fantasia so suddenly. As she made her next call on autopilot, a nasty feeling sunk into the pit of her stomach;

I never stood a chance. That was the last real shot I had at this battle and it's gone. This is the part where I get crushed.

She gave her head a small shake, trying to stave off the feeling of defeat;

"Sableye, get in there!"

Across the field, Marcus allowed himself a deep breath out. Almost without realizing it, he switched into the mindset of a teacher. Myrian was making a bold play, using Sableye as a glass cannon to chip away at Absol in order to try and beat him in the next round.

Meanwhile, in Nimbasa, Milo arrived at a similar conclusion.

"Myrian is using Sableye as a setup, probably for Gallade next. That would be a better strategy if she wasn't fighting the person who taught it to her."

Sure enough, Myrian came out swinging, using Foul Play, Metal Claw, and Power Gem to try and rack up damage on Marcus' ace. The veteran Dark type expert played his hand patiently, dodging everything and striking whenever the opportunity arose. Sableye, to its credit, clung gamely to the fight, using Detect to manage one or two crafty maneuvers and land a couple minor hits on Absol. After a few minutes however, the expected result was confirmed.

"Sableye is unable to continue! Absol is the winner!"

Many in the audience actually stood up in their seats now, applauding the mastery of Marcus and his oldest companion as well as the audacity and skill displayed by young Myrian against her brother and mentor.

"Gah", the girl's earlier confidence was in shambles, "Alright, Gallade, you're in next!"

Gallade was a much tougher matchup than Sableye, as a fast and physical Fighting type. In other circumstances, this might have proven a real problem for Marcus, but he had plenty of momentum and Myrian had lost all hope for a victory.

It was at this point that Milo felt his watch buzz. He had a call incoming;

"Jenks? Hello?"

"Hey Milo. Sorry, I know you're probably watching your siblings but I have an opportunity for you."

"That's…mysterious. What kind of opportunity?"

"An interview."

"Eh…"

"About Amaya."

"No."

Jenks sighed before reframing his statement;

"Look, when I said opportunity, I meant I have something you need to do. I know you hate it, but you have to respond."

"Or I could just, you know, not?"

"Not responding is pretty much how we got here, Milo."

"I..damn, fair point."

Milo glanced back up at the television. He'd missed quite a flashy round, but Gallade had been outlasted after a substantial effort by Absol. Marcus, in an effort to protect his best battler, chose to switch into his Spiritomb as Myrian unveiled her final team member, Alakazam.

"Alright, Jenks. I don't love it, but it doesn't sound like you're giving me much of a choice. When's this interview?"

"Great, great. It's the day after your match with Elesa, with a Unova outlet so you can just stay put for one extra day. I'll message you the details."

"Thanks. Any hints on the questions I'll have to answer?"

"I'll work on that, but just keep it professional. Honest, but professional. Can you manage that?"

"I'll do my best."

"Perfect", grinned the journo, "that's all I can ask."

Milo hung up the call just in time to hear the announcer call;

"Alakazam is unable to continue. The match goes to Marcus!"

"Bah", Milo stood up to stretch, "I missed the end. Ah well, I think I saw the best parts anyway."

You didn't miss much, confirmed his Lucario, Just type advantage for Spiritomb. When you're immune to Psychic attacks and can tank at the highest level, you don't lose to an Alakazam.

For a few days then, that was all the excitement Milo had to run on. Unova, as usual, generated almost too much noise for his showcase battle with Elesa.

The battle itself went pretty much as he expected. He'd promised to use the Big Six at least half of the time, for the sake of the crowd, and Elesa herself had clearly done quite a bit of preparation.

Still, it took two of the Nimbasa Leader's Pokemon to beat his second tier Lycanroc, Hunter, and then one more to beat Tika, his Flygon. Once Elesa was down to three Pokemon, Milo brought in the Big Six as promised. He used Blaze, Drake, and Azura in that order to trounce the business end of Elesa's team. He smiled and waved to the people, signed autographs for starry eyed children and took pictures with everyone who stuffed a camera in his face. He loved the battle, but the publicity drained him.

The next day he sighed as he settled into a nice black chair in a bustling studio.

"Hello?" He poked his lapel microphone, with a specific glance at the sound guy wearing comically large headphones in the corner. Not looking up from his seven screens, the man gave a thumbs up. Across the table, a practiced smile painted itself on the face of the Unova news correspondent as soon as the red light told them they were on the air.

"Hello and good evening, Unova! Welcome back to U-Know-It, your source in Unova for exclusive global headlines! We're here today with none other than Milo himself to give you an inside scoop on the latest developments between himself and Johto Champion Amaya! Milo, how are you?"

"Glad to be here. It's not often I get to make the trip to Unova."

"Well, then we're even more grateful that our studio made your agenda, haha! Let's dive right in, then. As I'm sure you've guessed, we'd like to discuss the feud between yourself and Amaya. Now, recently we've heard Lance Waturu of Kanto weigh in, can you give us your thoughts on his remarks?"

Milo resituated himself, making a conscious effort to disguise his inevitable interview jitters.

"Yeah. Look, I don't want people to think there's two clear sides, and Lance is joining 'my side' here. His opinions are purely his own business. If he's got a gripe with Johto, that's between him and Amaya, not me."

"Let's talk facts, then", pressed the interviewer, "Besides his comments on Amaya's level of maturity, Lance called out Johto's crime rate. As a prominent member of Team Lookout, what do you make of Johto's notable absence from that organization?"

"That's a tough one", Milo sighed.

"I mean, again, Lance has his own opinions, but like you said, facts don't lie. The truth is that crime in Johto is absolutely increasing, year over year. I don't think that's all down to Amaya, but leadership definitely plays a part. All I can do is remind her that she has a standing invite to join Lookout and bring our resources to bear in keeping Johto safe. I don't know - I could go on, but I should probably leave it at that for now."

From there, the interview dissolved into mostly chit-chat. The interviewer tried once or twice more to goad Milo into a spicier reply, but he did his level (albeit awkward) best to keep things professional.

Once again, it took Amaya almost no time at all to fire back at her former friend. Milo was on a plane back to Sinnoh when he received word of her latest interview. Seated by one of her many personal training fields, probably fresh from a training session as usual, the controversial Johto Champion crossed her arms and huffed;

"He can say what he likes. I'm sick of being told how to do my job by self absorbed men trying to stick their noses where they don't belong. Lance, Milo, doesn't matter. I'm the Johto champion. I got here following my own judgment, and that's what I'll keep doing."

Milo grimaced. The name-calling and aggression felt like standard fare at this point, but that didn't make it any less grating to hear.

In an effort to distract himself, Milo pulled up the latest info on the Sinnoh Finals qualification tournaments still going on across the regions. Damion had returned to his hometown of Veilstone and fairly easily snapped up one of the city's spots. What else…

Suddenly Milo's jaw dropped. Fingers fumbling in sheer disbelief, he pulled up Marcus' number and called his brother.

"Huh? Hey Milo, what's up?"

"Marcus! Did you know about dad?"

"Dad?" Marcus frowned, "What's up with dad? What's going on?"

"I just pulled up the results from the early rounds of the Sunyshore qualifier - dad is competing! He has an outside chance to make the Sinnoh Finals!"

"Say what? Are you kidding me? Dad hasn't competed in a big tournament in, like, decades!"

"I have no idea why, but it's definitely him. Looks like… yeah, he swept through the early rounds, then lost to Nova. Sunyshore has a double elimination system this year, so if he makes the gauntlet run through the losers' bracket, he could make the Finals!"

-o-

Sure enough, after another sicking string of victories, the surprise entrant in the Sunyshore tournament pushed himself laboriously up off his seat in the ready room the next day with a chuckle;

"Oof - alrighty, Gator my friend. Back to it then, eh? What a day. After we lost to that Nova lady yesterday I thought we were toast. Turns out we've got some juice left in the tank after all, old pal."

His longtime partner, a wily veteran of a Feraligatr, trudged alongside him out into the soft afternoon sunlight, glancing up at the cheering and clapping from the stadium around them.

"Really brings back old memories, doesn't it?" Alexander asked as he waved briefly.

"Whew. Time to focus up just one more time. We win this and we get that last Finals spot. Time to remind the world where those wild kids of mine got their talent in the first place."

So, with one final place in the Sinnoh Finals at stake, Alexander took his place opposite an ambitious young man called Johannes.

"This will be a single Pokemon battle", called the referee, "Each Trainer may use up to 3 Pokemon, and the first to run out of usable Pokemon will lose! Contestants ready…Battle begin!"

Alexander made the first call;

"Ursaring, let's give this our all!"

"Talonflame, get in there and bring it home!"

Decades had passed since Alexander had experienced the thrill of a big battle like this, with everything on the line. Win or go home. It ignited something deep within him, sharpening his focus and honing his instincts.

"Talonflame, lead with Acrobatics!"

"Just Protect, Ursaring. Watch him."

Bracing himself, Ursaring stood his ground and raised the damage-blocking blue shield of Protect just in time to negate the nasty-looking Acrobatics attack.

"That's only good for one use, Talonflame - hit him again!"

Alexander couldn't help but smirk slightly.

"You saw his timing, old friend. Use Slash."

The veteran Hibernator Pokemon never once lost his nerve, watching his flying opponent in with a practiced eye. At the last moment, he launched a Slash attack that landed squarely in Talonflame's unexpecting face.

A gasp and a cheer went up from the crowd at the bold play, as the Fire type tumbled awkwardly to the ground. Still, that hit wouldn't keep him down long.

"You've still got this! Use Flame Charge!"

Keeping low and using the Fire move to boost its impressive speed even more, the Scorching Pokemon zipped in like a missile. Alexander grimaced; there was nothing he could do but watch his Pokemon take his first hit - a big one.

"Hang in there, Ursaring. Counter with a Crunch to disrupt, then as many Fury Swipes as you can manage."

Back and forth raged the battle - Talonflame's speed and all-out attack power versus the slower but more wily partnership of Alexander and Ursaring. Still, against an opponent as mobile and as quick as Johannes' Talonflame, there was only so much Alexander's Normal type could handle.

As a Slash attack just barely missed from Ursaring, Johannes sensed an opening;

"Turn fast - hit him with Acrobatics!"

"Ursaring, get that Protect up!"

Too late. Acrobatics smashed straight through Alexander's first Pokemon, and the referee raised his flag;

"Ursaring cannot continue - Talonflame wins! Alexander, call your next Pokemon!"

Nodding his head slowly, Alexander recalled his fallen battler, taking an extra breath to calm his mind before making his next call;

"Electivire, you're in."

"Get in the air, Talonflame, and lead with a Flame Charge."

"Snipe him, Electivire. Keep it away."

A cheer went up from the crowd as the battle took a fresh turn. Using Thunderbolt and Swift, Electivire kept its opponent far away and constantly dodging.

"Time for a changeup, kid", Alexander goaded his younger adversary, "I've got you pinned out here. What's your next move? Better make it snappy."

Wiping nervous sweat from his forehead, the ambitious youngster tried to set aside the strain of the high-stakes battle and change his strategy;

"Okay, okay… Talonflame, another Flame Charge!"

Alexander's eyes narrowed, and he subtly warned his partner;

"Ready to counter, Electivire. Hold…"

Just as Talonflame made to launch its fiery attack, Johannes made a move he'd learned from watching Alexander's famous sons;

"Now switch to Acrobatics, hit him from a different side!"

"Ha! That's the big one, Electivire! Thunder!"

Calling his opponent's bluff perfectly, Alexander's Thunderbolt Pokemon landed a massive blow to the already weary Talonflame, ending the round. With the battle now even, Johannes wasted no time making his next call.

"Sawsbuck, you're up! Start off with Zen Headbutt!"

Sprinting from the moment it emerged, the Season Pokemon came barreling forward.

"Low Kick into Swift."

In the nick of time, Electivire rolled to one side, sweeping out one black and yellow leg for a vicious Low Kick move that left Sawsbuck sprawled out on the ground. The follow-up Swift added insult to injury while Alexander's Electric type maintained a cautious distance. Still, Johannes would not be so easily kept at bay a second time. Faster than Alexander had thought possible, Sawsbuck leapt back to its feet. A gasp rose from the audience as it dashed straight for its opponent, trusting its Trainer to guide its attack.

"Perfect! Use Megahorn, Sawsbuck!"

"Electivire try to - no!"

Too slow. Electivire was thrown bodily across the arena, landing painfully in a cloud of dust. A hush fell on the crowd awaiting the result, and more importantly over Johannes and Sawsbuck as they paused.

"What are you waiting on, boy? Now, Thunder Wave!"

From the dissipating dust came a wave of electricity that left the telltale signs of paralysis tingling all over the unfortunate Normal type."

"Hah! Great work, Electivire! Now punish! Thunder!"

Unable to move properly, Sawsbuck was an easy target. In no time at all, the referee declared the round over, in favor of Alexander's Thunderbolt Pokemon.

"Never let up until it's over, kid", Alexander advised.

The crowd applauded a second impressive and crafty victory for the veteran Alexander, but Electivire was clearly on its last legs after the beating it took from Sawsbuck and the effort of taking down Talonflame.

In days gone by, Alexander had no doubt that Electivire, his team's never ending battery of energy, could have gone on and on. However, the years had taken their toll. Thus, when Johannes called his final Pokemon, a fearsome Noivern, Alexander knew the best he could do was allow his Electric type to soldier on bravely until the end. It didn't take long.

"Get in fast, Noivern! Brick Break!"

"Try to get a Thunder Wave in!"

Noivern proved too fast for the exhausted Thunderbolt Pokemon, and Electivire went spinning to the ground.

"End it with Boomburst!"

The Dragon type's ear splitting cry decided the round. As the crowd collectively leaned forward, eager for the final winner-take-all deciding fight, Alexander gave a wry grin.

"One more round to seal it, eh? Let's make it a fight to remember. Gator, my oldest friend, let's do this!"

Onto the field burst the Pokemon who had watched Marcus, Milo and Myrian grow from their earliest childhood days. Alexander's age-old champion, whom he chose as a Totodile all those days ago. Gator stood strong, never wavering in the face of the intimidating Noivern.

"Get in again, Noivern!" Johannes tried once again to pummel his foe into submission, "Lead with Brick Break!"

"Keep him away, Gator. Let's make him adjust."

Just like that, a Water Pulse interrupted Noivern's attack with staggering force.

"Up! Get up and find him! Use Supersonic!"

"Slash, then wait for him."

As Noivern scrambled upright from the bludgeoning Water Pulse, Gator was nowhere to be seen. Nowhere, that was, until he blindsided his Dragon type opponent with a Slash attack from the side. Noivern went skidding again, and Johannes' heart was thumping in his throat at the power and intimidation factor of this new adversary.

"Get into the air, Noivern! Then try Air Slash!"

The crowd's voices began rising in a crescendo as Alexander's dominance continued undeterred.

"Keep that oversized bat grounded, Gator. Then another read, into Ice Fang."

Somewhere in the recesses of Johannes' panicked mind, he realized that Alexander had the same knack for veiled battle commands that his children employed to perfection. This realization brought him no comfort. He watched, unable to think fast enough to keep pace with this new threat, as his final Pokemon lunged upwards, trying desperately to get airborne.

No more than five feet from the ground, and from a completely new direction yet again, a crunching Hydro Pump blasted the Flying type back to the dusty battlefield in a hurry. Before he could even try another strategy, Alexander's strongest Pokemon came sprinting across the plane to land a battle-deciding doubly super effective Ice Fang.

"Noivern is unable to battle!"

The referee screamed into his microphone now to be heard above the screams of the onlookers going wild at the veteran Alexander's domination.

"The round goes to Feraligatr and Alexander wins the battle!"

Gathered together in a hotel suite on Lily of the Valley Island, Alexander's three children were on their feet in disbelief.

"No way!" Myrian voiced their shared emotion first, "Dad made it! He did, right? That battle was for the last Finals spot? Is this for real?"

The on-screen graphic confirmed the shock twist; Alexander had claimed the very last available spot in the Sinnoh Regional Finals.

"HAHA!" Milo could hold it in no longer, "This family is bonkers, let's gooo!"

Jumping euphorically around the room, he grabbed his siblings and before long all three of them were hooting and hollering exuberantly, as the television cameras captured the heartwarming visual of Zoe dashing out onto the field to congratulate her husband.

After a joyfully chaotic minute or two, an out-of-breath reporter caught up to Alexander himself;

"Alexander! Here! We - hah - we have with us Alexander, the surprise entrant in this year's Sunyshore tournament who will be joining all three of his children at the upcoming Sinnoh Finals. Your thoughts right now, sir? What does this mean for you and your family?"

Beaming from ear to ear, one arm around his wife and the other holding onto Gator, Alexander answered, composed as ever;

"This means so much to all of us. I know my crazy kids are out there watching, this one's for you three! Your old man's still got it! Don't count me out just yet! Let's all get after it together in the Finals!"

-o-

Far away, one more person watched with narrowed eyes in a dimly lit, slightly messy office.

"Tch", said she to herself, "a whole family affair, huh? Well, whatever. Another dumb storyline for the media to chase like a pack of rabid Houndour."

A knock came on the door.

"Yeah?"

A thin, bookish assistant poked his bespectacled head nervously in;

"Ah, Champion Amaya? I-I'm here with a preliminary report on the, erm, discreet questions you had?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, yeah, come in. Shut the door."

He did so, pausing awkwardly until the small but intimidating Amaya spoke again;

"Well? You gonna sit and tell me or what? Come on."

"Ah! Er, yes, certainly."

Taking a seat opposite the young Johto Champion, he shuffled some papers nervously in his hand before clearing his throat and speaking softly;

"You had asked me for a check on the region's crime numbers through unofficial, non-League channels."

"Right, right. I need you to confirm for me that this story Lance and Milo are spinning is complete crap."

"I, uh, I'm sorry but I can't do that."

Amaya frowned at that, leaning back slowly in her oversized chair.

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I c-can't tell you that because…what they said is technically true. I checked the statistics reported independently of the Johto League, and I'm afraid they show that crime in our region is unavoidably rising, year over year."

"That…that doesn't sound right", insisted the Champion, "Where did you see that? What sources outside the League say that?"

"I'm afraid they…all say that, ma'am. Every source except the Johto League itself reports that crime has gotten worse every year for at least the past few years consecutively."

"Every source except the League?"

"That's correct."

Amaya didn't know what to make of this news. This inquiry was supposed to be a routine fact check, to prove that crime in her region was as under control as it had ever been. How could something like this blindside her? She was supposed to be the authority in this region!

"Okay, okay. Uh… I need you to find out why the League is reporting differently from the other sources. Can you do that?"

"I took the liberty of checking on that already, Champion."

"Perfect. What'd you get?"

The man paused, as if unsure whether he should continue or not. Amaya stared expectantly, until he seemed to decide that keeping her waiting was more dangerous than telling her his other unfortunate discovery.

"It, erm, it looks as though your sister, Maxie, has been taking charge of crime reporting and the Johto League's response to crime."

Amaya blinked. Whatever she'd expected to hear, it was certainly not that.

"Maxie? She's not the Johto Champion. I am. This isn't hers to handle."

"I totally understand", the man nodded vigorously, glasses sliding almost all the way off his nose, "I asked around, q-quietly of course, and was told that she was hoping to relieve some of the burden from you, t-to help you."

Speechless (a rare feeling for her), Amaya sat in her musty office, the only noise a rickety standing fan as she stared blankly at the analyst who'd just delivered what felt like a gut punch.

"Alright", she said finally, "You did good. Thanks. You can go."

Gratefully, he scrambled up out of the chair and was gone as quickly as he'd arrived.

She was trying to help, Amaya told herself. Sure. She tried to convince herself that this explanation made sense. Maxie was her supportive sister, and had quietly tried to relieve some of the worst parts of her job by taking over behind the scenes…

The more she tried to believe this, the worse she knew it looked.

After a long, silent minute, at war with her own mind, she at last jolted up out of her chair.

"Bah!" She swept an angry arm across her desk, sending papers and pencils flying to the floor, "I don't have time for this crap! To hell with the damn numbers, Johto isn't falling apart overnight. I'll talk to Maxie when I get a chance, but until then I can't get distracted."

Grabbing her belt, with six familiar Pokeballs fastened securely to it, she stormed out, heading for her personal training fields. The Challenge. Only the World Challenge mattered right now. She knew this year could be hers. Perhaps even the greatest title of them all, Pokemon Master. She couldn't afford to let noise about Lance, or Milo, or some empty statistics get in the way of that.

Still, all her anger and focus couldn't drown out the seed of doubt that remained planted in her mind.

Author's notes:

Well. Still not totally dead after all.

If you're seeing this story for the first time, welcome! If you've got time and interest, you should check out the prequel, Milo and the Blue Umbreon.

No promises on update timing (obviously) but I don't intend to quit working on this story, however slowly it comes together. I should be back. Eventually.

If you want to help motivate me, leave a review, a like, a favorite, whatever. It sounds corny, but every type of reader feedback does genuinely mean a lot to me and helps me stay engaged with writing this.

Thanks for your time and attention! Until next time!

-Nano