Draco: I'm noticing that I neglected to mention that announcer chatter would be optional in my base-game chapters. Battle Revolution had that accessed through a settings menu on the title screen, before you loaded your save file - meaning that if you quicksaved in the middle of a Colosseum challenge (which returns you directly to the title screen, and then instantly resumes the challenge when you load the save), you'd be able to change your announcer settings without losing your progress. I'm not sure if I'd want Grand Stage to have multiple save files (because when you're able to trade Pokémon, it's a bad idea to make it impossible to trade between multiple Trainers), but I would have it so that announcer settings can similarly be accessed in the middle of a battle challenge.
I bring this up because I was sorely tempted to excise Miku's announcer dialogue in the previous chapter specifically for Empty SEKAI.
Pokémon and all related properties © Nintendo. Virtual Singers of Piapro Studio © Crypton Future Media. Characters from Colorful Stage © Craft Egg.
The Future That We Compose
Over the four battles after her encounter with Mafuyu, Jeanne gave up trying to understand why this emptiness felt so comfortable, and resolved herself to just make the most of it. As she stepped out onto the blue corner for Round 91, she found the brunette from the lobby emerging onto the red corner; her Battle Pass had identified her as Ena, and she had a seriousness to her expression as she took position.
"Takes more than just confidence to make a work of art," she warned, rolling a Poké Ball along her fingers.
"Confidence comes from a person's experiences," Jeanne retorted.
Two Pokémon were sent out onto the field; a Dragon-type in red, grey, and blue emerged before Ena, and a feathered Rock-type in blue and yellow emerged before Jeanne. "In the blue corner: Archeops! And in the red corner: Salamence! Let's see it happen!"
Ena thrust her hand forward. "Lash out!"
Jeanne pumped her fist. "Rain down!"
Archeops began to flap his wings vigorously, calling down a Rock Slide to bombard the Dragon Pokémon in nearly the same instant as she began to soar forward with claws alight. A vicious Dragon Claw lashed out in retaliation, and then Salamence twisted to strike with a Dragon Tail; Archeops lifted himself over the sweep as stones of Ancient Power formed around him, soaring down to strike the crimson wings and leave him tumbling to the ground. It wasn't enough to knock out the Dragon-type yet, however, and another Dragon Claw left Archeops reeling; he barely managed to keep airborne long enough to invoke another Rock Slide to finish off his opponent.
Salamence was withdrawn, and Ena sent out a Gigalith to take his place. Archeops dropped down to invoke an Earthquake, but Gigalith endured the blow without issue and and retaliated with a Rock Blast to shoot the First Bird Pokémon out of the sky. Jeanne withdrew him and sent out Primarina to take her place; Gigalith tried to strike with a Stone Edge, but the craggy blades ripped out of the battlefield a few meters to her left as she rose onto her tail and unleashed a Sparkling Aria. The first song, to his opponent's surprise, was not enough to knock him out; his second Stone Edge hit home, leaving Primarina tumbling before she finished off the Compressed Pokémon with a second song.
A Hydrapple was deployed before Ena withdrew the unconscious Rock-type; Primarina hurled a Moonblast at them in the same instant as the head syrpent lashed her head forward to fling an Energy Ball. The two projectiles passed through each other ineffectively, and though the Apple Hydra Pokémon reeled from the Fairy light, Primarina was knocked out by the burst of nature. Jeanne quickly withdrew the Soloist Pokémon and deployed Froslass to take her place; the head syrpent cried out to get her fellows' attention, but the Fickle Beam that was unleashed came only from the one - which meant the Snow Land Pokémon had plenty in her to retaliate with a precision shot and strike Hydrapple down.
"Chilled by Ice Beam!" Miku exclaimed as they were withdrawn by the artist. "The blue corner regains the advantage!"
Ena sent out an Eelektross to take their place; Froslass gathered a Shadow Ball between her hands, and was shocked to see the EleFish Pokémon's maw blazing with flames. He twisted in the air so that the flight of the Ghostly projectile wouldn't intercept his Flamethrower; the Shadow Ball slammed into him roughly enough, but Froslass was knocked out by his blaze. Jeanne deployed Goodra with one hand and withdrew Froslass with the other, and the Dragon Pokémon promptly loosed a Dragon Pulse to strike the Electric-type in response, leaving him reeling. Though it didn't knock him out, he didn't have any offensive options more potent than a Crunch, which he barely managed to close before a second Dragon Pulse finished him off.
Goodra took a wary step back when Ena sent out a Cetitan to take Eelektross' place - but then he heard the sound of Terastal energy gathering behind him, and a confident grin rose on his face. Jeanne flung the Tera Orb over Goodra's head to burst, enveloping him in crystals; Cetitan twisted into an Ice Spinner, reeling towards the blue corner as the crystals shattered, but the whirling blows of her tail had nowhere near the impact they should have, courtesy of the noxious skull-and-crossbones Tera Jewel atop the Dragon Pokémon's head.
Poison scattered about the Tera Jewel before Goodra flung a point-blank Sludge Bomb into the Terra Whale Pokémon, toxins digging into her viciously as she stumbled back. She made to close the distance with a Double-Edge, but Jeanne swiftly withdrew Goodra and deployed Lucario in his place - and his metallic sturdiness met the blow head-on, even before Jeanne wrapped him in the light of Mega Evolution. A frustrated Cetitan tried to intercept, footsteps shaking in a Bulldoze as she made to get close... but the instant the light shattered around Lucario, he leapt forward to drive a Meteor Mash into the Ice-type before the tremors could strike him, throwing her into the air. She tumbled backwards, bouncing several times before landing on her feet... and promptly collapsing, leaving Lucario to sigh as Ena withdrew Cetitan.
The artist raised her last Ball before her. "No one gets to say you don't deserve to be here," she proclaimed. "No one gets to say you shouldn't try, no matter who you are or what you want to do!"
An Emboar was deployed into the red corner, bashing her fists together confidently as he beheld the Mega Lucario opposite - and then Ena drew a Tera Orb of her own, letting it fill with Terastal energy.
"It doesn't matter who tries to say you have nothing, if you're willing to put in the effort to shine!"
She hurled the orb above Emboar, and it burst to envelop her in crystals as well - much more varied crystals than had consumed Goodra. When they shattered, Jeanne would swear the artist had brandished a palette, and painted every colour imaginable into a stone that now encircled the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon's head. Upon the outer surface of each of those stones was a symbol, emblematic of a different type, and suspended above the center of that rainbow ring was a six-sided crystal with sharpened points emerging from every corner.
Emboar roared, scattering Terastal energy about, and then charged at the blue corner with ferocity in her every footstep. Lucario hurled an Aura Sphere to intercept the charging Fire-type, but Jeanne knew one blow wouldn't be anywhere near enough; flames ripped out from Emboar's Tera Jewel, and then gathered around his fist before she drove it into Lucario's chest, throwing him backwards with great force. For a moment, he hoped to endure the blow, to land a second... but then the flames seared into him further, and he threw his head back with a cry of pain as his Mega Evolution subsided.
Jeanne cursed under her breath, withdrawing Lucario and then sweeping out her next Poké Ball; particles flowed out of her Dynamax Band and converged on it, and she flung the supersized Ball backwards to deploy Volcarona into the blue corner. Jeanne knew the Sun Pokémon was unlikely to defeat a Fire/Fighting-type, but hoped she could at least bait out the empowerment that the Stellar type afforded to Emboar's blows.
That hope was crushed when the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon leapt at Volcarona; as she invoked a barrier of Max Guard before her, flames blazed around Emboar's fist - without the reaction of his Tera Jewel - and slammed into the shield, sending a ripple across the barrier. Then, as Volcarona loosed seeds of Max Overgrowth to strike her in mid-flight, she lunged forward further, and stones scattered from her Tera Jewel before she brought down a Head Smash that managed to end Volcarona's Dynamax in a single blow. Emboar leapt away as the Sun Pokémon blast, her form receding into the blue corner; as Jeanne withdrew her, she found Emboar touching down and driving a fist into the ground to steady herself.
Jeanne had never before wished that she could end her own Pokémon's Terastallization, the way she did now as she seized her last Poké Ball. "Best of luck."
Goodra was sent out onto the field, his poisonous Tera Jewel still shining, and he and Emboar stared each other down threateningly. Then psychic power rippled out around Emboar's Tera Jewel, and she charged forward as it converged upon her skull, with intent to bring it down upon the Dragon Pokémon. Goodra braced himself against the battlefield, and as blinding power began to well in his maw, he could only hope he had enough to unleash before Emboar was close.
Emboar brought back a Zen Headbutt.
And Goodra blasted her with a Hyper Beam, throwing her backwards with great force. All thought of psychic power scattered as the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon tried to endure, digging in her feet and raising her arms in a desperate hope of resisting the energy bombarding her.
To no avail; her Tera Jewel shattered, and the beam subsided as she tumbled backward, hitting the ground with a weighty thud.
"Game, set, match!" Miku exclaimed as Ena withdrew the unconscious Emboar. "The blue corner has emerged victorious!" Goodra slumped over, loosing an exhausted sigh as his own Terastallization dissipated, and he turned back to Jeanne with a relieved smile that she returned before withdrawing him as well. "Our challenger just might be able to go all the way!"
As Jeanne let herself relax, she found Ena approaching her - and though the artist's brow was furrowed, it wasn't in anger at Jeanne so much as frustration with herself. "You really don't know how to give up, do you?"
"Nope," Jeanne replied bluntly.
Ena's expression softened as she offered the challenger a smile. "Good."
+x+x+x+
Jeanne would have loved to say that she was counting down the battles before she had cleared the 100-battle challenge at SEKAI Colosseum. But in truth, the round labels when her opponent's Pokémon were shown for pre-battle planning made that notion a lot harder than it should have been, even if she had the hubris to be 100% confident she would triumph.
There was only one notable opponent left; as she stepped onto the battlefield for Round 96, Jeanne found misty terrain shrouding the battlefield beneath her feet. The pink-haired figure from the lobby was emerging opposite - Mizuki was the name on the Battle Pass - with a lollipop in one hand, and the other promptly seized a Poké Ball and flipped it into the air.
"Never know who's gonna do what with the footage," Mizuki warned, thrusting the Ball forward. "Let's give 'em some cute highlights."
"Don't know so much about cute," Jeanne responded, "but I'll do my best."
Two Pokémon were sent out onto the field; a Psychic-type clad in black, and a Fighting-type in a blue coat of fur. "In the blue corner: Lucario! And in the red corner: Gothitelle! Where will this one go?"
Mizuki grinned, aiming a finger forward. "Hit 'em with the whammy!"
Jeanne reached for her Key Stone. "Cast a shadow over them!"
The light of Mega Evolution encased Lucario; in the same instant that it shattered, he lashed out with a Dark Pulse. Gothitelle took the blow and retaliated, unleashing ephemeral spotlights to shine down on the Aura Pokémon and leaving his mind warped with the phantom of a roaring crowd. He tried to focus enough to hit Gothitelle with a second blow, but found himself stumbling over his own feet in confusion; Gothitelle's eyes flashed, and power rippled out around her. Then the Astral Body Pokémon took aim to strike Lucario with a direct Psychic blow - and as the aftershocks wore off, he was able to right himself enough to unleash another Dark Pulse and strike her down.
A Medicham was deployed before Mizuki withdrew Gothitelle; the Meditate Pokémon promptly brought her hands together, and light began to ripple out around her as she focused a Calm Mind. Lucario was still dazed by confusion, unable to stop himself from tumbling again - and though that tumble wasn't enough to knock him out, the blast of Future Sight sure was, terminating his Mega Evolution as he went limp. Jeanne withdrew him and sent out Archeops to take his place, and the First Bird Pokémon swiftly leapt forward to dance blows of Acrobatics across Medicham.
Power welled between the Psychic-type's hands, and she flung an Aura Sphere at Archeops as he soared back; the blast hit him full-on, and threw him backwards. He managed to recover well enough and dove forward once more, lashing out with a second series of Acrobatic blows, and this time it was enough to knock Medicham out when he soared away. Mizuki withdrew her and sent out an Aurorus to take her place; Archeops drove his talons into the ground to shake the Colosseum with an Earthquake, but Aurorus tanked the blow and took aim to fire a piercing Ice Beam in retaliation to knock out the First Bird Pokémon.
Archeops was withdrawn, and Primarina sent out in his stead; Aurorus tried to bring down Thunder on the Soloist Pokémon, but the blast slammed into the ground several meters to her left. Primarina took advantage of the whiff, unleashing a Hydro Pump that carved a line through the misty terrain and slammed into the Tundra Pokémon full-on to knock her out. Mizuki was sporting an expression of equal parts frustration and amusement, withdrawing Aurorus and sending out a Meowscarada to take her place; the Magician Pokémon sported a confident grin as she beheld her Water-type opponent.
Jeanne didn't dare risk this matchup - she withdraw Primarina in the instant that Meowscarada's flower disappeared, and sent out Goodra to take the descent. The Dragon Pokémon shrugged off the Flower Trick and retaliated with a Sludge Bomb that left the Grass-type reeling; the poisons wouldn't take root with the misty terrain still dancing across the battlefield, and Meoswcarada snarled before leaping forward, her paws bombarding the Dragon-type in a Play Rough that left him tumbling back. Goodra managed to endure the blow and fling another Sludge Bomb in retaliation - but Meowscarada endured that, in turn, and twisted into a dark blow to finish him off.
"Cut down by Night Slash!" Miku exclaimed as Jeanne withdrew Goodra. "The red corner pulls ahead!"
Froslass was sent out into the blue corner, taking aim to finish off the Magician Pokémon with an Ice Beam before she could close in for another Night Slash. Mizuki withdrew her and deployed a Ceruledge in her place; the Fire Blades Pokémon deployed her swords and lunged forward in a wreath of fire, prompting Jeanne to withdraw Froslass and send out Primarina to take the Flare Blitz that slammed into her.
Realizing the change of opponent, Ceruledge leapt back, thrusting one sword into the air to gather sunlight; Jeanne quickly crossed her arms and thrust them forward to set off her Z-Power Ring, and Primarina rose onto her tail as her Trainer swept her arms to one side and then the other. One note invoked a wave to surge around Primarina, water converging above her head until it formed a massive drop; the Soloist Pokémon thrust her fins forward, and it moved above Ceruledge, whose confidence began to falter as she realized her Solar Blade was never going to be swung.
A second note caused the sea to burst, and Ceruledge was consumed in the Oceanic Operetta; by the time the shower came down on a bowing Primarina, the Fire Blades Pokémon was knocked out. Mizuki withdrew the unconscious Fire-type - and in spite of the disadvantage, the pinkette was sporting a teasing grin.
"They can look down on you, tell you you're not - but they can only tell you what they see. And they're blind."
A Sylveon was sent out onto the field, mirroring her Trainer's smile in spite of the Z-Crystal between her teeth. Primarina tried to strike with a Hydro Pump, but the torrent washed out to the Intertwining Pokémon's left as she flung a bombardment of Magical Leaves; the first barrage left Primarina weak, and the second was enough to knock her out. Jeanne withdrew her and sent out Froslass to take her place, but it was only then that Mizuki's arms were crossed to show off the Z-Power Ring on one wrist, and then thrust forward to set it off.
"It doesn't matter who says what, there's nothing stopping you from showing them the light!"
Fingers were curled into a heart, and then Mizuki's arms swept out and poised as Z-Power converged on Sylveon. Froslass gathered a Shadow Ball between her hands, flinging it towards the Fairy-type as she soared forward, but it did nothing to dissuade her flight; Sylveon soared a loop around the Snow Land Pokémon, scattering Fairy light, before coming down before her with a flourish and throwing her into the air with a Twinkle Tackle until she seemed to vanish in a starburst. She came down hard shortly thereafter, and the impact knocked her out and left her face-down in the far reaches of the blue corner.
Jeanne withdrew her, and didn't even bother to turn back around before she swept her last Poké Ball out to set off her Dynamax Band. It supersized in her grip, and she flung it at where Froslass had been laying to deploy Volcarona; Mizuki's jaw dropped, and Sylveon took several wary steps back, as the Sun Pokémon touched down with a tremor and gave a triumphant cry.
Flames gathered before Volcarona, and then seared forward in a Max Flare to consume the Intertwining Pokémon. The first blaze wasn't enough to finish her off, and Sylveon quickly dug into the ground; an unconcerned Volcarona merely raised a Max Guard in response, and when the Fairy-type emerged from below, the Digging blow slammed ineffectively into the barrier, leaving her wide open to be struck down by a Max Overgrowth.
"What a battle!" Miku exclaimed as Mizuki withdrew the unconscious Sylveon. "The blue corner has claimed victory!" Volcarona was full of energy as her Dynamax subsided, and Jeanne turned to her with a grin before withdrawing her as well. "Don't give up now, challenger! You've almost made it!"
Mizuki was approaching with a smile when Jeanne turned back around. "With a win like that, I think you're free to go all the way."
Jeanne giggled. "Did you think I was gonna back down from the prospect?"
"It's easy to forget, sometimes," Mizuki admitted. "Some people doubt they can get past the obstacles until there's nothing in front of them."
Nothing in front of...
Realization struck, and Jeanne turned her gaze out into the expanse that surrounded the battlefield.
That was it - that was why this emptiness was so comforting. Though it lacked the friendly atmosphere of the classroom, so too did it lack the pressures that come with a place of learning, the risk of someone who seeks to worsen one's day. The absence of a visible crowd meant there were no encouraging faces to cheer one on, but also the lack of expectations laid upon those who stood on stage. With no casual interactions with passersby, like one might encounter at a backstreet café, there was no risk of a first encounter that might turn sour due to a difference in opinion. And without the vibrancy of an amusement park, there was no assumption that one should enjoy themselves, no risk of something that seemed pleasant turning out to be unwelcome.
There was nothing here... and that offered a freedom that could never be found anywhere else.
Draco: I don't care how obvious my bias is, I'm gonna gush over my favourites as much as I like.