To say the arena was packed would be an understatement - it was full to the brim and then some. Students and staff alike had gathered around the stands and entranceway. There were tons of students that were standing on the walkway, not heading towards the submarines to head home but just trying to get a glimpse of our fight. Even the waters beside it weren’t empty, with the underwater exploration club having convinced a few of the submarines to rise up and let their members stand atop it to get a view (and from the raised periscopes, even those inside were watching as well). The partially closed circular nature of the entrance meant the subs weren’t all around, but even a couple, and a Wailmer that some kids were standing atop of, meant that there were a lot of eyes on Elsa and I.
Those Drone Rotoms too, those are clearly camera Rotoms, not battle ones. And I can see the logos on a couple of them, they belong to news outlets. I figured the students would film it and the word would get out eventually, but I guess I underestimated how much people must have already had their interest piqued by my first match. And by her.
I’d done some research into Elsa since our first fight, and there wasn’t a ton publicly known about her (at least outside of Blueberry Academy). Plenty on her family, though. The Death family, unsurprisingly, had a rather sordid history, many accounts of their ancestors being brutal, to the point of all their people abandoning them, despite being of royal lineage (however distantly). That was before the League System rolled into Galar and made such issues less important. My investigations show the Death family still cares a great deal about their name, and recently, for ‘some’ reason, they’ve been getting more support. They reclaimed and refurbished a castle in the middle of an icy wasteland and some influential people have been to visit. Plenty more have refused such invites too.
There were no mentions of her owning a Legendary Pokemon, though the tale of Glastrier was so obscure that it appeared only as one vague tale in the Galarian Tundra, amidst several other fantastical myths. She had applied repeatedly to join the Gym Circuit before entering Blueberry Academy. Not as young as I was when I started mine, but aiming for a Championship at thirteen is still nothing to scoff at.
Given what I knew, I suspected that she might be appreciative of the attention, to help build up her reputation in the outside world. If she was, none of that showed on her face as she made her way to the arena. The crowd around the entrance parted to make way for her, and the girl’s gaze was fixed entirely on me. I shivered at her attention, before centering myself. Head in the game.
Neither of us exchanged words as we took our places; there was no need for any petty last minute jabs at this point. Director Cyrano stood at the side of the field, sending out his own Gothitelle to add to the barriers around the arena (which were already being reinforced by Crowler’s Bronzong and Colress’ Metagross). The staff clearly was not going to take any chances with this battle.
“I’m sure you’re all eager to get home for the break,” Cyrano began, to some cheers. “But I’m betting you won’t mind waiting a few minutes to watch this fight!” There were even cheers, deafeningly loud. He then turned to us, going over the rules.
“This will be a six on six double battle. Switching is freely allowed, though you must keep one Pokemon in at all times. If there’s ever a point where you have no active Pokemon in the arena you will have six seconds to send your next one in or you will lose. One Battle Item allowed per Pokemon, one Enhancement Effect per team. Mega Stones count towards your Battle Item limit. All the rest follow standard Unovan battle rules, understood?” We both nodded.
“Oh! One last thing,” he said, and Elsa stiffened up, the same as me. Some new rule introduced? But she looks slightly off-guard too, I don’t think this is trickery on her part- “Remember to have fun!” He said cheerily. After a near face fault, I waited for him to move on… as he waited for us to respond.
“Yes/Yes sir,” both of us begrudgingly replied. I mean, I get it, and I plan to, no matter the outcome. But does it have to be said in such a… I don’t know, corny fashion?
“Excellent!” Cyrano declared, clapping his hands together. “Trainers get your Pokemon ready!” I watch as Elsa selected hers, the uniformity making it hard to tell who she was sending out first. Mine was easier to tell, which is why I picked mine after. Elsa relaxed for a moment - but it was feint! Right before Cyrano could speak again, she dropped one of her Pokeballs, drawing another one off her belt, and adjusting her hip so the one she dropped magnetically snapped back on.
“Release your Pokemon!” Cyrano said before I could adjust my own opening team. Was this just a ploy on her part to psych me out? As we released our Pokemon I realized that no, this was a very intentional switch. Or at least I have to assume so, as I don’t think anyone other than her Quagsire would be as good a choice into Miles as anyone else I have! Miles was of course possessing their oven body, useful against pretty much all of Elsa’s Pokemon… except that one.
Athena stood stoically beside my Rotom, glaring at our opponents. The Pokemon she hadn’t switched was Vanilluxe, whose presence created a heavy snowfall blanketing the arena. I considered trying to use Testudinidae to counter it, but I’ve studied Elsa’s matches and seen weather Moves outright fail against her Vanilluxe. Over time they can still fade, but she’s mastered that Ability to a troublesome degree.
“Let’s kick off the last battle of the year, in three… two… one… begin!” Cyrano shouted and we flew into action.
“Trailblaze, Substitute!” I called out, trying to establish a defensive start. Elsa was ready for that with her own orders, mitigating the effectiveness of my Moves.
“Opening five.” She said quickly, and Vanilluxe’s four eyes flashed. Before Athena could divert her charge, Vanilluxe swapped places with Quagsire, getting knocked aside but taking the hit far better than the Water Type would have. It also gave him time to unleash a wave of dirty water at both of my Pokemon. Miles pushed themself off of the substitute they had just made, cresting just above the water even at the cost of sacrificing the construct they just made.
Watching Athena rub at her eyes from the mud now splattered over them, I re-evaluated the battlefield. Athena is faster now, but less accurate… or so it would seem, but she can just track our foes through her Aura. I’ve got a slight edge here, I just need to push it. “Sphere and burn,” I told my team.
“Switch,” Elsa called out crisply, recalling her starter before Athena’s Aura Sphere could hit her. Athena was skilled enough to curve the shot, sending the attack Quagsire’s way, but it, like the Confuse Wisp Miles used, was blocked by Quagsire’s Protect. As that faded, Elsa sent out her next Pokemon. Froslass gracefully entered the field, slipping amongst the snowflakes and out of sight.
I didn’t speak my next commands outloud, but gave them as signals, through my hand gestures and emotions. My Pokemon picked up on the silent orders magnificently, a Nasty smirk crossing Miles’ plasmic face while they Plotted, and Athena rushing Quagsire, grass blooming with every step of her Trailblaze. Right after that an aurora settled over the field, sparkling brightly over the snow covered field. The display earned a lot of amazed gasps from the crowd, but idly, I wasn’t sure how many of those were for the implications of the Move rather than how pretty it looked.
Would have been nice to Taunt her and stop that, but Miles wouldn’t be quick enough, at least Quagsire got hit hard- and is now working to undo my progress. I watched as the otherwise dim looking Water Type threw a Drain Punch with perfect precision, hitting hard into Athena’s side and healing some of the damage she had dealt him. “Alpha slow,” I called out, instructing both my Pokemon to go on the offensive.
Athena’s next Trailblaze was just as powerful as before, but Quagsire was able to remain standing thanks to the Aurora Veil. Then a thick Haze covered the arena, drastically slowing Athena down and undoing the boost Miles had gained. The floor was slippery, and that plus the sudden change in her speed had my Lucario scrambling, unable to dodge in time as Quagsire bore down upon her with a High Horsepower. He wasn’t quick enough to land the attack before Miles’ strike, however, the Shadow Ball finally taking that menace out of commission.
“Nemona scored the first knockout!”
“Wow, that’s incredible!”
“Go Nemona!”
I heard people cheering for me and smiled, but it was a thin thing. I may have scored the first real blow of this battle, but Elsa has a better position than me. The snow and veil would be real problems, I knew, and she clearly did too. Even with that, I was surprised when she sent her ace out onto the field. Glastrier landed heavily, slamming down on the field, ice spreading out where they landed, frosting over the grass left on it. The snowstorm howled in their presence, and I saw the involuntary shiver that went through everyone in the crowd.
The actual temperature hadn’t changed though, at least not outside the barrier. The vast power of the Legendary Ice Type was focused this time, reigned in and concentrated from where it had run wild before, the only cold felt outside merely a phantom pressure. If I wasn’t panicking so much at their entrance, I would have been impressed.
“Meteor Mash, Taunt!” I blurted out, not thinking of a code to cover it. This is bad! I didn’t think she’d use her Legendary this early on, and they don’t have an Assault Vest this time. I had to stop them from setting up, but before either of my Pokemon could move Elsa gave her orders and an icy Blizzard struck both of my Pokemon hard, despite their resistance.
Athena lashed out with her paws, striking into the Legendary’s flank. Each blow landed with enough force to resound like a thunderclap, though they weren’t moved by the strikes. Miles gave a Taunt, forcing the Glastrier to fight rather than set up, but the great beast didn’t seem bothered on that account, prancing around and then charging over my Steel Type, their hooves crushing her metal bones into the ground.
“Switch!” I shouted, recalling Athena, while signalling for Miles to Protect. Another Blizzard washed over the field, which then coalesced into a Glacial Lance. Neither pierced the barrier Miles had made, and this one felt far weaker than the ones I had seen from my last fight. What’s the difference here? Does it have to do with the lack of Assault Vest? But I don’t see how that could boost an attack.
Notch came out next, gleaming brightly in the wintery field. I didn’t hesitate in raising my Mega Stone, and transforming them in a burst of light. The gown stretched out as their body grew, more pink diamonds shooting out and the one atop their head changed to a heart-shaped pattern. Notch grinned dazzlingly, and I saw between the snowflakes, Elsa take an involuntary step back, her hand drifting to their Tera Orb, before changing her mind and grabbing a Pokeball instead.
Damn, I hoped we could bait her into a slug fest, Legendary vs. Legendary here, but without the boosts and locked by Taunt, she’s not willing to risk it. Notch’s transformation came with a bit more power but mostly, a great deal of speed, which meant as I ordered my attack, they were able to fly in and hit before she could recall her Pokemon.
“Lightsaber!” I shouted, and they conjured a glowing greatsword as they charged our foe, beams of light connecting a few diamonds made from thin air to form the hilt, middle, and tip of the blade. The beam flashed, cutting a deep gouge into the Glastrier before they were recalled, narrowly avoiding Notch’s backswing.
Another damnable Blizzard swept over the field, not doing terribly much damage, but each chip wore away at us. More importantly however, was the ice that crept over Miles’ body, freezing them solid. I was worried I’d have to recall them, until I spied them drifting out of their appliance body, assuming their base form. A short “Bzzt,” in the negatory tone (as well as their oven body falling to the ground and shattering to a million pieces), told me that we wouldn’t be able to use the new Move they had been working on.
A shame, but it wouldn’t have been very effective here in any case. The Move we had been working on was a combination of Substitute and Explosion, Miles leaving their appliance body and using it as a decoy for attacks before sending it off to explode near the enemies. Here, they would have resisted or ignored the attack even if it had worked. At least the practice was enough to let them leave their body before being frozen.
“Alpha split,” I told them, signaling both of my Pokemon on what Moves they should use. Elsa directed both of her Pokemon to attack Notch. Sandslash struck first, sliding through the snow, spin-dashing into a headbutt that clanged heavily against Notch, shattering many of their diamonds. He had no chance to celebrate before Notch grasped him out of the air by the tail, whirling him down into the ground. As they did so, thick, diamond-plated armor was created around them, though it did nothing to hinder the dark cloud Froslass summoned to torment my Mythical Pokemon. And in turn, that anguish did not deter Notch from dropping a flying elbow onto Sandslash, doing massive damage to Elsa’s Pokemon and sending icy shards flying everywhere as his quills shattered.
Miles’ flurry of Shadow Balls seemed almost like an afterthought, something helped by the fact that only one of the attacks connected with Froslass. I need to get rid of the snow, which I think I might be able to do now. It was easy to miss in the confusion of battle, but I was sure that the snow was starting to fall more slowly now.
“Let there be light,” I declared grandiously as I switched Notch back. Elsa scrambled for her Pokeball, trying to recall her Alolan Sandslash in turn as she realized what I was up to, but I had the initiative, and the ploy fizzled upon Anya’s entrance, locking them in just as Miles cleared the snow weather with a healthy dose of sunshine.
My trick had its own costs however, as Froslass blasted Miles with a powerful Shadow Ball in turn and her Sandslash recovered enough to fire off five spears of ice at Miles. The last one connected and knocked them out just as the burning light took place above the field. And thus we enter another guessing game, another choice I have to make between protecting my Pokemon or setting up for a better position.
It took less than a second to lock in my choice, trusting that Anya could withstand the force of our enemies. “Trick Room,” I whispered to her, covering my lips with one hand (so Elsa couldn’t read them) while I drew my next Pokeball.
“Do you think that’s enough to stop us? All you’re doing is delaying the inevitable. Gambit two!” Elsa called out, setting up rather than trying to attack Anya, rightly predicting that I might just have her use Protect while releasing Dun out. The snow blotted out the sun once more, letting Froslass fade amongst the flakes and Sandslash speed up, rocketing through his Swords Dance and baring his sharp claws forward. Then the twisted dimensions locked into place, Anya finishing Trick Room.
“Flamethrower!” I shouted, but Elsa was no fool - she knew the precariousness of her situation and signaled Sandslash to use Protect. But that was only one half of the battlefield, and her attempts to place another Aurora Veil over the field ran smack into Anya’s taunt. Froslass shrieked with rage, chasing after the Psychic Type, who gulped suddenly as she just realized she’d pissed off someone quite dangerous. Never change Anya, never change.
Froslass’ charge ended up with the ghostly Pokemon somehow losing control of herself and smacking straight into the arena wall (courtesy of Foul Play). She shook that Looney Tunes moment off quickly and responded with a devastating Shadow Ball that sent Anya flying across the arena. So powerful! Ah, I see now. Close to my side of the arena, I spotted the red gleam hidden behind the sleeve-like folds on her arm. She’s got a Life Orb.
It was hardly the only thing explaining her strength - clearly, she had become much more powerful since we last fought, results of her own training shining brightly. The battle item helped though, and also made it clear why she already appeared to be flagging slightly despite having taken relatively few hits. One more good attack and I can end this. Dun was busy belching more fire at Sandslash, who had managed to continue blocking it but would surely falter soon. I had him keep up the assault while directing Anya to blast Froslass with a Dark Pulse, but as Sandslash’s shield fell, Froslass put hers up, stopping the attack.
Elsa shook her head minutely on the other side of the arena, as if trying to convince herself that the loss of another Pokemon didn’t matter. Glastrier’s re-entrance to the battlefield was certainly a solid way to reinforce that message. I expected them to attack immediately, so I called for a Fake Out. Anya rushed ahead, clapping Glastrier by the ears, which did little to the Legendary other than annoy them, and have Elsa’s Pokemon knock mine back with a quick hoof to the chest.
The Move didn’t earn a flinch from the massive horse, so Dun’s next Flamethrower scorched them before they launched a massive Glacial Lance across the field. The attack smashed into both of my Pokemon, littering the field with ice. The force of the strike knocked out Anya, even after the Sitrus Berry she had eaten.
No flinch, and they aren’t wearing a Covert Cloak… how? Then it hit me. Training a Pokemon to resist every kind of Fake Out without a specialized Ability was impossible, but training one as strong as a Legendary to resist a very specific Fake Out from a specific Gothitelle? That sounded within Elsa’s capabilities.
My cheeks hurt, and I realized, much to my shock, that it was from how hard I was smiling. Man, even in a tough spot… battling is just great! Returning Anya, I sent Athena back into the fray, just as the Trick Room was starting to blink out of existence.
“Extremedodge, Ancient Power!” Athena’s Extremespeed allowed her to move first, getting out of the way of Glastrier’s charge. Dun pulled a bunch of stones with odd symbols from the ground, battering Froslass into unconsciousness with his strike, but she had been preparing for this moment. Shades flew over the arena attempting to take my Starter down with her, only to be stopped as he suddenly switched Type energies, calling on a Curse rapidly. The two Ghost Type energies meeting at the exact same moment clashed, then exploded, knocking Dun around. But not out, my Starter giving a proud hiss as he raised himself in the air triumphantly.
I took a split second to appreciate the gobsmacked look on Elsa’s face. Ha! Bet you didn’t expect that! Should have used that time to set up another Aurora Veil. Though, I suppose it’s fair to be a bit surprised; even I didn’t expect that. I wasn’t shocked, however. Dun had great battle instincts and control over the Type Energies he wielded. That combined with his knowledge let him pull off such a feat, even if I thought it was highly unlikely he’d be able to do so reliably.
“Go, Vanilluxe!” Elsa snarled, sending her own Starter back into the fray. The usually happy double ice cream cone Pokemon glared down at Dun, a stare he returned just as hard. “Focus!” Elsa snapped, and Vanilluxe turned her gaze away, just before I would have ordered Dun to Glare. No point trying it now; the moment’s passed and she showed how skilled she was at countering it last time. Glastrier was the obvious threat… so I decided to focus on beating the Vanilluxe down, ordering both my Pokemon to attack her.
“Aurora Veil,” Elsa called out at almost the exact same time, her Vanilluxe beginning to weave the same rainbow lights in the sky that her Froslass had. Before she was finished, Athena jumped in with a Force Palm, the shock Paralyzing Vanilluxe and knocking her down. Dun followed up with a Double-Edge, crashing into the Vanilluxe and spinning around as he slid by to face her once more. Athena struck a pair of Meteor Mashes into the Ice Type to keep her off balance even as the mystical lights warded off some of the damage. Before she could do any more, Glastrier stomped in, kicking her twice to push her far away, though that only spared Vanilluxe from one of my Pokemon; Dun was already continuing his assault with a Body Press.
Good, though I’d hoped we’d take her out before the veil could go up. That might have been wishful thinking though; her Starter is quite tough too. I could see we’d still racked up some decent damage, however. Athena fired a bunch of Aura Spheres at Vanilluxe while trying to keep ahead of Glastrier and not hit Dun who was savaging the downed Ice Type. Because of the difficulty of that, many shots missed, though they hung in the air as they curved up.
Eventually blasting Dun away with a potent Weather Ball, Vanilluxe got up just in time for Elsa to realize the trap Athena was forming. “Hellzone-”
“Protect!”
“-Feint!” I finished, watching with glee as Athena darted in, taking a second to analyze the Protect her foe had raised, then tapping at its weak point, shattering the entire thing. Jumping backwards, she waved a paw down, bringing a barrage down upon the Vanilluxe. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to take her down, as even before the dust cleared, I saw her ice cream shaped silhouette rising. Doubly so because with Dun’s help, he could have knocked her out, but he had to distract Glastrier.
A gambit he had paid for, his Steel Strike landing true, but then opening Dun up to a Thrash that battered him badly, my starter flopping around after repeated stomps.
“Explosion!” Elsa shouted, giving a signal to Galstrier I now knew to be Protect. She changed it from all of her previous recorded matches, just for me. A nice touch, but not enough now that I’ve seen her fight a bit.
“Hyper Drill, Protect!” I called out as her Vanilluxe began glowing. Dun whirled up his tail drill, spinning mightily, however he wasn’t able to make it to Glastrier before the Explosion washed over him. My Starter wasn’t going to let a little something like that stop him, however, striking hard with his Hyper Drill, easily piercing the Protect the Legendary had raised. They let out a pained whine, some drops of blood spilling from where they were struck, each crimson drop freezing solid before it hit the ground.
In anger, Glastrier raised a hoof and stomped hard, reshaping the battlefield. The earth rose, and the entire arena shook - not enough to get past the very enhanced barriers the teachers had erected, but I noticed their Pokemon straining slightly from the added force. My Pokemon, inside the arena, fared much less well, the Earthquake knocking both of them out.
“Hahaha! Don’t tell me this is all you have? Your big rematch, and this is all your efforts amount to?” Elsa laughed haughtily as she recalled her fallen Pokemon. I did the same with mine as Glastrier let out two awful neighs, the sound sending chills throughout my entire body and making my hands shake.
“Not even close,” I said, my grin now more of a rictus as I forced myself to grab Notch’s Pokeball and the new Sports Ball on my belt. “Go, Notch, Mel, take us home!” My mythical Pokemon appeared on the field at the same as her Galarian Darmanitan did. Meloetta’s entrance was heralded by musical notes filling the air.
“Wow!”
“What Pokemon is that? She looks so cool!”
“This song… I’ve never heard it before but it feels familiar.”
Elsa looked completely shocked for a moment before shouting, “WHAT!?! What kinda shite is this? You- you pulling out a brand new Legendary out of your fookin’ arse?!” She’s kinda cute when she loses her cool.
“Sandstorm!” I called out, trusting that Notch could clear the snow, while directing Meloetta with my mind. Relic Song, if you please.
[‘It would be my pleasure.’] They opened their mouth and began singing, their music soothing to most, yet painful to the Ice Types Meloetta was fighting. Soothing to them too, even, as Glastrier’s head began to droop as they fell asleep from the song.
“Belly Drum- Glastrier no! I need you! Wake up, please!” Elsa begged, and somehow, it worked. The horse Pokemon snapped their head back up, giving an angry huff before firing off a Glacial Lance, or rather, an Avalanche. The attack was sloppy with them waking up part way through, letting me see the basis for that custom Move. The Ice Type still had incredible strength, but shaking off the Sleep effect gave Meloetta enough time to dance to the side, swapping forms and partially dodging out of the way. Even that left them decently damaged, alongside Notch, who had really taken a beating.
There were more cries from the audience at the change, but I was more curious about the attack Elsa had used. That Move is so powerful, clearly boosted by all the strength boosts, but there’s something else… it gets stronger in response to them getting hit! That time before when it was weaker, they hadn’t been hit by an attack just before!
Sand swirled over the field, the snow stopping as Notch whipped up a Sandstorm. At the same time, the Darmanitan had finished beating his belly, and the drastic transformation that came with it. In the place of a white-furred gorilla was an odd flaming snowman with hands stuck at his side. Despite his goofy appearance, I knew how dangerous he could be, which is why I planned to use that power for myself.
“Dance to the beat of a different drum,” I told Meloetta while slashing my hand down like a sword. As they danced across the arena, their song now took on a rhythmic beat and any keen listeners out there would note how similar it sounded to what Elsa’s Darmanitan had done just a moment earlier. Notch, rushed in hoping to end the powerful Fire Type before they could make use of that great strength, and while they managed to hit both of Elsa’s Pokemon with a Storm of Diamonds, armoring themself in the process, it wasn’t enough. Not with my opponent choosing now to use her Tera Orb.
It sailed across the arena and over Darmanitan, Terastalizing him just before Notch’s attack hit. The diamonds met crystals, creating many bright, sharp shards shattering over the arena. It did little damage to the Galarian Darmanitan though, as the bright, multi-colored dome glittering atop his head showed he was now a Ground Type and thus resistant to it.
He used that Terastalization in his counterstrike, running over Notch with a Bulldoze. Despite all the strength he had, and the weakness my Pokemon had to it as well as the damage they had accumulated thus far, Notch held on, surviving that attack, even if it broke their armor. But they could only hang on so long, and Glastrier’s High Horsepower sealed the deal. Notch raised their bulky arms in defence, but those were broken and many cracks ran through their body from the impact.
You did great out there, Notch. Thank you so much, for buying us the time we needed to ensure victory. “Quick,” I said softly, and Meloetta responded before I was finished, darting forward with lightning speed to launch a quick strike into Glastrier’s side. It seemed almost comical then, how they flew off from the impact, tumbling awkwardly on the ground and coming to a stop in front of Elsa, unconscious.
The joy that had been building on Elsa’s face faded as she realized this battle was nowhere near as decided as she thought. The music changed, becoming tenser and the crowd seemed to fade away as my world came down to Elsa, Me, and our last Pokemon. Probably just as near to finished as she assumed, though. One strike, either way, will end this, I thought as we recalled our unconscious Pokemon. Quick Attack is the safe play, but the wrong one, I can still see the Sitrus Berry juice dripping from his jagged teeth. It won’t have enough power to close the deal and he’ll be able to attack us before we can do anything else.
“Triple Axel/Superpower!” We called out at the same time. Elsa’s Tera Pokemon blasted ahead, burning the sand away before he slapped the ground, spinning off of it to punch down at an unconventional angle. Meloetta gracefully pranced ahead to meet his charge, not an ounce of hesitation in their movements. Flipping to a handstand, they twisted around, one frost-rimed foot sticking out, and connecting just ahead of his strike.
The force of the blow knocked him away, but Meloetta didn’t let up, springing towards the Tera Pokemon and striking again as they landed, with double the force from before. Once more, my Pokemon struck him as he reeled backwards, this final attack sending him crashing into the edge of the arena, ice spreading out from the impact and freezing him in place. Not that it mattered, as his Terastalization shattered and his body drooped, Elsa’s final Pokemon knocked unconscious.
The music stopped for a moment before returning in a triumphant crescendo as the Director of the academy announced, “Nemona Glitterati is the winner!” Cheers erupted from the students alongside hollering and I couldn’t help but join them.
“We did it!” I shouted, running forward and grabbing Meloetta, twirling the diminutive Pokemon up in the air.
“I can’t believe it…”
“Please, I always knew she’d win.”
“Wow, so that’s what a real Champion is like.”
“That was so freaking awesome!”
“Man, way too cool. Literally, get it? Eh?”
“Hah! Serves the Ice Bitch right, getting beaten by an Ice attack.”
“I wonder what the League Club is going to be like with Nemona in charge?”
“Maybe I should join!”
“Oh man, this has gotta be the fight of the century! So glad I filmed it.”
“You know there are a bunch of people filming this- hey, is that channel 11 news drone?”
Those snippets and so many more washed over me in a cacophony of noise, to the point that I had to focus on shielding my ears from it all. As the barrier dropped, I stepped carefully onto the icy, diamond debris covered field, walking over to Elsa.
The other girl was just standing in place, frozen as if she had turned into a statue. As I got closer, I saw the red rimming her eyes, tears beginning to well up in them. Oh boy, this is awkward.
“Uhh, good fight out there, it was one of the toughest I’ve ever had-” I began, offering a hand for her to shake. She took it, shaking it very quickly before letting go and running off, recalling her last Pokemon as she pushed her way through the crowd and towards the exit.
I felt conflicted; I still didn’t like Elsa, but seeing a girl cry never felt great. Those feelings didn’t last long though as my friends ran up to congratulate me and I got swept up in all their joy. My other Pokemon joined in on the good cheer, popping out of their Pokeballs to make their feelings known. This is awesome.
Director Cyrano agreed, clapping his hands together loudly and drawing the crowd’s attention to him, quieting them (slightly). “Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say that was a fantastic battle!” There was another loud set of cheers, which he waited to die down before adding, “Lets give a big round of applause to our fantastic Trainers and their Pokemon who fought today!” Thunderous applause swept out as he finished. “And then I’m sure you’re all eager to get back home, for a nice vacation, before yet another exciting year at Blueberry Academy!”
That sounds good, though I don’t know how anything is going to top this year! But I look forward to finding out. Onto the next adventure!
A/N: Here we go, the end of the Blueberry Arc! Or at least the climax of it. The next few chapters will cover the next two years at the academy, but will be far calmer and less action packed than these recent ones have been.
I hope you’ve been enjoying this all - this was my first major departure from canon. I’ve had changes to canon in the past, of course, but nothing that relied so little on it and ran so many original plot lines and characters in this story. The reception overall was… not great, but I still hope you enjoyed some of it. In any case, we’ll have more canon details and events in the future, but I hope to put my own spin on those.
Finally, thank you all for joining me on this journey so far. It’s been amazing, I never expected to get this far before, and all your support, kind comments, and enthusiasm for this story have helped me so much more than I can describe. Again, thank you so much.