Alice reappeared onto the teleportation pad, glancing her eyes about to get her bearings and calibrate her surroundings. As she turned to the final door on the right with the feather icon in the light-green light above the door, she also realized that Sam was nowhere to be seen. Just as she stepped off the pad to run, she heard the pad reactivate about halfway to her destination. Looking back, she found Sam appearing onto it, having finished his last battle. With his body already turned to Molayne’s door, he instantly sprinted off toward it to defeat the final trainer inside.
Alice turned forward again, ignoring him. Approaching the door, it split open and allowed her to pass through. With her spirits high, she jumped high over the steps to the platform and landed at the top, sliding down a few feet for balance before stepping forward onto it. As expected, she found Kahili guarding the teleportation pad separating her from the champion, staring at it with ravenous desire.
“Seems as though I’m your last trainer, right?” Alice nodded to Kahili’s inquiry. “I figured as much. Your brother was in here not very long ago, and I just guessed based on the timing. So, how do you feel?”
“Like I can see the finish line during a marathon,” she answered. “So close, but not close enough.”
“Or perhaps teeing off at the 17th while at the top of the leaderboards with your opponents just trailing.” Alice hesitated a moment before nodding again with an “mmhm.” “You should have every reason to feel proud, Alice. You’re about to take a step every trainer dreams of one day taking. And to think, you were dining alongside me in this very building not long ago.”
“Simpler times,” Alice sardonically mused.
Kahili took a couple of steps forward as she pulled a remote from her jacket pocket and pressed it, activating the holographic barrier around the platform that took on the appearance of wings. “But today, I stand before you as your opponent. Our time together may have been pleasurable, but as your last opponent before the champion, I’m going to make sure this battle of ours is anything but for you!”
“Hmph. Same.”
Alice and Kahili both detached their first balls from their belts, taking one last easy breath before the worst of it would begin. With Alice huffing her’s out first, she sent her Poké Ball flying. “You’re up first, Gyarados!”
With the ball bursting open and blasting out a heavy stream of white energy, Kahili stoically faced Alice’s red serpentine fish as it became unveiled to her.
“Interesting choice…” Kahili threw her Ultra Ball forward. “Skarmory, go!”
With the white energy spitting out of its ball, it spread out wide before her metallic bird soared out on its outstretched bladed wings. As it flew about the room, Alice kept her eyes focused on Kahili. Holding up her Z-Ring to her, Kahili gasped to see the Key Stone shine from the face.
“Go big or go home, right?!” Alice pressed her fingers onto the marble in her Z-Ring, both it and the Gyaradosite on Gyarados’s horn beginning to shine bright. “Respond to my heart, Key Stone! Beyond evolution! Mega Evolve!”
With both the Key Stone and Mega Stone shining brighter now, Kahili covered her eyes with her arm, peering underneath it to continue observing. The four DNA-shaped tendrils of energy made their way out of the Key Stone and to the Gyaradosite. Upon connecting, the Key Stone’s power flowed into Gyarados from its horn down, covering its body with its awesome shimmer as it quivered. With a bulge of its chest and an unfurling of its two additional fins, the energy blanketing Gyarados broke away in all directions, completing its transformation into Mega Gyarados.
Alice and Kahili’s Skarmory locked eyes as the latter continued flying around before facing forward to concentrate. “Mega Gyarados, attack Skarmory with Aqua Tail!”
Mega Gyarados slithered in as tight as it could to swing around and begin to fly around the room in the opposite direction as Kahili’s Skarmory. Quickly reaching its target, the surface of Mega Gyarados’s tail began to shimmer with moisture as it cascaded down along the sides of the wall. Swinging in, Mega Gyarados flipped its body around and swung its tail forward, the center of it mashing the Skarmory in the face, sending it into the wall with a grinding crash.
Kahili kept her firm demeanor as her Pokémon pulled away from the rock, sending much of it tumbling down the wall and to the floor below the platform. “Skarmory, use Spikes!”
Hopping from the indent it left, the Skarmory took up into the air and hovered over the center of the battle platform, its head only inches from the top of the ceiling. With a rapid flapping of its wings, dozens of fragments of its sharp feathers flaked out and fell to the floor, Alice and Mega Alakazam backed away as a rain of steel shards landed upon the ground with a deafening ringing, the vast majority of them standing with their points up.
Alice glowered, realizing what this would mean for the rest of her Pokémon. “Alright, looks like we’re going to have to hold out for them! Mega Gyarados, attack Skarmory again with Aqua Tail!”
Looking upward, Mega Gyarados swam up toward Skarmory, who kept its high post even as the furious serpent came closer and faster each second.
“Skarmory!” Kahili shouted. “Look out!”
The Skarmory’s eyes remained half-closed in observation, watching as Mega Gyarados leaned back and began to loop back around. With the underside of its tail visible, the Skarmory threw its talons about to align them with it. As the gushing tail came up, looking to swat the bird along the ceiling to tumble down along the wall, the Skarmory held its wings up and let itself fall toward Mega Gyarados’s attack.
“What?” Alice sputtered.
As intended, Kahili’s Skarmory landed upon the bottom of Mega Gyarados’s tail before it could really begin to swing. With the true force of the attack added, the Skarmory was slingshotted off and swung its body around to fly alongside the wall. With its speed’s boosted by Mega Gyarados’s incidental assistance, neither Alice nor Kahili could register the Skarmory as it slipped in between the wall and the platform.
“Good work!” Kahili then pointed up at Alice’s Pokémon. “Now hit it with Steel Wing!”
Kahili’s Skarmory slipped back up through the other side, its speed having barely been diminished by the climb. With the force of its flight, the Skarmory shot into Mega Gyarados and dragged the edges of its wing along its side, considerably slowing itself down. Mega Gyarados yowled in agony as it writhed about in the air, a long deep scratch left on the side of its body that the Skarmory delivered.
Alice kept her eyes on Kahili’s Skarmory as it resumed its laps around the rim of the domed ceiling below Mega Gyarados, keeping itself a moving target. “It’s just flying around now! Mega Gyarados, attack Skarmory with Brutal Swing!”
Mega Gyarados floated itself down to the Skarmory’s level, the metal bird realizing its opponent’s arrival. Curling itself into a spiral above the center of the platform, Mega Gyarados swung itself about, quickly unfurling more of its tail and straightening out until its tail reached the edge of the wall. With Kahili’s Skarmory set to fly straight into Mega Gyarados’s tail, it flipped itself around and prepared another slingshot maneuver.
“Mega Gyarados, now!” On Alice’s call, Mega Gyarados began to roll, surprising both Kahili and her Pokémon.
The Skarmory commited to its strategy, ready to plant its talons onto Mega Gyarados’s tail. However, with Mega Gyarados’s motions, the Skarmory’s claws pulled out from underneath it, causing it to roll over onto its tail. With its target trapped, Mega Gyarados flung its tail in whichever direction the bottoms of its fin faced, sending Skarmory flying back into the wall with a burst of black light erupting from the point of impact.
Kahili put a fist close to her mouth as rock began to fall from the spot where her Pokémon had been blasted into. “Skarmory!”
Alice thrust a thumb up toward her Pokémon high above. “Awesome job, Mega Gyarados!”
Mega Gyarados closed its eyes and curled its open mouth into as big of a smile as its fixed lips could muster, appearing almost adorable in how unabashedly happy it looked. Just then, a small ball of dust blasted out from the Skarmory’s second wall crater, the steel raptor’s dirty blanket blowing off of it as it climbed back up.
“That’s it, Skarmory!” Kahili shouted with a squeeze of her fist. “Hit her again with another Steel Wing!”
The Skarmory tracked Mega Gyarados’s face, who tried to wiggle and back away from the oncoming attack. With its bulky size preventing most its movements, the Skarmory very easily reached its target, slashing the tips of its feathers against Mega Gyarados’s face. Mega Gyarados let out another shout, though not nearly as anguished as its last. With its attack finished, Kahili’s Skarmory opted to fly down lower around a story above its trainer. Looking up, the Skarmory tauntingly cawed at Mega Gyarados, who remained high up near the top.
Alice looked over the Skarmory’s body, the multiple scuffs, nicks, and scratches in its body and feathers now more noticeable than before. Looking back up, she saw Mega Gyarados as it looked down at the Skarmory, keeping its eyes on it as it flew around in circles. Alice suddenly realized that it was waiting for her.
“Mega Gyarados!” Alice shouted. “Finish Skarmory with Dragon Rage!”
Kahili gasped and looked up at Alice’s Pokémon, whose mouth began to fill with blue light. “Skarmory, dodge it!”
With a terrified squawk, Kahili’s Skarmory broke from its circular rounds and began to fly in a more haphazard pattern. With Mega Gyarados’s mouth fully charged and waiting for the opportune time to fire, it watched as the Skarmory, in its panic and lack of direction, came near the wall. Finding its moment, Mega Gyarados fired its attack.
As predicted, the Skarmory’s wing clipped the wall, disrupting its flight and forcing it to come to a stop right where the Dragon Rage attack was headed. The Skarmory didn’t even seem to see the blue aura ball coming at it as it blasted into it and exploded its energy over its entire body. Kahili then watched from the fire and dust as her Skarmory limply fell out from it, its body bouncing off the wall before landing onto the platform in an unconscious heap.
Alice clapped her hands once. “That’s it, Mega Gyarados! Four more to go!”
With Mega Gyarados’s triumphant cheers above her, Kahili forlornly returned her Skarmory back into its Ultra Ball before facing Alice. “You said four more just now like you think your Mega Gyarados has a chance of defeating the rest of my Pokémon.”
Alice shook her head. “No, just four more before the champion. Sixteen down, four more to go.”
“I see. You’ve definitely come a long way, then. It would be a crying shame if it all ended right here.”
“Not going to happen! I took out your other three friends, and I’ll do the same to you just as easily!”
Kahili then smiled, an expression rare enough to strike a bit of fear into Alice’s heart. “There’s nothing about this battle that’s going to be remotely easy!” She then detached her next Ultra Ball and threw it directly above her. “Go, Crobat!”
The ball came open as her purple four-winged bat rose out from the stream of energy that emerged and flew up to Mega Gyarados’s level, the two Pokémon staring each other down.
Kahili pointed upward. “Crobat, use Supersonic!”
Throwing its wings out to the side, Kahili’s Crobat shook them extremely fast to make them appear as though they were vibrating. From the four wings, a ripple of sonic pulses spread out from them and into Mega Gyarados’s face. The sound was harsh and the force was violent enough to shake and disorient Alice’s Pokémon, who, upon opening its eyes, began to sway about drunkenly.
“Mega Gyarados!” Alice saw her Pokémon squint, appearing to maintain its focus. “Yeah, that’s it! Now, hit Crobat with Ice Fang!”
Mega Gyarados swam forward, its body unintentionally corkscrewing on its way to its target. Alice clenched her fists as it got closer, appearing as though the attack would hit. Just then, Mega Gyarados banked to the right, appearing to chase after the vision of the Crobat that its dizzied mind deceived into perceiving. It then crashed into the wall, its body scrunching up slightly upon making its impact.
“No!” Alice wailed.
Kahili blew a short sigh of relief through pursed lips. “Excellent work, Crobat! Now, finish it off with Swift!
The Crobat hugged its wings in before spinning with its back facing the ground below, unfurling its wings to fling a flurry of stars of light from them. Each star directed themselves to Mega Gyarados’s left side, each one hitting it and pelting it in a new spot. Mega Gyarados let out a final roar before its body began to float downward, the Key Stone’s energy seeping from its scales and covering it from head to tail.
“Gah!” Alice gagged. “Dammit!”
Alice aimed her Poké Ball up at Mega Gyarados as the aura covering it broke away, turning it back into her Gyarados. The red beam from the Poké Ball shot forward and connected with Gyarados before converting it into the same energy and bringing it back inside through the center button.
“Okay, we had a little fun up there…” Alice put Gyarados’s ball back to her belt before pulling off another. “Now it’s time to bring the fight back down here.” Alice forcefully lobbed her ball out over the center of the platform. “Let’s do this, Mudsdale!”
Before the ball could hit the ground, the energy shooting out launched the ball back up as it spread out, forming its stocky equine appearance. With a small burst, the energy spread off and away, unveiling Alice’s next Pokémon to her opponent. Immediately, Mudsdale whinnied in pain as its hooves landed upon the Skarmory’s Spikes, frantically kicking them away as to leave itself a place to safely stand. Alice winced to see the bases of her Pokémon’s legs lightly cut up.
“Alright, Crobat!” Kahili confidently shouted. “Now hit her Mudsdale with Supersonic!”
Kahili’s Crobat held its wings out and glided down to the platform. Upon getting close to Mudsdale, it shook its wings again, sending out more sonic waves that threatened to rain down on Mudsdale, who was still entrapped by the scattered metal shards surrounding it. All it could think to do was to crouch down low and try and weather out the Crobat’s attack as it made contact. Mudsdale grunted as its ears and head were filled with shrill ringing, Alice hissing in anger as her Pokémon’s legs woozily wobbled.
“You know this strategy is bullcrap, right?” Alice asked.
Kahili pouted. “Call it whatever you want if it makes you feel better. You have your own path to victory; I have mine, and it’s no less valid than yours.”
As Mudsdale swayed, trying to keep its eyes on the Crobat that appeared before it, Alice frowned, knowing she’d have little other choice than to continue going. “That’s okay, girl! Just concentrate and hit him with Heavy Slam! That should do it!”
Mudsdale galloped forward, and while its gait was sloppy and uneven, it appeared deliberate, both trainers observing in amazement as the horse managed to get its hooves within the gaps between the Spikes.
“Awesome job!” Alice continued to cheer. “You can–”
One of Mudsdale's front hooves fell onto a spike laying on its side, causing it to slip out from underneath it. With its balance irreparably broken, Mudsdale resigned to falling hard and flat onto its side, landing upon a couple of Spikes as well. Mudsdale got up quickly and screamed, bucking its legs and thrashing its body until the spikes lodged into it came free.
“No, Mudsdale!” Alice clenched both her fists and her teeth. “This is seriously some bullshit!”
“I apologize if you feel that way!” Kahili yelled. “Crobat, now hit her with Shadow Ball!”
As the Crobat continued hovering, a dark-purple ball of ghastly energy formed in front of its face. Once it reached the size of a basketball, Crobat wrapped its wings over and around it, careful not to touch. Flinging its wings back out, it sent its attack shooting out, where it made contact with Mudsdale’s chest and pushed it back several feet. With its legs bent to maintain whatever balance it had, Mudsdale stood back up straight, its stance still weak and unstable.
“Come on now, Mudsdale,” Alice growled. “You can still do this! I believe in you! Try another Heavy Slam, now!”
Mudsdale let out an uneasy huff before it went into a canter. Once again, Mudsdale appeared careful about not hitting any of the spikes along the ground, and upon getting halfway to its target, it still managed to avoid them all.
“Yes…” Alice shook her balled-up hands. “Yes!”
Mudsdale got in a small leap before it prepared to make the one that would pummel Kahili’s Pokémon. As it sprung up, it appeared to overshoot it and fly off to the left and away from the Crobat. Kahili smirked over her fortune, only to notice Mudsdale turned its body so that the small of its back was now swinging over to land on top of her Crobat.
“Crobat, look–” The Crobat, also taken by surprise, couldn’t react fast enough as it was slammed onto by Mudsdale’s rump and thrown to the ground with Mudsdale’s massive body landing right back on top of it.
Keeping up its momentum, Mudsdale rolled off of Crobat and swung back onto its hooves before running back to Alice in a much more normal and lucid way. Crobat peeled itself off the floor before writhing itself into a seated position, picking its body up with its two top wings just high enough so that its bottom wings could give it more control and altitude.
“Your Crobat should consider itself lucky that it survived that hit,” Alice said.
“And your Mudsdale is lucky to have even landed that attack,” Kahili rebutted. “And it seems that she’s snapped out of her confusion too.”
“So what now? Are you going to try for a Supersonic next?”
“You would be inclined to do that in my situation, but between my Skarmory’s Spikes, it hurting itself, and the Shadow Ball attack it took, your Mudsdale may not even be able to survive this next hit! Crobat, attack Mudsdale again with Shadow Ball!”
Kahili’s Crobat opened its mouth and breathed in as another spectral aura ball expanded into existence in front of its face.
“Quick,” Alice shouted, “take it out with one last Heavy Slam!”
Mudsdale galloped forward, this time more nimbly avoiding the Spikes upon the ground. With its Shadow Ball now formed, the Crobat put its wings around it and then flung it out at Mudsdale’s direction. With it getting close, Mudsdale tucked its head down, allowing its forehead to take the attack as it burst and wrapped around its body.
Kahili and her Crobat were shocked to find that other than a slight reduction in its speed, Mudsdale was not deterred from continuing forward. Leaping high up, Mudsdale prevented the Crobat’s possibility of escaping upwards, its domineering size keeping it frozen stiff in place. Checking its shoulder into it, Mudsdale landed upon Crobat and sandwiched it between the floor and its massive body. Rolling off again, Mudsdale got to its hooves and ran back to its trainer, the Crobat it nearly flattened no longer mobile as it laid on the ground.
Kahili aimed her Ultra Ball at her fainted Pokémon, the red beam connecting to it and receding back in with it. “You lasted far longer than I could have expected you to. You can rest now. Thank you.” She looked back up to her opponent, her and her Mudsdale staring at her expectantly. “Seventeen down, right?”
Alice nodded. “Three to go.”
“And you look so prepared…” Kahili put her Crobat’s ball back on her belt and took another one out before throwing it. “Go, Toucannon!”
With the Ultra Ball opening up, Kahili’s large toucan Pokémon floated down from the energy on its wings before landing on a safe spot on the floor and standing before its rivals.
“Get ready, Toucannon!” Kahili commanded. “Hit Mudsdale with Screech!”
Toucannon opened its beak wide and let out a loud, shrill caw that seemed to distort the very air that it traveled through. Mudsdale fell to its stomach and covered its ears as best it could with the sides of its arms while Alice squeezed the bases of the palms of her hands into her own ears. Soon, Alice could register that Toucannon had stopped its assault.
“Mudsdale!” Hearing its trainer’s voice, Mudsdale felt safe to stand to attention. “She’s going in for the kill! Get her Toucannon with Superpower!”
Mudsdale ran forward, and as it did, a cone of copper aura formed around its head, getting brighter as it continued picking up speed. As well, it pushed all the Spikes that were ahead of it off to the side, focused only on the target ahead.
“Toucannon!” On Kahili’s shout, Toucannon spread its wings and flapped them hard, moving just fast enough to let Mudsdale pass beneath it. “Excellent, Toucannon! Now, finish her off with Bullet Seed!”
Mudsdale began to back away, ready to avoid its enemy’s own attack. With it rising higher in the air, Toucannon got close to the ceiling before breathing in, its chest puffing out. Opening its beak up, a wide spray of seeds and nuts began to rain down over the entire area of the platform between Alice and Kahili. While many of the seeds indeed pelted Mudsdale, many of them struck the Spikes upon the ground. Alice watched in horror as the seeds not only ricocheted off the Spikes and into Mudsdale from different angles, but many of them were knocked back into the pathway that her Pokémon had cleared with its last attempt of an attack.
“No…” Alice could only whisper. “Such accuracy…”
With nowhere to run and the attack against it not stopping, Mudsdale let out an exhausted cry before it fell to its shins and went unconscious as it rolled over to its right side. Seeing its victory below, Toucannon ceased its attack, holding its wings out to glide back down to the ground.
“Ha, okay…” Alice was left with no other choice but to remove her Mudsdale’s ball from her belt and return her Pokémon back into it. “That’s okay, we still have this.”
“Seventeen Pokémon,” Kahili summarized. “That’s quite a steep climb for any trainer, although for me, all I need is six, and two of them have already bitten the dust.”
“Don’t start getting too excited. I still have quite a few Pokémon who are really strong against yours. In fact, how’s about I introduce you to one now?” Alice removed a Poké Ball from her belt and tossed it. “You’re on, Lycanroc!”
The ball opened in midair and burst its energy out, Alice’s wolf falling from it and onto the Spikes on the floor.
Alice squirmed and shut her eyes upon hearing the yip of her Pokémon as it hopped up in painful surprise, landing its paws onto barren spots and shaking the front right one that still stung. “Sorry, boy! Mudsdale tried to clear a path!”
As Lycanroc still finished with recovering, Kahili removed Toucannon’s Ultra Ball from her belt and aimed it. “Toucannon, return!”
Alice perked up unpleasantly upon seeing the ball’s red beam bring its Pokémon back inside. “Yo, what gives? Is his Screech slash Bullet Seed not good enough for my Lycanroc?”
Kahili frowned as the truth was about to come out. “As a matter of fact, I don’t have nearly enough confidence that my Toucannon would survive its encounter with your Lycanroc. Now this next one, on the other hand…” Kahili pulled out her next Ultra Ball from her belt.
“And you really think it can beat my Lycanroc, even after you’re wasting your own turn?”
“We’ll just have to see.” Kahili reeled her arm back and sent her ball soaring. “Mandibuzz, it’s on!”
With the ball coming open, its white energy spat out and spread wide as it transformed into Kahili’s vulture, which flew close to the ground and at Lycanroc. Before it would hit, Mandibuzz swooped up, brushing past Lycanroc’s nose and looping back toward its trainer. Lycanroc angrily sneezed as it rubbed the tickling tingle off its snout.
“Don’t let her get to you.” Alice shouted. “Attack her with Stone Edge!”
Lycanroc bounced off its front paws before slamming them into the floor. With a small boom sounding from directly beneath them, Kahili began to get nervous as her Pokémon’s talons had not reached the ground yet.
“Mandibu–” Right before Mandibuzz could land, a narrow mountain jutted up underneath it, the tower rising a couple of stories and sending the vulture even higher up.
“Yeah!” Alice yelled. “Nice!”
Lycanroc lifted its head up and howled at the ceiling in celebration. Mandibuzz, who began to fall, quickly recovered, holding out its wings and beating them to slow and eventually stop its fall. Kahili nodded approvingly as her Pokémon roosted itself back on the floor, now able to breathe and relax for a moment.
“That was a nice hit you got on her just then,” Kahili spoke.
“Rock-types tend to do that to Flying,” she answered back. “I mean, Mandibuzzes also have pretty good defense too, but I doubt that’s the only reason you sent her out.”
Kahili smiled again, now appearing more heartfelt and genuine than before. “And you’d be absolutely right. Mandibuzz, use Swagger!”
“Huh?!”
Mandibuzz locked eyes with Lycanroc, who almost seemed subconsciously compelled to stare back. With its typical cocky smile turning wider and even more boastful, it curled the feathers of the ends of its wings to its face and fanned them in a taunting manner. Lycanroc barred its teeth and loudly growled at it, putting every ounce of its concentration in expressing its unbridled anger. To Alice’s displeasure, Lycanroc began to swoon, and when it tried to refocus its attention to Mandibuzz, it found that its eyes and head could no longer keep track of it.
“Great,” Alice hissed, “another bold confusion maneuver from the brave Kahili herself.”
Kahili’s face furrowed in an irritated frown. “I highly suggest you stop your complaining; you certainly won’t win with it!”
“No, you’re right, but thanks for the extra strength anyways! Lycanroc, finish off Mandibuzz with one last Stone Edge!”
Jumping high enough off its front paws to appear to stand upright, Lycanroc threw its entire full weight down, prepared to slam them on the ground. With its vision and body still dizzy, Lycanroc’s front right paw slipped behind its left and continued slipping, the force of its fall making it land on its chest and the bottom of its face. With a loud whine, Lycanroc rolled the rest of its body onto its side, demoralized and humiliated.
“No!” Alice stamped her foot and turned away. “God dammit!”
“Don’t get too angry at them!” Kahili warned. “They’re only trying their best for you! Mandibuzz, attack Lycanroc with Bone Rush!”
After tilting its head and grabbing the bone placed in its hair, Manibuzz flapped its wings and climbed back up to the ceiling. Once it reached the top, it dove down over Lycanroc, who was only beginning to feel better enough to stand. Clutching its bone tightly, it began to glow a bright blue, elongating to nearly five times its length. Once Lycanroc got onto all four of its paws, Mandibuzz swung over Lycanroc, bashing the side of its face with its luminous bone.
With a yowl, Lycanroc was forced back to the ground on its other side, instinctually rubbing the throbbing spot with the side of its paw. Mandibuzz looped back around and dove feet-first at its target, reaching out with the talon that held its weapon. This time, Mandibuzz slammed the side of the bone against Lycanroc’s stomach, the wolf arching up and whining with an even more guttural shout as the wind was beaten out of it.
“Stop!” Alice cried. “That’s enough!”
Mandbuzz hopped off of Lycanroc and rose its talon up once again, and with as hard of a swing as its awkward stance could muster, it smashed the bone back down onto the bridge of its snout, Lycanroc screaming as it clutched its nose and curled into a ball. Keeping its bone held on, Mandibuzz scurried back to Kahili’s side.
“Okay!” Alice shrieked. “That shit was dirty and you know it!”
“You sound very concerned for him.” Though it didn’t show in her face, her voice did sound audibly sympathetic. “You don’t need to keep him out any longer if you don’t think he’s up to it.”
Alice bit her lip nervously as she contemplated what to do next. With her trembling hand reaching for her Lycanroc’s ball, she was suddenly stopped by a loud, short bark. Looking down, she noticed her Lycanroc standing back up slowly, its limbs trembling as it tried to support itself. Despite its battered appearance, Lycanroc kept its fangs bared and its furious gaze at Kahili’s Pokémon. With a slow breath through its nose and a forceful huff out, Lycanroc sprayed a large splatter of blood and mucus onto the ground. It’s expression remained as spiteful as ever.
Alice reached out to her Lycanroc, saddened by the damage already done to its body. “Lycanroc…”
The wolf growled, its sights still fixed on Mandibuzz. Putting her arm down, Alice took another few moments to think if the next decision she’d make would be one she’d regret.
“You really want to–” Alice’s Pokémon looked back to her, softening its glare only a little for her. Understanding her Pokémon’s wishes, she closed her eyes and settled on her next move. “You got it, boy. Okay Lycanroc, Stone Edge! For real this time!”
Lycanroc growled as it jumped up off its front paws, which grew louder until it barked upon its paws landing down again. Another boom was heard from below the platform, Kahili and Mandibuzz nervously looking down. A rumbling could be felt underneath everyone’s feet, and Mandibuzz reacted by diving forward. Another rock tower shot up through the floor, grazing Mandibuzz’s talons as it narrowly missed it.
“No way!” Alice gripped her hat in exasperation. “For serious?”
“Stone Edge has never been the most accurate attack,” Kahili responded. “Your Lycanroc was fortunate enough to not hurt itself again, but it still squandered its final chance. Now, Mandibuzz, finish Lycanroc off with Bone Rush!”
Keeping its grip on its bone held tight, Mandibuzz flew up several feet before swooping in and picking up speed. With a tight bank to the left and an even tighter one to the right, Mandibuzz flew over Lycanroc and swung its now-longer club into its ribs, Lycanroc yelping out as it was flung off its paws. Alice’s Pokémon manged to catch itself, but upon looking to its left, it did not see where it expected Mandibuzz to be.
Kahili’s Pokémon took the opportunity to veer around near Lycanroc’s face, smacking it hard in the right side of the face. Flying away, Mandibuzz swooped up and over, diving down directly over the small of Lycanroc’s back, bashing its weapon down onto it hard enough for Lycanroc’s legs to give out and force it onto its stomach. With Mandibuzz perched upon its foe, it jumped up one last time with the bone held as high as its talons would allow. Landing back down, it slammed its bone onto the center of its back, Lycanroc letting out a forceful gag before it finally passed out.
“No…” Alice sunk to her knees before falling forward, catching herself with her hands. “Lycanroc…”
Kahili crossed her arms. “If it’s any consolation, I’ve been battling and beating Rock-type users while you were still crawling on your hands and knees. However, I’d like to think that you’ve grown past your infancy, so stand up, Alice Brier! You still have half your team prepared to finish this fight for you! Don’t let one upset ruin your streak! Remember, you’re still seventeen down, three to go!”
Alice reflected on Kahili’s words, as harsh and as cold as they were. Looking up at her fainted, brutalized Pokémon, and then back at Mandibuzz, the devious grin it gave her filled her with the rage and drive that Kahili smiled to see fill Alice’s face. Balling her hands into fists, Alice hoisted herself up off, standing back up one foot at a time. Without a further hint of worry, Alice reached back for Lycanroc’s ball on her belt and grabbed it, aiming the center button at it to allow its red beam to bring it back in.
“Don’t worry, Kahili. I’m not letting that ugly buzzard take advantage of another one of my Pokémon!” Grabbing another Poké Ball from her belt, she tossed it out into the battlefield. “You’re up, Mimikyu!”
The ball opened up, her costumed spirit Pokémon jumping out from the energy that streamed out. Upon landing on the ground, Mimikyu let out an echoed squeal as the bottom of its form was caught by the Spikes that still remained on the ground. Bouncing about on the edge of its crude Pikachu frock, it refused to stand straight until it managed to find a spot wide enough for it to stand safely.
“Ah,” Kahili mused, “a Fairy-type. She really is quite prepared.”
“Only a little bit left!” Alice shouted. “Mimikyu! Attack Mandibuzz with Play Rough!”
Quickly bouncing about on the spaces between the Spikes, Mimikyu made its way toward Mandibuzz faster than it could register it. With a final hop, Mimikyu unfurled its shadowy arms and wrapped them around Mandibuzz’s neck before hugging itself close. Swinging its body with it, Mimikyu threw and slammed the back of Kahili’s Pokémon hard onto the ground.
Disoriented, Mimikyu stepped off of Mandibuzz with its arms still holding on to its neck. Beginning to spin around, Mimikyu slung Manibuzz around before finally letting go, throwing its body back onto the ground where it roughly rolled to a stop, having dropped its bone club halfway between itself and Alice’s Pokémon.
“That’s what I like to see!” Alice’s confident sentiments were short lived as she noticed Mandibuzz stir. “Oh, come on! That didn’t do it?!”
Kahili smiled, thankful for her Pokémon’s endurance as it returned to her. “Mandibuzzes are deceptively durable Pokémon. Not even a Stone Edge from a Lycanroc and a Play Rough from a Mimikyu can bring it down. Fortunately for you, I don’t feel like gambling with confusion right now; with your string of bad luck, it’s only a matter of time before it begins to turn. Alright, Mandibuzz, attack Mimikyu with another Bone Rush!”
Mandibuzz hopped back over to its discarded bone, taking flight upon picking it back up. Mimikyu looked around for a spot to jump and dodge the attack, but with Spikes still scattered around it, it found itself hesitating long enough for Mandibuzz to get a well-aimed strike against the head of its disguise, making it droop to the side. Mimikyu trembled with rage, Alice prepared to cover her ears in preparation for its rage screech. Right as Mimikyu let loose with its terrible sound, Mandibuzz came from the front and swung hard into Mimikyu’s body and threw it backward.
Mimikyu landed on its back, allowing it to see straight up as Mandibuzz flew over it before diving down onto it. Mimikyu tried to pick itself back up and run, but with its head awkwardly standing down with it, it gave Mandibuzz enough time to thrust its club down onto the top of its body where the disguise’s head once stood. Falling down onto its face, Mimikyu’s disguise’s head was pathetically dragged along the floor.
“Using Bone Rush to circumvent Mimikyu’s Disguise…” Alice glowered, in disbelief of what she was about to say next. “That was actually pretty smart.”
Kahili smiled genuinely again. “Thank you, Alice. I’d like to think that my battle strategies extend beyond confusing my opponents.”
Alice found it in herself to laugh at that. “To be fair, they don’t extend much further than that.”
“Touché. Although, not to ruin our one friendly moment or anything, but if you want to beat your brother to the champion–”
“Yeah, right! Sorry! Mimikyu, you ready?” Mimikyu turned back to Alice and gave her an enraged bark in reply. “Good! Hit Mandibuzz again with Play Rough!”
Mimikyu ran forward, its shadow arms reaching out from under its costume and holding its head to support it as it began to jump around and away from the Spikes still left on the ground.
Kahili kept her arm pointed straight as Mimikyu continued advancing. “Mandibuzz, hit Mimikyu with Brave Bird!”
With Mimikyu still a ways away, Mandibuzz placed its bone back into its plumage on the top of its head before flapping its wings, carrying itself back up to the ceiling. With its target now far out of range, Mimikyu stopped where it landed, watching disheartendely as Mandibuzz kept itself out of its reach.
“Don’t worry,” Alice shouted, getting her Pokémon’s attention, “she’s coming back! Just get ready for her!”
Mimikyu looked back up and Mandibuzz, who swiveled itself to put the bottoms of its talons against the wall, pushing off and diving down. Picking up tremendous speed, a hot, orange cone formed around its head before it spread out, cloaking its entire body. Seeing its opportunity, Mimikyu continued bounding as Mandibuzz got lower, pulling up to strike Mimikyu at the trough of its bend. At the right moment, Mimikyu leapt up and let its disguise’s head go, reaching its arms out at the approaching Mandibuzz.
Kahili’s Pokémon proved too fast, soaring through Mimikyu’s grasp and bashing the top of its head into Mimikyu’s body, Mimikyu’s arms going limp as the pain refused to let it concentrate on anything else. With Mandibuzz injured in the attack, it fell to the ground with Mimikyu, both tumbling and roughly rolling along the ground before coming to their individual stops.
“Mimikyu!” Alice took several running steps up to her Pokémon, only to see it stir before her. “Mimikyu…”
Alice patted the center of her chest as her Pokémon got back upright while Kahili glanced over at her Pokémon, which hadn’t gotten up yet.
“Mandibuzz!” Unlike Alice’s Pokémon, Mandibuzz did not respond to Kahili’s call.
After a few more moments of motionlessness from it, Kahili had realized that her Pokémon’s self-inflicted hit was indeed its downfall. Reaching back for her Mandibuzz’s Ultra Ball, she held it out as the red beam shot far out from the center button, connecting with the vulture before bringing it back inside to rest.
“Thank you, Mandibuzz,” Kahili whispered with her forehead atop the ball. “You were truly marvelous.”
Putting the ball back and taking out another, Kahili watched as Alice’s Mimikyu slowly returned to its spot, the dirtied and chafed costume it wore a fitting parallel to its physical health.
“Doesn’t look like he’s got much left,” she commented, “but let’s see how much more it can carry on! Let’s go, Oricorio!”
Kahili threw her ball forward, the device opening up and spitting out a smaller amount of energy onto the ground. Forming from the energy was an Oricorio with red-and-black feathers and wings styled like a flamenco dress. With it holding its wings up in the traditional pose of the dance its plumage was styled in, Oricorio concluded its entrance.
“Alright, Mimikyu,” Alice encouraged, “I think you’ve still got a few hits left in you! Hit the Oricorio with Shadow Claw!”
Mimikyu bounced off the floor and began to move. Pulling its arms out from under its disguise, Mimikyu extended them a couple of feet out before it began to run on them, its hands deftly landing in the bare spots without Spikes as it quickly made its way across.
“There’s something you don’t see every day.” Kahili frowned herself out of her entertained grin as she pointed her outstretched hand out. “Oricorio, hit Mimikyu with Revelation Dance!”
Mimikyu hopped up on both hands, bringing half of its arms in as it cleared the Spikes and prepared to land right on top of Oricorio. Before its bottom hit the ground, Mimikyu slashed both of its hands across Oricorio’s breast and face. Oricorio, swinging its body in accordance with Mimikyu’s force, wrapped its wings around itself to the right. Turning to look at Mimikyu from the corner of its sights, Oricorio’s wings blazed with fire before it threw them to the left into Mimikyu. With blackened scorch-marks left on its disguise, Mimikyu let out a weak moan as its form shrunk underneath it.
Alice whimpered as her Pokémon and its costume glided to the ground before laying flat and still. “That’s okay, Mimikyu. Eighteen down, two to go.”
Alice pulled Mimikyu’s ball off her belt and allowed the red beam to return it inside. After putting it back onto her belt, she took another Poke Ball out, her smile growing wider as she twiddled it in her hands.
“From the looks of it,” Kahili said, “your next Pokémon are going to win this for you, or so you think.”
Alice shook her head. “No more thinking. We’re just going to show you now. Go, Noivern!”
With the ball bursting open in mid-air and exploding its energy out, Noivern emerged from it, flapping its wings as it prepared for an easy landing upon the ground. To both Kahili and Alice’s surprises, each of Noivern’s wingbeats blew the Spikes on the ground away and off to the sides, giving it a wide safe space for it to perch itself.
Alice let out a low, sinister laugh. “Oh man, are you two in trouble now! Noivern, attack her Oricorio with Hurricane!”
Noivern reached its wings far back before fanning them forward, a massive gale barreling at Oricorio, picking up most of the Spikes along the way. Oricorio screeched in fright as it prepared to fly away, but it only managed to get a couple of feet off the ground before it got itself pulled inside, much to Kahili’s horror. Both trainers watched as Oricorio was thrown about, the bird only strong enough to avoid the numerous airborne Spikes that came flying in its direction, causing itself to tumble about in every direction.
As the winds began to die down, most of the Spikes were thrown from the twister and outside the platform, where they fell and clattered to the space beneath it. With its calibration completely thrown off, Oricorio fell hard to the ground, a sight that made both Kahili and Alice jolt. As it picked itself back up, Kahili was even more aghast to see her Pokémon sway and run backwards and forwards as it struggled to keep its balance.
“Ha!” Alice honked. “Now your Pokémon gets to know what it’s like to be confused!”
Kahili scrunched her lips in a forceful frown. “She won’t be the only one! Oricorio, use Teeter Dance.”
Tightening all focus into its head, Oricorio appeared to find the strength in its legs to keep itself straight. It then began to swing and wave its arms in seductive, passionate motions as its walked about and twirled to its own beat. Though it stumbled with each change of direction, Noivern was already entranced by Oricorio’s moves. As it continued watching, its head bobbed and swung to and fro as it matched the bird’s motions. By the time Oricorio had finished, Noivern found itself dizzied by what it had just witnessed.
“Oh, of course!” Alice roared up to the ceiling. “Just couldn’t let me have that one!”
“I don’t give my opponent’s anything!” Kahili bellowed. “Their victory is only theirs to grasp! Oricorio, attack Noivern with Air Slash!”
“Noivern, attack Oricorio with Dragon Pulse!”
Noivern’s mouth charged up with a bright blue aura as Oricorio vibrated its wings, the air becoming visible on both sides of its feathers. With its head still unable to keep straight, Noivern tilted its head down and fired its attack into the ground in front of it, the resulting blast throwing it off its feet and wings and onto its back. With its opponent incapacitated, Oricorio excitedly ran forward to get its target from closer up. Upon tripping on its own toes, Oricorio frantically swung its arms about, shooting its own attack into the ground. From the resulting burst of force, Oricorio was thrown up before weakly falling back down.
Alice cocked her head into her shrugged right shoulder. “At least we both hurt ourselves.”
“And we most certainly won’t win on that alone!” Kahili spoke. “Oricorio, Air Slash, again!”
“No! Noivern, you got this! Hit her with Dragon Pulse!”
Noivern’s mouth filled with its draconic aura once again, not seeming to notice as the claw on its left wing shifted away. With the new lack of support, Noivern fell forward onto its chest, forcing it to discharge its attack early, causing it to explode into its maw. Alice screamed as her Pokémon’s head rested on the ground, smoke billowing from its nose and the corners of its mouth.
Oricorio, refusing the urge to hurt itself again, stood still as it collected air upon its wings. With a controlled spin, the bird sent two of its condensed wind blades flying out, one hitting Noivern above the right eye while the other struck it on the left side of its back. With pain shooting through its body, Noivern cried out as it flung itself onto all fours. Alice reached out for her Pokémon just as it began to violently shake its head. Once its stopped, it fixed its gaze on Kahili’s Oricorio, its body and head now completely stable.
Kahili’s eyes shrank. “Oh no…”
“I don’t think you’re going to have enough time for another Teeter Dance!” Alice taunted. “Okay, Noivern, for real this time! Finish off Oricorio with Dragon Pulse!”
With its head and eyes still, blue, fiery energy swelled from Noivern’s mouth for a third time.
“Oricorio,” Kahili shouted, “dodge it!”
Oricorio began to take flight, changing directions every second or so as it tried to evade Noivern’s oncoming attack. Noivern kept its Dragon Pulse attack in its maw as it studied Oricorio’s flight patterns. Finding its mark, Noivern shot its attack out right where Oricorio was headed. Too scared to attempt to register it, Oricorio took the attack dead center, blasting it off toward the wall behind Kahili. With a loud crash of rock, Kahili turned around to find her Pokémon stuck in the wall, only its right wing and left leg twitching, the only effort it could muster to free itself before going still. Alice breathed out excitedly, getting Noivern’s attention.
“Nineteen down…” Alice reached her hand out, prompting Noivern to gently slap the palm with its wing. “…one to go.”
Once the red beam of Kahili’s Ultra Ball brought her Pokémon back inside, she turned around just as Noivern and Alice turned to face her. Though her Pokémon looked bruised and battered, there was no doubt in its mind or its trainer’s that Alice was going to be the one coming out of this battle victorious. Glancing back at the teleportation pad behind her, Kahili took a deep calming breath, knowing there was only one thing left for her to do.
Turning back, Kahili gave her opponent a smile as she took out her last Ultra Ball from her belt. “Okay Alice, let’s finish this battle right! Come on, Toucannon! Time to end this!”
Kahili tossed her ball, it opening up to unleash her Toucannon once again, who tentatively fluttered about in the air as it wondered where Kahili’s Skarmory’s Spikes had gone.
“Speed’s on our side, girl!” Alice shouted. “Noivern, hit Toucannon with Boomburst!”
With the air inside Noivern’s ears vibrating, Toucannon took notice and immediately grounded itself, bracing for impact. Two pulses of sonic energy detonated out from the dragon’s ears, quickly spreading out along the platform and crashing into Toucannon hard enough to swipe it off its talons. Flipping about, Toucannon managed to control itself and fly into the force, flying forward again once it faded.
“Good job, Toucannon!” Kahili called. “Now, hit Noivern with Rock Blast!”
Toucannon soared up toward the ceiling with the tip of its beak aimed right at it. Crashing up into it, Toucannon dislodged a large chunk of rock from the wall as it fell down to the ground. Toucannon pushed off the ceiling and dove down faster than gravity could pull the rock down. Toucannon then reduced its speed to let the boulder catch up, and with a jerk of its head, the bird batted the rock against its beak in Noivern’s direction. Noivern could not react fast enough, the stone hitting its chest hard enough to break into many pieces. With a weak groan, Noivern wobbled about before tipping onto its side, fainting the moment its body landed.
Alice drew another sigh. To watch another Pokémon of hers fall, no matter how close to victory she was, was not something that she could ever take lightly. It didn’t change the fact though that her last Pokémon would be one that Kahili could not defeat, especially in this state. After returning Noivern to its ball, putting it onto her belt, and removing the Poké Ball of her final Pokémon, Alice smiled a toothy smile, excited to see how the battle would end.
“This is it, Kahili!” Alice lobbed her ball up and down into her hand. “Last one for each of us.”
“No need to keep building suspense!” Kahili crossed her arms with playful impatience. “It seems that the Pokémon you hold in your hand is certain to lead you to victory!”
“Damn straight.” Alice threw her ball out. “Raichu, let’s finish this!”
As the ball opened up, Kahili couldn’t help but appear nervous as Alice’s surfing psychic rodent soared out from the ball and made laps around the platform. Even Toucannon’s indignant squint couldn’t help but appear as though it knew its battle was a losing one.
Kahili clenched her fists as Raichu came to Alice at its preferred spot. “Come on, Toucannon! We’re not giving up! Not even now!”
Kahili crossed her arms in front of her face, piquing Alice and Raichu’s intrigue as her Z-Ring brightened up, her Toucannon jolting in alertness as both of their minds linked. After putting her arms down and crossing them out, Toucannon doing the same thing with its wings, both trainer and Pokémon flapped their arms up and out to the side. Upon putting their arms back down, Kahili and Toucannon fell into squats before shooting up straight and punching their left fists skyward.
Alice grinned as she watched Kahili’s Z-Power shoot sideways out of her back as moved in to infuse with her Pokémon. “Looks like you read my mind!”
Alice also crossed her arms over her face, her Z-Ring sparking up. With Alice and Raichu putting their arms down and crossing them out, they swung their arms to the right before turning to the left on bended knees and bent their arms and hands into the shape of a lightning bolt. Four streams of Z-Power shot from Alice’s shoulder and elbows as it arced over her and shot into Raichu, who groaned in sheer comfort as it felt the warmth and tingle of the energy now coursing through its body.
With both their Pokémon flaring with the Z-Power’s aura, Kahili’s eyes could not be open wider from the anticipation. “Two dueling Z-Moves? What a way to end a battle!”
“What a way to win one!” Alice threw a pointed finger out at Toucannon with all her might. “Raichu!”
“Toucannon!”
“Attack with Stoked Sparksurfer!”
“Attack with Supersonic Skystrike!”
Toucannon jumped off the platform, shattering the glass beneath it as it shot like a rocket up to the ceiling. With all of Raichu’s Z-Power channeling into the underside of its tail, it swung around Alice and flew toward the holographic barrier behind her. Running alongside it, bright plasma flowed down and out around the tail, forming a wave that Raichu rode. As the wave crested and formed a tube, Raichu shot through the center of it just as it crashed down. Raichu broke through, its entire body now sparking brilliantly as it banked up, ready to take Toucannon on.
Reaching the ceiling and flipping about, Toucannon pushed off and dove down, a hot cone forming around the tip of its beak. Raichu got lower on its tail-board as Toucannon brought its wings in tighter, both Pokémon picking up their already tremendous speeds. Both Pokémon collided with one another, producing a bright, white star with volts of electricity whipping about in every direction that Alice and Kahili stared up at in sheer wonder. Finally, the star’s energy exploded out and instantly evaporated, Raichu flying out the other end of it while Toucannon fell to the ground, it’s wings limply splayed out as it failed to break its fall.
Kahili reached up with her Toucannon’s Ultra Ball and caught it on its red beam before it could hit the ground. As she looked at the front of her ball contemplatively, Raichu swung around her closely, the leftover static on its body forcefully spinning her around to face Alice as her Pokémon returned to her. Matting her frizzled hair back down, Kahili watched as Alice caught and hugged her Pokémon and twirled about with it, celebrating their final victory against the Elite Four. As she approached the pair, she took the remote from her jacket and pressed the green button on it, disabling the barrier, mending the breaks in the floor, and turning the teleportation pad on behind her.
Upon hearing the device whir on, Alice and Raichu turned toward it, their pupils widening. “The pad! Come on, Raichu! We have a champion to face!”
As Alice quickly returned Raichu into its ball, Kahili stopped before her. “Alice, wait!”
Alice jerked her head toward her once she put the ball back onto her belt. “Kahili? What is it?”
“Before you go, I just wanted to say…” She then reached her hand forward. “It’s been an honor battling you. I know I gave you a hard time throughout it, but you braved through, and for that you have my deepest respect.”
Alice stared at the hand, and then at Kahili’s face, almost at a loss for words. With the desire to go through the portal seemingly on the back of her mind, Alice reached for her hand, and the two trainers gave each other a firm shake.
“Thanks a lot again. For what it was worth, that was a pretty challenging match.”
Kahili nodded, prepared for the trigger that would set her off. “Thank you, yourself. I wish you all the luck against the champion.”
“Champion?” Upon realizing that the teleportation pad behind her was still on, Alice pulled her hand away as Kahili let go in the same instant. “The champion! I’m coming for you!”
Kahili spun around as Alice made her way around her and sprinted for the teleportation pad. Alice slowed herself as she stepped on, disappearing in that same instant. Kahili then began to walk toward the pad at a slow, leisurely pace. She was certain that Sam would be stepping on soon himself.