//------------------------------// // Chapter 100 – For the Throne // Story: Pokémon Eclipse // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// Honedge lashed at Noibat, striking it in the gut. Though Noibat’s cries implied that Honedge had hit it hard, it still managed to keep itself up in the air before carefully perching itself on the branch of a tree growing in the front yard of a Lumiose townhome. Sam looked up at Noibat and huffed, angered that it would not go down. “Come on, Sam!” Sam looked back down to face his sister, who stood with her weight on her left foot. “The ferry sets sail next week, and you really think you’re going to beat your trials like that?!” Alice’s right sock was pulled over most of her calf, concealing all but a quarter of her stitching scar. Sam couldn’t help but smile to see his sister having recovered so quickly, but his expression quickly melted into a mild frown. “What if I’m not ready?” he asked. “I still can’t even beat your Noibat!” Alice shifted some weight onto her right foot and stood straight with her arms crossed. “Not with that attitude, you’re not! You see, my Noibat and I have been prepping for this adventure ever since I broke my leg! You’re definitely getting stronger Sam, and I really think you and Honedge are finally ready to take on the Alola region. The question is… are you?” Sam took a moment to reflect. It was true that he’d be leaving his lifelong home in roughly seven day’s time to embark on his first true Pokémon adventure, but with Noibat so high above him and Honedge about as out of reach as his chances of beating it, doubt hung in his mind. But for his sister, as fearfully strong as she already was, to put her faith in a novice trainer such as himself began to light a fire deep inside of him. With one last fear-relieving breath, Sam looked up to Noibat, who no longer appeared as far away as it did just moments ago. _____________________________________________________ The only sounds that could be heard as the crowd awaited the next part of the battle were the rolling growls coming from Mega Absol and Mega Gyarados towards each other and the whistles of wind that blew through the arena. Despite the sudden tension, Alice broke the otherwise tranquil scene. “Of course, your Lurantis already got a good hit on my Gyarados back there, and with your Absol knowing Play Rough and Megahorn… oof!” “Oh, you know you love a good challenge!” Sam chided. “Mega Absol, attack Mega Gyarados with Megahorn!” With a roar, Mega Absol charged at Mega Gyarados, flapping its wings to reach its foe’s altitude. “Mega Gyarados!” On cue, Alice’s Pokémon waved its body like a banner in the wind, awaiting Mega Absol’s approach. Tucking its front paws in and shooting its back legs out, Mega Absol leaned its head forward and aimed its green-glowing horn, becoming a black-and-white dart headed straight toward the serpentine fish. With a jerk to the left and then a swing to the right, Mega Gyarados shifted to the side to let Mega Absol soar right past it, much to Sam’s terrified shock. “Nice one!” Alice shouted. “Now, attack with Aqua Tail!” Before Mega Absol could leave Mega Gyarados’s space, Mega Gyarados whipped the end of its tail at Mega Absol’s side, slapping it hard with its fin and blasting it off course with a devastating splash of water. Heavily weakened by this hit, Mega Absol crashed into the ground with a burst of mud and grass, its hard landing making most of the ponies in the audience recoil and groan. “Mega Absol!” Sam took a running step toward his Pokémon as it began to rise out from the dirt that covered it. Crawling itself out, Mega Absol walked a few lengths from its landing spot and wiggled the remaining dirt clumped in its coat. Mega Absol looked up to see Mega Gyarados already swiveling around to face it once again, ensuring that it would never let its opponent enter its blind spot. Discord crossed his arms as he surveyed the situation, “Well, it sure seems that Alice has sandbagged her brother.” “What do you mean?” Flannery asked him, leaning in to his sights. “I mean, even she said that her Pokémon in this state is outmatched by Sam’s, but if Mega Absol can’t land a hit, then I mean, all that strength is pretty much for naught, isn’t it?” “But…” Mallow butted in, “if Mega Absol does manage to land a hit, that’ll really spell trouble for Mega Gyarados!” “I guess we’ll just have to keep watching the battle then.” As Sam watched Mega Absol take a tentative step back, he hissed through his teeth in frustration and humiliation. “Okay, enough playing around. This ends right now!” Sam brought his feet apart and crossed his wrists together in front of his face, a bright light shining from his Z-Ring and the Fairium Z inside the face that everyone from every angle could see. Sensing Sam’s Z-Power, Mega Absol stood onto its hind legs and mimicked Sam’s motions as he put his arms back down then crossed them outward. “Now what’s he doing?!” Scootaloo shouted. Pinkie Pie hopped up from behind her, frightening the pegasus filly. “This is something that humans like to call a ‘Z-Move!’” “What’s the ‘Z’ stand for?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I have no idea! If I had to guess, I’d say it’d be ‘zuper,’ because it’s one zuper power!” Standing on one foot and back paw, Sam and Mega Absol brought their arms in and flattened their hands into the shape of a tiny pair of wings. With the ritual complete, Sam’s Z-Power shot off his back in an upward cascade of golden streams before flowing toward Mega Absol and orbiting around it. The crowd gasped and sounded off in awe and wonder as the Z-Power soon coursed into Sam’s Pokémon and ignited an aura that danced like fire off its back and limbs. Flurry Heart, still in Cadance’s grasp, reached out in the Mega Absol’s direction, mesmerized by the light burning off of it. Cadance kissed the top of her head, her eyes also glued to the sight. “That is pretty,” she whispered to her, “isn’t it?” Mina smiled and nodded as the Z-Crystal she gave Sam was about to come in handy for him. “That’s it. Go get her.” Alice looked away from Mega Absol and turned to face her brother. “So you go through the trouble of having both of us bring our Mega Evolutions out, and now you’re just going to take out Mega Gyarados just like that?!” “Don’t take it so personal, Alice!” he shouted back. “If my Megahorn just hit the last time like it was supposed to, I’d have no problems trying for another one or going for a Play Rough, but I’m taking the sure thing now! No shame in that!” “Mega Gyarados!” she shouted out to her Pokémon. “Get ready for it!” Mega Gyarados loudly purred in compliance. “Mega Absol!” Sam cried. “Attack Mega Gyarados with Twinkle Tackle!” Digging its claws into the ground, Mega Absol lunged in a perfect line at the spot just below Mega Gyarados’s neck, a series of heart-shaped rings forming around the pink contrails flying behind it. Crashing its full body weight into Mega Gyarados’s upper chest, the pent-up Z-Power still filling Mega Absol’s body traveled up to the impact point and exploded out in a firework-esque explosion of bright, sparkling pink lights. Mega Gyarados was flung hard enough to clear the top of the stadium and crash the entire length of its body into the mountain the stadium was nestled against. Many loud shouts and cries rang out from the stands the moment the sound of Mega Gyarados’s body hitting the mountain blasted through the arena. With Alice’s Pokémon lodged into the mountain’s face, Sun put his hand over his eyes and squinted, trying to sense some movement. Regardless of its seeming immobility, Sun couldn’t help but notice that Mega Gyarados had not reverted back to its original form. Many of Sam and Alice’s friends in the stands began to notice this themselves. Dexio blew out a sigh of sympathy and bewilderment. “Oh, Sam…” Alice smiled as she watched Mega Gyarados peel itself out of the mountain from the head down, Sam breathing heavily through his agape mouth. “Oh, you have to be kidding me!” Sure enough, despite its lethargic and leaden movements, Mega Gyarados swam back to its side of the battlefield, its angered eyes tracking Mega Absol as it returned to Sam’s side. Alice looked up to her Pokémon. “You angry, girl?” Mega Gyarados replied with a defeaning roar directed right at Sam and Mega Absol. “Good! That’s what I like to hear! Mega Gyarados, attack Mega Absol with Ice Fang!” Mega Gyarados rushed forward at incredible speed, scooping up Mega Absol in its jaws before Sam could see it coming. Swimming up above the ground, Mega Gyarados bit down hard on Mega Absol with its fangs frosted over. With several points of its teeth piercing down through its fur and onto its skin, Mega Absol kept both front paws on its lips as it tried to pry its mouth open. “You can do it, Mega Absol!” Sam shouted. “Only a little bit more now! Finish Mega Gyarados with Night Slash!” With the black of its horn becoming more solid and bright, Mega Absol let out a shout as it swung its head around, the tip of it dragging across the corners of its mouth and flinging more dark energy down its throat. With a loud, forceful cough and yell, Mega Absol was freed from Mega Gyarados’s clutches. Landing back on the ground, Sam and his Pokémon watched as Mega Gyarados’s eyes began to close and it floated toward the ground. To the shock of the audience, Mega Gyarados’s body became covered in the same energy that had transformed it, and upon its body making contact with the ground, the light broke off of it, Alice’s Gyarados now replacing it. Sun ran over to Gyarados as it continued to settle upon the ground, and even before it remained completely still, he threw his arm toward Sam and Mega Absol. “Gyarados is unable to battle! Mega Absol wins the match!” Sam blew out a rough sigh as he bent over, supporting his body with his hands on his knees, panting over the cheers of the audience. Mega Absol turned back and approached him curiously, only to stop to his raised hand. “I’m good, girl,” he wheezed, looking at his Pokémon’s open-mouthed breathing and weaker stance. “Definietely better off than you right now…” Alice finished returning Gyarados into its ball, cupping it into both hands and looking down at the front of it. “You were so close, Gyarados. Thank you for your help!” “So they’re each down three; more than halfway there,” Capper noted, swinging one leg to rest upon the other as he draped both arms across the seats beside him. “Don’t forget,” Sophocles mentioned, “neither of them have used their Full Restores or their Max Revives yet. This battle still has a long way to go before its over.” Capper swung himself up to sit straighter before leaning in toward the area, appearing a bit more alert. “Then I guess there’s no point in getting comfy now, right?” Alice pulled her next Poké Ball off her belt, Sam and Mega Absol staring at it expectantly. “So who’s next? Mega Absol has already gotten practice on one Raichu today, and I’m sure she’d love to land a Play Rough on your Noivern. Although, knowing you, it isn’t either of them, is it?” Alice glowered, resolving to toss her next ball out to answer his question. “Go, Mudsdale!” The Poké Ball burst open, the energy shooting down onto the ground and forming into Alice’s terrestrial draft horse. With the familiarity of this Pokémon’s form, a more pleasant chatter washed over the audience. Big Mac tapped on Apple Bloom’s shoulder and pointed out toward Mudsdale to her. “That mare there helped me fix up Ponyville!” “Okay,” Sam called to his Mega Absol, “she’s not incredibly fast. Do you think we can get a good Megahorn or Play Rough on it?” To Sam’s sudden surprise, he couldn’t help but notice Alice already fishing into her vest pocket, pulling out her Max Revive and reaching it back toward her row of Poké Balls. After tapping it onto the center button of one of them, the object glowed a little before it disintegrated into pixels that fed themselves into the button. “And there’s the first revival,” Sun commented to himself. “Wonder who she saved?” Sam looked to his Mega Absol this time, the apparent injuries on its body now too difficult to ignore. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out the Full Restore bottle, jiggling and splashing the liquid inside to get his Pokémon’s attention. “Or we could patch you up? How about that?” With a smile and a thankful bark, Mega Absol bounded toward Sam and stood against him. “Yeah, you got it.” Sam began to spray from Mega Absol’s head down to its tail, matting the unkempt spots of its fur with his hand as he sprayed the arm and leg furthest from him. Backing away and kneeling, Sam was able to get the closer limbs, the bottle sputtering upon reaching the claws of its back paw. With a thankful dual-toned meow, Mega Absol walked back onto the field, Sam placing the empty Full Restore back in his pocket. “Okay,” Sam shouted, “let’s go for two then! But first… Mega Absol, attack Mudsdale with Megahorn!” Mega Absol, filled with new life, sprinted at Mudsdale with its head tucked down, its horn washing over with light-green energy. Alice cocked her head as she detached a Poké Ball from her belt and aimed it at Mudsdale. “Sorry, girl. I just needed some time to bring you back. Thank you, though.” With the red beam of the ball bringing Mudsdale back inside, Alice took out the ball she used her Max Revive on and tossed it forward. “Welcome back, Mimikyu!” With the ball coming open, the white energy streamed down onto the spot that Mudsdale stood on just as the red energy of its ball fully brought it back in. The energy burst out lightly, unveiling Mimikyu once again, but with its disguise now intact. Mega Absol continued to run, not the least bit daunted by Alice’s returning Pokémon, pleasing Sam greatly. “That’s it, girl! Keep going!” Mega Absol quickened its gait, getting very close to reaching its target as it awaited Alice’s next order. “Mimikyu, jump!” On command, Mimikyu sprung up on its shadow arms, looking to get enough altitude to clear Mega Absol’s approach. Mega Absol grinned as it leapt up itself, carrying itself further on its wings. To Alice’s horror and Sam’s amazement, Mega Absol jabbed its horn hard right into the center of the face of Mimikyu’s disguise, instantly breaking it and making the head swing back into Mimikyu’s backside. As Mimikyu fell to the ground, Mega Absol soared over Alice and landed on the ground behind her, keeping its momentum up to run around and back toward the field “We’re not done yet!” Sam called. “Now hit him with Psycho Cut!” Mimikyu began to get up, noticing its disguise’s head now dangling again from the top of its real head. Mega Absol slid to a halt as its horn began to glow with an outline of magenta aura, whipping its head around once to shoot a band of the energy out at Mimikyu. Mimikyu began to screech once again just as Absol’s attack crashed into it, throwing it back onto the ground to land on its front side. A collective groan from the audience roared out, concerned murmurs following as Mimikyu rolled back upright, its broken disguise making it look that much more pathetic. Susan rubbed and massaged her mouth nervously as the broadcast zoomed in on Mimikyu, its sorry state made all the more apparent to those like her and Benji’s patrons watching on Earth. “Alice,” Benji whispered, “what were you thinking?” “Not a bad idea to heal your Mimikyu and bring its disguise back,” Sam commented, “but thanks to you switching him with Mudsdale, you gave me two free hits! Like seriously, did you think that would help?” “Sure did,” Alice hissed with full confidence, “and now I’m taking that last hit back! Mimikyu, attack Mega Absol with Leech Life!” “Oh…” Sam felt most of his hope and strength drain from his body, leaving only enough just to stand. “DAMN!” Acerola and Guzma shouted, frightening many around them. As they both turned to each other and enthusiastically high-fived with both hands, the others turned around and continued to watch the battle. Mimikyu screamed as it ran out at Mega Absol, who flapped its wings and tried to fly away. Vaulting itself up at its target with its shadow arms, Mimikyu swung them around and flung them toward Sam’s Pokémon, catching it by the base of the neck and hanging on tight. Before Mega Absol could begin to try and shake Alice’s Pokémon off, a soft green light began to travel into its arms through the tips of its claws, Mega Absol yowling in pain as its energy was drained out from it. With its wings becoming numb, they began to erratically move out of rhythm, sending both itself and Mimikyu to the ground. As Mimikyu stuck its landing, Mega Absol bounced off the ground on its side, writhing in pain upon coming still. Having absorbed all it could, Mimikyu detached its arms from Mega Absol’s neck and slipped them back under its disguise. Mega Absol trembled as it stood back up, though Sam could only focus on Alice. “So that’s why you brought back Mimikyu. It’s disguise was just to buy it an extra turn.” Alice nodded. “Now you got it! Also, thanks for healing up Mega Absol for him too! I’d hate to leave my Pokémon still feeling hungry.” “Not only did she use Mimikyu’s ability and Mega Absol’s type against it,” Ilima spoke, “but she also took advantage of Sam’s Full Restore! Brilliant play, Alice!” Sam felt lightheaded as his sister’s tricks systematically dismantled his Pokémon. Taking a deep breath and regaining some composure, Sam clenched his fists as he stared at Alice’s Pokémon and its hideous disguise, which only served to fuel his anger. Even Mega Absol, looking at both the cute eyeholes on its stomach and the scrawled-on face of the head dangling to the side, felt a similar rage build inside of it. “Mega Absol!” Sam bellowed. “Psycho Cut!” Barring its teeth and growling loud enough to sound like a shriek, more magenta Psychic energy formed on the outside of its horn, flaring off several inches thicker than before. Suddenly, the precociously confident Mimikyu began to shift back slowly, suddenly fearful of the power Mega Absol still possessed. The ponies in the crowd especially were enthralled by the brilliant sheen erupting from Mega Absol’s horn. With it having charged enough energy, Mega Absol swung its head, launching another blade of Psychic aura that rose twice Mimikyu’s height and only slightly less than its width. As the blade made its way, it dragged along the ground and sprayed dirt and grass up and off to the sides, its speed not impacted in any way. Mimikyu was too petrified to move, taking the full force of the attack dead center. The blade exploded out on contact, further launching Mimikyu high up and past the sidelines of the field. As it landed on the ground and rolled along, Sam and Mega Absol waited for the telltale sign of its defeat. Before it could come to a stop, its shadow arms sprung out from beneath it, grabbing hold of the grass and pulling on it in just the right way to flip it upwards to stand. “Yes, Mimikyu!” Alice screamed over the roars of the audience. Sam huffed out in resignation, shaking his head in disbelief. He then noticed Mega Absol turn its head to him and mewing, showing its trainer an accepting, respectful smile. Reading what his Pokémon was telling him, Sam bowed his head down and smiled, soon nodding with the same sense of acceptance. “Don’t feel too bad, Sam!” Alice shouted out to him. “Mega Absol put up a good fight! It certainly knows that, and you should too!” Sam looked up to his sister, his eyes moist and his lips stretched in a grin. “Yeah. I certainly am.” “Alright then, let’s put this match to bed. Mimikyu, finish off Mega Absol with Leech Life!” Mimikyu ran toward Mega Absol with its shadow arms reaching out, Sam’s Pokémon standing still and closing its eyes as it awaited the end. Clamping in from both sides, Mimikyu’s arms gripped down on Mega Absol’s shoulders and began to feed from its remaining energy. Mega Absol growled as it sunk down on both forelegs, unable to keep itself up there any longer. Soon, the Key Stone’s energy began to seep out through Mega Absol’s fur and began to cover its entire body. Mimikyu pulled its arms away and back under its disguise before the energy could reach them. Once Mega Absol was completely enveloped, it tipped over to the side as the energy broke away and floated up before disintegrating. “Absol is unable to battle,” Sun declared, his hand pointed in Alice’s direction. “Mimikyu wins this match!” Sam pulled his Poké Ball off his belt and aimed it at his fainted Pokémon, the pride he felt for it completely muting the cheers of the audience directed at his sister. Loud conversations broke out amongst the patrons as they watched Sam return Absol into its ball. Susan and Benji listened in on the cacophony as best they could, but from the words and tones that they could understand, they were certain that their words of praise and impressment were directed at both their children in that moment. Knowing this fact made them smile warmly, hardly able to wait to see which one of them would come out victorious. Sam placed Absol’s ball back onto his belt, keeping his hand back there as he contemplated which one of his Pokémon to send out next. As he looked to Mimikyu, who returned to stand before Alice, as well as the Poké Balls on her belt that he could see, he danced his fingers between the two on his that remained. After taking one last glance at Alice’s Poké Balls, he finally resolved to settle on one, plucking it off of his belt and throwing it out with a wide swing of his arm. “Let’s go, Salazzle!” On his shout, the ball opened up and streamed its energy onto the grass, Sam’s large salamander Pokémon forming out from it with a loose, flexible wave of its body. Alice picked her head up, genuinely intrigued by his choice. “Your Mimikyu may have gotten some extra health from my Mega Absol,” Sam called out, “but after the beating it took, we’ll just have to see if it took enough! Salazzle, attack Mimikyu with Flamethrower!” Salazzle ran forward as smoke and embers billowed out from the corners of its mouth. Mimikyu could only slide its arms back out and cover the gut of its disguise with them as it awaited for the attack to come. Stopping and standing about twenty feet from its target, Salazzle shot out a tremendous jet of fire that entirely engulfed Mimikyu, its defenses doing nothing to protect itself. Mimikyu continued to hold its attack, still seeing Mimikyu resisting inside of them. “That’s it, Mimikyu!” Alice snapped with a pump of her fist. “Keep fighting it!” With one last wheeze with the last of its stored breath, Salazzle pushed out a slightly stronger blaze from its throat. At last, Mimkyu could no longer hold its arms up, dropping them and letting the heat blow it and its disguise out of the inferno, its form under its disguise now limp and light. As it skated onto the grass and slid to a stop, Alice breathed out and shook her head, astounded that her Pokémon could go down so quickly. Sun made his way to Alice and Mimikyu, seeing its disguise mostly laying flat upon the ground. “Mimikyu is unable to battle! Salazzle wins this match!” With a wave of cheers from the crowd, Sam clapped his hands and pumped his arms, already feeling his chances of emerging victorious bettering. As she watched Alice return her Mimikyu back into its ball, Lana shivered anxiously. “You know what Pokémon she’s sending out next.” “Yeah,” Kiawe agreed. “Although, that’s hardly a difficult decision for her to make, especially given what she’s facing.” Once Alice put Mimikyu’s ball back onto her belt, she took back the ball she had replaced it with just minutes ago. Looking at Salazzle with a sense of both regret and calmness, she threw her ball out to summon the Pokémon she was certain would defeat it. “Okay, Mudsdale,” she shouted, “for real this time!” The ball came open, the energy shooting onto the ground forming into Mudsdale standing on its back legs and kicking its front ones forward, whinnying loudly for all the stadium to hear. To Sam’s pleasant surprise, Salazzle responded to Alice’s next Pokémon by crouching down low and waggling its tail in a predatory fashion. “You think you can handle her, girl?” Salazzle shot back to glance at its trainer and screeched in affirmation. “That’s what I love to hear! Now attack Mudsdale with Flamethrower!” Salazzle scurried forward, Mudsdale shirking back upon seeing the salamander’s uncanny speed. “That’s okay, Mudsdale!” Alice encouraged. “Just take the hit like the champ you are and then she goes down!” Mudsdale huffed anxiously as it braced itself for Salazzle’s attack. Upon getting within twenty feet away, Salazzle came to a stop and breathed in as hard as it could. With the same amount of force, Salazzle blew out beam of flames that pushed into Mudsdale and coated it in their inferno. Alice winced upon hearing Mudsdale’s cries still break through. “You got it, Mudsdale! Attack her now with High Horsepower!” “And there it is…” Olivia hummed, crossing her arms in mild disappointment. Mudsdale screamed as it galloped through Salazzle’s fire-breath, Sam’s Pokémon noticing the flames spilling off sideways as they bounced off Mudsdale’s muzzle and chest. Salazzle continued to attack Mudsdale even as it spun around to turn its back to it, quickly digging its back hooves into the dirt. Sam began to worry as Salazzle refused to relent. “Salazzle, stop! Dodge it!” Jolting in shock, Salazzle stopped its attack just soon enough for the remaining fires blocking its vision to disperse, unveiling Mudsdale tensing the muscles in its legs to buck. With a shout, Salazzle dove to the right, missing both Mudsdale’s hooves and the explosion of grass and mud launched off of them. Shooting its debris far down the middle, Sam shimmied to the side to avoid the clumps from falling on him as they reached down the length of the arena. Sam and Alice both caught sight of Salazzle together, Sam letting out a short triumphant scream and pump of his arms while Alice froze like a statue. “No way!” Kaj squeaked. “She actually dodged it!” “Great job, girl!” Sam bellowed. “Attack with another Flamethrower!” Still close to its target, Salazzle sprung high up and blasted Mudsdale’s right side point-blank with its steady spout of flame. Mudsdale shrieked as it was flung off its hooves and landed flat on its left side, Salazzle landing and standing still on the ground as it continued to keep its fires set directly at it. Mudsdale struggled to stand as Salazzle continued to raze it, though like its foe, the horse refused to give up too. Finally, Salazzle ran out of breath and gasped for air, ending its attack as it retreated backwards several steps. Mudsdale rolled onto the bottom of its stomach and slowly pushed itself up onto all fours. To Alice’s terror and Sam’s morbid surprise, Mudsdale was now covered in bright red rashes along the right side of its body, which pulsed with a telling red glow. “Unbelievable!” Chrysalis gasped. “She managed to burn her!” Thorax added in the same hushed tone. “And yet Salazzle still hasn’t taken any kind of damage!” Trixie followed up her comment with a series of excited screams and bangings of her hooves on the railing in front of her. “Trixie is very much impressed, Sam!” Alice, seeing the untouched salamander standing before her injured Mudsdale, bared her teeth in rage as she felt her hands close up into tight fists. “No… you’re definitely not avoiding this one, you bitch! Mudsdale, finish off Salazzle with High Horsepower!” Mudsdale began another gallop, Salazzle preparing for the moment that it would spin around to try and buck it again. To its surprise though, Mudsdale continued to barrel through, and right before it appeared as through Salazzle would be trampled, Mudsdale nimbly swung its hooves to the right in its next stride, just barely avoiding Salazzle as it stopped just on the other side of it. Salazzle, having flinched over Mudsdale’s approach, could only spin around in Mudsdale’s new direction just as it noticed its back hooves half-dug into the ground. With a fearful scream, Salazzle put its arms over its head as Mudsdale blasted it, slamming it with both the force of its hooves and mud stamped onto its face and gut. Sam watched with open mouth as Salazzle tumbled in the air along with the other loose pieces of dirt, all of them landing hard on the ground with his Pokémon rolling to a limp and tired stop. Sam shook his head and closed his teeth, regretting the thought that such a matching of Pokémon would have ever worked for him. “And now he’s down to one,” Gladion breathed, shaking his own head. “He still has his Max Revive!” Lillie responded. “He can bring any one of his Pokémon back!” “Then he better get to it. All he’s got left now is his Archeops, and he better hope that it can avoid Mudsdale’s Heavy Slam, or else Sam is just delaying the inevitable.” Sun ran across the field to where Salazzle had landed, finding it with a large piece of unbroken dirt lying atop of its belly. Just as he prepared to point his arm toward Alice, he then saw as the earthy clump rolled away, Salazzle rolling with it as it made it back onto its stomach. With its back visibly rising and falling with its breathing, Sun put his arm down before taking a rueful look to Alice as he stepped back past the sidelines. Alice, in utter incredulity, smacked her forehead and began to laugh. Once Salazzle pulled itself back onto all fours, the audience, witnessing such resilience, began to shout and cheer even louder. Salazzle, motivated by the crowd’s support, hopped its way back to Sam in preparation for their next attack. As Alice’s giggling fit began to die down, she was instantly stopped by the sharp whine of her Mudsdale as its rashes flared up, causing it to swoon. Alice ran up to it, pulling her Full Restore out of her other vest pocket. “Yeah, okay. ‘Bout as good a time as any.” Sam watched on as Alice began to spray the bottle of medicine over Mudsdale’s burns, which began to heal the instant the liquid made contact with its coat. Spotting the free turn he’d been given, Sam reached into his own pocket, pulling out the Max Revive from inside of it. As he began to twist his body to bring his Poké Balls around, he looked to his Salazzle, who was swaying about as it tried to keep its tired self conscious. Finally, Alice stepped away from Mudsdale as she put the empty Full Restore bottle back into her pocket, her Pokémon looking good as new. Sam clutched his Max Revive as tightly as he could without breaking it. “Salazzle, you think we can get a couple of–” Salazzle screeched at him and turned its whole body to face it. It then patted the same side of its waist where Sam kept his Poké Balls, Sam gasping at the clarity and selflessness of its message. “You really sure about this?” Salazzle nodded and gave Sam a proud, respectful smile, one that Sam returned with his own. “Okay then…” He then placed the Max Revive on the center button of one of his Poké Balls, pointing forward with his other hand. “Then we’ll just have to make it a really good one! Salazzle, attack Mudsdale with Flamethrower!” Salazzle began to charge forward, Mudsdale now calmly looking down on it. “Mudsdale,” Alice shouted, “finish Salazzle off with Bulldoze!” Mudsdale, with its newfound energy, quickly charged forward, its footsteps shifting the earth up into its path for it to plow through, creating a wave of mud that threatened to swamp over Salazzle. Sam’s Pokémon chose to stop its advance and begin breathing fire as hard and as far as it could reach. As Mudsdale got closer, Salazzle’s flames broke through the center of its wave, washing over its head, back, and the upper portions of its sides. Despite the searing pain pummeling the front and top of its body, Mudsdale pressed on. Despite Mudsdale’s refusal to stop and bring its wave closer, Salazzle stood its ground and continued to shoot fire at the oncoming force. Soon, the ground underneath Salazzle blasted upward before the wall of dirt crashed into it, throwing it back down to the ground while the displaced earth fell down at once onto it. Mudsdale, seeing that its attack had landed, slid to a stop and brought its face down to the mound where Salazzle was buried. Sun came up to Mudsdale’s side as it dug its muzzle in and pulled the unconscious Salazzle out from the ground, laying it on the grass beside the massive rut it had made. “Salazzle is unable to battle!” Sun cried, throwing his arm back toward Alice. “Mudsdale wins this match!” With its victory announced by Sun and reinforced by the applause and cries of the audience, Mudsdale turned away from Sun and Salazzle and cantered its way back toward Alice. As Alice began to pet and massage its neck and its side in appreciation, Sam walked over to his fainted Salazzle and knelt down to it, stroking the tips of his fingers from the top of its chest down to its belly. “You were amazing, Salazzle,” he whispered to it as he aimed his Poké Ball down. “You deserve some rest now.” The red beam of the Poké Ball shot down at the fainted salamander, quickly bringing it back inside. Standing back up and backing up into his spot, Alice and Mudsdale took notice of him and returned to their own respective spots to resume the battle. “Only two left,” Sam placed Salazzle’s ball back onto his belt and replaced it with one of his two remaining ones. “Still not that bad of odds… Okay Archeops, you’re on!” With a passionate toss of his ball, it opened up and let the white energy spilling out form in midair, forming into Sam’s prehistoric bird Pokémon as it glided above Alice and Mudsdale, swinging back and flying toward its trainer. Perching itself along the ridge of the ditch made by Mudsdale’s Bulldoze attack, Archeops granted itself a good view of both Alice and her Pokémon. “Not the best Pokémon you could have sent out,” Alice taunted, “but then again, any better ones are already pretty much spent, aren’t they?” “Your Mudsdale has only one move that can hit him,” Sam snapped back, “so I’d say this Archeops is a great choice to face her! Now Archeops, attack Mudsdale with Acrobatics!” Diving along the trough of the ditch, Archeops got some speed before gradually pulling up and flapping its wings to go even faster. As it got closer to Mudsdale, it began to lower its altitude again, making a hard sway to the left before banking to the right to seemingly fly around Mudsdale. It then pulled hard to the left to slip between the gap between Mudsdale’s front and back legs, tucking its wings in. After flying past its left legs, it threw its wings out fast enough to catch Mudsdale by its right ankles and shoot upward, using its speed, strength, and momentum to slam Mudsdale hard into the ground on its left side. Having thrown itself up, Archeops twisted itself about until it was upright in the air, its right talon stretching downward toward the incapacitated Mudsdale. With an upward swing of its wings, Archeops propelled itself downward driving its talon into the exposed side of Mudsdale’s gut, making the horse wheeze out in pain. “Yeah!” Sam shouted. “That’s the ticket!” Before Archeops could fly away, Mudsdale twisted its upper body out and smacked its hoof into Sam’s Pokémon, knocking it onto the ground. Sam’s body seized up, immediately sensing danger. “Good thinking, Mudsdale!” Alice shouted. “Now finish him quickly with Heavy Slam!” Mudsdale whinnied as it rolled onto its hooves spinning around to face Archeops, who continued to lay tiredly on its back. Wasting no time, Mudsdale galloped at Archeops as it only just began to sit itself up, its eyes greeted to Alice’s Pokémon’s intimidating approach. Archeops looked back at Sam, who shouted at it with a terrified look on his face. “Archeops! Get out of there! Get out!” Archeops turned forward again to see as Mudsdale leapt up and prepared to land its full weight on it, its body gleaming like metal. With a determined baring of its fangs, Archeops leaned forward before quickly tumbling back, Mudsdale’s hooves slamming down on empty grass. Archeops was knocked up into the air from the shockwave, but with its wings beating, it simply hovered above the ground before Alice’s Pokémon. “Oh, no way!” Alice shouted. “Archeops!” Sam screamed, throwing his fists up. “You simply amazing bastard! Go on now! Finish Mudsdale off with Dragon Claw!” Swooping down, Archeops flew out at Mudsdale, who stared Archeops down angrily. With Archeop’s claws going ablaze with blue and orange, it crashed into Mudsdale and slashed along Mudsdale’s chest. Mudsdale tensed up and let out one last shout before its limbs went weak and it crumpled down onto its side. Sun ran over and looked down at Alice’s Pokémon before throwing his arm toward her brother’s way. “Mudsdale is unable to battle! Archeops wins this match!” Archeops ran along the ground at Sam as the audience cheered him on. As Alice returned Mudsdale back into its ball, Archeops hopped up upon reaching its trainer, the two of them clapping their hand and claw together. Once the red beam of Alice’s ball receded in, she placed the top of her ball against her forehead. “He really has gotten stronger, hasn’t he?” With a nod and smile, Alice put her ball back onto her belt, her friends in the stands continuing to observe as the battle was nearing its conclusion. Susan let out the breath she had held and briskly walked to the table where several highballs of whiskey on the rocks were set, alerting Benji. “Susan? Susan, what are you–” “Sorry, honey.” Susan snatched a glass off the table and let every drop of liquor run into her mouth. “I just can’t handle this right now.” Susan, feeling her drink rush down her throat, took a calming breath before returning to her spot in the dining room to rejoin the equally overwrought patrons. Looking at the screen, which cut to Sam and then Alice, Benji huffed through his nose before swiping a glass of his own. “Yeah, alright…” “Both of them have used their items,” Molayne surmised, “and now they each have two Pokémon left in perfect health. Really, this is anyone’s battle now.” Kahili crossed her arms. “She has her Noivern and Raichu left, while Sam has Archeops and whichever Pokémon he chose to revive just now. If I were her, I would send out–” “Raichu, go!” Alice shouted, throwing her next ball out. Kahili nodded, glad to see her intuitions doing right by her. Alice’s Poké Ball opened up, and Raichu soared about on its tail as the white energy of the ball wiped itself off. Seeing the massive crowds surrounding it, throwing it in a state of paralyzing awe, it began to grin excitedly upon hearing their cheers. With a thrust of its body, it picked up speed as it began to fly up and around the outside of the arena, zipping by several ponies that let out excited gasps upon Raichu’s static fluffing their manes. Upon reaching the side that Celestia and Luna sat on, Raichu rode up the stands like a halfpipe before launching itself in front of them, rotating twice with one paw on the nose of its tailboard. As it fell back down toward the seats and rode toward Alice, Celestia and Luna both applauded the Pokémon’s showmanship. With a sideways skid, Raichu stopped before Alice to face Sam and his Archeops. Sam coughed with a smirk. “Showoff.” “Hey, Raichu! How’s about we finish that craggy-ass bird off quickly?” With a exclamatory purr, Raichu nodded its head in further agreement with its trainer’s plan. “That’s right! Let’s do this!” Alice crossed her arms in front of her face, her Z-Ring and the Aloraichium Z inside the face bursting with energetic light. As Alice and Raichu both continued to move their arms and bodies in synch with each others motions, the crowd began to break out into enthusiastic chatter. “She’s going to do a Z-Move too!” Scootaloo squealed. “This match just keeps getting better and better!” Kahili watched on as Alice and Raichu finished their motions by folding their arms and hands into the shapes of lightning bolts. “The very same as well…” Z-Power erupted out from Alice’s shoulders and elbows as they arced in neat, symmetrical curves toward Raichu. The beams collided with Alice’s Pokémon, and as it groaned trying to contain the awesome powers flooding every inch of its being, the light of the Z-Power seeped its way in before cloaking its body in a fiery aura. “Shit,” Sam hissed. “Archeops, she’s going for the kill, get ready to go!” Archeops threw its wings up and cawed loudly, its uncharacteristic optimism and preparedness making Sam laugh with anticipation. “Sam,” Alice shouted with palpable condescension, “this Z-Move FTK’d Dexio’s Slowbro. You really think that your Archeops is going to survive it?” “I guess we’ll see, huh? Archeops, attack Raichu with Bulldoze!” Archeops got a running start before it lifted itself up on its outstretched wings, flapping them hard to gain even more speed. Alice grimaced, her brother’s confidence irking her more than anything now. “Raichu! Finish Archeops with Stoked Sparksurfer!” Raichu flexed its body, pushing all of its stored Z-Power down into its board, transforming it into a platform made of bright, crackling sparks. Swiveling around, Raichu rode out to the side and rounded itself toward the back behind its trainer, plasma cascading down where it flew and forming a tsunami with it. Noticing Raichu’s slight retreat, Archeop’s swung up before inverting into a wide backward loop. Raichu flew down and straight through the middle of the arena, picking up even more speed as it made its way to where Archeops would soon be, Alice stepping aside to let her Pokémon pass. Archeops completed its flip and flew low into the ridge Mudsdale had created, picking up another wave of mud and dirt from it. Both Pokémon prepared to meet in the center of the arena, Raichu flying on ahead while Archeops swung up to throw its terrestrial torrent up with it. Raichu collided into Archeops and its mud wall simultaneously, creating a bright, lightning-laden explosion that threw a ball of dust in every direction. As the cloud swept through the stands and the camera crews along the sidelines, the stadium became awash with coughing as unicorns and the few alicorns in attendance charged their horns to remove the smog away from themselves and the others around them. With their magic, the dust was lifted high up above and outside the stadium to be carried along by the wind. Sam and Alice, having seen enough of this, looked down to where their Pokémon would be, seeing if either of them had survived their duel. As expected, Sam and Alice found Raichu on its hands and knees and covered in dirt and mud, winded, but stable. Sam then scanned the floor for Archeops, spotting him further away and to his right. With eyes wide and lips parted, Sam saw his Pokémon supporting itself on the claws of its wings. Even from his distance, Sam could see it panting heavily, but with its winged arms supporting it, it was clear that it still had a little fight left in it. “No way!” Mullet gasped, followed by a loud caw from Squabble. “It actually withstood it,” Olivia whispered. “Woohoo!” Starlight shouted, Lady roaring a cute squeaky roar beside her. “Sam, you’re amazing!” With Starlight’s outburst, the rest of the audience joined in with her, screams and applause rolling through the arena like thunder. Sam slowly spun around as he heard his name clearly called at numerous points amongst the crowd, wanting to experience and observe the full scope of what he and Archeops had just managed. Even Alice, who stood agape as Archeops slowly pulled itself onto its talons and stood strong, couldn’t help but slowly clap at the Pokémon’s accomplishment and smile respectfully. “Gotta hand it to you,” she spoke clearly, continuing her personal round of applause, “that’s really awesome.” Sam returned his focus onto his Archeops, who turned toward Raichu as it attempted to wipe away as much of the heavier splotches of mud still clinging to its fur. “I think you just earned yourself another attack, Archeops! Now, use another Bulldoze!” With Archeops fully intent on carrying out its trainer’s command, it took on an intensely serious façade and began to charge at Raichu, who used its telekinesis to vibrate its half-buried tail-board out from the muck that it was trapped in. With the applause of the audience dying down with the sudden resuming of the battle, Alice finally noticed Archeops’s approach toward Raichu upon it entering her vision. “Raichu, look out!” At Alice’s cries, Raichu freed its tailboard and stepped on. Archeops hopped up and beat its wings, picking up as much speed as its tired, sore muscles would allow it to. Even with its speed less than before, another smaller wave of dirt began to rise out from beneath the grass and follow underneath where it flew. Just as Raichu began to rise to try and escape the oncoming attack, Archeops shot upward with a screech, bringing enough mud upward to swamp over Raichu and throw it back down to the ground. Upon hitting the ground, the already-hardened mud shattered off in large thick slabs, Raichu painfully bouncing off the ground with them. With its attack successfully landed, Archeops grounded itself and stood on both its talons and the claws of its wings, wheezing in fatigue. Raichu groaned as it rolled over onto its stomach, looking at Archeops in its incredibly vulnerable state. “Not much more, Raichu!” Alice shouted. “Finish him off with Thunderbolt!” Raichu, its opportunity clear, shot up onto its feet and clenched its paws, which began to glow and sparkle with electricity. With a lunge and a forward throw of his arms, Alice’s Pokémon discharged its electricity into a single bolt of lightning that struck Archeops in the back. With an arching of its back and a weak caw, Archeops fell forward onto its stomach and laid still, Sun running over to see if it somehow survived. When it showed no signs of motion other than its breathing, Sun threw his arm in Alice’s direction. “Archeops is unable to battle! Raichu wins this match!” With another round of cheers from the crowd, Raichu turned to Alice, who pumped her fist to it in congratulations. With a smile, Raichu returned the gesture. Sam and Alice’s friends felt their bodies stiffen as Sam returned his fainted Archeops into its ball. “And now he’s down to one,” Capper sighed. “Say what you will, but these two kids know how to put on a show.” “No one’s doubting that,” Rarity replied, “but whichever Pokémon Sam chose to revive could very well mean the battle here.” Acerola crossed her fingers as she looked onward, Guzma noticing this from the corners of his sights, making him smirk. After placing Archeops’s ball back onto his belt, Sam detached his final Poké Ball, holding it down by his side. “Last one, huh?!” Alice shouted out. Sam vigorously nodded. “Yep! You’re getting close to that yourself!” “Yeah, so bring him out already! I’m sure he’s dying to finish this as much as you are!” Sam gasped, wondering if he could really be that predictable. “Come on, Sam, do you really think that after everything you two have been through, you’d pick anyone else to finish this battle?!” Acerola felt her hands loosen, her smile growing wider as her hopes appeared to be coming true. Sam looked down at his Poké Ball, imagining the Pokémon inside of it already out and by his side. “Yeah…” With two tears dropping to the ground, Sam wiped his face with his free forearm. “This is it, buddy. We’re doing this… together.” Looking back at Alice and Raichu, Sam clenched his ball tight before winding his arm back and throwing it as hard as he could. “Let’s finish this, Aegislash!!” With the ball coming open and releasing his shield-and-sword Pokémon from inside, the crowd began to go nuts with screams and ovations. Acerola shrieked even louder as she clapped her hands rapidly, Guzma leaning away to protect his hearing, nonetheless happy for Acerola’s glee. With its final opponent facing it, Raichu got down low on its tail-board both bracing itself for any oncoming attacks while preparing to make any attacks of his own. “Okay, Aegislash, we have the advantage here!” Sam threw his outstretched hand forward. “Attack Raichu with Shadow Sneak!” Aegislash slipped out from the enarme of its shield and caught it with its left cloth arm. With its blade free, Aegislash swung itself low to the ground, shooting its shadow to quickly run along the ground. Upon reaching underneath Raichu, it exploded upward in a burst of spectral darkness, sending Alice’s Pokémon up and knocking it off its tail-board. “Raichu!” Hearing its trainer’s voice, Raichu managed to pull its tail-board back toward itself and plant itself on it, riding back down to the ground in a tight spiral. “Make him work for it now! Use Thunderbolt!” Pressing its paws together, sparks and plasma began to fill the space between them. Raichu then shifted forward and threw its arms out, sending the lighting shooting out at Aegislash, striking it right in the center of its blade below the pommel. A few sparks crackled on Aegislash’s body, but it was easily able to shake them off. “You good, Aegislash?!” With a metallic croak, Aegislash signaled its affirmation. “Good! See if you can finish Raichu off with one last Shadow Sneak!” With a forceful grunt, Aegislash swung itself forward once more, throwing its shadow to swiftly slide along the grass. Raichu, seeing it get closer, rose straight up in an attempt to avoid it. With Aegislash performing a quick backward flip of its body, the shadow shot out from directly beneath Raichu in a narrow pillar, rising faster than Raichu could. With gasps from both Alice and her Pokémon, the pillar collided with the bottom of the tail-board and exploded, throwing Raichu off to fall to the ground. Its body bounced hard off the ground before its tail clattered down right beside it. Sun ran over to Alice’s Pokémon upon his noticing that it continued laying still, opting to throw his hand toward Sam and Aegislash after a few moments. “Raichu is unable to battle! Aegislash wins this match!” Sam pressed the bases of his palms into the sides of his head as the audience roared, hardly able to believe he and his Pokémon actually made it this far. Alice returned her fainted Raichu into its Poké Ball, clasping it in both hands and looking at the front of it once the red beam had fully gone inside. “Don’t worry, Raichu,” she whispered with quivering breath, “we got this now.” Putting the ball back and removing her last one from her belt, she looked up at where her friends were sitting, handfuls of them looking at her while the remaining ones kept their eyes on Sam, who shook his hands and arms as he hopped about, trying his best to calm his nerves. Alice picked her Poké Ball up and looked intently at it. “Alright then. Time to go!” With as forceful and as passionate a throw as her brother had last done, she sent her Poké Ball flying out into the arena. “Noivern, let’s go!” With the ball bursting open, Sam and Aegislash focused back on the field where the white energy of the ball formed into Alice’s ace dragon Pokémon, who grinned upon finding itself facing Aegislash once again. With Aegislash still energetic and ready to fight, it let out a forceful shout at Alice’s Pokémon, swiping its shield out in a threatening matter. “So Sam…” As the realization hit her all at once, Alice coughed out a sob and shut her eyes, two tears rolling down her face. “Looks like we’re ending this journey the same way we began it!” Sam chuckled, smiling as wide as his lips could allow. “Yeah… I guess we are. And I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Alice clenched her fists and held them up. “Couldn’t agree more! Ready, Noivern?!” Noivern let out a piercing howl at Sam and Aegislash, the two of them holding up their own arms in a similar fashion, ready to fight to make the victorious final attack. “Let’s go, Alice!” a male patron cheered with a booming clapping of his hands. “Come on, Sam!” another attendee exclaimed. “You got this! As each individual inside the restaurant cheered for the trainer they hoped to see win, Susan nestled herself into Benji’s embrace, both of their eyes glued to the screen. Throughout the stadium, the crowds began to clap, stomp, and shout all at once, the vibrations felt indubitably by Celestia and Luna from their seats. Seeing the support that the two humans had rallied amongst their kind, Celestia and Luna looked to each other and nodded thankfully. Cries of “Sam” and “Alice” began to pop out in various pockets of the stadium, the two trainers and their Pokémon compelled to stop and listen to the sheer adoration levied their way. Soon, the cheers began to organize and sort themselves out, half of the crowd clearly screaming “Alice” at once before the other half hollered “Sam” in a round. “Alice!” Fizzlepop and Grubber both yelled with their group. “Sam!” Trixie, Chrysalis, and Cocoon shouted with countless others. “Alice!” Lana, Kahili, and Hapu joined in. “Sam!” Acerola and Mallow bellowed. “Alice!” Hau, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Olivia thundered. “Sam!” Fluttershy and Comfey watched on, intimidated by the volume of the audience's cries. With all of her friends surrounding her already having joined in, Fluttershy shut her eyes tight as she struggled to withhold her excitement and support any longer. “Alice!” she shouted, her Comfey squeaking alongside her. “Sam!” Starlight screamed, Lady calling out just as loudly. Humbled by the calls of their names, Sam and Alice began to feel weightless in humility. Suddenly, they both noticed at once that their Z-Rings began to vibrate on their wrists. Pulling their arms up, Sam and Alice both noticed their Z-Rings beginning to glow brightly as if they had activated on their own. “What?” Lillie spat, running forward a couple of steps toward the arena. “Impossible!” Gladion sputtered. “Could it really be?” Sun especially was aghast by this most foreign phenomenon. “Those two…” Looking to each other, Sam and Alice could only begin to wonder what this meant, even though they were certain of it. “Our Z-Rings!” Alice gasped. “You don’t think–” “I think all this support we’re getting…” Sam stopped himself, thinking it may be too unbelievable to say out loud, but he couldn’t think of anything else. “It’s charging them up and letting us have one more Z-Move!” “You think so?” “I can think of only one way to find out!” Sam removed his Fairium-Z from his Z-Ring’s face and replaced it with his Steelium-Z. “Sam!” Alice shouted, reaching forward. “Are you really gonna’ go through with this?” “Sure am! I haven’t gotten to land a hit on your Noivern yet, and if this boost of Z-Power’s the real deal, I’m going to use it to beat you! So what do you say, sis?! You in?!” Alice looked to her Z-Ring with her Aloraichium Z glowing inside of it. With Sam slowly raising his arms up, ready to activate his Z-Power a second time with or without her, Alice smiled and resolved to take the Z-Crystal out from her Z-Ring and replace it with her Firium Z. “Okay, bro!” Alice shouted. “You got it!” With both of them ready, they both crossed their arms in front of their faces, their Z-Rings and individual Z-Crystals glowing even brighter. With the light catching the audiences’ attention, the chanting of the trainer’s names quickly dissolved into loud gasps and exclamations of confusion and excitement. “Wait just a darn second!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “I thought you could only activate a Z-Move once a battle!” “I…” Hau gulped. “I thought so too…” Pinkie Pie continued to watch Sam and Alice, now in their own unique dance to complete the activation of their Z-Moves. “I said wait just a darn second!!” Sam pulled his pressed fists apart and punched forward with them the same instant Alice grabbed her left arm reaching up into the air before swinging it down with her hand outstretched to aim it at Sam and his Pokémon. Z-Power burst from Sam’s fist in two beams while the same energy erupted from Alice’s back like a volcano, arcing over to flow toward Noivern. The two beams of Sam’s Z-Power rushed into Aegislash, who arced back and groaned with the massive rush of energy entering into it all at once. Alice’s Z-Power flooded over Noivern, the dragon crying up toward the sky as its body was filled with the tremendous power. Once all Z-Power had entered into both Pokémon, both Aegislash and Noivern were aflame with the aura their bodies couldn’t contain. “Going for the kill?” Sam questioned. Alice nodded. “Looks like you’re going for it yourself! Let’s just see if you can actually make it! Noivern!” “Aegislash!” “Inferno Overdrive!” “Corkscrew Crash!” Aegislash hugged its shield close to itself as it pointed the tip of its blade at Noivern, who opened its mouth wide as a bright ball of fire formed in front of its face. As Noivern’s Z-Power was pulled from its body and into the fireball, adding to its heat and size, Aegislash began to spin about, the Z-Power that was dancing off its body spiraling out and turning a solid silver, forming a drill-shaped whirlwind. With Noivern’s fireball nearly reaching the size of its own body, no trace of Aegislash could be seen in the argent cone it had formed around itself. Digging the claws of its wings into the ground, Noivern thrust itself forward through its flame, cloaking its body in the fire and flying forward. With Noivern making its own approach, Aegislash shot forward itself, the two prepared to meet their attacks right in the middle. Directly above the center circle of the arena, Noivern’s fiery body and Aegislash’s blade’s tip collided. With Noivern flying against Aegislash’s force, a dense shower of sparks rained down off from the sides of their impact, creating a wall of fire that further divided the battlefield, all to the amazement and wonder of the audience. With neither Pokémon giving their opponent an inch, a bright light began to form between them, which also began to zap the ground with plasma-like bolts. The light soon enveloped both Pokémon before it exploded in a forceful burst, blowing a shockwave in every single direction. The blast threw Sam, Alice, and Sun off their feet and send them down the length of the arena while every audience member was knocked back into their seats. Many of the camera people and reporters stumbled over, the cameras they held or kept on tripods going down with them. Lillie gasped in fright as the shockwave shot dust and dirt up from the ground on its way toward her. Gladion swung around her and hugged her tight with his back to the exit to the tunnel, allowing the blast to hit him and slide him several feet further inside. To the shock and terror of the patrons in the restaurant, the feed began to cut in and out from static to the blue sky with only a corner of the stadium showing. “What happened?” Susan spat. “What the hell just happened!” Finally, the camera appeared to be picked back up by its operator and locked back down onto the ground, the image onscreen appearing to remain stable too. Swiveling back to the arena, the only things that were left to be seen were Sam, Alice, and a thick cloud of dust covering Aegislash and Noivern. “Come on,” Benji whispered with trembling breath. “Come on…” The crowd sat in complete silence as they waited for the dust cloud to settle down. Sam rolled up into a seated stance to gaze upon the aftermath of Aegislash and Noivern’s attack. With no sound heard or visibility beyond the haze, Sam jumped to his feet and ran toward the cloud. “Aegislash!” he screamed. “Aegislash.” Upon seeing his Pokémon’s floating, slouching silhouette in the cloud before reaching it, he ground to a halt as the rest of it faded away, revealing Noivern standing on its legs and the claws of its wings too. Alice, seeing this too, stayed tense and neutral, glad to have seen her Pokémon survive, though nervous over Aegislash’s endurance as well. Soon, both Pokémon were revealed to the whole of the audience, a small bout of murmurs resulting from their appearance. “Oh my gosh…” Twilight gasped. “How did they both survive that? That was a dual Z-Move! Just how did–” “Look!” Pinkie Pie thrust herself between Guzma and Acerola to point toward Noivern’s direction. With the others turning their heads to where her hoof was aimed, they suddenly noticed a small glow on the claw of Noivern’s right wing. Sam, spotting this too, had his mouth wide open as he noticed a Focus Sash burn away to ash and disperse into the wind, its single use having been spent. “No way!” Kaj shrieked, hopping up to her feet. “That’s the Focus Sash I gave her! Haha!” “Wow!” Spike commented. “She must have had that the whole battle, but look at Noivern’s claw! It’s the same color!” “It was there in plain sight,” Twilight surmised, “but neither of us noticed until…” Twilight felt a smile involuntarily etch its way across her face. “Nicely played, Alice.” “But…” Olivia spoke up, “that means that that Noivern only has just enough strength to stand. And with Aegislash’s Shadow Sneak, Noivern’s speed ain’t gonna’ do it much good at this point.” “So…” This conclusion made Twilight frown in sympathy towards Alice. “That means…” “Sam’s won this!” Acerola shouted. “He’s actually won this!” Despite Acerola’s declarations, the audience surrounding her only increased the volume of their chatter as both Pokémon continued to face each other, neither showing signs of yielding. Sam, having come to the same realization, found his smile getting larger as he continued panting, his mouth opening wider with each breath out. Alice also seemed to recognize this, her lips pursing and quivering as she was left with no further option but to watch Aegislash make its final attack. “That was a pretty awesome strategy, Alice,” Sam huffed, “and I meant what I said last night when I wanted you to win this… but… if this is how the cards fall, I’ll accept it all the same. Aegislash, finish Noivern off with Shadow–” With his Pokémon having been in the same tired, slumped position since the dust cloud unveiled it, Sam’s declaration was cut short by the sight of Aegislash’s shield slipping out from its grasp, the heavy clang it made upon hitting the ground like a sledgehammer in his chest. A loud wave of gasps soon struck the audience, who watched along with the two trainers, as well as Sun approaching from the sidelines, as Aegislash leaned back and began to fall down. With its tip hitting the ground followed by its landing flat on its back, Aegislash’s eye was peacefully closed as its cloth arms fluttered down and off to the side. Alice, her body once frozen with crushing disappointment, was now staying petrified with the disbelief she was feeling at that moment. Sam picked his arms up, his half-closed hands trembling as he reached for his Pokémon, hoping for a miracle to occur before Sun could arrive and determine what he already knew in his heart to be true. After looking down on Aegislash, Sam drew a huff of regret and pity, left with no option but to make the final declaration. “Aegislash is unable to battle!” Sun threw his arm toward Alice and Noivern’s direction. “Alice Brier is the winner and the newest champion of the Alola region!” With the end of the battle finally made official, the cheering and applause from the audience got to its loudest point yet, all of it toward Alice, the ultimate victor. Alice sunk into a crouch as she screamed, her hands over her face as she tried to conceal the tears streaming down it. With the vibrations of Noivern spinning around to face its trainer, Alice sprung up and sprinted to it before leaping up and hugging her Pokémon tight around the neck. “I’m so proud of you!” Alice bawled, the warmth of the bottom of Noivern’s chin on her back filling her with even more emotion. “Oh my god, I’m so god damned proud of you!” Susan cried out as she removed her hand from her mouth, her wails rising above the cheers erupting throughout the entire restaurant. She then dug her face into Benji’s chest and loudly sobbed into it. “Our daughter’s the champion!” her muffled voice blubbered. “She’s the fucking champion! Can you believe it?” Benji hugged his wife tight, unable to keep his eyes open with the tears welling up into them. “No… No I can’t…” Twilight took a break from her ovation as she turned to the rest of Sam and Alice’s friends, all of whom continued joining the audience in their collective congratulations. With a flash of her horn, she got the attentions of most of them, and with understanding nods, they slunk out from their spots and made their ways to the aisles to leave. From high above and across the arena, Celestia and Luna noticed Twilight and her friends’ departure, and with a nod to each other, they charged their horns and vanished from their spots in a flash of light. Sam walked up to his fainted Aegislash, falling down on his knees with them on either side of its hilt. Hyperventilating and crying in a mixture of both frustration and happiness, he picked Aegislash up by the pommel and hugged it as close and as tightly as its awkward angle would allow it. “Aegislash,” he choked. “Thank you… For getting me even this far… this close…” “Sam!” Looking up, Sam watched as Alice and Noivern both approached him, Alice jogging her way over. Sam wiped his tears and snot away as best he could with one run of his arm as he set Aegislash back down. Standing up to his feet, he briskly walked over to his sister and opened his arms wide for her, his face busting open another floodgate of tears and weeping before she ran into his embrace. Sam cried over Alice’s back, clutching the back of her vest tight as he bawled. “Sam,” Alice began to cry as well, “you were so good! You were so good!” Sam could only nod, not wanting to ruin this moment with the wrong thing to say. Leaning its neck down, Noivern brought its face close to Sam, who could no longer ignore the puffs of hot air leaving its nostrils and blowing into his face. Sam reached for Noivern and pressed his hand onto the center of the dragon’s nose, appreciating the moist warmth he got from it. “Good to see you too,” Sam whispered, feeling only a slightly bit better. “You were great too, girl.” Looking past Noivern, Sam noticed as Lillie and Gladion appeared to exit and walk toward him and Alice. He then saw as Starlight and Fluttershy galloped out from the tunnel with their Pokémon. Once Sam let go of his sister and stepped away to give them some room, Alice turned back to see even more Equestrians and humans pour out on their way to them. With Fluttershy and Starlight reaching them first, Sam and Alice caught the two ponies as they nuzzled them hard, squeezing their arms around their backs. “You two were amazing!” Starlight squeaked through her tears. “I still can’t believe it!” “I’m so happy for you,” Fluttershy blubbered out, “I could just scream!” The rest of Sam and Alice’s friends began to surround them tightly, putting their hooves, claws, or hands on their shoulder’s hugging them from the sides or behind, or rustling their hair. With the overwhelming affection they received from everyone, Sam and Alice just chose to stand still and let their friends show their love in whichever way they pleased. “Your battle was just splendid.” The domineeringly calm voice of Celestia spoke up as she and Luna came forward, causing the Equestrians and humans to step aside and let them approach the two trainers. “Though I’m aware that Alice came out the victor, I still want to offer my congratulations to both of you for making it to this point in your journeys. That being said, Alice, you have certainly fought hard, and you’ve very much earned your spot as champion of your home. Well done.” “Yes,” Luna spoke up next, “I do wish that I was as… *ahem* fortunate as Starlight and Fluttershy here to have been able to see your journey from its beginning to its end, even if it were in better circumstances.” “And I thank you so very much for letting us battle here.” Sam wiped his face again. “Being able to do so in front of the friends we made meant the world to us.” “For everything you’ve done for Equestria,” Celestia responded, “it was the absolute least we could do. Thank you so very much again.” “There’s really no need to thank us,” Alice said. “You Equestrians gave my brother and I the greatest adventure any trainer could ever ask for.” “Yes, quite.” Luna and Celestia began to back away, the rest of Sam and Alice’s friends joining them. “Whenever you’re ready, you two may join us at the palace. We are holding a private banquet for you and your friends to celebrate your victory and the end of your adventure.” “Wait a second,” Sam interrupted, “who’s stopping us?” “Alice!” the voice of Gabby rang out, Ty following her with his camera. “Alice Brier!” Celestia chuckled as more reporters and camera crews closed in on them and called for both Alice and Sam’s names, prepared to get their invaluable time with them. “Like my sister said, you may come whenever you two are finished.” “Bye, guys!” Pinkie Pie shouted, hopping over her friends to ensure that she was seen. “Congrats too!” Sam and Alice waved her and their other friends goodbye as they began to walk into the coliseum. Before the cameras and reporters could close themselves around the two, Sun approached them and firmly placed his hands on their shoulders, to which they looked up at him. “Fine job you two.” He then briskly walked off to join the others, weaving in around the paparazzi as they closed off their circle. “See you at the party!” “Alice!” Gabby began. “With your big win still fresh on your mind, what are you thinking in this exact moment?” “Sam!” another reporter close to him called. “You came so close to winning only to lose it all! Do you have any plans to try for the championship again?” With additional questions around them blurring into an incomprehensible cluster, Sam and Alice stole a glance to each other before addressing their first inquiries. “I feel amazing!” Alice said into Gabby’s microphone. “Mom, dad, I know you’re watching, I love you guys so much, and I credit you and all your support as much as I credit my Pokémon, my brother, and our friends with getting me here today!” “I don’t know,” Sam replied to his question. “I did a lot better than I thought I was going to, so maybe there’s a chance I’ll try for the championship again, but right now, my Pokémon and I are really tired and would like to just take it easy for a bit. Actually, sh– Oops!” While Sam broke through the wall of people to return his fainted Aegislash, Alice focused herself on a new reporter and new camera, ensuring that they could hear their questions and any follow-ups they would have. Noivern stepped off to the side, allowing its trainer to take her time with these people. Though it seemed that it would be ages before they’d be freed from the media circle, the two of them were more than happy to focus on something other than their adventure for the first time in over a month. Late at night in Hau’oli City, few cars were driving around on the streets, providing an unusually serene urban atmosphere. As Susan and Benji stood outside the EarthQuestria headquarters on the sidewalk, they allowed themselves a few calm moments to relax as they waited for the people who would soon come outside. Soon enough, they spotted five figures walking through the lobby through the windows, recognizing two immediately as their children. As they approached the doors, Sun stayed back to see them off while Gladion and Lillie reached toward the doors with their phones, a blue dot of light from them causing both the inside and outside sliding doors to open up simultaneously, letting them out. After waving goodbye to the three of them, Sam and Alice walked down the steps toward the street, seeing their parents waiting outside. The four instantly smiled to each other, Susan and Benji opening their arms to them. Sam and Alice picked up their pace as they jogged into their parents’ embrace. “Oh my god,” Benji grunted, “I love you two so damned much!” “Thanks dad,” Alice whispered, both from overwhelming bliss and exhaustion from everything she had gone through that day. “We’re so proud of you, Sam, Alice,” Susan cooed. “As far as we’re concerned, you’re both champions in our book.” Sam couldn’t help but laugh. “Mom, seriously.” “I’m serious! We’re the proudest parents in the world right now, and you two should be the proudest trainers.” “Okay. That’s fair.” “Hah,” Benji tiredly sighed, “that’s good that we can agree. Come on, let’s go home.” With their children on either side of them, Benji and Susan walked down the sidewalk back to their apartment, their arms around their childrens’ backs. Sam and Alice closed their eyes, half-awake and trusting their parents to safely lead them back to their beds where they could finally get some much needed sleep. Unbeknownst to the four of them, the feline figure of Zeraora sat within the glow of the lights forming the border of the EarthQuestria building’s outline, its bottom paws dangling over the edge. Though unable to be present for what had transpired for them, it could rest assured that whatever Sam and Alice had gone through had been successful for them. Smiling warmly, the legendary Pokémon stood up and kept their eyes on them until they were too far away to see. At that, Zeraora glowed brightly before it transformed into electricity that fed itself into one of the light fixtures, disappearing completely from sight.