Mikael, Divvy, and Jacqui sat at a table with Smolder, Sandbar, and Gallus amongst rows and columns of other tables where other students were enjoying their lunches. Mikael and the others were more content to pick at their food, their moods seemingly irreparably dampened since the previous night.
“Pokémon class’s gonna’ suck today,” Jacqui droned out.
“Yep.” Smolder decided to settle on a single bowtie noodle in her pasta salad, chewing it lazily.
“I mean,” Sandbar said, “it’s not great that Alice lost her title, but imagine how Mr. Brier is feeling right now. His own sister…”
“Yep.”
“Smolder?” Mikael asked. “You’re not mad at Alice, are you?”
“No, of course not.” Her sarcasm was palpable. “Why wouldn’t I adore someone who let me down that hard?”
“C’mon. Don’t be like that.”
Smolder gulped her morsel of food as loud as she could to disturb him. “Be like what exactly? What, like I’m not allowed to be upset that the one trainer I looked up to the most choked her big champion title match?!”
“No one’s saying that, Smolder,” Jacqui piped in. “You have every right to be upset about her losing, but you shouldn’t hold her loss against her.”
“Then who should I hold it against?”
“If I had to pick,” Gallus interrupted, “maybe you should be mad at the dude that beat her with a super-rare Pokémon that no other trainer in the world has? Maybe?”
“Thanks Gallus. You’re a real help.”
Gallus shrugged. “I tried.”
“Besides,” Sandbar mentioned, “it was a pretty close match. I’m sure if she trained a little and took him on again, she’d beat him real easy.”
Smolder scoffed. “And all he has to is train a little himself, and then it’s last night all over again.”
Mikael pinched the bridge of his nose and the corners of his eyes. “Smolder, okay listen. You really need to knock off whatever shit you’re doing now.”
The slits in Smolder’s eyes narrowed in fury. “Excuse me?”
Jacqui patted Mikael’s arm, trying to prompt a quick apology. “Mikal, perhaps you should–”
“You’re sitting here all upset that Alice lost her match like she did it just to hurt you, but you and I both saw her before they cut the cameras. Do you think she looked like she wanted to lose that match?”
Smolder’s eyes went to normal as she sputtered, trying to find a rebuttal. “No, but… She–”
“She’s probably beside herself right now wondering how she’s going to face her family, her friends, and her fans knowing that she’s no longer a champion, and you’re sitting here hating her guts for it.”
“And why shouldn’t I?!” Smolder shot up and banged her fists on the table, causing many of the students of the surrounding tables to turn her way. “She’s everything I wanted to be as a trainer! Do you think I want to, or should look up to a loser?!”
Mikael stared at her, stonefaced. “Do you really think Alice is a loser?”
“She lost her last two matches didn’t she?”
“But do you think she’s a loser?”
Smolder let out a couple of dry sobs of frustration, both over her inability to confirm Mikael’s question as well as his seeming inability to see things from her perspective.
Gallus let out a sigh. “Look, I’m pretty sure I know what Mikael’s trying to say. Yes, she lost her match, which would make her a loser in that sense.” Mikael pressed his lips closed, wanting to let Gallus make his point. “But I’ve known you long enough that you definitely don’t consider her a loser-loser. Just because she lost a championship match doesn’t make her any weaker of a trainer; she just faced someone stronger is all.”
“Is all,” Smolder sardonically repeated.
“First of all,” Jacqui came in, reaching over putting her hand on Gallus’s talon, “thanks Gallus. Second, as much as I disagree with how he put it, Mikael’s also mostly right. Alice needs all the support she can get right now, and she certainly needs it from one of her biggest fans.”
The sound of such a title was certainly humbling, calming Smolder down as she sat back at the table, though it didn’t seem to ail her pained expression. Just then, Divvy looked away and up, spotting someone standing near their table. Mikael took notice and looked over to see Sam watching their conversation.
“Oh, Sam!” Hearing him say his name, Mikael’s friends looked to see their teacher was indeed eavesdropping. “We didn’t see you.”
“That’s okay,” he said, “I actually wanted to talk to you real quick.”
“What’s going on?” Sandbar asked.
“First of all, I wanted to inform you that I’m cancelling my Pokémon classes for today.” The others blinked over the news, but kept silent as Sam continued to speak. “I’ve pretty much been on the phone with my sister and our parents all morning. She packed her stuff up last night and went to Hau’oli to be with our mom and dad for a while. I had to cancel the morning classes just so I could be with her through it, and I just thought it would be easier to cancel the rest of the day. I already let the others know, so don’t feel like you need to go looking for them to spread the word.”
“But why are you telling us this?” Gallus asked. “I’m sure we would’ve found out if you left a note on your door or something.”
“The reason I’m telling you in person is that my sister wanted to get away from Alola for a bit; she just needed a little support from mom and dad before she went running off again. Anyways, once she’s calmed down a little, I was going to pick her up from Lumiose City this afternoon and she’s going to be staying with me for a little while.”
Smolder’s eyes widened as she began to understand where he was going with this. “If neither of you have too much homework or stuff to do, I wanted to invite you to come with me. I’m sure having a bunch of her fans greeting her is going to do wonders for her spirits.”
“Absolutely!” Mikael blurted. “Just give us a time and we’ll be there!”
“Mikael,” Smolder hissed, waving his hand at him, “maybe you should see if the rest of us–”
“We’re in,” Gallus answered conclusively. “I’m guessing Silverstream and the others are in too?”
Sam nodded, smiling warmly and appreciatively. “I told them to meet me at the southwest gate to Route 5 so I can give them clearance to leave with me.”
“Clearance?” Mikael asked.
“I mean, you and Jacqui are already residents of this world, so you’re free to come and go through the Kalos region as you please, but since Poniose Town is considered shared territory between Earth and Equestria, the others would need accompaniment by a teacher if they want to set foot into our world. With your student passports, you and Jacqui would likewise need accompaniment by me or one of the other teachers if you wanted to explore Equestria outside the Ponyville campus.”
Mikael nodded, understanding the logic. “And what time are we meeting up then?”
“I told them to meet at the gate by 3:00 sharp. That should give you more than enough time to drop your books and stuff at your dorms and head over.”
“Cool,” Jacqui answered. “Thanks a lot, teach! We’ll see you there!”
“Excellent. Enjoy your lunches.”
Sam walked away, allowing Smolder to drop her calm defenses and look amongst her friends with worry. “Why’d you have to rope me in? I don’t know if I can–”
“You can,” Jacqui interrupted, “and you will. And believe me, I’m sure she’s going to be so excited to see you there, and I’m sure you’ll feel better too.”
“I don’t know…”
“Don’t sweat,” Sandbar assured her. “We’ll be right there with you. It’s not like you have to face her alone. We’re all here to make each other feel better, alright?”
Smolder slowly nodded as she sat up straighter. “Alright.”
“That’s the spirit,” Mikael happily grunted, pounding on the table. “Now, let’s finish eating before the bell. I’m sure a full stomach will also help clear our heads.”
“And how!” Gallus replied.
With only minutes to spare for the remainder of their lunch period, Mikael and his friends silently scarfed the rest of their meals down to ready themselves for the rest of the day ahead.
Sam stood in the lobby of the Lumiose City EarthQuestria center, his Holo Caster in his hand. Mikael, Divvy, Jacqui, and their six Equestrian friends stood away behind them as they too awaited for Alice’s arrival. Sam checked his Holo Caster, watching as the time changed from 5:06 to 5:07.
“Hey, teach!” Gallus shouted. “You said your sister was coming at five, right?”
Sam shrugged. “With her, that could be anytime after that.”
“UGHH! If we knew it would take this long, we could have stayed in Poniose and greeted here–”
“There!” Silverstream mounted Gallus’s back as she pointed past him at one of the terminal hallways. “I think that’s her!”
While their friends looked in that direction, Sam was already well aware as his sister walked out into the lobby with a stuffed backpack and a large rolling suitcase. Without missing a beat, Sam walked up to her, and upon noticing her brother, Alice let her suitcase stand up on its wheels and quickened her pace toward him.
“Hey,” Sam softly cooed as he opened his arms, allowing her to rush into them as he put his hands on her back over the top of her bag. “That’s it, there…”
Alice let out two long, drawn out breaths into his chest, rocking to and fro with him. With Alice now there just a few feet from her, Smolder nervously tapped her claws together as she felt her feet gluing themselves to the floor.
“Go on,” Ocellus encouraged with a nudge. “Go say hi!”
“Okay, okay!” Smolder swatted her hand away, frightening the young changeling.
As Sam and Alice’s embrace began to settle down, Smolder walked alone toward the two, her steps not feeling less unsure the closer she got. Once Sam and Alice stepped back away, Alice could see the young dragon coming her way.
“Hey, Smolder!” She then glanced up to see the other five of her friends along with their three additions standing away from them. “And you brought the whole gang!”
“Hey, Alice.” For all her efforts, Smolder couldn’t get the disappointment out of her voice.
Alice knelt down and pulled the dragon into a hug, making her body stiffen in sudden worry. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get your hopes up for nothing.”
Smolder’s muscles relaxed as she finally mustered the strength to slip her arms around the trainer’s back. “I know…”
Sam smiled, happy to see Smolder make amends. Understanding the anxiety she was causing the dragoness, Alice stood back up and grabbed her suitcase, walking over to the rest of Smolder’s friends, who all surrounded her and gave her a quick group hug.
“Hey yeah,” Alice said with a peppier boost in her voice, “I remember you guys from my visit last year! Well, most of you guys…”
“Oh yeah!” Silverstream grabbed hold of Mikael and Jacqui and pushed them forward so that Alice was standing directly before them. “You probably haven’t met our new friends, have you?”
“Nope. Can’t say I’ve been around long enough to meet them.”
Jacqui put her hand to Alice’s first. “Jacqui Sweeney.”
After turning to Mikael, Alice shook his hand next. “Mikael Wallström. And that Bronzong over there is Divvy. He’s with me.”
“Very nice. Can’t wait to get to know you a bit more once I settle into this new town of yours. Speaking of, how far’s this place. Already getting kinda’ hungry.”
“It’s about an hour’s walk. Normally, I wouldn’t mind treating you all out to one of the bistros here, but I gotta’ get these kids back home so they can get their homework done.”
Alice sighed, hiking her bag on her back up. “The lives of teachers and students are never over. Come on, let’s get a move on.”
As Alice left, Sam followed her, followed by Mikael, Divvy, Jacqui, and the others. “There’s plenty of places in Poniose,” Sam explained. “I’m sure there’ll be something there you’re in the mood for.”
Alice exited the building with the others, taking in the busy metropolis of her old hometown. “You know, I was kind of hoping you’d get to make me one of your famous dishes, big bro.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I was planning on grocery shopping tomorrow after classes; I can make something for you then.”
Alice made a quick shrug, forced to accept the situation. “That sounds nice. Thanks.”
As they walked on, a building on one of the corners of the intersections aired a news report on its massive, semi-cylindrical screen, the image of two female trainers posted beside the anchorwoman. The woman on the left appeared to be in her late 20s and wore a red jumpsuit with a black blouse over it, a pair of white sunglasses inside her ponytailed blonde hair. Beside her was a woman in her early-to-mid 30s whose enlarged photo revealed only a white formal jacket with a blood-red cravat around her neck. With her image considerably brighter than the image of the trainer on the left, the purple tint of the right trainer’s hair shone.
Sam and Alice couldn’t help but look up at the screen as the newscaster’s voice could be heard and the crowds of people began to congest the sidewalks as they looked up to watch themselves. “…former assistant for Kalos’s Pokémon professor, Sycamore, had defeated her less than an hour ago, effectively taking the title of Champion for herself.”
More and more people began to crowd around the building, keeping Mikael and his friends still as they too looked up on the screen and red the lower third as it stayed upon the screen: “Champion Serena Defeated by Challenger Sina.”
“What?” Sandbar gasped. “Another one?”
“This is the third in a recent string of regional champion defeats following former Galar champion Victor Mulligan’s defeat to John Tanner three nights ago as well as Alice Brier’s recent loss of her title last night to challenger Jordan Wylie.”
Alice scoffed as she pulled the visor of her cap down to obscure her face as best she could, beginning to squeeze through the crowds and reach the crosswalk where she could get some space. The attention of most people were still on the newscast, allowing her to escape undetected.
Sam took notice and began to force his way through the people after her. “Alice?! Alice! Wait up!”
Hearing their trainer’s voice, Mikael helped lead his friends away from the tight grouping of people before jogging after him and Alice so they wouldn’t get left behind.
“Wait, hold on.” The newswoman looked off to the side as she pressed the earpeice on the side of her head further in. “Yes? I’m also just getting word that Ethan Thompson, the now former champion of the Kanto and Johto Pokémon Leagues has also been defeated by a challenging trainer, his name being Aaron Hammond. We haven’t heard word from the Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova regions about the states of their champion trainers yet, but considering that half the world’s now-former champions have been dethroned in such a short amount of time, it’s certainly not outlandish to say that their reigns could also be in jeopardy soon…”
Sam unlocked his front door and quickly stepped in before his sister could charge in, pushing her suitcase into the middle of the living room and letting her other bag slide off her back and plop onto the floor. Relieved of her baggage, Alice sat on the sofa in the living room, sprawling herself out to get as comfortable as she could. Sam kept his front door open as Mikael and his friends stood outside his door, waiting for his response.
“We’ll be okay, guys,” he said with a wave. “See you in class tomorrow.”
“‘Kay! See ya’!” Jacqui bid him and his sister farewell with a wave before she and her friends walked off down the street in the direction of the Poniose campus.
Sam closed his door and returned back inside, his sister having not moved from the same position in her seat since settling in.
Hoisting her back with one hand and grabbing the handle of her suitcase with the other, he made his way to the stairs. “I’ll go place these in your room.”
Alice lifted her head to follow her brother’s movements. “Wait. Room?”
“Yeah. When this town got built, I asked to have my place built with a couple of guest bedrooms in case you or mom and dad wanted to visit.” He began to make his way back up. “…Sorry.”
“About what? That’s awesome.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean… I mean–”
“What?” As if pulled up by a phantom marionette, Alice got out of the sofa and walked to the stairs. “Are you scared that you offended me or something? Like you think I’m not a guest and I’m now just a freeloader in your house or something?”
“What, no!” Sam picked up his pace, and Alice stayed the same distance behind him as he reached the top. “I didn’t mean–”
“You didn’t have to take me in, you know? I’m sure there are plenty of cheap motels in Lumiose that I could crash at so that my friends and family don’t have to be reminded over how much of a loser I am!”
“You’re not a loser, Alice!”
“Oh, gee, you’re right! Then I guess I should just hop back to Alola so I can keep living my amazing life as its undefeated Champion trainer!”
“Come on, that’s–”
“Oh! WAIT! That’s right! I lost my championship which is why I’m stuck here with you!”
“Stuck here? Last I checked, I invited you to stay with me and you were happy to accept! If you’re so keen on holing up in some dive motel someplace, you’re free to go back the way you came!”
The two stood there as the echo of Sam’s yell died down in the hall. Sam was tense in both body and mind, though as he maintained his taut composure, he watched as Alice’s energy began to deflate, causing him to settle down as well. He set down her bags and approached her, putting his arms out in case she collapsed in sadness.
“Alice?” Hearing his voice, Alice’s knees got weak as she fell, Sam catching her before she could land on them. “Alice, no, stop…”
Alice’s tears freely flowed and her bawling was loud and seemingly inconsolable. “I’m such a fuck-up. Jordan’s right; I’m not strong! I’m a terrible trainer!”
“No, stop, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Yeah, you should! I let everybody down and I don’t deserve to be taken in!”
“Alice, Alice hey!” Sam gently shook his sister, quickly silencing her and allowing her to look into his eyes. “You didn’t let anyone down. You know Mom and dad would never think less of you, just like they told us when we faced each other for the championship. And Smolder and her friends all came to greet you in Lumiose because they support you too.
“And besides, when all is said and done, you’re still a stronger trainer than I am, and I know that’s probably hardly a consolation right now, but trust me when I say that there are far worse things than not being the champion. Now come on, let me show you to your room.”
Sam stood to his feet and picked her up to stand on her own. As he picked up Alice’s backpack, she grabbed her suitcase and followed her down the hallway before entering the first door on their left. The room was only furbished with a single bed, a dresser, a barren desk, and a closet to the left. The window in the back of the room allowed sunlight to stream in and provide a cozy view of the street where the other townhomes were lined up.
“This okay?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Alice quickly replied. “Thank you.”
Sam felt a buzz from his Pokédex in his pocket, beginning to back away so he could check the notification he received. “Are you still up for dinner, or should I go and pick something up?”
Alice turned back and nodded softly to him. “Yeah, takeout sounds nice.”
Sam nodded in approval and exited the room to let his sister unpack. As Alice stood around the extremely modest room, she forlornly scanned about at how and where she’d put everything.
“Holy shit…” Alice heard Sam’s voice not far from the hallway, leaving her to leave to see what was happening to make Sam react in such a way.
She saw Sam still in the hallway with his face leaning over the screen of his Pokédex. “What? What happened now?”
Sam saw fit to simply hand Alice his Pokédex for her to read. Looking closely at the headline of the article, she felt her stance weaken from just the first words alone:
WORLDWIDE DETHRONEMENT. KANTO/JOHTO, HOENN, SINNOH, AND UNOVA LEAGUE CHAMPIONS DEFEATED.
Scrolling on, she skimmed the details of each champions’ defeat at the hands of their challengers, including their names, pictures, and some of the details of which Pokémon they used. The first image, labeled Aaron Hammond, featured a fit man in his late twenties with medium length hair with a single blonde streak running down the front-right side. The next, a young-woman named only as Zinnia, appeared to be in her early thirties and had black hair that looked to have been cut with a knife.
The next woman, Mara Flannagan, looked to be in her mid to late 30s, whose dyed-red hair matched the intensity of her eyes. Finally, the last image showed another man in his late 20s or early 30s, whose dark-purple hair was ruffled like intentional bedhead.
“What the fuck…” Sam turned on her head and walked into her room, her face glued to the screen as she read it over once again. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” Sam replied. “Obviously, this can’t be a coincidence.”
“All of them… All the leagues, they just…”
Sam snatched the phone from her fingers before digging it back into his pocket. “Yeah, whatever it is, it’s probably not good, but we can work that all out tomorrow. Please, let’s just get some food in us and try and have a good night’s sleep. Today’s already been stressful enough. Now, what are you in the mood– actually, I’ll hand you the map so you can see what’s around.”
Sam jogged downstairs, leaving his sister alone again. With the new news still stuck on her mind, she walked to the window and leaned onto the sill as she looked out, taking in every detail of the street that she could in a vain attempt to drown out the worst thoughts of what was happening in her world.
“Jeez, all of them?” Jacqui looked at her phone, reading another article on the defeat of the champions. “In a matter of days too.”
Mikael, Divvy, and their Equestrian friends were crowded around both Mikael and Jacqui’s beds as they discussed what they too had just learned.
“But why would they do it all at once?” Ocellus asked. “What are they trying to accomplish?”
“We really don’t know if these guys are even related in some way,” Mikael added. “Still, kind of hard to argue against it all things considered.”
“That Jordan person didn’t have many nice things to say about Equestria during his match with Alice,” Silverstream noted, the fear in her voice making her voice crack. “What if he and the others are planning on doing something terrible to Equestria?”
“Okay, let’s not go that far.” Sandbar stood in the center of his circle of friends to ensure the best audience. “They may be the new champions, but as far as I know, they don’t have access to Equestria to be able to attack it in the first place.”
“That’s true,” Gallus concurred with a snap and point. “Not to mention, I doubt they’re going to give this Jordan any access after all the smack he talked about Equestria.”
“Still,” Ocellus said, “the former champions all had really good relations with Equestria and its inhabitants. I certainly hope that these new champions don’t ruin that.”
“Who care what seven trainer say or think about Equestria?!” Yona blurted, pushing Sandbar aside. “Sam, Alice, and all other human are friend to Equestria, and theirs is only good opinion that matter!”
“Perhaps, but Alice and the other champions used their titles to really help strengthen the bonds between our worlds, and we already know that one champion has no plan on doing that…”
“And maybe these new champions will be just as cool with Equestria as the old ones were,” Jacqui hypothesized. “It’s really too early at this point to be calling any shots.”
“Still,” Mikael noted, “it still feels like quite a stretch to believe that these trainers all randomly decided to face and defeat each region’s champion in the same week. And if they’re all on the same page as Jordan, then Equestria, or at least my world’s relationship to it, could be in big trouble.”
“Back to my original point,” Gallus sneered, “if they hate Equestria as bad as Jordan seems to, they won’t be given access either.”
“They also didn’t seem to be so vocal about it as Jordan was, so unless they just go on TV and spout some ‘Death to Equestria’ nonsense, they can just smile, act sweet, and they’ll be given the keys to the kingdom, so to speak.”
“And what are we supposed to do about it?” Smolder asked. “It’s not like we can just breeze through a Pokémon League and take out one of their new champions all willy-nilly! One of them beat Alice for crying out loud!”
“I mean, sure, neither of us can do that right now… but it would be a nice goal to work toward, wouldn’t it?”
“Nice goal?” Silverstream approached Mikael, wanting to be sure she heard him right.
“He’s got a point,” Jacqui replied. “We’re being taught by Alice Brier’s brother of all people, and he himself came really close to beating Alice during their championship battle. Perhaps if we ask him to help kick our asses into shape, we can actually go off and face one of these champions on our own. Who knows? Maybe we’ll actually win?”
Smolder approached the sitting Jacqui and patted her on the back. “I can tell you that I am fully behind this plan!”
“And not only do we have one of the best teachers,” Sandbar enthusiastically stated, “we’re about to get our own Chaser Battle arena that I’m sure will get our Pokémon stronger in no time!”
Mikael nodded, glad to see that everyone was getting on his same page. “So it’s settled then? Starting this weekend, we work to get our Pokémon league-ready?”
The Equestrians let out their own various confirmations and agreements, leading to a joyous and rousing cacophony that compelled Mikael to stand from his bed and hold his hand up above the floor.
“Bring ‘em in,” Mikael commanded, “we’re doing this!”
Sandbar’s hoof went on top of Mikael’s hand, which was stacked by Yona’s hoof, followed by Gallus and Silverstream’s talons and then Ocellus’s hoof. Smolder walked up to the group with Jacqui and put her hand over the pile, with Jacqui being the last to add hers. The group looked around at the circle of friends they created, excited over the prospect of getting to face this challenge together.
Mikael looked at the hands, hooves, and claws of the creatures putting their weight on his, feeling incredibly thankful and blessed to have made such an eclectic and loyal bunch of friends.