Victory, like everything else I set my sight on, had never successfully escaped my grasp once I'd gone looking for it.

I don't say this as a way to excuse my actions. Simply to explain why I did what I did. Having always acquired what I wanted with strength alone, why wouldn't I have thought myself infallible, good enough to bend even death to my Will?

It sounds stupid in retrospect, yes. Had my brother been at my side to guide me, had I listened to Noh's warning, perhaps I'd have done differently.

Perhaps I wouldn't have taken Uxie from him by force.

----------------------------------------

Inyssa never felt more alive than when she stood across the arena from her opponents, Pokeball firmly grasped in her hand.

The cheers of the crowd made the ground reverberate under her feet, or maybe that was just the thunderous boom of her own heart in her ears. The stadium, while antiquated, was a lot bigger than she'd expected. It was rectangular in shape with a hole in the ceiling, as was customary in case of a trainer wanting to use flying Pokemon. The stands were almost full, mostly with kids and teens watching them alongside their family. Inyssa felt every one of those pair of eyes on her, and loved it.

It didn't hurt either that it was her birthday. She was an adult, at last.

"Look sharp," she said, spinning the ball on the palm of her hand. "It's about to start."

At her side, Barry chuckled. "You don't have to tell me that."

Candice raised a hand, and the stadium fell deathly still. At her side stood Maylene, tossing up and catching one of her Pokeballs with a look of impatient excitement on her face. Selena and her cameraman were somewhere in the audience, hidden by the waves of people.

"Welcome, everyone," said Candice, her voice soft, but amplified by the microphone stuck to her cheek. "And thank you for coming. The rules for this match are simple. Four Pokemon on each side, two from each trainer. First side to run out of usable Pokemon loses. If Inyssa and Barry are victorious…"

"Which is a big if," Maylene muttered into her mic.

"…then regardless of whether one of them is out of usable Pokemon, both will be awarded the Cobble and Icicle badge."

"Which would be a great birthday gift to you, Dawn," said Maylene. "Assuming you can beat us, of course."

Inyssa sneered at her, wanting to call her something less than flattering, but somehow finding the restraint not to. There was a second of silence after they stopped talking. The only sound that could be heard was the distant roar of the frozen wind above. Tension filled the air.

"Are the challengers ready?" asked Candice. "Have you chosen your first Pokemon?"

"Not quite yet."

She was clearly not expecting that response, judging by the way she opened her mouth, then froze as she processed what she'd just heard. The audience had a similar reaction. Mutters of confusion could be heard amongst them.

"What do you mean?"

Niss grinned. "Well, we thought it'd be nice to start the fight with some spectacle. Barry, if you would?"

"What are you…'"

Without looking, Barry tossed his Pokeball to Inyssa, who caught it without even flinching. The whole stadium stood silent. She made sure to drink up the moment as much as she could.

"Barry Paladino," she said. "Do you transfer ownership of this Pokemon to me, Inyssa Dawn?"

"I do."

"Good." She let it sink in on the audience before proceeding. "Now that we've established that, have it back."

Once again it was tossed, this time toward Barry. However, as his fingers touched the metal, a subtle silver gleam enveloped the ball for a second.

"I, Inyssa Dawn, now return ownership of that Pokemon to you, Barry Paladino."

"I accept it."

Inyssa nodded, then looked up toward the Gym leaders. "We're ready, then. Get on with it."

Candice looked just as flabbergasted as a few seconds ago, but at least Maylene –and a small portion of the audience– seemed to have caught on.

"I… I guess we can start the m–"

"The match starts now!" bellowed Maylene with a hungry grin. "Let's go!"

Four Pokeballs flew through the air, opening simultaneously in an explosion of light so potent everyone in the stadium had to cover their eyes. Two humanoid figures formed in front of the Gym leaders. Maylene's Pokemon was at least a head taller than her and quite a bit skinnier, with the exception of its oval-shaped waist. Sharp scythes grew from its shoulders. An odd red triangle jutted out of its chest and back, making it look as though the Pokemon had been impaled. Inyssa narrowed her eyes. A Gallade? She'd never seen one in person, but always loved how cool they looked.

Candice's was a lot easier to identify. It looked almost identical to the Sneasel that had attacked them on the way to this city. The only differences were the golden gem sticking out of its forehead and the fan of feathers adorning its ears and the top of its head. Inyssa bit her lower lip. A Weavile would definitely be trouble.

On their side, Shadi emerged from the explosion of light with both arms raised in front of her, scythes ready to attack. Next to her, Barry's Pokemon…

…Hadn't stopped glowing yet. And more than that, it was starting to morph and grow.

A few gasps were heard from the stands above. Barry and her grinned as realization dawned on Candice, eyes going wide and mouth gaping slightly.

When the light finally vanished, Kitsune emerged. His bushy tail was completely gone. The shape of his ears now made his head look like an inverted star and his frazzled mustache was twice as long as before. More importantly, however, was the extra spoon he now carried on his off hand, gleaming and pulsing with barely-contained psychic energy, waiting to be unleashed.

Unfortunately, Inyssa noticed, evolution hadn't made him look any less grumpy or sleepy.

"Now we're ready," said Barry, crossing his arms and lifting his chin up.

"Ha! I admit, that was pretty cool and flashy," Maylene said from the other side. "But you think I'm not used to idiots throwing a Psychic-type my way and expecting an automatic win?"

Candice nodded. "We foresaw this type of strategy."

Inyssa scoffed. "Just because you anticipated it doesn't mean you'll be able to stop us. Shadi!

"Kitsune!"

"Swords Dance!"

"Barrier!"

Both Pokemon raised their arms in front of them, red and purple energy respectively coiling around their bodies like mantles of flame. Power began to coalesce in their–

Weavile disappeared. There was a flash of movement, a blur, and he appeared inches from Shadi, claws wound back, a bloodthirsty smile on his imp-like face.

"SHADI!"

A gleam of white moved like lightning, making an arc toward Shadi's chest. The Kricketune raised her hands in an attempt to block the slash, but just then the air between them solidified with a purple sheen. Weavile's claw bounced on the invisible barrier with a gong.

They won't let us do any preparation, Inyssa realized.

"Thanks for the barrier," she whispered to Barry. "Shadi, Brick Break!"

Unlike the previous slash, Shadi's scythes cut through the psychic barrier as though it were made of paper, shattering it into a hundred glowing shards, momentarily blinding her opponent. Weavile, however, didn't try to dodge. He simply took a step back as a green and white blur materialized in front of him, blocking Shadi's scythes with his own.

"Weavile, jump back!" ordered Candice. "Hone Claws!"

"Oh no you won't!" Inyssa yelled. "Barry, I'm leaving Gallade to you! Shadi, go after Weavile!"

"Right! Kitsune, Shadow Ball!"

The lights dimmed as a gigantic ball of swirling, pulsing darkness formed in between Kitsune's spoons, making a sound as though it were sucking the air around him. He fired it with the force of a bullet, easily covering half the distance in less than a second. Shadi attacked then; she slashed with both scythes at the Gallade's side, then stopped and jumped over him when he moved to block, using the strength in her wings to propel herself toward her real objective.

"Dodge!" bellowed Candice.

"Counter!" followed Maylene.

Weavile's insane speed allowed him to get out of the way just in time, the tip of Shadi's scythes whistling past his arm by a couple inches. Just then, Gallade raised both palms in front of him. In the moment before the dark orb connected, another, identical Shadow Ball formed in front of him. The two attacks collided in mid air, sparks of dark energy flying off in all directions for a few moments were neither advanced, their power perfectly matched. There was a loud, friction-like sound and they suddenly shot up, leaving the stadium in an instant, disappearing past the gathering clouds above.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Barry shook his head in disbelief. "How the…? That was such a fast counter!"

"Kitsune's still faster! Use that to your advantage," Inyssa told him. "Shadi, keep at it! Don't give him a second to rest!"

Shadi was relentless, jumping forward without even a moment's hesitation, leaving less than a second between each attack. With every moment that passed, the dark red glow cloaking her became more pronounced, more powerful; she absorbed a little momentum with every step she took, becoming faster and stronger the more she moved.

However, Inyssa couldn't help but frown. Something was wrong. Weavile wasn't fighting back, he wasn't even blocking, which would've made Shadi charge up even faster. He just waited for her to attack and jumped back at the last possible second, as though he didn't want to fight. As though…

Realization dawned on her as they reached the farthest corner of the stadium. He was leading her away from Kitsune.

"Barry!" she yelled, turning sharply. "They're–"

But just then Maylene threw her hand forward and yelled. "Psycho Cut!"

"Kitsune, Protect!"

The Alakazam crossed his spoons into an X, forming a small, spherical barrier around him just as Gallade jumped high into the air, the scythes on his arms glowing a bright pink. He tensed his muscles for a second, then slashed at the air in quick succession. Wide, triangular blades of psychic energy were shot down with incredible force, cutting through the air with ease as they traveled. Kitsune frowned, the tips of his mustache tingling in anticipation.

None of them connected. The first two fell at each of the Alakazam's side, like walls coming down from the sky. Then the third one fell behind him, connecting the other two. Only then, when it was already too late, did he and his trainer realize what the purpose of the attack was.

The rest of the blades landed, merging with each other and forming a polygonal, makeshift dome all around Kitsune, not intended to shield him but to trap him instead.

"Crap!"

"Shit!" said Inyssa. "Shadi, get back! Use Brick Break to…!"

Weavile saw the surprise in his opponent's face and used that moment to counter-attack, slashing at her chest with a dark-hemmed claw. Shadi barely reacted in time, but was only able to block, not absorb the attack. She stumbled back, hitting the ground with a deaf thump.

Inyssa breathed in sharply, biting her lower lip. The Gym leaders used that moment to speak.

"You think we didn't see your fight with old man Byron?" Maylene asked with a cocky grin.

"We are well aware of how… odd and dangerous your Kricketune's fighting style is," explained Candice. "So we'll be taking care of her first. Alakazam can sit this one out."

And with that, both their Pokemon were off. Trails of dark and psychic energy trailing behind them, they ran toward Shadi from opposite directions in a perfectly synced attack. She wouldn't be able to dodge or block both attacks. Inyssa realized this. And, a second after she did, a chuckle left her lips.

"Dumb-asses," she whispered, smiling. "Barry!"

"Got it!"

They threw their hands forward and yelled in unison.

"Switch!"

Glyphs of light materialized under their Pokemon's feet, casting a powerful glow over them as the air began to vibrate intensely. There was a flash, and they were gone. Once it vanished, Shadi and Kitsune had already switched places.

"What!?"

"Ally switch?" muttered Candice, eyes wide.

In the second it took Shadi to demolish the barrier around her, Kitsune glared daggers at his two opponents, and raised a hand toward each of them, spoons facing them.

"Shadow Ball!"

Unable to stop their jump mid-air, similar looks of horror crossed Gallade and Weavile's faces as pulsing balls of black energy the size of their heads were fired point-blank at them. The explosion made the ground shake. Dust trailed behind both Pokemon as they were sent flying back like cannon-balls, and even Kitsune wasn't safe from the recoil of shooting said attack at such close range. He fell to one knee, hands shaking, the fur covering them smoking hot by the sheer power of the explosion.

"That better not have taken you out!" Maylene yelled at her Pokemon. "Bounce back and charge another Psycho Cut!"

"Land and jump!" Candice followed. "That Kricketune's going to hit you from beh–"

Shadi knelt for a second and then jumped as high as she could, away from the Weavile flying back toward her. Candice's order froze in her mouth.

"Finally, some fucking space," Inyssa muttered to herself. "Barry!"

"On it! Kitsune, now!"

They raised their hands to the sky, calling out the attack in unison.

"Dance of Thorns!"

An electrifying wave of Psychic energy exploded from Kitsune's spoons, the air itself waving and contracting as dozens upon dozens of small, rectangular barriers materialized all throughout the stadium, from down to the ground to high up near the ceiling. The Gym leaders and their Pokemon looked around in awe and confusion, the latter struggling to stand after the previous attack. It was as though someone had left a bunch of glowing glass panes hanging around.

"What the…?"

Shadi landed atop one of the barriers close to the ground, knees buckled. The pale wisps of reddish light coating her body coalesced around her feet, and then she was gone. A blur. A streaking mess of red and black jumping from barrier to barrier at dizzying speeds, more and more momentum being absorbed with every jump she made.

"Stop her!" bellowed Maylene. "Hit her somewhere she's not defending herself!"

Gallade rose to his feet with difficulty, smoke rising from the burn on his chest caused by the previous attack. That, however, didn't seem to slow him down much. He jumped after Shadi without hesitation, landing on one of Kitsune's barriers and kneeling to jump again, scythes brimming with e–

The barrier gave out from under him. Startled, trying to regain balance, he barely noticed Kitsune's trail as he appeared above him, standing upside down on one of the barriers. With a burst of energy he shot himself down, straight at him.

"Psycho Cut!" yelled Barry.

"Counter!"

The glow coating Kitsune's spoons grew out of control, exploding into blinding shards of light as tall and thin as swords. He swung them down as he fell, forming an X. Gallade landed somewhat off balance and raised his own arms in response, taking the full brunt of the attack and pushing against it with his own scythes, sparks and crackles of psychic energy flying in all directions as the ground began to crack from under them.

Gallade let go, ducking to the side as his opponent's psychic blades crashed against the ground beside him. He spun on the ball of his feet, sneaking into Kitsune's side. The whistling of his scythes cutting through the air alerted the Alakazam to the oncoming swing. Spinning the blade on his right hand so it faced down, he stopped the scythes for a moment and then thrust with his remaining hand at his foe's chest. A step back and a much more elegant parry made it so the attack didn't connect, but Kitsune did not back down. The Pokemon threw themselves at each other with incredible ferocity, exchanging swings and thrusts one after the other, unable to concentrate on anything but the other's attacks.

"Got him busy," Barry told Inyssa with a quick smile. "You take care of that one."

She gave him a quick nod, then threw her hand forward. "Wipe him off the stadium! Obsidian Overture!"

Gusts of wind exploded off the Kricketune's feet as she jumped down at her opponent, her scythes glowing with a dark-red energy so potent it was almost black. Weavile raised his claws in preparation, but there was fear and shock in his eyes. Behind him, Candice balled her hands into fists and yelled out.

"Avalanche!"

Waves of stinging cold exuded off the Weavile as he dug his claws into the ground, summoning a long trail of enormous ice spikes that jutted out of the ground violently, forming a wall in front of him, their tips pointing at the oncoming Shadi. In a second, he covered half of the arena.

Unfortunately for him, that was a precaution he'd taken a little too late. Shadi crossed her scythes in front of her and the first spike shattered before she even made contact, the energy cloaking her destroying it upon touch. Both Weavile and his trainer gasped at the sight of the demon flying toward them like a red hot bullet.

Candice bit her lower lip. Knowing how this would end, she decided to cut her losses as much as she could, and screamed out.

"Dark Pulse!"

Weavile threw both arms to the side, letting out a sharp, icy screech as a wave of darkness exploded off his body. Unfortunately, this left him completely open. Shadi's scythes dispelled the dark energy with ease, finally connecting with their target. There was a short moment of silence, and then Weavile was gone. None of the trainers could even see him flying; they simply heard the crash of his body against the stadium wall behind him. Inyssa didn't even need to check if he was unconscious. The fact that he was half embedded into the wall was answer enough.

And still, she frowned.

"Son of a bitch made sure to screw us before he went down."

"Huh?" asked Barry, looking at her, then at where her gaze was set on. "Oh..:"

The Dark Pulse expanded, completely shattering the dozens of barriers Kitsune had put up with the barest touch, leaving the stadium bare once more. The attack was greatly weakened by the time it made it to the other two combatants. And yet they still wavered, letting out grunts of pain, once it made it to them, momentarily forcing them to stop their fight.

Gallade retreated back to his trainer's side while Candice returned her partner to his Pokeball and grabbed another one from her belt. Shadi and Kitsune stood back, expectant. Their chests rose and fell frenetically, though other than some mild exhaustion and a couple of bruises and burn marks, they weren't hurt too badly.

Inyssa pursed her lips; that wasn't good enough. Any damage that Shadi took was too much damage, and she could tell the Kricketune was having trouble holding on to the energy she'd accumulated, even after spending so much on her last attack. The more she fought, the more tired she'd be, and the harder it would be for her to concentrate on both her opponents and the energy swirling inside of her. A slip-up could be devastating.

"Great job," she said, trying to force a smile. "Three more and we'll be golden."

"Belelee!" Shadi replied, cheerful.

"Yeah, that was amazing Kitsune!" yelled Barry. "Those energy swords looked sick!"

The Alakazam simply rolled his eyes and let out a scoff. On the other side of the arena, Candice seemed to have made her choice.

"Sorry," she whispered, rolling the ball on the palm of her hand. "I should have seen through her strategy."

"No worries, babe. If I know you, I know you've got plenty of fight left in you," she said, giving her a wink.

"Heh… Alright, I guess I should turn up the heat a bit then." Candice looked down at the ball on her hand. "Metaphorically speaking, of course."

The Pokeball flew high into the air as she threw it, opening just as it momentum stopped. Light pooled down, taking form. A… rather massive form. Inyssa felt her mouth gape, the ever-growing shape of the beast before her sending a terrible chill down her spine. She was reminded of coming face to face with Byron's Steelix. Only in that case, she was well aware of how massive that thing was, Steelix being one of the most common defensive options if you were looking for a good steel-type. This… was different.

The light finally evaporated off the creature's body, letting her gawk at her full size. Easily three times as stall as Candice, both vertically and horizontally. It was almost impossible to discern what color it was, what with the several layers of snow, plants and roots cloaking it from head to toe. Inyssa was pretty sure she'd seen every one of those colors in the woods surrounding Snowpoint. She tried to imagine running into one of these back then. It was no wonder these things were considered the very embodiment of the wrath of the snowy forests themselves.

"Holy…" Barry looked as though he were being held at gunpoint, while simultaneously having found a stack of pancakes on the floor. "Are they really that big!? That's amazing!"

Inyssa rolled her eyes. "Save your wonder for when it doesn't want to eat our Pokemon. Here, let me…"

She raised her Pokedex to point at the creature, and then it happened.

"BAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The Abomasnow's cry boomed like an explosion, pushing them back and forcing Inyssa to take a step back, both hands pressing against her ears. She felt it in her bones. And as though that weren't enough, the Pokemon immediately began to glow. They had no time to react as she slammed both hands together like they were massive hammers, only for a swirling maelstrom of cold and frost to explode from her body. It swallowed the stadium in a second.

"Crap! Cold, cold cold!"

"Son of a bitch!" yelled Inyssa, every cell in her body shivering. "Not this again!"

The whole world became white and foggy, so much so that if it weren't for the flesh-searing cold, Inyssa would have thought she was inside her own mind again. Wind and hail blew in concentric circles, forming a gigantic dome around them. She had trouble seeing her own Pokemon, and had to squint very hard to even notice her opponents at the other side of the arena. Not to mention the constant roar of the hailstorm making it incredibly difficult to hear anything else.

"This is Abomasnow's special ability!" Candice's voice boomed from the speakers all around. "As you can see, she does not need to be in her natural habitat to unleash the storm upon you. She is the storm, after all."

Inyssa sneered at what she thought was her in the distance.

"Don't sound so cocky," she muttered. "We've endured worse than this."

"Excellent! Then I suppose you don't mind we give it our best to bring you down." There was something different about the Gym leader's tone. It was just as cold, but much less calculated. More jagged, sharp. Wild. "Go forth, Abomasnow! Let us unleash all of winter's wrath on them!"