Meanwhile… - Victory League Pokémon Center, Unova Region

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

Jessica and Connor Gladstone had watched patiently as their neighbor Night Slashed his way through two of the Elite Four. Connor was rapidly losing interest however, as he knew how Damon's Pokémon would match up to the combination of Blaze and Shruikan. Even now, the rolling ball of armored dragon was encircling the newly summoned Haxorus, whose Dual Chops kept missing.

Connor glanced at his sister, who was one hundred percent focused on the match, as usual, and then he turned his gaze elsewhere. It was around that time that Will strode into the common area of the Pokémon Center, apparently after depositing his team for a proper rest. He glanced at the siblings, before his eyes fell on Shauntal, and at that point, Connor realized his mask was off. There was forced confidence in the Elite Four's stride as he walked over to his contemporary, who'd been reading quietly in a corner, at least when Will hadn't been on the viewscreen.

He heard Jess whoop again, and looked up to see Shruikan had landed a hard hit on the Haxorus. By his estimate, Damon would lose this round too. Shruikan might last for a third, but he only had so much Dragonbreath to keep propelling himself around. The PP Max helped, but even those had limits.

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

Next up for Elite Four Damon was a Kommo-o, and judging by its size, Connor expected it to be the one to take down Shruikan. Kommo-o were fierce even for dragon types, and the fact that Damon had one, as well as a Hydreigon, spoke to his skill as a Dragon Tamer. Connor stood then, and went to the Pokémon Center's nurse, as Shruikan again started rolling around.

"Something I can get you, Challenger?" Nurse Joy said, with her typical cheery tone.

Connor nodded. "Nacho chips, and some of that 'cheese' to go with them."

Nurse Joy nodded once. "I'll let the kitchen know to bring it up. Do you need anything else?"

Connor nodded. "Are my Pokémon ready?" The nurse held out a hand for his Trainer ID, and he handed it over. She scanned it, and after a few moments of silence, spoke again.

"They are. Your team is in peak physical condition...we did find some mutated Pokérus cells on them, but the infection seems to have passed. I'll bring your balls up now." Nurse Joy said, as she typed on her desk computer, tabbed out of PokéCraft, and transferred them up.

Connor arched a deep crimson eyebrow as he took back his ID. "Pokérus cells? Like a virus?"

Nurse Joy nodded again. "It's a strain of bacteria that seems to benefit Pokémon, rather than hinder them. No examples of it being dangerous or having negative long-term effects have been found. In fact, many Trainers want their partners to catch it. Ultimately, it has been proven to increase a Pokémon's strength."

Connor thought for a moment, and then glanced at the viewscreen Jess was still watching. "That Challenger there...did his Pokémon have it too?"

Nurse Joy nodded. "His had a stronger strain, but they also had it at least several weeks ago. They have long since gotten over the infection."

Connor glanced at Jess then, and back to the nurse. "My sister's Pokémon...do they have it?"

Nurse Joy shook her head. "Not anymore. Their infection seemed to match the one found on that Challenger's Pokémon."

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

"I see." Connor said, as he took his balls, and set them on his belt. "Gar. Gren." His Garchomp and Greninja appeared from their balls at his word. "I want you both to watch and learn from Alex's match. Don't underestimate that Shelgon...someday, it's going to be a real pain, and knowing Alex, he'll send it out to counter you, Gar."

The two Pokémon nodded, and then joined Jess in watching the match. Connor looked around the room again, mostly out of boredom, until he noticed Will and Shauntal were seated now, and their eyes were locked, almost creepily on the other, as they discussed something in a whisper.

After seeing Will's mannerisms, Connor had expected he and Shauntal to have a thing. To his relatively inexperienced eyes, it seemed their romance was just kicking off. He returned to their table as the nachos arrived and set his eyes on the screen. Kommo-o was staying in one place, as the rolling Shelgon tried striking it, and Connor soon saw Damon's plan. The Shelgon would tire long before a defensive warrior like Kommo-o.

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

Chamber of the Dragon Tamer, Victory Plateau - Unova Region

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

Both Alex and Shruikan felt the frustration, as the Kommo-o's guard was as impenetrable as the scales it guarded with. He didn't want to use Dragon Hammer on a Pokémon famous for uppercuts, but it seemed that was exactly what Damon was driving them towards, with his tactics. Either way, Shruikan would tire out before the Kommo-o did. "Alright Shruikan, once more, into the air! Then Dragon Hammer!"

Damon let a faint smirk break his generally serious features. "Clanging Scales." As Shruikan reached the apex of his Dragonbreath assisted jump, powerful vibrations infused with dragon energy rocked him, and as he was in his shell, the thunderous noise that somehow penetrated it made him lose focus on his move. "Good, now end it! Sky Uppercut!

The air rippled as the Kommo-o hunched, and then leapt. Fighting type energy propelled it higher, high enough to hit, or that's what it looked like. Shruikan's trajectory had shifted after the powerful and super effective move, and the Kommo-o, not an air battler, had greatly misjudged his rising fist. As both Trainers realized the uppercut was going to miss, they tried to counter, and play off the upwards momentum, with the same move.

"Kommo-o, quick, Dragon Claw!"

"Shruikan, use bursts of Dragonbreath to dodge, then counter with Dragon Claw!"

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

The falling ball of armored dragon did as ordered, blue flames rocketing from his mouth as he attacked with his rear or tried to. The Kommo-o dodged the hurtling Shelgon, and then suddenly, they were face to face in the air. The two dragon type's eyes met, and as their Dragon Claws collided, there was an explosion of power, and the usual accompanying cloud of dust and smoke from the collision. The Trainers heard two thuds, and Alex looked down at the floor, as he heard the jangling.

Once visibility returned, it revealed Shruikan fainted, and the Kommo-o only slightly worse for wear. His Sky Uppercut had gone about as poorly as it possibly could, but he'd made up for it with the Dragon Claw. Alex kept his head downturned, hat covering his eyes as he recalled his Shelgon. "Well, I almost swept all Four with one Pokémon...but that's not what matters. We're strong enough to win it all, as a team. Blaze! Avenge your teammate."

The Charizard appeared with a flash of red, and a roar, and as his eyes met the Kommo-o's, Alex felt his pocket start to hum. He raised the fire aspected Plate crystal, and his Charizard drew the beam of crimson energy into him as he ascended to his Mega Form with a roar that shook the chamber.

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

"Get ready Kommo-o! Sky Uppercut!" Damon said, expecting the fire lizard to start flying.

"Into the air, Blaze. It's almost done...pepper it with Air Slash and finish the round. Save your dragon Moves...we'll need them." The Mega Charizard snorted white hot flames as his Trainer gave the order, and he flew into the air as the clanging dragon type from Alola charged him.

With respect to the Kommo-o, his Sky Uppercut was indeed perfect in form, but a Mega Charizard was not the kind of Pokémon to pick an aerial battle with, if one could not fly. Blaze let the fighting energy infused fist come tantalizingly close, even though it wouldn't have done much damage, and then suddenly he moved away from the Kommo-o with a single backwards wing flap. His wings glowed white with flying energy, and it scythed forwards into the fighting and dragon type, who was unable to dodge midair.

Blaze continued the barrage as his opponent fell, and then landed two more Air Slashes besides, once it was on the floor and surrounded by dust and smoke. Blaze returned to his side of the field with a roar, and one wing flap revealed to his Trainer that the Charizard had indeed won the round.

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

Damon kept his eyes upon the mega evolved fire lizard and reached for his next ball. "Noivern. You've handled Mega Forms before...take the field, and Boomburst!"

"Dodge, Blaze. Then ready your Dragon Pulse." Alex replied, and Blaze was already moving by the time his Trainer gave the order. The booming bursts the Noivern continued firing disrupted the air quite a bit, and it didn't take long for the flying bat dragon to realize what the Charizard was doing, to dodge his moves.

As the Noivern ceased booming, Damon gave his next order. "You as well, Noivern! Dragon Pulse!"

Blaze's eyes narrowed, and his flames shifted to a whitish blue color as he condensed the energy in multiple layers and formed a sparking red sphere in his maw. Noivern's move didn't look half as impressive, and as the two Pokémon fired, Blaze's Dragon Pulse tore right through the wide area spray of the other and landed with critical effectiveness as the Noivern and his Trainer both watched in disbelief.

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

As the dust cleared, the Noivern stayed standing, and Blaze snorted. It was hanging on by a thread of stamina. "Finish it, Blaze. Heat Wave!"

"Use Hurricane around yourself! Stay shielded!" Damon called, and the weakened flying and dragon type did as ordered, calling up a circular wind wall just in time to avoid the worst of the heat. "Now, fly into the darkness above, and hide!"

There was a shifting shape within the wind vortex, and as the Hurricane dissipated, the Noivern was not inside. Alex grimaced, as he hadn't wanted to use more moves ending a Pokémon that was essentially done. "Blaze! Use Smokescreen."

Damon chuckled, as the field became a haze of darkness and smoke. "That...was a poor choice. Noivern is unmatched in the dark. Use Psychic!"

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

Blaze felt himself be lifted and tossed about like a ragdoll as the Psychic attack hit, but through the gloom, he spied the glowing eyes of the Noivern. He growled to his Trainer as the Psychic ended, and he stood up, slightly worse for wear. "Dragon Pulse. But stay moving."

The Charizard snorted, and did as he was instructed. He moved, but not to dodge. Once more the sparking ball of dragon energy formed in his maw, but he flew towards the Noivern's glowing eyes, using the darkness and Smokescreen to come from behind with an almost noiseless gliding maneuver. All the Noivern had for a warning was an ominous dark red glow, before there was an explosion.

Once more, Blaze had landed a critical hit in the hope of impressing his Trainer, and this one caused the batlike dragon type to fall, fainted, to the field. Blaze flew back into the Smokescreen and hovered near his Trainer as Alex's hand and Blaze's claw slapped together in affirmation of their teamwork, as Damon summoned his next Pokémon.

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

Next up for the Victory League's Dragon Tamer was a Garchomp that was more blackish gray than blue in scale color. Blaze's eyes narrowed, as the ground typed shark dragon effortlessly tracked his position through the Smokescreen, and roared. "Now Garchomp!" Damon said, as he brushed aside the cloak and raised his right hand, revealing a Mega Cuff. "Mega Evolve!"

Unlike most other Trainers in recent months, Damon was still using Mega Stones, and while Alex couldn't see where the Garchomp's was, he knew this would become a true clash between two Pokémon in their Mega Forms. He felt the heat behind and above him increase, and he knew that his Charizard's flames had shifted to blue once more. Despite being a ground type, Garchomp were expert fliers, though they lacked the maneuverability Blaze had in his Mega Form.

"Dragon Rush!"

"Keep ahead of it, Blaze...dodge, then Dragon Pulse!"

The Charizard did manage his dodge, just barely, as he stayed ahead of the Garchomp. His mouth opened, and began sparking as he formed the Dragon Pulse, and his wings flared, suddenly, which had thus far been the best method to lose the aerial land shark. The Garchomp Dragon Rushed ahead with his momentum, and Blaze rocked in the air with recoil as he floated in place and fired.

The Dragon Pulse landed, hard, but the Mega Garchomp wasn't done yet. It flew around back to Damon and landed. Blaze cleared the lingering Smokescreen as he did the same, and the two Pokémon glared at each other. Without commands from either Trainer, they each readied a Dragon Claw, and then charged. The entire room, and likely the building itself, shuddered as they collided.

Both Dragon Claws landed and dealt damage, and the two mega evolved Pokémon traded several blows, before Damon shouted, "Enough, Garchomp! You won't win like that. Fall back, then Dragon Rush!"

Alex smirked. "Well done, Blaze. Are you still good to go?" The Charizard let out a roar that made the very air vibrate with its intensity. Alex winced at the sound, blinked twice, and then smirked again. "Good. Smokescreen." The Charizard exhaled through his mouth, and the room became impossible to see in once more. "Now into the air and dodge it! Dragon Pulse once it's open!"

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

The Garchomp followed the wingbeats of Blaze, but the Charizard knew its tricks by now. He flapped loudly several times, and then flew upside down, skirting the battlefield floor, as he waited. Just then, Damon shouted, "He's luring you in, Garchomp! Don't fall for it!"

Unfortunately for Damon however, in the next moment, the Garchomp Dragon Rushed right above Blaze, looking down just in time to see the ominously dark red tinged smoke part in the ferocious wake of the Dragon Pulse. Once more the insanely lucky Charizard landed a critical hit, but even that did not fell the Garchomp.

The smoke blew away from the impact of the Dragon Pulse, and with an injured scythe-wing, Garchomp wouldn't be flying anymore. "Finish it from above, Blaze! Dragon Pulse!" Instead of listening however, Blaze landed as well, glanced at his Trainer, and then looked back at the Garchomp. Alex chuckled. "Always after a fair Battle...fine, then. Dragon Claw!"

That command, Blaze happily obeyed, and the respect he saw in the Garchomp's eye as he too had landed was worth disobeying a direct order. Alex wasn't too strict about it, as long as such disobedience didn't cost them the match.

"You can do this Garchomp! It's weak as well! Dual Chop!" Damon gave the order, and to its credit, the Garchomp charged rather rapidly towards Blaze, who flapped into the air just above the field, and stayed low, as he charged as well. His physique was nowhere near as good for running as Garchomp's, and he preferred flying fast and low anyways.

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

Alex winced, as the Garchomp landed both Dual Chops, but Blaze countered hard with Dragon Claw, and that, finally made the Mega Form vanish from the land shark. It collapsed with a soft growl, and Blaze met its faltering gaze, nodded once, and then it fainted. The Charizard roared triumphantly, and then walked back towards Alex, as his Mega Form faded away.

Alex smirked. "Tired, eh? I don't blame you. Get a good rest, we may need you for the next Battle. Hydrus! You're up!" He recalled Blaze, and in his place, came the fresh, eager, and burly Swampert. He was a far cry from the tiny Mudkip he'd caught at the start of the summer, and Alex knew he would only grow stronger.

Damon raised a bushy black eyebrow, and unlike his hair, both of those were black, as he saw the challenger's choice. "All I have left is you, Flygon! Do your best!" The Flygon appeared, floating in the air with an ominous hum as it did. "We may not have the power to beat this Challenger, Flygon, but we will make a good showing all the same!"

"Fly! Gon!" It answered in response, and Hydrus let himself smirk, as his Trainer did.

"Hydrus. Mega Evolve." Alex raised the Splash Plate shard, and Hydrus drew the energy into his body, as he ascended to the next level. "Now use Rain Dance!" The overly burly mudfish pounded the field as he finished his transformation and a light rain started to cover the field, but if the Flygon was scared, it betrayed nothing.

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

"Flygon! Use Sand Tomb!" The Flygon sped into the air, and then spewed forth sand at Hydrus, meant to slow him down.

Alex wasn't worried about their speed though. "Tank the hit, Hydrus." The mudfish nodded, as he was aware of the plan, and a ground type move would do little to a water and ground type. His arms shielded his eyes and chest as the sand surrounded and trapped him.

Damon's eyes narrowed, but when Alex didn't press the counter, he struck again. "Flygon! Use Dragon Claw!"

Alex's smirk widened, as Damon went for more STAB, for all the good it would do him against what was coming. "Hydrus...let them close in." The Mega Swampert flexed, and broke free of the Sand Tomb, arms raised in a battle stance as the Flygon's sharp tail lit up with blurple dragon energy and got ready to slash the mudfish. As it came within four feet, Alex gave the order. "Avalanche!"

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

The bulky mudfish raised his fists, faster than the Flygon expected, and they glowed with ice energy as he formed the water from the Rain Dance into a flood of icy rocks. The Flygon managed to dodge the first larger few, but then, he dodged right into a particularly large one and was buried by the quadruple effective move in a pile of rock and ice.

"Boomburst!" Damon shouted, and a wave of ultrasonic force blasted the ice and rock apart into nothingness. "Now Fissure!"

Alex winced, as he waited. The Flygon radiated ground energy, and it came very close to working, but the field did not split, and Flygon was left open for a harsh counter. One Hydrus was already poised to deliver, as he loomed over the depowered sand dragon.

"Hydro Cannon." Alex said, with a tone of finality, and Hydrus raised his fists. While the folds on his water cannons usually rolled up so they could propel him forwards, this time, he aimed them at the Flygon, and the side closest to his clenched fingers rolled up instead. The most powerful water move available to a Pokémon like him hammered the already damaged Flygon, and beneath the red coverings, its eyes turned to Xs.

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

Hydrus let the power from the Plate crystal fade, and he helped the Flygon limp over to its Trainer, as it regained consciousness, and sought relief from its weakened state. Damon applied a Max Potion, and gave the mudfish an under chin scratch. "You have my thanks, Swampert."

"Swaaamp!" Hydrus answered, before lumbering back to his smirking Trainer. Alex handed him a Sitrus Berry, and then recalled him so he could rest, and eat.

"Go and face the final member of the Elite Four, Challenger. Apparently, you know him, hence all the...drama...around his barred door. You should now find it open to you. I wish you luck on the heights you have yet to climb." Damon spoke with a grim monotone, but it seemed he accepted the loss and was glad he hadn't been swept like Will and Shauntal.

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

Alex stepped on the telepad, and bamfed back to the main hall. As he looked around at his series of conquests, he found the fighting type door was indeed open. He called out his team, and climbed on Terra's shell, as he fed them, and gave them a rest. Making whoever was waiting, wait longer, seemed a just punishment to the still somewhat salty Trainer.

It wasn't unusual for challengers to take their time between battles. Some Elite Four members had time limits, but the popular opinion was that those seeking to be Champion should be given all the time they need between matches, so each Battle would be as intense as possible. Smart Trainers healed, but typically didn't start camping in the middle of the hallway leading to each of the Elite Four. He wouldn't have done it had he been in, say, Kalos, but this was a special circumstance. Arthur had taken several poundings all morning, some of them rather intense, but his Gallade seemed in top form, as his Trainer watched him punch the air before him, and then dodge an imaginary blow.

Once he'd learned that mental image training was apparently a thing, Arthur had developed his own kind of semi-constant practice, as only a psychic type could. He knew every fighting type Pokémon species, that was in the Pokédex, and he imagined sparring against each of them fist to fist, as the party ate and recovered. He had focused on Machamp and Mega Medicham the most, as their multiple arms were infamously hard to deal with, according to the Pokénet. Most of it was guesswork, as Unova had very specific fighting types, but Arthur was prepared for anything, especially now that the Fighting Type Expert was going to presumably have a different team than Marshal.

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

Eventually, the Gallade ate as well, and Alex took his time packing up, before finally approaching the door. The steel cage that Marshal had held his matches in remained, and much of the room was still the same. It was dark though, and the spotlights hanging above the field were missing. Alex climbed the stairs to the top, seeing no one, but as he stepped into the Trainer box of the half a field, he felt it rumble, and from below, the other half of the field rose, revealing his old friend and rival from University, Nick, sitting in a classic 'Bruno pose'.

It had been some time since they'd seen each other, as two years into Alex's stint on campus, Nick had graduated, and left on his journey to train his team, and expand his knowledge firsthand through travel. By the time Alex had graduated, Nick had returned to Unova, but he stayed in New Tork City, and taught humans and Pokémon tips for wellness and maintaining one's physical form. His own body had grown as well, and there was no question as to who was more muscular between them.

Alex stared, in disbelief as his friend rose and spun in place all at once. He was also clad in black and white. His similarly colored sparring helmet covered his forehead and had a Pokéball of the same color pairing covering each ear. Around his shoulders was a worn black and white scarf that he'd gotten the day he'd graduated, as Alex remembered it. His attire was that of a fighter, with forearm bandage coverings and fighter gloves as well. "You're kidding me. N picked you for the Elite Four?"

Nick smirked. "Apparently my name was on a list the Champion was given when we needed a sudden replacement for Marshal. In the end, he picked me to be here. I'm glad my first match is against you. I know how much you want to be Champion, but I'm sorry bud...your ascension ends here."

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

Alex smirked back. "The last time you saw me, I had no Pokémon, no Badges, and almost no experience in Battle. I'm a lot different now...I'm finally doing what I've always known I was meant to. You don't have the power to stop me! I'll push past you as well, old friend." With that, he threw Arthur's ball, and the Gallade took the field, looking rested and refreshed. Alex felt slightly more guilty about making Nick wait, but he'd earned it by not facing him at his team's peak. Arthur wasn't the only one to have taken hits, and Alex had no idea if sweeping his old friend was a possibility. His team was a complete unknown, but he was aware of what his friend had started with.

It wasn't a Chesnaught that Nick summoned to the field, but a Heracross. Both Trainers shouted the same move, as the battle began. "Aerial Ace!"

Arthur's forearms lit up with flying energy, while the Heracross readied one of the few super effective moves it had for a Gallade with its long horn. The two Pokémon charged forward, and while the Heracross managed to go strike for strike at first, it took Arthur only two rounds of blows before he got under the fighting bug's defenses, and landed a critical, and quadruple effective hit, which the Heracross managed to stay conscious through.

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

"Press the advantage, Arthur! Don't let up!" Alex said, and his Gallade continued hammering the Heracross, who looked to his Trainer, as the powerful and still somewhat damaging strikes became harder and harder to block. By the time Nick countered, Arthur landed a second hit with Aerial Ace, and sent the Heracross sliding backwards against the stretchable ring ropes that were surrounding their battlefield.

"Swords Dance, Heracross! Then beat it back with Pin Missile!" Nick said, and the almost fainted Heracross obeyed, flying into the air and looping in a pattern that raised its attack power. Then, from the spiky forearms came the bug energy fueled missiles that the Gallade gracefully dodged. Arthur made it look effortless, but his Trainer could tell he was tiring quickly.

"Finish it, Arthur. Aerial Ace!" The Gallade nodded, then zigged, and zagged past the remaining Pin Missiles as he charged forwards. As he leapt, he vanished from the fighting bug's sight, only to hammer it from behind in the air. The force of the hit knocked out the Heracross, and sent it skidding across the field, before Nick recalled it. The Gallade gave the opposing Trainer a smirk, and then flipped backwards through the air back to his starting position.

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

"Bruce." Nick said, as he stared Alex down. "You're up." He tossed his ball then, as a Hitmonlee popped from it, and did an unnecessary flip, before landing. The Pokémon's movements weren't excited though as he wasn't bouncing on his feet. Instead, the Hitmonlee was calm, confident, and prepared his hands as well as his feet, for the bout that was about to come. Alex knew that like his namesake, an ancient Old Earth martial artist by the name of Bruce Lee, the fighting type had learned to balance his devastatingly powerful kicks with punches as well. When he'd last seen him, he'd been trying to replicate the One Inch Punch, with little success.

Silence reigned over the field for several moments, so Alex struck first. "Once more, Arthur! Aerial Ace!"

Nick smirked. "Double Kick."

The Hitmonlee's frankly absurd leg reach smashed into Arthur, who blocked the foot with one arm wreathed in flying energy. Not losing a beat, Bruce brought the other foot around, and this time dragged the Gallade closer to him, as he blocked with Aerial Ace. Arthur hammered the fighting type in stomach once he was closer, only for the move to fade, and for Bruce to be more than ready to keep going.

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

"One Inch Mega Punch!" Nick shouted, confirming that Bruce had indeed mastered that technique in the years since he'd started and faster than Arthur could blink, the Hitmonlee's arm extended his fist, and punched him in the jaw, sending him flying back towards his Trainer as he rolled several times before he stopped, and slowly rose again.

Nick stared at the seeming lack of damage, and at that moment realized just how much higher leveled the Gallade was. He'd need to weaken it significantly, or he too would be swept. Then, it was Arthur's turn to counter, and while Alex would've preferred Psycho Cut, he used what he had available, and used their next best option. "Get in close, Arthur." Arthur bounced on his feet, eyes locked with the Hitmonlee's, when suddenly, he shifted his form and vanished. "Now Zen Headbutt!"

Bruce's eyes moved as Arthur did, as they were able to follow the Gallade, but his body wasn't as quick to match. He was brave by nature, which made him absurdly powerful, but slow. He shifted just in time to give the Gallade an opening on his midsection. A Double Kick was incoming, but even Bruce knew it was too slow. Arthur hammered him with the psychic energy covered spike of his 'helmet' and sent him sliding across the ring as his free arm blocked Bruce's extending foot, but Alex gave another command, eager to finish the round before the Hitmonlee countered again. "Aerial Ace." With another step, Arthur was over Bruce, and he brought his flying typed fist down on the damaged fighting type, ending the round.

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

Next up was a Poliwrath, and since Alex had trained both Arthur and Leo in the art of dealing with that kind of insane strength, because his brother also used one, Arthur was prepared for Nick's. Or at least, that was what he assumed.

Their opening attack was quick, and brutal. "Close Combat!"

"Block with Aerial Ace, then Thunder Punch!" Alex responded, even as Arthur was already blocking with flying energy, and blunting the insane power coming from the burly pollywog. Finally, an opening in the Poliwrath's guard appeared, and Arthur fired a Thunder Punch through it, and while he landed, the Pokémon stayed standing. This one seemed as strong as the Hitmonlee, if not stronger.

"Hypnosis!" Nick countered, and since Arthur was so close, the attack managed to land, despite being inaccurate.

Alex had time to give his Gallade an order before the swirling pattern on the pollywog's belly fired its sleep rays. "Alright Arthur! Dodge! Just like last time!"

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

Arthur nodded, and his arms became like limp noodles as his eyes closed, and sleep took hold. He stayed standing, and relied on his unconscious mind's danger sense to dodge for him, while he was temporarily incapable of fighting. Nick did not waste time in countering. "Dynamic Punch!" This close to the target, the Elite Four member expected a hit, but Arthur's lithe form shifted at the last moment, and Nick could've sworn the sleeping Gallade was smirking as he dodged. "Smug little...Close Combat!"

Arthur dodged the first two furious fists from the Poliwrath, but the rest landed, pummeling him and knocking him back across the field. When he rose again however, the intense eyes were open once more. Alex was also smirking. "You know what to do, Arthur."

The Gallade nodded, and then jump-stepped towards the Poliwrath. It scanned the field for the Gallade, and its gaze was drawn upwards, as it felt the electricity in the air. Arthur had one fist pulled back and sparking as he came down on the Poliwrath. "Submission!" Nick yelled, and as the thunderous boom indicated a hit, there was a small explosion from the collision of moves as well.

"Aerial Ace." Alex said, before the cloud even cleared, and from within, the burly pollywog came hurtling out as the Gallade hammered the weak but still standing fighter with yet another fist. This one finally brought the bulky Pokémon down, and Arthur panted, as he walked out of the smoke from the move collision, and returned to his spot. Alex gave him their single Potion for the battle, and he perked up immediately, which made Nick grimace.

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

He didn't expect to beat Alex at this point, not down by three and with his whole team in reserve. He had watched the match with Damon, and knew his protégé's Pokémon to be just as ferocious as this Gallade was. "Chesni. Spiky Shield, then Seed Bomb!" The Chesnaught that Nick brought out was one Alex had known as a Chespin, which had evidently evolved in the years since. He smiled as he reformed in this dimension and saw Alex. He gave a single nod, then did as his Trainer had commanded. Their species wasn't impossible to find in northern Unova, but they were rare enough that Nick had been the only graduate in his year to have one as his starter Pokémon. Alex had found one in the White Forest, but Invictus was nowhere near trained enough to be at the Victory League.

The massive grass and fighting typed tank eyed the Gallade, within its shield. The four larger horns atop it glowed green, and from them, the air filled with massive, green Seed Bombs. Having seen Terra's in action several times, Alex was mildly annoyed that these somehow seemed bigger, but he knew his patient grass turtle was watching with interest from within his ball, and probably learning.

"Dodge, Arthur! Focus on not getting hit!" Alex ordered.

It was Nick's turn to smirk then. "Keep them coming, Chesni. Don't let it get close."

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

Arthur managed to dodge well enough, and as he did, he made his way towards the hunkered Chesnaught, and that was when Alex called the move. "Aerial Ace!"

Arthur knew Aerial Ace usually didn't miss, but then, he was usually much better at attacking. As he closed in on the Chesnaught's shell, he reared back to punch, realizing too late that the Pokémon within the shell was watching, and waiting, for an opening in his guard. He got one, and Nick countered hard. "Shadow Punch!"

The Chesnaught was standing before Arthur could blink, and he countered with a ghost energy infused limb that hammered Arthur, and once more sent him skipping across the field. Having never been hit so hard so many times in one Battle, the wear was starting to show on Arthur, who at this point in the challenge had soloed the vast majority of their League challenge.

"Shake it off, Arthur. There's three more to go, and then, you get to sleep." Alex said, and his Gallade responded by lighting up his arms with another Aerial Ace. "Watch your guard, and hammer it with a flurry of Aerial Aces!"

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

Arthur began running, blinked out of sight, but by this point, Nick was wise to his tricks. "In the air Chesni! Seed Bomb!" The Chesnaught once more hunkered down, and fired the large triangular Seed Bombs, only to have the svelte Gallade gracefully dance past them in air, before bringing down not one, but two Aerial Aces.

"Keep it up, Arthur!" Alex shouted, and the Gallade nodded, staying close as his flying enhanced fists powered up for more. He danced behind the tanky Pokémon's shell, thinking that would gain him an advantage.

"Wood Hammer, Chesni!" Nick countered, only to watch in disbelief as the Gallade leapt over the low sweep of the burly Chesnaught's arm. He hammered the shell with four Aerial Aces this time, all in rapid succession, and the Chesnaught fell over then, fainted, as his quadruple weakness proved to be the chink in the otherwise impenetrable armor.

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

Nick recalled his starter then, and pulled out what looked like, to Alex's eyes, a Master Ball. "I was hoping you'd be weaker by the time I needed this one...and since it's more of a myth than a Legend, the Victory League has allowed me to use it. Mars! I choose you!" Nick hurled the ball then, and it opened to reveal a Pokémon that both Alex and Connor, along with most of the scientific world, had deemed simply did not exist. Some Alolan legends claimed they were in fact real, and sometimes foul tempered, sometimes exceptional builders, but most Professors had claimed the 'sightings' of Marshadow were all hallucinatory, likely caused by something else in their shadow. The prevailing theory had been that Gengar was responsible, as they so often were, but the Marshadow was standing before them, impossible to deny.

"You actually found a Marshadow...and named it Mars." Alex said, as he shook his head. "You would."

"Once you see it fight, you'll understand why it has earned the name of the old god of War. Ready, Mars?" Nick said, as the Marshadow looked at him, and nodded. Their shadows stretched, and met each other, forming together in the harsh lighting of the room. Alex saw now why Nick had kept the lights. Nick fell into a fighting crouch, and so did his Pokémon.

"Alright Arthur...psychic, ghost, and flying typed Moves are what we need...be careful. You haven't seen Nick's fighting style, and that's who you're fighting this time, essentially." Arthur nodded as his Trainer spoke, and readied himself. "Alright, go!"

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

The Gallade charged forward, but before he could bamf, Mars was already there. It immediately became apparent who was faster, as Nick shouted, "Shadow Punch!" Arthur tried blocking with his prepared Aerial Ace, but the punch did not come from where he expected it to, and it hit him across the face, hard, as he struck, and missed.

"Double Team! Then use Zen Headbutt!" Alex said, and Arthur leapt backwards, one arm vertical, while the other crossed it horizontally. Clones of the Gallade appeared around them, and as the Zen Headbutts started coming, Mars dodged them effortlessly, as Nick did. It copied its Trainer's movements, and then countered when he called the same move again.

The Shadow Punch met the Zen Headbutt, only to find it was a clone. The real Arthur hammered Mars from behind, and the fighting ghost turned mid-hit to counter with a Shadow Punch, once more to the face. Both Pokémon were slow to rise after a critical hit from each, and Arthur smirked. "Gal...Gal, lade."

The ghost nodded, once in what seemed like agreement with whatever Arthur said. "Marshadow."

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

"Close Combat!" Nick said, as he started shadowboxing on his side of the field.

"Block with Aerial Ace! Counter with another Zen Headbutt!" Alex replied, and Arthur did as instructed, keeping both the Trainer and the Pokémon in his sight, so he could better predict their moves. The further Mars was from his Trainer, the slower the shadow copying movements were, and the clever Gallade drew Mars back towards Alex, seemingly unable to counter the flurry of fighting typed fists coming at him.

Yet, none landed, and when the Marshadow, or rather, its Trainer, finally paused for breath, Arthur countered, hammering it with the psychic energy infused head spike that was part of his helmet. He sent Mars sliding all the way back to Nick. It looked at its Trainer, nodded, and then glared at the Gallade, as the smoke surrounding it shifted colors, and the Marshadow entered its Zenith. Nick grinned. "Now you've done it. It's time, Mars. Seven Star Strike!"

Alex looked down, as he knew Arthur didn't have anything, yet, that could stop a move like that, powered by Z Energy or not. To his credit, the Gallade didn't fight the inevitable, but rather stood tall, and closed his eyes before the seven ghost typed strikes hammered him into unconsciousness with explosive ghost powered chi.

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

Alex knew how long his Gallade stayed fainted for, usually, and tossed a Max Revive after the allotted time had passed, in silence. The Gallade's arm caught it, popped it in his mouth, and chewed. He sat then, panting hard as Alex recalled him into the comfort of his pocket dimension. "Well done, Arthur. Doing this well without Psycho Cut, without your swords, is genuinely impressive...you're going to be unstoppable once we figure that out." He met Nick's gaze then, and the Fighting Type Expert of the Elite Four flinched. His old apprentice's eyes were burning.

"Blaze. Air Slash!"

The Charizard appeared the second he was called, and his assault was relentless as his wings immediately sought to avenge his teammate. "Dodge." Nick said, not worried, and Mars did so, shifting vertically as his Trainer moved him horizontally. It took a deep level of coordination to Battle the way they were, but there was a reason Nick had been chosen for this post. Mars danced away from each exploding blast of flying energy with ease.

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

Then, the Elite Four countered. "Rock Slide. Then punch the rocks at it!"

Alex grimaced, as a quadruple weakness hit now would make whatever his old friend had saved for last that much harder. He wasn't too concerned, but his only Potion use had been on Arthur, as planned. "Blaze! Mega Evolve!"

Nick chuckled. "That won't help your speed difference. Face it, Redwood. Your League Challenge ends here!"

Alex smirked, and his raised fist glowed crimson as his Charizard ascended to the next level. "Famous last words. Keep dodging Blaze, and counter with Air Slash!" Nick shook his head, and guided Mars in hammering the Rock Slide at the flying fire lizard with what should have been perfect aim. Over and over though, the smirking Charizard dodged the rocks, as they perforated the dome of the room. "Now, Blaze! Sunny Day!"

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

Suddenly, the Charizard zigged in front of the intense lights, and the Marshadow winced as its enhanced eyes tracked it automatically, into the blinding glare. Its shadow broke from Nick, as it covered its eyes in vain attempts to stop the pain. It felt more pain, as the Mega Charizard hammered the fighting ghost with multiple Air Slashes, two missed, but the final two hit, and sent Mars flying back across the field.

Alex wasn't done, though. "Heat Wave! Focus on the air around you!" Blaze obliged, and the air rippled as the unaffected fire lizard turned it hot. Almost hot enough to ignite the very atmosphere, but Blaze knew from experience how far he could safely push this kind of temperature. "Now Air Slash!"

The Charizard roared, and fired a blast of superheated air at the Marshadow, who managed a close dodge, but was unexpectedly burned as it hadn't accounted for the heat. As the pain made it hesitate, the unerring aim of the Charizard hit home several more times, leaving the Marshadow panting, and on one knee.

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

"Mars! Reconnect!" Nick said, as he realized just how much damage his mythical Pokémon had taken. The Marshadow nodded, and once more, they were bonded by shadow. Nick shifted at the same time as Mars, and suddenly, Blaze's aim was dodged. The faster Pokémon was readying a counter, as it dashed over to the part of the field that was still superheated. More bullet-like Rock Slide boulders kept Blaze on the move, that is, until Nick called their next move. "Rock Tomb! Punch them at the Charizard!"

The Marshadow leapt, and both Trainer and Pokémon struck, several times, sending the massive and already melting rocks towards Blaze. The Charizard ducked, dodged, and dove around the burning boulders, coming out from under the last one at a speed that was, in fact, enough to match the Marshadow. Nick realized someone had eaten their vitamins as a Charmander, and while he expected an Air Slash, what he got was a game ender.

"Blast Burn!" Blaze hammered the field hard as he landed, right in front of Mars, and the eruption of flame that followed was enough to send the damaged mythical Pokémon into unconsciousness. Blaze circled back to his side of the field, having only taken a few grazes from the Rock Slides, and roared loud enough to shake the air itself.

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

Nick chuckled, and poked his eardrum. "I take it you kept them to the training schedule I gave you...is your whole team like this?"

Alex's smirk widened. "You should see my Torterra. Blaze is faster though, and loves Battling a lot more. Terra is more...defensive."

Nick blinked. "Well yea. It's a turtle." He shook his head then, and called out his final Pokémon. "Shifu! I don't want to lose to a Charizard. Let's win!"

"You're not going to get past him." Alex said with a knowing tone. "Air Slash!" The Charizard began firing, and the Medicham put his hands together, and dodged the first three, but then found itself shifting into the fourth, as Blaze read its dodging pattern. He got two more hits, before the Medicham again dodged, and then countered.

"Shifu! Keep Meditating!" Nick said, as the Medicham's hands consistently glowed brighter. Its dodges became stiffer, and closer, and Blaze was gaining his measure, but was also running low on Air Slashes to pepper him with. As Blaze slowed in the velocity of his attacks to save power, Nick countered.

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

"High Jump Kick for air! Then Thunder Punch!" The Medicham dashed towards the Charizard, and kicked into the air, bringing his feet up and turning upside down in the air as he did, using the momentum to go even higher. Then, came the Thunder Punch.

"Match it, Blaze." Alex said, knowing his Mega Charizard, despite being a special attacker, was still in a different weight class than Medicham. His Charizard focused the electric energy, condensing it for safety, and by instinct around his clenched claw as the pair of fists met, and caused an explosion of energy.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Blaze rocketed away from the sparks, only to find that Shifu was following up with the other fist, as Arthur had consistently done throughout their battles, striking with both limbs. "Air Slash!" Blaze hammered the Medicham guiding the wind blade around the fist that might've stopped or halved the damage. He scored a hard enough hit to kill the Medicham's momentum, and send it dropping back to the floor.

To avoid injury, Shifu needed a forward roll, and it was as he was forced into a single direction for that roll that the follow up Air Slashes finished the match, right as Blaze ran out of them. He landed, panting hard, wings drooping from all the use they'd gotten. A Max Elixir perked him right up though, and he nodded at his Trainer when asked if he could handle more that was yet to come.

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

Nick recalled his partner, and sighed, crossing his arms as he did. "I can't believe it...but you smashed through me easier than you did Damon." Alex started to say otherwise, but Nick held up a hand, convinced. "It's fine...clearly, we need to train harder. And invest in more vitamins."

Alex smirked. "Training weights help too. You know, the ones that boost all skill growth, but halve speed? It was worth taking a few hits to be strong enough for this challenge."

Nick nodded. "I see...interesting. I hadn't considered weight vest training…" His eyes widened. "You do the schedule I gave you with those on!?"

Alex nodded, and Nick stared at him. "Your Pokémon must adore you."

"My Pokémon want to be the best, and will do what they have to, to reach that level. I promised to help them as best I could. I like to think I have...and a victory here will prove it." Alex said.

Nick nodded again. "I think it's time someone toppled N. Good luck against the first Champion you have to face. You drew Hilbert."

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

Alex thought for a moment about which Champions were reputed to use which Legendary Dragon, and then smirked again. "So he's giving me Reshiram?"

Nick laughed, at that. "You assume you'll even get past Reshiram."

Alex's smirk grew, and he turned his hat backwards as he walked towards the telepad, and the second-to-last match of his challenge. "I brought a pair of Earthquake machines. I can get past it." He gave his friend a side-eye as he bamfed back to the main room. "You'll be calling me Champion before we're done."

Nick shook his head as he watched his protege leave. Then, he saw the damage caused to the partially melted and seriously perforated ceiling of his room. "I think I believe it." He sighed again, and then bamfed to the Pokémon Center, for some needed heals.

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

On to the Champion he went, as he stepped onto the center most platform in the first chamber of the Victory League. Alex went down, and somehow, came out before a set of stairs that led upwards. Around him, he saw the once-ruined and blown out remnants of the Champion's Hall, from the days when Alder and then Iris had, briefly, reigned as Champion.

The back part of the room where Hilbert and N had reportedly briefly faced off had a new set of stairs ascending from it, up to the plateau, for which the League was named. In the old days, such a vast space had, evidently, been required for their matches. In the modern era, a raised man-made pyramid and stone structure had been what contained the Champion level battles held within. The redesign had followed N's second ascension to the Victory League, when his final match with Nate had leveled the building again. Rather than rebuild, the League had opted for the cheaper solution of battling on the same field as the ancients had, for Champion title matches.

Before that however, was Hilbert. What was left of the original Champion's chamber was supported by stone columns and had a grand feel to it. Large, spacious, and lacking much, or any, decoration. There were marks on the white stone, both from flame and something much more focused, and hotter in temperature.

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

"Welcome, Challenger. You've done well to climb this high...if you defeat me, only Champion N, and Zekrom, stand between you and the title of strongest Trainer in Unova. I've seen your matches so far...some day, you and I are gonna have to test our psychic types in Battle. My Alakazam wishes to face your Gallade...but only at his strongest."

Alex nodded. "I understand. I'm sure Arthur would enjoy it as well."

Hilbert nodded in return, and there was a pause, as Alex felt the Champion Trainer's eyes bore into him. The fire of the man who had single-handedly faced down N, Zekrom, and Team Plasma in their darker early days, and won, was measuring his worth.

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

"Shiro. It's time." Hilbert said, as he crossed his arms. From Hilbert's left, came the roar of Reshiram's Turboblaze, and the White Yang Pokémon burned his way into the chamber. The Overdrive flames kept it aloft behind Hilbert, as he smirked.

Alex nodded, hat still backwards as he drew Shruikan's ball, and threw it. It was in his hand before he'd even reached for it, but focused as he was on the Battle, he didn't notice. The much smaller, seemingly unassuming Shelgon stared up at the fiery dragon god of the Unova region, one third of what was once the Original Dragon, progenitor of all dragon types.

Shruikan growled, and rock energy built around his shell. Alex called the move at the same moment. "Rollout!"

Hilbert's tone was as cold as the flames that were about to engulf the field. "Dragon Pulse." A wide area spray of dragon typed energy in the form of blue flames, from a Legendary Pokémon, bathed the field, as Shruikan got rolling. He winced, and tried to Protect, but the intensity of the dragonfire was too much, and it caused a single hit knockout.

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

Alex grimaced and recalled his middle evolution. He could guess how well Hydrus would do, against a floating dragon, and while Terra would tank one, maybe two fire attacks, he wouldn't do enough damage to be worth enduring that kind of pain. That only left one option, an attempt to match the Legend, and fight fire with fire. "Blaze!" Alex said, as he pointed at Reshiram. "Mega Evolve! Dodge what comes with Dragon Dance!" Alex's hand glowed crimson then, as Blaze drew from the Plate crystal in his hand, and once more took his Mega Form. Of all his team, only his Charizard had ever been able to battle all day, multiple times, and still come in later as fresh as ever. Alex was convinced it was a species trait, as that tireless stamina would go far in explaining both Champion Leon and Alain's winning streaks.

Hilbert frowned, as in one move, Alex took the advantage in speed and special attack power. "Fusion Flare!" Shiro roared, and the entire building shook as blue-white flames followed the speeding fire lizard as he dodged and weaved through the columns and the sky both in and outside of the hall in his attempts to dodge.

Once the flares began to fade, Alex countered. "Dragon Dance, once more! Do not stop dodging!" Blaze roared in acknowledgement, and once more, a draconic aura surrounded him and enhanced his already ridiculous power even further.

"Dragon Pulse." Hilbert ordered, but even Reshiram's ability to rotate and hover couldn't keep up with the Mega Charizard's speed now. The counter was theirs, and it came swiftly.

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

"Dragon Pulse in return!" Blaze arched his head as he countered while moving, and a dense sphere of deep crimson dragon energy hurtled towards Reshiram, as it cut a swathe through the field of dragonfire, and landed with critical effectiveness on the massive white Pokémon's stomach. Reshiram's Overdrive turned blue as it roared from the hit, and Alex gave another command. "Dragon Dance! Don't get hit by this!"

"Blue Flare!" Hilbert shouted immediately after, and Shiro leaned forward, roaring as he filled the air with white hot flames, damaging even to a fire type from their sheer power. Blaze kept ahead of them flying upside down with his stomach to the ceiling as he did. The flames left a noticeable trail of black as they burned across the ceiling.

"Once more, Dragon Pulse!" Alex ordered, and his Mega Charizard responded again with an even stronger sphere of draconic energy. It moved so fast, even Shiro had trouble following it, but he did not have trouble feeling the impact, as it hit him again. The damage was beginning to show, and Hilbert, like the Elite Four, was starting to wonder if this would be the Trainer to dethrone N, who'd reigned as Unova's Champion since his return several decades earlier.

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

Hilbert did not intend to make it easy, though. "Use Psychic!" Shiro's eyes glowed an intense blue, and Blaze's momentum stopped, as psychic power held him in place, and hammered him against the ground. "Now Stone Edge!"

"Blaze! Use Dig!" Alex countered, as Reshiram landed, and caused the earth to rise at its command. Blaze summoned the ground energy, and used it to burrow, before the Stone Edge could land. "Dragon Dance beneath the field!"

Shiro's eyes appeared to follow Blaze, as he grew even stronger, and faster. "Shiro, bathe the field in Blue Flare once the Charizard pops up." In response to Hilbert's orders, a ball of intense blue fire formed in the White Yang Pokémon's mouth. Before it could burn the field though, Blaze rose from the ground, behind the white fire dragon, who'd taken his eyes off the subterranean dancing fire lizard to charge up the Blue Flare. Alex had watched Reshiram closely, noting how he'd attacked, and how long it took to do so. He expected Zekrom, under N's command, would be even faster. He and Shiro would need to match them.

Blaze hammered Shiro with the Dig, and then in the blink of an eye, was once more zipping around the room. A deep crimson glow lit the chamber once more, while Reshiram empowered his Blue Flare with even more strength.

Alex called the move, as Blaze fired it. "Dragon Pulse!" The competing colors of blackish red and purplish blue competed for dominance, and then, the red soared across the chamber, humming loudly with the sheer amount of volatile dragon energy within it.

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

The condensed dragon attack was stymied by the ferocity of the Blue Flare, and the two moves collided in an explosion, as neither proved to be superior. Then, from out of the smoke, came the hurtling form of a Mega Charizard, both claws alight with dragon energy. "Finish it, Blaze! Dragon Claw!"

"Shiro, Fire Fang!" Hilbert countered, as he knew the STAB from a Legendary Pokémon would make up for the resistance to fire that the Mega Charizard possessed. Blaze landed the first Dragon Claw, only to find his tail being bitten, and then used to throw him, as he tried zipping by again. He should have been much faster than Reshiram by this point, after so many Dragon Dances, but it seemed the Legendary Dragon was a legend for a reason.

As Blaze went flying back through the air, Hilbert capitalized on the counter. "Fusion Flare!" Shiro's tail burned into Overdrive once more, as Blaze righted himself, and brought the second Dragon Claw around for another hit. He and Shiro crossed in the air, and as both attacks landed, moments later so did the Pokémon. Shiro gave a final cry, and fell, with enough force to shake the hall. Blaze was badly scorched, but he made it to Alex's side of the field, roared triumphantly, and then fell on his bottom, panting, and genuinely exhausted.

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

Hilbert clapped slowly, as Reshiram raised his head, and was given a Max Revive. Hilbert examined Blaze, who had let the power from the crystal go as the battle ended. The two fire typed Pokémon eyed each other, and Reshiram glowed then, as his tail's flame surrounded both of them. It shifted to a deep blue color as the heat intensified, and Alex started to speak up before he saw his Pokémon's face.

"Fire types aren't always injured by Blue Flare." Hilbert said, approaching Alex. "In fact, Shiro can heal them with it, if he chooses to do so." Alex nodded, staying silent, choosing instead to watch the two.

Hilbert continued. "You've won the right to use him now, for your battle with N. He'll be using Zekrom. If you can defeat N, you will be the newest Champion of Unova." The Hero of Unova smirked, shrugging. "We had so many Champions already. We needed to make things more difficult, for this."

Alex smirked as well, and then shook Hilbert's hand as it was offered. "I'd expect nothing less from the Victory Plateau. It's been an honor Battling with you. We should have a proper six on six some time." He said, as he offered the approaching white dragon a Max Elixir as well.

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

Alex needed him at full strength for the duel with N. He gave a small wave towards his spectators via the remote camera drones who were recording the matches, and then proceeded further up the plateau, to the very top, Shiro by his side. He could understand now why the Champions had beaten Team Plasma. If Hilda was as strong as Hilbert, no team of gangsters would be able to stand against them long. N was, since returning to Unova, supposed to have surpassed them both, in terms of strength.

As he reached the top of the stairs and looked around the flat plateau, Alex saw the familiar green mane of hair of Unova's strongest Trainer standing on the other side of the battlefield. His castle had long since been deconstructed, and the remnant materials had been used to rebuild the chamber below several times, before they had run out. Weathered columns dotted the sides of the ancient plateau, and judging by the fire and lightning scoring upon them, the battles up here were just as intense. Indeed, the further he went, the more he realized there were only marks from Reshiram and Zekrom's moves. Fire and electric scoring, with the occasional triple claw mark. As he reached the center of the plateau, and looked down, he gasped and looked with worry at Shiro. Burned into the ground, presumably from above, was the unmistakable outline of Reshiram. N had not held back with Zekrom's attacks, and Alex theorized that after battles this intense, with the amount of people who wanted to dethrone N, Shiro had been weak enough to be snared by Ghetsis again.

"Alexander Redwood." The voice was as charismatic and strong as it had sounded on the TV, where Alex had first heard it so many years ago, and it made his eyes snap up instantly to the speaker. "Welcome, to the Victory Plateau." N turned, and Alex saw bags under his eyes. Not too large, but enough to be noticeable. He still had the light beard, though it looked scraggly, presumably from all the wind up here on the plateau. His mane of hair was also in similar disarray, flaring wildly in the breeze. Looking at his eyes though, Alex started to understand why Gary and the League were concerned for him. There was no light, just bored darkness.

A Trainer like N was, of course, famous and loved by the Unovan people, and he'd had many region-saving adventures, often stopping rampaging Pokémon, or shady people from abusing the power of Unova's many Legendary Pokémon. Alex had no doubt he'd seen some soul crushing truths, in his time.

"It's about time you got here. I must thank you for freeing Shiro…I'd been looking for Ghetsis for weeks, after Kuro and I discovered Kyurem was missing. When Shiro went missing too, I had a feeling he was trying to fuse them all again."

Alex shrugged. "It wasn't that difficult…Ghetsis is not the Trainer he used to be...and Shiro was as eager to be separated as Kyurem." He looked up at Shiro, and smirked, raising a hand towards him. "I'm glad I was able to help the embodiment of Truth." The massive white dragon pressed his snout into the offered hand, and he rumbled.

N nodded. "I can sense the conviction behind your personal truth… Impressive…you might actually prove challenging."

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

Alex hadn't bothered with shoving Reshiram into a ball, yet, and had instead freed him entirely of the one Hilbert had used. This only seemed to make the white dragon like him more. He'd even spoken, using his latent psychic powers, to thank him for keeping him out of such a confined space. After that, Alex had given his team a brief rest, during which, he focused on teaching Reshiram what he would need to use to beat Zekrom. At the end of their break, the white dragon of light seemed confident they would win, and that seemingly renewed fire was enough for Alex.

His granduncle had been right about Legendary Pokémon. They were simply too strong to keep confined to a ball. Trying to shove a force of nature into a pocket dimension was just a bad idea.

To this day however, Professors could not explain why some Legendary Pokémon seemed to appear in multiple places. For example, the breeding habits of Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno were still unknown, and there had even been reports of a Trainer in Johto who had, according to Professor Elm, witnessed the birth of a new member of the Creation Trio, though which member had been added to the known pantheon had not been divulged.

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

Many had called the story ludicrous, claiming that Zapdos and several Legendary Beasts had easily dismissed Pokéball attempts to catch them, even from a Master Ball, multiple times. The fact that you couldn't just entrap them in a Pokéball however, did not matter to some Trainers. Some Trainers became 'Tamers' of the Legendary Pokémon they beat into submission through a battle and were able to summon whatever Legendary they had bonded with and proven worthy of battling alongside, at will. No Pokéball required, though many had one anyways, if their Trainers needed to recall them from imminent danger, or thieves.

The gods of Time and Space did indeed have Tamers, according to his granduncle, but nobody had ever met them, and those who claimed to usually were lying, or had unverifiable stories. Being able to travel freely throughout space and time made it difficult for those who would challenge the Holders of Time and Space. They could be anywhere, at any time, and they sure hadn't seemed to stick around Earth.

They did show up when summoned however, and the only one who could summon them was Arceus…or a clone of Arceus, as far as Professor Redwood knew.

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

N proved his own skill as a Trainer who was a cut above the rest by summoning the other half of Reshiram, Zekrom, whom he had nicknamed Kuro. Like Alex, it seemed he'd not bothered with a Pokéball, as Zekrom rose on the power of electromagnetism from behind the edge of the plateau N had been standing near. "Kuro, his truth is as iron…let us forge it into steel…or more likely, break it."

Zekrom's roar filled the air, and Alex felt a shiver up his spine from the Hyper Voice. A dragon and electric type was a fierce combination, and the only counter to it was a Pokémon like Shiro.

Alex couldn't tell which dragon was stronger, as he eyed the two of them in the same place. In fact, the more he glanced between them, the more he was convinced he was missing something obvious.

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

"Fusion Bolt!" The Champion shouted, as he started off the match. Alex raised a brow. Was he really going to start that contest? This early?

"Fusion Flare!" Alex responded, and the two Legendary Pokémon bashed against each other uselessly. Reshiram was unharmed, but Zekrom it seemed had, by pure chance, caught a burn. Seeing that losing was now a real possibility, N got serious. There was no point in using Blue Flare or Bolt Strike, not when dragon type moves were so much better.

"Dragon Pulse!" The two Trainers shouted at once. The Legendary Dragons responded, but different attacks came out. Shiro's Dragon Pulse had changed, becoming dense, and swirling with the energy of the dragon type move, and the fire type power he was drawing from his new Tamer's Plate crystal to power the move, instead of Mega Evolution. This was a new trick, and one that Shiro had claimed would allow him, and other Pokémon, to fire dual type attacks much more easily. Alex had also showed him, by way of demonstration from Terra, how to condense a pulse move into a sphere, for more damage and density. Shiro had picked it up in moments, once more proving just how strong and adaptable Legendary Pokémon were.

It was too late for N to counter, and Zekrom took the dual typed Dragon Pulse hard, landing before N in a smoking heap while Shiro floated above, almost seeming to grin. Often had darkness bested light on this plateau, for many Trainers had truths they believed in, but few even knew what ideals were. N's ideals, which governed his very training style, were stronger than most, and thus, Zekrom responded just as strongly as Reshiram had to N's own truth.

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

As the years had passed, the Champion had mostly forgotten what his truths were. The passage of time and the accumulation of life experiences had eventually overwritten what Hilbert had taught him with Team Plasma's defeat. He sat on this plateau all day with Zekrom, usually, having forgone any other Pokémon. His ideals kept him stubbornly opposed to carrying them around in Pokéballs, and often the partners who he did have gladly offered themselves for capture, if it was by him, but he always refused.

He'd refused them all, and eventually, they had left. The Pokéball was a device that had been designed by corporations, but had been commissioned by the Pokémon League almost two centuries ago. In those two centuries, modern Pokémon training had changed entirely, as the League had correctly predicted that being able to carry around multiple Pokémon would correlate directly to an increase in the number of strong Trainers.

The pure convenience of being able to take your Pokémon wherever you pleased, and then store multiple once the pocket dimension system was applied to the Pokénet, couldn't be matched. Multiple Pokémon could travel with their Trainers all over the world, rotating in and out, but N hadn't wanted that. Alex had no qualms about it though, and his full team of six Pokémon was very obvious, even under his heavy black and white jacket.

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

N stared at his belt, and his eye twitched. Reshiram watched, smirking knowingly. He'd finally found the right Trainer to move N past this block…or so he had thought when Alex had beaten Hilbert. Shiro was now convinced that this Trainer had what was needed, what they had previously thought only N possessed; the power to right the wrong of the ancient twin Heroes, and once more unite Unova, and the surrounding regions of the 'States' into a cohesive, enlightened whole, as it had been before it was fractured by war and human idiocy.

N had come so close…but in abandoning his Pokémon team while claiming to hold to the truths Hilbert and Hilda had shown him, he had ultimately failed. No one had been able to dethrone him, however, as adventuring with Zekrom had only made the pair that much more closely bonded. It seemed that finally, someone had arrived who could, perhaps, reform what was sundered.

Shiro felt his counterpart stir, and slowly reach this same conclusion. On a primal level, both dragons present agreed; this Trainer had a sleeping power and potential akin to the first Dragon Emperor, the man who had taken the apocalyptic hellscape of what was once America, and turned it into a prosperous empire within a single human span. Bonded as they were, N sensed Zekrom's appreciation for the Challenger's strength…and grew angry. "Hypocrite…" He snarled, "You sit there with a team you're not even using, abandoning them in favor of my Shiro…you're like every other Trainer…you abandon your enslaved friends for a Legendary Pokémon at the first opportunity!"

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

Alex's brow rose to Spockian heights, as he'd just noticed N's rage. He'd been enjoying the battle, but something had shifted. Instead of bouncing back, Zekrom had risen slowly, blue sparks rolling across his body, his power being fueled by N's newest ideal, to never be replaced. It was twisted from his original ideal of never binding Pokémon to balls, but Zekrom was already bound to his Trainer's emotional turbulence.

For battle, they were connected on a deeper level, and this connection was now affecting the Legendary Dragon. It figured, for Kuro had always responded easiest to darker emotions. All Alex felt from Shiro was calming peace and light.

Thus, he answered evenly, logically, and calmly. "You're the one who set up this Challenge, Champion. I'd face you, team to team, if you wanted that but you only have Zekrom with you." Shiro roared as he felt the spirit of Battle rise from both humans. Alex's eyes were burning as hot as Reshiram's flames. "He will not be enough!"

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

"Kuro, Bolt Strike!" With the rage that fueled the attack, Alex didn't need to bring up type advantages in his head.

If that hit Shiro, he might survive it, but would most definitely be paralyzed. And even one missed move in a battle like this meant defeat. No, Alex decided, that move needed to miss. He took a page from Hilbert's book.

"Evade, and counter with Fire Fang." Shiro's maw blazed to life, and it dodged its counterpart's furious strike effortlessly, and then struck at his outstretched arm, clamping down on it hard with his fangs.

Kuro tried to switch arms for his Bolt Strike, but by the time he had, Shiro had already spun, and thrown him into the building that housed the only entrance into the League complex. Luckily, there were other ways up to this level, and the League had, at this point, several masons on perpetual standby for Champion title matches, and their intensity.

Since the summer had started, Leagues all around the world had been in a constant state of competition, and all matches against Champions were regularly broadcasted. Usually for a fee. N's had always been free to watch though, and that was a large part of why the people adored their Champion. He cared about the Battle, the honor in the sport, the bonds it helped to forge between humans and Pokémon. Many times, he'd expressed dislike, or outright irritation, at their society's dependence upon currency, which had made him quietly disliked by the older generation, and that much more loved by the younger one.

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

Watching Kuro in his enraged state, Alex began to understand what he'd been missing thus far. He looked at each dragon, and then recalled the stomping ice monster that had charged through Castelia in an effort to get home. As he began to grasp at what Gary Oak had hinted he'd need to do when and if he won, if the product of his sudden realization actually worked in the end, the current challenge for the Unova region wouldn't be able to be completed more than once. He briefly wondered how Jess would ever prove worthy enough to reach the aforementioned Psychic Sages, but resumed his focus on the battle as Kuro attacked again with a Dragon Pulse. This was it, then.

Alex smirked, and Shiro responded with his own densely compacted Dragon Pulse, easily condensing it into a ball of dense draconic death. Alex briefly wondered if Arceus had the same capabilities. He was a deity no? He had to already know something as simple as condensing a pulse attack. Right?

Alex had Shiro combine his power in a Taijitu swirl once more, as the Dragon Pulses canceled out, and filled the air around him with smoke and dust. Being a Legendary Pokémon, Shiro could raise a crystal's worth of dragon energy easily. The Flame Plate crystal compensated, and his next Dragon Pulse was once more part dragon, part fire type, and more than Zekrom or N could handle after all the intense battling on top of the damage from the burn he'd acquired earlier.

Shiro's balanced dual type attack again brought Zekrom low, as it shot through the dust cloud at frightening speed, spinning as it did so. Kuro's claws struggled in vain to hold the dense sphere of flame and dragon energy back, but he crashed again into the Victory Plateau's harsh terrain before the ball exploded in his face. Kuro struggled to rise, and then fainted. The red fury from N was cut off, and his eyes lost their enraged glow. N was still furious, however. "This isn't over! You will not replace me!"

N dropped into a martial stance, but Shiro descended between him and Alex before N so much as moved, shaking the plateau as he did so. With almost a field between them, Alex did not hear what Shiro told N, but after, N calmed, and walked over to him beside Shiro.

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

Alex had gone to Kuro in the meantime, deciding that earning his trust now would help with his new idea. It worked, and the Black Yin Pokémon thanked him as Shiro had when he was given a Max Revive, and an Elixir as well. Kuro's tone was deeper, but Alex swore the two sounded almost identical, and somehow familiar.

"I...lost myself in the darkness there, for a moment. My apologies. You did it, Challenger." N said. "You're the new Champi-" He paused, as there was a beeping from his pocket. After checking his Holociever, Alex's started ringing as well. It was his loving girlfriend, of course, as always with impeccable timing. He didn't care if N was interrupted, he'd still become the new Champion, as far as he was concerned.

"Jess. My reason for existing. What is it?" She was having none of his attitude though, distracted as she was.

"If you two are done slamming dragons together up there, we need the Champion down here. Kyurem is on a rampage. Evidently it wasn't able to freeze the Chasm again, and now it's furious. Someone in Lacunosa Town did something to anger it. People are dying, Alex. We need the Dragons."

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

N and Alex shared a look, and then N sighed at his device, and shut it down, ending the contact. "You heard them. They need the Dragons, Redwood. Go. Save Unova."

Jess made an 'o' face as she overheard N, and then looked excited. "You won!? The smoke hasn't cleared yet, we didn't see the end!"

Alex winked at her, then closed the device almost entirely. It wouldn't end the call, but N didn't need to know that. He also knew Jess would kill him if he didn't share something this good.

N looked depressed, almost deflated, as he realized he wasn't needed anymore, that he'd somehow failed at being Champion. Alex patted his shoulder. "They'll need you, too. Don't sell yourself short, you're one of the Heroes of Unova. My victory isn't going to change that. You didn't fail at your duty…you just didn't finish what you'd started."

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

N blinked slowly. "What…I started?" Alex pointed at the two dragons then, smirking.

They had each told him they approved of his idea, after a brief telepathic conversation, and their good mood was infectious. "With them. You kept them separate, all these years. They're meant to be One, you brilliant fool. Until your Team Plasma awakened them, they were fine existing apart, asleep. Now that they're awake, and at peace, they want to become themselves again. You woke them up and calmed them into a state of balance, but simply never finished unifying them, and thus fell out of balance. Without unity, one side eventually overpowers the other. For you, it was the darkness."

N stared at the new Champion. "What?"

Alex simply chuckled. "Hop on Kuro. I'll show you what I mean." Alex hopped on Shiro, and together, the four of them soared down the Victory Plateau. Alex had a feeling a certain fiery redhead would be calling whoever owned those satellites that had broadcasted their match, and demand they follow them. She needn't have bothered however, as the recording had continued, and would continue, until N fully declared Alex the Champion. That meant the automated drones would follow the current Champion, until the title was verbally transferred.

That was their excuse for it anyways. Pokémon League monitoring was a boring job most days, and the men monitoring the intense match would take any excuse to not cover the drudgery of the minor League challenges after this battle resolved itself. Or so they would tell their bosses.

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

Kyurem wasn't hard to find, as its path of destruction was obvious. The frosty dragon had returned to his old stomping grounds, Lacunosa Town, a strange little place that had lost so many children to Kyurem, they had legends about him.

Instead of simply abandoning the settlement, as anyone with any sense would do, the people had stayed, walling themselves in from the ferocious ice dragon, and making their town perfect for the Arceans, and their Church to 'convert'. Their visiting Bishop had claimed that if the townspeople simply believed in Arceus and gave their lives to his Church, as those in the Fornia region did, He would shelter them from the monster lurking in the nearby Chasm.

Over time, children stopped playing in the woods because of the town's high walls, technology had advanced, and portable tech was all anyone that young cared about as they were, of course, watching Pokémon Battles live, all over the world. This peace was what had lent the Arcean Church credit for a 'miracle', for after they'd established a small church in the town, Kyurem hadn't taken anyone, even though the last time the dragon had been blamed for such a thing had been almost a century earlier. The people of Lacunosa had eventually become devoted Arceans, and with that devotion, Lacunosa Town had become a very…strange place, operating as the base of the Arceans in Unova.

They'd always wanted a base in the east after infecting the western coast, and they'd finally gotten one. They claimed to have facilities the world over, but Alex had discovered during his research that the majority of them were actually entirely empty buildings, run by literally nobody. He'd even visited one, out of pure curiosity. The lights had been on, but nobody had been inside the lavishly decorated rooms. There hadn't even been a security detail, and that, was how he'd smoked up an entire dining room with him and some of his more incredulous 'friends' from his hometown. It had been quite a night.

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

Lacunosa Town had, as the Arcean's base, received an influx of Trainers from the Fornia region. Nobody knew what they were up to, only that they frequently visited the Chasm. This was how Kyurem became embroiled in an enormous battle that led to the deaths of hundreds of young Trainers. He'd stomped over to Lacunosa from Nimbasa, and hadn't done much the first pass through. Absofusion drained him, as it was man's attempt to forcibly pair the Boundary Pokémon with his other halves by way of technology. That would never lead to a complete restoration of the Original Dragon, but Kyurem had not bothered to tell Ghetsis, or anyone else, that fact. Kyurem rarely, if ever, spoke.

Once he'd discovered his Chasm however, he'd entered a state of rage. Lacunosa Town was a perfect incubator for the Arcean's strange and oppressive style of belief and living, as they'd moved in and taken advantage of the walls and turned the once peaceful town into a functional prison for those who had once called it home. Despite their apparent conversion, the original residents had been treated to the poor living conditions suffered through by most Arceans. Naturally, those who wanted and enjoyed higher quality living than thin mats on hardwood floors tried resisting, and that resistance had led to imprisonment in their own town.

From Lacunosa, the Arceans had ordered their aspiring Trainers to visit the Chasm regularly and catch as many Pokémon as possible. The wild ones there were quite strong, thanks in no small part to their proximity to Kyurem and the unchecked draconic aura that radiated off the shell of the First Dragon. Upon seeing its friends being captured en masse as it returned, the ice dragon had made the Trainers responsible pay for it. Catching a few that jumped out of the grass was one thing. Those Pokémon usually wanted a human to train them, and Kyurem had always respected their choice, as it had only gone after humans foolish or curious enough to enter its cave. What the Arceans had been in the process of doing had been systematic, thorough, and all but robbed the area of its natural inhabitants. Far too few of his friends had remained, but they had begged the dragon to aid them all the same, igniting his cold fury.

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

Kyurem had become enraged and had headed for the Arcean Trainers as they ran in terror. He caught them easily with Glaciate, and then turned his rage on the not-so-distant Lacunosa Town. Devout Arceans were slaughtered, along with their guards, as Kyurem's Glaciate all but buried the town in ice. Something similar had happened to Opelucid, and while many people would be safe for a time in their homes or be able to be thawed free in the coming days, many would simply die in that ice. It was why Unovans didn't upset the balance between the dragons, and why Ghetsis was now serving the rest of his lifetime prison sentence. But who knew if he'd actually stay there.

Alex and N arrived on the scene to find Kyurem nestled in an enormous crater of ice. Because of the town's tight knit construction, it appealed to both the controlling Arceans, and the wandering Kyurem, who made it into a new icy cavern.

"We have to smash the top of that before it freezes completely. Or it will never melt." N spoke quickly, guilt all over his face. Had he been paying attention; he would've surely gotten here sooner. The Victory Plateau gave one a large view of the entire region, and one could even make out Castelia's spires from the top.

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

"Shiro and I will handle it." Alex said, knowing the fire would be quicker. "You go in through the 'entrance' by the Pokémon Center."

N wanted to salvage this town, but to Alex, it was a den of corruption, now frozen, that he'd just as soon let freeze. He didn't like Arceans, but they were still people. He also needed Kyurem, and if his plan succeeded, the town would likely be saved regardless. There was also a very high chance some idiocy the Arceans had done was what had made Kyurem leave its chasm and take up residence in the now frozen town.

Shiro's blue flames melted the ice near-instantly, the only reason he hadn't used Blaze instead, and Kyurem was below them. It roared up at them, and as it did, Zekrom flew in with a Bolt Strike, upper cutting the hollow ice type in the jaw.

Alex winced. They needed dragon type moves here, or at least fire. Electric attacks were not very effective, a fact made evident by Kyurem's slow turn towards Kuro and N. Alex summoned Blaze then, and together, he and Shiro used Flamethrower to hit the dragon and ice type.

Alex had taught it to Shiro in favor of Fire Fang after the battle, as it was much stronger, and more useful for a Pokémon with strong special attacks like Reshiram. Kyurem went down hard under the twin torrents of flame, and Alex dropped to the ground, running towards N and Kuro.

He looked at Zekrom as it spoke into his mind, then glared at N. "You have a what? We're going to need it! Quickly!" N looked confused for a moment, before Zekrom informed him of what the new Champion was talking about.

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

"What? I'm not giving you that! I…" N let his sentence trail off, and his eyes glanced towards the floor. Alex had beaten both Hilbert and himself. Technically, he now was the Tamer of both dragons. Which meant the Plate crystal infused with dragon typed essence was his.

Sighing, N handed over a deep bluish-purple crystal, the symbol of the dragon types embedded within it. Dragon types were the rarest of Pokémon, and naturally, the pieces of a fallen Arceus's dragon plate were just as coveted, and rare.

They were so powerful that an order of Dragon Masters had arisen for the sole purpose of keeping those crystals from the hands of dark minded Trainers. They didn't stop them from taking other crystals, though they confiscated them when they could, but the Draco Plate crystals were by far the most important to keep safe.

Alex took the crystal, then looked at N. "You'll have this back, I promise. I just need it for a minu-"

N interrupted him. "Keep it. I no longer need it."

Not knowing what to say, as he was technically correct and pointing that out would be awkward, Alex simply nodded. "Very well…I'll be sure to use it wisely."

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

He turned to Kyurem then, who had almost freed itself of the Flamethrowers, and even Zekrom's Fusion Bolt, which lanced from his maw in a streak of electricity. "Kuro, use Dragon Pulse, you too Shiro. Terra, Seed Bomb, Hydrus, Earthquake, Leo, Thunder, Shruikan, Flamethrower, Arthur, Psychic."

Alex called out each of the moves, and each of his team appeared as he called them. He weaved their energies together with the Draco Plate shard, forcing the Legendary ice dragon down under the force of so many powerful and varied attacks. Alex approached, holding the dragon crystal in his palm.

He showed it to Kyurem, and the Legendary Dragon paused in his struggling.

"Cease." Alex said, and the attacks stopped. The dragon-ice type rose, looming over him.

"Prove...your worth…" Came a soft, echoing voice from within his head. Alex rightly guessed it was Kyurem challenging him.

Alex nodded then, saying, "I understand." Before he recalled his team, leaving only the three dragons on the icy field.

The ground shook as ice erupted and grew all around them. A gateway of sorts appeared by the entrance N and Kuro had used and the rising pillars of ice sent N sliding backwards across the treacherous ground. Kyurem walked backwards slowly retreating further into his new icy cave, before lowering himself down into a battle stance. He was inviting the human to face him. Properly.

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

"Shiro, Kuro, I'll need your help to Battle it." The two dragons stepped forth and faced down their empty husk. Kyurem's Glaciate was the first move, and it assumed the only move it would need.

"Blue Flare!" Shiro's flame burned through the attack, protecting Zekrom from his weakness, and doing minimal damage to both of them, which left Kuro open to counter.

"Fusion Bolt!" Alex called, and the black dragon's tail began to hum as Kuro charged forward and hammered Kyurem in the jaw before flying away. The force of the strike made the ice dragon flinch, long enough for Alex to call the next move in rapid succession. "Fusion Flare!"

Reshiram answered the command as quickly as he had each time before, but this time, his flames seemed stronger. They shifted to white-blue intensity, and burned the ice dragon backwards, forcing it to slide across the icy terrain, into one of the houses serving as the back part of the new 'cave'. Thankfully, it seemed uninhabited, which was good, as it was definitely in need of repair after Kyurem smashed into it. Thankfully, even Reshiram's flames were kept from spreading by Kyurem's coating of insulating ice.

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

The insanely powerful dragon-ice type roared, and the two dragons roared back. Ice shot up behind them, locking them in the icy arena, and cutting them off from N, who had been struggling to make it back to them. Now in an enclosed space, once more fire ice and lightning met in a collision of power as Kyurem launched an Ice Beam, that Shiro and Kuro blocked with a Flamethrower and Thunderbolt respectively. Alex glanced at what Kyurem had wrought, and though the circular town seemed more like a prison, to his eyes, it could almost be a stadium.

Later, he would learn that there had indeed been eyes to feel, as this time his battle was being broadcasted live, and very clearly seen. He'd made himself presentable for the League Challenge, and now, looked like he'd never lost a game of 'who's the protag' with his hat still backwards, as he stared down the giant hollow dragon. The League's floating camera monitor continued to record, despite the ice. It was strong, but clear enough to see through. Some deeply buried aspect of Kyurem wanted those present to witness this battle.

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

Seeing he was alone, Alex glanced at N through the ice. The former Champion looked concerned, but his expression changed as Alex winked and turned back to the clash of dragons he was probably enjoying far too much as he touched the Draco Plate crystal shard to the 'awakened' piece of the fire Plate he already had. As he did, the deep bluish-purple crystal began to hum in response as it too awakened, and the black and white dragons each kept one eye on him, with the other on Kyurem, as they watched, and seemed to smile. Alex met their eyes with a smirk as he gave his orders. "Shiro, Dragon Pulse…Kuro, Mega Evolve."

Shiro launched his newly perfected dragon move at Kyurem, who took the dense sphere of dragon energy head on and looked seriously injured by the attack. A hollow hole had appeared in his head, in the crest of ice, but the unbalanced spirit would not be cowed so easily. As a Glaciate was launched in response, it was blocked by the still cone shaped Dragon Pulse of Mega Zekrom. His wings were more reminiscent of a Charizard's in shape now, and his posture had shifted, lowering his front and head towards the ground, as the enhanced tail hummed with plasma energy. His arms were even burlier, and blue sparks constantly covered his dark scales. Alex looked at him closely, and noticed there was dark typed energy swirling around the Black Yin Pokémon. It seemed in this form; he'd embraced the darkness and still wielded electricity.

Zekrom needed to be able to balance his energy as Reshiram had, or Alex would lose balance as well. Allowing the mental contact between himself and the black dragon, Terra gave the knowledge freely, trusting the Legendary Pokémon to use it for the good of them all.

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

"Now Kuro, balance your energy. Condense it into a sphere…and use Dragon Pulse!" A ball of electric energy swirled in the dark dragon's maw, and it was joined in a Taijitu swirl by the dragon type energy that was coming from the Draco Plate shard and had fueled his Mega Evolution. "Shiro! Mega Evolve!" Again, Kyurem was unbalanced by the massive dragon and electric attack as it struck home and dealt significant damage. Kuro had focused on drawing electric power, and the Draco shard had given the rest.

Now Reshiram joined its counterpart at the same level of evolution. Like Zekrom, the wings and body posture had changed. In this new form, Reshiram sported a pair of fluffy white front legs, that helped keep the White Yang Pokémon balanced as it stood on four legs, and an impressive pair of white wings flared out from its back. Also, like Zekrom, Shiro was now radiating a comforting light, a light that could turn oppressively hot in an instant. This, Alex thought, was a Pokémon capable of burning the Desert Resort so thoroughly that it still was unbearably hot to the touch to this day. The Draco Plate shard was providing the energy for all of this. It was, after all, only two thirds of a Pokémon he was evolving, and each of them drew from the same stone that now held awakened dragon typed Infinity Energy.

Now in their ascended forms, the two Legendary Dragons forced their empty, frozen shell into submission as they raised their Mega Turboblaze and Mega Teravolt generators on their tails. Alex frowned, as there seemed to be a dominating of energy going on, but he could only barely make out just what the two Mega Legends were doing to their counterpart. Kyurem stared down the Trainer who had managed to subdue him so handily with the separated avatars of truth and ideals, as they shared their intent with him through their overpowering auras. A deep voice rang through the colosseum-shaped crater of ice, "You...have nerve...thinking to unite what has been broken..."

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

"That was a long time ago..." Alex responded, holding the Draco crystal up to the Boundary Pokémon, "It is time for you to become One once more. Humanity will never sunder you again. Not while I yet draw breath, anyways." Kyurem looked ready to attack for a moment, then nodded, lowering its head and touching its snout to the crystal. It too mega evolved and of the three dragons, its form changed the most.

Kyurem had always been front heavy, with small arms and powerful legs, like a Tyrantrum, but now, its arms became longer, sturdier and ended in claws similar to his feet, the 'wings' on its back became even lengths, and rose from the base of his neck, which had also lengthened, and come up from his torso.

His body was now more akin to that of a Tropius than a Tyrantrum, and as Mega Kyurem turned its gaze to its two counterparts, the three spoke as one. "It is time. Absolute Fusion!" Kyurem and Reshiram both sat back on their hind legs then, revealing a pattern on their scaled stomachs.

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

Each of Kyurem's 'wings' shot towards Reshiram and Zekrom, connecting to the Taijitu swirl pattern of black and white that had appeared on each of their stomachs, and the respective dragon's auras of red and yellow manifested alongside the icy blue of Kyurem's. For his part, Alex reached out as best he could as he clutched the crystal, trying to force the spheres together into one unified whole, but the resistance to the fusion was great. The opposing natures of Shiro and Kuro were relentlessly pushing against the other as their tails spun up with opposing natural forces emanating from them and keeping them apart. It was this fusing of opposing forces, that human science had been thus far unable to overcome. From Mega Kyurem, came a circle of dragon energy in the ground, that surrounded the pair of Legendary dragons, and forced them together, closer and closer, until literal fusion occurred. Alex covered his eyes as the intense light filled the icy chamber, and when he lowered his arm, he gasped as he saw what his efforts had wrought.

The Original Dragon had returned.

Mega Kyurem had provided the boundary needed to keep the two other parts of itself in balance, and now once more, a golden age would reign over the land. Its typing had been fused by dragon, and thus had been lost in the final reforming. Fire, electric, and ice were now balanced in one draconic looking being who was as light as he was dark. Looking around with seemingly disoriented pure golden eyes, the reconstituted dragon roared, and the ice surrounding the town began to melt in response.

Alex and N knelt, awed that they were in the presence of this legend, appointed by Arceus to safeguard their continent so very very long ago. He had four legs now, and his pair of wings sprouted up from the base of his neck. The scales upon them were as white as Reshiram, but the webbing was as dark as Zekrom. They folded, after extending during his roar, slowly, as if the dragon was trying to remember how to close them.

The Taijitu symbol, in black and white, was imprinted on the dragon's forehead. His snout was long and had two long white tendrils that dangled down from either side of it. His claws flared with blue flames, sparked with electricity, and then returned to being an unsettling black. As Alex examined them closer, he found their composition to be crystalline, which would make them black ice. His breath sparked with electricity regularly, and the crest that surrounded his skull and formed his simple but sharp icy horns, and ran all the way to his tail, was made of pure ice colored the same as Kyurem's. The tail itself, save for the ice it was made of, seemed strangely normal, given the dragon's separated forms, ending only in a spiked, mace-like tip.

N stared at Alex, conflicted, and yet balanced, in his dislike and admiration for this random Trainer. For this Champion of Unova, now worthy of the title of Hero.

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

The great white scaled dragon, whose underbelly was black in contrast to his white scales, leaned down to Alex, and in his pupilless golden eyes, he saw the eternal balance this being had enjoyed until humanity ripped him apart for a few millennia. "You are my Tamer now, Human. See that you do not ruin my perfection by splitting me apart again."

Alex smirked, and gave the dragon's snout an affectionate pat. "Don't worry, Tao. I shall see to it you remain One." Enjoying the sound of his newest nickname the dragon grinned, and Alex pulled out a Hyper Potion, as the damage the three dragons had sustained had carried over to their fused form. His bag's hoard of items made him a walking Pokémon Center, but no amount of potion could replace genuine rest.

He kept looking up at the massive dragon as he marveled at the new details that he discovered the longer he looked. Elements of all three dragons were present in him, and yet the whole seemed much different. Seeing him now, Alex was reminded of the Opelucid Gym, and he smirked. Of course, the city of dragon lovers would remember, accurately, what the dragon god of their ancestors had looked like.

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

Seeing the ice around them taking longer to melt than it should've, the First Dragon raised his tail, and the club tip glowed with a familiar blue from under the ice that made up the end of the limb. The ice formed a familiar shape, that of Reshiram's 'Turboblaze Generator' as Trainers sometimes called the obviously powerful engine of fire, and in moments, he melted the ice his empty shell had created around Lacunosa Town while a comforting heat freed the people and Pokémon trapped. As the ice around his tail faded back to a simple mace shape, the damp inhabitants slowly came out of their shelters, and many of the outraged Arceans were stopped mid-tirade as they witnessed the return of the Original Dragon in person. He radiated a sense of calm that not even Arcean indoctrination could overpower.

Alex felt it most keenly, as he and N rode upon Tao's long back, and left the town before the litigious cult could so much as threaten a suit. The energy from this dragon made him feel like he wouldn't need sleep for a month, so closely were they bound now. That bond was a safe, balanced center he could always come back to, if he focused, a gift that would be invaluable in the trials to come.

Tao flew them northwards, and then to the east, over the trail of destruction Kyurem had caused, and though many of the humans that had been caught in his ice attacks thawed harmlessly, as they approached the Giant Chasm, they saw that many others had not. The initial Glaciate had been truly powerful, a testament to Kyurem's rage.

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

Tao landed in the icy crater now, the long tendrils from his snout touched the bodies of many fallen Pokémon as they thawed, and then retracted in sadness. "What happened?" N said, astounded by the damage.

Tao snorted blue-white flames, then looked saddened again as his eyes were drawn back to the destruction. "The Arceans happened. This was where I crashed after your predecessors split me apart, so very long ago. It was where the shell of myself, Kyurem, was most at peace. It arrived, and found a group of Humans capturing Pokémon who had returned to live here, and dragging them back to Lacunosa Town..." As Tao spoke, the memories flooded into the heads of N and Alex. They saw what Kyurem had, and N grew angry.

"How...dare...they..." He said, sharing in the rage Kyurem had felt. Alex felt it too, though he was more saddened than anything.

"That explains it then...with Ghetsis holding White Kyurem, the Arceans assumed the Chasm would be unguarded. Who knows how many Pokémon they managed to haul off before I split them apart..." Alex hopped down from Tao's back, and looked around, sighing. "Can you do anything for the land?"

The long-bodied, almost Rayquaza-like dragon lowered his head next to his Tamer's and seemed to smirk. "Do you think I would have come if I could not?" Alex blinked, and the dragon raised his head again, surveying the land. "Once, Unova was golden. The land was bountiful, and Pokémon and Humans lived in harmony...it took many millennia, but despite my absence, you all managed to achieve that Balance again. More or less. It is long past time we returned to being what we were. It starts, here. In the spot I was sundered."

His wings raised into the air then, revealing a white circle pattern of scales on his right side outlined by black, and a black circle on his left that needed no outline on his white scales that had been hiding beneath the folded wings, and gone unnoticed by the two humans on his back.

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

The tendrils from his snout grew longer, and moved back to link to both circles, and the dragon began to glow with golden light. "Behold," He thundered as fire ice and electricity swirled around his iconic form, "The return of Unova's Golden Age!" The icy tail rose again, and Alex and N were given a glimpse of the true form of what the original combined tail looked like. Elements of the Turboblaze and Teravolt generators now hummed with a truly massive amount of dragon energy, that Tao seemed to summon with little effort.

His wings flapped, and the draconic power gathered the fire ice and electric energy in a sphere of draconic power before it sank into the crater and dispersed into the ruined landscape, and the very dirt began to shift in color. Grass returned then, appearing gold as it sprouted, and new trees budded from the seeds of the ones that had fallen to Kyurem's unbound rage. With time, the Chasm would heal.

Alex and N returned to the dragon's back, and as they ascended, the two humans watched with awe as the dragon continued to smirk. They were so very easy to impress. The golden glow was spreading from the Chasm, and from Humilau, to Mistralton, the land would once more enter a seemingly literal golden age.

image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/107dc055-197f-4c79-a8d4-bf5e3018e03b/dgxlw63-4b1eb554-3c46-4fc5-966a-fa9337a2ac51.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzEwN2RjMDU1LTE5N2YtNGM3OS1hOGQ0LWJmNWUzMDE4ZTAzYlwvZGd4bHc2My00YjFlYjU1NC0zYzQ2LTRmYzUtOTY2YS1mYTkzMzdhMmFjNTEuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.gOmgDGFTWztZnlmhrTNqZyNlsD3MXfcAjFxqEZ31-ZQ]