I’d done my research on Gavel’s team just like he’d done research on mine. He had seven Pokémon he regularly used in battles, with an eighth in the form of Mandibuzz that only rarely appeared. Considering Mandibuzz’s Dark Type meant it would be weak to my Fairy Type team, I assumed he would most likely be sticking to his main six party members, as his recent acquisition of a Hisuian Sliggoo hadn’t quite reached the power level as the rest of his team.
Gavel was a Steel Type specialist, putting us at a disadvantage. Even more, he wasn’t like Tobias, who only won via brute force, or like Ash, who had powerful Pokémon and crazy strategies at his disposal. Gavel used strategy and skill to win his battles. With everything going for him, this would be a difficult match.
The audience was packed. I already knew that and had fought in these circumstances before, but there was something about how this was the finals that made that fact stand out even more.
Not only was every seat filled, but I knew there would be thousands of people watching this live, from their homes. I didn’t need to call anyone out to point out that this match would be exciting. Every finals match of a Conference was exciting. All across the world, even in other regions, people would be paying attention. Part of the reason the Conferences were so spread apart over the year was to let each Conference properly stand on its own.
I stepped up to the field to the sounds of the roaring crowds. The announcers’ voices were blank in my ears, and the screams and claps were all just background noise. Across from me, Gavel had already moved up into his elevated trainer box. His expression was blank, being kept purposefully unreadable to not provide any insight into this upcoming match.
The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife.
“Trainers!” the referee yelled. “This will be a six on six full battle—"
The audience cheered at that.
"—Where each trainer will send out a single Pokémon each and have five switches at their disposal. The standard League rules apply, and only one Mega Evolution will be permitted. Please send out your Pokémon."
Altaria hit the field, and, as expected, a Ferrothorn appeared across from him. Ferrothorn was a steel-shelled, spiked, disc with several vines that ended in their own spiked, flattened discs. It was both incredibly sturdy and resistant to being moved. Not only that, but its ability, Iron Barbs, meant any Pokémon who hit it would take damage in response.
Gavel always led with his Ferrothorn as it was key to his central strategy. Not only could it set the field up in his favor, but having a set lead forced his opponents to respond to him right off the bat. Even before the match, he was already influencing the battle in one way or another.
"Trainers. Are you two ready?" the referee called out.
"Yes."
"I am."
The audience screamed with excitement.
"Then begin!"
I pulled a card out of Ash's playbook, here. Gavel played a defensive game, where most of his Pokémon styled themselves to slowly build up the match in his favor. I wanted to put the pressure on him as fast as I could. Allowing him to set up in the slightest would be a mistake. My game plan was all about momentum.
"Altaria, let's do it!"
Altaria glowed bright white, but Gavel wasn't content to wait. He immediately yelled out for Ferrothorn to lay out Spikes, scattering steel caltrop growths on our side of the field.
Just as quickly, Altaria burst with wind right as his Mega Evolution finished. Now both empowered and covered with dense fluff, a Defog blew out of his body and pushed all of the Spikes off the field.
At this point, the drain I felt from Mega Evolving him only felt like a trickle.
Gavel narrowed his eyes as Altaria rushed forward. Within Altaria’s beak, I could see embers forming in his mouth. He was already preparing for a Flamethrower, as we had planned before this match, but the attack never went off.
Gavel returned his Pokémon before it suffered the four times effective attack. He pocketed Ferrothorn’s ball and quickly replaced it with the next.
"Empoleon," he said.
Altaria, too, was returned from the field.
In all honesty, this first matchup felt more like a formality than anything else. Gavel had shown off he was set to put entry hazards in place, and I had shown Altaria could remove them at any time. As long as I had Altaria in my back pocket, Gavel had to debate whether or not he actually wanted to waste the time using Ferrothorn to set them back up. After all, Altaria could remove all of his efforts in a moment.
I tossed forward my next Pokémon. When it came to team composition, I had the slight advantage of having more than just six Pokémon to choose from at my disposal.
“Rapidash,” I said.
The moment the psychic unicorn hit the field, he started to run. Empoleon, a sturdy Steel and Water penguin, stayed in the same place it was sent out, slowly turning its head to track where Rapidash moved.
“Sunny Day.”
“Flash Cannon!”
Empoleon’s two flippers were raised up, and its feet waddled in place to allow it to always be aiming at Rapidash. The tip of Rapidash’s horn glowed with radiant heat before sending up a ball of flaming energy into the sky. He released his Sunny Day just in time, too, before a fast-moving blast from Flash Cannon was sent forward.
Even with his automatic use of Agility, the attack struck Rapidash. He whinnied in pain, taking super effective damage, and his gallop slowed slightly from the damage. Empoleon, still in the same spot, began charging up the Steel Type Flash Cannon once more, essentially acting as an immobile sniper with how fast and powerful its shots came out.
“Ready yourself for Psychic!” I yelled.
Empoleon’s attack went off before Rapidash was ready, and he was clipped in the side once more. Already, he was on the verge of passing out, as the super effective assault was crippling his health.
“Flash Cannon!” Gavel yelled, naming the attack in what he likely thought would be its final use.
Another shining Flash Cannon shot flew forward, but this time, Rapidash was ready. His horn glowed, and rather than unleashing an attack on Empoleon, the incoming shot was redirected. It slammed into the ground only a foot away, breaking off a chunk of dirt but completely missing my Pokémon.
“Good job. Keep it up,” I said.
I didn’t need to give any more commands as Rapidash went ahead to heal with Morning Sun. Empoleon tried to fire another Flash Cannon while Rapidash was healing, but Rapidash showed his control by still managing to redirect the attack a second time.
Then, he charged directly in.
From the videos I watched of Gavel’s previous battles, I knew Empoleon preferred to move around with Surf, or if pressed, Aqua Jet. Otherwise, the Pokémon tended to stay still. Rapidash’s hooves crackled with electricity, a Wild Charge heading straight forward, and Gavel seemed to hesitate for a second.
“Return, Empoleon,” Gavel said.
Empoleon disappeared before Rapidash hit it. Gavel clutched his Pokémon’s Pokéball, clearly thinking about how this battle was going.
The reason for that switch was actually the Sunny Day. With the current weather weakening Water Type moves, Empoleon’s Surf and Aqua Jet wouldn’t let it outpace Rapidash. No matter what, Rapidash could land his attack, and he had proven himself capable of not only healing but also dealing super effective damage.
“Escavalier. Joust,” Gavel commanded.
I had to raise an eyebrow at the sight of his next Pokémon. A species found in Unova, Escavalier was an armored bug with two spiral lances for its arms. A large red crest stuck out at the top of its helmet, and it floated in the air, ready to charge.
I questioned this decision. Escavalier was a Steel and Bug Type, and I knew Gavel knew Rapidash was capable of using Mystical Fire. Sending it out here in the middle of a Sunny Day was a questionable choice. I was unsure what his final goal was.
Escavalier started to float forward, slowly picking up speed. It was known as a slow Pokémon, but I could see that was due to its need to build up momentum and likely poor turn control. It was managing to accelerate quickly, heading right towards Rapidash. A lance was held forward, glowing a chartreuse green with Bug Type energy.
“Mystical Fire,” I commanded, half worried I was playing right into Gavel’s hand.
Whatever the purpose of using a Bug Type move was unknown, as even though Psychic Type Pokémon were vulnerable to that Type, Fairy Type Pokémon resisted it. Flames flickered and floated in the air around Rapidash, slowly coalescing into floating balls of fire, and each one was sent right into Escavalier.
The Pokémon was seared by the four times effective attack. Before the Mystical Fire even hit, I could see Escavalier faltering from the heat. Rapidash easily sidestepped the stab, the Bug Type move missing, but then Gavel’s gambit was finally revealed.
“Metal Burst!”
I felt my heart drop.
Escavalier exploded with Steel Type energy, sending a pulse of raw damage out in all directions around it. Like Counter and Mirror Coat, Metal Burst was a retaliatory move, except it didn’t need the triggering move to be restricted to either a physical or special attack. Escavalier took that four times effective, sun-boosted Mystical Fire and sent a more powerful blast right back into Rapidash. The Fire Type move made it collapse into unconsciousness, but the Metal Burst made Rapidash collapse just as well.
Above, on a set of electronic screens, what Pokémon used in the battle so far were listed. It displayed both Altaria (in his Mega Form) and Rapidash for me, and it displayed Ferrothorn, Empoleon, and Escavalier for Gavel.
Both Rapidash and Escavalier were now blacked out, eliminated from the match.
I returned Rapidash while Gavel returned Escavalier. For this matchup, the outcome was in his favor. Steel Type Pokémon had few Types that they didn’t resist, and Rapidash was one of the few Pokémon I had that was capable of using a Fire Type move. By sacrificing his Escavalier, he might have lost a powerful attacker, but Gavel had removed one of the bigger threats on my team.
Both of us locked eyes across the field. Neither of us immediately sent out a Pokémon.
“Trainers. You have thirty seconds to send out your next team member.”
The audience was cheering in excitement for what we would do next, but that cheering slowly died down. Gavel and I still didn’t send out any Pokémon, continuing to stare off in silence. The faux sun faded as we waited.
The referee called out again at ten, then five seconds left. If either one of us sent out a Pokémon too early, our opponent could send out a Pokémon that would have an advantage in the matchup.
Eventually, right when we both were about to be disqualified, we quickly sent out our team members that would fight in this next round.
“Azumarill!”
“Aegislash!”
I wanted to curse yet again, as Gavel had chosen a Pokémon that would all but counter Azumarill. Not only was it uniquely suited to shut down any melee offense, but its Ghost Type meant that Superpower, a move usually super effective against Steel Types, wouldn’t work against it.
I was still holding up Azumarill’s Dive Ball when the match resumed. Her opponent wasn’t a good battle for her, despite the fact that she’d probably enjoy fighting a floating sword and shield. I aimed the Pokéball at her, readied myself to return her, and began to call out “Azumarill—”
“Block,” Gavel ordered.
I didn’t get the chance to bring Azumarill back into her ball.
Before any time had passed, Aegislash had already used Shadow Sneak to dash across the field and bring itself in the air right behind Azumarill. It positioned itself between Azumarill and her Pokéball to prevent her from being returned.
Physically blocking a return shouldn’t have worked, but Block was a Normal Type move that infused its user with the appropriate energy to let it succeed. As long as Aegislash was right there, Azumarill would be stuck on the field.
“Liquidation!”
Azumarill was already punching when I was yelling, and a water-covered fist impacted Aegislash’s exposed blade.
Aegislash operated uniquely when compared to other Pokémon, as it was either sheathed, defended by its shield, or it was drawn and vulnerable to attack. Its ability, Stance Change, had it change its form whenever it attacked, and unfortunately for it, using Shadow Sneak meant it was vulnerable to Azumarill’s powerful smash.
Cracks appeared in Aegislash’s blade, and before Azumarill could punch again, it quickly sheathed itself to shift back into its Shield Form. This time, when her fist impacted her foe, it took no damage, and Azumaril slumped slightly as if drained.
“Watch your attacks! King’s Shield protects it and drains your power whenever it's struck!”
My warning was slightly too late for that first attack, but Azumarill at least knew for the future. Rather than attack again, she used Splash to hop back and eye her foe to see what it would do next.
“Swords Dance!” Gavel yelled.
Still blocking Azumarill, Aegislash shifted and dived in the air. It didn’t even unsheath itself to use the move, as it wasn’t an attack, yet it was growing in power.
I was frustrated. What Gavel was doing was obvious. With Aegislash countering Azumarill so well, he wanted to use this opportunity to set up and sweep the rest of my team. The thing was, with Shadow Sneak's priority, I wasn’t even sure if Altaria’s Power Swap could stop it.
Azumarill was stuck between a sword and a hard place. I desperately wanted to call out an order for her, but all her attacks would do is trigger King’s Shield and make her weaker for when Aegislash was vulnerable. Yet, if Gavel was setting up, we could too. Azumarill could easily turn his own plan against him.
“Belly Drum!” I yelled.
“Shadow Sneak!”
Aegislash fell backwards into the ground, disappearing into its own shadow. Azumarill raised up a hand to use Belly Drum, but she paused when her opponent disappeared. Her eyes glanced towards me where I was holding a hand behind my back. Seeing that silent sign, she didn’t continue the move, and instead waited for Aegislash to show back up.
It didn’t take long for it to appear, drawing itself behind her back. Its sword, now vastly sharper thanks to its single use of Sword’s Dance, slashed down on Azumarill and caught her right in the shoulder, slamming her to the ground rather than slicing her and causing her to cry out in pain.
But, Aegislash was no longer blocking her on the field.
I called Azumarill back.
With the current status of the field, Aegislash was boosted, but not as much as it could have been. Azumarill was wounded but not fainted, and I needed to choose a Pokémon to replace her.
With the threat Aegislash posed, a single option came to mind. I’d have to trust in her own skill to survive one of Aegislash’s attacks.
“Ninetales!” I yelled.
The field turned white. Faster than it had even been, a snowstorm overtook the skies. Ninetales appeared on the dirt floor for only a second before being swept away by her weather, disappearing from view with her Snow Cloak.
When the match resumed, Gavel had his Pokémon attack.
“Iron Head!”
The move’s name was a bit of a misnomer when Aegislash’s head (and its entire body, for that matter) was a sword. Normally, leaving Aegislash in its Sword Form would be a mistake, but as a Ghost Type, it was better at sensing living beings more than most other Pokémon.
Stolen story; please report.
Even with Ninetales hidden in her snow, Aegislash rushed directly at her. The chilly air caused its body to partially frost over, but it still managed to slash down to swing.
The Swords Dance made the attack twice as strong. With Ninetales being both an Ice and Fairy Type, the four times effective move was liable to faint her.
But, through sheer chance, the attack only grazed some of her hair, and it completely missed.
“Sheer Cold!”
Ninetales had already been preparing herself to use that move from the start. Me calling out its name was a formality for the judges more than anything else. I didn’t want to risk giving Aegislash a chance to faint her and set up once more. We needed to take it out, so a guaranteed faint was our best option.
Ice crackled up Aegislash’s blade. Its shield gained a layer of frost. For a moment, it seemed that Aegislash would resist the Ice Type energy being sent through its body, but then the frost reached the crack Azumarill had made moments before.
The second the cold touched that vulnerability, Ninetales’s attack rapidly coated the rest of its body. Aegislash clattered to the ground as a sword and shield, loosely connected by a brittle purple cloth.
Gavel returned his Pokémon, the second knockout of the match having finally occurred. He glanced toward Ninetales for only a moment before sending out his next Pokémon. A large mole with two metal claws and an armored head appeared on the field. His Pokémon, an Excadrill, bashed its claws together and aimed them directly at her.
Ninetales ran to change where she was, but it continued to point unerringly at her.
This might be tough. Excadrill's Mold Breaker lets it ignore Snow Cloak.
I considered for a moment why Gavel had his Excadrill point to reveal his ability like that. On one hand, he could have been trying to encourage a switch, as Excadrill took normal damage from Ice Type moves rather than resisting it. On the other hand, he could have expected me to think that he wanted me to switch out, so then I should keep Ninetales in.
There were several levels of consideration whether he knew I knew he knew, but I decided to let them be. What was nice about setting a strategy at the start of the battle is that it gave me something to fall back on. For now, Ninetales would stay to keep up the pressure.
We got the signal to start the match. Ninetales fired an Ice Beam, a little slower than normal due to the recovery needed after using Sheer Cold, but Excadrill dove underground before it had the chance to land.
"Full defense. Don't bother dodging. Get ready to hide a Dazzling Gleam then dodge."
Ninetales had plenty of time to respond to my orders as she set up an Aurora Veil and braced herself for an attack. She lightly started to move across the field, using the fallen snow to muffle her footsteps to try to hide herself from Excadrill.
The field was tense in the silence that followed. Gavel was hard to see through the weather, but I could tell he was watching intently.
"Iron Head!" he yelled.
Excadrill didn't emerge from under Ninetales, but it did pop up a few feet away. The reason it took so long to make an attack become clear with the way its sharp claws now looked even sharper. Likely, it had been using Swords Dance underground, and with that boost in use, it was hurtling right towards Ninetales.
"Now!" I shouted.
With my command from earlier, Ninetales flashed with a Dazzling Gleam right when Excadrill got close. Her Aurora Veil slowed it down, but it unfortunately wasn't enough. Excadrill closed its eyes, temporarily blinded by the attack, but its momentum let it keep going and slam into the side of Ninetales without her even being able to dodge the attack.
The four times effective move caused her to crumple to the ground. Even with Aurora Veil up, Ninetales couldn't withstand the extra effective Steel Type move. Swords Dance did its work.
As I returned the unfortunate Ninetales, my eyes lingered on Excadrill. Its eyes were still darting around as if it had an opponent to attack, and its claws were ready to lunge.
I pretended not to notice. Gavel's focus was on me, and since Excadrill hadn't made any significant movements, he hadn't noticed his Pokémon was confused.
"Florges," I called out, sending the aforementioned Pokémon to the field. "Grass Knot!"
The second the match continued, Grass burst from the dirt floor and wrapped around Excadrill. The pokemon felt this and lashed out as if was fighting a foe. Amused, Florges drifted around its side.
"Excadrill!" Gavel shouted. "She's not actually there! You're seeing illusions! Ninetales fainted!"
The sound of its trainer's voice caused Excadrill to shake its head. It blinked its eyes then looked around, now recognizing the fact that Ninetales was gone.
Then a Moonblast hit it in the face.
Excadrill was knocked back. It resisted the damage, but the force of the blast still sent it flying. It dug its claws into the ground to try to stabilize itself before it crashed to the floor, but Florges had already sent out some Fairy Winds and started a Petal Dance.
The leaves carried forward the pink mist and slammed into Excadrill with a bit more chaotic of an impact. Excadrill stumbled and wavered before it began digging back in the ground.
In case Florges's absolute mastery over Petal Dance wasn't clear before, it was now. Her petals were sent downwards into the dirt like daggers. The pink plant matter aligned with the previously placed snow like a fine rainfall that left holes in the ground. The move continued and continued, Florges sending everything she had into the floor, doing her best to bypass Excadrill's subterranean protection.
When the move ended, Florges stumbled and began to wobble back and forth. Misty Terrain hadn't been used, so Petal Dance had left her confused.
"Excadrill, Iron Head!" Gavel yelled.
There was no movement in response.
The field was quiet as we waited for Excadrill to come up, taking long enough that the snow faded away. The referee blew a whistle to pause the match. As he did, Florges tried to give me a thumbs up. Unfortunately, she was facing the wrong way.
Elite Four Lucian suddenly appeared next to the field with his Alakazam at his side.
"One moment," he said.
The audience cheered at the appearance of one of Sinnoh League's upper echelons. Next to Lucian, his Alakazam focused, and the field opened up to bring the fainted Excadrill to the surface.
"Sorry about that. Good luck with your match, you two."
And then Lucian disappeared.
The audience clapped and laughed as if that was a performance while Gavel silently returned his Pokémon. Florges shook her head to get back into the proper mindset, the dizziness from Petal Dance finally ending.
"Trainer Gavel, you have thirty seconds to send out your next Pokémon."
For a second, Gavel pulled out one Pokéball from his pocket only to put it back and replace it with another.
"Ferrothorn," he announced.
I hummed at the sight. Florges was a threat, but in my opinion, Ferrothorn wasn’t the correct option here. It was a physically defensive beast that could handle any proper melee attacker with ease. But, when I considered what options Gavel had left—Empoleon and Bisharp—I could half understand why he chose to send it out here.
Florges could easily withstand and heal from any special attacks sent out by Empoleon, and Bisharp’s Dark Type made it too vulnerable to Fairy Type Pokémon. He didn’t have any other options.
“Stay back and stack Calm Mind. Focus on pure defense,” I told Florges.
She gave me a quick nod and floated up into the air to focus. With the match resuming, Gavel sent out his own command, telling Ferrothorn to do the exact opposite of what I expected.
“True offense,” he ordered.
Ferrothorn stood up and started to walk forward. Its movements were slow and clunky, needing it to use each of its spiked vine feet to lift it up like legs. The speed it traveled was slow, and it became even slower when it paused to set itself back on the ground and lift those feet up, aimed at Florges.
Gavel didn’t name the move, but I identified it easily enough. A few Leech Seeds were shot forward with Florges moving out of the way with little effort. However, they landed on the ground underneath her, and the vines extended upwards and held her in place.
“Now!” Gavel shouted.
Ferrothorn heaved itself up only to hop in the air and begin rolling forward like a wheel. It glowed with Steel Type energy, using Gyro Ball to move at a determined, slightly faster rate.
Florges was struggling, but she at least got a pair of Calm Minds up. I shouted at her to try a different move!
“Grass Knot! Tear it away!”
Just like the vines were coming out of the seeds, grass grew out of the ground to wrap around the base of the extensions. It was pulled taught, yanking the vines down, allowing Florges to escape and float into the air.
Ferrothorn continued rolling until it was right underneath her. However, as Florges could float, its Gyro Ball didn’t reach.
Gavel didn’t look concerned in the slightest.
“Explosion,” he said.
“What.”
Ferrothorn blew up. It was as simple as that. One second it was spinning underneath Florges, the next it had overloaded itself with energy. Florges was caught in the blast, the focus of Calm Mind doing little to save her from the damage. When the smoke cleared, the blackened Ferrothorn laid on the ground, unconscious, with Florges unable to continue right next to it.
I was starting to get concerned. That was twice now Gavel had offered his Pokémon up in a sacrificial play in one form or another. Escavalier fainted after a Metal Burst, and now Ferrothorn fainted with an Explosion. Usually these kinds of strategies were limited to when a trainer had the advantage, but as it stood, I still had three Pokémon conscious while Gavel only had two. I even had a Mega Pokémon in reserve!
Cautiously, I sent out Whimsicott. I hoped his ability to easily shut down any foes would ensure the battle would be in our favor—if that really was the case, at least. I didn’t bother with any waiting games, and Gavel sent out his Empoleon in response.
When the match continued, the expected exchange occurred: Whimsicott set up a Substitute, with Prankster, and Empoleon’s Flash Cannon immediately took it out.
Quickly, Sunny Day was used once more before another Flash Cannon struck Whimsicott. This time, a Protect blocked the move, and I called for Whimsicott to set up a Leech Seed.
A Metal Claw slashed through the first set of vines, but two more latched around Empoleon. It winced as energy was drained from it, and Whimsicott was healed slightly as a result.
It was a shame Gavel was a Steel Type specialist. Whimsicott might not have known Toxic, but Poison Powder would have been useful here.
“Go for Ice Beam,” Gavel ordered.
Instead of using the instantaneous shots its Flash Cannons had been, Empoleon held up its flippers to release blue crackling lightning. It struck Whimsicott, and he tried to put up a Protect, but Empoleon’s attack lasted long enough to get through.
Whimsicott panted, having taken super effective damage. A Synthesis helped restore him to full.
“Set up a Tailwind and focus on dodging. Slowly wear Empoleon down,” I ordered.
The following match reminded me of one of Carbink’s matches. Whimsicott didn’t bother using attacking moves, only moving out of the way of attacks using his immense speed from Chlorophyll and Tailwind, and Prankster let him maintain the sun and Leech Seed. The hot weather weakened Empoleon’s Water Type nature, as that was what Sunny Day did, and Leech Seed slowly drained it as well.
Gavel said nothing, willing to let this exchange go on. Both Pokémon were weakened, though the Leech Seed was letting Whimsicott weaken at a slower rate, until it got to the point where Empoleon started to glow blue.
Just like Ash’s Infernape, it had trained its ability to boost itself when heavily damaged. Even under this sun, its Water Type moves would be empowered by Torrent.
“Go ahead and use Hydro Pump,” Gavel said.
I had hoped the weather would discourage this act. Unfortunately, when the move shot out, Whimsicott was sniped out of the air.
Empoleon rushed forward with a speed it didn’t have before. Aqua Jet let it rush forward like Azumarill tended to do, and it used the sharp claws at the base of its flippers to tear the Leech Seed vines off its body, revealing it could have done that all along.
Whimsicott was grabbed and held up in the air. Empoleon aimed a claw towards his face.
Contrary to his bad position, Whimsicott cheered. The strange and out of character action stunned Empoleon for a moment, and it cocked its crested head to the side as if it were asking Whimsicott if he was sure.
Whimsicott nodded his head confidently.
Now subjected to an Encore, Empoleon didn’t resort to any super effective move. It threw Whimsicott forward to slam into him with an Aqua Jet, dealing damage with an attack that he could easily resist, Torrent-boost or not.
“Attack, quickly!,” I ordered Whimsicott.
Whimsicott was injured, but he could make this work. Grass Type moves only did normal damage to Empoleon thanks to its secondary Steel Type, but Energy Ball was still a decent attack.
Again and again Empoleon used Aqua Jet. Whimsicott wasn’t able to attack too often, but he got quick Energy Balls off when he could. Otherwise, he was using Synthesis to heal himself and Encore to ensure Empoleon remained trapped.
After only a slight amount of time longer, Empoleon fell.
The crowd cheered as Whimsicott pushed himself up from the ground. He held his small arms upwards in victory, though he was still breathing hard from using so many high energy moves. Though, his strategy tended to always be effective even with that side effect. If anything, increasing his stamina would probably be the best way to make him more powerful overall.
Gavel was down to just his last Pokémon, a Bisharp, I recalled. Every other one of his team fainted, and I still had three Pokémon ready to go. At the same time, those three Pokémon were all strong in their own right. Whimsicott was tired but could still shut down a foe. Azumarill was injured but was still determined as ever. As for Altaria, well, he was in perfect health while also being Mega Evolved.
Gavel palmed a normal Pokéball. It was rough but well maintained. A small smile appeared on his face, not one of confidence or acceptance in defeat, but one that spoke of a tried and trusted companionship with whoever he was about to send out.
“Kingambit,” he said.
I paused. I had never heard that name before.
Appearing on the field wasn’t a Bisharp, but I could immediately tell it was related. It had the same red and black metal body a normal Bisharp had, but its head had gained a ridiculous looking sword mustache and a massive yellow blade coming out of its top. Not only that, but it now had hair that extended down over its back that shielded it like a shell.
Oh, and it wasn’t standing, for some reason. Its hair curved under its legs where it sat on it like a stool.
“Bisharp can evolve?” I asked, shocked.
The Pokémon I had no clue existed before now, as Gavel hadn’t used it in any of his Conference battles prior, took one look at Whimsicott. At that, I knew we had messed up. It had the gaze of an experienced strategist, of a weathered general who had seen his army fall and realized he had to make his last stand. There was a sense of palpable power to it, a power that far outclassed any Pokémon on my team. Even Altaria might have trouble facing it, though, his Mega Evolution would definitely make things easier.
When the battle resumed, I quickly understood we would need to win by wearing it down rather than beating it in a fair fight. This was a Pokémon whose battle capabilities were unknown. Not only that, but it was strong.
“Stun Spore,” I said as fast as I could.
“Retaliate,” Gavel ordered.
Kingambit didn’t walk. Instead, it stayed seated and its stool floated forward. For a Pokémon, it wasn’t very fast, but it was clear that it was trained enough to quickly chase down Whimsicott.
Whimsicott puffed out as much Stun Spore as he could. Kingambit seemed to accept the fact that getting paralyzed was inevitable, and it charged through the cloud.
Whimsicott brought up his arms to protect himself, but he never ended up using a defensive move. Instead, Kingambit rushed past Whimsicott without attacking, and Whimsicott glanced down to his uninjured body in confusion.
I stared at Kingambit where it now sat not too far away from me. It had a solemn look on its face for the briefest of moments before turning around.
Then, a slice appeared on Whimsicott’s chest. We hadn’t noticed it, but the Retaliate had properly landed when Kingambit passed him by.
Whimsicott screamed. He fell still. I returned my Pokémon as Whimsicott was taken out.
As I weighed my options between Azumarill and Altaria, I heard a crunch from below. On the field, Kingambit displayed the reason why it had been so confident to take the Stun Spore like that. Without even experiencing any negative effects of the condition, it ate its held item, a Lum Berry, to cure itself of paralysis.
Seeing that, I sent out Azumarill. We needed to do at least something to weaken it.
“Iron Head!”
“Superpower!”
I was banking on the fact that Kingambit was probably still a Dark Type, but I honestly didn’t know for sure. Superpower would deal four times damage if that was the case, which is why I considered Azumarill to be our best option.
She ran forward towards her seated opponent, fists raised up to grab. She was fast enough to latch on and land a powerful punch into Kingambit’s chest, but it then bowed its head to slice its sword downwards.
This was a repeat of what had happened with Aegislash. This time, however, the Iron Head managed to take Azumarill out even though it wasn’t boosted in the slightest.
The power of the move was ridiculous. Knowing there was a Pokémon this strong at its base level made me realize just how much of a fool I’d been. Sure, we’d taken out Tobias’s Legendary Pokémon, but Kingambit wasn’t a Legendary Pokémon. Just how was this thing so strong?!
“Please, Altaria. Keep to the skies and stay away. Its attacks are far too powerful for you to withstand.”
I released my final Pokémon, Altaria, into the sky. His white feathers continued to embrace his body in his empowered Mega Evolution. He was a threat to be wary of, yet Gavel still remained didn’t blink.
Gavel was unphased about a Mega Pokémon. A Mega Pokémon. His faith in Kingambit was unshakeable.
“Steel Beam.”
“Flamethrower!”
Altaria acted first, covering the Steel Type with flames. Kingambit had run through both Whimsicott and Azumarill fast enough that the sun was still up, but even with that boost to the move being applied, it didn't faint quite yet.
A blinding flash and a beam of pure Steel Type energy burst from within Altaria's attack. It directly struck him across his chest in the air, causing him to squawk in pain. The Flamethrower stopped, and Kingambit appeared on the ground, heavily injured but still fighting.
Altaria didn't look much better, though. The Steel Beam was both a powerful attack and super effective. It had torn through the fluff provided by his Mega Evolution to deal an insane amount of damage. He was as close to fainting as Kingambit was, but if it wasn't for the fact that Steel Beam hurt its user, I doubted Kingambit would be anywhere close to there.
I wracked my brain for a plan. With all the evidence I'd seen, I wasn’t sure what we could do. Altaria needed to heal, but a Roost would make him too vulnerable on the ground. I was afraid of Kingambit, honestly terrified, but I chose to fall back to the same strategy I selected at the start for our next course of action.
"Hyper Voice!"
Altaria screamed out a blast of sound-based Fairy Type energy at his foe. It struck Kingambit, sending vibrations throughout its body. With the way it reacted, I could tell it was a Dark Type, as if it were pure Steel, Kingambit would have resisted.
But then it fell to the ground.
"Kingambit is unable to battle. Alex wins."
The audience cheered, and Gavel sighed in disappointment, as if he saw that coming, but I was still stuck on what just happened.
Kingambit fainted? Just like that? To a normally effective Hyper Voice without any special clash?
The sheer anticlimax of taking out a Pokémon that scared me so much stopped me from making the connection in my head. It wasn't until Altaria flapped down to my elevated platform that I realized what had happened.
"This was the final round," I mumbled. "And Gavel is out of Pokémon. With those together... that means..."
My eyes went wide. I looked to Altaria, who cocked his head. A wide smile grew onto my face.
"We won," I whispered. "We won the Conference."
There was a pause for only the briefest of moments before I lunged forward and brought Altaria into a hug. I laughed and spun him around, or at least, he let me spin him around with all his added bulk.
Altaria's Mega Evolution ended just in time for him to shuffle himself onto my head, his wings draping down past my ears and onto my shoulders for him to brace himself. He was heavy, but he was at least distributing his weight a bit to make himself more manageable.
As Altaria roosted on my head (literally, he was using Roost to heal), I made my way down the extended slope to step on the field. The dirt had wet patches from the melted snow, and the ground was uneven from the various attacks that went into it. I could still see a few sparse holes from where Florges's Petal Dance had pierced through it.
Gavel had already returned Kingambit and was waiting for me on the ground. Despite his loss, he was also smiling, looking rather proud of himself.
Our hands clasped together in a sign of good sportsmanship. The crowd went wild, because of course it did.
"Your Kingambit. I... I've never seen such a powerful Pokémon."
Gavel blinked. He then threw back his head and laughed.
"Oh, that? You must not be familiar with the species! That's a Kingambit's whole gimmick! It gets stronger for every Pokémon that faints on a team before it."
"Oh," I replied. Things finally clicked in place. "That's why... Your Escavalier and Ferrothorn. That's why you didn't seem to mind letting them take themselves out."
"Yeah. My whole strategy was based around tryin' to wear you down to let Kingambit sweep your remaining team. Ninetales worried me the most, on account of her neat dodging and special Confuse Ray. Honestly, my biggest gamble was trying to take Altaria out with a single Steel Beam. If you couldn't tell, I failed."
"It sure withstood that Flamethrower pretty well, though."
"You sure? He was wobbling on his feet and unable to act at all after that exchange. He only got through with sheer determination and pure grit."
Huh.
"Must have been distracted by how powerful it was," I said.
Gavel chuckled softly, and we shook hands one last time before parting. It was clear he was disappointed he didn't win, but second place was still a good result. Usually, just placing in the top sixty-four was impressive enough, actually getting this high was a true achievement to celebrate.
Within minutes, the battlefield had been cleared and the trainer boxes retracted. There was a brief moment where Gavel and I passed off our Pokémon to be healed as the League staff rushed to set up the final ceremony. The Pokémon trainers that stuck around after their matches lined in rows on the arena floor. Altaria was returned during this time, too.
It felt like the audience had been cheering since the battle ending. To be honest, my head was still spinning. After celebrating with Altaria, I felt like I was in a daze.
There was a small stand set up for the top trainers of the Conference to stand on. It had a spot for the third place trainer, a slightly higher spot for second, and then the highest spot for first. I greeted Ash as he approached, as he had won his match for third earlier today. As we took up our spots, the final ceremony began.
In order, Aaron, Bertha, Flint, and Lucian walked onto the field, all four members of Sinnoh's Elite Four emerging from the tunnels from weakest to strongest. They lined up in front of the podium, and behind them, Cynthia walked in as well.
She received the loudest reaction from the crowd out of them all. She was the Champion, after all, and her popularity was through the roof, too.
There was something symbolic of having the entire Elite Four and Champion appear on the field. It didn't happen often, but it showed that it was a time of peace as none of them needed to be elsewhere.
I felt my heart pound, not out of nerves or anything bad, but out of pure pride. I stood a bit taller on the stand. I knew how hard my team worked to get here.
Cynthia approached. When she reached us, she turned around sharply and raised up her arms. The crowd cheered, but as soon as her hands were brought down, the audience fell silent.
"People of Sinnoh. Citizens of the world," Cynthia yelled. Her voice was broadcasted out through the arena and to everyone watching. "We stand before those who have dedicated themselves to their Pokémon, to reaching a pinnacle of strength to protect those around them."
The audience cheered once more, and Cynthia smiled brilliantly.
"This past year, we've had our troubles, but each one has been tackled with a fervor to protect the sanctity of life. From Alamos Town to Ten'i Village, disasters have struck, and yet, we persist." Cynthia smirked as sounds from the audience started back up, and she added a comment when the cheers started to die back down. "Also, we captured Hunter J."
That made the audience go absolutely wild.
"The three on the podium stand above the rest, proving themselves to be powerful trainers who have earned their power through skill and determination. In third place—"
Lucian handed Cynthia a bronze medal. He hadn't been holding that a second ago.
"We have Ash Ketchum, of Kanto's Pallet Town."
As the audience cheered Ash's name, Cynthia turned off her mic to whisper something in Ash's ear. He smiled at her in response.
"Congratulations," she said when her mic was turned back on. "In second place, we have Gavel Gray, of Unova's Bordertown. Congratulations."
Lucian handed Cynthia a silver medal, that, again, he had not been holding a moment ago, and Cynthia leaned in to whisper something to Gavel after giving him the medal.
He gave her a firm nod in response.
"And finally, triumphing above all the rest, leading a team that demonstrated their legendary power—"
A mixture of laughs and shouts accompanied that turn of phrase. My eyes scanned the rows of remaining trainers to see if Tobias was still here. I had tried to find him earlier this week, but it really did seem he had disappeared after our last match ended. I still had a lot of questions about his team.
Cynthia continued.
"We have this year's Lily of the Valley Conference Champion! Please, give a hand for Alex, of—" there was the briefest of pauses as Cynthia had to figure out what to say, "Hoenn!"
The audience had cheered before. After all, that's what audiences did. For me, however, the audience's noise went through the roof. I heard my name being screamed. I heard my Pokémon's names being yelled. Heck, there were even a few shouts for Robin.
This entire arena was giving me their support. I had been holding it back, I ended up breathing out a laugh of joy.
Cynthia said "Congratulations" then turned off her mic. She then leaned in to whisper to me like she'd done with Ash and Gavel.
"Congratulations again. Truly," Cynthia said.
"Thank you."
"To win in your second year, it's not unheard of, but it's certainly impressive. I mean it, Alex. You and your team should be proud. You pulled off an impressive feat. People are going to be watching recordings of your battles for a long time."
I couldn't say anything else. I could only nod my head and sniff my nose. Cynthia turned back from me to wave at the audience once more, and something was placed into my hands.
It was heavy. The winning trophy was heavy. It was a long, polished gold cup with a Pokéball caressed by wings at the very top. The base of it had an inscribed nameplate that named the tournament, the year, and listed my name underneath.
I brought the trophy high up in the air. Above me, the first glints of the night sky almost seemed to sparkle like spotlights. To the sounds of an uproarious crowd, I finally fully accepted what had happened here today.
My team and I had won the Lily of the Valley Conference.
----------------------------------------
The three top trainers of the tournament were led to separate rooms. Ash went with Aaron and Bertha, Gavel went with Flint and Lucian, and I went with Cynthia.
I was brought into a simple room with a single table and a pair of chairs. Cynthia motioned towards them, and we sat down across from one another.
"Now then," she said. "With the ceremony finished, we have one last thing to talk about.”
Cynthia’s mouth curved up into an excited grin.
“Let’s get to the fun stuff: the rewards.”