[Pokémon] Challenger - Omega Ruby Nuzlocke Novel *FINISHED*

Erik felt strangely warm within the glass dome as he hastily paced up and down the tiled floor, pondering his next move. Light emanated from gaps in the tiles, illuminating the room in a soft glow as sunlight pierced the body of water the dome lay in, further adding to the brightness of the arena.

Wallace kept his gaze fixed on the watertank, his eyes trailing his Luvdisc who frollicked around the colourful reefs. Erik had made his decision, if Dancer and Zap were now ineffective in this battle, and Soar and Bat unable to breathe without the apparatus, then he would have to use his own water types. He also couldn't risk mega-evolution. A Mega Pokemon was wild and out of control, with powerful attacks. One loose blast of dark energy could shatter the tank they were in, trapping himself deep underwater.

Splash roared into action, bursting out of his Pokeball and snaking towards Luvdisc full of ferocity. Wallace's Pokemon attempted to flee, but held no opposition to the Gyarados's sheer speed. Splash grappled the Luvdisc within its coils and began squeezing violently until his opponent suffocated inside his vicelike grasp.

"Ugh," Wallace squawked. "You may have aquatic Pokemon, but I'm the best water-type trainer in Hoenn!" he declared, a glint of pride within his eyes. "No, not just Hoenn, the World!" Wallace corrected himself. The Sootopolis Gym Leader picked the next Pokeball from his pocket, launching it into the sky for a Whiscash to release itself into the large tank of water.

Erik remained silent, his thoughts fixated on managing his Pokemon well enough to win this fight. He withdrew Splash, saving the Gyarados for Wallace's tougher creatures and threw Seal into the fray. The Sealeo cut through the clear waters with ease, as Wallace's Whiscash darted towards the plentiful rock formations which nestled themselves among the reefs.

Wallace's Pokemon vanished within a plethora of rock outcroppings, and despite Seal's numerous water pulses, some shattering rocks they hit and others ricocheting in all directions, the Whiscash was nowhere to be seen. Seal then attempted a different method, gliding through crevices and gaps in the rocks in an effort to sight his foe.

Whiscash proved his knowledge of the terrain, ambushing Seal from below and launching the Sealeo into an assortment of stone which exploded as Erik's Pokemon thundered into the reefs. Wallace's creature moved to attack its weakened foe, sending splinters of smashed rock shooting outwards as he launched pulses through the water at Seal.

The Sealeo reacted almost as the rocks were upon him, spinning out of the way as the reefs cracked under the pressure of the stone barrage. Seal launched a beam of ice at his foe, the attack freezing the water in a straight line and smashing into the Whiscash who recoiled at the blow, before attacking again.

The two embroiled themselves within a vicious conflict as shards of shattered stone flicked up into the oceanic air. Seal smashed into a reef, before recovering and launching a retaliatory strike of ice that cut deep into his foe, the cold biting eagerly at the Whiscash's frail skin. Erik's Sealeo faltered in his next move, battered and weary, Seal struggled to dodge a water pulse causing his trainer to withdraw him.

"I should see how Bat copes under the water, facing a Pokemon whilst it is weak," Erik thought to himself, following through with his plan as Wallace tossed something high up into the air and into the tank. "What's that?" Erik demanded, as the Whiscash smashed the thrown container with a water of pulse then drank up the innards.

"A full restore," Wallace sang confidently. "A newly developed item shipped over by Team Rocket. It fully heals my Pokemon."

"Made using Magma's plans, I'd guess," Erik grumbled to himself, realising how much danger Bat was now in.

Erik's Golbat was lumbersome in movement and sluggish on the turn as Whiscash flew up the waters at speed to meet him. Bat plunged poisonous fangs into the creature, successfully managing to inflict poison upon it before being launched into the rocks. Erik again switched out his Pokemon, just as Whiscash prepared a finishing blow, and sent in Soar.

"Steven told me you caught a legendary Pokemon," Wallace started as he saw the Latios. "I wasn't impressed, I could catch one just as easily."

Erik felt rage stabbing at him, but ignored the temptation to snap back, instead watching his Latios glide through the tank.

Soar moved almost unimpeded by the water, but instead of using the breathing apparatus at the bottom of the tank, he flew up out of the container for air before descending back into the depths. Soar's psychic attacks were also unaffected by the water, the Latios easily frying the weakened Whiscash's mind, leaving Wallace to send out his favourite Pokemon, Milotic.

Soar twirled through the water out of the way of several beams of ice launched by Milotic before one smashed into him. A stray blast of frozen liquid snaked through the tank and wrapped itself around Latios's frame, encasing the legendary Pokemon within a tomb of ice. Erik quickly threw a Pokeball into the air, withdrawing Soar who was now frozen solid. His hopes of winning rested firmly within the coils of Splash as he sent his Gyarados out once more.

Two snake-like aquatic creatures locked themselves within a titanic battle as water pulses flew back and forth as barbaric bites countered beams of ice. Splash was propelled across the tank after being stricken by a water pulse. The Gyarados crashed into the glass next to Erik as cracks formed across the fractured glass surface. Erik temporarily feared for his life, but luckily the container held strong.

Wallace's Milotic moved as elegantly as her trainer, gracefully moving her slender body as she honed in on her weakened target. Splash shot out like a bullet, meeting the Milotic with a vigorous clench of his jaws. The Gyarados then launched a different kind of pulse as he spat out the Milotic's head, a pulse of dark energy. Remnants of the slivers of darkness left by his mega-evolution. The dark energy engulfed and swallowed the Milotic, before Splash sank to the reefs unconscious. Both Erik and Wallace were left with two Pokemon. Wallace led with a Sealeo, Erik following with Dancer.

Erik knew that his Pikachu had always been intelligent, so despite her disadvantage of being unable to use electrical attacks, he hoped that she would find a way of defeating Wallace. He watched on to see Dancer initially frustrated by the lack of her usually reliable speed and agility, but as she put on the breathing equipment, a glimmer in her eye warned Erik that his Pikachu had devised a plan.

After toying with her and mockingly allowing her to equip the apparatus, Wallace's Sealeo moved to attack, attempting to smash Dancer against the now knife-life rocks that jutted from the bottom of the container. Sealeo closed in, before Dancer pushed herself backwards, removed her breathing equipment and deftly attached it to the Sealeo. As Wallace's Pokemon struggled to remove the gear, Dancer launched waves of electricity towards her foe, the volts catching on the apparatus and frying the Sealeo within the contained charge.

Dancer moved to reattach the apparatus as the defeated Sealeo descended to the reefs, Wallace throwing a Seaking into the action thereafter and instructing his new Pokemon to maintain distance to avoid the trick for a second time. The Seaking immediately arrowed towards the rock formations, concealing itself within them.

"Finish this, Dancer!" Erik roared on his Pikachu, who endeavoured to oblige. Dancer removed the breathing equipment once more and let it sink slightly before launching bolts of electricity throughout the rocks, which, to her horror, absorbed the voltage. Seaking was fully protected from electrical attacks as Dancer reattached the apparatus once more.

Dancer tried again. She unclipped the gear and dropped it, allowing a few seconds for it to sink, then attacking with more electricity. Once more, the rocks absorbed her attacks to howls of laughter from Wallace. Dancer moved to swim back to her breathing gear, but was caught by a sudden movement. Seaking had emerged from the rocks and swam rapidly towards the gear, picking it up on her front horn before ascending to the surface and tossing the apparatus to her trainer.

Erik's Pikachu moved downwards to grab another set of equipment, but was caught within Seaking's circling movements. Wallace's Pokemon had trapped her, and whenever she attempted to move, a sharp jab of the Seaking's horn threw Dancer backwards.

"Dancer!", Erik shouted in horror. As more and more air escaped Dancer's lungs, he threw her Pokeball into the sky. "You can't do that!" Erik followed as Dancer's Pokeball was knocked out of the air by Wallace's thrown item, the breathing apparatus.

"Go on then," he chuckled. "Report me to the authorities!"

Erik growled before he grimaced, then he picked up the thrown equipment that had landed next to him. It had smashed on impact with the tiled floor and no longer looked usable. He glanced back to Dancer whose face had turned to a faint blue hue, she wouldn't last much longer.

"Come on girl," Erik whispered as Dancer faltered. The Pikachu gasped for air and instead gulped a mouthful of water. "Dancer!" Erik roared. "You can do this!"

The Pikachu looked her trainer in the eye and summoned a slight smile, before Erik saw a weak glimmer within her dark, beady pupils. Dancer mustered her remaining energy and fried the container with lightning, electricity surrounding the waters and defeating the Seaking within. Erik grabbed her Pokeball once more as Wallace collapsed to his knees, launching it into the sky and withdrawing his Pikachu to safety. He had won his final badge and was now able to challenge the Elite Four, and then, the Champion.

"Oh…" a solemn noise squeaked out of Wallace's mouth.

"Hand over your badge!" Erik demanded, climbing back up the stairway onto the glass elevator.

"Here you go," the despondent Wallace replied, taking the badge out of his trouser pocket and handing it to Erik after joining the trainer on the elevator. The two ascended through the aquarium in silence, Erik's thoughts focused on the Elite Four.

The glass door creaked open before both Erik and Wallace stepped out. The Sootopolis refused to make eye contact with the victor once more as he skulked away sorely.

"Not going to say anything?" Erik teased. "Oh well, off to defeat the Elite Four for me, and when I become Champion, your Gym is the first thing I'll take from you."

"You idiot!" Wallace snapped back, the Gym Leader shaking as he lost his cool. "There is no more Elite Four!"

"What?" Erik wheezed, seeing Wallace stagger backwards as his eyes widened, like the Gym Leader had revealed a secret he wasn't supposed to.

"Forget what I-"

"No Wallace, tell me what you mean by that!"

"Oh...It's just…" Wallace began, before Erik closed in as the man backed away slowly. The Gym trainers surrounded their leader, stopping Erik from coming any closer.

"Wallace," Erik growled, before he saw the man's body expression visibly buckle under the pressure.

"Okay, okay!" he sang like a man who couldn't keep a secret. "Giovanni had a couple of contingency plans in mind in case he was defeated during the Battle of Route 104," Wallace bleated. "He knew he had such a hold on Hoenn that the only way you could unite and rally the region was if you became Champion."

"So what did he do? He couldn't stop people from challenging the Elite Four and Champion, there would be riots. Trainers who had grafted their whole lives, got eight badges and wanted to challenge would rebel against the authorities!"

"He knows this. Over in Kanto they abolished the Elite Four a couple of months ago, and introduced a new tournament, obviously fixed in Rocket's favour. The winner of this knockout tournament would challenge the Champion to decide on who would be the new one."

"So there's now a tournament fixed by Rocket over here in Hoenn?"

"Well it would be too difficult to fix as our region is not yet under Giovanni's thumb. Steven is in charge of making sure the right people get to the right places. And to make sure the tournament has finished by the time you arrive."

"It's already started?"

"I don't know, I've been here holding you off. But what I do know is that they plan to host a tournament every few years, if you don't win this one, you have no hope."

Erik bolted from the room. He had his eight badges and he was going to make sure he entered the tournament before it began.

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"I will need each and every one of you for this 'Tournament'" Erik instructed his team who all lay outside their Pokeballs. A crisp wind fluttered through the grass before entering the cave's open mouth as Erik and his team rested outside. Dawn had arrived as Bat twirled playfully in the open sky, the morning sun peeking through vast grey clouds and resting on Soar's back, the Latios watching his trainer attentively. Dancer darted around flower beds, training her agility and honing her speed whilst Rocky, Seal and Splash all sat in front of Erik, nestled within the freshly cut lawns of Ever Grande City.

Whilst called a "City", Ever Grande was little more than a miniature hamlet. A Pokemon centre rested next to the hotel where Erik and his team spent the night after a long day of battling and travelling. A score of wooden huts lined up along the cliffside where residents lived peacefully away from the populous, bustling areas of Hoenn. The only visitors they received were trainers wishing to pass through the cave to the north to challenge the Pokemon League.

The cave, or "Victory Road", as it was known, loomed ahead of Erik dauntingly. The cavern itself was supposedly simple to navigate, but was infamously filled with tough trainers who were all looking to prove themselves against one another before they challenged the Elite Four. Erik guessed that they would be gone now, eagerly queuing for their place in the new "Pokemon League Tournament".

Erik shook his head once more, he had lost count of the amount of times he forced himself to rattle away the poisonous thoughts which had made a home within his mind. Only one thing mattered to him now, and that was becoming Champion and fulfilling his father's final wish. Doing that would stop Team Rocket and unite Hoenn to take the fight to Team Rocket in Kanto itself.

"We both know that the one you blame is yourself, and we both know that you're right too," Giovanni's words pierced Erik's mental armour. The Team Rocket boss wasn't wrong, it was his own fault. May, Norman, Blaze and all the others. Gone because of his mistakes, gone because of his own weaknesses.

A roar from one of his Pokemon startled him. His other Pokemon joined in, a chorus of animalistic shouts had begun echoing around the cave entrance. Adrenaline gushed through Erik's veins, he had to carry on for those who were still here.

Splash roared into the sky where Bat squawked merrily. Rocky shouted in Erik's direction as Soar looped around in the air howlng passionately. Dancer strode up to Erik and grabbed his hand. She had turned from a contest Pikachu who hated the very notion of battle to one of his most reliable warriors. Erik looked to Seal, and had to shield his eyes.

His Sealeo was engulfed in a fiercely bright white light, and after a few moments, gone. In his place, a Walrein stood on his hind legs, with his flippers reaching out into the sky. The giant blue creature roared so vehemently his two giant tusks rattled violently. Erik's Pokemon were with him, now was the time for him to march through Victory Road and onto the tournament.

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The winding trails of Victory Road proved as easy to navigate as the rumours told, and as devoid of human life as Erik imagined. He had captured a Lairon within, naming it Iron and sending it to storage. Its evolved form, Aggron, would be a crucial addition to his team, but he didn't wish to tinker with the settled party he took with him.

Daylight penetrated a gap at the end of the dirt road as boulders lined the edges of narrow corridors and slender pathways. Grey and brown blended together to compile the tediously monotonous stretches of road which Erik had traversed, but now he sighted sunlight once more, a fresh wave of relief breezed through him.

Victory Road had been a sharp upward rise, and the Pokemon League rested at the summit of a colossal cliff. Stepping out into the glaring sun, Erik felt a bitter wind bite at his skin. Shuddering, he forced himself onwards passed the cold. The cliff overlooked the ocean leading up to Mossdeep City, the island appearing microscopic from the sheer height Erik was standing as Wingulls and Pelippers fluttered nosily around him.

The Pokemon League itself consisted of a single, gigantic building which was a strange mix of stone layers, glass windows and metal support beams. As Erik's vision ascended the many floors the building only appeared more chaotic, stone turned to brick and glass to more metal and although he could hardly see the buildings roof, Erik swore a battle arena rested upon it.

The small dirt road and surrounding patches of grass and flowerbeds that connected Victory Road to the Pokemon League were vacated, to Erik's horror. He realised that this must mean that the tournament had already begun, Wallace was right. He stormed towards the automatic glass doors which slid open upon detecting the young trainer from Kanto in their midst.

The reception area was unremarkable, a square shaped room painted in oranges and reds with a dozen doors dotted around ahead of a pair of desks, both manned by a receptionist.

"I'm sorry Sir," the lady behind the left desk spoke, an elderly woman wearing a colourfully patterned dress. "The tournament has already begun, I'm afraid you're too late."

"Which door leads to it?" Erik demanded, a flare of anger surging through him. After all he had done, after all he had been through, he wasn't about to let a pair of elderly women stop him.

"The doors lead to many different arenas and battlegrounds," the lady on the right said, she sported a set of plain black and white shirt and trousers. "I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave."

"When did the tournament start," Erik roared, to which the two ladies jumped backwards.

"Yesterday, but they've already completed the first three rounds. In fact, I think round four is beginning soon," the first lady replied.

"Where?!" Erik shouted. "Which door?"

"Well," the second woman spoke hesitantly. "There's two battles-"

"Which door?!" Erik roared, advancing to the left desk and slamming his fists down. The lady on the right hand side pointed to a door behind her, to which Erik slammed through a turnstile which separated the desks and proceeded through the door.

He entered a huge stadium with a large mound of grass as the centrepiece. The mound sat on an island, with fours bridges leading off in different directions sat atop a deep, wide moat. To the east rested a field of sand, home to rocky outcrops. The bridge to the west of the mound rode off into a ruined stone two-story building, as slanted and chipped rock served as a defensive position for any Pokemon who dared enter.

Erik took a moment to stop looking horizontally, and gaze upwards. Whilst the arena was square, the top was dome shaped, and allowed a lot of space for winged Pokemon to maneuver. Erik returned his vision to the other two bridges, the one to the south leading to both him and one of the challengers. He recognised the man as Sidney, "Master of Dark Types". A strange looking man who almost looked like a Pokemon himself, crouching as if he had a bung knee with a nothing but a red wisp of hair of his head. The bridge to the north bought Erik his greatest surprise. At the end of it stood Wally.

"Ahh, Erik!" A voice boomed through a tannoy system, causing Erik to notice speakers and cameras built into black concrete walls which lined the arena. "So nice of you to join us!" Steven's iconic voice blared.

"Erik!" Wally shouted, finally noticing the trainer who had barged into the room. The battle had not yet started, as both Wally and Sidney rested hands on their belts, considering which Pokeball to choose.

"Steven!" Erik roared. "I challenge you!"

"Nope," Steven responded. "You're too late. Anyone who wishes to challenge needs to win five rounds before they do so. And these two have already won three of them."

"Then give me five trainers to fight!" Erik demanded.

"No can do, my friend," the tannoy responded calmly. "As we speak, Drake has just defeated Phoebe, and with Glacia losing to Sidney last round, only three trainers remain."

"You're a coward, Steven!"

"No, just like to play fair. How would all the other contestants respond if I tell them that I've allowed a trainer to skip two rounds! Preposterous!" the man responded sarcastically.

"Erik," Wally shouted across to his friend. "Take my place. Norman tasked me with taking your place, but only if you failed. You showed me how to get this far, it's only because of you I believed in myself enough to become as strong of a trainer as I have."

"Ugh," the tannoy responded to Wally's suggestion. "There's no stopping you, is there, Erik. I suppose I can allow you to enter the tournament as a late contestant, but you still have to survive five rounds, against the toughest five trainers."

"So be it," Erik hissed.

"Then first, you will have to face your friend. Wally. The winner will decide who takes his place in this battle, but as you will both know the battlefield afterwards it gives you an unfair advantage on Sidney. So the winner will face Sidney in his own personal arena."

"But surely that means-" Wally attempted to counter Steven, before Erik interrupted.

"You can try and stop me using whatever means you wish, Steven, but nothing will stop me from defeating you!"

"Will shall see about that," the tannoy replied, before static replaced Steven's voice.

"May the best trainer win," Wally declared to Erik, as Sidney left the room without a glance at Erik. Presumably to watch the battle through cameras and study both trainers' fighting style.

"May the best trainer win," Erik repeated to Wally, flashing his friend a slight smile.

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The arena's stale air threatened to suffocate Erik as he stood within its lukewarm embrace. He eyed Wally across the room, his friend's fingers touching each Pokeball on his belt as the young man considered his first move. As he watched his opponent, Erik noticed something.

"Only five Pokeballs?" Erik shouted to Wally, realising that his foe had a Pokemon missing from his belt.

"I lost my Milotic last round," Wally replied, his once frail voice now laced with confidence and belief. "They only allow you to change your team in storage after the first round, after that you have to stick with the six."

"So the winner of this will face Steven with half a team left, I knew this was all fixed in his favour," Erik hissed whilst eyeing the tannoy. "Does he even allow trainers to heal their Pokemon after each round?"

"Yes," Wally replied, to Erik's surprise. "A nurse will come in and look over the winner's Pokemon, healing any survivors."

Erik felt a tinge of suspicion as his friend's words, but said no more. Now it was time to fight.

"To make it fair," Wally called out once more. "How about we pick our first Pokemon at the same time and throw our Pokeballs together?"

"Fine," Erik responded, picking Bat's Pokeball off his belt. His Golbat was versatile and would be able to use the high domed ceiling to his advantage. They threw out their Pokemon together, Wally having chosen an Altaria.

The two waged war in the skies above the mound of grass, Bat using his superior agility to dodge the Altaria's overwhelming size and power. Wally's Pokemon breathed dragon fire, then launched a pulse of draconic energy which screeched passed the Golbat who had twirled out of the way. The pulse rampaged through the ruins, tearing through the large stone structure and sending rock fragments shooting off in a hundred directions.

Bat countered the Altaria whilst she was distracted by the ruins (which remained largely in tact in the aftermath despite Erik's initial thoughts) by lodging poisonous fangs within the dragon's skin. Erik's Golbat clung on with all his willpower as the Altaria tried to shake him off.

"Ram him into the building!" Wally encouraged his Pokemon, who responded instantly. The Altaria flew towards the ruins, turning on her side so the Golbat attached to her would face the blow, and smashed into the grey-stone building.

The two fighters were lost to Erik's vision as dust piled into the air above the ruin. More stone had collapsed on impact and a painful screech could be heard from both Pokemon as they smashed into the decaying building. Suddenly, Altaria emerged. With no sign of Bat.

Moments went by with no sign of the Golbat as Wally's Pokemon swivelled in the sky, arching her bruised back and preparing to devastate the decaying structure with dragon fire. Erik knew Bat was still alive, he felt it within him. When he had lost a Pokemon before he had felt a soul-tearing pain deep inside him, but this time, nothing was present.

"Altaria finish him!" Wally commanded, recognising that the Golbat was still alive. His Pokemon obeyed, lighting the ruins with dragon breath as faint flames rose from the scorched stone roof. The Altaria followed with a series of draconic pulses, the power of which shattered the stone as more dust rose from the deteriorated rock.

"Hold on," Erik whispered to himself, holding his hand to his heart.

"The supports!" Wally shouted in realisation. "Altaria, take out the supports!"

A moment's hesitation followed as Altaria struggled to comprehend her orders, until finally she understood. Swooping down to the surface, she launched pulses of energy at the building's failing support beams, which fractured before exploding under the pressure. The entirety of the ruins fell down upon the Pokemon who was hiding within.

"Bat!" Erik roared. "Not another. Please not another one," he begged to no one as dust filled the entire left hand side of the stadium, the Altaria hidden within the cloud. A patch of dim discolouration lay within the smoke where the ruins once were, too bright to be Wally's Pokemon as Erik considered why he had not felt the pain.

A screech echoed around the arena, emanating from within the dust cloud. As the smoke cleared, Altaria tumbled into the wreckage. A Crobat had its fangs piercing her skin.

"Bat!" Erik roared in glee.

"Altaria!" Wally shouted in horror, as his dragon-type crashed into the ground. The Crobat dislodged his fangs and spat bolts of poison at his downed foe, before the weakened creature finished the fight with a poisonous aerial bombardment, shooting streams and bolts of toxic liquid at his foe.

"I'll get that Bat!" Wally roared, half fiercely, half playfully. It was clear to Erik both how much Wally respected him, and how much this battle meant to the young trainer. Almost as if Wally had been waiting for this battle for a long time, to prove to himself how far he had come.

Magneton was Wally's next Pokemon, the steel and electric dual-type floated towards the centre of the battlefield in preparation for the Crobat. Instead, Erik recalled Bat and allowed Rocky to fight in his place.

"Blaze used to melt steel Pokemon with ease, especially Magnemites and Magnetons," Erik remembered, bowing his head slightly as the thought evoked memories of his previous battles. "No," he whispered to himself. "Now is not the time, I must defeat Steven and become Champion!"

"Magneton shock him!" Wally commanded his fighter, who immediately responded by launching electrical waves at the Camerupt. Rocky soaked them up as he absorbed the electricity within himself, before galloping off towards the mini-desert to his right. Erik's Camerupt concealed himself within a small rock formation, anticipating the Magneton to follow him within.

"Don't let him get away Magneton!" Wally barked towards his friend. Erik noting that his friend's rashness, borne of his eagerness to defeat him, was costing Wally.

The Magneton floated towards the desert area, where he was met by violent shaking. Rocky had summoned a mini-earthquake by stomping down on the ground, mustering up energy and roaring as powerfully as possible. As the ground rocked vigorously, Rocky smacked stones with his front feet towards his foe. The rocks, coupled with the fierce tremors, fractured the Magneton's metallic skin. Erik's Camerupt finished the duel with fire, scolding Wally's Pokemon with red-hot flames.

As Wally grimaced and tossed his next Pokeball into the sky, Rocky remained on the battlefield, disguising himself once more in the rocky outcrops to face his next opponent, a Roselia.

"Don't let him ambush you!" Wally yelled to his grass-type, who cowered slightly in fear of her fire-type opponent before tentatively advancing towards the sandpit. Roselia lifted her flower covered arms into the air, before lowering and pointing them at narrow crevices in the rock faces. Beams of green light erupted from the flowers, honing in on cuts and holes within the rockfaces in direct straight lines.

Rocky remained stoic as beams smashed into rocks surrounding him, bellowing fiercely in an effort to hinder his opponent. Roselia ceased her onslaught as the Camerupt remained unharmed, lifting her arms into the air once more then lowering them, targeting the rocks Rocky concealed himself behind.

Leaves like razors severed rocks as if they were made of paper. A howl of pain burst out of the outcrops as leaves planted themselves within Rocky's skin. As the stones fell to pieces, Erik's Camerupt was left facing down the Roselia with no cover as Wally's creature stopped to regain her breath.

Rocky bellowed once more, a resounding roar that vibrated Erik's ears. The Camerupt stamped his four feet robustly on the floor launching a flamethrower out of the twin holes on his back. The flames shot upwards, arced, then crashed into Roselia, consuming Wally's Pokemon whole.

"No!" Wally yelled after losing yet another Pokemon. He was down to his final two with Erik yet to lose a single fighter.

"Are you holding back?" Erik asked suspiciously, the question had been nagging him since the start of the battle.

"Yes," the tannoy system blared into life once more. "Wally, are you holding back?" Steven's voice blustered.

"No," the young man replied stubbornly. Erik could sense the frustration emanating from him.

"You seem like an entirely different trainer to the one who won his first three battles. There was a man who was calm, confident and full of belief. Now we have a boy barking orders and looking desperate. No wonder you're being thrashed," Steven said mockingly. Erik knew the Champion was trying to fire Wally up, he wanted the two to decimate each others' teams.

"Shut up!" Wally screamed at Steven, sounding like the young boy he used to be. "I'll show you!" he added, as one hand reached for another Pokeball on his belt, the other clasped something within his pocket. Erik couldn't tell what.

Wally quickly released the object in his pocket from his grasp, sending a Delcatty onto the battlefield. Erik responded by withdrawing Rocky who had taken a few hits, and releasing Seal, the newly evolved Walrein promptly leaping into the moat that surrounded the mound of grass.

Delcatty strived to detect her opponent in the depths, struggling to identify the Walrein who was submerged deep within. Wally's Pokemon crept cautiously as she descended the grassy knoll, tip-toeing gently as neatly trimmed blades of grass brushed her paws. A soft scent filled her nostrils as the flower smelling aroma temporarily distracted her from her task. It was then that the Walrein struck.

Seal surfaced, water spraying harshly in all directions as the Walrein punctured the Delcatty with an enormous pair of tusks. The ice-cold fangs sunk deeply into Wally's Pokemon as her trainer gasped in terror.

Delcatty squealed in agony as the cold tormented her insides. Seal vanished within the river once more, before emerging within moments, this time summoning the waters around him to wash away Wally's creature. Seal suffocated the Delcatty within a watery tomb before the Walrein slammed his bulky frame into her, defeating his foe. Wally was down to his final Pokemon as he returned a hand to his pocket.

"You've been quiet?" Erik questioned his opponent after noticing Wally remaining eerily silent during the last battle. "You alright?"

"I can't hold anything back against you anymore," Wally replied. "I can't lose my Ralts."

"Then don't hold anything back," Erik replied sternly. "I know I won't."

He withdrew Seal, releasing Splash in his place. Wally released a Gallade from his remaining Pokeball, the final evolution of a male Ralts.

"Your dad gave me something to make sure I won this tournament if you failed. I know you think you've won this fight, and that all I am is your backup incase you didn't make it. But Norman also told me to be your final test if you did succeed, so that we both knew you were strong enough. And I refuse to lose my Ralts!" Wally declared, pulling a strange object from his pocket.

"Wait!" Erik roared. "Don't use that!" he urged his friend who clasped the megastone in his hand. But it was of no use. Wally had made his choice, and now pointed the stone towards his Gallade who screeched in agony.

Erik retaliated the only way he could, by mega-evolving his own Gyarados.

The iconic black cloud shrouded Wally's Gallade within its midst. Within moments, two ruby red orbs penetrated the darkness, piercing through the fog and meeting Mega-Splashs's own. Emerging from the cloud, the Mega-Gallade had doubled in size, and where he was once green and white, the Pokemon's body was now coal-black. Although his head kept the same colour scheme, piercing red eyes aside, the green dull blades on his arms had transformed into black and red knives. He also now sported a crimson cape that clung to his shoulders and trailed along the floor.

Mega-Gallade sprinted towards the other Mega Pokemon, the Mega-Gyarados responding by launching himself at the onrushing foe and leaping towards Wally's creature. Mega-Splash was quicker, wrapping his coils around the Mega-Gallade before tightening his grasp on his opponent as the Wally's Pokemon attempted desperately to wrench free. Mega-Gallade deflected a savage bite with one sword-arm then cleaved through Mega-Splashes tough skin with the other. A roar of pain erupted from Erik's Pokemon before the Mega-Gallade began a barrage of slicing punches. Mega-Splash recoiled with his punctured skin throbbing, as his tormentor continued his ceaseless assault.

Mega-Splash shot a beam of ice from his gaping mouth, the attack smashing into the mound and leaving a pathway for the Mega-Gallade to ascend. Wally's Pokemon leapt off the ice path and onto the Mega-Gyarados neck, where he began pummeling his foe once more.

"Keep it up!" Wally shouted to his Pokemon in encouragement.

"Idiot," Erik growled quietly, knowing that Wally's Pokemon would never acknowledge his trainer's words. It was also how Erik knew he was helpless. He had no way to advise or reinvigorate his Pokemon, so when Mega-Splash de-evolved into an ordinary Gyarados, he prepared himself for the worst.

"Splash," he whispered as the Gyarados turned to look his trainer in the eye. "I've lost you too."

"Yes!" Wally howled. "I'm going to win! Now, Ralts," he said, attempting to command his Mega-Pokemon. "Finish him."

His Pokemon obliged, but not due to his trainer's calls. Erik looked away and clutched his chest with his hand as the soul-tearing pain screeched across his body, ripping through his heart. The bond between himself and Splash had been strong.

"Now, Ralts, go to the top of that mound and wait for Erik's next Pokemon," Wally instructed his Pokemon, who turned sharply at the attempted command. "Ralts?" Wally squeaked, as his Mega-Gallade began advancing towards him, blades raised in the air. "Ralts! What are you-" Wally began, before the onrushing Gallade was within inches of himself, a deafening roar echoed around the room.

Erik looked to his Mega-Latios. He had made certain to keep the Masterball in his grasp as the sight of Mega-Soar evoked heart-shattering memories. He envisioned the scene again which had remained prevalent within his mind, where the Mega-Latios disintegrated Blaze within one of his dark energy blasts.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by his Pokemon grappling the Mega-Gallade and ascending to the highest point of the room.

Vicious swipes by the Mega-Gallade cleaved deep within the Mega-Latios, piercing Mega-Soar's skin and forcing the fearsome beast to endure as he attempted his lethal assault. Erik's Pokemon rose to the roof as Mega-Gallade continued its desperate assault, waving his arms in a furious attempt to slice into his foe and save himself, most swings missing completely, but the rare blow connecting and causing a shrill cry to erupt from Mega-Soar. The Mega-Latios rose as high as he could, then dropped his foe from the perilous height. As Mega-Gallade tumbled to the ground, Mega-Soar launched a dark energy blast which engulfed Wally's Pokemon, who then smashed into the mound of grass and dirt below. The Mega-Gallade de-evolved as Mega-Soar moved to eliminate any remaining life within Wally's favourite Pokemon.

"Ralts!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "No!"

Mega-Soar ignored the trainer's calls, and prepared a final dark energy blast.

Erik launched the Masterball into the sky, saving his friend's Pokemon at the decisive moment. The capsule consumed the Mega-Latios just as the beast was about to unleash its attack, de-evolving the monster within.

Wally sprinted over to his fallen Pokemon and clutched the weakened Gallade, whispering in his friend's ear as beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. Erik could sense the relief in the young man, losing his "Ralts" would've hit Wally as hard as the loss of Blaze hit himself.

"Thank you," Wally gasped. "And good luck. With everything you've been through, you deserve this," the young trainer followed as Erik approached him, offering him a hand as Wally climbed back to his feet.

"Erik wins round one!" Steven declared over the microphone. "As per the rules, I shall allow you to be healed by our nurses and choose one of your Pokemon from storage to replace that Gyarados. But from now onwards, no replacements! After healing, please proceed through the first door on your left once in the reception area to face Sidney."

"Bring it on," Erik growled, picturing the faces of those who sacrificed himself so he could get this far. "It's my fault you're all gone. But I promise you. I shall unite this region and save Hoenn for you all."

Two big battles in one chapter is quite a treat there. With Wallace's battle there were some neat things going on like the use of the Full Restore and Dancer able to bypass Wallace's trick for a bit. The battle between Wally and Erik was also pretty good. Not surprising when Gallade mega evolved he wasn't himself. I did feel bad for Wally losing almost all of his Pokemon (and Erik losing Splash). At least Gallade didn't die like the others. Since a couple of the Elite 4 have been knocked out, I know if the ones defeated will still battle against Erik, but I'm assuming you already thought of something.

I made a couple suggestions in the original draft, and while you don't have to go with those I feel I should elobrate on them a bit more. My first suggestion is having Wallace react to Soar being in the battle. I know I said that each time Erik sends in him, yada yada lol. However, for Wallace's reaction it doesn't need to be him surprised. You can have him be like, "Oh Steven told me about Soar", since Steven and him are good friends. My second suggestion is Wally holding the wounded Gallade in the end. Reason for that is how Wally is all like, "I can't lose my Ralts" and I would imagine Wally be relived his Pokemon was still alive.

Some minor details I would like to see expanded more, otherwise I still enjoy this chapter very much. We're getting close to the conclusion!

Hey sorry, I actually uploaded my original draft, rather than the edited one. Reposted the chapter with the suggestions you made now though, my mistake!

Erik shivered ominously as he eyed the looming two-tier castle in front of him. Darkness inhabited each slit in the wall that would pass as a window, with frail flames dancing atop wooden torches sitting above a raised portcullis, the sharp points at the end gleaming menacingly in the dim torchlight. The moderately sized mouth in which the portcullis rested made for the castle's entrance, as Erik sighted narrow, shadowy corridors splitting off both to the left and the right at an angle.

As Erik crunched through the crisp, dried out grass towards a small machine he considered his opponent who remained hidden behind the daunting structure. The man he now faced in battle would know every corridor, every pathway and every crevice within the beckoning labyrinth. This was Sidney's arena.

He cautiously crept towards the strange machine, still quite some way away from the castle, and studied it. The large panel sat above a stand, comprised entirely of metal. On its face lay a speaker, a microphone and a television screen surrounded by six different buttons. Erik assumed that each button linked to one of the six pairs of goggles which dangled from the panel's underside.

"Glacia fell before this labyrinth I have constructed," a voice hissed and crackled from the speakers, Erik rapidly releasing it was Sidney who spoke. "Now you will too, little boy."

"What is all this?" Erik queried, fiddling with a pair of goggles and moving his hand over the buttons linked to the television screen.

"That's where you will watch your Pokemon die," Sidney hissed, before his voice made way for static.

"So you crushed your friend Wally?" another voice took over the speaker. Steven's.

"Back off, Steven," Erik snapped, he was in a foul mood and had no time for the Champion's jibes.

"Only in round two and already losing your cool?" Steven laughed. "Oh well, you shan't make it any further. Sidney shall see to that!" Erik felt his blood pressure stubbornly rise as anger boiled within him. "As always, I'll be watching!" Steven finished.

Erik grabbed a Pokeball on his belt and release Iron beside him. Steven had aggravated him, but he knew that's exactly what the Champion was attempting to do, he had to keep himself focused. The Lairon beside him roared as Erik fitted the goggles onto him, he had chosen to replace the fallen Splash with Iron after his only allowed foray into storage during the tournament, and now he was stuck with the team of six who lay attached to his belt.

The screen on the panel lit up as it detected goggles attached to a Pokemon. The small television showed Erik exactly what Iron saw, as if he were looking out his Lairon's eyes.

"Iron," he spoke softly towards his newest addition to the team. "I don't know what awaits you inside, but trust in your steel armour and belief in yourself. We'll defeat this guy." The Pokemon purred towards his trainer, before slowly embarking on his journey towards the fortress.

As Iron disappeared into the castle and out of his sight, Erik switched to the screen, watching the battle unfold through his Pokemon's eyes.

Narrow, dark hallways were illuminated dimly by flames which leapt off the walls as they flickered and faded perilously atop wooden sticks. Metal grates rattled as Iron cautiously plodded along them as holes devoid of light lurked in the roof. Both Iron and his trainer suspected an attack from any direction, the whole labyrinth was set up perfectly for an ambush by Sidney's Pokemon.

A glimmer of movement snapped Iron's attention towards the grates below him as light reflected off the water below. A Mightyena sprung his trap, emerging from a hole in the roof. Sidney's Pokemon sunk his fangs into the distracted Lairon, puncturing his unarmoured sides, before retreating once more down the corridors using his superior speed.

Iron struggled in his attempts to keep pace, before stopping suddenly to regain breath. The Lairon's preferred fight was in the open, using his raw strength and thick, steel armour to overpower opponents. A battle within shadows was a costly mistake on Erik's part, and the trainer had no way of recalling his Pokemon unless Iron somehow retreated out of the castle before the Mightyena caught him. Erik then realised he also had no way to communicate with his Pokemon.

Sidney's Pokemon struck again. As Iron scanned the roofs, a metal grate screeched open from below him and terrifying fangs plunged into his underbelly, piercing his exposed skin amongst howls of pain.

As the Mightyena retreated, Iron made for the exit. Galloping along the thin hallways back to his trainer. The Lairon took a left, then a right, then another left, but only served to bury himself deeper within the labyrinth of musty, dank corridors. As Iron stopped to gather breath once more, shaking within his horrified frame, Sidney's Mightyena moved for a finishing blow.

"Iron," Erik whispered. He knew his bond with the Lairon was still fresh, and therefore weak, but he had to try to communicate with his Pokemon somehow. "Believe in yourself, I need you. We will get through this trial together, I promise. You just have to trust me."

The television screen lost picture, darkness consuming the screen as the Mightyena plunged his fangs into the Lairon for a final time. Erik slammed his eyes shut as he prepared for the tearing pain that relentlessly tormented him when he lost a Pokemon. It never came. He guessed that the bond between himself and his Pokemon was still too fragile for him to feel it.

A flash of light caught Erik's eye from the television, causing him to glance back to the screen. The picture had returned to show the Mightyena had been tossed off Iron and was now scrambling back to his feet.

Iron stood on his hind legs and summoned a miniature-earthquake as the Mightyena scampered away. It took Erik only a few moments to realise that his Lairon had evolved into an Aggron, and the newly evolved Pokemon was set to win his matchup as the roof tumbled down and crashed into the Mightyena in his attempts to retreat.

Erik pumped his fist into the air as his Aggron came back through the labyrinth towards him. Jaded but alive, the steel and ground dual type smashed through walls as if they were balsawood in a straight line directly back towards his trainer. The crushed stone walls also lead a direct pathway for any of Erik's Pokemon towards the centre of the castle, and a quick retreat for his team if they needed it, but he still felt as if the carved road through the fortress was merely a drop within the labyrinthian ocean.

He released Rocky into the fray, who entered the castle and instead of taking the path off to the left hand side as Iron did, Erik's Camerupt chose the path to the right. Erik turned his gaze once more towards the screen, seeing the labyrinth through his Camerupt's eyes.

Rocky tentatively crept along the dimly lit hallways, expecting an ambush from any angle. He refused to allow the calmly moving water trickling underneath his feet to distract him, and pressed on through the winding, ceaseless corridors with fire brimming in his mouth prepared for a swift retaliation if necessary.

Sudden movement snapped Rocky to attention. The Camerupt launched flames at the skittering sound as razor-sharp leaves fell to the floor, burnt to a crisp. Rocky stumbled over to the remnants of the failed attack, until a fierce blow smashed into his chest. A Shiftry began a barrage of blows, feinting before launching a sucker punch then rapidly striking with the other leaf-covered fist.

Rocky was thrown to the ground by the force of the barrage. The Camerupt struggled to his feet, readying another attack, but when he looked back, the Shiftry was gone, to be replaced by more sounds of movement.

"Rocky," Erik whispered, holding his hand to his chest and hoping the words would travel through his soul to his Camerupt's. "Blaze used to light up dark places with fire, try it."

Erik's Camerupt looked across the narrow corridor, before slowly walking backwards in an attempt to retreat, as if he hadn't heard his trainer. Sharp leaves rapidly came into his vision, painfully piercing his flesh as they planted themselves within his skin, seemingly striking from all directions. He had reached the end of the corridor as more leaves appeared in his sight.

Rocky bellowed, then released flames. His flamethrower incinerated the leaves, shooting out in a straight line and engulfing the entire corridor, illuminating it. As the flames died, shadows were cast in the fading light's remnants. The Shiftry was above him, lurking within a hidden hole in the roof.

"Got him," Erik shouted in glee, as his Camerupt ignited the Shiftry. Rocky began his steady retreat towards his trainer after defeating his opponent, before having to hasten his exit as water began flooding the castle's first tier.

Erik released Dancer in preparation for a water-typed opponent, the Pikachu attaching the goggles as her trainer fiddled with the buttons beside the screen, eventually finding the correct one. Dancer leapt into the castle at fast speed, using the rising water as a elevator to lift her to the second floor through one of the holes in the roof.

Moss painted the castle's cobblestone walls on the unremarkable second floor. A large square room with a score of gaps and crevices within the ground, all now filled with dank, dirty water. Torches once more dimly illuminated the second tier, and Erik guess tell the room was bitterly cold as the screen shook whilst Dancer shivered.

A large fin pointed out of a hole in the floor, before quickly vanishing back into the depths. Dancer reacted almost instantly, launching boisterous bolts of electricity towards the gap in the ground. A patch of water lit up temporarily, before the stone surface greedily soaked up the voltage. The fin appeared again, a different hole this time, but the end result remained reminiscent of the last as Dancer's attack was abolished by the cobblestone.

Erik knew that his Pikachu was forced to enter the water, whilst her foe remained in its element. Flashes of Dancer's struggles in her fight against Wallace sprang to Erik's mind as doubt and apprehension struck him. Before he had time to reach out to his Pokemon, Dancer dipped her toe in the water before diving into the lake.

The waters were pitch black as Dancer sank from the hole in the roof, a thin cone of light emanating from the room she had just left illuminating only her. She attempted to brighten her surroundings by emitting thin trickles of electricity, the currents conducting and partially lighting up small sections of the lake around herself. Which remained empty. She tried again, using a little more voltage this time, allowing her to see what was directly in front of her. A Sharpedo's gaping mouth.

Ferocious and robust jaws slammed down on Erik's Pikachu as Dancer clenched the Sharpedo's mouth with his hands and feet, flagging and failing in her desperate endeavours to prevent Sidney's Pokemon from crushing her within his knife-like teeth. Dancer shook violently at the effort as Erik searched his mind for a solution. His Pikachu cried in agony at the stress on her body as the Sharpedo's jaws lowered ever more, she was fighting an impossible battle and the only thing keeping her from her fate was time.

"Come on girl," Erik whispered, clutching his heart. "I remember stealing you from that contest, and you hated me. But you're all I have left from back then. Everyone we had with us then has been lost. Blaze, Ice, Roller, Leaf, Ninja...And all the others…" As tears pricked Erik's eyes the screen lit up.

Dancer had summoned the rest of her energy to electrify the Sharpedo from within, the aquatic beast recoiling and releasing her from his grip as Erik's Pikachu floated up towards the gap in the roof, towards oxygen and respite. The water drained back into the floor as Sharpedo was defeated, as Dancer jumped back to the first floor then forced her limp body down Iron's carved pathway, back towards her trainer and safety. Erik released Bat in her place.

Through the screen Erik could see Bat glide through lengthy hallways and swoop around sharp turns. Pools of water remained on the cobbled floors from where the corridors had flooded, as the torches mounted upon the walls had somehow relit themselves, flames dancing feebly on top. Erik's Crobat was at home within the dark, dank castle as he swept through yet another corridor, then around a corner, and into the next hallway. Until a blade sliced into him.

Bat flopped to the floor, smashing into the stone surface with a limp crash. An Absol loitered over him, the beast honing his blade with his sharp claws, preparing for a final flourish.

"Bat, come back to me," Erik ordered his Pokemon, once again whispering to himself and hoping his friend heard his words.

The Crobat ascended into the air once more and began its retreat, nimbly fluttering through the corridors at half his usual pace. Absol was chasing, and almost upon him as the thick blade atop its skull gleamed eagerly within the torchlight. Bat swooped around a corner, the Absol skidding as it sharply span around the bend, only a few paces away as it slowly but steadily caught up to Erik's Crobat.

Bat fiercely flapped his wings, attempting to force his bleeding body through the castle, his pursuer so close he could almost feel its breath on his skin. Hope found him in the form of beckoning light which pierced the castle's open mouth. He was within inches of the entrance when the Absol made his move, leaping into the air and pointing his bladed head in the Crobat's direction. As soon as the Absol was within range, he moved his head sideways to slash his foe with a wild swipe. A scream of pain erupted from the castle entrance before it alarmingly dissipated as the sufferer disintegrated within a beam of energy.

Erik had recalled Bat into his Pokeball at the last moment, as Soar annihilated the Absol with his signature attack. His Latios was too large to fly through the corridors, and too lumbersome on the ground to be risked, so Erik allowed Seal to take the final fight, his Walrein crawling into the dark tunnels of the labyrinth, preparing himself for whatever awaited within.

As Seal flopped through the corridors, leaves shot out from ahead, rapidly rotating through the air as fading firelight gleamed off of their sharp edges. Erik's Walrein scolded them within a beam of ice, the frozen leaves tumbling to the floor and smashing at the impact. Black needles like pins were next to fly through the corridor, many avoiding Seal's ice beams and piercing into his skin, resulting in wails of pain from the Walrein.

"Seal," Erik whispered. "Finish this."

His Walrein complied, roaring as he summoned the waters lying dormant underneath him which smashed through the grills and surrounded Seal. Erik's Pokemon launched waves of water down the corridor, riding one of them himself as he crashed into a Cacturne. As Sidney's Pokemon lay prone on the ground, Seal blasted him with beams of ice, finishing the fight as Erik won the second round of five.

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

Seal crawled out of the castle to join the rest of Erik's team as a nurse moved to each and every member, healing them all with potions and other various items. A noise crackled from the panel as the speaker blared into action.

"How did you conquer my castle?" Sidney's voice rasped through the panel.

"Two down, three to go, well done Erik!" Steven's voice called, cutting off the Master of Dark Types. "The two weakest, may I add?"

"Four to go," Erik corrected him as he spoke into the microphone. "I'm coming for you, and there's no way you're going to stop me."

"I won't have to. My good friend Phoebe will do that for me."

"Phoebe lost to Drake, she's out the tournament," Erik declared.

"You entered so late that only three trainers remained, I had to allow another two to re-enter, and as members of the old Elite Four, Phoebe and Glacia have been reinstated into the tournament."

"You keep trying to take me down. You'll keep failing. By the end of this day I will be Champion, Steven. I promise you that."

"We'll see about that, Erik," the Champion responded, before static again replaced his voice.

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

Dust, dirt and thin layers of smoke clogged the ground as cracked and decayed tombstones rose out of it. A purple tint surrounded the stadium, leading from the abandoned two story building on Erik's left, to the desolate hut on his right. At the other side of the room stood a woman whose dark skin was clad in nothing more than an aqua blue swimsuit with her short, dark hair sat flanked by two large flowers. Erik sensed that the "Ghost Whisperer" bore a dark underlayer masked by her innocent and energetic appearance.

After the nurse had healed Erik's team, she had directed him to the next arena. Phoebe's arena. It mirrored the trainer, as Erik sensed that the ordinary looking stadium was not as plain as it seemed.

"Heard you beat the little freak Sidney?" Phoebe shouted across the room, her high pitched voice catching in the smoke as Erik strained his ears to hear. "Doubt I have much chance then!" she giggled in response.

"Yeah right," Erik growled to himself, refusing to underestimate his opponent. She launched a Pokeball into the air, revealing her first Pokemon as a Dusclops. Erik followed with Seal, who flopped onto the floor and hastily waddled up onto the battlefield. The purple substance that contaminated the arena licked up at the Walrein and began lazily sucking at his lifeforce, draining him of his health. As Erik studied the battlefield for a solution, a shroud of fog enveloped the arena as Phoebe's Dusclops vanished within.

As Seal toiled within the purple smoke's embrace, a violet sphere of ghostly energy crashed into him, sapping at his strength as the Dusclops disappeared once more into the fog after the attack. Seal launched beams of ice in a dozen directions, desperately attempting to hit his aggressor who had vanished without leaving a trace.

A sinister flash of light beamed its way towards Seal, who consumed the ray unwillingly. Dusclops's attack dazzled and confused the Walrein, as Erik's Pokemon began to see many figures inhabiting the fog in his bewildered state. A legion of Dusclops moved in unison, and when one disappeared within a beam of ice, another shortly took its place as a shadowy figure lurking within the fog.

"Seal!," Erik boomed, an idea forming in his mind. "You can't attack them one by one, so attack them all at once!"

His Walrein stuttered as he comprehended the thought, then unleashed a violent wave of water so large it washed not only the entire army of Dusclops away, but penetrated the fog, cleaving the shroud in half as the smoke slowly dissipated from the arena after being split. Erik let out a slight cheer before seeing Phoebe's Dusclops limp back to her trainer, the Ghost Whisperer then handing her Pokemon a Full Restore.

"Where'd you get that?" Erik demanded of his foe, his voice travelling clearly through the cleaner air.

"Steven handed me one," Phoebe smiled sweetly. "He gave us all some from his personal collection."

"You heard her correctly," Steven's voice blared irritatingly through the speakers on the walls. Erik hadn't noticed them before now. "And more surprises await you throughout!"

"All you are is Giovanni's lapdog!" Erik yelled. "A pawn in his game!"

"Sore loser?" Steven retorted. "Anyway, back to the fight, I'm enjoying this," he finished, as his voice vanished.

Erik felt a tinge of relief as his gaze returned to the battlefield. For the first time since his battle with Wally, a straight-up fight was due to commence between Seal and Phoebe's Dusclops. Or so he had initially thought. The Dusclops performed a strange sort of ritual, culminating in his own sacrifice as he placed a curse upon Seal.

A strange mark carved itself onto Seal's back, as the Walrein's skin slowly lost its clear blue colour, becoming much more pale looking. As Seal turned back to Erik, his Pokemon collapsed and began heaving, unable to stand nevermind fight off the approaching Banette.

Erik acted swiftly, rapidly recalling Seal into his Pokeball as he released Rocky onto the battlefield. Phoebe's Banette fell back, retreating into the windowless hut. The battered wooden door creaked upon like it sensed the Pokemon's presence as the Banette turned to face the Camerupt. Her ghostly eyes seemed to glow a mesmeric crimson as she glared at Rocky, before the door shut itself, locking her within.

"Rocky, burn that hut down," Erik commanded his Pokemon, who resiliently refused. "Rocky?" he tried again, but it was too late. His Camerupt began marching towards the hut like a husk in a trance, caught within the Banette's hypnotic trap.

He had heard rumours of Phoebe, how her Pokemon had developed strange powers within her arena. The powers of possession. He recalled his father warning him of the Elite Four when he was young, how they all manipulated their opponents, their Pokemon, their arenas or all three. Whilst "The Master of Dark Types" loved to instill fear in his foes, ambushing them within his labyrinth, "The Ghost Whisperer" had somehow taught her Pokemon the powers of possession, and any opposing Pokemon that entered either the hut or the house would either fall mysteriously ill, or become possessed by her own. And his Camerupt was nearing the hut's door.

The thought terrified him. Not just the possession, but losing Rocky. It finally hit him, like a smack across the face, the realisation that ever since Blaze had fallen and he had taken his Numel out of storage to be the replacement fire type in his team, that's all Rocky had been to him. Blaze's replacement, a mere shadow of his former fire type. He had never treated Rocky fairly or shown him the love that his Numel, now a Camerupt, had deserved. And all Rocky had ever done was strive for that love, in constant attempts to prove himself to his trainer.

"I'm so sorry," Erik whispered whilst moving a hand to his heart. "I just miss Blaze, and I suppose I've never showed you the love you deserve because all I can think about is how much I blame myself for losing him. From now on, that will change, I promise. Please, I don't want to lose you like I did Blaze. I need you."

Rocky stopped, before turning his head to look at his trainer with sorrow-filled eyes. The door to the hut swung open as it detected a Pokemon's presence, as the Banette eagerly awaited on the other side, her eyes glowing fiercely. The Camerupt roared and smothered the small structure in fire, burning the hut to the ground and defeating the Banette within.

"How?!" Phoebe screeched. "How did you break the possession?!"

Erik grinned towards her then nodded in approval towards his Camerupt.

"Right," Phoebe began. "I will show you my true power!"

"Bring it on," Erik snapped back, as a Sableye faced up to Rocky.

The Ghost Whisperer's Sableye scampered to the abandoned house, shutting the creaky wooden door behind it. Rocky stumbled up to the building hesitantly, expecting an ambush which never came. Erik's Camerupt planted all four feet on the ground and launched a burst of flames at the wooden structure, expecting it to ignite and the fires to consume his opponent within.

Fire smacked against the wooden walls, deflecting off the building and shooting back towards the aggressor as Rocky was smothered within his own fires. Erik's Camerupt was left with no choice, he would have to enter the house if he were to take the fight to his opponent.

The wooden building creaked and swayed ominously as if it were trapped within a permanent gale of wind. The door remained shut until Rocky was within inches of it, whereupon it swung open violently, the dark interior enticing the Camerupt to enter.

Rocky put one paw inside, then another, before a foul violet gas ascended from the rotten floorboards and swam through the air as the Camerupt inhaled the toxins. Rocky retreated, galloping out of the house and back towards his trainer, like Seal before him, he collapsed, his frame a sickly pale.

"Bat will suit this," Erik thought as he recalled Rocky in his Pokeball and released his Crobat.

Bat shot towards the building, before drifting across the top floor in an effort to spot the Sableye within. Failing to sight his foe, the Crobat launched spits of poison through the windows, swooping back and forth between the openings as he attempted to strike his opponent with venom.

A translucent ball of spiritual energy emerged from one of the openings and smashed into Bat, knocking the Crobat off balance and seemingly forcing Erik's Pokemon into a trance. Bat fluttered through the air towards the building, descending towards the door which the Sableye opened, beckoning his opponent within. As Bat's skin turned pale, he collapsed on the floor just outside the house. Erik scrambled about his belt for the Pokeball, as Phoebe's Sableye dragged Bat into the rotting structure.

A sear of pain flashed across Erik's heart as the door slammed shut. Suddenly, agony struck as the bond between himself and his Pokemon was shattered, the soul-tearing pain wreaking havoc across his body.

"Bat!" he squeaked. It was as if with every Pokemon he lost, the torment would grow only more powerful. He wondered why few other trainer's reacted this way on losing a Pokemon, even Wally barely showed signs of it. Maybe the bonds he forged between his friends were so substantial, so pure, which would explain what Steven was telling him all those weeks ago. He was a rare breed of trainer, able to connect and bond with any Pokemon, and the created connections were so strong it made him such a formidable trainer.

"Dancer," Erik whispered to his next Pokeball. "Don't let that Sableye get away with this."

Erik's Pikachu leapt onto the battlefield, and considered how she could assault the house. Until both her and her trainer gasped in shock. Sableye suddenly emerged from within, walking out the front door as if the battle had been won, he strolled a few paces before opening his arms and looking to the sky, allowing Dancer to defeat him. The Pikachu willingly obliged, electrocuting Phoebe's Pokemon.

"Here we go!" Phoebe yelled excitedly. "I love this part!"

"What part-" Erik began, before both he and his Pikachu recoiled in horror. "What?!"

A Crobat flew out of one of the windows, skin sickly pale and eyes glowing a possessed purple.

"Possession!" Phoebe shouted in glee.

Through her shock, Dancer almost failed to react to Bat's venomous bite, deftly dodging the attack at the last moment, before the possessed Crobat spun around for a second strike, poison oozing from his fangs.

"Dancer!" Erik shouted in horror as Bat closed in. "You have to kill it! That's not Bat anymore!"

His Pikachu hesitated, struggling to comprehend her companion's change. The Crobat closed in, no trace of his soul left remaining within as bloodlust swallowed his eyes. Dancer struck up the courage to electrify her old friend, shooting bolts of electricity towards Bat and strangling her foe with the voltage. The Crobat tumbled to the ground as the violet in his eyes flickered then faded, leaving Erik to recall the defeated Pokemon back into its Pokeball.

"Wow!" Phoebe yelled. "Not many trainers beat their own Pokemon! I suppose I'll possess your Pikachu next!"

"Never!" Erik roared, the battle was taking a strain on him, he now feared for any of his Pokemon who entered the house, as a Banette floated within and beckoned Dancer to follow.

To Erik's terror, Dancer complied. His Pikachu had seemingly entered some sort of trance, strolling casually up to the house as the door opened to welcome her.

"Dancer," Erik whispered, clutching his chest in a desperate attempt to communicate with his Pokemon. "Please, after all we've been through together, you're all I have left now from back then. Don't you go too, please."

It was no use, his words had no effect on the hypnotised Pikachu who creeped to the door as the Banette opened her arms in a welcoming embrace. Dancer took one final look at her trainer, locking eyes with Erik, who attempted to contort his face into a smile at his Pokemon, to no response but a glint in Dancer's eye.

His Pikachu launched bolts of electricity through the opened door, shocking everything within as the currents conducted through the Banette, frying Phoebe's penultimate Pokemon as the Ghost Whisperer's hopes of winning the battle were left in the balance.

Erik breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the tension ease from his muscles. "Never do that to me again!" he shouted to Dancer who sprinted up to her trainer and hugged his leg. He made the decision to withdraw her and release Iron, as Phoebe's Dusknoir crept into the building.

"Tear it down," Erik growled fiercely to his Aggron, who responded stamping his feet ferociously as he sounded a chorus of barbaric roars, summoning an earthquake which ripped the building from its foundations and smashed the supports. As the building collapsed, the Dusknoir escaped, leaving the Ghost Whisperer's Pokemon in a matchup with Iron, with nothing to hide behind.

Iron roared once more, before the titanic beast dug through sections of the ground with his claws and hurled the chunks of earth at his foe. Phoebe's Dusknoir phased through the mounds of dirt tossed at him, avoiding the attacks and responding by launching spheres of spiritual energy at his foe.

Erik's Aggron endured the attacks as Phoebe's Dusknoir gulped a Full Restore before returning to the battlefield and continuing its relentless assault. Spheres of ghostly energy smashed into Iron time and time again the the Dusknoir twirled around his foe, the Aggron unable to connect with a swipe of his metallic tail.

Iron spread his feet on the ground as another attack crashed into him, the Dusknoir circled once more, preparing what could be the final assault on his opponent. Erik's Aggron summoned another earthquake which rocked the entire arena, cracks snaked their way through the ground, surrounding the two warring Pokemon. A fissure carved its way through the graveyard, cutting the ground underneath the Dusknoir and trapping Phoebe's Pokemon within its clutches. Iron stumbled over to the snared Dusknoir and crushed it with one vigorous stomp.

Erik had defeated the Ghost Whisperer.

"How?" Phoebe said despondently as Erik approached her.

"What's possession and how do I use it?" Erik demanded, to a shocked look from the woman. A nurse fluttered around his Pokemon, applying yet more healing items and curing both Seal and Rockys' illnesses.

"Most people who see it in action quiver in fear, you actually want to know how to use it?!" she said, exasperated.

"If it helps me take down Steven," Erik replied as the woman backed away slightly.

"It takes training and know-how, you wouldn't be able to learn that quickly. Besides, there are many secrets to it that you don't understand."

"What sort of secrets?" Erik replied, seeing a glimmer in Phoebe's eye which portrayed wisdom and age that belied the woman's young appearance.

"So then, Erik!" Steven interrupted as Phoebe slinked away. "You're through to round four! I'm actually going to start backing you against Glacia. Drake on the other hand, nope, you'll definitely lose that one."

"Glacia must be weak if you think I'll beat her!" Erik snapped backwards, confidence rising within him.

"Not at all! She'll take down a few of your Pokemon for sure. How's Bat by the way? He looked a little, I don't know, not like himself?"

Erik gritted his teeth, choking a retort before changing the subject. "Where's the Ice Queen's arena?"

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

Glacia's snow-white long hair clung to her shoulders as a flowing white dress covered her pale skin. The aging woman seemed impervious to the subzero temperatures within her arena, as her cool voice called over the sheets of ice towards Erik.

"So what do you think of my Palace?" she asked, her trailing voice sweet within the bitter air.

Erik scanned the stadium before replying. The "Ice Palace" was predominantly a layer of ice stretched across a frozen lake, the ice threatening to fracture if any Pokemon too heavy set foot on it. Icicles clung treacherously to the roof, with scores of them clustered near where Erik's Pokemon would lay. Erik himself stood within a few inches of snow, his feet entrenched within the covered ground as he shook violently in the frozen air. Ordering his Pokemon to attack from here would likely prove fruitless, as blocks of ice lurked atop the frozen lake, serving as a barrier to any attacks. The large mounds of ice appeared to encase metal beams, meaning even fire blasts would be soaked up by the blockades.

"Nothing?" Glacia spoke again, as Erik's thoughts remained fixed on his team. Rocky and Iron were far too heavy for the ice and Soar was weak against the type's attacks. Seal would take to the arena like a dream, although the Walrein's attacks would be cancelled out by his opponent's typing. It also remained to be seen whether Dancer could cope with the cold, and unless Glacia stocked water Pokemon, she would have no type advantage.

"Our challenger has gone quiet!" Steven spoke through another set of speakers, his voice piercing through the cold. "Weeping over Bat?"

Fire flared within him, warming his cold body and relieving his tight, shivering muscles. The more Steven taunted him, the more he couldn't wait to defeat him. He considered which Pokemon to use as Glacia tossed a Glalie's Pokeball into the air, the ice-type Pokemon emerging and levitating over the sheets of ice underneath him.

"Those metal beams covered in ice look tough," Erik whispered to a Pokeball. "I doubt Rocky could make the jump, but you can. Go get them, Iron."

Erik's Aggron roared as he appeared from within his capsule, but loitered by his trainer within the safety of the snow, unwilling to step on the treacherous ice despite Erik's encouraging calls.

Glacia's Glalie gleamed in the lights of cool blue and white that illuminated the room, the glass covers frozen as light beamed from the roof. The Ice Queen's Pokemon launched a beam of ice at her foe, the attack nearly striking Erik as Iron stepped aside to avoid it. Iron was forced to enter the battlefield, or risk his trainer being struck.

Iron attempted to step onto the ice, cautiously placing a metallic foot onto the frozen sheet which splintered loudly as the Aggron pushed his paw downwards. He would have to make the jump onto the nearest metal beam, which glinted menacingly within the light. Taking a step back, Iron then propelled himself forwards, floating through the air until he reached a beam. He landed. Then slipped.

A loud crash echoed around the room as Iron fell from the beam, falling into the lake as ice smashed around him. Freezing water greedily gobbled up the Aggron, threatening to consume Erik's Pokemon as he thrashed around in a desperate attempt to keep afloat. To Erik's surprise, Iron's steel armour protected him from the worst effects of the cold, as he floated upon the water.

"Not good," Glacia spoke whilst stroking her chin. "Glalie, time to trap him!"

The Ice Queen's Pokemon responded with blasts of ice, which covered the frozen lake and built up an added layer around Iron, whose attempts to climb out were met by more ice breaking off around him.

Iron's next move was to summon an earthquake, the arena shaking as small crevices formed within the sheet of ice. As the roof shook, icicles were forced loose, as a rain of sharp knives crashed into both Iron and the Glalie. Howls of pain reverberated around the arena as the Aggron was caught within the hail of icicles which pierced his metal skin, lodging themselves deep within.

The weakened Glalie shook the ice that had painfully collided with him from his frame before hastily assaulting the Aggron whilst he was in agony. Glacia's Pokemon snapped his teeth together in a series of intimidating sequences, as he closed in on Iron to apply a finishing blow. The Glalie was within inches, as he opened his mouth one final time, then snapped his jaws shut, connecting with Iron's skin.

Iron roared as the Ice Queen's Pokemon recoiled in anguish, his teeth snapping off the Aggron's metallic skin. Erik's Pokemon finished the fight, smashing into the Glalie with his long, trailing steel tail which sent his defeated foe rocketing into a frozen metal beam.

"I wish I could use Soar," Erik thought as recalled his Pokemon, sending out Dancer in his place as he sighted Glacia using a Walrein. "But he has weaknesses to all the old Elite Four's main types."

"Erik does it again!" Steven's voice annoyingly boomed around the room. "Who can stop him? No one it seems!"

"Not even you!" Erik snapped back, as Glacia remained silent. Her Walrein slipped into the water after cracking the ice with his tusks.

Dancer spotted the large figure lurking within the waters underneath her, and attacked. She launched bolts of electricity at the ice, directed towards the shadowy figure circling underneath, but her efforts rebounded off the lake's frozen blanket.

Glacia's Walrein crunched through the ice, sinking his tusks into Dancer and plunging back into the water, the Pikachu still attached to his fangs.

"Hold on!" Erik roared to his Pikachu who clung onto the thin layer of ice with all her might, slowly slipping as the Walrein's lumbering frame overpowered her own. Dancer lost the battle, falling into the lake and Glacia's Pokemon dragged her ever deeper. Erik lost sight of the fight, the hole in the ice all that remained within his vision of the conflict as sheets of ice blocked his view.

Suddenly, the ice lit up from underneath, as Dancer swam back up to the surface moments later. Shivering violently as the Walrein retreated back to its trainer.

"So he gave you some too?" Erik snapped at Glacia, who nursed her Pokemon's wounds using a Full Restore.

"Some what?" came the confounded reply. "By the by, my Walrein never falls for the same trick twice, and good luck with your Pikachu surviving the hypothermia," she finished as her Walrein slunk back into the depths.

Glacia's Pokemon swam swiftly, lurking near the ice and preparing a hit-and-run raid on Dancer, who sat shivering on the ice. As the Walrein closed in, the Pikachu sprung to life, blasting away a section of ice and frying her foe with electricity, shooting it into the exposed hole and electrocuting the Walrein within the waters. Erik realised that whilst they had all been distracted by the Full Restore, Dancer had begun melting the ice with sparks in preparation for the Walrein, also using the electricity to warm herself.

"Time to use a Walrein of my own," Erik whispered to the Pokeball in his hand. He launched Seal's capsule into the air, his Pokemon immediately diving under the ice, ready to copy Glacia's tactics. The Ice Queen had chosen a Froslass as her next Pokemon, the creature floating over the ice nonchalantly.

Seal emerged for a brief moment, but instead of attacking the Froslass, he launched a frozen beam towards a section of ice near to Erik. The Walrein submerged himself once more, dodging the Froslass's counter attacks before he reappeared and disappeared time and time again, strengthening the ice each time.

"What is he doing?!" Glacia yelled across the arena.

"You'll see in a mo'," Erik replied, before his Walrein emerged for a final time. He recalled Seal into his Pokeball and threw Rocky's towards the strengthened section of ice. Erik's Camerupt emerged onto the thick sheet, crashing down on the surface as a loud crack reverberated around the arena, but the ice stood strong, holding Rocky within its embrace.

"Oh dear," Glacia gasped as Rocky launched a barrage of flames at the exasperated Froslass. The flames smothered her, eventually consuming the Ice Queen's third Pokemon, leaving her down to just her final two.

"Uh oh, Glacia," Steven's voice sounded once more. "You're not going out this tournament once, but twice!"

"Oh go away!" the Ice Queen yelled towards the speakers, to harsh laughter from the Champion. She tossed another Froslass's Pokeball into the air, the ice and ghost dual-type moving with haste behind a metal support.

A blast of fire erupted from Rocky, as the Camerupt targeted the block of ice in which the Froslass concealed herself behind. The ice melted, but the metal beam underneath soaked up the fire as Froslass emerged, launching a dazzling ray of light towards Rocky, confusing the Camerupt and disorienting his senses.

Erik attempted to direct his Camerupt, shouting to his Pokemon that Froslass had concealed herself behind a block of ice once more. Rocky, however, saw a handful of Froslass, all hiding themselves behind a different frozen metal beam. Panicked, the Camerupt launched flames in all directions, towards each and every block of ice and straining his body through the exhaustion. Furthermore, Rocky almost slipped into the thin layers of ice that surrounded his strengthened patch.

Froslass shot out shards of ice, slicing through the icicles on the roof and sending them raining down on her foe. Rocky saw the moving icicles as more Froslass's, and began launching flames at his perceived opponent as he stumbled and fell backwards into the thin sheet of ice.

The lake's frozen blanket screeched as it splintered, unable to bear the Camerupt's weight. It fell underneath him, sending Rocky tumbling into the waters.

Erik rapidly recalled his Pokemon into its Pokeball, sending Iron out in his place. The Aggron swam unconvincingly towards the strengthened section of ice, carving his way through the thin sheets as if he were a hot knife making his way through butter.

Glacia ordered her Froslass to summon a blizzard onto the battlefield, combining it with raining icicles and sharp shards of hail, as Iron forced his way through. The Aggron endured as vicious hail smacked off his skin and icicles lodged themselves in his body once more. The frozen weather gnawed at his insides as yet more ice smashed into his face.

As he reached the strengthened section, he summoned an earthquake. The arena shook violently as the sheets of ice finally broke, splitting off into small sections. As the lake's blanket broke, so too did the metal beams, the blocks they were encased in smashed into fragments as the steel splintered and fell, crashing into decaying ice. The strengthened layer under Iron also fractured, as the Aggron tumbled into the depths Erik saw that Glacia's Froslass had been crushed by a metal beam.

"One more to go, Glacia!" Steven jabbed at the Ice Queen as Erik recalled Iron and sent Seal out in his place. "Another Glalie? I expect?"

"Would you shut up!" Glacia screamed, to yet more laughter.

"Okay, okay, I shall continue talking to Erik instead then," the Champion chuckled. "So, Rick? Ricky? Ezza? Nope, I like Ricky," Steven continued as Erik's irritation only rose. "Ricky, I've been studying your battle style. You rely on your Pokemon a lot, you trust in their instincts and their wits and only intrude when needed. I sense you have powerful bonds with each."

"What of it?" Erik snapped.

"Just letting you know that I know, Ricky," Steven finished.

"Use his tactic against him!" the Ice Queen commanded as her Glalie levitated above the water as fragments of ice floated casually around the lake. Her Pokemon responded by shooting beams of ice, freezing together the weakened sheets and reattaching the lake's blanket.

Seal allowed the Glalie to continue its trick, the Walrein lurking within the waters unmoved by Glacia's tactic. The blanket was almost completed, looking thicker and tougher than ever, by the time Seal emerged.

Erik's Pokemon leaped out of the depths, plunging his tusks into the Glalie and dragging his foe back into the waters with him. The conflict continued underwater, beams of ice lighting up the lake underneath it's cold blanket like a display as the two fought relentlessly. Suddenly, Seal crashed out of the lake and rapidly began shooting more waves of ice at the weakened sections, successfully trapping the Glalie underneath. The Ice Queen was defeated, and all that was left for Erik before he fought Steven was to defeat the Lord of Dragons.

"Knew you'd get her!" Steven roared through the speakers. "I also did say that you'd lose to Drake. He's by far the most powerful of the Elite Four, you have no chance."

"We'll see," Erik said for the countless time, as a nurse first moved through his Pokemon, then gave him a special concoction to warm up his frozen body.

"Well done," Glacia shouted from across the room, seemingly unphased by her defeat. "Knock that fool Steven off his perch for me, would you?"

"I'll take him down, don't worry," Erik replied as the nurse skulked away.

"So the Lord of Dragons awaits!" Steven declared. "He is up on the roof, the receptionists will tell you how to get there!"

"I'll see you up there," Erik responded, making his way out of the Ice Palace.

"Oh and one more thing," Steven added. "You know those potions your Pokemon have been taking, and the liquid you just drank. Well, they are laced with a special formula which was until now used exclusively by Tate and Liza, now refined to make it more potent in the ways I asked for. Don't worry though, the effects won't take hold until I activate them!"

Erik felt both sick and terrified. In the seventh Gym he was forced to battle the demons within his own mind as well as the two Gym Leaders. And now, the ghosts of his past had only grown more vengeful.

I enjoyed the three battles presented here, though I think I like Phoebe's better due to some of the twists and the higher stakes there. Besides Possession being pretty unnverving (ouch, poor Bat), I like the part where Erik apologizes to Rocky how much he wasn't able to show his love as much as he did with Blaze. We've seen several times Erik's bonds with his Pokemon able to get him through different situations, so it's nice to see him realize there are some Pokemon he could improve his relationship with. I too am surprised Erik wants to use Possession, so if you will bring that in Steven's battle I wonder how you'll use that (though part of me would prefer he doesn't as Phoebe said it takes a lot of training).

On one part with Glacia's battle I like how Erik attempts to have Seal make the ground more solid for his more heavier Pokemon. I also can't help but laughed at the "another Glalie" comment because of how she had a few of those in the original games (and I think she had several Sealeo too). Glacia encouraging Erik to beat Steven is due to her being annoyed at him, but I still like that for some reason.
I'm curious as to what is going on inside those potions, but I think we'll know soon enough. Really looking forward to the conclusion!

A crisp wind snapped at Erik's sides as he stepped off the staircase. As his feet stamped across the metallic floor, he gulped in the view. From the roof of the Pokemon League he sighted almost half of Hoenn, with Mt. Pyre and Mt. Chimney towering over the collage of forests, caves, towns and lakes.

"Remarkable," the elderly man replied as he studied Erik through fierce-looking eyes. "For one so young to make it so far." The Lord of Dragons twirled his long, grey moustache within his fingers as he spoke, and adjust has white sailor's cap with his free hand. Erik noted that the man kept himself in good shape despite his years, his toned chest and stomach splitting the black cape he wore as his jeans hung loosely off his legs, strapped down by coal coloured boots.

"You're all that stands between me and Steven," Erik snapped as he pointed an accusing finger at his opponent.

His gaze switched to Drake's arena. Far more simple than the three he had faced before, the unmagnificent arena featured a small cave, or dragon's lair, alongside a swimming pool. Other than those two features, nothing was present apart from the steel floor and open sky.

"Like my battlefield?" the man asked as he noticed Erik observing his arena. "No tricks, just straight fighting between your Pokemon and my tamed dragons!"

"I'm glad of it," Erik responded. "Some say only the old Champion of Kanto, Lance, has a more powerful bond with dragon-types than you."

"I'd like to see him come over here and beat me," Drake growled.

"Didn't mean any offence," Erik replied as he slightly warmed to the man. He was the first member of the Elite Four that valued a trainer's bond with their Pokemon, and wanted to test a trainer's strength, not how they handled their traps.

As the open sky awaited the battle, Drake launched a Pokeball into the air as an Altaria emerged from its capsule. Erik responded with Seal, who flopped onto the metal roof which would withstand both dragonfire and Pokemon that dropped from treacherous heights onto it. Erik knew Seal's ice attacks would give him a considerable advantage, being effective against dragons.

"I haven't heard Steven yet," Erik shouted whilst looking around the arena for a set of speakers.

"That pathetic excuse for a man may be a powerful trainer, but he's not allowed anywhere near my roof!" Drake responded, clenching his fists at the Champion's name. "If I defeat you then he's allowed me to challenge him, and I can finally take him down!"

"What happened? I thought the Elite Four served the Champion?"

"The Elite Four are gone. Wiped away by that fool Steven. That Giovanni, he controls the authorities now, or most of it I think. He got them authorities to get rid of us Elite Four and Steven followed in line like the loser he is!"

"May whoever wins this battle destroy Steven," Erik replied, to a nod of agreement from the Lord of Dragons.

Conflict commenced as the Altaria twisted and twirled its body through the air unimpeded by blustery beams of ice smashing passed its body. Drake's Pokemon retaliated to Seal's ice beams by launching waves of draconic energy towards the Walrein, the pulses smashing into both Seal and the steel ground, ricocheting off the roof as they were flung in all directions.

Seal withstood the barrage, launching a further ice beam towards his foe. The attack carved through the air, enduring crisp winds and smashed into the Altaria who screeched in agony as the icy assault struck home. Drake's Pokemon beat a retreat towards its lair, forcing its frail and weakened body towards the cave and disappearing within, the cavern seemingly descending through the roof and into a room below.

"Not going to use a Full Restore?" Erik asked his opponent.

"No chance!" Drake responded passionately. "Steven can keep his little presents to himself!"

"You know how he got them?"

"Yeah. Giovanni. A shipment came in as a little 'thank you' gift to Steven, full of those healing items with other potions and even a strange looking stone."

"A Megastone…" Erik gasped.

"Mega-what?" Drake responded as Seal crept towards the cave as his foe awaited within.

"Doesn't matter," Erik replied, realising now that Drake wouldn't stand a chance against Steven. The Lord of Dragons was a powerful trainer, but he wasn't prepared to face a Mega.

As Seal entered the lair, shadows consumed his lumbering frame. Moments passed without a sound as both Erik and Drake fixed their stares into the cave's open mouth, silence engulfing the battlefield. Erik searched his soul for the answer to his Pokemon's status. He hadn't felt anything other than apprehension for his friend and the violent anger laced with sorrow that had settled a permanent home within.

Drake keeled over, clutching his heart as he recoiled in agony. "Altaria!" he roared, as Erik saw in the man's eyes that same soul severing blow dealt to his opponent that had been forced on him so many times. It appeared that Drake's bonds with dragon Pokemon were almost as strong as his with his own.

Seal emerged from the cavern as Drake released a Flygon into the arena. Trapinch's evolved form fluttered through the sky, almost dancing as the green dragon cut shapes into the air. Erik's Walrein watched his opponent carefully, before preparing to attack with ice.

The Flygon emitted supersonic soundwaves directed towards Seal, the high pitched noise forcefully surrounding the Walrein who unwillingly guzzled in the effects, leaving him dazzled and confused. Seal span on the spot, devoured by his bewildered state. The Walrein saw a sky crowded with various forms of dragon, an army of Altaria glided alongside a flock of Flygon as they all circled a legion of Latios.

Seal was aghast, and flopped towards the safety of the cave as Flygon launched dragonfire towards the Walrein, scorching the fleeing Pokemon's back as Drake's dragon whirled around for another assault. The Flygon honed his claws before savagely swiping at the Walrein, cutting marks into Seal's back as Erik's Pokemon found sanctuary within the lair moments later.

Frail and confused, Seal looked back into the sky which continued to house scores of dragons within. Erik's vision painted a different picture, as he sighted the Flygon swoop around in preparation for another raid, her claws glinting in the setting sunlight.

Seal faltered, collapsing to the floor as his wounds began to overcome him, before slowly rising to his feet as the Flygon opened its talons for the killing blow. Erik's Walrein protected itself the only way it could, by launching as many ice beams as he could towards anything and everything that moved.

An ice beam sizzled past the Flygon as another crashed into the ground not far from Erik. Drake's Pokemon screeched a cry of victory as it moved to within a few feet of the cave, until a wild attack struck it in the chest, ice crawling up the Flygon's skin as the beast thundered in the lair's solid stone exterior. Drake recoiled once more as both his heart and soul throbbed through the pain, Erik taking the opportunity to withdraw Seal and send out Soar in his place.

"Woah," Drake cried as a smile painted his face, opposing his bloodshot eyes. "You caught a legendary dragon? Good on you, kid."

"Say hello to my Latios, Soar."

"This will be an honour," Drake replied, thrusting another Flygon's Pokeball into the sky and looking on in awe of the two dragon's fight without mercy.

The fading sun's final rays cast across the draconic duo as Soar twirled through the sky to avoid dragonfire, before launching a dragon pulse as the Flygon sunk its talons into the Latios. Drake's Pokemon accompanied his attack with more dragonfire, the flames smacking into Soar.

Erik's Latios rose higher through the air, elevating itself almost to the clouds before beginning his descent. Rapidly rotating as he twirled through the skies at devastating speed, draconic pulses deflecting off Soar's twisting frame during his descent and rocketed in all directions. Erik's Pokemon smashed into the Flygon, launching both he and Drake's dragon into the steel roof. A mighty crash resounded throughout the skies as the Flygon took the brunt of the blow.

Drake clutched his heart but remained upright as his face contorted into a smile despite the agonising pain which tormented his soul. The Lord of Dragons appeared proud to see a Latios in action, as if he had dreamed of such a moment. He bowed his head almost in thanks to Erik, as he recalled Soar into his Pokeball and released his next Pokemon.

Drake's Kingdra hopped into the swimming pool, beckoning Dancer to approach as the water and dragon dual-type dove into the small body of water. Erik's Pikachu scampered towards the swimming pool as electricity sparked from her crimson cheeks. She launched electrical waves of energy towards the Kingdra, the currents conducting through the swimming pool and lighting up the water.

Kingdra remained motionless as her scales soaked up the damage, minimising the effects of Dancer's attack. The Lord of Dragons' Pokemon launched bursts of water towards its foe, the aqua jets smashing into the Pikachu who fell backwards, crashing into the ground as beads of liquid dripped off of her drenched body.

Dancer sprinted towards the cave as Kingdra blasted barrages of water blasts towards her.

The Pikachu hid behind the lair's rock walls and conceived another plan within her mind, sparking up her cheeks as she tip-toed back onto the battlefield. As she rounded the cave wall, the Kingdra locked eyes with her, Drake's Pokemon's pupils glowed a faint red and seemed to rotate in a mesmeric motion. As Dancer launched a paralysing wave of electricity at her foe, she felt drowsy, and dragged her failing body back towards the cave entrance where she fell asleep within. The Kingdra's hypnotic attack had sent her to rest, as Drake's Pokemon began feeling the effects of its paralysis.

Erik roared to his Pikachu to wake up, as the Kingdra lingered towards her sleeping foe. Summoning the waters from within the pool, Drake's Pokemon rode upon the created wave, which arched around towards the lair, preparing to trap the Pikachu within. Erik grabbed Dancer's Pokeball, fumbling around his belt for the correct one before grabbing it and watching in horror as the Kingdra's wave entered the cave.

Kingdra screeched in joy, just as the Pikachu vanished from sight.

The wave crashed downwards and filled the cave, turning it into a watery tomb for any non-aquatic Pokemon before an earth-shaking roar resounded from behind the Kingdra., Iron filled the cave's mouth.

Erik had withdrawn Dancer at the final moment, releasing his Aggron in her place. Iron now loitered just outside the cave, as he stomped powerfully on the ground. The Aggron's earthquake attack seemed to shake not only the entire building, but from Erik's vision the whole of Hoenn, as the roof trembled violently.

Kingdra retaliated by summoning the water in the cavern, moulding it into a wave and launching it at her foe, before the lair collapsed upon her as Drake once more wailed in agony.

The wave rocketed out of the cave just as it collapsed, collecting Iron within its embrace and pushed Erik's Pokemon backwards. Erik gasped in horror as the Aggron remained powerless against the fierce tide of water. He scrambled around his belt for Iron's Pokeball, before clasping it and pointing it in the direction of his Aggron. Who had already fallen.

Iron had been forced off the building's edge by the wave, as the bond between Erik and his Aggron was agonisingly severed. He joined Drake in a mutual torment, both having lost Pokemon they had formed connections with. He glanced to the Lord of Dragons, sighting he only had one remaining Pokemon.

Erik shifted the pain from his thoughts and forced himself to focus on the battle, just one more Pokemon to defeat then he could finally face Steven to become Champion. He grabbed Rocky's Pokeball from his belt, the one Pokemon on his team still at full health, and launched his Camerupt's Pokeball into the sky. Drake replied with a Salamence, the towering dragon ascending into the air.

The Lord of Dragon's Pokemon commenced an aerial assault, bombarding Rocky with fireballs whilst swooping to the ground and swiping at Erik's Camerupt with its claws. As Rocky responded with bursts of fire, the Salamence span through the skies, deftly dodging the attacks as he moved to strike once more.

Rocky planted his feet on the ground and roared as his weary body tired from the constant blows. As more fire smothered him the Salamence moved in for a final assault, opening his talons as he scolded the Camerupt with dragonfire. Rocky faltered, falling to the floor and gasping for air, Erik recalled him as the Salamence swept passed where the Camerupt's body once lay.

Drake's Pokemon roared victoriously into the sky, until an energy blast sent him sprawling backwards. He recovered to launched a pulse of draconic energy at his aggressor, the Latios twirling through the sky to avoid the attack.

As the last of the sun's light vanished and darkness descended, starlight lit up the arena as a full moon glared onto the opposing dragons. Psychic attacks canceled out Soar's dented vitality as vigorous swipes from the Salamence's claws carved into the Latios, whose energy blasts countered the constant assaults.

The duo faded as a dragon pulse intercepted an energy blast, Erik's Latios and Drake's Salamence grappling onto one another as they each planted sharp claws into their foe. A ferocious bite from the Salamence plunged into the Latios' neck as Soar attempted to fry his foe's mind with psychic mind waves. The dragons plummeted towards the arena, falling through the air as more attacks connected before both smashed into the steel floor.

Soar and Salamence roared in pain as they clambered to their feet. Both their wings were torn with their failing frames too frail to fly, so they resumed their conflict on the ground. Arching their bodies into the air, the two slammed their jaws into each other, whilst savagely slashing at their foe. Drake's Pokemon tumbled backwards, before climbing to his feet and preparing a draconic pulse. Soar crept backwards and countered with an energy blast.

Two beams of power smashed into one another, as Soar's pearl white energy conflicted with Salamence's violet pulses. The Lord of Dragons' Pokemon suddenly slumped to the ground, the Latios having had fried his mind with a psychic blast.

"What a fight!" Drake declared as he clutched his chest.

"Well fought," Erik replied, smiling at his opponent as he released the surviving members of his team from their Pokeballs. Steven had steered clear of the fighting, so would have all six members of his team remaining. Whereas Erik was reduced to four: Seal, Dancer, Rocky and Soar.

As the nurse ascended the staircase, Erik stormed over to her, the violet-haired lady clad in white gasped in shock as she retreated backwards.

"Why have you poisoned my Pokemon?!" he roared, as the nurse fell over. "And me?!"

"What? Please, I don't know-"

"Steven said-"

"Hey, Erik!" Drake roared as he moved to step between the duo. "What is this? It's bad form to assault a lady!"

"Steven tells me that the nurse's healing items have been infecting my Pokemon with some sort of formula."

"I didn't know!" the nurse replied, shaking like a leaf caught in the wind. "I promise! Steven supplied me with some healing items, I thought they were just normal potions and concoctions! I swear!"

"Well," Erik sighed. "Seeing as my Pokemon are already infected. You may as well heal them up. Where's Steven's arena?"

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

Erik stormed through the steel corridor, a humongous gate opening as he proceeded towards Steven's lair.

"Here he comes!" Steven's voice echoed through speakers fixed around the corridor. "The man to fight the Champion!"

Erik ignored the Champion's taunts, as the towering gate loomed ahead of him.

"As soon as that gate opens, I'll make sure the toxins take effect. Don't worry, I ordered Tate and Liza to fiddle with the formula, making it more potent in certain areas," Steven laughed slightly as he spoke. "They told me that you struggled most with your inner demons, so don't you fret. They'll all be making an appearance!"

He knew already that he must conquer both Steven and his mind during this fight. He feared the latter infinitely more than the former, as he stopped before the gate.

The doors creaked open, as a gas emerged from within and engulfed him, creeping into his Pokeballs and forcing Erik to unwillingly inhale the substance. It had begun, as he stumbled through the gateway and into Steven's arena.

"And here he is!" Steven yelled as he sighted his opponent appearing within his stadium. "Welcome, Ricky, to my arena," the Champion called out to Erik as he sat atop a steel throne to the rear of the room. The battlefield seemed more like a palace throne room, with pillars entrenched into the ground, shooting up in the roof and holding the room together as small holes littered the smooth stone floor. The room was a dim yellow, almost cream colour as spotlights illuminated the arena from above.

"Giovanni has gathered information about you, added to me studying your battle style and techniques. I know everything about you. All your weaknesses and the demons who haunt you," the Champion said coldly, his steel eyes glinting eagerly.

"Enough talk!" Erik snapped as he began to feel lightheaded.

"Fair enough," Steven responded, launching a Pokeball into the air as a Skarmory emerged into the centre of the room. Erik responded with Rocky.

"How many Pokemon have you lost along the way?" Steven started. "How many sacrifices have you made to get here. Throwing away your friends lives, just so you could prove a point to your father."

Erik growled, although his heart agreed with Steven. Vivid figures appeared from behind the pillars that littered the room, made real by the toxins inside his system. String and Speedy loitered to his left, playing cheerily together as they filled the room with squeaks resembling laughter, until the Silcoon and Cascoon turned and saw Erik. The pair of bug types hastily scampered away in horror.

A child appeared, frollicking across the arena as he screamed in glee, "I want to become the best Pokemon trainer the world has ever seen!" he cried, Erik rapidly realising the figure was himself. Pokeballs appeared around the child's belt, as a raging fire roared into life behind him, he captured both String and Speedy and launched their capsules into the flames.

Gully appeared from behind another pillar, squawking as the Wingull pecked at the young Erik's hair playfully. A Whismur sprinted to join them, then a Zigzagoon. The child captured the trio, shouting the names of the Pokemon as he threw their Pokeballs into the fire. "Gully!" he yelled as flames licked up and melted the capsule. "Bunny! Ziggy!"

Erik could only look on in horror as more Pokemon happily emerged to join the child, each flashing the real Erik a fearful glare as they did so. A Tentacruel crawled up to the child, with two Tentacool within his embrace as Horde allowed both Gu and Lady to be captured, before he himself gave in willingly to the child.

"Stop," Erik whispered, as the child threw his friends into the flames. "Please."

Roller and Ninja creeped out from behind the throne, piercing the older Erik with terrified but accusing eyes. More joined them, and more, and more. Each of the Pokemon he had lost walked up to the child, before being captured and tossed into the fire.

"Are you proud of me Daddy?" the child asked as he threw Ghost's Pokeball.

Erik noted the absentees. Leaf, Blaze, Ice, Splash, Iron and Bat were all missing from the gathering. Steven's mental games were only just beginning.

As flames greedily gobbled up Snappy's Pokeball, Erik's attention was snapped to the battle. A toxic liquid soaked into Rocky's skin, poisoning the Camerupt who howled as the toxins tormented him. His Pokemon were faltering as their trainer struggled to conquer the ghosts of his journey.

Steven's Skarmory twirled through the air as a trail of flame chased her. Despite his failing body, Rocky endured, blasting fire at his foe who responded with savage swipes of its steel talons which ripped into the Camerupt's skin.

As the Skarmory retreated back into aerial safety, Rocky launched a flamethrower. The fires shot through the air in a direct line, honing in on the steel-type before colliding with its target. Flames smothered the Skarmory, melting its steel skin to agonising screeches as Steven's Pokemon returned to her trainer.

The Champion handed his Pokemon a Full Restore, the Skarmory eagerly gulping down the liquid. Steven's Pokemon's wounds closed as its body healed, the advanced potion coursing through its bloodstream and sniffing out any ailments or damage. The Skarmory shot back into the air, re-energised and healthy as poison sapped at Rocky's vitality.

"How do you like my trick, Ricky?" Steven called from across the room.

Erik's refused to acknowledge the Champion, his focus fixed on his Camerupt who toiled and thrashed. Rocky had not only the toxins eating at him from within, but Steven's formula was causing the Camerupt to envision his fears and weaknesses. And Erik knew exactly what Rocky was seeing. Blaze, and the daunting prospect of being a mere replacement for the Blaziken.

"Blaze is gone!" Erik roared as his heart throbbed in pain at the words. "Because of my mistakes, not yours Rocky. We've got passed this! I promise you, you're not Blaze's replacement, you're my Camerupt!"

Rocky sluggishly turned his head towards his trainer. The Camerupt flashed a slight smile at Erik as he looked him in the eye, before Rocky incinerated his aerial opponent with a ferocious burst of flames.

Steven's Skarmory tumbled from the sky, smoke trailing behind the steel-type as it crashed into the solid stone ground, defeated. Before Rocky had a chance to celebrate, steel spikes ascended from the floor, plunging into his exposed feet and pinning him to the floor.

"What is this?!" Erik snapped at the Champion. "You can't use your arena to deal damage to my Pokemon!"

"I can do as I wish," Steven responded. "What will you do? Complain to Giovanni? The man who has always been one step ahead of you?"

Erik stumbled as dizziness inflicted his body and his demons tormented his mind. Giovanni strolled out from behind a pillar, Erik unsure whether he was the real thing or just another vivid vision. The Team Rocket boss was clad within a black suit, as the child Erik appeared once more and grabbed the man's hand.

"You're the forry minner?" the child asked Giovanni.

"The foreign minister," the Team Rocket boss corrected him.

"Are you happy?" the boy questioned, a beaming smile permanently painted across his face.

"Very. Now that I am next to my future successor."

The young figure of Erik disappeared, leaving Giovanni to ascend into the air, like a spectral figure. The Team Rocket boss closed his eyes and floated above the throne, resting above Steven and looking over both Erik and the battlefield.

"Erik," Giovanni spoke, his eyes remaining firmly shut. "You may have defeated me on Route 104 with the help of your friends. But you are alone now, as you always have been. Like that fool Maxie before you, you have constantly attempted to resist me. You forget that I always win."

As Giovanni paused, Maxie appeared before Erik alongside Courtney, pleading for her to stay in his life as the pink-haired woman giggled manically at the begging man.

"See 'Vanni, he's nothing compared to you," she yelled towards the Rocket boss, before skipping off behind a pillar leaving Maxie in a slump on the floor.

"You see Erik," the Magma boss hissed towards him. "We could've taken down Giovanni side by side. Instead, you fought me at every turn and left me to die!"

"It wasn't like that," Erik whispered. Before he could say anymore, Giovanni breathed fire, smothering Maxie in flames.

"Just like Norman. Anyone who I wish to join me will eventually. Even you, Erik," Giovanni spoke once more.

Erik tried forcing the visions away by focusing his thoughts elsewhere, failing. Instead, he sent Seal to fight, Steven responding with an Aggron as memories of Iron plunged into Erik's head. Seeing his trainer whimper and falter, Seal struggled to maintain his focus as the Aggron approached the Walrein's lumbering frame.

Steven's Pokemon grabbed hold of Seal, hoisting the Walrein upwards as if it weighed as much as the air itself. Seal howled in agony as the Aggron began crushing it within its metallic claws, powerfully squeezing at the Walrein's frame.

As Seal squealed and writhed within the Aggron's vice-like grasp, Steven's Pokemon slammed his foe into a pillar. Fragments of rock fell and dust rose into the air as visible dents carved themselves into the stone at the impact. Aggron hurled the Walrein into the ground, as steel spikes flashed upwards, piercing Seal and cutting into his flesh.

"Seal!" Erik roared as visions of Norman bowing before Giovanni threatened to distract him from the fight. "Hold on, I can't lose you too! We've come this far together, don't give up now!"

It was his Walrein's turn to contort its tusked face into a smile, his eyes lighting up as his trainer still believed in him. The Aggron grappled Seal again, crushing Erik's Pokemon within his grasp before slamming him into the pillar once more. More stones tumbled to the floor, Erik's Walrein flopping to the ground as Steven's Aggron roared victoriously.

Seal launched a beam of ice at the weakened pillar, cutting into the frayed structure and fracturing the support. The pillar fell, crashing into the Aggron as it ripped into a portion of the roof, pulling the stone with it and combining to complete Steven's Pokemon's tomb.

Erik recalled Seal, sending Soar out in place of the diminished Walrein as Steven responded with a Cradily.

"Ahh the Pokemon that we caught together," Steven jibed. "How romantic, Ricky. Would you say that your Latios is your closest friend now you've lost all the others along the way? Actually, what about the Pokemon you've lost during the tournament?"

Erik caught a glint of a Mightyena's eye as Ice trembled behind a pillar. Behind him hid Splash, the Gyarados cowering in fear from his former master. Bat screeched above, circling the arena before the Crobat collided with Iron, the Aggron vanishing at the contact as Bat cried out before disappearing too.

"It's all your fault," a child spoke, pointing an accusing finger directly towards Erik as he clutched Leaf in his arms, the small Oddish unable to make eye contact with her former trainer. "If it weren't for you, all these Pokemon would still be happily alive in the wild," the young Erik spoke whilst stroking the grass-type.

"Leaf thanked me," Erik whimpered towards the boy. "She said thank you."

"And the rest? All my other friends?" the child snapped angrily. "You got them all killed!"

The boy vanished before Erik's eyes, just in time for the him to sight a dragon pulse smash into the Cradily's tough, resilient body, hardly scratching the surface of Soar's foe. Steven's Pokemon emitted a ray of dazzling light, stunning the Latios and confusing Erik's Pokemon. Through his bewildered state, Soar smashed into a pillar as the structure crumbled to the ground, ripping out sections of the roof as stone crashed to the floor, narrowly avoiding the Latios.

Steven's concoction combined with the confusion inside Soar's system caused the Latios to become fearful of everything around him. Erik tried placing himself within Soar's mind, attempting to decipher his Pokemon's fears and demons. He knew his Latios was under the effects of Steven's toxins.

"Soar!" Erik roared, his mind locking onto his Pokemon's haunting. "I know you're afraid. I know what you're seeing," he shouted to no response from his Latios. "Mega-Evolution!" the words rang like a siren to Soar, who swerved in the air as he eyed his trainer, his face the embodiment of fear. "It's okay, my friend, it's okay! I promise I will never mega-evolve you, or any of my Pokemon again. I can't do that to you anymore, no matter what!" the words flowed out of Erik's mouth without him thinking, a fresh wave of relief coursing through his veins as he spoke. It was as if he had conquered a demon within himself by promising to not use a Megastone again.

"I understand," Erik thought to himself. "I feel guilty about mega-evolving my Pokemon, forcing them to go through the torture so I can win battles." Soar seemingly heard Erik's words, and smiled thankfully towards his trainer. "If I can defeat my Pokemon's ghosts, then maybe I can defeat my-" he paused, as May, Blaze and Norman stared at him from beside Steven's throne, before swiftly disintegrating.

Sludge smashed into Soar whilst the Latios was distracted by his trainer, poisoning seeping through the Latios's skin and infecting his bloodstream. Soar shook the confusion from his system, launching energy blasts at the Cradily who endured the attacks before creeping back to her trainer for a Full Restore.

Erik fumbled around his bag for a solution, suddenly finding a lone antidote he had kept all the way from Rustboro City. He applied the healing item to his Latios, curing Soar of his ailments with his remaining antidote. On the other side of the arena, Cradily roared in delight as her vitality was fully healed.

Soar tentatively glided on the battlefield, twirling to avoid sludge bombs. Erik's Latios plunged downwards, but instead of physically attack the Cradily, Soar fried its brain with psychic waves. Steven's Pokemon attempted to withstand the mental assault, but whilst its body was tough, its mind was weak. Soar had beaten Steven at his own game, as his Pokemon fell to the floor defeated.

Erik recalled Soar, sending out Dancer in his place for his Pikachu grit her teeth in preparation for a battle against an Armaldo.

"Why didn't you save me?" a sweet voice called from behind a pillar. May stepped out from behind the stone structure, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I tried," Erik whispered. His heart felt as if daggers were being forcefully plunged into it.

"You failed. All I wanted was for you to take me with you, to be part of your world."

"I'm so sorry." Erik bit his lip as he tried to hold back his tears.

Sensing her trainer's pain, Dancer turned to face Erik. The Pikachu called out to her trainer, smiling through her eyes. Erik tried to read her expression, searching his soul for what his Pokemon was saying to him.

Dancer's eyes reminded him of Leaf's final moments, thanking Erik for everything he had done for her. "Maybe my Pokemon wanted to fight for me, they sacrificed themselves for me, not because of me," the words flowed through Erik's mind, as Dancer nodded. He understood what she was trying to tell him.

Armaldo slammed his claws into the Pikachu's back. Steven howled with glee as Dancer slumped to the floor, defeated. Erik's friend locked eyes with her trainer, as her life steadily drained away. She smiled at Erik, she wanted him to know that she was grateful for him, for everything that he had done.

"Dancer," Erik roared, as the soul severing blow was slashed across his strong bond with the Pikachu. He collapsed to the floor as tears streamed down his face.

"It's your fault!" the child spoke, having reappeared as Dancer was recalled into her Pokeball, to her final resting place. "You've gotten Dancer killed!"

Another ghost formed next to the child. Dancer's.

Erik expected the worst, to be scolded by another demon. But instead, Dancer just smiled. She had forgiven him long before she ever blamed him.

"Wait," Erik gasped. "These ghosts aren't my friends and Pokemon coming back to haunt me. It's me. It's because I blame myself and my buried guilt is surfacing in the form of these demons. Thank you, Dancer. You sacrificed yourself to show me the truth. I'll never forget you."

The child disappeared within Erik's sight as the revelation struck him. Dancer too, leaving only Giovanni lurking above Steven's throne, and May flanked by Blaze and Norman beside the Champion. Only the most vengeful ghosts remained.

"Steven," Erik growled, as anger fuelled his system.

"Yes, Ricky?" the Champion said eagerly. "Oh, before you speak. I just want to say I'm really interested in your next Pokemon. Is it the poisoned Camerupt, the almost defeated Walrein, or the shattered spirit of the Latios?"

"Enjoy your last few minutes of being Champion of Hoenn."

He launched Soar's Pokeball into the sky. The Latios emerged, his eyes laced with an eagerness for retribution against the Armaldo. Erik's Pokemon launched beams of energy at the Armaldo who lifted its arms above its head and curled into a ball. Latios's attack deflected off his foe's shell, rebounding into pillars and causing plumes of dust to ascend into the air as crushed stone flung towards the floor.

Soar lowered himself, launching psychic waves towards his foe. The Armaldo leapt onto the Latios as Soar descended to within reach, Steven's Pokemon burying knife-like claws the legendary dragon.

Erik beckoned his Latios forward, and Soar responded by smashing into pillars with his foe attached to his back. Steven's Armaldo clung on, lodging knives deeper into Soar's flesh despite the Latios' desperate attempts to throw his opponent off.

Soar tumbled, crashing into the ground with a thud before mustering the remainders of his energy to scorch the Armaldo's mind with psychic blasts. Steven's Pokemon crumpled to the ground defeated, leaving the Champion with two remaining Pokemon and Erik with three weakened warriors.

"Three Pokemon left who are all unfit to fight," Steven taunted, mocking Erik with a smile as he spoke. "Do you wish to surrender?"

"Never," Erik growled, throwing Seal's Pokeball onto the battlefield to challenge Steven's Claydol.

"Ricky?" Steven grinned. "Where's Blaze?"

Tears clouded Erik's eyes as his Blaziken's ghost approached. His oldest friend glared accusingly towards his old trainer, blaming Erik not only for his death, but for mega-evolving him time and time again.

"I'm sorry, old friend," Erik whimpered. Blaze de-evolved in front of his eyes, becoming a Torchic once more. Erik recalled the duo travelling to Hoenn together in the back of a truck, two young and inexperienced children ready to face the world. Until Erik had killed his best friend, Blaze had always been by his side, defeating Gym Leaders, rivals, gangs, always together. The Torchic morphed into a Combusken, they had always mirrored each other. Blaze grew with Erik and Erik with Blaze. From two children in their own minds to young adults, ready to take on all their opponents.

A roar reverberated around the room as Seal was struck by a barrage of rocks. As the battle raged on, Blaze morphed back into the form of Blaziken before Erik's eyes. The two had been tempered by pain, growing into men together as they fought off Hoenn's problems, together with their friends, they were the only people or Pokemon in the land who dared to stand up to Team Magma, Team Rocket and the Authorities.

But Erik had killed Blaze. He had Mega-Evolved his Blaziken to fight Groudon, and then was too slow to save him from Mega-Soar.

"His sacrifice saved Hoenn," Norman's ghost spoke as he approached Erik with May. "You always blame yourself, my son, why?"

"Because it's my fault, if I didn't Mega-Evolve-"

"Then you and all your Pokemon would've perished to Groudon, along with the whole region," Norman interrupted.

"I wasn't quick enough to save Blaze!" Erik roared, to Steven's howls of laughter.

"You've replayed the incident a thousand times within your mind, with the benefit of both hindsight and a mind fully focused on that one event."

"Why did you leave me, Dad?" Erik spoke as tears soaked his face. "When I was a boy?"

"It's not your fault."

"It is, you did it to protect me!"

"It's not your fault," May added her voice to the mix. "I chose to come with you, all your Pokemon choose to fight with you. We all know the risks, we did it for you."

"Because we love you," Norman added. "Because we will always love you."

Erik looked to Blaze, his Blaziken nodding in approval and smiling back at his trainer.

"I miss you all so much," he said to everyone.

"We will always be with you, our bodies may be gone, but our spirits live on through you," May replied, smiling sweetly as she always did.

"You must become Champion," Norman finished, as he, Blaze and May vanished before Erik's eyes.

Seal's summoned wave washed the Claydol into a pillar, which held strong despite the impact. Steven's Pokemon attacked with psychic mind waves, attempting not only to fracture his opponent's mind but induce the effects of the toxins buried within Seal.

"Come on Seal," Erik roared. For the first time in his life, his soul felt clear. There was no pent-up anger in his tones, no guilt or sadness. Just pure passion and belief. "Let's get this guy!"

Erik's Walrein roared triumphantly at his trainer's calls, ramming his skull into the Claydol before launching beams of ice at his opponent. Steven's Pokemon collapsed, unable to withstand the barrage of assaults from Seal.

"Yes!" Erik shouted. "One more Pokemon to go!"

"And then what?" Giovanni asked. The final spectral figure descended from above the throne, to stare Erik directly in the face. "I rule Kanto."

"I will turn Hoenn against you."

"You have no-one left, all your friends are gone."

"Not all of them," Erik replied, as figures resembling Archie, Wally and Cecilia trotted up to his right.

Giovanni stumbled and stuttered, before his ghost too, disappeared before the sight of Erik's army.

"Go get 'em, kid," Archie's ghost growled from beside him.

Steven released a Metagross from its Pokeball, Erik throwing out Soar in response. He knew that his weakened dragon was in for an almost impossible fight against Steven's strongest Pokemon, after seeing the steel-type in action when he caught Soar. But if anybody could defeat the Metagross, it was his Latios.

A glint of light flashed from a stone within Steven's hand. A Megastone.

"No," Erik whispered as a dark shroud engulfed the Metagross.

"Here we go!" Steven bellowed. "Your end awaits!"

"Soar," Erik shouted to his friend. "I promised I wouldn't Mega-Evolve you, but I've never seen a Mega taken down by something that wasn't another Mega." Erik hesitated for a moment, before continuing. "But a promise is a promise. Make me Champion, my friend."

Out of the darkness emerged a titanic beast, twice the size of a regular Metagross with ruby red eyes and skin of blue steel laced with black.

Soar assaulted the Mega with a sequence of energy beams which smashed into his foe. Erik's Latios swerved out the way of a ray of darkness, before resuming his assault. Beam after beam crashed into the Mega-Metagross, who showed no signs of faltering under the relentless waves of attacks.

Suddenly, Soar tumbled from the air, crashing into the stone surface as he turned his head towards Erik. The Mega-Metagross has fried his mind with psychic attacks, overpowering the Latios' mental resilience and defeating Soar.

Erik's Pokemon faced his trainer and smiled, as if to say, "it's been an honour."

"Soar!" Erik cried. "No, Soar!" he screamed once more as the Latios closed his eyes for one final time, his essence absorbed back into his Pokeball.

Erik was left with a weakened Walrein and a Camerupt inflicted with poison. He chose Seal to face the Mega-Metagross, his hopes of victory rapidly fading.

"You're the strongest trainer I've ever met," Wally's ghost spoke from beside Erik. "You'll win this."

"Yeah don't give up!" Cecilia added.

Erik smiled to his friend's apparitions, before roaring encouragement to his Walrein.

Seal blasted beams of ice at his foe, whilst withstanding powerful psychic ripostes. Erik's Walrein summoned a wave to ride upon, the waters crashing into Steven's Pokemon and tearing down a pillar. Sections of the roof collapsed onto both Seal and Mega-Metagross, before Steven's Mega disintegrated the Walrein with an assault of dark energy.

"Seal!" Erik boomed, as the bond between himself and his Walrein was agonisingly severed.

"Don't give in," May's voice appeared as she strolled up beside him.

"He never does," Norman added, materialise beside her. "I'm so proud of you, my son."

Scampering movement behind Erik caught his attention. He turned to face the ghosts of each and every Pokemon he had lost as he launched Rocky's Pokeball onto the battlefield, pinning his hopes on his final Pokemon.

Seal's apparition roared to the Camerupt in encouragement as Soar screeched overhead. Ice walked up to Erik and rubbed his head on his trainer's arm, before making way for Leaf and Dancer to hug a leg each. They were all here, from Roller to Gully to String and Speedy. Iron, Bat and Splash. All of them, here with Erik until the end. Blaze stepped up to his trainer and grabbed a hand, May grabbing the other.

"We'll never leave you," May said softly, Blaze chirping in response.

"Steven!" Erik called out to his opponent.

"Yes, Ricky?"

"The poison you infected me with," he began.

"What of it? Taking its toll?"

"No, it has backfired. You tried to make me see the ghosts of my past, thinking they would defeat me. Instead, they all stand with me now. Until the end."

"Doesn't matter," Steven replied, folding his arms as he lounged across his throne. "You have a poisoned Camerupt against a Mega, you've lost."

"We'll see," Erik replied confidently. "Rocky, do this for everyone we've lost!"

The Camerupt roared and mustered all his power, summoning an eruption from the duo of volcanos on his back. Unleashing the lava, he fired molten magma at his foe, scolding the Mega-Metagross who had been severely weakened by both Seal and Soar.

Rocky collapsed through exhaustion, the poison had destroyed him from within.

"It can't be!" Steven roared as his Mega-Metagross de-evolved before his eyes. Rocky eyed his opponent, the two sprawled across the floor devoid of energy. "What's this? A draw?!" Steven added.

"No," Erik hissed. His Camerupt bellowed, launching fire from the pits of his soul and smothering the Metagross with flames.

"No!" Steven yelled, as his Pokemon lay defeated before him. "No! No! No!"

Erik sprinted over to his fallen Camerupt moments later, but he was too late, Rocky had already passed. The toxins having eaten away at him from within.

"Thank you, Rocky," Erik whispered into his fallen Camerupt's ear before his Pokemon returned to his Pokeball. "I should've never doubted you."

Erik looked behind him to see the ghostly figures disappear one by one. Cecilia, Archie and Wally disappeared smiling, as Dancer and Leaf finally let go of Erik's legs. Blaze chirped and smile before vanishing into the air.

"Yay!" May screamed delightedly before she too, disappeared.

"You've done it, my son," Norman finished. "Champion of Hoenn."

Cecilia's footsteps echoed as her heeled feet clattered off the wooden staircase. She was running late, the meeting upstairs would have already commenced as her PokeNav showed the time to be thirteen minutes passed one, the meet having started on the hour.

She quickly glanced out the window as she reached the last step and proceeded into the narrow corridor. The bustling city of Rustboro buzzed nosily outside as plumes of smoke ascended into the air from the Devon Corporation building in the west to the factories in the east, the industrial city never slept.

Cecilia half-jogged down the corridor, paintings of various famous figures and powerful Pokemon lining the wooden walls. She checked each door, failing in her attempts to remember which room the guests were gathered.

They had all agreed to meet in Rustboro, the usual meeting ground of Lilycove now inconspicuous due to Magma and Rockets' influences within the port city, as Hoenn's Capital shifted to the industrial city. Near the end of the corridor, an oaken door lay slightly as voices crawled out of it, she had finally found the correct room.

"Sorry I'm late!" Cecilia called as she barged through the doorway, the seven faces within all turning from their debate to look at her.

"Cecilia!" Archie growled. "It is good to see you!" the Team Aqua leader followed, his bulky frame shifting uncomfortably within the black suit he wore as his blue and white tie hung loosely from his neck.

"Who's this?" Mr. Stone demanded of the new arrival. He sat forward from his leather chair at the far end of a long table alongside his son, Steven. A door sat closed behind them.

"Now, Cedric," Professor Birch began his reply. "No need for hostility."

"Yeah," Flannery roared in agreement, to a nod of approval from Roxanne beside her, the two on the left hand side of the table with Archie. Professors Birch and Cozmo rested opposite them, studying a drawn out map of Hoenn covering the table's surface, with even more pictures lining the well-lit room.

"I invited her," Archie responded. "She's an intelligent young woman." The man winked at her as he finished speaking, Cecilia brushing off the charm offensive. She knew that Archie liked her, but held no interest in the man. She had far more important issues to worry about.

"Are we just inviting random strangers in off the street for our meetings?!" Steven intruded.

"She had more right to be here than you do!" Roxanne cut the former Champion off. "You were dethroned by Erik a week ago!"

"Where is the young man anyway?" Cedric Stone spoke next.

"Declined our offer of attending," Professor Birch replied. "He has spent the week back in Littleroot Town with his mother, laying his Pokemon to rest, saying his goodbyes, and packing."

"Packing?" It was Steven who spoke, a triumphant glint in his eye at hearing the words.

"Yes," Cecilia cut in, speaking for the first time and ended that particular branch of the conversation.

"Very well, have a seat, young lady," Cozmo offered, pulling out the empty chair from beside him.

"Thank you, the name is Cecilia, by the way," she accepted.

"We were just discussing reforming the region," Cedric Stone began. "Wallace and Wattson have been suspended for their involvement with Team Rocket, so new Gym Leaders will need to be appointed."

"Cedric," Archie interrupted. "What is your game?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You invited us all here today not to discuss Gym Leaders, but something else, what do you want?"

"Well," the man began, linking his hands together and resting his elbows on the table. "I propose a reform of the governing body. The 'authorities' of Hoenn have clearly failed, and now the region is slowly uprising against our control after Erik's defeat of my son. Steven was previously keeping the peace, and now to quell these rebellions, we need strong leadership."

"So what do you propose?" Professor Birch enquired, the man still shaken over the loss of his daughter as he fingered a medallion on his neck, a small picture of May embedded within a golden coin attached to a piece of string.

"As one third of the previous leadership regime, and both immense resources and connections. I myself am well placed to restore the peace," Cedric announced, to gasps and murmured responses from the rest of the group.

"I have another idea," Archie retorted, as the door behind the Stones' swung open. "Get them out of here," he ordered the two figures who emerged from the doorway.

"Right you are boss," Mylos responded as he grabbed Steven and dragged him from the room, the former Champion leaving without a word, his spirit crushed by Erik. Grant did the same to Cedric.

"You can't do this! I have many powerful allies!" Cedric roared as he was shoved from the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

"Right," Archie followed. "Cecilia I called you here to be a witness."

"To what?" she responded, as the other four remaining members of the group joined Archie in casting their gaze to her.

"The forming of our new government," Professor Birch responded.

"The five of us shall lead Hoenn from now on, eradicating any remaining Rocket influence and restoring the region," Roxanne added.

"Winona was going to join us, but said no," Flannery said despondently. "Think she's too broken up over what's happened."

"I shall assume the role of head of research and innovation," Professor Cozmo spoke. "Archie is the new head of state security, which includes both the police and any armies we may need to muster. Professor Birch is our new head of finance and resources, Roxanne head of infrastructure, and Flannery chief of the trainer's union."

"Any issues that need to be decided upon out of those fields, or large enough that it needs to be decided by the five of us, shall be done so in a vote during our monthly meetings," Birch added.

"And the commoners shall all have their say too!" Archie bellowed.

"Yes, issues raised by the common citizens of our region shall also be discussed within our meetings, and if necessary, voted upon."

"We shall all sign this declaration, henceforth declaring us as the ruling authorities of Hoenn," Cozmo chirped in, pulling a sheet of paper from his pocket.

"With you as our witness," Roxanne spoke to Cecilia.

Cecilia nodded, as pens made scurrying and scratching noises upon the paper as it was passed hastily around the table, before landing at Cecilia for her to sign the section declaring her as witness.

"So what now for you?" Archie asked as she scribbled her signature. "Back to becoming a researcher?"

"No," she replied. "I am a trainer now, time to get my licence back."

"And challenge the Gyms in Hoenn?" Flannery excitedly interrupted.

"There is one more thing we need to do," Roxanne intruded before Cecilia could reply.

"Yes there is!" Archie bellowed, standing up from his chair. "Time for war!" he added, slamming his fists on the table.

"War with Kanto will bring us noth-" Cozmo began before Roxanne silenced him with a scolding stare.

"We shall take Team Rocket down in their own home!" Birch added passionately. At the professor's words, Flannery screamed in agreement.

"I shall lead our army into Kanto," Archie declared. "Give me a couple of months to gather willing recruits, Mylos and Grant shall be my lieutenants. Cecilia, will you be my right hand girl?"

"No, two months is too long to wait for me."

"So what's your plan?" the former Aqua Leader enquired.

"Erik's plan," Cecilia corrected him.

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

"So with the reforms of our government," Wally's television set blared. "The promises of more openness, honesty and interaction from our new leadership have been made," Gabby added, speaking into Ty's camera and filling the screen.

"But what of our new Champion, Erik?" Gabby added. "Since winning the Pokemon League Tournament eight days ago, no one has heard a peep from him. But myself and my colleague have now been promised exclusive access to our new Champion. Find out more at six o'clock, this has been Gabby and Ty on your four o'clock news."

"What do you think, Gallade?" Wally asked his friend, who sat on his uncle's couch beside him. "Time for us to leave?"

His Pokemon nodded in response. The young man clutched his trainer's licence in the palm of his hand and wheeled a suitcase along the floor with the other.

A tearful farewell followed between nephew and uncle, before Wally made his way from Verdanturf, through Rusturf Tunnel, passed Rustboro City, exiting Petalburg Woods and after a brief detour to Petalburg City to say goodbye to his parents, the young trainer made his way towards the beach of Route 104.

"Gallade?" Wally turned to his Pokemon as the two strolled along the scorched beach of Route 104, sand happily flicking up at their feet. The clean-up effort made by dozens of citizens from within Petalburg had been a success, and only a few mementos remained from what the people now dubbed as "The Battle For Hoenn". Wally's Pokemon purred in response to his trainer's question.

"Where we are going, I'm not going to be able to use you. But I want you to be by my side still, forever."

The defeat to Erik had at first crushed Wally, who spent the proceeding week loitering around the graves of his defeated Pokemon, pondering what to do with his life, his accomplishments amounting to nothing. However, the day before yesterday he had received a call on his PokeNav from the reigning Champion, asking to meet on Route 104 and to board Mr. Briney's boat.

Wally looked to the sea, where a pearl-white yacht floated gently on the water's surface, swaying in the waves as a crisp wind swept across the shoreline. Gabby and Ty stood on the ship, alongside the old sailor himself, the trio immersed in conversation. At the ship's stern stood Erik and Cecilia, both peering off into the ocean that awaited them.

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

"Nice of you to join us," Cecilia called to Wally, as the young man climbed on the ship. "Are we ready to leave then?" she asked Mr. Briney.

"Erik?" the old sailor asked the Champion, who shook his head at the question.

"There's one more thing I must do, alone," he responded, before strolling to the ship's brow, away from judging eyes and into isolation.

His soul felt empty as he ran his fingers along the Pokeball-less strap across his waist before resting his arms on the yacht's prow. He had released the Pokemon in his storage back into the wild, to return to their homes as he prepared to return to his own. Kanto awaited, and Pokemon caught outside of the region's borders were unable to be used in battle.

Erik peered into the calm waters, sighting Tentacool swimming lazily within as he recalled his journey. From a young boy alongside Blaze in the back of a truck, to the Champion of Hoenn standing here by himself. Despite being surrounded by friends and even his mother within the boat's cabin, who had insisted on journeying back to Kanto with them, he still felt helplessly alone.

"Blaze, May, Dancer, Ice, Leaf," he began, recalling all those that had been lost along the way in a sorrowful recollection of memories. He had forgiven himself during the battle with Steven, conquering the demons who dwelled within himself, but loneliness still haunted him. "Dad…" he finished his prayer. "I've learned so much throughout my journey, and we all conquered Hoenn together." He moved his hand to his heart. "I know you're all with me, in here. When we all go back to Kanto I shall form a resistance to Giovanni and his gang. Rocket controls the region and have enforced the same trainer rules as in Hoenn, one Pokemon per route, no killing wild Pokemon needlessly and so on and so on. It will be tough, rallying Hoenn is only a mere footprint in the sand compared to what awaits us, but I know with you all in my heart, we shall succeed."

As the sun descended and a chill took to the air, Erik signalled for Mr. Briney to begin their journey towards Kanto. With a final glance at Hoenn as the island disappeared from view, Erik joined Cecilia, Wally and his mother in the cabin.


To Be Continued In….. Challenger: Return to Kanto.

And we are done!

I hope everyone that has stuck with this and read it all the way through has enjoyed it, and a big thank you to those people. A special mention to Bay Alexison as well, for all her help, it has been much appreciated.

As mentioned at the end of the Epilogue, there shall be a follow up as I eventually plan to turn the story into a trilogy, with the next nuzlocke being loosely based on either FireRed or LeafGreen. I'm not sure when I'll get around to starting it just yet, but when I do it will be posted on this forum. See you then!

Woo, final two battles there, lots of packed stuff there. For Drake's battle there, I do like your characterization there with him having visible reactions to him losing his Pokemon compared to the other Elite 4 and I thought it's sweet he's honored to be going against Soar. The way aggron got taken down was pretty sad, though.

Now, Steven's battle. Figured some toxins are what's in those potions, but still geez that's rough. I do like in the beginning the callout of the spikes being used, that's why I hate Steven will use Skarmory first automatically, haha. Erik's Pokemon going down one by one, is pretty painful to read even though it's expected Steven will be a challenging foe. I admit it took me getting used to the transitions between Erik's "ghosts" and him focusing on the battle, but overall it's pretty effective and gave me uncanny vibes there. At the same time there are some heartwarming moments, for instance Dancer's ghost smiling at him (can I also just say the way Armaldo crushed her like that was a "oh my gosh" reaction from me, haha). It's really great, though, that Rock dealt with the finshing blow there.

Onto the epilogue, interesting over the government restructuring going on and Cecilia being a witness there. With the declaration of war going on, there's still the deal with Giovanni that needs resolving which I already expected you'll have that be the main focus on your next story.

I'm glad I was able to help you polish this story until the very end! You have improved a lot since you started and you should be proud. If you like, I can help you out with your next story when you get a chance to start on your next nuzlocke run! I'm curious as to how you'll be able to tie the events of this story in to your next nuzlocke one. Shouldn't be too hard since the original RSE games and FireRed/LeafGreen are from the same gen (only difference would be moves from gen 4 and onwards would be absent and mega evolution).I'll let the story sit here for a few days and then I'll put it in the completed archives. =)

Thank you Bay, once I start on the next story you'll be the first to know. Still undecided when that will be yet, as I might try something totally different from Pokemon for now until going back to it.

Also glad you enjoyed it, Bardothren, and thank you for the kind comments!