With the second round of the top-ten stage concluded, the tournament had entered its most ferocious phase yet. Inside the arena, the battles were relentless.
Outside, the atmosphere was no less electric, in the inns, the dining halls, along every street corner, the people of Unova could talk of nothing else. Eight competitors remained, and the question on every tongue was the same: who would be the last one standing?
Inside the castle, Lucien reclined in a lounge chair, unhurriedly enjoying his black tea. It had been brewed from leaves harvested by his people from the meadows where Deerling grazed, faintly sweet, with a clean, floral fragrance that lingered on the palate. Quite good, all things considered.
Beyond the castle walls, the distant arena thundered with cheers. Within, all was calm and still. A group of Minccino chased each other gleefully through the courtyard in a game of hide-and-seek, while in the ecological garden behind the castle, the Pokémon who had once been hurt by human hands lay stretched out lazily in the afternoon sun.
In the inner chambers, a few familiar faces sat near Lucien, their own Pokémon dozing contentedly at their feet.
The tournament wasn't over yet, but in this quiet, Lucien could already see the shape of what came after. Once the Elite Four and the Champion were decided, he would entrust all Pokémon-related affairs of the Kingdom to those five. They would handle it in his name. He could hardly think of it without smiling.
"Your Majesty." Elif's measured footsteps approached from behind. The old butler came to a stop beside the lounge chair and bowed his head slightly. "The fourth round has concluded. Only one match remains before the five finalists are confirmed."
Lucien closed his eyes. "No rush. Be patient, Elif."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Time moved quietly. Then, before long, a guard's voice cut through the stillness.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the top-ten stage is complete! The five finalists are: Miss Anna, Sakura, Derick, Lucas, and Raphael!"
Lucien opened his eyes and laughed softly. "It seems the Champion is somewhere among those five."
"Does Your Majesty wish to attend the remaining bouts?" Elif asked.
Lucien shook his head. He had a reasonable sense of each finalist's capability, and the eventual outcome wasn't difficult to foresee. This was not a storybook, a single year of training, however passionate, could rarely overcome years of genuine seasoned experience. Only a handful of people in the world could manage it.
And reality, as it turned out, matched his expectations precisely.
Over the next two days, Lucas, Raphael, and Sakura were eliminated in succession. The three of them claimed the lower three positions among the Elite Four, no small honor. But the final question, Champion or top Elite Four, would be settled between Anna and Derick alone.
Two days later, the grand final began.
By the time the sun had fully risen, the arena was already full to bursting. Every seat on the ground level was occupied, and the tiered stands above them were packed just as tightly. Those who had arrived too late to find seats took to the sky entirely, hiring flying-type Pokémon taxis to hover above the arena, watching the match from the open air. The roar of the crowd was deafening, a wall of sound so thick it seemed capable of shaking the rafters loose.
Every eye in that arena was trained on the two Trainers standing at opposite ends of the field.
On the left: Derick, dressed in dark blue training gear, his gaze as sharp and still as a hawk's. He carried a fierce, coiled energy, the kind that didn't need to announce itself. He had been the undisputed standout of the tournament, steamrolling opponent after opponent with his Dragon and Fighting-type lineup, and he had arrived at the final looking like he expected to win.
On the right: Anna. Strong-framed, composed, her long golden hair pulled back into a high ponytail. She was smiling, the relaxed, easy smile of someone who had nothing to prove and everything to gain. But her eyes were alight with fighting spirit.
"Both Trainers have confirmed their lineups!" The referee's voice rang out through the loudspeakers, crisp and clear above the noise of the crowd. "Six-on-six, full battle, the match ends when all Pokémon on one side are unable to continue. Begin!"
"Derick! Derick! Derick!"
"Anna, don't let him walk over you!"
The stands buzzed and churned. Most of the noise seemed to favor Derick, his reputation in this tournament had been overwhelming, and people expected dominance.
Derick's arm swept upward. The Poké Ball cut a clean arc through the air.
"First up, don't disappoint me, Lucario!"
A burst of blue-white light. Lucario landed with a bone-shaking crash, both feet driving deep into the arena surface, cracks spiderwebbing outward from the point of impact. The dual pressure of Fighting and Steel-type energy radiated outward in a wave, filling the arena. Lucario's eyes were clear and locked, steady as iron.
Anna tilted her head slightly, a faint smile on her lips. "Lucario first? Then we won't hold back either." She raised her own Poké Ball. "Braviary, let's go!"
A whirlwind tore upward from the arena floor. Braviary burst into the sky, its wingspan stretching well over three meters, broad wings beating in long, powerful strokes as it wheeled above. Its sharp eyes swept the arena below with cool precision.
"Battle, begin!"
Derick didn't waste a breath. "Lucario, Metal Claw, straight at it, full force!"
Lucario exploded off the ground like a loosed arrow. Its right claw gleamed, sheathed in hard, cold metal, and it drove upward toward Braviary with a tearing hiss of displaced air.
"Dodge, then use Brave Bird!" Anna's voice was perfectly calm.
Braviary's wings folded and snapped open again in a single fluid motion, carrying it clear of the Metal Claw by a razor's margin. Then its entire body ignited with a violent surge of Flying-type energy, and it plummeted, a golden comet driving straight down.
The impact was tremendous. The shockwave rolled across the arena in a visible pulse. Lucario was driven backward repeatedly, its feet carving deep furrows into the floor, and a series of wounds opened across its body in an instant.
Derick's eyes went wide. "What??"
He hadn't anticipated that.
Braviary had moved as if it had already known exactly what was coming.
"Aura Sphere!" Derick recovered fast, his voice snapping back to steadiness.
A dense ball of blue energy condensed between Lucario's palms, crackling with Aura pressure, and launched toward Braviary.
"Whirlwind."
Braviary's wings swept downward in one measured stroke. The violent gust of air hit the Aura Sphere and tore it apart, scattering it harmlessly in every direction, and in the same motion, a razor-edged Air Slash followed.
Lucario staggered. It tried to right itself. It fought to stand.
It couldn't.
"Lucario is unable to battle!"
The arena erupted in shocked noise. No one had expected this. The tournament's most dominant Trainer had lost his opening Pokémon before landing a single decisive blow.
"Knocked out in an instant!"
"Lucario..."
Derick's heart sank. He recalled Lucario without hesitation and threw out his second Poké Ball. "Don't underestimate it, Druddigon, go!"
The crimson-scaled dragon roared into the arena, its Dragon-type aura rolling outward, its rough and powerful hide radiating unstoppable brute force.
"Braviary, Tailwind!"
Braviary beat its great wings, and a pale blue whirlwind swept across the entire field.
Derick's heart tightened. "Druddigon, Dragon Claw, interrupt it!"
Druddigon snarled and charged forward, but with Tailwind's blessing, Braviary dodged with ease, its Air Slash striking again and again, steadily wearing down Druddigon's movements.
"Brave Bird, finish it!"
The surging, swirling energy crashed down in one decisive blow. Druddigon's massive body hit the ground with a thunderous crash and did not rise.
Derick had lost two Pokémon in quick succession, his expression growing grimmer by the second. He and his opponent were operating on completely different levels, and he knew it.
But the battle continued.
"Beartic, I'm counting on you, Icicle Crash!"
The great Ice Bear struck the ground, and countless sharp shards of ice rained down from above. The sudden wide-scale attack caught Braviary off guard. The massive ice column connected squarely, Ice-type moves striking hard against Flying-type, and Braviary's wings froze. It shrieked and fell.
"Braviary, get up!" Anna called out immediately.
But Derick wasn't about to let the opportunity pass. "Beartic, Ice Beam!"
The freezing beam swept across the field and engulfed the grounded Braviary completely.
"Braviary is unable to battle!"
Both sides had now taken a loss. The atmosphere in the arena grew tighter.
"Not bad." Anna recalled Braviary, a smile crossing her face. "Magmar, your turn!"
Flames surged as Magmar stepped proudly into the arena. The scorching heat radiated outward immediately, its Fire-type aura bearing down hard on Beartic.
"Close Combat!" Derick gambled on aggression. Beartic roared and charged with tremendous brute force.
"Flamethrower!"
Blazing flames swallowed everything. Ice met fire, and in that collision, Beartic's thick fur, so imposing moments before, proved hopelessly fragile against the heat.
"Fire Punch, finish it!"
A blazing fist crashed squarely into Beartic's skull. The great bear dropped instantly.
Derick gritted his teeth and threw out a new Poké Ball. A flash of white light, and Haxorus emerged, powerful, imposing, one of his true aces this tournament.
He knew he was at a serious disadvantage now. He refused to accept it, but the gap in strength was undeniable. He forced himself to stay composed.
"Haxorus, Dragon Dance!"
Haxorus swung its twin axe blades wide, its energy surging as its attack and speed climbed sharply. Its Dragon-type aura filled the arena with a palpable pressure.
"Fire Blast." Anna's command was quiet and unhurried.
The flames erupted. Haxorus took the hit and didn't budge, steady as a mountain.
"Dragon Claw, now!"
The axe blades came down with overwhelming force. Magmar had no time to dodge. It was an instant knock-out.
Anna's eyes narrowed slightly. This was exactly the kind of battle she wanted. She threw out her next Poké Ball without a moment's pause.
Jolteon crashed into the arena with a resounding thud.
"Jolteon, Thunderbolt!"
A violent surge of electricity erupted and wrapped around Haxorus, its entire body convulsing under the current.
"Dragon Claw!" Haxorus fought back desperately, landing a hit, but Jolteon had already driven a Thunder Punch into its vital point.
The Dragon-type ace crumbled to the ground.
Derick was sweating now. He threw out his fifth Pokémon. "Throh, go, Seismic Toss!"
The Fighting-type specialist caught Jolteon with precise, practiced technique and hurled it hard into the ground. After a brutal exchange, Jolteon was finally defeated, but it had taken a severe toll. Though Jolteon hadn't fainted, Derick quietly recalled it.
Now Derick had only one card left, Hydreigon. His last hope.
Anna still had three: her Sylveon, her Zoroark, and one more in reserve.
Anna chose to lead with Sylveon.
Hydreigon's three heads roared in unison, its terrifying Dragon-type power sending a tremor through the entire arena. This was Derick's final trump card, his only chance to turn things around.
"Draco Meteor!"
Derick took a deep breath and gave the order. An enormous Dragon-type energy sphere launched straight into the sky. In the next instant, the heavens turned deep violet, and a cascade of burning meteors with blazing tails rained down across the entire arena. The sheer scale of the attack was overwhelming, an all-out assault with nowhere to hide.
Sylveon's small frame looked impossibly fragile beneath it.
The crowd's hearts hammered. The power was staggering. Surely, under this, Anna would be finished.
But Anna gave only one quiet command.
"Hold on."
Sylveon's ribbons flared outward, and a shining white barrier formed instantly, bracing hard against the first devastating impact. It held, barely, but more meteors followed, crashing down one after another. The barrier cracked. Fragments exploded outward. Sylveon's body took serious damage.
For the first time, a faint smile crossed Derick's face. "It's over, Dragon Pulse!"
At least they hadn't lost without a fight.
But Anna showed no panic. Her voice was perfectly steady.
"Dodge, then use Misty Terrain!"
Dragon Pulse grazed Sylveon by a hair's breadth as it shifted gracefully aside, a mysterious energy blooming across the entire field beneath it.
Most of the crowd didn't understand the move. But Anna's lips curved into a quiet smile of certainty.
"Dark Pulse!" Derick pressed forward, frowning. Hydreigon's three heads moved in concert, dark energy crushing downward.
Anna's eyes sharpened.
"Now, Moonblast!"
Boom!
The Fairy-type energy wave, amplified by the Misty Terrain blanketing the field, carried the full force of a four-times counter directly into Hydreigon. It tore straight through the Dark Pulse and struck all three of Hydreigon's heads with devastating precision.
"ROAAR!"
Hydreigon let out a wretched, echoing groan. Its massive body shuddered violently several times before crashing onto the arena floor and going still.
A last-ditch counter, and it had worked completely.
"Hydreigon is unable to battle!" the referee announced.
Derick's face had gone pale. He had one Pokémon left, his Throh, already battered and running on fumes. Even at full strength, facing this opponent, it would likely have made no difference.
"You are a remarkable opponent," Anna said quietly, reaching for her final Poké Ball. "I noticed you a long time ago."
She threw it with a slow, deliberate arc. A dark, ghostly figure materialized on the field.
Zoroark.
Derick blinked, momentarily caught off guard.
"Come on," Anna said simply. "Let's finish this."
"Throh, go!"
Derick shut his eyes for just a moment, steadying himself. Then he gave the order. Throh charged forward in one last desperate surge, throwing everything it had into the fight. But it was already spent, running on nothing but will.
"Shadow Claw."
Anna's voice was unhurried, casual, even, yet it carried absolute certainty.
Zoroark's figure blurred like smoke, slipping past Throh's attack as though it were moving through air. Its ink-black claws, trailing shadow, drove hard into Throh's back.
The impact echoed across the arena.
Throh staggered forward two steps, then sank to the ground, eyes closed. It did not get up.
For one suspended moment, the entire arena went silent.
Then the roar came, a wall of sound that shook the rafters, wave after wave of cheering and shouting that showed no sign of stopping. They had just witnessed something extraordinary. They had watched a Champion be born.
The referee raised his flag, his voice cutting clear through the noise.
"Throh is unable to battle! All of Derick's Pokémon are unable to continue!" He paused for a breath, then: "The winner, Anna!"
The crowd exploded.
Derick stood motionless for a long moment, staring across the field at Anna standing calmly on her side of the arena, composed and smiling. Then a short, quiet laugh escaped him. He began recalling his Pokémon one by one.
He had lost. Lost to a flawless strategy, lost to a Trainer who had outthought him at every turn. There was no shame in it, only the clean, clear acknowledgment of having met someone better.
Anna gently stroked Zoroark's head, then tilted her face upward toward the VIP box above.
She already knew he was watching.
She found his eyes and broke into a wide, brilliant smile.
She had done it. She hadn't let Sensei down.