"Finally, this should be the last room."
Primarina and I had made our way through all four of the rooms that used to belong to the old Sinnoh elite four. Each time, we were faced with a different ancient melody that the two of us sang to near perfection.
We had just stepped out of a particularly purple room, the walls coloured lavender while the air was filled with a mysterious lilac mist. Nevertheless, the two of us played the music presented to us, the locked door opening to reveal another walkway.
After taking the somehow still functional elevator, we were now stood in front of two more heavy steel doors. I could hear a faint melody playing from behind the doors but there was no way through. As I pressed my ear against the cold metal door, the song became clear and I recognised it as the same melody that I heard back in victory road.
I exchanged a knowing look with the water type beside me who was patiently waiting for the go ahead signal. I nodded, calling out, "Alright, Primarina use psychic to open the doors."
The water type nodded, her eyes glowing a light blue in the darkened hallway. As I turned back to the heavy metal doors, I could see that they had been enveloped in a similar blue light. There was a terrible crunching sound as the metal doors folded over each other, the entrance now open.
The moment we stepped into the dark room, two cyan blue headlights flickered on, illuminating the room. As I looked around, I was greeted by a black tiled room with a glowing battlefield at the center. Just past the glowing field, there was an elevator shaft but it had been terribly damaged, meaning there was no way to continue on to whatever stood above this room.
"Meloooo"
A familiar pokemon cry rang in my ears, echoing throughout the large empty room. I sensed Primarina's unease, the water type apprehensive about whatever lurked in the shadows. Quickly, I looked around, searching for another music scroll but there was nothing in sight.
Then out of nowhere, a small green haired pokemon descended from the darkness above, now in full view. Its eyes were closed, the pokemon singing a light, melodic song that echoed through the room. Instantly, my eyes snapped to the pokemon, recognising the song as the compilation of each of the four verses that Primarina and I had sang in each of the rooms preceding this one.
Slowly, the pokemon opened its eyes, its bright blue irises piercing through the darkness as it looked out toward Primarina and I. There was a soft smile on its face which somehow reassured me, putting the two of us at ease.
I took one step forward, causing the mysterious pokemon to promptly stop singing. Its eyes began to glow, projecting an image onto the opposite side of the battlefield. It took a moment for the hologram to materialise but I recognised who was being shown to me before the picture was in full focus.
"Aaron?"
Of course, there was no response but seeing a familiar face took me by surprise. The blue light image didn't speak, its stern expression still resembling Aaron's always serious face. Slowly, the hologram reached toward its back pocket, pulling out a pokeball.
The melody pokemon stood behind the hologram, continuing to project the picture as it resumed the song it had been playing before. 'Aaron' pulled out a pokeball, releasing a certain snow fox pokemon onto the battlefield, quietly awaiting my response.
"Who would have thought..." I paused for a moment as I reached for a pokeball, "My closest friend, and my biggest obstacle. Ampharos, it's time to show how strong we've really become!"
The light pokemon emerged from her pokeball, standing on the battlefield for the first time since I had teamed up with her back in Sage Town. Ampharos held her gentle gaze on the field, analysing the snow fox hologram who stood opposite her.
"We'll start with discharge!"
Ampharos followed my callout without hesitation, releasing a huge wave of electric energy into the air. The opposing Ninetails stood steadfast, awaiting the call and as the hologram raised its arm, the snow fox leapt into the air, firing an icy cold gale in response.
Both moves collided, filling the room with a cold vapour, making it difficult to see. I could still faintly see Ampharos but our opponent was completely hidden in the mist.
Before I could make a call, Ampharos was struck from a blind spot with a powerful moonblast attack. The light pokemon was forced to the floor but quickly stood back to her feet, letting out a reassuring cry as the mist dissipated.
Even if we weren't fighting against the real Aaron, he was still an evident problem on the battlefield. I shook my head, not wanting to be stuck on this mental block. My mind raced to think of a strategy, eventually calling out, "Ampharos, use power gem!"
The light pokemon fired her attack quickly, the opponent unmoving as the rock attack collided. A small dust cloud was kicked up but as it cleared, the hologram of the fox was now coloured a bright yellow, Ninetails unfazed by the attack.
I gritted my teeth, now realising that I had to overcome this mental block. Even with all our training, the way I saw Aaron was still the same. To me, he was still this insurmountable rival who was already too far out of reach for me to catch up.
But then I realised, in order to make any headway in this battle, my views had to change. Obviously, there was no beating an undefeatable opponent but there was always a way to beat another trainer and that's now who I saw stood opposite me on the field.
I let out a short breath before calling the next move, "Ampharos, use discharge!"
There was no hesitation from the light pokemon as she released another wave of electric energy. Then I quickly called out the next move, Ampharos following the attack with a powerful dragon pulse.
As expected, Ninetails was quick to counter, returning fire with a powerful thunder attack. But then, the second part of the plan came into play. The multicoloured beam of energy had been disguised by the huge wave of electricity, smashing into our unsuspecting opponent.
Ninetails fell to the ground, stunned by the powerful dragon move. Nevertheless, she returned to her feet, a determined expression now on her face as she held her gaze on Ampharos.
This time, Aaron took the initiative, raising his arm as Ninetails leapt into the air. The hologram shifted to a deep orange colour, the fox pokemon releasing a huge blast of fire toward us.
"Counter with power gem!"
Ampharos followed suit, the glowing blue rocks colliding with the fire attack. A huge smoke cloud was kicked up, blocking my view of the field. But this time, I knew not to let up, calling the next move.
"Now! Discharge to clear the smoke!"
There was a huge sparking as the thick smoke expanded out, becoming thinner. Soon enough, the smoke had dissipated, Ninetails being caught in the electric attack. I saw the opening, calling out for the next move, "Ampharos, use dragon pulse!"
The light pokemon followed without hesitating, firing a huge multicoloured beam of energy toward the target. However, Ninetails recovered, countering with an equally powerful moonblast, the two attacks colliding at the center of the field.
Then out of nowhere, Ninetails sprang forward, the hologram reverting to its original blue as the fox released an icy gale wind into the room. Ampharos was quick to respond, creating a counter shield with her discharge attack as the two moves dispelled each other.
I looked out across the field, seeing that Ninetails was tiring out from the battle. Ampharos on the other hand was still raring to go, letting out a deafening roar to show that she was still far from done.
"Alright! We'll end this with dragon pulse!"
As expected, our opponent wasn't going to let us win so easily. Ninetails stood back to her feet, firing a huge spherical ball of mystical energy, countering the dragon move. Both pokemon poured their all into the moves, neither giving an inch.
"Now! Zap cannon!"
For a brief moment, Ninetail's fairy move gained some leverage as Ampharos switched its attack plan. The light pokemon poured its all into the electric move, a huge sparking sphere of electrifying energy cutting through the spherical moon, smashing into our opponent.
As the dust settled, both holograms had faded into the air, only the melody pokemon sat opposite us now. There was a huge smile on her face, her blue eyes filled with joy as she continued playing her melody.
Ampharos and I exchanged uncertain looks before the realisation that we had won settled in. I felt a tugging at my side as a pokeball floated over to the melody pokemon who waited patiently for us.
With my two pokemon in tow, Meloetta sealed the deal, joining the team.