• • •
"Dang, where is she?" I craned my entire body around to spot that galarian ponyta-haired girl.
Arven chuckled, settling me down with a hand to my shoulder. "Relax. She wouldn't miss this for the world."
I pulled away from him. "It's about to start!"
Arven kicked his feet up, allowing me space to freak out. "We already bought the tickets. No one's gonna take the seat."
After we had arrived at the Academy months prior, we ultimately had to tell Director Clavell all about what had happened down in Area Zero and what really happened to Professor Sada. The school was shut down for weeks, and no one but us really had any idea what was going on. All over the papers were headlines reading: Professor Sada Dead! It was horribly traumatic for Arven. We all chose to go completely on-campus for the time being, shutting off our phones and avoiding the press brought in from town. Ultimately, word got out that we were involved with the whole fiasco. Saving all of Paldea wasn't something we would be able to hide forever.
Because of all the disarray, the League was also shut down for a time, and Nemona's final battle with the champion Geeta was postponed. After fighting the monsters of Area Zero, Nemona was able to pass the Elite Four test in record time. When the fame of being the 'Saviors of Paldea' started to spread and people began to realize that one of those teenagers was scheduled to go up against La Primera when it opened back up again, the Academy was suddenly flooded with applicants, people of all ages with a heightened fascination with the art of pokémon training. The director told us he had never seen so many people look for higher education until the news broke out. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or if he was overwhelmed by the flurry of new students for the next semester.
The champion battle was usually set in a private area of the Champion League building, but because of the sudden spike of interest in battling, Geeta, Nemona, and the rest of the Elite Four agreed to allow the public to spectate this unusual event. Seats were set up around a stadium made from the mines of the South Province by the town of Artazon, but the crowd was so huge that seats were sold out within half an hour, and the League had to arrange for an area for the rest of the interested group to bring their own seats to watch. The League paid a huge sum to the store owners and food vendors of Artazon to help out with the refreshments. They had definitely made triple the profit they spent on traveling down to the arena. Almost everyone had some sort of merchandise and a bottle of juice to celebrate the occasion.
"Hey, hey! I'm here!" Penny shuffled her way past the dozens of legs to sit beside me and swung her eevee backpack to the front of her knees. "Snacks anyone?" She opened her bag to reveal a stock of aluminum-foil-wrapped meals and snacks. A mouth-watering aroma of sugar, meat, and cheese hit everyone within a twenty-feet radius.
Arven didn't hesitate to grab himself a warm, dulce-filled churro with an audible, "Mmm!"
I squinted at the girl. "You got these legally, right?"
Penny laughed. "Yeah! I actually bought these, don't worry." I fingered around for a bag of caramel-corn. "Bought it with the yen I hacked out of the Academy's system," she added, quietly.
"Penny!"
"I'm kidding! Geez!" She adjusted the snack bag between all of us to enjoy through the event. "I was helping out the Director with some light tech before I got here," she explained.
"Ah, is that why it hasn't started?" Arven was tapping at his watch.
"Since when did you start taking theater classes?" I joked.
"Oh! It wasn't for a class. Um...." She scratched the back of her head, looking off to the side. "They... uh... finally arranged Professor Sada in her casket. Like—the real one."
I frowned, remembering the events that happened months ago. I had to come clean about her bones in the Zero Lab. Penny, Nemona, and Arven had no idea they had rushed past a dead body back then. They had heard a concerning noise from underground, and Arven had found Nemona and Penny and took them downstairs to the time machine to see what was going on. The foul smell could've been from what was happening for all they knew. Surprisingly, Arven was very calm about all of this, even at peace, knowing that the physical body of his mother was found and altogether for the most part. The director personally volunteered to conduct a party to retrieve her remains and organize a proper funeral and burial of his late friend.
"So, mom's finally coming back home?" Arven breathed. He didn't look mournful at all. He was relaxed like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Yeah...," Penny confirmed. "Clavell should have a date out soon. We just got all the lights to work how he wanted them to."
"What do you mean 'how he wanted them to'," Arven bantered. "Either a light is on or it's off."
"Clavell wanted something a bit more... flashy," Penny imagined.
Arven rolled his eyes. "Yeah... that sounds more like my mom. She wouldn't want anything standard."
"Ladies, gentlemen, and students of Naranja Academy!" A voice rang out from the speakers above.
Penny shook me violently. "It's starting!" I almost choked on a popcorn kernel.
"Almost... missed your.... girlfriend...," I coughed. She didn't hear me. She was too excited to see the battle we've been waiting for for weeks.
"Was that the director?" Arven asked me.
I shrugged. "Hard to tell with the speaker quality."
"We welcome you to the first public Top Champion battle in Paldea in a decade with special thanks to the hardworking vendors and volunteers of Artazon!" There was a proud cheer from the locals who were proud to assist in the event.
"No, that was definitely a woman's voice," Arven remarked. I hushed him. He gave me a side-eye and took a bite of his churro, spilling cinnamon and sugar all over his school uniform.
"Oh shoot! Here she comes!" Penny pointed.
"Who? Nemona?" I couldn't spot anyone coming out from the tunnel entrance.
"Why would they introduce the opposing team first, ya lum berry?" Arven teased.
"What kind of insult is that, ponytail?" Penny barked.
"That was one time!"
"Argh! You spilled cinnamon on me!"
"Oops... sorry, Lugosi."
"Hehe. Yeah, sorry, Lugosi."
The crowd began to chant. "Let us welcome Paldea's Top Champion Trainer... Geeta! La Primera!" Everyone rose to their feet, applauding as the tall, fair woman with magnificent, thick, black hair waved her way beside a green-haired woman—who was just as tall—at the center of the playing field. "For our international visitors, La Primera is the chairwoman of the Pokémon League in Paldea and the chairwoman of Naranja Academy's school board. She was one of the Academy's founders and has, in turn, created the foundation for her opponent!"
I pointed at the woman standing beside Geeta who had been announcing the event. "Who is that?"
Arven followed my finger. "Oh, that's Rika. She's one of the Elite Four."
I oohed. "Must be insane having to be up there with the girl who beat you at your own job."
Arven punched me for being so rude. "Geeta personally recruited the Elite Four. Hassel is one of them, too."
I gaped. "The art instructor?" Arven nodded. "That's hilarious," I chortled.
"Oh my gosh, Lugosi," Arven scolded. "You are just as bad as your friend."
"Both of you, shut up!" Penny commanded. "I think she's coming out now!" We turned our attention to the opposite tunnel as the speakers broadcasted what was happening.
"Please give a warm welcome to Paldea's emerging new Champion... Nemona!" Blurs of orange and white moved as all the Academy students jumped up to encourage their schoolmate, the fellow islanders joining in, seeing the famed teenager in person for the first time. "Nemona has been attending Naranja Academy since she was only 10 years old and currently serves as the president of the academy's student council and one of the conquerors of Area Zero!" The stadium roared with all sorts of people from young to old, those from the local South Province to all the way up from the North Province.
"Conquerors of Area Zero," Arven scoffed. "Creative."
"Also joining us tonight, we've brought all eight gym leaders from across Paldea to witness this exciting battle!"
"Woah! Really?" Penny gasped. "This thing's like... really huge!" Four members came from either tunnel, shaking hands with the competitors, before taking a front row seat.
"Now, both players will take a moment to prepare their team. We shall be starting at any moment!" There were shuffles of people as they made a last effort to purchase something to drink or use the bathroom before the battle began. Rika put away the microphone, and the three women separated, talking amongst themselves.
"I almost feel bad for her," Penny cooed. "Geeta."
I chuffed, "Why?"
"My girl's gonna embarrass her with this win!" I pat Penny on the shoulder, glad to see her so excited about something.
"Rika's getting the mic again," Arven noticed. "I think they're about to start." The audience figured that, as well, and started up their chanting.
"Are you ready, Paldea?" Rika encouraged. Everyone retaliated with enthusiastic applause and cheers. The Elite Four member held out an arm between the two competitors and signaled them both to send out their first pokémon. Geeta threw out a psychic-type espathra while Nemona began with her lycanroc. The audience went quiet, waiting for the battle to officially be on. Rika flashed someone out of view a signal, and a timer went up above the arena, reading zero minutes and zero seconds. Penny was holding her breath beside me, looking like she was about to pass out.
Rika shot her arm into the air. "Lycanroc, Quick Attack and Crunch!" Nemona was fast. It was customary for the challenger to attack first, but Nemona took that opportunity to strike twice. Her lycanroc took the espathra off guard in a tackle before biting it, her entire turn taking out Geeta's first pokémon. The audience was in awe. Truly, no one was expecting such an easy takedown.
Geeta brushed it off. "Impressive, but don't let your win get to your head." She sent out a gogoat next.
"She's not even sweating!" Penny observed. "If that was me down there, I'd be a wreck!"
"Don't sell yourself short," Arven said. "You were down in the crater, too."
Penny blushed. "Yeah... I guess."
Geeta took her time in strategizing her moves. Gogoat was at an advantage. Any of its grass-type moves would be strong against Nemona's lycanroc. "Gogoat, Leaf Blade." The Mount Pokémon leapt forward with its bushy chest, and slashed Nemona's lycanroc with its leaves, seriously injuring it. Nemona was starting to feel the pressure. "Typing advantages are elementary," Geeta taunted. "Surely I made sure to put that in the Academy curriculum." Nemona realized there weren't any strong moves towards her opponent, so she went with a basic damage move, barely denting the gogoat's health. "Perfect," Geeta murmured. "Now, Gogoat, Horn Leech." Nemona's eyes widened as the gogoat stepped forward and drained the remaining health from her lycanroc through its horns, healing itself in the process. Lycanroc fainted and returned to its ball.
"I can't watch!" Penny was squirming beside me. Even Arven was a bit tense. I had full faith in Nemona. I had never met anyone stronger. She took out her skeledirge as her next teammate, and luckily, it was her turn to strike.
"Skeledirge, Flamethrower!" The starter blasted a huge flame at the gogoat, lighting up the faces of the gym leaders watching. The onlookers were loving the spectacle. Geeta ordered another Horn Leech. It wasn't as effective, but it was chipping away at Skeledirge's health. Nemona had a bright idea. "Lick!" She was trying to paralyze it. The gogoat took damage, but the paralysis was unsuccessful. Geeta returned with another Horn Leech. The gogoat was looking weak, and a supereffective move would certainly defeat it before it could take back more of its health. "Skeledirge! Flamethrower, again!" The skeledirge directed its flames at its enemy again and fainted the gogoat adequately.
I tapped Penny on the shoulder. "You could look now; the gogoat just fainted."
Penny peeked from between her fingers and sighed. "How many pokémon are left?"
Geeta threw out a veluza. "This is only her third one," I hissed. The veluza struck out with a supereffective Liquidation, blasting the already-weakened skeledirge with water, knocking it out.
Penny made a startled noise before covering her eyes again. "Nope! Going back into hiding!" I hugged her with an arm. "Argh! I didn't know this would be so intense!" Nemona was feeling it, too. I could tell that she was nervous. Her stance was only off enough that only a life-long friend would notice.
Nemona chose her pawmot, striking with a strong, electric-type move. The veluza reeled in anger, but there was not too much it could do. Geeta's best option was to attack with a psychic-type move that only dealt the normal damage. She called back her teammate. "Wait, what is she doing?" I asked. Penny snuck a glance to see what I was talking about.
"She's switching out her teammate for her turn," Arven explained. Geeta swapped in her avalugg. "I wonder what she did that for. She's at a disadvantage if anything."
"Her veluza would've fainted during the next turn anyway," I theorized.
Nemona also seemed confused. "Pawmot, Close Combat!" The pawmot went in with all its might, defense completely ignored in its attack.
"Predictable," Geeta chuckled. "Blizzard, please!" The sky turned dark above us as clouds rolled in. Above the arena, hail began to fall on the defenseless pawmot. It tried to run back to its position by Nemona, but was frozen. "Now that it's my turn again," Geeta sang, "Icicle Crash." The audience cheered on their Top Champion as an icicle slammed into the frozen pawmot. Nemona went to shake her pokémon awake, but it didn't move. "Still frozen, I see." Geeta was pestering her now. "Let's finish it off." Nemona rolled away as the avalugg attacked for the third time, fainting the pawmot before it could recover. "This is what happens when you forget to think about your next moves," Geeta lectured.
Penny was fuming. "Who does that Geeta think she is? Bullying Nemona like that!"
"Settle down, Penny," I calmed. "Heckling is part of the game."
Penny pouted, "Doesn't make it right."
I searched for something in her bag before I took out a glass bottle of brown sugar boba tea and handed it to her. "Here, have something to drink."
"Look!" Arven pointed. Nemona had taken out the avalugg with her orthworm. Geeta switched it out for a kingambit. "Yikes. Those are tough." Kingambit were duel dark-steel type pokémon, steel-types being extremely resistant to any attack.
"Nemona would know how to deal with it," I assured him. It didn't seem like it, however. Nemona stuck it with a poor steel-type attack, only doing half the normal amount of damage. Geeta was able to counter with a dark-type attack. It wasn't supereffective, thank Arceus, but it wasn't weak either. Nemona didn't really have anything helpful to switch in. I could see her losing faith in herself from afar. "She's not going to win this...." I muttered.
"Don't say that!" Penny snapped.
"You're not even watching!" I barked. I saw Nemona turn to us, brown eyes losing its glimmer. I shook Penny. "Say something!"
Penny fumbled. "Am I allowed— I don't want to— What do I—?"
"For Sada!" Arven shouted, reaching his hands to the sky, standing tall for his friend.
"For Team Friendship!" I joined in. Arven visibly cringed at the name, but I squinted at him to keep his mouth shut.
Penny took a deep breath, blushing madly, and stood as tall as her short legs could make her, cupping her hands around her mouth before shouting: "FOR. OUR. LOVE!" I swear I could see Nemona falling flustered, too. She took a long inhale and used her turn to swap out her orthworm for her dudunsparce, having some sort of untold strategy. Geeta continued her pressure of dark-type moves, having no reason to stop. The dudunsparce took the hit and awaited its master's command.
"Let's try... Drill Run," Nemona said, and her dudunsparce rammed into the unsuspecting kingambit like a drill, doubling its damage. Geeta's face flashed a moment of surprise before she hid it behind a mask of confidence.
Geeta allowed her kingambit its final attack before being taken down by her opponent. She clapped, sinisterly. "Well done." She revisited veluza, who was barely keeping itself together, and took out Nemona's dudunsparce, who had already done its job eloquently. The audience was roaring, knowing the Top Champion Geeta was on her last pokémon. Nemona had her goodra out on the field, at its prime, ready to win it all. Geeta allowed the audience to chant her name, teasing the viewers for the final match. "Winner takes it all," Geeta mentioned. "Don't mess up now." She tossed out her final ball, revealing the blue flower pokémon, abundant in the crater. There was a mix of gasps and confused mumbling.
We leaned closer. "Is that..." I started.
"A monster of Area Zero?" Arven and Penny finished.
"The glimmora!" Geeta announced. "Evolution of the smaller glimmet, only found within the depth of the Great Crater of Paldea!" The crowd went along with it, turning their concerned conversations to a supportive cheer. "What's wrong, Nemona?" Geeta pouted. "I would think you'd have seen one of these during your forbidden journey?" None of us had ever gone back to the crater after that day. It gave us shivers just thinking about it. All the lies, surprises, and battles were overwhelming, and it took quite a while for us all to be okay with it all. Even now, it was all so confusing. There was so much to learn about that place, but we were still young students trying to graduate to find a well-paying job.
During our time of isolation from the town, we participated in different types of meditation to keep ourselves level-headed as we slowly realized more and more things wrong with the world around us. Sometimes it was too much, and we had to call it a day and go to bed early, but after a few months, we were finally able to step back out into the world and accept it all as it was. Somehow, it came back, and somehow, it was staring Nemona in the face.
"Glimmora," Geeta ordered, "Sludge Wave." The floral pokémon swamped the area with gross, purple goo, poisoning Nemona's goodra, dealing extra damage. Nemona took a step back, shaking her shoes from the goop.
Nemona panicked. "Body Slam!"
"Why would she—!" Arven cut himself off. The goodra slammed into the glimmora who, in return, threw out shiny, purple spikes all around it, injuring the goodra in the process.
"How did she forget about the whole physical moves thing?" Penny moaned.
Nemona was shaking now. "She's nervous," I commented. "I have never seen her as anxious as when we were... down there."
Arven frowned. "She's thinking about those days, isn't she?"
"I expected too much from you, Nemona," Geeta laughed. "Let's hurry and end this battle, shall we?" She attacked with another move, and Nemona's goodra took twice the damage from its poisoning and the toxic spikes on the ground. The goodra fainted, leaving Nemona with only her injured orthworm on the field.
Rika picked back up her microphone, encouraging the fans to deafen the sky with their cheering. "Geeta and Nemona on their last pokémon! Whoever triumphs over this match wins the title of Top Champion of Paldea! Let's hear it from the locals!" The audience was split into half chanting for Nemona and half chanting for their current Top Champion. Penny grabbed onto my upper arm. Arven had finished his churro and was staring at the field, noting every little move. I chomped on a handful of caramelcorn as I watched, eagerly.
It was Nemona's turn. I saw her stand up straight, out of her battle stance, and brought her hands to her mouth. She shut her eyes, and I saw her taking deep breaths. She was meditating and bringing her thoughts back to her body. "That's our girl!" Arven cheered, recognizing the coping method.
"This... may hurt my orthworm, yes," Nemona said, eyes still closed. "But I have the high ground here, all the typings in my favor." Nemona jumped out, an outstretched hand pointing to her idol. "Your poison can't hurt us! I have the advantage!"
Geeta wasn't intimidated. She was quite proud of her pupil. "I'll pay my respects once you go through with it."
Nemona deflated. Geeta knew she was at a loss. The audience picked up on what was happening but was cheering anyway. "La Primera, you were my idol growing up," Nemona started. "And you still are. I have so much respect for you and everything you have done for me, Paldea, and the Academy. I'd like to thank you."
Geeta smiled. "I'd like to thank you, as well. Every year, my students never fail to amaze me."
Nemona sighed, "I'm sad it has to end like this, but it was a good fight. Orthworm! Mud-Slap!" The orthworm slammed the ground with its tail and launched mud at the glimmora. Geeta allowed her final teammate to faint as she looked at the student council leader in pride."
The gym leaders stood up in shock, and Rika ran out to hold Nemona's arm in the air, shouting into the microphone with stunned energy: "Residents of Paldea! Please welcome your new Top Champion!" There was merchandise and food and drinks thrown about as everyone leapt to their feet, hugging their friends and family and even strangers.
"Great Arceus! She did it!" Penny leapt into me, squeezing me into a tight hug. Arven joined the sandwich from behind, all of us celebrating our friend's victory.
"Such amazing power.... Such amazing skill...." Geeta's voice echoed above us, over the celebration of the audience. "It seems Paldea has gained another wonderful trainer to be proud of." Geeta placed a hand on Nemona's shoulder. Nemona was almost to tears in her overjoyed happiness. "Congratulations. It is my honor to call you Champion Nemona."
"Champion Nemona! Champion Nemona!" The crowd chanted.
"Champion Nemona! Champion Nemona!" We joined in.
"Please settle down. I have a few words to say," Geeta calmly gestured. The stadium was a mess, food and beverages spilled everywhere. Some people were forced to stand over their seats that had knocked-over soda pooling over it. "You pokémon trainers are the treasure of Paldea," she addressed to all those listening. "And amid that treasure, Champions are the jewels that shine brightest." She turned to Nemona. "Champion Nemona, it is now your duty to set an example for all of the trainers in Paldea. Do you have any words for your new pupils?"
Nemona gasped, pointing at herself, and Geeta nodded before handing over the microphone. "Hey—uh... hi, Paldea!" We all waved to her, and she waved back. "I'm just a student... a student from Naranja Academy. I'm... really not that much different than all of you." The audience went quiet to listen to what she had to say. "I've been through troubles all of you have gone through, and I was once an innocent child looking at the world in awe, wondering what I could be... just like you." She chuckled. "All my life, I've strived to become Champion one day, and here I am now. I'm not going to stand here and say it was easy. Oh, gee, was it not! Especially when I started off as a young trainer, I lost over and over and over again, and yeah, I wanted to give up sometimes. Sometimes, the world will make you think you're not good enough. There will always be someone who will do it better, right?" She took a breath. "We're all different... but we're all the same. We come from different backgrounds, and we've been through different troubles and trauma, but in the end, we're all the same. We're human. We make mistakes, we get sad. It happens. But what makes me stand out, what made me Champion was...." She looked at us three again, locking eyes with me, her childhood friend, her buddy who was always at her side when they could be. "I kept trying. No matter what." Her gaze swept around the audience once again, speaking to everyone who cared to listen. "So, keep trying with me. Keep fighting for your goals! Keep fighting for your treasure! Let's hear it Paldea! Let's be ourselves!"
The crowd went into an uproar, chanting and shouting, hugging each other and moshing celebrations. Geeta shook Nemona's hand one last time, the gym leaders lining up to share their congratulations. Rika was the last to speak with her, escorting her to the stadium exit where Arven, Penny, and I raced to meet up with her. We tumbled into her with a huge hug, almost falling over on ourselves.
"Oh my gosh, Nemona!" Penny beamed. "How are we gonna celebrate?"
"A grand feast?" Arven suggested.
"A vacation to the North Province?" I added.
"Ooh! What about a party?" Penny proposed.
Nemona sighed. "You know what I really want after all this?"
We all gathered around her, "Yes?"
Nemona giggled, hanging off of me by an arm. "One quiet, afternoon picnic."
"Woah! Where's the all-over-the-place, adventurous Nemona we've come to love?" Arven teased.
Nemona smirked. "I think I've had enough adventures for the year. I just want the rest of the year to be relaxing and smooth sailing."
I stretched, my shoulder blades still sore after all this time. "I feel ya! Where do you wanna go?"
Penny showed her her backpack. "I've got plenty of food and drinks left."
Nemona took a moment to think, the crowd dissipating in the background. "How about the lighthouse?"
"The lighthouse?" Penny asked.
"Yeah! Back home where we started it all, Lugosi."
I blushed. "And where I met you, Arven."
Penny blinked. "What is this lighthouse, and why haven't I had any cool moments at it?"
Nemona chuckled, taking her hand. "Why don't we make our moment there together?" She started the way towards the South Province beach, allowing Arven and I to lead the way.
"Who's going to clean all of that up?" I asked. "The audience sure made a mess."
"Geeta has it covered," Nemona answered. "I'm shocked how much money that woman has. You have to remember, she runs the Academy for free!"
"Nemona, now that you're Top Champion," Penny said, "Does that mean you have to take over the Academy?"
"I don't think so. Wouldn't it be weird if the chairwoman of the Academy went to the Academy herself?"
Penny giggled, "I guess you're right."
"There it is!" Arven pointed. The red and white lighthouse appeared over the green grass, shedding a cold shadow over the path. "What a lovely day it is, too." He ran forward to claim the perfect spot for the picnic blanket.
"Wow... it's so pretty," Penny awed. The ocean in the distance was visible and shimmery blue.
"Yeah, Lugosi and I lived here outside school," Nemona explained, her smile fading as her friend's dirty roof came into view. "What are you going to do with that house, Lugosi?"
I noticed the unkempt roof tiles, muddled with leaves and mud. It didn't strike fear into me anymore. I had honestly forgotten about it all. I wasn't sure if the whispers were still there. "Well, it wouldn't do anyone any good sitting around and rotting. We'll be graduating soon, and I'd need a place to live."
"You could always stay with me and my parents if it really bothers you...." Nemona offered, but I shook my head.
"It's my home. I can't change what had happened there, but I could make new, better memories. Plus...." I looked to Arven who was stretching out the blanket on the grass, under the shade. "I'd like to save a space for him in case he needs a break from it all."
Nemona smiled, ruffled my hair, and went to help Arven set up the scene. Penny opened her bag. "Wanna help me take this all out?"
We all took our turn setting up a beautiful, relaxing picnic, food and beverages aplenty to last us hours in the cooling shade. Nemona sat down on the blanket, facing the path to the school. "Oh! What's that? It's so pretty!" We looked to where she was pointing. There was a bouquet of flowers and letters at the door of the light station, tied down with a rock.
"Oh, uh... that was me," Arven confessed, lying down on the edge of the blanket to stare up at the clear, blue sky. "It's an offering... for my mom. You know, until she gets a real funeral."
Penny nuzzled into Nemona, basking in the warmth of the sun and the salty aroma of the ocean. Nemona shuffled down to lie with the rest of us, pulled her in close, and smiled at her three closest friends. "Aw, that's nice."
I took a long, relaxed breath, noticing a single wisp of a cloud above us. I felt for Arven's hand and tangled our fingers against the red picnic blanket. "Yeah," I breathed. "This is nice."
The End