When we're back at the Survival Area, we find Buck in front of his house. Buck says, "Yo, if it isn't you guys! This! It's my place! Drop in, hey?"
After heading inside, we find the staff at the counter and he says, "Oh, so you're Buck's friend. I've heard about you from both Buck and Wake. Well, my young friend, you're always welcome here from now on!"
"What's this about?" I ask, and he says, "This is a private club for only Sinnoh's Gym Leaders, or those vouched for by those selfsame Gym Leaders. It's a place where the best seek to better themselves. Welcome to the Battleground."
Buck says, "My place is open only to the toughest Trainers-I'm serious. You're supposed to be introduced by a Gym Leader, but you're special. Well, I'm off to Battle Tower. I feel like seeing how far I can go up the Tower."
After he leaves, we also find Dad again in his Riley form. I ask, "Dad, what are you doing here?"
"I'm also a part of the Battleground." My Dad says, "So how are you doing?"
"We got three Elite Four medals already, one more and we can face Cynthia." Lillie says.
"I see. That reminds me, Yellow has heard about what you've done to Team Galactic and she wants to give you these."
I'm not surprised, she is giving me new badges. The Tranquil Badge, Wing Badge, Toxicity Badge, Shadowbane Badge, and Enchanted Badge. I say, "So I'm really getting 18 badges for a region, huh..."
"And that reminds me, how's your Pokdex in Sinnoh doing?" My Dad asks.
"I think only Heatran's left." Lillie says. "It's in Stark Mountain."
Then we bid farewell to our Dad and head back to Stark Mountain, and that's when we finally meet Heatran and he wants to join our team.
Heatran: The Lava Dome Pokemon: Fire and Steel Type. It dwells in volcanic caves. It digs in with its cross-shaped feet to crawl on ceilings and walls.
Now that we're done, we go across Route 228, which has a sandstorm that makes it hard to see, and after Route 229, we finally arrive at the Resort Area. We are given a villa in the resort area, much to our surprise, and we can actually make it our own house. I mean, we already have a lot of houses...
After Route 230 gets us back to the Fight Area, we all decide to head back to Veilstone City to see what has become of Team Galactic Building. Saturn is inside and he says, "So, it's you... I've heard about you and what took place at the Spear Pillar. Our leader, Master Cyrus, hated the very idea of spirit. He hated spirit for being incomplete. And yet, using fiery exhortations, he rallied the spirit of others. What he hated most, he used to control others. Isn't that ironic? That fascinated me. I wanted to see what he would do. And I did. At his side. But it's over. A world without spirit... Who would want such a thing?! So, what now...? What to do with Team Galactic? But I've learned that extremism is never the solution... Perhaps we should really be searching for new sources of energy. Instead of lying about it through our commercials."
We decide to leave him alone since we've already dealt with Team Galactic. And then Gina decides to invite us to the Turnback Cave, and once we get there, I ask, "What actually is this kind of place?"
"This is my favorite hideout: The Turnback Cave." Gina says. "I have a challenge and a prize for you if you manage to go through this cave."
We sigh as we play the game, and we find the board that says, "... Past three pillars... to the sleeping... before 30 is surpassed..."
Each room has four doors— one on each side. Before advancing to a door, we have to check the pattern of the rocks on each side. If rocks on a side has a pattern that is different from the opposite, the room on that side is where we need to go through. If we find a room with a pillar, we read the inscription. The first number that appears is how many pillars we've found. The second number is the number of rooms we've been through. All we can do is keep going since Escape Ropes can't be used here. If we get lost or want to start over, we can go through where we enter the room, and we'll be back to the first room. If we go through 30 rooms and still haven't gone through the third pillar, any door will bring us back to the first room.
"This sure is a hard game..." I say after we reach the pillar.
"And congratulations. Your prize is a Reaper Cloth." Gina says. "That's how people are finding the Reaper Cloth in this region. Just play this game and they can have it."
"But we already have a Dusknoir..." Lillie says.
"Yeah, but this is a fun game." Gladion nods. Then we bid farewell to Gina as we head back to Route 205, where Lucian might be.
When we get there, we greet Lucian and he says, "Ah, you timed your arrival well. I've just finished reading a book, you see. I must say, you've already proven yourself to be outstanding by coming this far. They say I am the toughest of the Elite Four. I'm afraid I will have to go all out against you to live up to that reputation."
"You bet, Lucian." I say as he starts with Mr Mime. I go with Magnezone as my first Pokemon. Magnezone starts with Spark, but Mr Mime directs it to a tree by Psychic. Then it gets up and uses Tri Attack, but Mr. Mime sets up a Light Screen to reduce the damage. It goes for Thunder Punch while Magnezone takes the attack with Iron Defense. And Magnezone finishes Mr. Mime with a Flash Cannon.
The second Pokemon is Girafarig, and it uses Crunch to block the attack before landing a Double Kick to knock out Magnezone, so I go for Mothim as my second Pokemon. Mothim goes for Silver Wind which not only hits Girafarig but also boosts my stats, and with the Quiver Dance boosting more stats, I decide to finish it with Bug Buzz.
The third Pokemon is Medicham, which is not only a Psychic Type but a Fire Type. It is able to use Ice Punch and Thunder Punch, with both punches, Mothim is out of the battle, but at least the Air Slash manages to deal some damage to the Medicham. I switch to Spiritomb, which Medicham isn't able to use Drain Punch to recover because of the Ghost Type, but it keeps using all the other punches to Spiritomb. In the end, Spiritomb goes for a Will-o-Wisp and Hex combo to knock it out of the game.
Alakazam is the fourth Pokemon, without the use of Psychic Type moves, Lucian decides to go for Nasty Plot to boost the Special attack, and uses Recover when a Dark Pulse or a Hex hits, much to my annoyance. And in the end, it one-shots Spiritomb with Dazzling Gleam.
"That sure is tricky... to think Alakazam can use Fairy moves..." Dawn says.
I go with Absol as my fourth Pokemon, and Alakazam can also use Focus Blast, so I decide to have Absol set up Perish Song first before dodging the attack. After dodging several times, both Pokemon are out of battle because of the Perish Song.
"Hmm... Now what should I do..." Lucian wonders before sending out Bronzong, and I decide to go with Floatzel because this one wants revenge. Flotzel this time is more cooperative and it uses Payback and Wave Crash to defeat Bronzong, much to my delight.
"I see. You getting past the three before me was no fluke. Your power is real." Lucian says.
"Thanks. Now it's Lillie's turn." I say as Lillie also comes to the field.
Lucian is also starting with Mr. Mime, so Lillie goes for Drapion to battle. Since she has watched my battle, she knows how to counter the Pokemon and finishes it with a Cross Poison, also setting up the Toxic Spikes so that all of Lucian's Pokemon will be poisoned after entry.
The next Pokemon is actually an Espeon, which is something that Lillie isn't expecting. It uses Signal Beam to defeat Drapion, so Lillie has to go with Kricketune, she also tries my Perish Song trick and knock out both Pokemon in the end.
Bronzong is Lucian's third Pokemon this time, so I wonder how will Lillie counter with it. It turns out that Lillie decide to go with Magmortar, by using the fire moves to deal with the Pokemon. Unfortunately, Bronzong can use Earthquake and it also deals a lot of damage to Bronzong. But Magmortar still defeats Bronzong with the Flare Blitz attack.
Alakazam is Lucian's fourth Pokemon, and it defeats Magmortar with a Psychic attack, so Lillie goes for Rotom, using the normal form and goes for Thunder to paralyze Alakazam, and then finishes with Shadow Ball and Hex.
"Let's see how you face my final Pokemon." The final Pokemon is a Gallade, and it defeats Rotom with Stone Edge and Leaf Blade. Lillie decides to bring out Giratina this time.
"A Giratina. I assume your sister has lent Lillie her strength?" Lucian asks.
"Of course, our other goal is to complete the Pokedex after all." I say.
And Lillie manages to defeat Gallade with a Shadow Force. Lucian says, "Congratulations. You have beaten the Elite Four. However, that doesn't mean you're done with the Pokémon league. There remains the Champion. I should warn you—the Champion is far stronger than the Elite Four."
"We know." I say.
Before we go back to Lily of the Valley Island, we decide to visit Professor Rowan since our Pokedex is complete. Professor Rowan says, "You did a good job. To be able to complete the Sinnoh Pokedex. This will definitely help with my research on evolution."
"We're glad to know about that." I say, "And we're also going to challenge the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia."
"I see. I wish you all good luck." Rowan says as we decide to take a rest in the house. But there is also a question, after we finish the Sinnoh League, where are we going next?
It is then Johana tells Dawn that Hermione, the judge from the Hearthome Collection, has contacted her wishing to meet with her regarding Buneary, and Tox is also going back to medical school. Lillie and Gladion are going back to the Aether Foundation and Daniel decides to stay with Lucian because of the offer after our battle.
Piplup becomes upset after learning the group is going to officially split up, and unleashes a Whirlpool attack at the Trainers before running off. We have Togekiss, Staraptor, and Pikachu search for them.
After we find them, Team Rocket tries to steal them again and we manage to destroy the net with Staraptor's balloon, I also call Torterra to catch the Pokemon. Once we sent them flying, we talked with Piplup and everyone was sad to leave as well. But separating doesn't mean that we won't see each other again. Piplup begins to get upset again, but Dawn hugs Piplup and holds him close, telling him that there's no need to worry and reminding him that he is a big boy. Piplup's pride comes to the fore, and he manages to get himself to stop crying and puts on a brave face as we all watch on.
Here is a new chapter, and this is the final Elite Four battle. The next chapter will be the final chapter of this arc and I hope you like it.
Ash and Lillie's Pokemon:
Charizard x2 (In training), Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Lapras, Meganium, Espeon, Steelix (Crystal), Mantine, Sceptile, Gardevoir (Shiny), Milotic, Absol, Torterra, Infernape, Empoleon, Staraptor, Bibarel, Kricketune, Luxray, Roserade, Rampardos, Bastiodon, Wormadam x3 (Plant, Sandy, Trash), Mothim, Vespiquen, Pachirisu (Shiny), Floatzel, Cherrim, Gatsrodon x2 (East, West), Ambipom, Drifblim, Lopunny, Mismagius, Honchkrow, Purugly, Skuntank, Bronzong, Chatot, Spiritomb, Garchomp, Lucario, Hippowdon, Drapion, Toxicroak, Carnivine, Lumineon, Abomasnow, Weavile, Magnezone, Lickilicky, Rhyperior, Tangrowth, Electivire, Magmortar, Togekiss, Yanmega, Leafeon, Glaceon, Gliscor, Mamoswine, Porygon-Z, Gallade, Probopass, Dusknoir, Froslass x2, Rotom, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, Heatran, Regigigas, Giratina, Cresselia, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin
Dawn's Pokemon:
Rapidash, Typhlosion, Piplup, Pachirisu, Cherrim, Lopunny, Togekiss, Mamoswine
Tox's Pokemon:
Roserade, Skuntank, Croagunk
Gladion's Pokemon:
Umbreon, Riolu
Daniel's Pokemon:
Girafarig, Bronzong