After a long night of rumination, he fell asleep with the conclusion that even if Dawn chose to be a coordinator, it didn’t exclude her from being the protagonist. But it definitely meant that her power would be significantly diminished compared to if she focused on the League.

  Unlike the games, this wasn’t a matter of numbers and everything required actual effort which meant prioritizing Contests over battle was of great significance. When moves prioritized aesthetics over function, the power was inevitably diminished especially as most of the effects that embellished almost every performance resulted from the deliberate leakage of power which could have been used to empower their attacks. All the flashy water splashes and sparks could have been concentrated in the move itself instead of dispersed throughout the surroundings for excessive flair.

  No offense to Pokemon Coordinators but other than maybe Wallace, none of them were equipped to handle anything more devastating than a Moltres. Assuming that Wallace was the Champion or a Trainer on that level.

  He then awoke as soon as he felt motion and an unfamiliar presence. In his relatively groggy state, his eyes were squinting but he managed to pick up on long strands of bright green hair on the visitor.

  “Rachel, please knock before barging into people’s rooms … Who knows what you might find otherwise?”, he drearily stated.

  “Luxray said it was fine”, Rachel stated with confidence. With its eyes that could see through walls, uncomfortable situations like being in a state of undress or more illicit activities could be avoided.

  She then looked around and said, “Wow! Your room is basic”, noting all the Charizard merchandise and that of the Champion. If not for the odd conspiratorial map covered in lines, the room would be a carbon copy of any kid aspiring to be a Trainer. The only adjustment being to whichever Champion they chose to admire more but usually it’d be of their regional Champion.

  Upon closer observation, the Charizard stuff seemed randomly chosen and without actual care. She liked Charizard due to its likeness to dragons but as the most popular Pokemon, the impact of it waned as merchandise. Its excessive popularity did not affect the Pokemon itself as meeting it in person was truly something else. But its overrepresentation definitely diminished its appeal in media and memorabilia. And although Pikachu was also quite popular, in a world with Trainers and real Pokemon, being cute wasn’t a definitive positive.

  “Yeah, it’s supposed to be”, Harrison said as his mind fog began to clear. He did like Charizard as much as everyone else but it wasn’t even close to his favorite.

  “Supposed to be?”, she asked.

  “Nobody really does proper merch for the Dragons of Creation. And if anybody went looking, I want them to conclude with the idea that I’m like any other kid, just a bit better at battling for my badge level”, which was zero but nobody mentioned that yet to her.

  “So it isn’t Palkia?”, she said with a bit of uncertainty as she noticed his sly undertones.

  “No offense to Palkia but I prefer the other two”, he stated, deliberately keeping everything vague.

  She then thought for a while and recognized that Latios was only slightly uncommon knowledge in Hoenn. But even for people that lived in and heavily researched Sinnoh, they were unaware of who the counterparts for Palkia were.

  “So you know them and they’re also Dragons”, she said with a sly smirk. The knowledge on esoteric myths piqued her interest primarily because they involved Dragons. If they didn’t, it would be bland as a history textbook to her.

  But no matter how tempted she was, she decided to stop prying. The secret was more significant than she expected as it wasn’t just knowing about Legendary Pokemon that most people didn’t but also having something that belonged to that Legendary. It probably wasn’t the Soul Dew but she was unaware of any artifacts or items on a similar or greater level.

  “I’m not sure what changed for you to be so willing to entice me with your secret but I’ll keep it in mind”, she began then stopped.

  “But that can wait for now, we’ll be battling Luxray before your dad gets occupied with Ace Trainer duties”, Rachel said before leaving the room.

  Harrison then got up and began to get ready. He had been initially hesitant but if he was going to be the vanguard against Team Galactic, her assistance would be fantastic especially with help from pseudo-legendaries like Salamence and the rest of her team.

  The Teams had power in numbers even if their grunts were quite lacking individually and he would need assistance when they become active. Since this was reality, he was sure they wouldn’t just stand by and take turns as they got raided by a literal child. They were criminal syndicates for a reason and they would pull an underhanded move inevitably.

  He was then surprised that his mother hadn’t already left for work.

  “I’m free for the morning”, she said, noting his surprised look.

  After a quick breakfast, Alakazam then teleported the four of them deep into the forest away from the routes and any eyes that could be watching from the cities.

  Rachel had asked for a more private location so that their battle wouldn’t be publicly recorded. Harold obliged and didn’t put out word that his Luxray was going to be in a Pokemon battle or a considerable amount of people in Jubilife and even further would visit to spectate.

  The strength of his Luxray was well-known especially after the battle with Flint and people in this world were always interested in the battles between the powerful.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Harrison then stood to the side and recited the agreed upon rules.

  “This will be a 2 on 1 battle between Rachel of Rustboro and Ace Trainer Harold of Jubilife. The Ace Trainer will only be using Luxray and there will be no substitutions”

  Luxray stood next to Harold and seemed mostly indifferent.

  “Show them your power, Guillotine”, she shouted and called forth a green and black dragon with two long tusks protruding from its upper jaw.

  “Fraxure!”, the dragon bellowed.

  Upon assessing his opponent, Harold smirked.

  “Do as you will, Luxray”, he said and ceased commanding the battle.

  “Let the battle begin”, Harrison then initiated.

  Luxray stood still and began to gather electricity from within.

  “Taunt!”, Rachel ordered.

  Fraxure then jeered and taunted Luxray, saying something which although neither trainers could understand, was likely offensive as Luxray paused.

  The large lion clad in dark fur then lunged forward with lightning speed and unleashed a powerful Night Slash.

  “Parry with Dragon Claw!”, she shouted in a hurry as it would be impossible to dodge.

  Swiftly, the green dragon enlarged its claws with draconic energy and slashed back in retaliation but it wasn’t enough. The Night Slash struck through the Dragon Claw and sent Fraxure flying. The dragon then swiftly composed itself and landed roughly.

  “Dig!”, she ordered and the dragon promptly burrowed into the ground.

  “A grave mistake”, Harold commented as Luxray’s eyes gleamed.

  The lion calmly charged its power as it waited for its opponent to resurface. Luxray then watched as its opponent began to gather more energy with Swords Dance while underground. The dance was quite muted as it was still underground and space was quite limited so the attack buff was less significant. But the effect amplified as it remained underground without Luxray’s interference.

  When Fraxure finally emerged, the lion effortlessly sidestepped the attack.

  “Stomping Tantrum”, Rachel ordered as Dig had failed. Powered by frustration, Fraxure charged forward with doubled power and attempted to land a supereffective blow but was struck by a well-timed Thunderbolt before it could reach the lion.

  “Break through it”, she shouted as Fraxure was being shocked into stasis. As the electricity coursed through the dragon’s veins, it groaned in anguish but managed to resist for a brief moment. Right before fainting, Fraxure managed to land the strike, causing Luxray to wince momentarily.

  Surrounded by arcs of lightning, Fraxure grinned before completely collapsing.

  Harrison then declared, “Guillotine is unable to battle. Luxray wins”

  To the side, Rachel patted Guillotine and said, “You did good and when you become a Haxorus, we’ll do even better and then we’ll actually fight back”

  “Frax-Frax”, Guillotine responded with a bit of shame. But it recognized that Luxray was beyond what it could handle.

  “Using Stomping Tantrum when knowing that Dig would fail is an excellent strategy… But your Pokemon, at least the ones that I’ve seen so far, couldn’t have brought you to the Conference Finals. Fraxure couldn’t have been your ace”, Harold commented as he stepped back onto the battlefield.

  She sighed but agreed.

  “Yeah, Fraxure isn’t. My first Pokemon was my only partner for a very long time. My other dragons took a long time to acquire so I wasn’t able to mature them before the League”

  “I’ll be expecting great things from your Starter then. If not, I’ll consider challenging Hoenn and replacing their Elite Four”, he taunted as his spirit for battle had been invigorated. If a Trainer with those Pokemon could reach the Finals of the Ever Grande Conference, then Harold would assume that he had overestimated the Hoenn League and perhaps even Steven Stone.

  “Don’t pressure her so much! You’re taunting more than a Houndoom”, Giselle shouted from the boulder she sat on.

  He glanced at her but dismissed her complaint because Dragon Types were always difficult to handle but a Dragon Type Trainer needed to be able to deal with far worse. They were powerful but incredibly late to blossom.

  “You’re right”, Rachel admitted.

  “That’s why I forfeited when I could have struggled for the top. I wanted to win with my whole team and not just burden my partner with everything”, she stated with rising volume as a fire was lit in her eyes.

  “My ace was capable and could have done it even if I only had 4 Pokemon and everybody else had at least 5… But it was my fault as a Dragon Trainer who didn’t give enough time for my Dragons to grow and rushed them when they weren’t ready”

  She then took out a Pokeball and called forth her ace.

  “Show them the pride of a true dragon, Evergreen!”, she shouted as she threw the Pokeball. From the capsule, a green lizard with blades on its arms and a tree-like tail appeared.

  Immediately, the lizard recognized the power of the Luxray before it and became wary, taking up a battle-stance.

  Harrison was alarmed and his eyes widened.

  “That’s a dragon?”, Harold asked in confusion as he recognized the Pokemon. He then considered that it could be like Charizard where the likeness was close enough to classify them as a dragon but Harrison’s reaction told him otherwise.

  Rachel then looked at Harrison.

  “This is my secret but it seems you recognize what it is”

  She then muttered to herself, “I wonder who the real dragon expert even is here”, as her secret was exposed before she could even explain it.

  She then returned her gaze to Evergreen and said, “We’re going all out!”

  The lizard nodded in agreement with its trainer.

  Her hand then reached to her neck and pulled out a necklace from within her shirt. At the end of the necklace was a dragon-shaped pendant surrounding a jewel with the colors of the rainbow.

  “A Key Stone!”, Harrison commented with a fiery gaze.

  Tapping the jewel with her fingers, a fierce purple energy radiated. The mega stone on her Pokemon then reacted accordingly as it enveloped the tall lizard in a bright light.

  “Ascend and embody the power of Dragons! Sceptile! Mega Evolve!”, Rachel shouted.

  The lizard then emerged as a dragon. Covered with more red markings, the blades on its body and its tail were also magnified and extended.

  It now exuded a far greater power and Luxray smiled in anticipation.