Chapter 25

" You are... amazing. "

Steven walked up to Atsumu, who was leaning on the railings, to vocalize his inner thoughts. Atsumu turned to him in surprise, looking around and pointing to himself.

" Yes, I said that to you. " Steven chuckled. " Why so surprised?

" Well... I...uh...haven't been told that all too often. " Atsumu said. " Though, I may have missed it in my ' strength is the only thing that matters ' phase, I don't remember being complimented very often... except from one person. "

" That's... a damn shame. " Steven said. " Because it's true you know, you are amazing. "

Atsumu looked away, looking up at the sky while Steven leaned against the railing. Wallace had gone inside to inform the citizens that they were in the clear, the calamity had been avoided. Alain was off to the side sitting on a bench overlooking the ocean, Zinnia sat next to him and neither spoke a word. Both of them were processing everything that just happened.

" Thanks, Steven. " Atsumu said with a smile, turning his head towards the Hoenn Champion. " That means a lot. "

" No problem, it's just the truth. " Steven replied with a smile of his own.

" So, how's it feel to lead a fight against the Legendary Trio of the Hoenn region? " Steven asks, nudging Atsumu, making Atsumu chuckle.

" Honestly, it made me feel alive. " Atsumu admitted. " I couldn't help myself, I just needed to test my myself against them, and it... turned out to be one of the best battles have had so far. "

" Other people would be saying that'd they be glad they survived a battle like that. " Steven said, dipping his head, a somber smile on his face. " I know, 'cause I'm one of them. I could last far longer than most, but I would never be able to as am now. "

" So... " Atsumu said, raising an eyebrow at Steven.

" So I'm going back to the drawing board and I'll reach that point eventually. " Steven declared with a grin, then turned to face Atsumu. " And to measure myself, I'm going to fight you constantly. "

" Oh... is that so? " Atsumu asked.

" Yep. After today, I don't think I'll be able to slow down till I beat you. " Steven admitted.

" Alright, just be sure to call first. " Atsumu smirked.

" Of course. " Steven smirked.

The two fist-bumbed and the sound of sound of a phone ringing was heard by the both of them. Atsumu reached into his pocket and brought out his phone, looking at the caller. It was Lysandre.

" Hey Lysandre, what's up? " Atsumu asked, upon picking up the call.

" I've received word that the mission... was a complete bust. " Lysandre spoke from the other end of the phone, his voice deep, hand gripping his wine glass tightly.

" If by a complete bust, you mean preventing Hoenn from losing a ton of people from a fight between Kyogre and Groudon, then yes it's a complete bust. " Atsumu said joyfully.

" The stone, Atsumu! " Lysandre said, " The stone! Do. You. Have. It? "

" Nope, the stone was destroyed. " Atsumu said.

" ...I'm disappointed in you. " Lysandre said, chuckling. " I expected better from a man of your caliber, but to fail this badly... "

" I know right? " Atsumu chuckled, " Sorry Lysandre, I'll be sure not to mess up, once I know what it is you actually want. "

" What do you mean Atsumu? You're my partner, I've already told you. " Lysandre said.

" Actually, you never have. I was just made your partner before being sent here. I have no idea what's going on inside your head. " Atsumu said.

" Oh, is that so? My apologies. " Lysandre replied, gripping the glass tightly, causing it to crack. " Allow me to state my goal. I'm currently finding new ways to make a beautiful world and that stone was what I needed. "

" Oh, is that right? Well, sorry to inform you but that stone was actually housing a Deoxsis inside, it broke out and destroyed the stone entirely. " Atsumu said.

" ...I see, I wasn't aware of that. " Lysandre said in surprise, loosening his grip on the glass. " Sorry Atsumu, I lost my cool. "

" Yes, yes you did. " Atsumu said. " Quick question but why didn't you wait for my report, considering I was the one who was actually on the front lines the whole time? Why did this matter so much? "

" This project... is the answer to my problems. " Lysandre said. "To make it work, I was hoping to use that stone's energy to power a new device we've made, after examining a device we have discovered that was long forgotten. "

" A device long forgotten... You found the ultimate weapon, the one from the book, haven't you? " Atsumu said.

" Yes, we have. " Lysandre said. " With our state-of-the-art technology, we're finding ways to create a new machine that revolutionaries energy distribution. If it works, the world will be beautiful. "

" After that? " Atsumu asked.

" Doesn't matter. The moment we make it work, the world will be beautiful. That's all there is to it. " Lysandre said. " Good work on the mission, though we lost an important piece, it won't disrupt our plans too much. Just need to compensate. Take some time off, I'll notify you when we have something big coming up. "

" Okay. " Atsumu said and Lysandre cut the call.

" Did anything serious happen? " Steven asked.

" Well, besides Lysandre placing a ton of expectations on the success of this mission and then getting crushed by the results, not really. " Atsumu said.

" You were quite happy to tell him. " Steven observed,

" I was. " Atsumu confirmed.

" Hmmm... hey can you tell me this, when was the first time you two met? " Steven asked.

" At a restaurant in Ambrette town, a few weeks after I arrived in Kalos. " Atsumu replied.

" Interesting. " Steven said.

" Hey, Steven... have you ever... done something you wish could take back and make a different decision? " Atsumu asked.

" Many. " Steven answered, startling Atsumu with his quick response.

Steven let out a sigh, leaning back so he looked up at the sky above which was slowly turning a beautiful orange.

" The decisions I've made in important battles, conversations with my father and so many more... " Steven said. " I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of and I wish to change if I was placed in the moment again. "

" You don't need to confirm and disprove anything, but... " Steven said. " I feel that this involves Lysandre in some way. "

Atsumu looked down at the ground, his hand locked around the railing tightly, his teeth clenched when a painful event popped into his head.

" I don't know what you've done, but it can't be changed, so just focus on what you'll do next. It's something easy to say, but if it's an event you actually want to change from the bottom of your heart, you'll never stop thinking that you could have done better. " Steven said, his fist locked tightly, teeth clenched in annoyance as a reoccurring painful event popped up in his head.

" Is that so? Then I guess, I'll have to... be better. " Atsumu said.

" Yeah. " Steven responded.

" Hey Steven, " Atsumu said, lifting his head. " Thanks. "

" For what? " Steven asked, lowering his head.

" For listening. " Atsumu said with a smile.

" Anytime. " Steven said with a smile.

" It's getting pretty late, how's about we head inside and see if we can find someplace to eat? I'm sure there's a restaurant that will fill us up. " Steven said.

" Sounds good. " Atsumu agreed.

Meanwhile, Lysandre is inside his office, sitting in his chair staring out his window.

" He knows. " Lysandre muttered. " He probably knew before he decided to join me in the first place and is now trying to stop me. "

The glass in Lysandre's hand shattered from the strength of his grip. Wine and blood dripped from Lysandre's hand while the man himself shook in anger and frustration.

" Fuck! " Lysandre cursed. " I thought I recruited someone who could help me in my pursuit of a beautiful world but instead, I brought someone who wishes to stop me! "

" I'll have to avoid him while getting the energy sources I need to complete the ultimate weapon! But the Pokemon being used are too low of a level! If I had that stone, the weapon would have been at full power by now!! " Lysandre ranted, getting up from his chair.

Looking at his hand, Lysandre shook it and removed the shards of glass in frustration. Unable to control himself, letting his intrusive thoughts win, Lysandre flipped his desk over, letting everything on it topple over and make a mess on the floor. But Lysandre wasn't satisfied and walked over to the window overlooking Lumiose City.

His reflection stared back at him, but he soon saw Atsumu's face staring back and overwhelmed by his emotions towards one man, the one man that if he succeeded would bring him one step closer to his beautiful world, and so...

Lysandre punched the window.

*CRACK*

" I should've had that stone... " Lysandre said, removing his fist from the now-cracked glass. " But you took that away from me. "

" The stone had so much energy to be used, but of course, a Deoxsis would be inside it! " Lysandre complained. Sighing Lysandre walked back to his chair, but then his feet stopped.

" Wait... Deoxsis was in the stone, the energy the stone emitted was connected to a Legendary Pokemon. " Lysandre muttered.

" Legendary Pokemon have a ton of energy, if I use them, I can power the machine easily. " Lysandre said.

" Yes! That's it! I need a Legendary Pokemon to sacrifice and I have some options to choose from. " Lysandre chuckled, taking his tablet and searching for the legends of the Kalos Legendary Trio, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde, grinning at the screen.

...

" Woah! " Atsumu and Zinnia said as they stared at the wide variety of delicacies placed on long stretch tables next to the large pool located at Wallace's mansion.

" This... is a lot of food. " Atsumu said with Zinnia nodding her head in agreement.

" But of course, after what transpired, I believe we deserve to have a feast. " Wallace boasted. " Help yourselves. The food being served has been prepared by the chefs working at the restaurant Le Yeah, who were more than willing to make this for us tonight. "

" A pizza party would have sufficed. " Zinnia said while walking up to check the food. " But this is insane, I mean look at some of these names! "

" So, you're not going to eat anything? " Alain asked, his plate already filled with various items.

" Hell no, I am but... what the hell is good here? " Zinnia asked.

" All of it. " Alain answered. " Le Yeah is the restaurant's name and it's the restaurant Siebold of the Kalos Elite 4 owns. I went to his restaurant once to battle him, his food is good. "

" Oh, you battled against Siebold. Did you win? " Wallace asked.

" Yeah. It was a 1v1, my Charizard vs his Blastoise. " Alain said.

" That's quite impressive. " Wallace praised. " The food must have been extra good lmpwing that you didn't have to pay a single cent. "

" It did. " Alain said.

" Damn, that's cool. " Zinnia gushed. " Well then, since you know more about this, what would you recommend for me to eat? "

" What do like to eat? " Alain asked.

" I usually like to eat spicy things, but I also like sweet things but they shouldn't be too sweet. " Zinnia said.

" That... doesn't help. " Alain said. " How's about we look around and you just choose whatever your guts telling you to get? "

" You speak my language so well. " Zinnia said, dragging Alain to check the food while Wallace chuckled at their antics.

" Bouff... what the hell is this? " Atsumu asked, turning to Steven while pointing a finger at the dish's name.

" It's Boeuf Bourguignon. " Steven chuckled.

" ... I have no idea what you just said. " Atsumu said.

" It's quite easy to pronounce. " Wallace chimed in. " Bufh-buh-geen-yone. Now you try. "

" Bufh...buh... " Atsumu looked at Wallace who continued. " Geen-yone. "

" Geen-yone. Bufh-buh-geen-yone. " Atsumu said.

" You got it. " Steven said.

" It's still a mouthful. " Atsumu said.

" Then instead of discussing the name, how about tasting it? " Wallace asked.

" Okay. " Atsumu agreed, taking some of Boeuf Bourguignon.

" I have to ask, how do you not know this dish, it's quite common in Kalos. " Wallace said.

" I'm not from Kalos, I'm from Alola. " Atsumu said.

" You are?! " Wallace said. " I'm sorry for assuming. "

" It's cool. " Atsumu said.

" Then can I ask you a question? " Wallace asked.

" Sure, what's up? " Atsumu asked as the two of them followed behind Steven who began filling his plate with food.

" The final attack you landed, what was it? Also, what did that weird dance have to with it? " Wallace asked, placing a bowl of Bouillabaisse on his plate.

" It was a Z-move. " Atsumu answered. " In Alola, special crystals called Z-crystals formed all across the 4 islands that make up Alola. There is a Z-crystal for each type and by using it, pokemon can use a Z-move. What I used was a Ghost Z-crystal or Ghostium Z to power up a ghost-type move my Aegislash knew to turn it into the Ghost Z-move, Never Ending Nightmare. "

"Fascinating! And I'm assuming Z-moves can only be used once per battle. " Wallace said.

" Yep. " Atsumu answered, taking a Crème brûlée and a Chocolate soufflé.

" Is it possible for us to obtain one? " Wallace asked.

" The only way to do that is to participate in the Island challenge, which only a select few are allowed to do. It's not in my hands. " Atsumu said.

" Unfortunate, but not a problem. " Wallace said.

" You guys going to keep taking or finally start stuffing your face with food? " Steven asked, currently in the middle of eating his soup, sitting at a table with Alain and Zinnia, who were eating their meals, and so, the five of them enjoyed their dinner.

...

Under the full moon, the streets of Lumiose City were bare. Streetlights were lit up, and under one of them, Tobias sat on a bench. Next to him was a bowl of Pokemon food, as he waited for his friend to arrive. Hearing a familiar caw and the flapping of wings, Tobias turned to his left to see a Murkrow land on top of his left shoulder.

" Good evening, how was your day so far? " Tobias asked, bringing his left hand up and started stroking under Murkrow's chin with his index finger. Murkrow chirped while enjoying the pleasant sensation of having a certain place scratched.

" You hungry? " Tobias asked, bringing a piece of the Pokemon food to Murkrow's beak. Murkrow looked at the food, getting closer to it, and began to smell it. He opened his beak and took a small portion of the food off, swallowing it. Finding the taste to be good, Murkrow took the rest from Tobias's fingers.

" Careful, you almost nipped my fingers. " Tobias chuckled softly, allowing Murkrow to stand on his finger and bring him down to the food he brought along. Jumping off his finger, Murkrow began to eat from the bowl.

Tobias watched Murkrow eat, finding it to be quite calming, especially during the night. Without the constant noise from cars, people, and other Pokemon, he enjoyed the tranquility brought by being outside in the dead of night. His mind was relaxed, his body was relaxed, and so, he had time to think, before coming to a decision.

" Hey, Murkrow... " Tobias said, getting Murkrow's attention. " Do you want to travel with me? "

Murkrow tilted his head in confusion, making Tobias smile softly.

" I lost a battle... " Tobias said solemnly, " It was a few days ago, but I lost badly. My starter and I, we... we faced a guy so much better than us. He outclassed us and we... lost in the process. "

" It was humiliating! " Tobias stressed out but didn't yell. " He did it in front of a crowd, everyone knows about it because it was posted online! After that, I had convinced myself that it was a fluke or bad luck or something before going to fight Viola...

But I... lost to her.

Darkrai had lost his will to fight after that match but I couldn't see that. We battled Viola and Darkrai couldn't fight normally, so we ended up losing. If I had paid more attention, I should... would've seen something was wrong, but I didn't! "

" Now, everything I dreamed about for the last two years, feels so far away. " Tobias said, dejectedly looking at the ground.

" But... " Tobias clenched his fist tightly. " I don't want to end here! I want to get revenge, I want to beat him, I want to win against Atsumu Miya. "

" To do it, I need to start now and rebuild from scratch. I've tried talking to Darkrai, but nothing is working. I can't get through right now, so I'll keep trying while building up a team to take on the Kalos League with. " Tobias states.

" And the first member of that team I want to have is you Murkrow. " Tobias says, turning towards the bird. " Will you join me on my journey? "

Murkrow stared at Tobias, and Tobias stared back. As they gazed at each other, Murkrow tilted his head to the side and gave a confused chirp. Tobias lowered his head, turning away while Murkrow turned back to his food and began to eat.

Tobias watched Murkrow eat all the food, a sigh escaped his lips, fueled by his frustration and a sense of failure. Once Murkrow finished his food, he looked around to see if there was anything left. Seeing as there was nothing, Murkrow cawed at Tobias, knocking him out of his trance.

Murkrow cawed at him some more while gesturing to the empty bowl.

" ...Do you want more food? " Tobias asked and Murkrow bobbed his head.

Looking into Murkrow's expectant eyes, Tobias let out another sigh but had a small smile on his face.

" Fine, I'll give you more food. " Tobias said to Murkrow, then brought out a Pokeball. " If you decide to join me? "

To Murkrow, this was an easy choice, after all, this man had been bringing him food for days. Without hesitation, Murkrow touched the Pokeball and allowed himself to be captured.

Tobias smiled. It was a small step, but a step nonetheless. It was a good feeling, the feeling of moving forward after being knocked down for so long and unable to advance. Driving off this feeling, Tobias makes a declaration.

" This year's Kalos League's champion will be me. "

__________________________________________

Sup.

It's been a while since the last chapter, but I have returned! Continuing from my declaration from the previous chapter, I have 5 additional chapters posted on my Patreon! Those of you who are interested can use my Patreon link.

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