"Let's get this show on the road!" Iris yelled excitedly, tossing the Poké Ball she held onto the arena. An intimidating Druddigon emerged from the ball and let out a roar once it landed on the ground.

"Go, Saber! You can do this!" I remembered that Iris had used a Fraxure back in Castelia City, so I thought it would be best to send Saber out first. "Start out with Ice Beam!" Saber fired a beam of subzero ice at Druddigon, and it flinched back as it was partially encased. It shuddered and collapsed, knocked out. I was stunned. I couldn't believe that it had gone down after the first attack!

Iris smiled. "Ice Beam? So you came prepared, huh? It won't matter if your Samurott goes down this turn. Let's go, Lapras!" She sent out the familiar large-shelled Water-type. I knew Saber would be faster than it.

"Saber, Aqua Jet!" Saber cloaked himself in a vortex of spiraling water and practically flew at Lapras.

"Thunderbolt!" Iris countered. Lapras' small horn sparked with blue lightning, and it shot a large, jagged bolt at Saber. He was intercepted by the bolt and stopped right in his tracks, crying out in surprise as the electricity engulfed him. Once the attack was over, he struggled to remain on his feet. He wasn't knocked out, but was heavily damaged.

"No! Saber, return!" I recalled him and sent out Thorn in his place. I would've used Surge, but I didn't know if Lapras had a Ground or Fire-type move to counter him. And even if Thorn never did that much damage in the first place, he could do some chip damage. "Thorn, use Spikes!" Thorn threw a dozen razor-sharp spikes onto the battlefield.

"Lapras, use Sing!" Lapras sang a sweet melody that put Thorn to sleep almost instantly.

"Thorn, come on! Wake up!" I cried. I had used up all of my Awakenings during Caitlin's fight when her Musharna kept using Yawn. Lapras fired off an Ice Beam of its own, and I recalled Thorn once he had been knocked out. I then used the Pokémon I should have from the beginning and sent out Surge. "Surge, use Thunderbolt!"

"Lapras, Ice Beam!" The two moves were let off at the same time and passed over each other on their way to their targets. Lapras was hit with the Thunderbolt and Surge was hit with Ice Beam simultaneously, the attacks exploding in an array of electricity and ice particles. Surge resisted most of the damage while Lapras finally went down. "Aggron, you're up next!" Iris exclaimed. Her next Pokémon was a monolithic beast clad in steel and had long claws. I had the perfect Pokémon to deal with this one!

"Come out, August!" I sent out my Ninetales.

"Trying to get the upper hand with Fire? That won't matter if it can't withstand Aggron's Earthquake." Aggron raised its foot high and brought it down with such a tremendous force that the ground itself began to heave. Iris and I struggled to stay upright while August rolled about on the ground, unable to keep her footing. The attack ended and August forced herself to her feet, her eyes gleaming with fury. Aggron had made her mad, and it was going to pay for it.

"August, use Flamethrower!" I ordered. August lifted her head and spewed the largest jet of fire I had ever seen her produce. It not only damaged Aggron, it was roasted to a crisp. Iris recalled Aggron and swapped it with a Haxorus. It briefly cried out when it landed directly one of Thorn's spikes. That had to hurt.

"Haxorus, use Earthquake!" Iris commanded.

"August, Dig right now!" I was shocked that I had made such a dangerous move. August obeyed however and dove underground just as Haxorus made the earth shake again. The attack seemed to continue forever and when it ended, I was afraid to see what became of August. The ground under Haxorus suddenly cracked, and the Dragon-type was pulled down into a huge crevasse in the battlefield. The roars of pain and barks were enough to explain what happened down there. Iris didn't even need to see if Haxorus fainted before she recalled it.

"Uhhh... Okay then," Iris said confusedly. "Hydregion, you're up next!" Iris sent out a three-headed hydra that looked like the one Ghetsis had.

"August, use Flamethrower!" August prepared to unleash another monstrous column of flame like she had with Aggron.

"Use Surf!"

Wait, what?! I had no idea a Pokémon like that could learn Surf! August was equally as shocked when she saw Hydregion summon the huge orb of water that occurred when Surf was used on land. Hydregion threw the orb and August was swamped by the Water move, knocking her out. "Return, August. You did an amazing job," I praised August as I recalled her. "You're up next, Lilith!"

"Hydregion, now use Flamethrower!"

"Lilith, avenge August with Retaliate!" Red-streaked petals flew up from Lilith's paws with every step she took. She bowed her head and charged through Hydregion's fire, the petals burning up into wisps of ash as she ran. She slammed into Hydregion with all her might, and it was thrown across the arena.

"Don't give up yet, Hydregion! Use Flamethrower again!"

"Counter with Surf!" Lilith howled and water gathered above her head, inches from her ears. She launched it at the Dragon-type and it doused the creature's flames. It was weak now, but still was willing to continue fighting.

"Use Crunch, Lilith!" I said.

"Use Dragon Pulse!" Lilith ran at Hydregion again just as it unleashed a beam of purple and white light. Lilith was swept up in the attack and blown into one of the arena's pillars. I recalled her and sent out Surge. Iris tried getting Hydregion to use Flamethrower, but Surge was too fast and knocked it out with a Thunderbolt.

"I'm honestly surprised I'm already on my last Pokémon," Iris said in amazement. "But who knows, the winds might start blowing in my favor now. Archeops, it's your time to shine!" Iris' final Pokémon was a multicolored prehistoric bird with a yellow body, blue wings, and long talons. "Take out that Magnezone with a Dragon Claw!"

"Stop it with Thunderbolt!" I yelled. Archeops darted frantically through the air, its movements twitchy and unpredictable. It dodged Surge's Thunderbolt and slashed at him with oversized purple claws. He went down, and Soul was up next. "Soul, use Psyshock!"

"Use Dragon Claw!" Soul launched his usual purple shards at Archeops, and once again, it dodged them and slashed at Soul. He clung on and used Psychic without me telling him to. Archeops was constricted by Soul's energy and lost air, but it managed to stay airborne.

"Use Energy Ball!" I thought if I could lower its Special Defense, another Psychic would finish it off.

"Use Acrobatics!" Iris countered. Archeops smashed into Soul and knocked him back, sliding across the arena until he hit a wall. He had fainted.

I only had Saber left, and he was still injured from the Thunderbolt. If he didn't beat this Archeops, the whole thing would be lost. But I knew he could do it. Saber had come through for me multiple times in the past, and I knew he wouldn't go down without a fight. "You can do this, Saber! I know you can!" I said encouragingly as I let him out.

Saber stared fiercely at Archeops and Archeops stared back, their gazes unflinching. They were both waiting for us to order them.

"Archeops, Acrobatics!" The Champion cried.

"Saber, use Aqua Jet!" I shouted. The Pokemon enveloped themselves in two cloaks, one of water and one of light. They charged at each other at breakneck speed, leaving bits of their elements in their wake. The two collided with each other, light and water mixing and refracting the other. The collision created a light so bright that Iris and I had to shield our eyes so we wouldn't go blind.

The light slowly faded and so did the sun spots from my vision. I opened my eyes and saw Saber and Archeops still staring each other down. Saber was barely able to stand and Archeops' wingbeats were slow and pained. Iris and I didn't say a thing. We only watched as Archeops' wings gave out, and it collapsed to the ruined arena floor.

"You won..." Iris said in shock.

I won? Those words didn't seem real to me. I stood there numbly as the realization took its time working its way through me. I... I won? It hit me fully and I was filled with an unimaginable amount of happiness. "Saber, we did it! We beat the Champion!" I cried joyfully as I ran over to my precious starter. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. Saber growled appreciatively and rested his chin on the top of my head. I had won my first battle with Saber, and now I had won my last with him. For a few moments, all was bliss. Everything I had worked for had finally paid off. I had defeated the Champion, and I couldn't have done it without my team's help. No, not just my team's help. Rosa, Hugh, Hilbert, even Bianca and N helped me out too. They had helped me get to this point. It was thanks to all of them that I had accomplished this. I could never thank them enough.

Iris walked over to me and extended a hand, waiting for me to take it. I did and she squeezed it tightly, a huge smile on her face. "Congratulations, Nathan Acress," she began. "You are now the Unova region's newest Champion."

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The video used in this chapter was created by GlitchxCity.