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This was it. This was actually, FINALLY it.
After months and months of hard work that stretched out to even over a year, she was finally here. In front of her stood the doors to the Sinnoh Pokémon League's final challenge... the Champion. Tenma Saki stared at the currently closed entrance in front of her, taking a deep breath. So many losses, so much training, so much motivation from her friends... The course of her journey was a long one, yet it was also the most fun she EVER had ever since she was discharged from the hospital. Over the course of steadily gathering the eight Gym Badges from all across Sinnoh, she had made so many new friends, with her bonds forming in both human friends and Pokémon friends. She couldn't have done this without any of them; they were the reason she was standing right here, and right now.
And in fact... those very friends were standing behind her, even now. She looked back at the group that had accompanied her...
Though only challengers of the League with sufficient badges were often the only ones allowed in, Saki had been graciously allowed to have spectators this time around, as long as they didn't "interfere with the battles", which they thankfully didn't. Her band and closest friend group to her heart, Hoshino Ichika, Hinomori Shiho, and Mochizuki Honami were here, because of course they were! Tenma Tsukasa, her lovely brother, was here as well, of course; if there was anybody to ask for moral support, it would be HIM.
(Actually, one other person would've come to mind first...)
And then... there were the two odd outliers. Shiraishi An and Akiyama Mizuki. But more specifically, An was the one that Saki had been initially confused about. When she had heard that Saki was coming to take on the Pokémon League, she IMMEDIATELY came over and asked to tag along with her. Of course, Saki didn't say no, as A was a friend, too, but she wasn't THAT close of a friend. ("N-No offense, An-chan...!") So, why did she feel the need to come along...?
And Mizuki just happened to be there when An heard the news and was just interested, so they decided to tag along, which... yeah, that was fair, Saki thought.
Of course, these weren't the only friends that Saki had made along the way; hell, if she had her way, then ALL of her friends would be here! But she chose to be reasonable and chose to just bring a fairly sizable group along.
Still... she couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. Out of everybody, there was one person she was hoping-- no, she was SURE would come along.
Kiritani Haruka, her beloved girlfriend.
When Saki had invited her along, she unfortunately had to decline, saying that she was busy with something. Probably just some errands or troubles with her idol group, Saki thought. Haruka still had her own life, after all, and it was wrong and unreasonable of Saki to tear her away from that. She had actually thought about postponing her League attempt until Haruka was free, but she insisted that she go as soon as possible and not worry about her, and Saki decided to listen.
Still, she was upset that she wasn't here, but... it didn't change anything. Saki had to shake off this sadness and win this match for her! Being all gloomy like this was going to affect her battling skills, dang it!!!
"That was a hell of a sigh you let out there, Saki-chan. Are you alright?" Shiho walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, concerned for her friend. Ichika and Honami quickly followed suit, and the three had her practically surrounded, ready to tackle her with one of their usual group hugs if needed.
"Y-Yeah! I'm fine! S-Sorry, I guess I'm just still upset that Haruka-chan isn't here... b-but it's fine! I gotta win this for her, regardless! I'll be okay!!!"
Ichika smiled, knowing that Saki was the type of person who could pick herself back up fairly easily (as long as whatever was keeping her down wasn't keeping her TOO down)... That said, it was still their jobs to make sure she was at 110% power; the League's Champion was no joke, after all! Well, Ichika and the others didn't actually know too much about the Champion, but they were still the CHAMPION; even just that title was enough to put fear and intimidation into their veins. "I'm sure Kiritani-san's really proud of you, Saki-chan. You've made it this far, after all; you're an amazing trainer..."
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Tsukasa's royal laughter echoed throughout the room, causing Shiho to jump a bit and rub her ears, sighing in frustration. The elder brother started to speak at nearly the same volume... "I've never doubted my lovely sister's battling abilities at all!!! After all, the Tenmas are KNOWN for their battling prowess!"
"ONII-CHAN, YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT AFTER LOSING LIKE THAT DURING THE THIRD GYM!!!"
"LISTEN, IT ISN'T MY FAULT!!! CONFUSE RAY IS JUST UNFAIR!!!"
Shiho just sighed, while the others couldn't help but giggle at the exchange between the two siblings.
"Alright, alright, let's settle down here, folks." Mizuki stepped forward, rubbing their chin a bit. "I'm actually a little curious about somethin'. We don't really know much about the Champion, do we...? After Cynthia was beaten and her title taken, our new, mysterious Champion just sorta... stayed on the down low. It's kinda off, isn't it? I mean, Pokémon Champions don't usually just stay... private, like this. It's weird, and I'm curious as hell!"
"I-I am, too, actually..." Honami crossed her arms and thought to herself for a bit. "I really do wonder who it is... well, I guess we're about to find out, anyways!"
Meanwhile, as the group were talking it out, An was just closing her eyes and quietly giggling to herself. After a bit, Shiho noticed this, and walked over to her. "Shiraishi-san? Is there something funny?"
An opened her eyes and smiled a bit. "Oh, nothing, nothing. I was just thinking about something funny from the past. I know, horrible timing, but funny memories just pop up sometimes, y'know?"
Shiho just shrugged. "Fair enough. Anyways, Saki-chan... are you ready for this...?"
Saki looked at the friends that had come along with her, and smiled. Knowing that they had come all this way for her, and that they believed in her... she suddenly found herself reinvigorated with a new sense of motivation. "... yeah. Yeah, I'm ready! I'm gonna win this for Haruka-chan, and for all of you... just watch me...!"
Everybody nodded and smiled at her. Saki turned back towards the doors and took another deep breath. "Alright... let's do this...!" And so, she pushed opened the doors of destiny...
...
The group slowly walked into the battlefield. On the other side of the room stood somebody with a hoodie, holding a PokéBall in their hand.
Everybody else eventually stopped walking, but Saki took a few more steps forward, arriving at her battling spot. "Um... hello? Mr. Champion? Or, er, Ms. Champion...?"
"..."
"I've been waiting for a long time... for you to reach here... I'm really, so proud of you, Saki-chan..."
Wait... that voice.
The rest of the friend group didn't recognize it at first, but Saki definitely did. And, seemingly, so did An, who only giggled a bit more...
"... no... wait... there's... there's no way...!"
The Champion lowered their hoodie and turned around.
"HARUKA-CHAN?!?!?!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!" Tsukasa's scream rung out across the Champion's room, somehow even louder than before, and far louder than Saki's yell of Haruka's name. Aside from An, the rest of the group was just about as surprised as he was, too.
"Hehe... I apologize, Saki. I lied to you about a lot of things... but it was all to surprise you at this very moment. And to see your reaction now... it was well worth it." Kiritani Haruka chuckled softly.
"B-But... how...?!" Saki was in complete disbelief...
"Hm... I guess I should start from the beginning, huh? Saki... even before we first met, I was already making great progress in gathering the Gym Badges. I didn't really feel like bringing it up at the time, since you had met me a bit after one of my most, well... devastating and humbling losses to date. But, later into our friendship, when you had chosen to start pursuing the Pokémon League for yourself, I decided to keep my own progress a secret. After all, wouldn't it be a crazy twist to find out that your own girlfriend was actually Sinnoh's Champion this entire time...?"
Haruka stared down at her PokéBall for a moment, then back at Saki. "As I watched you gather more and more Gym Badges, I saw you become stronger and stronger. I saw you develop your life for the better despite your past, and, well... though unrelated to the Gyms themselves, I even fell in love with you. I so desperately wanted to see you reach the level of Champion, so that I might be able to challenge you right now... and I'll say it again. I'm so, so, so proud of you, Saki-chan. You've conquered every single battle in your path, and, dare I say it, in a far quicker fashion than I have, too."
"You're an amazing trainer, and an amazing girlfriend. And I'm so glad that I have the chance to battle you right here."
Wow. As she listened on and on, a few puzzle pieces began to connect themselves within Saki's head. "So, wait... is this why you kept refusing to battle me...?"
"Yes. I wanted THIS to be our first, real battle. I didn't want either of us to know what we were capable of, so that we could have a fresh battle at the League. It makes it more challenging now for the both of us, right...?"
"And those times where you were busy... you were busy a lot, too...!"
"Well, the idol business isn't a lie, by any means. If anything, being the Champion is, like... my side job? I don't often get a lot of challengers that actually make it this far. Cynthia herself was already a fearsome trainer that turned away a lot of challengers once they heard of her winning streak; imagine hearing of the trainer that actually managed to defeat her! But, I do have an idol group, I promise. I should introduce you to them sometime, actually..."
"Wow... this is just... a lot to take in." Saki scratched her hair a bit, still shocked...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAlright, now it's my turn to spill the beans." An cleared her throat and stepped forward a bit. "I've known this the entire time, actually!"
Shiho turned towards her. "You did?"
"Yep! Haruka-chan's my childhood friend, after all! I'm sure that she would've taken Tenma-san along if she wasn't pursuing the League, but since she WAS, and had to keep it a secret for her, I was the second-best moral support for her, instead! After all, who better to take with you to cheer you on at the gyms than the person who's known about your dreams since you two were kids?!?! ANYWAYS, that's why I chose to come along! I gotta see this battle for myself, after all!"
Saki pouted, as she couldn't help but be a little jealous. Why couldn't SHE and Haruka have been childhood friends, instead?!?! Oh, well.
"Ahem, Saki." Saki immediately turned back around as Haruka cleared her throat and called for her name. "I assume you're ready to battle, now...?"
"B-B-Battle...?! But... battling my girlfriend... I wasn't mentally prepared for this!" Saki was blushing even harder than ever before, and Haruka couldn't help but giggle a bit.
"It's okay, Saki-chan. You've made it this far, haven't you? I'm sure you can take on one more battle. But, I must warn you..." Haruka paused for a moment and sighed, before her expression turned into a more stern and determined one. "I'm NOT going to go easy, even on you. It's been my dream as a child to become Champion, and I couldn't have that opportunity when I had chosen to become an idol, instead... but, in spite of that, I was finally able to claw my way up into the championship. My life had led up to this dream, and I was so overjoyed when I finally achieved it. But, I knew this day would come eventually when I witnessed your astounding progress... So that's why, Tenma Saki...
Haruka pointed her PokéBall at her. "I'm not going to hold anything back. As the Champion, I still have a reputation to upkeep, even if it means crushing your dream! After all, what type of win would it be if I just gave it to you?! So, please... battle me with everything you have! Win or lose, I want to see the depths of your resolve... I want to truly see just what exactly pushed you to make it this far! I want to see my girlfriend either go out in a blaze of glory, or take the grand title of Champion from me on this very battlefield! I don't want you to hold back either, so please...! Don't you DARE hold back, not even a little bit. Give me... give me EVERYTHING you've got!"
...
Those words were truly fitting, coming from the person who'd fought so hard to become the Champion. And as Saki closed her eyes and processed those words in her head...
She knew exactly what she had to do.
"Alright... you asked for it, Haruka-chan! I'm not going to go easy on you, either! Both of us... we share the same dream, but I know that only one of us can be Champion! And I'm going to tell you right now that it's going to be ME!!!" She raised her own PokéBall and smirked. "I didn't make it this far for nothing, so you'd better not underestimate me! I might not be as smart as you, but I'm still an AWESOME battler, and my friends behind me can attest to that... and so can you, right?!"
Haruka smirked back, happy that her girlfriend finally gathered her resolve and confidence. "Then... so be it."
She threw aside her hoodie, revealing her usual outfit. "I'm... I am Kiritani Haruka, Champion of the Sinnoh Pokémon League! There won't be any letup from me!"
"Let's do this, Crobat!!!"
"COME ON OUT, GARDEVOIR!!!"
And as the two battlers threw out their first Pokémon... the battle for the title of Champion truly began.