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To say that Wally was having a blast would be an understatement. He was having the time of his life. Ever since he left Hoenn to continue honing his skills, he'd been going from region to region, battling strong trainers. He had gained wins, losses, and most importantly, experience.
He'd been just about everywhere and fought all sorts of people. Besides having fought nearly every gym leader in all regions, he's also fought the likes of Blue, Lance, Steven Stone, Cynthia, Alder, Iris, Diantha, Leon, Nemona, and many more that didn't come to mind immediately.
Did he win all of them? Of course not. But he always managed to put up a decent fight, often being applauded for his battling skills, even by champion-level trainers such as Leon and Cynthia.
But now, he was at the Blueberry Academy. He had been invited by the director of the academy. Not as a transfer student, but just to battle for an event the school was hosting. Of course, he accepted. He geared up his best team and took the first plane he could.
When he landed, he had been given a tour by one of the school's Elite 4 member, Lacey. She had explained to him about the Terarium. Of course, he already knew about the Terastal phenomenon, but that didn't stop him from being marveled by the phenomenon and the Terarium.
After the tour was over, Wally was escorted back to the entrance, as the director announced the event to begin. According to him, the event was about challenging a "world famous Pokémon trainer" freely. The director's words, not Wally's. Although he did blush a bit out of embarrassment at his words.
Sure enough, Wally had received several challenges from various trainers. Most of them had been... well, he didn't want to sound mean, but they weren't the hardest battles in the world.
Although Wally was forced to participate in double battles, which really through Wally for a loop. He'd done double battles before, but never this many in a row. Regardless, the challengers were getting tougher and tougher. Thankfully, he was allowed to heal his team after each fight, otherwise he wouldn't have lasted this long, as his team would've been whittled down, albeit slowly.
One trainer that stuck out to him was a young woman who introduced herself as Carmine. Although she didn't have a full team of six Pokémon, she still put up quite a fight.
While she didn't take out any of his Pokémon, barely able to keep up with the Pokémon he sent out, that being his Magnezone and Gallade.
Her Toucannon and Mightyena had been first out, but Toucannon was quickly blasted by Magnezone's Discharge, managing to avoid being burned by Toucannon's Beak Blast. Her Mightyena didn't fair much better, being immediately eliminated by Gallade's Close Combat.
She sent out Scrafty and Sinistcha next. Scrafty managed to hit Magnezone with a powerful Brick Beeak, but Magnezone managed to hang on, before Scrafty was taken out by Gallade's Close Combat. Carmine terastilized her Sinistcha, making it a pure Grass type.
With this knowledge, Wally paralyzed it with Magnezone before hitting it with a strong Psycho Cut from Gallade. Her Sinistcha manages to break through the paralysis, before using Matcha Gotcha to sap both Magnezone and Gallade's health, healing a bit. But that didn't save it from Magnezone's Flash Cannon and Gallade's Psycho Cut combo.
Carmine looked a bit annoyed after the battle, she reluctantly congratulated Wally on his victory, before noticing the pendant around his neck, questioning about it. Wally ran his hand along it, glancing at his Gallade next to him, who nodded at Wally.
"...It's a surprise." Wally said with a small grin. Carmine seemed a bit annoyed by his response, but apparently pushed it aside and walked off.
His next four opponents were the BB Elite 4, that being Crispin, Amarys, Lacey, and Drayton. They were much harder than anyone else so far.
Crispin specialized in fire types, so Wally used his Azumarill and Garchomp to beat out most of them. He was thrown for a loop by Crispin sending out Exeggutor, which took out Azumarill, but a quick switch to Talonflame allowed Wally to quickly defeat it and the rest of Cripin's team with relative ease.
His next foe was Amarys, who was... an interesting person. She acted and spoke a lot like a robot, which fitted her type speciality, Steel. However, she was defeated by Wally's Talonflame and Gallade, her entire team falling. Even her Reuniclus was quickly taken out by Talonflame.
Then, Lacey, the person who showed Wally around, fought against him. Lacey specialized in Fairy types, so Wally used his Roserade and Magnezone. Even her Galarian Slowbro didn't stand a chance against Magnezone.
After Lacey was defeated, Drayton attacked. Admittedly, Drayton was the most difficult foe yet, taking out half of Wally's team. Thankfully, the combined efforts of his entire team, most notable Azumarill, Magnezone, Garchomp, and Gallade defeated his team of Dragon types, along with his Sceptile, which did give Wally a sense of nostalgia. Crispin's Blaziken had also given him a similar sense of nostalgia. But regardless, Wally won and remained undefeated.
Drayton scratched the back of his head with a relaxed expression on his face. "Well, I guess that's me beat." He said quietly, before walking towards Wally. The two reached their hands out and shook. Drayton walked to the side of the battle court as Wally glanced around. Quite the crowd had gathered around, watching the different battles that Wally fought through.
Wally walked off for a moment to heal his team, before jogging back to the center of the court. He idly played with the pendant around his neck, as his Gallade stood next to him, crossing its arms.
"Anyone else?" Wally asked with a smile across his face. No one responded. Wally's expression turned to a frown for a brief amount of time before it quickly dissipated.
"Hey, you'll never know if you don't try. And even if you don't win, it'll still be a learning experience for all of us." Wally said as reassuringly as possible. Still, no response. Wally was about to sigh to himself, but then someone spoke up from the back of the crowd.
"I'll battle you." A boy's voice comes from the murmuring out of the crowd. The students cleared an opening as a boy just a bit younger than Wally walked past. He had dyed pink hair that had been tied up, a white jacket that covered a red shirt, white shorts, and white shoes. He tossed a Pokeball up and down in his hand as he walked towards Wally in the center of the battlefield.
"Kiki? You sure?" Wally recognized the voice of Carmine from the ground. The boy didn't turn to Carmine, but a small smirk spread across his face.
"Don't worry about it, sis." He mutters quietly, seemingly studying Wally and his Gallade. So Carmine was this boy's sister? Made sense, they looked pretty similar. Maybe this boy's hair was the same color when it wasn't dyed.
Eventually, the boy catches the Pokeball and reaches a hand out. With a smile, Wally takes his hand and the two shake.
"Name's Kieran." Kieran said, his eyes still curious and analytical. Wally nodded in response, maintaining his smile.
"I'm Wally. Nice to meet you, Kieran." Wally said with an upbeat tone. Kieran nodded, before the two let go of their handshake. In a way, Kieran reminded Wally of himself, although he wasn't sure how exactly. Maybe Wally would be acting more like Kieran if his life had gone down a slightly altered path.
Pushing his thoughts aside, Wally turned and walked to one side of the arena, with Kieran walked to the other. Gallade followed Wally to one side. Wally and Gallade nodded to each other, before Gallade stepped behind Wally, as the green-haired boy pulled out two Pokeballs. Kieran pulled out an additional one along with the one he had been tossing in his hand.
Lacey stood outside of the arena, inbetween Wally and Kieran. She raised one arm into the air. As she did so, Wally could hear murmuring amongst the crowd, although he could only make out bits and pieces.
"Who do you think is gonna win?-"
"Kieran's got this in the bag-"
"Surely Wally's gonna beat Kier-"
"We still haven't seen Wally reveal his surp-"
"You think Hydrapple can beat Wally's Gall-"
But Wally's attention was pulled away by Lacey's shouting.
"The battle between Pokémon Trainer Wally and Pokémon Trainer Kieran begins now!" Lacey shouted. Wally noticed Kieran slightly wincing at the mention of him being just a Pokémon Trainer. Maybe he had a higher rank once and had been stripped of his title.
Without hesitation, Wally and Kieran toss their first two Pokémon. Wally sends out his Roserade and Talonflame, while Kieran sends out a Dragonite and Politoed. The rain began to fall as Politoed was sent out. It must've had Drizzle as its ability.
He began to analyze this matchup. Obviously, Dragonite being a Flying type threatened Roserade, but Roserade held a massive advantage over Politoed, who held an advantage over Talonflame.
He was about to give a command, but Kieran shouted out first.
"Dragonite! Use Hurricane on Roserade! Politoed, use Weather Ball on Talonflame!" Kieran yelled out confidently. His Pokémon immediately went out on the attack.
"Roserade, use Petal Blizzard! Talonflame, dodge and then use Tailwind!" Wally said calmly, raising his voice a bit so his Pokémon could properly hear his command.
Talonflame flapped its wings to fly above the rain-boosted Weather Ball, causing it to soar right past Wally's head. Talonflame flapped its wings while letting out a cry, as the winds began to blow at an incredible speed.
Roserade twirled around as pink peyals swirled around itself, causing the wind that Dragonite sent its way with Hurricane to sputter out due to the massive amount of petals.
"Talonflame, use Brave Bird on Dragonite! Roserade, use Petal Blizzard on Politoed!" Wally commanded, gesturing his hand towards his Pokémon.
"Oh no you don't! Dragonite, use Thunder on Talonflame! Politoed, use Ice Beam on Roserade!" Kieran shouted over the intense wind that Wally had created.
Talonflame soared towards Dragonite, its wings glowing. Dragonite's body surged with electricity and fired it into the air, which eventually began to arc back down towards Talonflame, but not before Talonflame slammed into Dragonite with Brave Bird, with both of them then being struck by the Thunder.
Both Talonflame and Dragonite collapsed to the ground after the strong hits. Wally and Kieran returned their Pokémon, putting the Pokeballs away.
Roserade ran towards Politoed, who fired an Ice Beam at it. But Roserade gracefully flipped over the chilly beam, before landing right behind Politoed, before using Petal Blizzard, surrounding both Roserade and Politoed.
When the petals cleared, Roserade gracefully moved away from Politoed as it struggled to stay standing. After a few seconds, Politoed collapsed, falling onto its face.
"Alright! Nice job, Roserade!" Wally shouted to his Pokémon. Roserade turned to Wally and nodded. Kieran silently returned Politoed to its Pokeball, before staring at it longingly.
"I'll admit, I underestimated you, Wally. I understand now why everyone was making a big deal out of you. No more messing around!" Kieran yelled out before pulling out two more Pokeballs, as Wally pulled out one to replace the fainted Talonflame.
Wally sent out Azumarill as Kieran sent out Incineroar and Porygon-Z. Both Wally and Kieran took a moment to think.
"Roserade, use Poison Jab on Porygon-Z! Azumarill, use Aqua Tail on Incineroar!" Wally commanded.
"Incineroar, use Fake Out on Roserade! Porygon, use Thunderbolt on Azumarill!" Kieran commands.
Incineroar rushes towards Roserade and simply smacks it across the cheek, causing Roserade to step back and flinch, falling onto its back.
Porygon-Z charges up with electricity, before releasing a bolt of electricity right at Azumarill. Wally winces as Azumarill is enveloped by it. Once it clears, Azumarill, while dazed, remains standing.
"You alright, Azumarill?" Wally asks. Azumarill shakes off the daze, before cheerfully responding to Wally's words. Before Kieran can react, Azumarill suddenly rushes towards Incineroar, using Aqua Tail on the Fire type Pokémon.
Azumarill spins around as its tail is surrounded in water, striking Incineroar and throwing the Pokémon across the battlefield, nearly slamming into Porygon before Incineroar manages to stop itself by digging its claws into the ground.
"Hm... alright, let's think... his Porygon-Z is going to take out Azumarill with another Thunderbolt, no doubt. But an Aqua Jet will allow me to go first, so Azumarill can damage Incineroar one more time. Then Roserade can use Poison Jab on Porygon, before being taken out by Incineroar if it lives the Aqua Jet. Aqua Jet is a rather weak move..." Wally thinks to himself, before clearing his throat.
"Azumarill, use Aqua Jet on Incineroar! Roserade, you use Poison Jab on Porygon-Z!" Wally yells out. Before Kieran can even say his moves, Azumarill rushes towards Incineroar while it's body is surrounded in water, slamming into it. Incineroar stumbles as Azumarill bounces off Incineroar and into the air.
"Porygon, use Thunderbolt!" Kieran shouts. Just like before, Porygon shot a bolt of electricity at the helpless Azumarill, who was spinning through the air, frying the poor Water type. Azumarill fell to the ground, fainted. Wally returns it as Roserade rushes towards Porygon, as one of its flower hands becomes coated in poison.
"Incineroar, help Porygon! Use Flare Blitz!" Kieran quickly says. Incineroar charges up a fire based attack from its belt, but it's too slow, with Roserade managing to strike Porygon-Z with Poison Jab, throwing the Pokémon backwards, before Roserade is engulfed in Incineroar's Flare Blitz.
Wally returned Roserade. That was half of his team taken out, but they had fought valiantly. Incineroar was super weak now and Porygon-Z had been posioned.
"You two fought well. Take a rest." Wally whispers to the Pokeballs, before putting them away and taking out two others. He throws them forward.
"Go, Magnezone and Garchomp!" Wally yells as the two mentioned Pokémon are sent out, letting out their signature cries. Wally wasted no time.
"Garchomp, use Earthquake!" Wally shouted. Garchomp raised both of its claws, before digging them into the ground, causing the ground to shake. Magnezone was unaffected, but Incineroar and Porygon-Z weren't.
The Earthquake knocked Incineroar out while greatly damaging Porygon. Porygon-Z quickly shook off the blow as Kieran returned Incineroar.
"Porygon, use Ice Beam!" Kieran yelled out as Porygon fired the frigid beam at Garchomp, dealing massive damage to Garchomp, causing the Dragon type Pokémon to collapse. Wally smiled sadly as he returned Garchomp to its Pokeball. He figured that Porygon-Z might've known Ice Beam, but he sent out Garchomp so he could guarantee to knock out Incineroar.
"Magnezone, Flash Cannon." Wally said quietly. Magnezone fired the silver energy at Porygon-Z, but the unpredictable Pokémon managed to swerve out of the way, causing the move to soar past Kieran, nearly hitting people in the audience.
Wally and Kieran both took out their final Pokémon. Kieran tossed a Pokeball to send out Hydrapple, while Wally nodded to Gallade, who had been standing behind Wally and watching the fight. Gallade nods to its trainer before dashing into the fight alongside Magnezone.
Kieran takes out a black orb that Wally recognized as a Tera Orb. It charges with power in Kieran's hand before he tosses it towards Hydrapple, giving Hydrapple a large crystal above its head in the shape of a fist with swirling energy. Wally hadn't fully grasped which crystal formation meant which type, but he was pretty sure that Kieran turned Hydrapple into a Fighting type.
"Porygon, use Shadow Ball on Gallade!" Kieran commands. Porygon-Z charges up ghostly energy, before shooting a spiritual orb directly at Gallade. Gallade glances at Wally, who gives a small nod back. Gallade easily side-steps the Shadow Ball, before rushing towards Porygon-Z, using Close Combat to quickly overwhelm and knock out the Virtual Pokémon.
"Dang it..." Kieran grumbles silently before gesturing towards Hydrapple.
"Use Tera Blast!" Kieran yells out. The crystals on Hydrapple began to resonate with power, before the Pokémon released a surge of energy that slammed into Magnezone, immediately threw the Pokémon back to Wally's feet. Wally and Kieran quickly return Magnezone and Porygon-Z, before turning back to the battle at hand.
Gallade glances back to Wally. Wally nods back, his hand traveling to the pendant around his neck.
"How are you still standing after everything I've thrown at you!?" Kieran demands, a slight hint of annoyance entering his voice. Wally chuckles quietly, the wind roaring in his ears, as he begins to press down on his pendant.
"I've been training nonstop ever since I started as a trainer. I've met a lot of people who have helped me grow ever since! Win or lose, it always reminds me how much fun it is to really go all out in battle! Don't you think?" Wally yells over the wind. Kieran is silent for several seconds, before nodding.
"...Yeah..." Kieran mutters quietly, before being distracted by Wally pressing all the way down on his pendant. His pendant begins to glow a bright yellow energy, soaring over towards Gallade, being quickly enveloped by it, with Wally's Key Stone and Gallade's Mega Stone reacting in unison.
Once the energy clears, Gallade becomes Mega Gallade, letting out a battle cry as it ascends to a stronger form, shaking the entire entrance area with just its presence. Kieran grows stunned for a few seconds, staring at Mega Gallade.
"...Wowzers... I've heard of Mega Evolution, but I never thought I'd see it with my own eyes..." Kieran mutters quietly before a large smile crosses his face, in the exact way that Wally would when he got
"It doesnt matter how fancy your Gallade becomes! I'll still beat it! Hydrapple, use Fickle Beam!" Kieran shouts loudly, pumping his fist into the air as he commands his Pokémon.
All of Hydrapple's heads aim towards Mega Gallade, with all seven heads shooting beams of draconic energy towards Gallade. Without flinching, Gallade's bladed arm is raised instantly, blocking the beams, causing Mega Gallade to slide backwards, putting its other hand on its blade.
Wally suddenly puts a hand to his mouth, beginning to cough wildly as his pendant continues to glow. He felt like he was on the verge of passing out during his coughing session, falling to one knee. A few trainers stepped forward to try and help him up, but Wally waved his arm back to keep them away, as he struggled to pull himself back to his feet, still coughing.
"Witness- *cough*- Witness the bond- *cough*- bond I've made with Gallade! The- *cough*- Pokémon I started with. My partner! My best- *cough*- friend!" Wally shouted loudly, before continuing his coughing fit, but managing to stay standing.
Despite the beams pushing against Mega Gallade, the Pokémon begins to walk forward, pushing back against the Fickle Beam. After closing the distance between the two a bit, Gallade swung its arms, creating a wind disturbance that interrupts Hydrapple's Fickle Beam, pushing the Pokémon back a bit.
Kieran's smile doesn't waiver, however. Instead, he just points forward and yells out another command.
"Earth Power!" Kieran yells. Hydrapple let out a loud roar as the ground beneath Gallade began to rumble. Wally and Gallade's eyes both dart to the ground, before Wally nodded silently and Gallade leapt upwards, avoiding the ground erupting where it used to be standing.
"Tera Blast!" Kieran instructs as the crystal atop Hydrapple's began to glow once more, sending out another wave of energy towards Gallade.
"Psycho Cut." Wally whispers quietly. Gallade's blade arm begins to glow a pink color, before slashing it at the Tera Blast, hacking the wave of energy in half, leading to an explosion that covered the entire battlefield in smoke.
Once it cleared, Gallade landed on the ground, standing across from Hydrapple. Despite this, Kieran's smile persisted. Wally's coughing fit began to cease as a smile also begins to spread across his face.
"Gyro Ball!" Kieran shouts as Hydrapple leaps high into the air, surrounding itself in a silver aura.
"Leaf Blade." Wally whispers again, as if in a trance. Gallade's bladed arm turned a green color, as Hydrapple flew towards Gallade with its silver aura.
Gallade swung at Hydrapple as it approached. The two attacks bounced off of each other, before slamming into each other again and again, before Gallade sent Hydrapple into the ground, forcing its momentum to come to a stop.
"Let's end this! Hydrapple! Use Tera Blast! GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" Kieran shouts at the top of his lungs as the crystal glows with ten times the intensity than before. Wally gave a very slight nod, as Mega Gallade got into a battle ready position.
The Tera Blast was soon released by Hydrapple as Gallade rushed directly at it, right through the Tera Blast. Wally winces as Gallade charges through it, feeling burning pain all over his body. But eventually, Gallade pushes right through the attack and uses Close Combat on Hydrapple, delivering a vicious beat down on the Pokémon, ending the attack with an uppercut that sent it flying into the air.
Mega Gallade leaps backwards as Hydrapple falls back down, slamming into the arena floor. Kieran is silent as Lacey runs in from the side to look at Hydrapple. She eventually steps back and raises her arm.
"Hydrapple is unable to battle! That means the winner is Gallade! Wally is the victor!" Lacey shouts loudly. The entire crowd around them bursts into yelling. Kieran quietly returns Hydrapple into its Pokeball as Mega Gallade reverts back to normal.
Wally nearly collapses, but Gallade quickly rushes over and catches Wally. Wally smiles up at Gallade, who allows the green haired boy to lean against it.
"Thanks, Gallade." Wally murmurs, to which Gallade responds with a nod. The two turn their heads to see Kieran resting Hydrapple's Pokeball against his forehead.
"You did great. Take a great rest. All of you." Kieran murmurs quietly before putting the Pokeball away. Kieran begins to walk towards Wally while Gallade helps Wally balance on his feet.
Kieran stops in front of Wally, as the Elite 4 and Carmine silently surround the two. Kieran's gaze is locked to the floor, slightly trembling. Wally was worried that Kieran was about to lash out, but what happened next surprised him.
Kieran looked up at Wally, tears in his eyes. But these weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of pure, genuine joy. It made Wally think of his early days as a trainer, asking for a Pokémon, finding and catching Ralts, battling various trainers, and his first time Mega Evolving Gallade, feeling truly unified with it.
Before Wally could reflect further on what memories had been spurred within him, Kieran rushed forward, wrapping Wally in a hug, sobbing against Wally's shoulder. Wally was caught off guard. Physical contact wasn't something he was used to.
Eventually, Wally wrapped one of his arms around Kieran's back. He could feel tears beginning to build up in his eyes, but he resisted the urge to cry.
"T-t-thank... y-you..." Kieran manages to stutter out through tears and against Wally's shoulder. A warm smile spreads across Wally's face as he glances at Gallade, who had a smile of its own, nodding.
"You're welcome, Kieran. Thank you for the battle."
"...Y-y-you're... y-you're w-w-welcome..."