Pasio University

Chapter 42- The City of Destiny

Elio POV

I slowly opened my eyes as the sound of my alarm continued to taunt me. I had passed out in Lillie's bed next to her... Whoops, probably shouldn't tell mom I did that. Either way I slid my phone out of my pocket and shut of the alarm. Lillie, who had apparently changed into her pajamas at some point after I fell asleep, groggily opened her eyes next to me. "Oh... Is it time to go already?" I shook my head, "Mmm... No. We gotta get you packed up, remember?" She looked up to the ceiling, "Oh yeah." I thought for a moment, "Actually, you catch a few more hours, I'll take care of it." Lillie grabbed my arm as I got up, "You don't have to do that..." I smiled, "Hey, I've put you through a lot this year, consider today my treat." Lillie tried to protest, but was much too tired and fell back asleep. I chuckled quietly then began to pack her things into the suitcases she had laying out. Thankfully for me, I only have one, I travel pretty light, even when I'm living at a place for months at a time. I packed the things while quietly humming myself some tune I forgot the name of.

Calem POV

I met Serena at the airstrip earlier than usual. I guess I was just excited to see her today. We were standing together, just waiting for the rest to get here, while Serena explained everything she wanted to show me today. I smiled and relaxed into my chair. I had a long night last night, thinking about my past in Kalos, y'know, all the bad stuff. But through out the whole story playing in my head, it ended differently. Not in defeat, but rather, I ended up here. This place grew me, and made me better than I ever thought I could be. I learned, I grew, just... So much. Never in my life did I think I'd ever have a girlfriend either. And yet, I met Serena here. Who knows if I would have met anyone else anywhere. Probably not. So really, who was the real winner? I looked up and saw Brendan walking in, it's still pretty early. I looked at him, "Brendan? What brings you here this early?" He shrugged, "Just happened to get up this early, couldn't go back to sleep." I nodded, "Yeah. Sounds about right. Got anything planned for our day today?" He shook his head, "Not really. I know you and Elio are basically going with your girlfriends all day, so I might just tag along with some other people. Wouldn't want to intrude or anything." I frowned, that's sad, it really is too bad May had to go home. Serena looked up, "Well if you get too bored, you can tag along with us!" He chuckled, "I appreciate the offer, but really, you two enjoy your time." He sat down somewhere further away from us and began to play on his phone.

A few hours passed and the rest of the team arrived. I checked on all of them to make sure they were all feeling mentally alright, the only one who was worried was Hilda, she's so competitive, that facing an almost guaranteed defeat in front of all those people. It makes her nervous to have a legacy as someone who lost on the big stage. I understand, I was there. I lost on the big stage, with everyone putting the blame on me. It isn't fun, obviously, but it's never the end. Hilbert began to say to her, "Hilda, you remember who lost the Professional World Championship last year?" Hilda thought for a moment, "Erm... the Viridian City Blue Jays." Hilbert nodded, "Yup. What do you think of them right now?" Hilda began, "Well they're really young and have a lot of potential, with a bit more time together and good draft picks they'll be hard to beat for sure, they did well to get there really." Hilbert motioned his hands and waited for Hilda to realize what she just said. Hilda looked at him, "Oh. I get it." Hilbert nodded, "There ya go. We don't have anything to lose, but boy we've got a lot to win." Hilda gave him a hug, "I appreciate you sometimes, you know that right?" Hilbert chuckled, "I hoped so."

We boarded the plane and I sat in a row with Serena and Brendan. Usually, Elio would be here, but he wants to spend today with Lillie, as well as Selene who is in the row with him. He seemed to be enjoying himself. I owe a lot to him, Kukui told me he sees me like an older brother or a mentor, and that means a lot to me. He doesn't know just how much I owe him though, he rounded me out as a trainer and as a person. I learned to not carry the grudge with Matisse as hard as I was, and now I have no regrets going into this. Brendan looked over to me, "This is gonna be our last time playing together isn't it?" I frowned, "Well... I suppose so. unless you want to join me in Mistralton?" He chuckled, "If I was good enough, maybe." I put my hands out, If I'm good enough, you sure as heck are too." Brendan shook his head, "You undervalue what they're drafting you for. Every team in the pros has good strikers, it's leadership like you that only comes once in a blue moon." I scratched my head, "Well it's pretty easy then. You can ask Elio, I taught him a lot about shot-calling, if you ever want to turn pro Id be down to train you." He shrugged, "Maybe. It's important to me that I stick with May here as long as she wants to be here though. I know she doesn't seem like it, but she gets really lonely and nervous when I'm not around." Serena hummed a tune to herself then looked over to me, "Hey, that is something I meant to ask you about, what am I gonna do while you're in Mistralton?" I scratched my head, "Well... that's up to you. If you want to keep studying here you can, I'll always keep in contact, and I'll always be yours as long as you want me." Serena smiled, "That's sweet. I will think about it this Summer."

We landed in Lumiose an hour later, it's about 1:00 PM Lumiose time, and the team is now on the way to Lumiose Stadium to practice for our last practice before the Grand Final tomorrow. We've been to some big cities during this run, but none compare to Lumiose. (Castelia is the biggest, but we didn't go there, we went to Nimbasa.) I looked around at the familiar hustle and bustle of all the people crossing the streets. The smell of galettes and coffee filled my senses as I reminisced about coming here as a kid. All the multicolored storefronts and the happy people all crowding around the center at Lumiose Tower. I looked over to Brendan, "Pretty cool, right?" Brendan nodded, "Yeah... it's huge..." We continued to walk and finally made it past the Lumiose University campus and to the Lumiose Stadium, home of the Lumiose Chargers, 3-time international champions, and 16 time Kalos champions. So many greats have battled inside this stadium, I can't help but feel a sense of pride and history just standing here. We checked in with the people there and snaked through the locker room and into the tunnel that lead out to the field. I looked in awe at the sheer amount of seats in the crowd, and space, it was a huge dome stadium, which I could see from the outside, but the jumbotron, the seats, the roof, it's all so spacious. Especially when you're in the center of it. The team lined up as custom and I stood in front of them. I clasped my hands and began to speak. "As you all know, I have no right to ask anything of you. I betrayed your trust and didn't tell you my plans. Yet here you all are, you forgave me without even a second thought." I paused, thinking more about the things I've been wanting to say, "... And that means more to me than you know. The forgiveness you all showed me, and the support you still show me means more to me than I can really say. That being said, I need you to show me that trust one more time. I have some plays, and I have a game plan for us today, I know we can execute it, and I know we can win it all." I raised my hands, "Now let's get after it!" The team cheered and we broke up in to our practice teams and got to work on the strategy.

Midway through practice, Kukui walked up to me with a roster sheet, which can only mean one thing. Kukui looked to me, "So... tomorrow's roster. Who are you thinking?" I sighed. This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make as captain of this team. Obviously, there's the usual 3, but the bench is much harder to decide. People like Dawn and Lyra coming into their element, solid options like Ethan and Victor, constant overachievers like Gloria, Hop, and Selene... there aren't any wrong answers, it's just a question of who fits the bill best today. I looked at the roster sheet and penciled myself, Elio, and Brendan at the 4, 5, and 6 slots, if our back is against the wall with a championship on the line, there's no two other people I want beside me. But the first three... hm... I know. I penciled in Hilbert and Hilda. You may question me about that, due to Hilda's nervousness, but I love nervousness. It's a real feeling, and it's the first step to rising above, and going beyond what you think you can do. I put Hilbert in too, because I've seen already that he's calm and he knows the plan. He can ground them and lead if he has to. So who should I put in with them? What am I looking for? Leadership? Maybe. Raw power? Not really, I think Hilda brings that to the table. I looked over my options one more time, I think I'm going with Ethan. He and Typhlosion have been a consistent force, and they're so well rounded they can be versatile. I penciled it in and handed it to Kukui. He looked it over and nodded, "Good choices cap." I shrugged and went back to observing practice.