The Arcane Tournament

Getting Competitive

As the battles came to an end, Gold met up with Silver and consoled him. "Hey buddy, you did amazing out there. I watched you fight and you did the best you could against that thing."

"I know, but it just sucks. Looks like we would've been against each other if she'd lost though." Silver sighed, gesturing to the matchups for the next day.

Gold skimmed the list and confirmed that he would indeed have to face Rosa tomorrow. That surprise Reshiram had left the boy's mouth agape as it tore through his friend's team. And now he had to fight it as well.

Gold also noticed that Red would have to face Andy which meant that his reign of cheating would finally end. Meanwhile Selene and May were up against each other.

Gold and Silver walked back to the hotel in silence and Gold noticed how cold it was starting to get. Isn't it supposed to be summer? He wondered as they walked down the busy street.

Dinner was far less jubilant this time. Selene and May seemed to be avoiding making eye contact while Silver and Gold were drowning in despair.

Wally and Brendan noticed the tension but weren't sure how exactly to break it. Relief came in the form of Red, who pulled up a chair and sat down at the table. Gold, I watched your battle against Yellow. You were incredible!

"Thanks." Gold murmured. Not like it matters. Rosa's going to knock me out in no time. Red seemed to recognize the young trainer's demeanor and leaned in. What's got you down, Gold?

"He has to fight Rosa and her Reshiram." Silver jumped in. "She beat all three of my Pokémon in four attacks."

Selene scoffed. "I can't believe she's even allowed to use a Reshiram!"

Elio nodded. "Even if she is, the fact that she's using it just ruins the whole event. It's why you don't use Solgaleo or Necrozma, right?"

"Exactly. It's no fair using a Legendary Pokémon against people who don't have one." Selene agreed.

Gold perked up. "Legendary Pokémon? You have two?"

"Sure do!" Selene responded. "Solgaleo and Necrozma are both Ultra Beasts who are Legendary Pokémon in their home realms."

Gold grinned. "That's so cool! I'm pretty good friends with Raikou and Ho-Oh. I've had friendly battles against both and sometimes Raikou even battles alongside me in special matches."

All the trainers were suddenly invested as the conversation turned to name-dropping powerful Pokémon. "I-I encountered a Jirachi a few years ago." Wally added in. "Other than that though, I haven't met many Legendaries."

Brendan started to smirk. "May's found quite a few rare Pokémon in her day, haven't you, May?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Zinnia had me meet Rayquaza, yes. But that was it. For the last time, that 'Latias' you saw was a cloud." Brendan seemed ready to argue when he was suddenly cut off.

"It was actually pretty freaky, but we encountered a Mewtwo as well." Elio recounted. "Plus, I have a Lunala. And then there's also the Ultra Beasts."

Red, Silver, and Gold's eyes all widened. "A Mewtwo?" Silver confirmed.

Selene nodded her head. "Mhm. Not the one from Kanto, mind you." She quickly added in, recalling the MissingTwo crisis that had plagued Kanto and the similar incident that had happened in Johto ten years later. "This one was in another realm entirely. Just as evil, though."

Gold sat back and sighed. "I've fought a few Legendary Pokémon and didn't lose, but never a Reshiram. Ho-Oh almost took my entire team out when we battled and I'd have to deal with two other Pokémon on top of that thing."