Pokémon BW: Rise of Clarity (book 3 of the HBoD series)

Chapter 47: Vanquishing of the Guard

"If you were to start over, what would you like to do?" Willow's amber gaze was filled with curiosity, so I felt compelled to answer.

"Well... to be perfectly honest I never really thought about it," I admitted, scratching the fur between Growlithe's ears as I lounged on the couch. Outside the cabin a storm brewed, the wind and rain slowly picking up.

"Oh c'mon," she implored me, eagerly leaning forwards, her blonde bangs swaying in front of her face before she pushed them back. "There has to be something."

"I dunno..." I shrugged while smiling. All of a sudden, a thought came to me. "Maybe... A Pokemon trainer."

"Oh?" She looked intrigued now. "Any particular reason?"

I rubbed Growlithe's head for another minute, thinking of how to put my thoughts into words. "Team Rocket was a powerful criminal organization, y'know. But they were beaten pretty badly by some trainer way back. A kid. I've always used weapons to fight against others, but that wasn't... it wasn't right. I did terrible things. But maybe, if I caught more Pokemon, trained, forged a connection with them, I could become even stronger. But in the right way. A better way."

Willow clasped my hands gently while giving me a soft smile. "Then you do that. If you get the chance to just start over, then that's what you should do. And maybe one day I'll get to see you battle in one of those big stadiums. Oh what a sight that would be..."

...

A mountainous plateau resides in the northern most part of Unova, the path up a winding set of tunnels set within the cliff face. But once you reached the top, you could see across the vast region. But the true destination for any aspiring trainer lies not with the sights, but the towers that housed the renowned Elite 4. Once defeated, further ahead lies a temple where the Champion awaits those strong enough to overcome the first hurdle.

I stood in front of the gate that led to the main plaza. From here I could see the four cobblestone paths that led to the each tower, but my gaze focused on the center of the plaza. A statue of a robed man stood there atop a pedestal. I had a strange feeling about it.

"It suddenly feels very real," I murmured, taking in the grandness.

"Hey, you earned this," Alex bumped my shoulder gently.

"Remember, there's a healing center with every Elite 4 member," Robert said. "Once you beat a member, you're allowed to heal your Pokemon and move on to the next one. And once you beat all of them, stand on the pedestal there and you'll be able to access the Champion's throne."

"What Pokemon did you decide on using?" Alex asked curiously.

"Arcaneis was a no brainer," I said, tracing a finger across his pokeball. "Then Greninja, Mawile, Lycanroc, Decidueye, and Lucario. Oh, and Joltik." I held up his ball. "Not for battling of course. I want him to be able to see us battle and maybe gain experience from it that way."

"Good idea," Robert nodded. "And I'm sure the Elite 4 members will let you. They're all pretty chill."

"Once you beat them, what then?" Alex questioned. "N's the Champion now. And he's waiting for you to come to him. How is this going to play out?"

"I'm not entirely sure," I admitted. "He wants to face me, one hero to another. Whether that's a proper battle or not, I don't know. So we need to be ready for anything. That's why I'm going to need you two to do something for me. Contact the gym leaders, our allies, whoever you can think of. I can't give any concrete evidence, but N is planning something. I can feel it." I stared through the gate in the direction where N must be. "Team Plasma are technically in control of the region with their King as Champion. Whatever they're planning next, it has to be soon. And it makes sense that it would be during our 'fateful' encounter."