1. Ash's Story (Part 10: Galar)

Chapter 73: Ghosts and Dragons

The bracket board looked almost too simple after everything it had taken to reach it. Four names remained under Wyndon Stadium's lights: Allister, Piers, Raihan, and me.

I had expected Raihan somewhere near the end. I had expected Piers to be dangerous without needing Dynamax. Allister's name surprised me most, not because he was weak, but because he moved through the tournament like a shadow nobody noticed until it stood in front of them.

The stadium attendant called my name from the tunnel entrance after the bracket settled. "Challenger Ash, your semifinal match is ready. Please report to the pitch."

Alice stood beside the tunnel rail with Pikachu and Eevee. The roar outside shook dust from the lights, but her voice stayed clear. "Allister is quiet, but do not mistake quiet for soft."

"I won't," I said, rolling my shoulders once. My partners were rested enough for another round, but the Finals had already proven that rested and safe were not the same thing.

Every round also changed the noise inside me. Bede had left behind pride trying to become purpose, and Nessa had left behind the weight of waves that refused to stop coming.

Eevee stepped closer to Alice's boot, tail held low while her ears pointed toward the field, "The small shadow knows where the floor creaks."

Alice nodded, understanding without my help. "He will punish careless steps."

I looked toward the tunnel. "Then we do not step carelessly."

Pikachu bumped my calf before returning to the support bench. He did not need to start this match to be part of it. He knew, and I knew, that the road to Leon was being carried by all of us.

Yesterday, Rose Tower had tried to make the tournament feel small compared to the crisis waiting beyond it. Standing here, I understood the opposite. If Galar's people were going to trust Champions with their future, then the battles they had built their hopes around still mattered.

Allister waited on the opposite side of the field with his mask tilted down and his hands folded around a Poké Ball. The crowd roared, but the sound seemed to pass around him instead of through him.

"...'M Allister," he said softly. "You look well."

"You're not doing too bad yourself," I answered.

He shifted behind the mask. "I remember you. You were friends with the strongest Gym Challenger I had. Er... so I reckon we sh-should battle."

The referee raised the flags, and Allister's first Poké Ball opened. Dusknoir emerged with one red eye glowing beneath the stadium lights.

The air around Dusknoir felt thick, like every cheer had been wrapped in cloth. Ghost specialists did that without trying. They made a stadium full of people feel like a hallway after midnight.

"Everyone's looking," Allister whispered. "I want to hide... but I'll fight."

I sent out what the stadium screens identified as Absol. The white shape landed low, horn angled toward Dusknoir, while Allister's ghost drifted forward like a closed door waiting to catch a hand.

"Absol, open with Night Slash and test its guard," I called.

Dusknoir took the slash and answered with Disable. The next command froze on my tongue as the lock settled over the move. Allister followed with Thunder Punch, but the strike hit black illusion instead of white fur.

Zoroark's disguise tore away, and the crowd gasped. I had not sent Absol first at all. Allister's mask hid his face, but his shoulders twitched with surprise.