Ash's Story (Part 5: Modern Sinnoh)

Chapter 86: Eight-Star Road

The ship from Sunyshore did not carry us straight into the League like a shortcut. It carried us to the last stretch of water before the real approach, where the cliffs rose ahead and the road to Lily of the Valley Island waited beyond the waves.

I stood near the rail with Pikachu on my shoulder while the wind pulled at my jacket. Behind us, Sunyshore had disappeared into the horizon. Ahead, the League route looked quiet, but that quiet felt heavier than a cheering stadium.

Lillie stood beside me with her badge case open. Eight badges caught the sunlight, and the Beacon Badge still looked new among the others. She touched it once, then closed the case with a careful breath.

Pikachu's meaning came gently. "She is still learning the sound of eight badges."

I smiled without teasing her. "It is a good sound."

Lillie looked at the cliffs ahead. "It feels strange. Every badge used to point toward the next Gym. Now they all point toward one place."

Dawn leaned against the rail with Piplup beside her and Togekiss gliding overhead. "The Grand Festival felt the same way when I arrived. Everything before it suddenly felt close behind me."

The ship docked near the final League approach, where trainers stepped onto the shore with bags, Poké Balls, and full badge cases. The path ahead followed Route 223's waterline before climbing toward the waterfall that guarded Victory Road.

We did not rush. Every trainer there had eight badges, which meant no one on that road was pretending anymore. The chatter was excited, but underneath it was the same hard truth Paul had thrown at us before. At this stage, effort alone did not make anyone special.

Route 223 tested that before we even reached the cave. Waves crashed against rocks below the path, and trainers practiced near the water with Pokémon strong enough to make the air hum. Lillie and I used Waterfall field travel at the final climb, calling on our partners to carry the group safely up the roaring water.

The waterfall climb felt like one last badge gate. The water shoved against us with all the force of the route below, and for a moment the spray hid everything except the sound of Pokémon pushing upward. When we broke through the top, the cave entrance stood ahead like it had been waiting for every trainer who thought eight badges were enough.

At the top, Victory Road waited like a mouth cut into the mountain.

The first steps inside were cool and echoing. Victory Road did not sparkle like Sunyshore or roar like a stadium. It pressed on us with stone, darkness, and the distant sound of strong Pokémon moving somewhere deeper.

Dawn looked around and held Piplup closer. "This feels different from the roads before Gyms."

Daniel adjusted his glasses. "It is meant to. A League approach is not only a path. It is a final filter."

Gladion nodded from beside Lillie. "Everyone here has badges. The cave still asks if they can use what those badges taught them."

The first Ace Trainer challenged Lillie before we had gone far. His Machoke and Golbat came fast, testing strength and speed together. Lillie answered with Espeon and Luxray, using Psychic to hold Machoke's pressure while Luxray tracked Golbat through the dim air.

She won cleanly, but not easily. Afterward, she looked at the battlefield markings left in the dust and nodded to herself. I knew that look. She was taking the battle apart in her head before the next one came.

My own challenge came from a Veteran who sent out Golem and Noctowl. I used Sceptile and Magnezone, forcing myself not to rely on obvious answers alone. Golem tried to use the cave floor as cover, and Noctowl's Hypnosis nearly caught Sceptile before Magnezone's Flash Cannon lit the passage enough to break the angle.