1. Ash's Story (Part 7: Kalos)

Chapter 87: Rival's Answer

The semifinal bracket glowed above the competitor hallway, and for a moment every sound around me seemed to fade into the hum of the screen. Alain had already won his semifinal against Calem on the other battlefield, which meant one side of the final was locked. I had watched only the final moments on the monitor because our own match call was coming soon. Calem's Mega Absol had fought beautifully, darting around Mega Charizard X with every ounce of speed it had, but Alain and Charizard had pushed through in the end. Calem looked disappointed when the camera found him, yet he still smiled as he shook Alain's hand. That made me respect him even more. Losing without losing the joy of battle was harder than people thought, especially under the League lights.

Alain's name waited at the top of the bracket like a promise I had not reached yet. My name and Sawyer's name stood beneath it, separated by only one battle.

Sawyer stood across the hallway with Sceptile beside him and his notebook closed in one hand. He did not look like the nervous Trainer I had met earlier in Kalos. He looked like someone who had taken every loss, every page of notes, and every moment of admiration and shaped them into a path aimed straight at me.

"It's time," Sawyer said. "I want to beat you. I've just got to beat you, and I will."

I tightened my glove and smiled because the pressure felt honest. "All right. Bring it on. This one's mine."

Serena touched my arm before I walked toward the field. "Remember what you learned in Snowbelle."

I looked at her and remembered the snowball that had snapped me back to myself. I remembered Greninja saving Spewpa because we moved together instead of forcing anything. Sawyer had once beaten me by making me forget those truths. Today, I wanted to prove that I had learned them without pretending the fear had never happened.

"I remember," I said, holding her gaze.

"One battle at a time, and every Pokémon beside me."

Pikachu looked up from my shoulder, sparks tiny but steady at his cheeks. His confidence reached me clearly. "We answer him together."

The stadium opened around us, and the crowd's roar rushed over my skin like wind. The battlefield rose from below, not a simple flat arena but a forest field full of thick trunks, uneven roots, and patches of grass. It was the kind of field where hiding, timing, and reading movement mattered just as much as raw power. Sawyer's eyes sharpened the instant he saw it. He was already thinking about every tree.

The referee lifted both flags. "This semifinal full battle between Ash Ketchum and Sawyer will now begin. Each Trainer may use six Pokémon. The battle is over when all Pokémon on either side are unable to continue."

The crowd quieted in that strange way crowds do right before a big battle, when thousands of people seem to hold one breath and wait for history. I could feel Sawyer's focus from across the field, as sharp as any blade. He was not only trying to defeat my Pokémon. He was trying to defeat the version of me he had studied, admired, and challenged since the beginning.

I took out my first Poké Ball. "Female Meowstic, I choose you!"

Meowstic landed lightly on a low root, ears folded but eyes focused. Sawyer sent out Slaking, and the huge Pokémon settled into the forest as if the whole field had become a waiting trap.

"Meowstic, Fake Out!" I called.

Meowstic flashed forward and struck first, but Slaking did not even flinch. I frowned, then pushed forward. "Psychic, then Charge Beam!"

Both attacks connected, and Meowstic followed with Stored Power and another Charge Beam. Slaking absorbed every hit without reacting like it had been truly hurt. Sawyer watched with that careful look of his, taking in my rhythm instead of trying to interrupt it.