Pokémon Special One-shots

Legends Never Die

From the beginning of his career, X had dominated the competitive battling scene with his signature Kangaskhan. After his adventure in defeating Team Flare he quietly re-entered tournaments and quickly took many victories. Earning many fans and media attention, he tried his best to quietly avoid the spotlight.

"Over here, Mr. Champion, give us a smile!"

"X, I love you!"

The truth was, at first X was only competing for Y. He knew that Y hated to see him useless, so he did the only thing he knew how to: Pokémon Battles. His heart soared whenever he was able defeat a tough opponent, or pull off a difficult combination and hear Y's voice in the stands, cheering him on. But lately his hot streak had run dry, and for the first time in his life he felt pressured to meet expectations.

"It's a critical hit! X is out of the tournament! The favorite losing in the quarterfinal match!" the announcer cried.

X simply shook his opponent's hand and walked offstage, but his insides were in turmoil. A large percentage of the fans in the stands today were there to see him play, no, to see him win. Yet he lost. Even worse, he'd lost in front of Y. Again.

It was his fourth tournament in a row that he'd placed under the top 4, which for a Trainer who had won 10 tournaments in a row in the past year, was underwhelming. Sitting in the private room set aside for him (all competitors in the top 8 had one) he started to cry. He quickly wiped his tears as he heard the door click open.

Y frowned as she saw X, unconsciously assume a fetal position as she walked in. She sat down next to him and fidgeted.

"Wanna talk about it?" she said finally.

X shook his head. He felt Y envelope him in a hug. That calmed him a little.

"What's wrong?"

X knew Y wouldn't take silence for an answer, so he picked up a newspaper from the table in front of him. As Y scanned the front page article words like "washed-up" and "underperforming" stood out to her, and she was saddened at the thought of X being defeated by the media again.

"I'm going to keep training." X said.

Y shook her head.

"You need a break, X. Come home with me, my mom misses you, you know."

They were silent for a moment. Finally, the words that X had held for the past few months came tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. He clenched his fists.

"If I'm not good at battling, what good am I?"

Y sobbed at hearing the pain in his voice. She finally knew what was keeping him away from her in the past year, as he burnt bridges and severed connections to train his Pokémon. His desire for validity had become an obsession, and Y was torn to see her love at the breaking point.

"X," she choked, "I'm happy to see you on stage, no matter the result!"

X paused.

"You only ever smile when you battle, and I wouldn't miss a tournament for the world. But lately you haven't been happy even when you win a match."

She grabbed the end of her dress, trying to hold in her emotions.

"Please, X, don't destroy yourself. I don't know what I'd do without you."

X turned in surprise to see his crush, a broken emotional wreck.

"You'll always be my shining knight."

They shared a hug. A hug of a new beginning. A new reason for X to battle, and a new happiness for Y.

"I believe in you." Y told him.