My Name is Marcus: Dark Times

XIV. Team Marnie

"Orbeetle is unable to battle! The winner is Umbreon! Which means the victory goes to Marnie of Spikemuth!"

In three short sentences, the longest and most arduous battle of Marnie's life had come to an end, one met with thunderous and momentous applause. At that moment, she could only stand in a state of astonishment, awash with a sensation of surrealism.

I... I did it, she thought to herself. It's over... I won...

The stunned expression on her face was quickly overwritten with a warm smile that seemed to beam from her face as she continued to process her victory and what it meant - for her, for Spikemuth, for all of Galar, even. She'd been so consumed by these recent dark times for what felt like ages. Her anxiety over the fate of her hometown, her insecurities as a person and as a trainer, the doubt she had in her ability to make a difference for the people she cared about; it all had weighed heavy on her constantly, preventing her from comprehending the figurative light at the end of the tunnel. Now, before she'd even realized it, she had arrived, immersed in that light that felt so unobtainable for so long as all of Galar joined together in praise and approbation. Like the gravity that once weighted heavy over the pitch, the weight on Marnie's own shoulders had lifted. The battle for the fate of Spikemuth's soul was over - she'd won. She could breathe freely now... she could smile.

"We won...", she said to herself softly, slowly coming to grasp the reality of the moment. "We won... we won. We won!", she continued to say, growing louder and more exuberant with each repetition. "We won! We won, Umbreon, we did it!"

Umbreon charged to Marnie as quickly as she could, knocking her onto the ground in her excitement. Marnie let out a startled yelp as she fell backwards before catching herself with her hands. She broke into a fit of joyous laughter as she sat on the ground and embraced Umbreon, who reciprocated Marnie's joy and affection by nuzzling her head into her trainer's shoulder.

Team Yell exploded into a cacophony of cheers and hollering as they collectively cried tears of joy, which seemed to stream down each member's face like waterfalls.

Hop couldn't contain his excitement as he jumped up and down in the air repeatedly. "That was incredible! She did it, she really did it!"

"You did us so proud, lil' sis!", Piers shouted between sobs of happiness. "Let's all give it up for Marnie!"

Marcus smiled widely, his eyes positively beaming as he stared out onto the pitch. He'd never seen a smile out of Marnie like the one she was giving after that battle was done. She'd come so far in just these past few weeks - from the insecure girl who was lost, confused, unable to smile, and unable to hope, to the proud and steely-eyed young gym leader who was confident and capable of conquering any challenge set before her, no matter how insurmountable it may seem. There was no ignoring her now - her name was now set in stone among Galar's history, a true testament to the strength of the community and trainers of Spikemuth for the entire world to see. She had done it.

"You did it Marnie", Marcus said to himself with a smile. "You really did..." He stood tall on his seat and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Way to go, Marnie!", he cheered at the top of his lungs.

I'd really better step up my game, he thought to himself, or else they'll be calling you Champion Marnie in no time.

Weston stood frozen in disbelief, deflated and devoid of all bravado with eyes wide and petrified as he seemed to gaze outward into an unseen beyond with a thousand-yard stare. It was as if a spectre appeared before him and consumed all of his dreams in front of him. He grimaced as he returned his unconscious Orbeetle to his Pokeball, a feeling of self-disgrace washing over him as he stood before the roaring crowd, reduced to the role of a side character in the story of their true protagonist. He had lost battles before - he'd never enjoyed it, but he'd always managed to shake it off and move forward. This loss felt different than the others, however, like everything he'd been working for his entire life had been leading up to this opportunity to prove himself, only for it to fall utterly flat.