Lily of the Valley Island, Sinnoh region.
Home to the Lily of the Valley Conference, the island boasted battle facilities that rivaled anything else in the world. Every Trainer who'd fought their way through the Sinnoh League converged here to compete for the Conference Championship — and the winner earned the right to challenge the Elite Four, and beyond them, the Champion who stood at the very top of the League.
That Champion was Cynthia — the golden-haired prodigy out of Celestic Town.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sinnoh League Master Rank battle!" The commentator's voice rang out across the packed arena. "Today's challenger for the Championship seat is none other than Lucian, the League's Psychic-type Elite!"
"Will we see a new Champion crowned today, or will the throne hold? Let's find out!"
Thump, thump—
A man walked out from the player's tunnel: pale blue hair, burgundy suit, polished brown shoes, a hardcover book tucked under one arm, the other hand in his pocket. The crowd roared.
Lucian snapped the book shut, adjusted his tinted glasses, and offered the cameras an easy smile.
"Mr. Lucian has entered the arena!" the commentator called. "This marks his third Championship challenge this year alone!"
No comment necessary on that, Lucian thought, pushing his glasses up with a faint flush of embarrassment.
Then his gaze drifted toward the tunnel entrance, where a graceful figure had just appeared.
Tap, tap—
Heels striking the ground, unhurried, each footstep landing exactly on the crest of the crowd's rising roar. The cheers built like a tide, higher and higher.
"The Sinnoh Champion!"
"Cynthia!!"
The instant her footsteps stopped, the whole arena seemed to hold its breath. Golden hair spilled down like captured sunlight; next to those pale gray eyes, everything else in the stadium seemed to dim just slightly. She wore a black trench coat and sharp heels, one hand tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, an easy smile settling over striking features.
"It's been a while," Cynthia said, with a small nod. "I'm honored you'd challenge me again."
Lucian pressed a hand to his chest. "I intend to beat that Garchomp of yours this time."
"You're welcome to try," she said, smiling faintly.
"Both Trainers are in position — the match begins now!" the commentator boomed. "Lucian's leading with the famously resilient Bronzong! And Cynthia answers with her undefeated Garchomp!"
Two apex-tier Pokémon, standing across from each other. The crowd's energy shifted instantly, a collective gasp rippling through the stands.
Garchomp's body bristled with jagged scales, its spindle-shaped tail sweeping low, the missile-like protrusions on either side of its head gleaming under the arena lights. Blood-red eyes locked onto its opponent, twin scythe-arms crossing with an audible hiss as it let out a roar that shook the walls.
"Kao—!!"
Bronzong floated across from it, the low resonant toll of its bell-like body echoing through the stadium — heavy, ceremonial, almost funereal.
The battle was on.
"Garchomp, Fire Blast!"
"Bronzong, Block!"
Garchomp's jaws split wide as raw fire tore out, the heat warping the air itself, the explosion rattling the arena walls.
Boom!
Bronzong dropped, its Light Screen fully melted away by the blast — but a warning glow of blue was already pulsing along its ancient engravings.
Lucian threw his arm up. "Trick Room!"
Strange light bent through the arena as a cage of warped space bloomed into existence, swallowing both Pokémon whole.
"With Trick Room active, Garchomp's speed advantage is completely neutralized!" the commentator shouted.
Cynthia's mouth curved into the faintest smile. "Garchomp — Dragon Rush."
Under the stunned eyes of the entire stadium, Garchomp shot forward like a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier, white contrails streaming off its tail as its twin scythes tore straight through the fabric of Trick Room itself.
______________________________
Watching the footage, Luke's expression had gone somewhere between awed and personally offended.
Are you kidding me. Dragon Rush can just slice through Trick Room?
That's not a strategy, that's cheating.
Why am I even bothering with this Trainer thing. I should just go farm somewhere.
Gastly, floating beside him, looked equally lost.
This is nothing like the battles I thought I understood.
"Any thoughts?" Luke asked, glancing over.
"Hiss... kojie..."
"You okay? Feeling discouraged?"
"Kojie!"
Gastly's whole body shivered — and then its eyes went wide, blazing with something entirely different from discouragement.
Pokémon battles can be THIS incredible?!
The video had cracked open an entirely new tier of what battling could look like, and Gastly had instantly, wholeheartedly latched onto it as a new goal. Luke, misreading the shaking for fear, reached over and patted its head reassuringly.
"It's fine. With me calling the shots, we'll be bullying ordinary Masters just fine down the line."
Watching the two Elite Trainers go at it, Luke found himself genuinely moved, if only for a moment. But he also knew exactly where his ceiling was. His command instincts were solid — genuinely strong, even. Raising a Pokémon to that level, though, was a different animal entirely. Money, resources, connections — even with a system on his side, becoming an Elite-tier Trainer wasn't a project you finished in a season. Matching Red's rise to Champion inside a single year? That was fantasy-tier, full stop.
Still — looking at Gastly practically vibrating with excitement, Luke smiled and poked its Haze gently.
"Fine. Even if I never become a real Trainer myself, I guess throwing money at this for your sake is worth it."
Not wanting the Trainer life for himself didn't mean he couldn't still give Gastly a shot at its own dream. It clearly had the appetite for battle — Luke figured he'd let it chase that as far as it wanted. If it eventually hit a wall and lost badly, well, reality had a way of setting in on its own.
"You really think we're becoming World Champion someday, huh?" Luke said, grinning.
"Kojie kojie! (′▽`〃)"
"Alright, stream time. Let me redeem that Protect TM for you first."
______________________________
He opened the streaming software, and viewers flooded in almost instantly.
"TEACHER LUKE YOU'RE BACK"
"Gone almost a week, you don't want to make money anymore?"
"Teacher Luke's streaming, my whole life just turned around"
"Couldn't be helped," Luke said breezily. "End of semester's brutal. Gotta lock in that scholarship."
"Wait, no way anyone actually believes Teacher Luke's a model student, right?"
"Ten-year veteran here, Teacher Luke's a top student at Metro City University, thank you very much"
"???"
"Wait, seriously?? This guy's actually smart smart?"
"Thanks to 'How Bulbasaur Substitute-Protect-Toxic' for the rocket — send a rocket, we're basically friends now"
"Alright, doing something different today," Luke said, pulling up the team editor and dragging Gengar into his lineup. "Perish Song team tutorial, let's go."
"???"
"What fresh dirty trick is THIS"
"Stop explaining and just cook already, I'm starving"
The matchmaking screen spun and locked him in against an international opponent from the Sinnoh League server, handle "Vegetable Ice Cream" — profile picture a cartoon doll, a cute three-headed golden-haired loli.
"Aw, the opponent's actually adorable," Luke said.
He double-checked the ID, confirmed it wasn't anyone he needed to worry about, and settled in to actually call the match seriously.