"Lucario, use Bone Rush!"
Lucario gripped its bone staff and swung in a sharp, continuous arc, driving blow after blow into Drapion's armored body. As a Ground-type move, Bone Rush struck Drapion for double the normal damage, and the Drapion staggered backward with each hit, unable to hold its ground.
"Drapion, Fire Fang!"
Flames roared to life along Drapion's fangs as it lunged forward, biting through the pain. Lucario met it head-on, holding its bone horizontally — Drapion's jaws clamped down on the staff instead of Lucario's body.
"Break away and use Bone Rush again!" Cynthia called.
"Luca!"
Lucario planted a sharp kick into Drapion's chest, using the impact to push itself back and create distance. It spread its arms wide, and five bone staves materialized around its body, spinning rapidly in tight orbits.
With a single motion of its hand, all five flew at once.
Bang — bang — bang!
Each one connected. Drapion absorbed the full force of every hit and then slowly, heavily, dropped to the ground.
Boom.
"Drapion is unable to battle! Lucario wins!"
The referee's arm came down. On the large screen overhead, the last of the opponent's six Poké Ball icons flickered out and went dark. Cynthia's portrait filled the display.
"Please congratulate contestant Cynthia on advancing to the finals!"
The crowd erupted. The roar of the audience rolled across the entire stadium.
Cynthia recalled Lucario, then crossed the field and shook her opponent's hand.
"You battled well," she said simply.
She turned to leave. Out of habit, her eyes moved toward the spot near the stands where she had grown accustomed to seeing a familiar figure watching.
She stopped.
There was someone there — but it wasn't the dark-haired, plainly dressed person she had half-expected. This one had silver hair and was watching her with quiet amusement from beneath no disguise at all.
Wait.
Was that — Steven? Without the cap and glasses?
Steven met her eyes and gave a small, easy smile. He tilted his head back, gesturing for her to come outside.
Cynthia quickened her pace.
She found him waiting near the Pokémon Center entrance. The moment she spotted him, she walked straight up with a wide smile.
"When did you arrive?"
"Around the time you switched Lucario back in," Steven said, his tone light.
Cynthia's smile dropped. "Then why didn't you say anything?!" She brought her heel down firmly on his foot.
"Last night you told me you were exhausted and needed to rest — but you were already on a plane, weren't you?!"
"I was tired," Steven replied without missing a beat. "I rested on the plane." He reached over and ruffled her hair once, which she tolerated with an expression that suggested she was still deciding whether to stomp on his foot again.
"By the way," Cynthia said, glancing at him, "why aren't you in disguise?"
"I've officially taken office now," Steven said. He glanced around at the passing trainers and spectators. A few eyes had drifted their way, but no one approached. No one reached for a Pokétch to snap a photo. No one called out.
It was remarkably different from how things used to be.
As Champion, his responsibilities had grown considerably — and with that, the public had quietly come to understand something: approaching the Champion, or members of the Elite Four, uninvited was a disruption nobody wanted to be responsible for. The unspoken courtesy had taken hold without needing to be stated.
As for how Steven could once move freely without being recognized — that was simply a matter of his being cut from different cloth than certain high-profile Elites elsewhere. The Kanto Elite Four, for instance, were famously low-profile. Widely respected, certainly. Talked about in every corner of every region. But actually seen in public?
Almost never.
Which was just as well. By all accounts, they were currently somewhere north of Pallet Town, giving their full and undivided attention to a certain red-capped trainer on a mountain. And what they were serving him was decidedly not a celebratory dinner.
"It seems this old woman's trip may have been unnecessary after all."
Steven and Cynthia both turned.
Lucille — Cynthia's grandmother — stood a short distance away with her hands clasped behind her back and a knowing smile on her face.
"Grandma!" Cynthia immediately let go of Steven's arm and crossed to her grandmother with a surprised, delighted expression. "What are you doing here?"
"Can't a grandmother come and be a nuisance?" Carolina said warmly, her eyes bright with amusement. "My granddaughter has made it to the finals of the Lily of the Valley Conference. Did you think I'd miss that?"
She took Cynthia's hand in both of hers. "I was in the middle of a dig when that girl Philiece tracked me down and told me you'd made it to the semifinals. I came straight here."
Cynthia glanced at Steven, then back at her grandmother. "How is the excavation going?"
"Slowly," Lucille said, with the calm patience of someone who had spent a lifetime surrounded by ancient stones. "The site is more complex than we initially expected. We're still surveying."
"Then once I've finished challenging the League, I'll come and help!"
Lucille chuckled and tapped the top of Cynthia's head with two fingers. "Don't go making promises you'll forget the moment you step into the Hall of Fame."
"I won't forget!"
"All right, all right." Carolina nudged her gently back toward Steven. "This old woman is going to head to the hotel and leave you two in peace." She gave a small wave and began walking.
"Grandma, we'll walk you!" Cynthia said immediately.
The three of them made their way to a hotel on the outer edge of the city. Steven could have arranged a room for Carolina at the Pokémon Center through Nurse Joy, but the Center sat close to the stadium — the noise from the crowds and the constant activity on the ground-floor battle courts made it less than ideal for someone who simply wanted to rest.
Afterward, Steven and Cynthia wandered through the quieter parts of the city for a while. Nothing strenuous — just a slow walk to help her unwind.
The finals themselves wouldn't be much of a challenge for Cynthia. He knew that much.
What came after the finals was another matter.
The next morning.
Lily of the Valley Conference — finals arena.
Steven sat beside Carolina in the stands.
"After days of fierce competition, two contestants have claimed their place in the final!"
The announcer's voice carried clearly across the packed stadium. The crowd settled into an anticipatory hush as both competitors walked out onto the field from opposite sides.
Cynthia and a young man met in the center. They shook hands.
"Will we witness contestant Cynthia lose even a single point today?! At the Ever Grande Conference just over a month ago, the newly crowned Hoenn Champion Steven swept the entire tournament without dropping a single Pokémon — can Cynthia match that?!"
Steven pressed his lips together. He hadn't expected to be mentioned.
"Please send out your Pokémon!"
Two flashes of white light burst across the field.
Cynthia released Milotic. Her opponent sent out a Pokémon built powerfully and broadly — bright yellow, with thick arms, a tail that split into two heavy cylindrical ends like fuses, and a pattern across its back that resembled a double electrical socket.
Electivire.
Steven's eyes narrowed slightly. This opponent isn't straightforward.
He had anticipated that Cynthia would open with Milotic. What he hadn't accounted for was someone deliberately countering that choice from the very first send-out.
"Electivire, Thunder Punch!"
Lightning crackled and coiled around Electivire's fists, golden and fierce. It charged across the field in a straight line.
Cynthia didn't hesitate. She recalled Milotic in a single smooth motion and immediately released her next Pokémon to intercept.
Of her entire team, only one could take a Thunder Punch and feel nothing.
Garchomp landed on the field. Thunder Punch connected.
The electricity scattered harmlessly across its scales. Garchomp barely moved.
It fixed Electivire with a long, flat stare.
I have been waiting all tournament for someone to let me do this.
"Gao!"
A blue-violet aura ignited across Garchomp's entire body. The next instant, a massive surge of draconic energy — Dragon Rush, condensed and ferocious — swallowed Electivire whole.
In the stands, Steven observed quietly and said nothing.
He did, however, spare a moment of silent sympathy for Electivire.