The Psychic door slid open with a soft sigh, almost like the room behind it had been holding its breath. A warm lavender glow drifted through the air, shimmering in slow waves that made the stone under my boots look fluid. Skyla squeezed my arm once before I stepped forward, then drifted to the side of the viewing platform.
The chamber was enormous. Circular. Every surface, from the pristine white floor to the arching walls, was etched with swirling pastel sigils that drifted and rearranged themselves like living brushstrokes. They glowed softly, casting the entire room in shifting hues of pink, gold, and violet.
Caitlin sat suspended several feet above the ground in a lotus position, her eyes closed, golden hair floating as if underwater. Her presence felt like a whisper brushing against the back of my thoughts. When she finally opened her eyes, there was an ancient sharpness there that didn't match her soft voice.
"Welcome, challenger. You've brought a storm of emotion with you today. Let's see if you can keep it contained."
Contained. Good one, Zoey murmured dryly beside me.
"That depends," I breathed. "On how hard you're planning to push back."
Caitlin raised a hand. The battlefield lit up with runic circles. Her first Poké Ball floated weightlessly into the air and burst.
Delphox burst forward with dancer-like elegance, wand rising as her bright amber eyes locked onto Zoey's. Her fur rippled with heat, but her expression remained calm and composed, almost curious.
Ready? I asked.
Zoey cracked her neck. More than.
She burst forward, mane fanning out as four duplicates peeled off beside her. The illusions charged from every angle, claws glowing with Night Slash. Normally, I would've waited for that familiar flicker of confusion, the hesitation.
But Delphox simply sighed.
Your doubles don't work on me, little trickster.
She drew a slow circle in the air with her wand, and a ring of psychic fire spiralled outward from the tip of it. The flame swept the field and burned the illusions away instantly, as if they'd never been conjured in the first place.
Zoey skidded to a halt, stunned. Wait, what?
Delphox's eyes softened in something like sympathy.
I've peered through grander deceptions," she said. "Yours are charming, but transparent.
Zoey growled under her breath, snarling as she summoned a second wave of illusions, distortions, flickering shadows, and movement patterns designed to fool even the sharpest minds. She sent them racing across the arena.
Delphox flicked her wand again, almost bored.
Another wash of pink-orange flame swept outward, vaporizing the illusions on contact.
Zoey staggered back, ears flattening. Okay, that's rude.
Then fight as yourself, Delphox said gently, as though offering advice rather than taunting.
I stepped closer. She's right. Get in close.
Zoey shot forward, this time shedding every distraction. Delphox reacted instantly, slamming her wand into the floor. A geyser of psychic flame roared upward, forcing Zoey to twist aside. The heat singed her fur, but she kept going, claws low and sharp.
Delphox swung her wand toward her again, but Zoey was already sliding under the arc of flame, bursting through the smoke with a vicious Night Slash.
The blow connected with Delphox's jaw. The fox staggered, robes flaring as she regained her footing. Her expression sharpened.
Well struck.
Zoey grinned.
Delphox retaliated with a burst of psychic force that hurled Zoey back. She crashed across the tile and came up on one knee, growling through the pain.
She hits like a truck.
Zoey blurred forward, faster than before. Delphox's eyes widened, just a fraction. She raised her wand to unleash another jet of flame, but Zoey twisted, vanished into her blind spot, and came crashing down with Dark Pulse against Delphox's flank.
The pitch-black shockwave rippled across the arena. Delphox lurched, stumbling as the attack rattled through her.
Zoey didn't wait.
She followed with a clean, brutal Night Slash.
Delphox dropped to one knee, but the fight wasn't finished. Zoey was overextended, and in the split second she would have needed to regain her footing, Delphox tilted her head up at Zoey and moved her wand. A psychic grip latched around Zoey.
Delphox got to her feet, dusting her coat off while holding Zoey suspended in mid-air.
Then her eyes lit up with a fiery magenta I'd never seen before. In an instant, Zoey was slammed into the wall once, twice, three times. She dropped to the floor, the psychic grip severed now.
It took me a moment to realize that this was an act. The second Delphox closed in for the finisher, Zoey's eyes flashed open. With a grunt of effort, she released the fully charged Night Daze. The blast rippled out and finished the fight.
Delphox fell, her wand skittering across the tile.
Caitlin returned her calmly, brushing a strand of blond hair from her cheek.
"That was lovely," she said. "Honest and precise. You both let the illusions fall away."
Zoey flicked her mane with a smirk. And she still didn't see that one coming.
I smiled. Let's keep going.
Caitlin didn't hesitate. Her next Poké Ball burst open in a flare of violet light, and Alakazam descended as if he were weightless. His spoons floated at his sides, rotating in slow, deliberate orbits. His eyes were bright with intellect, cold with experience.
Trilla stepped forward, her gown brushing the arena floor as she lifted her chin. I am ready, Atrea.
I nodded. Let's do this.
Alakazam didn't wait for a command.
The air cracked, and Trilla's body suddenly snapped sideways, flung across the arena by telekinesis so strong it didn't even ripple the air. She hit the floor hard and gasped, sliding several feet before she caught herself.
"Trilla!" I shouted.
She pushed up, trembling. I'm fine-
Alakazam flicked a spoon.
Trilla was ripped off the ground again, slammed into a wall of psychic force, then thrown back toward me. It was like watching a doll with its strings cut, tossed wherever he willed.
The power difference was staggering.
"Keep your guard up!" I yelled.
But Alakazam didn't give her a chance.
His spoons moved, and Trilla's body followed. She was lifted by her throat, held aloft by invisible pressure.
Her gasp echoed through my skull.
Shadow Ball! I cried.
She tried, violet energy flickered in her palms, but Alakazam twisted, and the pressure crushed the attack before it could form. He hurled her back down, face-first into the stone. The floor cracked under the impact.
Caitlin closed her eyes, serene. "Do you see? His mind was honed in meditation chambers older than this League."
I clenched my fists. Trilla, why don't you show them what an upgrade looks like?
Trilla's entire body lit with blinding white.
Alakazam lunged forward, trying to stop it, but not quickly enough.
The air exploded as Trilla's form changed, her presence erupting outward like a star going nova. Her dress elongated, her aura sharpened into a shimmering mantle of light, and her eyes flared with a calm, terrifying focus.
Mega Gardevoir hovered above the cracked arena floor.
Alakazam's spoons froze mid-spin.
Trilla extended one hand. My turn.
Then reality bent.
Shadow Balls didn't appear from her palms. They materialized everywhere: In the corners of the battlefield, behind Alakazam's shoulders, above his head, under his feet, everywhere. It was as if her psychic presence folded the space around him.
His eyes widened. He spun, hopelessly trying to track them all.
The cluster shot inward and detonated in unison.
The shockwave hammered the walls and sent dust cascading from the ceiling supports. Alakazam's form blurred at the center of the blast before he was flung across the arena, spoons scattering as he crashed onto the tile and skidded to Caitlin's feet.
Silence.
Then Caitlin exhaled, a soft, impressed sound. "Beautiful. Both of them."
Trilla floated back to the ground, trembling slightly from the surge of power. I rushed to her and rested my hand on her shoulder.
You okay?
Better now, she murmured, warmth brushing my mind. He was strong. But you guided me well.
I squeezed her hand. You did that. Not me.
We stepped back as Caitlin withdrew Alakazam, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
"Let us see how sharp your steel truly is, Atrea," she said. "Next… Gallade."
Gallade appeared in a burst of pale light, landing in a crouch with his blades angled behind him.
When I released Scizor, he landed a little heavier than usual. His thrusters hummed as he straightened, but the sound wasn't clean. There was a faint stutter to it, like heat still trapped where it didn't belong. His shoulders rose and fell once as he rolled them, and I caught the tremor in his forearms before he managed to still them.
Gallade didn't rush Scizor, and that was the first thing that set my nerves on edge. He stood across the arena in a low, ready stance, arm blades angled back, eyes fixed on Scizor with a focus that felt measured rather than aggressive.
"Scizor," I said quietly, keeping my voice low. "Are you okay to battle?"
He turned his head toward me. For a heartbeat, I wondered if he was going to say something, but instead he gave a single, firm nod. The optics along his faceplate flared, steady and resolute.
The referee raised his hand.
"Battle begin!"
Scizor moved first, not with reckless speed, but with precision. His thrusters flared in a short, controlled burst, and he vanished from where he stood, reappearing directly in front of Gallade in a flash of red steel. His fist snapped forward before Gallade could fully adjust.
Bullet Punch.
The impact cracked through the chamber like a gunshot. Gallade was driven back a full step, feet skidding against the polished stone as the blow landed squarely against his chest. For a split second, my hope surged.
Then Scizor staggered.
The recoil hit him all at once. His thrusters sputtered, whining in protest as he landed awkwardly and dropped to one knee. One claw scraped against the floor as he tried to steady himself, his frame trembling under the strain.
I felt it the instant Gallade did.
Scizor began to turn, trying to recover his stance, but he never finished the motion. Gallade surged forward in a blur of green and white, arm blade slamming into Scizor's side with surgical precision, right where the armor plates had begun to separate under stress. The impact lifted Scizor clean off the ground and hurled him across the arena.
He hit the wall hard.
Scizor slid down the stone and collapsed where he landed, one arm braced weakly against the floor, thrusters dark and unresponsive. He tried to push himself up. His arm shook, metal groaning softly, and then gave out.
"Scizor!" I shouted, already moving.
The referee stepped forward, voice steady and impersonal. "Scizor is unable to battle."
The words hit harder than I expected. I knelt beside him as Caitlin recalled Gallade, placing a hand against Scizor's shoulder. His optics flickered faintly when I touched him.
I'm sorry, he said quietly. I was too slow.
No, you weren't, buddy. You did great.
I swallowed hard, forcing the lump in my throat down. That wasn't on him. That was on me.
I returned him gently, my fingers lingering on the Poké Ball for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. The weight of it felt different now. Heavier.
I straightened and took a slow breath, forcing my pulse back under control as I clipped the ball back into place. We still had two more Elite Four members left after Caitlin. And Scizor was done.
Caitlin's voice drifted across the arena, calm and observant. "A clean strike," she said. "But a costly one."
She wasn't wrong.
I reached for my next Poké Ball, my grip steady despite the churn in my chest. "Alright," I murmured, more to myself than anyone else. "No more gambles."
I brought Swampert forward and released him onto the field. He hit the stone with a solid, grounding thud, rolled his shoulders once, and fixed Gallade with an unblinking stare as he took in the situation. I met his gaze and nodded.
Ready to finish this? I asked, already knowing the answer.
Swampert cracked his knuckles, a low rumble of anticipation rolling from his chest.
Gladly.
Gallade didn't hesitate this time.
The instant Swampert settled into position, Gallade lunged forward, arm blades flaring with psychic energy as he carved a glowing arc through the air. Psycho Cut screamed toward Swampert in a cross-slash meant to open him up before he could react.
Don't dodge, I said sharply.
Swampert's eyes flicked to me for a split second.
Grab him. Take away his weapons.
Swampert surged forward instead of back. Gallade's blades passed within inches of his chest as he closed the distance, massive hands snapping shut around Gallade's forearms just below the blades. The psychic edge bit into Swampert's palms, but he powered through it, muscles bulging as he crossed Gallade's arms over one another and locked them tight against his chest.
Gallade struggled, feet scraping against the stone as he tried to wrench free, but Swampert's grip strength was too much. He held Gallade's arms to the ground with both fists.
"Now," I said.
Swampert drew one massive fist back and brought it down between Gallade's pinned arms.
The Ice Punch detonated in a blast of white frost.
The temperature dropped instantly as ice began to race across Gallade's forearms, crawling over the glowing psychic blades and sealing them together in a solid block of frozen energy. Frost spread. Gallade's eyes widened.
Shit.
Was the only word he got out before Swampert roared and yanked him forward.
Gallade barely left the ground before Swampert slammed him down, driving him into the stone with a force that rattled the entire chamber. The impact knocked the breath from Gallade's lungs, the frozen mass of his arms shattering against the floor in a spray of ice shards as his body bounced once and went still.
He twitched once and tried to push himself up.
Swampert didn't give him the chance.
He planted one foot forward, leaned down, and unleashed Hydro Pump at point-blank range.
The blast hit like a freight train. Water thundered across the arena and lifted Gallade off the ground, hurling him backward in a spray of shattered ice and mist.
Silence followed.
The referee didn't hesitate. "Gallade is unable to battle."
I exhaled slowly, tension bleeding out of my shoulders as Swampert straightened and rolled his neck once, steam rising from his skin where ice and water met heated muscle.
"Good work," I murmured.
Swampert snorted, eyes never leaving Caitlin's side of the arena.
Caitlin's expression shifted to a colder, more analytical one.
"Malamar," she said. "Show them what lies beneath the calm."
The Poké Ball opened, and shadowed light twisted upward. Malamar unfurled from the beam like it was rising from an abyssal trench, tendrils drifting in calm, hypnotic patterns. Its eyes glowed with unsettling brightness, a predator masked in elegance.
A cold ripple slid down my spine as I returned Swampert and brought Nick out.
You're up, I said.
Nick hesitated only a heartbeat before stepping forward, claws flexing.
Why do I always have to fight the creepy ones? He asked rhetorically.
The arena lights reflected along his obsidian scales as he gave Malamar a low, warning growl.
Malamar's tendrils drifted in slow, unsettling coils, each movement pulsing with faint bioluminescent glow. Its eyes were half-lidded, studying Nick the way a predator studies a trapped animal rather than an opponent.
Nick stepped forward, shoulders rolling. I don't like that thing.
Just stay sharp, I told him. He's unpredictable.
Caitlin's eyes half-closed. "Disorient him if you will, darling."
A single tendril twitched.
Supersonic.
The vibration wasn't loud. It was wrong, a note that made my stomach drop and my vision flicker for half a second. Nick winced hard, claws scraping the ground.
What? What is that noise? I can't-
"Teleport," Caitlin said gently, like she was asking Malamar to pour tea.
Malamar vanished. Nick spun to the left, but his opponent appeared behind him.
"Superpower."
The tentacle slammed into Nick's ribs with crushing psychic force. He was thrown across the arena, hitting the ground so hard that dust sprayed outward.
He pushed himself up, gasping. Atrea… he's fast.
Nick, listen to me. He'll hit and vanish again. You have to feel for it, not look for it. Like you did with Golurk.
Caitlin's voice cut cleanly through the air. "Again. Teleport."
Malamar dissolved.
Nick whipped around wildly, Supersonic still muddying his senses.
"Superpower."
Malamar appeared behind him again, already mid-swing. Nick barely rolled aside as the blast carved a crater where he'd stood seconds before.
I can't track him! Nick snarled. I can't hear straight! Everything's sliding around in my head!
Nick.
He froze mid-breath.
Forget what I said. Stop thinking.
His chest heaved.
Don't contain it.
A shudder ripped through his body.
Let it loose.
Nick's aura erupted.
A violent, spiralling blast of draconic fury exploded off of him in a pulse of red and purple energy. The ground cracked, and the air warped.
Malamar tried to teleport. It was too late.
Nick didn't move with thought; he lunged with an instinct sharpened by rage.
He snapped around the exact instant Malamar materialized behind him, jaws clamping onto its tentacle with a bone-splintering crunch.
Malamar shrieked.
Caitlin's eyes widened. "Malamar!"
Nick didn't let go.
He whipped Malamar down and smashed it into the floor hard enough to cave the tiles inward. Malamar tried to teleport again, but Nick's claws seized its mantle and ripped it back down. He lifted Malamar by the tentacle and hammered it repeatedly into the ground.
This! Is! For! Scrambling! My! Head!
Each word was punctuated by another devastating slam.
Caitlin lifted her hand, voice firm now. "Malamar, retreat!"
But Nick had already thrown him.
He hurled Malamar across the battlefield and into the wall with brutal force. The panel buckled, and Malamar slid down unconscious.
Nick staggered, Outrage still burning through him, breath ragged.
Atrea… I… might've gone too far…
I rushed to meet him, resting my hand against his snout. You did exactly what you needed to.
He sagged into me, exhausted but pleased. Squid didn't know what hit him…
"No," I murmured aloud. "He really didn't."
Caitlin recalled Malamar with a contemplative look, neither upset nor unnerved. Just impressed.
"Your dragon burns bright," she said softly. "Let us see you fight an opponent that does not bend."
She raised her next Poké Ball.
Bronzong.
Bronzong emerged with a deep, resonant chime that vibrated through the arena floor. Its wide body hovered effortlessly, ancient patterns glowing faintly along its surface.
I palmed Swampert's ball again and deployed him. Swampert burst out, rolling his shoulders. So soon? He asked
Let's do it, I told him.
"Light Screen," Caitlin commanded.
A shimmering veil of light curved around Bronzong, warping the air with its heat-haze shimmer.
Swampert slammed his fists into the tile, bracing his stance. Water surged from deep in his chest, spiraling outward as he unleashed Hydro Cannon.
The blast should've shattered the arena.
Instead, it splashed pathetically across the Light Screen like a water hose hitting a patio umbrella. The torrent weakened instantly, falling from a tidal wave to a child's squirt gun.
The water pooled harmlessly at Bronzong's base.
"What?!" I choked. "You've got to be kidding me."
Swampert stared, wide-eyed. That… that's impossible! It should've crushed him!
Bronzong floated placidly in place, almost serene.
Okay, I told him, no more staying back. We get in close. Hammer Arm!
Swampert charged, arms raised. His heavy footfalls boomed through the chamber.
Bronzong turned.
And drifted out of the way with a gentle spin, like a leaf on the breeze.
Swampert barreled past his mark, and Bronzong flicked a pulse of psychic energy. It was just a nudge, but it still managed to redirect Swampert straight into the wall.
He hit with a massive thud, cracking stone.
You okay? I asked, wincing.
Yeah. The can's way slipperier than it looks.
Then Ice Punch, force the issue!
He lunged, fist blooming with frost.
Bronzong lifted itself lightly, letting the punch whiff by inches. Swampert smashed the tile, creating a shock of ice across the floor.
Another psychic tap.
Swampert face-planted again.
He spat dust. Okay, now I hate this thing!
I know, I said. Hold on, look.
Leftover Hydro Cannon water was freezing beneath Bronzong's body from the blast of cold Swampert's earlier punch had created. Thin ice traced outward across the puddles.
An idea sparked.
Swampert, use Hydro Cannon again!
He blinked at me. Really? It bounced off like nothing!
We're not going for range, I told him. Trust me.
Slowly, a grin split his face. Oh… that's nasty.
He planted his fists and roared, unleashing another Hydro Cannon straight into Bronzong's Light Screen.
"Light Screen will nullify it," Caitlin said calmly.
Swampert, Ice Punch!
He ripped one hand free of the ground and slammed his icy fist directly into the stream as it left his mouth.
The jet froze instantly.
A massive, gleaming lance of ice shot forward, pinning Bronzong to the wall behind it. The physical projectile had slipped right through the Light Screen.
Caitlin's eyes widened, and the barrier flickered.
Swampert was already charging.
Hammer Arm!
He brought his glowing fist down with monumental force. It hammered into Bronzong's torso like a meteor strike, denting it into the wall before the ancient steel titan collapsed to the ground with a deafening chime.
Bronzong didn't rise.
Caitlin exhaled softly, a small smile forming.
"Exquisite problem-solving, Atrea. Truly."
Swampert flexed triumphantly. Tin can… is done.
Nice work, I told him as he stomped back to my side. Very nice work.
I returned Swampert to his ball as Dakashi flowed up from my shadow, stretching with lazy confidence.
"Been a long time, Caitie," he said.
Caitlin smiled, small, warm, and unmistakably familiar. "Somehow, I knew you'd be at her side for this."
Caitlin lifted a hand and revealed her final Poké Ball
For a moment, neither of them moved. There was something there, a history I couldn't quite see, but could feel all the same.
Then she threw it.
Medicham appeared in a flash of light, already poised, already balanced. The Keystone at Caitlin's wrist ignited almost immediately. "Mega Evolve."
The energy surged, then settled as Mega Medicham touched down without a sound, palms pressed together, eyes locked on Dakashi like she had already measured the distance between them.
Medicham moved first, High Jump Kick in a blur of motion. "Dakashi, " I started, but he didn't dodge. Ice flashed across the ground just as Medicham descended.
Dakashi's Ice Beam froze Medicham's leading foot mid-strike.
He surged in to grab her, but Medicham pivoted anyway, twisting with impossible control as her leg broke free and snapped into his side. The impact echoed. Dakashi growled as he was knocked off balance, and Medicham landed cleanly, resetting with both palms together, breath steady.
Dakashi answered with Dark Pulse, the energy surging forward, only to warp the instant Medicham's eyes sharpened.
Detect.
The attack bent and whipped back at Dakashi.
He shifted midair just enough to let it tear past, and then, he was gone. No movement, no warning. One second there, the next swallowed by shadow.
I scanned the field, but Medicham had already turned. Dakashi rose from her shadow with a Shadow Ball already formed.
He drove it forward, only for Medicham to meet it head-on. She struck the attack, and the projectile burst between them. Dakashi absorbed the blast, shadows rippling across him, while Medicham was thrown back.
Dakashi's phantom ice spread again the moment Medicham landed and locked her feet in place again.
Dakashi was already closing in.
"Sleep."
He muttered as Dark Void swallowed the space around Medicham.
She dropped instantly.
For a second, I thought that was it.
Then suddenly, Medicham's eyes snapped open.
Even Caitlin shifted.
Medicham lunged forward, fist driving straight at Dakashi, but he didn't move. Instead, the Dark Void collapsed mid-cast.
My breath caught as it clicked into place.
He didn't need the sleep to hold. He just needed Medicham to seize an opening she thought he'd left.
In an instant, a mass of dark tendrils snapped from his sleeves and wrapped around Medicham's wrists, stopping the punch inches from his face. Then they tightened and began crawling up her arms.
Medicham's composure cracked just slightly as she realized her feet were still frozen.
The tendrils reached her head, curling along both sides as dark energy built. Two smaller Shadow Balls formed, dense and unstable, humming beside Medicham's temples.
In the stands, I caught Skyla leaning forward, gripping the railing, completely locked in on the fight.
"End it," I muttered.
Dakashi moved, but Medicham reacted faster than I expected. Energy surged from her core and erupted outward, Focus Blast at point-blank range.
"Dakashi!"
The hit landed clean, the explosion tearing him backward across the field. Smoke curled from where it struck, and my chest tightened. Super effective.
For a second, he didn't move.
Skyla and Caitlin didn't either.
Then Dakashi exhaled slowly and straightened, shadows flickering more violently around him now. His eyes locked onto Medicham.
"Refreshing."
The tendrils tightened and the Shadow Balls flared.
Twin explosions detonated at either side of Medicham's head, the force cracking through the arena. When the smoke cleared, she dropped. The ice shattered beneath her as she collapsed and went still.
I didn't realize I'd been holding my breath until it was over.
Caitlin lowered Medicham's ball after recalling her, both hands lingering around the capsule as if she needed a moment to re-center herself. The arena's lights steadied. Dakashi returned to my side, arms folded. I could barely make out what might have passed for a smile on his face.
Caitlin exhaled. "I knew you'd be strong, Atrea… but I didn't expect to see this."
I tried to steady my breathing. Sweat ran down my spine. My hands trembled. The adrenaline hadn't fully left me.
"I just…" I swallowed. "I just wanted to make her proud."
Caitlin stepped closer. The shift in her expression wasn't condescending or pitying; it was soft, like she'd carried those exact words once herself.
"She would have been," she said. "Your mother was one of the most remarkable trainers I ever had the pleasure of meeting. I was actually her final victory in the placement tournament all those years ago. That's why I'm number two of four rather than three. As much as it bruises my ego to admit it, we all knew she would make it to the top three."
"I keep forgetting how long you two knew each other," I commented.
Dakashi rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact. "Long enough."
Caitlin laughed quietly. "Dakashi practically lived in the Elite chambers during Chloe's tenure. She allowed him access to places most Pokémon never go. He saw battles we did not. He saw the things she hid under her smile."
Dakashi's eyes darkened at that.
She hid too much.
I felt that statement in my chest like someone pressing down hard.
Caitlin looked at me again. "Do you know why she stepped down?"
I shook my head. "Dad always said it was to raise me. To give me a normal childhood."
Caitlin's mouth curved sadly. "That was the story she wanted the world to hear. But the truth is… Chloe knew she wouldn't survive another year at the pace she was fighting. Her body was failing her. Too many battles, too much strain. She confided in Dakashi first."
My breath caught. "She… never told me."
"She didn't want you to watch her fade," Caitlin said. "She wanted you to see her strong. Brave, and unbroken."
My knees weakened. Dakashi placed a sleeve on my arm.
Hey, he murmured. She never regretted that choice. Not for a second.
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.
"She should've trusted me."
"She did," Caitlin said. "Every day. Enough to believe you'd be standing here one day. And after watching you battle…" Her gaze softened. "I understand why."
I swallowed hard. "Caitlin… did she ever talk about me? What she wanted for me?"
"Chloe was proud of you," Caitlin said. "Not for your power. Not for your potential. But because you cared. She used to say that most great trainers win with might, but you would win with understanding."
I felt heat behind my eyes again. I pressed my knuckles to my mouth.
Caitlin rested a hand lightly on my shoulder.
"And she was right."
Dakashi gave a quiet nod behind me.
For a moment, the three of us stood in silence,
Then Caitlin straightened. "You have made it through the first half of the Elite Four. I presume you are going in order, so Marshal will be waiting for you next. One more thing before you go…"
She looked to Dakashi.
"Old friend… you're still as terrifying as I remember."
Dakashi smirked. "And you still talk too much."
Caitlin nudged him with a smile, then turned back to me. "Go. You've earned your next step. And Atrea… whatever happens on the next floor? You carry her legacy well."
I swallowed the ache in my chest and nodded. "Thank you. For everything."
Dakashi slipped into my shadow again as Caitlin stepped aside. The double doors leading outward creaked open once again.
It was time for the next battle.
The doors to Caitlin's chamber shut behind us with a soft, echoing thud. The air at the crossroads felt cooler than before, calmer, as if the hall itself understood that a weight had lifted from my shoulders.
Skyla stepped up beside me, brushing dust off her jacket. "You okay?"
Her eyes flicked over my face. "You look like you just sprinted a marathon while carrying an Aggron."
I let out a breath that almost turned into a laugh. "That fight was a lot."
"No kidding. Trilla went full supernova, Nick tried to murder a squid, and Dakashi," Skyla shuddered. "Dakashi did… his thing. I lost track of how many times I hid behind a pillar."
Dakashi smirked. "You're welcome."
Skyla shot him a look. "You absolutely scare me on purpose."
Dakashi didn't deny it. "That's kind of my whole thing, dear. I actually recall fighting another Darkrai that harassed your grandfather with night terrors when he was a boy."
Skyla blinked. "…My grandfather?"
"Mhm." Dakashi stretched his neck. "Axel was a horrible sleeper. Snored like a dying Tauros. I fixed his nightmare problem. For a price."
I blinked. "What was the price?"
Dakashi shrugged. "He had to stop eating canned soup. That stuff offends me."
Skyla stared at him. "You've been around that long?"
Dakashi's eyes glittered. "Sweetheart, I've been around since before the League had rules. Long before the invention of the Poké Ball. Time flows differently when you literally live in nightmares."
Skyla rubbed her arms. "That's comforting."
Dakashi grinned, sharp and a little too satisfied. "Good."
Skyla stepped beside me with a determined grin. "Let's go meet Marshal."
Together, we walked toward the next trial.