Chapter 10

Ace entered the press room to thunderous applause and flashbulbs. He sat at the podium and leaned forward into the mic. The atmosphere was electric. A flurry of reporters raised their hands calling his name begging to be called upon. Ace pointed to a middle-aged man with gray hair in the second row.

“Hello Ace. I’m Bob Shaw, Channel 5 Calypso Daily. If you had lost this match, it would’ve meant your death. Was that going through your mind at all during the match?”

Ace breathed before answering calmly and steady. “Yeah, it crossed my mind. You don’t step into the Divine Challenge without knowing exactly what’s on the line, but you can’t battle like you’re already dead. The second you let fear make your choices, you’ve already lost. My focus was on Mikaela, on her Pokémon, on every opening she left. I wasn’t fighting to survive. I was fighting to win.”

The reporters clamored again for Ace’s attention. Ace pointed to a brown-haired woman to his left.

“Hi, Ace. Selene Kaur, Calypso Post. What was going through your head when Mikaela revealed Mega Mawile? That had the entire arena stunned.”

Ace nodded. “I’d be lying if I said my stomach didn’t drop. I’d prepared for every trick I thought she had, but Mega Evolution changes everything. That thing wasn’t just strong, it was a monster, but once it hit the field, I reminded myself that every Pokémon has a weakness. My job was to find it before it killed me.”

Ace called on another reporter in the back.

“Ace, Jordan Reyes, Battle Network International. You looked completely calm in those final moments, even as Saur was being torn apart by Mega Mawile. How do you keep that composure?”

Ace smiled slightly. “You learn to trust your partner. I’ve been through hell with Saur. Compared to that, one Mega Mawile isn’t enough to shake us. If I start panicking, Saur feels it. So, I stay calm, even when it feels like the walls are closing in.”

Ace then called on a dark-haired woman in the third row.

“Hello Ace. I’m Nadia Ito from the Calypso Herald. That Solar Beam reversal, did you plan that in advance, or was it instinct?”

Ace exhaled before answering. “A bit of both. I knew Sunny Day would be my only way to speed Saur up, which is why I didn’t Mega evolve him. Once the sun was out, I kept the option of Solar Beam in my back pocket, but the timing, point-blank, just as Camilla went in for the kill, that was instinct. That was trust. Saur and I saw the opening at the same time, and we didn’t hesitate.”

Ace called on another reporter.

“Ace, Malik Crawford, Pallet Town Gazette. Amazing battle. Congratulations on the win. The crowd was on its feet after the final blow. Did you hear it? Or were you locked out of everything but the fight?”

“In the moment? It was all noise.” Ace explained. “A blur. Just me, Saur, and Mawile, but when the ref called it and the silence broke into cheers, I felt it. You don’t forget a sound like that. That roar isn’t for me alone, it’s for every trainer who’s dreamed of proving the impossible can be done.”

The next reporter was a young blonde near the back.

“Clarissa Young, Battle Strategy Weekly. Ace, you pulled Bisharp back in against Tinkaton even knowing the matchup disadvantage. Some people are calling that suicidal. Why make that choice?”

“Because matchups aren’t everything. Bisharp’s Defiant turns stat drops into firepower. Mikaela tried to break him with Baby-Doll Eyes, and it backfired. That’s what this Challenge is about. Reading your opponent, taking the risk, and punishing them when they slip. Sometimes you gamble. Tonight, that gamble paid off.”

Ace called on one last reporter.

Hi Ace, Darius Holt, Trainer Channel. Mikaela hasn’t been pushed this far in three years. What does it mean to you to be the one who finally broke her streak?”

Ace paused, then steadied himself. “It means the world ... but it also means the road ahead is only harder. Mikaela’s one of the best there is, and I respect her more after this fight than I did before, but she’s only the first of eight. I didn’t come here to break one streak. I came here to break them all.”

The reporters clamored for more questions, but the moderator called time. Ace rose, adjusted his jacket, and clipped Saur’s Poké Ball tighter to his belt. The crowd shouted his name as he exited, the badge gleaming in his pocket.

Mikaela walked into the press room in her sparkling pink jacket, makeup flawless, but her expression tighter than usual. She sat, crossing her legs sharply, the Pixie Badge case missing from her hip. The applause is respectful but muted compared to Ace’s. Flashbulbs flicker as she brushes a strand of hair behind her ear, exhaling through her nose before leaning into the mic. She called on a short brown-haired woman near the front.

“Mikaela, Gabby Taylor, Channel 5 Hoenn News. This is your first loss in three years. What’s going through your mind right now?”

Mikaela answered in a measured tone, but her chest was tight. “ ... Frustration. Disappointment. I don’t lose. Not here, not on this stage. I built my reputation on crushing challengers and reminding the world why the Divine Challenge is untouchable. Today ... Ace Tomlinson interrupted that, and I don’t like it.”

The next person was a middle-aged woman with long black hair.

“Hi Mikaela. I’m Jade Palmer, Pidgeot Gazette. You were visibly confident for most of the match, even after losing early rounds. Did you underestimate Ace?”

Mikaela’s eyes narrowed. “I underestimated his composure, maybe. Most trainers break when I smile across the field. He didn’t. He kept coming. Even when I sent out Camilla, he didn’t fold. That ... bothered me, but no, I didn’t underestimate him. I respected his skill. I just expected him to crack before I did. He didn’t.”

Mikaela next called on a young male reporter with blonde hair.

“Mikaela, I’m Jake Ballard, Battle Network International, That Solar Beam counter ... walk us through your reaction in the moment.”

Mikaela exhaled sharply, lips tight. “ ... I was furious. Camilla had him. The jaws were about to close, and then bam! Point-blank Solar Beam. Sunny Day in his back pocket the whole time. I didn’t expect him to hold it that long. That’s not luck. That’s cold calculation, and yeah, it stung.”

Mikaela then called upon a young woman with pink-dyed hair in the back.

“Hello Mikaela, Nadia Ito, Jubilife Journal Constitution. You’ve built your brand on dominance, on being untouchable. How does it feel knowing you were pushed harder than anyone has in years, and ultimately beaten?”

Mikaela paused, clearly irked, but stayed composed. “It burns. You can probably see it on my face. I hate this. I hate standing here without that badge on my belt, but if there’s one thing I can admit, it’s that he earned it. Most challengers? I toy with them. Ace ... he forced me to fight at my absolute ceiling, and for one night, he was better. Doesn’t mean he’ll stay better.”

The next reporter was Malik Crawford from the Pallet Town Gazette.

“Mikaela, what does this loss mean for your reputation going forward? Do you worry it damages the aura you’ve built?”

Mikaela leaned forward, nails tapping the desk. “Damages it? No. Adjusts it, maybe. People will talk, they’ll spin this like Mikaela Faye isn’t invincible anymore. Let them. I’ll be back in this Challenge, and the next trainer who walks in thinking Ace opened a door? I’ll slam it on their fingers. Trust me.”

Mikaela called on one last reporter. Brenda Cotton from the Trainer Channel.

“Hi Mikaela. Hard fought battle there. My question is, what do you think of Ace, personally, after this?”

Mikaela paused for a long moment, staring down at the desk before finally lifting her gaze.

“He’s dangerous. Calm, calculated, fearless. I still think he’s reckless, but ... he’s different. He didn’t just beat me, he broke through a wall nobody else has in three years, and I’ll admit it: that bothers me more than I want it to, but if he thinks this means he’ll waltz through the rest of the Challenge? He’s in for hell.”

Mikaela then stood abruptly, not waiting for further questions. The cameras chased her as she exited briskly, heels echoing on the floor. The press room buzzed with a mix of awe and unease. Mikaela Faye may have lost, but her intensity suggested this story wasn’t over.

Meanwhile, deep within the jagged caverns of Victory Road in the Unova region, where few trainers dared to tread, a unit of Ghetsis’ elite moved like phantoms. Their armor was sleek, their insignia stripped of color except for crimson stripes marking rank. They carried specialized packs humming faintly with energy, and each step was measured and synchronized. This was not the ragtag chaos of old villain teams. This was a well-trained army.

Their destination was a very remote and rugged area of Victory Road known as the Trial Chamber. They carefully made their way deeper into the cave until the lead operative held up a fist. They all stopped in unison. There was a sound. The sound of deep huffing and puffing from something that sounded aggressive. Then there were footsteps. The men raised their weapons aiming dead ahead.

“Somebody give me a light!” The lead operative hissed.

Two of the men behind them took out their high beam lights and flashed it forward. Then, slowly, the beast came into view. A few of the operatives gulped when they saw what was bearing down on them.

It was a quadrupedal Pokémon with a black, rounded forehead adorned with two brown, axe-like horns that curve forward. Its face was beige with orange eyes and a short snout. Those eyes looked ready to kill. On top of its head were several short spikes and down its back were two brown ridges that joined just past its humped shoulders. Its black hooves underneath its bands pressed into the ground with each intimidating step.

The colossal beast pawed the ground, its horns scraping the stone ceiling as it loomed, eyes burning with defiance. It had lived for centuries as a wall against human cruelty, a guardian who had crushed battalions in defense of Pokémon. Even now, as it sensed the intruders, it roared a sound that shook stalactites loose and made the earth heave. This Pokémon was their objective. This ... was Terrakion.

The lead operative raised two fingers. The squad moved instantly, planting disruption pylons in a perfect triangle. Each device unfolded spiderlike legs and drove into the rock, red lenses pulsing. A hum built, then shifted into an inaudible frequency designed to rattle the senses of legendary minds.

Terrakion charged. The cavern cracked beneath its hooves as it barreled forward, walls trembling, chunks of stone raining from the ceiling. Its head lowered looking like a living battering ram.

“Hold formation,” the lead operative said coolly.

The pylons flared. A concentrated blast of control waves slammed into Terrakion mid-charge. The first thing the operatives learned was that Terrakion was not prey.

The beast roared as the pylons lit up, its hooves shaking the cavern. Before the first control blast could fire, Terrakion lunged. Its horns glowed white, and in a blink, the front line of men was gone.

One operative was impaled clean through the chest, lifted like a ragdoll on Terrakion’s horn before being flung across the stone. Another was crushed beneath its hooves, a sickening crunch echoing through the chamber as his scream cut short. Two more dove for cover, but Terrakion rammed the wall, collapsing stone on top of them. Blood streaked across the cavern floor.

“Hold formation!” the lead barked, but his voice wavered as another man screamed.

Terrakion swung its head, horns slashing wide. One operative’s torso was split open, blood spraying against the pylon casing. The beast bellowed, rage incarnate, and barreled forward again, scattering bodies like broken toys. For every second the pylons weren’t synced, men died, and still, the squad held, scrambling, dragging the humming devices into place.

“Pylons live! FIRE!”

The first wave struck Terrakion again mid-charge, staggering it but not stopping it. Its eyes burned with fury as it rammed through the resonance, body glowing faintly crimson with sheer will. It gored another soldier, tossing him into the air like a doll. Then came the second blast..., and the third.

At last, the titan slowed, hooves grinding furrows into the stone. Its body trembled, yellow light bleeding into its eyes. Still, Terrakion fought, bashing its horns against the cavern wall until it cracked, blood dripping from its maw as if it would rather die than kneel, but the operatives pressed harder. They synchronized the pylons, the energy building to a crescendo.

Terrakion let out one last earth-shattering roar. Half in defiance and half in agony before its body finally stilled. Its massive frame slumped unnaturally, chest heaving, eyes glowing a dull, vacant yellow.

The cavern fell silent except for the hum of the pylons and the groans of the few survivors. Broken bodies lay scattered, blood staining the rocks. Out of two dozen, barely more than half were still breathing.

The lead operative tapped his earpiece, voice shaking but steady enough. “Target secured. Terrakion ... is under control.”

Across the channel, Ghetsis’ chuckle cut like a blade.

Later that evening, a steady knock at the door jolted Ace awake in his hotel suite. He groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He had barely drifted off after his exhausting battle, and now someone was disturbing him.

“Who the hell is knocking at this hour?” he thought, still groggy.

Annoyed, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and forced himself up. His muscles ached slightly, a reminder of how intense the match had been. Still, he staggered toward the door, ready to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.

Then Ace checked the peep hole. His irritation immediately vanished. He blinked. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but it definitely wasn’t this.

It was Mikaela. She stood outside his door in a form-fitting, black midi dress that hugged her body perfectly. The sleek fabric emphasized her toned figure, while the slightly plunging square neckline accentuated her natural beauty with effortless grace. A diamond necklace shimmered against her skin, her deep red lips matching her sharp, confident expression.

It wasn’t just the dress though. It was her energy. It was Commanding, direct, and unshaken. She looked like someone who was in control as always.

Ace smiled, intrigued.

Still, he took his time opening the door, leaning lazily against the frame when he did. He wanted to see what this was about.