The final day of the tournament had arrived and the matches had swiftly come and gone with only the final two teams remaining after sweeping through the competition. Gabe and Jupiter stood at the entrance of their tunnel, waiting for the host to announce the start of the final match. The crowd was growing restless with every minute that passed by. As Gabe leaned against the wall of the tunnel, the sound of footsteps caught his attention, prompting him to turn in the direction of the noise.

Approaching him and Jupiter, was none other than Palmer and his mother along with another unexpected guest... Cynthia. Jupiter shifted her attention to the approaching trio and blinked. Standing not too far from her was the most powerful trainer in all of Sinnoh, and quite possibly the entire Pokémon world, as well as a Frontier Brain. While normally at ease in the presence of power, this was a different story. Palmer was intimidating but Cynthia... the way she walked with such confidence and grace in each step was both beautiful and absolutely terrifying.

Her very gaze was enough to cause her heart to hammer against her ribcage. Provoking her was something to be avoided at all costs... for now. Steeling her nerves, she willed herself to remain calm as they approached. Palmer paused before his son and grinned, placing a hand on Gabe's shoulder in the process.

"You've done well my boy! way to show what you're made of!" Palmer beamed with pride.

"I'm so proud of you Barry! you're doing so well," Sylvia smiled broadly, leaning in to kiss her son's cheek.

"Thanks mom and dad. But I can't take all the credit. I have an awesome partner after all," Gabe said with a faint smile as he gestured to Jupiter.

Crossing her arms, Jupiter gave him a wry grin. "You flatter me Barry. But don't sell yourself short. You've done just fine," Jupiter replied with a soft chuckle.

Gabe laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. It was nice to hear her say that, even if he did know that she was working for Team Galactic. For a few hours the night before, he was able to forget about it and see Jupiter for who she really was. A nerdy, sexual deviant who is also an otaku at heart with a love of Mago Berry soda, manga and romance novels.

"It appears we meet again Barry. What's it been, a week?" Cynthia began, relaxing her posture as she spoke. "You seem to be doing rather well out there, especially with such an experienced partner," Cynthia observed.

"You flatter me, Champion," Jupiter stated calmly, averting her gaze to Gabe with a flip of her hair.

"Ladies and gentlemen! the final match of the tournament is about to begin!" the host trailed off, stirring up the crowd in response.

"I guess that's our cue to head to the stands. We'll be watching you two. Battle hard you two," Sylvia smiled back at her son.

"Give it everything you've got son! show them that fiery spirit of yours!" Palmer added with a thumbs up before taking his wife by the hand and walking out of the tunnel.

"Good luck to you both. Hopefully our paths will cross again soon," Cynthia stated as she gave the duo a wave before exiting the tunnel.

Jupiter narrowed her eyes as Cynthia left the tunnel. That was a threat she did not want to deal with at the moment. Fortunately, Jupiter was under the radar as far as she knew. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face Gabe and dawned a more relaxed look.

"Ready for this?" Jupiter inquired, locking eyes with Gabe and getting a nod in response.

"Let's do this," Gabe replied, turning to trek toward the battlefield where their final opponents were waiting for them.

The roar of the crowd greeted their ears as they stepped onto the arena floor. The energy in the stadium was palpable. A rush of excitement overtook Gabe as he looked ahead at his opposition. Lucas stared right back with an equally ecstatic expression. His partner, Jeremy, met Jupiter's gaze, a slightly concerned look appearing in his eyes at the sight of her. This was no beginner he was up against. While Gabe proved formidable, Jupiter was a much different story.

"Looks like we're getting our rematch after all huh Lucas?" Gabe smirked.

"I've been waiting for this! You're going down Barry!" Lucas shouted back excitedly.

"Ha! We'll see about that. Just so you know, if you lose I'm fining you," Gabe retorted, cringing inwardly at his own statement.

Okay, I seriously need to find a cooler way of saying that!

"Then I hope you're ready to pay up, because my partner and I don't plan on losing!" Lucas shot back.

"If you two are done, why don't we let our Pokémon do the talking from here on out?" Jeremy added with a serious tone, crossing his arms in slight annoyance.

"Not the talkative type huh? I can respect that in an opponent," Jupiter replied casually. "I too am eager to get down to business. So as you say... let's cut the small talk shall we?"

Both sides nodded in agreement and armed themselves with their first teammates.

"The final match of the Hearthome City Battle Tournament will now commence! Will both sides please send out their starting Pokémon!?" boomed the judge.

In a blinding flash of light, both sides revealed their first choice. Gabe and Jupiter chose Houndoom and Toxicroak while Lucas sent out Lucario while Jeremy brought forth Staraptor Gabe narrowed his eyes at the sight of Lucario.

Okay... this could be trouble, mostly because Houndoom isn't that great defensively when up against something like THAT. Looks like I wasn't the only one with a few tricks up my sleeve.

"Let the match begin!"

"Lucario, use Close Combat on Houndoom!" Lucas called out.

"Staraptor, attack Toxicroak with Close Combat as well!" Jeremy commanded.

Lucario exploded from his position with Staraptor following suit, only for the two to break into a divide and conquer strategy as they converged on their targets.

"Houndoom, Flame Charge! don't let him get close!" Gabe warned, prompting Houndoom to rocket away from Lucario as he charged forward at intense speeds.

"Toxicroak, counter with Bullet Punch!" Jupiter calmly commanded.

Toxicroak clenched his fists and launched them forth at blinding speeds as Staraptor's talons lashed out at him. Staraptor's talons raked across Toxicroak's abdomen after he'd received two punches to the beak and chest beforehand.

Houndoom shifted his stance as Lucario just missed a Force Palm only to follow it up with an Aura Sphere that was met with adversity in the form of a stream of fire.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" Gabe shouted ferociously.

"Dragon Pulse!" Lucas cried out.

Houndoom unhinged his jaws and loosed a stream of fire from his throat towards his adversary. Lucario responded in kind by extending his paw and firing off a dragon-shaped beam of violet light that clashed heavily with the opposing assault. The force from the explosion upon collision was enough to push them back a few feet, disrupting the other battle that was taking place, forcing Toxicroak and Staraptor to break apart temporarily to avoid any further complications.

"Not bad Jeremy. Your Staraptor's strength is admirable, and he seems well trained," Jupiter praised her opponent. "But I'm afraid it won't be enough..."

"And what do you mean by that? The way I see it, my Staraptor's been kicking your Toxicroak's ass," Jeremy shot back.

"Uh... Jeremy? Not to rain on your parade but..." Lucas inputted, pointing at Staraptor to finish his statement. "Look!"

And look he did, and what he saw was a sickly looking Staraptor.

"What the-!?"

"He was surprisingly more resilient than I expected. But now that he's poisoned, he won't last much longer," Jupiter smirked.

Gabe glanced at the exhausted bird of prey and winced. It did not look good at all.

"Th-That doesn't matter! we've still got the advantage here. Right Staraptor!" Jeremy exclaimed.

Staraptor gave a screech of determination and willed himself to focus.

"Let's do it then! Brave Bird, go!" Jeremy cried out.

"Well if Jeremy's all fired up, then so are we! Lucario, use Close Combat!" Lucas roared.

"Fire Fang!" Gabe bellowed.

Staraptor let loose a battle cry as his body encased itself in an azure light before he blazed a trail towards his opposition. As the bird of prey neared, Jupiter began her counterattack.

"How naive..." Jupiter chuckled under her breath. "Venoshock!" she thundered.

Toxicroak opened his mouth and leaned his head back, gathering a potent purple liquid into a blob shape before spitting it at his incoming adversary. The blob struck home and stuck to the wings of the mighty predator of the skies, disrupting his flight pattern, causing him to crash into the ground. After a brief struggle, the true power of the attack was unleashed, shocking his body to the point of convulsions and finally, unconsciousness.

"Staraptor is unable to battle!" the judge declared.

As the declaration was made, the sound of a howl of pain resounded, drawing the attention to Houndoom and Lucario as the former had his jaws around the latter's wrist. The flames from the hell hound's mouth seared Lucario's wrists, leaving burns on his fur. On top of that, he wouldn't let go.

"Knock it off with Force Palm!" Lucas commanded fiercely.

"Don't let go! Use Flamethrower, quick!" Gabe hastily countered.

A few seconds and an explosion later, Lucario fell to the ground in a heap, steam rising off his fur as he hit the arena floor. Houndoom fell in much the same manner.

"Lucario and Houndoom are unable to battle!" the judge announced.

Gabe and Lucas returned their teammates to their spheres and placed them back on their belts before arming themselves with their final Pokémon. Jeremy followed suit and sent forth his last selection which turned out to be an Espeon. Grotle was released by Lucas, and Jamie by Gabe.

And there's that Espeon. I've seen how strong it is and I was hoping he would use that first so Houndoom could take it out, Gabe frowned, sizing up the powerful, elegant Psychic-type as she casually sat in place, awaiting her first command.

Looks like I'll have to make do with Jamie's Signal Beam...

"Now the real fun begins. I was looking forward to this," Jupiter grinned. "However... don't think that having a Psychic-type gives you the advantage..."

"Isn't that just it though? I mean... Toxicroak is very weak to-"

"That's not what she means Lucas," Jeremy cut him off. "She's talking about something far more complicated than type advantage... and she's right," Jeremy muttered, clenching his fist tightly as he prepped his command. "Even so, given the clear line of demarcation between our level of skill, Espeon and I won't be outdone! Psybeam!"

"So you understand huh? Very well then," Jupiter chuckled. "Bullet Punch!"

Toxicroak shifted his stance and armed his fists with Steel-type properties prior to bursting forth towards Espeon who had fired off a volley of Psybeam attacks from her gem. Deftly avoiding the beams, Toxicroak closed the gap and lashed out at Espeon who threw up a Reflect barrier to cushion the blow that struck. Skidding back, she blasted Toxicroak with another high-powered beam that forced him away from her.

"Grotle, use Earth Power on Luxio!" Lucas called out.

"Jamie, get moving! Double Team and strike back with Signal Beam!" Gabe hollered.

Jamie immediately took off running, multiplying her presence as she bolted towards Grotle, dodging around the cracks in the arena as energy erupted from it, dispersing her duplicates in the process. Closing the distance, she nailed Grotle with a well-placed Signal Beam. Grotle grunted and shook his head vigorously, glaring at Jamie as she prepped another blast from her tail.

"Keep up the pressure! Ice Fang!" Gabe commanded.

"Don't let her get too close! use Energy Ball!" Lucas bellowed.

Grotle unleashed a ball of condensed, verdant energy at the incoming little lion. Jamie converged upon Grotle and fired off a Signal Beam to disperse the second Energy Ball before leaping at Grotle with fangs encased in an icy aura. In mere moments, Jamie made contact, sinking her teeth into the tough hide of her adversary, causing Grotle to growl and thrash about, wildly releasing a Seed Bomb which blew Jamie right off of him, sending her flying.

Before Jamie hit the ground, she was caught by Toxicroak after he had evaded another Psybeam from Espeon. Jamie looked up at her comrade with a grateful expression on her features. Their moment of relief, however, was briefly cut off by a combination attack consisting of Psyshock and Energy Ball that crashed into their location. Fortunately, the two managed to move out of the way in time.

"Keep them on the run! Psybeam!" Jeremy called out.

"Hit'em hard Grotle! use Razor Leaf!" Lucas commanded.

"Tsk... keeping us at a distance, how troublesome. Fine, we'll play that game too. Toxicroak, attack Grotle with Gunk Shot!" Jupiter demanded.

"Jamie, disrupt that Espeon with Thunderbolt!" Gabe commanded.

Espeon crouched and took aim with her gem, firing off several beams in succession at the fast-moving frog. Getting clear for a moment, Toxicroak raised his hands high and formed what appeared to be a black garbage bag surrounded by a toxic aura and launched it at Grotle, connecting with crushing force and throwing the turtle off balance completely. Several leaves scraped Toxicroak as they flew by, causing the toxic frog to since and stumble as he landed.

Right as he regained his footing, a bolt of lightning clashed with a rainbow-colored blast of Psychic energy just a few feet from his position. Seeing the two were locked in a power struggle, Jupiter capitalized on the opportunity.

"Bullet Punch!" Jupiter called out.

"Earth Power!" Lucas shouted powerfully.

Toxicroak lunged ahead and drew his fists back while closing the distance between him and Espeon. Right as he neared, a crack opened up and the energy within blasted him into the air. Toxicroak hot the ground with a thud.

"Toxicroak is unable to battle!" proclaimed the judge as his hand went up.

Jupiter raised a brow. Toxicroak had been beaten. While she should have expected as much from the current matchup, it was still surprising nonetheless. However, while it was a victory for the opposition, their relief would be short-lived. Jupiter's lips curved into a devious grin as she withdrew Toxicroak. He had done his part, and the results were about to pay off as evidenced by the stumbling, sickly Grotle.

"Well done Toxicroak. Rest up," she stated, reaching down and snatching up Skuntank for the final bout. "Skuntank, let's finish this!"

Skuntank emerged onto the field in a battle-ready stance, crouching low and showing his fangs upon seeing his foes.

"I applaud you for your efforts you two, but I'm afraid this is where it ends," Jupiter stated confidently.

"Tch! we'll see about that! Espeon, use Shadow Ball!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Dark Pulse..." Jupiter riposted calmly.

"Grotle, let's show them that you can keep fighting! Energy Ball!" Lucas bellowed.

"Signal Beam now!" Gabe fired back.

Espeon planted her feet and formed a ball of ethereal energy from her gem and fired it towards Skuntank. Standing his ground, the Skunk Pokémon opened his mouth and unleashed a powerful blast of darkness that powered into the opposing sphere of ghostly energy, shattering it completely and hammering into Espeon with tremendous force. Espeon struggled to pull herself up, managing to do so just as Skuntank approached with claws ablaze with dark aura.

Meanwhile, Grotle's and Jamie's  attacks clashed with relatively equal force, however... due to Grotle's weakened state, his Energy Ball lost out and was blown apart, creating a smokescreen in his field of vision. That was all the time Jamie needed to act. Before Grotle knew it, Jamie had leapt through the darkness with her jaws gaping and laced with icy aura.

The judge's hand went up swiftly.

"Grotle and Espeon are unable to battle! This means that the winners of this year's Hearthome City Battle Tournament, are Barry and Jupiter!"

"AND IT'S OVER!" The host exclaimed excitedly into his microphone. "What an amazing battle! let's hear it for these four competitors!"

Cheers erupted from the stands as the two teams met in the center of the arena. It was a hard fought battle, but Jupiter and Gabe managed to pull away with the victory.