-Blessed by Divinity: Eternity-

Ascension

"..."

"Huh, your silence is pathetic." The masked man stared at me from the centre of the plateau, his invisible eyes boring into my skull.

Only a few minutes ago did Aaron chase Cyrus into a mysterious portal, both disappearing from sight in a flash. That left only myself, the masked man and the empty Spear Pillar to hold us.

A tense silence had taken over the air, neither of us making the first move. Charizard emerged from his pokeball, keeping his gaze fixed on the man who stood opposite us. If he made a break for it, the fire type would make sure that he couldn't take another step.

"...!"

"Hmph, you assume that I even have to battle you. Open your eyes Red, you can feel it can't you? The presence of all these legendary pokemon gathered here, right beneath your feet!" The masked man rambled on but as he spoke, I quickly picked up on what he was talking about.

He was right. As I focused on the surrounding area, I felt all the different auras of legendary pokemon with no logical reason for them all to be gathered here. Something malicious was at play, pulling the strings from behind the scenes and I could only assume it had something to do with Cyrus and that mysterious portal he and Aaron disappeared into.

"It's rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you. Celebi, we'll teach Red some manners."

A small green skinned pokemon emerged from the masked man's pokeball. Its eyes glowed a light blue, its small wings fluttering quickly as the pokemon whizzed around the empty plateau.

Charizard looked back to me as I nodded, reassuring him that we were still in control. Silently, the fire type looked back to his opponent, his eyes tracking Celebi's every move.

"...!"

"Counter with solar beam!"

Just as Charizard opened his mouth to release a scorching wave of fire, Celebi drew in the power of the burning hot sun, firing its own counter attack. The two powerful moves collided at the centre of the field, blowing away loose bits of rubble and debris as both pokemon battled for dominance.

Then, both pokemon withdrew at the same time, neither able to prevail with their strength. Even with the type disadvantage, our opponent had managed to force a draw which didn't bode well.

I thought back to the first time I met the masked man, at the warehouse in Jubilife City. Since then, I knew that my opponent was no pushover, he actually posed a real threat to me and my pokemon. But it's not like us to roll over in the face of a strong opponent.

In fact, the last time I was met with a real challenge, I had the battle of my life and for that, I owed Aaron. He opened my eyes to the reality that there were other incredibly strong trainers in the world, it didn't just revolve around me and my pokemon. My whole life had been spent rising to the top, ascending the ladder so that I could find someone that could stand on even ground with me and be called my rival.

"...!"

Charizard didn't hesitate as I made the call, the fire type summoning a rush of gale speed winds. The powerful hurricane attack swept through Spear Pillar, blowing away a few of the remaining standing stone pillars.

Celebi was caught up in the attack, crashing into a pillar as the grass type fell to the floor. I looked around, realising that the mountain's peak wouldn't be able to hold such a battle for long, the conditions of the battlefield worsening with each passing second.

"Hmph, Celebi, use future sight. Then follow with shadow ball!"

The grass type quickly returned to the fight, summoning three huge glowing blue orbs of psychic energy as it pushed them through a portal each. Without missing a beat, Celebi darted forward, launching blasts of shadowy energy toward us.