Destiny Rebirth

Max's Challenge!

Below the battlefield, Max could hear the chants beginning, asking for him to appear. Sure, he had taken on the conferences of Hoenn, Kanto, and Sinnoh, along with Drake, of the Orange Crew, and the Battle Frontier, but never in front of a crowd like this, with such a strong opponent in his opening match. What made matters worse, was the pressure he felt to succeed. With Tyson already eliminated and Harrison in a slump lately, Hoenn and its media turned to him as their last hope to win. He was only fifteen. His best finish in a league was coming in the Top 4 at the Indigo Plateau.

How am I supposed to win this? Sure. I've done my research, but she probably changed her strategy. Why did I pick that Pokémon, for my initial choice? God, this is going to be a disaster! I'm going to embarrass myself! A worrying Max shouted in his thoughts.

"Wow, I haven't seen you shake this much since the first time you met Bonnie."

The voice snapped Max out of his thoughts and back into reality. He took a quick look around before seeing his sister, May, standing near him, with a small smile on her face, and a look of concern in her eyes.

"Oh, hey May," was all Max could say right now.

"Wow. No snappy reaction? No shouting that Bonnie isn't your girlfriend? You must be more nervous than I thought," May said with worry in her voice.

"Of course I'm nervous, May!" he yelled back. "I have everyone in Hoenn expecting me to go out there and win. I can't let those people down. I can't let dad down. I can't let Bonnie, you, or the others down. I mean, what if I fail?"

"Listen to yourself, Max," his sister began. "You sound like a kid who hasn't trained his whole life for this. You look like a beginner about to battle his first gym leader. You got this. Think about what Ash would do."

"He made it look so easy," Max said as his lips started to form a smile. He began to shake his head. "He was always so fearless. Always ready for anything with all the confidence in the world."

"Then, go out there and be like Ash for a battle! Battle like you're the best trainer anyone has ever seen!" shouted May.

Max thought for a moment. His eyes began to light up and his smile began to grow. He ran onto his platform, as it started to rise. He turned to see his sister before she vanished from sight.

"Thanks for the advice, May!" he shouted back. "Time to go win this thing!"

---

Max had his Pokéball at the ready. He was prepared for his opponent. Rachel was no slouch. She was an experienced trainer from the Kalos Region, but she had done a lot of traveling. She wore her blonde hair in a ponytail held by a blue hair tie. A few blonde bangs could be seen covering one of her blue eyes. She wore a long-sleeve white shirt that hugged her body with a blue outline of a Pokéball on it. She wore skinny jeans that showed off her slender physique and blue shoes to match her outfit.

Max wasn't going to misjudge her. She was known, throughout Kalos, as a scrappy trainer, as her biggest attribute was in-match-decision-making. Like her favorite Pokémon, she was aggressive.

When Rachel sent out her first choice, Max knew he had her pegged. They don't call her the Pride of Kalos for nothing. Max thought as he looks at her Pokémon.

Facing Max, was a Pokémon that stood on all fours. Tan fur covered its face, ears, chest, and underbelly along with its legs. A tuft of fur, at the end of its tail, was also tan in nature. This contrasted well with the dark brown that covered the rest of its body. From the top of its head, came long flowing hair that made a ponytail. The ponytail was red and yellow and flowed majestically down its back, which indicated that the Pokémon was a girl.