Journey Through Kanto | ✅

Chapter 83: Battle Between Champions

"I see Pummelo Island!" Kaida squealed excitedly as they rode atop Ziton once more. "Finally! We can be on land, and eat, and sleep in a bed, and-" "We get it Emmy." Zia cut off the Serperior's tangent as she looked at the island. She was finally going to battle Drake and learn something about Kirlia's mother.

Suddenly, the Gyarados's head lurched to the right as everyone struggled to stay on. "What's going on?" KC asked as they looked where Ziton was looking, only to see a black silhouette in the distance flying along the top of the ocean. "I wonder what that is." Kirlia pondered aloud as they watched as it suddenly flew straight up into the air before vanishing among the clouds.

Arriving at Pummelo Island, the group went to sign Zia up for the battle with Drake. "I'm here to battle for the Orange League Trophy." She informed the man behind the counter. "Another one, eh?" He asked as he pulled out a scanner. Zia took all four badges out of her bag as she held them up in her hands.

"Let me just verify all four of these badges." The clerk stated as he scanned each one. They then appeared on the computer behind the man as Zia's picture popped up. "Well now, it says you come all the way from Pallet Town, Ms. Zia Braxs. Is that right?" The tournament clerk asked. "Yep. It's my hometown." She answered proudly.

"Alright, Ms. Zia. Your Winner's Trophy match is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock sharp at Pummelo Stadium." The older man informed them. "Let's go!" KC urged eagerly, just as, if not more, excited as Zia. "Wait, KC, you're forgetting something." Zia told him in amusement.

"Yeah, like what?" He asked, having no idea what she was talking about. "Like directions to the stadium?" She questioned as he flushed a light pink before chuckling sheepishly.

After that, the man took them over to the stadium. "This is Pummelo Stadium, where you'll have your battle tomorrow." He explained, gesturing to the huge building. "And this, this is the Palace of Victory." He added, looking over to a smaller, but still big, building next to the stadium.

Walking inside, they noticed all of the Dragonite statues. "Well, the Palace of Victory is its official name, but most folks know it now as the Orange League Hall of Fame." The clerk continued as they looked around. There were slabs of concrete with Pokemon handprints on them all around the area. Each one accompanied by a picture of the Pokemon and their trainer.

"All these photos and displays and trophies are here to honor every trainer who's been victorious in the Orange League since the establishment of the Winner's Trophy." The man told them as they looked more closely at one. "To get into the Hall, a trainer has to defeat the four members of the Orange Crew and the Pummelo Gym Leader in a full Pokemon battle." He said.

"You're going to have to think hard about which 6 Pokemon you're going to use." KC stated. "Yeah, that won't be easy. All of my Pokemon are amazing." Zia mumbled as she pet Sky and Emmy before also patting her Dratini.

"I'm sure you've noticed that each one of the Orange Island Gyms is very different. That's because the Orange Crew believes it's important to test both trainers and their Pokemon under lots of different circumstances to prove how well they work together. And if you're able to win in all four Orange Gyms, and in the Orange League, you all deserve to be in the Hall of Fame." The clerk spoke passionately.

Zia smiled softly before catching another glimpse of one of the Dragonite statues. "Why're there so many statues of Dragonite here?" She asked him, the others listening as they wanted to know as well. "Oh, that? Dragonite is the legendary Pokemon that guards this island." He answered her.

"I wonder if that thing we saw flying earlier was one." KC threw that out there, knowing that silhouette looked familiar. "Oh, that must've been the Gym Leader's Dragonite getting some exercise." The clerk explained to them. "He has a Dragonite?!" They all asked, surprised.