Chapter 165

Author Note:

This chapter received edits / rewrites on July 3rd, 2025.

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Sam’s Pokémon made themselves comfortable within his small Pokémon Center bedroom. Annihilape wasn’t interested in planning for the next battle, so he just hopped up onto the bed and began to snore. Trevenant found a spot in the corner that gave him the perfect angle to stick to the shadows but still stare out at the rising moon. Everyone else gathered around Sam to watch the battle recordings on the computer, with Dreepy nesting in his hair and with Typhlosion looking up from where she let her head rest in his lap.

A familiar voice echoed out of the computer’s short tower of speakers.

“Double Team. Sonic Boom. Ancient Power,” it said. “Repeat until you win.”

Xavier had been in significantly more tournaments than Sam, with the majority of those competitions taking place within the final month of the season. He had earned his eighth Gym Badge long before Sam had, and he had spent all of that extra time practicing and gathering experience for his team.

In just the five tournaments he had competed in within the season’s final month, Xavier reached third place in the first, second place in the second, and first in the rest.

“Redi said she saw him win Goldenrod’s main tournament,” Sam said to his team as the battle played out before him. “People came from all across Johto to compete in that one. If he won there, it’s no wonder he won in the other tournaments. And then he’s probably also been entering a lot of the smaller, unrecorded competitions, too.”

Like Redi had mentioned, Xavier never hid anything about his team. Sam was able to write down all of Xavier’s team members, all of their abilities, and all of their known moves, except that Sam also kept finding his gaze drifting toward Xavier’s face. He had perfect information about his next opponent’s team, but he found himself more focused on the trainer than the Pokémon.

The recorded battles had been uploaded in chronological order, and in each subsequent fight, Xavier’s expression darkened. The rush of victory that came after every win slowly became more and more subdued. It became an expectation rather than a desire. It was only right that he would win every match.

Yet, this wasn’t a reaction that came from his victories alone. His battle record was heavily weighed in his favor, but Xavier had gone a long time without acting like that at all. There was always a little bit of dourness to him, but it had never been anything to this extent. Based on the upload dates, he only started to experience this change just before he defeated his eighth Gym.

Only then did a certain tension in him begin to grow. Only then did his expression begin to darken over time. Occasionally, Sam could see that stress leak through whenever one of Xavier’s Pokémon almost took a hit.

He was trying to hide it, but he was filled to the brim with nerves, and the more Sam looked at it, the more he felt as though Xavier’s tough expression was him putting on a show.

It’s not expectation. It’s obligation, Sam thought to himself. It has to be connected to what he whispered at Cassandra’s party. Xavier said he didn’t have a choice.

Sam clicked the mouse, and the video paused. Silence stretched throughout the room. From atop his head, Dreepy let out a squeak, and Sam had to sigh before being able to come up with anything to say.

“Xavier is... strong,” he said, not sure how else to phrase it. “Ignoring everything else, his strategy is surprisingly straightforward. He wins simply because, well, he’s better than everyone he faces.”

It wasn’t that Xavier had no strategy; it was that he had built his strategy to be intrinsic to his team. He utilized his Pokémon to their fullest, and he forced his opponents to adapt to him rather than allow himself to be forced to adapt to his opponents.

In just that last battle Sam had watched, Xavier demonstrated exactly that. His Yanmega played into its Speed Boost ability to cycle through moves that were all enhanced thanks to the momentum of its constantly increasing speed.

Using only three moves in a set pattern should have made it predictable, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the Yanmega just became more and more difficult to put down over time.

Double Team increased its evasion. Sonic Boom threw off its opponents’ attacks. And Ancient Power forced the opposing Pokémon to dodge while clogging up the field with stones.

The Yanmega had only been facing a Sudowoodo, and there was a massive difference in speed between those two. However, Yanmega’s extreme weakness to the Rock Type should have seen it play more carefully. Yet, despite how even a single bit of chip damage would have caused it to faint, the Yanmega never hesitated. So confident, it never once needed to rely on anything but that pattern.

That alone proved its extreme competence.

“...We’ll watch the next battle,” Sam said, moving onto the next recording in the League’s archives.

In this match, Xavier’s Poliwrath ran right up to an Ariados. Strings wrapped the Water Type’s body as poisonous fangs bit into its flesh, but the Poliwrath’s punches landed regardless, and though the Ariados resisted those Fighting Type moves, it eventually became weakened enough for a Surf to sweep it away.

“Next one.”

In this match, Xavier’s Noctowl battered its foe with slicing winds before using a Hypnosis to let itself finish off its opponent with a grabbing Psychic.

“And the next.”

This battle saw Xavier’s Donphan use Rollout to completely sweep through his opponent’s team.

And in the next battle, his Yanmega used Bug Buzz to all but blast its foes away.

Poliwrath dominated through the sheer power of its punches.

Noctowl’s smooth flying demonstrated an incredible amount of agility.

Finally, in one of the very last recorded matches before Xavier participated in the Conference, he used a new Pokémon. A certain Honchkrow took great glee in the Dark Type miasma that pulsed out of its wings to knock out its foe.

“He’s overwhelming. His Pokémon are crazy skilled. He has more experience than us, and together, his team...” Sam let out a frustrated exhale. “I can’t lie about it. They’re stronger than we are.”

Cries of protest echoed out from throughout the room. Ticked off, Annihilape woke up just to raise a hand for a rude gesture, and even Dreepy protested from atop Sam’s head.

But a whine from Typhlosion in Sam’s lap saw everyone go quiet, and Sam ran his fingers through her fur out of thanks.

“I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. This isn’t even me being defeatist, I’m simply pointing out a fact. It doesn’t matter how confident we think we are—”

A Haunter tried to shout out its denial, but Sam kept going.

“But we have to recognize that this is going to be an uphill battle. We can’t get cocky. We’re going to have to put in more effort than we have in any other battle if we want to earn ourselves a win.”

As he replayed a few of those videos and skimmed through his notes, Sam could not find any room to create a counter. Any time he thought he saw an opening, he would find a match in which Xavier demonstrated a correction, proving that kind of planned counter-strategy would not work.

Xavier won because his opponents were always on the back foot, no matter what they tried. The second he obtained momentum, it was his. Like his Yanmega, he only ever built it, and in the rare times he seemed to lose his pace, it was solely to minorly change his approach so he could go on to win.

“I’d like to point out one or two things we could take advantage of, but those were only ever shown off in his earliest battles, and he fixed all of them later.” Sam tapped his pen to his lips. “Any weaknesses I saw were trained away, or he at least never does anything to allow them to show up again.”

His team was quiet. Sam was desperately trying to figure out a plan. Ultimately, he came to a simple conclusion:

He would be entering this battle without a counter-strategy.

But that didn’t mean they couldn’t win.

“We’ve trained for this. Creating a counter was always something we did to give us an advantage, not something we did because we needed a counter to win. We have our core plan. We have our basic structure. Our goal in the battle tomorrow is to demonstrate that’s all we need, no matter how confident Xavier tries to appear.”

Xavier might have had more experience, but that didn’t mean Sam’s team had slacked. This would simply be a straightforward match with no special tricks, a fight that would see every participating Pokémon pushed to their limits.

Like he said, Sam would use his team’s basic, core strategy without any special bells or whistles added to it. He would weaken his opponent’s Pokémon, and he would have his Pokémon take advantage of that. He would also most likely mix in a few of his team’s new, more aggressive tricks.

But as he came to that conclusion, he sighed, leaning back in his chair.

This was where the real battles would start.

Except, there was one opening.

It was small, but it was still there.

Drakloak had noticed it first, and she had to say her name several times before Sam was able to pick it out. In the earliest of Xavier’s battles, in a match that had taken place within a small tournament just after his third badge, Xavier had worn a glass egg incubator on his back that never again appeared in any other match. He fought and commanded his Pokémon like the egg wasn’t there, but it was, and that was the only time it had ever appeared.

“The egg from the Beginner’s Tournament,” Sam said quietly to himself. “Xavier has six Pokéballs for six Pokémon on his belt, but he only ever sends five of them out onto the field.”

Yanmega. Donphan. Poliwrath. Noctowl. Honchkrow.

That was five species, and none were whatever Pokémon that had hatched from the egg.

Xavier had already mentioned it to Sam back in Mahogany Town. His last Pokémon didn’t battle. For as strong as he was, he only had five true fighters on his team, and that would give Sam just enough wiggle room to make their relative team strengths equivalent. He could afford to have his Pokémon take more damage as long as it opened up a weakness that another of his Pokémon could exploit. Yet, even just allowing that little bit of damage could spell defeat. Xavier wasn’t the kind of trainer who’d allow even intentional mistakes to go unpunished.

But really, Sam got the sense that the battle would come down to whatever Pokémon Xavier sent out last. His sixth Pokémon would either appear, or it wouldn’t. It would either fight, or it would faint.

And that would determine the match.

“But still. If we’re fighting tomorrow, that means we’re fighting Xavier, and that’s...”

That dark look on Xavier’s face flashed through Sam’s mind once again.

As much as Sam knew about Xavier’s team, he wouldn’t be fighting Pokémon alone. A trainer was responsible for commanding their Pokémon, and Xavier would stand as his team’s lead.

They had promised each other that they’d give this battle their all. They’d strive to do their best to ensure they stood victorious over the other. This was supposed to be a battle that’d push them to their limits, but would that really be the case?

Sam felt himself frown.

He wanted to have a proper match against Xavier, his friend, his rival, but the more he watched these videos and the more he saw that expression, the more he felt as though he’d be fighting someone just going through the motions.

____________________________________________________________________________

Though it was late, and though Sam logically knew he should rest, he found himself returning to the main lobby of the Pokémon Center. This entrance room contained massive windows that let trainers look out into the surrounding tournament grounds. He enjoyed the night, and though he had no plans to leave the building, stepping away from his research would at least let him turn off his mind and not think about anything important for a little bit.

It was quieter now. People were less energetic. With the end of the third round, only thirty-two trainers remained, a number significantly less than the four hundred or so that had tested themselves in the preliminaries.

With so many eliminations, trainers were less eager to spy on one another. There were still some plots in place, but nowhere near as many. Everyone not competing was either proud of their placement or disappointed at their elimination.

But right now, most people were simply at rest.

Though some parties were going on, most of the Conference’s energy was being saved for once the finals were over, for the big celebration that’d take place at the Conference’s end. Some trainers had gone home to take part in local festivities, but others had chosen to stick around. Sam had even heard of a few casual, unofficial tournaments taking place in the Conference’s exterior training fields. Not everyone was done fighting, and some people wanted to have at least one more, solid match before they ended their journeys.

It was almost bittersweet that the tournament was progressing like this. With this year’s changes, more people were getting the chance to fight, but more people than ever were being eliminated.

...Those thoughts didn’t help.

As much as Sam wanted to distract himself, he couldn’t get his upcoming battle against Xavier out of his head. He didn’t want to join the many trainers just sitting around and waiting for the end of the Conference. He wanted to win, he wanted to have a proper battle, and he wanted to make it to the top, but just thinking about facing Xavier was making all of those prospects feel slim.

He couldn’t lie about it. He was nervous. And he was worried. He simply had too many thoughts swimming through his mind to allow himself to rest.

And, as it turned out, at least one other person was in a similar boat—at least, when it came to still being awake.

“Of course you would be up,” a sharp voice shot out as Sam tried his best to recline on a Pokémon Center couch. “What, nervous? Couldn’t sleep ‘cause of stress?”

Sam looked over. The voice was too harsh to be Redi’s. He already knew that she was fast asleep in her room. Even though he had silently hoped she’d be out here, she had retired early in the night to research her next opponent, and Sam hadn’t seen her since.

No, out of everyone to encounter him right now, Edgar was the very last person Sam expected to see. He was the same trainer who had once won the Beginner’s Tournament. The same trainer who had lost major battles to Sam twice, now. The same trainer who had only made it to the second round, and the same trainer who had once offered up his own Haunter for an evolution trade without any intention of trading their Pokémon back.

Edgar is also the one who passed up that egg after the Beginner’s Tournament. Even though he placed first to earn it, he didn’t know if it’d be a Poison Type, so he gave it up for Xavier to get it instead.

“Why are you here?” Sam asked.

He didn’t have the energy to match the venom in Edgar’s voice. He was just tired, and he didn’t care to fight right now.

“Exploring. Walking. Just... meandering,” Edgar said. He looked out the windows with a frown. “I... still have my Haunter. No one ever took me up on my offer. He likes exploring at night, and... I don’t know. I felt like I should at least give him that.”

Bleary-eyed, Sam tried to take in Edgar, but he didn’t have the will. Despite how late it was, Edgar seemed to be wide awake, but Sam had spent all day carefully watching matches to take notes and then all night researching Xavier.

He felt drained. Honestly, Sam wouldn’t have been surprised if he was more exhausted than some of his Pokémon.

As he tried his best to regain his focus, much to his surprise, Edgar flopped down onto a cushioned seat across from him.

“So,” Edgar said, practically rolling that word off his tongue. “You made it to the fourth round, did you?”

“Yeah,” Sam said quietly. “I beat Eliza in the third.”

“Oh. Her? Hm. Who are you facing next?”

“...Xavier.”

“Hah!” Edgar laughed. “Now that’s a fight even I’d worry about.”

Edgar seemed to try to watch Sam, to take him in for some reason or another. He’d tried to get his “revenge” in the preliminaries, but he’d failed pretty hard when Gengar swept right through his team.

Sam couldn’t even imagine what Edgar might have been thinking. He tried not to. Instead, he just looked away and stared out the window.

Out there, under the waning moon, the vendors’ stalls were closed. Even this late at night, a few people were walking by. He watched an Ace Trainer march up the street with her Noctowl flying behind her. The owl Pokémon kept low to the ground, just visible enough to allow for its presence to dissuade any would-be troublemakers.

“What? Nothing else to say?” Edgar asked.

“I’m tired.”

“You’re worried.”

Sam brought his gaze back over.

“Yeah. I still have to fight.”

He winced at his own rude words, but Edgar seemed unbothered. He merely continued to stare.

“You’re seriously that bothered about your fight against Xavier?” Edgar asked, his voice taking on a curious tone.

“I’d be more excited if he were normal, but... I don’t know. Everything going on just makes it feel more complicated than it should.”

Edgar watched Sam, waiting for him to continue, and Sam eventually let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead.

“Xavier is... I don’t know,” he said. “We went through some stuff together. He’s serious and pretty rude sometimes, but he usually doesn’t act so... focused. I mean, he always has a little bit, but not to this extent. It just feels different, y’know?”

“I don’t.”

“He just looks off,” Sam said with a huff.

And Edgar let out a snort.

“So?” the other boy said, breathing out. “Isn’t that a good thing? Doesn’t that mean you have a better chance to win?”

Unfortunately, Edgar had a point. As dominating as Xavier’s performance had been, he wasn’t his usual self. If Sam really wanted to, he could probably find the right words to say and throw Xavier off for an easy win.

Except, Sam didn’t want that. That wasn’t the kind of trainer he wanted to be.

“That’s probably part of the reason I’m stuck on this,” Sam mumbled. “I keep thinking about this because even though we’re about to face his team, it doesn’t feel like I’m about to face him.”

That was the core of why these thoughts stuck with him—Xavier had promised he’d give it his all to try to defeat Sam, but right now, Xavier just didn’t feel like the same trainer. He didn’t feel like the same trainer that Sam had encountered and had come to respect. With how things were going, it just didn’t feel like he would be getting the battle he’d been waiting so long to have.

As Sam frowned, staring out the window, Edgar gained a conflicted expression on his face. The Poison Type trainer spent a minute tapping a foot, but he eventually groaned, leaning forward to press his hands to his knees.

“Alright, fine,” he said. “Do you want some advice?”

Blinking, Sam looked back over to Edgar. Edgar looked as though he had eaten something sour, but he wasn’t joking. The Poison Type trainer honestly seemed annoyed that he was doing this in the first place, but he would be giving advice, and Sam was willing to listen.

“Look,” Edgar said, and that one word carried an immense amount of weight. “I can... recognize that I’ve made some mistakes. I... got cocky, and I didn’t train anywhere near enough for this tournament. I was so focused on feeling confident, on feeling like I could win, that I never bothered to actually develop my strength. I only ever fought trainers I knew I’d defeat without ever really pushing my team, and in the end—”

He breathed out, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I’ve seen the other trainers. It’s not just strength I’ve screwed up on,” he grumbled. “The way they celebrate with their Pokémon... Yeah. I’m stupid. I’ve been taking my team for granted.”

“So that’s why you’re up,” Sam said. “Because walking with your Haunter is the first step to fixing that.”

“Pft. No. I just like the night,” Edgar lied. “But, uh, maybe I’m hoping it might help?”

Scratching the back of his head, Edgar avoided Sam’s eyes.

For a while, nobody said anything else. Sam looked Edgar over, and Edgar was uncomfortable under his gaze. He waited for the boy to provide the conclusion to his anecdote, but he let it hang there and had nothing else to say.

“Why tell me that?” Sam asked slowly. “I thought you said you had some advice?”

“Because... Because!” Edgar stopped himself before he yelled. “Because you’re still in this. Because you’ve actually made something of yourself, even though you got nowhere in your first tournament. You never let that get to your head, but I... got distracted along the way.

“So I guess I’m trying to say this—you have your friends. Keep them in mind. Don’t think about the stuff that doesn’t matter. You’re bothered because your next opponent looks off? Then do something about that. If you enter your next battle with all the wrong kinds of thoughts in your head, then there’s no way you’re going to win.”

He let himself fall back into his seat.

“So just... don’t fall into the same trap I fell into,” Edgar grumbled. “Focus on the fact that you’re about to have a match and remember that you’re supported by your team. Your Pokémon are... your friends, and friends are pretty important. And based on how you’re reacting to all of this, it sounds like Xavier is your friend, too.”

“...So?” Sam asked.

One of Edgar’s eyes twitched.

“So, talk to him? Don’t just ignore him? Don’t pretend your problems aren’t there? If you want to have a good battle, and if you’re really that worried, then don’t be me and actually put in some effort! Just go up and talk to him! It’s not like that isn’t allowed.”

As Edgar huffed and crossed his arms, Sam felt as though he had to manually push back up his jaw. Edgar rolled his eyes at that reaction as he shifted around uncomfortably in his seat.

“Wow, Edgar. That’s... actually good advice.”

“Don’t act so surprised. I made it to the Conference for a reason,” he snapped.

“It’s just so... obvious when you put it that way. I always miss stuff like this, and...” Sam let out a short laugh. “You even sounded a bit like Redi when you talked about all of that, too.”

A beat passed.

“Who?” Edgar asked flatly.

Sam blinked again.

“You know, Redi? My friend? The trainer you beat in the Beginner’s Tournament, and that one Normal Type trainer in the Conference?”

“...Seriously?” Edgar asked, frustrated. “Don’t just name someone you know and expect me to understand right away. Like, now I get she’s that girl traveling with you, but don’t just think that anyone you talk to will know everyone involved in your life.”

Something about that blunt statement made Sam laugh, and Edgar pushed deeper into his seat, radiating frustration and acting so unlike he had once acted with that easygoing attitude from the last time Sam had met him.

But the difference was there for a reason. The Edgar back then was an Edgar who had never lost, an Edgar who had never properly faced defeat.

“Thank you,” Sam said, and his own genuineness almost shocked him. “I know the advice was simple, but sometimes simple advice is the best. I just need to do something about this instead of just sitting back and worrying. So, I guess, I need to find Xavier and actually have a talk.”

“Huh?” Edgar looked up in surprise as Sam stood from his seat. “Oh, uh, sure. Of course. You’re welcome, I guess. But you should know that losing to you was just a fluke! I’ll definitely beat you next time we have a match!”

With a laugh, Sam said, “Sure,” and started to walk off. However, he paused before he fully left. A certain yet unfortunate thought entered his mind.

“Oh,” Sam started. “By the way, in our battle?”

“Yeah?”

“I just want to say sorry.”

A pause.

“About what? That you beat me?” Edgar asked incredulously.

“No. I’m sorry about what I said at the start,” Sam said to him. “You told me you wanted to defeat me, but then I told you that I hadn’t really thought of you. That wasn’t true, and that was rude. You’ve come up a few times, and I’ve had someone say something similar to me in the past. I know how much hearing that can hurt.

“So, I’m sorry,” Sam said truthfully. “What I said wasn’t right.”

Xavier had once told Sam almost exactly that all the way back in Azalea Town. It was something that had led to all of the events in Slowpoke Well. He remembered how immature his reaction was, and now that he recognized he had said the same thing to Edgar—

Like I said, saying that wasn’t right.

“Oh. Uh. Thank you,” Edgar stuttered.

He seemed utterly caught off guard.

“And thank you again,” Sam said, smiling. “Your advice really helps. And it’s a nice night. So, I hope you enjoy your walk.”

He started to move back to the long staircase that’d let him return to his room, already feeling better about tomorrow’s battle. Waking up early to have time to talk would mean his schedule would be a bit more compressed than usual, but he knew that doing so would give him the chance to fix all of this.

But, as he walked toward the hallway that’d bring him deeper in, Edgar suddenly shot up to call out to him from that same sitting area.

“You too!” he yelled. “Wait, I mean— Ugh! No! Just... Since you beat me, you better win your battle tomorrow! I won’t accept a loss to anyone who doesn’t get first place!”

“Oh, trust me,” Sam said, looking over his shoulder to send Edgar one last smile, “You don’t need to worry about that. I absolutely intend to win.”

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After a long night’s rest, Sam woke up bright and early to rush to the arena significantly before his match. Since his battle had taken place so early in the day before, his battle today was taking place early again to keep things fair. There would be fewer battles today, with only sixteen matches taking place, but the schedule was going to be roughly the same. Increasing the number of Pokémon in a match almost exponentially increased its length, so yet again, a full sixteen hours were mapped out to handle the sixteen battles taking place.

Though Sam wasn’t the first scheduled, he entered the arena before the first match, but he didn’t plan to watch it from the arena’s stands. He was ready to hunt for his opponent, to find Xavier and have a proper talk. He wanted to remind him of just why they had been waiting, to challenge him to a proper battle, and to reignite the spark in his eyes.

As pumped as he was, Sam expected to wait, but as his eyes scanned the sea of faces flowing into the building, he found Xavier almost right away. However, Xavier wasn’t part of that incoming crowd. He stood off to the side, just past the entrance of an inner hallway. A pair of Ace Trainers stood at the hallway’s front, standing guard to prevent anyone but official challengers from heading deeper in.

Seeing his opponent right there and having spent all night preparing himself for this, Sam immediately moved to approach. He strode toward his friend and began raising a hand to wave, but he found himself slowing when he saw that Xavier was already talking to someone else.

“You’re joking, right?”

Sam could barely hear Xavier above the cacophony of the crowd, but he could still make out the obvious, acrid tone to the other trainer’s voice.

There was a look of palpable disgust on Xavier's face, though his body remained utterly still. His hands had been locked into stiffened fists at his side, and Sam slowed as he provided his trainer ID to the Ace Trainer guards. He used that as an excuse to listen in.

“I am sorry,” came a response from the person in front of Xavier. “They are simply too busy.”

“Even after all this time? Even during the Conference?”

“Perhaps if you make it past the top sixteen?” the other person said.

She was dressed in a proper suit, one befitting someone who worked in an upscale business. She was young but clearly older than Xavier, yet she bowed her head in what could only have been deference.

Despite that sign of respect, Xavier glared at her with what felt like genuine hatred, and the suited woman did her best to not wince. She kept on the most serious, professional look on her face, but she still continued to talk.

And what she said next made Sam freeze as he stepped into the hall.

“I am sorry,” she said, “but they do send their best wishes. It is unavoidable, but, right now, your parents are simply unable to watch your fight.”

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Author Note:

Thank you for reading!

Pokémon included in this chapter:
Donphan
Haunter
Honchkrow
Noctowl
Poliwrath
Yanma / Yanmega

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