Chapter 88: The First Champion (Patreon)

Riley clearly had no intention of letting Charizard get away. He had Lucario close the distance with Extreme Speed again.

This time, rather unexpectedly, Renan didn't use Protect. "Take it. Earthquake."

An Extreme Speed at +2 Attack wasn't nearly enough to finish Charizard.

But an Earthquake at +2 Attack was more than enough to leave Lucario on the brink of fainting.

With no other choice, Riley changed his plan. "Jump up."

That, however, turned out to be exactly what sealed Lucario's defeat.

On the far side of the battlefield, the black-haired boy and Charizard smiled at the same moment.

As the former shouted "Flare Blitz," fire-type energy poured off the latter's body.

The next instant—

—BOOM!

The orange dragon, wrapped in flames, drove headfirst into Lucario and carried it straight into the wall at the edge of the battlefield.

The flames cleared.

Charizard stepped back, panting hard. It staggered, but it didn't go down.

Lucario, though, buried in the wall, was clearly out of the fight. Anyone could see that.

After all, this match was only part of a festival commemorating the Braver Aaron. It wasn't an Elite Four challenge, and it wasn't a world championship.

The referee on the sideline glanced over the scene and made the call at once.

"Lucario is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Renan of Celadon City! Let's congratulate him on becoming this year's Battle Festival champion!"

"Ohhhhhh!!!"

The referee's words had barely finished when the venue erupted in cheers and thunderous applause.

Riley recalled Lucario, murmured a quiet "Good work," then turned and walked toward Renan.

"Congratulations." He shook the boy's hand, his expression already calm again.

Just as Riley had said earlier, even if he didn't take the festival title in the end, he would still meet Queen Ilene as an Aura Guardian.

So he hadn't exactly fallen apart over losing to Renan.

…Okay, fine. Maybe a tiny bit.

The other side's move combos were just too nasty. Anyone would have cracked.

Renan knew full well how aggravating his strategy was to face.

Seeing that Riley hadn't brought up the match, he wasn't about to be dense and drag the conversation back to it. He let go of the hand and asked, "So you're going to meet Queen Ilene as an Aura Guardian next?"

Riley nodded.

"And after that?"

"I've been away for a while, so I'm going to head back home first." As he spoke, he looked at the boy in front of him. "If you ever come to Sinnoh, look me up."

"Sure."

The two exchanged contact numbers on the spot. Renan hadn't originally owned a phone, but what happened in Oma Town had taught him that having one was really necessary at times, so after reaching Rota City he'd gone out of his way to spend 50,000 League currency on one.

His contacts list now held Dragon Tamer Lance, Misty, Officer Jenny Hong, Riley, Handsome, a good number of uncles and aunts who worked in the League and counted as friends of his parents, and the home numbers of his former self's classmates from school.

With the battle over, the awards ceremony came next.

When registering, every Trainer had filled in the reward they wanted if they made the top eight.

So there was no situation where the top eight got only honors while the prizes were delayed.

The item Renan had listed on his registration form wasn't a Water Stone or a Thunder Stone. It was Leftovers, which in theory anyone could hold.

On the League forums, the exchange price for it was 630 points. And like a lot of high-grade items, whenever a new batch was released, the available quantity on the page dropped to zero within moments.

But Cameran Palace clearly had its own channels within the League, because it had actually come up with a high-grade Leftovers for Renan, one that restored a small amount of HP every turn when held.

Ilene handed over the elegant box containing the Pokémon item, a smile on her face that looked warm but was actually somewhat distant. "Congratulations, Renan, on becoming this year's Battle Festival winner. As the one-day Aura Braver, you must also attend tonight's banquet. When the time comes, Cameran Palace will send someone to notify you."

"Understood, Your Majesty." Renan inclined his head, then added, "Mr. Riley told me that as the nominal Aura Braver, I could borrow the Braver's Staff for a day. If possible, I'd like to ask for Your Majesty's permission."

Ilene hadn't expected the boy in front of her to make that request, but on second thought…

Riley came from a family of Aura Guardians that had always been on good terms with Cameran Palace, Renan knew Riley, and on top of that Renan was a psychic himself. It was perfectly reasonable for him to be interested in the Braver's Staff.

"Then after today's festival ends, you and your traveling companion will stay in the royal city one more day. And while you have the staff on loan tomorrow, you'll need to remain within my sight the entire time."

This was only to be expected, so Renan naturally had no objection.

…

That night, the banquet began.

As the one-day Aura Braver, Renan had to sit at the front of the banquet hall until the end.

Misty had changed into an ancient noblewoman's gown. With her side ponytail let down, she looked gentler and prettier than usual.

Over the course of the evening, quite a few young men couldn't resist asking her to dance.

For some reason, though, Misty turned down every single one. Afterward, she simply ate and drank at the banquet with her Pokémon and Renan's.

She kept it up until the banquet ended, when Renan raised the Braver's Staff in his hand before the crowd.

In the Aura Braver movie, it was precisely this gesture from the protagonist, Ash, that released Aaron's Lucario, sealed away for who knew how many years.

But Renan wasn't a true Aura Guardian, and moreover, since Queen Ilene had already granted permission, he'd deliberately kept his own mana reined in during the banquet to prevent any unwanted accidents. He hadn't used it to connect with the Braver's Staff.

And so the half-month-long Battle Festival came to a close in a peace without any great ripples.

The boy and girl walked together under the night sky.

Misty suddenly sighed. "What a shame. I didn't get to dance with anyone."

Renan, cradling the incubator, was indifferent. Most of his attention was already taken up by the Braver's Staff, which he could finally start studying properly tomorrow.

Seeing the boy beside her give no reaction at all, the girl puffed out her cheeks.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

Renan nodded, then asked back, "So?"

Misty's eyes brightened. "I want to dance."

Renan glanced around, slowly caught on, and raised a finger to point at himself. "With me?"

"Exactly," Misty said.

"But there's no music."

"Then Clefairy and Cleffa can sing for accompaniment."

"…"

Seeing how firm the girl was, and since she really had kept him company all evening, Renan sighed and set the incubator on the ground beside him. Then he straightened his face and performed a Cameran Palace courtesy he'd learned that night. "Then, beautiful lady, may I have the honor of inviting you to dance?"

In the next moment, a radiant smile bloomed at the corners of Misty's mouth. She reached out and placed her hand in Renan's palm. "With pleasure."