I did it! It's about four days late, its title has again changed but luckily this chapter is hideously long (by my standards) so as usual it gets broken up!

Have fun guys, this hopefully has been worth the wait!
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Chapter 38 – Tyler versus Hiro versus Kristal.


Hiro held the golden medallion in his hand, waiting patiently as Lance threaded the silky ribbon through it and then tied a knot. “There you are,” Lance said with a look of satisfaction, as though he had never tied a knot before. “You’re officially a Johto League Champion. That medallion’s recognised by leagues across the world.”

“I still don’t believe it,” said Hiro, holding the medal and tilting it so as to read the engraved words. “That I won, I mean. Not to rub it in or anything!” he added earnestly.

Lance looked impassive. “It was probably about time I lost, to be completely honest. The last person – before this year’s comps anyway – who defeated me was some Drake guy … and that was three years ago. Since then, I’ve had it pretty easy. Except the other day,” he added to himself.

He continued. “I was talking to my son before the match – he said I should be careful, but when I showed him your line-up for the last four matches, he agreed you didn’t stand a chance.”

Hiro sniffed.

“But you did,” said Lance quietly. “And how you did it I will never know. Your Weedle was the most talented pokemon I have ever seen. And it probably always will be – because although a Dragonite can use Hyper Beams and rage attacks, and it looks pretty amazing, a Weedle who can Mirror Coat and do acrobatic routines is by far the more talented one, because it can push past it’s boundaries. Dragons are meant to know great attacks. Bugs aren’t.”

Before Hiro could work out what Lance had meant by that – whether he was saying it in a disappointed, angry, proud or joyful way – the Dragon Master had swished his cape and begun walking briskly across the tiny tiled room.

“Where are we going?” asked Hiro.

“Don’t you know – oh, you wouldn’t, I suppose,” Lance gestured for Hiro to follow him before continuing. “Before the Stadium was built, there was a valley here. And beneath the valley, underground, is a system of caves and tunnels. The oldest of these are where we take the champions.”

Lance was now going very quickly. He had gone through the first two rooms, which just looked like basements, and was now descending some stairs which were uneven and dusty, but looked hardly worn at all.

“To do what?” Hiro quavered.

Lance chuckled. “We have to assess you.”

*********

“I hear that their nightly rates are something like 200 bucks,” moaned Gavin.

“I hear that they have really strict rules on noise and visitors,” nodded Darius slowly.

“I hear that we’re only going to stay there for one night, so it doesn’t really matter does it?” demanded Lisa, seizing them both by the wrist and dragging the boys through the revolving glass doors of the Silver Slumber Hotel. It was a four-storey building which looked very costly but at the same time very luxurious. The sign in the front gardens boasted two pools, spa and sauna, a gymnasium and tennis courts, along with a restaurant.

“Oooh, posh,” ooohed Gavin as they entered. Darius grinned.

“The check-in desk is just over there. I’ve stayed here before,” he added, pointing to a mahogany desk across the vast expanse of tiled foyer. Lisa crossed the foyer determinedly, still holding the boys by the wrist.

Darius shook his wrist free. “I have to use the toilet. Be right back.” He moved off.

The ground floor of the hotel was simple but still gave the impression. Lisa glanced at it out of the corner of her golden-brown eyes; marble columns with burgundy seating around them, a small pool with plants and fish, potted palms and ferns, a water fountain and two lifts. Golden, red and emerald colour tinsel was draped liberally throughout the room, and a massive Christmas tree stood in the centre of the foyer, complete with lights and presents.

“Good afternoon. Welcome to the Silver Slumber Hotel. Can I help you?” A blonde-haired woman in scarlet clothes and a black opal necklace leaned over the counter. Her hands were dripping with jewellery and her lipstick was too red to look human.

Lisa took a few steps toward the counter, and looked her up and down before responding. “My friend -” she let go of Gavin’s wrist and gestured to him “and I would like a double room for one night please.”

“Would you be with a parent or guardian?” the receptionist asked briskly.

“No,” said Lisa quickly. “Just us thanks.”

“How old are you?” she said, more inquisitively.

“Depends,” Gavin butted in. “Is it cheaper if we’re under twelve? Cause I’m eleven.”

The receptionist looked at Gavin’s tall frame. “I think not. Under sixteens are not allowed in here unless accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.”

Gavin brightened. “Oh well that’s alright then, I’m nearly sixteen really. Fifteen and ten months.”

“You look eleven to me,” the receptionist said dryly. “What’s your name boy?”

“Gavin Thomas Luper.”

Lisa s******ed. “You never told me your middle name.”

But the receptionist had leaned back a bit, and a frown had taken over her expression. As if a reflex action, she grabbed hold of a nearby pen and quickly scrawled something down. “Mr Luper, unless you have a parent or adult guardian, you are not permitted to spend a night at the Silver Slumber Hotel.”

“No need to get all narky,” sooked Gavin, wandering off to see the Christmas tree. He took a Moon Ball off his belt and released Natu to sulk to.

Lisa was feeling distressed. “We really need somewhere to stay tonight, miss. We already tried the other hotels in town; they’re full up because of the League Battles recently. All we ask is for one night.”

“Unless you have a parent or adult guardian, you are not permitted to spend a night at the Silver Slumber Hotel,” the woman repeated robotically. Lisa was agitated by her constant tone of voice.

“If you’d just listen to what we -”

“Unless you have a parent or adult guardian, you are not per –”

“Oh my God, shut the hell up,” Lisa cried. “Listen, Tiffany,” she said, reading the woman’s name badge. “In case you haven’t noticed, that rule is absolutely pointless because most trainers are under sixteen anyway and this is where they come to battle. If you had an iota of sense in that little blonde featherhead, you would allow us into your bloody hotel for one teeny little night because we are RESPONSIBLE TEENAGERS AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE LOUD AND CAUSE ANY TROUBLE!”

“I told you, missy, unless you have a parent –”

“OH MY GOD STOP IT ALREADY.”

“Security,” said Tiffany into her desk phone.

“Excuse me Miss Rutherford,” Darius strolled up from behind Lisa and leaned over the counter calmly. “I’m sorry, my friend forgot to mention she’s under the care of me and my father at the moment.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You know, Lance Hudson?”

Tiffany’s expression changed, though it was obvious she was trying not to show it. She began stuttering away pointlessly. After about five minutes, Darius had got Lisa and Gavin a double room at half price.

“You’re welcome,” he grinned, handing the key to Lisa, who gazed at him open-mouthed.

*********

The cave was very vast; the roof was littered with uneven stalactites and was quite low, but there seemed to be no walls to bound the cavern. Evidently it had been modernised to a degree – a huge computer apparatus was near the entrance, a sink and basin were opposite it, and the room was filled with many statues and glass cases which contained photographs, trophies and other odds and ends.

“This is one of the deepest-down caverns in Silver City,” Lance said to Hiro, as they entered down the staircase. Hiro gazed around in awe, but Lance took no time to familiarise him with the room.

“All you have to do is place your pokeballs in this machine,” he explained, gesticulating to a large part of the computer apparatus. “It will register your team of six as the winning team against me on this particular date.”

Hiro handed three pokeballs to Lance then placed the other three in the sockets in the machine himself. Lance looked at them, rearranged them for some reason, then pressed a green button – glass cases clamped over the spheres and the one light bulb in the room went out. The computer screen blinked on.

Heracross zoomed onto the screen. His stats appeared on a readout on the screen. Lance nodded, pressed a blue button, and the level 44 Heracross became registered; a blue shimmer shot from Heracross’ pokeball through a tube into the computer.

The same followed with the rest of Hiro’s team – Level 47 Magneton, Level 49 Dewgong, Level 57 Typhlosion, Level 39 Furret …

When Weedle appeared on the screen, Lance cursed aloud. He seemed to be choking on the concept, and turned to Hiro, who grinned.

Weedle – Level 81.

“No wonder Draco didn’t make it. Your Weedle was so experienced! And it’s defence and speed are astronomical!”

Hiro was feeling smug, but he tried not to show it. “Not really astronomical, we just trained hard I spose …”

Lance was laughing to himself as he pressed the blue button for the last time, and Weedle became registered. Then a picture of Hiro – taken at the beginning of the league ceremonies – appeared, with all his statistics.

“Impressive,” Lance said. “Seventy-two pokemon in total. Well done.”

The registration was finished. “Congratulations. Any pokemon league database across the world will now recognise you as a champion of the Johto League. The medal also proves that. As does this …” The computer spewed out eight pages from what must have been a printer. Lance produced a stapler from a drawer and clipped it all together, then handed it to Hiro. “Your database info. You can keep the hard copy.”

“Thanks,” muttered Hiro.

Lance muttered something in Latin, and the lights came back on. He then casually strolled to the sink and poured himself a glass of water. Hiro stood there for a minute, retrieving his pokeballs, then, as Lance seemed to be ignoring him, he spoke.

“So that’s it then?” he said quietly.

“Hmmm?” Lance bubbled.

“I’m finished the league. Don’t you have any further instructions for me?”

Lance swallowed. “Well, not really. You’re in control of your own life. Go do whatever.”

“No, there must be a next step or something. Isn’t there something harder?”

“You’ve beaten the Champion of a major league.” Lance paused. Hiro coughed loudly, as though he hadn’t yet come to that realisation. Lance looked at him curiously, but continued anyway, sitting down beside a large statue of a very ancient trainer. “There are some others … a very few others … who have defeated me before. They are scattered across the world. If you want a further challenge, seek them, Hiro.”

“But aren’t they scattered everywhere? It would take ages to find each of them. And to know whether they had beaten you or not.”

An evil grin appeared on Lance’s face. “A true Master would have the passion to seek them.”

And Hiro shut up. There was a very long pause, then Lance spoke again. “This room isn’t actually an enclosed one, by the way.” He pointed to the dark space near the computer apparatus where the wall would have been. “I know it looks like endless pitch black, but if you keep going, you’ll emerge into the outside. If you are going to begin your next journey, begin it there.”

With that, the Dragon Master swished his cape, and began going up the stairs again. Hiro called out to him.

“I’m going to take that challenge.”

Lance stopped in his tracks, and seemed to acknowledge what Hiro had said, then disappeared up the stairs without a word. Somehow, Hiro felt that everything between them had been satisfactorily finalised.

*********

“Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!” squealed Lisa, jumping up and down on the queen size bed in her hotel room. Elekid and Aipom were doing likewise, quite enjoying it too. Fiskmire and Dratini had gone with Gavin to the pool and Lisa and her two pokemon had the room to themselves.

It was a very clean and spacious apartment – fully self contained with an ensuite, kitchenette and vast lounge room. There was a balcony, which overlooked the entire city and hazy mountain range too.

A knock on the door brought Lisa back to reality. She took one last, cushiony, springy step and landed on the carpet, running for the door. Gavin had a key, so it must have been Darius. Once Lisa got to the door, however, she decided to be safety conscious (‘Play it safe’ said a very annoying voice in her head). She looked through the little eyehole and saw a medium-height brown haired woman, whose hair was messed up and she looked on the verge of breaking down.

Lisa clipped the chain on the door and opened it a fraction. “Hello?” She said innocently.

The woman caught her eye, and seemed to be trying to regain some of her composure. “I need to speak to Gavin Luper,” she said crisply. Lisa stared at her in confusion.

“Why?” she asked, keeping the door open only a fraction.

“Something’s happened to his Uncle.”

Lisa could hear something clattering and crashing in her bedroom and knew Aipom was up to something, or Elekid, but suddenly her mind clicked. “Not … not Eusine?”

The worn-looking woman at the door looked overcome with relief. “Yes. Please let me see Gavin. You have no idea how hard it was to find him.”

That ran through Lisa’s head very quickly; how had this woman tracked Gavin down? After all, he’d been travelling with her for two months, and didn’t have parents. His only guardian was Eusine …

“What’s happened to Eusine?” Lisa asked seriously, and pre-empted the woman’s refusal to tell her. “I know Eusine, we’ve met before and he … entrusted me with something.”

The woman almost collapsed, but again tried to regain her composure. “He was killed,” she said simply, and her voice was much much stronger than Lisa had expected it to be. Lisa felt her entire body go into shock – not because she was deeply emotionally affected by this, but she honestly had not seen or felt it coming. And also, she knew that her friend Gavin would be devastated.

The woman spoke. “Please … please let me speak to Gavin Luper.”

Lisa’s mouth was opening and closing, for lack of anything better to do. Slowly, she recovered from the shock. “He’s not here right now,” she said, gulping shallow breaths of air. “but I can show you where he is … he’s at the pool.”

As soon as the words had passed Lisa’s lips, the woman swung her handbag up higher and ran frantically down the bright hallway towards the stairs. Lisa didn’t even bother to point out that there were lifts just around the corner.

“Let’s go see Gavin,” Lisa said softly to Aipom and Elekid. They were already scrambling out through the gap in the doorway, towards the lifts. Lisa ducked inside and grabbed her pokegear, just in case anyone called. Then she raced after her two pokemon.

The lift reached the ground floor not long after the woman had fully descended the staircase. Lisa, Aipom and Elekid sprinted across the lobby and out the side door, which led down a winding path through a tropical jungle-like enclosure. The pool was at the end of this trail, and Lisa could see the woman just ahead of them. She called out for her to wait once or twice, but the brown-haired woman ignored her.

The gate of the pool was open when Lisa reached it, so she simply ran through. Gavin was underwater – Lisa could see his red boardies through the glittering surface of the water. All the pokemon seemed to have been playing harmoniously; Fiskmire had made friends with Lanturn and Dratini had evidently befriended Staryu to an extent (he was coiled around one of the starfish’s spikes and was dipping in and out of the water). Natu was nowhere to be seen, or Girafury.

“Gavin Luper!” the woman yelled at a very high pitch, as he surfaced up above the water. He shook his black hair off (like a dog, thought Lisa) and then caught sight of the woman.

“Melanie!” he burst out, looking stunned. “Mel … why are you here?”

“Gavin, I have to tell you something. It’s important, and serious.”

Gavin hauled himself out of the cerulean-tinged water with tanned arms, and ran up to Mel. She muttered something in his ear and began walking with him back up along the path which wound through the gardens. Lisa decided not to try to listen in, as it would obviously be a very private conversation. Instead, she dangled her legs in the water, choosing to wait until Gavin returned, however long that may be.

“Have a swim guys, there’s no hurry to go anywhere,” she said quietly.

Seconds later, she heard a strangled cry from Gavin and Mel’s direction – she had evidently broken the news to him. Lisa had never heard a man cry, but it sounded like Gavin was choking on his sobs, choking on the shock and instant grief.

Lisa lowered her head, like a sign of respect for Gavin.