Y/n's POV 🍒

"Fine. Alright, then..." I went before sighing.

For a moment, I could've sworn I heard Roark say "Heh...Cute..." while I was looking at my pokémon for a moment.

My face immediately turned so red, his and Byron's hair would've been put to shame.

I was even so close to dropping my pokéballs that had my pokémon inside it, if I hadn't restrained myself from my shyness and embarrassment.

"Roark, I heard that...Cherri Boy." I went as I looked and gave him the angry pout, while folding my arms.

"H-Hey! Don't call me that!" Roark said in defense.

"Okay then...Boulder Head." I said before smirking evilly, while Byron started laughing at my second nickname that I gave Roark.

"Cherri Boy sounds better than that one..." He grumbled a little in defeat as he looked away, his face red in embarrassment too.

I laughed a little at his reaction, knowing I won my battle against him.

"Alright...Do you need anything before I get ready to leave?" I asked.

"No, but, I have something for you to wear..." Roark says, before grabbing something red.

When he handed it to me, I immediately didn't expect it to be his miner hat.

"Your miner hat? Uhm...Thanks. But, you need it more than I...You work underground and in the mines when you're not in the gym, remember?" I said as I looked at him, obviously worried.

"Silly...I'm still gonna be here for a while as long as you're at the pokémon league, battling the elite four and the champion. I won't be fully recovered and released from the hospital until the event is over.

And even if I was released from the hospital early, I'm not gonna instantly go underground or to the mines...." He says before chuckling a bit.

"Valid point..." I went as I nodded.

"I'm still gonna need it back afterwards, but, try thinking of it as an extra good luck charm for now." Roark mentions.

"Okay. I can do that. I promise I'll return it back to you afterwards." I said, showing how much I understand.

Byron gave me the thumbs up after I heard that.

"Good! Now, go on out there and kick some asses for us. The both of us and the rest of the gym leaders are cheering you on, y/n!" He says as he gave me a small, rough pat on my back.

"I will!" I answered as I took the hat and got everything ready before waving goodbye to them, as I left the room.

Once I left and traveled to the league, using the hidden move Surf, I eventually made it.

After healing my pokémon up to full health, and I left, I putted Roark's mining hat on, surprisingly not expecting it to fit me well before I entered into Victory Road.

By the time I made it to the Pokémon League, I went in the building and battled Barry for a moment before I healed my pokémon back up to full health again.

Once Barry took his leave, I bought a lot of revives and full restores until I was completely sure that it'd last long enough for 5 battles in a row.

Then I headed over to the ace trainer and showed him all of the badges before he allowed me to proceed.

Bug, Ground, Fire and Psychic pokémon were all easy to defeat, no matter how strong the elite four were, until I reached the champion.

I was surprised to find out that she's the same woman I ran into a few times during my gym challenge journey.

Introducing herself and saying that her name is Cynthia, we were about to start the battle, when I stood there in silence for a moment.

"This time...From where I've started...finished...and have come this far..." I unconsciously said aloud to Cynthia as I stood there.

"From getting my starter pokémon, battling trainers, and gym leaders...All up to now....I...."

Then I clenched my fist, even though I didn't feel or wasn't angry at her for no reason, before I took in a deep breath and sighed.

"I...I won't hesitate and allow myself to lose! They're all wanting me to finish it once and for all, and I will make that happen!" I said, before seeing Cynthia smirk and nod in understanding before she drew her first pokémon out, as I did the same.

For a bit, I was able to defeat 4 of her pokémon, still feeling determined and confident.

If Roark's miner hat is currently giving me the extra luck that I needed, then I'm grateful to Roark for letting me borrow and wear it, along with one of his miner jackets for the time being.

"This time....I'm going all out on her. No hesitation or mercy, until all of her pokémon from her team have fainted." I thought to myself as I could easily feel my heart pounding hard in my chest, while the burst of energy immediately flowed through my body.

"I can't let her win...Everyone's counting and cheering on for me."

What I didn't notice or realize is that the energy I just felt was also flowing out of my body too, making it easy to be visibly seen by others.

When I noticed, the color of it was red.

"What...What the - ? What is this? It feels so...strong. Like it's connected to my own determination and emotions..." I said to myself, my voice suddenly sounding like someone was talking from inside me at the same time when I'm talking.

"Just a little voice inside you...That is all..." I suddenly heard that same second voice say, but in my head this time.

They sounded like me and Roark combined. Like if we talked at the same time, just like what's going on now.

"For now...What are you standing around for? Attack Cynthia's pokémon! You have that chance to strike!" The voice said in my head, before I nodded.

"Glaceon, dodge and use Ice Beam!" I say, which it easily responded to as soon as Cynthia's Garchomp started attacking.

Without hesitation, Glaceon leaped in the air and shot a beam of ice on Garchomp, easily landing a hit and instantly knocking it out.

Then I immediately realized what Byron meant when he said "dragons and ice-type pokémon" as his advice earlier, before I left the hospital.