Emerald reached into his side pouch and withdrew a battlecube. It was a small black cube that could be used to capture and house battlemon.
Draxil flew towards him, carrying an air of pride with him. After all, he had taken no damage from his opponent during his duel.
A perfect victory.
Emerald patted the battlemon on its head and ruffled its green fur. He felt the comfort of nature radiating from his body.
"You fought well Draxil." He praised, opening the battlecube. "Now rest."
The battlemon became a distorted blur before it was drawn into the battlecube and allowed to rest and regain strength.
"A-and we have a winner!" The announcer's voice boomed through the arena.
Emerald looked across the arena towards Kite. The young prodigy was using a battlecube to withdraw his Synthsword.
Afterwards, he looked towards the stands searching for his father, Yoyo. The champion was nowhere to be found.
Kite burst into sobs. He had become a failure. A feeling that Emerald was familiar with. Afterwards, the young boy exited the arena without a word, and worse, without a badge.
He would have to wait until next year to try again, or travel to a different city.
Emerald was about to do the same until he heard a voice call from the champion's stands.
Only one man sat there now, and it was his Father, Jade.
The man rose to his feet, his hands resting on the bannister as a smile spread across his face. "Son!" He shouted, trying to make his voice heard above the crowd. "That was brilliant. Let me come down so we can talk... I'm sure we both have questions for each other."
Emerald clenched his fists, trying to contain his anger.
Talk?
He turned on his heels and made his way out of the Arena without saying a word to his father.
There was time to talk three years ago, before you called me a disgrace to the family.
His memories flashed back to his accomplishments in the last three years. The efforts he had put into becoming the Trainer that he now was.
There's no more time for talking, Dad. Only battle.
———
After collecting his Trainer Badge from the reception desk, Emerald returned to his hotel in Sunny City, where the battles were being held.
The duels were still ongoing. He had them playing on the TV in front of him.
Yet his mind was elsewhere. On his next steps.
Now that he had his Trainer Badge, the world had opened up to him.
Not only could he compete in official duels, but he could also enter tournaments.
And if he reached far enough, then maybe, just maybe, he could...
Knock Knock Knock
Three knocks came at the door of his hotel, followed by the sound of muffled chatter. He expected it was a receptionist, or cleaner.
"The doors open." He called.
The people behind the door slowly pushed it open, and Emerald was met with two familiar faces. A girl and a boy.
They both wore smiles on their face that grew even wider after laying eyes on Emerald.
The girl ran forward and wrapped her arms around Emerald. She sobbed into his shoulder.
"Emerald... I can't believe it. It's really you!"
Emerald sat there, hesitant.
This girl was Ruby. A young trainer with red hair, and large red eyes. She wore a white jumpsuit and a black pouch around her waist.
"Y-yeah. It's me."
"This doesn't seem real!" She cheered.
"You've really changed, Em. You're like a whole new person." The boy who lingered by the door said.
His name was Levi, another trainer. A boy with jet black afro hair and arched brows that always made him seem furious. He wore an all black jumpsuit, with a pouch around his waist as well.
The trio had been best friends since they were children, until Emerald ran away.
Ruby pulled away from the hug. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became depressing, as her face shifted.
"I know it doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry we didn't come looking for you." Ruby started, her gaze falling to the floor. "It's just, our parents. Being so young, they didn't want us to—"
"It's fine." Emerald interrupted calmly. "Besides, you wouldn't have found me anyway.
"Yeah, I can tell. Where the heck were you, and how did you capture such a powerful starter?"
Levi's voice came with excitement. Even Ruby's eyes were lit with anticipation.
Emerald's mind flashed back to his journey. The time he had spent on the path towards power, and yet still had so far to climb.
"It's a long story. Let's save it for another time."
"What?" Levi roared with enthusiasm. "We've got all the time in the world right now."
The boy reached into his pocket and pulled from it his trainers' badge. Wooden disc with the emblem of a battlecube on it.
"We're official trainers now, we can do what we want." He said with a smug grin.
Ruby smiled too and nodded her head in agreement. Her badge still rested in her pouch.
Emerald, however, didn't agree. Now that he was a trainer, he had less time than ever.
"Are you guys serious?" He asked, wiping the smiles from their faces. "With these badges, our journeys have only just begun."
Ruby and Levi shared a glance. "You know what... you're right," Ruby said, clenching a fist in excitement. "We can become famous trainers, and duel some of the best in our region."
"Hey, if we're lucky, we could try to become champions. With Ruby's water type, my fire type, and your nature type, we might actually have a chance... It could be just like we had dreamed years ago." Levi suggested, voice rising with enthusiasm.
To become a champion was every trainer's goal. Each region held a champion of each type. For example, Yoyo was the current Champion of Nature within the Lostlight region.
However, Emerald didn't share their enthusiasm.
So much time had passed since he and his best friends were together. So much had changed in the three years that they were apart.
Things could never be the same.
Emerald tried his best to keep his words respectful, yet he made sure not to hold back.
"With training, I'm sure you guys could become champions. Heck, maybe even World Champions."
Their eyes lit up. It was a feat so far from their minds that they hadn't even considered it.
To be a world champion meant holding all five champion rings of a certain type.
But even that wasn't enough for Emerald.
"My goals go even further right now... I can see the bigger picture. I no longer need to chase the shadow of my father, and try to become the Champion of Nature."
His friend's eyes went wide as he reached into his pouch and threw a battlecube on the bed beside him.
Then, their jaws dropped as he pulled out another. Two captured battlemon in total.
A rare feat for a rookie trainer.
"I'm beyond Nature now." He said, face straight and words sharp. "I want— No... I need to become the Celestial Champion."