Day 15.

I stepped into the Pokémon League, ready to face the ultimate gauntlet. First up was Will. His endless Confuse Rays made the battle a drag, but I powered through and claimed victory. Koga came next—poison was everywhere, but my team held on and got the job done. Then came Bruno, and that’s where things got bloody. I defeated him, but at a heavy price: my shiny red Gyarados fell to his brutal Machamp after a critical Rock Slide. The loss stung. That Gyarados was my ace, and I’d been counting on it for the final fight.

Next was Karen—gorgeous, cruel, and absolutely my type. Part of me wanted her to just step on me and end it there, but the battle continued. Her Gengar took down Girafarig with Destiny Bond before I could stop it, another painful casualty. Even so, I managed to win and moved on to face the Champion: Lance.

Ampharos took out his Gyarados with ease, but then came the first Dragonite—and everything fell apart. Golem, Ho-oh, and Meganium each went down in a blaze of desperation. Ampharos struck back, managing to bring down the first Dragonite, but Lance sent out a second. With my team nearly gone, Ampharos fell too.

I lost.

Utterly devastated, I left Kanto behind, defeated and broken. With my six strongest Johto Pokémon dead, I released all the others who had never stood beside me in the Elite Four. They deserved freedom more than I deserved redemption. I wasn’t cut out for Johto… or Kanto. So I boarded a ship and vanished into the distance—toward a new land called Hoenn, praying for a fresh start.