40 Last day of the tournament

"..trainer Lukas is out of available Pokemon, trainer Leon won and will advance to the semifinals." 

Just like that, accompanied by the referee's verdict, Lukas tournament run came to an end. 

Lukas and his Pokemon gave all they had for one last time yet against Leon's team of 5 Gold-Rank Pokemon it was useless. 

They managed to beat three of Leon's Pokemon over the course of the match. Even this they only accomplished because Leon did not use any kind of complicated strategy. 

Lukas wasn't disappointed with the result. His goal had been met when he made it to day 5, and he always knew that winning the tournament was out of the question. 

After exchanging some words with Leon, he finally left the battlefield for the last time this tournament. 

Next, Lukas first visited the medical area of the stadium to get his Pokemon healed before meeting up with his family. 

... 

"Nice effort out there." 

"Thanks." 

It was his aunt that was the first to speak once the group met up. 

"Anyway, while I'd like to stay and chat some more, I have to go now." 

"Already?" He was surprised at seeing his aunt in a hurry. 

She shot him a look and answered, "Have you forgotten already? I'm still preparing to challenge one of the FC Masters." 

'Right there was that.' 

"Ah, you're right. Then I guess well see each other later." It seemed his mom and Cindy already said their goodbyes, and Catrina was only waiting for him to say goodbye before leaving. 

Now it was only the three of them left. 

"What are you planning to do now?" His mother asked after they saw Catrina off. 

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I don't think I want to get back and challenge the Senior Gym-challenge for now, so I'll probably take a break and train my team a bit." Lukas lied with a straight face. 

"It's okay, you aren't pressed for time anyway, so you can take a break from the Gym-challenges." She didn't find anything strange with Lukas answer, since even she took multiple breaks while she was still eligible to compete at the Elite League. 

Just like how the Junior League is for trainers below Junior Elite, the Elite League is for trainers below ACE-Rank. You are only allowed to participate once after becoming an ACE trainer. 

In addition to that, an Elite League season takes 6 years, about four times as long as a Junior season. All the seasons are synced to occur within days of each other all around the human controlled regions. 

For example, with the Kanto Junior League nearing its end, the next on the line will be the Johto Junior League that will commence within the next three days. 

Currently, the 265th Elite League is still a few months away from beginning. Meaning that even if Lukas were to put his all into completing the Elite Gym-challenge as fast as possible, it is questionable whether he would even make it in time. 

Since even if he opts for the easy challenge at the Senior Gyms he'll be up against two (mid) and one (high)Gold-Rank Pokemon at least, it is even questionable if he would be able to get all 8 badges in the first place. 

While Lukas was fantasizing about his future competitions, his mother asked a question, "Do you still have the key to our house?" 

"Yes, why?" 

"I won't be home for the foreseeable future." 

Surprise by what she said, Lukas asked, "Why? Where are you going?" 

*sigh* 

His mother sight before looking him up and down, "Now that you're grown up, I think it's time for me to get back into progressing." 

His mother had been an active trainer before he was born, afterward she put her career as a trainer on pause in order to raise him. Now that he is 17 almost 18 and already capable to fend for himself she decided to come out of her semi-retirement. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes, I already accepted a mission from the lab and will follow their research team as protection." The lab she mentioned is Prof. Oak's Pokemon lab. 

Often when they have to enter dangerous territory while out doing research, they will hire some trainers to accompany them. Lukas's mother has already gone on multiple missions with the lab in the past, and even decided to settle down in a nearby town after he was born. Now it seemed she wanted to continue where she left off. 

"Where is the mission taking you?" 

"The Wildlands." The moment she said that, Cindy, who has been idly scrolling on her PokeNav on the side, focused her eyes on him. She mouthed towards hm to get more details from her concerning her mission. 

'I bet she thinks moms mission will take her to the ruins that are about to uncover.' 

During his break after the round of 16 match ended today, Lukas pressed Cindy for more information about their goal for the trip. 

Apparently the ruins that are about to show themselves aren't a big secret. Still because of their location the amount of attention they attracted was minimal. 

The trainers most interested in them are Junior and regular Elite-Rank trainers. From Elite-Rank onwards, trainers would frequently leave human territory to look for opportunities and/or fight with stronger wild Pokemon in order to advance further. 

Be that as it may, with the northern continent being the most studied continent by humans so far, the likelihood that those ruins hold something that might interest ACE-rank trainers and above isn't big. 

"Are going to visit the Wildlands here or somewhere else?" Since it might affect him as well, Lukas didn't need Cindy's reminder to ask his mother for more details. 

"It's the western continent's Wildlands, though don't worry, the team will have more than just me to keep us safe." The reason she specified that there will be no problem in terms of safety is because aside from the uninhabited south continent, the western one's Wildlands are known to be the most dangerous. 

This is one reason why there is no major region on the western continent. 

'phew...' x2 

Both Lukas and Cindy breathed an internal sigh of relief after hearing her answer. 

After that, they continued chatting for some time before visiting a restaurant to eat dinner and celebrate Lukas making it into the top 8 during his first League participation. 

During their dinner, Lukas also received a video call invitation from his oldest aunt, Lucy. Both her and her oldest daughter Olivia called him from the Emerald family Day-care to congratulate him. 

His 3rd cousin Amy also called him shortly after he came back to the Poke center after dinner. 

... 

The next day, his mother left early in the morning to prepare for her mission. Lukas and Cindy on the other hand remained and watched the conclusion of the Junior League tournament. 

For the last day of the competition, the venues were reduced to a single stadium. Since only 4 more matches were left in the tournament, it made sense to have them all at the largest of the 12 stadiums. 

Among the 4 semi-finalists even the weakest of them had 4 Gold-Rank Pokemon leading to some exciting battles to watch. 

In the first semi-final match, Leon was pitted against a Junior Elite with 5 Gold-Rank Pokemon. 

During the battle, Leon revealed his 6th Gold-Rank Pokemon for the first time. It was a (mid)Gold-Rank Combusken. 

With Leon originating from Hoenn it wasn't hard to deduce that Combusken is his starter Pokemon. 

He won the battle 6-4 in the end, making him the first finalist. 

The second finalist was, much to nobodies surprise, the other trainer that had a full team of Gold-Rank Pokemon. 

Once the match for 3rd place was over, it was finally time for the grand finale of the 1056th Kanto Junior League. 

While both trainers were on equal footing for most of the match, it was Leon's Combusken who managed to prevail over his opponent's Ivysaur to win him the tournament. 

Lukas and Cindy staid to watch the award ceremony, which only the top 4 could attend, before they left the stadium together. 

... 

*beep* *beep* 

While they were out having dinner Lukas PokeNav rang indicating a new message. 

Receiving an inquisitive look from Cindy, he spoke after reading the notification, "It seems my rewards for reaching the top 8 are there."