confessions of a champion — 1 / ∞

“I don’t ever talk about this but... when I challenged the Unova League for the Champion title way back in the day, I had the hardest time facing Shauntal. I saved her for last for a reason.” Goosebumps rise along her arms at the memory and she wraps her arms around herself.

“It wasn’t because my team wasn’t prepared. Back then, I was pretty confident in my pokémon’s strength and our strategies; I wouldn’t have stepped up to the challenge otherwise. But her specialty...” she drifts off.

Ghost-types have always been her kryptonite. Her encounter with that one Spiritomb that likely still inhabits the catacombs beneath the abandoned Plasma castle left her scarred and that harrowing ordeal is something that she still struggles to overcome to this day.

“My stomach was twisting into knots while I was walking up those dark stairs. When I finally stepped into Shauntal’s room, the stacks of books around me started to sway, as if possessed. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I wanted so, so badly to just turn tail and run away. When the books suddenly started collapsing, I froze. My Krookodile burst out of his pokéball to block the books from crushing me and then loomed over me as Shauntal finally addressed us.” Whether or not the Elite had been blissfully unaware or just decided not to bring up Rosa’s distress, she’ll never know. Their battle started shortly after that, with Rocco and Clover plowing through Shauntal’s spectral gang, all while Rosa teetered on the edge of an anxiety attack. Her pokémon hadn’t battled with such ferocity since the days they’d confronted Neo Plasma — it was over in the blink of an eye.

“I pushed through the battle somehow, but when it was finally done, I broke down.” On her knees, chest tight, trembling and gasping for breath. Her Serperior had curled up around her protectively, daring anyone to come close until Rosa finally got a grip on herself. Shauntal had said nothing beyond a simple congratulations, then recalled her defeated pokémon and disappeared into the depths of her library. By the time Rosa recalled how to breathe again, they were alone and the eerie atmosphere had dissipated. 

“My battle with Iris was delayed a few days until I recovered. No one ever asked why and I never cared to elaborate. While I wasn’t sure Shauntal had noticed anything before, I now believe she knows. She makes it a point to never have any of her pokémon with her when she’s around me and I feel really bad about that...”