On the Brink

Tomoya turned his cap around, determination flashing in his eyes. "If I were a citizen of Napolant, and I knew I had to sacrifice other lives to stay alive, I'd find that way of living a disgrace!"

He took a deep breath. "Yes, humans have to sacrifice other lives to survive. That's true. But those are sacrifices we have to make to stay alive.

Eating to survive is different from sacrificing lives to live better!"

Tomoya stepped forward and looked Kanon in the eye. "If you sacrificed your Houndoom to survive, I wouldn't say a word. But if you sacrificed him just to make your own life better, I'd be ashamed of you! Ashamed of how useless you are!"

He drew a deep breath and shouted, "Because a Trainer's pride lies in their Pokémon, not in anything else!"

For a moment, his words echoed through the entire hall.

Dian glanced at Tomoya in surprise. He hadn't expected him to say something like that. Was he related to Ash somehow? Their values were uncannily alike.

Dian nodded to himself. If he won next time, he'd give Tomoya a one-percent discount.

"Hahahaha!"

Kanon suddenly burst out laughing. "Words mean nothing! Anyone can preach, but only the winner gets to decide what's right!"

He glanced at the Sword of Royal Authority, a smile on his face. "After the Napolant Stone come this Sword of Royal Authority and Cofagrigus."

As Kanon said this, he failed to notice a flicker of confusion in the Blue-Haired Girl's eyes. No one else caught it either.

After all, the Blue-Haired Girl was back to her usual expressionless self, and she knew how to act. Reading her emotions was no easy task.

"Legend says Aegislash came into being when human souls took up residence in swords.

The Sword of