Very cool, excited for the rotom form he'll take
Like No One Ever Was
- Thread starter Blueshift
- Start date
- Fantasy
- Location
- Michigan
I think it would be funny if the eventual epilogue included Nemona being placed in charge of the champion assessment battle in Geeta's place and her team to just be 6 Smeargle with varied sets of copied moves to allow each one dozens of strategies.
Chapter 14
- Location
- Vancouver
The day of the big tournament finally came, and with it an onset of sudden nerves. Little thoughts, that I wouldn't do well, that they'd call me a fool, that I'd get Dun hurt, etc. lingered in my mind. Nothing that could stay for long though, or fight against my excitement for this day.
I know, realistically I'm not likely to win the whole thing, but I really hope I do well. Both for the good feeling of doing well, and also for showing off to prove myself to Tulip. Learning about Aura was hardly the most important thing in this world when Pokemon could manipulate it so much better than people, but it still seemed really cool.
Plus, making a good impression on a future gym leader and teacher wouldn't be bad I thought as I finished up my breakfast. I just had a bowl of cereal today, something light before we headed out to Mesagoza.
Leah was standing behind me as usual, but this time dressed in casual clothes rather than her maid outfit. Her white sundress had a floral design to it with a matching sunhat, the outfit brought together by a dark blue jacket she wore overtop the dress. I liked it, but it was weird, like seeing your teacher at the grocery store and remembering they had a life outside of the professional setting you usually saw them in.
My sister had a dark skirt and a pink blouse, a combination she had tried to sell me on previously which I had refused vehemently. I had a white T-shirt with red stripes and pale blue cargo pants. Unassuming, but you didn't need a cape or something extravagant like that to be a champion. I've still got a long way to go on that road, but this is a big step down that path.
Dunsparce was finishing up his meal on the ground beside me (a mix of pate and Kalosian toast that he loved) when my parents entered the dining room, one after another. They were both dressed in golden business suits, rather than their more casual, still gold, and ridiculously expensive 'regular person apparel'.
That clue meant I wasn't surprised when they started tripping over each other with excuses.
"So sorry dear, an emergency at work-"
"Sudden recall of a new phone model-"
"Wild Pokemon were missed on the site, now the workers are in danger-"
"Somehow we only have five workers at the factory right now? I need to-"
"Hopefully it won't take too long-"
"I'll try to be back for your later matches-"
"It's fine," I said with a smile and if there was any bitterness in it, I wiped it away in the blink of an eye. They aren't my par- not my first parents. Shouldn't hold them to the standards of my first ones. My mom and dad were always there for me, but I hardly had the life of luxury I have here, where I can get anything I want just by asking for it. That's just the trade-off in life (lives?), right?
Leah stepped up "I'll keep a close eye on the Young Miss and Young Master while you're out, and record any of the matches you miss to watch later." Billy and O'Nare thanked her profusely, then each of them gave me and my sister a hug and a kiss on the head, before running out the door.
Things were awkward as we finished getting ready after that. Not because I was upset, but I think because Leah and Cyan were worried that I was, and didn't know what to say about it. Eventually, as we went outside to the Flying Taxi Leah had arranged to pick us up, my sister asked me "Are you excited for your first tournament?"
No duh, I am. Excited, nervous, happy, so much more. I didn't say that though, wanting to keep the snark to a minimum (and fearing my nerves might make me sound worse than I was). She was proudly carrying her Popplio Egg which had arrived during my training time in an incubator with straps to let her carry the egg like a (very secure) backpack. The incubator was filled with water, to help better simulate the aquatic environment a Popplio would be born in. Still feels weird that she was just able to order that, but I guess that's how things are in this world. Plus, the rancher said the Primarina mother was very specific in wanting her egg to go to someone 'absolutely loaded', and my family does fit that bill.
"Yeah! I'm not sure how tough it'll be, but we've trained hard and will give it our all!" I had reviewed the past five years of this tournament since it was a big enough event to be televised and well-discussed. Unfortunately, it being open only to the newest trainers meant it was very hard to measure. A few years back, the tournament was swept by some Alolan girl who didn't have any Badges but had completed the full set of island trials. Z-Moves are crazy strong, I'm amazed that the barriers held against most of them (though I think they reinforced them midway through that tourney). I'd like to go to Alola someday, and try my hand at the trials. Plus Alola has some great Pokemon.
If I would go, it'd be sometime in the far future - that tournament had been the last straw and led to Paldea equating the island trial to gym badges earned, much like many other regions had as trade and travel with the island nation grew more common. Some Alolans complained about that, feeling that the Island trials weren't the same as Gym battles, so treating trainers who passed them as having the same experience disadvantaged them on foreign soil. This was true, admittedly; the island trials were about forging a connection with the land around you, and any battle experience was incidental… However, it was also true that most trial goers gained a good deal of battle experience and a Z-Ring and Z-Crystals, so they had plenty of advantages beyond some newbies with a first-stage starter.
As we stepped into the Flying Taxi, the driver asked "Where to today, ladies?"
"Please take us to Professor Turo's house, then to Mesagoza." Leah said. The trip took a while since Turo (and more importantly, Arven) didn't live nearby in the Lighthouse where the Player met them in the games. At least not yet. I wonder if I've rippled that away?
I hoped I hadn't, but it wouldn't be a big deal if they didn't move closer; I could easily fly over whenever and had gotten Arven a Rotom phone for his birthday last month. Still not super thrilled about the idea of gifting people living, thinking creatures, but at least with my father's position, I was able to give Arven a tour of the company and let him meet all the Rotom's. He found the one that clicked with him most and really wanted to be his phone, so I think that's all good.
The flight passed by fairly quickly, with Leah and Cyan asking me about my strategies for the day ahead. I told them a couple of the tricks we'd practiced and the like, but couldn't say much more about my 'strategies' than that. "Tournaments are a lot trickier than Gym battles. You don't know what Pokemon all the other competitors are coming in with and there isn't much of anything to study. So I'll have to adapt somewhat based on what my opponents can bring out." There was a flip side to this of course - Gym Leaders had very strong teams, all their Pokemon kept to the highest standards, and each of them a master of their Typing, and thus able to counter much of the common (and at higher levels, even the uncommon) tricks used against them.
My biggest concern is a Ghost Type with Levitate, like Ghastly, Misdreavous, or even a Rotom (though Rotom is a lot less of a concern because it'll lose the Ghost Typing when it possesses an appliance). Earthquake and Normal Type Moves won't work on them and the only other Move we've mastered, Poison Tail, will be not very effective. Dunsparce can use Bite, as I learned from some of my matches with Arven after he copied Maschiff, but we didn't focus on practicing that during our big training stint. Might have been a mistake, but you can't do everything. The fundamentals we've improved are probably more important anyway. Hopefully his current abilities will be enough to give him solid coverage for this level of tournament.
A finger poked my cheek, disrupting my thoughts. "Oww," I complained, more from surprise than any real pain.
"Don't fall asleep before the tournament," Cyan chided in response, causing me to bristle.
"I wasn't falling asleep, I was thinking-"
"Children." Despite how lightly she said the word, her tone of voice was firm. "No fighting." A 'she started it' welled up on the tip of my tongue, but I shoved it down.
That'd just be immature. Besides, it doesn't matter. Focus on the battles ahead. "Yes ma'am," I said my sister begrudgingly followed suit.
When we touched down in front of Arven's house, I was mildly surprised to not see him waiting for us. He's usually so eager to come out and play. The house in question was a fairly ordinary brick house on the outskirts of Medali. If I didn't know it was the Professor's house, I never would have guessed from how normal it looked, but I was well aware of how past the red tile roof and white and beige bricks were all manner of half-finished devices and paperwork stacked to the ceiling from all the work Turo brought home with him.
Going up to the red wooden door, I knocked. I wasn't tall enough to see through the glass cut into the top of the door but could hear the sounds of conversation before Turo of all people opened the door.
"What are you doing here, Young Miss Glitterati?" He asked cooly, looking down at me, Arven standing behind him, slowly putting the pieces together.
"I have the big tournament today," I said, more to Arven than to him. The boy's eyes darted back and forth between me and his father.
Arven spoke up. "Oh right, I forgot about that." He probably got too excited over his dad being back in the house with him. I shouldn't intrude on their time together.
"It's fine. You're busy right now, we'll hang out later." I tried to say before being interrupted by Cyan, who had apparently followed me.
"What? No, it's not fine! C'mon, this is your big day sis, you've been training hard for ages for this!!" I almost face-palmed at that. Damn, I really appreciate the show of support sis, but this is not the time for it. Arven making close bonds with his dad could be important for the sake of the world. And even if not, at the very least this is some of the precious time he'll get with his dad before he gets way too engrossed in Area Zero. I couldn't say that out loud, however, and before I could think of something reasonable to deflect away, Turo asked me a question.
"You're participating in a tournament today? Will you be using the Tera Orb I sent to you?"
"Uh, I wasn't planning on it. The Junior Tournament rules state that I can't use battle items-" I began before he interrupted me.
"Tera Orbs have recently been ruled as 'Enhancements', and would not fall under the limits for battle items." That would make sense. For most 'Enhancements' at least part if not all of the items are held by the trainer, and they involve dramatic shifts to battles when activated. Z-Moves, Mega Evolution, Dynamax, and now Terastalization all fit under that description. Battle items are held by the Pokemon and give much more minor passive boosts, though those are still significant in a close fight. "I would be most interested in seeing you use it in a tournament setting," he continued, and I could practically hear Arven's heart breaking behind him. Despite it being worded almost like a request, the man was already walking past me and Cyan, towards the Flying Taxi.
"Uh, sure, I can do that. C'mon on Arven, it'll be a big multi family outing." The boy did seem to perk up a bit at that, eagerly following after his dad.
We got aboard and tried to pay for Turo and Arven to join us in our taxi, but Turo insisted on paying himself. Hmm, he begged pretty hard for our parent's money before, but that was before he made it big. I can see him not wanting to be more in our debt, or anyone's debt. He feels like a proud man. That was extrapolation on my part though; he was pretty difficult to get a read on. Nonetheless, I tried to pry a bit with some casual conversation during the flight.
"I didn't know they had made an official announcement about the classification of the Terra Orbs yet. I've been busy training the past month, working really hard to get Dunsparce ready for this tournament."
He raised an eyebrow "The announcement was made a few minutes before you arrived." It was that recent?! "I thought you might be an associate or reporter come to ask me questions about it." It was subtle, but there was a slight hint of frustration in his tone.
"Not a fan of the press?" I pressed.
"I have no problem with the news; reporting groundbreaking facts to the wider public is a noble endeavor. My issue comes from when they sully their 'reporting' with a fixation on asking about 'feelings', printing ephemeral fluff pieces instead of hard facts."
Awkward… It seemed that most of the other passengers felt the same way, no one talking for a moment until Leah spoke up. "Well, hopefully they'll be able to report on Young Miss Nemona's excellent battling skills today." I blushed at the praise.
"I'm really not that great yet." Real professionals do a lot more than me. Hidden commands, or variations on their spoken commands, planning out full team strategies to face other teams, how to deal with switches mid-battle, etc. All leagues above where I'm at. Despite that, I wasn't truly disappointed with myself, just having a realistic measure of how much further I'd have to go.
"'Yet'. You speak as if you will become great with time?" Turo asked, and even Arven jumped in at that.
"She will! She's really good at battling, probably the best! Besides you, I mean." Ah, he still has that fatherly worship. Still has the belief that Turo can do no wrong. I really don't want to break that innocence, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to someday. Otherwise, he might blame himself for all of Turo's screw-ups.
"You misunderstand; I'm not doubting her capabilities, but a scientist needs to come into any experiment with an open mind. Even as they present their hypothesis forward, they must be aware that the experiment may turn out differently than expected. So it is for the best that one reduces any biases they may have." The other kids just looked at him confused and even Leah gave him a second glance (and a pitying one at Arven, which the young boy missed, focused on his father).
Unknowingly, he was hitting on an issue I was quite worried about. Everyone might talk me up now, but that's just because I've got an adult's mind in a kid's body. The real Nemona, for all that people made fun of how obsessed she was with battling, truly was incredible. A very strong champion, and at quite a young age given she didn't have the advantages I do. I worry sometimes that even with that, I won't match up to her, won't be able to make it as far as she did, will screw up the 'plot' of the games. But…
"I guess the only way we'll find out is by seeing." I muttered, gripping my Pokeball tightly. Despite my words, I had faith. Even if I can't match up yet, I believe in my Pokemon. They'll do great.
The rest of the ride was fairly quiet, with Arven trying to get his father's attention, telling him stuff that he and Maschiff had done while he was out. He didn't seem too engaged but was nodding along. I was deep in thought, thinking about my strategies and how I'd approach things.
You would think that with just one Pokemon the strategies wouldn't get too complex, and while I'm sure they paled in comparison to full 6 v. 6 team battles, there was a lot to consider. Potions healed up tons and I was well stocked, but some hits would take time and dedicated resources like Pokemon Centers to fix up. On the other hand, I had to keep in mind Dun's energy. He was going to be fighting in a lot of battles in a row, and not having the endurance to go on would be as bad or worse than being roughed up from a previous fight.
Me fretting over these minutiae was mostly just nerves, I could admit. Dunsparce was a naturally tanky species, and our recent training had given him plenty of endurance. We can do this.
Lost in thought as I was, I barely noticed as we landed down, really taking in Mesagoza for the first time.
The massive proportions of the mega city were even more pronounced within its borders. People and Pokemon milled all over the city. The streets were built with solid bricks, wide enough that some even rode their Cyclizars within the city itself, though there were strict speed regulations to avoid accidents.
Buildings rose up high all around, offering housing, shopping, and all manner of entertainment. Given the topography of the city, how it all sloped upwards till the peak where Uva Academy sat, the height of the buildings on the lower levels didn't interfere with the view. And what a view it is. You can argue that the Pokeball at the top of the Academy is garish or not, but it sure is eye-catching. It's rare to see a building, an institution that can survive that long in this world.
I tore my gaze away from that structure to the street I was stepping onto. Mosaic tiles made up many segments of the street in beautiful patterns. There were two towers at the gates beside us that in times past I imagined served as watch towers for danger, but now were used for ornamentation. Clotheslines hung all above the streets and between the buildings, decorated with colorful triangles that waved in the wind, and street merchants sold balloons and candy in stalls nearby. Is this for the tournament or something that's just set up year-round here? I could see several fountains nearby as well, above the steps where we landed, and above them was the central plaza. The main battle court.
"Sorry I couldn't get you closer," the taxi man said and I blinked my eyes, bewildered. We're already fairly close to the main battle field and people on the street are being forced to go around us. Is this just because we're rich and have a Pokemon Professor with us?
"It's fine, thank you," came my distracted reply, still a little overwhelmed by the size of it all but regaining my bearings and stepping forward to the arena. Pushing through the crowd took a bit of work, especially as Leah understandably wanted us all to stick together (a particularly difficult challenge because Cyan kept on getting distracted by the stores and attractions nearby).
The press of people grew greater at the central plaza, many people gathered to spectate the tournament. The staff had set up stands for people to sit in, but many were watching from the ground, or for a few, in the air, on the backs of flying Pokemon. One of them was even flying on a Charizard! That's quite a rare sight in Paldea.
Leah stepped back with the others to watch as I joined the line to the registration pavilion. There were a few adults in the line, but mostly the other competitors seemed to be teenagers. I was easily the youngest person there, and could already feel a few eyes looking at me questioningly.
"Miss, do you need some help being shown around?" One of the staff came up to me in line and asked. She was wearing a white shirt with red highlights, evocative of a Premier Ball, like the rest of the staff. Given her shockingly pink hair, I suspected that she was also a Nurse Joy who worked at one of the Pokemon Centers nearby.
"No, I'm just waiting to get my registration affirmed." I had already registered online weeks ago, but this was another check they had to make sure that everyone who signed up would actually be here.
"Oh." She said, seeming surprised before just nodding and leaving me be. The boy in front of me however heard me and was decidedly more critical.
"You're competing? Go back home and play with your dollies, this is a serious tournament." He scoffed, turning around to face me. He looked to be about 15 years old, proudly wearing the Uva Academy uniform with three Pokeballs on his belt. He had dark eyes and a sharp angular nose, his expression one of disdain as he looked down at me. His hair was black, short, and spikey.
"I know it's serious, that's why I trained hard. I might be young, but-"
"You're just a little brat who is going to fail hard and get your Pokemon hurt." That caused me to clench a fist in anger. It's one thing to think I'm not ready, but to say I'd be hurting my Pokemon… That was a major insult in this world. "Don't come crying to me when your Lechonk or whatever gets hurt," he said, turning his back to me.
"Who are you to say that about me?" I asked, wondering where this jackass got off on saying things like that. He didn't respond to me, but instead to the man at the front desk taking in our registrations.
"Freddrick Van Grough," he enunciated, and the pieces clicked into place for me. The Van Grough family was a fairly wealthy one, with heavy market control over high-grade fertilizers and Berry Tree seeds. I think I saw his parents at the party my mother and father held. It would explain why he had such an over-inflated opinion of himself.
After the boy received his name tag and left with a smirk, I stepped up to get my registration sorted out. "Your name, miss?"
"Nemona Glitterati," I said as I passed over my ID. I didn't want to raise any special attention to myself but had to say my name, so I waited to see any reaction from him. He just raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say a word, checking it with the system.
Behind me, a girl spoke up "Don't worry about what Freddrick said, he's a jerk." Turning around, I saw a young girl, 12-14 wearing a purple sundress.
I'm really not 'worried' about the blowhard. Which might be me judging him too early, but hey, he did the same to me. What I said though was: "Ah, thanks. I'm Nemona."
"Tracy," she said, holding out a hand to shake. "Yeah, don't worry about what he said. It doesn't matter how well you do, and the staff won't let anyone get injured." I couldn't help but frown as I took my hand back. She's nicer about it, but she's underestimating me too. And she only spoke up against Freddrick after he left.
I was spared from having to interact with her further by the registration man clearing his throat. "Yes, I see you here. Go to battle court #4 for your first match."
"Not here?"
"No, this arena is reserved for the top 8 contestants." I nodded. That makes sense, even with the entry fee of 5000 Pokedollars (expensive for a lot of beginner trainers), they still have a lot of slots filled up, even with a hard cap of 512 contestants. Looking around I could see a lot of the people waiting around that looked like trainers themselves. Probably people on the waitlist hoping to get in if slots opened up from trainers that couldn't make it.
Tracy cleared her throat and I realized I was holding up the line. Stepping out I rushed out to Leah and the others. "It looks like my first battles aren't going to be here but at arena #4."
"Where's that?" Arven asked, and I opened my mouth… before closing it again. "Wha- I can't believe it! You don't know where to go?" He laughed at my plight.
"Shut up," I muttered before sighing. "I'm sorry, I forgot in my excitement. I'll have to go back and ask someone."
"No need, bzzt." Rotom floated up, a map of the city already loaded on the screen and then they stretched out to tablet size to give me a better view. It always feels so weird that they can just do that, but I suppose it's not really that much weirder than, say, them being able to conjure up a swarm of lethal leaves when possessing a lawn mower.
"Thanks," I said as I looked at the map and saw the park where the fourth arena was. Wow, they have a lot of parks, arenas, and poke centers within the city. Guess they need them though, for events like this, and everyday convenience in a city this big. "Alright, we need to go that way," I told the group, pointing in the direction we needed to go. "It's pretty far, so we need to move fast to get there in time." Before I could take the first step, Turo spoke up.
"I don't believe we need to leave. They're setting up viewing screens here so we can observe your battle with ease." Leah frowned, clearly not happy with this idea, but seemingly unwilling to speak up against him. Is it because he's a Pokemon Professor? I knew they were a big deal, but I never realized that they would have this much sway. But then again, Paldea is a bastion of knowledge; a Pokemon Professor is akin to how many regions would treat a Champion. I've just never seen him that way, because in my eyes, he's a Professor second, and a potential enemy first.
Turo frowned down at me, and I was shocked at getting the man to show real emotion, however minutely. Whatever expression I had must have been something else to get that. What he was going to say was lost to the wind, however. Looking up, I saw the Charizard I had seen before landing down beside us. On his back was a young man with shockingly white hair and a cocksure grin. He had a heavy brown jacket with yellow lining and blue goggles over his eyes, useful gear for someone who flew around a lot.
"My partner couldn't help overhear you. I could help take you there," he offered. I was immediately put on edge. A kind offer, but I'm still a child, and any offer like that gets my 'stranger danger' senses tingling.
"Professor Friede, I hadn't expected to see you here. Congratulations on becoming a Pokemon Professor, by the way," Turo comments, causing me to blink in surprise. Another Pokemon Professor?! And who is this 'Friede' guy? I've never heard of him before.
Friede took off his goggles to get a better look at us, frowning slightly when he saw Turo. "Hardly that great an accomplishment compared to you. Your Terra Orbs are anything anyone can talk about in the Academy." Pieces click together in my mind. Well, that might explain why he's down here, watching a beginner tournament.
Leah is the one who breaks the tense silence, using his sudden entrance to grab my hand and ask: "Could you fly me there to the arena as well, Mister Professor?"
He turned away from his standoff with the other Professor to look questioningly at his Charizard, who gave a small roar in response. "Looks like he says yes." He gave her a wink too, which caused the maid to blush heavily. Leah noooo. You can do better than this guy- ok he's a Pokemon Professor, young, and objectively good looking I suppose, so maybe he is as good as it gets, but don't flirt in front of me!
With his guidance, we climb on to the Charizard first, him hoping on after us. I marveled at the feel of his scales beneath my hands. They were tough, but not overly rough with heat radiating off of them. It was incredible, and the kind of thing you just couldn't get from the games or shows.
Charizard turned his head to glance over at me and I realized I was being a bit obvious. "Ah, sorry mister Charizard, I was just admiring your scales. They seem really strong."
He let out a happy roar in response, breathing out a small Flamethrower in the air as we flew. No one was nearby us, but several flying Pokemon made sure to give us an extra large berth at that. Looking down on the city from this close, I could really appreciate how big and beautiful it was.
"You like Charizard, do you?" Friede asked, and I blushed a bit, though likely not for the reasons he was thinking. I know it's kinda 'basic', but yeah, Charizard is my favorite of the Gen 1 Starters. Venasaur never really got me, and Blastoise is cool and all, but Charizard is just awesome.
"Yeah, they're pretty cool. I wouldn't mind getting one on my team eventually." Both Leah and Rotom by now knew that didn't mean 'go out and buy me a fully grown Charizard', just 'I might catch a Charmander if I see it and it's compatible with me and my team.' Charizard himself gave another roar of approval.
"Oh? Who do you have on your team now?"
"Just Dun. I only have the Junior License right now. One day though… I'm gonna be a Champion. Be the greatest, like no one ever was."
"Impressive. It's good to have a goal like that. Have you thought of what you'll do after, though?" Friede asked.
"Probably be drowning in work from the responsibilities of being Champion," I joked, which got a chuckle from Friede and an exasperated sigh from Leah. "I don't know what comes after. I'm eager to see it though, the greatest battles that could take place. And hey, if it gets boring I might try to become a Professor, too."
"Ha! Maybe I should have thought of that," Friede said. "Perhaps if Professor work gets stale I'll try my hand at becoming a Champion too."
"Char! Zar zard!" His partner chimed in.
"What do you think? Think we could be Champions?" He asked me. I didn't just blurt out a response, instead closing my eyes and trying to focus on the feeling Charizard emanated. It was hardly like a scouter telling you about someone's power level, and Pokemon could hide it or it could be missed if you weren't observant/familiar with the species, but there were some tells about how strong a Pokemon was.
Like the Leafeon atop the cliffs near my house, there was a sense of power that came from Charizard. More than just heat, or the strength of his wings flapping (though both were counted to that measure too), he was strong. Maybe not Champion level yet, but he hadn't slacked in his training either. The potential was there, with absolute dedication. There was something more to the power he had as well, some quality to it that just seemed to slip my grasp. I didn't mention it since it didn't seem bad, just different.
"Yes, he could definitely be part of a Champion team."
"What, you don't think we could take on the Elite Four by ourselves?" I openly scoffed at that.
"Of course not! You need a whole team of incredible fighters to be a Champion. They have to be well-rounded, able to support and balance each other out." Both the adults behind me were quiet at my sudden impassioned outburst, but before anyone could say anything else, we had arrived at the arena.
It was in the center of a park, much greenery in this section of the city. Parts of the park were shaded from the tall buildings and streets that wound upwards beside it, giving it a minor sense of seclusion. There were benches nearby, but most of the other contestants and the audience had to stand to watch the battles.
Jumping off Charizard (and eliciting a shocked cry from Leah), I ran over to the nearest official. "Hello, I'm Nemona, I have a match here. I hope I'm not too late."
"No, a couple of people are running late, so we're postponing the matches for half an hour. This event never runs on time anyways," he complained and I stumbled. So all that rushing around was for nothing?
Marching back to Friede and Leah I said "So apparently the event isn't starting yet. Sorry for rushing over."
"No worries. I think I'll stick around to watch; gotta see what future Miss Champion can do." The Professor said, and I nodded my head resolutely. This is the time to show everyone what I can do. I don't think that Dendra and Tulip are here, so they're probably waiting at the Central Plaza. To really impress them, I have to get to the top eight, at least.
My first challenge to that came as match pairings were called and I saw a familiar name as my opening opponent. Tracy, a little out of breath from running over here confirmed it as she looked from her phone and around the crowd, locking eyes with me. Here we go.
I know, realistically I'm not likely to win the whole thing, but I really hope I do well. Both for the good feeling of doing well, and also for showing off to prove myself to Tulip. Learning about Aura was hardly the most important thing in this world when Pokemon could manipulate it so much better than people, but it still seemed really cool.
Plus, making a good impression on a future gym leader and teacher wouldn't be bad I thought as I finished up my breakfast. I just had a bowl of cereal today, something light before we headed out to Mesagoza.
Leah was standing behind me as usual, but this time dressed in casual clothes rather than her maid outfit. Her white sundress had a floral design to it with a matching sunhat, the outfit brought together by a dark blue jacket she wore overtop the dress. I liked it, but it was weird, like seeing your teacher at the grocery store and remembering they had a life outside of the professional setting you usually saw them in.
My sister had a dark skirt and a pink blouse, a combination she had tried to sell me on previously which I had refused vehemently. I had a white T-shirt with red stripes and pale blue cargo pants. Unassuming, but you didn't need a cape or something extravagant like that to be a champion. I've still got a long way to go on that road, but this is a big step down that path.
Dunsparce was finishing up his meal on the ground beside me (a mix of pate and Kalosian toast that he loved) when my parents entered the dining room, one after another. They were both dressed in golden business suits, rather than their more casual, still gold, and ridiculously expensive 'regular person apparel'.
That clue meant I wasn't surprised when they started tripping over each other with excuses.
"So sorry dear, an emergency at work-"
"Sudden recall of a new phone model-"
"Wild Pokemon were missed on the site, now the workers are in danger-"
"Somehow we only have five workers at the factory right now? I need to-"
"Hopefully it won't take too long-"
"I'll try to be back for your later matches-"
"It's fine," I said with a smile and if there was any bitterness in it, I wiped it away in the blink of an eye. They aren't my par- not my first parents. Shouldn't hold them to the standards of my first ones. My mom and dad were always there for me, but I hardly had the life of luxury I have here, where I can get anything I want just by asking for it. That's just the trade-off in life (lives?), right?
Leah stepped up "I'll keep a close eye on the Young Miss and Young Master while you're out, and record any of the matches you miss to watch later." Billy and O'Nare thanked her profusely, then each of them gave me and my sister a hug and a kiss on the head, before running out the door.
Things were awkward as we finished getting ready after that. Not because I was upset, but I think because Leah and Cyan were worried that I was, and didn't know what to say about it. Eventually, as we went outside to the Flying Taxi Leah had arranged to pick us up, my sister asked me "Are you excited for your first tournament?"
No duh, I am. Excited, nervous, happy, so much more. I didn't say that though, wanting to keep the snark to a minimum (and fearing my nerves might make me sound worse than I was). She was proudly carrying her Popplio Egg which had arrived during my training time in an incubator with straps to let her carry the egg like a (very secure) backpack. The incubator was filled with water, to help better simulate the aquatic environment a Popplio would be born in. Still feels weird that she was just able to order that, but I guess that's how things are in this world. Plus, the rancher said the Primarina mother was very specific in wanting her egg to go to someone 'absolutely loaded', and my family does fit that bill.
"Yeah! I'm not sure how tough it'll be, but we've trained hard and will give it our all!" I had reviewed the past five years of this tournament since it was a big enough event to be televised and well-discussed. Unfortunately, it being open only to the newest trainers meant it was very hard to measure. A few years back, the tournament was swept by some Alolan girl who didn't have any Badges but had completed the full set of island trials. Z-Moves are crazy strong, I'm amazed that the barriers held against most of them (though I think they reinforced them midway through that tourney). I'd like to go to Alola someday, and try my hand at the trials. Plus Alola has some great Pokemon.
If I would go, it'd be sometime in the far future - that tournament had been the last straw and led to Paldea equating the island trial to gym badges earned, much like many other regions had as trade and travel with the island nation grew more common. Some Alolans complained about that, feeling that the Island trials weren't the same as Gym battles, so treating trainers who passed them as having the same experience disadvantaged them on foreign soil. This was true, admittedly; the island trials were about forging a connection with the land around you, and any battle experience was incidental… However, it was also true that most trial goers gained a good deal of battle experience and a Z-Ring and Z-Crystals, so they had plenty of advantages beyond some newbies with a first-stage starter.
As we stepped into the Flying Taxi, the driver asked "Where to today, ladies?"
"Please take us to Professor Turo's house, then to Mesagoza." Leah said. The trip took a while since Turo (and more importantly, Arven) didn't live nearby in the Lighthouse where the Player met them in the games. At least not yet. I wonder if I've rippled that away?
I hoped I hadn't, but it wouldn't be a big deal if they didn't move closer; I could easily fly over whenever and had gotten Arven a Rotom phone for his birthday last month. Still not super thrilled about the idea of gifting people living, thinking creatures, but at least with my father's position, I was able to give Arven a tour of the company and let him meet all the Rotom's. He found the one that clicked with him most and really wanted to be his phone, so I think that's all good.
The flight passed by fairly quickly, with Leah and Cyan asking me about my strategies for the day ahead. I told them a couple of the tricks we'd practiced and the like, but couldn't say much more about my 'strategies' than that. "Tournaments are a lot trickier than Gym battles. You don't know what Pokemon all the other competitors are coming in with and there isn't much of anything to study. So I'll have to adapt somewhat based on what my opponents can bring out." There was a flip side to this of course - Gym Leaders had very strong teams, all their Pokemon kept to the highest standards, and each of them a master of their Typing, and thus able to counter much of the common (and at higher levels, even the uncommon) tricks used against them.
My biggest concern is a Ghost Type with Levitate, like Ghastly, Misdreavous, or even a Rotom (though Rotom is a lot less of a concern because it'll lose the Ghost Typing when it possesses an appliance). Earthquake and Normal Type Moves won't work on them and the only other Move we've mastered, Poison Tail, will be not very effective. Dunsparce can use Bite, as I learned from some of my matches with Arven after he copied Maschiff, but we didn't focus on practicing that during our big training stint. Might have been a mistake, but you can't do everything. The fundamentals we've improved are probably more important anyway. Hopefully his current abilities will be enough to give him solid coverage for this level of tournament.
A finger poked my cheek, disrupting my thoughts. "Oww," I complained, more from surprise than any real pain.
"Don't fall asleep before the tournament," Cyan chided in response, causing me to bristle.
"I wasn't falling asleep, I was thinking-"
"Children." Despite how lightly she said the word, her tone of voice was firm. "No fighting." A 'she started it' welled up on the tip of my tongue, but I shoved it down.
That'd just be immature. Besides, it doesn't matter. Focus on the battles ahead. "Yes ma'am," I said my sister begrudgingly followed suit.
When we touched down in front of Arven's house, I was mildly surprised to not see him waiting for us. He's usually so eager to come out and play. The house in question was a fairly ordinary brick house on the outskirts of Medali. If I didn't know it was the Professor's house, I never would have guessed from how normal it looked, but I was well aware of how past the red tile roof and white and beige bricks were all manner of half-finished devices and paperwork stacked to the ceiling from all the work Turo brought home with him.
Going up to the red wooden door, I knocked. I wasn't tall enough to see through the glass cut into the top of the door but could hear the sounds of conversation before Turo of all people opened the door.
"What are you doing here, Young Miss Glitterati?" He asked cooly, looking down at me, Arven standing behind him, slowly putting the pieces together.
"I have the big tournament today," I said, more to Arven than to him. The boy's eyes darted back and forth between me and his father.
Arven spoke up. "Oh right, I forgot about that." He probably got too excited over his dad being back in the house with him. I shouldn't intrude on their time together.
"It's fine. You're busy right now, we'll hang out later." I tried to say before being interrupted by Cyan, who had apparently followed me.
"What? No, it's not fine! C'mon, this is your big day sis, you've been training hard for ages for this!!" I almost face-palmed at that. Damn, I really appreciate the show of support sis, but this is not the time for it. Arven making close bonds with his dad could be important for the sake of the world. And even if not, at the very least this is some of the precious time he'll get with his dad before he gets way too engrossed in Area Zero. I couldn't say that out loud, however, and before I could think of something reasonable to deflect away, Turo asked me a question.
"You're participating in a tournament today? Will you be using the Tera Orb I sent to you?"
"Uh, I wasn't planning on it. The Junior Tournament rules state that I can't use battle items-" I began before he interrupted me.
"Tera Orbs have recently been ruled as 'Enhancements', and would not fall under the limits for battle items." That would make sense. For most 'Enhancements' at least part if not all of the items are held by the trainer, and they involve dramatic shifts to battles when activated. Z-Moves, Mega Evolution, Dynamax, and now Terastalization all fit under that description. Battle items are held by the Pokemon and give much more minor passive boosts, though those are still significant in a close fight. "I would be most interested in seeing you use it in a tournament setting," he continued, and I could practically hear Arven's heart breaking behind him. Despite it being worded almost like a request, the man was already walking past me and Cyan, towards the Flying Taxi.
"Uh, sure, I can do that. C'mon on Arven, it'll be a big multi family outing." The boy did seem to perk up a bit at that, eagerly following after his dad.
We got aboard and tried to pay for Turo and Arven to join us in our taxi, but Turo insisted on paying himself. Hmm, he begged pretty hard for our parent's money before, but that was before he made it big. I can see him not wanting to be more in our debt, or anyone's debt. He feels like a proud man. That was extrapolation on my part though; he was pretty difficult to get a read on. Nonetheless, I tried to pry a bit with some casual conversation during the flight.
"I didn't know they had made an official announcement about the classification of the Terra Orbs yet. I've been busy training the past month, working really hard to get Dunsparce ready for this tournament."
He raised an eyebrow "The announcement was made a few minutes before you arrived." It was that recent?! "I thought you might be an associate or reporter come to ask me questions about it." It was subtle, but there was a slight hint of frustration in his tone.
"Not a fan of the press?" I pressed.
"I have no problem with the news; reporting groundbreaking facts to the wider public is a noble endeavor. My issue comes from when they sully their 'reporting' with a fixation on asking about 'feelings', printing ephemeral fluff pieces instead of hard facts."
Awkward… It seemed that most of the other passengers felt the same way, no one talking for a moment until Leah spoke up. "Well, hopefully they'll be able to report on Young Miss Nemona's excellent battling skills today." I blushed at the praise.
"I'm really not that great yet." Real professionals do a lot more than me. Hidden commands, or variations on their spoken commands, planning out full team strategies to face other teams, how to deal with switches mid-battle, etc. All leagues above where I'm at. Despite that, I wasn't truly disappointed with myself, just having a realistic measure of how much further I'd have to go.
"'Yet'. You speak as if you will become great with time?" Turo asked, and even Arven jumped in at that.
"She will! She's really good at battling, probably the best! Besides you, I mean." Ah, he still has that fatherly worship. Still has the belief that Turo can do no wrong. I really don't want to break that innocence, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to someday. Otherwise, he might blame himself for all of Turo's screw-ups.
"You misunderstand; I'm not doubting her capabilities, but a scientist needs to come into any experiment with an open mind. Even as they present their hypothesis forward, they must be aware that the experiment may turn out differently than expected. So it is for the best that one reduces any biases they may have." The other kids just looked at him confused and even Leah gave him a second glance (and a pitying one at Arven, which the young boy missed, focused on his father).
Unknowingly, he was hitting on an issue I was quite worried about. Everyone might talk me up now, but that's just because I've got an adult's mind in a kid's body. The real Nemona, for all that people made fun of how obsessed she was with battling, truly was incredible. A very strong champion, and at quite a young age given she didn't have the advantages I do. I worry sometimes that even with that, I won't match up to her, won't be able to make it as far as she did, will screw up the 'plot' of the games. But…
"I guess the only way we'll find out is by seeing." I muttered, gripping my Pokeball tightly. Despite my words, I had faith. Even if I can't match up yet, I believe in my Pokemon. They'll do great.
The rest of the ride was fairly quiet, with Arven trying to get his father's attention, telling him stuff that he and Maschiff had done while he was out. He didn't seem too engaged but was nodding along. I was deep in thought, thinking about my strategies and how I'd approach things.
You would think that with just one Pokemon the strategies wouldn't get too complex, and while I'm sure they paled in comparison to full 6 v. 6 team battles, there was a lot to consider. Potions healed up tons and I was well stocked, but some hits would take time and dedicated resources like Pokemon Centers to fix up. On the other hand, I had to keep in mind Dun's energy. He was going to be fighting in a lot of battles in a row, and not having the endurance to go on would be as bad or worse than being roughed up from a previous fight.
Me fretting over these minutiae was mostly just nerves, I could admit. Dunsparce was a naturally tanky species, and our recent training had given him plenty of endurance. We can do this.
Lost in thought as I was, I barely noticed as we landed down, really taking in Mesagoza for the first time.
The massive proportions of the mega city were even more pronounced within its borders. People and Pokemon milled all over the city. The streets were built with solid bricks, wide enough that some even rode their Cyclizars within the city itself, though there were strict speed regulations to avoid accidents.
Buildings rose up high all around, offering housing, shopping, and all manner of entertainment. Given the topography of the city, how it all sloped upwards till the peak where Uva Academy sat, the height of the buildings on the lower levels didn't interfere with the view. And what a view it is. You can argue that the Pokeball at the top of the Academy is garish or not, but it sure is eye-catching. It's rare to see a building, an institution that can survive that long in this world.
I tore my gaze away from that structure to the street I was stepping onto. Mosaic tiles made up many segments of the street in beautiful patterns. There were two towers at the gates beside us that in times past I imagined served as watch towers for danger, but now were used for ornamentation. Clotheslines hung all above the streets and between the buildings, decorated with colorful triangles that waved in the wind, and street merchants sold balloons and candy in stalls nearby. Is this for the tournament or something that's just set up year-round here? I could see several fountains nearby as well, above the steps where we landed, and above them was the central plaza. The main battle court.
"Sorry I couldn't get you closer," the taxi man said and I blinked my eyes, bewildered. We're already fairly close to the main battle field and people on the street are being forced to go around us. Is this just because we're rich and have a Pokemon Professor with us?
"It's fine, thank you," came my distracted reply, still a little overwhelmed by the size of it all but regaining my bearings and stepping forward to the arena. Pushing through the crowd took a bit of work, especially as Leah understandably wanted us all to stick together (a particularly difficult challenge because Cyan kept on getting distracted by the stores and attractions nearby).
The press of people grew greater at the central plaza, many people gathered to spectate the tournament. The staff had set up stands for people to sit in, but many were watching from the ground, or for a few, in the air, on the backs of flying Pokemon. One of them was even flying on a Charizard! That's quite a rare sight in Paldea.
Leah stepped back with the others to watch as I joined the line to the registration pavilion. There were a few adults in the line, but mostly the other competitors seemed to be teenagers. I was easily the youngest person there, and could already feel a few eyes looking at me questioningly.
"Miss, do you need some help being shown around?" One of the staff came up to me in line and asked. She was wearing a white shirt with red highlights, evocative of a Premier Ball, like the rest of the staff. Given her shockingly pink hair, I suspected that she was also a Nurse Joy who worked at one of the Pokemon Centers nearby.
"No, I'm just waiting to get my registration affirmed." I had already registered online weeks ago, but this was another check they had to make sure that everyone who signed up would actually be here.
"Oh." She said, seeming surprised before just nodding and leaving me be. The boy in front of me however heard me and was decidedly more critical.
"You're competing? Go back home and play with your dollies, this is a serious tournament." He scoffed, turning around to face me. He looked to be about 15 years old, proudly wearing the Uva Academy uniform with three Pokeballs on his belt. He had dark eyes and a sharp angular nose, his expression one of disdain as he looked down at me. His hair was black, short, and spikey.
"I know it's serious, that's why I trained hard. I might be young, but-"
"You're just a little brat who is going to fail hard and get your Pokemon hurt." That caused me to clench a fist in anger. It's one thing to think I'm not ready, but to say I'd be hurting my Pokemon… That was a major insult in this world. "Don't come crying to me when your Lechonk or whatever gets hurt," he said, turning his back to me.
"Who are you to say that about me?" I asked, wondering where this jackass got off on saying things like that. He didn't respond to me, but instead to the man at the front desk taking in our registrations.
"Freddrick Van Grough," he enunciated, and the pieces clicked into place for me. The Van Grough family was a fairly wealthy one, with heavy market control over high-grade fertilizers and Berry Tree seeds. I think I saw his parents at the party my mother and father held. It would explain why he had such an over-inflated opinion of himself.
After the boy received his name tag and left with a smirk, I stepped up to get my registration sorted out. "Your name, miss?"
"Nemona Glitterati," I said as I passed over my ID. I didn't want to raise any special attention to myself but had to say my name, so I waited to see any reaction from him. He just raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say a word, checking it with the system.
Behind me, a girl spoke up "Don't worry about what Freddrick said, he's a jerk." Turning around, I saw a young girl, 12-14 wearing a purple sundress.
I'm really not 'worried' about the blowhard. Which might be me judging him too early, but hey, he did the same to me. What I said though was: "Ah, thanks. I'm Nemona."
"Tracy," she said, holding out a hand to shake. "Yeah, don't worry about what he said. It doesn't matter how well you do, and the staff won't let anyone get injured." I couldn't help but frown as I took my hand back. She's nicer about it, but she's underestimating me too. And she only spoke up against Freddrick after he left.
I was spared from having to interact with her further by the registration man clearing his throat. "Yes, I see you here. Go to battle court #4 for your first match."
"Not here?"
"No, this arena is reserved for the top 8 contestants." I nodded. That makes sense, even with the entry fee of 5000 Pokedollars (expensive for a lot of beginner trainers), they still have a lot of slots filled up, even with a hard cap of 512 contestants. Looking around I could see a lot of the people waiting around that looked like trainers themselves. Probably people on the waitlist hoping to get in if slots opened up from trainers that couldn't make it.
Tracy cleared her throat and I realized I was holding up the line. Stepping out I rushed out to Leah and the others. "It looks like my first battles aren't going to be here but at arena #4."
"Where's that?" Arven asked, and I opened my mouth… before closing it again. "Wha- I can't believe it! You don't know where to go?" He laughed at my plight.
"Shut up," I muttered before sighing. "I'm sorry, I forgot in my excitement. I'll have to go back and ask someone."
"No need, bzzt." Rotom floated up, a map of the city already loaded on the screen and then they stretched out to tablet size to give me a better view. It always feels so weird that they can just do that, but I suppose it's not really that much weirder than, say, them being able to conjure up a swarm of lethal leaves when possessing a lawn mower.
"Thanks," I said as I looked at the map and saw the park where the fourth arena was. Wow, they have a lot of parks, arenas, and poke centers within the city. Guess they need them though, for events like this, and everyday convenience in a city this big. "Alright, we need to go that way," I told the group, pointing in the direction we needed to go. "It's pretty far, so we need to move fast to get there in time." Before I could take the first step, Turo spoke up.
"I don't believe we need to leave. They're setting up viewing screens here so we can observe your battle with ease." Leah frowned, clearly not happy with this idea, but seemingly unwilling to speak up against him. Is it because he's a Pokemon Professor? I knew they were a big deal, but I never realized that they would have this much sway. But then again, Paldea is a bastion of knowledge; a Pokemon Professor is akin to how many regions would treat a Champion. I've just never seen him that way, because in my eyes, he's a Professor second, and a potential enemy first.
Turo frowned down at me, and I was shocked at getting the man to show real emotion, however minutely. Whatever expression I had must have been something else to get that. What he was going to say was lost to the wind, however. Looking up, I saw the Charizard I had seen before landing down beside us. On his back was a young man with shockingly white hair and a cocksure grin. He had a heavy brown jacket with yellow lining and blue goggles over his eyes, useful gear for someone who flew around a lot.
"My partner couldn't help overhear you. I could help take you there," he offered. I was immediately put on edge. A kind offer, but I'm still a child, and any offer like that gets my 'stranger danger' senses tingling.
"Professor Friede, I hadn't expected to see you here. Congratulations on becoming a Pokemon Professor, by the way," Turo comments, causing me to blink in surprise. Another Pokemon Professor?! And who is this 'Friede' guy? I've never heard of him before.
Friede took off his goggles to get a better look at us, frowning slightly when he saw Turo. "Hardly that great an accomplishment compared to you. Your Terra Orbs are anything anyone can talk about in the Academy." Pieces click together in my mind. Well, that might explain why he's down here, watching a beginner tournament.
Leah is the one who breaks the tense silence, using his sudden entrance to grab my hand and ask: "Could you fly me there to the arena as well, Mister Professor?"
He turned away from his standoff with the other Professor to look questioningly at his Charizard, who gave a small roar in response. "Looks like he says yes." He gave her a wink too, which caused the maid to blush heavily. Leah noooo. You can do better than this guy- ok he's a Pokemon Professor, young, and objectively good looking I suppose, so maybe he is as good as it gets, but don't flirt in front of me!
With his guidance, we climb on to the Charizard first, him hoping on after us. I marveled at the feel of his scales beneath my hands. They were tough, but not overly rough with heat radiating off of them. It was incredible, and the kind of thing you just couldn't get from the games or shows.
Charizard turned his head to glance over at me and I realized I was being a bit obvious. "Ah, sorry mister Charizard, I was just admiring your scales. They seem really strong."
He let out a happy roar in response, breathing out a small Flamethrower in the air as we flew. No one was nearby us, but several flying Pokemon made sure to give us an extra large berth at that. Looking down on the city from this close, I could really appreciate how big and beautiful it was.
"You like Charizard, do you?" Friede asked, and I blushed a bit, though likely not for the reasons he was thinking. I know it's kinda 'basic', but yeah, Charizard is my favorite of the Gen 1 Starters. Venasaur never really got me, and Blastoise is cool and all, but Charizard is just awesome.
"Yeah, they're pretty cool. I wouldn't mind getting one on my team eventually." Both Leah and Rotom by now knew that didn't mean 'go out and buy me a fully grown Charizard', just 'I might catch a Charmander if I see it and it's compatible with me and my team.' Charizard himself gave another roar of approval.
"Oh? Who do you have on your team now?"
"Just Dun. I only have the Junior License right now. One day though… I'm gonna be a Champion. Be the greatest, like no one ever was."
"Impressive. It's good to have a goal like that. Have you thought of what you'll do after, though?" Friede asked.
"Probably be drowning in work from the responsibilities of being Champion," I joked, which got a chuckle from Friede and an exasperated sigh from Leah. "I don't know what comes after. I'm eager to see it though, the greatest battles that could take place. And hey, if it gets boring I might try to become a Professor, too."
"Ha! Maybe I should have thought of that," Friede said. "Perhaps if Professor work gets stale I'll try my hand at becoming a Champion too."
"Char! Zar zard!" His partner chimed in.
"What do you think? Think we could be Champions?" He asked me. I didn't just blurt out a response, instead closing my eyes and trying to focus on the feeling Charizard emanated. It was hardly like a scouter telling you about someone's power level, and Pokemon could hide it or it could be missed if you weren't observant/familiar with the species, but there were some tells about how strong a Pokemon was.
Like the Leafeon atop the cliffs near my house, there was a sense of power that came from Charizard. More than just heat, or the strength of his wings flapping (though both were counted to that measure too), he was strong. Maybe not Champion level yet, but he hadn't slacked in his training either. The potential was there, with absolute dedication. There was something more to the power he had as well, some quality to it that just seemed to slip my grasp. I didn't mention it since it didn't seem bad, just different.
"Yes, he could definitely be part of a Champion team."
"What, you don't think we could take on the Elite Four by ourselves?" I openly scoffed at that.
"Of course not! You need a whole team of incredible fighters to be a Champion. They have to be well-rounded, able to support and balance each other out." Both the adults behind me were quiet at my sudden impassioned outburst, but before anyone could say anything else, we had arrived at the arena.
It was in the center of a park, much greenery in this section of the city. Parts of the park were shaded from the tall buildings and streets that wound upwards beside it, giving it a minor sense of seclusion. There were benches nearby, but most of the other contestants and the audience had to stand to watch the battles.
Jumping off Charizard (and eliciting a shocked cry from Leah), I ran over to the nearest official. "Hello, I'm Nemona, I have a match here. I hope I'm not too late."
"No, a couple of people are running late, so we're postponing the matches for half an hour. This event never runs on time anyways," he complained and I stumbled. So all that rushing around was for nothing?
Marching back to Friede and Leah I said "So apparently the event isn't starting yet. Sorry for rushing over."
"No worries. I think I'll stick around to watch; gotta see what future Miss Champion can do." The Professor said, and I nodded my head resolutely. This is the time to show everyone what I can do. I don't think that Dendra and Tulip are here, so they're probably waiting at the Central Plaza. To really impress them, I have to get to the top eight, at least.
My first challenge to that came as match pairings were called and I saw a familiar name as my opening opponent. Tracy, a little out of breath from running over here confirmed it as she looked from her phone and around the crowd, locking eyes with me. Here we go.
The tournament begins! With a bunch of OCs and a bunch of characters you might not have expected. Friede is going to be an interesting one to say the least - his characterization might feel a little off at times, but this is Friede pre-pre character development, before even the flashback scene in Horizons. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the battles to come.
Ardion Prosili
An (im)Perfect Cell
Oh boy, AI Turo is gonna have a stacked team after all the impassioned outbursts Nemona keeps having around Turo.
I'm so excited goddamn I just love this fic! I wonder how this will go.
- Pronouns
- He/him
Part of me wants to See Nemona and Dun crush the first few rounds, but I think it could also be interesting to see how tough Nenona's path to champion will actually be.
- Location
- Michigan
Honestly given the location of the event, most competitors likely just participate on a whim due to living nearby, given that most likely don't actively go out to train much I could easily see most battles before the top 8 or 16 losing to one solid hit against any mon like Dun who have a trainer that actively focuses on training them for battle even with only the relatively short time she has had to prepare.
It would make sense that Nemona could be drastically overestimating her competition at the start of the tournament due to her perception on things being skewed by only really having practice battles with Arvin(presumably a fairly talented trainer given the game events) and her mostly focusing on higher level battles when studying strategy and watching recorded trainer battles.
It would make sense that Nemona could be drastically overestimating her competition at the start of the tournament due to her perception on things being skewed by only really having practice battles with Arvin(presumably a fairly talented trainer given the game events) and her mostly focusing on higher level battles when studying strategy and watching recorded trainer battles.
Chapter 15
- Location
- Vancouver
Despite my eagerness (and my nerves, wanting to get it over with fast), my match with Tracy was not up first. The first match was between two young teenagers, each one with a Fuecoco.
"Looks like we've got a mirror match to start," the announcer began (I hadn't heard her name, too focused on Tracy). She had a clear, booming voice that carried through the entire park. There was a Farigiraf who had been chewing grass beside her that stopped at the sound of her voice, raising his head and making a near perfectly translucent barrier over the field.
"Frasier, Rossica, are you ready to battle?" The announcer asked, to which both teens gave a loud 'Yes!' in response. "Then let the tournament…" She paused, looking at her Rotom hovering at her side, likely letting her coordinate with the other fields. "Begin!" She shouted suddenly. I watched the match carefully. I don't know if they'll make it up to the fourth round where I would face them, but I should keep an eye out anyways, just in case they're a serious threat.
Both of the trainers scrambled, caught off guard by the sudden announcement. "Eh, ah, Ember!" Rossica called out. Hmm, it has same-type-attack-bonus, but the other Fuecoco will resist it. Perhaps her Fuecoco is heavily focused on special attacks?
"Not so fast! Fuecoco, counter it with your own Ember!" Fraiser said, grinning. The two small fireballs their adorable little crocodile-like guys spat out met in the center of the field, canceling each other out.
"Ember!" They both cried out again, and once again the flames clashed equally.
"I don't get what they're doing," I muttered out loud.
Friede crouched down to talk to me on a more even level, a fact that made me irrationally upset for a moment. I can't wait till I'm tall. Nemona was pretty tall from what I remember in the games, I think only that one wrestler girl was taller. "Oh? What's got you confused? Professor Friede knows everything, after all."
"I very much doubt that," I said dryly. "No offense, it's just… the world is a big place, full of mysteries no one's ever seen or have been lost to time. But anyways, this fight," I gestured at where the trainers were both calling out for the same attack again and again. "They aren't changing anything up. Are they both endurance specialists and hoping the other one will tire out first?"
He just let out a small chuckle at my confusion. "Nah, they just don't know enough about battling yet." I just tilted my head. How… how do people not know this?! I mean, I'm not expecting kids to be geniuses but… Looking at the battlefield, I saw the two Fuecocos both panting heavily.
"Let's finish this, Ember!" Rossica called out.
"Yeah, go Fuecoco!" Fraiser pointed his finger out at their foe.
The two once again met in the center without either side winning, but that was clearly the end of their stamina, both of them wobbling. Rossica's Fuecoco fell, defeated, but Frasier's Fuecoco just barely hung on, standing shakily.
"The winner, Frasier!" He let out a cheer, running towards his Fuecoco and hoisting him up high. The Fuecoco gave a tired cheer of his own. It looks like it did come down to a stamina contest in the end. Not that I think either trainer was cognizant of how this would end.
"I'd be embarrassed with a match like that," Friede scoffed. In many ways, I agreed with him. But looking out at the field and seeing Rossica rush up to her partner, hug them tight, and whisper her own words of encouragement and praise...
"They both have a ways to go, but everyone has to start somewhere. This was a good match."
"Everyone might start 'somewhere', bzzt, but you started a lot further than them." Rotom stated loftily.
Urk. I get that you're trying to show me off for a Pokemon Professor Rotom, but I don't need the scrutiny surrounding my past and sudden behavior changes. The Pokemon world is filled with mysteries, but I suspect even the people here would be skeptical of 'I remembered my past life.' Plus, I just didn't want to. At least not with this Friede guy I didn't know.
"I mean, even for me, I didn't know everything instantly. I had to study a lot." I got the feeling that my childish voice and appearance made me stress how much it sounded endearingly adorable, rather than agonizing, given the type of smile Leah gave me. It really is a bunch of work! "And even now, I'd hardly say I know everything about Pokemon or battling."
"Well, keep on training hard and you'll get there," Friede said. I shook my head.
"Nah. There's way too much to learn. So many ways I can grow. I could spend a hundred lifetimes and not get close to knowing it all. 'The only thing I know is that I know nothing.'" It was a quote from a man others called wise in my past life. I'd only just scratched the surface of this world in my time here, but I knew that saying to be oh-so-true here too.
Friede's face became serious for a moment, straightening up and frowning down at me. "Is that so?" The question wasn't really for me, I could tell. Just something he was pondering to himself. Not knowing his situation, I just turned back to the battles going on the field.
The other battles tended to be a bit more interesting, with some back-and-forth going on. The plays were still decently low level, as would be expected, but trainers would call out dodges and switch up their Moves to try and break stalemates/get out of bad spots. It was impossible to tell for sure, but I'd bet that most of the more advanced commands came from Trainers who had earned their first badge.
Most of the Pokemon are either regional Starters or are a bit rarer than the 'common' ones. A Dhelmise swung horizontally through the air, sweeping into a Sprigattito and hitting it so hard into the psychic barrier that I winced. The small feline Pokemon didn't seem critically injured and her trainer immediately rushed her off to the Pokemon Center.
"Atticus wins! What an impressive showing!" The announcer exclaimed. The young boy smirked, recalling his Dhelmise and waving to the crowd. He had dark blue hair, tinged with yellow at the ends. That's probably the weirdest thing I find about the anime hair here. The fact that individual parts like just the ends of someone's hair can be a different color 'naturally'. I reached up at one of my own two green locks of hair. Not that I can say anything or I'd be the one looking weird.
In about the middle of the round, my match was called up. I took my place on one end of the battlefield while Tracy took hers at the other. "Hey, uh, don't worry Nemona, they've got really good healers here. Just try to have fun." Resisting the urge to frown was difficult. I could appreciate encouragement, but she was just looking down on me.
Both of us drew and held up our Pokeballs waiting for the signal from the referee. There were several specific rules for battling like this. Technically you could ask for them in casual battles, but they tended to be ignored or forgotten there, but were strictly enforced in big tournaments like this. One of them was that trainers had to have the Pokeballs held out before releasing their Pokemon to prevent a trainer 'accidentally' lagging behind their opponent in releasing their Pokemon to see what the opponent sent out and then picking out there.
You could have your Pokemon released already, but you had to make it clear that you were going to start with it if that was the case. The move was colloquially called the 'Ketchum Clause', and was seen as a bold tactic in high-level play. Either a cunning strategy that caught your opponent off guard and caused them to second guess themselves… or more likely, an arrogant strategy that backfired as the opponent out-maneuvered your lead. Of course, plenty of people here are leading openly, but it's not really about them being strategic or arrogant here, too low level for that.
The referee gave us the signal and we both released our Pokemon. Dunsparce landed on the field with a small roar, eyes fixed ahead at his opponent. Which was a small odd engine-looking thing.
The top of its body was made of steel and looked very much like a motor vehicle engine with something that looked like a tailpipe out the back. It had yellow eyes on its sides and the bottom half seemed rocky with four stone-like wheels.
A few people 'ooh'd' at her Pokemon, something that seemed to upset Dun. I guess it's because her Pokemon is relatively rare compared to a more 'common' Dunsparce. "Don't worry Dun, you're the strongest out there and we'll make everyone see that."
"Dun dun!"
"Trainers, are you ready?" The referee asked, and we both nodded. "Begin!" He shouted and we both launched into giving commands.
"Alright Varoom, let's make it quick!" The Varoom's wheels spun as it raced ahead and I distantly noticed that it was a good deal slower than Dun. Odd, Dun's weakest area is his speed. I didn't have too much time to focus on that however as I had already given my command and was watching it take effect as well.
"Earthquake!" Dunsparce immediately slammed his body into the arena, sending cracks branching out a few feet in various directions from where he landed and making the entire arena shake. More than just the arena, actually; I could feel my feet shifting and saw the spectators in the park gasping and trying to keep their balance.
Varoom had it the worst, each bump of the ground beneath it hitting hard into its body. Its path became uncontrolled as it was jostled around, spinning out around Dun, and crashing into the barrier at my end of the arena.
I drew a breath ready to give another command- then stopped as I saw that the Varoom was lying on its side, not moving. A shocked silence descended over the field before the announcer stammered out "Wh-what an upset! A surprising victory for Nemona Glitterati!"
Cheers erupted out of the audience and a grin started to break through on my face. We did it! We won our first match! I hadn't expected it to be that easy, but that's double Type weakness for you.
My good mood was interrupted relatively quickly by Tracy running forward, tears in her eyes. "Varoom! Varooooom!" She dived down to cradle her fallen Pokemon. Worry filled me for a moment that her Pokemon might have been seriously injured, but I saw that its weird metal mouth extrusion thing seemed to be wheezing and it was just knocked out.
Still, not wanting to be rude I offered "Do you need a hand getting to the Pokemon Center?" Rather than look relieved, she whipped around to glare at me.
"I don't need help from a cheater like you!" The sheer venom in her voice made me take a step back, aghast.
"What- but I didn't-" TM Moves are totally legal, I checked!
"How else could you have beat Varoom with only one attack?" Rather than wait for an answer she grabbed up her fallen Pokemon and marched off.
I was still a little distracted by all of that so Dunsparce had to slither over and nudge my leg so I would make way for the next battlers (though they had to wait too for some of the staff to fix up the field from the damage we made).
"You did great!" Leah cried out, sweeping me into a big hug. "Oh, I'm so proud of you." I couldn't help but smile at her joy, but something must have shown in my eyes as she put me down. "What's wrong sweetie?"
"Nothing. I mean, I'm really happy we won! Just… I wish she didn't have to be so upset about that. And we didn't cheat!" I pouted. I had never liked being accused of dishonesty or unfairness in my prior life and I didn't like it here either. "Learning Moves from Technical Machines isn't cheating."
Friede just chuckled, a tinge of bitterness in his voice. "That's just how it is, kid. People don't think you can do anything, that it must all be a trick until you outright prove them wrong. Then they turn around and start sucking up to you." Ouch. But I suppose this guy must have been hailed as a prodigy - a true genius, not a fake like me - from the start. Must be rough for a kid growing up like that.
Leah glared at Professor Friede for a moment, causing him to take a step back. "Don't worry about any of that, young Miss. I'm sure that other competitors will act with a bit more dignity in the future."
"Thanks." I wasn't truly convinced by her words, but just knowing that she was in my corner was nice. Besides, this is it. I took my first step as a trainer, and it was a success. That's what I'm going to focus on.
"Looks like we've got a mirror match to start," the announcer began (I hadn't heard her name, too focused on Tracy). She had a clear, booming voice that carried through the entire park. There was a Farigiraf who had been chewing grass beside her that stopped at the sound of her voice, raising his head and making a near perfectly translucent barrier over the field.
"Frasier, Rossica, are you ready to battle?" The announcer asked, to which both teens gave a loud 'Yes!' in response. "Then let the tournament…" She paused, looking at her Rotom hovering at her side, likely letting her coordinate with the other fields. "Begin!" She shouted suddenly. I watched the match carefully. I don't know if they'll make it up to the fourth round where I would face them, but I should keep an eye out anyways, just in case they're a serious threat.
Both of the trainers scrambled, caught off guard by the sudden announcement. "Eh, ah, Ember!" Rossica called out. Hmm, it has same-type-attack-bonus, but the other Fuecoco will resist it. Perhaps her Fuecoco is heavily focused on special attacks?
"Not so fast! Fuecoco, counter it with your own Ember!" Fraiser said, grinning. The two small fireballs their adorable little crocodile-like guys spat out met in the center of the field, canceling each other out.
"Ember!" They both cried out again, and once again the flames clashed equally.
"I don't get what they're doing," I muttered out loud.
Friede crouched down to talk to me on a more even level, a fact that made me irrationally upset for a moment. I can't wait till I'm tall. Nemona was pretty tall from what I remember in the games, I think only that one wrestler girl was taller. "Oh? What's got you confused? Professor Friede knows everything, after all."
"I very much doubt that," I said dryly. "No offense, it's just… the world is a big place, full of mysteries no one's ever seen or have been lost to time. But anyways, this fight," I gestured at where the trainers were both calling out for the same attack again and again. "They aren't changing anything up. Are they both endurance specialists and hoping the other one will tire out first?"
He just let out a small chuckle at my confusion. "Nah, they just don't know enough about battling yet." I just tilted my head. How… how do people not know this?! I mean, I'm not expecting kids to be geniuses but… Looking at the battlefield, I saw the two Fuecocos both panting heavily.
"Let's finish this, Ember!" Rossica called out.
"Yeah, go Fuecoco!" Fraiser pointed his finger out at their foe.
The two once again met in the center without either side winning, but that was clearly the end of their stamina, both of them wobbling. Rossica's Fuecoco fell, defeated, but Frasier's Fuecoco just barely hung on, standing shakily.
"The winner, Frasier!" He let out a cheer, running towards his Fuecoco and hoisting him up high. The Fuecoco gave a tired cheer of his own. It looks like it did come down to a stamina contest in the end. Not that I think either trainer was cognizant of how this would end.
"I'd be embarrassed with a match like that," Friede scoffed. In many ways, I agreed with him. But looking out at the field and seeing Rossica rush up to her partner, hug them tight, and whisper her own words of encouragement and praise...
"They both have a ways to go, but everyone has to start somewhere. This was a good match."
"Everyone might start 'somewhere', bzzt, but you started a lot further than them." Rotom stated loftily.
Urk. I get that you're trying to show me off for a Pokemon Professor Rotom, but I don't need the scrutiny surrounding my past and sudden behavior changes. The Pokemon world is filled with mysteries, but I suspect even the people here would be skeptical of 'I remembered my past life.' Plus, I just didn't want to. At least not with this Friede guy I didn't know.
"I mean, even for me, I didn't know everything instantly. I had to study a lot." I got the feeling that my childish voice and appearance made me stress how much it sounded endearingly adorable, rather than agonizing, given the type of smile Leah gave me. It really is a bunch of work! "And even now, I'd hardly say I know everything about Pokemon or battling."
"Well, keep on training hard and you'll get there," Friede said. I shook my head.
"Nah. There's way too much to learn. So many ways I can grow. I could spend a hundred lifetimes and not get close to knowing it all. 'The only thing I know is that I know nothing.'" It was a quote from a man others called wise in my past life. I'd only just scratched the surface of this world in my time here, but I knew that saying to be oh-so-true here too.
Friede's face became serious for a moment, straightening up and frowning down at me. "Is that so?" The question wasn't really for me, I could tell. Just something he was pondering to himself. Not knowing his situation, I just turned back to the battles going on the field.
The other battles tended to be a bit more interesting, with some back-and-forth going on. The plays were still decently low level, as would be expected, but trainers would call out dodges and switch up their Moves to try and break stalemates/get out of bad spots. It was impossible to tell for sure, but I'd bet that most of the more advanced commands came from Trainers who had earned their first badge.
Most of the Pokemon are either regional Starters or are a bit rarer than the 'common' ones. A Dhelmise swung horizontally through the air, sweeping into a Sprigattito and hitting it so hard into the psychic barrier that I winced. The small feline Pokemon didn't seem critically injured and her trainer immediately rushed her off to the Pokemon Center.
"Atticus wins! What an impressive showing!" The announcer exclaimed. The young boy smirked, recalling his Dhelmise and waving to the crowd. He had dark blue hair, tinged with yellow at the ends. That's probably the weirdest thing I find about the anime hair here. The fact that individual parts like just the ends of someone's hair can be a different color 'naturally'. I reached up at one of my own two green locks of hair. Not that I can say anything or I'd be the one looking weird.
In about the middle of the round, my match was called up. I took my place on one end of the battlefield while Tracy took hers at the other. "Hey, uh, don't worry Nemona, they've got really good healers here. Just try to have fun." Resisting the urge to frown was difficult. I could appreciate encouragement, but she was just looking down on me.
Both of us drew and held up our Pokeballs waiting for the signal from the referee. There were several specific rules for battling like this. Technically you could ask for them in casual battles, but they tended to be ignored or forgotten there, but were strictly enforced in big tournaments like this. One of them was that trainers had to have the Pokeballs held out before releasing their Pokemon to prevent a trainer 'accidentally' lagging behind their opponent in releasing their Pokemon to see what the opponent sent out and then picking out there.
You could have your Pokemon released already, but you had to make it clear that you were going to start with it if that was the case. The move was colloquially called the 'Ketchum Clause', and was seen as a bold tactic in high-level play. Either a cunning strategy that caught your opponent off guard and caused them to second guess themselves… or more likely, an arrogant strategy that backfired as the opponent out-maneuvered your lead. Of course, plenty of people here are leading openly, but it's not really about them being strategic or arrogant here, too low level for that.
The referee gave us the signal and we both released our Pokemon. Dunsparce landed on the field with a small roar, eyes fixed ahead at his opponent. Which was a small odd engine-looking thing.
The top of its body was made of steel and looked very much like a motor vehicle engine with something that looked like a tailpipe out the back. It had yellow eyes on its sides and the bottom half seemed rocky with four stone-like wheels.
A few people 'ooh'd' at her Pokemon, something that seemed to upset Dun. I guess it's because her Pokemon is relatively rare compared to a more 'common' Dunsparce. "Don't worry Dun, you're the strongest out there and we'll make everyone see that."
"Dun dun!"
"Trainers, are you ready?" The referee asked, and we both nodded. "Begin!" He shouted and we both launched into giving commands.
"Alright Varoom, let's make it quick!" The Varoom's wheels spun as it raced ahead and I distantly noticed that it was a good deal slower than Dun. Odd, Dun's weakest area is his speed. I didn't have too much time to focus on that however as I had already given my command and was watching it take effect as well.
"Earthquake!" Dunsparce immediately slammed his body into the arena, sending cracks branching out a few feet in various directions from where he landed and making the entire arena shake. More than just the arena, actually; I could feel my feet shifting and saw the spectators in the park gasping and trying to keep their balance.
Varoom had it the worst, each bump of the ground beneath it hitting hard into its body. Its path became uncontrolled as it was jostled around, spinning out around Dun, and crashing into the barrier at my end of the arena.
I drew a breath ready to give another command- then stopped as I saw that the Varoom was lying on its side, not moving. A shocked silence descended over the field before the announcer stammered out "Wh-what an upset! A surprising victory for Nemona Glitterati!"
Cheers erupted out of the audience and a grin started to break through on my face. We did it! We won our first match! I hadn't expected it to be that easy, but that's double Type weakness for you.
My good mood was interrupted relatively quickly by Tracy running forward, tears in her eyes. "Varoom! Varooooom!" She dived down to cradle her fallen Pokemon. Worry filled me for a moment that her Pokemon might have been seriously injured, but I saw that its weird metal mouth extrusion thing seemed to be wheezing and it was just knocked out.
Still, not wanting to be rude I offered "Do you need a hand getting to the Pokemon Center?" Rather than look relieved, she whipped around to glare at me.
"I don't need help from a cheater like you!" The sheer venom in her voice made me take a step back, aghast.
"What- but I didn't-" TM Moves are totally legal, I checked!
"How else could you have beat Varoom with only one attack?" Rather than wait for an answer she grabbed up her fallen Pokemon and marched off.
I was still a little distracted by all of that so Dunsparce had to slither over and nudge my leg so I would make way for the next battlers (though they had to wait too for some of the staff to fix up the field from the damage we made).
"You did great!" Leah cried out, sweeping me into a big hug. "Oh, I'm so proud of you." I couldn't help but smile at her joy, but something must have shown in my eyes as she put me down. "What's wrong sweetie?"
"Nothing. I mean, I'm really happy we won! Just… I wish she didn't have to be so upset about that. And we didn't cheat!" I pouted. I had never liked being accused of dishonesty or unfairness in my prior life and I didn't like it here either. "Learning Moves from Technical Machines isn't cheating."
Friede just chuckled, a tinge of bitterness in his voice. "That's just how it is, kid. People don't think you can do anything, that it must all be a trick until you outright prove them wrong. Then they turn around and start sucking up to you." Ouch. But I suppose this guy must have been hailed as a prodigy - a true genius, not a fake like me - from the start. Must be rough for a kid growing up like that.
Leah glared at Professor Friede for a moment, causing him to take a step back. "Don't worry about any of that, young Miss. I'm sure that other competitors will act with a bit more dignity in the future."
"Thanks." I wasn't truly convinced by her words, but just knowing that she was in my corner was nice. Besides, this is it. I took my first step as a trainer, and it was a success. That's what I'm going to focus on.
Nemona's first battle ends in a very decisive manner! Turns out over leveling your starter in the first area can be pretty handy. Still, there are few curveballs she's likely to face in a big tournament such as this.
Nemona is basically smurfing the tournament if she's that above the other kids in sheer strength. Let's see how many beginners can match her?
- Pronouns
- He/him
For it to be notably slower then dunsparce, it was either much lower level, or a slow start varoom. Slow start makes sense if this character is destined for team star
- Location
- Michigan
The last couple of chapters kind of support the idea that Nemona will be the target of at least attempted bullying(which canon Nemona likely just wouldn't have noticed) and I could easily see this resulting in Nemona getting directly involved in Team Star's plans(which could easily prevent the issues that caused canon Team Star's poor reputation.)
RinKaihou
AllSeeingEye
- Location
- Behind You
"I'm Nemona, head of Team Star's Discipline Crew and bullying is forbidden on these grounds!"
"Wha- there's no Discipline type!?"
"There is now."
Screw their feelings. Crush them all! Let Arceus sort them out!
Chapter 16
- Location
- Vancouver
It was somewhat easier to relax waiting for my next round now that I had a win under my belt. Hmm, should I wear a belt when I become Champion? Like a wrestler - no wait, Leon has that, and he's kinda tacky.
My next match was against a teenager with a Houndour, which ended fairly quickly thanks to Earthquake again. The Move didn't damage the arena or extend past it this time, but that was due to the Farigiraf extending its barrier to permeate the battlefield itself (something that the referee had scolded her about, and the Farigiraf had rolled her eyes as if to say 'how was I supposed to expect that?' before fixing it for all future matches).
The match after was a kid about my age with a Maril, his knees shaking as he approached me. His few stuttered commands were easily countered, and the Maril was taken out with a well-timed Body Slam (didn't even need Poison Jab). Am I really that scary? I hadn't thought so, but Dunsparce was stronger than most others. A few others were starting to get increased attention and even some bets were placed on the ones who looked like they were real contenders.
Paldea had some surprisingly strict gambling restriction laws. In this case, any official bets were capped at no greater than the entrance fee to participate. I thought that was another reason why the entrance fee was so high for such a comparatively low-level tournament; it let the gamblers bet a bit more while keeping the numbers down low enough that they could run the whole thing in a day. There were other loopholes as well, like being able to bet on one competitor per each round.
We were reaching into the afternoon as round three was finishing up, though the fact was that each round took less long than the previous ones due to having fewer people. Despite that, I was certain we'd be well into the evening by the finals.
Spectators were taking note of me, but I still wasn't the favorite to win yet. Likely, it was due to my age, or perhaps Dunsparce not being as striking in appearance as some others. Currently, it was a toss-up between Atticus and his Dhelmise and Katherine, an older foreign girl with a formidable-looking Golisopod, both of whom were just about to fight.
"Who do you think will win?" Friede casually asked as we watched the match. We'd chatted a bit in between my bouts, and I think he was surprised to find someone as knowledgeable as myself given how young I looked.
"Atticus. The Golisopod isn't battle-hardened enough yet." The Golisopod was a giant pale blue bug with thick armor plating covering its body. Pokemon evolution would clear up scars and injuries like that, and tellingly, Katherine's Pokemon bore no battle wounds.
"Oh? But doesn't it take a lot of work to evolve a Whimpod into a Golisopod?" Leah asked and I blinked with surprise. She blushed and added, "Ever since you've become so interested in Pokemon young Miss, I've been researching them too." I smiled. It's sweet of her to put such care and attention towards my interests.
"It does, and I'm not saying they're not strong but-" Friede cut me off.
"He still has the instincts of a Whimpod, to run and flee whenever hurt, warring with his newfound strength and power. That can be trained out, but it takes time and the Golisopod has to get used to the pain it can take in battle."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his interruption and nodded. "Yeah, that." So far, he hasn't been hurt enough for it to be an issue, but Dhelmise is in a different league than everyone else they've faced thus far. Bug/Water vs. Ghost/Grass doesn't favor either side Type-wise either. If switches were allowed it wouldn't be bad, but as is…
"Use First Impression!" Katherine called out, and her Golsiopod scuttled up, moving both fast and in a way that was hard to track. The Bug Type gave out a roar and raised its large foreclaws, causing the Dhelmise to flinch back, opening itself up to some swift strikes from its four smaller claws.
"Hit it back with Grassy Glide," Atticus called out cooly and Dhelmise did just that. Laying down a sheet of seaweed, it slid across the field and into the Golisopod.
They exchanged blows like that a few more times, but Golisopod had nothing as powerful as his First Impression to follow it up with, and eventually after taking a powerful Payback, the big bug ran back to Katherine, cowering.
"Wait no, get back in there! Golly, please!" She begged, to no avail. He just shook his head and tried to shrink down further as Dhelmise menaced closer. "I- I surrender!" She called out, returning her Pokemon.
"The winner, Atticus! Folks, this kid is on a winning streak! Can nothing stop his climb to the top?" The announcer said as the crowd cheered him on. The preteen basked in the praise before smugly walking off.
"Looks like your prediction was right. Are you worried about him?" Friede inquired. It was understandable since he was my next opponent, but I had relaxed a lot more since the beginning of the event.
"Nah, I'll win." Besides, this last round told me everything I needed to win. It's easy to get worried when everyone is unknown, but I've got a handle on how he fights.
"Kinda arrogant," Friede responded, causing me to scowl.
"Takes one to know one! You assume you know everything!" Leah sighed off to the side as we started arguing.
"I do. Or near enough. I know everything there is to know about Pokemon."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. Ask me anything." He challenged, crossing his arms. He's one of the few people who doesn't look down on me due to my age. I shouldn't screw that up. But… I kinda want to wipe that smug smile off his face. Whatever, it's probably fine. If he gets distraught over being proven wrong I wouldn't want to know him anyways. He might be a Pokemon Professor, but I have Isekai cheats!
I thought about it for a moment, trying to think of something that would both stump him and be provable. It was a difficult exercise in these more modern times with plenty of technology and open borders of the world. Knowledge was eagerly exchanged between the League Nations, and even beyond. Something like 'How was the mythical Pokemon Magerana created?' might not work because it's something no one knows about and something like 'What types can Charizard Mega Evolve into?' would be too well known.
"Well?" He asked impatiently.
"Alright. Dual Typing can cover a lot of weaknesses in either Type, especially when immunities overlap with what would be the other Type's weakness. What is the only Pokemon that has 3 Type immunities and only one Type weakness?" As he opened his mouth I quickly realized my mistake and added "And two resistances!" Almost forgot about Spiritomb there. It's a cool Pokemon and very tanky for a Ghost Type, but given what I know it would be so hard to control. Of course, the one I'm thinking of would likely be worse.
"That's- uh hmm. Three immunities has to be part Ghost Type at least…" He pondered it for a moment before shaking his head. "That's a nice try, but Dhelmise has more weaknesses and resistances than that. In fact-" I held my arms up in an 'X' cutting him off.
"It's not a Ghost Steel Type, I know. Dhelmise is not the Pokemon I'm talking about."
"Really?" Leah asked. "But it looks so- I mean, it's an anchor."
"True, and it's reflected in its Steelwork Ability, but it's a Grass Ghost Type." Seeing Friede was still stumped, I told him the answer. "I was talking about a Hisuian Zoroark."
"A wha- Zoroark is a Dark Type. Sure, they can cast illusions to pretend to be other typings, but that doesn't count."
"The modern day Zoroark, yes. But in Ancient Hisui, the Survey Corps discovered a regional variant." Or more likely, the settlers created a Regional Variant, through hate and mistreatment. "Hisuian Zoroark is the only recorded Ghost Normal Type. It's arguably the strongest Dual Type combination out there." Friede didn't look convinced so I added: "You can check out Laventon's notes."
"Where did you get the chance to read an ancient Professor's notes?" Friede asked, bewildered. To be fair, I get why he is treated that way. There wasn't really the designation of a 'Pokemon' Professor before Samuel Oak and the Global League made them a thing, both culturally and officially. However, Laventon is often cited as the precursor to that system and it's widely believed he'd be one if the League had been in place when he was alive.
I was spared from answering that question by Leah chiming in. "The Young Miss is a member of the Glitterati family and they have been quite supportive of her goal of becoming a Champion ranked trainer. However," she added with a steely gaze at me. "I didn't realize that she had obtained that particular rare research material."
"I mean, I haven't ever laid eyes on his work personally, but I've seen images of it through a screen. There's a lot of stuff online." Very true, especially online in my first world where I played through Legends Arceus.
Rotom had a question of their own to ask as well. "Bzzt, Is a Hisuian Zoroark actually the strongest Pokemon out there?"
"No. Ghost and Normal pair well together, but Steel and Bug have more resistances which might be worth even the double weakness to Fire. And Type combination isn't everything, you know? You could get Electric and Water in Wash form, which might not seem as strong on paper, but then you add in your Ability Levitate and you have even more resistances and only one weakness. Then there's each species' strengths and deficiencies, the Moves they can learn…"
My rant was interrupted by a chuckle from Friede. "I think if you became a Pokemon Professor you'd specialize in battling." I blushed at the joke. Technically, 'battling' is the domain of Trainers, so it's not something Professor's would 'specialize' in. Too broad a field as well, with how battling is such a major facet of Pokemon's lives. Kukui came close with his in-depth study of Moves and practical application with his team though, and I can't deny battling is something I've been fixated on. But the history of this world is interesting as well. Not sure what I'll study after I become a Champion.
Deflecting, I asked, "What do you specialize in?" There wasn't a requirement to specialize in any particular field for a Pokemon Professor. Indeed, most of the tests for achieving the title instead required an incredibly broad field of knowledge. Still, most Professors would make a name for themselves in a field they felt a certain affinity to.
"I don't know," he admitted and I could see his mask of arrogance crack for a moment, revealing a young man, unsure of his life. He was told he was a genius his whole life, and just as he made his biggest achievement, everyone's attention was grabbed by someone more successful in the field. Turo's Terastalization Orbs took the world by storm and now he's just kinda… adrift.
"Well, no rush. There's a lot to study in the world. I-" I cast a glance at Leah before continuing. "Honestly, achieving Champion level is only a means to an end. Sure, I want to be in the big tournaments, fans cheering my name, yada yada. But what I truly desire is strength. The strength to travel anywhere and everywhere I want, to uncover every hidden secret across the world. To just… see it all." I lacked the words, to fully describe exactly how amazing I found this world to be. I couldn't tell if I was put here for a purpose or not. If there was one thing I could decide for myself, it was that I absolutely loved it here, and wanted to enjoy every bit of it I could.
Friede had a strange expression on his face, one I couldn't decipher, but I thought there might be a sense of wonder there. Before he could say anything, the announcer called out "Nemona Gliteratti and Atticus Ordale, take your places on the field."
"Alright, gotta go," I said, quickly turning and racing off to my next challenge. Not sure how much I got through to him, but hopefully that's one Professor who's convinced to look a bit more into the wonder of the world. I've just gotta convince the other one to look into it a bit less.
My next match was against a teenager with a Houndour, which ended fairly quickly thanks to Earthquake again. The Move didn't damage the arena or extend past it this time, but that was due to the Farigiraf extending its barrier to permeate the battlefield itself (something that the referee had scolded her about, and the Farigiraf had rolled her eyes as if to say 'how was I supposed to expect that?' before fixing it for all future matches).
The match after was a kid about my age with a Maril, his knees shaking as he approached me. His few stuttered commands were easily countered, and the Maril was taken out with a well-timed Body Slam (didn't even need Poison Jab). Am I really that scary? I hadn't thought so, but Dunsparce was stronger than most others. A few others were starting to get increased attention and even some bets were placed on the ones who looked like they were real contenders.
Paldea had some surprisingly strict gambling restriction laws. In this case, any official bets were capped at no greater than the entrance fee to participate. I thought that was another reason why the entrance fee was so high for such a comparatively low-level tournament; it let the gamblers bet a bit more while keeping the numbers down low enough that they could run the whole thing in a day. There were other loopholes as well, like being able to bet on one competitor per each round.
We were reaching into the afternoon as round three was finishing up, though the fact was that each round took less long than the previous ones due to having fewer people. Despite that, I was certain we'd be well into the evening by the finals.
Spectators were taking note of me, but I still wasn't the favorite to win yet. Likely, it was due to my age, or perhaps Dunsparce not being as striking in appearance as some others. Currently, it was a toss-up between Atticus and his Dhelmise and Katherine, an older foreign girl with a formidable-looking Golisopod, both of whom were just about to fight.
"Who do you think will win?" Friede casually asked as we watched the match. We'd chatted a bit in between my bouts, and I think he was surprised to find someone as knowledgeable as myself given how young I looked.
"Atticus. The Golisopod isn't battle-hardened enough yet." The Golisopod was a giant pale blue bug with thick armor plating covering its body. Pokemon evolution would clear up scars and injuries like that, and tellingly, Katherine's Pokemon bore no battle wounds.
"Oh? But doesn't it take a lot of work to evolve a Whimpod into a Golisopod?" Leah asked and I blinked with surprise. She blushed and added, "Ever since you've become so interested in Pokemon young Miss, I've been researching them too." I smiled. It's sweet of her to put such care and attention towards my interests.
"It does, and I'm not saying they're not strong but-" Friede cut me off.
"He still has the instincts of a Whimpod, to run and flee whenever hurt, warring with his newfound strength and power. That can be trained out, but it takes time and the Golisopod has to get used to the pain it can take in battle."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his interruption and nodded. "Yeah, that." So far, he hasn't been hurt enough for it to be an issue, but Dhelmise is in a different league than everyone else they've faced thus far. Bug/Water vs. Ghost/Grass doesn't favor either side Type-wise either. If switches were allowed it wouldn't be bad, but as is…
"Use First Impression!" Katherine called out, and her Golsiopod scuttled up, moving both fast and in a way that was hard to track. The Bug Type gave out a roar and raised its large foreclaws, causing the Dhelmise to flinch back, opening itself up to some swift strikes from its four smaller claws.
"Hit it back with Grassy Glide," Atticus called out cooly and Dhelmise did just that. Laying down a sheet of seaweed, it slid across the field and into the Golisopod.
They exchanged blows like that a few more times, but Golisopod had nothing as powerful as his First Impression to follow it up with, and eventually after taking a powerful Payback, the big bug ran back to Katherine, cowering.
"Wait no, get back in there! Golly, please!" She begged, to no avail. He just shook his head and tried to shrink down further as Dhelmise menaced closer. "I- I surrender!" She called out, returning her Pokemon.
"The winner, Atticus! Folks, this kid is on a winning streak! Can nothing stop his climb to the top?" The announcer said as the crowd cheered him on. The preteen basked in the praise before smugly walking off.
"Looks like your prediction was right. Are you worried about him?" Friede inquired. It was understandable since he was my next opponent, but I had relaxed a lot more since the beginning of the event.
"Nah, I'll win." Besides, this last round told me everything I needed to win. It's easy to get worried when everyone is unknown, but I've got a handle on how he fights.
"Kinda arrogant," Friede responded, causing me to scowl.
"Takes one to know one! You assume you know everything!" Leah sighed off to the side as we started arguing.
"I do. Or near enough. I know everything there is to know about Pokemon."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. Ask me anything." He challenged, crossing his arms. He's one of the few people who doesn't look down on me due to my age. I shouldn't screw that up. But… I kinda want to wipe that smug smile off his face. Whatever, it's probably fine. If he gets distraught over being proven wrong I wouldn't want to know him anyways. He might be a Pokemon Professor, but I have Isekai cheats!
I thought about it for a moment, trying to think of something that would both stump him and be provable. It was a difficult exercise in these more modern times with plenty of technology and open borders of the world. Knowledge was eagerly exchanged between the League Nations, and even beyond. Something like 'How was the mythical Pokemon Magerana created?' might not work because it's something no one knows about and something like 'What types can Charizard Mega Evolve into?' would be too well known.
"Well?" He asked impatiently.
"Alright. Dual Typing can cover a lot of weaknesses in either Type, especially when immunities overlap with what would be the other Type's weakness. What is the only Pokemon that has 3 Type immunities and only one Type weakness?" As he opened his mouth I quickly realized my mistake and added "And two resistances!" Almost forgot about Spiritomb there. It's a cool Pokemon and very tanky for a Ghost Type, but given what I know it would be so hard to control. Of course, the one I'm thinking of would likely be worse.
"That's- uh hmm. Three immunities has to be part Ghost Type at least…" He pondered it for a moment before shaking his head. "That's a nice try, but Dhelmise has more weaknesses and resistances than that. In fact-" I held my arms up in an 'X' cutting him off.
"It's not a Ghost Steel Type, I know. Dhelmise is not the Pokemon I'm talking about."
"Really?" Leah asked. "But it looks so- I mean, it's an anchor."
"True, and it's reflected in its Steelwork Ability, but it's a Grass Ghost Type." Seeing Friede was still stumped, I told him the answer. "I was talking about a Hisuian Zoroark."
"A wha- Zoroark is a Dark Type. Sure, they can cast illusions to pretend to be other typings, but that doesn't count."
"The modern day Zoroark, yes. But in Ancient Hisui, the Survey Corps discovered a regional variant." Or more likely, the settlers created a Regional Variant, through hate and mistreatment. "Hisuian Zoroark is the only recorded Ghost Normal Type. It's arguably the strongest Dual Type combination out there." Friede didn't look convinced so I added: "You can check out Laventon's notes."
"Where did you get the chance to read an ancient Professor's notes?" Friede asked, bewildered. To be fair, I get why he is treated that way. There wasn't really the designation of a 'Pokemon' Professor before Samuel Oak and the Global League made them a thing, both culturally and officially. However, Laventon is often cited as the precursor to that system and it's widely believed he'd be one if the League had been in place when he was alive.
I was spared from answering that question by Leah chiming in. "The Young Miss is a member of the Glitterati family and they have been quite supportive of her goal of becoming a Champion ranked trainer. However," she added with a steely gaze at me. "I didn't realize that she had obtained that particular rare research material."
"I mean, I haven't ever laid eyes on his work personally, but I've seen images of it through a screen. There's a lot of stuff online." Very true, especially online in my first world where I played through Legends Arceus.
Rotom had a question of their own to ask as well. "Bzzt, Is a Hisuian Zoroark actually the strongest Pokemon out there?"
"No. Ghost and Normal pair well together, but Steel and Bug have more resistances which might be worth even the double weakness to Fire. And Type combination isn't everything, you know? You could get Electric and Water in Wash form, which might not seem as strong on paper, but then you add in your Ability Levitate and you have even more resistances and only one weakness. Then there's each species' strengths and deficiencies, the Moves they can learn…"
My rant was interrupted by a chuckle from Friede. "I think if you became a Pokemon Professor you'd specialize in battling." I blushed at the joke. Technically, 'battling' is the domain of Trainers, so it's not something Professor's would 'specialize' in. Too broad a field as well, with how battling is such a major facet of Pokemon's lives. Kukui came close with his in-depth study of Moves and practical application with his team though, and I can't deny battling is something I've been fixated on. But the history of this world is interesting as well. Not sure what I'll study after I become a Champion.
Deflecting, I asked, "What do you specialize in?" There wasn't a requirement to specialize in any particular field for a Pokemon Professor. Indeed, most of the tests for achieving the title instead required an incredibly broad field of knowledge. Still, most Professors would make a name for themselves in a field they felt a certain affinity to.
"I don't know," he admitted and I could see his mask of arrogance crack for a moment, revealing a young man, unsure of his life. He was told he was a genius his whole life, and just as he made his biggest achievement, everyone's attention was grabbed by someone more successful in the field. Turo's Terastalization Orbs took the world by storm and now he's just kinda… adrift.
"Well, no rush. There's a lot to study in the world. I-" I cast a glance at Leah before continuing. "Honestly, achieving Champion level is only a means to an end. Sure, I want to be in the big tournaments, fans cheering my name, yada yada. But what I truly desire is strength. The strength to travel anywhere and everywhere I want, to uncover every hidden secret across the world. To just… see it all." I lacked the words, to fully describe exactly how amazing I found this world to be. I couldn't tell if I was put here for a purpose or not. If there was one thing I could decide for myself, it was that I absolutely loved it here, and wanted to enjoy every bit of it I could.
Friede had a strange expression on his face, one I couldn't decipher, but I thought there might be a sense of wonder there. Before he could say anything, the announcer called out "Nemona Gliteratti and Atticus Ordale, take your places on the field."
"Alright, gotta go," I said, quickly turning and racing off to my next challenge. Not sure how much I got through to him, but hopefully that's one Professor who's convinced to look a bit more into the wonder of the world. I've just gotta convince the other one to look into it a bit less.
The tournament continues. So far it's going pretty smoothly for Nemona, but it's looking like a tougher challenge approaches. These chapters have unfortunately been a bit smaller than usual, but that's just how the tournament is breaking up, and we should get some large chapters soon.
Interlude III - Cyan
- Location
- Vancouver
"Go Nemona! Woo!" I cheered loudly as her Dunsparce smacked around a Marill, sending the blue ball-shaped Pokemon bouncing around the arena.
My cheers were mostly lost amidst the other cheers (and a few curses) of other matches at the same time. I think I hear a few more people cheering for Nemona now, though. It was still faint, but as she won more often, more people in the crowds here started saying her name.
"Awesome! Go kick someone else's butt!" Arven cheered, and not for the first time today I wondered if she hadn't lightly traumatized the young boy. Oh well. I'm more surprised by how otherwise normal her friend/relationship with him is.
My little sister was adorable, bright, and incredibly weird. I was allowed to use Rock Throw - I freely accepted that I was weird too. Other kids my age (and especially hers) weren't as driven as we were. We were born for greatness, and that meant putting in the work to achieve those results.
A memory, possibly my first one, flashed into my mind. It was of Mommy smiling as she saw a drawing I'd scribbled out, praising me for my work before she had to head off to her important job. A smile touched my lips at the memory, but it changed to a frown as I thought about it more.
I get that they're busy with their important jobs, or trips to relax from those jobs, but did they have to miss this? I'd never been upset at them missing my recitals or the like, but it felt different when it was Nemona they couldn't see.
How funny, a year ago I would have been mad at how much attention they were paying to my sister. Back then I thought she was just showing off, spouting useless trivia while I did 'real' work. When we made that comic together I realized that she wanted me to succeed and be noticed by Mommy and Daddy too. And as we started hanging out more, I realized just how hard Nemona works.
Which makes them missing this suck even more. I let out a small sigh and shifted the incubator on my back around. She doesn't think it was bad for us to wait here, right? No way, she's been winning all these early fights, and I'd get so tired if I had to run all over to that other field and back.
"What's wrong? Are you tired?" Arven asked in response to my sigh, and I blinked. Didn't realize he would notice that.
"No, I'm fine. And I'm not tired. We've got these good seats and will be right near the action when Nims wins and the quarterfinals start."
"That might not be correct," Turo said suddenly. "Not the seats comment, these foldable bleachers have actually proven much more comfortable than I anticipated. Nemona however, is unlikely to win this round."
"What!?" I shrieked. How can he say that?
"While I'm no metallurgist, I think the flexibility of these bleachers comes from an alloy designed to mimic the inherent traits of Melmetal-"
"Daaaad," Arven whined out before I could explode. "We don't care about that sciency stuff, why do you think Nemona is going to lose?" He frowned, the otherwise hard-to-read Professor looking like he had been personally insulted.
Quickly shaking it off he said, only a bit colder: "While she might stand a chance if Atticus uses his Staravia, he'll likely choose his Dhelmise, recognizing it as the better choice versus Nemona's Dunsparce. Though even then, she'd still be disadvantaged from the Staravia's greater maneuverability and speed."
"But Dun is so strong, he's beat Maschiff so many times." The dog Pokemon in question at his feet gave a small whimper, remembering their matches.
Turo gave his son a small smile. "Be that as it may, Dun faces many disadvantages against Dhelmise in particular. As a Normal Type, his strongest Moves won't work against Dhelmise because of its Ghost Typing. The other Move he has utilized the most thus far is Earthquake, which is not very effective due to the Grass Typing. That dual combination, plus the sheer physical strength and variety of Moves Dhelmise has, I can't see any other outcome than Nemona's defeat."
Has he actually been watching these matches? I thought he was just fiddling around on his tablet and recording the fights on his phone, but it looks like he was paying attention. Don't get why he's so focused on the tech instead of cheering, though. His son was starting to look worried, his belief in Nemona's overwhelming strength warring with his belief in his father always being right.
It probably doesn't help that a lot of that terminology is going over Arven's head. I knew because a few months ago it would have gone over mine. It was only with the tutoring Nemona had given me to get my trainer's license. Which is why I know that she's still going to win. She knows all of this stuff and looks way too confident not to have some crazy plan ready for this.
"Don't worry Arven. Like you said, she's really strong and has been training super hard for this tournament. Think about all the training you've done with her, then times it by ten and she's worked at least that hard." The young boy gaped and shivered at the very idea of someone working that hard. "Nims is gonna win this whole thing, no problem." I glanced over at the Professor, challenging him to deny my words.
He shrugged. "There are unpredictable elements in any experiment." It was a non-answer to hedge bets, but he didn't seem to think it was likely, nodding to himself as he glanced at his tablet.
I don't get what's going on with those two. I had overheard Nemona talking to him at the party where she became best friends with Arven. Everyone else was willing to wave off her words as just 'things kids say,' but I knew better. She was deliberately trying to upset him. But why?
"Why don't you show me some of what Maschiff has learned after the tournament?" Turo asked his son, causing Arven's face to light up like a Lanturn.
"Really?" The boy asked and the Professor nodded his head, a goofy smile of his own on his face. Unguarded, in a way Nemona couldn't be.
Oh sure, my little sister could talk endlessly about any topic that interested her. She was way more open than the stoic Professor generally. It's a miracle his son didn't inherit that from him. But as much as Nemona is generally more engaged and considerate than him, there's a gap I see with her. A space between her that no one can seem to close. Not me, not Leah, not even Mommy or Daddy.
Before I could get more frustrated with Nemona and her weirdness, I got distracted as I saw her battle about to start on the screen. She and her opponent had been called up for their round and were releasing their Pokemon.
"Let's get this, Dun!" The yellow-winged snake gave a roar for the crowds, one that a few of the audience there returned with their own cheering.
Across her stood a tanned young man with long blue hair, accented with yellow tips. His t-shirt cut a slight v-frame on his torso and honestly looked quite cute. Sorry pretty boy, I'd be rooting for you if it wasn't my sis you were facing, but as is, you're going down!
"Go, Dhelmise!" The seaweed-encrusted anchor-and-wheel drifted onto the battlefield, glaring balefully from one of the eyes on its wheel at the smaller Pokemon. I hope Dun will be alright. I know what I said and how much Nims trained him, but looking at it live… that anchor looks scary.
"Contestants ready?" The referee asked, and they both nodded. "Begin!" The older child, Atticus, took the lead, shouting the first command.
"Rapid Spin!" Before the Dhelmise could even begin to whirl around, Nemona gave a counter command.
"Earthquake!" Dunsparce slammed into the ground, causing it to shift and bounce up and down. Dhelmise lowered itself, moving perpendicular to the ground as the anchor began to spin around the wheel. Before it could build up speed, some of the earth rose and hit it, disrupting its movements.
"Gah!" The boy cried out at his Pokemon taking a hit. Despite his exclamation, it didn't look like the Dhelmise was all that injured. But maybe I'm just not seeing something they are. Nemona had a sharp grin at the exchange. Atticus wasn't done yet, giving another command. "Alright, go for Rapid Spin again, but go high above the ground."
Nemona called out for an Earthquake again, clapping her hands together as she did so. She didn't give any more commands as the Dhelmise hurtled in, but, when it tried to cut in diagonally at Dunsparce he jumped well over the ghostly sea wreckage, the movement of the ground helping push him up.
"That Dunsparce is impressive," Turo commented as we watched him try to lash out with a Poison Jab at the Dhelmise under my sister's commands. The anchor was lightly grazed before managing to back away, even with the Dunsparce chasing after it, gliding through the air by furiously beating his wings.
"Told you~" I sing-songed, enjoying watching Dun's assault on the bigger, very solid-looking anchor. It's crazy how powerful a little guy like that can be. Nims would be the first to tell me that though - she can wax poetic about 'the infinite potential within all Pokemon.' About how even an electric mouse could fight a god and win. The weight of the incubator on my back felt heavy, and I wondered if my Popplio could be that strong.
"That being said, my preliminary hypothesis holds." Turo finished, and by the time I had parsed his words, Atticus had made a comeback.
"Frustration!" He shouted, and Dhelmise's ghastly eye narrowed, the anchor body swinging out from the wheel briefly to catch Dunsparce by the hook. Slamming into the little snake hard, it sent Dun flying across the arena and crashing into the barrier at the edge. He flopped on the ground, giving a pained cry and we could see a nasty red mark where the anchor had hit.
Atticus flashed a brilliant smile as the tables turned. "Ha! You're no match for my Pokemon."
My sibling remained undaunted. "As if! Dun would never give up so easily. C'mon, get up buddy. No matter how tough, you can do this!" Dunsparce rolled back onto his belly quickly before wincing and trembling.
"Oh no!" Arven cried out, biting his nails. I shook my head, knowing where this was going.
"Don't worry, I know that wince," I said with a smirk. "That's how he looks when Nemona stops our chefs from giving him a third dinner." And he certainly doesn't wince like that because he needs the extra meals.
"Don't say I didn't warn you! Alright, Frustration again!" The Dhelmise glided across the battlefield at the behest of his trainer, in a collision course with Dunsparce. At the last second, Nemona gave her command.
"Dodge!" Despite the bruising from before remaining, any signs of weakness in his movements disappeared as he rolled to the side, deftly evading the powerful attack and catching the other side off-guard with the sudden speed. "Poison Jab!"
Dun's tail lashed out into the wheel of the ghost, causing it to recoil before moving in for another swing of its anchor. "Counter!" The call wasn't for a Move, but instead for Dunsparce to start spinning his tail and then raise it to deflect the anchor before it could crash down on him, pushing it to the dirt beside. "Earthquake!" Again, the ground shook, dislodging the anchor.
"Go Nemona, wooo!" I cheered, hearing Arven and a few others cheering along. Most of the crowd here was focused on Nemona's match, this one being the most exciting by far of the ones being broadcast to the central battlefield right now.
Turo wasn't cheering at all, however, his face looked like it was carved out of marble as he impassively watched the match. Occasionally he'd glance down at his equipment, type in some new code, then go back to watching.
"Great job Atticus!" Cheers like that had me whipping back to the match, to see that something had happened. Some crunching sound that had likely been Dhelmise breaking one of Dun's wings, the left one sticking out at an odd angle. The Dunsparce looked a bit roughed up in general, something that incited Atticus' fans to shouts of joy.
"C'mon Nemona, you can do it!" I cried out as loud as I could as if my words could reach her from here. They didn't, but Atticus gave a command I couldn't hear and something unexpected happened. The Dhelmise shrouded itself in a dark purple energy that swung into, and harmlessly through, Dun.
"Huuuuuuh?! What happened?" Arven shouted, echoing out loud my internal confusion.
"Another Poison Jab!" Nemona called out, and with the time from his failed attack before letting her Pokemon recover enough to strike back. Dhelmise was wary of that now, and reeled back, but was still grazed by the magenta-tipped tail.
Clearing his throat, the Professor explained. "Dhelmise Ghost Typing protects it from Dunsparce's Normal attack, but that protection goes both ways. As a Normal Type, Dun is immune to Ghost Type attacks." Right, Nemona mentioned something about that when testing me on Types. I never got that, what regular people just ain't afraid of no ghosts? And why do they resist Bugs?
"Gyro Ball! Crush it!" The anchor spun fast as it rose up into the air, looking like a solid circle for a moment.
"D- Tank it and Bite!" Dunsparce clenched up but didn't move, letting the Dhelmise slam into him. He gave a pained cry, before coating his teeth with a barely visible black aura and latching into the metal anchor. Dhelmise wailed but didn't flee.
"Lock him down, then Mega Drain!" Seaweeds extended from the anchor to stop the snake from fleeing and then began to pulse with light green energy. "Haha! Now my Dhelmise will heal while your Dunsparce is drained to nothing!"
I was worried, it actually looked like this might be the end but Nemona was smiling on the screen, for some reason.
"It's over. Dun, wiggle out your back half." Dun was quite slippery (something I'd found out when he'd wiggle out of my grasp with ease in the early days), so despite being wrapped up, he was able to comply with the command, even though the pressure holding him down was on his neck now. "Poison Jab repeatedly! Aim for the seaweed!" Nemona cried out, a vicious look on her face.
His tail jabbed back and forth, striking into the dense clumps of seaweed multiple times. The energy being transferred between the Pokemon took on a magenta tint as it was absorbed into the ghost.
"Ack! Dhelmise, retreat!" Dhelmise broke off the seaweed and floated away. There was an odd sway to its hovering compared to before and it had one of its steering wheel eyes closed in pain. "What? What's wrong?!" Atticus demanded wildly.
"Your Pokemon has just been Poisoned, that's what's wrong," my little sister taunted back. It's odd, in that it's not odd. Nims has a certain presence to her, that makes you forget that she's basically bullying someone almost twice her age. "His strength is being sapped away every moment."
"Fine then, I'll end this fast! Dhelmise-"
"Dun, dig down." Nemona interrupted him, holding a hand out, pulling it back, and then splaying her fingers again. The land snake quickly spun his tail and started drilling through the ground.
"Grrr, fine, wait for it to return and take out all your anger on it!" Atticus commanded, and Dhelmise got ready, looking for anywhere it might pop up from. And looking. And looking…
"Hey, what gives? You can't hide forever!" The boy pouted as his Dhelmise gave a pained cry, the poison taking its toll.
"That's correct, I can hide for 30 seconds at most before I'd be disqualified," Nemona explained, without giving any further comments. The look in her eyes made it clear she wasn't going to either.
"You're fighting dirty! Cheater!" Nemona frowned at the name-calling, clenching a tight fist, but didn't engage with him beyond that. The crowd over on my end started doing the same, booing her.
"Hey, shut up! It's in the rules, if he doesn't have a counter, it's on him!" I shouted at them, realizing after my outburst that I'd stood up at some point. Some of the crowd turned towards me, jeering- then Turo stepped in.
"The young lady is correct, it's an entirely legitimate tactic. Let's go back to watching the match in peace." His tone and fancy Professor's coat brooked no disagreement. Some of the adults looked guilty when they realized my age, a few still shot daggers at me with their eyes, but everyone quieted down to watch the match conclude.
"Fine, Dhelmise get ready for when-" At that moment (25 seconds into the count as shown by the referee), Dunsparce popped back up. The poisoned ghost had turned slightly to face its trainer before he had resurfaced and thus wasn't prepared to crush him right away.
"Outmaneuver!" Nemona called out, and Dunsparce fled the enraged Dhelmise. Not just fleeing, however. Whenever the Dhelmise got too close, he'd spin his tail and get ready for another Poison Jab, forcing the larger Pokemon to back off and try to hit it from another angle, giving Dun more time to evade and keep his distance.
Losing his cool, Atticus grabbed big clumps of blue hair on either side of his head and yelled
"Screw it! Giga Impact!" Everyone, even the crowds watching here gave a shocked gasp at that as pale green energy emanated in a semi-sphere in front of its body. I don't know what's so bad, but if they're all worried for Dun…
Nemona was panicking as well, for the first time in this tournament. Throwing her arms to the side as if to add force to the motion she screamed "BARREL ROLL!!" Dunsparce obeyed without hesitation, launching itself into a tumble that took it a third of the way across the arena.
Dhelmise rocketed forward with great speed, but little accuracy, missing by a fair margin as it drove itself into the ground, tearing up large chunks of dirt before it hit the barrier and broke through that too.
Some of the in-person spectators dove to the sides, but it didn't get near any of them. The friction from the ground and the barrier bled off enough speed that it only went a few feet past it before collapsing to the ground, defeated.
All was silent for a moment before the referee called the fight, and the crowd erupted into cheers. Even the people booing her name a moment earlier were cheering her on now. Everyone loves a winner.
Sometimes adults didn't realize just how much I heard, and how much of that I understood. So many times there would be some man calling Daddy a 'Driftloom headed fool', or disparaging Mommy's bold style of dress, out of their earshot. Such comments quickly changed with the recent success of the Tera Orbs and their companies.
Or maybe they were just won over by my little sister and her last-minute victory. I didn't care too much, just happy that Nemona grabbed victory and would be moving on to the quarter-finals.
Cheering alongside us, I saw Turo clapping politely as well. He also muttered something to himself, but I couldn't hear it over the din.
"What was that?" I shouted.
"Ah, your hypothesis was proven correct, well done." He stated loudly over the crowd, without seeming to strain.
I blinked, surprised at how cordial he was. "I thought you hated Nemona." Now it was his turn to look surprised.
"Why would you think that? Did she say something?"
"No, but- ah never mind. I guess you guys are over the party stuff, huh?" I scratched the back of my head, a nervous habit I was starting to pick up from my little sister.
"That. Yes, I'm entirely over it. More than that, in fact, I'm grateful. Her introduction helped me create my greatest project to date, a Spoink board to further marvels of science. To say nothing of the data she just gave me…"
"Woohoo! That was awesome Nemona! She was all like 'nuh-uh' and then 'bang' 'pow'! And then, then she was all 'I'm so cool, dodge dodge'!" Arven recapped the fight (and inaccurately at that) we had just seen, blissfully ignorant or inured to just how creepy his father sounded.
Weird, maybe that's why Nemona dislikes him so much? Oh! "Tulip and Dendra are here!" I exclaimed as I saw the elegant model and her friend on the other end of the crowd. Waving to them, I rushed over. I wonder if Tulip will have any more tips for me? Today is going great!
My cheers were mostly lost amidst the other cheers (and a few curses) of other matches at the same time. I think I hear a few more people cheering for Nemona now, though. It was still faint, but as she won more often, more people in the crowds here started saying her name.
"Awesome! Go kick someone else's butt!" Arven cheered, and not for the first time today I wondered if she hadn't lightly traumatized the young boy. Oh well. I'm more surprised by how otherwise normal her friend/relationship with him is.
My little sister was adorable, bright, and incredibly weird. I was allowed to use Rock Throw - I freely accepted that I was weird too. Other kids my age (and especially hers) weren't as driven as we were. We were born for greatness, and that meant putting in the work to achieve those results.
A memory, possibly my first one, flashed into my mind. It was of Mommy smiling as she saw a drawing I'd scribbled out, praising me for my work before she had to head off to her important job. A smile touched my lips at the memory, but it changed to a frown as I thought about it more.
I get that they're busy with their important jobs, or trips to relax from those jobs, but did they have to miss this? I'd never been upset at them missing my recitals or the like, but it felt different when it was Nemona they couldn't see.
How funny, a year ago I would have been mad at how much attention they were paying to my sister. Back then I thought she was just showing off, spouting useless trivia while I did 'real' work. When we made that comic together I realized that she wanted me to succeed and be noticed by Mommy and Daddy too. And as we started hanging out more, I realized just how hard Nemona works.
Which makes them missing this suck even more. I let out a small sigh and shifted the incubator on my back around. She doesn't think it was bad for us to wait here, right? No way, she's been winning all these early fights, and I'd get so tired if I had to run all over to that other field and back.
"What's wrong? Are you tired?" Arven asked in response to my sigh, and I blinked. Didn't realize he would notice that.
"No, I'm fine. And I'm not tired. We've got these good seats and will be right near the action when Nims wins and the quarterfinals start."
"That might not be correct," Turo said suddenly. "Not the seats comment, these foldable bleachers have actually proven much more comfortable than I anticipated. Nemona however, is unlikely to win this round."
"What!?" I shrieked. How can he say that?
"While I'm no metallurgist, I think the flexibility of these bleachers comes from an alloy designed to mimic the inherent traits of Melmetal-"
"Daaaad," Arven whined out before I could explode. "We don't care about that sciency stuff, why do you think Nemona is going to lose?" He frowned, the otherwise hard-to-read Professor looking like he had been personally insulted.
Quickly shaking it off he said, only a bit colder: "While she might stand a chance if Atticus uses his Staravia, he'll likely choose his Dhelmise, recognizing it as the better choice versus Nemona's Dunsparce. Though even then, she'd still be disadvantaged from the Staravia's greater maneuverability and speed."
"But Dun is so strong, he's beat Maschiff so many times." The dog Pokemon in question at his feet gave a small whimper, remembering their matches.
Turo gave his son a small smile. "Be that as it may, Dun faces many disadvantages against Dhelmise in particular. As a Normal Type, his strongest Moves won't work against Dhelmise because of its Ghost Typing. The other Move he has utilized the most thus far is Earthquake, which is not very effective due to the Grass Typing. That dual combination, plus the sheer physical strength and variety of Moves Dhelmise has, I can't see any other outcome than Nemona's defeat."
Has he actually been watching these matches? I thought he was just fiddling around on his tablet and recording the fights on his phone, but it looks like he was paying attention. Don't get why he's so focused on the tech instead of cheering, though. His son was starting to look worried, his belief in Nemona's overwhelming strength warring with his belief in his father always being right.
It probably doesn't help that a lot of that terminology is going over Arven's head. I knew because a few months ago it would have gone over mine. It was only with the tutoring Nemona had given me to get my trainer's license. Which is why I know that she's still going to win. She knows all of this stuff and looks way too confident not to have some crazy plan ready for this.
"Don't worry Arven. Like you said, she's really strong and has been training super hard for this tournament. Think about all the training you've done with her, then times it by ten and she's worked at least that hard." The young boy gaped and shivered at the very idea of someone working that hard. "Nims is gonna win this whole thing, no problem." I glanced over at the Professor, challenging him to deny my words.
He shrugged. "There are unpredictable elements in any experiment." It was a non-answer to hedge bets, but he didn't seem to think it was likely, nodding to himself as he glanced at his tablet.
I don't get what's going on with those two. I had overheard Nemona talking to him at the party where she became best friends with Arven. Everyone else was willing to wave off her words as just 'things kids say,' but I knew better. She was deliberately trying to upset him. But why?
"Why don't you show me some of what Maschiff has learned after the tournament?" Turo asked his son, causing Arven's face to light up like a Lanturn.
"Really?" The boy asked and the Professor nodded his head, a goofy smile of his own on his face. Unguarded, in a way Nemona couldn't be.
Oh sure, my little sister could talk endlessly about any topic that interested her. She was way more open than the stoic Professor generally. It's a miracle his son didn't inherit that from him. But as much as Nemona is generally more engaged and considerate than him, there's a gap I see with her. A space between her that no one can seem to close. Not me, not Leah, not even Mommy or Daddy.
Before I could get more frustrated with Nemona and her weirdness, I got distracted as I saw her battle about to start on the screen. She and her opponent had been called up for their round and were releasing their Pokemon.
"Let's get this, Dun!" The yellow-winged snake gave a roar for the crowds, one that a few of the audience there returned with their own cheering.
Across her stood a tanned young man with long blue hair, accented with yellow tips. His t-shirt cut a slight v-frame on his torso and honestly looked quite cute. Sorry pretty boy, I'd be rooting for you if it wasn't my sis you were facing, but as is, you're going down!
"Go, Dhelmise!" The seaweed-encrusted anchor-and-wheel drifted onto the battlefield, glaring balefully from one of the eyes on its wheel at the smaller Pokemon. I hope Dun will be alright. I know what I said and how much Nims trained him, but looking at it live… that anchor looks scary.
"Contestants ready?" The referee asked, and they both nodded. "Begin!" The older child, Atticus, took the lead, shouting the first command.
"Rapid Spin!" Before the Dhelmise could even begin to whirl around, Nemona gave a counter command.
"Earthquake!" Dunsparce slammed into the ground, causing it to shift and bounce up and down. Dhelmise lowered itself, moving perpendicular to the ground as the anchor began to spin around the wheel. Before it could build up speed, some of the earth rose and hit it, disrupting its movements.
"Gah!" The boy cried out at his Pokemon taking a hit. Despite his exclamation, it didn't look like the Dhelmise was all that injured. But maybe I'm just not seeing something they are. Nemona had a sharp grin at the exchange. Atticus wasn't done yet, giving another command. "Alright, go for Rapid Spin again, but go high above the ground."
Nemona called out for an Earthquake again, clapping her hands together as she did so. She didn't give any more commands as the Dhelmise hurtled in, but, when it tried to cut in diagonally at Dunsparce he jumped well over the ghostly sea wreckage, the movement of the ground helping push him up.
"That Dunsparce is impressive," Turo commented as we watched him try to lash out with a Poison Jab at the Dhelmise under my sister's commands. The anchor was lightly grazed before managing to back away, even with the Dunsparce chasing after it, gliding through the air by furiously beating his wings.
"Told you~" I sing-songed, enjoying watching Dun's assault on the bigger, very solid-looking anchor. It's crazy how powerful a little guy like that can be. Nims would be the first to tell me that though - she can wax poetic about 'the infinite potential within all Pokemon.' About how even an electric mouse could fight a god and win. The weight of the incubator on my back felt heavy, and I wondered if my Popplio could be that strong.
"That being said, my preliminary hypothesis holds." Turo finished, and by the time I had parsed his words, Atticus had made a comeback.
"Frustration!" He shouted, and Dhelmise's ghastly eye narrowed, the anchor body swinging out from the wheel briefly to catch Dunsparce by the hook. Slamming into the little snake hard, it sent Dun flying across the arena and crashing into the barrier at the edge. He flopped on the ground, giving a pained cry and we could see a nasty red mark where the anchor had hit.
Atticus flashed a brilliant smile as the tables turned. "Ha! You're no match for my Pokemon."
My sibling remained undaunted. "As if! Dun would never give up so easily. C'mon, get up buddy. No matter how tough, you can do this!" Dunsparce rolled back onto his belly quickly before wincing and trembling.
"Oh no!" Arven cried out, biting his nails. I shook my head, knowing where this was going.
"Don't worry, I know that wince," I said with a smirk. "That's how he looks when Nemona stops our chefs from giving him a third dinner." And he certainly doesn't wince like that because he needs the extra meals.
"Don't say I didn't warn you! Alright, Frustration again!" The Dhelmise glided across the battlefield at the behest of his trainer, in a collision course with Dunsparce. At the last second, Nemona gave her command.
"Dodge!" Despite the bruising from before remaining, any signs of weakness in his movements disappeared as he rolled to the side, deftly evading the powerful attack and catching the other side off-guard with the sudden speed. "Poison Jab!"
Dun's tail lashed out into the wheel of the ghost, causing it to recoil before moving in for another swing of its anchor. "Counter!" The call wasn't for a Move, but instead for Dunsparce to start spinning his tail and then raise it to deflect the anchor before it could crash down on him, pushing it to the dirt beside. "Earthquake!" Again, the ground shook, dislodging the anchor.
"Go Nemona, wooo!" I cheered, hearing Arven and a few others cheering along. Most of the crowd here was focused on Nemona's match, this one being the most exciting by far of the ones being broadcast to the central battlefield right now.
Turo wasn't cheering at all, however, his face looked like it was carved out of marble as he impassively watched the match. Occasionally he'd glance down at his equipment, type in some new code, then go back to watching.
"Great job Atticus!" Cheers like that had me whipping back to the match, to see that something had happened. Some crunching sound that had likely been Dhelmise breaking one of Dun's wings, the left one sticking out at an odd angle. The Dunsparce looked a bit roughed up in general, something that incited Atticus' fans to shouts of joy.
"C'mon Nemona, you can do it!" I cried out as loud as I could as if my words could reach her from here. They didn't, but Atticus gave a command I couldn't hear and something unexpected happened. The Dhelmise shrouded itself in a dark purple energy that swung into, and harmlessly through, Dun.
"Huuuuuuh?! What happened?" Arven shouted, echoing out loud my internal confusion.
"Another Poison Jab!" Nemona called out, and with the time from his failed attack before letting her Pokemon recover enough to strike back. Dhelmise was wary of that now, and reeled back, but was still grazed by the magenta-tipped tail.
Clearing his throat, the Professor explained. "Dhelmise Ghost Typing protects it from Dunsparce's Normal attack, but that protection goes both ways. As a Normal Type, Dun is immune to Ghost Type attacks." Right, Nemona mentioned something about that when testing me on Types. I never got that, what regular people just ain't afraid of no ghosts? And why do they resist Bugs?
"Gyro Ball! Crush it!" The anchor spun fast as it rose up into the air, looking like a solid circle for a moment.
"D- Tank it and Bite!" Dunsparce clenched up but didn't move, letting the Dhelmise slam into him. He gave a pained cry, before coating his teeth with a barely visible black aura and latching into the metal anchor. Dhelmise wailed but didn't flee.
"Lock him down, then Mega Drain!" Seaweeds extended from the anchor to stop the snake from fleeing and then began to pulse with light green energy. "Haha! Now my Dhelmise will heal while your Dunsparce is drained to nothing!"
I was worried, it actually looked like this might be the end but Nemona was smiling on the screen, for some reason.
"It's over. Dun, wiggle out your back half." Dun was quite slippery (something I'd found out when he'd wiggle out of my grasp with ease in the early days), so despite being wrapped up, he was able to comply with the command, even though the pressure holding him down was on his neck now. "Poison Jab repeatedly! Aim for the seaweed!" Nemona cried out, a vicious look on her face.
His tail jabbed back and forth, striking into the dense clumps of seaweed multiple times. The energy being transferred between the Pokemon took on a magenta tint as it was absorbed into the ghost.
"Ack! Dhelmise, retreat!" Dhelmise broke off the seaweed and floated away. There was an odd sway to its hovering compared to before and it had one of its steering wheel eyes closed in pain. "What? What's wrong?!" Atticus demanded wildly.
"Your Pokemon has just been Poisoned, that's what's wrong," my little sister taunted back. It's odd, in that it's not odd. Nims has a certain presence to her, that makes you forget that she's basically bullying someone almost twice her age. "His strength is being sapped away every moment."
"Fine then, I'll end this fast! Dhelmise-"
"Dun, dig down." Nemona interrupted him, holding a hand out, pulling it back, and then splaying her fingers again. The land snake quickly spun his tail and started drilling through the ground.
"Grrr, fine, wait for it to return and take out all your anger on it!" Atticus commanded, and Dhelmise got ready, looking for anywhere it might pop up from. And looking. And looking…
"Hey, what gives? You can't hide forever!" The boy pouted as his Dhelmise gave a pained cry, the poison taking its toll.
"That's correct, I can hide for 30 seconds at most before I'd be disqualified," Nemona explained, without giving any further comments. The look in her eyes made it clear she wasn't going to either.
"You're fighting dirty! Cheater!" Nemona frowned at the name-calling, clenching a tight fist, but didn't engage with him beyond that. The crowd over on my end started doing the same, booing her.
"Hey, shut up! It's in the rules, if he doesn't have a counter, it's on him!" I shouted at them, realizing after my outburst that I'd stood up at some point. Some of the crowd turned towards me, jeering- then Turo stepped in.
"The young lady is correct, it's an entirely legitimate tactic. Let's go back to watching the match in peace." His tone and fancy Professor's coat brooked no disagreement. Some of the adults looked guilty when they realized my age, a few still shot daggers at me with their eyes, but everyone quieted down to watch the match conclude.
"Fine, Dhelmise get ready for when-" At that moment (25 seconds into the count as shown by the referee), Dunsparce popped back up. The poisoned ghost had turned slightly to face its trainer before he had resurfaced and thus wasn't prepared to crush him right away.
"Outmaneuver!" Nemona called out, and Dunsparce fled the enraged Dhelmise. Not just fleeing, however. Whenever the Dhelmise got too close, he'd spin his tail and get ready for another Poison Jab, forcing the larger Pokemon to back off and try to hit it from another angle, giving Dun more time to evade and keep his distance.
Losing his cool, Atticus grabbed big clumps of blue hair on either side of his head and yelled
"Screw it! Giga Impact!" Everyone, even the crowds watching here gave a shocked gasp at that as pale green energy emanated in a semi-sphere in front of its body. I don't know what's so bad, but if they're all worried for Dun…
Nemona was panicking as well, for the first time in this tournament. Throwing her arms to the side as if to add force to the motion she screamed "BARREL ROLL!!" Dunsparce obeyed without hesitation, launching itself into a tumble that took it a third of the way across the arena.
Dhelmise rocketed forward with great speed, but little accuracy, missing by a fair margin as it drove itself into the ground, tearing up large chunks of dirt before it hit the barrier and broke through that too.
Some of the in-person spectators dove to the sides, but it didn't get near any of them. The friction from the ground and the barrier bled off enough speed that it only went a few feet past it before collapsing to the ground, defeated.
All was silent for a moment before the referee called the fight, and the crowd erupted into cheers. Even the people booing her name a moment earlier were cheering her on now. Everyone loves a winner.
Sometimes adults didn't realize just how much I heard, and how much of that I understood. So many times there would be some man calling Daddy a 'Driftloom headed fool', or disparaging Mommy's bold style of dress, out of their earshot. Such comments quickly changed with the recent success of the Tera Orbs and their companies.
Or maybe they were just won over by my little sister and her last-minute victory. I didn't care too much, just happy that Nemona grabbed victory and would be moving on to the quarter-finals.
Cheering alongside us, I saw Turo clapping politely as well. He also muttered something to himself, but I couldn't hear it over the din.
"What was that?" I shouted.
"Ah, your hypothesis was proven correct, well done." He stated loudly over the crowd, without seeming to strain.
I blinked, surprised at how cordial he was. "I thought you hated Nemona." Now it was his turn to look surprised.
"Why would you think that? Did she say something?"
"No, but- ah never mind. I guess you guys are over the party stuff, huh?" I scratched the back of my head, a nervous habit I was starting to pick up from my little sister.
"That. Yes, I'm entirely over it. More than that, in fact, I'm grateful. Her introduction helped me create my greatest project to date, a Spoink board to further marvels of science. To say nothing of the data she just gave me…"
"Woohoo! That was awesome Nemona! She was all like 'nuh-uh' and then 'bang' 'pow'! And then, then she was all 'I'm so cool, dodge dodge'!" Arven recapped the fight (and inaccurately at that) we had just seen, blissfully ignorant or inured to just how creepy his father sounded.
Weird, maybe that's why Nemona dislikes him so much? Oh! "Tulip and Dendra are here!" I exclaimed as I saw the elegant model and her friend on the other end of the crowd. Waving to them, I rushed over. I wonder if Tulip will have any more tips for me? Today is going great!
This was a bit of an experiment for me, trying to show Nemona's battle from the outside (as well as drop a few breadcrumbs of hints for the future). Let me know how it went.
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The perspective change is very fun, I always think these kinds of chapters have their place in an SI. How a person actually of the world sees the SI's strange behaviors is always fun. The fight was exciting as well!
Red flag! That's not the friendship power you need to succeed in high level battling
WTH is a sproink board??? Can someone please tell me, it feels s important and is probably a pun
- Location
- Vancouver
It was, and one I messed up. It should have been 'Spoink board', like 'spring board' but you know, Pokemon
Yuuuuuup. That will get touched on in the next update.
Thanks! I'm glad to hear it worked well.
Railyn
fluffy
- Location
- my comfy bed
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Seconding this. I really liked getting to know Cyan a little better. The way she interacted with Professor Turo was also very interesting. I kind of want to see a little bit more of Turo now.
Chapter 17
- Location
- Vancouver
The first thing I did after the referee called the match was race over to Dun, drawing a Super Potion from my pocket. I sprayed his bruised body and he gave a small hissing sound as the scrapes were stung before sighing in relief. Already I could see the wounds starting to close up, the bruising fading. His dislocated wing even snapped back into place.
The technology in this world is incredible. I knew that partially it had to do with the innate recovery ability Pokemon had as well as natural agents like Berries having potent healing properties, but there were a lot of astounding healthcare advancements they had here as well.
After seeing my Pokemon was taken care of, I turned to my opponent. The Dhelmise was being recalled to his Pokeball but the older boy didn't look worried.
I gave Dun a moment to give a victory cheer for the fans before returning him to his ball. He's become a real attention hog, huh? Well, I suppose it's not bad for him to have his own priorities to strive for in our march to the top. I'll make him the most famous Dunsparce in the world if that's what it takes!
Walking over to my opponent I offered my hand to shake. While they weren't the biggest sticklers on propriety here given some of the kids' ages, it was the proper thing to do. Atticus walked up to me, sighing. "Can't believe I lost to a kid like you."
A frown appeared on my face as I went to withdraw my hand. He saw it however and leapt ahead, shaking it. "I'm sorry, I got caught up there, it was a good match. You did well." Not disparaging me or Dun? And an actual compliment? Alright!
Smiling, I shook it back and the crowd cheered at the show of good sportsmanship between us two kids. "Thanks. You pushed me hard too, that Dhelmise is a real powerhouse."
"You want it?" He said as we stopped shaking hands, and I blinked as if he'd suddenly spoken French. Or rather Kalosian, a small part of my mind added. The rest of it was trying to understand what he was saying.
"I wha- no- I couldn't even, I'm a junior trainer, I can't have more- why?" I stammered.
"Ah, a shame. Oh well, I'll find someone else who wants them." Then he turned around and began to walk off.
"Why?" I asked, loud enough to make it clear to him that I still wanted to know. It wasn't quite loud enough to reach the crowd over their cheers though. He half turned back and said:
"I make it a point not to use someone who's lost. Later." Then he just kept on walking away.
Clenching my fists, I resisted the urge to scream, marching back to Leah and Friede. "You did wonderfully!" She said, and I tried to smile at that, not wanting to trouble her with my dark thoughts. She's right; objectively, that was an incredible battle.
"Thank you." I glanced up at the board and saw that there were still plenty of matches before the next round would begin. "I've gotta go, I'll be back soon." I turned to leave, but before I could take a step Leah's hand squeezed tightly on my shoulder.
"Where are you running off to?"
"I was going to go to a Pokemart and see if they had a Throat Spray. Dun's voice sounded a bit off when he was chanting his name at the end there." Even spraying some of the potion in his mouth hadn't helped fix him. Because of my strategy that had his throat pressed under a Dhelmise. I think it was the right choice in that fight, but still. It sucked to have to tell Dun to get hurt. Logically, it was the right choice, but emotionally… well I could see why many trainers never made it very far in their journeys.
"Don't go running off by yourself, we'll go together." She glanced over at Friede, unwilling to ask him directly, but clearly hoping he'd offer to give us a ride.
He gave the kind of long-suffering sigh only a teenager could before offering to help us. "I can give a ride to the Delibird Presents, they might have a shipment of Throat Spray."
"Thanks," I said.
"It's no problem. This has been much more interesting than the paperwork I've got back at my lab."
As we hopped onto his Charizard for another flight I asked "What are you writing papers on?"
"Hmm? Just boring busy work, double checking other scientific papers for inaccuracies."
"That's not- ok it might be boring," I admitted. "But it's essential work! Too rarely do those sorts of things get peer-reviewed and retested properly, which can lead to all sorts of incorrect information entering the public domain. They also get used in basing other studies wrongly, wasting more time, spreading biases-" I cut myself off as I heard Leah and Friede chuckling behind me and realized I was ranting again.
"You sure you don't want to be an academic after all?" Friede teased. Turning, I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Nope, you can handle all that stuff. Besides, you saw how me and Dun battled, do you think we're fit for a desk job?" Maybe I'm showing off, but I feel we've earned it. That battle was tough! I was so worried I'd freeze up or call out the wrong command, but I think I did alright, and Dunsparce did great. For the first time today, I was feeling confident about not just 'doing well', but winning this whole thing.
"Ha, I suppose you're right," Friede said as Charizard started to land. It had only been a short flight over. "Those Throat Sprays are pretty expensive, you might be better off just going to a Center for treatment after the tournament."
Leah smiled serenely as she stepped off. "That's kind, but the Young Miss has no concerns on the monetary front." Friede scratched the back of his head awkwardly, likely having forgotten for a second that Leah wasn't a relative of mine, but someone hired by my family. In fairness, since we went on this outing she isn't in her regular maid uniform so she just looks like an average older sister or cousin cheering on a family member.
"Yeah, it'll be fine. I'm not going to hesitate over spending a bit extra to keep my Pokemon in tip-top shape. Not like some people," I muttered, but Leah's sharp glance indicated that she heard me. "I hope your paperwork goes well and that you get the chance to do what you actually want to do soon."
"What I want to do…" he pondered. "I've heard some rumors about the next project your friend Professor Turo has been trying to organize. Maybe I'll go join him. Would be interesting to explore-"
"You don't want to go on his next mission." There wasn't a trace of my previous joviality in my voice. I knew that I was a child, my appearance and high pitch could make it hard for adults to take me seriously but I needed him to listen to me now. "He's going down a path that leads only to ruin."
He gulped audibly, giving me an odd look before shaking his head. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to get some chow for Charizard, could use a stock up." Then he and Charizard flew off not very far away, just to the regular Pokemart up the winding street.
"What was that all-" Leah began.
"We better get Dun his medicine before my next match starts." I cut off Leah's words before she could question me on the subject, walking into the store. If she pressed me on the matter I'm not sure I could fake child-like ignorance and shake it off, I'd probably give in to proper manners and tell her something. Whatever I'd tell her would just lead her to ask more questions and I really don't want to break down about my past life right now.
Delibird Presents was a very colorfully decorated store, blue and red prominently painting the walls and ceiling with white trim and flooring to match the store's mascot. Rows of shelves covered the floor, knick-knacks, gadgets, and toys were stacked on them. In between aisles, there were often large cubes holding all manner of miscellaneous gear piled within. On the back was a glass case lining the entire wall with all manner of powerful, pricey battle items, evolutionary stones, and rarities for collectors.
Trash and treasure are all bundled up in one place. There wasn't really any place I can recall like this in my home, especially not in a smaller store like this one. Shaking myself out of my musings, I went to the front desk right away. It would be easy to lose myself here for hours if I had the time; there was a time and place for everything, but not now.
The sales attendant was a sandy-haired, bespectacled young man in a blue uniform with a small Delibird name tag pin with the name 'Dave' on it. "Hello little lady, what can I do for you today?"
"My Dunsparce got his neck crushed a little by a Dhelmise, do you have any Throat Sprays in stock that can help him?"
He blinked, a little surprised at the request. "Uhh, yes, we've got something that can help. Are you hoping to use sound-based attacks in battle soon?" He asked as he stepped around the desk and walked to the glass case.
"No, just something so his neck won't hurt and he can cheer out his name when he wins." Not many people know about Dunsparce learning powerful sound Moves. He might be a student at the academy, working here part-time.
He smiled at that and took out the keys to the case. Looking closer I could see a dusky tint to the glass. Probably some Dark Type-infused glass, to stop Ghost or Psychics from stealing the expensive stuff. I wonder how they 'infuse' objects with Type Energy anyway?
"That's good to hear. In that case, you probably just want the Throat Spray Lite - it should handle any issues he has in regular speech and any lingering pain."
"Sounds good, thank you."
Opening the case he pulled out the Throat Spray. In many ways, it looked much like a Potion. Regular Throat Spray had a neck brace and buttons so that a Pokemon could use it mid-fight for optimal effectiveness, but this one wasn't a Battle Item so it was just a red bottle with a slightly different spray nozzle than a Potion.
"That'll be 10,000 Pokedollars, ma'am." I blanched a bit at the price. That's over double what it costs to enter the tournament!
Before I could say anything, Leah stepped forward and said "We'll transfer the money right away. Rotom?" Rotom flew out of my pocket, hovering in front of the cashier, who didn't have his own Rotom Phone but a credit reader that apparently could receive money via Rotom transmission.
A glance at the screen as the transaction was done showed me that it wasn't my account they were using. "You have access to my parent's accounts?"
"Not exactly Nemona, bzzt. There's a limited fund I have permission to access on your behalf, and that fund was created by your parents."
"Wow, ok, thanks. Hmm, you know with how much you help me and the money, how does the name Pennyworth sound-"
"Bzzzzzt," Rotom buzzed in instant denial. I had told them about Batman, so it wasn't a case of them not getting the reference - in fact, I think it made the rejection stronger.
"Static? You'll put a shock to their systems!"
"Better, but still not clicking, Young Miss." Leah gave a small smile at the byplay between us, not saying a word.
With the spray in hand, we left, walking briskly up the street to where Friede had gone. Rotom was showing me some of the match streams beside me, so I knew we weren't in any danger of arriving too late. It was a lovely day and I was doing well in the tournament, but I couldn't help but feel discontent.
A fact that Leah noticed, asking "What's the matter, Young Miss?" I can't tell if she's really good at reading people, or if I just have a terrible poker face.
"It was my last opponent, Atticus."
"Did he say something mean to you?" Leah generally had a kind, soft face, but in the moment her eyes took on a killer steely glare.
"No, that's kinda the worst part. He was perfectly nice to me, but wanted to toss aside his Pokemon just because he lost a match with them!" Being disrespectful to Pokemon was a huge hot-button topic for me, but there was more to it than that.
I nearly thought about turning down the Throat Spray when I saw the price. It was just for a moment, and being money-conscious isn't a 'bad' thing, but… I've got tons of it. I shouldn't be holding back on my Pokemon in any way. Atticus used plenty of Technical Machine Moves as well, and I'm sure I'll face others at the top that have their own advantages.
Leah smiled kindly down at me. "I can see that means a lot to you. I'm glad you care so much, it's easy for some people to… take things for granted."
I nodded, the words resonating with me. 'Some people' like rich people. And more than even them, really. It's hard to truly appreciate a world as spectacular as this one without a frame of reference of a world without Pokemon.
She continued. "Keep a hold of that, it's good to care for others. But you can't let their actions drag you down. Just do the best that you can do."
I puffed my cheeks. Annoying to be talked to like I'm just a child, even if I am one right now. Even more annoying, she's entirely right. Sighing, I tried to let go of my frustration. "Yeah, you're right. I don't have to deal with him right now, so he shouldn't get to live in my head rent-free."
She chuckled. "You are your mother's daughter." I blinked, not understanding for a second before remembering where I was (why that wasn't a common saying). Who I was (the parents I had lost and the ones I now had).
"Right. Now let's make both my parents proud by winning this tournament!" That was just a saying from my first world, not meant to be a reference to O'Nare Reality.
"I'm sure they're already proud." That was true, though I could see how she might think that I'd need the encouragement if I was a six-year-old. My parents missing this probably doesn't help that. Truthfully while it was annoying, I knew how my Glitterati parents could be and could handle it a lot better than most children.
We waved down Friede who gave us a ride back on Charizard and we were at the arena with plenty of time. I made sure to thank the fire-breathing lizard for his aid. I might have made it running there and back, my stamina has improved tons over the past year with all the exercise I've been doing, but I would have been dead tired after.
Looking at the board I could see that there were only four trainers left here, but this was the last battle we'd have in this arena - the two winners would move on to the central arena for the quarterfinals there.
Letting Dunsparce out of his ball he gave a weak 'Dun' that turned into a cough partway through. "Hey buddy, got you something to help with that." Pulling out the Throat Spray, I gave one shot down his throat.
"Spar? Sparce Un!" He gave a happy shout, wiggling his body adorably." A girl watching nearby glared at us. Right, she's our opponent for the next round. She was a teenager with long pink hair.
"Rosemary Mato vs. Nemona Glitterati!" From the way she stiffened up at the other name being called, I assumed that she was my next opponent. From what I could recall, she had a Bronzor with some impressive psychic capabilities. Could be a problem, but I don't think it's worse than that Dhelmise.
The crowd seemed to think so too; I could hear snippets of the bets being placed, and they were weighted far more heavily in my favor than they had been before. Leah's been making quite a bit off of each win, good for her.
Rosemary had her arms crossed, standing on the other end of the field, chin jutted out while she looked down on me. She was trying a little hard, but I could tell she was nervous and trying to hide it. "Trainers, ready?" The referee called out, and the roar of the crowd died down to a light buzz of murmurs. We both nodded, I motioned for Dun to move forward, and she released her Bronzor. The Pokemon was a blue metal disk with two eyes near the middle and some bumps on the sides. It floated a few feet above the starting ring.
"Begin!"
"Body Slam!" I yelled, and Dun charged ahead. The space between them was too great, and she had the chance to give a command of her own.
"Confusion!" A pinky-purple energy surrounded Dun, holding him in the air and eliciting pain.
Damn it, they'll just telekinetically bash him around until he faints. I'd seen Rosemary do that in her previous matches. "Break out of it!" I snapped, just saying something while I wracked my mind for an answer.
To my surprise, he did just that, thrashing around mid-air to break through the energy field holding him. Impressive. I hadn't thought he'd get a lot of leverage from there. Must have underestimated his flight again or maybe just his strength in general- no! Focus! "Continue your attack!" I yelled out and he flew into Bronzor, knocking it back a bit through the air… but doing little else.
The battle continued that way for a minute, the Bronzor hurting Dun with Confusion for a moment before he'd break free and Body Slam at the Bronzor. Despite its range advantage, it drifted even slower through the air than my Dunsparce, but its Steel body meant his Normal Type attacks weren't very effective either.
All of a sudden, Dunsparce stopped listening to me, and after breaking free from an attack, started ramming his head into the barriers. While I was pleased to see the attacks were strong enough to force the Farigiraf managing them startle and have to focus on maintaining them, I generally wasn't pleased with the situation. Eyes are glazed over, he must be Confused. "Snap out of it!" I shouted. It might not be super helpful, especially if he isn't hearing me correctly, but I have to try something.
Thankfully, that proved to be enough, and his vision focused, taking in reality as it was again.
"Body Slam!" He hit the Bronzor again, it and its trainer not expecting Dun to break free so soon. It didn't do nearly enough to take our opponent out, however, and Rosemary called for Bronzor to retreat, setting up the same pattern we had been in before.
I can't use Poison Jab because it's a Steel Type, and Levitate keeps Earthquake away. Should I Terrastalize? I won't be able to recharge my Terra Orb before I get to the quarterfinals. We might even win this through attrition anyway without it, though if Dunsparce gets confused again- wait, it's levitating, but it might not be Levitating!
"Spin your tail and hit the ground with all your might, Mud Slap!" I yelled, testing my theory. Halting his advance, Dunsparce started rotating his tail like a drill before hitting the ground at an angle and sending mud spraying through the air.
A few globs of dirt smacked into Bronzorm hitting it in the eye and causing it to wince. Now's my chance! "Body Slam them into the ground!"
Dunsparce leaped up, twisting and landing like he was a wrestler about to elbow-drop someone.
He had no elbows, or arms, but the weight of his body was still a formidable force to hit his foe with, driving the Bronzor into the ground.
"Confusion!" Rosemary countered, seeing that his Body Slam had shaken loose the dirt in Bronzor's eyes. Another difference between the games and real life. Debuffs, arena traps, and the like won't last forever and can be cleared off by other Moves, depending on how they work.
The energy field surrounded Dunsparce as he landed, trying to hold him in place. Worse, I could see his eyes growing glassy.
I ignored it as I gave my command, knowing time was of the essence if I wanted my strategy to work. "Finish it off, Earthquake!" Dun reared up and smashed the ground with a heavy thud, shaking the arena. Bronzor tried to free itself and did manage to leave the ground before the quake hit, but the shifting earth rose to smack the metal disk around, sending it tumbling through the air where it dropped down, and fainted.
"The winner, Nemona Glitterati!" The announcer cried out as the ref gave the signal, and the crowd cheered. I recalled Dun instantly, before releasing him again.
When I released him, he was a little confused by the sudden change back and forth, but no longer Confused. The Pokeball reset his Aura to clear that condition and now he could bask in his well-deserved praise. To be fair, I'm doing a little basking too.
Leah came up to me, patting my shoulder. "Well done Young Miss. You've made it to the quarterfinals."
"Congrats, that was quick thinking there," Friede added.
"Thanks! I was so worried because Bronzors can know Levitate, but then I realized it might not have that ability mastered yet, so I tested it out with Mud Slap and-" I stopped myself as I realized I was rambling. "Thank you, for supporting me." Hearing the crowd chanting my name is nice, but knowing Leah is in my corner helps when I second-guess myself.
"Of course. Shall we?" She asked, gesturing to the path out.
I waved Dunsparce over and he slithered up, going back into the Pokeball. "Yeah." I've done alright so far, but here comes the big test, if I can make it in these last three rounds. Victory, fame, and even a potential shot at Aura lessons await.
The technology in this world is incredible. I knew that partially it had to do with the innate recovery ability Pokemon had as well as natural agents like Berries having potent healing properties, but there were a lot of astounding healthcare advancements they had here as well.
After seeing my Pokemon was taken care of, I turned to my opponent. The Dhelmise was being recalled to his Pokeball but the older boy didn't look worried.
I gave Dun a moment to give a victory cheer for the fans before returning him to his ball. He's become a real attention hog, huh? Well, I suppose it's not bad for him to have his own priorities to strive for in our march to the top. I'll make him the most famous Dunsparce in the world if that's what it takes!
Walking over to my opponent I offered my hand to shake. While they weren't the biggest sticklers on propriety here given some of the kids' ages, it was the proper thing to do. Atticus walked up to me, sighing. "Can't believe I lost to a kid like you."
A frown appeared on my face as I went to withdraw my hand. He saw it however and leapt ahead, shaking it. "I'm sorry, I got caught up there, it was a good match. You did well." Not disparaging me or Dun? And an actual compliment? Alright!
Smiling, I shook it back and the crowd cheered at the show of good sportsmanship between us two kids. "Thanks. You pushed me hard too, that Dhelmise is a real powerhouse."
"You want it?" He said as we stopped shaking hands, and I blinked as if he'd suddenly spoken French. Or rather Kalosian, a small part of my mind added. The rest of it was trying to understand what he was saying.
"I wha- no- I couldn't even, I'm a junior trainer, I can't have more- why?" I stammered.
"Ah, a shame. Oh well, I'll find someone else who wants them." Then he turned around and began to walk off.
"Why?" I asked, loud enough to make it clear to him that I still wanted to know. It wasn't quite loud enough to reach the crowd over their cheers though. He half turned back and said:
"I make it a point not to use someone who's lost. Later." Then he just kept on walking away.
Clenching my fists, I resisted the urge to scream, marching back to Leah and Friede. "You did wonderfully!" She said, and I tried to smile at that, not wanting to trouble her with my dark thoughts. She's right; objectively, that was an incredible battle.
"Thank you." I glanced up at the board and saw that there were still plenty of matches before the next round would begin. "I've gotta go, I'll be back soon." I turned to leave, but before I could take a step Leah's hand squeezed tightly on my shoulder.
"Where are you running off to?"
"I was going to go to a Pokemart and see if they had a Throat Spray. Dun's voice sounded a bit off when he was chanting his name at the end there." Even spraying some of the potion in his mouth hadn't helped fix him. Because of my strategy that had his throat pressed under a Dhelmise. I think it was the right choice in that fight, but still. It sucked to have to tell Dun to get hurt. Logically, it was the right choice, but emotionally… well I could see why many trainers never made it very far in their journeys.
"Don't go running off by yourself, we'll go together." She glanced over at Friede, unwilling to ask him directly, but clearly hoping he'd offer to give us a ride.
He gave the kind of long-suffering sigh only a teenager could before offering to help us. "I can give a ride to the Delibird Presents, they might have a shipment of Throat Spray."
"Thanks," I said.
"It's no problem. This has been much more interesting than the paperwork I've got back at my lab."
As we hopped onto his Charizard for another flight I asked "What are you writing papers on?"
"Hmm? Just boring busy work, double checking other scientific papers for inaccuracies."
"That's not- ok it might be boring," I admitted. "But it's essential work! Too rarely do those sorts of things get peer-reviewed and retested properly, which can lead to all sorts of incorrect information entering the public domain. They also get used in basing other studies wrongly, wasting more time, spreading biases-" I cut myself off as I heard Leah and Friede chuckling behind me and realized I was ranting again.
"You sure you don't want to be an academic after all?" Friede teased. Turning, I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Nope, you can handle all that stuff. Besides, you saw how me and Dun battled, do you think we're fit for a desk job?" Maybe I'm showing off, but I feel we've earned it. That battle was tough! I was so worried I'd freeze up or call out the wrong command, but I think I did alright, and Dunsparce did great. For the first time today, I was feeling confident about not just 'doing well', but winning this whole thing.
"Ha, I suppose you're right," Friede said as Charizard started to land. It had only been a short flight over. "Those Throat Sprays are pretty expensive, you might be better off just going to a Center for treatment after the tournament."
Leah smiled serenely as she stepped off. "That's kind, but the Young Miss has no concerns on the monetary front." Friede scratched the back of his head awkwardly, likely having forgotten for a second that Leah wasn't a relative of mine, but someone hired by my family. In fairness, since we went on this outing she isn't in her regular maid uniform so she just looks like an average older sister or cousin cheering on a family member.
"Yeah, it'll be fine. I'm not going to hesitate over spending a bit extra to keep my Pokemon in tip-top shape. Not like some people," I muttered, but Leah's sharp glance indicated that she heard me. "I hope your paperwork goes well and that you get the chance to do what you actually want to do soon."
"What I want to do…" he pondered. "I've heard some rumors about the next project your friend Professor Turo has been trying to organize. Maybe I'll go join him. Would be interesting to explore-"
"You don't want to go on his next mission." There wasn't a trace of my previous joviality in my voice. I knew that I was a child, my appearance and high pitch could make it hard for adults to take me seriously but I needed him to listen to me now. "He's going down a path that leads only to ruin."
He gulped audibly, giving me an odd look before shaking his head. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to get some chow for Charizard, could use a stock up." Then he and Charizard flew off not very far away, just to the regular Pokemart up the winding street.
"What was that all-" Leah began.
"We better get Dun his medicine before my next match starts." I cut off Leah's words before she could question me on the subject, walking into the store. If she pressed me on the matter I'm not sure I could fake child-like ignorance and shake it off, I'd probably give in to proper manners and tell her something. Whatever I'd tell her would just lead her to ask more questions and I really don't want to break down about my past life right now.
Delibird Presents was a very colorfully decorated store, blue and red prominently painting the walls and ceiling with white trim and flooring to match the store's mascot. Rows of shelves covered the floor, knick-knacks, gadgets, and toys were stacked on them. In between aisles, there were often large cubes holding all manner of miscellaneous gear piled within. On the back was a glass case lining the entire wall with all manner of powerful, pricey battle items, evolutionary stones, and rarities for collectors.
Trash and treasure are all bundled up in one place. There wasn't really any place I can recall like this in my home, especially not in a smaller store like this one. Shaking myself out of my musings, I went to the front desk right away. It would be easy to lose myself here for hours if I had the time; there was a time and place for everything, but not now.
The sales attendant was a sandy-haired, bespectacled young man in a blue uniform with a small Delibird name tag pin with the name 'Dave' on it. "Hello little lady, what can I do for you today?"
"My Dunsparce got his neck crushed a little by a Dhelmise, do you have any Throat Sprays in stock that can help him?"
He blinked, a little surprised at the request. "Uhh, yes, we've got something that can help. Are you hoping to use sound-based attacks in battle soon?" He asked as he stepped around the desk and walked to the glass case.
"No, just something so his neck won't hurt and he can cheer out his name when he wins." Not many people know about Dunsparce learning powerful sound Moves. He might be a student at the academy, working here part-time.
He smiled at that and took out the keys to the case. Looking closer I could see a dusky tint to the glass. Probably some Dark Type-infused glass, to stop Ghost or Psychics from stealing the expensive stuff. I wonder how they 'infuse' objects with Type Energy anyway?
"That's good to hear. In that case, you probably just want the Throat Spray Lite - it should handle any issues he has in regular speech and any lingering pain."
"Sounds good, thank you."
Opening the case he pulled out the Throat Spray. In many ways, it looked much like a Potion. Regular Throat Spray had a neck brace and buttons so that a Pokemon could use it mid-fight for optimal effectiveness, but this one wasn't a Battle Item so it was just a red bottle with a slightly different spray nozzle than a Potion.
"That'll be 10,000 Pokedollars, ma'am." I blanched a bit at the price. That's over double what it costs to enter the tournament!
Before I could say anything, Leah stepped forward and said "We'll transfer the money right away. Rotom?" Rotom flew out of my pocket, hovering in front of the cashier, who didn't have his own Rotom Phone but a credit reader that apparently could receive money via Rotom transmission.
A glance at the screen as the transaction was done showed me that it wasn't my account they were using. "You have access to my parent's accounts?"
"Not exactly Nemona, bzzt. There's a limited fund I have permission to access on your behalf, and that fund was created by your parents."
"Wow, ok, thanks. Hmm, you know with how much you help me and the money, how does the name Pennyworth sound-"
"Bzzzzzt," Rotom buzzed in instant denial. I had told them about Batman, so it wasn't a case of them not getting the reference - in fact, I think it made the rejection stronger.
"Static? You'll put a shock to their systems!"
"Better, but still not clicking, Young Miss." Leah gave a small smile at the byplay between us, not saying a word.
With the spray in hand, we left, walking briskly up the street to where Friede had gone. Rotom was showing me some of the match streams beside me, so I knew we weren't in any danger of arriving too late. It was a lovely day and I was doing well in the tournament, but I couldn't help but feel discontent.
A fact that Leah noticed, asking "What's the matter, Young Miss?" I can't tell if she's really good at reading people, or if I just have a terrible poker face.
"It was my last opponent, Atticus."
"Did he say something mean to you?" Leah generally had a kind, soft face, but in the moment her eyes took on a killer steely glare.
"No, that's kinda the worst part. He was perfectly nice to me, but wanted to toss aside his Pokemon just because he lost a match with them!" Being disrespectful to Pokemon was a huge hot-button topic for me, but there was more to it than that.
I nearly thought about turning down the Throat Spray when I saw the price. It was just for a moment, and being money-conscious isn't a 'bad' thing, but… I've got tons of it. I shouldn't be holding back on my Pokemon in any way. Atticus used plenty of Technical Machine Moves as well, and I'm sure I'll face others at the top that have their own advantages.
Leah smiled kindly down at me. "I can see that means a lot to you. I'm glad you care so much, it's easy for some people to… take things for granted."
I nodded, the words resonating with me. 'Some people' like rich people. And more than even them, really. It's hard to truly appreciate a world as spectacular as this one without a frame of reference of a world without Pokemon.
She continued. "Keep a hold of that, it's good to care for others. But you can't let their actions drag you down. Just do the best that you can do."
I puffed my cheeks. Annoying to be talked to like I'm just a child, even if I am one right now. Even more annoying, she's entirely right. Sighing, I tried to let go of my frustration. "Yeah, you're right. I don't have to deal with him right now, so he shouldn't get to live in my head rent-free."
She chuckled. "You are your mother's daughter." I blinked, not understanding for a second before remembering where I was (why that wasn't a common saying). Who I was (the parents I had lost and the ones I now had).
"Right. Now let's make both my parents proud by winning this tournament!" That was just a saying from my first world, not meant to be a reference to O'Nare Reality.
"I'm sure they're already proud." That was true, though I could see how she might think that I'd need the encouragement if I was a six-year-old. My parents missing this probably doesn't help that. Truthfully while it was annoying, I knew how my Glitterati parents could be and could handle it a lot better than most children.
We waved down Friede who gave us a ride back on Charizard and we were at the arena with plenty of time. I made sure to thank the fire-breathing lizard for his aid. I might have made it running there and back, my stamina has improved tons over the past year with all the exercise I've been doing, but I would have been dead tired after.
Looking at the board I could see that there were only four trainers left here, but this was the last battle we'd have in this arena - the two winners would move on to the central arena for the quarterfinals there.
Letting Dunsparce out of his ball he gave a weak 'Dun' that turned into a cough partway through. "Hey buddy, got you something to help with that." Pulling out the Throat Spray, I gave one shot down his throat.
"Spar? Sparce Un!" He gave a happy shout, wiggling his body adorably." A girl watching nearby glared at us. Right, she's our opponent for the next round. She was a teenager with long pink hair.
"Rosemary Mato vs. Nemona Glitterati!" From the way she stiffened up at the other name being called, I assumed that she was my next opponent. From what I could recall, she had a Bronzor with some impressive psychic capabilities. Could be a problem, but I don't think it's worse than that Dhelmise.
The crowd seemed to think so too; I could hear snippets of the bets being placed, and they were weighted far more heavily in my favor than they had been before. Leah's been making quite a bit off of each win, good for her.
Rosemary had her arms crossed, standing on the other end of the field, chin jutted out while she looked down on me. She was trying a little hard, but I could tell she was nervous and trying to hide it. "Trainers, ready?" The referee called out, and the roar of the crowd died down to a light buzz of murmurs. We both nodded, I motioned for Dun to move forward, and she released her Bronzor. The Pokemon was a blue metal disk with two eyes near the middle and some bumps on the sides. It floated a few feet above the starting ring.
"Begin!"
"Body Slam!" I yelled, and Dun charged ahead. The space between them was too great, and she had the chance to give a command of her own.
"Confusion!" A pinky-purple energy surrounded Dun, holding him in the air and eliciting pain.
Damn it, they'll just telekinetically bash him around until he faints. I'd seen Rosemary do that in her previous matches. "Break out of it!" I snapped, just saying something while I wracked my mind for an answer.
To my surprise, he did just that, thrashing around mid-air to break through the energy field holding him. Impressive. I hadn't thought he'd get a lot of leverage from there. Must have underestimated his flight again or maybe just his strength in general- no! Focus! "Continue your attack!" I yelled out and he flew into Bronzor, knocking it back a bit through the air… but doing little else.
The battle continued that way for a minute, the Bronzor hurting Dun with Confusion for a moment before he'd break free and Body Slam at the Bronzor. Despite its range advantage, it drifted even slower through the air than my Dunsparce, but its Steel body meant his Normal Type attacks weren't very effective either.
All of a sudden, Dunsparce stopped listening to me, and after breaking free from an attack, started ramming his head into the barriers. While I was pleased to see the attacks were strong enough to force the Farigiraf managing them startle and have to focus on maintaining them, I generally wasn't pleased with the situation. Eyes are glazed over, he must be Confused. "Snap out of it!" I shouted. It might not be super helpful, especially if he isn't hearing me correctly, but I have to try something.
Thankfully, that proved to be enough, and his vision focused, taking in reality as it was again.
"Body Slam!" He hit the Bronzor again, it and its trainer not expecting Dun to break free so soon. It didn't do nearly enough to take our opponent out, however, and Rosemary called for Bronzor to retreat, setting up the same pattern we had been in before.
I can't use Poison Jab because it's a Steel Type, and Levitate keeps Earthquake away. Should I Terrastalize? I won't be able to recharge my Terra Orb before I get to the quarterfinals. We might even win this through attrition anyway without it, though if Dunsparce gets confused again- wait, it's levitating, but it might not be Levitating!
"Spin your tail and hit the ground with all your might, Mud Slap!" I yelled, testing my theory. Halting his advance, Dunsparce started rotating his tail like a drill before hitting the ground at an angle and sending mud spraying through the air.
A few globs of dirt smacked into Bronzorm hitting it in the eye and causing it to wince. Now's my chance! "Body Slam them into the ground!"
Dunsparce leaped up, twisting and landing like he was a wrestler about to elbow-drop someone.
He had no elbows, or arms, but the weight of his body was still a formidable force to hit his foe with, driving the Bronzor into the ground.
"Confusion!" Rosemary countered, seeing that his Body Slam had shaken loose the dirt in Bronzor's eyes. Another difference between the games and real life. Debuffs, arena traps, and the like won't last forever and can be cleared off by other Moves, depending on how they work.
The energy field surrounded Dunsparce as he landed, trying to hold him in place. Worse, I could see his eyes growing glassy.
I ignored it as I gave my command, knowing time was of the essence if I wanted my strategy to work. "Finish it off, Earthquake!" Dun reared up and smashed the ground with a heavy thud, shaking the arena. Bronzor tried to free itself and did manage to leave the ground before the quake hit, but the shifting earth rose to smack the metal disk around, sending it tumbling through the air where it dropped down, and fainted.
"The winner, Nemona Glitterati!" The announcer cried out as the ref gave the signal, and the crowd cheered. I recalled Dun instantly, before releasing him again.
When I released him, he was a little confused by the sudden change back and forth, but no longer Confused. The Pokeball reset his Aura to clear that condition and now he could bask in his well-deserved praise. To be fair, I'm doing a little basking too.
Leah came up to me, patting my shoulder. "Well done Young Miss. You've made it to the quarterfinals."
"Congrats, that was quick thinking there," Friede added.
"Thanks! I was so worried because Bronzors can know Levitate, but then I realized it might not have that ability mastered yet, so I tested it out with Mud Slap and-" I stopped myself as I realized I was rambling. "Thank you, for supporting me." Hearing the crowd chanting my name is nice, but knowing Leah is in my corner helps when I second-guess myself.
"Of course. Shall we?" She asked, gesturing to the path out.
I waved Dunsparce over and he slithered up, going back into the Pokeball. "Yeah." I've done alright so far, but here comes the big test, if I can make it in these last three rounds. Victory, fame, and even a potential shot at Aura lessons await.
We've reached the end of the preliminary rounds, and about the end of where I had written up to when I started writing this fic. There's quite a bit more I've added since (and even plenty of elements in these chapters I've edited), but it feels great to have made it this far. Thank you so much to all of you following this journey so far.
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