Great Greedy Guts
Ceterum censeo Vigilam esse delendam.
Huh. I take it this is not the Atticus who would go on to join Team Star, then. What a jerk!
Like No One Ever Was
- Thread starter Blueshift
- Start date
- Fantasy
- Location
- Oregon
I wasn't expecting to see a nuslocke challenger, but let's see if he can manage it.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
This is interesting to me, since it implies Abilities are things which aren't completely inherent, and instead must be learned, as well as the fact that a pokemon might have more than one Ability. Since the concern wasn't about the Bronzor having Heatproof instead of Levitate, but instead simply not fully mastering Levitate.
Chapter 18
- Location
- Vancouver
When we got to the central battle court, the atmosphere was different. People were tired from cheering throughout the rest of the day, but there was a buzz of excitement as we neared the last few rounds. The crowd was also larger than before, spilling out down the stairs and streets that led to the arena. Some of these people are just interested in the conclusion of this tournament, so they weren't watching before.
The path cleared up as we walked through, people pointing at me as I passed, whispering. Part of me wanted to listen in and hear what they were saying about me, but I knew it wasn't important and would just be distracting.
The crowd gathered around the rainbow mosaic arena, all standing outside the large ring that encircled the battlefield. The ring itself was made of colorful tiles, each one with the color and symbol representing one of the 18 Types. I saw Cyan, Arven, and Turo standing near the Steel tile. No sign of O'Nare or Billy, figures.
I ran over to my friend and sister, suppressing a shiver from a cold breeze that passed. "Did you guys see all my matches?"
"Yes! You were amazing, sis!"
"Dunsparce is so strong! So, uh, you surely don't need to train against Maschiff anymore, right?"
"Haha, thank you. And no way you guys are getting out of training that easily," I told Arven, the young boy wilting.
The Professor loomed over our little huddle. "You've done well. You surpassed my expectations for you."
"... Thanks?" The sad thing is, I think this is him trying to be supportive.
With the 'pleasantries' out of the way, he began grilling me. "I noticed you didn't use the Tera Orb. Why?"
"Uhh, well Dun's Terra Type is Normal, so it wouldn't have been helpful against Dhelmise, and I gauged that I wouldn't need it against the Bronzor. The rest weren't really much of a challenge," I admitted. That sounds harsh, but it is true. "There aren't any recharge centers nearby and I wouldn't want to give away my trump card so early on." I'm looking to impress Tulip, after all. Using it this early would have been a huge misplay, can't believe I almost did that.
"Huh? But I thought Terastalization made Pokemon super strong, wouldn't that have helped against Dhelmise at least?" Cyan asked. Arven looked confused as well, and Turo at least was curious as to my answer.
Clearing my throat I began a mini-lecture on the subject. "Terastalization isn't like Gigantamax or Mega Evolution, it doesn't make a Pokemon inherently stronger, it just gives them an additional Type, replacing their old ones."
"But aren't wild Terastalized Pokemon super strong?" Arven interrupted.
"That has nothing to do with them being Terastalized. Though it is commonly co-related to strength in the wild; perhaps the relationship flows the other way? Power drawing in the natural Terastalization?" I muttered part of that mostly to myself, but from the sympathetic smile Friede had, I knew they had heard me too.
"Anyways! Terastalization doesn't make a Pokemon inherently stronger, and Dun's Tera Type would be just as ineffectual against Dhelmise's ghostly immunity.
"That's a shame, sounds like Tera Orbs won't be that helpful," Friede said with a sly look at Turo.
The older Professor didn't change his facial expression, but from how he roughly grabbed and adjusted the lapels of his lab coat, I knew he was ruffled by Friede's jab.
If it were just the two of them I'd let them verbally duke it out, but… Arven's little face looked so worried, I couldn't help myself. Taking a deep breath, I said:
"Actually, it's possibly more impactful for competitive battling than any of the other Power Up methods. While it might not make the Pokemon stronger, their Moves are greatly impacted. Terastalization replaces your base Type or Types with whatever your Pokemon's Tera Type is. But those base Types can still enhance the Moves your Pokemon uses. So an Ice Tera Haxorus could use Ice Fangs as well as any Ice Type while Terastalized, but could also use Outrage as strong as any Dragon Type. By stacking up Types, like Dun's Normal base Type with his Normal Tera type, his Normal Moves can become much stronger than they would be before."
"Okay, so it can still be strong," The young man said, waving off Turo. "But that doesn't explain why you feel they're more impactful than a well-timed Z-Move or a powerful Gigantamax," Friede pressed.
"That's because of how they can change things up defensively. Offense is very strong but pretty straightforward. With Pokemon that have different Tera Types, or even just matching one-half of their dual base Types, their Weaknesses, Immunities, and Resistances all change drastically. It flips entire battle strategies on their heads! And that's to say nothing about Abilities interacting weirdly with new Typings; Mismagius' Levitation isn't a big deal regularly but on a Tera Electric Pokemon?" I shivered. Iono is definitely a wake-up call boss in the games.
Turo was distracted for a moment, greeting his fellow professor when Cyan said "Hey, Tulip is already here! I was just talking to her." She pointed out at the crowd.
Turning to follow her finger, I spotted Dendra and Tulip standing on the other side of the battlefield, a more incongruous pair you couldn't find. Dendra was dressed in a martial arts gi while Tulip was wearing a dress that looked like it could (and maybe actually had), just come off a runway with a Vivillion hairclip adorning her head. The former caught my gaze and started yelling loudly, waving at us. Tulip looked embarrassed at her friend's enthusiasm but gave me a calm wave as well.
"I'm gonna go talk to Tulip and Dendra now," I told the others, and without waiting for them to respond, walked off, my sister following close behind. As I crossed the arena, I noticed a few people staring and pointing at me.
"That was awesome! You've got some real fighting spirit, little lady!" Dendra exclaimed, ignoring or not noticing the newfound attention we were getting.
"You guys saw my previous matches?" I asked.
"We only arrived recently, but they've been replaying some highlights and you've shown up often," Tulip adds. She had a small frown on her face like she was sorry about that, but I got her being busy. I'm asking her to offer a lot, without having shown how good I am yet.
"Osu! Nemona was awesome! She was all like wow, pow, waacham!" Tulip and I shared a look, and I understood how she could be embarrassed and endeared to her friend all at once. Dendra didn't stop there though, actually having some insight into my matches. "I never knew a Dunsparce could learn Moves like those!"
"Dunsparce have a really wide range of Moves they can learn, a lot of people don't realize. That, and we trained really hard to master those Technical Machine Moves."
"Why would you need to do that? Doesn't the machine give your Pokemon all the information they need?" Cyan asked. Tulip looked curious as well, waiting for my response. There's no way a future gym leader doesn't know this, right? This might be a test then, to see how much I know. Of course, I could be overthinking it too. She was too composed for me to read anything, so I figured I'd just explain my reasoning anyway.
"The Technical Machine teaches them the basics of how to perform the Move, yes. The Type energy they need to channel and how much but-" I shook my head, having trouble explaining it in those terms until a glance at Dendra's gi gave me an idea.
"Ok, see, it's like throwing a punch." I demonstrated, throwing a quick jab in the air, using my mixed martial arts knowledge from my first life. "If you just show someone untrained that punch, they might try to copy it and get it all wrong."
Again I threw out a jab, but this time I purposefully did it wrong. No pivot of my feet or lean of my shoulder for extra reach, wrist held not straight, elbow bent, and thumb in my fist. It was so improper that Dendra twitched painfully at the sight. "Ah, sorry about that. Uh, so the Technical Machine walks them through all the steps they need to do the Move right." I demonstrated, using my other hand to push and adjust all the parts into place. Dendra let out a sigh of relief.
"Just like a punch though, you need to practice a Move thousands of times to make it muscle memory. So it comes out sharp! Clean! Powerful! And Fast! Every time." With each yell, I threw another punch in the air.
The two of them were silent, Dendra's face was unreadable and Tulip's was contemplative. I hope that impressed her a bit. Obviously, I plan on winning this too, but showing my knowledge here will help with convincing her as well.
Dendra spoke up first, turning to her friend, and then in a dead serious voice said: "We need to adopt her."
"Wha- Dendra, no!"
"Dendra YES!" She countered, a maniacal gleam in her eyes.
"Who's this 'we' you're talking about?" Tulip said, hands on her hips. "I'm not taking her in, and you shouldn't either. You're fifteen! Also, what about her parents and sister?"
The martial arts enthusiast completely ignored the latter points and focused on the first ones.
"So, you're just gonna leave me to be a single teenage mother?!"
"What- I- gaaaaah!" The model cried out, embarrassment and frustration taking over as she clutched at her head, a light dusting of red covering her cheeks and for once it wasn't well-applied makeup. Dendra had not been quiet, and people were whispering and snickering at the incident.
Personally, I couldn't help but laugh at the comedy routine, it was hilarious! What caught my eye though was the way Tulip's hair clip ornament flapped its wings repeatedly as she got flustered. There was no wind, and her body motions shouldn't have been violent enough to cause that. Aura. That mystical power I want to learn.
Luckily, Arven, Turo, Friede, and Leah followed after me, foiling any attempted kidnapping Dendra was planning. "Greetings, I am Leah, charged with keeping Young Miss Nemona safe from harm. Who might you be?" The maid asked the older girls.
"Dendra, and this is Tulip. I gave Nemona the idea to compete here, but wow! Osu! Even I didn't realize she'd be this good." The enthusiastic girl replied while Cyan was busy pestering the elegant girl beside her.
"We met them at the fashion show Cyan and I went to," I explained to Leah before a booming voice cut over all the chatter in the area.
"Welcome, friends and fans, to the final few fights on the eve of our 27th Junior Mesagozan Tournament!" All eyes turned to a middle-aged man in the center of the arena dressed in a striking red suit, microphone in hand. "I'm Larry Goldsworth, and I'll be your announcer for this evening." Evening it was indeed, with the sun just starting to set now. "Our contestants are all here, so without further ado, I'll call them forward. Gary Rickroll, Nemona Glitterati, Frederick van Grough…" Hearing my name, I jumped. Why was I surprised at that, I knew this was coming. Argh, nerves. Just focus, we're almost done.
I joined the others forming a line in the center of the arena, to give everyone a good look at us. Cameras were flashing and the crowd cheered us on. It was hard to focus on any one person out there, especially with Freddrick, sneering down at me. Clearly, he had remembered our previous encounter and still wasn't impressed with me.
Admittedly, my stature was a bit less impressive than the others here, everyone else was a teenager. I held myself with pride regardless. If anyone wants to look down on me, then they'll just get to see what I'm made of.
"... Let's begin the first match of the quarter-finals, Iris Canin vs. Nemona Glitterati!" The others dispersed, and we took our places at either end of the arena. Iris had short pink hair, matching the bubblegum she was chewing, blowing out, and popping loudly. I was surprised at her name, but it's not that uncommon. A lot of kids get named after champions. There are tons of Lances and Alders out there, a ridiculous amount of Cynthias… She looks like she's projecting confidence, and she is but, she's slightly nervous underneath too. The bubblegum popping is just a bit forced.
"Alright kid, give me all ya got!" She yelled out, as much for the crowd as it was for me. I just nodded, no great pre-battle banter coming to mind and I didn't want to embarrass myself by trying something off the cuff.
On the signal from the referee, we both raised our Pokeballs, ready to battle. The referee for these matches was a League Official. She was a tall woman with deep blue eyes and long black hair with a few golden streaks in it. Her Espartha was creating a powerful barrier around the multicolor arena. She looks familiar, but I can't quite place her…
On the command to release, we both did so and I snapped my focus back to the battle. Dun flapped his little wings eagerly, eyeing his opponent, a Floragato. It was a green bipedal cat-like
Pokemon, with a pink spinning disk in one of its hands. A lot of people had starters here, many of them being students of Uva Academy, but none of the previous contestants I had seen had evolved them.
"Trainers ready?" The referee asked, lifting her hand in the air.
"Yes," we called out in unison, and the noise from the crowd died down. Or maybe it didn't, and I just ignored it, my focus solely focused in front of me.
She brought her hand down as if to chop through the tension between us. "Begin!"
"Floragato, Magical Leaf!" Iris yelled, and her feline-esque Pokemon waved his yo-yo thing around, a vine acting like a string to wind it out into the air and from it, conjure up a plethora of leaves all around. Dunsparce was charging ahead, and I encouraged him.
"There's no dodging, just plow through, Body Slam!"
"What?!" Iris was surprised by my tactic, and while several leaves hit and cut into Dun, it was less than would have hit him if he'd tried to dodge in the center of the maelstrom. Floragato was sent tumbling through the air from the impact.
After the leaves cleared I saw a few minor cuts on Dun, but nothing deep, while our opponent was shakily getting back on his feet. "Slam it again!"
Dunsparce raced after the injured Floragato but even hurt, the cat was much faster, dodging around Dun's pursuit.
"Hone Claws, get ready!" Iris called out, her bubble gum blowing forgotten about as she was pushed back. Floragato began waving his claws around, dark energy sharpening them, even as he weaved around the Body Slams aimed his way.
Damn, can't let them set up! "Glare!" With a killer stare, Floragato froze up mid-way through his Move, early tripping over his own feet. Cat-like grace was enough to avoid falling, but not to avoid Dun's follow-up Body Slam.
This time, Dun landed right beside Floragato, so I shouted "Poison Jab, now!!" His tail darted out fast, driving into Floragato's side. The Grass Type gave a cry so pained that I winced a little, and from the way there was a slow purple tint spreading throughout his fur, I guessed that he had been Poisoned by the attack as well.
Floragato gave a quick Scratch and retreated away from Dun. I held up a hand, indicating for Dun to wait and see what Iris' next move would be. Rather than call out any desperate, last-ditch attack, she drew her Pokeball and recalled her starter. "I forfeit."
There were gasps from the crowd as they heard that and the referee called the match, but I understood where she was coming from. Floragato had been swaying on his feet from the Poison and hits, and his muscles were still clenching from the Paralysis. By that point, they didn't really have a chance.
"There we have it folks, our first winner of the quarter-finals and the youngest competitor to ever make it to the Semi-Finals, Nemona Glitterati!" Larry called out and the crowd burst into cheers.
Walking up to the center of the arena, I waved to all of them alongside Dun (well, I waved, Dun just sort of bobbed his head around to the same effect). We stopped waving as Iris walked up to us, extending out a hand to shake.
I took it, and the crowd gave renewed cheers and applause for the good sportsmanship. "Hah. You did good, kid. Where did you learn to be that strong?"
"Just trained hard near my home," I replied with a small shrug. It was technically true if leaving out relevant bits like my reincarnation which helped out a bit. Can't even be sure that's the only thing though. I feel like I can react faster in this world, and think better under pressure. Is that just part of living in this world, or part of being Nemona?
"Well, good luck kid, you'll need it." The warning sounded earnest, not petty, but I didn't get what it referred to until I saw the next battle.
Freddrick van Grough was up against Helios Denver. Helios had short magenta hair and wore the Uva Academy uniform as well. His Pokemon was a large Lechonk, while Freddrick released…
"Oh my," Leah said beside me, summing up my thoughts entirely as we saw the arrogant boy reveal a gigantic bird. Its wingspan was over five meters across, and those wings were covered with literally iron-sharp feathers. It towered over the Lechonk, glaring down with beady red eyes that made me want to fall on my knees, despite not even directing its attention towards me.
To still somehow stand up to the Corviknight, Helios and his Lechonk were very brave. And very stupid. The battle began, and Corviknight furiously pecked at the Lechonk, interrupting any attempt to tackle it. Then the bird picked it up in its claws and lifted the little pig Pokemon in the air, before hurling it to the ground.
The only order Freddrick gave out was at the end. "Hurricane." Up high, the Corviknight flapped its wings hard, whipping up a heavy gust that turned into a terrifying storm. The winds lifted Lechonk off the ground and around through the air, spinning them several times until they were flung into the barrier and collapsed, defeated.
Luckily, the referee's Espartha caught the fallen pig with its psychic powers and gently lowered it to the ground. Ah, right, Iris came from the same battlefield as him. And I have to face that in my next round. Oh boy.
The path cleared up as we walked through, people pointing at me as I passed, whispering. Part of me wanted to listen in and hear what they were saying about me, but I knew it wasn't important and would just be distracting.
The crowd gathered around the rainbow mosaic arena, all standing outside the large ring that encircled the battlefield. The ring itself was made of colorful tiles, each one with the color and symbol representing one of the 18 Types. I saw Cyan, Arven, and Turo standing near the Steel tile. No sign of O'Nare or Billy, figures.
I ran over to my friend and sister, suppressing a shiver from a cold breeze that passed. "Did you guys see all my matches?"
"Yes! You were amazing, sis!"
"Dunsparce is so strong! So, uh, you surely don't need to train against Maschiff anymore, right?"
"Haha, thank you. And no way you guys are getting out of training that easily," I told Arven, the young boy wilting.
The Professor loomed over our little huddle. "You've done well. You surpassed my expectations for you."
"... Thanks?" The sad thing is, I think this is him trying to be supportive.
With the 'pleasantries' out of the way, he began grilling me. "I noticed you didn't use the Tera Orb. Why?"
"Uhh, well Dun's Terra Type is Normal, so it wouldn't have been helpful against Dhelmise, and I gauged that I wouldn't need it against the Bronzor. The rest weren't really much of a challenge," I admitted. That sounds harsh, but it is true. "There aren't any recharge centers nearby and I wouldn't want to give away my trump card so early on." I'm looking to impress Tulip, after all. Using it this early would have been a huge misplay, can't believe I almost did that.
"Huh? But I thought Terastalization made Pokemon super strong, wouldn't that have helped against Dhelmise at least?" Cyan asked. Arven looked confused as well, and Turo at least was curious as to my answer.
Clearing my throat I began a mini-lecture on the subject. "Terastalization isn't like Gigantamax or Mega Evolution, it doesn't make a Pokemon inherently stronger, it just gives them an additional Type, replacing their old ones."
"But aren't wild Terastalized Pokemon super strong?" Arven interrupted.
"That has nothing to do with them being Terastalized. Though it is commonly co-related to strength in the wild; perhaps the relationship flows the other way? Power drawing in the natural Terastalization?" I muttered part of that mostly to myself, but from the sympathetic smile Friede had, I knew they had heard me too.
"Anyways! Terastalization doesn't make a Pokemon inherently stronger, and Dun's Tera Type would be just as ineffectual against Dhelmise's ghostly immunity.
"That's a shame, sounds like Tera Orbs won't be that helpful," Friede said with a sly look at Turo.
The older Professor didn't change his facial expression, but from how he roughly grabbed and adjusted the lapels of his lab coat, I knew he was ruffled by Friede's jab.
If it were just the two of them I'd let them verbally duke it out, but… Arven's little face looked so worried, I couldn't help myself. Taking a deep breath, I said:
"Actually, it's possibly more impactful for competitive battling than any of the other Power Up methods. While it might not make the Pokemon stronger, their Moves are greatly impacted. Terastalization replaces your base Type or Types with whatever your Pokemon's Tera Type is. But those base Types can still enhance the Moves your Pokemon uses. So an Ice Tera Haxorus could use Ice Fangs as well as any Ice Type while Terastalized, but could also use Outrage as strong as any Dragon Type. By stacking up Types, like Dun's Normal base Type with his Normal Tera type, his Normal Moves can become much stronger than they would be before."
"Okay, so it can still be strong," The young man said, waving off Turo. "But that doesn't explain why you feel they're more impactful than a well-timed Z-Move or a powerful Gigantamax," Friede pressed.
"That's because of how they can change things up defensively. Offense is very strong but pretty straightforward. With Pokemon that have different Tera Types, or even just matching one-half of their dual base Types, their Weaknesses, Immunities, and Resistances all change drastically. It flips entire battle strategies on their heads! And that's to say nothing about Abilities interacting weirdly with new Typings; Mismagius' Levitation isn't a big deal regularly but on a Tera Electric Pokemon?" I shivered. Iono is definitely a wake-up call boss in the games.
Turo was distracted for a moment, greeting his fellow professor when Cyan said "Hey, Tulip is already here! I was just talking to her." She pointed out at the crowd.
Turning to follow her finger, I spotted Dendra and Tulip standing on the other side of the battlefield, a more incongruous pair you couldn't find. Dendra was dressed in a martial arts gi while Tulip was wearing a dress that looked like it could (and maybe actually had), just come off a runway with a Vivillion hairclip adorning her head. The former caught my gaze and started yelling loudly, waving at us. Tulip looked embarrassed at her friend's enthusiasm but gave me a calm wave as well.
"I'm gonna go talk to Tulip and Dendra now," I told the others, and without waiting for them to respond, walked off, my sister following close behind. As I crossed the arena, I noticed a few people staring and pointing at me.
"That was awesome! You've got some real fighting spirit, little lady!" Dendra exclaimed, ignoring or not noticing the newfound attention we were getting.
"You guys saw my previous matches?" I asked.
"We only arrived recently, but they've been replaying some highlights and you've shown up often," Tulip adds. She had a small frown on her face like she was sorry about that, but I got her being busy. I'm asking her to offer a lot, without having shown how good I am yet.
"Osu! Nemona was awesome! She was all like wow, pow, waacham!" Tulip and I shared a look, and I understood how she could be embarrassed and endeared to her friend all at once. Dendra didn't stop there though, actually having some insight into my matches. "I never knew a Dunsparce could learn Moves like those!"
"Dunsparce have a really wide range of Moves they can learn, a lot of people don't realize. That, and we trained really hard to master those Technical Machine Moves."
"Why would you need to do that? Doesn't the machine give your Pokemon all the information they need?" Cyan asked. Tulip looked curious as well, waiting for my response. There's no way a future gym leader doesn't know this, right? This might be a test then, to see how much I know. Of course, I could be overthinking it too. She was too composed for me to read anything, so I figured I'd just explain my reasoning anyway.
"The Technical Machine teaches them the basics of how to perform the Move, yes. The Type energy they need to channel and how much but-" I shook my head, having trouble explaining it in those terms until a glance at Dendra's gi gave me an idea.
"Ok, see, it's like throwing a punch." I demonstrated, throwing a quick jab in the air, using my mixed martial arts knowledge from my first life. "If you just show someone untrained that punch, they might try to copy it and get it all wrong."
Again I threw out a jab, but this time I purposefully did it wrong. No pivot of my feet or lean of my shoulder for extra reach, wrist held not straight, elbow bent, and thumb in my fist. It was so improper that Dendra twitched painfully at the sight. "Ah, sorry about that. Uh, so the Technical Machine walks them through all the steps they need to do the Move right." I demonstrated, using my other hand to push and adjust all the parts into place. Dendra let out a sigh of relief.
"Just like a punch though, you need to practice a Move thousands of times to make it muscle memory. So it comes out sharp! Clean! Powerful! And Fast! Every time." With each yell, I threw another punch in the air.
The two of them were silent, Dendra's face was unreadable and Tulip's was contemplative. I hope that impressed her a bit. Obviously, I plan on winning this too, but showing my knowledge here will help with convincing her as well.
Dendra spoke up first, turning to her friend, and then in a dead serious voice said: "We need to adopt her."
"Wha- Dendra, no!"
"Dendra YES!" She countered, a maniacal gleam in her eyes.
"Who's this 'we' you're talking about?" Tulip said, hands on her hips. "I'm not taking her in, and you shouldn't either. You're fifteen! Also, what about her parents and sister?"
The martial arts enthusiast completely ignored the latter points and focused on the first ones.
"So, you're just gonna leave me to be a single teenage mother?!"
"What- I- gaaaaah!" The model cried out, embarrassment and frustration taking over as she clutched at her head, a light dusting of red covering her cheeks and for once it wasn't well-applied makeup. Dendra had not been quiet, and people were whispering and snickering at the incident.
Personally, I couldn't help but laugh at the comedy routine, it was hilarious! What caught my eye though was the way Tulip's hair clip ornament flapped its wings repeatedly as she got flustered. There was no wind, and her body motions shouldn't have been violent enough to cause that. Aura. That mystical power I want to learn.
Luckily, Arven, Turo, Friede, and Leah followed after me, foiling any attempted kidnapping Dendra was planning. "Greetings, I am Leah, charged with keeping Young Miss Nemona safe from harm. Who might you be?" The maid asked the older girls.
"Dendra, and this is Tulip. I gave Nemona the idea to compete here, but wow! Osu! Even I didn't realize she'd be this good." The enthusiastic girl replied while Cyan was busy pestering the elegant girl beside her.
"We met them at the fashion show Cyan and I went to," I explained to Leah before a booming voice cut over all the chatter in the area.
"Welcome, friends and fans, to the final few fights on the eve of our 27th Junior Mesagozan Tournament!" All eyes turned to a middle-aged man in the center of the arena dressed in a striking red suit, microphone in hand. "I'm Larry Goldsworth, and I'll be your announcer for this evening." Evening it was indeed, with the sun just starting to set now. "Our contestants are all here, so without further ado, I'll call them forward. Gary Rickroll, Nemona Glitterati, Frederick van Grough…" Hearing my name, I jumped. Why was I surprised at that, I knew this was coming. Argh, nerves. Just focus, we're almost done.
I joined the others forming a line in the center of the arena, to give everyone a good look at us. Cameras were flashing and the crowd cheered us on. It was hard to focus on any one person out there, especially with Freddrick, sneering down at me. Clearly, he had remembered our previous encounter and still wasn't impressed with me.
Admittedly, my stature was a bit less impressive than the others here, everyone else was a teenager. I held myself with pride regardless. If anyone wants to look down on me, then they'll just get to see what I'm made of.
"... Let's begin the first match of the quarter-finals, Iris Canin vs. Nemona Glitterati!" The others dispersed, and we took our places at either end of the arena. Iris had short pink hair, matching the bubblegum she was chewing, blowing out, and popping loudly. I was surprised at her name, but it's not that uncommon. A lot of kids get named after champions. There are tons of Lances and Alders out there, a ridiculous amount of Cynthias… She looks like she's projecting confidence, and she is but, she's slightly nervous underneath too. The bubblegum popping is just a bit forced.
"Alright kid, give me all ya got!" She yelled out, as much for the crowd as it was for me. I just nodded, no great pre-battle banter coming to mind and I didn't want to embarrass myself by trying something off the cuff.
On the signal from the referee, we both raised our Pokeballs, ready to battle. The referee for these matches was a League Official. She was a tall woman with deep blue eyes and long black hair with a few golden streaks in it. Her Espartha was creating a powerful barrier around the multicolor arena. She looks familiar, but I can't quite place her…
On the command to release, we both did so and I snapped my focus back to the battle. Dun flapped his little wings eagerly, eyeing his opponent, a Floragato. It was a green bipedal cat-like
Pokemon, with a pink spinning disk in one of its hands. A lot of people had starters here, many of them being students of Uva Academy, but none of the previous contestants I had seen had evolved them.
"Trainers ready?" The referee asked, lifting her hand in the air.
"Yes," we called out in unison, and the noise from the crowd died down. Or maybe it didn't, and I just ignored it, my focus solely focused in front of me.
She brought her hand down as if to chop through the tension between us. "Begin!"
"Floragato, Magical Leaf!" Iris yelled, and her feline-esque Pokemon waved his yo-yo thing around, a vine acting like a string to wind it out into the air and from it, conjure up a plethora of leaves all around. Dunsparce was charging ahead, and I encouraged him.
"There's no dodging, just plow through, Body Slam!"
"What?!" Iris was surprised by my tactic, and while several leaves hit and cut into Dun, it was less than would have hit him if he'd tried to dodge in the center of the maelstrom. Floragato was sent tumbling through the air from the impact.
After the leaves cleared I saw a few minor cuts on Dun, but nothing deep, while our opponent was shakily getting back on his feet. "Slam it again!"
Dunsparce raced after the injured Floragato but even hurt, the cat was much faster, dodging around Dun's pursuit.
"Hone Claws, get ready!" Iris called out, her bubble gum blowing forgotten about as she was pushed back. Floragato began waving his claws around, dark energy sharpening them, even as he weaved around the Body Slams aimed his way.
Damn, can't let them set up! "Glare!" With a killer stare, Floragato froze up mid-way through his Move, early tripping over his own feet. Cat-like grace was enough to avoid falling, but not to avoid Dun's follow-up Body Slam.
This time, Dun landed right beside Floragato, so I shouted "Poison Jab, now!!" His tail darted out fast, driving into Floragato's side. The Grass Type gave a cry so pained that I winced a little, and from the way there was a slow purple tint spreading throughout his fur, I guessed that he had been Poisoned by the attack as well.
Floragato gave a quick Scratch and retreated away from Dun. I held up a hand, indicating for Dun to wait and see what Iris' next move would be. Rather than call out any desperate, last-ditch attack, she drew her Pokeball and recalled her starter. "I forfeit."
There were gasps from the crowd as they heard that and the referee called the match, but I understood where she was coming from. Floragato had been swaying on his feet from the Poison and hits, and his muscles were still clenching from the Paralysis. By that point, they didn't really have a chance.
"There we have it folks, our first winner of the quarter-finals and the youngest competitor to ever make it to the Semi-Finals, Nemona Glitterati!" Larry called out and the crowd burst into cheers.
Walking up to the center of the arena, I waved to all of them alongside Dun (well, I waved, Dun just sort of bobbed his head around to the same effect). We stopped waving as Iris walked up to us, extending out a hand to shake.
I took it, and the crowd gave renewed cheers and applause for the good sportsmanship. "Hah. You did good, kid. Where did you learn to be that strong?"
"Just trained hard near my home," I replied with a small shrug. It was technically true if leaving out relevant bits like my reincarnation which helped out a bit. Can't even be sure that's the only thing though. I feel like I can react faster in this world, and think better under pressure. Is that just part of living in this world, or part of being Nemona?
"Well, good luck kid, you'll need it." The warning sounded earnest, not petty, but I didn't get what it referred to until I saw the next battle.
Freddrick van Grough was up against Helios Denver. Helios had short magenta hair and wore the Uva Academy uniform as well. His Pokemon was a large Lechonk, while Freddrick released…
"Oh my," Leah said beside me, summing up my thoughts entirely as we saw the arrogant boy reveal a gigantic bird. Its wingspan was over five meters across, and those wings were covered with literally iron-sharp feathers. It towered over the Lechonk, glaring down with beady red eyes that made me want to fall on my knees, despite not even directing its attention towards me.
To still somehow stand up to the Corviknight, Helios and his Lechonk were very brave. And very stupid. The battle began, and Corviknight furiously pecked at the Lechonk, interrupting any attempt to tackle it. Then the bird picked it up in its claws and lifted the little pig Pokemon in the air, before hurling it to the ground.
The only order Freddrick gave out was at the end. "Hurricane." Up high, the Corviknight flapped its wings hard, whipping up a heavy gust that turned into a terrifying storm. The winds lifted Lechonk off the ground and around through the air, spinning them several times until they were flung into the barrier and collapsed, defeated.
Luckily, the referee's Espartha caught the fallen pig with its psychic powers and gently lowered it to the ground. Ah, right, Iris came from the same battlefield as him. And I have to face that in my next round. Oh boy.
The first round of the Quarterfinals has been won easily enough, but the difficulty ramps up from here, with our first real look at the rival Nemona made at the start.
xbox432
Lover of Editing
Oh? So Nemona is fighting the jerk in the semis rather than the finals? Interesting... I wonder what she'll do against what looks to be a rich kid smurfing... which is hilarious that is a defense I'm using for Nemona. 
Still though, a fully evolved and VERY powerful Corviknight in what is supposed to be a rookie tournament?
It'll be fun to see how far she'll go. All the way to first? Or will she get knocked out and fight for third? Maybe Dun will evolve? It's so exciting to daydream about!
Still though, a fully evolved and VERY powerful Corviknight in what is supposed to be a rookie tournament?It'll be fun to see how far she'll go. All the way to first? Or will she get knocked out and fight for third? Maybe Dun will evolve? It's so exciting to daydream about!
Man, I bet a small part of her wished to ask her parents for a Tinkaton now.
- Pronouns
- He/him
Hmm I don't remember all of duns movepool from TMs but that's horrible matchup for him. Immune to ground and poison, and resistant to normal type. If I had to make a prediction, it would be that the same hurricane will be used against Dun and he will show off his wings, and since he recently learned yawn he could be close to learning hyper drill, which...probably still wouldn't be enough to win honestly. But might see him evolve.
If Nemona gets lucky and metal birb uses roost in front of Dun they could hit the SE earthquake. Of course Dun would have to fight like hell to wear it down enough with body slams.
- Location
- Michigan
One amusing thought, Dunsparce learn Rollout naturally, if either they have been practicing it off screen or Dun learns it mid battle, I could easily see the more anime battle logic to allow Dun's gliding practice to let its rollout treat the air as a solid surface, possibly with a trade off of taking 2-3 times wider arks to turn unless it stops and restarts the move midair but even without that they could just have Dun use dig to set up several connected tunnels to launch itself from various potential directions to add momentum for a body slam turned discount giga impact.
Chapter 19
- Location
- Vancouver
"Nemona, are you… ok?" Friede asked worriedly, waving a hand in front of my face. It was unnecessary, but I understood why; I'd been staring at Freddrick and the Pokeballs on his belt ever since the match ended with laser intensity. All the adults looked nervous, but Cyan and Arven were excited, watching the matches. No fear that I could fail. Wish I could say the same.
"I'm fine," I bit out, running through plans in my head. Dammit, I have no good ways to fight a Corviknight. How did an entitled prick like that- oh, right, probably his family. Focus. Steel-Flying is a nightmare for Dun to deal with, it'll resist any of his STAB Normal Moves, and outright ignore Poison Jab and Earthquake, two of his best non-Normal Moves! Not to mention, that bird just looks incredibly tough. To be expected from a fully evolved Pokemon, but still.
The tournament was a beginner's tournament for a reason - it wasn't expected that anyone would be showing up with a fully evolved Pokemon. Of course, they could hardly put in a rule that outright forbade it. Some Types and specific Pokemon lines evolved very fast or had no evolutions. Excluding a Pokemon from being on your team just because it belonged to your family before was also dismissed. They could be your beloved family friend, how could someone ask that you give them up or restrict them from going with you on every step of your journey?
By that same standard though, it was considered quite rude and more than a little cheap to show up to a tournament with a Pokemon that you hadn't had a major hand in training. I suspect that was why the referee was giving Freddrick such a dressing down for his 'reckless behavior', not that the young man seemed to care.
That Lechonk won't be permanently hurt, though that speaks more to the incredible health care tools available to Pokemon than Freddrick's 'restraint.' Dunsparce is a lot tougher, but that also means that he'll be more likely to push past his limits. Plus, the jerk definitely has it out for me, so he'll be sure to go harder.
"You can drop out, you know. It's not wrong to be afraid." Leah's gentle voice cut through my thoughts. I glanced down at my Pokeball, wondering if I should ask Dun if he wanted to battle before discarding the idea as foolish.
He would be offended if I'd even ask him. Dun is the type that would fight a Legendary to prove how strong he is… I might need to pull him out of danger someday. But not today. Today was his moment to shine, to show what months, nearly a year of training had done for him. As if sensing my feelings from within, the ball shook a bit, as if in anticipation.
"No, we'll fight." I gave her a determined nod and smiled at my friends (and sister) before catching Turo's curious gaze.
Am I teaching him the wrong lesson here? To push on, despite great odds. Sure, sometimes you need to do that, but other times, the most determined thing you can do, is quit. I sighed. It wasn't my job to keep an adult from making a terrible mistake; my job was to win this battle.
I lacked the focus to spare on analyzing the other battles, just making a plan for the next one.
Occasionally, I'd whisper a bit of my strategy to Dun in his ball. While it wasn't great for carrying out a full conversation, this was just a slight adjustment to the plans we already had, so he'd be ready when the time came.
Soon enough, it was time, with the announcer calling up the first match of the semi-finals. "It's Nemona Glitterati versus Freddrick van Grough! Two of our most surprising competitors. Can the young prodigy beat the experienced student?"
He hardly seems experienced, from what I've seen. Turning brightly to face my opponent at the other end of the arena I shouted "Let's have a good match!"
"I doubt it," he sneered back, actually earning a few boos from the crowd. "Oh, come off it!" He yelled back at them. "She's got a Dunsparce. What's it gonna do, bore me to defeat?" Shaking his head, he added "It's a shame that this is what the once great Glitterati family has been reduced to. Was that really the best Pokemon your parents could get you?"
"I found Dun on my own, he's my choice of starter."
Frederick crossed his arms. "That's even worse! What's the point of having money if you can't get the best?"
"Oh, don't worry; I'm fighting with the best Pokemon in this tournament." I smirked as I heard a few gasps and 'oohs' from the crowd at my banter. It took Freddrick a moment longer to get my meaning there, and he dropped his arms, hands clenched in fists.
Before this could go any further a new referee stepped up and cleared his throat. "Trainers ready?"
I released Dunsparce in response and he did the same for Corviknight. The massive avian stared down at Dun, who met it with a fierce glare of his own. The fully evolved Pokemon gave an odd squawking sound like she was laughing at Dun.
"In that case, let the battle… begin!" As the last syllable left his mouth, Dun made his Move. Flooding his eyes with Normal energy, he turned his glare into a Glare, one that sent even the advanced Pokemon stumbling and twitching backward.
The moment that Move was complete I shouted "Belly flop!" Dun slammed the mosaic ground, causing it to rise in chunks and shake, slamming into Corviknight, still too Paralyzed to get off the ground. Usually, a Flying Type was immune to Ground-Type attacks because they could fly up and had a near instinctive sense to avoid even the more airborne Ground Moves.
Here, where she couldn't flap her wings properly, the Move hit her hard. Freddrick rallied, crying
"Get off the ground!" It was a valiant attempt, as she struggled to flap her wings, the Corviknight trying to push past her muscles not working. To her credit, she managed to get a few feet off the ground… before Dun Body Slammed her down from above, the earth-shaking helping boost him up and distracting our opponents from his movement.
Corviknight shrieked and tried to knock Dun away with an awkward wing sweep as she fell, but Dun easily slipped around the Paralyzed and disoriented bird. "Earthquake!" I called out, Dun moving to shake the ground again.
"Get off the ground already!" Frederick shouted, and this time the metallic bird lifted itself, above the shifting ground. As the arena settled, I saw Corviknight was dirtied, but not much more than that. The attacks did so little to it? I knew Body Slam would be resisted, but I thought Earthquake might have- no, it looks like even if the attack connects, even with the Steel Typing, the Flying half makes the Move not very effective, maybe less.
In the background, I heard the crowd cheering me on, shocked gasps at how well I was doing/how poorly Freddrick was faring, but I was less optimistic about our odds. That surprise attack didn't do nearly as well as I hoped, and now I have to see what his response will be.
Freddrick didn't hesitate in calling out his next Move, and I had to fight to keep the smile off my face as I heard it. "Hurricane!" Rising higher till Corviknight floated almost twelve meters above the ground (the limit on how high one could fly above the ground when not facing another Flying Type in this tournament) she began whipping the wind around.
"Go to the center!" Dun dutifully moved into the center of the gathering storm, having plenty of time to reach the Eye with Corviknight's movements slowed by the Paralysis. The winds were moving so harshly that I could barely see anything within them, but since Dun wasn't crying out in pain or panic, I assumed it was fine.
"Gah, stop that! Iron Defense!" Freddrick called out and I bit back a curse. The winds died as the gleaming feathers grew brighter. I have to stop that!
"Dun, taunt," I called out, covering a hand over my mouth. He read the signal easily and rolled over, Yawning and closing his eyes. "Man, didn't realize you were going to be so boring," I taunted. "We might as well take a nap."
Whether from thinking we had used a different Move or from falling to my own taunt, the angry boy changed tracks. "Corvi, forget about that, Fury Attack!!"
The powerful Pokemon twitched as she let go of the energy she had been gathering to defend herself. From the sigh that escaped its beak, I knew that twitch wasn't from being Paralyzed. This battle would have been so much harder if we were fighting that Pokemon without Freddrick.
For balance reasons, the games had Pokemon of too high a level traded to or caught by you refused to follow commands, but that didn't work that way in real life. Here, Freddrick's family Corviknight was loyal to a fault and followed all the orders he gave out. And that fault, his ineptitude as a trainer, is the lever we'll pull on to win this fight.
"Roll around and get away!" Dunsparce gave up pretending to be asleep and tried to get away, but this time with the aerial advantage, he only managed to dodge twice before Corviknight's talons clawed into him twice.
"Yes! Now grab him!" The opposing trainer commanded.
"I-uh- Body Slam!" I stammered out. Dammit, did it not work? Dun is in a terrible spot here. I hadn't seen a way out of it, however, so a last-second attack was all I could call out to get some damage in before he was inevitably grabbed.
Dun squirmed within Corviknight's talons, but he couldn't slither out of this tight grip. All he managed to do was make small lacerations on his own body, struggling against the sharp claws.
Freddrick laughed maniacally. "See how helpless you are? You should have forfeited while you had the chance."
"Uh, I still could. It's not like there's any rule about when you give up." I pointed out, and everyone, even much of the crowd, paused.
After a moment Freddrick, red in the face, said "Well? I'm waiting!"
"Oh, I'm not going to. Just like, you were wrong." A beat passed and I caught the droop of Corviknight's head and added "Thought you should know."
He gave an inarticulate scream of rage. "You-you- you little brat! Destroy that worm."
"I'll have you know, he's more a snake, and now is his time to strike!" I countered as the Yawn finally took full effect and the big bird landed with a clanging crash as she fell to the ground, asleep.
"What?!" The boy at the other end looked confused and worried. "How did you do that?"
Not wasting any energy on him, I spoke to Dun instead, my Pokemon slipping out of the now relaxed grip and ready for payback. "Body Slam, as many times as you can!" He threw himself at the sleeping bird, crashing into her several times. Dents started forming on her steely feathers, but she remained sound asleep through the onslaught.
It couldn't last forever, though. Eventually, either Dun's attacks or Freddrick's increasingly desperate pleas got through to Corviknight, and she woke up with a start. Her wing slapped out, tossing Dunsparce across the arena. That was more due to the differences in mass between them than the damage it did, but I couldn't deny that Dun was looking a little roughed up.
Ok, a lot roughed up, I admitted to myself as I took in his wounds. He had tiny cuts all over his body, a nasty-looking abrasion on his tail, and one of his eyes was swollen, probably bruised.
Dun gave as good as he got though, Corviknight's metal wing feathers bent and broken in places, and a small crack on her beak. She was glaring down at us both with angry red eyes and I knew that even if Freddrick kept on underestimating us, his Pokemon wouldn't be anymore. I gripped the ball in my pocket, ready but not willing to use it quite yet.
"Hurricane, blow them away!" Well, I guess even if he doesn't underestimate us, he can still make poor choices. On the surface, it seemed like a solid play, especially since Corviknight had managed to shake off her Paralysis and could direct the stream of wind too fast for Dun to dodge if he tried to move into the center again.
"Ride it! Don't fight against it, float like a leaf on the wind!" The heavy winds picked him up, but rather than let them send him spiraling out of control, he flew with them. Adjusting his trajectory with his own tiny wings, he rose through the air until he shot off near the top, propelled into a heavy Body Slam that snapped the Corviknight's head back.
As Dunsparce and Corviknight landed back down, both of them were able to catch themselves before they hit the ground, though it was a close thing in Corviknight's case. She snapped out of her daze at the last second, but from the way she was holding herself, it looked like that had put a serious crick in her neck.
"You shouldn't use Moves your Pokemon aren't suited to," I told Freddrick.
"Huh?"
"Corviknight had no mastery of Hurricane. What did you do, just teach it to her from a TM and never practice it?" I teased him again. Probably true, but that raven is no joke. She was already adapting the Move and if she kept on pelting us from above, we'd lose. Dunsparce doesn't know any ranged Moves that can hit a flying target and he won't be able to close. If it was someone else I might let them tire themselves out with repeated powerful Moves, but that Corviknight just has too much experience and strength to lose that way.
"Wing Attack, then dive in and Fury Attack!" Dual wing beats sent a burst of air too quick to dodge, knocking Dun into the corner beside me. As Corviknight advanced on him, I gave out commands of my own.
"Parry the claws, then Body Slam!" Dodging would have been useless, so Dun turned around and spun his tail drill, knocking into the claws that came his way. Turned around, he couldn't see the attacks, instead following the motions of my free hand as I directed him on how to block every talon that reached down to rend him.
After a quarter minute of attempts that Dun expertly blocked, Corviknight backed off for a moment, which gave Dun the chance to turn around and fulfill the second part of my command. Spinning back around, he jumped up at the low-flying bird, and with his wingbeats, pushed ahead to hit Corviknight.
The impact resounded throughout the arena, leaving a small dent in the solid metal armor plating in front of her chest. The pain was not enough to stop her from grabbing Dun in her claws as he fell, however.
"Yes! Rip him to shreds! Drill Peck until he's dead- defeated." Freddrick quickly corrected, seeing the referee suddenly turn to glare at him. The man still gave him a warning, but it was clear he wasn't going to be disqualified for that slip of the tongue, so I focused on the battle. Dun was struggling under the assault, waving his tail around wildly to deflect against her beak and other claws, but without leverage, many strikes were getting through and he was starting to bleed profusely from the pecks.
"Bite the feet! Force her to let you go!" The dark energy gathered around his jaws was faint, but stronger than it usually was. Desperation from the pain helping him align more with the Type energy of the attack, he bit down hard, and Corviknight let him go. Not wasting the opportunity, I pulled the ball-shaped object out of my pocket and pressed the button.
The Tera Orb shook violently with the power contained within and I gripped it with my other hand. Spinning around once, I gathered the momentum needed and tossed it out, over Dun, where it exploded in a burst of light, right as the last sliver of sunlight faded beyond the horizon.
The light was accompanied by the usual crystallization surrounding Dunsparce, causing his foe to stumble back, squawking in surprise. The crystals shattered and revealed Dun covered in a prismatic sheen and a large clear gem resting above his head like an oversized hat.
"Why, I can't believe it! Folks, we are witnessing Terastalization firsthand!" The announcer called out, and the crowd was going wild. Frederick was seizing with rage or disbelief. Either way, he wasn't ready to stop us.
"Body Slam, show that oversized crow your true power!" I told Dun. He complied with gusto, leaping forward with newfound energy, hitting Corviknight hard enough now to send her stumbling back. Again and again, he attacked and she was on the back foot. She tried to grab him again, but this time Dun's attacks were strong enough to break through, and she let him go after he snapped one of her talons with his gem-covered head.
"Just- just attack!" The van Grough boy screeched eventually and she did just that. Corviknight was flying off the ground, holding one of her claws gingerly, but she didn't let that stop her. Furiously, she'd Wing Attack, Peck, and (with her good leg) claw at Dunsparce. With Terastalization adding on to his power though, he was giving as good as he got, despite the Type resistance.
After a minute of brutal attacks on each side, they broke off, one last Wing Attack whipping up the winds and making space between them. The two of them were breathing heavily, panting as they glared at each other. Dunsparce's bulbous body was swollen, more so than usual. One of his eyes was so puffed up that I was pretty sure he physically couldn't use Glare till it healed. He was bleeding all over from the numerous peck and claw attacks having ripped through his scales. Nowhere critical was injured, but I didn't like how it looked.
On the other side, flying high above, was Corviknight. Dents all over her armor, feathers torn and bent, matching one of her talons, which she held gingerly even while flying. The damage she took was more bludgeoning than cutting, but there were still a few trickles of blood dripping down from her feathers. Despite it all, the determination and confidence she held from the beginning of our fight hadn't left her steely gaze.
It's much more… real than the bruise effects they showed in the anime. I couldn't help the giggles that escaped my mouth at the absurd thought. Something that my opponent took offense to.
"You think this is funny, huh? Do you think you could possibly win? NO! I refuse, I'm the greatest, it's my name that will rise to the top! The van Grough's are in no one's shadow!" I blinked at his unhinged rant. Dude has issues. "That's it, Corvi, Sky Attack!"
"It looks like this will be the end, everyone! How can Nemona hope to survive…" The announcer rapidly commented, my focus was on the battle in front of me.
In the darkness of the night, the usually dark-steeled bird became a glowing beacon, rapidly surrounded by a harsh light. Something about the radiance forced my gaze away, down to the other source of light. Dun was covered in wounds, staring up at the bird turning to a descent position. Am I just getting him needlessly hurt by continuing this? He's fought well, no one could judge him poorly for this. I still have a second left, I could recall him-
My thoughts cut off as I saw his gaze, his one good eye firmly facing upwards. This is his moment. Everything he's been training for, almost a year now we've been together, to prove that promise I made to him on the beach true. I can't take that away from him now.
"Hit her with everything you got!" I shouted as Corviknight dived down. Dun leaped up to meet her, but something changed midway through his jump. Rather than losing momentum, it increased, a star-like energy surrounding him and propelling him forward at greater speeds.
"It's so bright! I can't make out who won!" Larry cried out, most of the fans averting their eyes. I didn't, but still couldn't make out what exactly happened, just seeing them pass a moment after.
Dun kept on rising for a few seconds, like a comet falling in reverse while Corviknight crashed through the ground, her landing kicking up mosaic tiles into the barrier. Gravity soon took hold of my Pokemon too, and he crashed down as well, landing with a heavy thud.
Silence filled the arena, everyone staring with bated breath at the two unmoving Pokemon.
"Unbelievable! It appears that both Pokemon are unable to battle! It's a ti-"
"Un." The sound was faint, but enough to be heard by Larry and the referee before he could swing the flag in the center to call the match. "Un. Arce," Dun said, slightly clearer as he shakily rolled over. Then, trembling, he planted his tail into the ground, raising his body to stand on it, as tall as he could. Taking a deep breath, he announced to all of Mesagoza "DUUUUUUUUUUUNNN!!!!"
He started to fall over but before he could hit the ground I was already there, running and sliding to catch him. "You did it! You did it!" I shouted, hugging him close and then holding him up for the crowd to see. They roared in response, cheering and hollering, my friends and sister jumping up and down. I could barely even make out the referee calling the match in my favor.
"Sparce." He replied tiredly, leaning into my arms, a content smile on his face. I started pulling out potions with one hand while still holding onto him. They stopped the worst of the bleeding, though I would still have plenty of his blood staining my clothes, and didn't care one bit. There was technically another match we had to win to win the tournament, but I couldn't worry about that right now.
"You did great, Dun. Just like I said, you're gonna be the best."
"I'm fine," I bit out, running through plans in my head. Dammit, I have no good ways to fight a Corviknight. How did an entitled prick like that- oh, right, probably his family. Focus. Steel-Flying is a nightmare for Dun to deal with, it'll resist any of his STAB Normal Moves, and outright ignore Poison Jab and Earthquake, two of his best non-Normal Moves! Not to mention, that bird just looks incredibly tough. To be expected from a fully evolved Pokemon, but still.
The tournament was a beginner's tournament for a reason - it wasn't expected that anyone would be showing up with a fully evolved Pokemon. Of course, they could hardly put in a rule that outright forbade it. Some Types and specific Pokemon lines evolved very fast or had no evolutions. Excluding a Pokemon from being on your team just because it belonged to your family before was also dismissed. They could be your beloved family friend, how could someone ask that you give them up or restrict them from going with you on every step of your journey?
By that same standard though, it was considered quite rude and more than a little cheap to show up to a tournament with a Pokemon that you hadn't had a major hand in training. I suspect that was why the referee was giving Freddrick such a dressing down for his 'reckless behavior', not that the young man seemed to care.
That Lechonk won't be permanently hurt, though that speaks more to the incredible health care tools available to Pokemon than Freddrick's 'restraint.' Dunsparce is a lot tougher, but that also means that he'll be more likely to push past his limits. Plus, the jerk definitely has it out for me, so he'll be sure to go harder.
"You can drop out, you know. It's not wrong to be afraid." Leah's gentle voice cut through my thoughts. I glanced down at my Pokeball, wondering if I should ask Dun if he wanted to battle before discarding the idea as foolish.
He would be offended if I'd even ask him. Dun is the type that would fight a Legendary to prove how strong he is… I might need to pull him out of danger someday. But not today. Today was his moment to shine, to show what months, nearly a year of training had done for him. As if sensing my feelings from within, the ball shook a bit, as if in anticipation.
"No, we'll fight." I gave her a determined nod and smiled at my friends (and sister) before catching Turo's curious gaze.
Am I teaching him the wrong lesson here? To push on, despite great odds. Sure, sometimes you need to do that, but other times, the most determined thing you can do, is quit. I sighed. It wasn't my job to keep an adult from making a terrible mistake; my job was to win this battle.
I lacked the focus to spare on analyzing the other battles, just making a plan for the next one.
Occasionally, I'd whisper a bit of my strategy to Dun in his ball. While it wasn't great for carrying out a full conversation, this was just a slight adjustment to the plans we already had, so he'd be ready when the time came.
Soon enough, it was time, with the announcer calling up the first match of the semi-finals. "It's Nemona Glitterati versus Freddrick van Grough! Two of our most surprising competitors. Can the young prodigy beat the experienced student?"
He hardly seems experienced, from what I've seen. Turning brightly to face my opponent at the other end of the arena I shouted "Let's have a good match!"
"I doubt it," he sneered back, actually earning a few boos from the crowd. "Oh, come off it!" He yelled back at them. "She's got a Dunsparce. What's it gonna do, bore me to defeat?" Shaking his head, he added "It's a shame that this is what the once great Glitterati family has been reduced to. Was that really the best Pokemon your parents could get you?"
"I found Dun on my own, he's my choice of starter."
Frederick crossed his arms. "That's even worse! What's the point of having money if you can't get the best?"
"Oh, don't worry; I'm fighting with the best Pokemon in this tournament." I smirked as I heard a few gasps and 'oohs' from the crowd at my banter. It took Freddrick a moment longer to get my meaning there, and he dropped his arms, hands clenched in fists.
Before this could go any further a new referee stepped up and cleared his throat. "Trainers ready?"
I released Dunsparce in response and he did the same for Corviknight. The massive avian stared down at Dun, who met it with a fierce glare of his own. The fully evolved Pokemon gave an odd squawking sound like she was laughing at Dun.
"In that case, let the battle… begin!" As the last syllable left his mouth, Dun made his Move. Flooding his eyes with Normal energy, he turned his glare into a Glare, one that sent even the advanced Pokemon stumbling and twitching backward.
The moment that Move was complete I shouted "Belly flop!" Dun slammed the mosaic ground, causing it to rise in chunks and shake, slamming into Corviknight, still too Paralyzed to get off the ground. Usually, a Flying Type was immune to Ground-Type attacks because they could fly up and had a near instinctive sense to avoid even the more airborne Ground Moves.
Here, where she couldn't flap her wings properly, the Move hit her hard. Freddrick rallied, crying
"Get off the ground!" It was a valiant attempt, as she struggled to flap her wings, the Corviknight trying to push past her muscles not working. To her credit, she managed to get a few feet off the ground… before Dun Body Slammed her down from above, the earth-shaking helping boost him up and distracting our opponents from his movement.
Corviknight shrieked and tried to knock Dun away with an awkward wing sweep as she fell, but Dun easily slipped around the Paralyzed and disoriented bird. "Earthquake!" I called out, Dun moving to shake the ground again.
"Get off the ground already!" Frederick shouted, and this time the metallic bird lifted itself, above the shifting ground. As the arena settled, I saw Corviknight was dirtied, but not much more than that. The attacks did so little to it? I knew Body Slam would be resisted, but I thought Earthquake might have- no, it looks like even if the attack connects, even with the Steel Typing, the Flying half makes the Move not very effective, maybe less.
In the background, I heard the crowd cheering me on, shocked gasps at how well I was doing/how poorly Freddrick was faring, but I was less optimistic about our odds. That surprise attack didn't do nearly as well as I hoped, and now I have to see what his response will be.
Freddrick didn't hesitate in calling out his next Move, and I had to fight to keep the smile off my face as I heard it. "Hurricane!" Rising higher till Corviknight floated almost twelve meters above the ground (the limit on how high one could fly above the ground when not facing another Flying Type in this tournament) she began whipping the wind around.
"Go to the center!" Dun dutifully moved into the center of the gathering storm, having plenty of time to reach the Eye with Corviknight's movements slowed by the Paralysis. The winds were moving so harshly that I could barely see anything within them, but since Dun wasn't crying out in pain or panic, I assumed it was fine.
"Gah, stop that! Iron Defense!" Freddrick called out and I bit back a curse. The winds died as the gleaming feathers grew brighter. I have to stop that!
"Dun, taunt," I called out, covering a hand over my mouth. He read the signal easily and rolled over, Yawning and closing his eyes. "Man, didn't realize you were going to be so boring," I taunted. "We might as well take a nap."
Whether from thinking we had used a different Move or from falling to my own taunt, the angry boy changed tracks. "Corvi, forget about that, Fury Attack!!"
The powerful Pokemon twitched as she let go of the energy she had been gathering to defend herself. From the sigh that escaped its beak, I knew that twitch wasn't from being Paralyzed. This battle would have been so much harder if we were fighting that Pokemon without Freddrick.
For balance reasons, the games had Pokemon of too high a level traded to or caught by you refused to follow commands, but that didn't work that way in real life. Here, Freddrick's family Corviknight was loyal to a fault and followed all the orders he gave out. And that fault, his ineptitude as a trainer, is the lever we'll pull on to win this fight.
"Roll around and get away!" Dunsparce gave up pretending to be asleep and tried to get away, but this time with the aerial advantage, he only managed to dodge twice before Corviknight's talons clawed into him twice.
"Yes! Now grab him!" The opposing trainer commanded.
"I-uh- Body Slam!" I stammered out. Dammit, did it not work? Dun is in a terrible spot here. I hadn't seen a way out of it, however, so a last-second attack was all I could call out to get some damage in before he was inevitably grabbed.
Dun squirmed within Corviknight's talons, but he couldn't slither out of this tight grip. All he managed to do was make small lacerations on his own body, struggling against the sharp claws.
Freddrick laughed maniacally. "See how helpless you are? You should have forfeited while you had the chance."
"Uh, I still could. It's not like there's any rule about when you give up." I pointed out, and everyone, even much of the crowd, paused.
After a moment Freddrick, red in the face, said "Well? I'm waiting!"
"Oh, I'm not going to. Just like, you were wrong." A beat passed and I caught the droop of Corviknight's head and added "Thought you should know."
He gave an inarticulate scream of rage. "You-you- you little brat! Destroy that worm."
"I'll have you know, he's more a snake, and now is his time to strike!" I countered as the Yawn finally took full effect and the big bird landed with a clanging crash as she fell to the ground, asleep.
"What?!" The boy at the other end looked confused and worried. "How did you do that?"
Not wasting any energy on him, I spoke to Dun instead, my Pokemon slipping out of the now relaxed grip and ready for payback. "Body Slam, as many times as you can!" He threw himself at the sleeping bird, crashing into her several times. Dents started forming on her steely feathers, but she remained sound asleep through the onslaught.
It couldn't last forever, though. Eventually, either Dun's attacks or Freddrick's increasingly desperate pleas got through to Corviknight, and she woke up with a start. Her wing slapped out, tossing Dunsparce across the arena. That was more due to the differences in mass between them than the damage it did, but I couldn't deny that Dun was looking a little roughed up.
Ok, a lot roughed up, I admitted to myself as I took in his wounds. He had tiny cuts all over his body, a nasty-looking abrasion on his tail, and one of his eyes was swollen, probably bruised.
Dun gave as good as he got though, Corviknight's metal wing feathers bent and broken in places, and a small crack on her beak. She was glaring down at us both with angry red eyes and I knew that even if Freddrick kept on underestimating us, his Pokemon wouldn't be anymore. I gripped the ball in my pocket, ready but not willing to use it quite yet.
"Hurricane, blow them away!" Well, I guess even if he doesn't underestimate us, he can still make poor choices. On the surface, it seemed like a solid play, especially since Corviknight had managed to shake off her Paralysis and could direct the stream of wind too fast for Dun to dodge if he tried to move into the center again.
"Ride it! Don't fight against it, float like a leaf on the wind!" The heavy winds picked him up, but rather than let them send him spiraling out of control, he flew with them. Adjusting his trajectory with his own tiny wings, he rose through the air until he shot off near the top, propelled into a heavy Body Slam that snapped the Corviknight's head back.
As Dunsparce and Corviknight landed back down, both of them were able to catch themselves before they hit the ground, though it was a close thing in Corviknight's case. She snapped out of her daze at the last second, but from the way she was holding herself, it looked like that had put a serious crick in her neck.
"You shouldn't use Moves your Pokemon aren't suited to," I told Freddrick.
"Huh?"
"Corviknight had no mastery of Hurricane. What did you do, just teach it to her from a TM and never practice it?" I teased him again. Probably true, but that raven is no joke. She was already adapting the Move and if she kept on pelting us from above, we'd lose. Dunsparce doesn't know any ranged Moves that can hit a flying target and he won't be able to close. If it was someone else I might let them tire themselves out with repeated powerful Moves, but that Corviknight just has too much experience and strength to lose that way.
"Wing Attack, then dive in and Fury Attack!" Dual wing beats sent a burst of air too quick to dodge, knocking Dun into the corner beside me. As Corviknight advanced on him, I gave out commands of my own.
"Parry the claws, then Body Slam!" Dodging would have been useless, so Dun turned around and spun his tail drill, knocking into the claws that came his way. Turned around, he couldn't see the attacks, instead following the motions of my free hand as I directed him on how to block every talon that reached down to rend him.
After a quarter minute of attempts that Dun expertly blocked, Corviknight backed off for a moment, which gave Dun the chance to turn around and fulfill the second part of my command. Spinning back around, he jumped up at the low-flying bird, and with his wingbeats, pushed ahead to hit Corviknight.
The impact resounded throughout the arena, leaving a small dent in the solid metal armor plating in front of her chest. The pain was not enough to stop her from grabbing Dun in her claws as he fell, however.
"Yes! Rip him to shreds! Drill Peck until he's dead- defeated." Freddrick quickly corrected, seeing the referee suddenly turn to glare at him. The man still gave him a warning, but it was clear he wasn't going to be disqualified for that slip of the tongue, so I focused on the battle. Dun was struggling under the assault, waving his tail around wildly to deflect against her beak and other claws, but without leverage, many strikes were getting through and he was starting to bleed profusely from the pecks.
"Bite the feet! Force her to let you go!" The dark energy gathered around his jaws was faint, but stronger than it usually was. Desperation from the pain helping him align more with the Type energy of the attack, he bit down hard, and Corviknight let him go. Not wasting the opportunity, I pulled the ball-shaped object out of my pocket and pressed the button.
The Tera Orb shook violently with the power contained within and I gripped it with my other hand. Spinning around once, I gathered the momentum needed and tossed it out, over Dun, where it exploded in a burst of light, right as the last sliver of sunlight faded beyond the horizon.
The light was accompanied by the usual crystallization surrounding Dunsparce, causing his foe to stumble back, squawking in surprise. The crystals shattered and revealed Dun covered in a prismatic sheen and a large clear gem resting above his head like an oversized hat.
"Why, I can't believe it! Folks, we are witnessing Terastalization firsthand!" The announcer called out, and the crowd was going wild. Frederick was seizing with rage or disbelief. Either way, he wasn't ready to stop us.
"Body Slam, show that oversized crow your true power!" I told Dun. He complied with gusto, leaping forward with newfound energy, hitting Corviknight hard enough now to send her stumbling back. Again and again, he attacked and she was on the back foot. She tried to grab him again, but this time Dun's attacks were strong enough to break through, and she let him go after he snapped one of her talons with his gem-covered head.
"Just- just attack!" The van Grough boy screeched eventually and she did just that. Corviknight was flying off the ground, holding one of her claws gingerly, but she didn't let that stop her. Furiously, she'd Wing Attack, Peck, and (with her good leg) claw at Dunsparce. With Terastalization adding on to his power though, he was giving as good as he got, despite the Type resistance.
After a minute of brutal attacks on each side, they broke off, one last Wing Attack whipping up the winds and making space between them. The two of them were breathing heavily, panting as they glared at each other. Dunsparce's bulbous body was swollen, more so than usual. One of his eyes was so puffed up that I was pretty sure he physically couldn't use Glare till it healed. He was bleeding all over from the numerous peck and claw attacks having ripped through his scales. Nowhere critical was injured, but I didn't like how it looked.
On the other side, flying high above, was Corviknight. Dents all over her armor, feathers torn and bent, matching one of her talons, which she held gingerly even while flying. The damage she took was more bludgeoning than cutting, but there were still a few trickles of blood dripping down from her feathers. Despite it all, the determination and confidence she held from the beginning of our fight hadn't left her steely gaze.
It's much more… real than the bruise effects they showed in the anime. I couldn't help the giggles that escaped my mouth at the absurd thought. Something that my opponent took offense to.
"You think this is funny, huh? Do you think you could possibly win? NO! I refuse, I'm the greatest, it's my name that will rise to the top! The van Grough's are in no one's shadow!" I blinked at his unhinged rant. Dude has issues. "That's it, Corvi, Sky Attack!"
"It looks like this will be the end, everyone! How can Nemona hope to survive…" The announcer rapidly commented, my focus was on the battle in front of me.
In the darkness of the night, the usually dark-steeled bird became a glowing beacon, rapidly surrounded by a harsh light. Something about the radiance forced my gaze away, down to the other source of light. Dun was covered in wounds, staring up at the bird turning to a descent position. Am I just getting him needlessly hurt by continuing this? He's fought well, no one could judge him poorly for this. I still have a second left, I could recall him-
My thoughts cut off as I saw his gaze, his one good eye firmly facing upwards. This is his moment. Everything he's been training for, almost a year now we've been together, to prove that promise I made to him on the beach true. I can't take that away from him now.
"Hit her with everything you got!" I shouted as Corviknight dived down. Dun leaped up to meet her, but something changed midway through his jump. Rather than losing momentum, it increased, a star-like energy surrounding him and propelling him forward at greater speeds.
"It's so bright! I can't make out who won!" Larry cried out, most of the fans averting their eyes. I didn't, but still couldn't make out what exactly happened, just seeing them pass a moment after.
Dun kept on rising for a few seconds, like a comet falling in reverse while Corviknight crashed through the ground, her landing kicking up mosaic tiles into the barrier. Gravity soon took hold of my Pokemon too, and he crashed down as well, landing with a heavy thud.
Silence filled the arena, everyone staring with bated breath at the two unmoving Pokemon.
"Unbelievable! It appears that both Pokemon are unable to battle! It's a ti-"
"Un." The sound was faint, but enough to be heard by Larry and the referee before he could swing the flag in the center to call the match. "Un. Arce," Dun said, slightly clearer as he shakily rolled over. Then, trembling, he planted his tail into the ground, raising his body to stand on it, as tall as he could. Taking a deep breath, he announced to all of Mesagoza "DUUUUUUUUUUUNNN!!!!"
He started to fall over but before he could hit the ground I was already there, running and sliding to catch him. "You did it! You did it!" I shouted, hugging him close and then holding him up for the crowd to see. They roared in response, cheering and hollering, my friends and sister jumping up and down. I could barely even make out the referee calling the match in my favor.
"Sparce." He replied tiredly, leaning into my arms, a content smile on his face. I started pulling out potions with one hand while still holding onto him. They stopped the worst of the bleeding, though I would still have plenty of his blood staining my clothes, and didn't care one bit. There was technically another match we had to win to win the tournament, but I couldn't worry about that right now.
"You did great, Dun. Just like I said, you're gonna be the best."
This was the biggest, toughest battle Nemona has been through to date. With this the semi finals are complete and next chapter will be the end of the Junior Tournament, see ya next time!
xbox432
Lover of Editing
Something tells me that the van Grough's holdings might be taking a hit soon... From all the people watching being VERY unimpressed with their heir's showing and actions, and the parents for letting him use a Pokemon he was in no way ready for. After all, if they're that irresponsible with their child, then how must they be with their finances? Then there's the possibility of Momma and Pappa Glitterati wanting to make a point for the blatant insults and threats thrown their daughter's way.
Because seriously, the judge may not have acted on it but I doubt there's a parent out there who would be fine with someone threatening to kill their child's pet/partner.
Also, yay! Dun showed everyone just what a powerhouse he is! Though I AM hoping that he and Nemona will start making more use of his drill for attacking. I was half expecting him to pull a Simon the Digger there at the end!
Hmm, another thing of note? I bet that those watching will be more than impressed at Dun's blocking of the Corviknight. Not from just HIS skill at it, but NEMONA'S. After all, if Dun was mirroring HER hand movements? Then that means that Nemona was predicting and reacting to the bird's attacks so quickly, that it couldn't hit Dun at all in that exchange. I could easily see some weapon masters and martial artists respecting her for that... Oh... That one girl, Dendra, was watching this! Heh, she's really gonna want to adopt Nemona now!
Because seriously, the judge may not have acted on it but I doubt there's a parent out there who would be fine with someone threatening to kill their child's pet/partner.
Also, yay! Dun showed everyone just what a powerhouse he is! Though I AM hoping that he and Nemona will start making more use of his drill for attacking. I was half expecting him to pull a Simon the Digger there at the end!
Hmm, another thing of note? I bet that those watching will be more than impressed at Dun's blocking of the Corviknight. Not from just HIS skill at it, but NEMONA'S. After all, if Dun was mirroring HER hand movements? Then that means that Nemona was predicting and reacting to the bird's attacks so quickly, that it couldn't hit Dun at all in that exchange. I could easily see some weapon masters and martial artists respecting her for that... Oh... That one girl, Dendra, was watching this! Heh, she's really gonna want to adopt Nemona now!
Thanks for the chapter!😁
Gotta love Dun beating that Corviknight with the power ofenemy incompetencefriendship. (And by friendship I mean extensive training to work together with Nemona.) But seriously, he's probably strong enough at this point to evolve as soon as he figures out Hyper Drill. I know that the games aren't accurate here but Dunsparce learns Hyper Drill at 32 and the lowest level Corviknight is 38 so using that as a kind of extremely rough gauge he should be about ready I'd think. I wonder if you're going to make him 3-segment or just the normal two. You could also just roll a d100 and see what happens if you don't want to decide via authorial fiat.
Gotta love Dun beating that Corviknight with the power of
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How many people do you know, which would care about a amateur acting like a amateur at an amateur tournament?
How many buesiness-people do you know, which would care about parents beeing irresponsible?
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- Pronouns
- male
another excellent chapter, looking forward to more
Came here to compare dicussion from SB and damn are there so much fewer commentors here, wonder why?
- Location
- Here
Sly Attack is a charge-up move. Couldn't Dun just dodge with Dig?
xbox432
Lover of Editing
Considering he said to "kill"? Alongside his other actions in what is basically the pokeworld's main cultural zeitgeist? Yes. Yes, people would be doing a lot of judging. Especially considering the wealth bracket his family is in. A LOT of people would be cutting their losses or jumping on his family simply because they saw weakness.
As much as the "lose your first tournament to a major rival" trope is common to balance things out in trainer stories these days I can't help but be very happy your SI put that spoiled brat in his place. Despite her surroundings she made a pick based on vibe and not cost and put hard work into training that Dunsparce, whereas he's straight up the Daddy's Little Boy archetype who tried (and thankfully failed) to buy victory. I'd like to think that the lesson would actually stick but that's wishful thinking. Maybe some character development will happen to him in the future though, who knows? Rivals are important in the Pokeverse.
Wanna bet that Dunsparce as a species are going to get rather popular after this tournament?
Yeah, in our world that wouldn't be an uncommon wording; I talk about "killing" high-aggro 'mons that have screwed up my attempts to catch other Pokemon in Legends Arceus all the time. In this world? It has huge implications. Especially if you're in what appears to be the anime timeline.
Wanna bet that Dunsparce as a species are going to get rather popular after this tournament?
Yeah, in our world that wouldn't be an uncommon wording; I talk about "killing" high-aggro 'mons that have screwed up my attempts to catch other Pokemon in Legends Arceus all the time. In this world? It has huge implications. Especially if you're in what appears to be the anime timeline.
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- Location
- Vancouver
Thank you, glad you liked it!
Dun is getting pretty strong, but learning Moves is only going to follow their in-game level roughly. He hasn't practiced drilling an enemy enough yet to learn Hyper Drill, even though he is fairly strong.
Its complicated here. Him saying kill is not great, but he's youngish and did correct himself fairly quickly.
Honestly, one of the biggest things that might give a small hit to his family's business is that he gave all that smack talk and lost. Everyone likes a winner, afterall, but to come into a beginner's tournament, with a Corviknight, act that way, and still lose? Doesn't look great.
That would be pretty cool. I'm a little busy with the chapters, but if I did write an omake that would be high on my list.
Just tend to be less people here in general, or at least less people reading this story here.
Despite being a charge attack, it was executed unusually fast...
I'm glad that went well. It's kinda a difficult balancing point in this story. They don't make as big a deal about it with Nemona as they do Leon, but canonically she never loses till she fights the PC in the games. That would make for a very boring story, and so even though the extra knowledge will make her stronger, I will say she'll lose some of the time. Not often, due to all her advantages, but the story won't be a complete steamroll. Still, here she was able to eke out a win, Freddrick's lack of skill holding Corviknight back.
Chapter 20
- Location
- Vancouver
Freddrick stomped off well before I could even offer a handshake, muttering about how this was unfair. I barely noticed, cheering a few more times before returning to my cohort. "That was truly spectacular, Young Miss," Leah greeted me. "I'm sure your parents will be thrilled to see you in action." She said, putting away her phone before excusing herself to go off and collect her winnings.
"Excellently done, a wonderful use of Terastalization." Professor Turo congratulated me as well. He put his own Rotom Phone away. Was he recording the match as well? I wonder why. Turo seemed quite pleased, and I wasn't going to question it. His fellow Professor was a bit more critical, though.
"You pushed Dun pretty hard, will he be alright?" It was true, he looked pretty rough even after the healing items I had used on him.
Holding him up to look him in the eyes, I asked him "How's it going? You did great so far, if you don't-" he was starting to squirm in disagreement. "No really, you beat the strongest Pokemon here." Dun quickly glanced over at Tulip's compact mirror at her side. "Besides yourself, of course," I rolled my eyes. "We can bow out here and it wouldn't be bad at all."
He thought about it momentarily before shaking his head, still keen to go on. "Dun, Dunsparce!" Friede ruefully shook his head at that before nodding in understanding. He might have been surprised that we went that far, but could accept Dunsparce's desires and my efforts to achieve them.
"Alright then, just one round left," I said, glancing over at the arena where the other semi-finalists were getting ready. They had a Pawmi and a Clodsire. The Pawmi could be a problem, but the Trainers seem equally skilled, so the Clodsire will probably win due to Type advantage, and we have ways of dealing with a Clodsire.
"Yeah, we got this. Rest up buddy, you'll need your strength for what's coming." Returning him to the ball, he could rest slightly easier in there, though the Potions had already had a huge effect. I don't think it's going to be that hard - no one else in the tournament was anywhere near as strong as that Corviknight. Still, good to keep him hyped and in the zone.
"Heck yeah, you got this! That was so cool. I never saw the point of battling before, but I might want your help in teaching Popplio a few Moves when she hatches" Cyan admitted.
"Sure thing sis." Inwardly I was already thinking about the kinds of Moves that Popplio could learn. They gain the Fairy Typing once they evolve, but they can probably learn a bunch of those Moves as well early on, good to get them used to it. Plus, they probably have access to most voice-based Moves, beyond Boomburst.
"That was incredible, Terastalization is amazing! I want to try it too, Dad!" I gaped at Arven's words. Did he not give a Tera Orb to his own son?!
He blinked. "I didn't realize you were interested in battling, my son."
"Well, I mean Nemona will probably push me into it anyways. And it looks really cool!" At that, Turo smiled.
"I'd love nothing more than to teach you all about Terastalization." Arven cheered, pulling out a Tera Orb from his pocket and releasing Maschiff, excitedly telling him the news. Ah, maybe I jumped the gun in assuming the worst there. Arven already has a Tera Orb but just didn't feel confident using it on his own.
Watching the tender moment, I wondered if I was wrong about other things. If there was still a way to pull Turo away from his ruinous experiments. My thoughts of the future were dragged back to the present by Dendra and Tulip moving closer.
"Osuuuu! That was an epic, blood-pumping battle!" The martial artist girl cried out, punching the air excitedly. Even the fashionable girl beside her had lost some of her cool and was looking on at Dun and I with awe and worry.
"It's not to my taste, but I was right; your beauty shines the most when you battle." There was an odd shimmer in her eyes. She's viewing my Aura, isn't she?
I hadn't won the tournament yet, but I couldn't help but ask: "Soooo, what did you think?"
The fashionable teenager let out a heavy sigh and I felt some trepidation. "I'm really regretting making that deal."
"So you'll teach me? Awesome! Wait- why are you regretting this?"
Shaking her head, she clarified. "Because I fear - no I can tell - you're going to want to learn everything, and truthfully I know little on the topic. I have a gift for it, but I only learned the basics before pursuing other goals."
"Oh." Right, that makes sense. While she's had little displays of power, she's no Sabrina. I didn't think she could read my thoughts, but she might have felt something there, her eyes narrowing.
"Ah, I mean that's fine. Anything you can teach me would be appreciated."
"You're welcome. It might take a while, but I'll try to track down my old teacher and see what more I can learn." I notice she's not mentioning Aura directly. Maybe it has something to do with the Professor's being around?
Her friend offered her support as well. "Osu! And I'll be happy to train you too! I might not know everything she does, but I've got some solid conditioning plans in mind for you and your Pokemon."
"Thanks! I've- that sounds super cool." I corrected myself before I could say something wrong. Right, 'Nemona' hasn't had any martial arts training, while I have almost twenty years under my no longer-existent black belt. I might be able to tell Dendra I trained before, but Cyan would know I was 'lying' about that. Still, this is going to be awesome. Honestly, I'm almost as excited for the martial training as I am for the Aura stuff.
The semi-final match ended, with the Clodsire winning as I expected (It almost certainly had the Poison Point Ability given the way the Pawmo had been staggering after it had laid its fists on him, I'd be ready for that).
Then again, Clodsire's trainer has familiar green hair and she's wearing a button-up shirt… I think that might be Rika! I hadn't expected to face a future Elite Four today, but in any case, I was pumped up. This is gonna be great!
Surprisingly, they didn't call for the next match right away, most of the officials were busy somewhere else. It was getting later in the night, the full moon rising above us, but I didn't care. I was riding a buzz like I got from a great D&D session and was sure that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep for hours after.
My friend and sister were cheering me on, excitedly chatting about the matches. Turo and Friede debating the matches and their merits. Dendra and Tulip discussed some training plans and exchanged their phone numbers with me. Leah returned, smiling smugly as the bookies reluctantly handed over the money and barred her from making a bet on the final round.
Which is when it all came crashing down. "Attention everyone, we have an announcement to make," Larry said in an oddly somber tone. What was even more attention-grabbing were all the different referees gathered beside him as well, including the head judge. This doesn't feel like they're just about to announce the start of the finals.
"We have deliberated and decided that Nemona Glitterati is disqualified from the 27th Junior Tournament." Whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire.
"What do you think she did?"
"I knew there was something wrong with a girl that young making it this far."
"Will the rest of the tournament go on?"
I could barely comprehend what was going on, my mind struggling to put it together. "Why?" My words came out as a broken whisper that Larry definitely couldn't have heard. Nonetheless, he did elaborate.
"After much consideration, the judges have decided that Nemona's use of the Tera Orb broke tournament rules, and therefore-"
"Wait a moment!" I shouted, finding my voice again, and stepping forward. All eyes turned back to me and I could feel their stares weighing me down. "I didn't break the rules, there was nothing against Enhancement Effects being used here, only Battle Items, but Tera Orbs were ruled as an Enhancement Effect."
"I- uhhh…" Larry looked at a loss, glancing between me and the head judge, who stepped up and grabbed Larry's microphone. The head judge was a tall man with long white hair and a thin mustache.
"Some places may have ruled it as such." There was a quick glance back to one of the other judges, the familiar-looking woman who oversaw my quarterfinal match. It was easily overlooked, but it was clear there was some dissent at the judge's table. "Tera Orbs were not listed as such in our rules." At the end of the day though, he had the final say.
He continued. "As such, your act of throwing it onto the field counts as interference by the Trainer, thus costing you the match. Given your age and inexperience as well as, ahem, difficulties in rule interpretations, we will not be placing this on your record. It has no bearing on your ability to compete in future Junior Tournaments. In light of the error in this breach not being called immediately, we will be giving both you and Miss Delcroft the reward prize fitting for third place."
The Pawmo's trainer perked up, seeming pleased with that. The rest of the audience generally nodded along as if this was reasonable. As if this was in any way shape or form right. I shook in place with barely constrained rage, but they didn't notice, already moving on.
Larry took the microphone back from the dry head judge. "Thank you Mr. Rovali. This was a tricky situation, but don't fret for what it means for the finals. Luckily, young Freddrick van Grough is ready and able to compete, despite the injuries Corviknight took."
The smug boy stepped forward, snatching the microphone out of the announcer's hands.
"Corviknight can't be put down by some worm." But she was! Dun beat your Pokemon into the ground!! I wanted to scream.
"Thank you for that," Larry said, taking the microphone back. His words were much less sincere this time, especially since the mic caught him muttering "What is with everyone grabbing my mic?" Then he cleared his throat. "Ahem, with that little issue out of the way, who's ready for the finals?"
It took maybe a second longer than usual, but the audience was soon cheering again. Like nothing had ever happened. Like all of our sweat and tears up to this point didn't matter. Like Dun, struggling to prove himself to the world meant nothing.
Amidst the din of chatter and cheers, I heard Freddrick's voice, whispering to the head judge as they walked away from the center. "Thanks for helping me out Uncle, I owe you one."
"Yes well, don't try to make a habit out of it. Geeta was quite obstinate…" The older man whispered back.
Seeing red, my body started moving forward. Visions of me grabbing Freddrick and punching his smug, dumb face danced in my head. Taking him down and just wailing on him, fists and elbows until I broke his- "Nemona, stop!"
Tulip's panicked words snapped me back to the moment and reminded me where I was. Halfway across the battle court, making a beeline for Freddrick. The crowd was whispering, wondering what I was doing. My friends looked confused, all except for Tulip, who looked worried for some reason. Then it clicked for me, remembering she could sense my emotions. Could See all the rage and anger I was feeling and likely guessed what I was about to do.
Like a glass of cold water splashed in my face, I brought myself back under control. My emotions were boiling under the surface but the shock was enough that I could wrestle them back under control. Turning, I started walking away before Freddrick taunted me. "Gonna run off and cry, little girl?"
Blinking, I realized tears were welling up in my eyes. The temptation was there to turn back around and lay into him. Verbally, physically, whatever. But it wouldn't be right, it won't help things. With great effort, I kept on walking, off the battlefield and through the crowd.
Picking up speed, I ran until I made my way off the main plaza. Behind me, I could hear the others calling for me but couldn't bring myself to go back. Everything that happened was so embarrassing, and then I made an even bigger fool of myself, what would they think of me? So I ran. Of course, that's the problem with running - there's always an ending.
My ending was a bench on a side street nearby, as I was caught between having nowhere else to go but not ready to go back. There were few people here at this time of night, and those that did pass by either didn't notice a small girl silently crying on a bench or didn't make it their business.
A minute or two passed until a tall shadow loomed over me. Looking up (and up and up) I saw the referee from before looking down from me atop her Espathra. "You gave us quite a scare there."
"Any other admonishments you want to throw my way?" I spat out bitterly. Some distant part of my mind recognized that was uncalled for. The rest was angry and sad. The fact that she paused at that didn't help matters. "Oh wow, you really do."
"I… would advise caution in your future matches. Personally, I felt you pushed your Dunsparce too close to the line."
"What the hell do you know?" She raised an eyebrow at my vitriolic words. Wow, tell a referee she knows nothing about her job, great job me. I should try to shove in the other foot next. "It's fine. I… I pushed him hard, but he'll be fine. He needed this." Or at least I thought he did.
She gave a tilt of her head, partially conceding the point. "Perhaps." She got off her Pokemon and we were both quiet for a moment.
I was always bad with awkward silences and this one being interrupted by my sniffling didn't help, so I broke first, asking her: "Why are you here? Don't you have a tournament to preside over?"
"My fellows don't seem to care for my opinions." The bitter words slipped out of her mouth, seeming to surprise even her. "Apologies, I meant to say that I was sent to look out for you. We care about the well-being of every participant in our tournament. I've also been authorized to give you your reward for achieving third place." Her Rotom Phone floated out and my Rotom did the same, a small buzz from each as the transfer was received.
"Yay," I said, lifelessly. Rotom gave me a concerned look but decided not to say anything with the referee around and floated back into my pocket.
"You did quite well, you know." She tried to encourage me. "Getting third place in your first tournament is quite an achievement, especially at your age. 50,000 League Points is nothing to sneeze at either-"
"I don't care about that! It- It doesn't matter how far we made it. If Dun had been taken out by that Sky Attack, if it had been a bit faster than him, though really it was already so fast, that Corviknight was sooo strong, but it didn't and he wasn't and he won and if it was fair he should be the winner still and- and-" I was babbling and breaking down. "And then Freddrick just goes up to his uncle, the head judge, and gets me kicked out-"
"Wait, what?"
"Freddrick, that jerk was thanking the judge after his speech."
"I… didn't hear that." She admitted and I looked at her oddly. You were so much closer to him than me though! But… how did I hear that from so far away? I didn't imagine it, did I? Before anything more could be said on that we both heard Leah exclaim as she saw us, running down the street towards us. "Ah, it appears your caretaker is here. I'll leave you in her care, but I hope you aren't disheartened by this experience. You have much potential." I nodded fiercely, blinking out the last of the tears out of my eyes. This may have ended on a sour note, but I'm still going to be Champion someday. Nothing is going to stop that. She added, "Rest assured that I will be looking into this match. There were a few discrepancies that need to be investigated."
"Good evening," she said as a farewell to Leah and me, while the maid wrapped me up in a near bone-crushing hug.
"Oh you're alright, thank goodness. Do you know how worried we were? What were you thinking, running off like that?! It's going to be ok, you did fine…" She alternated between berating me and trying to console me. She's as frazzled as I am.
"Can we go home?" I asked tiredly. I knew I'd be chewed out for running off (and rightfully so), but I couldn't deal with that at the moment.
"... That's fine, Young Miss. We'll need to find the others first, they're looking all over Mesagoza for you." I whipped out Rotom and began sending out texts to all of them, letting Dendra, Tulip, and Arven know I was fine but heading home and telling Cyan where I was. "Oh, so now you can use your phone?"
"Bzzt, apologies ma'am," Rotom offered. "It appears I was still in 'Do not disturb' mode and missed your prior calls." Leah calmed down, accepting the excuse. I wasn't sure that they were being truthful about missing the messages, but I understood that they were just trying to give me a minute to calm down, which had actually helped
Very quickly I saw a familiar Charizard flying over, Friede and Cyan on his back. They landed and Cyan jumped off, running over to hug me. Leah went up to the young Professor and thanked him. I picked myself off the bench to do the same, my sister holding onto my hand.
"Thank you, Friede. You helped me out a lot today and I deeply appreciate it. Sorry tha-" he cut me off raising his hand.
"It's no problem, honest. It was good to get out of the lab, and I learned a lot today. You're quite the insightful young girl." I couldn't resist a small dismissive huff at that. I'm really not. He wrote out his number and exchanged it with me. "If you ever need a hand or want to ask about anything Pokemon-related."
"You might be the one needing my expertise," I said, sticking my tongue out. My puffy red eyes probably took away from the friendly teasing and just made me look sad, but Friede laughed easily.
"I might just take you up on that. Have a good night." Waving us goodbye, he flew off and we went and hailed a flying cab.
Leah told the cabbie to go fast, and they did, rocketing us home so fast I had to double check
we didn't have a mega-Latios flying us (we did not). When we got there, the house was quiet, with most of the staff on sight sleeping for the night. Hamber greeted us, letting us know that my parents were still out and I just mutely nodded, marching up to my bedroom.
Here, Dunsparce popped out of his ball, wondering what was going on. "Dun dun, ar?"
"Hey there. Sorry, but it looks like we won't be in the finals. We uh, got kicked out."
"Unn! Arce dun?!"
"They said Terastalization was against the rules- I know, I know! We checked it should have been ok- but… Freddrick was able to get the judge to rule his way, so we're out."
"Dunspar! DUUUUN!" He squirmed around angrily, crashing about the room, and knocking over the chair to my desk. I winced but a part of me wanted to do the same. I think he's more likely to hurt the room than himself, but I should still stop him.
Scooping him up into my arms his tail-drill whirred angrily, but I gave him a look of warning and he calmed down enough for me to climb into bed. There was still rage radiating off of him, but he made no other moves in my arms and I just lay there in my bed as I slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
"Excellently done, a wonderful use of Terastalization." Professor Turo congratulated me as well. He put his own Rotom Phone away. Was he recording the match as well? I wonder why. Turo seemed quite pleased, and I wasn't going to question it. His fellow Professor was a bit more critical, though.
"You pushed Dun pretty hard, will he be alright?" It was true, he looked pretty rough even after the healing items I had used on him.
Holding him up to look him in the eyes, I asked him "How's it going? You did great so far, if you don't-" he was starting to squirm in disagreement. "No really, you beat the strongest Pokemon here." Dun quickly glanced over at Tulip's compact mirror at her side. "Besides yourself, of course," I rolled my eyes. "We can bow out here and it wouldn't be bad at all."
He thought about it momentarily before shaking his head, still keen to go on. "Dun, Dunsparce!" Friede ruefully shook his head at that before nodding in understanding. He might have been surprised that we went that far, but could accept Dunsparce's desires and my efforts to achieve them.
"Alright then, just one round left," I said, glancing over at the arena where the other semi-finalists were getting ready. They had a Pawmi and a Clodsire. The Pawmi could be a problem, but the Trainers seem equally skilled, so the Clodsire will probably win due to Type advantage, and we have ways of dealing with a Clodsire.
"Yeah, we got this. Rest up buddy, you'll need your strength for what's coming." Returning him to the ball, he could rest slightly easier in there, though the Potions had already had a huge effect. I don't think it's going to be that hard - no one else in the tournament was anywhere near as strong as that Corviknight. Still, good to keep him hyped and in the zone.
"Heck yeah, you got this! That was so cool. I never saw the point of battling before, but I might want your help in teaching Popplio a few Moves when she hatches" Cyan admitted.
"Sure thing sis." Inwardly I was already thinking about the kinds of Moves that Popplio could learn. They gain the Fairy Typing once they evolve, but they can probably learn a bunch of those Moves as well early on, good to get them used to it. Plus, they probably have access to most voice-based Moves, beyond Boomburst.
"That was incredible, Terastalization is amazing! I want to try it too, Dad!" I gaped at Arven's words. Did he not give a Tera Orb to his own son?!
He blinked. "I didn't realize you were interested in battling, my son."
"Well, I mean Nemona will probably push me into it anyways. And it looks really cool!" At that, Turo smiled.
"I'd love nothing more than to teach you all about Terastalization." Arven cheered, pulling out a Tera Orb from his pocket and releasing Maschiff, excitedly telling him the news. Ah, maybe I jumped the gun in assuming the worst there. Arven already has a Tera Orb but just didn't feel confident using it on his own.
Watching the tender moment, I wondered if I was wrong about other things. If there was still a way to pull Turo away from his ruinous experiments. My thoughts of the future were dragged back to the present by Dendra and Tulip moving closer.
"Osuuuu! That was an epic, blood-pumping battle!" The martial artist girl cried out, punching the air excitedly. Even the fashionable girl beside her had lost some of her cool and was looking on at Dun and I with awe and worry.
"It's not to my taste, but I was right; your beauty shines the most when you battle." There was an odd shimmer in her eyes. She's viewing my Aura, isn't she?
I hadn't won the tournament yet, but I couldn't help but ask: "Soooo, what did you think?"
The fashionable teenager let out a heavy sigh and I felt some trepidation. "I'm really regretting making that deal."
"So you'll teach me? Awesome! Wait- why are you regretting this?"
Shaking her head, she clarified. "Because I fear - no I can tell - you're going to want to learn everything, and truthfully I know little on the topic. I have a gift for it, but I only learned the basics before pursuing other goals."
"Oh." Right, that makes sense. While she's had little displays of power, she's no Sabrina. I didn't think she could read my thoughts, but she might have felt something there, her eyes narrowing.
"Ah, I mean that's fine. Anything you can teach me would be appreciated."
"You're welcome. It might take a while, but I'll try to track down my old teacher and see what more I can learn." I notice she's not mentioning Aura directly. Maybe it has something to do with the Professor's being around?
Her friend offered her support as well. "Osu! And I'll be happy to train you too! I might not know everything she does, but I've got some solid conditioning plans in mind for you and your Pokemon."
"Thanks! I've- that sounds super cool." I corrected myself before I could say something wrong. Right, 'Nemona' hasn't had any martial arts training, while I have almost twenty years under my no longer-existent black belt. I might be able to tell Dendra I trained before, but Cyan would know I was 'lying' about that. Still, this is going to be awesome. Honestly, I'm almost as excited for the martial training as I am for the Aura stuff.
The semi-final match ended, with the Clodsire winning as I expected (It almost certainly had the Poison Point Ability given the way the Pawmo had been staggering after it had laid its fists on him, I'd be ready for that).
Then again, Clodsire's trainer has familiar green hair and she's wearing a button-up shirt… I think that might be Rika! I hadn't expected to face a future Elite Four today, but in any case, I was pumped up. This is gonna be great!
Surprisingly, they didn't call for the next match right away, most of the officials were busy somewhere else. It was getting later in the night, the full moon rising above us, but I didn't care. I was riding a buzz like I got from a great D&D session and was sure that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep for hours after.
My friend and sister were cheering me on, excitedly chatting about the matches. Turo and Friede debating the matches and their merits. Dendra and Tulip discussed some training plans and exchanged their phone numbers with me. Leah returned, smiling smugly as the bookies reluctantly handed over the money and barred her from making a bet on the final round.
Which is when it all came crashing down. "Attention everyone, we have an announcement to make," Larry said in an oddly somber tone. What was even more attention-grabbing were all the different referees gathered beside him as well, including the head judge. This doesn't feel like they're just about to announce the start of the finals.
"We have deliberated and decided that Nemona Glitterati is disqualified from the 27th Junior Tournament." Whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire.
"What do you think she did?"
"I knew there was something wrong with a girl that young making it this far."
"Will the rest of the tournament go on?"
I could barely comprehend what was going on, my mind struggling to put it together. "Why?" My words came out as a broken whisper that Larry definitely couldn't have heard. Nonetheless, he did elaborate.
"After much consideration, the judges have decided that Nemona's use of the Tera Orb broke tournament rules, and therefore-"
"Wait a moment!" I shouted, finding my voice again, and stepping forward. All eyes turned back to me and I could feel their stares weighing me down. "I didn't break the rules, there was nothing against Enhancement Effects being used here, only Battle Items, but Tera Orbs were ruled as an Enhancement Effect."
"I- uhhh…" Larry looked at a loss, glancing between me and the head judge, who stepped up and grabbed Larry's microphone. The head judge was a tall man with long white hair and a thin mustache.
"Some places may have ruled it as such." There was a quick glance back to one of the other judges, the familiar-looking woman who oversaw my quarterfinal match. It was easily overlooked, but it was clear there was some dissent at the judge's table. "Tera Orbs were not listed as such in our rules." At the end of the day though, he had the final say.
He continued. "As such, your act of throwing it onto the field counts as interference by the Trainer, thus costing you the match. Given your age and inexperience as well as, ahem, difficulties in rule interpretations, we will not be placing this on your record. It has no bearing on your ability to compete in future Junior Tournaments. In light of the error in this breach not being called immediately, we will be giving both you and Miss Delcroft the reward prize fitting for third place."
The Pawmo's trainer perked up, seeming pleased with that. The rest of the audience generally nodded along as if this was reasonable. As if this was in any way shape or form right. I shook in place with barely constrained rage, but they didn't notice, already moving on.
Larry took the microphone back from the dry head judge. "Thank you Mr. Rovali. This was a tricky situation, but don't fret for what it means for the finals. Luckily, young Freddrick van Grough is ready and able to compete, despite the injuries Corviknight took."
The smug boy stepped forward, snatching the microphone out of the announcer's hands.
"Corviknight can't be put down by some worm." But she was! Dun beat your Pokemon into the ground!! I wanted to scream.
"Thank you for that," Larry said, taking the microphone back. His words were much less sincere this time, especially since the mic caught him muttering "What is with everyone grabbing my mic?" Then he cleared his throat. "Ahem, with that little issue out of the way, who's ready for the finals?"
It took maybe a second longer than usual, but the audience was soon cheering again. Like nothing had ever happened. Like all of our sweat and tears up to this point didn't matter. Like Dun, struggling to prove himself to the world meant nothing.
Amidst the din of chatter and cheers, I heard Freddrick's voice, whispering to the head judge as they walked away from the center. "Thanks for helping me out Uncle, I owe you one."
"Yes well, don't try to make a habit out of it. Geeta was quite obstinate…" The older man whispered back.
Seeing red, my body started moving forward. Visions of me grabbing Freddrick and punching his smug, dumb face danced in my head. Taking him down and just wailing on him, fists and elbows until I broke his- "Nemona, stop!"
Tulip's panicked words snapped me back to the moment and reminded me where I was. Halfway across the battle court, making a beeline for Freddrick. The crowd was whispering, wondering what I was doing. My friends looked confused, all except for Tulip, who looked worried for some reason. Then it clicked for me, remembering she could sense my emotions. Could See all the rage and anger I was feeling and likely guessed what I was about to do.
Like a glass of cold water splashed in my face, I brought myself back under control. My emotions were boiling under the surface but the shock was enough that I could wrestle them back under control. Turning, I started walking away before Freddrick taunted me. "Gonna run off and cry, little girl?"
Blinking, I realized tears were welling up in my eyes. The temptation was there to turn back around and lay into him. Verbally, physically, whatever. But it wouldn't be right, it won't help things. With great effort, I kept on walking, off the battlefield and through the crowd.
Picking up speed, I ran until I made my way off the main plaza. Behind me, I could hear the others calling for me but couldn't bring myself to go back. Everything that happened was so embarrassing, and then I made an even bigger fool of myself, what would they think of me? So I ran. Of course, that's the problem with running - there's always an ending.
My ending was a bench on a side street nearby, as I was caught between having nowhere else to go but not ready to go back. There were few people here at this time of night, and those that did pass by either didn't notice a small girl silently crying on a bench or didn't make it their business.
A minute or two passed until a tall shadow loomed over me. Looking up (and up and up) I saw the referee from before looking down from me atop her Espathra. "You gave us quite a scare there."
"Any other admonishments you want to throw my way?" I spat out bitterly. Some distant part of my mind recognized that was uncalled for. The rest was angry and sad. The fact that she paused at that didn't help matters. "Oh wow, you really do."
"I… would advise caution in your future matches. Personally, I felt you pushed your Dunsparce too close to the line."
"What the hell do you know?" She raised an eyebrow at my vitriolic words. Wow, tell a referee she knows nothing about her job, great job me. I should try to shove in the other foot next. "It's fine. I… I pushed him hard, but he'll be fine. He needed this." Or at least I thought he did.
She gave a tilt of her head, partially conceding the point. "Perhaps." She got off her Pokemon and we were both quiet for a moment.
I was always bad with awkward silences and this one being interrupted by my sniffling didn't help, so I broke first, asking her: "Why are you here? Don't you have a tournament to preside over?"
"My fellows don't seem to care for my opinions." The bitter words slipped out of her mouth, seeming to surprise even her. "Apologies, I meant to say that I was sent to look out for you. We care about the well-being of every participant in our tournament. I've also been authorized to give you your reward for achieving third place." Her Rotom Phone floated out and my Rotom did the same, a small buzz from each as the transfer was received.
"Yay," I said, lifelessly. Rotom gave me a concerned look but decided not to say anything with the referee around and floated back into my pocket.
"You did quite well, you know." She tried to encourage me. "Getting third place in your first tournament is quite an achievement, especially at your age. 50,000 League Points is nothing to sneeze at either-"
"I don't care about that! It- It doesn't matter how far we made it. If Dun had been taken out by that Sky Attack, if it had been a bit faster than him, though really it was already so fast, that Corviknight was sooo strong, but it didn't and he wasn't and he won and if it was fair he should be the winner still and- and-" I was babbling and breaking down. "And then Freddrick just goes up to his uncle, the head judge, and gets me kicked out-"
"Wait, what?"
"Freddrick, that jerk was thanking the judge after his speech."
"I… didn't hear that." She admitted and I looked at her oddly. You were so much closer to him than me though! But… how did I hear that from so far away? I didn't imagine it, did I? Before anything more could be said on that we both heard Leah exclaim as she saw us, running down the street towards us. "Ah, it appears your caretaker is here. I'll leave you in her care, but I hope you aren't disheartened by this experience. You have much potential." I nodded fiercely, blinking out the last of the tears out of my eyes. This may have ended on a sour note, but I'm still going to be Champion someday. Nothing is going to stop that. She added, "Rest assured that I will be looking into this match. There were a few discrepancies that need to be investigated."
"Good evening," she said as a farewell to Leah and me, while the maid wrapped me up in a near bone-crushing hug.
"Oh you're alright, thank goodness. Do you know how worried we were? What were you thinking, running off like that?! It's going to be ok, you did fine…" She alternated between berating me and trying to console me. She's as frazzled as I am.
"Can we go home?" I asked tiredly. I knew I'd be chewed out for running off (and rightfully so), but I couldn't deal with that at the moment.
"... That's fine, Young Miss. We'll need to find the others first, they're looking all over Mesagoza for you." I whipped out Rotom and began sending out texts to all of them, letting Dendra, Tulip, and Arven know I was fine but heading home and telling Cyan where I was. "Oh, so now you can use your phone?"
"Bzzt, apologies ma'am," Rotom offered. "It appears I was still in 'Do not disturb' mode and missed your prior calls." Leah calmed down, accepting the excuse. I wasn't sure that they were being truthful about missing the messages, but I understood that they were just trying to give me a minute to calm down, which had actually helped
Very quickly I saw a familiar Charizard flying over, Friede and Cyan on his back. They landed and Cyan jumped off, running over to hug me. Leah went up to the young Professor and thanked him. I picked myself off the bench to do the same, my sister holding onto my hand.
"Thank you, Friede. You helped me out a lot today and I deeply appreciate it. Sorry tha-" he cut me off raising his hand.
"It's no problem, honest. It was good to get out of the lab, and I learned a lot today. You're quite the insightful young girl." I couldn't resist a small dismissive huff at that. I'm really not. He wrote out his number and exchanged it with me. "If you ever need a hand or want to ask about anything Pokemon-related."
"You might be the one needing my expertise," I said, sticking my tongue out. My puffy red eyes probably took away from the friendly teasing and just made me look sad, but Friede laughed easily.
"I might just take you up on that. Have a good night." Waving us goodbye, he flew off and we went and hailed a flying cab.
Leah told the cabbie to go fast, and they did, rocketing us home so fast I had to double check
we didn't have a mega-Latios flying us (we did not). When we got there, the house was quiet, with most of the staff on sight sleeping for the night. Hamber greeted us, letting us know that my parents were still out and I just mutely nodded, marching up to my bedroom.
Here, Dunsparce popped out of his ball, wondering what was going on. "Dun dun, ar?"
"Hey there. Sorry, but it looks like we won't be in the finals. We uh, got kicked out."
"Unn! Arce dun?!"
"They said Terastalization was against the rules- I know, I know! We checked it should have been ok- but… Freddrick was able to get the judge to rule his way, so we're out."
"Dunspar! DUUUUN!" He squirmed around angrily, crashing about the room, and knocking over the chair to my desk. I winced but a part of me wanted to do the same. I think he's more likely to hurt the room than himself, but I should still stop him.
Scooping him up into my arms his tail-drill whirred angrily, but I gave him a look of warning and he calmed down enough for me to climb into bed. There was still rage radiating off of him, but he made no other moves in my arms and I just lay there in my bed as I slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
So, this was a bit of a rough one. It was hard to write, off of the high of the previous battle, but I felt it needed to happen. Sometimes people play unfair and things don't go the way you think they should. Sometimes I get so angry I have no idea what to do. Nemona is literally spoiled for advantages in the battlefield, but this fic will cover some of the issues she has to deal with outside the arena (which can even impact what happens inside the arena).
There are definitely ways she could have handled it better, but in the moment she was too frustrated to think straight. That will be something she has to deal with and learn to handle in the future. As for the head judge:
In any case, I hope you continue to enjoy this fic. While there may be failures and disappointments, I can promise plenty more bright spots to come as well. Thank you all for following me this far and I can't wait to show you where we go from here.
There are definitely ways she could have handled it better, but in the moment she was too frustrated to think straight. That will be something she has to deal with and learn to handle in the future. As for the head judge:
He is not actually Freddrick van Grough's uncle, just a close friend of the family. If Mr. Rovali was actually blood related to Freddrick, the other officials would have caught it earlier.
In any case, I hope you continue to enjoy this fic. While there may be failures and disappointments, I can promise plenty more bright spots to come as well. Thank you all for following me this far and I can't wait to show you where we go from here.
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Now it's her turn ! Ruin all the businesses of his family, bar him from becoming a trainer and laugh smugly afterwards!
Thank you for writing !
Thank you for writing !